Choosing a Digital-to-Analog Converter

Once the DTVPal was released a few weeks ago, I went ahead and requested two government-issued $40 “coupons” – which are more akin to plastic gift or credit cards. While we’ve still got several months until the digital television transition, there’s a finite amount of vouchers so I’m staking my claim now. Actually, it’s a … Read more

12 Second Review: The Jabra BT8040

Jabra BT8040 on 12seconds.tv There’s no question the Jawbone offers the best Bluetooth headset noise cancellation technology. But it’s also uncomfortable and pricey. I picked up a Jabra BT8040 for $50 at Best Buy last week for the smaller form factor and multipoint pairing. Thus far, both incoming and outgoing sound quality have been good … Read more

TiVo Brings Amazon.com Shopping to Television

While this isn’t exactly the TiVo+Amazon announcement I was hoping for (that’d be HD Amazon video downloads), Amazon customers with broadband-connected Series 2 or Series3/TiVo HD units will now have the ability to initiate product purchases – triggered via in-show advertising overlays or search: Starting today, TiVo will launch the new service to consumers by … Read more

Question of the Day: Burn Notice NOT in HD?

As you can see from the pic above, the first two episodes of DirecTV’s Burn Notice broadcast have been accompanied by both horizontal and vertical black bars. And Jack R. of Michigan is wondering what’s up with USA Network or his HR20-700. Other USA Network shows, such as Law & Order, at least give the … Read more

Motorola & Cisco SDV Adaptors Approved

The eagerly anticipated (by some) Motorola and Cisco SDV tuning adapters have just been blessed by CableLabs. Originally promised in Q2, there’s still no telling when you’ll actually be able to pick one up and at what cost: Tuning adapters are expected to become available to consumers sometime in the third or fourth quarter of … Read more

The Evolution of Amazon Unbox

Today Amazon adds multi-platform video streaming (think web browser) to their Unbox arsenal. Initially, the Amazon Unbox movie and TV video service required a Windows player install or Plays for Sure portable device, which was followed by the TiVo playback option. And now they appear to be dabbling in Netflix Watch Instantly and Hulu territory … Read more

YouTube on TiVo Launches

As I’d suspected, TiVo support for YouTube is indeed hidden within the 9.4 software update. Series 3 and TiVo HD subscribers should start seeing the application show up as early as tomorrow (Thursday), though the rollout will be completed over the next few weeks. And in some form of meta-irony, I’ve shot a brief video … Read more

Free MLB.com Audio Streaming @ Holiday Inn

I waited until the last minute to book this trip to NYC and find myself in possibly the only Holiday Inn Express that charges over $400/night. To soften the blow, they’re providing free MLB.com audio streaming via the (also gratis) wired Internet connection. I generally forgo in-room network connectivity, opting instead for my travel router … Read more