Set-top boxes have a big advantage over media center PCs that are struggling for a toehold in the business, said John Barrett, an analyst at Dallas-based technology research company Parks Associates.

He said it's easier to persuade a consumer to pay a few dollars extra each month to rent a feature-filled cable or satellite box than spend several thousand dollars for a PC that still may not work seamlessly with television sets and other electronics.

And consumers typically would rather get their technology and entertainment from a single source than to cobble together different technologies themselves.

"If they're going to do it, they're going to call a service provider . . . who for $100 a month can give them Internet access, telephony, games, movies, DVRs, home security and this and that," Barrett said. "And if it doesn't work, there's one provider they can call" to fix it.

From the article "Cable box gets an upgrade," by Bob Keefe.

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