CBS streaming free TV programming to iPhone users: Via AppleInsider
CBS Mobile has released TV.com, a free new mobile application that allows iPhone and iPod touch users to watch full episodes of select CBS shows and other programming over WiFi or 3G mobile networks.
The new app (Free, App Store link) is the first example of an iPhone application providing free TV content directly from a TV studio in the US; the BBC already streams its free content to iPhone users in the UK using its iPlayer app. read more... »
TiVo, AppleTV, Boxee, and the future of HD television delivery: Via Freedom to Tinker
I don't watch as much TV as I once did. Yet, I'm still paying Comcast every month, as they're the only provider who will sell me HD service compatible with my TiVo-HD. Sadly, Comcast is far from ideal. I'm regularly frustrated at their inability to debug their signal quality problems. (My ABC-HD and PBS-HD signals are right on the edge, in terms of signal quality, so any slight degradation makes those channels unwatchable through the MPEG block errors, which seems to happen on an irregular basis.) Comcast customer service wants me to sit around all day waiting for a tech to come out when the problem has nothing whatsoever to do with my house. When I've attempted to report the signal strength measurements I've taken and how they vary from channel to channel, I've found I might as well be speaking to a brick wall.
Yes, I know I could put an old-school antenna on the roof and feed it into my TiVo. That would do pretty good for the local channels, but then why am I paying Comcast at all? Answer: for the handful of shows that we watch from cable channels. More than one person has asked me why I don't just download these shows online and cut the cable. You can get Comedy Central programming from their web site. You can get all sorts of things from Hulu.com. All free and legal! read more... »
Yankee Group Blog » Blog Archive » Cable and Satellite Providers: Beware the Killer Rabbit (Ears): Via Yankee Group Blog » Blog Archive
In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, our equine-challenged heroes come upon the Rabbit of Caerbannog, which appears to be an ordinary, harmless rabbit until it starts killing people. read more... »
Converting to Digital TV - IEEE Spectrum Radio - Via IT Conversations:
On February 17, 2009, all analog television broadcasting in the United States will convert to digital. Millions of households will need to either replace their televisions, sign up for cable or satellite service, or install a digital signal converter. While the Federal government has subsidized these and assured that the switch will be cheap and easy, a reporter for IEEE Spectrum radio who tries it herself finds that for her, it is neither cheap nor easy.
(Read Original Article - Via IT Conversations.)
First NFL game in 3-D fumbles, then recovers: Via (AP) by AP: Yahoo! Tech
LOS ANGELES - The first NFL game broadcast to theaters live in 3-D fumbled, then recovered Thursday night.
Two satellite glitches blacked out the broadcast to theaters in Boston, New York and Los Angeles in the first half of the game between the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers.
And on a few occasions, a quick camera movement or a refocusing — and one ill-advised dissolve — had viewers pulling off their polarized lenses.
But the Los Angeles audience was mostly forgiving, in awe of a spectacle that had depth and in some instances gave the feeling of being on the field, especially for the opening coin toss. read more... »
HD or Standard Def? One in Five HDTV Owners Don't Know the Difference: Via PC World
If it's flat and has a big-screen, it's high-def, right? Apparently, a lot of HDTV buyers think so.
A recent survey by the Leichtman Research Group (LRG) shows that 18 percent of HDTV owners think they're watching high-definition shows, when in fact they're viewing standard definition programming. The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1302 U.S. households. This is LRG's sixth annual study on the topic.
Given the general consumer confusion surrounding HDTV-all those mind-numbing specs like 1080p and HDMI aren't easy to grasp-it's no surprise that many buyers are still clueless. Standard content that's stretched to fill the entire screen may look funny, but at least the picture's big. Problem is, buyers may start to wonder why they abandoned their tube TV for a pricey set with a worse picture. read more... »
There's a Sucker Converted Every Minute - Via Slashdot:
Ponca City, We love you writes "Once the US converts from analog to digital broadcasting next February, those who receive their signals over the air will need a converter box for older, non-digital models. Government-approved converter boxes sell for $60 or less and a government-issued $40 rebate coupon is available for the asking but that hasn't stopped companies like the Ohio-based Universal TechTronics from offering supposedly free converter boxes. The gimmick: the box is free, as long as you pay $88 for a five-year warranty, plus $9.30 shipping. Universal TechTronics seems to specialize in 'high-tech' products of questionable value, marketing the Cool Surge portable air cooler, 'a work of engineering genius from the China coast so advanced that no windows, vents, or freon are needed' that uses the same energy as a 60-watt light bulb. It works by blowing a stream of air over two ice packs that you have previously frozen in your freezer. What's the best tech scam you've heard of lately?"
(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot.)
One phat hi-tech home theatre, gaming system - Via Computerworld Blogs:
If you attend Storage Networking World and walk the exposition floor, you're sure to see more spinning disk subsystems, robotic tape libraries, blinking Fibre Channel switches and screens displaying management software than you can shake a stick at, but the one thing you don't expect to see is one of the nicest home theatre systems money can buy streaming downloaded movies, games and photos through wired and wirelsss links from a consumer-grade server to a state-of-the-art Pioneer 50" plasma 1080p TV. Everyone stopped by this vendor's booth. read more... »
The Year in First Amendment Rights: Media Consolidation and Free Speech - Via ACLU Blog - Free Speech:
Direct censorship of broadcast media has been fueled by a more indirect but increasing threat to the marketplace of ideas on the public airwaves: media consolidation.
Currently, a handful of large multinational corporations including Time Warner, Viacom and News Corp control most of the television and radio stations in the United States. In nearly half of the largest radio markets, the three largest corporations control 80 percent of the audience. read more... »
Slashdot | HD Monitor Causes DRM Issues with Netflix - Via Slashdot :
Jeremiah Cornelius points us to Davis Freeberg's blog, where he discusses his "nightmare scenario" of losing access to his DRM-protected purchases by upgrading his PC monitor. --- "When I called them they confirmed my worst fears. In order to access the Watch Now service, I had to give Microsoft's DRM sniffing program access to all of the files on my hard drive. read more... »