Motorola DCX3400 User Manual

DCX3400

As competition in the video service industry continues to increase, cable operators require 

advanced technologies for delivering a superior digital viewing experience and exciting new 

applications. Motorola has developed a sophisticated all-digital solution with the DCX series, 

the next generation of Host set tops. The DCX set-tops are loaded with features for 

improving bandwidth efficiency, providing high-definition video with surround sound audio, 

and bringing on-demand and interactive services to a connected home environment.

The DCX3400 is a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) with dual 1GHz video tuners and support 

for both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 high definition decode. The all-digital DCX3400 includes the 

latest audio and video output interfaces, including HDMI

™

 and Dolby

®

 Digital Plus audio. The 

optional MoCA

™

 Home Networking component enables the DCX3400-M set top to serve as 

a media hub for in a connected home environment. An embedded DOCSIS 2.0+ cable 

modem provides support for DSG and downstream channel bonding.

The DCX3400 fully supports the growing consumer 
demand for high-definition programming and high 
bandwidth advanced applications. The DCX3400 
provides new methods of efficiently utilizing limited 
bandwidth for delivering these services. For example, 
the DCX3400 is capable of decoding MPEG-4 video 
streams, requiring significantly less bandwidth than 
MPEG-2 to deliver comparable quality video services. 
The dual 1GHz digital video tuners in the DCX3400 
support future plant expansion, enabling operators 
to increase the number of available channels. The 
DCX3400 also supports Switched Digital Video (SDV) 
solutions, allowing service providers to maximize 
the use of their available bandwidth by delivering 
programming only to nodes where and when 
subscribers actively request that programming.

Consumers value the watch-and-record flexibility 
that a dual tuner DVR set top provides. The DCX3400 
further enhances this experience with a 250GB hard 
drive upgrade to provide ample capacity for recording 
an entire household’s favorite shows. The optional 
integrated MoCA

™

 Home Networking component 

enables the DCX3400-M set top to act as a media 
hub for sharing content on its hard drive with other 
non-DVR set-tops in the home.  

The DCX3400 supports Motorola’s SmartStream 
Terminal Data Collector (STDC) service for remotely 
gathering important set top status and health 
information in a centralized server for evaluation 
and corrective action. STDC provides operators with 
the ability to isolate and troubleshoot plant issues, 
improve service quality, and reduce operation costs.

 

M-Card

™

 (Multi-stream 

CableCARD) Host support 

for conditional access
OpenCable Application 

Platform (OCAP

™

) capable

Compatible with Motorola DCT/

DCH legacy software API set
Dual Tuner Digital Video 

Recorder (DVR)
Standard 160GB Hard Drive 

(250GB option)
Optional MoCA

™

home-networking interface
Dual High-definition (HDTV) 

decode of MPEG-2, MPEG-4 

AVC (H.264), VC-1 
Dual Audio decode of Dolby

®

 

Digital, Dolby

®

 Digital Plus, AAC-

LC / HE-AAC, WMA9, MP3
Dual 1 GHz digital video tuners
1GHz DOCSIS tuner
Picture-in-Picture
Accelerated 2-D and 

3-D graphics
DOCSIS 2.0+ embedded Cable 

Modem with support for DSG 

and down-stream channel 

bonding (3 down, 1 up)
SCTE 55-1 / SCTE 55-2 

Out-of-band (OOB) data 

transmitter/receiver
32 MB Flash (standard), 256MB 

DRAM total (standard)
Full featured front panel display 

and controls
Remote and on-screen 

diagnostics
Switched Digital Video (SDV) 

Capable
Macrovision

®

, HDCP, DTCP, and 

CGMS-A content protection 

schemes on the respective 

interfaces