The Streamaster 5000 has arrived and Motorola claims you'll never look at your TV the same way after feasting your eyes on this baby. It's got a flexible architecture for updating and adding software and gadgetry, superior basic services found on top of the line set-top boxes, enhanced revenue-generating options for things like ecommerce and video-on-demand, and connectivity options for hooking up to the Net and browsing till you drop.

To start with, the Streamaster 5000 does something that most other set-top boxes can't even think of. It remotely re-configures and upgrades over a network to give service providers the ability to upgrade the device constantly with new services-on-demand. In other words the Streamaster keeps itself from becoming obsolete, which is a pretty good trick in this rapidly evolving industry.

Still, the Streamaster 5000 is a set-top box, and it supports basic services, such as digital broadcast TV, including premium channels and pay-per-view, plus high-speed data services, such as Web browsing, instant messaging, and email. But the Streamaster will manage to wow you with these simple tasks by giving you exceptional digital video quality, even at lower bit-rates.

Along with basic services, Streamaster 5000 supports enhanced revenue-generating services, such as on-line 2-D and 3-D games, T-commerce, and interactive video-on-demand (in Dolby AC-3 stereo). Additional options include personal video recording, video telephony, home gateway services, karaoke, music-on-demand, support for multiple TVs, etc. Streamaster also supports external devices such as select printers, game controllers, digital cameras, and other peripherals. These services and other capabilities, as they become available, can typically be enabled and disabled via software upgrades due to the unique Streamaster architecture. A miriad of entertainment opportunities await you in this little device.

Availability

The Streamaster 5000 is currently available to OEMs.

(For access to more than 4,500 other hands-on product reviews on all variety of wired and wireless appliance and consumer devices, go to the iAppliance Web Portal Page. )