A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: CableCARD, FireWire, and FCC Mandates The NCTA reported that the largest US cablecos have now deployed more than 21 million set-tops with embedded CableCARDs. Despite that, the FCC’s CableCARD mandate is widely considered a failure, and the agency is actively looking for potential alternatives. 3D … Read more
A periodic roundup of relevant news… from The Cable Show: Cox improves search and discovery with new program guide Cable provider Cox Communications is rolling out a new program guide that will improve search and discovery of broadcast and on-demand TV content. The Trio guide was designed by Cox and Frog Design and implemented by … Read more
EngadgetHD has the latest scoop on SiliconDust’s upcoming networked CableCARD device along with a shot of the prototype. Ben Drawbaugh reports that this HDHomeRun will actually contain three CableCARD tuners  – one more than previously reported. The other interesting news is that SiliconDust hopes to have the device ready for the holidays as long as CableLabs … Read more
While those of us in the know were aware RCN has been deploying customized TiVo Premiere units to all-comers in the DC area the last few weeks, a press release and updated landing page now make it official. Unlike the retail TiVo Premiere ($299), RCN’s rendition is currently limited to the the original TiVo interface. … Read more
Despite my aggravation at the FCC’s video stream earlier this week, it’s important to note that the government agency did cover several issues of weight during Thursday’s open meeting. Well, they didn’t so much cover them as agree to investigate them further. Among the FCC’s agenda items was a proposal to create a Notice of … Read more
Last week, cypherstream tipped us off to all sorts of details on the RCN-branded TiVo Premiere, posted by a company rep and beta testers on DSLReports. Come Summer, RCN will offer TiVo Premiere hardware “rentals” in lieu of the generic DVR. ($20/mo?) As such, one would hope a cable-co issued and supported box would result in … Read more
I’ve never had great luck accessing the FCC’s video streams of its open meetings, but I was hoping for a better experience this time around. No dice. After a great deal of stuttering and regular disconnects, I lost the stream of today’s meeting entirely about an hour in. It’s not my individual connection that’s at … Read more
At Apple’s earnings call earlier today, COO Tim Cook reiterated the second class citizenry of AppleTV. As paraphrased by Macworld: Apple TV market isn’t that large, so that’s why we classify it as a hobby, so nobody gets the wrong impression that it’s anywhere close to the other markets. A number of us use the product, love … Read more