Di4000-N same as 4010

eein · 27-02-2004, 11:27

I was looking inside a friend's Di4000-N on Bromley the other day and noticed that it is exactly the same as a Di4010 I have on Langley. I had read somewhere that the 4010 had not been distributed on Bromley, but it appears that they have done so, but branded them as '-N' versions of the 4000. Has anyone else noticed or heard about this? I would have thought they will have different software in them, but the hardware is the same.

Maybe their plans for having a common box are further than we thought. They've probably badged them different to aviod them getting mixed up and ones with wrong s/w being sent out to the wrong areas.

Tristan · 27-02-2004, 20:02

Firstly, I'm almost obliged to warn you against opening up the STBs, given that they belong to NTL etc etc etc.

Now. To the matter in hand.

The 4010 is a dual-protocol box designed to work with both the DAVIC and DOCSIS protocols. So why isn't it used on the Bromley network? Well that's an interesting question. The only real answer can be that the 4000 is cheaper than buying 4010s in greater numbers. The 4000 is, as you have discovered, basically just a 4010 with a single- rather than dual-protocol cable modem.

NTL have said, albeit a long time ago when they still dared to talk about future DTV plans (HINT!), that the long-term goal is to get everybody onto the DOCSIS/CWC platform. The 4010 is an important part of that goal. I'm not sure there's ever been an intention to have a 'common box', or whether that's necessary. But the sooner they can be in a position to start deploying DOCSIS STBs on the Langley network, the better it will be for the future of digital cable TV in this country. With the 4010 they're in the ideal position: they already have many such boxes in people's homes, just waiting for them to flick the switch...

asdf · 28-02-2004, 16:30

Unfortunately it's hard to move everyone over at once and some people don't want to lose their old "reliable" boxes

paulyoung666 · 28-02-2004, 17:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by eein

I was looking inside a friend's Di4000-N on Bromley the other day and noticed that it is exactly the same as a Di4010 I have on Langley. I had read somewhere that the 4010 had not been distributed on Bromley, but it appears that they have done so, but branded them as '-N' versions of the 4000. Has anyone else noticed or heard about this? I would have thought they will have different software in them, but the hardware is the same.

Maybe their plans for having a common box are further than we thought. They've probably badged them different to aviod them getting mixed up and ones with wrong s/w being sent out to the wrong areas.

just curious , what were you doing poking around inside the box

Mike Harrison · 28-02-2004, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

just curious , what were you doing poking around inside the box

Doesn't everyone like taking stuff apart to see what's inside then... glad to hear it's not just me.....

paulyoung666 · 28-02-2004, 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Harrison

Doesn't everyone like taking stuff apart to see what's inside then... glad to hear it's not just me.....

interesting link

asdf · 29-02-2004, 01:07

I love taking stuff apart, but I'd never do it to my ntl box, or anything I didn't really own (or have had no experience with before)

Just imagine what you'd say to the engineer if it were to break

eein · 04-03-2004, 10:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

just curious , what were you doing poking around inside the box

Apart from the general interests of looking inside things to see how they work, I had opened the 4010 I used to have coz it was starting to smell funny. Like something overheating - I'm sure you all know the smell I mean - I used to get it loads from my old Di-'overheatmaster'-4001 I had when I lived in a bromley area. So, I had opened it up to hoover (well, dyson) the dust away as this is usually what makes a smell in warm electronics!

And I opened up my friends partly coz I was bored and partly coz they weren't looking and partly coz I was curious to see how it compared to mine and partly coz I found a box of screwdriver bits in their flat with those funny shaped ones needed to open the box.

I have to say that they were somewhat dissappiontinly simply and plain looking inside with only one main device - broadcom bcm3250kbp I think. I looked it up on the internet and surprisingly enough it is a 'set top box single chip' that does docsis and davic. I must have been so bored that day.