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Echostar shows off its SlingLoaded T2200S HD DVR for cable
It didn't take long for Echostar to turn its ViP 922 SlingLoaded DVR for DISH into a tru2way powered HD DVR for cable viewers ready to placeshift live and prerecorded TV, and now we've got a glimpse of what it will look like. The specs show off a 1TB hard drive ripped from its still-yet-to-launch predecessor, but new for the T2200S is a backlit capacitive touch control mounted up front, while that no numbers required touch remote the 922 flashed at CES is so far missing from the mix. It'll be at least Q4 before these go into production, but you can believe Echostar is pitching them to all willing to listen at Cable Show '09 this week, while interested customers are being advised to contact their cable provider and let 'em know they want a piece.
Cable customers can get SlingLoaded too with the T2200S tru2way DVR
Want a taste of the SlingLoaded DISH Network 922 DVR (pictured), without switching to satellite? Echostar, as expected, is ready to show off a tru2way compatible version of its latest box, the T2200S, this week at the Cable Show '09. The T2200S contains the 1TB hard drive, expandable storage and of course, Sling Media's placeshifting technology ready to send live or recorded TV to your Internet connected device of choice. Since it's tru2way, it's also capable of running either the SlingGuide software, or whatever middleware is chosen by the provider, and enabling remote video diagnostics, hopefully making many truck rolls unnecessary. Like the 922, we've no price or release date yet but hopefully all that work on tru2way and M-CARD means whether or not our cable company signs up, we'll still have the choice of purchasing one at retail.Update: Looks like the box is planned to start testing June, and go into production in Q4 of 2009, the specs from the PR are after the break. [Thanks, Justin]
Cable HD compression gets turned up a notch in the Electra 8000 encoder
We haven't talked about QAM cramming much recently, but we have a feeling its ugly, pixelated head will soon be raised once more, now that Harmonic is launching the DiviCom Electra 8000 encoder, capable of stuffing four MPEG-2 HD streams in one QAM channel. It might be an interesting bit of hardware if you're a head end tech, capable of delivering 1080p60, MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 video capable of three encoding passes, but all we can see at the end is too many channels slotted into too little frequency and the potential for compression artifacts. Anyone stopping by Cable Show '09 this week should be able to get a demo, with the first units shipping in June, we'll be keeping a close eye on both our channel lineup and picture quality.[Thanks, Larry]
Poll: Are you waiting for a Tuning Adapter?
With the looming Tuning Adapter practically stealing the limelight at The Cable Show 2008, we can't help but wonder: how many of you are actually waiting in tense anticipation to snag one of these rascals? Is your CableCARD-equipped TiVo not pulling in all of the HD channels that are being delivered via switched digital video? Are you holding off on buying a set-top-box until tru2way DVRs hit the market? Let us know just how important this stuff is to you. %Poll-14649%
The Cable Show 2008 roundup
This was the first time The Cable Show was back in the Big Easy since Katrina, and the first we've attended, too. For those unfamiliar, it's the cable industry's biggest event, and we certainly left with a new perspective on Big Cable. In case you missed what's coming down the coax in the next year, here's a rundown of our coverage.Hands-on and on location Hands-on with the Motorola Tuning Adapter MTR700 Hands-on with the Cisco Tuning Adapter STA1520 The Cable Show 2008 floor tour The CableNET Booth tour at The Cable Show Up close and personal with the new Pace HD STBs Samsung shows off SMT-3090 tru2way DVR Cable has big plans for tru2way Announcements Motorola study finds millennials hungry for VOD Tuning adapters hit CableLabs testing lair, still not ready for public consumption ADB shows off tru2way STB to MSOs ESPN unveils The Ultimate Remote, is WiFi worth $300? ESPN ratings 43% higher in HD homes than SD abodes in April Motorola's SmartStream remote diagnostics to replace truck rolls Comcast claims more HD than anyone, anywhere Time Warner Cable signs up MGM HD QVCHD launches on SES AMERICOM satellites
Cable has big plans for tru2way
We first heard about tru2way just before CES and at first we were confused, then after checking out all the tru2way HDTVs at CES, we realized it as a way for us access VOD and other interactive services on our non-cable issued HDTVs or TiVo DVRs. But now that we had the chance to sit in a on a few tru2way developers sessions, and walk the floor at this year's Cable Show, we are starting to get the big picture. You see there really wasn't that many mentions of third-party tru2way devices at the show. Instead everyone was more interested in the cable companies deploy schedule for their own tru2way STBs. Developers want to know how to get their applications onto customer's TVs, and cable companies hope to spawn new growth by providing interactive services while at the same time eliminating its dependency on a single STB manufacturer.
ESPN ratings 43% higher in HD homes than SD abodes in April
Life's good in Bristol -- at least it sure looks that way based on reports stemming from The Cable Show in New Orleans and the latest Nielsen data. For starters, primetime viewership on ESPN grew 15%, while total day ratings ratcheted up 13%. According to Sean Bratches, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the outfit, ESPN's ratings were 43% higher in high-definition homes versus standard-definition homes, reiterating that sports and movies are the two biggest draws of owning an HDTV. Needless to say, the news simply means that the network can demand even more for precious ad time, but we won't even pretend you didn't see that coming.
Tuning adapters hit CableLabs testing lair, still not ready for public consumption
This one probably goes without saying, but just in case you're inclined to waste a few gallons of precious regular unleaded searching for a tuning adapter, don't. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and TiVo have jointly issued a release to inform the public that "several manufacturers of switched digital external tuning adapters have submitted products for formal testing at CableLabs." On the positive side, this means we're inching closer to seeing these devices hit store shelves, but sadly, it also means we're not done wading through red tape just yet. For those unfamiliar, these newfangled "tuning adapters" will enable TiVo Series3, TiVo HD and certain one-way set-top-boxes that utilize CableCARDs to "access digital cable channels delivered using switched digital (SDV) technology." Hit up the read link for all the details, and check out our hands-on galleries with a few of the boxes right here.
Up close and personal with the new Pace HD STBs
It's tough to get too excited about new cable STBs, but the latest crop do have some pretty cool features. The coolest new feature we noticed -- other than tru2way of course -- was the fact that the new line of Pace HD STBs have a built in DOCSIS modem. This will allow the STB to access the Internet, but also via the included Ethernet port on the back, you can say goodbye to your dedicated cable modem. Anytime we can get rid of yet another box and accompanying wall-wart, we're happy.%Gallery-23245%
Motorola study finds millennials hungry for VOD
Kids these days -- understanding way more than their parents do about all this newfangled technology. Shortly after hearing that millennials were entirely more savvy about emerging TV technologies than the older crowd, a new study commissioned by Motorola has found that this same demographic (ages 16 to 27) is starved for video-on-demand. Beyond that, the 1,000 person study discovered that 62% had "influence over which HDTV set and programming package to buy," while 70% felt that "their expectations and demands are far greater than their parents' for rich media experiences." The report also found some pretty interesting figures dealing with transferring media from DVRs to portable devices (among other things), so be sure and dig into the read link below if you're a sucker for stats.
Verizon adds ON Networks HD VOD shows
Not letting Comcast steal all the VOD news at The Cable Show, Verizon announced it's added high definition video on-demand content from ON Networks. The free HD VOD content includes all the shows you may have seen on TVTonic or AppleTV, like Backpack Picnic, Golf Tips with Joe Beck and Proper Ollie. FiOS subscribers can look forward to 1,000 HD VOD titles each month by year-end, according to Verizon, it already offers access to more than 10,000 on-demand titles with 70% available for free. All those shows should be available right now, so feel free to grab the remote and take a look.
The Cable Show 2008 floor tour
The Cable Show is all about bringing the members of the cable TV industry together, and unlike the Consumer Electronics Show, everything is all about business to business. But this doesn't mean the big players don't have big booths, and just like any other show, everyone wants to be on the main aisle. So while we strolled through, we snapped some pics so you could get an idea of what it was like. Also like any other show, some booths were packed like Motorola's and Cisco's, but others were like a ghost town -- we almost felt sorry for the Aljazeera booth folks who were talking amongst themselves. The one thing that seemed to hold true wherever we went, was that everyone is excited about tru2way, and not for the reasons you think. Cable really thinks it has a chance to take interactivity to the next level, and we hope they're right.%Gallery-23240%
Samsung shows off SMT-3090 tru2way DVR
Any cable operators about to roll out tru2way on their network may take a look at Samsung's SMT-3090 set-top box. The dual-tuner HD DVR comes with a 160GB HDD, DOCSIS 2.0 modem for interactive communication to the headend and Multistream CableCARD. Samsung didn't leave Panasonic alone, as it's also demoing a tru2way LCD TV, See'n'Search web-enabled tru2way box and a tru2way STB that communicates with the headend to deliver targeted ads based on viewing patterns. No word on how long before any of this equipment is expected to hit the street, check after the break (or our gallery) for more pics
The CableNET Booth tour at The Cable Show
All of the coolest stuff at The Cable Show was on display at the CableNet booth. The Motorola Tuning Adapter was there, but it was only one of about 30 small demos. The rest were from a entire range of companies showing off how cable can be the center of the connected home. There were software vendors showing off their tru2way award winning games -- which made us wonder if they were the only one -- Moxi's had its long overdue DVR for MSOs, GE and Next Alarm were hoping to help big cable get into the monitoring business, Sigma Designs had a triple HD tuner chipset, and finally Samsung was showing off its tru2way DVR and software called SeeNSearch which adds Internet links to the program guide and lets you access web pages directly from the guide for display on your TV, but interestingly, isn't tru2way.%Gallery-23233%
Comcast claims more HD than anyone, anywhere
Comcast continues to push on Project Infinity, claiming the most HD content available anywhere, anytime. While it's channel count is dwarfed by DirecTV's, it's fighting back with video on-demand, with more than 500 HD "choices" available. Showtime and Starz have added 4x as much HD content this month, while MoviePlex and Encore doubled up on their offerings. A Comcast-commissioned study (unsurprisingly) deduced that 79 percent of people who like movies want to watch them on their schedule, along with 63 percent of people who watch TV shows. Adding MGM HD and Fuse HD won't hurt that "choices" count at all while Variety has the lowdown on MGM's price, with a 50-cents per customer rate, whenever it is available, it'll definitely be something customer's have to pay extra for. Look forward to new kinds of promotions as well, following up on an American Gangster VOD tie in last month where subscribers rented the Denzel Washington flick, and got all three Godfather movies, plus Goodfellas and Scarface. Halfway to the promised 1,000 HD VOD movies this year, but will that matter against satellite's higher channel count?Read - Comcast Hits 500 HD Choices Providing Consumers with the Most HD Content Available Anywhere, Anytime Read - MGM net high on Comcast
Hands-on with the Cisco Tuning Adapter STA1520
Unlike Motorola's Tuning Adapter demo, Cisco's wasn't a functional demo, but basically the two boxes do the same thing. The Cisco version is considerably bigger (the box on the top is a basic digital converter, not the TA), but includes the same exact connections. While Moto claims its adapter will be available in July, Cisco is saying it'll come sometime during the 3rd quarter, which could mean the same thing. Like Moto, Cisco is reusing an existing STB form factor so although it appears the box has a CableCARD slot, it doesn't.%Gallery-23218%
Time Warner Cable signs up MGM HD
Ring the bell folks MGM HD has racked up another one, this time inking a deal with Time Warner Cable to distribute its high definition network to subscribers. Promoting its wares on a 103-inch screen at The Cable Show, MGM continues to tout its 4,100 title-deep library of 1080i content. Multichannel News has more info its background, as an HD-only channel MGM HD charges a license fee to operators, causing it to reside on an HD tier with DirecTV and Dish Network. It's still unclear what it might cost to get the channel whenever it is eventually available on Time Warner, but executive VP Douglas Lee is confident those tiers will eventually "kind of melt away". We can only hope. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Via Multichannel News]
QVCHD launches on SES AMERICOM satellites
QVCHD joined in with the Cable Show announcements, unfortunately (or fortunately, for those hoping their already-packed coax lines add a network with actual programming) still carrier-less, but now available to cable providers via SES AMERICOM's HD-PRIME satellites.That's right, the AMC-11 bird is all set, ready to deliver trinkets of varying quality and worth to all of the households demanding the ability to shop armed with only TV & phone. We just died a little inside.
Hands-on with the Motorola Tuning Adapter MTR700
The highlight of The Cable Show for us was actually to be able to see the Motorola Tuning Adapter in action. Sure it isn't that exciting of a product, but just the idea that our beloved TiVo won't be useless because of the fact that all latest HD channels are being deployed with SDV (Switched Digital Video) is enough to get us going. The MTR700 was named before CableLabs renamed the class of product from Tuning Resolver to Tuning Adapter, and should be available to cable companies in July. Unfortunately there's really no way to tell how long it'll take before your provider makes it available to you, or for how much. For the most part, there's no change from a user's perspective, so much so that for the demo the channels were relabeled so we could tell which were SDV, and which weren't. In fact the only way you can even tell this thing is connected, is because the TiVo's Devices menu has a new option with a whole slew of troubleshooting options for the cable guy. Changing channels was just as fast -- or slow depending on your perspective -- as a TiVo HD tuning standard HD broadcast channels. Click on through to the gallery to see all the pictures of it in action.%Gallery-23175%
Fuse HD VOD channel coming to Comcast
Fuse is coming to Comcast subscribers via an HD video-on-demand offering starting in July, with original series, interviews and music videos. The Cablevision-owned network's all-high definition content goes live to approximately 7 million digital cable customers, with Comcast the first provider signing up for the service. We don't know how USA TODAY's content will tie into it, but there's a few more HD choices in the bin for you.
