A number of companies racked up fines today for violating FCC rules tied to the digital TV transition. According to Jeff Baumgartner, the FCC put out $6 million in fines targeted mainly at retailers who did not correctly label TVs with analog-only tuners. A couple of companies got hit on interstate shipping rules and a couple were fined for violating V-Chip rules.

So is this how the government plans to answer the next funding request from the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) to continue implementing the DTV coupon program? The fines are a hardly a drop in the bucket compared to the $450 million the NTIA plans to ask Congress for. But then again, $6 million is nothing to sneeze at.

The fun continues with Roxio Toast. As many us have experienced, there’s been a persistent OS X TiVoToGo issue related to audio/video synchronization. Well, I finally had a few free minutes to install the update and it didn’t go so well (see above). After deleting portions of the prior Toast application install (v8.0.3), the new stuff wouldn’t copy into the application directory. Some folks on the Roxio forums reported manually copying and overwriting their originally installed contents resulted in a partially functional product. So, I blew away my existing application folder and initiated a fresh install (have your license key handy just in case) and everything launches. Though, I haven’t tried any TiVo downloads or conversions yet…

In other TiVo software news, Desktop 2.6.1 has been released for Windows. According to TiVo, this update more gracefully handles interupted file transfers and provides an updated Windows Certificate (needed for manually file transfers). My install was pretty painless this AM, other than a manual removal of the prior TiVo Desktop. I just need some help finding the best video podcasts to transfer on over… Suggestions?

Because we just don’t have enough set-top boxes to choose from, Blockbuster will be tossing their hat into the ring. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

The home video giant is developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month. The device is believed to be a stand-alone product akin to Apple TV as opposed to embedding a Blockbuster-branded service in such existing devices as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or TiVo.

How many boxes are people willing to connect? The BBC is onto something by making their web content available via the Wii (in the UK) and perhaps one day I’ll be offered Netflix Watch Now on my Xbox 360. As a TiVo owner, I also have a variety of standard def Amazon Unbox content to choose from… For some reason, I’m much more tolerant of low-rez video when I can stream unlimited quantities for a fixed price (Netlix) or free-with-commercials (Hulu).

Along those lines, I’ve been thinking of replacing one of my TiVo units with a small form factor computer for basic ATSC DVR capabilities (or maybe clear QAM HD), plus the ability to watch web video. (And if I’m feeling flush, perhaps I’ll add a Blu-ray drive.) Though, I’m holding off for now… It looks like there’s a small chance I might be able to extend Netflix Watch Now from the office Vista Media Center to the living room Xbox 360.

Flickr’s long rumored video feature has arrived. I’ve gathered the details that Webware, Techcrunch and Wired have outlined:

• 90 second clips maximum - nothing longer initially at least.
• 150MB size maximum
• Uploads for Pro users only for the time being at least ($25/year for pro membership)
• Anyone can view the videos although you can still control the privacy of the videos like you do with photos.
• Videos show up alongside photos
• Videos can be shared, embedded individually or as part of sets.
• Video includes tagging, geotagging
• Search videos by tags, and descriptions
• Uploads directly from camera phones.
• Upload from web, uploadr, e-mail or API
• Option to view videos full screen.
• API for third party developers - yeah!
• Licensing options including creative commons.
• Support for English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese.
• 700 kbps
• 12 FPS, keyframe every 12 (fixed)
• Scaled within a 500×500 box with aspect maintained
• Audio is 44.1 kHz, steroe, 44kbps
• 2pass VBR, 700 kbps
• Photostreams are now coined MediaStreams to better describe the collection of photos and video.

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Earlier this week, Simon left a comment wondering how he might archive an Amazon Flash video. Like most problems, there are a variety of solutions. And my preferred method for simply grabbing Flash video (versus a Flash animation) found on an Amazon, YouTube, etc is via the free Real Player. While there’s a Mac OS X beta available, I’ve never gotten it to work and exclusively rely on Real’s PC counterpart. I haven’t always a fan of Real given their past install methods and bloat… However, while Real still adds to your system overhead, I find them much more neighborly these days.

In my old age, I’ve become much more selective in the conference schwag I choose to fly home with…

At the Sprint press event featuring Samsung, I performed a Rock Band guitar duet with NPD analyst Ross Rubin and all attendees left with a stereo Bluetooth headset (MSRP $80). I’m not sure how MagicJack makes money selling their VoIP device at only $40 a pop with unlimited US calling, but I was willing to take a review unit as I’m still searching for the right voice solution. Once I’m done checking these out, we’ll give them away here on the site.

On the software side, a Yahoo booth minion updated my Nokia N95 to Yahoo! Go 3. And the Fring folks convinced me I need their multi-IM client for mobiles, which includes voice chat. (Both are free.)

Lastly, while I can’t say the in-booth oxygen or alcohol bars do much for me, I appreciated Real’s blue M&Ms around lunch time. Cisco was also there in my time of need when I grabbed a Linksys pen in passing.

Neither SnapStream nor Elgato have publicly committed to support the upcoming Hauppauge HD PVR. However, based on conversations with both companies today they do seem open to the idea of possible integration into their respective PC-based DVR software (BeyondTV and EyeTV). In fact, SnapStream CEO Rakesh Agrawal just posted photos that illustrate recording and pausing live TV originating from a Hauppauge prototype.

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs:

• iTunes Now #1 Music Retailer: Brent Evans Geek Tonic
• Generation Millennium, It’s the Network: Media Experiences 2 Go
• Cleaning Up After Vista Service Pack 1: The Daleisphere
• Motorola CDMA Femtocell: Media Experiences 2 Go
• One Click DVD Rip to HTPC: Brent Evans Geek Tonic
• IP Set-Top Shipments Rising: Media Experiences 2 Go