A periodic round-up of relevant news… Every episode of South Park online: NewTeeVee Joost to launch browser-based video player: TV Squad Myka delivers BitTorrent direct to TV: Last100 CBC to release programming via BitTorrent: NewMedia Mike
Two calls from beyond the grave came recently from companies defunct… or very nearly so. First, Worldgate turned the Ojo video phone service back on. I haven’t set mine up again yet and can’t say for sure it works, but since the problem was not a technical one, I assume I’ll be back up and … Read more
All TV (except sports) is moving to on-demand, right? You can’t successfully have hundreds of thousands of people accessing the same online video at the same time, right? You can’t hold an interactive video event online that’s open to the public, right? Oprah says otherwise. That’s right, Oprah. Very quietly Oprah’s been hosting an online, … Read more
First, Best Buy automatically upgraded me to a newer (more pricey) HD DVD model at no extra cost when their stock was depleted. And now, it looks like I’ll be getting a $50 gift card for my troubles. Despite representing 50% the original value of my player which actually sold on ebay for more than … Read more
It’s probably under the radar for most folks, but analyst Cynthia Brumfield is hosting a conference in DC today called the Internet Video Policy Symposium. It’s closed to press and filled with academics, government advisers, economists and former FCC officials. Check out the conference agenda. One of my favorite panels listed: Video is a Bandwidth … Read more
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
For what seems like years, folks have been speculating on (and lusting after) an Apple DVR. Could that wait be nearing an end? The obvious platform for their DVR would be Apple TV, though I’m unsure if the current hardware is suitable for video encoding. Not to mention we’d need a USB tuner (ATSC? CableCARD?) … Read more
Ericsson is predicting the end of Wi-Fi hotspots in favor of mobile broadband. Sounds great. I love it. But are Ericsson and the tech elite unaware of how expensive mobile broadband is for the average Joe? I’m dying for always-on mobile connectivity, but until service plans drop below $60 per month (or until we get … Read more