The Greenest Cable Box Ever Made

STB Bar ChartCable knows it has to continually innovate in order to compete for a spot in today’s connected home. Cable also knows a big part of that innovation has to come in the form of creating a more energy efficient set-top box. Since 2002, the tech that runs cable TV and broadband in our homes not only consumes less energy, but also delivers more services. This is no small feat, but cable innovators accomplished it through some impressive solutions. For example, by using whole-home systems and home networks, a single cable device can manage other in-home cable products. And by moving the program guide into the cloud, user interfaces do not need to be stored on the set-top box. And finally, by delivering services through IP directly to other customer-owned devices, some of the burden of content support is taken off of the cable box.

The graphic above shows how changes in technology and services have affected the energy efficiency of the cable box. In 2002 services were sparse and energy was high. As we progressed, energy usage rose dramatically, but so did available services. Unsatisfied with this trade-off, cable engineered boxes with lower energy usage that could still offer new services. In 11 years the cable box cut energy usage by about 50 kwh per year, more than 20%, while adding features almost unimaginable in 2002. Cable continues to innovate not only by delivering some of the coolest tech and home entertainment services, but by making sure those services fit into today’s energy efficient high-tech homes.