Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"Ever wonder if, for just your favorite shows, it might be smarter to get an iTunes or Amazon season pass? Pondering which shows you'd have to give up if you canceled cable? We compiled a big chart of answers for you.... The choosing was totally subjective, although we tried to keep an open mind about popular taste. We included online alternatives including Amazon Video on Demand, iTunes, Hulu and its $9.99/month Hulu Plus service, Netflix (in streaming form only), and network sites often accessible through a site like Clicker.com (and its neat apps on platforms like Boxee)."

If you are thinking about dropping your "Cable TV" service - whether delivered via traditional cable, satellite or fiber - Lifehacker has published a useful chart that lists a fair number of popular television series and whether they can be obtained from various alternative delivery services, and at what cost. This is a popular idea right now, especially with the introduction of Google TV (which is not included in the Lifehacker article) and Sony's Internet TV models. One of the our local newspapers even ran an article this week entitled "Is This the End of Cable?" which provides brief overviews of several "set-top boxes" and the networks they provide access to. Have you tried ditching your cable TV service? And, if so, how well has the experiment worked?

"Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but a person briefed on the deal said the price for the company, which raised $60 million in capital, was over $100 million. Other companies, including Best Buy, Amazon.com, Comcast and the satellite company EchoStar, had also expressed interest in acquiring Vudu, according to this person, who asked for anonymity because the terms of the deal were private."

Ah Blu-ray, I hardly knew you. The battle for the next generation video delivery service is well underway, and as everyone expected, it is online. Soon, you will be able to watch any movie you want, new or old, right from the comfort of your living room without having to go to a store, Redbox, or even your mailbox. Well, for some of you, that reality is already here, and Wal-Mart's entry is only going to provide you with more options. There are some of us, living in third world countries like Canada, are presented with expensive and limited options provided to us by our telvision carriers. Hooray for regional copyright regulations! The $100 million (!!!!!) deal just further cements the idea that physical media will be relegated to smaller markets.

"Everytime somebody has said that Hulu killed TV, they were exaggerating. Until now maybe. Hulu Desktop sure looks a whole lot like the future of TV. It's a media center type of application—like Front Row or Boxee or Netflix or Windows Media Center—that gives you full access to Hulu with an Apple Remote or Windows Media remote or just your keyboard and mouse."

I sincerely hope viewers in the US appreciate all the cool Internet based applications you get access to. Hulu has already etched out a name for itself as being a great TV watching replacement. With a desktop application, the limitations of the browser are tossed aside and with that, the experience becomes much better. Their desktop application offers all the same features as the browser client, but with more panache, easier to use controls and a more fluid response. Of course, this is what Gizmodo tells me because Hulu hasn't taken it upon themselves to start offering services to other countries! One thing I do find interesting about this release is that it is in stark contrast to much marginalized competitor Joost, who ended going with a Flash based browser client only just last year. I imagine Joost switched for convenience reasons, while Hulu now has the base that customers want a more compelling experience that can't currently be offered through Flash.

"The VUDU fans who felt teased by the leak a few weeks ago can feel a little better today. Not only is VUDU offically announcing access to the previously discovered features, but in addition VUDU owners will have access to other on demand HD content from networks you've actually heard of like National Geographic and PBS -- other SD content will also be available, but really who cares about SD? What might end up being the most interesting in the long run though, is the fact that VUDU has brought this to market using its new VUDU RIA (Rich Internet Application) platform, which in the future will allow third parities to bring even more internet content to your living room. We'll have to hold our tongue on this idea until sometimes next year though, to see if anyone actually adopts it. These features are great and all, but how 'bout giving us access to our own content VUDU? Yeah we know, you're partners wouldn't like that very much, would they? The full release is after the jump."

Until now, VUDU has been a one-trick pony: digital video on demand for rental or purchase. Granted, it performed the trick very well with an amazing interface, consistent software updates, an ever-growing library including the largest collection of HD movie content, and stellar HDX video quality. With the launch of the RIA (Rich Internet Architecture) platform, VUDU has added a few more tricks including YouTube videos, a wide range of video podcasts (called OnDemand TV), and access to photos on Flickr and Picasa. For me, the new features are interesting but not nearly as compelling as its original trick. I'll have to wait and see if anyone takes them up on developing additional VUDU content using this RIA platform. Maybe access to local network content would be a good place to start?

"Netflix on TiVo* is here! TiVo customers who are on a Netflix unlimited plan can now instantly watch over 12,000 movies & TV episodes from Netflix via any broadband connected TiVo^® HD, TiVo^® HD XL and TiVo^® Series3™ DVRs."

Before I left for work this morning I got a chance to give this a try. During the night my TiVoHD received the new service update, which among other things, added Netflix to the Video On Demand category. Activating the TiVo took just a few minutes: my TiVo gave me an activation code, I entered into my Netflix account, and a couple moments later the TiVo recognized my account. I tried it out for maybe five minutes, using a couple of movies my kids had added to the Instant Queue. The first, the infamously dull 1969 musical "Dr. Doolitte," never played more than a couple seconds of video before freezing (as bad as this movie is perhaps this is a feature). I had better luck with my second try, the movie version of "Annie," which seemed to work okay. About that time I had to take my daughter to school, so my opinion at this point is all based on first impressions.

And those impressions? Not the greatest streaming quality, including some very visible compression artifacts. I don't think I will be using this as a primary video on demand source. But if I'm desperate to watch "Annie" (or any of the 10,000 other movies that Netflix streams) it's a definite no-cost option. Kudos to TiVo and Netflix for putting this together.

"Beginning today, consumers in the U.S. can go to Hulu.com to watch a large selection of hit TV shows, movies, clips and more in high-quality – anytime, for free. In addition, Hulu announced new content partnerships with the Warner Bros. Television Group, Lionsgate, NBA, NHL and more than 20 other top content providers. New content additions to Hulu’s library will include: feature films like The Usual Suspects and Ice Age, shows like Dirt, The Incredible Hulk, Babylon 5, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Dick Van Dyke Show, nightly highlights, top plays and full-length games from the NBA and the NHL, popular made for web programming such as Prom Queen and Onion News Network, and much more. On Hulu.com, consumers can enjoy one of the largest selections of legal, free videos from more than 50 top broadcast networks, cable networks, movie studios and web-centric content providers."

I tried HULU when the beta first started, and found the quality and selection to be pretty good. I still prefer my cable provider for watching TV however, especially since I can record a program and skip the commercials. That, I'm willing to pay for. It remains to be seen if NBC and its partners can make a successful business model out of ad-supported online video distribution. I don't think it's for everyone, but I think the market is bigger than most people are predicting.