DTVPal DVR Unboxing & Setup

I’ve previously been a bit lukewarm towards DISH Network’s DTVPal DVR, but as I contemplate dumping pay TV at some point this year I’m more motivated to explore all over-the-air (OTA) recording options. And the DTVPal DVR ($250) is pretty much one of only two mainstream retail HD DVR set-top boxes currently available. Unlike the … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: Broadband Issues for President Obama The historic swearing-in of President Barak Obama has taken place, and now it’s time for the real work to begin. Alongside war and a tumbling economy, several broadband issues face President Obama in both the short and long term. There’s … Read more

Meta Blogging: Marketing with “Viral” Video

While we generally cover online video from a viewer’s perspective, today I’d like to make a few points on marketing with video after taking a gander at Lenovo’s latest project. As you probably know, for the last several years both Mari & I have guided a variety of tech companies in their online outreach strategies. … Read more

Boxee, Finally Living Up To Square Name?

The Boxee team, flush with cash and excellent exposure, is seeking feedback on the prospect of directly embedding their experience into a hardware platform. (Of course, you can hack an AppleTV today to run Boxee… If you’re willing to deal with an underpowered system, incapable of Netflix streaming.) The Boxee blog presents several survey items, … Read more

ZNF ‘Round The Web

Leaving comments across the blogosphere… How Blu-Ray Can Avoid Failure The thing is Blu-ray players are backwards compatible with DVD. If they market that better, folks may move their existing DVD player into the bedroom and get Blu-ray for the living room. Without having to immediately, or ever, replace their DVD collection. Making it a … Read more

iPhone Shortcomings?

The Boy Genius is out with his top ten iPhone annoyances. While several can be filed as minutiae that won’t bother most folks to any great extent, I’ve yet to meet the perfect handset. The iPhone is no different, possessing a variety of quirks and limitations. But, before I get to my list of shortcomings, … Read more

Pictures of the Day: Inauguration Tech

Amidst the counter-snipers, armored Cadillac limo, SUV with machine gun turret, redesigned Whitehouse.gov, and CBS’s HD web streaming, a couple other pieces of inauguration tech caught my eye: Our niece instructed us to TiVo the Kids Inaugural Concert as both Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers were performing. As far as I know, we don’t … Read more

EyeTV Embraces TV Guide, Adds Season Passes

The EyeTV 3.1 software update, released Monday afternoon to existing customers, brings a number of changes to their Mac OS X television viewing and recording software. First up is the (somewhat optional) replacement of TitanTV with TV Guide as the US EPG source. I see this as a positive move – more comprehensive listings, more … Read more