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Cox getting into 3D; ESPN 3D starts in June

March 30th, 2010, 2:54 pm by

Take a day off, miss some big 3D news. DirecTV offered us an update yesterday on one of its upcoming 3D TV channels. We knew ESPN 3D was coming, but now we know when: June 11. More notably, Cox Communications plans to air the upcoming Masters Tournament for all customers who have an HD receiver. That makes Cox the first cable TV provider in Orange County to make some sort of commitment to 3D.

Let’s start with Cox. The cable company will air the Masters Tournament next week from Augusta National Golf Club beginning Wednesday, April 7 (yes, that’s the event where we will all see Tiger Wood’s return to the sport). There will be two hours a day of live coverage, starting at 1 or 2 p.m, our time. The same coverage will also be available on demand (go to channel 1). If you’re not an eligible Cox subscriber, you can also view the 3D coverage at Masters.com if you have a 3D-compatible computer.

What will you see? “Viewers will be better able to depict the many subtleties and elevation changes of the course’s grounds,” says Cox.

The interesting note is that Cox is a cable company. And cable companies have complained about not having enough space to air more HD channels. Companies are tweaking the technology and playing with available bandwidth in order to squeeze more HD into a customer’s house. Cox, for example, has turned some regular TV channels into on-demand only so that they are not broadcasting 24/7. When a customer wants to view the channel, it starts airing as if it were broadcasting 24/7.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, is also airing the Masters Tournament in 3D. Here’s a good explanation about how Comcast is doing 3D by Engadget, “Comcast’s 3D Masters broadcast explained.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | 19 Comments »

AT&T’s U-verse Internet speeds up 33%

March 30th, 2010, 8:39 am by

AT&T has expanded its faster Max Turbo Internet to all U-verse customers. The Internet plan offers 24 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream speed.

That’s well above cable Internet speeds in Orange County but below the maximum of Verizon FiOS, another telecom offering an alternative TV and Internet service. FiOS offers download speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps.

Max Turbo, which launched in Texas and Missouri in December, is $65 month if bundled with U-verse TV service. It’s $95/month for eligible small business customers. Existing plans, including the previously top speed Max Plus at 18 Mbps, are still available (see chart below).

AT&T is available in limited parts of Orange County. Cities include Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Orange, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Stanton, Villa Park, Westminster, and Yorba Linda.

See the U-verse page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/uverse
Recent AT&T U-verse stories:

Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • | 9 Comments »

Forget Hulu, cable TV! ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ heads to TV alternative

March 26th, 2010, 12:40 pm by

If you’re still mourning the loss of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Hulu.com, there’s a new cheap source in town.

MediaMall Technologies, which sells PlayOn software to TVs to web videos, announced today that it added a link to ComedyCentral.com shows, including “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.” The feature is in beta and available for free to existing and new PlayOn users.

The software  is installed on a home computer, which accesses online videos and TV shows from Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Video, Netflix and several other online video sources. Then, on a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and certain other networked devices compliant with the Digital Living Network Alliance, users can view the videos on their big TV — no extra cables or wiring necessary. Third-party developers also created plugins to grab on-demand videos from Food Networks, NFL, MTV and many other TV networks.

But PlayOn has really won converts because it is one of the rare ways to view Hulu videos on a regular TV. (Hulu, of course, currently offers free access to several TV shows that typically require a cable TV or paid subscription.) Earlier this month, Hulu said that the two Comedy Central shows were being pulled from its site after Hulu failed to get the rights from Viacom to continue airing the shows online.

But PlayOn isn’t free. The software is $40, though you can usually find it cheaper online and there’s a free 14-day trial. Users also need broadband Internet service plus a home network and a DLNA device, such as the game consoles. After all that is in place, there are no further charges.

However, for this new product, MediaMall says it may charge a one-time $5 to $10 fee after the Comedy Central feature graduates out of beta status, scheduled for June 2010.

“It isn’t 100% decided yet- we are still doing some research, but it is likely to be $5 to existing customers for a limited time after the release and then go up to the standard $10 price going forward,” said Tracy Burman, with MediaMall. “…There is no official agreement between ComedyCentral and PlayOn.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Not another TV channel dispute! This time, it’s DirecTV

March 24th, 2010, 5:31 pm by

Spotted: A small number of DirecTV customers could lose ABC and CBS if the companies don’t sign a new contract by March 31.

While this only affects DirecTV customers in Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa, publicizing such disputes is becoming more common and could impact paid-TV service nationwide, including in Orange County.

Local ABC and CBS affiliates apparently could yank the broadcasts if an agreement isn’t reached. Says Derek Chang, executive vice president of Programming for DIRECTV:

“DIRECTV’s contract with the Citadel-owned ABC station in Des Moines, Iowa, and the CBS station in Davenport, Iowa, is expiring on March 31. We have been negotiating in good faith to try and reach a resolution and will continue to do so. If an agreement is not reached by the deadline, we intend to continue to provide the stations as we have for many years, unless Citadel demands that we take them away from our customers. If the stations come down after the deadline, make no mistake, it will be solely and completely the station owner’s (Citadel’s) decision to take the channels away from our customers.”

While this doesn’t affect Orange County customers directly, it is a trend reverberating throughout the paid-TV industry. Channels that cable and satellite companies didn’t pay for previously are now asking for a per-subscriber fee.

TV viewers also wind up in the middle as each side attempts to win their sympathy by saying the other side wants to pull the channels. This happened here in Orange County over New Years Eve, when Time Warner Cable customers thought they would lose Fox and its collection of TV shows and sporting events. We never lost Fox but on the East Coast, Cablevision customers temporarily lost access to the Oscars when ABC and the cable provider failed to come to an agreement.

While the final agreements are never made public, the possibility that ABC and Fox are now collecting money from previously nonpaying customers is just too tempting a revenue source for other broadcast channels to overlook.

I suspect we’ll continue to see more public disputes, including several that will impact channels here in Orange County.

Past disputes:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 1 Comment »

What happened to Cox Cable’s mobile phone service?

March 24th, 2010, 7:12 am by

March is almost over and the “unbelievably fair” mobile phone service from Cox Communications has failed to make its debut in Orange County, which was one of three regions nationwide picked for the cable TV provider’s mobile debut.

The launch has been delayed indefinitely, said Lana Ong, the spokesperson for the local Cox operation.

“We didn’t launch Cox Wireless widely to the public on March 8 because we are taking a very deliberate approach to introduce new products and services to the marketplace to ensure an experience that customers expect from Cox,” she replied.

She continues, “We realize many customers were looking forward to it however, the most important thing to note is Cox is putting the final touches on the Cox Wireless experience. Holding true to our customers is our number one priority and Cox Wireless will be here soon.  We’re asking that interested customers visit unbelievablyfair.com if they want to be the first to learn more about Cox Wireless – and don’t renew that contract!”

That’s a tough request, even for people who can’t wait to ditch their own wireless provider.

At this point, all we know is that Cox was building a mobile-phone network that uses Sprint’s CDMA 3G network. It would do away with overage fees, vanishing minutes and other consumer outrages. You don’t have to be a Cox TV subscriber. The company even produced commercials about it, which it’ll have to reshoot since they tout a March launch.

Orange County was one of three regions picked to be the first to get service. Hampton Roads, Va. and Omaha, Neb. were the other two areas.

Omaha, however, did launch, Ong said.

“While we don’t have a set date yet for our official wireless launch to the public, our Omaha system launched Cox Wireless in limited availability earlier this month,” she said.

In the mid 1990s, Cox tapped Omaha as a city it planned to launched cellular service using existing its fiber-optic cable network, according to a story in the Omaha World Herald. The service was pitched as something that would cost half the price of existing cellular service. The effort was later dropped.

Related stories:

Posted in: Cell phones • Video & TV • • • • • • • | 27 Comments »

NHL Network offers free preview this week

March 23rd, 2010, 10:07 pm by

Like hockey but don’t want to pay for it? There’s a free preview of the NHL Network channel in standard and high-definition this week. The free preview ends March 26.

I’ve confirmed that the freebie is available to customers of these paid TV providers:

  • Time Warner Cable: Free to all customers with a digital converter, on Channel 275 and 471 (HD).
  • Dish Network: Channel 403 (HD)
  • DirecTV through March 27, is on channel 215 for both SD and HD.

Not participating in the free preview are Cox Communications in Orange County and AT&T U-verse.

More free TV preview alerts:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Dish prepares to add 40 more HD channels

March 22nd, 2010, 8:53 am by
YouTube Preview Image

How easy is it for Dish Network to add more HD channels? “We just launch another satellite,” the company told me when I chatted with them earlier this year.

Well, Dish launched another satellite over the weekend. This is Dish’s 15th satellite, which is targeted 119 degrees West longitude at an altitude of 22,000 miles. Never seen a satellite launch? Watch Dish’s video on the right.

The EchoStar XIV, built by Space Systems/Loral, will be used to offer more high-definition channels but the company won’t offer any specifics.

However, in the press release, Tom Cullen, Dish’s executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Programming, said this will extend Dish’s “HD line-up to well over 200 channels.” It currently offers 160, plus access to local HD broadcasts in 152 markets.

Another 40 HD channels would definitely make Dish the nation’s king of HD. But according to Broadcasting & Cable, the new satellite also could be used to fulfill a government pledge to offer more local channels in rural markets. Read: “EchoStar Launches 15th Satellite.”

Over at TVPredictions, TV analyst Phillip Swann puts Dish at the top of HD channels. However, some of its 160 HD channels are on-demand and not 24-hour programming. Swann also mentioned that Dish CEO Charlie Ergen promised more HD channels starting next month. Read Swann’s take at “Dish Network Launches New Satellite For HD.”

More on Dish:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 15 Comments »

FCC wants your 2 cents on how much TV channels should cost

March 19th, 2010, 3:26 pm by

If ads warning that the Fox TV channel could get yanked from service made you anxious, annoyed or even thrilled, the Federal Communications Commission wants to hear from you.

The agency, which regulates the cable and satellite TV industry, began accepting anyone’s comment Friday on what they think about retransmission fees. Such fees are what made Time Warner Cable and Fox launch public campaigns over the holidays. Fox wanted Time Warner to pay a fee for every cable customer who had access to Fox.

This is your chance to let the government know how the fees affect customers: They make our prices go up every year. While you’re at it, you may want to offer your thoughts on paying for TV channels a la carte, or pay for only the ones you want.

Orange County customers ultimately didn’t see any shows pulled as the two sides resolved their differences — in private. But not so lucky were Cablevision customers on the East Coast who already this year lost access (temporarily) to Food Networks and ABC.

Time Warner — joined by Dish Network, DirecTV, Cablevision and 11 others — led the way last week when it told the FCC the method for negotiating a fair price for TV channels needed an update. It told the FCC:

Consumers are increasingly being put in the middle of disputes between programmers and distributors, including recurring threats of going dark, high-stakes public negotiations, and, in the case of ABC’s recent withdrawal of programming from three million Cablevision subscribers, highly disruptive blackouts. … The 14 petitioners asked the FCC to implement new dispute resolution mechanisms –such as compulsory arbitration or an expert tribunal — and require continued carriage of broadcast signals during negotiations or disputes, to help ensure uninterrupted programming for consumers. The petitioners implore the FCC to act expeditiously to help prevent further consumer harm.

The FCC is accepting public comments through May 4. Anyone can file a comment. Here’s how to do it: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 30 Comments »

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