I’ve posted about software available for US units before, here and here, and on TiVo’s blog, and these apps work with the VM TiVo; but now there is a 3rd party remote control app for Windows .Net specifically for the VM TiVo: VM TiVo Net Remote. It is much more feature-rich than the Python-based TiVoRemote that’s been out for US machines for a while.

I can confirm that it does work with US units, I connected to the Premiere Elite I have for review and it worked as expected. Except for the TV guide, nothing displayed when I selected ‘Show TV Guide’. The window expanded, but it was blank. This is probably hard coded for the UK devices. There is also a default channel list, but that’s stored as a text file that you can edit to match your lineup.

What’s really nice is that anything you type while in the remote window is sent to the TiVo. It makes text entry a breeze. There are also shortcut keys to navigate with:
Following Shortcut keys provide the following functions
CTRL+H - Home
CTRL+T - TV
CTRL+G - TV Guide
CTRL+P - Play
CTRL+S - Stop
CTRL+M - My Shows
CTRL+V - Pause
CTRL+R - Record
CTRL+L - Last Channel
CTRL+I - Info
CTRL+U - Thumbs Up
CTRL+D - Thumbs Down
CTRL+F - Skip
CTRL+B - Skip Back
CTRL+X - Slow
CTRL+LEFT - Rewind
CTRL+RIGHT - Fast Forward
ARROW KEYS - Left/Right/Up/Down
ENTER - OK
DELETE - Clear
+ - Channel Up
- - Channel Down
1 to 9 - Send corresponding Number
A to Z - Send corresponding Key when in a text search (Search TV, YouTube search etc.)

You can click on the image of the TiVo remote in the app to send commands as well, very much like using a Slingbox. The image of the remote is the UK version, but it is close enough that US users shouldn’t have any trouble.

Perhaps some US-based developer could contact the creator, Andy Wheeler, and work with him to create a localized version for the US. What’d really be nice is to see some of the features from the Android TiVo Commander app brought to other platforms. But that’s not to denigrate the work Andy has done. This is a brand new app – version 0.3 was just released on Sunday – and he’s been improving it quickly. He has a thread at TiVoCommunity.com for feedback.

Via the Virgin Media High Definition & TiVo Services blog.

Cyber Sale, 2 Days Only, Sunday-Monday. Online Only.
Sunday-Monday Only: Free $10 e-Gift Card with Store Pickup Orders of $100 or More.

Sunday-Monday Only: Acer Iconia Tablet with 8GB Memory, Sale $229.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Targus Truss Leather Case/Stand for Acer Iconia A500 Tablet, Sale $24.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Logitech Tablet Keyboard for Apple® iPad® or Android 3.0+ Tablets, Sale $35.99 each.
Sunday-Monday Only: ION Audio iCADE Arcade Cabinet for Apple® iPad® and iPad 2, Sale $49.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Kobo eReader Touch Edition, Sale $99.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Gateway All-In-One Computer with 500GB Hard Drive, and 2GB DDR3 Memory, Just $399.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Asus Desktop with AMD Processor, 500GB Hard Drive, and 4GB DDR3 Memory, Just $349.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: AOC 20” Widescreen LED Computer Monitor, Sale $89.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: SanDisk Cruzer 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive, Sale $8.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: HP 2200 Webcam, Sale $7.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great Computing, Tablet, and E-Reader Deals.

Sunday-Monday Only: LG 32” Class ED 720p HDTV for $299.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great Home Theater Deals.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great iPod and MP3 Player Deals.
Sunday-Monday Only: All iPods on Sale.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great Music and Movies Deals.

Sunday-Monday Only: Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor, Sale $99.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Select Kinect Games On Sale.
Sunday-Monday Only: Select Pre-Owned Games, $19.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Buy Any Sims 3 Base, Expansion, or Stuff Pack, get the Second Item Free.
Sunday-Monday Only: $50 Off GoldenEye 007: Reloaded Double ‘O’ Edition Bundle for OPS3, Sale $99.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great Gaming and Gadget Deals.

Sunday-Monday Only: 25%-40% Off Select Digital Cameras.
Sunday-Monday Only: Free Bag and Memory Card with Select Digital Cameras.
Sunday-Monday Only: Free Bag with Select DSLR Cameras.
Sunday-Monday Only: 19%-41% Off Select Digital Camcorders.
Sunday-Monday Only: 5%-50% Off Select Digital Photo Frames.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great Digital Camera and Camcorder Deals.

Sunday-Monday Only: Motorola Droid 3 Mobile Phone, Free with a new 2-Year Contract from Verizon and Activation.
Sunday-Monday Only: HTC Wildfire S Mobile Phone, Free with a new 2-Year Contract from T-Mobile and Activation.
Sunday-Monday Only: Boost Mobile BlackBerry Style 9670 No-Contract Mobile Phone, Sale $149.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Virgin Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8530 No-Contract Mobile Phone, Sale $99.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Platinum Series MobileDock Dash/Windshield Mount, Sale $9.99.
Sunday-Monday Only: Great Mobile Phone Deals.

While the last round of deals included a link for the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer the link never seemed to work. The deal was only available in stores. I managed to grab one as a gift for someone else. I was still up at 4am Friday so I ran over to my local Best Buy. The Transformer was a ticketed item and all of the tickets were gone, but I managed to social engineer a tablet and keyboard dock from a Blue Shirt in a different department without a ticket. I normally wouldn’t go near a store on Black Friday, but $250 for the tablet and $100 for the dock was a very good deal.

But the deals are still good.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Special: Save 55% on AVG Premium Security Family Safety & Unlimited Online Backup! $74.99
Black Friday & Cyber Monday Special: Save over 29% on AVG products: Antivirus, Online Backup & PC Tuneup! Total Price: $59.99
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What about the rest? Windows came in a distant, distant third with 2.4% of the market on 400,000 units shipped. Which double’s RIM’s 200,000 Playbooks shipped. 500,000 other tablets shipped, many of those likely WebOS TouchPads HP dumped on the market.

With the TouchPad out of the market and the Playbook stagnant, and Windows 8 tablets still a ways off, iOS and Android should take even more of the market this quarter. And Android should take more market share from iOS as more Android tablets hit the shelves, not the least of which will be the $200 Amazon Kindle Fire. Well, if you can really call it an Android tablet given how heavily customized it is.

Via The Register.

Roxio is the only official endorsed third party software for use with TiVo & TiVoToGo. And the only sanctioned solution at all for MacOS, since there isn’t a TiVo Desktop Plus for Mac. Here are the discounts once last time, for your convenience:

All Products – 10% Off – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Toast 11 Titanium and Save $20 Instantly – $79.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Toast 11 Pro and Save $30 Instantly – $119.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Popcorn 4 and Save 50% Instantly – $24.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Creator 2011 and SAVE $20 Instantly – $79.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Creator 2011 Pro and SAVE $30 Instantly – $99.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Easy VHS to DVD (PC) and Save $10 Instantly + FREE Shipping – $49.99 – Expiration 10.15.11

Buy Easy VHS to DVD (MAC) and Save $10 Instantly + FREE Shipping – $69.99 – Expiration 10.15.11

Note that since I originally posted those links Roxio Creator 2012 and Roxio Creator 2012 Pro launched at the end of August and they also have a $20 savings.

Enjoy!

All Products – 10% Off – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Toast 11 Titanium and Save $20 Instantly – $79.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Toast 11 Pro and Save $30 Instantly – $119.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Popcorn 4 and Save 50% Instantly – $24.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Creator 2011 and SAVE $20 Instantly – $79.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Creator 2011 Pro and SAVE $30 Instantly – $99.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Easy VHS to DVD (PC) and Save $10 Instantly + FREE Shipping – $49.99 – Expiration 10.15.11

Buy Easy VHS to DVD (MAC) and Save $10 Instantly + FREE Shipping – $69.99 – Expiration 10.15.11

Note that since I posted those links Roxio Creator 2012 and Roxio Creator 2012 Pro launched at the end of August and they also have a $20 savings.

The ASUS A53U-XE1 is $329.99:

• AMD C50 Dual Core Processor;AMD Radeon HD 4250 Graphics
• 3GB of DDR3 1333MHz DRAM, 2 slots, 8GB Max; 320GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM); Super Multi DVD Drive
• Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System; 5-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/SDHC)
• 15.6-Inch HD Display (1366×768); 0.3MP Webcam; HDMI and VGA Port; Wireless 802.11bgn; 3 USB 2.0 Ports
• 1 Year Accidental Damage Protection and 1 Year Standard Global Warranty Included

The ASUS A53U-XA1 is $399.99:

• AMD Dual Core E350 (1.60GHz); 4GB DDR3 1333MHz, 2 SODIMM Sockets, up to 8GB
• 320GB Hard Drive; SuperMulti Optical Drive; 802.11 b/g/n
• Windows Home Premium 64-bit Operating System; AMD HD 6310 Graphics
• 15.6-Inch HD (1366×768) LED Display; 0.3M Webcam; 3x USB 2.0
• 1 Year Standard Warranty and 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty Included

The ASUS A53E-XA1 is $459.99:

• Intel Core i3-2310M (2.1GHz); 4GB DDR3 1333MHz, 2 SODIMM Sockets, up to 8GB
• 320GB Hard Drive; SuperMulti Optical Drive; 802.11 b/g/n
• Windows Home Premium 64-bit Operating System; Intel GMA HD
• 15.6-Inch HD (1366×768) LED Display; 0.3M Webcam; 3x USB 2.0
• 1 Year Standard Warranty and 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty Included

The ASUS A53E-XA2 is $526.28:

• Intel Core i5-2410M (2.3GHz with Turbo Boost); 4GB DDR3 1333MHz, 2 SODIMM Sockets, up to 8GB
• 640GB Hard Drive; SuperMulti Optical Drive; 802.11 b/g/n
• Windows Home Premium 64-bit Operating System; Intel GMA HD
• 15.6-Inch HD (1366×768) LED Display; 0.3M Webcam; 3x USB 2.0
• 1 Year Standard Warranty and 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty Included

And finally, the ASUS A53SV-XE1 is $849.99:

• Intel Core i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz with Turboboost up to 2.93GHz); NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M 1GB DDR3 VRAM
• 6GB of DDR3 1333MHz DRAM, 2 slots, 8GB Max;640GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM); Super Multi DVD Drive
• Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System; 5-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/SDHC)
• 15.6-Inch HD Display (1366×768); 0.3MP Webcam; HDMI and VGA Port; Wireless 802.11bgn; 3 USB 2.0 Ports
• 1 Year Accidental Damage Protection and 1 Year Standard Global Warranty Included

They’re all similar in appearance, the main differences are the CPU, RAM, and graphics. So you can select the one that best fits your needs.

Roxio Creator 2012
Enhance, preserve, capture and share your digital media

• NEW! Enhance your videos with 8 artistic effects
• NEW! Convert and create DivX® videos
• NEW! Powerful portrait improvement tools
• NEW! 50 professional background music tracks
• Enhanced conversion video tools for iPad®, iPhone®, and Android™ phones
• Edit videos and create DVDs like a pro – even in 3D
• Fix photos and make cards, calendars and slideshows
• Burn and copy CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs
• Share on DVD, portable devices, YouTube™ or Facebook®
• Create PhotoShow slideshows with any music to share on DVD

Roxio Creator 2012 Pro
All the power of Creator 2012 + new software and tools worth over $400

• NEW! HDR Express™ by Unified Color for photo with stunning visual contrast
• NEW! 14 amazing video effects found in nature and beyond
• NEW! iZotope Music and Speech Cleaner™
• NEW! DivX Plus® video converter and player
• NEW! 100 soundtracks from Triple Scoop Music library
• NEW! Soundtrack titles in the SmartSound® Easy Livin’ collection
• BackOnTrack 4 system restore & disaster recovery
• SonicFire PRO® custom soundtrack creation
• Roxio Securn Burn and copy discs and secure them with encryption
• Burn high definition video Blu-ray discs

Free Sharp 3D Wi-Fi Blu-ray Player (Shipping Extra) with Sharp AQUOS 60” Class LED-LCD 1080p HDTV.

5% – 20% Off Select HDTVs.

$369.99 Lenovo IdeaPad Laptop / Intel® Pentium® Processor / 15.6″ Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive

$329.99 Toshiba Satellite Laptop / AMD E-Series Processor / 15.6″ Display / 3GB Memory / 320GB Hard Drive

5%-40% Off Select Digital Cameras and Camcorders, Plus Free Shipping.

Free $75 Gift Card with 250GB Xbox 360 Console.

$10 Off Madden NFL 12 (Game Guide) when you buy Madden NFL 12 for Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii.

$9.99 Sale on Select Blu-ray Titles.

But I did find more, the July 2011 DirecTV training video (also streaming) includes a bit about Nomad starting at the 12:15 mark. The site requires a login, but if you’re reading this you’re probably clever enough to find it online.

The video content itself isn’t really worth posting, you don’t see much. But the information given is useful. To have the Nomad you must have an HR20 through HR24 or R22 and they must be connected to the Internet. Only one Nomad is allowed per account, you must have active DirecTV DVR service, and the account must have MRV capability. The customer’s broadband service must be active during installation. At launch, wireless capability will be available in iPhone and Android clients, as well as a PC client. You’ll need to add the Nomad Mobile DVR service to the account. Also, it appears that the Nomad box requires a physical Ethernet connection – but it doesn’t need to be collocated with the DirecTV box so you can stick it with your router, etc.

Based on the video the Nomad pulls content from your DirecTV DVR over the network via DECA/SWiM and transcodes it. That jibes with the need for MRV on the account and how the unit is connected. From the brief look at the back of the unit in the video it looks like it only has power, Ethernet, and maybe a USB port. Note that also means it will not work with the new DirecTiVo as that does not support MRV, according to the info available. (Maybe in a future update.)

Unfortunately, the video isn’t clear on if Nomad provides streaming support, ala Slingbox, or simply transcodes video and makes a copy for your mobile device, ala TiVoToGo. The graphics, to me, imply wireless streaming, but I can’t say they’re conclusive and the narration never states anything either way. There are numerous discussion threads about Nomad around the net, some of which mention being able to take videos on an airplane, which would mean copying. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t stream, they’re not mutually exclusive. A survey from last year (the Nomad was first expected in late 2010 – the DirecTiVo isn’t the only delayed release) implied copying and streaming as well.

The rumor is that DirecTV is working with Morega on the Nomad. Morega and DirecTV are both members of the RVU Alliance. In July Morega received a patent on their system for ‘TV Everywhere’, and the info in their press release does jibe with the rumors around Nomad:

Morega Systems, a developer of content portability solutions, revealed today that the company received patent approval for its breakthrough content portability technology. This unique content delivery solution gives satellite, cable and IPTV service providers, and equipment manufacturers a better way to extend premium, multimedia content beyond the television and the set-top box to support the Connected Home and TV Everywhere.
…
Today, the predominant way to “placeshift” content – in other words, to deliver content to any device such as a mobile phone, tablet, or a PC – to support TV Everywhere is by streaming content across a broadband network connection. But Morega’s technology takes TV Everywhere to a new level by allowing consumers to placeshift via two methods: adaptive bit rate streaming with quality-of-service or sideloading. With Morega’s unique sideloading solution, authorized users can securely download content either directly from the cloud or from a set-top box onto alternative viewing devices.

This solves two key challenges posed by cloud-based mobile video delivery solutions: First, streaming or sideloading from cable, satellite or IPTV networks at the edge is much more bandwidth-efficient to the operators and requires fewer network resources for transcoded content management and storage. Second, it preserves the original broadcast ads while providing the ability to track and report mobile viewing metrics. Also, with the sideloading option, users no longer need a broadband network connection to view the content.

In addition, Morega’s sideloading technology uses a sophisticated back-office, standards-based and proprietary authentication, encryption and digital rights management (DRM) system to protect copyrighted material and to assure the delivery of high-quality video entertainment content.
…
The new patent specifically covers the transcoding, streaming and downloading of premium content from a video source to a mobile platform such as a smartphone or a laptop or tablet computer. It also covers Morega’s unique approach to track, restrict and monetize premium content via digital rights management (DRM), which leverages both industry standards from the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP), as well as proprietary methods to protect copyrighted material and assure high-quality video when customers securely download content from either a set-top box or directly from the cloud.

That sounds a lot like what’s expected from Nomad. Also, DirecTV is known to use DTCP-IP with the DirecTV2PC offering today.

There is a thread at DBSTalk with a lot of info sprinkled about. Keep in mind this is all leaked info from a discussion thread and not official information. Reportedly, it does use MRV and the transfers count as one available MRV stream. Transfers happen in real time. The unit has 16GB internal storage and supports up to 2TB of external storage via the USB port. Content is transcoded to H.264 and ‘down converted’ from the original, but no word on what the resolution of the mobile versions will be. (Given the growing number of HD displays on mobile devices, and HDMI output, hopefully not too low.) Content will obey the ‘maximum entitlement date’ – aka expiration date, as set when recorded. (So something that says you can keep it on your DVR only 7 days also stops working via Nomad in 7 days.) It definitely does copying, but the general sense from the thread is that it does not stream. (But no one seems to know for sure on the streaming.)

If it doesn’t do streaming that would be disappointing. DISH Network has their SlingLoaded 922 DVR and the Sling add-on for the 722 DVR which both stream in realtime. And, of course, anyone can connect a Slingbox to just about any video source and stream. Copying is a nice feature for use when streaming isn’t an option, such as on an airplane, but the clear trend is toward streaming services – not just traditional place shifting via Sling Media and Monsoon, but OTT providers such as Netflix and Hulu and MSO services like Comcast’s Xfinity. With the growth of 3G, and now 4G, services, and the ubiquity of WiFi, having to plan ahead and pre-load copies just seems archaic. And if you’re on an extended business trip you can’t access anything on your DVR at home that recorded after you left. So it is useless for keeping up with your shows on the road.

I really hope it does streaming, or they have concrete plans to add it shortly after launch, or I think the Slingbox will remain a better option. Especially if this thread is correct and Nomad costs $150. You can get a Slingbox SOLO for that, and a Slingbox PRO-HD for just over a hundred more.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Must resist… have wedding to save for… Wait, my fiancee does have an Amazon Rewards Visa Card. Oh, honey…

Next up, at the regular Woot! site, is HP Pavilion Triple-Core 17.3” Laptop with Blu-ray for $489.99 + $5 shipping. HP Pavilion dv7-4169wm 17.3” Laptop w/ AMD Phenom II Triple-Core N850, 4GB/640GB, Blu-ray, & Windows 7 Home Premium.

As with all things Woot!, these deals won’t last long.

How things can change in a year.

For the second quarter of 2011 the iPad’s share of the market dropped to 61.3%, while Android tablets had clawed their way up to claim 30% of tablet sales. You might’ve noticed that, jointly, they claimed 91.3% this year – but 96.9% last year. So where did the rest go? Well, coming in at number three, Windows tablets claimed 4.6%. Yes, Windows tablets. What about RIM’s PlayBook, which launched during the quarter? It managed a measly 3.3%. These figures are according to a study by market research firm Strategy Analytics.

We’ll have to see how they all fair this quarter, and we have a new entrant in the fight, the HP WebOS Touchpad. But the wave of Android tablets also continues to build. The best selling Android tablet, and second best selling tablet overall, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer could’ve sold even more if not for supply issues. Asus seems to have ironed out the issues, and the supply of Transformers has already begun ramping up and will continue to do so. The T-Mobile G-Slate (aka LG Optimus Pad) shipped just before the end of the last quarter. The Toshiba Thrive has just launched.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is slated to launch next month, sliding in between the 7 and 10.1 inch models, giving consumers more choice. Lenovo has just announced the IdeaPad K1, aimed at consumers, and the ThinkPad Tablet, which is aimed more toward business users – right at the RIM PlayBook. The delayed Cisco Cius, also aimed at businesses, will ship at the end of the month. Archos has a couple of models pending, Vizio has their tablet, etc.

The reality seems very different from the impression you’d get reading articles about the tablet market. From the articles you’d think that everyone wants an iPad and no one is buying anything else. Sales of Android tablets have been weak, makers are even considering pulling out of the market, it is all doom and gloom. Android Honeycomb, the first version of Android optimized for tablets, only released in late February with the Motorola Xoom. That’s when the Android tablet market kicked off for real.

Remember how dismissive articles about Android phones were in 2009 – right up until the Motorola Droid hit the streets with Android 2.0? In the year and a half since then which mobile OS has taken the top spot in sales? It’s been less than five months since Honeycomb hit the streets. 30% of the global tablet market. Let’s see what things look like at the end of the year, by which time Ice Cream Sandwich will be out too.

Report figures via Boy Genius Report.

All Products – 10% Off – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Toast 11 Titanium and Save $20 Instantly – $79.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Toast 11 Pro and Save $30 Instantly – $119.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Popcorn 4 and Save 50% Instantly – $24.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Creator 2011 and SAVE $20 Instantly – $79.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Creator 2011 Pro and SAVE $30 Instantly – $99.99 – Expiration – 10.15.11

Buy Easy VHS to DVD (PC) and Save $10 Instantly + FREE Shipping – $49.99 – Expiration 10.15.11

Buy Easy VHS to DVD (MAC) and Save $10 Instantly + FREE Shipping – $69.99 – Expiration 10.15.11

Enjoy!

Orb Networks has launched a new service, Orb Live, which allows you to stream content from your Windows PC or Mac to your Android or iOS device for $9.99 – with no ongoing fees. Much like PlayOn, Orb Live uses Orb Caster on your PC or Mac as a proxy server. This allows you to stream premium content to your phone even if an app is not yet available for your platform. The content is streamed to your PC, then re-encoded and streamed to your phone. But note this could kill your bandwidth cap since this is a double-whammy – you have the stream coming in and the stream going back out.

But if you really want to get content on your mobile device and there isn’t a native app option, now you have this.

Full press release below:

Jul 18, 2011 08:10 ET

Orb Networks Launches First Service to Provide Free Streaming of Premium Online TV Shows, Sports and Movies to Mobile Phones

— New $9.99 Orb Live App Makes it Easy to Watch TV Shows and More on an iPhone or Android Device

OAKLAND, Calif., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Orb Networks (www.orb.com) is putting out the call to TV lovers today with the announcement of its new Orb Live app — the first service that enables consumers to stream the vast majority of popular premium online TV shows, sports, movies and more directly to their iPhone or Android devices. For TV viewing anywhere and anytime, Orb Live makes it simple and affordable for people to watch shows from Hulu, ABC, CBS, Fox, ESPN and more, with its unique technology that streams TV shows for free to a mobile phone.

Orb Live is the first service to stream free, ad-supported Hulu to mobile devices. Priced at only $9.99, with no subscription fees, Orb Live opens up a whole new world of entertainment options for mobile phone users, with thousands of TV shows available. Orb Live features premium online content, including full TV show episodes – which until now could only be watched through your computer’s web browser. With Orb Live, consumers can also watch a huge array of sports and movies via services such as Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand.

Mobile-video viewing saw a 41% rise from last year, according to a recent study by Nielsen Holdings N.V., and Orb Live is meeting this consumer demand for mobile TV and video viewing.

“Now consumers can use Orb Live to watch their favorite TV shows, sports and movies anywhere, on their mobile phone, without any additional subscription fees,” said Joe Costello, CEO and cofounder of Orb Networks. “No matter where they are, people can use their mobile phone to get the same great content that is available on their home PC for watching at the beach, on the soccer field, at the airport or on a commuter train.”

He added, “With this new version of Orb Live, we have also dramatically improved the streaming quality of the video to give users the best possible picture quality, at their current connection speed. As the connection moves up and down in quality, the video adjusts in real time to deliver the best picture and minimize the dreaded buffering so users always have access to their TV shows, movies and music.”

To help consumers easily find and watch their favorite shows, Orb Live features a powerful and easy-to-use global index of TV shows. Consumers simply type in the name of the show they want and then Orb quickly finds the show, without having to specify its source (e.g. Hulu, Netflix, ABC, CBS, etc).

The new version of Orb Live also provides consumers with all of the features of the original Orb Live, including live streaming of any music files, online music (Pandora, Sirius, etc.), video files (downloaded DivX/XviD files, home movies, etc.) photos and more to a mobile phone.

The new version of Orb Live for the iPhone is available immediately, with planned availability for the Android in mid-August. To get started, consumers download the free Orb Caster software from Orb.com to their PC or Mac and then download Orb Live from the App Store or Android Marketplace. Orb Live requires Edge, 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi network for connection to the Internet, to stream media via Orb Live to a mobile phone.

About Orb Networks

Based in Oakland, California, Orb Networks, Inc. is the leader in digital media streaming solutions for the digital home and remote access applications. In addition to Orb Live, Orb Networks offers the Orb Music Player ($79) that streams iTunes and Pandora to any home stereo. And, the Orb TV ($99) solution, with a hockey puck-sized device that plugs into a TV, enables consumers to stream online video content to a TV. The new OrbBR (Blu-ray) software works with an Internet-connected Blu-ray player and is easily controlled through a smart device or using any computer. For more information about Orb products, please visit www.orb.com.

SOURCE Orb Networks

CONTACT: Lisa Hendrickson, Commstrat for Orb Networks, +1-516-767-8390, lisa@commstrat.com

Web Site: http://www.orb.com

And while I do work for Sling Media I wasn’t aware of this until I saw this press release come across the wire from SRS Labs. I did confirm it is accurate.

Sling has been making a number of announcements around CES, but since I work there and act as blogger liaison I haven’t been posting them since it wouldn’t be cool to ‘scoop’ other sites. I may post a summary later – unless Mark jumps in with more posts in the meantime.

Press release:

Jan 7, 2009 08:00 ET

SRS Labs Optimizes Audio Playback Experience for Slingbox Users

Sling Media licenses the popular SRS WOW HD™ audio solution to enable top quality playback of live and recorded TV programs

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — SRS Labs (NASDAQ:SRSL) , the industry leader in surround sound, audio, and voice technologies, announced today that Sling Media Inc., a leading digital lifestyle products company, has licensed the SRS WOW HD for use in their SlingPlayer™ for Windows software in order to enrich the users audio entertainment experience. In conjunction with the Slingbox™, SlingPlayer allows consumers to watch and control their home TV or DVR on their Windows® computer, just as if they were in their living room, from around the home or around the world.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070322/LATH036LOGO)

SRS WOW HD is a patented, state-of-the-art audio solution that makes a remarkable improvement in the sound quality of any digital media. By detecting and restoring audio cues buried in the original audio source material, SRS WOW HD makes a demonstrable difference in the overall entertainment experience — content sounds more natural, with renewed depth and clarity. SRS WOW HD provides an immersive 3D audio experience with ultra-clear high-frequency definition and deep, rich bass, breathing new life into any TV show, movie, or video.

Sling Media produces a wide range of networked media products, including hardware, software, mobile software, backend web services and the recently announced Sling.com website. The Emmy® award-winning Slingbox is a small piece of hardware, which when connected in their home, allows a customer to watch and control their TV and/or DVR, through a home network or over the Internet, from any of the SlingPlayer software applications. The SlingPlayer for Windows software, now utilizing SRS WOW HD, works hand-in-hand with the Slingbox hardware back at home, making the entire living room TV viewing experience available on the laptop or desktop computer — anywhere. Users can view their favorite live sporting events and recorded programs when they are away from home, with full control of multiple entertainment devices, including DVRs, cable or satellite set-top boxes, and even DVD players.

“As new convergence products and product categories are created, the demand for audio performance and optimization becomes even greater,” said Allen Gharapetian, Vice President of Marketing for SRS Labs. “The broad range of SRS technologies provides solutions for any digital audio application, especially those associated with the rapid growth of television viewing on computers over the internet. Working with an industry leader like Sling Media is a natural partnership, and we are pleased to help them deliver a premium audio experience to the consumers in this growing and popular new market.”

SRS WOW HD, when integrated into the SlingPlayer for Windows software, will provide users with premium sound through the remote computer’s built-in speakers, separate desktop speakers, or headphones. The upgraded SlingPlayer software, available to customers in the first quarter of 2009, will be provided initially to Slingbox PRO-HD owners. Sling Media expects to support other Slingbox owners in subsequent releases. Existing customers will be able to upgrade their systems to add SRS WOW HD through the automatic update process built into the SlingPlayer software.

“With a goal of delivering the best possible picture and sound quality to Slingbox owners, making the decision to integrate advanced audio technologies from SRS was an easy one,” said Ted Malone, Vice President of Product Marketing and Product Management for Sling Media. “SRS is the recognized authority in the audio processing space, with a strong track record in both the television and broadcast fields. We are very excited to partner with them in order to deliver improved sound quality to our customers.”

About SRS Labs, Inc.

Founded in 1993, SRS Labs is the industry leader in audio signal processing for consumer electronics. Beginning with the audio technologies originally developed at Hughes Aircraft, SRS Labs holds over 150 worldwide patents and is recognized by the industry as the foremost authority in research and application of human auditory principals. Through partnerships with leading global CE companies, semiconductor manufacturers and software partners, SRS audio, surround sound and voice processing technologies have been included in over one billion electronic products sold worldwide including HDTVs, mobile phones, portable media devices, PCs and automotive entertainment. In fact, SRS Labs is the de-facto standard of HDTV audio processing with nine of the top ten name brand flat panel TVs featuring SRS technology. Additionally, SRS Labs surround sound solutions provide the professional broadcast and recording industries with high-performance production, back-haul, storage, and transmission capability. SRS Labs supports manufacturers worldwide with offices in the US, China, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, visit http://www.srslabs.com/.

Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in this release, including those by Mr. Gharapetian, may constitute forward- looking statements regarding our assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events that are based on management’s belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. While the Company believes that its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that the Company’s goals and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and uncertainties, may affect the Company’s actual results and may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company. Some of these factors include the acceptance of new SRS Labs’ products and technologies, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the timely development and release of technologies by the Company, general business and economic conditions, especially in Asia, and other factors detailed in the Company’s Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the SEC. SRS Labs specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SRS Labs, Inc. Contact:
Cyndee Pelino, Sr. Marketing Manager
949-442-5518
cyndeep@srslabs.com

Press Contact:
Chuck Back, Noyd Communications Inc.
310-614-2358
chuck.back@noydcom.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Glover, Liolios Group, Inc.
949-574-3860
info@liolios.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070322/LATH036LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: SRS Labs, Inc.

CONTACT: Cyndee Pelino, Sr. Marketing Manager of SRS Labs, Inc.,
+1-949-442-5518, cyndeep@srslabs.com; or Press, Chuck Back of Noyd
Communications Inc., +1-310-614-2358, chuck.back@noydcom.com, or Investor
Relations, Matt Glover of Liolios Group, Inc., +1-949-574-3860,
info@liolios.com, both for SRS Labs, Inc.

Web site: http://www.srslabs.com/

Along with the new player and new feature support comes a new DivX certification, the DivX Plus Certification. Hardware vendors who certify their products at this new level will support the new DivX 7 formats, while older DivX Certified products will likely only go as far as the DivX 6 equivalent.

The press release:

Jan 6, 2009 08:00 ET

DivX Announces Release of Next-Generation, H.264 Based DivX® 7 Software

New Release Enables High-Quality, HD Video Experience on PC and Devices

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX) , a digital media company, today announced that the latest version of the Company’s flagship video software package, Version 7 of DivX® for Windows, is available for download on the company’s newly redesigned website at www.divx.com.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081124/LA48153LOGO)

The new release of the popular video software is based on the cutting-edge H.264 video compression standard, which allows for high-performance, high-quality digital video at up to 1080p HD resolution. The software is available in two versions, the free DivX for Windows download which supports DivX video playback, and the DivX Pro for Windows download which enables DivX video creation.

The DivX Player, which is included in all versions of the DivX software download, offers free support for H.264 files that use the popular .mkv file extension. The DivX Converter, which is available in the DivX Pro package or as a 15-day free trial in the free DivX for Windows download, enables easy one-step conversion of digital video files into the new DivX Plus™ format, which is based on H.264 video and the high-quality AAC audio format.

The Company also announced the launch of the DivX Plus™ Certification program, which will enable consumer electronics manufacturers to add support for the new format to a variety of devices, including DVD players, Blu-ray players, digital televisions, mobile phones and more. The first DivX Plus certified devices are expected to ship from major consumer electronics manufacturers by the end of 2009.

“The release of DivX 7 for Windows marks a true milestone for digital video users everywhere,” said Kevin Hell, CEO of DivX, Inc. “Eight years ago, the first DivX video software helped create the market for high-quality video on the PC. We then worked with a global ecosystem of licensees to extend that support beyond the PC to a variety of devices so that consumers all over the world could enjoy their videos anytime and anywhere.”

“H.264 has now emerged as a powerful new standard for digital video,” Hell continued, “With the release of DivX 7 and the DivX Plus HD certification program, we’re primed to extend the digital video experience even further by making it easy for anyone to create, play and share true HD H.264 video and play it back on the PC, in the living room and on-the-go.”

For more information about DivX 7 for Windows, visit www.divx.com.

About DivX 7 for Windows

DivX® 7 for Windows is a free download that provides everything consumers need to enjoy high-quality digital videos on the computer, including HD H.264 (.mkv) videos with AAC audio and videos created using all previous versions of DivX technology. Consumers can also play DivX files (.divx, .avi) on millions of DivX Certified® devices today. Look for DivX Plus Certified devices later this year that will support playback of all DivX and DivX Plus files, as well as .mkv (H.264/AAC) videos from the Internet. The DivX 7 for Windows download includes the following products:

— DivX Player
Watch HD DivX videos on the computer
— DivX Community Codec
Play DivX videos with third-party software
— DivX Web Player
Enjoy HD DivX videos in a browser
— DivX Converter (full version in DivX Pro of 15-day trial in DivX for
Windows)
Convert to DivX video in one step
— DivX Pro Codec (full version in DivX Pro of 15-day trial in DivX for
Windows)
Create and play DivX videos with third-party software

About DivX

DivX, Inc. is a digital media company that enables consumers to enjoy a high-quality video experience across any kind of device. DivX creates, distributes and licenses digital video technologies that span the “three screens” comprising today’s consumer media environment–the PC, the television and mobile devices. Over 100 million DivX Certified® devices have shipped into the market from leading consumer electronics manufacturers. DivX also offers content providers and publishers a complete solution for the distribution of secure, high-quality digital video content. Driven by a globally recognized brand and a passionate community of hundreds of millions of consumers, DivX is simplifying the video experience to enable the digital home.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding DivX’s visibility within the investment community. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause DivX’s actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: the risk that customer use of DivX technology may not grow as anticipated; the risk that anticipated market opportunities may not materialize at expected levels, or at all; the risk that the Company’s activities may not result in the growth of profitable revenue; risks and uncertainties related to the maintenance and strength of the DivX brand; risks associated with DivX’s ability to penetrate existing and new markets; risks regarding the effects of competition; the risk of DivX’s dependence on its licensees and partners; risks related to the effect of intellectual property rights claims; and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of DivX’s most recent report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. DivX is providing this information as of the date of this release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081124/LA48153LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: DivX, Inc.

CONTACT: media, Tom Huntington, +1-858-882-0672,
thuntington@divxcorp.com, or investor, Karen Fisher, +1-858-882-6415,
kfisher@divxcorp.com, both for DivX, Inc.

Web Site: http://www.divx.com/

SuperSync makes it easy to create a main library, and have a subset on computers and laptops around the house. By offering an easy way to visually compare and merge multiple iTunes libraries, all music, movies, and playlists can be synced across all devices. Any new content that is added on one computer can be uploaded to the master library.

Use SuperSync to:
* Keep track of all music across multiple computers – Mac OS X, Windows, and iPod
* Compare and merge any two music libraries
* Move music, videos, and playlists from one iTunes library to another
* Export all or a subset of a library as a well-organized directory of tracks
* Find partial albums, duplicates, missing tracks, corrupt files, and other common music library problems
* Intelligently import media from a hard drive, iPod, or network drive without duplicates
* Easily move a music library from Windows to Mac, Mac to Windows, or any combination
* Access a home music library from anywhere – upload/download songs, movies, and playlists
* Share a common library with multiple iTunes users on a network drive
* Access your MP3′s and playlists from Tivo

More information in the full release.

TiVo Desktop stores the TiVo Web Video subscriptions in files under C:\Documents and Settings\[account name]\Local Settings\Application Data\TiVo Desktop, at least on WinXP. The files concerned are RssFeeds.xml and wspc.xml – with DownloadQueue.xml of lesser concern. What seems to happen to me is every so often TiVo Desktop up and wipes out wspc.xml, which is the main file. I’ll find the file back to its default 1KB state without any subscriptions. Having done my share of development and support I suspect what happens is that when the server is updating the file something goes awry and instead of the updated copy being written it is wiped out. Then the default file is recreated when the server sees it is missing.

This is infuriating and frustrating. And it is a rookie bug. There are ways around this – a simple one is A/B files. Write a ‘B’ file then, only when you confirm the file is correct, remove the ‘A’ file. Then reverse that the next time. Or keep the file in memory until you do a checksum and confirm the file was written to disk successfully, and if not, try again until it is. And considering the subscriptions can only be managed from the cloud, and my TiVo still thinks I’m subscribed to these channels, in the worst case the subscriptions should be reloaded from TiVo’s servers.

I’m a geek, and when it stops working I know where to go looking for answers. But if this happens to an average user I’d expect them to be baffled – their TiVo would still show them subscribed but they wouldn’t be getting any new content. And the resolution isn’t clear – you basically have to delete and re-add the subscriptions so the server recreates them. Or, if you’re a geek and kept a backup copy, recreate the file manually. Of course this means it goes and re-downloads lots of old content.

And that’s not the only serious bug, it also fails to clean up after itself. After downloading content and transferring it to the TiVo, it is supposed to delete the downloaded file – and it does, most of the time. But it misses some and over time they build up. I’ve found multi-gigabytes of orphaned download files left using up space on my drive. If you subscribe to HD versions of content the ‘leaking’ burns space faster. Before Revision3 was added to TiVoCast I used to subscribe to many of their shows via TiVo Web Video, and they were HD versions. Just a few of those left behind can add up to a GB. You can check to see if TiVo Desktop is leaving files behind in C:\Documents and Settings\[account name]\Local Settings\Application Data\TiVo Desktop\Downloads I just removed 746MB of orphaned files from the past couple of months, and that’s after I’d dropped all the Rev3 HD shows.

Bugs happen, I know that, but these have gone unpatched for a while now.

These are hardly the only issues, just the two that really get under my skin. But there are other changes that really need to be made. And why is it that the TiVo Web Video interface on the TiVo itself seems to be stuck in the past, rarely reflecting the current episodes on the feeds? That makes the ‘Download Past Episodes’ feature useless. These are RSS feeds, would it really be so hard to make the server pull in the updated list automatically? And now that HD TiVo models can decode H.264 and VC-1 it would be nice if we could skip the transcoding entirely for compatible downloads.

I love the concept of TiVo Web Video, but it feels more and more like abandonware. All the attention goes to TiVoCast where TiVo can make business deals, and TiVo Web Video just rots on the vine. I know there are third party solutions to replace TiVo Desktop, but the point is this is what most TiVo owners will be aware of and use. TiVo needs to fix this issues if they’re serious about this as a product feature.

But Requiem 1.8.2 was also released, which enables DRM removal in iTunes 8.0.1 under Windows. The discussion thread in the Hymn project forums has the details. If you need iTunes 8.0.1 you can get it for Windows or Mac from OldApps.com.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, I do not support or condone piracy. I stress that Requiem strips the DRM but does not strip personally identifiable information. If you share the freed files they can be linked to your iTunes account. I support the use of Requiem solely for personal fair use, being able to use the music on non-Apple devices – like streaming to a TiVo or loading them on your non-iPhone smartphone.

I’d link to Requiem, but Apple sends out cease and desist notices to sites that do, so I’ll just say use Google, it is available via BitTorrent.

I love my TiVo DVR, so I had high expectations for Nero’s LiquidTV | TiVo PC, a combination of hardware and software that brings the features of a TiVo DVR to a PC. But after testing out a newly updated version of the product, I’m a bit disappointed, as it suffers from a few glitches that make me hesitate to recommend it.

Check out the full review for the details.