Mari Silbey

Mari’s tech career started when she became the default “IT guy” in her first job out of college. Since leaving help-desk duties to the experts, she’s focused on trends in technology as a consultant, writer, reporter, analyst and at-home gadget tinkerer. Her current paid gig is with the non-profit organization US Ignite where she focuses on how networks and digital technologies impact smart cities. All posts on ZNF represent her own opinions and not those of US Ignite. Mari is a sucker for anything in the digital media space and covers interesting happenings in cable, telecom, and whatever else she feels like. Find her on Twitter at @msilbey.

Playtime! Chromecast at Home

I have barely scratched the surface of what Chromecast can do (although Janko has a lengthy review), and already I love it. Here are a few things I’ve learned from laptop streaming only. More experimentation to come with smartphones and iPads.

Lessons Learned

1. Set-up is extremely fast and easy. I know it’s already been said by others, but it bears repeating. I plugged the stick into my TV, navigated to the Chromecast set-up page on my laptop browser, typed in the code listed on my TV screen, gave my Chromecast a name, and that was it. The only hiccup I ran into was that my laptop briefly disconnected from my wireless network during set-up. Once I reconnected it, Chromecast worked instantly.

WatchESPN iPad App Adds Live Toolbar

Remember when ESPN’s Damon Philips promised a summer update for the WatchESPN app? Well, it was no lie. The company released an upgraded version of the app today for all iOS users, and added an extra bonus for iPad owners with the launch of the ESPN Live Toolbar feature. According to the app store, the … Read more

NimbleTV Returns for DISH Subscribers

NimbleTV is back in business. DISH Network cut off the streaming video service last month with a statement saying the company wasn’t an authorized Dish retailer. Now, FTABlog reports that customers in NimbleTV’s New York pilot market are slowly getting service back. One of several TV Everywhere services on the market, NimbleTV offers its own … Read more

CBS Blackout Should Ignite Free TV Debate

The retransmission fight between CBS and Time Warner cable shows no sign of abating, but it is triggering some interesting discussions over how consumers and regulators should handle the standoff. Dave suggests that Time Warner subscribers pick up a Mohu Leaf antenna to amplify over-the-air CBS signals while cable access is cut off.

On the regulatory front, GigaOM points us to a blog post by Harold Feld, attorney and Legal Director for Public Knowledge. Among other suggestions, Feld recommends that the FCC should bar CBS from blocking Time Warner subscribers from accessing its content on CBS.com. The theory is that CBS can choose what programming it makes available online, but it can’t discriminate against a specific group of viewers.

Meanwhile, I’m left wondering why no one seems to bring up the obvious discussion point. Should we still have free TV? Broadcast networks now rely heavily on retransmission revenue, and that’s why negotiations with cable companies are such a big deal. But retrans fees trickle down to consumers, which means people are paying for free content just to get it through their cable provider. Is the idea of free TV dying out as business models evolve? More importantly, should we be trying to save it?

New LG/Entone Retail Streamer on the Way

Lost in the Chromecast news yesterday was an announcement from LG and Entone on a new media streamer coming to retail. In itself, the streamer isn’t all that exciting. But pair the box with Entone’s 8-tuner gateway and you have a very interesting proposition for retail or the ISP channel.

To start, the streamer is called the LG SP530 Media Player, and it supports OTT services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube via LG’s Netcast platform (no WebOS in this one). The Media Player is the only Entone box LG is bringing to market now, but there is an option for LG, or any other CE player, to pick up Entone’s Magi media gateway as a partner product as well. The Magi gateway can receive content from over the air and from a cable network, and it can transcode video and stream it back out to any connected device.

Think of the deployment scenarios.

At retail, a combination of the gateway and streamer would give us OTT and OTA video all in one interface. MSOs could ultimately add their own apps like with the Xbox and Roku… or not. And we’d be able to watch video on a TV, tablet, or PC interchangeably.

Why Apple’s Ad Skipping Service is a Dumb Idea

Have you heard? Apple wants to get into the TV business. And the latest? The company supposedly wants to create a premium service that allows users to skip commercials. But wait, there’s more! Apple apparently thinks it can set up a revenue-sharing system that will pay programmers for the ads that viewers skip. According to former … Read more

Who’s Buying Hulu?

Someone is buying Hulu, and the list of suitors is down to three. Before the close of bidding last Friday, AT&T jumped in on a joint offer with the Chernin Group. Peter Chernin founded Hulu years ago when he was still president of News Corp., but his company’s bid was likely too low without the … Read more

Fanhattan’s UI Lands at Cox

Cox Communications is piloting an IPTV service in Orange County, California that combines cable television with Fanhattan’s Fan TV set-top and user interface. Todd Spangler at Variety broke the news about flareWatch late last week, and Cox has since confirmed the trial and Fanhattan partnership. Spokesperson Todd Smith says: Cox is testing a video service with a unique … Read more