HomeMediaDvr
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Verizon to add remote scheduling to Home Media DVR
Word on the Vegas strip is that Verizon is just moments away from announcing that Home Media DVR customers will soon have remote scheduling access. In essence, the company is just now catching up with AT&T, being that remote DVR features have been available for all U-verse tiers via the web and cell at no charge. This service, however, will only be gratis for Home Media DVR users, and it will enable remote control service via the FiOS TV website or by using downloadable software on select Verizon Wireless handsets, including the LG enV2, LG Voyager and LG Chocolate 2 handsets. We'll keep our ear to the ground for a go-live date.
Verizon brings new features to Interactive Media Guide in MD / VA
Verizon's Interactive Media Guide has been on the rollout path since July of last year, but now customers in Maryland and Virginia can look forward to even more of that delicious interactivity. Beginning this very moment, FiOS TV users in the aforementioned states will have access to a "fantasy sports application, free casual games, purchasing power via remote control, more widgets that provide on-demand access to information and entertainment, and other exciting options." More specifically, you'll be able to stream HD recordings to six other TV sets throughout the home, create two separate lists of favorite channels and interface with your ESPN Fantasy Football right on your TV screen. Not bad for free, huh?
Verizon pushes HD DVRs in new FiOS TV promotion
Verizon's latest push to get you to switch from your current carrier revolves directly around high-def, as it's offering new customers a HD DVR or HD Home Media DVR for a full year should they sign up before October 4th. According to Shawn Strickland, vice president of video solutions for Verizon, FiOS TV is "delivered over the network that's built for HD," and it's doing its best to ensure that everyone out there knows it. So, do any of you other providers care to match this, or will the leapfrog game end here?[Image courtesy of PCMag]
Verizon to offer "Home Media DVR" to FiOS customers
If you're tired of waiting for DirecTV's continually-delayed HD DVR, or just one of the lucky few who actually have access to FiOS service (and want to extract every ounce of greatness from it), Verizon is looking to hook you up. Available only to those in its (slowly) expanding FiOS network, Verizon is out to give subscribers a kinda sorta new way to watch television, and, of course, to cash in on the time-shifting craze while the window of opportunity is still open. The presumed selling point of its Home Media DVR is its ability to function as a "multiroom streaming media solution" that enables "up to three simultaneous viewings" of recorded material (whether or not this tidbit is worth $19.95 per month is debatable). Of course, the media can only be streamed to other "Verizon-approved" receivers -- whatever they may be -- and it's not yet clear if your Verizon cellphone will be one of those treasured devices. While we can imagine the list of restrictions on this streaming gig are quite lengthy, the company has stated that it will support "DVR-to-PC connectivity," thus enabling DVR viewing on a networked PC, though there's no mention of supporting wirelessly connected computers a la Slingbox. Apparently the DVR system will utilize a run-of-the-mill Motorola QIP6416 (dual HD-tuners and a 160GB hard drive) as the "hub" and a Motorola QIP2500 (basic STB that can receive content from the hub), both of which will communicate via MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) technology. While this rigamarole creates more questions than it answers, we're glad to see progress towards a centralized content viewing / streaming solution, but getting cable companies and the almighty content providers to warm up to the idea of slinging material around on a home network (and beyond?) probably won't be easy.[Via Ars Technica]
