So, this went up after the (mostly atrocious, technically-speaking) Oscar telecast. We thought we’d give it a watch and tell you what we thought. You should tell us what you think, too.

This is one of the few areas where not being a decades-deep Marvel nerd pays off: I have just about zero preconceptions about who any of these people are or how they’re supposed to react. I know enough about Tony Stark and Pepper Potts to know that Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow did a great job bringing those characters to life. Past that? Everyone’s more or less new to me.

I still have a minor fear of character bloat; there’s a lot going on here, and too many characters on screen has been the death kiss for more than a few franchises. Other than that, I’m having a hard time finding anything to really get upset about here. I never had that much of an issue with Don Cheadle taking over as Rhodey, and the little bit more we see of him interacting with Tony here just cements the deal for me. I think I can reasonably expect to be as entertained as I was in the first one, regardless of whether or not Favreau hits the same high mark. I certainly hope he does, though.

And, apropos of nothing, the suitcase armor is hot, not that half of Twitter hasn’t said that already.

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Seems the blogosphere got itself into a bit of a lather upon learning DISH and Google were collaborating on set-top box functionality, including search and YouTube video. But anyone who follows DISH/EchoStar shouldn’t be entirely surprised… Just check out the picture I shot of DISH’s app store (above) at CES 2009 on their yet-to-be-released VIP 922 DVR. Featuring a Google tile. It’s unclear if the recent “news” represents merely the piloting of an enhanced Google app, or a more significant Android-based set-top experience (as many have concluded). Regardless, the broadcast and broadband lines are quickly blurring. And DISH surely needs to do something dramatic to recoup the hundreds of millings they’ll soon (?) be depositing at the First National Bank of TiVo.

Stark: Disassembled, Part 5

Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

The Marvel meta-plot of the last seven or so years hasn’t been too kind to Tony Stark. He’s been shoehorned into the role of technocratic fascist, put at the head of the charge for superhero registration, and vilified as the guy who failed to protect Earth from a Skrull invasion. He’s royally screwed up his friendships with Thor and Steve Rogers, he’s watched Norman Osborn run roughshod over the world, and he’s had to delete his own brain to escape HAMMER’s clutches.

So, what do you, as a Marvel writer, do to restore Tony’s heroic reputation after nearly a decade of mudslinging? How do you get from “universally reviled techno-fascist” to “one of the three pillars of the Heroic Age?”

If you’re Matt Fraction– and come on, you wish you were Matt Fraction– you go big. You trust in your own audacity of narrative. You do something so outrageous that it should annoy the living hell out of the fans who’ve been following the book for two years… and then you leave it on the last page and let them sweat for a month.

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Zillion TV continues to sputter along… Originally backed by a few studios, amongst others, in what sounded like a “Hulu box”, the startup has seen all manner of turmoil. Including blown 2009 launch plans, a restructured sales model, a CEO replacement, and unflattering commentary by pilot testers. However, buried within a lawsuit (more turmoil!), we’ve learned Qwest Communications has thrown Zillion a $10 million lifeline “in return for exclusive rights to offer the IP-delivered video-on-demand service in the telco’s footprint.” Yet, it remains to be seen if ZillionTV will actually launch with any telcos in the second half of 2010 as intended. They could always pull a Vudu and figure out how turn it around. But I wouldn’t bank on it. Qwest didn’t… “[We] made a very small, or immaterial, investment in Zillion.”

TiVo, blah blah, TiVo, blah blah blah. Let’s move on to something important, like March Madness.

With the best month in college basketball kicking into gear, I thought I’d take a look at my options for following all of the NCAA action. First up is the official March Madness On Demand Player from CBS Sports. The powers that be keep adding features to the MMOD player, and no wonder. CBS brings in tens of millions in revenue, and last year streamed roughly 6.5 million hours of March Madness video. New this year, CBS Sports is adding a picture-in-picture feature and real-time overlay stats. As before, you can choose between Silverlight and Flash players (Silverlight for higher quality video), listen to Westwood One radio broadcasts, and access game highlights and archives.

Speaking of archives, the NCAA has also launched its own site, the NCAA Vault, with a library of archived tournament games from the last decade. Need to get in the mood for a big game, or engage in a little trash talking? You can use the site to find clips of your favorite teams and players of yesteryear, and the Vault includes integration with Facebook and Twitter so you can post links to specific time codes and share your favorite blocks, dunks, and fast breaks. (Kudos to Thought Equity Motion, which powers the service.)

Of course if you’re in front of your TV at home, not only can you watch this year’s games live, but you can also see March Madness highlights via numerous VOD sources. Last year the major cable and telco providers got into the game with VOD offerings, and presumably this year will be no different.

Which brings us to mobile. CBS debuted a March Madness iPhone app last year for viewing live games. It only works over Wi-Fi, which has its drawbacks, but at least it’s something. So far, however, there doesn’t appear to be an Android complement. I’ve found a couple Android apps for tracking scores (NCAA Basketball Scoreboards, and the free College Basketball Live), and a company call Pure Concepts just launched a PocketBracket app for the iPhone (an updated version) and Android devices (new) today. Unfortunately, live Android streaming looks like a no-go. What, me worried? Nah, I’ll make do with my TV and netbook. Bring on the Madness!

I’ve been covering the TiVo/DISH/EchoStar patent infringement case for years. (With varying degree of interest.) And it looks like we’re that much closer to a conclusion given today’s ruling/affirmation by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit:

Appellants (collectively, “EchoStar”) appeal from the district court’s decision finding them in contempt of the court’s permanent injunction order. TiVo Inc. v. Dish Network Corp., 640 F. Supp. 2d 853 (E.D. Tex. 2009). Because we find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing sanctions against EchoStar, we affirm the finding of contempt.

The Premiere may not have moved the needle, but there’s nothing like the prospect of (large sums of) cold, hard cash to whip the investors into a frenzy:

Yes, TiVo should be receiving (additional) cash from DISH and/or EchoStar. And, yes, it looks like a number of DISH DVRs will be disabled. Davis Freeberg and I are still sifting through the ruling to get a better sense of what this ultimately means and if DISH/Echo has any moves left. I’d also keep an eye on Engadget’s resident legal eagle for a more thorough analysis.

TiVo Premiere, er, premiere week continues! And, last night, I was a guest on the EngadgetHD podcast dedicated to TiVo’s launch. Unfortunately, as with my write up, we had a difficult time focusing on what the Premiere offers… versus what it lacks. Of course, we’re not representative of the broader consumer market and have the advantage of being über-geeks, being able to roll our own Windows Media Center alternatives. But what about the typical TV-viewer? Are they willing to pony up for an improvement over the cable-co DVR experience? They haven’t demonstrated it recently…

Which brings up the TiVo Premiere Paradox, a title I’ve swiped from ‘doormat’ on the TiVo Community. (Sorry. Thank you). What is it exactly that holds folks back? For the majority, it’s probably a combination of education and motivation… in realizing there’s an alternative to the cable co and figuring out how to get it done. An upfront fee and an additional, ongoing subscription (beyond the cable-co’s fees) are probably also a barrier to entry. Whether or not it really costs more, long-term. Also, the competition is catching up to TiVo in many cases. Exceeding them in others. (With whole-home DVR and access to free on demand content being the most obvious examples.)

An interesting comment from that Paradox thread, by ‘eisenb11′, that I identify with:

So will I buy the Premier? Maybe. I’m leaning towards it, but it’s going to be begrudgingly and not in a totally excited manner, like when the Series 3 came out.

My response, keeping in mind that I actually reviewed the Series3 for Engadget back in the day:

Yeah, it’s crazy to think back on how much I paid for the S3 and Lifetime. Without TiVoToGo and MRV even! And was excited about it. Compared to how I feel now. Somewhat let down. I’m not sure the Premiere is a big enough splash to get people to defect from their cable provider’s hardware. Or their connected Blu-ray player. Or Roku. In some strange way I feel sad for TiVo. It obviously wasn’t their intent to let many of us down. And I’m not sure they saw this reaction coming. But potential exists… they’ve got smart people, they’ve got solid relationships, they’ve got plenty of cash and probably more on the way. So I’m hopeful that they’ll surprise and impress me over the next 12 months. In the meantime, I’m playing the field a bit more – digging Moxi’s extender and will build a Ceton HTPC whenever that card hits.

So, as we discussed on the EHD podcast last night, I’ll most likely be purchasing a Premiere once the review period concludes. Given what we do here on ZNF. But will you?