Maxell focuses on holographic storage

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2005 by MegaZone

Information storage media company Maxell has said it will launch its first holographic storage products in September 2006. The first removable drive will have a capacity of 300GB and a throughput of 160mbps.

We just had a little discussion on holographic storage in the comments on an earlier post. I have to admit, this is coming to market sooner than I expected. I thought it’d be another year or two, not next year. But it does look to be targeted as I expected, for data, backups, etc. 300GB on one disc is rather more than most consumers will need.

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Another TiVo patent application: Closed caption tagging system

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2005 by MegaZone

A closed caption tagging system provides a mechanism for inserting tags into an audio or video television broadcast stream prior to or at the time of transmission. The tags contain command and control information that the receiver translates and acts upon. The receiver receives the broadcast stream and detects and processes the tags within the broadcast stream which is stored on a storage device that resides on the receiver. Program material from the broadcast stream is played back to the viewer from the storage device. Tags indicate the start and end points of a program segment. Program segments such as commercials are automatically replaced by the receiver with new program segments that are selected based on various criteria.

Spotted via the coverage at ZatzNotFunny

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Cost questions dog Blu-ray DVD’s lead

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2005 by MegaZone

Because Sony’s Blu-ray disc technology appears to be the front-runner in the nasty fight to determine how the DVDs of the future are produced, movie studios and disc manufacturers are beginning to come to terms with the financial realities of the new format–as well as some troubling uncertainties.

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Ads soon searchable with TiVo

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2005 by MegaZone

TiVo on Monday announced plans to provide its subscribers with searchable ads for selected categories as part of a joint effort with several media and advertising agencies.

TiVo’s announcement is getting press already, of course. One comment on this article:But it has yet to be seen whether this latest advertising technology appeals to users who hit TiVo’s 30-second hidden skip feature to jet past ads. Speaking as someone who has used the 30-second skip back door for 4 years or so – yes, it does appeal to me. I don’t mind ads when they’re targeted to *me*, and not shotgunned at me. If an ad is relevant to what I’m looking for, then I’ll read/watch it. I skip over most ads while watching TV because few ads have relevance to me. I’m a single guy – I don’t care about ads for feminine or children’s products. I just bought a new car, so car ads are pointless to me. I have TiVo, so the cable and satellite companies can shove their DVR ads. But I’m a geek and a media fan – so I’m interested in gadgets and new movies – theater or DVD, and things like that. I’m an individual, not a generic “Single, White, Male, 25-35, Middle Class” demographic. So I’m going to try this out when it is available.

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TiVo Announces First Advertising Search Product For Television

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2005 by MegaZone

TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator and a leader in advertising solutions and television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced that it plans to offer the first television-based advertising search solution in Spring 2006. Leveraging TiVo’s television search capabilities that enhance the TV viewing experience, the new product will deliver relevant, targeted advertising to subscribers that want to view particular advertising categories.

Back when TiVo announced their deal with Comcast, one of the things announced was a new advertising platform. Well, it looks like they’re making progress on the Comcast work – and this is that platform, since it was developed in conjunction with Comcast, among others. From what I’ve read, I like the sound of this. Basically giving users access to targeted advertisements, in the same way Google Adwords works online really, in an unobtrusive way. If you want to see offers in a certain category, you can find them. If you don’t want to look, you don’t have to. So there is no reason for folks who don’t like ads to complain.

This also makes TiVo an even more attractive option for new partners, since I’m sure there is some kind of revenue sharing involved with the advertising. I doubt it is a coincidence that this was announced the day before their quarterly earnings conference call. :-)

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