Dave Zatz

MyTVRemote IR Hardware Updated (Only $10)

In the last year, a whole lot of iPhone-based universal remote controls have hit the scene. We’ve primarily focused on the higher end offerings, like Peel and RedEye shortly, as potential Harmony replacements or successors. Yet that may be overkill for certain situations or demographics. And I’ve just been turned onto MyTVRemote – whose intentions may not be as grandiose, but may still provide a compelling solution dependent on one’s needs.

While they’ve flown below my radar, RyzMedia has offered My TVRemote for some time…  and they’ve got news to share today. A more colorful and potentially more aesthetically pleasing IR blaster replaces the original. I’m told the range is a modest 14 feet, yet I envision using this as a second universal remote in the bedroom. What I like about this solution, over say an L5, is that the IR blaster sits atop the iPhone – meaning you don’t have to hold your phone upside down.

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If It’s Netflix Versus Cable, The MSOs Have Won

GigaOm has proclaimed that Netflix streaming and the cable industry are clearly in competition – vying for the same eyeballs and the same dollars. Yet, I’m not seeing it. Sure, there’s some overlap… of on-demand television content and back catalog films. But amongst the vast majority of my peers, and within my household, Netflix provides suplemental … Read more

Motorola Media Mover Televates (Cable Slingbox)

Motorola is finally taking their placeshifting technology beyond the labs. What was once known as the MCUBE and demo-ed as the Motorola Media Mover at the 2009 Cable Show, is nearly ready for it’s closeup. Unfortunately, the once sleek device, clocking in at cellphone dimensions (see below), has been reborn within a full fledged CableCARD-toting … Read more

More TiVo Premiere Q Details

TiVo’s pushed out a press release that expands upon earlier news of a new four tuner TiVo Premiere Q and non-DVR TiVo Preview (pictured). An excerpt: Consistent with TiVo’s mission to bring the TiVo experience to every screen in the house, these new products enable TiVo’s operator partners to provide a superior advanced television experience … Read more

Hacking The Nook Touch

What a difference a week makes… When we last discussed Barnes & Noble’s new Nook Touch e-Reader ($139), I lamented the absence of a web browser. While some browser components were clearly present, to enable WiFi hotspot login functionality, there was no obvious means to launch a full-on browsing experience. As it turns out, it’s … Read more

TiVo Premiere Q & Preview Announced (sort of)


TiVo’s been telegraphing this move for nearly a year, not to mention a few good leaks, so it should come as no surprise that they’re (sort of) announcing the components of their whole home DVR solution: a quad-tuner TiVo “Premiere Q” and the non-DVR “TiVo Preview.” However, the reason I say sort of is that the news comes from a single source and hasn’t been corroborated anywhere else. Yet, it all sounds legit. And we know The Cable Show gets going in Chicago this week. So it’s most likely a case of premature coverage, rather than a forgery of some sort.

From the TMCnews article:

TiVo Premiere Q is the company’s first quad-tuner gateway set-top box, a higher-end option than its flagship Premiere dual-tuner digital video recorder. In addition, TiVo is rolling out Preview, its first non-DVR HD set-top box. RCN will be the first U.S. cable operator to offer subscribers the Premiere Q and Preview, in addition to its current TiVo Premiere offering, later this year. Suddenlink Communications also expects to offer the new boxes at some point.

The story goes on to say these new units stream content box-to-box locally via MoCA, versus the retail Premiere’s traditional wired or wireless networking. Again, no surprises.

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Seeding the Cloud with iTunes Match

Amongst Apple’s announcements this week was an unveiling of the long rumored iCloud. And it looks to be a pretty massive multitiered synchronization and storage service, that’s scheduled for a full release this fall. iCloud’s evolved MobileMe elements, such as calendar and contact sync amongst ones various devices, don’t interest me the way Apple’s photo and music cumulus pipelines and locker do. Today, we’ll focus on the audio…

In addition to the obvious and long overdue ability to re-download purchased iTunes, onto any of your gear, iCloud will provide an online digital locker – unlike any other studio-blessed solution. “iTunes Match” lets you:

store your entire collection, including music you’ve ripped from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes. For just $24.99 a year. iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to your iCloud library for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 18 million songs in the iTunes Store, most of your music is probably already in iCloud. All you have to upload is what iTunes can’t match. And all the music iTunes matches plays back at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

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Roku Joins The People of Walmart

Without any fanfare, Roku landed on Walmart’s virtual shelves last month. Specifically the Roku XD ($78) and Roku XDS ($98) models. Given the forum chatter, associated retail brick & mortar placement appears imminent. And, speaking of that forum, I share the same suspicious as TheEndless… that Netgear-branded Roku devices, and their associated retail exposure, are no … Read more