Analog TVs To Get Warning Labels

Dave Zatz —  April 29, 2007 — 1 Comment

While all newly produced televisions require a digital tuner (as of 3/1/07), manufacturers and retailers have been permitted to work through existing inventory. However, in a move to designed to “facilitate the transmission of digital broadcast” the FCC just mandated (PDF) that NTSC-only sets must display a “Consumer Alert” sticker:

This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009,to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-onlyTVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products.

“Labeling of analog-only television sets is a good idea,” FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a prepared statement. “It would have been an even better idea had we adopted it fourteen months ago when Congress passed the February 2009 deadline.”

(via eWeek)

In HDTV, Industry
 permalink

Nielsen Unveils DVR Stats – Time To Rethink The 30 Second Ad

Davis Freeberg —  April 29, 2007 — 2 Comments

For avid TV watchers, May is one of the best times of the years. The networks strut out their best quality stuff, there are plenty of cliff hangers, NBA finals (Go Lakers) and don’t even get me started on the season/series finales. It’d be nicer if we could just have fresh content all year round, but for whatever reason the networks want to make consumers gorge on television, just to take it all in for one month. At least there will be time for sunlight during summer reruns. ;)

For advertisers and the studios though, May marks the start of a vicious frenzy of negotiations, where fortunes can be won and lost in a bizzarre game of chicken, that I’m not sure I’ll ever understand. Every year, we see the same dance, the studios unveil their A list stuff and the marketing agencies come drooling with their blank checkbooks.

Last year though, things didn’t go as smoothly as planned. Issues like DVR usage and streaming internet video started to creep into the negotiations. The marketing agencies demanded that they only pay for live viewers and the studios tried to convince them that DVRs were somehow actually good for them.

The truth was though, that the studios had lost control and eventually the ad agencies were able to negotiate rates on their terms, instead of having to cave to last minute pressure. With May sweeps about to start up all over again, you can bet that both sides are positioning themselves for how they plan on dealing with these irritating DVR owners. Continue Reading…

In Advertising, DVR, TV Shows
 permalink

The Vudu That You Do

Dave Zatz —  April 28, 2007 — Leave a comment

vudu.jpg

Gizmodo’s got the scoop on Vudu, an upcoming video-on-demand box. Supposedly the device will launch in June at a higher price point than Apple TV with 7 studios signed as content partners.

With the proliferation of cable and satellite VOD/PPV plus Xbox 360 and TiVo now offering movie rentals (and purchases), I just can’t see folks ponying up for a dedicated movie rental box… My Moviebeam has been unplugged for months and Akimbo is moving into PC downloads while their CEO is being replaced.

In Industry, Media
 permalink

Justin.TV Evicted

Dave Zatz —  April 28, 2007 — 2 Comments

According to the SF Chronicle, Justin.TV will be looking for a new set home. I still find the whole thing absurb…

Complaining of raucous parties and other disruptive behavior, the landlord of the San Francisco high-rise that has become a familiar backdrop to the online reality television show are bouncing the four-guy startup from the two-bedroom apartment

In Media
 permalink

Deal of the Day: Slingbox Classic @ $70

Dave Zatz —  April 28, 2007 — 4 Comments

slingbox-classic.jpgI just received word that Woot is blowing out refurbished Slingbox Classics for a low $70. As with all Woot deals, this is one day only and while supplies last. To answer the obvious question: A primary difference between the Classic and the current lineup is resolution. The new boxes broadcast at higher resolutions up to 640×480… However, unless you have FiOS, you’ll only see it on the LAN. So for most WAN and all smartphone playback, the quality is similar amongst Slingboxes.

In conjunction with the Woot deal, we (I’m employed by Sling Media) are running a secret ;) promotion for $20 off the 4-port Slinglink Turbo. This is a zero-config powerline ethernet adapter pair with four ports — meaning you can network multiple devices like my Xbox 360, TiVo Series 3, and Slingbox PRO… or whatever you need to connect.

slinglink.jpg

In Deals, Slingbox
 permalink