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Panasonic serves up latest prototype robots, dish washing servant included (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 18th 2009 at 11:11AM

Keeping those dreams alive by scrubbing dishes at your least favorite eatery? Best put those aspirations on the front burner, as Panasonic's got a mighty fine robot swooping in to take your place -- and for a whole lot less cash, to boot. At Panny's robotics laboratory in Osaka, the company recently showcased its latest gaggle of prototype robots designed to help humans take it easy more often. Among the usual suspects were a porter robot designed to help with heavy lifting, while the star of the show was undoubtedly the dish washing bot that wasn't afraid to get its metallic digits wet and soapy. As expected, an array of integrated sensors kept it from grabbing a wine glass too tightly, and its four fingers enabled it to do most everything a human washer could (sans the kvetching). Have a peek at these guys in action just past the break.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Panasonic serves up latest prototype robots, dish washing servant included (video)

TiVo awarded $200m in damages in EchoStar case, consumers not awarded end to the Echostar case

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 6th 2009 at 5:43AM

Okay, so it's not the cool billion dollars in damages we'd heard TiVo was asking for, but $200 million ain't chump change if you're broke, you know? That's the amount in contempt damages TiVo will get if EchoStar loses its upcoming appeal in the endless time warp patent case, bringing the total amount of money on the table to nearly $400 million. As usual, that means virtually nothing for the average Dish or TiVo customer, but at least the lawyers involved can all buy new Audis for the winter now.

TiVo projects larger than expected losses, still taking the patent fight to AT&T and Verizon

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 26th 2009 at 8:19PM

We'll let the analysts make sense of TiVo's new projection that it will lose $8 to $10 million in the third quarter, larger than Wall Street expectations while projected revenues are lower -- we're too busy adding Verizon and AT&T to the patent battlemap. Today it filed complaints against both for violating three of its DVR-related patents -- Nos. 6,233,389 B1 ("Multimedia Time Warping System"), 7,529,465 B2 ("System for Time Shifting Multimedia Content Streams"), and 7,493,015 B1 ("Automatic Playback Overshoot Correction System") if you must know -- seeking damages for past infringement and a permanent injunction. We'd assumed it would wait until settling things with DISH to push forward against other companies, but it looks like we're not the only ones getting impatient. Beyond the legal slapfight there's a few nuggets for the bleep bloop faithful, with the Comcast TiVo on-line scheduler beginning to roll out in Boston plus further expansions on the way and the due-in-2010 DirecTV HD TiVo still on track -- we'll need a few seasons of Law & Order queued up before this mess ever gets resolved.

Read - TiVo Swings to Loss, Files Infringement Suits
Read - TiVo Reports Results for the Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2010 Ended July 31, 2009
Read - TiVo Files Complaints for Patent Infringement Against AT&T and Verizon Communications in United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas; Seeking Damages and Injunction

SlingPlayer 1.1 for iPhone promises DISH integration for US, 3G streaming elsewhere (maybe)

by Ross Miller posted Aug 10th 2009 at 6:31PM

As history tells us time and time again, iPhone apps / updates submitted to Apple aren't a sure deal for approval. Still, we can't help but like where SlingPlayer Mobile is going with the recently-submitted version 1.1. In addition to providing true 16:9 widescreen support that stretches across the whole screen, Slingbox owners with DISH Network can now navigate using a touch-supported native browser, instead of pushing through the TV-standard browsing screen being streamed in. That last bit's great for US customers, but it's what the rest of the world might get that has our interests very piqued. The company's submitted a version for use outside of AT&T's homeland that would finally allow for streaming over a 3G connection -- again, not a certainty for approval, but we'll be most interested to see if that one makes its way through the system.

Patent Office rejects some of TiVo's patent claims, battle vs. DISH to rage on

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 5th 2009 at 9:04AM

You knew it couldn't be over, right? The long running TiVo vs. DISH / Echostar patent case took a not-so-new twist yesterday when the Patent and Trademark Office issued a preliminary finding rejecting some of the claims of its Time Warp patent. While DISH was pleased, considering the PTO's conclusions as "highly relevant" to its ongoing appeal, TiVo issued a statement calling this step "not unusual" pointing out that the exact same thing happened when its patent was reexamined in 2005 (and subsequently upheld in 2007,) and that the next step in the process is where it will be able to present its explanation for the first time. All you need to know is that it will still be a while before anyone involved (except the two company's lawyers) are cashing any large checks, or gets their DVR taken away.

[Via Multichannel News]

Read - TiVo Statement on Developments in Lawsuit Against EchoStar
Read - DISH Network and EchoStar Statement Regarding Tivo

TiVo coming to Time Warner Cable, potentially lots of other providers

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 22nd 2009 at 1:46PM

It's been a long, messy road, but now that TiVo's beaten a victory out of EchoStar in that seemingly-endless DVR patent lawsuit it sounds like the company is trying to exert some muscle -- it's already in talks to bring its service to Time Warner Cable, and sources have told Bloomberg the ultimate plan is to eventually collect royalties from every pay-TV provider in the US. That might sound bullying and even a little trollish, but keep in mind these patents have withstood pretty much every legal challenge EchoStar could throw at them, so TiVo's operating from a position of some certainty here -- especially since it's got license agreements with huge players like Comcast and DirecTV to use as leverage in negotiations as well. Of course, none of this solves any of TiVo's actual problems with its products, and the company's topsy-turvy balance sheet has some analysts thinking its ripe for a buyout by one of the bigs, so things could change dramatically at any minute, but for right now it sounds like your chances of getting the TiVo interface on your cable or satellite company DVR just went up, and that's almost certainly a good thing.

DISH / EchoStar DVR injunction temporarily put on hold by court

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 7:45PM

It's the case that never ends -- the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued a temporary delay of of the injunction and fine handed down yesterday in the EchoStar / TiVo lawsuit while it considers an appeal, meaning that DISH owners with older DVRs won't have to worry about losing their pause-and-rewind functionality at least for now. That pretty much means we're back in stasis with this one, with even more delay to come if the appeal is granted. That's cool, we needed a nap anyway.

DISH / EchoStar ordered to pay TiVo $190 million in patent infringement case

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 2nd 2009 at 8:23PM

We're a bit hesitant to call this one done given the history involved, but a federal judge in Texas has dealt DISH / EchoStar yet another serious blow in its long-standing dispute with TiVo, and this time he's taken a number of other measures that could cause EchoStar to finally rethink its workaround-litigate strategy. The big setback for EchoStar, however, is the one-two punch of $190 million in damages it's been ordered to pay TiVo and an order to disable the "infringing function" on all but 193,000 DVRs now in the hands of subscribers. The judge also found that EchoStar's recently-implemented workaround technology still violated the patent in question and, as a result, he's ordered EchoStar to inform the court before it decides to try its hand at another "design-around" of the infringing patent. For its part, TiVo says that it is "extremely gratified by the Court's well reasoned and thorough decision," while DISH / EchoStar would only say that it plans to appeal the court's decision and file a motion to stay the order with a federal appeals court.

Read - The New York Times, "Court Awards TiVo $190 Million in EchoStar Patent Case"
Read - TiVo Statement on U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Decision

Is your DISH Network DTVPal DVR having issues?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2009 at 3:51PM

Crickey! DISH Network's hotly anticipated DTVPal DVR -- which, by the way, is the first standalone OTA HD DVR to come out in years -- seems to be causing all sorts of frustration amongst owners. So much, in fact, that DISH now has engineers trying to replicate problems and issue firmware updates; in the meanwhile, the box has suddenly "sold out" from the DTVPal website. A whole swath of users over at AVSForum have reported erratic freezing, reboots and scheduling gaffs, and DISH is candidly admitting that replacement units are apt to have the same issues. In other words, those experiencing quirks have little choice but to wait things out until a solution is found and an update is distributed. Have you run into any issues with your box? Everything humming along smoothly? Tell us, dear readers.

[Thanks, Joshua]

TiVo and DISH / Echostar head back to Texas for another patent duel

by Donald Melanson posted Feb 18th 2009 at 2:46PM

Well, just when it was starting to look like TiVo and DISH / Echostar may finally have put their seemingly never-ending patent dispute behind them, the two companies now look to be rekindling things in Texas this week, where they've landed in court once more to sort out that pesky patent involving TiVo's Time Warp software. As patent dispute junkies may recall, TiVo first wound up being awarded some damages in the matter way back in 2006, after which Echostar was forced to develop some workaround software that it claims no longer infringed on TiVo's Time Warp patent, which allows for recording of one channel while the user watches another. In the meantime, Echostar / DISH continued to fight back against TiVo, with things finally, apparently coming to an end when the Supreme Court ultimately denied DISH's appeal and awarded TiVo those aforementioned damages (plus interest) for real. Now, TiVo is alleging that the DISH's "workaround" software does still violate its patent after all, and it's asking a U.S. District Court Judge in Texarcana, Texas to sort it out. If this latest round plays out as TiVo hopes, DISH could be forced to disable most, if not all, of its DVRs, and potentially buy new DVRs that don't infringe on TiVo's patents.

DISH Network's DTVPal DVR unboxed and previewed

by Darren Murph posted Feb 1st 2009 at 4:09AM

For the longest while, we couldn't figure out who let the standalone HD DVR die. To this day, we're still scrambling to find an answer, but thankfully DISH Network has stepped in to revive the niche while the search continues. The outfit's DTVPal DVR has been circulating for almost a century now (okay, just a year and change, but there's hardly a difference in the grand scheme of things), and Mr. Dave Zatz has done us the honors of unboxing one and setting it up. The unit actually doubles as a DTV converter box and an HD DVR, and Zatz found setup to be almost too painless. Everything seemed to be humming along just fine at last check, so feel free and have a look at the gallery in the read link below before pulling the trigger.

DISH Network's DTVPal DVR now shipping, caught in the wild

by Darren Murph posted Dec 25th 2008 at 2:09AM

We actually pondered aloud where all the standalone OTA DVRs were in this wild world earlier this year, and at long (long!) last, we finally have a new entrant into the all-but-dead niche. DISH Network's DTVPal DVR, which was known in a former life as the EchoStar TR-50, has finally started to ship out to anxious buyers. For those who've forgotten, this box acts as a digital-to-analog converter and an HD DVR, capturing up to 30 hours of HD OTA material or 150 hours of SD content. Check the read link for a slew of in the wild / interface shots.

[Thanks, TOTA]

DISH Network's DTVPal DVR converter box set to roll out in December

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 11th 2008 at 4:51PM

This unassuming little device first popped up way back at CES in January, where it was known as the Echostar TR-50, but it looks like it's now finally going to see the light of day courtesy of DISH Network, which has dubbed it the DTVPal. From the looks of it, however, there's not a whole lot of changes beyond the name, with it still promising to handle the digital-to-analog conversion with ease, and record 30 hours of HD video or 150 hours of standard-def -- a task made considerably easier with the included seven-day programming guide which, best of all, doesn't require a subscription or contract. If that sounds like the box you've been waiting for, you'll be able to get your pre-order in on November 19th for $250 (after a $50 instant rebate), with the device supposedly set to start shipping in mid-December.

DISH Network's 1080p VOD service gets inspected, looks impressive

by Darren Murph posted Oct 13th 2008 at 5:50PM

A couple of months back, we saw what was to come with DISH Network's 1080p video-on-demand service. Now, the cats and kittens over at Sound & Vision have a definitive writeup explaining the value of the aforementioned offering. At the time of review, Speed Racer was DISH's 1080p VOD movie of the month, so critics fired it up via the satcaster's set-top-box while comparing it to the version on Blu-ray. Obviously, DISH's 1080p isn't the same quality 1080p as what you'll find on a BD-50, but the results were pretty astounding, regardless. In fact, critics had a tough time deciphering between the two from a normal viewing distance, and while they were fully expecting to be underwhelmed by DISH Network's 1080p material, they were actually stunned by just how impressive it looked. Of course, the dearth of titles available at any given time means that this won't sway potential customers in and of itself, but you can rest assured DISH is looking to beef up its 1080p HD VOD lineup as quickly as possible.

DISH Network might attempt DirecTV merger again?

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 6th 2008 at 7:39PM

DirecTV and DISH Network trying to get together again? That's the idea according to the Wall Street Journal, apparently in response to DISH making "a major strategic shift" after losing 25,000 subscribers in Q2. Of course the last time these two tried U + me = Us back in 2001, regulators put the smackdown on the idea, but apparently DISH CEO Charlie Ergen thinks things may be different now. We can see how a 90% drop in subscriber growth (and a blown satellite or two) could cause anyone to reevaluate things, but as our extensive experience watching daytime TV proves, running into a new relationship to escape ones problems never works out long term, but it is interesting to see if either is really willing to stop the constant one-upmanship and concentrate on taking on the cable (& telco) companies together.

[Thanks, Adam]