Zatz Not Funny!

TiVoCast Hits Spring Break

Last week, TiVo finally turned on TiVoCast for series 3 owners and so far I’ve been impressed, but it’s also left me wanting more. Over the last few years, I’ve read an awful lot about TiVoCast, but unfortunately have never been able to try it out, until now. It’s still a little too early for me to get a sense of how much I’ll actually end up using the TiVoCast programming, but already TiVo has made the service even better by announcing a new content deal with Break.com last weekend.

Break.com is a user generated video sharing site that will actually pay you $2,000, if one of your videos ends up on their homepage. Its look and feel are a lot like YouTube, but the quality of their content tends to appeal more to the male college demographic. This means that you won’t find critical documentaries on the site, but you will find plenty of videos featuring extreme skateboarding, practical jokes and of course people doing dangerous things after drinking too much beer.

SnapStream, maker of PC DVR software BeyondTV, has pushed out a “simple” web television guide. Unlike other guides floating around the net, Couchville is not plastered in ads, doesn’t require registration, and doesn’t require numerous clicks before hitting the listings. The guide is easily manipulated, AJAX style, by dragging the screen or using the arrow keys. As with most Web 2.0 apps, Couchville is in beta. I don’t know how many features we’ll end up seeing in this minimalist app, but I’d appreciate the option of a different color scheme.

In my household I’m often asked, “When’s ‘Dancing With Skating Celebrity American Idols Next Door’ on?” I always answer, “No idea” and one of us (or both) ends up surfing the network’s web page for (hopefully) the answer. So I’m looking forward to sharing this URL and pointing out the search box.

DST: TiVo versus ReplayTV

As I wrote earlier in the week, TiVo has mostly resolved issues surrounding the daylight savings time date change for Series2 and Series3 units. However Series1 units have not received a software update. While Season Passes, Wishlists, etc should record as scheduled… TiVo will “display a time one hour behind the actual time” and manual … Read more

Akimbo In The House

At a CES sideshow (PEPCOM) I met Akimbo CEO Josh Goldman. Basically our conversation went something like this, “So what do you think?” “I’ll let you know when you send me a review unit!” And look what arrived this week…

In Vegas, I learned these guys are totally out of the hardware business: The new stand-alone Akimbo device is solely a RCA hardware platform, AT&T is using Akimbo on Homezone, and Akimbo was integrated into Windows Media Center some time ago. On the business side, I’ll need a refresher on the various pricing plans and where they’re headed. I wonder if Movielink’s potential acquisition will have any impact on Akimbo?

Moviebeam Acquired By Movie Gallery

Talk about irony… I was drafting a “How To Save Moviebeam” post, when low and behold they’re purchased by Movie Gallery. While an acquisition wasn’t on my list, an expanded retail presence (in video rental stores) won’t hurt — though Best Buy end caps and shelf space in Radio Shack hasn’t seemed to be of much help. The selling price wasn’t disclosed, though Cisco, Disney, and Intel invested $48+ million after the unit was spun off from Disney. Presumably, Movie Gallery sees this as a way to get into digital delivery of content – much like Blockbuster is eyeing Movielink.

I’ve had Moviebeam in the house for about nine or ten months now (review here, YouTube video here), but it’s been sitting under the coffee table collecting dust for at least six of them. The idea to utilize unused broadcast bandwidth to “beam” movies over-the-air seemed clever, but in practice my reception was spotty… even after taping the antenna to the window (which wasn’t so attractive). MovieBeam also requires a telephone line to periodically dial up for billing purposes (pay per movie rental), which doesn’t work so well with the early adopters who might be interested in their product. So the first tip of my original “How To Save Moviebeam” post was to introduce them to the Internet and suggest they leverage the provided Ethernet jack.

TiVo Q4: Turned The Corner? Low Cost HD Box Cometh?

One stockholder’s take…

Our initial impression after reading TiVo’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings release and listening to yesterday’s conference call is that the company may finally have its financial feet under it. While it will take some time to fully digest the financials and commentary, we think it will be increasingly hard for any lingering doomsayers to argue that TiVo is a failing enterprise. Continued growth, improving financials, and the impending MSO rollouts tell us that TiVo will be around for many years to come, and may even begin to thrive.

Some highlights:

BrightCove Adds Editing Features

David Berlind reported last week on BrightCove‘s new, not-yet-released AfterMix application, but I haven’t seen much else in the way of coverage. According to Berlind, Aftermix has two important new features: it lets consumers “record video directly to the Web” and, like Jumpcut, it adds video editing capabilities. (Photo below is also from Berlind’s blog) … Read more