A periodic roundup of relevant news…

• PSP 3.01 software update released
  Buy PSone games online via Playstation3, view music animations, and disable UMD auto-start.
  Sony
• PSP Internet Video Guide
  Learn how to use PSP Video 9 to get YouTube and Google Video onto your system.
  DVR Playground
• PSP sales up
  Hardware sales up 280% and software sales up 168% due to Black Friday and PS3 release.
  Game Daily
• Buy PSP music video downloads
  EMI Music UK’s entire music video library will be priced between GBP 1.89 and GBP 2.19 for MemoryStick download.
  Games Industry

Cablevision has entered into a relationship with TiVo to distribute Spanish-language DVRs to their Mexico City customers in the first half of 2007. No bundled hardware/service pricing details or technological specifics were given. (Which units? Will TiVo have an operations center in Mexico? Will TiVo software ultimately run on hardware Cablevision provides? etc.) When I learn more, you’ll learn more…

To recap: TiVo is available in various flavors in America and in Canada, nearly obsolete in Britain, rolling out as TGC in Taiwan, hacked and unofficially supported in Australia.

ALVISO, Calif., Nov 29, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — CABLEVISION, S.A. de C.V. (CABLEVISION), Mexico’s largest digital cable operator, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced that they have entered into an agreement to distribute the TiVo(R) DVRs and TiVo(R) Service to CABLEVISION’s subscribers throughout Mexico City.

Under the agreement, CABLEVISION will make TiVo’s DVR service available to subscribers of CABLEVISION’s digital cable service, including the first Spanish language version of the Emmy(R) award-winning TiVo user interface. The TiVo service for CABLEVISION customers is expected to include popular TiVo features like SeasonPass(TM) recordings and WishList(R) searches.

Initially, the service offered by CABLEVISION will utilize TiVo’s standalone DVR hardware platform. CABLEVISION expects to begin marketing bundles that include the TiVo DVRs and TiVo Service in the first half of 2007.

UPDATE: Based on Thomas Hawk’s coverage of TiVo’s quarterly report it sounds like Cablevision will initially resell stand-alone TiVo boxes, to be followed later by software integration similar to the Comcast and Cox arrangements in the US.

There’s been a decent amount of discussion regarding the (beta) Mac Slingplayer’s non-standard OS X interface. For example, MacWorld writes:

The Mac SlingPlayer software works essentially like its Windows counterpart, and that’s good as well as bad. The first public beta of the Mac software, released Tuesday, makes no attempt to hide its Windows origins. Although the Brushed Steel interface skin approximates the QuickTime Player interface, it’s betrayed by the series of Windows-style buttons in the top left corner. It’s a little thing, but it’s still ugly, and I hope that the final version of the software replaces those buttons with ones of a more Mac-friendly variety.

As a part-time Mac user, the existing beta interface hasn’t bothered me in the least… but I recognize how, uh, sensitive some hard core Mac users can be. Maybe recent Apple convert Thomas Hawk will pick up a Slingbox and chime in.

In the interim, Mac+Sling owner Brian contacted me with an OS X-compliant Slingplayer GUI proposal (as shown above) and it looks pretty sharp! I do know Sling Media’s Mac development team is currently soliciting input on how to improve the visual presentation and functionality to better meet Mac community expectations. So feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any suggestions which I’ll be happy to pass along.

Turns out that video on our TiVo boxes promoting free (with subscription) Series 2 units isn’t the only holiday advertisement they shot… The elves had a little too much egg nog and busted out this Christmas rap while the camera was rolling.

While I often live on the bleeding edge of technology, there are occasions when I’m content to wait. As a casual gamer, I didn’t pick up the Xbox 360 last year and I waited to try all three next gen systems before making a purchase. Now that I’ve some experience with the various consoles, I decided on the 360. Many factors led to this choice including price, online offerings, controller comfort, and visual quality (Wii doesn’t make the cut). Sony’s integration of a Blu-ray drive into the PS3 is compelling, but the downloadable high definition movies makes it nearly a wash and Microsoft beats them in the other areas… Not to mention I could actually find an Xbox and for significantly less cash.

So now let me tell you how I’m (theoretically) getting the 360 for half price… Micro Center is running an in-store deal to promote their Gaming Department. Buy an Xbox (Core or Premium) by December 5 and get a $100 rebate by mail. That brings the Premium unit down from $399 to $299. But wait… there’s more! If you get their credit card (and potentially lower your credit score in the process) and make a $399 purchase you’ll receive 13,000 points redeemable for $100 check. For a twenty dollar rebate I wouldn’t bother jumping through these hoops, but $200 makes it worthwhile… assuming it works.

I’m still between projectors, so the 360 will live with the TiVo Series3 and Slingbox Pro attached to a 30″ Panasonic HDTV. My classic Xbox and Moviebeam are headed to ebay (to join my former Gamecube and PS2). I’ve enjoyed playing the online demos of Rainbox Six and Modern Warfare the last two nights, and I’ve loaded up on Points to make my first purchase once Superman Returns HD arrives. If you’re interested in kicking my butt online, my gamertag is Zatz and I look suspiciously like the creepy Burger King.

UPDATE: Turns out Micro Center has extended the $100 rebate dealio through 12/31! That should give you enough time to get to one of their 19 locations.

I admit to feeling some trepidation when my Slim Devices Squeezebox review unit arrived. Since buying a house a year and a half ago, my stereo from early high school has sat unused in our basement. (Note the cheesy, Space-Invaders-like display on the screen and the layers of dust.)

I popped open one of the tape decks and look what I found:

Looking at the Squeezebox, I wondered not only if I could make it work with my stereo, but if it would even be worthwhile given my decidedly low-key approach to music.

Here’s the answer: Yes, yes, unequivocally yes. Can I have it for Christmas, please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Every new thing I tried with the Squeezebox just made it better — Starting with streaming my own music, then accessing the SqueezeNetwork and finally going full out with Pandora. If you want to skip set-up and some of the more gory details, scroll to the end for a list of pros and (very few) cons.

Read the rest of this entry »

We knew this was coming… In fact, Mari just covered a similar advertising service that will glue commercials onto Charter’s video-on-demand programming. TiVo’s “Program Placement” allows advertisers to buy slots for their commercials to play at the conclusion of a recorded program. This could be very lucrative for TiVo as it really creates a secondary advertising market, unlike Product Watch which has dried up. (Really, did we think opt-in advertising was going to be huge?) For example, let’s say a company can’t afford to run an ad during Lost or that a competitor has a deal with a network, through TiVo they can now purchase time to reach that demographic. As long as these ads are only inserted after programming, I can live with it.

NEW YORK, Nov 28, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) announced today Program Placement, its latest advertising solution that offers advertisers an opportunity through the TiVo(R) Service to insert an ad after a program has played, when there is nothing left to fast forward through. For the first time, advertisers will be able to reach their target DVR audience by purchasing advertising enhancements against specific shows. Burger King Corporation, General Motors Corp., MasterCard Worldwide, The Weather Channel and Court TV are the first companies to take advantage of Program Placement on TiVo. Leading media and advertising agencies, including GroupM’s MindShare, Norwalk, CT-based Media Storm and GSD&M, worked with TiVo to have their clients be the first to use this revolutionary advertising solution.

Update: AdWeek breaks down the specifics of the new advertising and I’m feeling less tolerant. I’m not interested in seeing the TiVo interface covered with banner ads. Guess we know what else was in this month’s software update…

The graphical ad unit, which TiVo calls a “program placement,” appears at the end of a recorded program, on the screen asking viewers if they want to delete the show. TiVo said the ads are designed to be more interactive than standard TV spots, including options for long-form content, lead generation and purchases. Viewers must initiate all video, unlike so-called post-roll commercials increasingly common on Web sites.