HBO content lands on iTunes, with variable pricing (based on unknown criteria):

“We’re thrilled to bring this incredible lineup of programming from HBO to the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “Sex and the City,” “The Wire” and “Flight of the Conchords” are $1.99 per episode, and “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome” are priced at $2.99 per episode.

$2.99/episode seems quite high… for older shows (no longer in production). The few times I’ve been motivated to purchase episodes online were series not yet available on DVD, such as Burn Notice. And even though these are purchases, as opposed to rentals, it’s not like you get a ton of replay value - DRM-ed content isn’t easily shared (like a DVD) and you’re not going to stick a 55 minute show into a playlist for repeat enjoyment like a digital song. I suppose the value of an iTunes download is being able to sync content to an iPod or iPhone without ripping, transcoding, etc. Though handheld entertainment has its place, the only folks I see paying for and watching an entire season are those regularly commuting via bus or subway.

Surprisingly, Entourage isn’t initially available for download. Is this a licensing issue and/or is it just a matter of time? (And I doubt shorter shows will be introduced at a new 99 cent tier.) Seems like Apple and HBO would want to eat into the BitTorrent-embracing demographic by getting this series onto iTunes.

Michael Gartenberg believes the introduction of variable pricing opens the door for the return of NBC material to iTunes. And while I’m not entirely opposed to tiered pricing, I expect to see newer or longer content command a premium - rather than HBO’s apparent randomness.

As an aside, I dropped HBO when they couldn’t get Deadwood renewed. Showtime currently provides the best original, commercial-free programming on television now. Incidentally, Showtime also embraced digital downloads early and via multiple destinations/services… which is how I ended up a subscriber.

I’ve had the Eye-Fi on hand for a few months now, and generally speaking, I’m a believer.

This agnostic 2GB WiFi SD card ($100) allows most digital cameras to store and wirelessly transmit JPEG photos to both a local Mac or Windows PC and one of many online destinations (Facebook, Flickr, SmugMug, etc). It’s the perfect tool for the lazy blogger (that’d be me) or tech novices (like my mom) - removing the need for card readers or USB cables and manual imports. Though I wouldn’t recommend the Eye-Fi to those regularly shooting hundreds of photos, as WiFi uploads are slower than your existing transfer methods and camera battery life will be impacted. I’ve been mostly satisfied using the card for shooting and transmitting blog photos… Pics are conveniently uploaded into iPhoto on my MacBook Pro and into my Flickr account (as a backup archive).

My older Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX9 has experienced the occasional prob: Sometimes after attempting to snap a pic, the camera fully extends and then retracts the lens in a sort of zoom cycling - and unfortunately, an image is not captured. A nice-to-have feature that I’d like to see integrated into the very nice software interface and service is the ability to send my phone a text message once the current batch of photos has finished uploading (so I know it’s safe to turn off the camera). I’d also like a way to transmit videos, and I’ve noticed others looking for RAW support - though I’m not sure those folks fall within the typical Eye-Fi demographic.

Today, Eye-Fi is announcing the expansion of their product lineup. The card I have is being re-branded the Eye-Fi Share (still $100), providing both computer and online service uploads. At the lower-end, the Eye-Fi Home ($80) facilitates only camera -> local computer transmissions. At the high-end, the forthcoming Eye-Fi Explore ($130) will geotag all photos and adds Wayport hotspot uploads (free the first year, $19/yr thereafter). While the geotagging feature is pretty cool, until/unless Starbucks hotposts (AT&T or T-Mobile) are added, I’d purchase the Share card… which I’m surprised they’re not offering (yet?) in 4GB capacities.

Overall, I’ve appreciated what the Eye-Fi offers and it’s one of the few review products I’ll purchase once the loaner has been returned or raffled off.

In less than two weeks, we’ve gone from a manual keyboard kludge to a more polished method of TiVo network remote control (Ubuntu above, iPhone below). By using the Crestron hooks TiVo incorporated into the Fall 2007 Update, folks are beginning to design graphical apps. However, I still believe there’s more powerful and practical uses for this “hack”… TiVo could and should assist by documenting and expanding interface options - both via this port (31339) and the existing HTTPS/XML entrance.

Brent and I are giving away a Firefly PC Remote ($50), courtesy of Snapstream. For remote details, check out my brief hands on or Brent’s extensive review. The rules are simple: Leave a comment on this post saying you want in. However, your comment must be accompanied by a Gravatar image/icon - sign up here. (It’s painless, really.) Please be located in the lower 48 (US) and we’ll randomly choose a winner later this week.

While I’ve heard murmurs from various corners for quite some time, this is the first official confirmation from TiVo that Amazon Unbox will be going HD:

Unbox, the content-downloading service TiVo started with Internet retail leader Amazon.com last year, can’t process HD content, though the companies will announce HD capabilities “in the not too distant future,” Mr. Denney said.

Megazone suspects a rollout would be tied to TiVo’s support of H.264 later this year in conjunction with YouTube playback. Though, I agree that an improved aspect ratio might be more meaningful than higher definition content - which presumably comes at a higher price, and with a slower download.

Dale still seems to be enjoying Grand Theft Auto IV, but I’ve had enough. Though sales have been HUGE, my copy of GTA IV is on the way back to Gamefly. The somewhat repetitive missions to advance the plot aren’t doing it for my short attention span. I also miss the more precise avatar combat control of Call of Duty 4 (or even Halo) and the driving control of Burnout Paradise over GTA IV. As I’ve done with previous editions of GTA, I dropped the story mode, acquired a small arsenal, found well-defended locations, and took out law enforcement. But that’s only fun for so long. Other nits: Text is too small and the environments are often too dark - even with the in-game brightness cranked.

While relations between DirecTV and TiVo have thawed (extended pact, do-not-sue agreement, software update), there doesn’t appear to be much momentum based on comments made during DirecTV’s earnings call:

I think we continue to see a few things — I think we have a constructive relationship. We are not doing a lot in all honesty but I think we have an honest dialog that I think is sincere about seeing if there are things that make sense for us. I mean, at our core, the heart of our business is going to continue to get driven by set-top box technologies we’ve developed that are at the core of the — as we launch VOD and whole home solutions and broadband connectivity and all these things, they are all tied into set-top box software that is deployed and operated by us. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can do with TiVo and if we can find a way to crack it, I think we’ve always been open to an intelligent relationship if there was one.

No mention of DTV’s ReplayTV IP play…

Sony’s announced their PS3 PlayTV accessory will be available this September for 99 Euros (~$150 USD). PlayTV consists of dual DVB-T tuners, enabling both PS3 DVR functionality and placeshifting to the PSP. Last100 raises some pertinent questions: Can television be recorded during gameplay? Can PS3 hard drive capacity be increased? (40-80GB won’t hold much HD content…) Sony hasn’t revealed plans for an ATSC (or other) model in the US market… Unlike the UK Freeview phenomenon, I’m not sure how much demand we have here for a purely OTA-based DVR.