Zatz Not Funny!

The Internet of Stupid Has Arrived

Yeah, we’ve been tracking the Internet of Shit. But bizarro “Internet of Things” really hit fever pitch this week at CES, where everything is connected — including this camera-equipped fridge for those times when actually opening the door is just too much effort. Just because we can wire something up doesn’t mean we should. And I’m fairly confident the market will prove … Read more

DISH Hopper Refreshed With 4K & 16 Tuners (!)

DISH has owned CES in recent years with spectacular product reveals… and 2016 sees that trend continue with massive upgrades to their flagship DVR (that I first caught wind of back in September). The 3rd generation Hopper carries forward integrated Slingbox capabilities and (limited) commercial skip, as they introduce 4k support and jump to 16 tuners. Sixteen! DISH isn’t kidding when they declare “channel conflict eliminated” as this surely provides enough to handle all your satellite units during an evening of heavy recording plus some remote streaming.

Pioneering Internet streaming service Sling TV has unveiled their upcoming interface refresh from CES. And our pal Brad Linder went hands on. Beyond recent guide presentation updates, the thrust of this transition is functional — with personalization taking center stage. A new MyTV dashboard collates content you’ve previously flagged as Favorites, Recommended content based on viewership, and any On Demand programming you may … Read more

TiVo Demos Smart Watch Remote (with voice control!)

By way of Com Hem, an international TiVo partner, the DVR pioneer appears poised to launch smart watch apps for remote control — citing both the Apple Watch and Android Wear platforms. Beyond replicating existing smartphone app functions, like changing channels as while browsing the live guide, TiVo indicates voice control is also on the docket… as alluded to last September.

Initially, these Dick Tracey-esque wrist interactions appear specific to Com Hem TiVo customers (and the apps are saddled with a ‘beta’ designation). Yet, with CES just kicking off, I suspect we could learn more about potential retail customer support within the next 48 hours.

As to other TiVo news from the Vegas trade show, an HBO GO announcement seems like a lock and I’m hopeful we’ll learn more of an OTA-only Bolt solution… with or without “Aereo” branding.

T-Mobile Reduces YouTube Streaming To 480p

T-Mobile’s innovative and contentious video streaming compromise took additional heat this week … when it was disclosed that YouTube, a non-Binge On partner, is being served to customers at 480p by default – irrespective of LTE speed and coverage. As to how many customers noticed the reduced quality on their own or are aware they can opt out of … Read more

Hack Thyself

Like Chipotle and Honda before them… “Jessica Jones” took over Netflix’s Twitter account today. I can’t remember which guy I was with at midnight. Jack, Jim or Johnny. -JJ #whiskeyandchill — Netflix US (@netflix) January 1, 2016 Why the crap does National Hangover Day happen on a day when everything’s closed? -JJ — Netflix US (@netflix) … Read more

TiVo To Retrofit Legacy DVR With MPEG4 Support

As Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, continues to transition from MPEG-2 to more efficient MPEG-4 video delivery, TiVo is walking back plans to abandon legacy hardware. Whereas TiVo Series 3 and HD owners were originally told (in dramatic fashion) to upgrade their DVRs (at a cost, of course), I assume the fear of significant stand-alone customer defections motivated the … Read more

Deal of the Day: $30 off Apple TV

While it may be a few years before we once again “watch TV”, my new blessed reality clearly hasn’t slowed me from acquiring gadgets. So, although I missed out on Target’s limited Black Friday inventory, I just ordered Apple TV on sale from… RadioShack’s zombie corpse. This $120 deal drops $30 off MSRP and bundles an HDMI cable of unknown length … Read more