Never enough time…

• Five-second ads try to counter TiVo. (USA Today)
• Hi-Def codec face-off: WMV-HD vs. DivX-HD. (eHomeUpgrade)
• Vista Media Center features won’t require NTSC tuner. (jkOnTheRun)
• Real Rhapsody on Squeezebox. (Engadget)

CNET Tech News has been available for almost two months on broadband-connected Series 2 units. I regularly watch the weekly 15-minute shows, though I find myself fast forwarding through about 50% of each installment (some of these editors are not meant for TV; I don’t care about Best Buy or Sony commercials).

In the latest episode, Bonnie Cha gives us the low-down on Motorola’s Q. I know most of you come here for hard-hitting, investigative reporting so when I saw what looked to be a real phone number on my TiVo… I called it. This happens to be Bonnie’s CNET line — they’re using ShoreTel IP phone tech. While I was hoping for Molly Wood’s cell, I did leave a message thanking Bonnie for a nice review.

As you may have gathered, I spent a few days in Canada. While taking in Montreal’s Jazz Fest, I noticed XM is a new sponsor this year (XM Canada didn’t exist last summer). I don’t read/speak French, but I picked up a GM/XM brochure which probably says something about 50 vehicles offering satellite receivers. In other Canadian news, XM added over 80,000 subscribers in about 6 months (Sirius has more) and just launched 20 stations for cell phone carrier Telus.

Both TiVo and Netflix posted interesting job openings this week…

First up is Netflix, who’s looking to hire an interface engineer. Based on the description it seems they’re interested in exploring Vista’s GUI functionality to possibly produce a front-end for on-line movie distribution. Keep in mind Vista will bundle Media Center Edition features… which currently include Xbox 360 streaming.

This research team will be investigating new ten-foot user interface models for browsing a huge catalog of movies on a on a TV. Rich interactivity will be key to collecting user tastes and preferences and helping the user find the right content easily. We will be exploring various technologies such as Windows Presentation Foundation, which means we are looking for someone able to pick up a new tools and execute quickly and effectively. (via Hacking Netflix)

And speaking of Windows, TiVo’s job opening prominently mentions Windows Media Video 9 (VC-1/WMV9) which both Blu-ray and HD-DVD support… and what a variety of current movie download services (Movielink, CinemaNow) utilize in conjunction with Microsoft DRM. MPEG-4 is also mentioned, a format many consider compressed enough for the possibility of wide-scale TiVo video downloads.

TiVo is seeking a manager for the Media Architecture team. This team is responsible for the real-time streaming functionality that drives the TiVo digital video recorder features: real-time record and playback of synchronized audio/video data.

• This person will have knowledge in at least one of the following areas: MPEG-2 video and systems, MPEG-1 audio (including MP3), or MPEG-4 Part 10 (H.264) video
• In addition, this person will have working experience in 3 of the following areas: VC-1, WMV9 and WMA, Dolby Digital (AC-3), network streaming audio and video, DVD playback and recording, digital right management (DRM) technologies

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As you probably suspect, I’ve been somewhat ambivalent of TiVo’s expanded/additional in-DVR advertising initiatives. While I support their desire to increase revenue and reach profitability, as a paying subscriber I am leery of ads negatively impacting my DVR experience. Additionally, I have (unfounded?) fears that easy advertising dollars could discourage TiVo from pursuing my VOD/PPV (higher development and infrastructure costs, lower profit margins) dreams.

The bottom line is that these types of advertising are just beginning their set-top box intrusions… and are most likely here to stay if the studios can’t prevent fast forwarding through commercials. For example, in addition to TiVo, satellite and cable operators have started rolling out similar “features.” In fact, TiVo’s “interactive advertising platform” was cited in partnering with Comcast. One shady individual (a competitor? consulting firm?) even offered me several hundred dollars to film and describe all of TiVo’s current ad technologies (I declined).

Do I want ads? No… in fact, ad-avoidance is a primary reason I use TiVo. But if we go on the assumption that this sort of advertising is inevitable, how would I rate TiVo’s performance? So far, I think they’ve done a decent job walking the tight rope of pushing ads without alienating customers. The Photos & More section is a cluttered mess, but the rest of the UI is relatively organized and advertising is easily avoided by those who’d rather skip it. That, of course, defeats the purpose… so I call on the advertisers to give me a good reason to tune in — make something compelling, unique, entertaining, etc. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m also willing to sell my time to TiVo and their advertisers at the rate of 25 cents off my bill for each minute of advertising I consume. By the way, TiVo: the one form of advertising I will watch ’til the cows come home is movie trailers and behind the scenes stuff… throw as much of it as you want my way.

Last but not least, kudos to Michelle Quinn of The Mercury News who may be the first reporter to accurately portray my feelings on a subject.

The Mercury News says: When TiVo announced some of its advertising initiatives, Dave Zatz, who writes a TiVo blog called Zatznotfunny, predicted dark days ahead. But so far, the 34-year-old network engineer from Maryland has been pleasantly surprised. “I’d rather have less advertising,” said Zatz. “But if we have to have it, I’d like to see advertisers get more creative and trade us for our time.”

Never enough time… back in America!

• Cable industry and partners want to bury CableCARD. (PVRBlog)
• TiVo opens system software/bugfix 7.3.1 priority list. (Megazone)
• Slingbox on sale for $149 at CompUSA and BestBuy. (jkOnTheRun)
• HDTV picture quality issues and how to fix them. (Popular Mechanics)
• Archos plans WiFi-enabled PMPs. (Engadget)

Never enough time… in Canada!

• DVD versus download. (CNN Money)
• ATI releases Avivo video converter for portables and DivX. (ATI)
• Comcast buys digital media services company. (GigaOm)
• Slingbox celebrates first birthday. (Sling Community)
• Malaysia gets first DVR. (NextNews)