Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs. Technology Interest vs. Adoption: Connected Home 2 Go Motorola’s Downloadable MediaCipher (DM): Connected Home 2 Go 104 Channels On And Still Too Much To Watch: Davis Freeberg Voice Convergence Arrives in Denmark: Connected Home 2 Go

South Park: Free and HD on Xbox 360

I love my Xbox 360 (with video download service) more and more each day. Tomorrow, South Park will be available in HD and for free (two weeks only). While 16:9 HD cartoons won’t change my life, it’s pretty cool to see high def content finding alternate avenues onto our televisions. (Note to Comedy Central: Not … Read more

Did Lost Just Jump The Shark?

lost.jpgWhat the heck is up with Lost? Honestly, I think I’m about done. I’ve lost interest in getting answers to their mysteries… the bits they’ve revealed aren’t so mysterious (or compelling) anyway and they’ve killed some of my favorite characters such Ana Lucia and Ecko (not to mention we’ve barely seen any Locke recently).

The first season was absolutely amazing, some of the best television ever — I guess it’s no surprise they couldn’t keep that level of quality (and my interest) going forever. There are two lessons here: 1. Mysteries and horror are better left off screen. What we don’t know is more scary, more perplexing, and thus more engaging. 2. Movies have a distinct beginning, middle, and end (which I prefer)… whereas television shows drag on collecting advertising dollars as long as possible (which I don’t prefer).

Stop reading NOW if you haven’t watched the most recent episode…

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TiVo Guru Guides Hit The Box

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While Guru Guides have been available for some time, registration has been handled solely via TiVo’s web site. With this week’s update, TiVo subscribers can now opt-in to a variety of Guru Guides direct through the TiVo interface.

Guru Guides refresher:

TiVo Guru Guides are lists of television programs hand-selected by experts like Vogue and Sports Illustrated to help you discover and automatically record the best TV programming in various categories like cooking, sports, fashion, home & garden, and more. You can record all shows in a Guru Guides list or choose just the shows that interest you most. Guru Guides generally deliver 3-10 hours of programming every week and are updated regularly, as new shows air, so you’re always sure to be watching the freshest, hottest, most interesting programs on TV!

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Blogosphere Smackdown: DVR or DVD?

Let’s face it, there are only so many hours in the day you can actually watch TV. I consider myself a huge TV nut and certainly do my best to boost up the national average, but even with my voracious appetite for film, I still can’t keep up with everything that is being produced right now, let alone all the good films that have been made in the past.

Add to this distractions from the internet, real life, my poker habit, and this little thing called work that I’ve actually got to do once in a while, and it’s clear that something has to give. Because we’re limited by time, consumers are forced to choose between not just what we watch, but how we watch it as well.

In a great post highlighting the smackdown between DVDs and DVRs in competing for our attention, The One Eyed Man Rules, covers the various reasons behind why the DVR has replaced the DVD in his life. Among the advantages are the problems that come up when his kids use DVDs as frisbees, the speed at which it takes for you to boot up a DVD compared to the ease of hitting a button on a DVR and having your programming right there, and being forced to watch a bunch of crappy Disney ads vs. being able to fast forward past ads on a DVR.

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CinemaNow One-Ups iTunes

When I first read that CinemaNow has added new programming via deals with Showtime and A&E, I didn’t think too much about it. After all, iTunes already already offers the same programming and, generally speaking, buying television shows at $2 a pop doesn’t appeal to me. However, CinemaNow must have some sort of exclusive deal … Read more

The Content Wars

Want to know how cable and telecom operators are going to compete in the short-term? One word: content. Verizon has put a few notches in its lipstick case with recent sports content deals. Exhibit: 1. FiOS TV Signs the NFL Network I’ve been skeptical of the NFL Network, but it does carry a few critical … Read more