Digeo Talks Moxi Services, Still No Dates

Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 by MegaZone

Digeo issued a press release announcing four alliances to bring content to the Moxi DVR platform, similar to the partnerships TiVo has established with Home Media Engine (Fandango, Rhapsody, Picasa, etc) and TiVoCast. Digeo’s four alliances are:

  • Flickr: Photo viewing from the online service.
  • Finetune: Music playback from your Finetune account.
  • Accedo Broadband: Casual gaming – Sudoku, Texas Hold’em, etc.
  • CloverLeaf: Informational content – weather, sports, news, etc. – for the Moxi SuperTicker feature.

I’ve only ever heard of Flickr before, but I’m not too surprised. Behind-the-scenes companies like Accedo and Cloverleaf probably don’t get their name out there that much. All four will be free services included on the Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR, Moxi Home Cinema HD DMR and Moxi TV for PC. The Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR and Moxi Home Cinema HD DMR were shown at CES 2007 with a planned release of late 2007, but at this time all three products are slated for ‘later in 2008′ with no pricing announced. Though the Moxi Multi-Room HD DMR has repeatedly been cited as having a $1,000 price tag, that may no longer be accurate.

The press release:
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Monsoon Multimedia Announces HAVA Wireless HD

Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 by MegaZone

Following hot on the heels of Sling Media’s Slingbox PRO-HD announcement, Monsoon Multimedia is announcing their own HD place-shifting device, the HAVA Wireless with HD. Unlike the Slingbox PRO-HD, which has built-in Ethernet but will utilize the SlingLink Wireless for 11g WiFi, the HAVA will have 802.11n (well ‘Pre-N’ since it isn’t finalized yet) networking built-in. However, it is still limited to Windows-only clients – Windows PCs or Windows Mobile devices, while Sling supports Windows, Windows Mobile, Mac OS, Palm OS, Symbian, and have just announced Blackberry support in the near term. Sling is also working on a client for the iPhone, and, of course, don’t forget the SlingCatcher.

On the other hand, the HAVA’s integration with Windows allows it to be used as a Windows Media Center tuner, just like a tuner installed in the PC only over the network. And HAVA’s PC software allows for recording the streams, something Sling has yet to offer in their official products. (There have been 3rd party solutions for recording Sling streams.)

The HAVA Wireless with HD has a built in NTSC/ATSC tuner (no mention of QAM like the SB PRO-HD) as well as component video input and can stream video up to 1080i. There is no mention of any digital audio input however, so it doesn’t sound like it has the ability to stream 5.1 audio like the PRO-HD.

The HAVA streams using MPEG-2 locally, which probably explains the need for 11n WiFi instead of 11g, while using MPEG-4 for Internet streaming.

It will be available in ‘Spring 2008′, and no pricing has been announced at this time.

The press release:
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Posted in Broadband, CES, General Tech, PC, Press Release, Sling Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Funai Announces Blu-ray Player

Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 by MegaZone

Funai announced the NB500 Blu-ray Player for release in the US in 2Q08 with an expected MSRP below $300. Funai is known as a ‘budget’ electronics manufacturer, and having them get into the Blu-ray player market is a good sign that competition will heat up and prices will come down even faster. It is a Profile 1.1 player, as all new players are required to be, but full details have yet to emerge.

There has been a deluge of Blu-ray news at CES this year, and really nothing of note from HD DVD thus far.

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TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6 To Support Web Video And Folders

Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 by MegaZone

PC Magazine seems to have received early access to TiVo press release due to hit Monday, as they’re reporting on new features coming in TiVo Desktop Plus 2.6. Desktop Plus 2.6 will bring support for web video to the TiVo in a more seamless fashion. Users will be able to subscribe to their favorite video blogs’ RSS feeds and the software will automatically download the videos and prepare them for playback on the TiVo. Even better, high-definition web video will remain HD when played back on the Series3 or TiVo HD. And one that that should make a lot of users happy – 2.6 will reportedly bring support for folders to help keep videos organized. The lack of folder support in TiVo Desktop has long been a complaint from users.

The downside is that the software won’t be available until March, and it will keep the same $24.95 price as today’s Plus upgrade. Note that Plus upgrades are transferable, so if you already have it you’ll be able to use it in 2.6 when it is released. Mac users aren’t being left out either – Roxio Toast 9 will offer similar features for them, also in March. No word on if the next version of Roxio Popcorn will see similar updates.

EDIT: It seems PCMag was talking out of school. There is a Mac solution in the works, but at this time there is no official word on what form it will take or when it will be available.

The press release will probably hit the wire in the morning, and I’ll see what they have on display at the show when it opens.

EDIT: Here’s the official press release.

Posted in Apple, CES, PC, Press Release, TiVo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HD DVD Looks To The Past

Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 by MegaZone

Well, the HD DVD camp isn’t throwing in the towel just yet. They dropped another press release today touting their highlights from 2007. They play the usual games of course, including the PS3 when citing Blu-ray’s supposed lower attach rate, but citing standalone players when talking about unit sales. At this point, in light of Warner’s announcement, this press release could be HD DVD’s eulogy. A few highlights from its brief life.

The press release:
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