Motorola to Show Dual Cable Box By Mark Fleischmann May 3, 2007 — Looking for a smoother way to switch between cable and broadcast channels? Next week Motorola will demo a dual-function cable box that also receives off-the-air channels. The product will surface at the annual convention of NCTA, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

Why would you want such a thing? Because cable systems do not want to be required to deliver all broadcast channels. Motorola admits as much in the product description it sent to Multichannel News: The STB will combine "digital-cable set-top signal reception with off-air tuning capabilities, such that cable-network carriage of local broadcast channels is unnecessary."

In other words, the broadcasters want to be paid to have their channels carried on cable, the cable operators don't want to pay, and you get caught in the middle. But if you squeal loud enough, you may get a consolation prize in the form of a fancy new cable box. Of course, if you're a hapless Manhattanite like me, and you subscribe to cable only because you can't get a broadcast signal for love or money, this won't do you a lot of good. But isn't it the thought that counts?

Motorola will show two versions of the dual-function box: one with a built-in ATSC (DTV) tuner, and one with a USB stick that plugs into the box. In either case, the box will default to the broadcast version of the channel where a conflict exists in a process that "is expected to be seamless and to maintain channel-guide integrity."