As rumored back in September, it has now announced on Friday that Malone's Liberty Media Corp will be getting a 38% controlling stake in DirecTV from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. In exchange Rupert Murdoch will receive Liberty's 16.3% of News Corp
As part of the deal Liberty will also get three regional sports networks and $550 million in cash. The deal as a whole is estimated to be worth around $9 billion.
Many of you will remember that not too long ago DirecTV ditched TiVo and started using PVRs produced by NDS. NDS is a company which Rupert Murdoch is a large shareholder in.
But now that Rupert Murdoch is out of the picture TiVo could be returning back to DirecTV which will certainly make a lot of people very happy. Liberty Media was actually an equity investor in TiVo.
Let's just hope that the trade of DirecTV over to Liberty did not include a clause that the company must continue to use the NDS PVRs.
No, I'm not giving away my personal video collection. But Giveaway of the Day is giving away a free copy of All My Movies, a video database program.
The program lets you grab information from the IMDB or other online databases for Russian, German, Dutch, French, Polish, Italian and Spanish films. You can then save that information in a personal database. You can also capture screenshots from DVD or AVI files and add them to the databse. Movie posters are pulled from sites like Amazon.
You can add videos using UPC codes, which you can type in or scan if you happen to have a bar code scanner. There's a search function, a loan manager to help you keep track of your videos, and the ability to export your database to an HTML, TXT, or XLS file. You can also export your data to a cell phone or PDA.
Sorry for the late notice about the deal, I just discovered it a few minutes ago. But the deal's still good for a few hours. The program regularly goes for $34.95, although there's a 25% discount if you buy before Christmas.
Okay, here's something that could actually get me to use Zudeo. When BitTorrent client developers Azureus launched a new broadband service for users to share and download high-definition videos, it seemed a bit clunky to me. Unlike reigning the raining champ, YouTube, Zudeo requires you to install software to play, and you can't immediately watch programs.
But now Azureus says they've reached a deal with the BBC to carry BBC programming on Zudeo. That means shows such as Doctor Who, Little Britain, and Red Dwarf could be available legally in the US through a peer-to-peer BitTorrent service.
When I was in college, I was made aware that TV viewers in the UK were always a season or two behind on one of my favorite shows, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I guess turnabout is fair play, but it's been painful waiting for the Sci Fi channel in the US to show new episodes of Doctor Who almost a year after they've already aired in Britain. I hope this deal means that first-run programs will be available on Zudeo for a small fee, or even for free. If programs such as Torchwood don't make it onto Zudeo or another service I might just wait until they come out on DVD.
Walmart has this "toy" for $48 on clearance with $.97 shipping, which is a pretty phenomenal price considering it cost $199 at release and can currently be found on Amazon for $126.
512 MB of internal storage (expandable by 2 GB via memory card) is probably the devices biggest shortcoming, but you have to remember this is for the kiddies.
You can cram plenty of episodes of Blues Clues or Dora the Explorer on one of these things - at least enough to keep your pipsqueak satiated for a good while, and that leads us to the units strongest selling point.
There's no downloading of shows off the web and transferring them to the unit to mess with.
The Riproar records programming directly to the unit from any video source giving you an endless supply of free content (let's just assume you steal your Cable TV / Satellite) to entertain your child with on the road.
It also includes some other nice features such as an external speaker, scheduled recordings, 5 hours of battery life for video, MP3 and photo playback, TV out, and an IR remote for controlling the unit while on the included dock. Is it wrong that this feature set sounds better than some of the real adult PMPs on the market?
At such an inexpensive price, this thing is either a seething piece of digital poo or nobody is aware of this decent looking product and as a result they simply aren't selling. At $48.97 I'd be willing to take the gamble on this one and give it a try.
This definitely falls into the "gifts that are ostensibly for my child but really for me" category, but whatever. I do what I want.
1. Sky HD. If there's one present I'd really love someone to buy me this Christmas, it's BSkyB's news HD service. It's a Sky+ PVR with 160GB of storage capacity (around 80 hours) and it displays tons of Sky's content in glorious HD (presuming you have an HD capable TV. It'll cost you £299 for the box, £60 for installation and an extra £10 per month on top of your subscription, depending on the channels you already receive. More: www.sky.com/hd
2. Topfield TF5800PVR 160GB Freeview PVR. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of ordering one of these top-notch Freeview PVRs for the purposes of my job. It's a twin-tuner unit with a 160GB hard drive and a fairly easy-to-use setup and EPG. The only drawbacks are a slow reaction time on the remote, but it also has the added bonus of a USB connection, which comes in handy for moving videos around on to portable devices. You should expect to pay around £250, but it's worth every penny. More: Amazon UK.
3. Telewest TV Drive. If you're an NTL or Telewest customer in the UK, and you don't yet have a PVR, but you're sick of their basic on-demand service, you should consider treating yourself this Christmas by upgrading to TV Drive. It has a twin tuner, 80 hour capacity, 8-day EPG and series link facility. Oh, and it does HD too. Subscriptions start at an additional £10 per month, with no connection fee. More: Telewest UK.
4. Humax PVR800T PVR. If the Topfield doesn't take your fancy, you might want to consider the Humax PVR800T. It has pretty much all the same function as the Topfield TF5800, but with a slightly smaller HDD (80GB) and can only record one Freeview channel at a time. Expect to pay around £130.
A rumor popped up on PVRBlog yesterday that Apple might be partnering with TiVo. Matt Haughey said he received an email stating: "Apple will be licensing TiVo patented technology for iTV. Also, the name iTV has changed to Mac Media Capsule".
Well firstly I wouldn't call a licensing agreement a partnership, many companies license TiVo technology and TiVo licenses technology from other companies, but that is as far as it goes.
Secondly a partnership between TiVo and Apple is extremely unlikely as the companies have different and competing goals. TiVo wants to bring control to the user by providing an easy way to record TV shows and watch them later. Apple on the other hand wants people to pay for video from the iTunes store.
What the rumor does suggest is that possibly the Apple iTV may have PVR functionality and/or have an interface that shares some of the qualities of a TiVo.
Well folks, the festive season is upon us again. And, whether you believe in Santa, the Baby Jesus, the Tooth Fairy, or the Miracle of the Oil, then the chances are you'll be celebrating the 25th in much the same way as everyone else -- usually by passing around trinkets and gifts, while stuffing your face with turkey.
If you're anything like me, or the rest of the gang here at PVR Wire, you're probably struggling for something to buy your loved one (or perhaps, what NOT to buy them).
If so, then look no further than PVR Wire's Gift Guide, featuring a selection of thoroughly considered PVR-related choices from the five wise men here at Weblogs Inc Central; me, Brad, JJ, Chris and Matt.
If you don't like what you see, you can always buy perfume, a box of chocolates and a copy of The Eagles' Greatest Hits (everybody loves The Eagles, right?).
Is there a company not getting into the legal video download market at the moment? We've had Microsoft with the Xbox Live Marketplace, Apple with the iTunes Movie Store, Amazon Unbox, TiVo in talks with Amazon, plus the old school services like CinemaNow and MovieLink.
Now BitTorrent is getting in on the act with their new peer to peer video download service. Bittorrent has announced deals with 20th Century Fox, G4, Kadokawa, Lionsgate, MTV Networks, Palm Pictures, Paramount and Starz Media for Download to Own and rental services.
Of course we can expect fast download speeds using BitTorrent's p2p technology, so people won't experience the slow download problems that occur with the Xbox Live Marketplace.
There are no details on pricing but I imagine the prices will not be competitive as with all download services. This of course is at the request of content owners to make sure their DVD sales stay healthy.
It will be interesting to see how BitTorrent approaches the DRM issue, consumers hate, content owners love it, and BitTorrent is a popular tool for getting DRM free (illegal) video.
The service is expected to launch in February 2007.
Simply add three 1600 Marketplace Points packages to your shopping cart and choose to pay using Google Checkout.
3 -
Xbox 360 Live 1600 Marketplace Points
$59.94
Shipping & Handling (Standard: 3 to 5 business days) :
$6.36
Tax (OK) :
$0.00
1 -
Google Checkout & Buy.com Holiday Bonus - $20 off orders over $50
-$20.00
After shipping, you'll end up paying $46.30 and essentially get 1600 points for free.
The pricing structure for the various video downloads from the Marketplace are below. Of course, you can also use these Marketplace Points to download other non-video related items available on the service.
I'm personally not even thinking about downloading video yet as I'm currently preoccupied with Gears of War multiplayer (u die now is my gamertag on XBL - hit me up if you want a game). However, at some point the 4800 points I just bought will come in handy when I need a movie or television show fix.
If you've been itching to turn your laptop into a PVR and want to watch and record in glorious high definition Woot has the perfect deal for you today.
They're offering the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick TV Tuner for the low price of $90 shipped, a good deal less expensive than the $128.99 price you can find on Amazon.
Features:
Watch live high quality digital HD and SD TV without service fees from anywhere on your laptop
PlaceShift TV with the sleek USB 2.0 powered portable PCTV device w/ included remote
HD Pro Stick and remote are both pocket sized for easy portability
Full support for both analog (NTSC) and digital (ATSC) reception
Transforms PC into a personal video recorder (PVR)
Schedule recordings with the integrated Electronic Program Guide (EPG)
Turn your Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) computer into a full featured analog and digital TV set (MCE remote sold separately)
Automatically records shows direct-to-DVD and/or in the destination file format of choice (i.e. iPod, PSP, DivX, etc.)
Capture from most consumer devices with analog outputs (e.g. VCRs, camcorders, DVD players, etc.) and then edit and enhance with the included Pinnacle Studio QuickStart software
It was announced this week that Motorola has bought the middleware company Netopia for $208 million dollars (US) in cash.
The aim of the acquisition by Motorola is to leverage the companies IPTV offerings by utilizing Netopia's telco experience into Motorola's Set Top Box.
Last year Netopia launched its MiAVo triple-play gateway, a customizable video, telephone and internet solution specifically for use by DSL providers while also turning over $108 million dollars, although only squeezing out a profit in the last 6 months.
The acquisition is set to close in early 2007, although it has been predicted this won't be Motorola's only middleware company purchase.
I recently came across a blog post that mused over the possibility of TiVo buying SageTV. Alan Cooke of Missing Remote beleives that SageTV would be a good acquisition choice for TiVo allowing them to move into the PC PVR market.
Many people have already suggested that they would like to see the TiVo service available on a media center PC, much like the Microsoft Media Center, Sage TV and Beyond TV..
However, I do not think buying SageTV is the answer, SageTV is a different product to TiVo and buying them simply buys out a competitor. TiVo is not a company making a profit so any acquisitions it makes should be extremely vital to its success.
I'm sure TiVo is very capable of bringing its product to PCs should it want too, even with the TiVo EPG being a Linux based software.
I have personally never seen a comment from TiVo on the matter of bringing its service to a PC and would be very interested in what the company has to say. Does anyone else know of TiVo's opinion on this?
When the acquisition of YouTube by Google was first announced the deal had a price tag of $1.65 billion. However, most of the payment was to be made in stock and since share prices have a tendency to change the deal is now worth 1.775 billion.
The final amount was calculated from the average of Google's stock value over a 30 day period ending on November 9, 2006.
12.5% of the payment is being held in Escrow, which Google says is to to secure certain indemnification obligations. In line with what was rumored on Mark Cubans blog a while back, this could be to deal with copyright lawsuits.
Comcast and Time Warner plan to roll out cell phone service later this month. The two announced a partnership with Sprint/Nextel last November.
Each company already provides residential telephone service over VoIP. But as companies like Verizon and AT&T roll out television service, the cable companies are trying to diversify their offerings as well. It's possible that Comcast and Time Warner may require subscribers to sign up for broadband or VoIP service in order to qualify for telephone service.
Convergence does have some benefits for the consumer. For example, Comcast has access to plenty of video content, PVR technology, broadband pipelines, and now cell phone service. Comcast plans to make short video clips from E! and other cable networks it owns available to cell phone users.
And starting next year, Comcast plans to roll out a kind of mobile PVR, allowing users to record programs directly to their phones. It's not entirely clear if this is a true PVR in the sense of putting a hard drive in your phone and allowing it to record content. I'd probably be happier with a setup that lets you record shows via a Comcast PVR at home and watch them on the go using SlingPlayer-like software on your phone. Of course, it's possible that Comcast just plans to stream on-demand full-length programming or video clips to your phone while calling it a PVR. But that wouldn't necessarily be all bad either.
Would you look at that? I blink, and suddenly there's another story about mobile video.
This time, it looks like YouTube's in talks with Verizon to provide content for the phone company's V Cast service. Verizon V Cast currently offers subscribers access to music, games, and brief videos including news, sports, weather and music videos. A partnership with YouTube would dramatically increase the amount of content available to V Cast customers
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the deal could also mean a YouTube on-demand channel on Verizon's TV service. The companies could reportedly reach a deal within the next few weeks.
As rumored back in September, it has now announced on Friday that Malone's Liberty Media Corp will be getting a 38% controlling stake in DirecTV from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. In exchange Rupert Murdoch will receive Liberty's 16.3% of News Corp
1. Sky HD. If there's one present I'd really love someone to buy me this Christmas, it's BSkyB's news HD service. It's a Sky+ PVR with 160GB of storage capacity (around 80 hours) and it displays tons of Sky's content in glorious HD (presuming you have an HD capable TV. It'll cost you £299 for the box, £60 for installation and an extra £10 per month on top of your subscription, depending on the channels you already receive. More: 
Oh, and it does HD too. Subscriptions start at an additional £10 per month, with no connection fee. More: 
A rumor popped up on PVRBlog yesterday that 
Well folks, the festive season is upon us again. And, whether you believe in Santa, the Baby Jesus, the Tooth Fairy, or the Miracle of the Oil, then the chances are you'll be celebrating the 25th in much the same way as everyone else -- usually by passing around trinkets and gifts, while stuffing your face with turkey. 
Is there a company not getting into the legal video download market at the moment? We've had Microsoft with the 
It was announced this week that Motorola has bought the middleware company Netopia for $208 million dollars (US) in cash.
