It appears that one of our competitors, Time Warner Cable has gotten into some hot water by offering an iPad app to customers for viewing content they pay for in their homes. Apparently, Viacom, Discovery, and Fox sent cease and desist letters to TWC, demanding that their content be pulled from the iPad application they began offering last month.  Time Warner countered with legal maneuvers of its own, filing a request for summary judgement in a U.S. District Court in southern New York.

In a statement, Time Warner Cable’s executive VP and General Counsel said, “We have steadfastly maintained that we have the rights to allow our customers to view this programming in their homes, over our cable systems, without artificial limits on the screens they can use to do so, and we are asking the court to confirm our view.”  Further, TWC launched the very next day an additional 17 channels from content providers who apparently had no problem with the iPad app Time Warner released.

It appears to me that technology should trump the “old school” thinking on this issue.  If the assumed goal of a content provider is to have as many eyes as possible viewing content it produces, why would it want to limit any screen that a paying customer owns from viewing content ?  Go figure.

Regardless of your point of view on this issue, it promises to be hotly debated for the next several weeks.  This issue is also emblematic of many other issues where technology that is widely embraced by the public ends up trumping industry policy.

When the VCR was first introduced many years ago, the video content creation industry reacted by petitioning the US Congress to ban the devices outright.  When that failed, they tried to push through a “tax” on blank video tapes that would discourage their use.  Virtually the same playbook was read in the audio content industry when digital audio recorders (DAT) were introduced in the early ’90’s.  Complex legal maneuvers, copy protection schemes, petitions to government authority, and ultimately the technologies themselves came and went.  None of the histrionics of a slightly paranoid industry made it off the block.

Here’s the thing.  Most people understand that the creation of quality content costs money, and are willing to pay for quality entertainment, whether music or video production. Those very very few that are bent on bootlegging or infringing copyrights will likely find a way to do so, in spite of DRM protections.

Until next time….

Here goes:

Multi-tools–Any true geek loves the ability to fix something on-the-spot.  This “MacGuyver” like ability requires either hauling around a toolkit, or an effective “multitool” which can be carried in your pocket or small belt pouch.  Here are my favorites:

Leatherman tool–comes in all kinds of sizes, capabilities and price ranges.  Shop at Amazon or direct from Leatherman

Swiss Army–Been around forever–still build quality tools.  Generally lighter and less robust than Leatherman, they have the advantage of (generally) being small enough that you really can carry them in your pocket.  Comes in all sizes, styles and price ranges–One actually has well over 100 functions and costs around $1400!  Other than the $1400 model (which I would not recommend regardless of your budget), these are widely distributed from a number of retail outlets. My favorites are these:

Victorinox Swiss Army Champion–about $40

Victorinox Swiss Army Trekker–about $30

Pens–Geeks like pens and mechanical pencils to fill up all those pocket protectors.  Preferably Japanese or German, and the more industrial looking, the better.

Portable Hard Drives–Pocket drives that use the USB port on a laptop for the power source are terrific for moving data around from computer to computer.  Flash drives generally don’t have the capacity to satisfy any self respecting geek’s data needs.  Look for a size of at least 500 Gb or greater and stick with a well known brand–Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, and Maxtor.  Expect to pay between $60~$100.

Killer Remotes–managing all the remote controls in a typical geek’s life can be truly daunting.  Universal programmable remotes can consolidate all that remote clutter into a single device–one that will operate the TV, sound system, Blu-Ray, and WOW! DVR, as well as any other device in the home theatre.  The Logitech “Harmony” series gets great reviews generally.  Be sure to purchase one that will “learn” codes from existing remotes.  It will save lots of time in set up.

Until next time…

Regardless of the reason, it is a fact that electronic equipment generally is quite energy efficient these days, but some is better than others.  There are a number of design criteria for an engineer to consider:

1)  What is the overall wattage consumption when fully on versus a potential sleep mode?

2)  Does sleep mode, if applicable, have other benefits vs. turning the equipment completely off?

3)  What is the convenience factor associated with effective power management if any?

4)  What are the power management factors that contribute to product longevity?

Why the concentration on “sleep mode”?  The fact is that most electronic equipment doesn’t really like an initial power surge coursing through its semiconductors like some unbridled testosterone rush.  Most of us are aware of sleep modes on computers (particularly laptops), and perhaps displays, but in fact most electronic equipment is designed this way these days, including televisions (both CRT and flat panel), sound equipment, DVR’s, and logic processors of all kinds, whether they are in refrigerators, microwaves, hard drives, phones, etc.  Soft power switches are the norm now rather than the exception.

There are several good reasons for designs of this type:

Longevity–electronic circuitry that is “always on”, even at a significantly reduced power level, has been shown to last longer and retain its operating characteristics more consistently over the life of the device when compared with designs that use a “hard power” approach.

Convenience–in many designs, the time interval from “sleep” to “full on” is much less than from “off” to “on”–most of us have experienced that with our computers, but it really applies to other devices as well.

Less Energy Usage–wouldn’t any device with a hard power switch save energy in the long run?  Not necessarily.  Most devices which carry the coveted Energy Star® rating are usually soft switch designs, integrating intelligent power management that doesn’t depend on our “remembering to turn it on or off”.

A couple of general recommendations:

If you are using a power strip as an on/off switch for televisions, computers, cable modems, EMTA, sound equipment, DVR, etc., DON’T–All of that careful circuit saving power engineering is bypassed when you use this “sledgehammer on a thumbtack” approach.  And while I agree this is relatively convenient, it just generally isn’t the best thing for your equipment or your power bill.  Don’t “power down hard” (power strip, pulling the plug, etc.) any electronic equipment unless other circumstances force the issue.  (An intense lightning storm raging outside IS a good reason).

That said, if your computer locks up for example, many times the only way to “get it back” is with a hard reboot/hard power reset.  Most circuitry with built in logic is the same way, whether in a DVR or a clock radio.  If there is a need to “reset” that logic, because of soft power engineering, many times pushing the power button will be inadequate for this task, and the “plug must be pulled”.  Again, use this option with caution, but be aware that this will reset most electronic logic that has lost its way for whatever reason.  If you find yourself doing this all the time with the same component, service is probably going to be required on the device.

May the road rise up to meet you, and your logic devices never stray from their design criteria!

Until next time….

About two months after the purchase, I came home from work to find the computer open and sitting up on the kitchen table on its end, as though it were a book on display atop a library shelf.  An odd position.  Scratched my head a bit, but didn’t worry too much about it until she returned from her errands and walked through the door.  I could tell from her face that something wasn’t right.  It had been a no good, very bad day…

She tearfully told me that in the process of her work that morning, she had spilled a glass of water at the table, some of which had splashed onto the keyboard of the MacBook.  She was unsure how much, but it was enough to freeze the machine and make the screen go dark.  She had disconnected the power supply, shook what she could out of the Mac, and left it on its end to “drain and dry”.  Since it had been several hours, we ventured to try and restart the machine.  Nope…it was now a very expensive brushed aluminum brick.

I called Apple and told them the situation, complete with the disclosure on the potential water entry.  They suggested I send it back to them in a prepaid box they would send me, and told me that if the repair was determined to be water damage, they would let me know the charges before repairs were made.  I steeled myself for that phone call.  Instead of hearing from them, precisely two days after we had sent the machine to Apple, it was back on our doorstep fully repaired and functional.  Apple had replaced the logic board at no charge to the Stanfill family.  Parenthetically, Apple has always received more than its share of my discretionary income precisely because of its more-than-helpful attitude towards me as a customer.

The outcome could have been much different.  Apple had no legal obligation under the terms of its warranty to fix the computer at no charge.  Many of us have had experiences with water and electronic devices which did not end nearly so well.

Here’s the thing…Water is a conductor of electricity (pure water is a very poor conductor, but in today’s world, most water contains ions of sodium or other elements that make it much more conductive than it is naturally), and putting water in contact with electronic circuitry will cause carefully engineered circuit paths to be redirected to places they should not go.  Even worse are other water based drinks that have intentional “impurities” introduced to the mix–coffee, tea, soft drinks, etc.  These drinks are highly conductive and even worse, leave a residue on electronic parts that can remain conductive even after the moisture is gone.

At the risk of displaying a Profound Mastery of the Obvious (PMO), here are a couple of rules to keep your gear running well:

1)  Don’t eat or drink in close proximity to your computer or other electronic gear.  Do not think that “it will never happen to me”.

2)  Don’t use your set top box or DVR as a support for a houseplant. Duh.

3)  When moving digital cameras, computers, ipods, etc. from a cool dry environment to a warm humid environment, allow them to remain in their case until temperature is normalized within.  Condensation from moisture in the air is as bad as dumping water inside the device.  Jumping outside with your digital camera from an air conditioned space into an Evansville summer day is not a good idea.

and, finally with tongue squarely in cheek,

4)  Don’t allow pets to “nest” on electronic gear.  A couple of years ago, a customer came in for a set top box replacement.  No problem.  Two weeks later she was in again.  The WOW! service rep quizzically asked if there was any reason she knew of why the set top boxes would be failing, whereupon the customer responded that her cat had a habit of peeing into the top (vented portion) of the box.  Apparently didn’t like the programming.  True story.

Until next time….

So, now that I have hyped up how excited I am for fall TV, you are probably dying to know what is on my watch list.  Don’t lie, I know you are.

Mondays

• Gossip Girl
• Dancing with the Stars
• Lone Star
• Chuck
• The Event
• Little People, Big World (So sad that it is the last season!

Tuesday

• The Good Wife
• Life Unexpected
• Glee
• Running Wilde
• Parenthood

Wednesday

• Better with You
• Modern Family
• Cougar Town
• Hellcats
• Lie to Me
• Hell’s Kitchen
• South Park

Thursday

• My Generation
• S#*! My Dad Says
• Outsourced
• The Apprentice
• The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Friday

• Outlaw

Sunday

• Undercover Boss

What are you looking forward to watching this fall?

TiVo is representative of an increasing trend where video consumers purchase hardware that allows access to a number of digital video and music sources; i.e., cable, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, etc.  TiVo can function as a classic DVR, with the full feature set associated with that device.  But in addition, all of the new TiVo products are internet savvy, which allows access to popular digital sources available on the internet as well.

One of the most controversial aspects of TiVo is the monthly subscription fee, which, unlike cable video services or Netflix, does not buy access to any content.  It only buys access to the programming guide which is tightly integrated into the DVR system.  Cost per month varies from about $12.95 to a little under $7.00, depending on how long a contract is chosen.  Without the service contract, according to TiVo, the box “will have very limited functions…the only thing you would be able to do is record live TV.”  Basically a paperweight…

While as mentioned before, the box (currently the Premiere® or the Premiere XL®) is well designed generally, there are a few goofy things that should have been anticipated by the company.  For example, it lacks a built-in 802.11n network access point, and, if you want the internet enabled features over wireless, you must plunk down another $90 for the external adapter (another wired goober to hide somewhere).  If you have wired ethernet near your video set up, no problem.  But this is a design flaw that the company should have anticipated with its new set top design.

Most of the folks I have talked to that have the TiVo service think it’s great–it enhances the experience from cable, Netflix, and other video services.  The TiVo system does have a 30-day money back guarantee.

As we have covered some of the new generation HD sets available, it appears that many of them are incorporating internet savvy applications to access video content from a number of sources.  I’m anxious for the day when it will be possible to interface an external hard disk to the TV, and DVR functionality would then be part of the set’s interface.  That may not be that far off.

In the meantime, TiVo is a viable option out there to increase access to and usability of digital content in a sophisticated home theatre set up.  Whether it’s precisely the best alternative for you (as a video server or client) depends on your needs and tastes.

Until next time….

Apple TV meets the basic definition of a video server, but it can also function as a client in that it has the ability to tie into video content from several computer systems (which then act as the servers) to which it is linked via wi-fi or ethernet.  Apple gives the user access to any video content nested in iTunes (on either a PC or Mac platform), plus YouTube and content from the iTunes Store.  The device gives you the choice of either streaming from or syncing with a primary computer system, plus gives streaming access to all content on additional computers on the network as well.   This includes music, video, podcasts, photos, and other digital content that a user might wish to access on the primary theatre/sound system in the home.

In typical Apple fashion, the interface is intuitive, and set up is pretty easy.  As alluded to, the Apple TV can be a self contained server for a single video system, or it can act as a client for content stored elsewhere on computer systems in the home.  The one thing that it can’t do is record “off air” like a DVR or TIVO.  It is primarily designed as a portal for commercial free, costed content out of the Apple Store, or to access other digital content from YouTube or other mpeg-4 files stored locally within the home on various computers.  Video quality is excellent (particularly in HD), and the user experience is very straightforward and satisfying.

Additional specific features include:

1)  Ability to do full discrete Dolby 5.1 sound, if the source material was properly encoded.  (most of Apple’s “available for purchase or rent” content is 5.1, but other sources may not be)

2)  Full wi-fi capability.  If your local home network is 802.11(b,g,n) compatible, no additional wiring is needed to either stream or download content from local computers or the internet.

3)  That famously simple Apple interface–Very simple remote operation with a handheld the size of three postage stamps laid back to back.  Also, there’s a nice (free) app out there that let’s you control AppleTV with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Some have described Apple TV as an iPod on steroids.  I don’t necessarily agree with that assessment, but I do wish that Apple would do more with this product.  Here is my specific wish list:

1)  Support for Netflix and other video streaming sites available on the web.

2)  Support for 1080p content.  At present, Apple TV only supports 720p content–still great video, but technology marches on.  Even my home videos aren’t in 720p anymore.

3)  Support for add on QAM or ATSC tuner(s) that would allow recording from linear broadcasts.  This basic DVR functionality would allow users more flexibility in content choices.

I suspect that my suggestions are antithetical to Apple’s business model surrounding this product.  But I’d still like to see it happen.  Steve Jobs, are you listening?

Next week, DLNA servers…..

]]> http://thewowbuzz.com/blog/technology/video-servers-apple-tv/feed 2 http://thewowbuzz.com/blog/technology/video-servers-the-dvr http://thewowbuzz.com/blog/technology/video-servers-the-dvr#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:23:08 +0000 Steve Stanfill http://thewowbuzz.com/?p=2489 (read more)]]> The next few of weeks I would like to discuss the present state of video server technology and how that might enhance a home theatre system.  There are a number of options out there, and new options are proliferating as time goes on.  We will discuss general concepts as well as some specific products that may hold interest.

First, by definition a video server is a device that can be used to record, store, catalog, and retrieve video content on demand.  Now, by that definition, a SA/Cisco DVR (available from WOW!) is a video server, and indeed, fills the bill for “content on demand” for a great number of our customers.  So, many of us have the underpinnings of video server technology in our set up presently.

A DVR allows a user to record a program off of a linear broadcast for later viewing (”time shifting” for those who are particularly sensitive to DRM issues).  DVR technologies have improved a great deal over the last few years; they are more reliable, quieter (the early models had cooling fans that sounded like crazed eggbeaters), and have more flexibility in options available to the user.  They’ve also become more intuitive to use in recent years.

DVR units are computer systems masquerading as set top boxes.  They have internal hard disk drives which, in tandem with computer hardware and software, record and catalog the video content specifically requested by the user off of the cable system.  Most are not designed to record or stream video from sources other than a cable provider (TIVO is an exception), but the good news is that there is a lot of content to choose from the packages available from WOW!  Time shifting programs to watch at a more convenient time has become a way of life for many videophiles.  Since most modern DVR can record both standard definition and high definition video, there is little reason to stay glued to a TV when something else important is happening.  Time shifting allows us to choose when we want to be entertained.

In addition, there are a number of other options for video server technology.  A server, in the classic sense, should “serve” multiple “clients” in the household, and there are some options out there that do this.  WOW! has a number of technologies in the lab which will allow “whole house DVR”, or put another way, a video server that will allow viewing of different programs on different televisions.  Those offerings will be forthcoming in the near future, and will be offered for lease–this will mean that WOW! will own and maintain the equipment as part of your service package just as the DVR is packaged today.  In the meantime, if you have the ambition and the technical inclination, some of these video server technologies can be engineered presently.

More to come….

Over the next couple of entertainment blog posts, I am going to highlight some great upcoming events that will get you up off your couch and out and about exploring your community with renewed interest.  If you have some summertime shows that you love watching, don’t worry about missing them – set your DVR to record them.  I also encourage you to check out our Facebook page for upcoming events in your community that we will be at as well.

Next week, I’ll be kicking off our summertime entertainment series with my hometown, Chicago.

You are probably wondering what is a “go-to” channel?  My definition of a go-to channel is the channel that you click to when there is nothing on worth watching.  You know that if you “go-to” this channel that you are bound to be able to find something to watch.   For me, on Saturdays, my “go-to” channel is A&E.  I typically go to A&E on Saturday mornings to watch old episodes of Flip This House.  The series features different flippers in different areas turning old or run down houses into a profit.  My favorite flippers are Rudy out in L.A. and Peter and Brian in Atlanta.  After that ended, I was sucked into watching Billy the Exterminator which I have never seen before.  It follows this family of exterminators in Louisiana.  It was interesting to see how he got rid of bats in an attic and a raccoon out of a dumpster.  After that, they had a marathon of  Gene Simmons: Family Jewels.  I am not a series follower, but I do enjoy watching the show when they are running marathons. 

Now that I shared my “go-to” channel, I would love to hear some of your favorite “go-to” channels/shows.