Video

Cisco’s IPTV Strategy

Cisco, who recently announced the acquisition of cable set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta, lays out their IPTV strategy for eWeek. It’s not clear how or if their investment in MovieBeam plays into this. Five elements are nice, but will they leverage Scientific Atlanta’s assets into some sort of convergent Cisco-branded appliances — how about a … Read more

Blu-ray Player and Discs To Launch 5/23

Well folks, we have a date for both Blu-ray hardware and media. I can’t say I’m overly excited about the initial titles, though they’re an improvement over Charlie’s Angels. Lion’s Gate is listing newer titles at $39.99 a pop and classics (I use that term lightly) at $29.99. Let the format war begin! Sony Pictures … Read more

MovieKlub Mail Order DVD Service

Here we have yet another video distribution system that will fail (see MovieBeam ). MovieKlub will send you up to two DVDs a week for $24.99/month. So what’s the big deal? These movies can only be played 3 times… then you toss them out or return them for recycling. We’ve seen similar schemes in the … Read more

Disney’s MovieBeam Goes HD

MovieBeam, who just received a large cash infusion, is relaunching in 29 markets this year. In fact, my neighborhood already appears to be online. Basically you buy the Linksys MovieBeam set-top box, every week a few movies are downloaded via a digital over-the-air (OTA) signal, and then you choose which you want to rent. The … Read more

Sony Preps Wireless AV System

What’s a bored, snowed-in geek to do on a Sunday AM? Troll the FCC website for new products, of course!

Sony’s got a home wireless AV transmission system (HWS-AV10) in the works. It uses the 2.4 GHz frequency to relay audio, video, and IR remote signals from a component in one room to a TV in another… while likely interfering with your cordless phones and WiFi. The base station includes an IR blaster allowing you to change channels or choose TiVo recordings at a distance. The receiver smartly bundles an external antenna to fine-tune reception.

In the past, I’ve used a few variations of this device with mediocre results. I’ve had better luck using media extenders/servers over WiFi… though they require a larger investment of both time and money. If cash is no object, go whole-hog with Sony’s LocationFree TV and take your screen with you around the house. For basic video, I’d advise just fishing the coax.

Sorry, HD Beat… this puppy’s standard def only.

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GM’s Car-based Multimedia Infrastructure

GM wants to build you a car-based multimedia infrastructure. They envision a system for moving content from various home and portable devices into your car for storage, organization, and presentation. Oh yeah, they want to enforce DRM by tying content to your vehicle identification number (VIN) — surely thatÂ’s a first! GM’s Patent Application says: … Read more

Slingbox Mac Support On The Way

Ask and ye shall receive! In my experience the Sling folks have been tuned in to their customer’s desires from day one. For example, over on AVS Forum we said we needed W2K support — a week later we had it. So when numerous people requested Mac support, Sling was listening. Today a Mac OSX … Read more

Google Video, What’s The Point?

Yesterday, as the press coverage of Google Video trickled in, I was psyched to see the big G enter this space. After sleeping on it, I’ve totally lost interest in the first incarnation of Google’s Video Marketplace. Google is not providing anything new here… Apple broke the seal on this category and has the distinction … Read more