Archives For Slingbox

End of the Road for SlingCatcher?

Dave Zatz —  November 7, 2009 — 13 Comments

slingcatcher

Less than a year on the market, the SlingCatcher‘s entrance fee has dropped by 2/3rds from retail launch pricing of $300 down to a rock bottom $99.99 at Best Buy. I can only assume sales have been horrible. Which pains me on personal level. The digital media Swiss Army knife vision of the SlingCatcher was a factor in joining Sling Media way back when. And the inability to execute on that vision was also a factor in my decision to leave. (“losing my religion“) However, despite it’s imperfections and unfulfilled promise, $100 to merely stream from a Slingbox to another television in the home or abroad is a great value – neverminding those hobbled extender and DMA capabilities. Here’s hoping the inventory purge foreshadows a new SlingCathcer in the pipeline with the sort of modern hardware and features found in the current crop of media streamers. But with Sling’s corporate ownership, and resultant focus on the DISH Network Slingbox DVR, I wouldn’t count on it.

In Gadgets, Placeshifting, Slingbox, Video
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EchoStar Pitches Slingbox DVR to Cable (Again)

Dave Zatz —  October 29, 2009 — 1 Comment

slingloaded1

The SCTE cable industry show, having hit full swing in Denver, has revealed another EchoStar attempt at wooing the cable industry with a Slingbox-enabled DVR (aka “SlingLoaded”). Like the units I photographed at The Cable Show back in April, this model appears to be a tru2way CableCARD device. However, the SCTE edition features a brand new enclosure — and lacks a model number on the bezel (such as T2200S). So it’s hard to say if this is the same tech, repackaged. Regardless, I can’t imagine many US cable operators would risk alienating the content industry by directly offering placeshifting capabilities without licensing deals in place, as we see with On Demand and TV Anywhere initiatives. However, fear of litigation has never seemed to be a deterrent for EchoStar and DISH Network, who’ll be pushing forward with the satellite SlingLoaded DVR (ViP 922) later this year.

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In DVR, Industry, Slingbox
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Apple and AT&T’s Colluding, Anti-Competitive Ways

Dave Zatz —  August 24, 2009 — 8 Comments

metallica-justice

Apple, AT&T, and Google‘s responses to the FCC inquiry have received plenty of coverage. So we’re not going to rehash those letters line by line. However, I did want to focus on the Net Neutrality angle. Perhaps, the crux of the matter. And while I may not know the legal standards or thresholds for collusion and anti-competitive practices, as a frustrated customer of both AT&T and Apple, that’s exactly the perception I’m left with.

Apple says that they make final decisions on all App Store approvals. Except when AT&T has “expressed concerns.” Or when bound by the conditions of their contract with AT&T.

The parties state that VoIP apps (like Skype) are blocked from AT&T’s data network to protect the pipe. But they’ve had no problems approving music streaming services, which could actually consume more bandwidth than a VoIP app and possibly for longer periods of time. Related, AT&T uses language to prevent customers from redirecting a TV signal to a mobile handset. Which is why Slingbox iPhone client has been crippled/restricted to WiFi usage. Yet AT&T upsells mobile TV video services (starting at $15/month) on many handsets and the iPhone facilitates baseball game video streaming (also for a fee). Content which is obviously destined for TV, given the simulcast commercial breaks of silence.

So I’m calling BS on their FCC responses. I pay $30/month for data access. And it seems to me that Apple and AT&T are collaboratively and selectively blocking apps that could compete with their own service offerings. The app that triggered this investigation isn’t even a “bandwidth hog” and doesn’t provide VoIP connectivity. However, it does allow me to make phone calls at better rates than AT&T offers (with free outbound SMS). Bottom line: If AT&T (and Apple) were solely concerned with protecting their network, they’d institute bandwidth caps and/or maximum streaming bitrates/resolutions. But, as it stands, the wireless industry is protecting their antiquated business model and needs to grow up evolve. We customers are ready. These two providers clearly aren’t.

In Apple, Industry, Slingbox
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Hands on the iPhone SlingPlayer 1.1

Dave Zatz —  August 15, 2009 — Leave a comment

slingplayer-iphone-roku6

As you may have read, Sling Media has submitted v1.1 of their iPhone Slingbox client ($30) to Apple for approval. And while streaming over AT&T’s network will still be prohibited at Apple’s insistence, Sling’s submitted a second version of 1.1 with hopes that cell carriers outside the US might be more accommodating. (Doubtful.) Having said that, SlingPlayer 1.1 corrects the other major flaw of their initial release by truly supporting 16:9, widescreen content. Additionally, there’s now a stretch mode to fill the screen should any of your source content end up with those unsightly black bars (as seen above).

Also new with v1.1 is true DISH STB integration, some of which I first saw demo-ed way back at CES. Instead of fumbling through a smaller version of a program guide or recorded content listings, the SlingPlayer “talks directly to the DISH Receiver” and will “draw a guide natively on the iPhone instead of just piping in a picture.”

Otherwise, the updated SlingPlayer is largely the same – there’s some performance and UI improvements, but not a whole lot of new functionality… or any changes in their underlying streaming technology. I fully expect Sling to ultimately migrate away from WMV to H.264 on the iPhone. Perhaps one of the motivating factors in their original, though now retracted, proclamation that this software would only work with newer Slingbox models.

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In Apple, Mobile, Slingbox
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TiVo’s Billion: Spending their jackpot in a day.

Davis Freeberg —  July 22, 2009 — 6 Comments

tivo-loomis

During their ten year history, TiVo’s obituary has been written more times than I’ve sat through an entire commercial, yet no matter how steep the climb, TiVo has continued to defy critics and skeptics alike by chugging along.

Even though the financial wiz kids over at Engadget, still have TiVo on their “death watch”, I’m beginning to see a much different picture. With 6 quarters of EBITA profitability now under their belt, $200 million in cash (minus the zero in debt on their balance sheet), and partnerships with a significant portion of the DVR market waiting to be implemented and rolled out, it’s no surprise that TiVo has gone from being a small cap child with plenty of dissenters, to an emerging mid cap teenager looking to establish a legacy.

The last ten years may have been characterized by one rumor after another of who TiVo was going to be acquired by next, but the next ten years will be a much different chapter for the little DVR that could. At the risk of counting my chickens before they hatch (I’m a TiVo shareholder), I wanted to kick off the next ten years of innovation by highlighting a few companies that TiVo could use to transition themselves from a niche DVR provider to a diversified corporate conglomerate. Of course there’s no guarantee that TiVo will even get the billion dollars that they are asking for, but it’s fun to spend imaginary money.

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In Placeshifting, Slingbox, TiVo
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The SlingCatcher Fire Sale

Dave Zatz —  June 21, 2009 — 17 Comments

slingcatcher-discount

Less than a year on the market, the SlingCatcher‘s entrance fee has dropped more than 50% from retail launch pricing of $300 down to a rock bottom $130. I can only assume sales are horrible. Which pains me on personal level. The digital media Swiss Army knife vision of the SlingCatcher was a factor in my joining Sling Media way back when. And the execution of that vision was also a factor in my decision to leave. (“losing my religion“) However, despite it’s imperfections and unfulfilled promise, $130 to merely stream from a Slingbox to another television in the home or abroad is a great value – neverminding those hobbled extender and DMA capabilities. (Performance/functionality firmware updates have been trickling out.) Here’s hoping this “sale” also foreshadows a new SlingCathcer in the pipeline with the sort of chipset the upcoming Popcorn Hour C-200 utilizes. But with Sling’s corporate ownership and industry-wide weakened retail sales, I wouldn’t count on it.

In Slingbox, Video
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