Cable TV set-top boxes are not generally among the home devices consumers are particularly proud of. In 2016, Layer3 TV, a Denver based innovative pay-TV distributor, announced that this should change and commissioned BMW Group subsidiary Designworks to re-think what a cable TV set-top box should be and how it should function. The new box unites excellence in engineering with a modern, modular design that fits into each room’s aesthetic. Customers are now offered both: a unique, intuitive interface that seamlessly integrates the best of cable TV, premium channels, streaming online video content, social media and smart home devices and a whole-home gateway that upgrades any living room.
Good bye to 50 shades of grey in the living room.
Until recently set-top boxes provided by cable companies left a lot to be desired: With a limited color palette, ranging from black to black, an overall design that scarcely related to considerations of interior décor, flashing LEDs, vents that could not be covered, and an array of buttons, boxes up until today did not play an essential role in the user experience. To solve this problem, the Designworks team took a new approach to these overlooked but ubiquitous objects. It came up with a set-top box that can harmonize with a home dweller’s sense of place, creating a device defined by clean lines and a sleek, low profile that can slot into entertainment systems, bookshelves, or reside comfortably on a coffee table.
The Next TV User Experience.
The design team sought to eliminate many of the unnecessary features of conventional boxes, taking a “less is more” approach and rethinking them from the ground up. The result is a user-friendly design that hides in plain sight, better integrating into its environment. The Layer3 TV box offers a simple solution and presents consumers with options for colors and materials so it can be customized. In addition, to make them more intuitive to use, all unnecessary buttons and LEDs were eliminated. The design team also eliminated all top, side, and front-facing vents, making the product virtually immune from damage by stacking or liquid spills. Tangled cables, typical of the home entertainment experience, were also dramatically paired down for a cleaner look and feel in the home environment. “The user experience is at the heart of what we design for at Designworks, whether we are working on aviation interiors, user interaction concepts or solutions for the smart home” said André de Salis, creative director and project lead for Layer3 TV at Designworks. “To re-imagine the cable television experience for the first time in over a decade together with Layer3 TV was a task we more than enjoyed. The new Layer3 TV cable set-top box is an easy to use interface powered by a beautiful product that truly fits in people’s homes,” he continues.
Layer3 TV’s Primary Gateway Box
Layer3 TV’s set top box provides WiFi and DVR services for the home while communicating wirelessly with additional, smaller boxes that can be placed anywhere without needing a cable hookup. The Gateway box can be personalized in a wide range of colors and designs while housing the most powerful video processor in the industry under its sleek exterior.
Other specifications:
Delivers the highest HD picture quality, including 4K.
Can record more than eight shows at a time and storing more than 3,000 hours of HD content
Full Color Front panel LCD screen that displays information about what you’re watching
Integrated DOCSIS 3.0 Cable modem delivers up to 600Mbps downstream to the home (corrected max speed; suggest alternative phrasing of, “Integrated DOCSIS 3.0 Cable modem delivers blazing fast data speeds to the home”
The most powerful WiFi available, operating in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands
HDR, Voice, Zigbee and Bluetooth ready
Integration of third party applications, including over-the-top (OTT) streaming video services.
Layer3 TV officially kicked off its nationwide launch in June 2016 and is available in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Longmont, CO. It will soon be available to customers in other major cities across America, coming next to Los Angeles.
The Layer3 TV involvement with the BMW Group doesn't end just at the box. Layer3 TV’s official installation fleet includes the all-electric BMW i3. The fully electric fleet is in keeping with Layer3 TV’s commitment to a sustainable energy future.
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