Industry Archives - Page 83 of 145

Cable and Telecom Fight the Fire

Everybody loves to hate their resident cable/telephone company, but the network operators are stepping it up in San Diego to help people where they can in the fire crisis. According to CableFAX (subscription only), Cox Communications has started providing water, blankets and free phone services at evacuation centers. Verizon is offering free call forwarding for customers affected by the fires and has provided emergency phone lines for evacuees at American Red Cross Shelters.

Meanwhile, all of the local operators are busy evaluating the impact of the fire on their networks. In what sounds like the worst of the network damage, nearly four thousand feet of Charter’s fiber optic cable has burned in the San Bernardino Mountain area.

Album on a Bracelet

Radiohead made the biggest splash in the music industry recently by giving away its new album online for free… or whatever you choose to pay for it. But the band certainly isn’t alone in trying to innovate and improve on an economic distribution model that is rapidly decaying. Much like in the movie biz, music artists are playing with ways to bundle digital files with tangible items. In the latest example, Matchbox Twenty has put its new album, Exile on Mainstream, on a USB bracelet, complete with 17 songs, a music video, band interviews, album art and customizable computer extras. The idea here is not just to elevate kitsch, but to add value and a legitimate revenue stream in the eternal war against digital piracy.

Netflix Anti-Theft Measures Impair DVD Playback

What the heck are you thinking, Netflix? I understand and support your goal to minimize disc theft, but you really need to do some more testing in the labs before unleashing this half-baked sticker scheme on your customers. Whatever human or machine applied the anti-theft measure didn’t properly center it on the bottom of the … Read more

Comcast TiVo In The Wild!

While most folks haven’t been cleared to receive the Comcast TiVo and pricing still hasn’t been revealed, some lucky New Englanders have the hookup.

But before we get to the exclusive pictures, I’d like to pose a series of questions… How much will the TiVo on Comcast service cost? I’ve heard monthly fees could be anything from $2.95 – $6.95 (additional) or Comcast might even charge a one time DVR “upgrade” fee. Will New England customers receive special pricing (or free service) while Comcast ramps up and builds awareness? Speaking of New England, what’s the time frame for deployment in that region (I’m hearing next month)… and the regions beyond? What hardware will TiVo run on? Two Motorola models were mentioned at CES, but that was prior to the release of Moto’s CableCARD boxes. But the question I’d really like to get answered: Is Firewire video extraction available? (Since, I assume, TiVoToGo will never be available.)

And now, I present the first photos of a deployed Comcast TiVo running on Motorola hardware:

Comcast TiVo Central with PIP and On Demand.

Comcast TiVo Season Pass Manager. Again notice the PIP.

Comcast TiVo Season Pass Options. Notice the HD flag!

Grid guide looks like the Comcast and TiVo UIs have been fused together.

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs. Live TV on the Internet: Connected Home 2 Go Security Questions For A Digital TV World: Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection VOD Libraries More Double: Connected Home 2 Go Finding Worthy Nintendo Wii Games: Brent Evans Geek Tonic TV Caller ID Proves Popular: Connected Home 2 … Read more

Where’s the HD?

Chris, of Amazon Daily, and I were recently lamenting that we don’t receive many HD channels via Comcast (he’s in Seattle, I’m outside DC). Maybe it wouldn’t be so painful if we weren’t aware of other Comcast regions, such as New England, receiving at least a half dozen more HD channels – many of which … Read more

Live (DRM) Free or Die Hard

A few folks have now reported on 20th Century Fox’s move to offer an electronic copy of the movie “Live Free or Die Hard” along with packaged DVDs when sales begin November 20th. I love the idea, though being touted as DRM-free is a bit suspect given the digital files are only compatible with Microsoft PlaysForSure devices.

A few things come to mind with this “Digital Copy” business model. First, bundling a tangible item and a digital file together makes sense. Despite the incursion of digital downloads, it’s going to be quite a while before we see the death of the DVD, and studios have a great opportunity to get consumers used to buying something with physical packaging in combination with their video content. In the future the tangible part might not be a DVD, but extras of some sort. (Tee shirts? Phone charms? Posters? I’m sure marketing will come up with something.)

Second, these digital files have to become DRM-free in the future. Maybe there needs to be watermarking (or some type of pin number access?), but those files have to be truly portable. There are too many competing platforms on the market for content to be tied to any single one.

Third, in this specific instance, where are the digital file’s video resolution details? How will it be presented on different screens and devices? Perhaps we’ll hear more closer to launch, or from the folks at Warner Home Video – who are trying the same tactic with their December 11th Harry Potter release.

Much Ado Over DTV

There’s still well over a year to go before the national transition to all-digital OTA broadcasts, but it seems everyone is determined to show a “serious” commitment in getting the public informed about the issue. Circuit City has just announced new education initiatives including in-store pamphlets and advertising supplements. Best Buy is dropping analog TVs … Read more