As you may have read earlier this month, the FCC went on the record in expressing their dissatisfaction with separable security CableCARD technology, related to industry openness and innovation. Something I’ve been harping on for ages. And there’s plenty of blame to go around. (Pot, meet kettle.) So the FCC has opened up the floor … Read more
Over at EngadgetHD, Ben Drawbaugh lays out a case (and wishlist) for the imminent release of new stand-alone TiVo DVR hardware. Given the recent TiVo price drops, upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, and long gestation period since the last hardware refresh (Summer, 2007), it’s not an unreasonable proposition. However, when it comes to … Read more
The SCTE cable industry show, having hit full swing in Denver, has revealed another EchoStar attempt at wooing the cable industry with a Slingbox-enabled DVR (aka “SlingLoaded”). Like the units I photographed at The Cable Show back in April, this model appears to be a tru2way CableCARD device. However, the SCTE edition features a brand … Read more
The highlight of CES 2009 for me back in January was the unveiling of Yahoo’s Internet TV widget platform. Given so many partner announcements (Intel, Samsung, Vizio, Sony, LG) and demos, I was hopeful we’d see a glut of Yahoo Connected TV products, including HDTVs and set-top boxes, by mid-year. Yet Yahoo’s Linux-based SDK hasn’t … Read more
Beginning in 2010, cable provider RCN will deploy TiVo as their primary DVR. While RCN has a smaller footprint than say a Comcast or Time Warner, this is pretty significant as the cable plant engineering requirements should be minimal… I believe they’re just re-purposing retail TiVo hardware with some RCN UI branding tweaks and charging … Read more
You probably don’t remember that Humax LCD TV with builtin TiVo… which never launched in 2005. As a clutter-free minimalist (to the best of my ability), I do. And TiVo’s new tie-up with Best Buy indicates they’re going down this path again, entering the Internet Widget TV fray under the Insignia brand: As part of … Read more
Leaving comments across the blogosphere… Twitterrific Comes Roaring Back Into The iPhone Twitter App Wars As someone who paid $10 for the original, I’m glad the upgrade was free. But they may have introduced extra complexity and reduced usability in how they implemented the expanded feature set. I’m a bit torn between it and Tweetie. … Read more
A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: Online Video for Cable Operators Depending on how you look at it, online video is both a threat to and an opportunity for traditional pay-TV providers. It has the potential to undercut subscription fees, and/or it offers a new medium for cable (and telecom) companies … Read more