The way video and other content is delivered is changing, there's no doubt about it, but what isn't as certain is exactly where we end up from here. So on our journey to the day when we can watch whatever we want, wherever we want, there are plenty of avenues for content like cable or satellite, internet, an antenna or whatever. Sezmi gets this and intends to bring them all together in a way that makes sense. The encouraging thing here is that the company didn't just take an existing platform and paste on some internet streaming, it created a over-the-air DVR from scratch and integrated all the various sources into a unified experience. Ok, so much for the concept, but how does it work? In principle we love the idea: you buy a box, pay a monthly service for a select number of cable TV channels and get a single interface that makes sense. The problem right now is in the implementation. While we really like some of the DVR features included, like profiles catered to each viewer (custom guide listings as well as custom recorded TV etc,) only the major broadcast networks are presented in HD (no ESPN HD for example) -- and the HD VOD content we watched showed noticeable compression artifacts. Sezmi is currently in a limited pilot in LA, but will be expanding and as it does we'll be watching to see if the dream comes true.
I got a Sezmi kit about 2 months ago for the L.A. Trial. So stoked to get it into my hands. Just like the above article says, in theory, this thing looks great. Setup is relatively easy, interface is generally intuitive to navigate.
But after an hour of playing with the system, I was pulling my hair out. The biggest issue was reception. I live in an apartment in the middle of West L.A. that has good exposure to the outside (corner unit). No matter how I moved the antennae around, this thing would not get good reception across the board. There may have been a couple channels here and there that were okay, but for the most part, it was completely unwatchable. Freezing and pixelating picture once every 10 seconds. I literally tried putting the antennae outside on the deck, and it actually got worse. Broadcast TV was noticeably more stable, where the air cable channels that are Sezmi specific were unwatchable.
The number of components also was a turn off. There was the antennae, which connects to another little black box, which in turn connects to the receiver, which in turn connects to the TV. I have a cable box, HTPC, router and modem hooked up under my TV, and this single system effectively doubled the wiring mess all by itself. That, and the cumbersome nature really limits how you can place the antennae if you're even remotely a neat person like me. The last thing you want to be staring at is a daisy chain of black boxes sprawling 6 feet across your room to the closest window for reception.
It stucks, because I was looking forward to renewing the service contract when the trial was up. On paper, it was exactly what I needed for some spare TV's in my apartment. Unfortunately, not only does it work badly, it straight up doesn't work at all if you actually want to WATCH tv.
For the price point, I could justify it for the few channels that did work if the included box was also a media streamer. It has a massive hard drive, and it doesn't seem like that far of a stretch to make it one. At least that would give another option for people who can't get good reception.
Sadly, for what it was designed for, it fails miserably. I'll be sending my test unit back at the end of the trial.
Also, while the HD looked great (when it worked), the standard def. was not up to my acceptable standards. I have a 47" 1080p Toshiba Regza, and the standard def picture quality I would put around full screen Hulu 480p video. Basically, it looks like decent web video, but relatively speaking, that doesn't cut it as a main video source for your TV needs.
Very good info from someone using it in the real world.
I've been working with Sezmi off-and-on at the engineering level as a broadcast engineer for a couple stations in the SF Bay Area. They need to contract with local stations in every market to essentially dedicate a couple to a few megabits of the limited 19.39mb bitstream in order to supply the services to their box.
I've always been a skeptic since this is an enhanced version of the failed USDTV effort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USDTV) and developed by founders of that old company. While the concept is interesting and the prospects of additional competition are exciting, the reality is that most major broadcasters are reticent to slice off portions of their bitstream since they currently have at least one HD service and face the bit-hungry needs of a more appealing mobile DTV service. That typically relegates Sezmi to partnering with lower-power local broadcasters (typically SD only and can afford to provide several megabits) that transmit from less-than-optimum hilltops and towers making in-the-home reception even more problematic.
I wish them luck, but I just don't see it happening on a broad scale with their current model. Maybe Sezmi can buy the MediaFLO transmitters (channel 55 nationwide) when that service goes belly-up?
None of these boxes are going to go anywere. IMO, 10 years from now all you will need is a Laptop(PC for gamers) and a Playstation 4 or 5(for gamers). Your PC will bring all your entertainment that your set-top brings and have all the MS exclusive games. The playstation will be for the gamers that want the exclusive games that Sony has.
IMO the content distributers will either have to let us pay them to have all out content through the internet; our they will almost all be gone by 2030-40. The providers can let their contracts expire and you would start to see FOX, CBS, Paramount, Disney, ect... Allowing you to subscribe to their sites for $20-$40(our whatever the market dictates) for all new shows for one season. Access to a rolling selection of thier back caltalog of TV shows and Movies. While selling you new movies with the option of having a BD shipped to you for whatever it will be, and selling BD of TV Seasons for whatever it wil be.
I'm sure most of you can see this as a possibility.
I've also had a Sezmi for a couple of months and agree with WUSS, for the most part. The initial setup was not easy enough to roll out to a mass market--unless Sezmi comes with professional installation. This is especially the case if your tv and internet connections are not in the same place--as is my situation. To their credit, Sezmi sent me out a wireless internet "home plug." I wish that I could say that it was an instant and simple solution, but it wasn't, due to no fault of Sezmi. It took many tries to find a location in the house where the broadcast reception and "home plug" internet worked. I've got the unit working along side my FIOS TV and have used it off and on.
Unlike FIOS (and every other wired system) Sezmi is a single TV solution. I've not yet read about a Sezmi solution for a home with multiple TVs. Paying a separate subscription and buying separate hardware for the four TVs in our house is not economical.
I really want Sezmi to work. We need competitors to the current providers, especially if they can find a way to make it less expensive by eliminating the need for expensive wired infrastructure. We pay nearly $200 per month for a FIOS bundle (TV, Internet, Phone) with no premium channels. With my kids getting half of their "media" from the net, I'm not sure we or FIOS can justify their monthly fees (and substandard DVR--though that is another subject entirely!)
Sounds like a good idea, but it needs to work with existing media sources rather than trying to reinvent things.
Use inputs for an existing OTA antenna, cable/satellite (particularly if they can work deals with DIrecTV and Dish for compatibility) and Internet, combine that with information of your subscribed services, then work its software magic without needing to worry about feed quality. It could connect to my Dish Network subscription (two tuners) to record programming OTA rather than tying up one of the satellite tuners. Then if I want to watch a show that was recorded OTA in SD, but the box (or its service) sees an HD version available online, it can stream it instead.
Think of this: Sticking with the Toy Story idea from the clip, it could list Toy Story (your choice of a free online stream in SD or an HD version with commercials), then Toy Story 2 (either automatically request the DVD from your NetFlix subscription or instantly download it from Amazon), then "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins" streamed from NetFlix, then the TV series "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" streamed from Disney, then the trailer for Toy Story 3 from YouTube. Smoothly integrating all available media sources, suggesting content by extrapolating your preferences based on your viewing history. You may not have known about the Buzz Lightyear TV show, but the unit can not only let you know about it, but it can provide the series to you.
Of course, they would lose much of the justification for a subscription fee...
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
posted January 9th 2010 12:32PM
I got a Sezmi kit about 2 months ago for the L.A. Trial. So stoked to get it into my hands. Just like the above article says, in theory, this thing looks great. Setup is relatively easy, interface is generally intuitive to navigate.
But after an hour of playing with the system, I was pulling my hair out. The biggest issue was reception. I live in an apartment in the middle of West L.A. that has good exposure to the outside (corner unit). No matter how I moved the antennae around, this thing would not get good reception across the board. There may have been a couple channels here and there that were okay, but for the most part, it was completely unwatchable. Freezing and pixelating picture once every 10 seconds. I literally tried putting the antennae outside on the deck, and it actually got worse. Broadcast TV was noticeably more stable, where the air cable channels that are Sezmi specific were unwatchable.
The number of components also was a turn off. There was the antennae, which connects to another little black box, which in turn connects to the receiver, which in turn connects to the TV. I have a cable box, HTPC, router and modem hooked up under my TV, and this single system effectively doubled the wiring mess all by itself. That, and the cumbersome nature really limits how you can place the antennae if you're even remotely a neat person like me. The last thing you want to be staring at is a daisy chain of black boxes sprawling 6 feet across your room to the closest window for reception.
It stucks, because I was looking forward to renewing the service contract when the trial was up. On paper, it was exactly what I needed for some spare TV's in my apartment. Unfortunately, not only does it work badly, it straight up doesn't work at all if you actually want to WATCH tv.
For the price point, I could justify it for the few channels that did work if the included box was also a media streamer. It has a massive hard drive, and it doesn't seem like that far of a stretch to make it one. At least that would give another option for people who can't get good reception.
Sadly, for what it was designed for, it fails miserably. I'll be sending my test unit back at the end of the trial.
@WUSS
Also, while the HD looked great (when it worked), the standard def. was not up to my acceptable standards. I have a 47" 1080p Toshiba Regza, and the standard def picture quality I would put around full screen Hulu 480p video. Basically, it looks like decent web video, but relatively speaking, that doesn't cut it as a main video source for your TV needs.
@WUSS Thanks for your review. It was very informative. I'll be sure to wait until they work out the bugs.
@WUSS
Very good info from someone using it in the real world.
I've been working with Sezmi off-and-on at the engineering level as a broadcast engineer for a couple stations in the SF Bay Area. They need to contract with local stations in every market to essentially dedicate a couple to a few megabits of the limited 19.39mb bitstream in order to supply the services to their box.
I've always been a skeptic since this is an enhanced version of the failed USDTV effort (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USDTV) and developed by founders of that old company. While the concept is interesting and the prospects of additional competition are exciting, the reality is that most major broadcasters are reticent to slice off portions of their bitstream since they currently have at least one HD service and face the bit-hungry needs of a more appealing mobile DTV service. That typically relegates Sezmi to partnering with lower-power local broadcasters (typically SD only and can afford to provide several megabits) that transmit from less-than-optimum hilltops and towers making in-the-home reception even more problematic.
http://seantorbett.com/2008/05/competition-for-cable-satellite-says-who-sezmi/
I wish them luck, but I just don't see it happening on a broad scale with their current model. Maybe Sezmi can buy the MediaFLO transmitters (channel 55 nationwide) when that service goes belly-up?
Jim Carey, Cable Guy, marketing it?
Also, I'm not normally nit-picky...But c'mon Engadget...Let's have at least SOME proper sentence structure...
@ColinScatt and WHEN are we going to get noise canceling handycams?
i hope they work out the kinks because im so ready to get rid of time warner....oh wait...i dont have cable.
For hire: one copyeditor.
None of these boxes are going to go anywere. IMO, 10 years from now all you will need is a Laptop(PC for gamers) and a Playstation 4 or 5(for gamers). Your PC will bring all your entertainment that your set-top brings and have all the MS exclusive games. The playstation will be for the gamers that want the exclusive games that Sony has.
IMO the content distributers will either have to let us pay them to have all out content through the internet; our they will almost all be gone by 2030-40. The providers can let their contracts expire and you would start to see FOX, CBS, Paramount, Disney, ect... Allowing you to subscribe to their sites for $20-$40(our whatever the market dictates) for all new shows for one season. Access to a rolling selection of thier back caltalog of TV shows and Movies. While selling you new movies with the option of having a BD shipped to you for whatever it will be, and selling BD of TV Seasons for whatever it wil be.
I'm sure most of you can see this as a possibility.
I've also had a Sezmi for a couple of months and agree with WUSS, for the most part. The initial setup was not easy enough to roll out to a mass market--unless Sezmi comes with professional installation. This is especially the case if your tv and internet connections are not in the same place--as is my situation. To their credit, Sezmi sent me out a wireless internet "home plug." I wish that I could say that it was an instant and simple solution, but it wasn't, due to no fault of Sezmi. It took many tries to find a location in the house where the broadcast reception and "home plug" internet worked. I've got the unit working along side my FIOS TV and have used it off and on.
Unlike FIOS (and every other wired system) Sezmi is a single TV solution. I've not yet read about a Sezmi solution for a home with multiple TVs. Paying a separate subscription and buying separate hardware for the four TVs in our house is not economical.
I really want Sezmi to work. We need competitors to the current providers, especially if they can find a way to make it less expensive by eliminating the need for expensive wired infrastructure. We pay nearly $200 per month for a FIOS bundle (TV, Internet, Phone) with no premium channels. With my kids getting half of their "media" from the net, I'm not sure we or FIOS can justify their monthly fees (and substandard DVR--though that is another subject entirely!)
Sounds like a good idea, but it needs to work with existing media sources rather than trying to reinvent things.
Use inputs for an existing OTA antenna, cable/satellite (particularly if they can work deals with DIrecTV and Dish for compatibility) and Internet, combine that with information of your subscribed services, then work its software magic without needing to worry about feed quality. It could connect to my Dish Network subscription (two tuners) to record programming OTA rather than tying up one of the satellite tuners. Then if I want to watch a show that was recorded OTA in SD, but the box (or its service) sees an HD version available online, it can stream it instead.
Think of this: Sticking with the Toy Story idea from the clip, it could list Toy Story (your choice of a free online stream in SD or an HD version with commercials), then Toy Story 2 (either automatically request the DVD from your NetFlix subscription or instantly download it from Amazon), then "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins" streamed from NetFlix, then the TV series "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" streamed from Disney, then the trailer for Toy Story 3 from YouTube. Smoothly integrating all available media sources, suggesting content by extrapolating your preferences based on your viewing history. You may not have known about the Buzz Lightyear TV show, but the unit can not only let you know about it, but it can provide the series to you.
Of course, they would lose much of the justification for a subscription fee...
I think i'll stick to DISH HD.. only 30 bucks a month for 60 channels plus locals.