Screen Grabs: jerkface Verizon FiOS guy brandishes a Kindle

[Thanks, Don R.]
Posts with tag cable

D-Link's no stranger to HD streaming, and the outfit is proving that it's still got game by announcing the Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit. The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA)-certified package consists of two DXN-220 adapters, each of which boast coaxial F-type connectors and an Ethernet port meant to give internet / network access to various rooms without worry over wireless connections flaking out on you. As you can tell, this one was designed to expand home networks without requiring any additional wiring (if you're pre-wired for cable, that is), and being that it operates in the 800MHz to 1,500MHz range, there won't be any interference with cable TV transmissions or the like. The DXN-221 kit -- which includes a pair of the aforementioned adapters -- will be available in Q3 for $199.99, while individual adapters can be purchased for $109.99 apiece.
Moving beyond day-and-date releases via internet and HD video-on-demand, movie studios may be ready to move towards regularly putting movies online ahead of the DVD release date for a premium price -- that surveys say some of us are willing to pay -- but prepare to have your analog hole plugged again. The MPAA petitioned the FCC earlier this month to lift the existing ban preventing cable and satellite providers from remotely disabling analog outputs on their set-top boxes via selectable output controls (SOC). In a bit of ICT redux, the movie studios haven't said definitively that they will use the technology, but insist on having the ability to force anyone wanting to view high definition movies to only see them through an HDCP-protected HDMI output to a compatible TV. The failure of AACS and BD+ to prevent high quality copies isn't a deterrent to the MPAA's push, so while ICT has gone unused on Blu-ray and HD DVD, we're still too fond of our component outs, switchers and homemade cables -- and too wary of a future change in policy -- to support any changes in the law.
In a somewhat perplexing (okay, maybe not so much) release from Verizon, it is essentially crawling to the FCC and begging that it assist the telco in bolstering its own market share. How so? By enabling cable subscribers to jump ship without even notifying their cable company, that's how. More specifically, it's seeking to banish "a significant obstacle to consumer choice and competition in the market for bundled communications services" by allowing disconnect orders from the new provider (read: Verizon) to take the place of, you know, the customer calling up their carrier and shutting things down. Verizon argues that said procedure "significantly complicates the process of switching video providers, thereby entrenching the cable incumbents' dominant market position." Beyond the inordinately high level of ridiculousness crammed into those statements, we wonder if Verizon's all geared up to start receiving similar letters from Comcast, Cablevision and the whole gang should any of its customers decide to walk away in silence.
Hi-def and DVRs go together like peanut butter and jelly, but even with all the great DVRs available today, none are perfect. TiVo offers the best overall user experience and features, but lacks a few fundamental features that most cable STBs have -- like VOD, for starters. Although this isn't TiVo's fault, when it comes down to figuring out what's right for your family, it really doesn't matter. During Tivo's earnings call yesterday, it was reaffirmed that TiVo is working one step closer to making the ultimate cable DVR by including two-way functionality using the latest CableLabs standard tru2way. For those who haven't been keeping track at home, tru2way has undergone an identity crisis, and if you go back long enough, you'll find that it was called CableCARD 2.0 -- by someone. The way this would work is that you'd have a way on a TiVo to access the cable company's UI, so good or bad, when you're accessing VOD content, you'd see the same thing as if you were using a Moto or
For the fourth time in a week, an undersea communications cable has apparently been cut (or "failed due to a power outage," as some sources suggest), and while no official reports of subversion have surfaced just yet, things are beginning to get suspicious. Flag Telecom, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group, has had two cables damaged in the span of a week -- a quandary it has never dealt with until now. As it stands, traffic from the Middle East and surrounding areas is being routed through various other cables in an attempt to remain online, but any more snips and we could be dealing with ping times eerily similar to those seen in 1993 (or much, much larger issues).
It's not like we haven't seen consortiums working to establish better links between America and Asia, but the more the merrier, right? Apparently, Verizon Business has just recently received the all-important thumbs-up from the FCC to "activate and operate the Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable system in the US." The TPE cable is hailed as "the first next-generation undersea optical cable system directly linking the US and mainland China," and is the first major system of its kind to land on America's West Coast (Oregon, to be precise) in over seven years. For those curious, the 10,563-mile submarine communications cable will be able to support the equivalent of 62 million simultaneous phone calls -- which is "more than 60 times the overall capacity of the existing cable directly linking the US and China" -- and will initially provide capacity of up to 1.28Tbps. So, when will this thing be up and running? If all goes to plan, it should be fully operational by August (you know, prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing).
Exhilarating, we know, but it is somewhat notable that Belkin has introduced a DisplayPort cable for the emerging connector. From what we can tell, there's nothing exceptionally special about it outside of its early release, but you will be paying a pretty penny for it when it actually lands. Depending on cable length (3-, 6- or 10-feet), you'll be asked to drop $59.99 to $109.99, and you can make said purchase this April in the US or later in 2008 in Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia.









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