Zatz Not Funny!

DISH Network Embraces Whole Home DVR

DISH Network recently held their annual Team Summit for partners and retailers. Scott Greczkowski of Satellite Guys was in attendance… and came back with a treasure trove of info and photos. The most compelling story for us gadget loving consumers was the unveiling of Echostar’s new whole-home DVR solution, which will be composed of at least one … Read more

Netflix Enables iPhone, iPad Closed Captioning

While it may be arriving late for many, Netflix has just expanded video streaming closed captioning onto iOS devices with their 1.3 app update. There are limited display options, but subtitles are certainly a boon. And something I could have used yesterday at the gym when I forgot my headphones. Unfortunately, caption preferences don’t appear … Read more

Google TV Scheduled For A Summer Reboot

I’d like to suggest an update to this Google TV FAQ, as the schedule has clearly been blown (and by any or most objective measures, Google’s initial foray into television services has been a failure).

Expect many more applications after we open the Android Market on Google TV in early 2011.

“Early 2011” has obviously come and gone while Google TV has remained largely stagnent. Yeah, it provides a few nifty tricks, like that video overlay, and there’s tons of potential. But the interface remains a mess and a large percent of the web video we want to get at is blocked (by the providers). And then there’s all the apps. Rather, the lack of.

That’s the bad news. The good news, unveiled at Google’s developer conference this week, is what looks to be a significant reboot of the Goole TV platform this summer. Based on Android 3.1 (Honeycomb), and as reported by NewTeeVee, the new experience more efficiently directs folks to the features they’re seeking… including a full blown application Market. As you can tell from the screengrabs, the refreshed UI appears at once both more sophisticated and more streamlined. I only hope early adopters of original Sony and Logitech Google TV hardware and rewarded for their gamble with an update.

Even Netflix Says Android Is Fragmented

Netflix has just released their Android instant streaming app. And that’s the good news. The bad news is that only a subset of handsets are supported. Unfortunately, it’s not really much of a surprise give the wide variation of deployed hardware and multiple versions of Android. As Netflix blogs: In the absence of standardization, we … Read more

New DirecTV TiVo Nears Launch? ($99)

Thanks to a possible slip by DirecTV’s webmaster, we may have just received a glimmer of hope that the highly anticipated TiVo-powered satellite DVR might actually be released in 2011. long time DBSTalk members JBlow and Smuuth have produced screenshots that display they were able to add a $99 TiVo HD-DVR to their respective DirecTV.com carts… … Read more

Oregon Also Receiving New 6 Tuner Moxi DVR

It turns out Shaw Cable (Canada) won’t be the only provider rolling out a 6 tuner Arris Moxi DVR and extenders… As BendBroadband, a smaller cable operator, also intends the leverage Arris’ hub and spoke DVR model in Oregon. Whereas Shaw is going with “Gateway” and “Portal” units, Bend has christened their implementation as the … Read more

Unboxing the Logitech Alert Video Security Kit

Over the years, we’ve surveyed a number of video monitoring kits – including Archerfish, Vue, and Dropcam. While all have brought a number of novel software enhancements or distribution methods, they’ve all also bundled disappointing low resolution cameras. Given my positive experiences with Logitech’s Google TV video conferencing camera and after catching footage of this iPad app in action, I reached out to Logitech’s PR firm to take a look at the Logitech Alert security solution.

Off the bat, it’s clear their HD video capture hardware is in a different league – both fit and finish and actual streaming. Additionally, while I’d have preferred a wireless camera it’s probably a smart decision to bundle Powerline network adapters for efficient setup and reliable connectivity. Unfortunately, Logitech camera placement options can’t match the extremely flexible Vue cameras. Yet, at the same time, the batteries won’t die before I get around to reviewing the product… as there are none to mess with.

On the software front, I was a bit bummed to discover that Windows is required for initial setup. But once complete, video can be accessed via a Mac OS X browser or mobile app. Indeed, I’ve already sampled live video of the sunroom via my iPhone. And I wonder who could have possibly left our vacuum torn up like that. ;)

New Cord-Cutting Stats

Opinions vary widely on whether cord cutting and cord shaving are legitimate trends. And at a panel during Streaming Media East yesterday, execs from MTV, NBA Digital and Roku threw out new stats on the subject. According to Tom Gorke from MTV Networks, digital video is not a substitute for television. Even in its audience … Read more