Regular readers know I can get a little cranky when it comes to TiVo’s advertising initiatives. So my quotes showing up in various AP-syndicated papers should come as no surprise. Unfortunately for TiVo, the reporter covering the evolution of television advertising called the week I was bombarded with pause menu mascara ad after pause menu … Read more
Of course Apple’s anti-competitive. They’re savvy business people, protecting their turf. But, are they (or AT&T) breaking any laws with the iPhone app “approval” process? The Wall Street Journal reports that the FCC’s launched an inquiry with letters out to Apple, Google, and AT&T. What triggered these government queries seems to be the rejection of … Read more
Despite sluggish hardware sales, two rounds of layoffs, and flirting with disaster, a shift in strategy along with a rumored cash infusion has landed Vudu some interesting licensing deals. While Entone (who?) and Vizio were the first to announce Vudu integration, it looks like LG HDTVs will be the first to stream Vudu video on … Read more
The Xbox Live Preview we discussed a few days back has landed on my console. There’s nothing earth shattering here, but it’s a well rounded update and I’m am happy to see a more full-featured 10′ interface for Netflix Instant Viewing (which I hope comes to both my Roku and TiVo boxes). The quick video … Read more
A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: Your Personal Photos, Music, and Video on TV Where should the processing occur to encode personal content for TV viewing? In the Verizon set-up, the processing takes place in a PC, and then content is transferred via MoCA. But it’s also possible to have the … Read more
Not exactly new, although still in beta, I wanted to mention 1 vs 100 on Xbox Live. It’s a console port of the trivia television show, which I’ve never seen but is similar to say a Who Wants to be a Millionaire with audience participation. As I commented on NewTeeVee a few weeks back, 1 … Read more
Is this who you want representing your brand? Last week, Best Buy (BBY) launched an audacious online engagement experiment in allowing hundreds of employees to man their Twitter feed. “Twelpforce” aggregates rank and file employee contributions into a single Twitter account. However, unlike say a Sprint (S) or Comcast (CMCSA) who utilize communications and service … Read more
While I dig pay television content and broadband, I can’t say I always dig the cable company. Historically, I haven’t had the greatest experiences with things like billing or installs. Those installs, in particular, have been a recurring pain point. With a 25% no-show rate, the possibly high contractor who had to be escorted out … Read more