Howcast Expands On TiVoCast

Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 by MegaZone

HowCast joined the TiVoCast lineup back on July 11th. Now Howcast is breaking out – into multiple channels. Where there was formerly a single monolithic ‘Howcast’ channel, there are now four sub-channels: Hot How-To’s, Home & Family, Health & Beauty, and Food & Drink.

I’m not sure what happens to the subscription of those who had subscribed to the monolithic channel, I’d guess it converts into subscription for all four sub-channels. But if you were subscribed leave a comment and let me know. (I’d checked it out, but dropped it.)

The ‘Howcast’ menu item now opens into a sub-menu listing the sub-channels, both online and on the unit: Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> Howcast

Oddly Hot How-To’s and Food & Drink both show up at the top level under Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All, while Home & Family and Health & Beauty don’t. But all four are in the sub menu.

Hot How-To’s:

Because “informative” and “fun” don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Get the hottest how-to content on tech, games, money, and more.

Home & Family:

From do-it-yourself projects to quality family time, learn to take care of your house, and the people who make it a home.

Health & Beauty:

Cutting-edge information on feeling great — and looking even better.

Food & Drink:

Life is too short for bad food and weak cocktails. When it comes to food and drinks, we’ve got the latest dish.

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The 5 Minute Drill Joins TiVoCast

Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 by MegaZone

Are you ready for some (fantasy) football? Well, I have no interest, but I’m sure some of you out there do. And the latest addition to TiVoCast, The 5 Minute Drill, is for you. Another vidcast from ON Networks, they describe themselves as:

The Five Minute Drill is the fastest-paced five minutes in fantasy football. Hosts Cecil Lammey and Sigmund Bloom go beyond the numbers to provide the decisive analysis players need to make crucial lineup and waiver moves every week. If you’re a busy football fan, trust The Five Minute Drill for the hardest-hitting fantasy insights in the game.

Subscribe online or on your TiVo via Find Programs & Downloads -> Download TV, Movies, & Web Video -> Browse Other Videos -> All -> The 5 Minute Drill

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Save $100 On Kindle With Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card

Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 by MegaZone

Been thinking about picking up an Amazon Kindle ‘Wireless Reading Device’ (aka e-book reader)? Need another credit card? Like saving money? Well, this deal is for you! Apply online for the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card and receive $30 back on your first card purchase. Use the card to purchase a Kindle from Amazon and enter promo code ‘VISACARD’ to save $70 at checkout. All told that’s $100 – $30 back, $70 instant savings. You can get all of the details on the Kindle product page.

And now a little digression…

I’m still on the fence about the Kindle. I think it is interesting technology, but I still like the tactile sensation of reading a book, especially paperbacks. (I don’t know why, but I tend not to like reading hardcover books.) I’ve ready books off my PDAs in the past, and countless pages off my laptop, but it just isn’t the same as settling down on the couch, or in bed, with a real volume of bound up dead tree and reading. The feel of the book, the smell – even if they can reproduce the look of ink on paper the hard plastic shell just isn’t the same.

And I know that’s kind of quaint and silly. I’m happy to dump physical media for music and buy everything in digital formats. I’ve had no qualms about dumping VHS and LD for DVD, and now dumping DVD for BD, and using video downloads when quality isn’t as big of an issue. But I still subscribe to a stack of magazines and I look forward to receiving them each month (or week, for Aviation Week) and reading them. And I still enjoy physical books. I don’t read nearly as many as I’d like, or I used to, because I’m so busy. But I always have a stack of books around to read when I can find or make the time.

Maybe it is because I spend all day, most of my life really, reading text off of a digital screen that I enjoy getting away from that and going back to the simple tech of a book.

Someday I’ll probably be that crazy old man with the house full of dead trees that all the kids talk about. As Blank Reg once said: “It’s a book. It’s a non-volatile storage medium. It’s very rare. You should have one.”

Maybe once they get e-paper to the point where it can be bound into book form it would be more appealing to me. A physical book which can be any logical book, that sounds interesting.

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Woot Yahoo Deal Of The Day – Refurbished TiVo HD For $159.99!

Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 by MegaZone

This is a great deal, even better than a refurbished TiVo HD for $179.99 directly from TiVo, a refurbished TiVo HD for just $159.99, plus $5 shipping. This is literally a ‘Deal of the Day’ – only good today, so don’t wait if you’re interested.

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Blu-ray Player Prices Falling

Posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008 by MegaZone

I’ve said before that Blu-ray player pricing would drop this fall as we head into the holiday shopping season, and it sounds like Sony will be kicking off the trend in September. HD Guru, citing an unconfirmed report by Consumer Electronics Daily, says that Sony will cut the MSRP on their BDP-S350 by $100, from $399 to $299, on September 28, 2008. The BDP-S350 is a full-featured, Profile 2.0 / BD-Live player.

Sony will also reportedly introduce the previously announced BDP-S550 with an MSRP of $399, instead of the expected $499 price point, in mid-October.

The price reductions will certainly result in competitive pressure on other vendors.

In fact, HD Guru reports that Funai will cut the MSRP of their NB500 from $299 to $249 to remain competitive. The NB500 is a Profile 1.1 / BonusView player sold in the US under the brands Philips, Magnavox, Sylvania, Insignia, and others.

Since these are the MSRP prices the players will almost certainly be available for less online, and even at retail. While the NB500′s MSRP has been $299, it has been selling normally at stores such as Wal*Mart and Best Buy (under the other brands) for $280 or less. So the cut to MSRP will likely result in a further reduction in retail pricing.

I expect that this is just the beginning of price cuts for the holidays. With the inevitable sales, there should be some good deals on Blu-ray players. And the price cuts on BD-Live units will finally make them competitive with the PS3, unless Sony also cuts the pricing on those. While an entry-level PS3 remains $400, with the BDP-S350 at $300 (and less online) it becomes an option to consider.

From HD Guru via Gizmodo.

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