Top U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp. on Thursday said it planned to purchase new digital set-top boxes made by South Korean consumer electronics company Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. beginning in 2007.
Comcast plans to order 200,000 boxes initially, with the possibility of ordering another 500,000 units, the company said at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The new boxes will let users connect their digital music players and digital cameras to the boxes, Comcast said.
The deal comes a day after it announced a similar deal with Panasonic Corp. of North America to purchase 250,000 set top boxes. Panasonic is a division of Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.
Comcast Executive Vice President of New Business Development Steve Silva said the company was working closely with all of its box suppliers and electronics makers to develop models that allow for high-quality video and access to new applications.
“What this really means for Comcast is that we are embracing consumer electronics,” Silva said at a press conference where he announced the deal with Samsung.
Panasonic, Samsung and Comcast are among a raft of companies at the largest U.S. electronics show of the year trying to make the digital living room less formidable to technology neophytes and consumers in general.
Comcast also buys set-top boxes from Scientific-Atlanta Inc. and Motorola Inc. and is working to incorporate TiVo Inc. video-recording software into its systems.