The highlight of CES 2009 for me back in January was the unveiling of Yahoo’s Internet TV widget platform. Given so many partner announcements (Intel, Samsung, Vizio, Sony, LG) and demos, I was hopeful we’d see a glut of Yahoo Connected TV products, including HDTVs and set-top boxes, by mid-year. Yet Yahoo’s Linux-based SDK hasn’t … Read more
Although the Star Trek holodeck always held great appeal (when it wasn’t malfunctioning and killing off lesser characters), many people reserve a bit more skepticism on the need for 3DTV. This has a lot to do with left-over images from the 1950s, but it also stems from the fact that 3D viewing still requires special … Read more
My pal Tim has been mucking about in the newish DirecTV widget platform and, based on his video above, isn’t all that impressed. (Which may be partially attributed to DirecTV’s house brand of DVR which doesn’t function as smoothly his former DirecTiVo models. He’s just a little bitter.) While DirecTV’s “App Store” (Flickr, Twitter, weather, … Read more
A Q4 2009 release has morphed into a second half of 2010 launch as, I assume, ZillionTV struggles to find distribution partners, perhaps feeling threatened by local broadcasters which don’t appreciate the studio-backed over-the-top video STB encroaching on their turf. I also assume their business plan of a free box streaming ad-supported content will be … Read more
For NFL fans, DirecTV is the television provider you gotta have. I’m sure many appreciate the expansion of the Red Zone channel to other pay TV services, but mine (Cox) isn’t one of them. Not to mention, given the Twitter buzz, Comcast’s implementation was lacking in many markets. No HD?! DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket Super Fan … Read more
Netgear Entertainer Live ($150) The new Netgear Entertainer Live (EVA2000) was originally announced as a VuNow platform device at Netgear’s CES press conference back in January. At that time, I saw the unnamed Netgear product demo-ed using VuNow’s non-distinctive hardware, but has since been repackaged with some left over Netgear router enclosures. In addition to … Read more
Still think Twitter on TV is a good idea? Check out Fox’s failed Fringe experiment above. Pop-Up Video or MST3K this ain’t. Bottom line: The huge Twitter overlay made Fringe unwatchable last night. And imagine how much worse it’d be on a 4:3 screen.
Right on schedule, the Vudu experience has landed on select broadband-connected LG televisions – making good on the promise to diversify their distribution strategy. Additionally, they’ve inked a deal to bring Vudu on-demand movie streaming, now reworked as a CDN play versus their P2P roots, to select Mitsubishi HDTVs being released later this month. These … Read more