DirecTV Sells NBC Shows For 99 Cents

How much are you willing to pay for commercial-free TV? How much would you pay to watch that content through a DVR which already let’s you bypass commercials? DirecTV and NBC think you’ll pony up 99 cents a show using their new DVR, available at Best Buy and Circuit City later this month. We’ve definitely … Read more

TiVo To Serve Yahoo! Content

Though TiVo’s partnership with Netflix may have fallen apart, it hasn’t deterred them from pressing forward with their Internet strategy. Several news sources have revealed TiVo will begin serving up Yahoo! content using server-based HME technology, similar to the Fandango collaboration. The first apps slated for delivery are weather, traffic, and personal Yahoo! photo collections. … Read more

TiVo, Yahoo! Strike Online Listing Deal

TiVo has partnered with Yahoo! to provide online scheduling via Yahoo! TV. One must link a Yahoo! account with a TiVo web account to utilize the service. While this new scheduling functionality is redundant, Yahoo! provides an easily browsed grid guide which is conspicuously absent from TiVo’s site. Previously, TiVo and AOL had a similar … Read more

SageTV Adds HD, Expands Guide

With the release of Media Center V4, SageTV has added over-the-air (OTA) HD support. QAM is not supported, though BeyondTV also lacks that functionality in their upcoming v4 offering. Fully integrated European and Canadian guide data has been added to the upgrade, along with additional media and playlist support. SageTV says: With the addition of … Read more

Quadruple Play, Cell-based PVR

Marketing fluff, profit sharing, or really the ultimate in convergence? Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications have just signed a 20 year agreement to integrate all your media and data in a “quadruple play” of services. Sprint, the linchpin of the arrangement, is dropping a cool $100 million to provide a variety of … Read more

Dave’s Video iPod (mis)Adventures

Video iPodWe’re all familiar with the iPod – sleek design and a well-executed user interface, combined with simple sync and purchase options via iTunes. In those respects, the new video iPod performs as expected. If you have a large audio collection, the slimmer form and black option of the 5th generation iPod could be appealing. Some might even consider it a bargain – the 30BG model is only $50 more than the 4GB Nano.

Apple made a point of specifying this iPod just so happens to have video capabilities. After playing with it awhile I can tell you theyÂ’re not being modest, it’s not much of a video device… yet. While the screen is sufficiently bright and detailed, 2.5″ is on the small side for extended viewing. I also find support for only MPEG-4 and QuickTime limiting. Initially I figured I’d be able to overcome both those deficiencies, after all Steve Jobs touted all the movie trailers I’d have at my disposal. Well it turns out that the dozens of previews viewable through iTunes are not available for download to my video iPod. Why should they give me free content when they’re pimping TV shows at $1.99 a pop?

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TiVo 7.2.1 Dissected, With Pics

TiVo 7-2-1Here’s a little more info and picture pr0n covering TiVo’s last Series 2 software release of 2005.

New Feature
The year concludes with a long overdue capability…

  • Overlap Protection

Notable Bug Fix
This doesn’t impact a whole lot of TiVo owners, though it’s a welcome correction.

  • Restored serial control of DirecTV HD receivers

Minor Enhancements
These are subtle changes which may or may not be apparent… they keyword is minor.

  • Wireless Stability & Performance
  • User Interface Performance

I assume there are the typical bug fixes and tweaks under the hood, and perhaps some unrevealed enhancements preparing for future TiVo services and HME-style applications as well. One can also hope that, despite the death of the Netflix deal, the technology has been put in place to provide VOD services via new partners.

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TiVo Begins Overlap Protection Rollout

It looks like TiVo system software 7.2.1 has begun rolling out for Series 2 models. As I previously reported, the highlight of this release is Overlap Protection – a method to deal with the networks staggering the traditional beginning and ending times of shows without missing a recording. Everything else appears to be under the … Read more