Zatz Not Funny!

Wal-Mart Unveils Movie/TV Downloads And I Don’t Care

Wal-Mart’s video download service debuts today (in beta form). Top new release movie purchases run ~$20 and TV shows are $1.96. But why would I pay the same price (or more) to buy a movie at “near DVD” quality and without extras? Heck, they’ve even outsourced the buying of discs and burning to me (assuming … Read more

TiVo Top Ten

If you watched the Super Bowl last night, chances are you tuned in for and even repeat-viewed some of the commercials. It’s the one time of year when couch potatoes actually want to watch ads, and TiVo capitalized on the phenomenon by making certain commercials download-able for enthusiastic fans. TiVo also put out a list … Read more

Motorola Readies CableCARD Compliant HD DVR

Since Engadget and PVRWire mentioned the new Motorola box (DCH-3416) this weekend, I thought I’d chime in with a bit more info. This HD DVR was announced at CES, and in fact Moto had quite a few on display (pic above).

First, it looks much sharper, more modern than the 6412 (and others). Second, the reason this is on the way to a cableco (or telco) near you is the FCC’s 7/07 seperable security requirement: This box supports CableCARD, both M-Card and CC 1.0. Mari tells me it contains a 160GB hard drive and is OCAP-capable.

But is it TiVo capable? TiVo believes their Java-based software can easily port to other platforms. While it’s not indicative of anything, I did observe TiVo briefing a group of Moto folks in Vegas. Hmm… or was Moto briefing TiVo.

The results of the raffle are in — You guys are awesome! Together we raised $1125 for the James Kim Memorial Fund, plus I’ll be sweetening the pot with my December Google Adsense income. It feels good to witness such generosity and I’m flattered so many entrusted me with their money.

Stephen randomly picked the winner of the TiVo Toaster (bread not included) which will be shipped from TiVo shortly. Bob Kemp, retired from IBM for 7 years, is the lucky recipient and hopes the Kim family is doing well.

Thank you for the contributions! Also, a big thanks to Stephen for his participation in this fundraiser.

Apple Just Says No To Vista

Apparently iTunes, iPods, and Vista don’t play nice just yet. A variety of issues have been reported, including: purchased tracks not playing, synchronization glitches, and computer gremlins “may corrupt your iPod.” Apple warns: iTunes 7.0.2 may work with Windows Vista on many typical PCs. Apple recommends, however, that customers wait to upgrade Windows until after … Read more

Win A TiVo With Lifetime Service

TiVo’s giving away a Series2 dual-tuning TiVo with Lifetime Service each month through July. All that’s required for entry is an email address. Interesting factoid #1: The package is valued at $549.98. Interesting factoid #2: Contradicting speculation on the TCF, “Each DVR requires its own TiVo service subscription and activation, and it cannot generally be … Read more

Blockbuster Brings Carl & Ray Back

Blockbuster video announced that they will be bringing back their lovable Carl and Ray campaign for this year’s Super Bowl spot. If you haven’t seen the clips, you can find them on YouTube or most of the other video sharing sites. I’ve never been a big fan of renting from Blockbuster, but I have to admit that I love these ads. The spots do a great job of infusing humor into the marketing message and the cuteness factor of digitally animated pets has an especially broad appeal for a spot that will be seen by such a large audience.

Kevin Smith’s Top Movies Of 2006

Better late than never! Kevin has posted his top films of 2006. 2006 was an off year for me: I didn’t catch too many new flicks (I hate the movie theater and I’m between projectors) and I didn’t read any fiction. Kevin’s top film was The Departed, which I haven’t seen yet… Though, we did … Read more