After attending the Baltimore Xohm launch event last month, I decided to roll the dice… And although Sprint’s Xohm WiMax 4G service hasn’t officially launched in the DC metro area, I can confirm that not only are the antennas up, but that they’re open for business.

Over the weekend I trekked up to a Baltimore suburb and came away with a ZTE USB adapter ($60). Promotional service pricing is in effect, so a mobile Xohm data plan currently runs only $30/month. Normal pricing will run $45/mo (after 6 months) which still compares favorably to the $60 wireless carriers typically charge for 3G access. Plus, there’s no Xohm service contracts to mess with.

Because Mac OS X is my primary platform these days, I was somewhat concerned that OS X drivers haven’t been released yet. However, as it turns out, anyone can register at developer.xohm.com. Which is where I discovered ExpressCard drivers have already been provided and USB drivers seem to be only a few weeks away. (Screenshot of the Mac Xohm Connection Manager below.) In the interim, I’m running the Windows Connection Manager within an XP virtual machine.

In terms of performance, it’s good to be the only one on the network. My speeds are phenomenal (see below), clearly much higher than the AT&T HSDPA data card which I’ll be shipping back to Dash shortly. Streaming Netflix was no problem. If I had to complain, I suppose I’d mention the card is fairly plain looking and runs super hot. And, of course, unlike existing 3G coverage, the WiMax footprint is geographically limited at the moment. Baltimore, DC, and Chicago are up first. (The Clearwire merger, if approved by the FCC tomorrow, will quickly accelerate Xohm deployment.) Should the team need help prioritizing metros, us geek blogger road warriors frequently find ourselves in NYC and Vegas…

Netflix Week continues (and we may not even done)…

This morning, the New Xbox Experience (NXE) was delivered to my console. After quickly creating a non-representative (i.e. slender) avatar, I jumped right into Netflix. Unlike the previous 360 interface, the new one appears to be extensible - adding functionality without requiring a massive software update. What I’m trying to say is that Netflix isn’t pre-loaded and, by clicking on the tile for the first time, I was prompted to download it.

The Xbox Netflix interface is much richer, both in appearance and functionality, than what currently exists on the Roku Netflix box. A conceptual hurdle for some, at least initially, may still be fast forward and rewind via thumnail rather than traditional video scrubbing - a Netflix streaming limitation design decision. Like Engadget, I can put to bed the HDCP requirement rumors… Netflix, Xbox, and my HDTV are all reporting high definition streaming. I suppose it’s possible that Netflix is reducing the resolution over my component connection, but wouldn’t the UI indicate that? It also may be possible that HDCP is required only when using HDMI - meaning, some early HD sets may not support the handshake.

In the video above, you can see the opening Xbox video and a brief Netflix Watch Instantly walk-thru. Keep in mind that due to my network capture technique and YouTube encoding, you’ll probably notice dropped frames and longer buffering - this is not entirely representative. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps a recording is worth 10,000. At least until that take-down notice arrives…

The NXE is currently available as a preview to a limited subset of customers and official launch is scheduled for November 19th.

Over 4 years in the making, Netflix digital video has finally found its way to TiVo!

The process probably hasn’t played out exactly the way TiVo and Netflix anticipated when they initially inked a development agreement in 2004… In fact, the struggle to find content and move this project forward drove Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to declare there’s “no work going on,” “no content,” and “no point” in 2005. Fast forward a few years and it’s pretty clear that the landscape has drastically shifted. Content is everywhere and Netflix intends to serve as many platforms as possible: “We want to be integrated on every Internet-connected device, game system, high-definition DVD player and dedicated Internet set-top box.”

Any day now, Netflix on TiVo will head into beta. What you see above is a rendering provided by TiVo illustrating the potential experience, and doesn’t represent the final UI. However, the new functionality is expected to be delivered to Series 3 and TiVo HD units quite soon - before the holidays. Why no Series 2 support you ask? The S2 chipset isn’t capable of handling the VC-1 encoded Netflix video, which also happens to be protected by Microsoft DRM. While I’ve got no insider info on this specific point, I’m hoping this new codec support and digital rights management platform paves the way for high definition TiVo video services from Amazon, CinemaNow, Jaman, and of course Netflix.

Press release follows: Read the rest of this entry »

The Comcast TiVo service currently offered on Motorola hardware in New England looks to be headed towards Chicago early next year, though it may still be a bit rough around the edges. From Comcast’s earnings call earlier today:

We are rolling out TiVo beyond the Boston market test, where things are going quite well and we are going to be introducing other cities, probably starting with Chicago in the first quarter next year.

Independently, I’ve also heard rumors of a possible Denver launch as one of the initial sites. And, incidentally, both Chicago and Denver are the markets where Comcast launched their Tru2way platform.

The Microsoft Professional Developer Conference has been covering new features planned for Windows 7 and attendees have received an early version of the software for testing and feedback - so news and tidbits are leaking out onto the web. Last week many screen-shots were available to look at, but there wasn’t much in the way of real news for Windows 7 Media Center functionality. Now we’ve learned native H.264 support will be included on all Windows 7 Media Center products - PCs, extenders, and the Xbox 360. Beyond that, there are plenty of tweaks and UI enhancements plus the integration of TV Pack features into the retail software. My first impression is that additional QAM support (already in TV Pack) and H.264 support are the only non-visual updates to Media Center. Yes, the user interface is being improved further, but the deep-down below the surface workings don’t appear to be changing much from what you experience now.

Read the rest of this entry at Brent Evans Geek Tonic »

The folks over at CNET caught New York’s two-minute analog-shut-off test on video yesterday. Side by side it shows one digital television broadcast behaving as normal, while an analog source displays color bars and a text crawl advising viewers of the upcoming DTV transition.

I strongly support reminders of our impending D-Day, but I’m not feeling optimistic about what these two-minute drills can do to help people with their digital converter box woes. To recap, the government has been issuing coupons for a good long while now so that over-the-air analog citizens can purchase digital converter boxes at a discount to keep their TV sets working beyond February 17th. Unfortunately, as of last week, less than half of the 32 million coupons requested have been used, and apparently 9.8 million have expired. (No, you can’t reapply once you’ve passed the expiration date.)

More to the point, who the heck is helping people set up their converter boxes when they do get around to buying them? I helped my neighbors out last month, Dave is scheduling a conference call with his mom to get her box working with the kitchen TV, and apparently in Wilmington they had volunteer firemen making house calls. Even when people do get the boxes working, there are quirks that folks aren’t prepared for. My neighbors, for example, couldn’t access any digital PBS stations. I did a little bit of research and here’s what I found:

WHYY-DT is not operating at full power level at this time. The lower power level is creating the difficulty in reception that you described. We are currently in transition to a much greater power level that will be equal to the other digital broadcast stations. This work will be completed when analog TV broadcasting ends at midnight on February 17, 2009. We apologize for the inconvenience during this transition period. Since reception is possible (although not stable) at your location, optimizing antenna positioning and perhaps the addition of an antenna pre-amplifier may improve your reception.

VoIP service provider Ooma is expanding their “Premiere” service today to include several new features. While call logs and voicemail-as-email-attachments are probably overdue (compared to say a Vonage), the virtual numbers, multi-ring forwarding, multiple voicemail boxes, and blacklists truly expand the value of Ooma’s offering. As an Ooma owner, I’ve just enabled multi-ring forwarding. Though I use my system solely for outbound calls, some folks have jotted down the Ooma number and attempt to call me on it. So I’m looking forward to having my cell phone ring when a VoIP call comes in, regardless of my physical location.

As a refresher, the $250 Ooma hardware package gets you unlimited US calling and bundles typical features such as CallerID and voicemail - no landline needed. The Premiere tier adds all sorts of other goodies, including these new features, for $99/year.

In terms of full disclosure, I’m fine admitting my bias. A decent contingent of fellow Sling Media alumni landed at Ooma. I have a lot of respect for them and Ooma is a solid, compelling product offering - I’m rooting for their continued success. (Best Buy distribution and an additional $16 million investment don’t hurt.)