Most cable set tops have dedicated decryption, video/audio decoding chips so the main CPU available for running the UI is very weak by design. Cisco & Motorola

Most cable set tops have dedicated decryption, video/audio decoding chips so the main CPU available for running the UI is very weak by design. Cisco & Motorola make these set tops pretty much by spec of what the big cable providers want. They don't want a general purpose platform and truly just don't understand why they might want a better user interface. Only in the last year or so have these set tops started to get faster but they are still gimped by the guide software the cable providers use. They usually opt for consistency over quality. The same guide that runs on a 2012 set top needs to work on a 1997 set top.