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Downloaded Video Jones

So – Happy New Year first of all!

I’ve been slammed at the office and have not any real time to post, but more on that later…

During the holidays, I decided to check out Battlestar Gallactica while um, browsing online. I downloaded the first series for my iPod and started to watch it while commuting back and forth to the office. Turns out, it’s a really great show and I was hooked within a few short episodes. Since I had the whole season, I was able to watch as I wanted at my pace. This is not that new an idea, since DVRs have been around for a bunch of years and I’ve been a user since the beginning, but I actually had ALL the shows from the season and was able to dive right through commercial free.

I found myself doing most of my watching on my laptop connected to my TV or just directly while traveling. The quality is surprisingly good. It compares to my original SDTV Tivo which was definitely lossy, compared to non-Tivo TV, and certainly not as good as my HDTV DVR records now, but no worries here. The programming was compelling and fit my purpose. I’d certainly love to see it even better by the way, but would not expect that my iPod or iTunes for that matter would play HDTV downloads all that well – at least on my current laptop.

While watching the end of the first season, I saw that the third season was going to be starting in January (tonight actually) and got anxious that I was not going to be current in time, so I hit iTunes and purchased the second season. iTunes really nicely packaged it all, and soon enough all 10 shows were on my system. Well last night I watched the last episode of Season 2 and am completely jonesing for what’s next. I have no desire to wait for the show to begin airing again – assuming it’s available in my market’s cable system – but at this point have no choice.

This has led me to what I would presume is a fairly natural conclusion and something I’ve thought, but not believe – the broadcast model is dead. Downloads, legal or not are extremely convenient, portable and personal. I can define what I want to watch and when — of course assuming that the content that’s out there is worth watching.

The economics of PPV downloads is pretty tough. I paid just under $20 for 10 episodes in a lower resolution. While this was great for my instant gratification purposes it will probably not be the version I’d choose to watch in a home theater situation and I would choose either an HDTV download (if available) or DVD for my collection instead. I can’t justify buying all my shows this way either as it’s far too expensive when I add this to my existing monthly expense for cable (well over $100 which includes broadband access and the premium tier from Cablevision).

Intel’s new Viiv technology is pretty interesting and certainly has the vision to deliver against an on-demand broadband IPTV world. The hardware is capable of transcoding content on the fly which means you could download a very high quality version for local access and move a lower quality (smaller, compressed) file to your portable device, which might be an iPod or something similar. The release of the new Core Duo means you’ll be able to manage high def content on the go from your laptop and is an exiting thing to consider for my 2 hours of travel a day – not too mention the lengthier business travel I encounter. If Apple uses this technology as widely speculated and then takes the next steps with iTunes and their content partners, I’m there. In fact, consider me pre-sold.

My hope is that with DRM baked in, content providers will become more comfortable with using the broadband pipe and will opt to deliver a richer vision for content that does not rely on traditional models – like broadcast gets it first. I am far from alone is having the desire and wallet to pay for the privilege.

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file1145y ?

This is an odd movie, but it shows a Yonah system playing Quake and killing (in time) a presumably current system. Yonah is the chip we’ll be seeing VERY soon from Intel and should be in PCs and probably Macs as well.

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Verizon Blackberry 7130e – no DUN for you

I can’t quite figure out why the BlackBerry 71xx series devices don’t support DUN, other than some silly corporate politics. The latest version the 7130e from Verizon supports their Broadband Access (EVDO) network and in the ad I just saw in the WSJ, says specifically that you it can provide tethered modem access for your laptop.

What’s the real issue here? Greed, right? Clearly Verizon and other carriers who sell these data-centric devices want to really send you a supplemental data PC card rather than let a single device manage your total access. Now you have 2 devices on the network rather than just one.

I use the Blackberry 7100t from T-Mobile and have searched around for a hack to use it as a bluetooth modem but this does not seem to exist. Instead, I use the SIM card from my data card in a bluetooth capable phone so I can have DUN access while on the go. The PC Card does not easily support Mac so I don’t feel so bad moving things around like this… The interesting thing is it’s all the same, but the carriers clearly would see it differently… to them there are specific uses for each and only those specific activities (even though the same type of info passes through) are the only ones you are supposed to have.

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Audio Tools

I’ve added a few new tools of note to my gadget bag and thought I’d share…

First, Ashley was kind enough to get me a new 60GB 5G iPod and it’s a wonderful change from my previous 3G 40GB model. I love the color, size and resolution of the screen. The overall size is remarkable – expecially compared to my previous full size iPod. The only negative thing I can consider is that in video mode the battery life is MUCH shorter than I might like. It’s probably around 3 hours total if you do video, so plan accordingly. I was watching Battlestar Gallactica on my flight west last week and had to end before I was really ready when the battery gave out.

On my return I decided I finally deserved some real headphones and picked up a pair of Shure E4c E4c Sound Isolating Earphones. the sound improvement is simply remarkable compared to my older Sony Fontopia headphones which I liked and in fact had used through a second pair. The Shure headphones blow the doors off previous headphones I’ve tried. I used the foam ear pieces on my flight back but have since tried all the parts and find that the smallest rubber (black) fit my ears best. I love them and will be using these on my (1 hour) commute and through all my travels.

For iTunes, I added an audio plugin called Volume Logic which I would also recommend. It’s a significant sound enhancer and makes on computer listening that much better.

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Cingular Goes 3G

Daily Wireless reports::

GSM-based Cingular is moving towards UMTS (3G) which provides 200-320 Kbps data rates using 5Mhz channels. A software upgrade, HSDPA, should boost speeds to 400-700 Kbps next year. Cingular's BroadbandConnect uses HSDPA/UMTS technology.

Cingular's 3G network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. Cingular will initially launch the BroadbandConnect service in Austin (TX.), Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland (OR.), Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA.), Seattle, Tacoma (Wash.) and Washington D.C.

One question… Where’s NYC?

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Mac Mini Reborn as Media Center?

Apple’s Mac mini will be reborn as the digital hub centerpiece it was originally conceived to be, Think Secret sources have disclosed. The new Mac mini project, code-named Kaleidoscope, will feature an Intel processor and include both Front Row 2.0 and TiVo-like DVR functionality.

Think Secret

While just a rumor for now, this is a very exciting thing to consider as the essential pieces are in place.  I saw this possibility almost a year ago and still believe that the Mini and certainly the future Intel-based version holds a serious amount of potential for the living room.

In my quick tests of Front Row on a mini in our kitchen it’s a nice starting point.  The missing pieces are clear — DVR capabilities and developer extensibility.  Of course there is some UI tweaking to be done as well, though that type of stuff is less of an issue from stopping the roll of an Apple based media center.  As you might recall Apple hired the CEO away from ElGato to run Apple Germany, and ElGato is the current leader in both Mac-based DVR systems as well as UPnP support through their various technologies.

Apple could seriously shock the system with a solid media center product.  They possess the indisputable capabilities to make the complex simple and there is a clear need for such a thing if you look at the current space.  An integrated platform with access to premium content, TV and your own collected media, all simple to use in a system that just works… sign me up!

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A Day in the Life … Nokia N90

So today was my first real day of use with the N90 and I definitely like it – a lot!

I spent some quality time this am with Hannah, playing and snapping some photos as well as  a video or two, which I was able to transmit via bluetooth to my PowerBook from the family room to the kitchen.  During a free moment later on, I was able to attach the files to an email and send out to my parents who were quite happy to get an extra dose of their granddaughter.

My weekends are usually spent like most working types running errands and today was no different.  As I had noted last night I had paired the N90 with the car, and I was very pleasantly pleased to see (and hear) how well it worked.  My usual phone, the BlackBerry 7100T is quite finiky pairing with devices and requires a high degree of hands-on adjustment in order to work with either the car, or a handsfree handset.  The N90, simply worked — as long as I maintained state with the vehicle.  If you walk away while the car is on, you lose the pairing and have to either manually activate it or restart the car.  I really liked returning to the car from an errand and knowing that my phone and car were waiting and ready for calls …

I took a whole series of images which show off both the good and bad of the camera.  In general it’s quite good – certainly the best camera phone I’ve ever used, but clearly not my Nikon D70S.  It is an all in one, which makes it really great though.  I know that as long as I have the phone (I always have a phone) I have a reliable camera that can take both still and video images worth keeping.  There are some expected issues – dull flash in lower light, flaring from tougher light sources and a slow shutter, which offers a delay.  The delay is most present in my blurred images as I was either moving or shooting a slightly moving target.

I took a quick video as well – which you can see here. (vimeo link)

I uploaded all of today’s images through the Lifeblog application which is very cool and quite simple to use.  I’d like to see a way to upload a full album of images at once, rather than the one-off method I used.  I have not tried taking the memory card out yet and just using a card reader, though I would probably do that next time with for more than a few images.  This is really just due to repitition, rather than difficulty.

Speaking of difficulty… The N90 is repeatedly having issues playing back video I capture due to a low memory error.  I think this is due to applications running in the background, but for the life of me can’t quite figure it out yet.  This is a killer and needs to be remedied.  I love capturing the clips, but I also want to be able to review on the go, rather than having to rely on a computer to beam back…

More to come…

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Nokia N90 in Hand!

http://www.atmasphere.net/images/Nokia_N90_PR.jpg
I received a Nokia N90 to play with this weekend and I am working through the new device like any good gadget geek.
The one thing that is really pissing me off, is an Apple thing, not a Nokia issue and that is that I cannot trick iSync to work with my phone so I cannot sync my contacts and calendar over… something I seriously want to work. I’ve read and tried the Mac OSX Hints page a few times and tried a reboot, but something is clearly not working.

Otherwise it seems like a very impressive unit. I’ve never owned a Nokia phone, so the UI is taking a bit to adjust, but I can immediately tell this is a VERY well thought out phone. You can customize it to sound or look like anything you need / want and you can easily install and move applications through the menus as well which is a nice bonus since you can clearly hold a ton of stuff.

I’ve only made one call so far — to voicemail and listened to some messages on speaker-phone which were left by my 2 yr. old daughter – the call was clear and the form factor feels natural in your hand and on your head.

I am (bluetooth) paired with my laptop for data usage and file transfer, as well as a bluetooth headset and and the car so I can be handsfree and safe while on the go.

The N90 if you don’t know is the N-Series phone that is designed for photo and video capture. There is a 2MB camera inside with Carl Zeiss Optics. Instead of installing Lifeblog on my computer, I’ve chosen to add Flickr as my lifeblog destination which is very cool. I’ve only uploaded one shot from the N90 for now, but I can see this being very handy once I’ve really begun to dive deeper into moblogging with the device. I really miss the camera from my Treo, and this blows that away. My work-issued blackberry is all business and has no fun built-in at all.

One thing to note, this is no RAZR in size. It’s substantial, but given what it does, I think the size is both comfortable and appropriate. The construction feels solid and the phone feels great in my hand in both phone and camera modes (of which there are 4 true modes). I’ll be sure to continue to post as I become more of an expert on Nokia and more specifically the N90. If you are reading and have some questions (it’s a bit hard to find around I know), please post and I’ll be sure to answer in the thread or possibly a new post if it’s a big enough topic.

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TiVo to transfer to iPod and PSP

When I read the news on TiVo today I have to confess, I was interested in having one again…

I don’t own a 5G iPod, but I do have a PSP and having an easy system to get video recorded and transfered for portability is quite attractive. I would consider a unique cable box just for this purpose in the house even without HD, since it’s not going to be an HD viewing anyway while mobile.

Damn you TiVo… I’d already written you off.

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MCE to get CableCard… for Holiday 2006

Microsoft Corp. and Cable Television Laboratories Inc. (CableLabs®) today announced they have reached an agreement that will allow Microsoft and PC manufacturers to bring to market digital-cable-ready Windows® Media Center-based PCs in the holiday 2006 time frame. [eHomeUpgrade]

While this is great news for people hooked on MCE, I don’t really understand why this announcement is coming out now. This is AT LEAST a year away.

If I am in the market for an HTPC, should I wait now? Vista arrives at the same time basically and that will likely be a heck of an upgrade to handle on it’s own. One of the main hopes for OEMs around the globe (including Intel and AMD) is that we’ll all race out for a new machine (finally) since there will be a need to support a major new OS launch.

Don’t forget Microsoft does not make the PC, so they’ll have to make their own release dates in order for their hardware partners to consider getting product to retail.

Back to this PR… It does not even say MCE is a limitation. I suppose this means that when it eventually arrives, BeyondTV, Sage and others will also be able to take advantage. Thats’ cool. An even playing field and good consumer choice.

So, why announce today? Just more from Microsoft this week? Apple had a good few weeks and now it’s time for Redmond? Maybe this is just a view into the roadmap and that’s good to know as an enthusiast… at least you know the platform has a committed future.

My real hope though is that Apple delivers in 2006 with a real digital home strategy that takes the initial work done with Front Row and refines the media center universe into a friendly and simple place for the consumer.

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Dell going for Style trying to beat Apple

Dell is trying to spice up its image–and turn around lagging sales growth–by shaking Apple Computer’s hold on hipness, but it may be tough to match its smaller rival’s flair.

CNET News.com

If you choose to read the rest of the story, you’ll note that Dell thinks the answer lies in their XPS line of computers which was recently relaunched as a higher end PC – not quite Sony Qualia type of line.

Dell XPS systems are among the more ugly attempts at design on computers in a long time in this user’s humble opinion.  They have unncessary curves and details simply for some kind of impact. 

If I compare Dell to Apple on any system, I can see minimal precision (sleek) with over-designed bulk (nasty).  Add Windows to the mix, and I’ll buy an Apple any time.

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To XBox 360 or Not?

I was initially biased by the PS3 and Sony vs. MS, but there is something that continues to draw me towards the XBox 360.  The PS3 probably won’t really arrive for another year at this point which gives the XBox quite the time edge to potentially work its way into my living room.As if I am already at a full loss of free time a game machine is really not something I need…

I’ve been reading about both the intense and casual games online and really think I would (know) enjoy the system.  I wonder what kind of kid games (2+) there are that would allow me to better justify this … hmm…

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Big Networks limited view of VOD

So now that the iTMS has announced a successful foray into video it seems the impact has been realized and other deals are starting to flow in, which is great news … in theory.

In Januaray, if you are a Comcast subscriber you’ll be potentially able to view CSI, Survivor, NCIS and Amazing Race for $.99.  Of course, you have to live in one of the 17 markets in which CBS owns and operates the stations… not sure how you figure that out now in a simple way, though clearly in January you’ll either find the shows available or you won’t.  Affiliate owners are against this type of system as they announced as well when Apple cut the ABC deal on iTunes as it (in their view) cuts into their ability to sell advertising.

NBC Universal announced their deal as well, though it’s with DirecTV.  Same price $.99 which is nice, but you will need to buy a new set top box because the shows will download overnight and be saved on the hard drive.  If you don’t have the box, you’ll have to watch on programmed intervals much the same way PPV works today…

Only Networks and Carriers could make it so complex and limiting…

So now aside from Fox, you can find some network, prime-time programming through some additional locations which is interesting but you can’t possibly get everything in one place and you can only watch on your TV at home. 

What would really make this interesting and potentially cool, would be HDTV for starters.  These are the existing network delivery systems and it would be easy enough to do.  It would in fact be a unique selling proposition that iTunes can’t beat – for now anyway.  CBS and NBC are trying to make it more attractive to go through your TV rather than iTunes with a lower price, but my guess is that many of the people actually interested in this type of thing are already using a DVR of some kind and can already record their favorite programs for free.  

In our home, we have 2 DVRs, each with 2 tuners capable of recording 2 HDTV channels at a time.  We don’t have digital portability, but we can seriously record a lot of stuff without conflict if we need to… In fact we actually end up recording a few of the same things to both boxes so we can watch upstairs or downstairs.  There’s currently no way to beam content from one box to another … (though the capability exists in test markets SA 8300MR anyone?)

I know this is all still early and more toe in the water than anything… it’s just interesting to see that the old world needs to hold on tight as the new more disruptive world enhances a viewer’s ability to enjoy content where and when they want.  Which would you rather be?  Enhancing the relationship or providing a continually limited and controlling view on how it should work.

More from the WSJ, NYT and News.com

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Yahoo with Tivo — What’s the real plan?

The deal will allow TiVo, which has been struggling to differentiate its service from generic video recorders offered by cable and satellite companies, to offer a range of content and services linked to the Internet.

New York Times

I have no idea what the real plan might be, but it has to be considerably more than simply remote programming of the box.  I mean, who cares that I can click a link in the Yahoo TV page and have it record on my Tivo.  It’s nice, but hardly the first time you can do this with a PVR and really not something worthy of the hype.

Now, what would be cool would be a feature that let you stream content from the box through Yahoo’s video platform.  If you linked your Tivo to Yahoo and enabled remote access the other way you might be able to seriously shake up the nascent placeshifting market currently being driven by Sling Media and Orb Networks.

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Cablevision Accelleration!

Cablevision, which serves parts of the New York City region, announced Monday that it will sell new premium broadband services with download speeds of 30 megabits per second and 50 mbps to its residential customers. The company will also increase download speeds on its basic service from 10mbps to 15mbps at no additional charge to customers.

….

Cablevision has not disclosed the price of its 50mbps service, which also offers 50mbps of upstream capacity. The 30mbps service, which offers 2mbps upstream, will cost an extra $14.95 per month, or $9.95 more for customers who also have a voice over Internet Protocol phone line, the company said. Cablevision said the service will be available to all of its customers throughout its network by the middle of 2006.

CNET News.com

I love it!  I was actually just surfing on Verizon last night to see if FIOS was available yet (it’s not) and considering what it would be like to have even more speed.  30MB cable is just killer!!  Bring it on!

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The Future of Video Distribution

I previously stated I thought that the aggregator rather than the direct relationship was the way to go, and I still believe that to be the case.  Even Jeremy Allaire, who is definitely smarter than I am, concedes any direct relationship will take up to 10 years – if the shift were to take place.

Another compelling one comes from Jeremy Allaire, CEO of BrightCove. He believes that in the future, most consumers won’t rely nearly as much on carriers such as Comcast or SBC or DirecTV. In fact, they may not even rely on aggregators, such as Yahoo, Google, MySpace, or even Apple. Instead, he’s betting that increasingly, they’ll simply have a direct relationship with the owners of the content they want to see. Whether it’s the latest blockbuster movie, hot TV show or cult documentary, he’s betting that tomorrow’s more Net-savvy consumers will be able to use tomorrow’s more useful Internet to easily find what they’re looking for. “In the Interent model, you don’t need a Comcast to reach the consumer,” says Allaire.

It sounds far-fetched, and even Allaire says the transition would take ten years at least to get serious. A lot has to happen. For example, we’ll need true device convergence, so that video piped into a home could be viewed on either your PC, TV or any other screen-equipped devices that come into existence.

Business Week Online

In my view the direct relationship is possible though less likely since it would imply that I can simply and easily find it all.  How would this work?  Would I subscribe to a feed with keywords (in iTunes, Google / Google Reader), browse a directory of interest (in iTunes or Yahoo) or would I search and click (Yahoo or Google)? 

Personally, to see it as a purely direct relationship means that people are interested in working to find what they want, rather than relying on a system that makes it easier through either editors or a user based folksonomy like a del.icio.us, which would still need to download and sync to your machine and portable devices.

Assuming the networks are not blocked for use, you can develop an aggregated relationship through a portal or application (serving as a portal).  The reason Podcasting is mainstream is ease of use through iTunes.  Mass media types see this.  Before it was simply geek tech.

Again, keep it simple, make the customer happy.

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NPR Podcast Directory Relaunches

NPR : Podcast Directory – Find what you want for your on-demand lifestyle.  Excellent work, NPR!  I just wish that you had direct iTunes links…but I guess that would not be as politically correct as you need to be and I could probably cruise the ITMS for the direct feeds as well, though this is a simple list of everything in one shot.

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Apple on Intel. 2006 like 1984

With the initiation of the Intel Power Mac project last month, all five of Apple’s Intel Macintosh projects are now said to be underway and moving at an exhaustive, yet fruitful pace. It should come as no surprise that Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is reportedly leading the charge, with his heart set on making 2006 the next 1984.

AppleInsider

This makes me very happy… Good news for all Apple fans.

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