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DISH Network opens up HD locals in Hartford, CT / Portland, ME
This day last week, DISH Network brought HD locals to Norfolk, Virginia. Today, it's doing the same for Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut and Portland-Auburn, Maine. If you'll recall, neither of these two markets were included on DISH's master list of Spring rollouts, but for whatever reason, it's showing New England some serious love. No mention is made of what channels are being made available, so we'll cautiously assume that the Big Four (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) will be ready for viewing in glorious high-def.
Portland, Maine: don't expect FOX HD via OTA 'til 2009
Sure, it's been known for some time that FOX 23 out of Portland, Maine didn't beam out its signal in HD over-the-air, and based on a response from the station received by tipster Jay, it doesn't seem as if anything will be changing in the near future. Apparently, the station was purchased (in 2003) after the time period when "stations could file with the FCC for an additional digital channel position had expired." Due to this, FOX 23 is left with the option of switching channel 23 over to digital (and HD) now -- leaving hordes of analog-only viewers out in the proverbial cold -- or waiting things out until February 2009. Needless to say, the station is choosing the latter option, but to its credit, it has made its HD feed available on Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and most recently, Comcast. So yeah, it looks like those in the Portland area will indeed have to point their bank account in the direction of one of the aforementioned providers to catch Super Bowl XLII in HD, but hey, it could be worse. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Time Warner adds six new HD channels in Augusta, Maine
There's been an awful lot of HD expansion mentioned lately, but Time Warner Cable (partly owned by Time Warner, parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) has been sorely absent from the fun. Thanks to a tipster up in Maine, we've now learned that TWC has apparently added six new HD channels in Augusta without so much as a whisper. Customers in the area can now look forward to receiving CNN HD, HGTV HD, National Geographic HD, Food Network HD, Lifetime Movie Network HD and History Channel HD, but we've no idea if these options will make their way into any other surrounding regions.[Thanks, Jim Johnson]
Real ID gets shot down by Maine legislature
Although it has been a tick since we've heard anything substantial on the proposed Real ID card set to take the place of individual state drivers' licenses, it seems like Maine legislature has had their wheels turning (and fists curled) for a good bit. While a majority of lawmakers have simply given a whimsical thumbs-up to the potentially voyeuristic plan, the folks in Maine seem to think the invasion of privacy (not to mention the $185 million in implementation cost for the state) is downright lame. Shenna Bellows of the Maine Civil Liberties Union derided the presumably RFID-based Real IDs as "a one-stop shop for identity thieves," and it was noted that several other states (like New Hampshire, Georgia, and Montana) just might bust out their true feelings on the matter now that Maine has broken the collective silence. Of course, Maine hasn't completely gone loopy and opted out of the process just yet, as the current protest is simply filed as a "resolution," but backers seem fairly serious in their attempts to "protect the people of Maine from just this sort of dangerous federal mandate." So, what about that iris database you guys are building, hmm?[Via Wired]
Visionmill cranks out HD IPTV channel, more to come?
While the mega-corporations are making this whole HD IPTV thing look easy, it's hard out here for an entrepreneur trying to launch his own gig. Rob Draper, an internationally acclaimed cinematographer, envisions IPTV as the future of television delivery, primarily because advertisers can focus their marketing to select channels / websites rather than just blasting ads out to everyone as they do now, theoretically wasting resources on folks who will shun their offerings anyway. After a failed attempt to make Visionmill, his own IPTV service, "a source of programming for TV food channels" and to turn Camden, Maine a "TV production hotspot," he branched out on his own and created SingleMalt.tv, which is dubbed the "world's first internet TV channel devoted to single malt Scotch whiskey." More important, however, is the fact that everything on the site is shot and delivered in crisp 720p, and while it may be hard to convince Mr. Draper to venture somewhere other than the beautiful hillsides of Scotland to set up shop, there could be more channels in the future as his startup blossoms -- but for now, we can all raise our glasses to 720p over the 'net, eh?
iBooks for 48 bucks
The Maine Learning Technology Initiative has 30,000 iBooks that the state has mostly paid off, and they are looking to get rid of them. That's why they are selling them to the schools that they are in for $8 a pop (that's the difference in what the state has paid and what is left over). Now, keep in mind that these iBooks have been in the hands of schoolchildren for 4 years so they are probably not in the best of shape (in general), but that is still a pretty good deal.Luckily they aren't giving the public a chance to snag any, so there won't be any stampedes this time around.[Via Digg]
