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About a month ago I was selected to download MediaMall’s PlayOn Media Server and try their beta version of software that bridges content from several Internet video provider sites to a TV.  In reality it requires a few more components along with the software to make it work, such as a PC to run the PlayOn “bridging” application that runs as a service in the system tray and a PS3 (in my case), an XBOX 360 or an HP MediaSmart TV to stream the content to.  I have a primary desktop that runs 24/7 and my home network includes a CAT-5 connection to an Ethernet switch on the first floor in the living room where my PS3 lives, so this was an easy set up for me.

With PlayOn, we leverage the existing browser and UPnP functions of game consoles and networked televisions, and use the PC in the middle to bring in the content from the Web, passing it over your home network to the device.

The software is a quick and simple installation with minimal configuration needed and uses the DLNA/UPnP protocol to instantly appear on the PS3 as several media channels in the Video menu.

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Regardless of what some liberal arts students or free-love hippies may tell you, you don’t get something for nothing.  Or, better yet, as the redoubtable Robert Heinlein coined, “TANSTAAFL” (There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch).  This simple truth frames the cold, hard realities about to face broadcasters after the current mobile DTV trials wrap up.  It will weigh even heavier when the mobile standard is finalized and equipment is available for purchase in Q2 (tentatively) of 2009.

When cable companies take a broadcaster’s primary digital signal, either from an over-the-air broadcast or a direct fiber feed, they tend to re-sample it (unless they under an agreement expressly forbidding it), put it on one of their available 38.8Mb capacity QAM channels and share that QAM channel with another digital channel (or two or more!) shaving the channel’s data rate in the process.  Some cable companies are more aggressive than others in their re-compressing.

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I thought I had a good thing going for the past few years by having my websites hosted by 1AND1. Unfortunately, over the past month 1AND1 has been having serious reliability issues and my sites have been inaccessible for days(!) at a time. Calls to the tech help line were anything but helpful. They only confirmed that there was a problem and could not give an estimate for when they would be back on line.

Now, I can understand an occasional glitch, especially when computers and software touch hands, but for a hosting service to have entire servers on the fritz and no information to provide the customer (me) as to what the problem is or, more importantly, when it will be rectified is unacceptable. Read more »

Not too long ago I had some time to review the capabilities of an Insignia CECB (coupon eligible converter box) and found that it was quite capable for its intended purpose. However, it lacked a few features and I discovered a matrix that showed one converter box with the most features of any CECB and it was for sale at a local Best Buy.

The Apex DT250 sold for $60 like the other CECBs and is a similar size and form factor. If you have $40 coupon this box would only cost $20 plus tax. The difference it has from many of the other converter boxes is that it provides for analog pass-through and the ability to control a smart antenna. Since I do not have a smart antenna on hand (right now no one does) I focused on its ease of use and performance in picking up OTA digital signals.

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As broadcasters continue to face eroding audiences, lousy programming, declining ratings, a lackluster fall line-up and pending changes in FCC rules regarding ‘localism‘; here comes another punch in the gut.

Joss Whedon of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and the Serenity movie fame created a three part mini-musical (!) video netcast called “Dr. Horrible” that only lasted a few days and was born from the catalyst of the recent writer’s strike.

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage.

Only one day after the three acts were pulled from the site (as per Joss’ schedule) the mini-netcast series wound up taking the top three slots in the TV Shows Download section on iTunes. Read more »

Not yet.  And after the latest debacle with the June 18th firmware, maybe not ever.  My old, original xbox softmodded to run XBMC is still more polished and faster than this little guy, despite the glowing reviews I read which led me to purchase the Popcorn Hour NMT in the first place.

As everyone knows, there is a disconnect between the PC world and the television world - especially when it comes to getting digital video and audio content into the room where the couch and the big TV are.  Many products such as the AppleTV, Xbox 360 and my own shiny PS3 as well as various media extenders try and bridge that chasm promising to play all (or most) of your media library and bring it to your living room HDTV.  Unfortunately, the two big players that are capable of making effective products, Apple and Microsoft, are hobbled by legal roadblocks and business partnerships, both internal and external, that would sour if the box they made performed too well (read: properly) and truly freed your media.

I had high hopes when I read the impressive feature list and got on the waiting list for this little box. The Popcorn Hour A-100 NMT (Networked Media Tank) is quite a capable media player especially considering its diminutive size. The fact that it doesn’t have integrated WiFi doesn’t bother me since I have Cat-5e runs from my living room and my core home network.  When I took delivery of it I did a quick un-boxing to see what I got for my $200 and took the screws off to peek inside…

Not bad. I needed to supply a hard drive for many of the included features such as the BitTorrent, Samba media shares and uPnP and FTP services to work (for obvious reasons).  I am more interested in its file playback and streaming capabilities, but what the heck…

So, I tossed in an inexpensive 320GB PATA drive that was on sale at Fry’s and fired it up. Read more »

I just tried to log into my Comcast webmail and was greeted by the following at the Comcast.net main URL:

It looks like KRYOGENIKS EBK and DEFIANT are looking for credit on this hack.

Thankfully I have ‘NoScript‘ installed as a plugin for my Firefox browser to minimize the exposure I would get when something like this happens. I don’t know if a malware script was really trying to run or the URL would be malicious to my windows box if I followed it, but why tempt fate?

Too bad for Comcast…

[Update] - Apparently this is not seen by those Comcast customers using Comcast DNS servers. I use OpenDNS servers, so this may not be a complete breach of Comcast.net servers in as much as some name servers. I found a thread on DSLReports regarding the issue and a Comcast employee and forum member (Michael2) has been feeding information about the issue as it develops to forum members there. I’ll be checking it again at irregular intervals as the drama unfolds.

[Update 2] - I checked again (now) at 10:15pm PT and noticed what a commenter on Digg.com is seeing. Comcast apparently regained a bit of control and is redirecting to a subdirectory with an “Under Construction” page:

[Update 3] - As of 11:20pm PT Comcast seems to be making progress. Now the primary URL has the “Under Construction” page:

[Final Update] - As of this morning (Thursday) it appears that Comcast has regained control of their domain and it’s back to business as usual. Time to change passwords, just in case.

[Post Final Update] - Wired was able to manage an interview and post it late Thursday night of the two kids that perpetrated the pointless hack. If you’re interested in reading what a couple talented, but ultimately aimless kids were thinking not thinking, then here you go…

/drama

A writer’s strike, shitty programming and the Internet. Oh my!

Viewer’s are leaving appointment television by the droves and broadcasters are scrambling to do something, anything to keep them firmly planted on the couch during prime time. I’ve covered the topic of declining viewers in the past, but the trend in hemorrhaging viewership of major network programming and in turn local broadcast stations is accelerating, even as the number of overall television viewers are up and as many cable shows enjoyed their best ratings during the month of April. The “Big Four” networks lost 9% of their viewers over the 2008 April/May period from 2007 and last year they were already down 5% from 2006.

During the writer’s strike from November 5, 2007 to February 12, 2008 broadcast networks complained in advance that their ratings would suffer, but that it was a temporary setback in their business. Well, enough time has passed for the numbers to come out and set a table for them to eat their words. A good summary of the broadcast losers and cable winners over the past few months can be found here. Read more »

Sezmi is a startup out of Belmont, California that hopes to win subscribers from cable and satellite providers by providing a cheaper, on-demand and real-time television viewing service for a select selection of the more popular broadcast and “cable” channels.

This new company is born from the ashes and founders of the defunct USDTV service that burned through its cash from investors such as Fox Television Stations, Hearst-Argyle and LIN TV, but ultimately ceased operations back in March 2007.  Previously under the stealth name “Building-B“, Sezmi recently unveiled their new commercial name and are again trying to entice the interest of broadcasters into donating part of their digital television data stream in order to help make their business model work. Read more »

First, let me say that this will not work for everyone and those teenagers that have their parents footing the mobile bill, unfortunately, will not feel the financial pain of owning a cell phone. At least, not yet. However, many people are in the same boat as myself carrying a work cell and a personal cell since I bought one on my own along with a second for my wife. The phone I was issued is a very capable Blackberry 8830 with a link to the company Exchange server for e-mails and an unlimited data plan (Google Maps is so damn handy!), so I don’t use my personal phone all that much. I do conduct personal business with contacts I keep separate from work and a personal cell is perfect for that.

Therefore, while I was going over my monthly budget spreadsheet about a while back I took a cold, hard look at just how much we actually use our phones and if this 700-minute-per-month plan with Verizon for my Treo 700p and the wife’s RAZR was really worth it. In a nutshell, no. Read more »