There aren’t that many U-verse users and (relatively speaking) there aren’t that many TiVo owners either. But for the small number of folks that fall into both categories, there’s been an annoying little issue in trying to get TiVo to work with AT&T’s service: no way to change channels.

Luckily, the problem now appears to be solved. With new IR codes, TiVo users can change channels and avoid having to choose between IPTV and their TiVo crack, er, I mean box. A writer on the U-verse Users site details the fix here.

If you’re not a U-verse user, but you’ve been having trouble with Tivo and your air conditioner, see the comments on this post. Or just wait until winter.

Chances are if you read this blog you already have digital cable, or satellite TV, or FiOS or U-verse, or some combination of the above. However, if you don’t, or if you’re looking to make a switch to digital cable, you can now get a combo deal on cable service plus an HD TV set.

A company called Broadband National has deals signed with Comcast, Time Warner and Charter to offer sweet rebates on HDTVs when you sign up for cable service. It looks like you can sign up for only digital cable, but I wouldn’t swear you don’t have to sign your life away for the full triple-play bundle. If you’re willing to deal with the service commitment, you can easily save in the range of $400-$500. Even without doing a combo deal, the Broadband National site still has (smaller) rebates worth checking out if you’re in the market for an HD display.

After yesterday’s scare, rational thought prevails.

Consider this an ongoing thread. First, I was right in my snide comment about Wii availability. Second, I was wrong, or rather JP Morgan was wrong about an iPhone Nano. Third, there are already many things to add to the list including Slingcatcher (thanks, Dave), ultra-portable Mac (wishful thinking?) and TiVo Series 3 Lite.

Let’s revisit this in a month or so.

With three days to go before the Copyright Royalty Board’s new royalty scheme goes into effect and essentially kills off Internet radio, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has denied a motion to postpone the deadline.

Maybe this is a good thing because it will force Congressional action, but it also leaves my in a cold sweat that my access to Pandora may disappear this weekend. Please call your representatives in Congress! Tell them to bring to a vote and support the Internet Radio Equality act, S. 1353 in the Senate and H.R. 2060 in the House.

HDTV is booming, but not for the reasons you might expect. Apparently Americans aren’t getting high-def sets primarily to watch TV, but for gaming and screening DVDs. In fact, a recent CEA study found that only 44 percent of HDTV owners subscribe to HD programming from a cable or satellite TV provider. Of course that still leaves over-the-air HD signals, but according to the study, that’s not the biggest draw.

Given the DVD format wars, I have to admit I’m a bit surprised that high-def DVD watching is so popular. Clearly seeing Eddie Murphy in HD is more compelling than I realized.

It’s that time of year again. We’re more than halfway to the holiday shopping season and CES 2008, which means CE companies are starting to panic about what they can get on to store shelves or at least out of production in time to take advantage of the year’s biggest buying season and biggest PR event respectively. Without doing any in-depth research yet, here’s my list of what we might see around Black Friday time:

Retail Moxi DVR – Dave’s already covered this extensively, and I can’t wait to see how Digeo brings its two models to market. What are the price points? Who will sell them? Has Digeo had any problems with CableCARD certification?

Touchscreen iPod/Nano iPhone – The rumor is some iPod/Nano mash-up will come out later this year. I don’t think it will make my X’mas wish list. A touchscreen on a device smaller than the existing iPhone? I’d need tinier thumbs.

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