FiOS TV To Revamp Tablet Streaming With Motorola's Help

By way of DSLReports comes news of the Verizon FiOS TV VAP2500. The Motorola box: enables you to transmit multiple standard- and high-definition video streams throughout your home wirelessly. You can enjoy a full range of video services and applications without having to run wires, lay cables, or drill holes. Further, documentation refers to the upcoming … Read more

Verizon FiOS IPTV Media Server Slated For Fall Launch

Back at CES, we admired Verizon’s upcoming six-tuner IPTV Media Server (VMS) and thin clients. And while it appears “soon” is off the table, the company has put a stake in the ground at NAB for a September launch. FiOS TV has long offered a whole-home DVR experience, but this evolved solution takes on more of … Read more

The Verizon FiOS TV 1.6 Update

FiOS TV customers will begin receiving the 1.6 set-top box software update in a staggered rollout beginning later this summer. Since I’ve already covered streaming Internet video features slated for deployment towards the end of this year or early next, this post focuses on more immediate functionality. However, we’ve seen much of this previewed before… The major upgrade had been pushed back to squeeze in a maintenance release (1.5) – inclusive of improved video quality, higher VOD reliability, and support for new Morotola (MPEG-4 capable) CableCARD set-top boxes to meet the FCC’s July 1 separable security extension deadline.

In addition to over 200 bug fixes and enhancements, here’s a run-down of some of the more visible and significant features of 1.6:

Widgets – More informational widgets with 1.6 at launch and going forward. Internet-based data is pulled via RSS/XML. Pictures of news, local weather, and horoscopes below. Though I still prefer Moxi’s ticker style presentation of this info (think ESPN or CNN).

Games – A variety of games will be offered. Some of the casual gaming will be free and/or sponsored (notice the ad in the Sudoku pic below), while other games will incur a fee. Of course the real power and promise comes via Internet-connectivity… and the ESPN Fantasy Football integration looks hot.

HD Streaming – Multi-room viewing will be available in HD. Stream recorded HD content from a DVR to other HD Verizon set-top boxes (DVR or not) around the house, up to two simultaneous streams. Somewhat related, the new Motorola boxes have slightly larger hard drive capacities though an external storage option will not be available until 2009.

Content Discovery – What’s Hot displays what other folks in your region are watching (anonymously). Content discovery functionality will ultimately be expanded to include affinity (friends) and computed show recommendations.

Web Scheduling – Real-time DVR web access will be made available including scheduling, management of currently recorded programing, and a free space indicator. Initially customers in the top tier DVR package will receive access, though it’ll ultimately be made available to all. Related, DVR phone scheduling will also be made available later this year.

PC-based Video Streaming – Verizon Media Manager software will be updated to allow the transcoding and streaming of a variety of PC-based video (including high definition), in addition to the existing photo and music support.

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Web Video Coming to FiOS TV

TiVo’s not the only primary television add-on with web video intentions. Verizon is currently beta testing web video on their set-top boxes and their initial marketing partners include Veoh, Blip.tv, Break.com, and YouTube. Unlike TiVo which taps directly into YouTube’s H.264 content, Verizon utilizes their Media Manager PC software as an intermediary. Sites are indexed … Read more

Watching the Olympics On-Demand with FiOS TV

A short while ago I speculated that Verizon would be offering VOD content around the Olympics. A day later the news came out that NBC U and Verizon had indeed done a deal, with on-demand clips and event replays coming to both FiOS TV and V-CAST. Right now on FiOS TV you can already get … Read more

A Verizon FiOS TV Update

Just a quick FYI… I’ve heard from my contact at the Verizon Policy Blog that as of today, all FiOS TV customers should be running the latest Interactive Media Guide (IMG) software. In the next month or so, I’ll journey back up to Verizon’s HQ and get the dirt on their next revision. If you … Read more