The FCC put a stop on selling non-CableCARD-equipped set-top-boxes in the United States around this time last year, but it did leave open the possibility for small cable carriers and other providers in strange market conditions to sidestep the new rule. Choice Cable TV, which services parts of rural Puerto Rico and the cities of Ponce and Mayaguez, finally received its long-awaited FCC waiver which will enable it to start selling HD DVRs that lack CableCARD support. It's hoping that this will rekindle demand for high-def service and consequently allow it to add more HD content. On a related note, the island's Liberty Cablevision is also applying for a similar waiver, as it argues that the low median annual household income in its service area constitutes a "idiosyncratic factual situation."

There has been a bit of a ruckus lately about the fact that Hollywood recently petitioned the FCC so that the ban on selectable output control (SOC) would be lifted. The articles go on to say that the this could impact the way you record with your HD DVRs, but it really isn't the case. As DirecTV HD DVR, TiVo HD and Vista Media Center owners (among others) can tell you, there are already flags out there that can either limit the amount of time you can keep a show, or prevent you from recording something entirely. The copy never flags are not supposed to be used, but it's obvious that they are, and the copy once flags get abused by some providers as a rule, rather than the exception. But SOC has nothing to do with recording on your HD DVR; SOC is all about closing the analog hole.

We're still trying to decipher all of this, but we've received word that AT&T is intending to create two different service levels for its U-verse customers. Essentially, it will be extending the current loop limitation from around 3,000 feet to 3,400 feet from the VRAD, which sounds as if this could enable more customers to receive service in U-verse areas. For folks less than 3,000 feet away from the VRAD, 2 HD / 2 SD service will be available; for individuals between 3,001 and 3,400 feet away, you'll be stuck with 1 HD / 3 SD -- but at least you've have the option of signing up, right? Early signs show the two-tiered service kicking off in St. Louis real soon, with a dozen or so other markets following suit by October.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Back in May, TiVo's VP of product marketing got all of our hopes up that the next announcement involving it and Amazon would include HD Unbox content. As you can very clearly see, this is most certainly not the case. Instead, we have the immense pleasure of informing internet-connected Series2, Series3 and TiVo HD owners that they can now buy wares from Amazon without leaving their couch. If browsing through Amazon's extraordinarily huge store with just a remote sounds appealing to you, you're in luck (and mildly insane). Also of note, the new Product Purchase feature will enable advertisers to "market products sold through Amazon on any broadcast or cable network, any TV show, or via any of TiVo's extensive interactive advertising features." In other words, next time you see Dwight using that iconic shredder, you can buy that bad boy right then and there. Take that, Staples.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

The Beyonwiz DP-S1 dual-tuner HD DVR was a pretty hot piece for those in Australia last year, but we'd agree that it's about time a suitable replacement hit the market. Enter the DP-P2, a 300GB twin-tuner HD DVR created to capture both pay-TV and free-to-air signals on its internal hard drive. The unit supports IceTV Remote, which enables users to "choose from multiple remote recording options using any web browser, web-enabled mobile phone or while using the all new IceTV Widget." Furthermore, the unit can connect to a home network in order to stream local media (music, images, videos, etc.) on the living room TV, and those with another Beyonwiz in the house can have this newcomer stream content from the old one onto the primary set. A bit steep at AU$999 (that's 969 of those Greenbacks), but it's available now for those with deep wallets and an incurable infatuation with high-def.

So much for early 2008 or even July for that matter. Sony's David Reeves now confirms that PlayTV -- the €99 PS3 TV tuner / DVR add-on -- will hit the UK on September 10th. The service will then march onto the continent before completing the European rollout in December -- Australia and New Zealand get theirs in January or February. Notably, the service will in fact record television in the background without interrupting your regularly scheduled gaming regimen thanks to the recent 2.41 firmware PS3 update. Phew, for a moment we felt threatened by a lack of manufactured distractions.

[Via gamesindustry.biz]

A nation full of DVR subscribers with access to DirecTV On Demand have something new to watch, now that a partnership with NBC is pushing a special Olympics package on the service in SD and HD. Consisting of athlete features, Beijing previews and other related content, there should be ten VOD titles each week, with more than 500 by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are over. It's been a couple of weeks since the service exited beta status, are you not entertained?

Conceptronic's beastly Media Giant HD media server / DVR that made headlines a few months back is officially on sale across the pond, with a number of tipsters chiming to say that it is being offered for €379 ($603) from Metro Group. Better still, those who order are being treating to tracking numbers on the double, meaning that those who take the dive should have it in their hands in no time. Expensive? Sure. But that's the price you pay for built-in PowerLine networking (Pro version), a slew of ports, a 500GB hard drive and lots more features listed in the read link.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Just in case you weren't already watching enough YouTube at work and on your home computer, on your iPhone, Ocean, etc., or on your Apple TV, now TiVo's getting in on the action as well. Originally announced earlier this year, TiVo users can finally expect the update to pop over your TiVo's regularly scheduled updates over the next couple of weeks. Oh, and our man Dave Zatz shot some video of the new feature and put it up on (where else?) YouTube -- check it out after the break.

We can't say for certain how long the above pictured splash screen has been around on AT&T's website, but if "2 room DVR service" means "whole-home DVR" service, we're left with just one question: where? One of the U-verse issues that has long since held it back from being viewed as a killer programming service was the inability to serve up various DVR recordings around the home, and while AT&T has been promising that said feature was on the way for nearly a year, there's still nothing to show for it. You only need shuffle through a few pages of the U-talk forums to find a plethora of angered individuals, and while some are optimistic that WHDVR is imminent now that 2 HD / 2 SD is spreading across the land, others are understandably skeptical (and bitter, too). So, AT&T -- when can these loyal users expect WHDVR to really be implemented? And for those on the fence, is this limitation the primary thing holding you back from embracing fiber?

[Thanks, Todd]

Oh, glorious day! TiVo HD and Series 3 owners can rejoice, as the v9.4 software update is finally being pushed out (ahead of official schedule, might we add) to select users. Truthfully, the update doesn't add much, but the Play Folder -- which enables users to store up episodes in sequence and watch 'em at once -- and easier closed captioning operations are much appreciated. Check the links below for the formal verbiage, and chime in with your impressions once it finds your box.

[Thanks, Zatz Not Funny]

Utilizing big honkin' displays for advertising purposes is nothing new, but East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and East Japan Marketing & Communications have decided to try "digital posters" out for reference. In short, ten 65-inch Sharp PN655R LCDs have been installed within "the internal concourse on the first floor of Tokyo Station's Yaesu South Entrance," and folks who stroll by can get a glimpse of whatever (the image changes each minute) in stunning 1080p. The goal here, as you might imagine, is to "evaluate the advertising effects of still image ad posters using large LCD panels displayed in a relatively busy gateway." If you're anxious to lay your eyes on the installation, you'd better hurry, as there's no guarantee that they'll remain after September. At least the video posted after the jump is forever.

Not even six full months after DirecTV rolled out its DVR Scheduler service, users have logged on via their mobile phones or online in order to schedule one million shows. For those unfamiliar, said service enables customers to tell their DVR to record a program without actually being near the DVR; so long as you've got a handset with data access or an outright internet connection, you're golden. Unsurprisingly, the most commonly recorded program via the service was SportsCenter, but we won't spoil the rest of the top 15 for you. So, how many times did you contribute to this number?

[Image courtesy of MyDigitalLife]

It's hard to look around your house without seeing a bunch of devices that could be affected by the upcoming digital transition in 222 days. From old TVs, to emergency radios -- you know the ones that let you listen to audio from TV stations -- to digital video recorders; if you have an antenna hooked up to it and it doesn't have an ATSC tuner, then it's going to stop working. For the most part it's going to be up to consumers to figure out what they need to do to be ready, but TiVo is taking an interesting approach. TiVo is looking at the configuration of your DVRs and when you have analog antenna connected, TiVo is sending out letters giving you your options. The options aren't too bad either, it includes a list of digital convert boxes that will make your old TiVo keep ticking, or if you want to "treat yourself" TiVo is offering a $40 discount on the TiVo HD -- puts it at $259. So yeah, sure, $40 isn't that great of a discount, but it's more than we've heard of any other consumer electronics company offering.