Hertz Ain’t Sirius

For the second time in recent months, Hertz provided me with a complimentary convertible upgrade – including Sirius satellite radio. I don’t know which direction the marketing dollars flow, but these installs serve neither company well. The basic unit is tacked on and while it’s hard-wired (dangling) for both power and antenna, they chose to … Read more

Comcast Launches TiVo Webpage

New England residents (unaffiliated with either company) may or may not be able to actually subscribe to the Comcast TiVo service, but everyone is welcome to visit their new page. I entered several regional zip codes, in addition to my own, but all came up blank. If you find one that works, let us know! … Read more

TiVo Series3/HD Get External Storage, Multi-Room Viewing, TiVoToGo

No surprise here — TiVoToGo, Multi-Room Viewing, and external storage have arrived for TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD units (as promised). All you need is system software 9.2 (request it here) and for TiVo to flip the switch on their end. I’m on the road, but looking forward to checking out the transfer features via … Read more

SanDisk Introduces Sneakernet Extender and Download Service

SanDisk has unveiled TakeTV — a new line of USB accessories (4GB @ $99, 8GB @ $149) which, when docked, allow standard definition DivX, Xvid, and MPEG4 television playback. I don’t imagine the sneakernet media extender market is very large. In fact, Iomega tried something similar (using a hard drive, as opposed to flash) last … Read more

Netflix Anti-Theft Measures Impair DVD Playback

What the heck are you thinking, Netflix? I understand and support your goal to minimize disc theft, but you really need to do some more testing in the labs before unleashing this half-baked sticker scheme on your customers. Whatever human or machine applied the anti-theft measure didn’t properly center it on the bottom of the … Read more

Comcast TiVo In The Wild!

While most folks haven’t been cleared to receive the Comcast TiVo and pricing still hasn’t been revealed, some lucky New Englanders have the hookup.

But before we get to the exclusive pictures, I’d like to pose a series of questions… How much will the TiVo on Comcast service cost? I’ve heard monthly fees could be anything from $2.95 – $6.95 (additional) or Comcast might even charge a one time DVR “upgrade” fee. Will New England customers receive special pricing (or free service) while Comcast ramps up and builds awareness? Speaking of New England, what’s the time frame for deployment in that region (I’m hearing next month)… and the regions beyond? What hardware will TiVo run on? Two Motorola models were mentioned at CES, but that was prior to the release of Moto’s CableCARD boxes. But the question I’d really like to get answered: Is Firewire video extraction available? (Since, I assume, TiVoToGo will never be available.)

And now, I present the first photos of a deployed Comcast TiVo running on Motorola hardware:


Comcast TiVo Central with PIP and On Demand.


Comcast TiVo Season Pass Manager. Again notice the PIP.


Comcast TiVo Season Pass Options. Notice the HD flag!


Grid guide looks like the Comcast and TiVo UIs have been fused together.

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Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs. Live TV on the Internet: Connected Home 2 Go Security Questions For A Digital TV World: Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection VOD Libraries More Double: Connected Home 2 Go Finding Worthy Nintendo Wii Games: Brent Evans Geek Tonic TV Caller ID Proves Popular: Connected Home 2 … Read more