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Know your tools

I was just catching up on some email with Chappelle Show on in the background and caught a Wyclef Jean performance I had actually seen previously and really liked. He sings an acoustic version of President, which is a heavily political song as the name implies.

If I was president / I’d be elected Friday / Assassinated on Saturday / Buried on Sunday / Get the truth back on Monday

Wanting to snag a copy, my first instinct was to hit iTunes. There’s an EP there, but not with the version I wanted. (I actually just went back and picked up the Reggae version for .99) Next stop Google… even with an advanced search, I could not find the track in a form I wanted. I did find a low-res live acoustic version (MP3) from a John Kerry rally, but the quality was actually pretty bad. Then I thought about You Tube! Search on Wyclef and voilá! The exact clip I had just seen was there… though only in flash. A quick stop to Keepvid.com with a paste from Youtube and I was able to download an FLV of the show. FLV is not really the most ideal format, but one more stop to iSquint and a few minutes of conversion and my song in video format was waiting in iTunes ready to sync.

While this seems complicated, it’s actually not bad and really did not take very long once I realized where to look for the file.

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Networked DVR

When I first read the headline I got very excited, but then I realized this is not what I was hoping for…

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC.N) said on Monday it plans to introduce a video recording service as early as this year that aims to replace the living room digital video recorder.Digital video recorders made by such companies as Cisco Systems Inc.’s (CSCO.O) Scientific-Atlanta and TiVo Inc. (TIVO.O) allow subscribers to pause and rewind live television programs and store programs on hard drives included on their home set-top boxes. The Cablevision service, by contrast, will allow customers to store programs on servers located at Cablevision’s facilities. Cablevision said the move is designed to cut the cost of installing and fixing digital video recorders, which are prone to malfunction.It will operate over existing cable systems through customers’ current digital set top boxes. Though the company said it had not yet priced the service, it expects cost-savings to be passed on to customers. [New York Times]

I sincerely hope that Cable companies decide this is the low-end version of the DVR service and continue to offer / allow a more high end recording capability. My experience with cable DVRs has been quite good. What I would love is for a shared recording space so I can easily browse programs recorded centrally (or simply from a second box) in a different room. This technology already exists and Scientific Atlanta offers a version of the box I already use (8300HD) which enables multi-room functionality. My home has all the connective lines needed – just coax – to make this happen.

Additionally, with “recording” done on the external network, you essentially just offer an enhanced on-demand service which is fine for some instances, but defeats any hope of portability other than streaming. The EyeTV 200 I’ve recently added enables me to auto-export to iPod format which enables my content to be synced with a docked iPod – or streamed through iTunes on any other computer. If I had systems running Front Row, I’d be able to stream quite easily on my home network.

I know I am not in the majority of consumers nor do I view technology through the mass market filter, but I can’t imagine people want less from their content services and providers…

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Elgato Updates EyeTV (2.1) – now with HDTV on a Core Duo

Thanks to the enhanced processing capabilities of the Intel Core Duo, you can now record and playback HDTV directly on a Mac mini, iMac or MacBook Pro! An all digital EyeTV 500 is starting to sound quite nice…

This version expands support for full-resolution playback of HDTV to Macs with Intel Core Duo processors — a feature previously reserved for owners of high-end dual Power Mac G5 computers. The full 720p and 1080i HDTV experience is now available on portable and consumer desktop Macs such as the MacBook Pro and the new iMac, as well as the Mac mini with Core Duo processors. [Elgato Systems]

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iTune Multipass

I love this new feature! Today I ordered a pass to the Daily Show based how damn easy it is. The pricing is excellent and you get 16 shows for a considerable discount – thanks Apple and Viacom for getting how it should work.

The service is essentially paid podcasting. You pick what you want and it downloads as shows are available. Tonight I caught up the weeks episodes while commuting home and expect that tomorrow I will find tonight’s episode (which I’ve missed) auto-synched on my iPod. This could not be easier.

What’s next is obvious to me. HD or some significant boost towards at least 480p content so it’s closer to standard def TV until bandwidth can be dealt with for true HDTV on-demand / subscription services. Apple btw, is not calling this a subscription (more like a bulk buy) since the way subscription services work today is more akin to a rental and you own what iTunes delivers…

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VW on You Tube and beyond

OK I’ll bite. I received a video link from an “anonymous” friend on You Tube… (just learned it was from my dad and You Tube did not carry forward his name or email) Seems based on the other videos posted by user lowblackdub that this is a viral move by VW and one I really like. I’ve been checking out the new GTI commercials on TV and like them quite a bit, though this one takes a completely different perspective and does not include the “bad influence” creature I’ve been seeing. VW has really done a great job using the web for a different spin from TV which is great to see. They’ve clearly planned differently for the different channels… The main VW site has a nice extension of this video with the sub-site for the GTI MK V…

It features Peter Stormare, the Nihilist from The Big Lebowski among other Coen Brother’s films like Fargo.

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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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Arrested Development humor cutting edge

I was catching up on last week’s episode of Arrested Development last and I caught a joke that was well current. Oscar was being imprisoned for looking like his twin brother George and the warden says “no more Imoscar.com this time and Oscar says, this time I think I’ll do a podcast. I know Podcast is the word of the year, but damn, that’s pretty close to the net culture… which is probably the population that would buy episodes if they offered them online as Fox cancels.

In case you have not seen the show, I highly recommend it. It’s hilarious, laugh out loud hilarious.

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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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In2TV? AOL has your fix

With each day the future of TV gets brighter… The content may not be directly from Primetime, but it’s quality stuff and is a major move from a major player – AOL Time Warner.  They’ve clearly been thinking about how to manage things across divisions and have a plan to appease the DVD release teams as well as the online groups.  Is this actually corporate synergy from within AOLTW?

The company will offer a changing selection of several hundred episodes each month, rather than providing continuous access to all the episodes in a series, Mr. Frankel said, so as not to cannibalize potential DVD sales of old TV shows.

And in the future, when Warner negotiates with cable networks to syndicate popular programs, Mr. Frankel said, the price will be higher if the network wants it kept off the Internet.

For AOL, the In2TV deal is part of a broad strategy to create a range of video offerings to attract people to its free AOL.com portal. It already offers some video news and sports programs from CBS News, ABC and CNN.

…

AOL will offer a version of the service meant to be watched on a television set connected to a Windows Media Center PC, and it is exploring a similar arrangement to link the Internet programming to television through TiVo video recorders.

For those who want to watch on a big screen, AOL is introducing optional technology that it says will produce a DVD-quality picture. Even with a broadband connection, most Internet video looks grainy at full width on a computer monitor, let alone a big TV set. The new option, called AOL Hi-Q, will require the downloading once of special software, and the program may not start for several minutes, depending on the speed of the users’ connection.

There is a catch. To use the technology, viewers will have to agree to participate in a special file-sharing network. This approach helps AOL reduce the cost of distributing-high quality video files by passing portions of the video files from one user’s computer to another. AOL says that since it will control the network, it can protect users from the sorts of viruses and spyware that infect other peer-to-peer systems.

AOL is using file-sharing technology from Kontiki, a Silicon Valley company providing a similar system to the ambitious Internet video program of the BBC.  [New York Times]

I had previously suggested the use of P2P networks like Bit Torrent and Kontiki as a way to better ease distribution against demand it looks like AOL is rolling this out to deliver a higher quality buffered stream!!  I look forward to giving this a shot as it becomes live… assuming of course it’s not some Windows IE only BS like what Viacom has been offering with MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central. 

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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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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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Online Video – Search vs. Syndication

I was just reading a piece in Media Magazine called Which World Will Get Video? (no link) and thinking how mainstream media does not get it.  The basic point of the piece is that big media can be in control and that rather than allow Google iTunes or Yahoo to control how people get your content, search could be optimized to bring viewers (even paying ones) to your (publisher) sites.

Nice thought, but this is so wrong and such an old way to even be considering how it really works.  First, lets revisit the early web days when record labels though they’d be creating the places where consumers came to listen or to find out info on bands.  Failed.  Why?  We don’t care what label artists are on as consumers, the band is the brand.

Back to the “new” way proposed by Chistopher M. Schroeder in the piece mentioned above.  I did a google search for your article pal and you are no where on the first 3 pages of results which is all I cared to try to even find your work for a referential link.  You lose.

Consider this, I still don’t have or want a relationship with HBO directly or with ABC or any network.  In many cases, the networks air shows produced by other companies anyway, they are simply a conduit for viewing on TV.

I do however have a relationship with Apple’s iTunes (I spend both money and time), Yahoo (time) and Google (time).  Why challenge that?  Why not work with me and my choices as a consumer and provide value in the form of content?  I’ll pay for the good stuff…

Consider my previous post.  Deliver it to me.  Don’t make me find it.  Be smart and don’t waste energy with mistakes that have been made already – again and again.  I can easily add a private feed (address given after card is dinged for payment) or you can use an existing aggregation service like iTunes which can handle payment and distribution.

Keep it simple, make the customer happy.

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Time reduction coming for Transcoding

We’ve mentioned before what ATI’s Avivo technology will bring to the table, but ExtremeTech has got an early look at their yet-to-be-released Avivo Transcode application (pictured). When paired with a compatible videocard it cut the time to convert video clips to an amazing 1/5 of the original.

HD Beat

Tasty treat for sure!  Time is the second killer to managing portable video – only second to the complexity of ripping and choosing the right formats.  When you miss after waiting for (sometimes) hours, it really sucks.

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Premium Distributed Content from Apple?

I’ve been thinking about the iPod 5G and the video capability in iTunes and the ITMS and considering the success announced this week believe that it’s quite possible for things to accelerate much more rapidly towards a new network model.

If you think about the manner in which you subscribe to a podcast and apply that to a TV show, you can probably agree that it’s easy to see offering beyond the single pricing for programs.  If you add in the rest of the networks and possibly some cable access (Comedy Central) – even consider shows from premium networks like HBO and you can see a pretty intense disruption to how we collectively understand how TV works.

The current iPod supports a doubling of the current 320×240 resolution, which is great, but not ideal yet for true home watching.  It’s even better for portable viewing, but that’s about it for now.  Perhaps what’s missing is some additional networking capabilities within iTunes… like Bit Torrent.  As you enable a richer level of subscription content, it’s quite likely that the economics of delivering the materials could change considerably.  Let’s not forget that there’s more than just licensing to deal with here and in fact the bandwidth required to deliver high resolution content on a mass level could be quite considerable.  Assume Apple can nail this piece  – if not Bit Torrent for political sensitivities, than perhaps Kontiki or some other more acceptable private version of P2P. I don’t want to understate the shift this would create with how iTunes works, but it could be a very good thing to consider.

If Apple cut deals with quite a few networks for content – even movies, you would not need a cable or satellite box to bring you programming you like.  I’m hopeful that when the day comes, we’ll see something similar to how HBO on-demand works which is that if you choose to watch on the day, you can, but if you want the on-demand option (not recorded from DVR) you have to wait 24 hours.  This is quite reasonable to me and matches how ABC is offering their shows to Apple now.

You would still probably keep traditional viewing going for “appointment TV.”  Things like sports, and special live events are prime candidates, though streaming is an option as well especially as our network access speeds increase…If you still retain the basic options through your cable or satellite provider, you’ll need to pay more just for the right to have that option, unless you switch over to antenna viewing.

At $1.99 per video how much would your subscription run with Apple?  Well, if I look at my own viewing habits…  I watch (or try) to watch about 7-10 shows a week.  It’s pretty hard currently to keep up with my DVR actually and I usually watch a few in succession on Friday or Saturday night.  We record a few more shows for my wife and daughter so if I add it all up we probably consume closer to about 15 shows a week.  That’s about 30 bucks a week to Apple if we could subscribe on a per show basis and 120 bucks a month which is WAY more than I currently pay for cable and for considerably fewr channels. Let’s not forgot as well that this is the current pricing for low res material and that the cost for high res (not even high def) would be more.

Clearly there are some economic issues that quickly add up with per show pricing.  Admittedly I don’t have the solution here…

I do however see a future through iTunes with Front Row and what else might be planned here.  Any subscribed video would be available through Front Row and as we already know this runs on machines beyond the current iMac so a small form factor box like our friend the Mac Mini makes an excellent future candidate for the living room.  I’m sure though this type of machine gets even more capable when the switch to Intel takes place.  Intel already has reference platforms of this size and has shown their Viiv technology running on them. Imagine the enhanced capabilities with a more powerful processor, digital audio and surround capabilities.  Enhanced transcoding capabilities (PDF) will make transfer to portable devices like the iPod or multi-room viewing very attractive and allow for higher resolution content to delivered to a larger screen (whether TV or computer).

As we step beyond single show downloads towards subscription models through syndication and P2P, TV and of course the Long Tail content we already download becomes an extremely viable source of programming through non-traditional sources.  On-demand services are just beginning to deliver and will hopefully continue to grow rapidly to meet the pent up demand.

Update – I was just checking in with Memorandum and see that News.com has a piece on this worth a read.

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Apple sells 1 Million Videos

“Selling 1 million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests that there is a market for legal video downloads,” Jobs said. “Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods.”

Tech News on ZDNet

Not quite the 4 days it took for music sales to reach 1 Million, but still quite impressive.  I’d say there is a legitimate desire for video and that people are definitely comfortable on the small screen.

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MCE vs. TiVo??

Thomas Hawk pointed me to an interesting piece written by Alex Raiano at the TiVo Blog comparing MCE to TiVo.

First, thanks for blogging on TiVo (Alex specifically), but what the hell are you thinking with this?  MCE certainly has a DVR (at least in systems that ship with TV tuners), but it’s about much more.  You only do one thing!  While it can be argued you do it very well, the MCE value proposition is clearly about more than just the recording of TV. 

Perhaps the MS marketing department needs to be reminded that while TV is easy to grok, there are also Photos, Music, Videos (your own) and the Online Spotlight which can deliver quite a bit of additional content.  Only the MS bloggers seem to actively promote this.  I think actually even with 2 tuners inside MCE loses the battle on a purely DVR front since it really just comes down to money.

A $1,200 DVR is out of the question for most people.  I completely agree.  In fact while I could probably swing a $1000 DVR, I find it’s ridiculous to even consider when I can get a dual-tuner HDTV capable recorder for 10 bucks a month from my cable company. MCE does not even record HDTV.  OTA HDTV is not good enough… I need to record premium stations like HBO, not just NBC.

Thomas immediately brings up many of the advanced features power users enjoy from a richer platform like MCE which Tivo does not even try to deal with from a feature perspective.  Sure you can network your Tivo, and add additional features to it, but this is beyond the main base purpose and I believe well beyond the capabilities of most owners. 

MCE gets weaker as you expand out since while it is a jack of all trades, it really (and unfortunately) is a master of none.  While a fully functioning PC underneath the MCE interface is attractive
to some people, this hurts you.  A PC has issues like malware, viruses
and of course device drivers and conflicts. 

Tivo is probably best as an ingredient within another platform at this point – Apple Front Row perhaps? 

In the end other than the DVR, which is the purpose of TiVo and a single feature of MCE, is the only comparable detail.  If you look purely at that TiVo clearly wins on price and picture quality, but MCE has two tuners or more in some addvanced systems.

MCE actually makes the market more complex since while a DVR is in there, it’s about selling PCs.  Speaking of which, when you get to the bunddling issue as Alex addresses … many people are starting to buy MCE devices because the software is in there, though I also wonder how much use they get from the full set of capabilities.

I started this with a point, which I think I’ve lost… Comparing the two things is a slippery slope for both sides.  If I worked for MS on MCE, I would work pretty damn hard to simplify the experience so that there was a more mass appeal.  Telegraph the benefits on a higher level and let the advanced users (your existing market) take care of sharing the benefits with each other – which happens today through community sites and enthusiastic bloggers.  Tivo – get cracking on some bundling and adding multiple HD tuners… next year is getting closer, but how much will that cable-card capable box really cost?  If around 1000 bucks, MCE creeps into mind pretty significantly.

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Apple lobs grenade into Microsoft media center camp

APC Magazine’s Dan Warne reckons Apple is about to deftly round-house kick Microsoft’s media center strategy for six. First Apple leaves a mysterious header on the Mac Mini motherboard for a non-existent iPod dock connector. Then it brings out media center software and a video iPod at the same time. Then it recruits the head of TV recording company ElGato. When you put the pieces together, it ain’t pretty for Microsoft.  [apcmag.com]

All the stuff I love thinking about. The mini as a trojan horse, and the iPod 5G as the stealth bomber that flys directly towards Redmond.

Apple has collected the pieces, maintains software and marketing superiority … we just need the public plan of action and like lemmings we’ll flock.

Seriously though Apple will likely nail it, if they decide to roll FrontRow, plus TV beyond the dorm room through the new iMac.

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The Donald, Master of BS…

I love, love, love this. Donald Trump has zeroed in on Martha Stewart as the cause of the declining ratings suffered by his original version of The Apprentice. He says that confusion between the two has led some viewers to leave his show. Both he and producer/creator Mark Burnett think that NBC failed the franchise by scheduling them on consecutive nights. My favorite part of all this is how they’re pinning a good deal of the blame on the names causing confusion. Stewart’s show was labeled as The Apprentice: Martha Stewart as a way to extend the brand and they’re now saying that the similar names are the problem. Sounds like Burnett and Trump are trying to deflect as much of the blame as possible.

TV Squad

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Cablecard 2.0 coming to you HDTV next year

Zatz reports cablecard 2.0 – which is two way if you’ve been tracking will be ready for deployment next year. Cablecard delivers a superior picture (no cable box compression) and the 2.0 version will give you two-way control so you won’t need a box for VOD or enhanced services if your provider supports this function. It’s also good news for third party DVR makers like TIVO and will hopefully be the path to HDTV on HTPC’s like MCE.

If nothing else this is confirmation that any major HDTV purchase planned should include cablecard support so you (OK, I) can be ready for the near future…

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