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.

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.

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…

P2P Bill of Rights Deep-Sixed
After about three weeks, Comcast has abandoned their proposed P2P Bill of Rights in favor of collaboratively developing best practice guidelines within the Distributed Computing Industry Association. As I’ve said before, I’m glad to see them openly discussing these issues. Though, I’m not sure Comcast’s Net non-Neutrality stance has changed… Actions speak louder than words and it appears they’re still throttling BitTorrent traffic.

Pondering Bandwidth Caps
According to DSL Reports, Comcast is contemplating a monthly bandwidth cap of 250GB for residential broadband customers. Exceed the limit, and pay an overage fee, with periodical “slip up” forgiveness. Frankly, I think this would be a good policy change… when compared to their current opaque black ops methods. Though, I say that having no idea how much data I move in a given month and just prior to launching a several day ~40GB Mozy online backup. Supposedly a 250GB threshold would only impact 0.1% of Comcast customers.

SDV Shenanigans
Less clear than Cablevision’s SDV customer outreach, Comcast appears to be going down a similar path in southwest Florida. I haven’t confirmed this notice and it’s rather brief but, if accurate, probably indicates regional adoption of switched digital video (SDV):

Our records indicate that you have a Motorola Cable Card(s) that will no longer be compatible with our upgraded cable network as of May 31, 2008. Exchange your Motorola Cable Card(s) into an office today and we’ll give you HBO free and a converter free for 3 months.

No mention which specific portions of the channel lineup may impact this TiVo owner and no mention of the forthcoming tuning resolver… Just trade in your CableCARDs or else (FUD). I’ll wait for confirmation before providing additional commentary.

The latest TiVo hack doesn’t actually require any hacking. Last fall, TiVo partnered up with Creston to integrate the Series3 into their home automation framework. While I haven’t heard anything since, it turns out the hooks are wide open (via Omikron) to any application or hardware on one’s home network - and possibly well beyond by implementing router port fowarding. Until something more polished is developed, the telnet protocol allows you to manually feed a variety of remote commands to a networked TiVo. For example, in the video above, I’m using a terminal application on my jailbroken iPhone as a rudimentary WiFi remote control. There’s some real interesting potential here…

(more…)

After probably feeling some heat online in the last week or so (here and here for example), the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) rounded up a bunch of journalists (mainstream press and bloggers) for a conference call today. They presented a bit of CableCARD history in how we got here (SDV) and where we’re going with tru2way, followed by a Q&A session. Obviously, the perspective presented is their own and may not line up exactly with the how the CEA, FCC, or an educated consumer might present it.

No new details on the SDV Tuning Resolver were provided, though TiVo was mentioned quite a few times as being involved in the process. And they’re still shooting for Q2 delivery… though, we shall see. I suspect at least three manufacturers will provide the adapter later this year, and we already know Motorola’s solution will be on display with TiVo next month at The Cable Show:

Motorola will demonstrate its MTR700 Tuning Adapter which connects unidirectional UDCPs (including a TiVo device, in specific) to a cable network, accessing multimedia content in the cable network’s switched digital video (SDV) tier. Seamless tuning of the TiVo device across both broadcast and SDV tiers will be shown.

More of my recent SDV/CableCARD thoughts can be found here and Megazone’s take is also worth checking out.

Interesting call factoid: 380,000 CableCARD deployments. I wonder what (large) percent are TiVo owners… And if we assume most Series3 and THD customers use at least one CableCARDs, perhaps we can extrapolate the number of units out there.

TiVo’s getting a little bit social (hey, it’s the thing to do) in launching “My TV” on Facebook. As you would expect, one can add, rate, and review all sorts of television programming. There’s also links to online scheduling (for us TiVo customers), but no integration with Facebook’s existing TV show favorites or a method to import your existing Season Passes, Now Playing list, etc. Interestingly, TiVo didn’t name the widget after themselves and clearly indicates one doesn’t need to be a TiVo owner to participate. Which is a smart marketing move. (via Gizmo Lovers) (more…)

So it’s Q2 and I’m probably not the only one wondering where the SDV Tuning Resolver is. If you recall, this product will allow unidrectional CableCARD retail devices to tune switched digital video channels - which would otherwise be unavailable for viewing. It’s unlikely older CableCARD devices like first generation TVs with slots would receive a firmware upgrade to support the resolver, but I assume TiVo will be (is) all over this - in fact, they’ll need to be as SDV spreads.

Given the multiple layers of testing and certification (manufacturer, CableLabs, TiVo, MSOs) plus training and deployment logistics (cost?), I figured the Q2 target was somewhat aggressive and the HD Guru has discovered:

according to a Cisco spokesperson, its version is now undergoing testing at Cablelabs and is not expected to be released until sometime this summer.

At CES I learned the potential exists for a smaller, more elegant “USB dongle” (as we originally envisioned), rather than the larger AC-powered form factor Mari uncovered at Motorola. I’m hoping this makes it to market. And it’d be especially nice if it could be distributed in retail along with CableCARD devices, rather than (or in addition to) having to go through the local cable-co.

Frankly, this whole thing (SDV) is a cluster and defeats the original purpose/intent of mandated separable security (and confuses consumers - good for MSOs who want you on their VOD boxes). Unfortunately, there’s no simple solution - bandwidth is finite. Both the industry and their CableCARD TiVo customers will need the tuning resolver as a stop-gap and the sooner we get to tru2way devices, the better.

(Thanks, HDTiVo for the HD Guru link!)