Zatz Not Funny!

The Most Depressing Super Bowl Commercials Ever

nationwide-died

While not quite the annual tradition it should be, we do periodically round up the millions upon millions invested in Super Bowl advertising. And, for me, beyond the string of not-quite-inspirational, downright depressing, and/or dad-centric commercials, the most memorable 2015 spots were Chevy encouraging folks to watch television behind the wheel and seeing Liam Neeson reprise his Taken character … to pimp an iPhone app. Speaking of recycled fictional characters, Walter White and The Dude also made appearances to further offset the overarching negativity.

Disney Prohibits WatchESPN Streaming On Roku TV

By way of USA Today and Rob Pegoraro, we’re reminded that while Roku TV provides a whole lot of good, the over-the-top experience remains compromised due to deep-seated fear and loathing amongst some content providers. Specifically, Disney has prohibited access to the WatchESPN app and a raft of Disney-branded channels available … on traditional Roku boxes. And, of course, … Read more

Amazon Echo Expands Voice Control to Spotify and Pandora

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While our home has hosted a pair of Amazon Echo ($99-199) connected-speakers-with-benefits for several weeks, I’ve yet to write much. As my thoughts continue to coalesce, Amazon just hit me with news of an update. Joining the existing I Heart Radio and Amazon Prime voice-controlled apps are Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes. However, whereas I Heart Radio and and Prime Music are native apps that live solely within Echo and the cloud, these newcomers stream to Echo via a Bluetooth-connected iPhone or Android. The addition of voice for transport controls is surely nice-to-have, but it’s not in the same league by requiring another device in the mix and without being able to verbally summon a specific artist or playlist as I do with Prime Heart.

Philips Hue Likes 3rd Party ZigBee Bulbs (and Disco)

UPDATE: Philips may have just killed 3rd party bulb support. Details can be found here. (12/11/15)

A few months back, I got into the home automation game thanks to encouragement from Dave and Adam. I’ve experimented with a few different platforms thus far, and particularly like Philips Hue alongside Staples Connect.They work well together.

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Some people, for example, believe probably incorrectly that we are on a path to interplanetary teleportation. Should we include the estimated bandwidth for that as well?

-FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly

First Take: Sling TV Doesn’t Feel Like TV

Many, many other writers have reviewed Sling TV (the new online video service from Dish that was announced at CES), so I won’t belabor the points they’ve already covered. There are licensing issues. Not all features are available on every channel. It’d be nice to have more on-demand television content instead of mainly VOD movies.

But, on the other hand, ESPN is pretty great (plus Disney, HGTV, etc.). And any-screen access for live TV is a plus.

What struck me about Sling TV, however, is how much it doesn’t feel like TV. It feels like Netflix.

Sonos App To Gain Massive Usability Improvements

Sonos 5.3 Beta

Within the last few days, a new APK for the Sonos Android app popped up online. And, throwing caution to the wind, I went ahead and installed the 5.3 beta. While I’m not privy to the release notes, and therefore not necessarily aware of all changes, it seems likely that massive usability enhancements headline this release.

Upon opening the app, we’re presented with our Sonos Favorites (which I now have reason to flesh out). Further, certain functionality like switching zones or enabling timers is more apparent, while requiring fewer clicks, as Sonos more sensibly surfaces these features. And beyond the new raft of top-level contextual menuing, the now playing bar gains new functionality in rating, where appropriate – like I Heart Radio and Pandora music streaming services.

What a long strange trip it’s been. Vudu initially launched in 2006 as a $400 dedicated movie streaming box. The requisite price cuts and pivots followed, including serving up apps like Flickr and then feeding smart televisions, before Walmart swooped in. Since then, the video service has focused on its own mobile and set-top video streaming app … that’s landed on a whole host of set-tops and mobile platforms. And, here we are again, back to a dedicated piece of hardware in the new Vudu Spark. Having launched in Walmart stores just a few weeks ago, at $25, of course I had to pick one up.