The NCTA State of the Union Call

After probably feeling some heat online in the last week or so (here and here for example), the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) rounded up a bunch of journalists (mainstream press and bloggers) for a conference call today. They presented a bit of CableCARD history in how we got here (SDV) and where we’re … Read more

CableLabs Leaks Moxi Box News

If you follow the DVR market, you likely remember Digeo’s spectacular failure-to-launch earlier this year. After hyping a line of retail DVR products through the Consumer Electronics Show, the company suddenly pulled the launch and cut half its staff in mid-January. We got word that Digeo would continue to focus on one retail DVR product … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… that Dave hasn’t had time to cover while attending CTIA: XM now available on Blackberry: Orbitcast PlayStation Store 2.0 coming soon: PC World HP introduces 500GB $300 Linux NAS: Gizmodo Is Comcast increasing HD video compression: The Consumerist Roxio Toast update fixes TiVoToGo audio/video sync: Mac Observer Nokia N810 … Read more

Comcast and BitTorrent Agree To Something

Comcast and BitTorrent have announced they’re cozying up

Comcast Corporation and BitTorrent, Inc. announced today that they will undertake a collaborative effort with one another and with the broader Internet and ISP community to more effectively address issues associated with rich media content and network capacity management. While BitTorrent and Comcast are talking directly, they are also in discussions with other parties to help facilitate a broader dialogue and cooperation across industries. Both BitTorrent and Comcast expressed the view that these technical issues can be worked out through private business discussions without the need for government intervention.

In the release, Comcast also mentions they’ll move to a “protocol agnostic” network management system by the end of the year, though I didn’t see anything regarding “source” or “destination” agnostic. So, it’s yet to be seen if this is really net neutral and how the FCC will respond. Regardless, it’s significant and appreciated that Comcast made the progressive choice to initiate an open dialog.

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Cablevision’s Educational SDV Initiative

How do you educate your customers to the perils of switched digital video (SDV) with the current generation of retail CableCARD products? In Cablevision’s case, they’ve started notifying folks that over 15 channels (including Kung Fu HD!) are unavailable via CableCARD – without actually mentioning why. But, hey, who needs a TiVo when you they’ll … Read more

Panasonic Plans Tru2Way Sets

Looks like we’ll really see a resurgence of CableCARD televisions later this year. Unlike the first generation of one-way communication and single tuning sets, the new generation will employ OCAP tru2way. According to Home Theater Magazine: all Panasonic PDP and LCD sets incorporate ATSC tuners and some will soon incorporate OCAP two-way cable cards allowing … Read more

Gefen DVR Records HD via HDMI

We’ve discussed this unit a few times in the comments, and I finally managed to get my hands on the Gefen HD PVR ($999). It was announced last summer, and Gefen intended to ship prior to the end of 2007. I’m not actually sure if they made their target, but they’re definitely shipping now in … Read more

Dave Dumps Vonage, Acquires M-Card

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I had assumed the lawsuits would ultimately kill Vonage… And while they still might, as part of our moving prep, I made the decision to proactively kill service. My 2.5 years with them has been somewhat rocky, including poor customer service and call quality issues. Complaints from folks on the other end of the line is what finally led me to this decision.

In Vonage’s defense, I’ve really appreciated the voicemail->email feature and their pricing was extremely competitive. However, our multiple cell phones and SkypeOut should be sufficient going forward. If not, for the first time in years, we’ll consider going back to a reliable Verizon landline.

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