Mobile Broadband on the Cheap… with Clear?

Mari Silbey —  February 12, 2013 — 5 Comments

Clearwire Voyager hotspot

Years ago I was one of the early Clearwire customers with a Motorola WiMAX USB stick and a month-to-month service contract. But despite decent network coverage in both Philadelphia (where I lived) and Las Vegas (where CES proved to be the perfect venue for testing WiMAX performance), I couldn’t justify the ongoing expense of an extra data plan. Broadband at home, plus data on my phone, plus free Wi-Fi at local coffee shops was enough to keep me going.

And that was before Clearwire virtually imploded.

Many people, however, aren’t making the same broadband calculations that I am. And I discovered last week, that the Clearwire WiMAX network is now being used in some interesting ways. The Freedom Rings Partnership and regional ISP Wilco Electronic Systems have started a program under the Keyspot brand in Philly to bring more people online who wouldn’t otherwise have access. If you haven’t had Internet service in the last 90 days and visit a Keyspot location for online access, or to take a class, you can qualify for a free Clear Voyager modem (see above), and a monthly, no-contract WiMAX service plan for $14.95. (One-time install fee of $14.95) That’s more than Comcast Internet Essentials service, which slides in at $9.95 per month, but, as I heard last week at the FCC’s Broadband Summit, it can be difficult to register for the baseline Comcast program. (More on that over at DSLReports).

Perhaps even more interesting, outside the Keyspot program, you can still get a 2 GB/month, no-contract WiMAX plan for $19.99. If you have coverage in your area, and if you can swallow the initial hardware cost ($40 or $50 depending on USB stick or hotspot), that’s a pretty sweet deal. I wouldn’t sign away a year or two for that service given the state of Clearwire as a business. But for certain people (or maybe a small office?), the price point is compelling.  Continue Reading…

In Broadband, Industry, Mobile
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Sonos Playbar Home Theater Entrant Detailed

Dave Zatz —  February 12, 2013 — 5 Comments

sonos-playbar

The Sonos Soundbar has arrived. Could it be the Sonos home theater solution we’ve been pining for? First uncovered via a FCC filing late last year, the Sonos Playbar is now ready for its closeup.

According to Heise Online, the Playbar consists of 9 speakers contained within about a 35″ long handsome enclosure. Of course the requisite wireless capabilities are included, but the Playbar incorporates optical connectivity to receive audio directly from a television or other video source. Related, as with some of our favorite compact audio solutions, Sonos will relay your remote IR commands through the Playbar and out the back… should the soundbar happen to obscure your televisions IR receiver. Further, it’s quite likely the Playbar will recognize your television remote volume controls. Additional details come to us via Sempre Audio, who have the Sonos Playbar clocking in at about 12 pounds and indicate it can be wirelessly paired with a Sonos Sub and Play:3 units for a true 5.1 home theater experience – although one wonders about latency (and breaking the bank). Continue Reading…

In Audio
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RCN TiVo DVRs Receive AOL On & New Games

Dave Zatz —  February 10, 2013 — 6 Comments

rcn-tivo-games

While we missed out on timely TiVo Premiere Fall Update coverage, the fact that TiVo platforms are not updated in lockstep gives us an opportunity to circle back as RCN TiVo Premieres have just received AOL On and some new casual games… as the cable provider had requested. The four new games (displayed above, without icons) are powered via TiVo’s relationship with Accendo and, other than Blackjack, are available on TiVo Premiere hardware and the forthcoming TiVo Mini. (Blackjack is TiVo Premiere/S4 only, for whatever reason.) AOL On is a rich app of web video, from all over the place, including our pals at Engadget. And it’s definitely worth checking out – by both RCN and retail TiVo customers. The core 20.2 software experience has been available to both RCN and retail TiVo Premiere subscribers for awhile now, with the highlight being the completion of an HDUI Season Pass Manager… 2.5 years after release.

In TiVo
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A Tale Of Two Spotifys: TiVo v Roku

Dave Zatz —  February 9, 2013 — 13 Comments

Within a few days of each other, Roku and TiVo launched Spotify music streaming apps a month or so ago. While both apps appear to be missing Spotify Radio, the difference in launch speed is dramatic… yet representative of their respective architectures.

As you can see from the video above, the TiVo Spotify app takes over thirty seconds to load while the Roku app is up and playing music in about 5 seconds. TiVo’s app may be visual richer, once it finally opens, but the sluggish interaction is further hindered without TiVo Slide or smarthphone keyboard support… unlike Roku’s integration of their virtual keyboard. Whether or not this is TiVo’s fault is mostly irrelevant as it’s ultimately their (customer’s) problem. And it’s somewhat disappointing that a top-of-the-line TiVo Premiere XL4 ($400, plus service fees) can’t keep up with a diminutive and inexpensive Roku ($80). Apps may not be TiVo’s primary selling point, but it’s frequently their differentiator over the competing cableco’s DVR…

As I alluded to yesterday, it’s unfortunate that I feel the need to colocate a Roku with every TiVo to get a more pleasing (and stable) experience in accessing some of the very same channels (Amazon, Netflix, Hulu Plus). Of course, that’s looking at the glass as half empty. The alternate perspective is that Roku continues to offer the best bang for the OTT buck. Here’s to hoping TiVo’s next line of DVRs truly live up to that “one box” billing.

In Roku, TiVo
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TiVo Sets The Stage For Next Gen Digital DVR

Dave Zatz —  February 8, 2013 — 23 Comments

In a recent filing, TiVo has once again has petitioned the FCC for an analog waiver. Unlike their prior request, which paved the way for the digital cable-only TiVo Premiere Elite/XL4/Q, this time around the company intends to restore over-the-air capabilities to at least one new DVR:

This petition requests an extension of that waiver to several new all-digital cable only devices and a slight extension of that waiver to cover devices that permit reception of digital broadcast (“DTV”) signals. One model of TiVo’ s new all-digital DVRs would include ATSC over-the-air reception capability; this model, therefore, requires waiver of both the DCR Rules and Section 15.117(b)’s dual analog/digital tuner requirement.

Seems like a sure bet to me the FCC will get behind this amended extension as logic sometimes does indeed apply and TiVo does a nice job of defending their position after hearing from less than 0.2% of confused buyers. Further,

consumer use of analog video signals continues to decline rapidly and the Commission has set a hard deadline of September 1, 2015 for the termination of all remaining analog television broadcast transmissions. Meanwhile, the price and power consumption of analog tuners in TiVo DVRs continues to raise costs for consumers without providing any discernible benefit.

Unfortunately, there’s no real intel on what we might expect and we’re primarily left with the assumption that TiVo’s working on a new platform and chipset. Which was already a no brainer given the age of the existing Premiere platform. We’d hope any major refresh would integrate Stream-like capabilities and TiVo could use a significantly more robust OTT app platform. While the tea leaves don’t indicate any significant updates during the first half of the year, 2013′s back stretch remains out of focus…

(Thanks brennok!)

In CableCARD, TiVo
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