Zatz Not Funny!

Internet-delivered TV is a messy market right now, and into the fray, Apple TV has tossed a new partnership with the CW network. The CW will soon have an app on Apple TV devices that shows TV episodes the day after they air on cable. All content will be ad-supported, and no pay-TV subscription will [...]

There was a big story out last week that a lot of people missed. According to The Wall Street Journal (as reported by electronista), ESPN is weighing the idea of subsidizing users’ wireless data for mobile streaming of ESPN video. That would mean that the sports network would pay for bandwidth used by consumers to watch ESPN [...]

TiVo will be retiring the free version of their TiVo Desktop PC software next month. And I can’t say it’s a bad idea, given years of neglect… and CCI Byte unpleasantries. While imagery alluding to a replacement TiVo Desktop or, perhaps, web portal streaming surfaced earlier this year, nothing has yet materialized. Until it does, TiVo [...]

http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/netflix-surpasses-hbo-in-u-s-subscribers-1200406437/

According to Variety, DirecTV has been working on a Nuance-powered iPhone app to bring speech recognition to HR24 and newer set-top boxes. My initial reaction was that it’s nothing more than a clever, but not very practical, application of Siri-like skills. Yet, upon reflection, being able to change channel via station name, rather than researching a corresponding [...]

We got a new flat-screen TV for my house in December of 2009, and we’re not likely to upgrade any time soon. That doesn’t top me from wanting to add a little after-market action, however, and for some inexplicable reason, I find that I’m craving an Android TV box for my living room set-up. Brad [...]

“In case of online attack, please use the emergency shutoff valve.” -Ed Bott

You know how annoying it is when your on-demand session times out and you have to start a show over from the beginning? Oh, and then you find out fast forwarding has been disabled? Well, fear no more. The cable gods are hard at work fixing the problem. The SCTE, a standards body for the [...]

According to Businessweek, Amazon intends to take on the likes of Apple, Microsoft, and Roku with a streaming set-top box. Given Amazon’s failed bid for Roku, ever-expanding cloud offerings, and even their own Android marketplace, it’s not an inconceivable approach – yet we’ll classify this as a rumor until more concrete evidence presents itself. With the downward [...]

Back in February, TiVo had petitioned the FCC to build a new line of all-digital DVRs. And apparently Industry is prepared to abandon analog tuning, as not a single letter of opposition was filed. From TiVo’s February filing: This petition requests an extension of that waiver to several new all-digital cable only devices and a slight extension [...]

Amidst Hulu’s identity crisis, their Windows and Mac Hulu Desktop software has gone missing. First introduced in 2009, these apps provided another means of video playback… with the benefit of Apple and Microsoft Media Center remote control support. But they unceremoniously vanished from the web several weeks back, along with all of Hulu Labs. A [...]

Hillcrest Labs stopped working on its HoME interface for smart TVs close to seven years ago. And yet the UI is still better than most you’ll see on the market today. I stopped by the Hillcrest Labs HQ earlier this month, and, as part of the visit, got a full demo walk-through of HoME. The [...]

Aereo has been super savvy in grabbing headlines of late. If you’re not caught up on the story so far, the start-up TV company has expanded to a few new markets, won another round in court against broadcasters, and left Fox, CBS and others frothing at the mouth and threatening to move free programming over [...]

After four months with the Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale ($130), I haven’t shed any significant weight. However, should I find the motivation to improve my fitness and diet, I do believe the Aria will provide an attractive and effective mechanism for tracking my progress. But let’s back up a bit… As our homes and appliances [...]

There’s been a flood of video news over the last two weeks, and mostly your friends here at Zatz Not Funny have been too busy to cover the excitement. We promise to do better, but in the meantime, here’s a quick round-up of happenings. Austin gets Google – It won’t happen until 2014, but Austin is [...]

After failing to gain traction in the US, beyond AT&T (U-verse), or meaningful integration with other business components, Microsoft has decided to simply jettison their Mediaroom IPTV unit: Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has reached an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to acquire its TV solution Mediaroom business. This will make Ericsson the leading provider of IPTV and multi-screen [...]

Sorry. I don’t get the drama around having an ‘always online’ console. Every device now is ‘always on’. That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit

Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a bizarre new marketing trend in which products are put up for pre-order… without an actual release date or itemized spec sheet. And, amazingly, even occasionally neglecting to specify a price. AT&T is up this time, with a Samsung Galaxy S4 (pre) pre-order announcement: Continuing our legacy as the [...]

TiVo has just refreshed its line of Android apps, with the highlight being Jellybean (4.2) support. Unfortunately, TiVo Stream capabilities remain MIA… despite Android representing greater than 50% of US smartphones and presumably frustrated MSO partners. The complete rundown: Additional Away Mode functionality so that users can manage their Season Passes and ToDo Lists while on [...]

The free, ad-supported Popcornflix movie service is coming to Sony’s connected Bravia TVs and Blu-ray devices. Already available on Roku and Boxee, Popcornflix draws from the movie catalog of its parent company Screen Media Ventures. This is no Netflix alternative, and you won’t find recent movie hits available for free. However, Popcornflix reportedly has a [...]