So you may have read (or experienced) that TiVoToGo, Multi-room Viewing, and external hard drive storage features are not active on the Series3. As I wrote over on Engadget, TiVo requires CableLabs (the CableCARD people) certification — and they are particularly sensitive to content owner rights. I assume TiVo submitted the S3 without these features to make it through the initial certification process (to get it out the door sooner, rather than later) with the hopes of pushing for approval at a later date. If I were a gambling man, I’d bet we’ll see external hard drive storage options long before TTG and MRV for both political and technical reasons. If you need those features any time soon, ya better get busy hacking your TiVo or putting together a Windows MCE, BeyondTV, SageTV, or MythTV computer (no CableCARD support, but all the OTA HD you can eat).

Electronic Frontier Foundation writes: And that’s how TiVoToGo for Series 3 HD met its maker. As TiVo’s website suggests, CableLabs has yet to permit TiVo to implement TiVoToGo in the CableCARD-compatible Series 3 HD. TiVo must first create a set of restrictions that satisfies CableLabs, and, if it cannot, the feature will remain extinct. Hollywood has openly wanted to rein in TiVoToGo, and any revived version will be more limited than its predecessor. Again, if Hollywood and cable companies had originally obtained such a veto power over the DVR itself, TiVo might never have been born. TiVoToGo’s disappearance is just one concrete example of the harm that digital TV restrictions can cause.

If you generally feel feisty when thinking about these issues, Defective by Design has declared October 3rd “Day Against DRM” and has posted a list of ten action items to fight back. Carlos Mencia also has message (not-safe for work) for the FCC over on YouTube.

Can’t we all just get along?

If you’ve got some free time and programming skills, Netflix has a job for you… www.netflixprize.com.

Reuters says: Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc on Sunday announced that it would pay $1 million to the first person to develop software to improve the accuracy of Netflix’s movie recommendation system by 10 percent. Netflix’s Web-based recommendation system “learns” what kinds of films subscribers like by asking them to rate the films they watch. The system then recommends lists of similar titles, unique to each user.

Seattle Post says: The differences will be tracked by a program that quantifies how well the recommendation systems predict which movies will be liked or disliked by a profiled consumer.

Reviews

• Dave’s overview
• PVRWire podcast with Sling CEO and Dave
• PC Mag review
• CNET Slingbox Pro review
• CNET Slingbox AV review
• CNET Slingbox Tuner review

Shopping

• Slingbox Pro: Amazon, NewEgg, Circuity City, Buy.com
• Slingbox AV: Amazon, NewEgg, Circuit City, Best Buy
• Slingbox Tuner: Amazon, NewEgg, Circuit City
• HD Connect: coming later this fall
• Software downloads: Sling Media

Reference

• Official Slingbox Pro page
• Official Slingbox AV page
• Official Slingbox Tuner page
• Official HD Connect page
• Choosing a Slingbox
• Do you need the HD Connector

Sign up for a TiVo House Party? Me too! My party is Saturday night and no one’s invited, but TiVo sent me two hours of video to watch anyway.

Broadband connected TiVo subscribers will receive a program package that includes two new trailers for the highly anticipated Weinstein Company films Arthur & The Invisibles, a live-action and computer-animated family adventure featuring the talents of Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Mia Farrow and David Bowie, and Bobby, Emilio Estevez’s exploration of the night in 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was gunned down nd the lives of those at the Ambassador Hotel that fateful night. Party-goers will also be treated to trailers for the upcoming comedy School for Scoundrels starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder, and the action-adventure film Stormbreaker starring Ewan McGregor and Mickey Rourke, both from the Weinstein Company. The special 2-hour programming block will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the innovative new Concord Music CD “Ray Sings, Basie wings” featuring commentary from Ray Charles’ longtime manager; “hopefuls” auditioning for the opportunity to perform at a Def on Demand event sponsored by H20: Hip Hop OnDemand; and a one-hour recap of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica narrated by series star Mary McDonnell.

Read the rest of this entry »

Never enough time…

• Custon BeyondTV GUI created for Hauppauge media extender. (SnapStream)
• SageTV looks for Mac beta volunteers. (PVRWire)
• AT&T’s U-verse going high def soon? (EngadgetHD)
• Sony creates choose-your-ending TiVo ad. (Engadget)

As we’ve seen over the last week or so Sling has been readying three new boxes. In my mind, the major difference between the Slingbox Classic and the new models is improved hardware allowing for higher resolutions (up to 640×480) at higher bitrates (up to 8000Kbps). Obviously, there are a few boxes to choose from: The Tuner ($180) sports an analog tuner for OTA or basic cable signals, the AV ($180) allows you to control a set-top box (cable box, DVR, etc), and the Pro ($250) includes a tuner and supports multiple sources. The boxes have already started showing up online and in stores, with other outlets following shortly. Additionally, a $50 HD connector will be released this fall to pipe HD signals (obviously down-scaled) into the SB Pro via component cables.

Oh yeah… I might have had a few of these boxes in my house the last month or so. I can tell you video quality on a LAN definitely exceeds Slingbox Classic levels and I expect it to get even better going forward. However if you’ll be doing most of your Slinging remotely and have slow uplink speeds, now is a good time to pick up the original Slingbox on the cheap. I imagine once the stock runs dry, we’ll see some price cuts on the new boxes before the holidays. Sling did a nice job improving the look of their boxes, software, and retail packaging. I am bummed we didn’t get WiFi support with this hardware rev — I’m not sure how much weight I carry, but Sling knows my feelings on this subject. From a market perspective, I might have recommended keeping the Slingbox Class and introducing only the Slingbox Pro at this time. I do wonder if the decision to offer multiple boxes has any relation to next year’s requirement to include an ATSC tuner if providing a NTSC one.

Director of PR Brian Jaquet tells me we can expect public Mac support in the next 30 days with Symbian support later this fall. Sling’s new web site should go live later tonight, with a ton of updates including details on the new boxes. VP of Market Development Jeremy Toeman tells me, “We’ve spent a lot of time listening to our existing customers and have focused on building new products that appeal to them as well as opening up the market to a wider audience. With the new Slingboxes we have introduced higher quality video streaming, more features, and at really attractive price points!”

Via press release, CEO Blake Krikorian has this to say: “With our new products, we have focused on creating a better out-of-box experience for our customers, increased performance and software features and segmented our product family to reach a new set of customers who are now ready to experience the benefits of Slingbox. At the end of the day, our mission remains the same - create the best possible consumer experience with killer products that our customers simply love.”