• TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter – Brad Chasenore
• D-Link DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player – Richard Wicentowski
• Slingbox PRO & HD Connect – Michael Campanella

Sorry for those who didn’t win this time around, but there is more to come – stay tuned. I’ll get the stuff out to the winners soon.

There are three giveaways running:

• TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter
• D-Link DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player
• Slingbox PRO & HD Connect

Don’t worry, I have some other, new, stuff to giveaway as well. That’s coming.

• TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter
• D-Link DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player
• Slingbox PRO & HD Connect

Don’t worry, I have some other, new, stuff to giveaway as well. That’s coming.

With the HD Connect the Slingbox PRO supports up to four simultaneous inputs. There is an internal NTSC tuner which supports analog cable, composite video, S-Video, and component video (via the HD Connect dongle). It is in the original packaging and I’ve included all of the types of cables it came with. They might not be the exact cables – who can keep that straight and tell one cable from another? – but you should have what you need.

So how do you win? Leave a comment on this post. You have one week. Comments made before 00:00 EST Monday 11/14 will count as entries. Please, one comment per person. I’ll contact the winner based on the email address used on the comment, so make sure you use a valid address.

I was sent this a several years ago as a potential review unit when it was a new product. But, to be perfectly honest, I thought it was kind of clunky and I decided I wasn’t really the target market. I was never a big DivX media user, and it really felt like the product was for that kind of user. Since all other video formats need to be converted to DivX for playback it is really best for someone who already has a lot of DivX or Xvid content. Since I didn’t feel like I could do it justice with a review I offered to return it, but they didn’t want it back. I kept it hooked up for a while, but eventually disconnected it to make room for another device and it has just been sitting here.

The DivX Connected software is still available for download, as are plug-ins and themes. There’s also a DivX Connected Community. It is in the original packaging and I’ve included all of the types of cables it came with. They might not be the exact cables – who can keep that straight and tell one cable from another? – but you should have what you need.

So how do you win? Leave a comment on this post. You have one week. Comments made before 00:00 EST Monday 11/14 will count as entries. Please, one comment per person. I’ll contact the winner based on the email address used on the comment, so make sure you use a valid address.

This first round has three giveaways. First up is a TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter. I used this for a long time but eventually I ran wired Ethernet and ‘retired’ this adapter. I kept it ‘just in case’ I needed it again. But I don’t see that happening so I figure I should give it away to someone who could use it. This is TiVo’s official 802.11g USB adapter for Series2 and later models.

So how do you win? Leave a comment on this post. You have one week. Comments made before 00:00 EST Monday 11/14 will count as entries. Please, one comment per person. I’ll contact the winner based on the email address used on the comment, so make sure you use a valid address.

HAVA, from Monsoon Multimedia, is the primary competition to Sling Media’s Slingbox. HAVA has some features not found on Slingboxes – such as supporting multicast on a LAN (multiple, simultaneous clients), officially supporting recording on PCs, working as a tuner within Windows Media Center, learning new IR codes, and more. Additionally, all HAVA Mobile clients are free, unlike SlingPlayer Mobile. However, the HAVA products tend to be less polished than Sling, and little rougher around the edges. While Sling has clients for Windows and Mac OS, and mobile clients for Windows Mobile Standard & Professional, Symbian S60 & UIQ, Palm OS, and BlackBerry, HAVA Player is available only for Windows, Windows Mobile Standard & Professional, Symbian S60, and Maemo (the Linux flavor on Nokia N810 Internet tablets).

Sling has submitted their iPhone client to Apple, while HAVA demo’d an early version of their iPhone client at CES, so they’ll hopefully be submitting that soon. HAVA is also apparently developing a client for Mac OS. So as long as you have a supported platform, it could work fine for you.

Good luck!

You know, if HAVA really wants to compete with Sling, they should probably go after markets where Sling isn’t yet – like Android and Linux desktops. And since all HAVA boxes stream in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264, while Slingboxes stream in WMV/VC-1 (except the PRO-HD which also supports MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264), and Flash video supports H.264, they might be able to put out a Flash-based client. A Flash client would be a killer app. Release a reference implementation and open-source it – widespread client availability would sell hardware.

Also, since they give away their clients for free, unlike Sling, they’d have nothing to lose by getting HAVA Player built into things like Boxee, VLC, the Roku Digital video Player, etc. Maybe even TiVo – since Sling Media parent EchoStar and TiVo are still slugging it out in court, and EchoStar is adding placeshifting to DISH DVRs and cable boxes, TiVo could use HAVA to respond.

But that’s a tangent and maybe I should just do a whole post on my thoughts on the placeshifting market.

Unrelated, sorry I haven’t been posting. I thought I’d be jumping back in when I posted a few weeks ago, but I underestimated just how draining the job hunting process can be. The good news is I’ve accepted an offer and should be back to work soon. The only downside is that the job is in Somerville, MA, and I live in Worcester, MA, so I’ll have a commute of about an hour each way. But I’ll be working 3rd shift, so traffic shouldn’t be bad, and I’m happy about the job itself.

So, GerryL has just over four hours in which to contact me or he forfeits the TiVo HD and it goes to someone else. I certainly hope the new winner is watching their email, as the program official ends at 11:59PM ET tomorrow, May 28, 2008. So I think I’ll give the second winner, if drawn, until noon to get back to me. And then I’ll have to draw a third, and if the third, if drawn, doesn’t get back to me by 8PM I’ll just give up and give it to a friend or something rather than see the points go to waste.

I really never expected it to come to this, and I hope it doesn’t – four more hours.

Gerry won with this comment, congratulations Gerry! And thank you to everyone who entered, I wish I had a TiVo HD to give each of you. While the TiVo Rewards program is ending, TiVo is planning to launch a new incentive program in the coming months, so I hope to continue doing giveaways in the future.

I hope you’ll all stick around and that you enjoy the blog.

Gerry, I’ve already emailed you – please reply ASAP so I can claim the reward for you before the program ends.

If you’re curious, it is a random drawing:

#!/usr/local/bin/perl -Tw

my $draw = int rand(374);
print $draw . "\n";

I’ll accept entries until midnight EST Friday, May 23, 2008 – that’s two weeks from now. Entering couldn’t be simpler – just leave a comment. That’s right – all it takes is a comment, and one comment only. Take note – if you leave multiple comments you’ll be disqualified.

Also, you MUST enter a valid email address in the email box when you comment. That is how I will contact the winner to get their shipping info. I won’t even consider entries without a valid email address. Don’t worry, they aren’t used for anything else. Since there will only five days to claim to prize after the end of the contest, if I can’t contact the winner, I will have to pick another. So make sure you enter your email correctly.

Now, get to entering and good luck!

¹If you already have a TiVo HD or a Series3 you can optionally take the WD My DVR Expander and a TiVo Glo remote instead of the TiVo HD.

Leigh Ann!

Also known as LJ user trinsf.

Congratulations Leigh Ann, I’ll be emailing you to get your shipping information.

Coming soon, our final (under the TiVo Rewards program anyway) TiVo HD giveaway! There are a couple of days left to donate points to the site to help fund additional giveaways. Remember, April 28th is the last day to give anyone a referral.

April 28, 2008 is the last day to donate TiVo Rewards points. That’s seven days, if we can average one donation a day that’d be another TiVo HD giveaway. Get out there and activate some TiVos people! And if we don’t make it, well, the points will still go to some giveaways. (Hmm, any other blogs want to join forces on gathering referrals? We can make it a joint giveaway. Just tossing it out there…)

I rather enjoy giving stuff away.

I’ll accept entries until midnight EST Friday, April 25th – that’s six days from now. Entering is simple – leave a comment on this post with a link to ANY previous, non-giveaway, comment you’ve left on the blog OR in the LiveJournal community! That’s a comment made before this post – so before midnight EST Saturday, April 19th. The time stamp on your comment is the link you need for blog posts – like this. For LiveJournal community comments there is a ‘permalink’ on each comment – like this one.

You can just post the URL, but it is neater if you use HTML links. For those who don’t know HTML, thusly: <a href="http://www.gizmolovers.com/2007/05/20/major-change-wordpress/#comment-2320">like this</a>. Obviously you’d use your comment link URL and not that one. One entry per user, please.

Also, you MUST enter a valid email address in the email box when you comment. That is how I will contact the winner to get their shipping info. I won’t even consider entries without a valid email address. Don’t worry, they aren’t used for anything else.

The list at the bottom of this page may help you find your old blog comments. Remember, you can continue to donate TiVo Rewards Referral points through April 28, 2008. The more points that are donated the more giveaways there will be. Just one more donation and there will be a TiVo HD giveaway open to everyone. But the more the better – so send as many this way as possible to generate more giveaways. Remember, every seven donations is another TiVo HD.

Now, get to entering and good luck!

¹If you already have a TiVo HD or a Series3 you can optionally take the WD My DVR Expander and a TiVo Glo remote instead of the TiVo HD.

Now don’t hurt yourself doing those cartwheels…

Jack!

Congratulations Jack, I’ll contact you via email for your shipping information.

Keep those TiVo Rewards Referrals coming folks, the more points, the more giveaways! The next one starts soon – very soon.

That’s two down, and just one more to trigger the open TiVo HD giveaway. But don’t let it stop there – every seven after that is another TiVo HD giveaway.

And now to pick the winner of the first TiVo HD giveaway.

One down, two to go to meet my challenge.

And don’t forget the TiVo HD giveaway entry deadline is less than five hours away!

Checking my remaining points, I think I’ll be doing one more TiVo HD giveaway with similar rules for the readers.

But here’s the deal – it looks like I’m three donations shy of having enough TiVo Rewards points for a third TiVo HD giveaway. If I have enough points donated by April 28th, the last day you can give someone a referral, then not only will I do the third giveaway – but it will be open to anyone. All it will take is a comment, no need to link to anything. (Yes, I realize I’m asking for comment hell on that post.) And I’ll take it further – if people manage to really funnel the points my way, an additional seven referrals, I’ll do another one just like it. (A TiVo HD is 35,000 points, and referrals are 5,000 points each.) So three more means one TiVo HD in a wide open giveaway, 10 more for two, 17 for three, etc… not that I think 17 will happen, but stranger things…

I’ll accept entries until midnight EST Friday, April 18th – that’s one week from now. Entering is simple – leave a comment on this post with a link to a previous, non-giveaway, comment you’ve left on the blog – since May 20, 2007. (That’s the first WordPress post.) That’s a comment made before this post – so before midnight EST Friday, April 11th. The time stamp on your comment is the link you need – like this. You can just post the URL, but it is neater if you use HTML links. For those who don’t know HTML, thusly: <a href=’http://www.gizmolovers.com/2007/05/20/major-change-wordpress/#comment-2320′>like this</a>. Obviously you’d use your comment link URL and not that one. One entry per user, please.

Also, you MUST enter a valid email address in the email box when you comment. That is how I will contact the winner to get their shipping info. I won’t even consider entries without a valid email address. Don’t worry, they aren’t used for anything else.

The list at the bottom of this page may help you find your old comments. Remember, you can continue to donate TiVo Rewards Referral points through April 28, 2008. I still have enough points for at least one more major giveaway, perhaps more, before the TiVo Rewards program ends on May 28, 2008 – but the more points that are donated, the more giveaways there will be. And remember to be an active commenter if you want a chance to win.

¹If you already have a TiVo HD or a Series3 you can optionally take the WD My DVR Expander and a TiVo Glo remote instead of the TiVo HD.