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FCC keen on commandeering TV spectrum for wireless broadband

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 28th 2009 at 7:12AM

We'll come right out and say it, we like Julius Genachowski. Whether you agree with the dude's policies or not, you can't deny he's pursuing them with gusto. Having already noted the insufficient carrying capacity of current mobile broadband airways to deal with incoming 4G connections, the FCC chairman is now reported to be moving ahead with plans to provide greater spectrum allocation for those purposes. Currently in the draft stage, the latest Commission proposals include a plan to reclaim airwaves from digital broadcasters (and pay them appropriately for it), which are to then be sold off to the highest bidder from among the wireless service providers. Executing the most extreme version of this plan could generate around $62 billion in auction revenues, though it would require transitioning digital TV viewers over to cable or subscription services and is therefore unlikely. Jules and his crew are still "looking at everything" and ruling out nothing, but we can probably expect to see a moderate shift of TV spectrum rights over to wireless carriers in the final plans when they're revealed in February.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Sony network Blu-ray player spied at CEDIA

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 12th 2009 at 8:11PM


Why wait 'til October to get a peek at Sony's BRAVIA Internet features come to Blu-ray on the BDP-N460? Check them out right now in the following gallery, we got a good look at the future on the CEDIA show floor, though whether Sony delivering all new hardware or everyone else's strategy of upgrading existing players for Netflix, Amazon and other forms of streaming is the path to follow remains to be seen. The BDP-N460 should hit for about $250 starting next month.

Gallery: Sony BDP-N460 Network Blu-ray player

VuNow streaming set-top boxes to get CinemaNow streaming movie access

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 27th 2009 at 6:26PM


Verismo's quest to bring its streaming media platform to more customers and OEMs has received a shot in the arm, now that the company announced support for CinemaNow. CinemaNow has already announced plans to come directly to flatscreens via widgets, so if the VuNow platform is adopted into more hardware as it was by Sherwood, expect to have one more internet movie-capable box sneaking into your living room disguised as a receiver, amplifier or cable DVR over the next few years. Word is this is just the first content announcement with more to come, while we anticipate who is next (CinemaNow-based providers like Blockbuster are an easy bet) check the full press release after the break.

Continue reading VuNow streaming set-top boxes to get CinemaNow streaming movie access

Sony's connected BRAVIA HDTVs score Netflix streaming, PS3 left in the cold

by Darren Murph posted Jul 9th 2009 at 8:30AM


It's with mixed emotions that we present to you Netflix's latest partnership with Sony, which is awesome, but could be so (so!) much more. Today, the world's leading online movie rental service inked a deal that'll bring instant Netflix streaming to Sony BRAVIA Internet Video-capable HDTVs this fall along with older BRAVIA models that are compatible with Sony's BRAVIA Internet video link module. Sadly, the PlayStation 3 is glaringly absent in the announcement, which is a golden opportunity missed in our humble estimation. Ah well, at least there's PlayOn, right? Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Sony's connected BRAVIA HDTVs score Netflix streaming, PS3 left in the cold

Now hear this -- NHT is back

by Steven Kim posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 7:57PM

NHT is back
It's no secret we were holding out hope for speaker and electronics manufacturer NHT to make a comeback, but we didn't expect it's happen this soon. The iconic audio company powered things down at the end of March, and now co-founder Chris Byrne bringing the company back with a new factory-direct web-centric business model that will skip right over the middleman to the tune of as much as 30-percent savings. There's no substitute for a live demo, especially for audio, so authorized dealers will still have showrooms; but orders will still come factory-direct to consumers. Sounds reasonable, but we're curious about how much of a slice dealers take, and how they get credit for sales they generate in exchange for not having to carry any stock. Still, we've got to give credit to NHT for trying to get the crusty audio market moving in a new direction and hope this thing catches on so we can see some of the eight new product concepts currently in the works at NHT.

Motorola debuts world's first retail DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems

by Darren Murph posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 11:03PM

You'll still need the love and support of your dear cable provider, but if you're within range of DOCSIS 3.0 service, you can bypass at least one aspect of dealing with your local monopoly ISP. Starting this week, Motorola is launching the planet's first retail DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems, which enable speeds up to four times faster than DOCSIS 2.0. The SURFboard SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 eXtreme cable modem will soon be cluttering up shelves at Fry's Electronics, presumably just beside the incredibly deceiving Monster Cable demonstration area. There's no word on price just yet, but don't expect such a luxury item to run you cheap, okay?

Analyst: 50 million connected HDTVs by 2013

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 12:48PM


Ready for another analyst report picking networked devices as the next big thing in U.S. households? Enter the Yankee Group, going out on a limb predicting 30 million connected Blu-ray players, 50 million connected HDTVs and 11 million digital media adapters by 2013. Hopefully that means marketers like Samsung can move you from the waiting for the next version / never got the hype side of the fence by then, we're sure grabbing the full report will provide some ideas how it can be done.

Poll: Still interested in a connected HDTV?

by Richard Lawler posted May 24th 2009 at 12:00PM


Oh connected HDTV, you blew away the fans at CES just a few months ago, but it seems most still don't plan on buying one immediately. Looks like that feeling of putting a purchase off may be justified, with our hands-on finding performance on the latest Samsung model a bit laggy at the moment. So let us know, are you still intrigued by widget HDTVs?

Now that they're on sale, how do you feel about widget HDTVs?

Akamai delivers HD trailers to the Cannes Film Festival website

by Steven Kim posted May 21st 2009 at 10:41AM

Akamai CannesSome of the Engadget HD crew religiously plug their ears and shut their eyes tight during movie trailers, in hopes of avoiding any spoilers. The beautiful people at the Cannes Film Festival can't really follow this strategy for two reasons. First, it would end up as National Enquirer cover material; second, they actually rely on trailers to help them decide which flicks to sit in on. Nothing spoils the director's intent -- or gets viewers to click away -- faster than stuttering, pixelated video, so Akamai is promising to deliver the trailers to the festival website in 720p that flows as smoothly as the french Riviera; our own visits to the site seem to confirm that Akamai is holding true to its word. The festival is almost over, but you can still access content from throughout the festival on the website.

Sony Pictures responds to your poll results, discusses the future of BD-Live

by Richard Lawler posted May 11th 2009 at 4:28PM Featured Story


Last week's poll results and comments came through loud and clear, with an overwhelming majority of responses to the question "Have you seen anything impressive from BD-Live yet?" leaning towards the negative. That many people showing a beef against a key feature of the current dominant HD delivery format? We couldn't let that go so we followed up with Rich Marty, VP of Marketing for Blu-ray at Sony Pictures to let them know what you said, and see what they're doing about it.

Continue reading Sony Pictures responds to your poll results, discusses the future of BD-Live

Is TiVo planning a Flash upgrade?

by Richard Lawler posted May 4th 2009 at 1:51PM


Put this on our watchlist for the 2010 CES (or earlier, we're not picky) TiVoBlog.com recently pointed out a twitter indicating TiVo is looking for a Flash expert to work on embedded applications -- like the ones that could bring Adobe's widgets to its DVR hardware. Assuming the Series4 (or whatever it ends up being called) uses processors from Broadcom or Sigma, Flash platform support should come included, let's just hope this is a part of an overall UI refresh and not a resource hogging add-on slapped over the same old SD interface.

ZillionTV's ZBar and ZRemote crash down in FCC's database

by Darren Murph posted Apr 28th 2009 at 4:33PM


While a nationwide launch of the ad-based ZillionTV streaming service isn't expected until Q4 of this year, it's good to see that things are obviously on track. Just today, both the ZBar and ZRemote (shown after the break) -- two crucial hardware components to the system -- have splashed down in the FCC, giving those who just can't shove enough set-top-boxes under their television hope that one more is destined for US shelves. Granted, an FCC appearance doesn't guarantee an immediate market presence, but obviously the beta testing and collaboration with ISPs has been going well.

Read - ZBar filing
Read - ZRemote filing

Continue reading ZillionTV's ZBar and ZRemote crash down in FCC's database

PBS launches online video portal

by Steven Kim posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 10:09AM

PBS Video beta website logoBetween numerous reruns and our DVR, we can't recall the last time we missed a PBS program we wanted. All the same, we won't complain about having another way to soak up content that our pledge dollars help produce, and now PBS has opened up the beta version of its online Video Portal site with full-length versions of some of its programs. There's even some exclusive content -- the first episode of Time Team America is available on the site right now, well in advance of the July broadcast schedule. Sure, we're disappointed that not all the HD pixels made it to the website, but soaking up an episode of NOVA has got to be a better use of your cubicle time than working on your facebook page; not to mention this is another source for boxee to scrape up.

Public rage stalls Time Warner trials of consumption-based internet

by Laura June posted Apr 16th 2009 at 11:22AM

Time Warner's new data capping broadband scheme was never expected to win any popularity contests, and the details of its plans are so frustrating, that this probably should not come as a surprise. Regardless, it looks like the company's plan to further roll out testing of the consumption-based billing method has been foiled, or at least stalled, because it couldn't find enough customers to participate in the testing. TWC had planned to test in several locations, including San Antonio and Austin, Texas, but the response has apparently been so negative, and there were so many complaints, that the company has "delayed" the trials until October. So... maybe if we keep moaning about it the plan will be abandoned altogether? Here's to hoping, anyway.

[Via The Register]

Time Warner Cable lays out broadband capping plans, says $150 for "unlimited" use

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 10th 2009 at 10:27AM

In a move seemingly designed to further our frustrations with broadband providers, Time Warner Cable has soft-announced an "unlimited" package once its new data caps go into place... for an affordable $150 monthly charge. Responding to criticism over the company's plans to start capping usage and charging for overages, Landel Hobbs clarified the provider's stance, letting users know that the capping would be limited to a $75 ceiling, thus (when paired with its top tier plan) would provide "virtually unlimited" usage. Virtually unlimited. Here's a rundown of what the COO proposes:

  • A limited package for "light users" at 1GB / monthly, 768KB down / 128KB up, with overage charges of $2 / GB / month.
  • Road Runner Lite, Basic, Standard, and Turbo packages at 10GB / 20GB / 40GB / and 60GB caps, respectively, and overage charges at $1 / GB / month.
  • A big daddy, 100GB Turbo package at $75 / month with overage fees of $1 / GB, which, when coupled with that magic threshold of $75 in charges, becomes the "unlimited" plan.

We only have two questions, guys. First, how will you let end users know they're hitting caps? Right now there's no centralized solution for monitoring bandwidth. Even cell phones show minutes used, so will you give us the infrastructure for broadband monitoring? Secondly -- instead of giving users a "virtually" unlimited package, why not just sell an unlimited package at $150 a month? The impression we get is that you want to leave the door open for aggressive users, and that your capping of capping charges might be a moving target in the right situation.

[Via eWeek]




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