Archives For davez

Redbox Instant Headed To Google TV & Roku

Dave Zatz —  May 18, 2013 — 2 Comments

redbox-googletv

Despite the sudden glut of video streaming services, the joint Redbox-Verizon initiative presses on. And, according to GigaOm, up next for the $8/month service will be Google TV and Roku clients. Given the Android set-top’s limited penetration, having failed to land on the “majority” of televisions, and upcoming retirement of Flash I’m somewhat surprised Redbox Instant has prioritized gTV ahead of 5 million Rokus… but perhaps it’s a simple(r) matter of porting their existing Android app over developing for a new platform (that I know has caused significant challenges for another manufacturer in this space). At the moment, Amazon Prime Instant meets most of our all-you-can-eat streaming needs and I’m not aware of many Redbox Instant subscribers in my circle. Perhaps, if they build it, the customers will come.

In Roku, Video
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I’ll never understand the vehement hate the pilot received from die-hard Zombieland fans. You guys successfully hated it out of existence. -Producer, Rhett Reese

Democracy, Amazon Instant Style

 Posted by Dave Zatz  onMay 17, 2013 In Quotes, TV Shows
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Free TiVo Desktop Discontinued

Dave Zatz —  May 6, 2013 — 13 Comments

tivo-desktop-discontinued

TiVo will be retiring the free version of their TiVo Desktop PC software next month. And I can’t say it’s a bad idea, given years of neglect… and CCI Byte unpleasantries. While imagery alluding to a replacement TiVo Desktop or, perhaps, web portal streaming surfaced earlier this year, nothing has yet materialized. Until it does, TiVo Desktop Plus will live on – with it, the only official path to Windows 8 support. Pricing has dropped from $25 to $16 and, as a refresher, the fees were initially instituted to cover codec licensing required for TiVoToGo video transcoding and playback. However, we continue to recommend the free, open source, cross-platform, kmttg to offload recordings from your DVR for archiving or mobile. Alternately, the TiVo Stream ($130) is still pretty killer (if you happen to be an iOS household). Should you prefer to possess a copy of TiVo Desktop before they pull the plug “forever,” grab it here prior to June 5th.

(Thanks brennok, Barrett, and Rajiv!)

In Software, TiVo
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Netflix Surpasses HBO in U.S. Subscribers

 Posted by Dave Zatz  onMay 6, 2013 In Links
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Wanna Chat With Your DVR?

Dave Zatz —  May 1, 2013 — 10 Comments

directv-voice-search

According to Variety, DirecTV has been working on a Nuance-powered iPhone app update to bring speech recognition to HR24 and newer set-top boxes. My initial reaction was that it’s nothing more than a clever, but not very practical, application of Siri-like skills. Yet, upon reflection, being able to change channel via station name, rather than researching a corresponding number I probably don’t know, seems quite compelling. Natural language interactivity might even come in handy when attempting to determine when a given show airs. However, I don’t imagine voice control would be the most precise or efficient way to schedule and manage DVR recordings and I’m not particularly interested in finding “a Tom Cruise movie this weekend.”

In DVR, Mobile, Remotes, Satellite TV
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