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TiVo shows a Q1 net loss of $20.8 million, will launch TV Everywhere web portal soon
TiVo has released its financial results for Q1 2013, and right off the bat they show a wider than expected net loss of $20.8 million. This is despite a rise in revenue and subscribers (driven mostly by Virgin Media, which added 242,000), and the company expects another loss in the second quarter due to rising litigation costs in its ongoing cases against Motorola and Time Warner Cable. We've already heard about TiVo's new Stream placeshifting box, IP multiroom extender and six-tuner XG1 gateway, but the new product news is a plan to launch TV Everywhere streaming. The first cable operator joining in the new venture will be RCN, and TiVo says its portal will allow providers using its DVRs to deliver streaming video in or out of the home, with video on-demand and remote DVR scheduling on PCs, tablets and mobile devices. That's expected to launch later this year, but for all the details, numbers and quotes you can check the press releases after the break.
Ideum's MT-55 'Platform' multitouch table goes ultrathin, demands but $18,000
It's been a hot minute since we've heard from the fine folks at Ideum, but when the image above floated into our inbox... well, it's safe to say our interest was piqued. We last heard from these guys back in the fall of 2009, and while The Platform is certainly a bit smaller than the 100-inch MT-50 that came before it, it's also a heck of a lot more practical for average consumers. Well, save for the price. Looking beyond that for a moment, you'll find a devilishly thin (3-inches) table, complete with 55-inches of 1080p gorgeousness, a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 178-degree viewing angle and support for a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Professional. The internal computer includes a dual-core Core i5 CPU (2.66GHz), 8GB of memory and a 128GB SSD; you'll also find WiFi, Bluetooth and a slew of "hidden ports." The entire thing is constructed from aircraft-grade aluminum, and it supports a total of 32 touch points. We'll leave it to you to discover what it'll be used for in your future abode, but if you've got the $17,950 to take one home, you've probably got the brains to figure it out.
Comcast to show off new Xfinity TV guide with Facebook tie-ins, Intel CPU Thursday (video)
Thanks to one of our readers getting an early install, we've already dug deep into Comcast's next generation Xfinity TV DVR, but on Thursday Brian Roberts will show it off in full (along with "new broadband speeds") at the 2011 NCTA Cable Show . According to the press release the new guide that blends internet content with TV broadcasts will include customizations and sharing tied to Facebook along with hardware built by Pace around an Intel CPU -- if anyone needs a suggestion for a service to add after Skype, we're thinking OnLive could be a good fit. The detail we're waiting to hear is when it will be upgrading the pitiful boxes currently available in our neck of the woods, but until then we have another tipster to thank for pointing out a cache of demo videos posted on the portal for initial testers in Georgia. The 17-minute compilation of walkthrough videos is embedded above, just try not to drool too hard over the HD formatted UI. [Thanks, Cypherstream]
Big Cable's take on internet TV could land as early as summer
It was but days ago that we first caught wind of Big Cable's plans to bite a chunk out of the online TV pie, and now we're already hearing that things could be ready to roll by summer. According to undisclosed sources quoted by Reuters, both Comcast and Time Warner Cable are heading up talks with major content providers like Viacom and Discovery Communications. We're told that their plans are at "different stages," but pay-TV subscribers could be tuning into bonus coverage on the web or via smartphone "as soon as this summer." Tick, tock...
More details on Comcast's On Demand Online internet TV offering
We heard late last week that Time Warner Cable and Comcast were looking to bring more online content to their loyal customers, and now the latter is bursting at the seems to tell us more. The company pinged us to say that "essentially, it is working with programmers (cable networks) to try to bring more content that is currently not online to the web," and while it's obviously early in the process, the initiative is being called On Demand Online for now. Basically, it's about bringing on-demand content to the web, and ultimately, anywhere you want to watch. Comcast will be utilizing technology from thePlatform, and while it's not going into detail just yet, it seems pretty stoked about the challenge of bringing new content to the web. We only hope that this doesn't slip into any sort of "exclusive" deal that limits content that would've otherwise been shot for free to all, but we guess only time will tell.Read - PCWorldRead - thePlatform
PBS taps Comcast's thePlatform for online video
PBS has chosen media distribution company thePlatform to help boost its online video offerings. It's a fairly pretentious name, but in the two years that thePlatform has been a division of Comcast, it's racked up some big name clients, including BBC, CBS College Sports and Hulu. The PBS deal is intended to bring something we all like -- more content on the web. The arrangement opens up a kind of free-for-all between nationally- and locally- originated content and websites. Of course, content from the PBS mothership can be sent out to local affiliate websites. But local stations will also have access to thePlatform publishing tools to allow them to push their content to other affiliates. This is good news, as some of our favorite PBS stuff is produced by local affiliates.
