E-Commerce Blog

D-day — the day television broadcast signals switch from analog to digital — is less than five months away. While the Federal Communications Commission and broadcasters like ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX have spent recent months informing the viewing public about the switch, there’s still a lot of confusion about what it all means among viewers with various ways of receiving programming. U.S. viewers watch on everything from ancient, bunny-eared boxes to 60-inch high-def TVs hooked up to 800-channel satellite subscriptions.

Read the rest here:
The Digital TV Switch and You

TiVo is teaming up with Nero to bring a new video recording solution to the PC. The companies announced Nero LiquidTV/TiVo PC on Monday. The product will offer TiVo functions from a computer, without the need for a set-top box. The system will be marketed toward both existing TiVo users and families that don’t currently have digital video recording devices. It will run $199 for the full hardware kit — including tuner card, a TiVo remote for the PC, and an IR blaster — or $99 for just the software by itself. You’ll also have to pay $99 a year for the TiVo service.

Go here to see the original:
TiVo Makes the PC Its Second Home

If the nation’s largest cable TV operators have their way, the home digital video recorder could soon become a relic. Leading the way is Cablevision Systems, which plans to roll out a system in early 2009 that will let viewers record any show without a DVR, only a digital set-top box. Shows will be stored on Cablevision’s servers instead of a home DVR — a shift the company said could save it upward of $700 million. Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications also are interested in deploying network DVR services but are farther away from implementation.

See the original post here:
Cablevision’s Great DVR in the Sky

DVD duplication is going mainstream with the introduction of RealNetworks’ new RealDVD system. The software — set to go on sale for about $30 at Real.com and Amazon.com by the end of September — lets you legally make digital copies of any disc, including all its artwork and extras. There are, however, strict limitations involved. The move marks a fresh turn in an ongoing battle between moviemakers and technology purveyors. Unlike past utilities, however, Real insists its solution is completely legal and in line with industry standards.

Read the original:
Real Offers Legal but Limited DVD-Ripping Software

The digital video recorder has become a must-have appliance, according to a survey released by NDS, a digital pay TV technology solution provider. More than 70 percent of consumers who currently own a DVR told surveyors that they could not live without it. Researchers queried more than 1,000 DVR owners in the U.S., UK, Australia and Italy in July 2008, asking them to rank the DVR in terms of relative importance among their household appliances.

View post:
Survey: DVR Makes Homes Happier