While Toshiba officially pronounced HD DVD dead back in February, movies have still been available from Netflix for users to rent. But not anymore, well, not after December 15, 2008 anyway. Effective December 15, 2008 HD DVD will no longer be available from Netflix, any HD DVDs still in your queue will automatically be converted to DVD. Just one more reason to switch to Blu-ray.

The new Silverlight-based Netflix streaming option is available now for anyone who wants to wants to try it out. It might not be a big deal for Windows users, who already have access, especially since the new client is still a beta without access to all videos, but this is the first client to support the Mac. If you want to try it out, it the opt-in link.

Via EngadgetHD.

EngadgetHD has reviewed a pre-release copy of the Nero Liquid TV | TiVo PC software announced recently. (Nero has promised me a review copy of the final release.) The review is a mixed one, which isn’t too surprising. The main issue is the cost, which is what I expect. I too think the $99/year service fee (after the first year) is far, far too high in a market full of products with low guide fees, or even free.

I don’t think the $99 software-only or $199 with-hardware purchase pricing is too bad, especially as it’ll probably see discounts, but the ongoing fee is just too high. That’s the same yearly fee as a standalone TiVo, and you don’t get all the features of a standalone box with the PC software. I think they could probably get away with $49 a year, even the free MythTV has a $20 year fee for the guide data license. A little more to enjoy the TiVo interface would be reasonable, I think.

But pricing aside, EngadgetHD also found some real issues with the product. Some of them are minor issues, nits really, but some seem much more major to me. The software apparently only works with tuners that have Broadcast Driver Architecture (BDA) drivers, and not all tuner/capture cards do. Notably it seems CableCARD tuners do not, so the software does not recognize CableCARD tuners in PCs that have them. That’s really unfortunately, IMHO, and I think that should be a priority for TiVo and Nero to fix. EngadgetHD also reports that the software didn’t support Clear QAM tuning, despite the included hardware being QAM-capable. That compounds the problem with being unable to use CableCARDs. At least if Clear QAM worked users would be able to tune a few digital cable channels, generally their locals. I’m kind of hoping this was an issue with the pre-release software, because if the production software is missing any QAM support that’s a major oversight in my opinion.

There are some other issues which sound like 1.0 syndrome, things that could be fixed with relatively minor updates to the software. Issues in this category include the lack of a grid style EPG (only the TiVo Guide is available), not showing episode titles while browsing content on other TiVos, and some usability issues with setup and configuration. But those sound minor to me compared to the lack of CableCARD, or any QAM, support and the crazy pricing.

On the plus side it has nearly all of the DVR features of a standalone TiVo. You of course get Season Passes and WishLists, but it can also record the Live TV buffer if you decide to keep a show you’re watching - something Windows Media Center doesn’t do. And it will auto-convert recordings to other formats, which is a more direct version of TiVo Desktop Plus’s auto-transfer and auto-transcode feature for standalone TiVos. And recordings are standard MPEG-2 files with the .mpg extension, so they should be readily usable in other software.

And, of course, being on a PC, and the software coming from Nero, you have additional features such as being able to burn your recordings to DVD.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it to get my own impression, but from the EngadgetHD review it sounds like it might be worth waiting for an update to the software to correct some of these issues. Or at least waiting to see if any of them are fixed before the consumer release. And, of course, seeing if they get a little more sane about pricing.

DirecTV is launching a beta of DIRECTV2PC using software from CyberLink. This feature allows you to stream content from a DirecTV Plus HD DVR (HR20/21/22) to a Windows PC over a LAN. Unfortunately, while the page indicates the software is available now, the download page on CyberLink’s site is currently returning a 404.

Once the software is available, users will be able to stream content, in full HD resolution, from their DVRs to a Windows PC - either recordings or live TV. The PC software provides the same UI as available on the DVR. The software is, or will be, free, so keep an eye on the page if you’re interested. Hopefully they’ll fix the download link soon.

Picked up via EngadgetHD.

As with the Slingbox PRO-HD two weeks ago, since I work for Sling Media now it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to review it, but the SlingCatcher officially shipped yesterday. Instead of reviewing it, here’s a roundup of coverage I’ve seen:

Sling Community - Blog
Sling Community - Review
Sling Community - Review: SlingPlayer for TV
Sling Community - Review: MyMedia
Sling Community - Review: SlingProjector
ZatzNotFunny
Engadget
EngadgetHD
Gizmodo
CNET - Crave
CED Magazine
Obsessable
SlashGear
NewsFactor Network
HD Update
SFGate
Wired
Register Hardware
TG Daily
Stuff.tv
TechWhack
Electronista
Silicon Alley Insider
Electronic House
Pocket-lint
PC World
BLORGE
BroadcastNewsroom
Sci-Tech Today
Gearlog
TrustedReviews
Coolest Gadgets

Both the Slingbox PRO-HD and SlingCatcher MSRP at USD$299.99, but the best deals I’ve seen on both are from PROVANTAGE - currently Slingbox PRO-HD for $241.70 and SlingCatcher for $240.47.

Samsung has released a firmware update for the BD-P1500 which enables BD-Live support. I think this may be the least expensive full Profile 2.0 player available now, it is only $228.22 at Amazon. That’s a pretty good price for a loaded player. If you’ve considering a Blu-ray deck, this is is definitely worth checking out given the price and features.

Spotted via EngadgetHD.

Last Friday TiVoCommunity member jtmal0723 received a letter from Comcast informing him that they’d begin offering the Tuning Adapter for Switched Digital Video channels this Monday, October 6th. And he ran right out and picked one up yesterday. In his area it is the Cisco STA1520 (datasheet). His TiVo recognized it immediately.

The irony is that it seems Comcast is deploying Tuning Adapters in areas where they haven’t started using SDV yet, but will be using it soon. I know, an MSO preparing for a switch before it happens? Shocking! Meanwhile users of Time Warner and other systems that have been using SDV for a long time are still waiting for the TA to be available.

Picked up via EngadgetHD.

I haven’t seen much from XStreamHD since I saw them at CES back in January. Though, while I don’t think they’re going to hit their 4Q08 ship date, based on the lack of any product updates, it looks like they’re still out there working on their product. Design & Reuse reports that XStreamHD has just licensed audio processing technology from ARC International to support decoding of Dolby Digital Plus. And checking XStreamHD’s press page it looks like they added members to the executive team in May, and licensed SATA IP tech in June. Not really any indication of what kind of progress, if any, is being made toward bringing their product to market, but signs of life at least.

Picked up from EngadgetHD.

Normally I’d review something like this myself. But I not only work for Sling Media, but I’m the Beta Manager on the Slingbox PRO-HD. So that really wouldn’t be appropriate. Instead here’s a roundup of coverage I’ve seen so far:
SlingCommunity - Blog
SlingCommunity - Review
Zatz Not Funny
EngadgetHD
Engadget
PC Magazine
CNET Crave
CNET - Review
Washington Post
Ecoustics

EDIT: And more coverage:
The Gadgetress
Engadget
EngadgetHD
jkOnTheRun
Gizmodo
Obsessable
TG Daily
TWICE
Silicon Alley Insider
TVPredictions
TechSpot
SlashGear
Multichannel News
ZDNet - The Mobile Gadgeteer
TheStreet.com
Electronista
Electronic House
Boy Genius Report
eHomeUpgrade
ZDNet - The Toybox
Obsessable - Product Page

I’ve been expecting this to happen at some point, but it slipped by without my noticing. The provision for future extension had always been in ATSC, but back on July 29th, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, stewards of the formation of standards which constitute what we know as ATSC, has published a new spec, A/72, which covers the use of AVC in ATSC. (AVC (Advanced Video Coding) is aka MPEG-4 Part 10 also aka H.264.) It was pretty much inevitable as satellite has already moved to H.264, and digital cable is just starting the transition with H.264 being used for distribution and just starting to show up in the last mile. Since H.264 is far more efficient than MPEG-2 it provides for a much more efficient use of the available bandwidth.

However, most ATSC tuners on the market today have no H.264 support. And that includes the digital converter boxes available now for users preparing for the digital transition next February. That means we’re unlikely to see H.264 used for broadcast ATSC in the US for many years, if ever. It would make the content unavailable to the installed base of receivers. H.264 is more likely to be used in other countries still considering ATSC as a possible standard (though DVB-T is really dominating the global markets, so I don’t really expect a lot of ATSC usage).

In the US ATSC with H.264 will most likely see usage in new services such as ATSC-M/H (mobile/handheld) and ATSC-NRT, which will utilize new receiver hardware anyway. ATSC-M/H is fairly obvious, the concept would have an ATSC tuner incorporated into phones, etc. This is like DVB-H deployed in some other countries. The broadcasts would be specially formatted for handhelds and would use dedicated sub-channels, so they don’t need to be compatible with existing receivers. ATSC-NRT is for Non-Real-Time content delivery. Basically a ‘trickle-cast’ of content which can be carried on a sub-channel for use later. This is similar to how DirecTV or DISH Network will deliver ‘OnDemand’ content to their DVRs ahead of time. New devices with ATSC-NRT support could receive content in advance for OnDemand movies, special content, etc. It could be used to download interactive content for ACAP, advanced advertising (similar to TiVo’s capabilities today), or other data content. Since these would be new devices anyway they could use H.264 to take better advantage of the available bandwidth.

It is possible that we might see H.264 used for secondary sub-channels for additional broadcast content. That way customers with existing content would not lose anything, they just wouldn’t gain the new stuff. This is similar to satellite companies adding new content using H.264, leaving customers with existing MPEG-2 receivers to keep existing content only. Or cable companies using SDV for new content, so existing customers only have their pre-existing channels. The H.264 subchannels could be used for things like alternate angles on sporting events, re-airing popular shows (air the new episode on NBC1 on Monday, re-air it on H.264 NBC2 on Wednesday - get more total viewers), or even special content - movie on main channel, movie with commentary on subchannel. Of course it is a chicken-and-egg issue - channels won’t do this until receivers handle H.264, and the only H.264-enabled ATSC receiver I can think of off hand is TiVo. Wait, and the newer satellite DVRs that have ATSC tuners as well.

I don’t expect to see it used on primary channels for a long, long time, if ever. Not until nearly all receivers in use in the field support H.264. No one wants another major transition any time soon, we haven’t even completed the first one yet. And ATSC is 25 years old already. (Yes, work started in 1983, believe it or not.)

Of course, the committee is working on ATSC 2.0: “ATSC-2.0 will define a complete suite of ‘Next Generation’ services for the conventional fixed DTV receiver viewing environment.” But I suspect ATSC 2.0 will be a super-set of ‘ATSC 1.0′, adding interactivity, etc, to the content through ACAP (think OCAP for ATSC).

From NAB by way of EngadgetHD.