Dave Zatz, Author at Zatz Not Funny!

Details on Digeo’s Upcoming Moxi DVRs

At CES, I sat down with Digeo CEO Mike Fidler for a briefing on their new retail strategy. In the second half of 2007, they plan to release two Moxi dual tuning HD DVR models. The units on display (shown above) were enclosure prototypes, with no actual working hardware.

The first Moxi box will tune digital cable programming via a multistream CableCARD (“M-Card”). Unlike the two CableCARDs (1.0) used by the TiVo Series3, the Moxi box will require just one M-Card for dual tuning. (I’m told the S3 is physically capable of M-Card support with a software upgrade.)

The second Moxi box forgoes the M-Card, in favor of clear QAM and over-the-air (OTA) dual tuning. This higher-end unit will incorporate a 5.1 audio receiver and is built on the “AMD LIVE! Home Cinema reference design.”

Solved: Mystery Of Missing Mac TTG DVD Theme

Roxio’s Mac TiVoToGo shipped last week… without the promised custom TiVo DVD menu theme. I pinged both TiVo and Roxio last week, but it took a little time to hear back with all the ongoing CES and Macworld nuttiness: Toast 8 ships worldwide with a single multi-lingual build and the menu styles are several MB … Read more

Yahoo Demos “My Channel” @ CES (Go TV MIA)

Yahoo was doing more than handing out Cold Stone ice cream (yummy, but huh?) in their CES tent… they also had some technology on display. The big news was the beta release of Yahoo Go 2.0 for many Java-capable cell phones (Windows Mobile not included) and providing free push email for Apple’s iPhone (announced over at Macworld).

But what caught my eye were the flat panel televisions over in the corner. The Yahoo football widget was on display on one TV. It’s extremely slick, allowing you to check out all sorts of scores, your fantasy stats, and live video PIP through the 10′ interface. Too bad they’re only offering it through Intel Viiv (a marketing term, not a technology) this season and excluding most PC owners. Hook me up next year, Yahoo?

I assumed the other flat panel would have Go TV — You know, the PC DVR software based on Yahoo’s acquisition of Meedio. Instead, they were demoing “My Channel” which they call a prototype at this point. While My Channel does include DVR functionality (guide, recording, live tv), the emphasis is on community and personalization (think Flickr, friend invites). Like Go TV, the software is PC-based and can be controlled via remote.

In a relationship announced nearly two years ago, the Comcast TiVo is just about here and on public display at CES. (Rumor has it, they showed back-room demos for VIPs at the 2006 CES.) There were at least three Motorola 6412 units running TiVo software in the booth. Not only did I poke around on them, I had the chance to sit down privately with David Sanford, VP of Product Management in the Service Provider group — one of the guys behind this custom build. In addition to the obvious functionality questions, I was particularly interested in learning of the deployment mechanics and the technologies in play.

Deployment

The Comcast-Moto-TiVo is already in trials, and deployment is slated to begin this Spring. The roll-out will be managed by Comcast — they set the schedule within their various markets. (As in: not all regions are likely to get the TiVo option simultaneously.) While there are no details on monthly pricing yet (which I assume could vary by market), David tells me Comcast really wants to get this product out there and is planning to charge only a “modest fee.” (I’ll take a stab and guess a $5 – $10 increase over current DVR rental fees would cover licensing and allow Comcast to make a few bucks without sticker shocking customers.)

So here’s how it works… You let Comcast know you want to upgrade your DVR to TiVo, they flip a switch, and your current Motorola box (6412 or 3412) downloads the software. Reboot, and voilà you have TiVo — with prior settings and recordings preserved and no truck roll required. Your current crappy Comcast remote will control the TiVo software, but as part of the upgrade Comcast will mail you a custom Comcast TiVo remote (with new OnDemand, A, B, C, and D buttons).

Netgear Blogger In Residence, Day 4

Getting My Game On At BlogHaus The Netgear Booth Tour: Center Stage Embedded With Netgear @ CES Notes: It doesn’t look like the last two made it online yesterday. Things are frenetic at CES, but I’m hopeful they’ll get them posted at some point. Speaking of Netgear, they were the most gracious of hosts and … Read more

SED Back On Track?

Reports today indicate Canon will buy out Toshiba’s stake in their joint SED flat panel display business. The hope is that this will clear the way in a patent dispute with Nano-Proprietary, who asserts their technology is licensed solely to Canon. The ongoing tiff prevented SED sets from making an appearance at CES this week.

HAVA Gold Unveiled At CES

The Snappy/Monsoon team has just released HAVA Gold, their latest placeshifting device. It has the same basic functionality and software of their higher priced line of placeshifters. The input/output lineup is slightly different, such as an additional audio input… So you can support composite and SVideo sources simultaneously, for example. The Gold box lacks WiFi and an internal tuner. It comes in black (compared the the original’s silver plastic) and is about 50% smaller.

With a list price of $129 (available now, online only), and $70 cheaper than their mainstream Ethernet box it looks like a good value. Which makes me wonder why they’d risk cannibalizing their own sales. They’ve told me they want to get this model into wholesale clubs, so I can only assume they haven’t been able to work a deal at this point.

Why I Won’t Buy Apple’s iTV

I’m still at CES… And not only am I behind on events/info occurring here I’m also still getting caught up on Apple’s announcements. I just took a brief gander at the $299 iTV (now branded Apple TV), and am disappointed with the first rev of their software. What I’m bothered with as a consumer is … Read more