EchoStar Readies Sling for Cable Set-Top Boxes

The tru2way device, being developed under the “Morpheus” code name, will be DOCSIS 3.0 compliant and contain many of the same features as the EchoStar 922 ($200 on lease), company officials said. Features include the SlingGuide that allows for Web-based control of TV viewing and the ability to program the DVR remotely, company officials said. The Sling- equipped set-top boxes targeting cable operators will have cable-specific features, said Michael Hawkey, vice president of sales and marketing, declining further comment. The STB will be demonstrated at CableLabs’ winter conference in February in Colorado Springs, Hawkey said.

The EchoStar 922 and the cable product are part of a move by EchoStar to establish itself as an OEM company following its spinoff from Dish Networks last year. In addition to developing satellite and cable STBs, EchoStar has broad licensing strategy for Sling as it seeks to build on Dish’s acquisition of Sling Media.

EchoStar’s decision to develop Sling-based DVRs is unrelated to Dish’s ongoing legal battle with TiVo over DVR patents, EchoStar President Mark Jackson said. It’s part of an effort to attract new customers other than Dish and Bell ExpressVu in Canada, which account for the majority of its revenue, Jackson said. EchoStar also is having discussions with Bell ExpressVu regarding adding Sling technology to its satellite receivers, he said.

“We're open to licensing the Sling technology because it’s a feature that everyone is going to want to have,” Jackson said. “We're going to have it available on reasonable licensing terms and it’s not going to be like it was with TiVo.”

As it expands use of Sling technology, EchoStar expects to cut the number of standalone Sling products in half to two -- the SlingCatcher, which allows for the transfer of PC content to a TV, and the Sling Pro HD, Jackson said. Among those that might be dropped is the Sling Solo that helped launch the company. “There will eventually be other products on top of these, but they won’t be the same as those that are currently available,” said Jackson. No new Sling standalone products are likely to available until 2010, he said.

The EchoStar 922 contains a separate Broadcom processor for the satellite receiver and a Sling module based on Texas Instruments’ DaVinci digital signal processor, Jackson said. Eventually the chips will be integrated, he said. The STB is DLNA-compliant and contains a 1 terabyte hard drive, half of which will be available for user storage. The other 500 GB is reserved for Dish applications, including potentially storing pre-loaded HD movies, Jackson said. The drive could store up to 50 hours of HD content, he said. “I'd like [to] make it as much as possible” available for HD storage, but “a lot will depend on what is the best revenue stream,” Jackson said. The EchoStar also will be marketed with a 14-inch LCD Wi-Fi-equipped monitor ($300) targeted for use in the bathroom or kitchen to display programming using Sling technology, Jackson said. One feature that isn’t in the 922 is Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology, despite EchoStar’s being a member of the group. “We don’t see a big need for that currently,” Jackson said.

EchoStar, which expects to ship the 922 in March, certified the first 200 units built by Jabil at its Pune, India, plant, George King, senior vice president of operations, told us. Samina SCI also is expected to be certified within two weeks to start production at its Kushan, China factory, King said.

Dish expects to expand the number of markets in which it offers local HD programming to 165 by month’s end, up from 150, CEO Charles Ergen said. The company will introduce Feb. 1 a new subscription package that will offer 100 SD and 50 HD channels for $9.99 monthly, Ergen said. The promotion will run six months, he said.