Fox, NBC, & CBS Object To Commercial Skip, Sue DISH Network

Less than two weeks after DISH Network announced their clever and automated, albeit limited, commercial skip functionality Fox, NBC, and CBS have filed suit for copyright infringement and breach of contract: [Fox] were given no choice but to file suit against one of our largest distributors, DISH Network, because of their surprising move to market a … Read more

Cisco’s NDS Shows Off Interactive 4K Video Wall

NDS Surfaces 3

By far my favorite thing at the Cable Show this year has been the NDS concept demo of Surfaces, a next-gen TV experience that puts video on the walls around you. The theory from NDS – a set-top and video software company out of the UK – is that TV doesn’t have to fit into a TV set. Instead, it can be overlaid on modular panels that give you the flexibility to see video in different sizes and combine it with other information and associated content.

In the demo I saw yesterday, NDS showed everything from TV clips to music playlists, news feeds and a baby monitor “live” stream. The demo was controlled from an iPad, but all of the content appeared on the wall in front of us in a variety of layouts. For example, one moment we were watching a movie across an entire wall of seamlessly connected screens, but the next we were interacting with a mosaic of widgets that pushed TV content to a much smaller window off to the side of the viewing area.

NDS also showed off 4K-resolution video on the wall-sized display. (Sourced from YouTube, by the way…) Words don’t do it justice, and unfortunately neither does the photo I took with my cheap point-and-shoot camera. However, suffice it to say, the effect is stunning.

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Verizon Launches Viewdini with Xfinity, Netflix and More

Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead launched viewdini this morning, a new mobile video portal that sources content from different providers and lets users stream video, search, share and more. Early content partners include Comcast Xfinity, Hulu Plus, mSpot and Netflix. No FiOS TV video yet (ironic), but it’s reportedly on the way. The concept here … Read more

TiVo Premiere Successor Foreshadowed (2013)

As The Cable Show carries on, additional compelling details continue to trickle out. Notably, during MultiChannel’s briefing with TiVo, they have learned that the placeshifting capabilities contained within the upcoming TiVo Stream box will ultimately and natively reside within TiVo DVR hardware. As they should. Eventually, TiVo expects to embed transcoding features directly into its … Read more

Comcast Rolls X1, Remote App, and “Dayview” Dashboard

Forget net neutrality. Comcast has some new shiny objects for your attention. And here’s the latest news: Comcast is launching Xfinity TV on the X1 platform. Translated, that means the IP-based Xcalibur platform is storming to life in Boston after extended trials in August, Georgia. Roll out will begin in Boston “in the coming weeks” … Read more

Net Neutrality – It’s Baaack!

The phrase “net neutrality” is a seriously loaded term, which is why Comcast has to be so irritated that it’s once again part of the lexicon as we head into this week’s Cable Show. In case you haven’t been following along, the latest dust-up started when Netflix CEO Reed Hastings raised objections on Facebook over Comcast’s Xfinity app on the Microsoft Xbox. The Xfinity app is delivered over Comcast’s “managed IP network” and, unlike with other over-the-top (OTT) services, video streamed over the app doesn’t count toward broadband usage caps.

Then Sony vice president Michael Aragon jumped with his own cap complaints. He went on the record to say that Sony was postponing its plans to enter the video service market precisely because of the bandwidth cap issue.

Fast forward to today, and we now have a virtual war going on between Comcast, and, well, the rest of the world. Just as the Cable Show starts up – and the government crowd pours into Boston for the event – Comcast finds itself fighting on three fronts.

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TiVo Stream & IP STB Set For Fall Launch

tivo-ipstb

As The Cable Show kicks off today, TiVo is out with a few whole home-esque product updates.

First, the upcoming transcoding box and functionality that I had christened TiVoToGo 2.0, has received a possibly less compelling name in the “Stream.” This small square device (shown below) sits on one’s home network to access both live and recorded content via TiVo Premiere DVR hardware and beams it around the home to “second screen” devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Both streaming, for in-home viewing, and file downloads, for on-the-go access, are provided. Although, it’s probably safe to assume not all content will be cleared for offloading.

Next up, the TiVo IP set-top box, first announced in February, remains unnamed as their ungainly “IP STB.” This upcoming device, pictured above from the show floor, acts as an extender for TiVo Premiere hardware to other televisions – providing access to both live and recorded programming, in addition to web content, via the familiar TiVo interface. It’s quite similar to, and will coexist with, the TiVo Preview — but by dropping the integrated CableCARD tuner

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Comcast's New Broadband Cap… Is Still A Cap

Comcast is out with a conveniently timed announcement going over their intention to replace broadband caps with… “improved data usage management approaches.”  However, despite management spin, to my eye they’ll continue to deal in data caps. Look, you’re either providing unlimited access or you’re not. Having said that, Comcast’s 250GB limit instituted in 2008 and upcoming 300GB limit … Read more