Cablevision brings live cable TV to the iPhone and iPod touch

By Janko Roettgers
From http://gigaom.com/

Cablevision subscribers can now watch cable TV on their iPhones or iPod touch devices, thanks to the cable-TV provider extending the functionality of its iPad app to all of Apple’s iOS devices. The new app allows Cablevision customers to access live-TV channels as well as thousands of VOD titles. It also acts as a remote control for Cablevision’s set-top boxes, allowing customers to change channels and other settings.

Cablevision first launched its iPad app in April. The new release extends its functionality to the iPhone and iPod touch, while also bringing remote control features to the iPad app. However, it doesn’t solve two key issues: Consumption of live and VOD TV is restricted to a subscriber’s home, making it impossible to view programming on the go. That may have been a minor issue for the iPad, since it could work well as a replacement for the bedroom or as a “TV” for kids. However, one has to wonder how many people will watch live television on the small iPhone screen while at home.

Another unresolved issue is that some cable programmers don’t like the idea of programming becoming available on mobile devices, in home or otherwise. Time Warner Cable, which has been offering similar functionality since March, initially got pressed by a number of channels to take its programming off its iPad app. It was eventually able to strike agreements with these programmers, but Cablevision wasn’t so lucky: MTV and Comedy Central owner Viacom sued the cable provider in June, arguing that it doesn’t have the necessary rights to bring its channels to the iPad.

Comcast TV Everywhere launch details: December, free for existing subs, really goes anywhere

by Richard Lawler

Comcast's Amy Banse just hit the stage at NewTeeVee Live and announced key details about the company's new On Demand Online launch. If you can't check out the video (embedded after the break) here's the important stuff: It will be available at no additional cost to existing subscribers and allow the authorization of up to 3 devices per household. Log in once from home to Comcast.net or Fancast.com, download the Move Networks powered player to authorize your PC and proceed to stream from the very healthy library of VOD, whether at home or anywhere else, despite previous rumors to the contrary. The bad news? Yes, this does still count against the 250GB monthly cap if used at home and still no word on HD streaming, but within the concept of making content available to subscribers wherever they want to view it, this seems like a good first step.

[Via Media Experiences 2 Go]

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Video Killed the Video Store

By Ryan Singel

The Blockbuster is dead, long live the blockbuster.

At least that's what the technology omens are saying.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Blockbuster Video, whose shares are trading below $1, is seeking advice on how to file for bankruptcy. Blockbuster counters it's only trying to get help to restructure its debt.

No matter. The days of tromping to the video store to find the night's entertainment are past. Now the question is only how long will it be until walking to the mailbox to get a DVD is considered antiquarian.

Driving or walking to the video store to bring home less than a gig of data — data that may or may not even be in stock — just doesn't make much sense anymore.

At least not when compared to Netflix's easy ordering system, its recommendation engine, lack of late fees, deeper inventory and clever use of the Postal Service to have movies delivered quickly.

Blockbuster tried to keep up, with an innovative mail rental plan that let people trade in movies at the store as well, but the plan turned out to be too complicated and too late.

But even the notion of even leaving the room to get a movie, doesn't make sense if you have a fat internet connection and the willingness to explore some legal and less-legal ways to download movies to a computer.

Note that also on Tuesday, cable provider Comcast announced that it was rolling out "wideband" in the San Francisco Bay Area (including a 50 Mbps downstream offering for $140 a month) and doubled the download speed of its current basic plus service to 12 Mbps down for free. That marks the 10th urban area in the United States that the cable operator is offering real broadband.

Think YouTube, Hulu, NetFlix's streaming movies, iTunes and Amazon overpriced rentals on demand, as well as dozens of others striving — yet again — to find a way to stream Hollywood video across the internet.

On Wednesday, ZillionTV announced that by the end of the year it will sell a $50 internet-connected set-top box that will stream HD and standard movies and premium TV, letting people choose to pay for entertainment or watch ad-supported shows.

No one has created a popular computer-in-the-living room solution yet — which makes DVDs still very practical, but that's just details. Some company — or several — will and then the notion of leaving the house to get a movie to watch will seem as quaint as writing a check at the grocery store.

The only question is what will become of all those old Blockbuster video stores and their signature blue awnings? My money is on an innovative pizza delivery company with a blue logo to start up and take over where the DVD business died.

Because at least so far, the internet has not yet figured out how to deliver a pizza better than a brick-oven pizza place can.

Photo: RocketRaccoon/Flickr

Blockbuster releases set-top box with à la carte rentals

By David Chartier

After a handful of rumors earlier this year, Blockbuster has finally leveraged its troubled Movielink service to deliver a set-top box for digital delivery to the living room. Combined with a low price point and a unique introductory business model, Blockbuster may have a shot at catching up with some of its competition.

Dubbed the "MediaPoint" digital media player by its manufacturer, 2Wire, Blockbuster's box can stream roughly 2,000 of the 10,000 films from Blockbuster's online library, which it gained from its acquisition of Movielink in 2007. Unlike competitors such as Netflix, Blockbuster charges no subscription fee for access to its streaming service, opting instead to go with an à la carte model with prices starting at $1.99 per rental. Users have 30 days to begin watching a film and 24 hours to finish once a film has been started.

To get the MediaPoint player, Blockbuster is using an introductory promotion that allows customers to prepay $99 for 25 rentals, and they will receive a MediaPoint unit for free. No standalone price is listed for the unit otherwise, and customers do not need to sign up for a Blockbuster Online DVD rent-by-mail plan.

This pricing model stands in stark contrast to the one used by Netflix, Blockbuster's closest competitor and the company that has so far dominated the DVD-by-mail business and seen reasonable success with an online strategy. In May, Netflix introduced its own set-top box built by Roku, which sells for $99 and allows Netflix subscribers to stream any film or TV episode from the company's much larger online catalog of over 12,000 titles. With a decent lead over Blockbuster in the online space, Netflix has also announced a number of partnerships and updates that now bring its streaming content to the Xbox 360, various Blu-ray players, PCs, TiVo, and even the Mac.

Still, Blockbuster's MediaPoint player and OnDemand service have a number of advantages that cater to users who don't want to pay subscription fees and who are also interested in more recent films. While Netflix's much larger catalog tends to skew towards back-catalog titles, Blockbuster OnDemand focuses on newer releases such as Get Smart, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Blockbuster says its player is "about the size of two boxes of movie candy," and unlike Netflix's Roku player and "Watch Instantly" service, films can be browsed and downloaded right from Blockbuster's MediaPoint player in the living room. (With Netflix, users must use a computer to queue films for streaming on the Roku device.)

The MediaPoint player comes equipped with WiFi (802.11b/g), Ethernet, HDMI, composite, component, and optical outputs. Like Netflix's player, Blockbuster's MediaPoint player is also capable of HD content as well as SD, though it appears neither service is actually streaming HD content to their set-top boxes just yet (Netflix is streaming HD video to Xbox 360 users, though). There is also no mention in the company's press release of what appear to be a USB port and SD memory card slot on the front of the device.

Finally showing a little more feistiness after getting pummeled by the competition lately, Blockbuster isn't stopping with its own media player, either; the company is negotiating to get its OnDemand streaming service onto Blu-ray players, and it's also considering a debut on the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, according to Reuters.

Competition is escalating in the online video space. MGM is bringing full movies to YouTube, Hulu streamed presidential debates live, and following its flight to Windows PCs, TiVo today went so far as to introduce a mobile site at m.tivo.com that allows subscribers to browse and schedule shows while on-the-go. If Blockbuster can increase its MediaPoint catalog and flip the switch on HD, it could gain some ground in an increasingly crowded online video market.