Recent Comments:
Blockbuster CEO talks up 2Wire MediaPoint, says rentals coming to BD decks in Q1 2009 {Engadget HD}
Nov 30th 2008 7:29PM You know there *are* Blu-ray/VHS combo decks, right? ;-) http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/08/25/panasonic-intros-dmr-br360v-blu-ray-vhs-combo-player/
As for streaming, it is just a value-add. Same as with TiVo supporting download services and streaming. It gives you more flexibility. Personally I prefer Blu-ray for movies because I love the quality - video and audio. But from time to time I do download a video from Amazon VOD to my TiVo because it is cheap and/or an impulse thing. I could see using Netflix, or Blockbuster, the same way. Actually, I don't have a Netflix membership because I don't rent nearly enough movies to justify it, so Blockbuster's pay-per-view approach appeals to me more than Netflix. I'm not going to pay a monthly sub to Netflix on the off chance I actually use it that month.
As for quality, Netflix is adding HD streams (which won't even come close to Blu-ray, probably not even VUDU quality), and Blockbuster will likely add HD. Since they're downloads and not streaming, they could offer higher quality as they don't need to work in real time.
But it makes me wonder - how will it work with Blu-ray players? BD-Live players are only required to have 1GB of storage for online content, mainly as a buffer. Unless Blockbuster is going to switch to streaming like Netflix, you'd need a lot more storage. Bring your own USB hard drive?
TiVo queues up holiday bundles to spread the TiVo HD cheer {Engadget HD}
Nov 26th 2008 9:17AM The new DirecTiVos are due in the 2H09.
Charter nearly ready to deploy Digeo's 3012 HD DVR {Engadget HD}
Nov 25th 2008 3:49AM I'll believe it when they're shipping the 3012 to real customers - and even then I'll be skeptical. Digeo told me, back in January, they'd be shipping the 3012 by the end of 1Q08. Then later they announced it'd be out to consumers by the end of 3Q08. Then they said the end of the year - and they have a month left.
This is the same company that was pitching products at CES only to cancel all of them a week later. The same products they'd been promising for over a year.
If it weren't for Paul Allen's backing, and Charter being force fed Moxi units as they're also controlled by Paul Allen, Digeo would be long gone. They talk a good game, but they have a bad track record on getting products out.
Foxtel offers up free iQ DVR for 12 months {Engadget HD}
Nov 18th 2008 3:13AM Apparently they're offering the iQ free and waiving the AUD$10/month fee for one year, while the iQ2 is AUD$200 and they waive the fee for seven months. They're also offering both with a 12-month contract instead of their usual 24-month terms.
They're reacting to Seven Network launching TiVo.
TiVo invades the hotel room, comes to Mondrian in South Beach {Engadget HD}
Nov 12th 2008 7:18AM Dual-tuners are mentioned, and I simply cannot believe a high-end hotel would be installing the S2DT and not the TiVo HD. Plus the TiVo HD was mentioned in the Reuters article: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1153754520081112
I can think of a number of ways TiVo could be integrated into a hotel environment through HME apps, local video download servers, etc. I speculated a bit on that in my post on this: http://www.gizmolovers.com/2008/11/12/tivo-in-your-south-beach-hotel-room/
DISH Network's DTVPal DVR converter box set to roll out in December {Engadget HD}
Nov 12th 2008 6:34AM Right.
DISH Network's DTVPal DVR converter box set to roll out in December {Engadget HD}
Nov 12th 2008 6:33AM Agreed. The 'DTVPal' is the TR-40. The DTVPal Plus is apparently a TR-40 with a more sensitive tuner. And the DTVPal DVR is the TR-50.
Netflix Watch Instantly coming to TiVo {Engadget HD}
Oct 30th 2008 2:21AM Patrick, but that doesn't have anything to do with the DRM, it is the codec. The TiVo Series2 can only decode MPEG-2, which is too 'bulky' for streaming services. The TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL have hardware which can also support H.264 and VC-1. H.264 is used for the YouTube streaming support. It isn't clear if Netflix will use H.264 or VC-1, but they're using VC-1 on the PC and Mac.
BendBroadband deploys Digeo's Moxi HD DVR 3012 {Engadget HD}
Oct 21st 2008 11:47PM Charter was supposed to have deployed the Moxi 3012 by the end of 3Q08 too - has anyone seen one in the wild? As best I can determine they're still in test and haven't made it to consumers yet.
And this box was originally supposed to be out by the end of 1Q08, 3Q08 was a rescheduled date.
SlingCatcher unboxing and hands-on {Engadget}
Oct 20th 2008 12:40AM The SlingCatcher 'catches' video, the Slingbox 'sends' it. They're opposite functions. You can stream video FROM a Slingbox TO a SlingCatcher.
