Panasonic today announced [JP] the DIGA DMR-BF200, which, according to Panasonic, is the smallest DVR integrating both a Blu-ray recorder and an HDD out there. The device is sized at 65×210×194mm, weighs 2.2kg, and can be placed vertically or horizontally.

Technically, you can expect a Blu-ray burner supporting BD-R/RE discs (no BDXL or 3D discs) and a 320GB HDD. The DMR-BF200 also features an HDMI port, an SD card slot (you’ll be able to watch movies directly from SD), Ethernet, and YouTube connectivity.

For Japanese “Club Panasonic” members, big P also plans to offer a range of different “sheets” to personalize the DVR’s body (see all variations below).

The DMR-BF200 will go on sale in Japan on November 15 for $860 (no word yet on international availability).

According to the Leichtman Research Group, 40% of American TV households have DVRs, up 8% from five years ago. 64% of these have used Video-on-Demand services while 83% have watched an on-demand program this month. Don’t think we’re living in a world of DVRs, though. 90% of Americans still watch live TV.

One other interesting note: “Netflix subscribers have a mean annual household income 24% above average.” So congrats, rich people! Your disposable income now offers you thousands of movies on demand in the comfort of your domicile or pleasure yacht.

More stats in the press release below.

Between online video, DVRs, and on-demand cable the amount of time people spend watching live TV (you know, with all of those commercials that advertisers spend $70 billion a year on) is shrinking fast. Only 52 percent of American’s viewing time is spent on live TV compared to online and time-shifting alternatives, according to a new survey of 1,000 American consumers by market research firm Morpace. And that percentage decreases the younger the audience, with the key 18-to-34-year-old demographic watching live TV only 41 percent of the time, versus 64 percent of the time for those 55 and older.

The alternatives to live TV are growing and basic cable is under assault, but no one single competing technology is taking over. People watch DVDs 14 percent of the time, online (including streaming video from services like Netflix) 13 percent of the time, saved programs on their DVRs 12 percent, and on-demand cable 6 percent. The survey breaks down online viewing into video from online sources like YouTube (9 percent) and streaming video from services like Netflix and Hulu (4 percent). For 18-to-34-year-olds, online video makes up 16 percent of their viewing time, and streaming video makes up another 7 percent.

Those numbers are the share of all viewing time devoted to different channels. The share of audience who views ate least some online video is much larger. Half of all people surveyed (51 percent) watch at least some online video, and 23 percent watch at least some Netflix-like streaming video from the Internet.

One of the major reasons viewing habits are changing is because people are watching video on a lot of different devices. While 96 percent of respondents watch TVs, 59 percent use at least one other media-viewing device. These include laptops (40 percent), desktop computers (36 percent), mobile phones (9 percent), dedicated media players (8 percent), netbooks (4 percent), and tablet computers (2 percent).

If you’ve never heard of the DTVPal DVR – or DTVPal tuner, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The DTVPal DVR was an interesting device that was a cross between a VCR and a DVR. VCR because it could record shows based on time – unlike the better TiVo model, where it records by show – and DVR because it was, well, digital.

It was one of the only OTA ATSC dual-tuning DVRs available at a reasonable price, but that’s right about where the novelty wore off. You see, it was never very buttoned-down in terms of stability. Users often experienced the same issues as with the antiquated video cassette (12:00..12:00..not exclusive). That and only a limited guide was available over-the-air from either PSIP or TVGOS. The kinks were never worked out and DISH’s little pet project got scrapped.

You can still get them – and very cheaply – so look to AVS forums or anywhere on the internet. Normal price was ~$250, but now it wouldn’t be hard to find one for $129.99.

Mac users may get a kick out of this, the elgato EyeTV HD. It’s a DVR solution that works with your cable and satellite channels, sending everything to your Mac instead of a plain ol’ TV. From there you can watch or edit whatever you’ve recorded. Easy as pie.

Why would you need such a device? Perhaps you don’t own a TV, but you want to be able to DVR every episode of “American Idol” or “The Best of PRIDE Fight Championships? Hook up the EyeTV HD to your Mac, and off you go. It’s a niche product, yes.

That said, it does seem to be fairly thorough. You connect the device to your cable or satellite box via component cable, then connect the device to your Mac via USB. You install the software, then let her rip. The device encodes all video with h.264, which makes it easy to create iPhone or iPad-friendly files.

Who needs to join shady BitTorrent Web sites in order to download iPhone-ready episodes of The Simpsons when you can make them on your own, legally. At least I think it’s legal, you never can tell with the DMCA.

She’s $200.

Reasonably interesting study coming out of Duke University that says that digital video recorders (TiVo and the like) do not negatively affect television advertising at all. That flies in the face of conventional wisdom, wisdom that says TiVo and its ilk have destroyed the TV business forever. Well, that’s just not the case.

There’s a couple things going on in the study, but they all point to one thing: TV execs need to calm down! Don’t worry, boss, people will still buy that soap you’re sellin’.

The first is that 95 percent of people still watch TV live, meaning they couldn’t skip commercials with their DVR.

Second, don’t think of commercial-skipping as a DVR problem; people without DVRs skip commercials all the time by, say, going to the kitchen or WC, or by simply changing the channel.

People who watch DVR’d TV shows may fast-forward through commercials, but they’re still watching the screen while doing so. The redhead woman from those car insurance commercials is very hard to miss, even at 4X speed! Meaning, of course, that people are still seeing your commercials, commercials that you paid fat cash for!

Last, people with DVRs tend to watch more TV than people without DVRs. That’s good, too, since that’s more opportunity to tell people that Droid Does or whatever.

In conclusion, if you ever see another TV exec claiming that TiVo or DVRs or whatever are destroying the planet, please kindly tell them to pipe down.

I don’t want to alarm any of you, but today is TiVo Day! Yes, a little later on today TiVo will unveil something that’s sure to please Matt Burns, if no one else. There have been plenty of rumors as to what the company has up its sleeves, but I’m sworn to secrecy. That, and it’s been several months since they actually told me What’s Up, and I simply do not remember what I was shown behind closed doors.

That’s really all I can say for now. Be sure to check back later today, say around 7pm ET, when the fun should start.

The best numbers I could find suggest that 30 percent of homes in the U.S. have access to a DVR. That doesn’t seem like a lot, no, but it’s already had an undeniable impact on the way TV studios evaluate their shows. Lost, The Office, and The Ultimate Fighter all saw their final ratings boosted after taking into account delayed DVR viewings. That means that just because a show doesn’t have killer overnight ratings doesn’t mean plenty of people aren’t watching—they’re just watching a little while later.

This brings us to professional wrestling, or “sports entertainment” if you subscribe to WWE’s way of thinking. Rival promotion TNA Wrestling, which recently brought Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Eric Bischoff on board, announced yesterday that it would be moving its weekly TV show, TNA Impact, from Thursday nights to Monday nights starting on March 8. It will go head to head against WWE Monday Night Raw, Impact on Spike TV and Monday Night Raw on USA. It’s a big deal in the wrestling world because it marks the first time WWE has had direct competition since it purchased WCW in March, 2001. You could argue that WWE has never really recovered since then, sorta producing a bland product that hasn’t been nearly as exciting as it was in the days of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. TNA, for a certain number of people, represents the best chance of seeing “good” wrestling on TV again (aside from smaller promotions like Dragon Gate USA or Ring of Honor, as made famous by the movie The Wrestler), whether within TNA itself, or by forcing WWE to up its game. After all, if WWE doesn’t improve, people will now have the option to see what TNA is up to.

The thing is, this isn’t going to be another Monday Night War. (The Monday Night Wars refers to the period of time when the then-WWF went head to head against WCW on Monday nights, Raw vs. Nitro.) What typified the Wars was that people would often actively, and constantly, change the channel, going from Raw to Nitro when Raw hit a dull moment, and going from Nitro to Raw when Nitro hit a dull moment. The DVR, clever thing that it is, makes “changing the channel” seem so quaint. It’s right up there with turning a crank to start your car.

Look at it this way: say you’re a casual professional wrestling fan and you have a DVR. You’ve heard of TNA and wouldn’t mind giving it a shot. But why should you give up your habit of watching Monday Night Raw live to try out this new, plucky little promotion in TNA? What you’d do, of course, is watch WWE live while DVRing TNA. Then, the next day after work or school, you come home and watch TNA on the DVR, fast-forwarding through the silly parts. (There will be plenty of silly parts.)

The DVR makes changing back and forth between the shows completely unnecessary.

“But why didn’t people then tape shows back in 1998 with a VCR? It’s not like the DVR invented TV recording.”

For one, because many DVRs out there are capable of recording one channel while you’re viewing another one. There’s no voodoo involved in making that happen: it just works. So, watch one show while recording the other, then watch the other on you own time. Setting up a DVR is also much easier than it ever was to set up a VCD. Not having to juggle a library of blank videotapes is such a blessing.

It should also be noted that not every episode of TNA Impact will be live. That means you’d be able to look up the results of the show before it airs on TV.

That’s another knock against the idea of TNA re-creating the Monday Night Wars: the Internet has matured a whole heck of a lot since then. People will essentially be “live Tweeting” both shows throughout, so you’ll instantly be able to look up what’s happening as you check your laptop while getting a nice, healthy snack from the kitchen.

So good luck to TNA with moving to Monday nights, but I don’t know how fully it’s going to recapture the “magic” of the Monday Night Wars. (And isn’t that the point of moving to Monday nights?) We’re several years past the point where the only way to follow the action is by tuning in live.

Please note that I haven’t seen an episode of Raw since, like, 2002, so take this for what it’s worth: not much.

Sony Japan has been preparing an ISDB-T tuner peripheral called torne for the PS3 for quite some time now, and today the company announced [JP] both a final price ($110) and a release date (March 18). Unfortunately, the device, which comes with DVR software, is Japan-only at this point. The torne is similar to PlayTV (not available in the US), a twin-channel DVB-T tuner first launched in Europe back in 2008.

After connecting it via USB, the torne allows PS3 owners to record TV programs to the PS3 HDD (or an external one, like these) and play them back. This is possible even while watching a movie or playing a game on the PS3. Users can also record programs in advance.

If you own a PSP, you can transfer all recorded content onto your handheld and watch it on the go. The torne also support Remote Play, meaning you can watch programs stored on the PS3 HDD (or any other hardware attached to the console) on the PSP over Wi-Fi.

Sony Japan also plans to offer the torne bundled with a 250GB PS3 for $480 (pictured above).

Do you have a Comcast DVR? I do. I also have a TiVo, which has had remote scheduling since 2005. I can almost schedule recordings remotely to my Comcast DVR. Not yet, but almost – it’s not available in Boston yet, apparently. If you have a Comcast DVR, check out www.comcast.net/mydvr/ to see if the service has been switched on in your area.

If it has been switched on, you’ll be able to schedule recordings, view upcoming recordings, modify scheduled and series recordings, and manage multiple DVR boxes. It’s called myDVR Manager. The trick, from a marketing standpoint, is to lowercase the “my” part of it and leave out the space between “my” and “DVR” so as to show that it’s an online product.

Comcast Remote DVR Scheduling is Here! (For Some) [Zatz Not Funny!]

I’m pretty sure I wrote the complete opposite story several days ago, but who cares, right? It’s cold and rainy and there’s not much else to talk about. So! As you’re probably well aware, Jay Leno’s new show isn’t doing too well. Why is that? Well, you can try to sit down and analyze if the show is any good or not (note: I haven’t seen the show), or if the show’s earlier time slot isn’t conducive to that type of show. You know, just try to examine what’s going on. That, or you can blame those damn DVRs for ruining everything. Let’s go with that one.

DVRs are now in one-third of Americans households. In the past year, according to Nielsen data, NBC has lost an average rating of 1.8. Simultaneously, DVRs use is up by a ratings point of 1.4.

Coincidence? Maybe, but that’s not how the powers that be are reacting.

Network executives are complaining that, yes, people can skip commercials when viewing shows via DVR. At the same time, they admit that they’d rather have DVR viewers than no viewers at all. That sounds like having their cake, and eating it, too.

Leno’s new show is an interesting one to study. It’s the first really big show to have launched in the DVR era, one that NBC put an awful lot of money behind. (Or don’t you remember all the ads for Leno when the show first debuted?) NBC wanted to make it a nightly show, as opposed to weekly like Saturday Night Live (which would have made it a lot easier to come up with material), so that it would be “DVR-proof.” Like, you can’t DVR the show because he’s talking about today’s news… today.

Only that didn’t happen at all.

If people know that a show is all about topical humor, why would they go back and watch Monday’s show on Thursday night (when they have two hours free)? Let’s assume that tonight Leno runs Tiger Woods jokes, but that on Wednesday, I don’t know, Rush Limbaugh slips on a banana peel while at a political rally. So, do you want to hear Tiger woods jokes or Rush Limbaugh banana peel jokes?

You know what I mean. Because the show is so tied to the day’s events, unless you watch it on the day of release it won’t be worth your while.

So, not DVR-proof but rather DVR cryptonite.

It’s one thing to watched a recorded sitcom a few days later, but a recorded, topical, variety show? That’s a hard sell.

This is before you even factor in that today’s 18-49 year-olds aren’t necessarily going to either A) sit down and watch some TV show live or B) a few days later on DVR delay. We live in an age of streaming Netflix movies, Spotify, iTunes, Xbox Live, PSN, Steam, Twitter, nook and Kindles, etc.

Believe it or not, people can entertain themselves these days without having to sit back and watch TV.

And here’s another idea: maybe Leno’s show just isn’t any good? Again, I haven’t seen it, but I can’t imagine it’s easy coming up with material five days a week, so maybe the product suffers? I never found Leno funny during his run on The Tonight Show, but I know he’s a funny guy. You have to play to your audience. He can’t exactly get away with comedy club-level content on NBC, now can he?

In conclusion, I’m not sure that DVRs, per se, have killed Leno’s show. That’s a gross oversimplification of what’s probably going on: people’s media consumption habits are changing, and NBC relied on people staying in tune with the old model.

But what do I know, I’m over here trying to figure out if I should go AMD or Intel with a gaming PC I’m very close to building.

Here’s a story I first heard on Figure 4 Daily last night while farming for mageweave (no, I’m not lying): not only have DVRs not ruined the TV businesses, as we had been led to believe for so many years, but it turns out that the delayed viewings, and more accurate ratings, have given the networks exactly what they’ve always wanted. That, of course, is the opportunity to squeeze more money out of their advertisers.

Some history: television networks had sued ReplayTV, once Tivo’s direct competitor before people even knew what “DVR” stood for, in 2001 because they felt its DVRs would let people skip commercials. There was also “share” function, which is bonkers considering the state of broadband in 2001.

The point is that the television networks hated DVRs since they thought people would record all this content (for free!), then skip the commercials. If people skipped the commercials then advertisers would become sad, and no longer hand over millions of dollars to the television networks for the privilege of airing commercials during The Office or some other hunk of junk.

Nielsen then stepped in and changed the way it measures viewership to include DVR viewings. The thing is, when you examine the data it turns out that people totally don’t skip commercials while watching DVR’d content.

TV, research shows, is still primarily a passive medium, That is, you’re sitting on your couch just watching. You’re not picking up your remote control to change the channel, you’re not pressing fast-forward to skip any commercials. TV = sitting down and not lifting a finger, it seems.

So the television networks were freaking out over nothing. Now they can turn to their advertisers: “See, even more people watch this junk then we ever thought! Pay us, please.”

Previously, subscribers were very upset at the television providers. They were sick of being put on hold, of getting crappy picture quality, and the lack of HD. Plus, who doesn’t hate their cable (or satellite) company.

Amazingly, the companies listened. They seemed to have actually turned the corner, and now satisfaction has jumped back up a more reasonable level. There is still room for improvement however. It’s interesting when you look at the numbers, the IPTV providers seem to really be doing the best out of all of them, with satellite providers coming in second, and cable third.

The most interesting model is the RD-X9 (pictured above), which not only boasts a 2TB HDD but also supports external HDDs (via USB) in case you have that many video files to handle. The usual DVD formats are supported, too. There is another USB port, which is reserved for USB keyboards, Toshiba says. The RD-X9 will be available in Japan starting next month (price: $1,300).

The RD-S1004K (see above) is one of two “standard” DVRs Toshiba unveiled today. It features a 1TB HDD and lets you store video on DVDs and an external USB HDD, too (price: $950). The RD-S304K features an HDD that stores just 320GB, but it also comes with a USB port, just in case. This model costs $750 and is pictured below.

Both the S1004K and the S304 are available in Japan from next month. Toshiba is yet to say if these DVRs will ever be sold outside this country, too.

Instead of disabling the DVRs, EchoStar uploaded a new OS onto them, which, according to this judge, isn’t what they were ordered to do. The company had an option to modify the original judgement to include that option, but they didn’t file for the change. Now EchoStar was ordered to pay TiVo $103 million. That figure could reach $190 million once interest is tacked on. Well, if you can’t pay, don’t play.

Ever wonder what it’s like to race around Laguna Seca on a crotch rocket? Well, thanks to a BulletDVR shot video, you can ride along. The onboard racing system broke cover a few years ago and thanks to these Vimeo videos, it finally makes sense. Watch the clips after the jump for it in action.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3630750&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=ffe72e&fullscreen=1
3x PiP Windows w/ Laptimer OSD + Stereo Mic from Bullet DVR on Vimeo.

PlayOn notably brings Hulu and Netflix support to the DVR. It’s too bad that the DVR doesn’t get native support, but at least Digeo is throwing in the $40 PC software. Rhapsody has also been added, including the free 30-day trial of the music streaming service.

The DLNA update brings a simple browser interface to the box for streaming network local content to the box. Now, this isn’t a Boxee or XBMC type interface, but it essentially gets the same results. Expect a very simple file system structure-type layout. At least it still brings the Wolverine workprint to the big screen though.

Oh, there is more. Flickr support gets added in a swanky “Mosaic” view. Digeo even threw in a taste of home automation with Z-Wave devices and various IP cams. Plus, there is MoxiNet that lets you bookmark your fav websites – like CG – and browse them on the DVR.

Overall the huge update is a step in the right direction for the $800 DVR. The high price tag for the 500GB DVR must be a big turn off when the similarly priced TiVo comes pack’n a 1TB storage system. Yeah, it’s got a monthly fee, but even 1TB isn’t enough storage in high-def land. If Digeo can develop a XBMC-type media browser for network-stored files, the Moxi will win over a lot more buyers. That’s what I need.
[PSGallery=55tissnem2]

Digeo® Releases Major Enhancements to Flagship Moxi® HD DVR

Moxi® Entertainment Experience Gets Even Better with PlayOn™ Internet Video; Rhapsody®
Music; Home Theater Controls; and Enhanced Photos, Internet Services and DLNA-Certified™
Home Networking

KIRKLAND, WA – April 09, 2009 – Digeo, Inc. today announced new features and enhancements to the
Moxi® High Definition Digital Video Recorder (HD DVR), further advancing the world’s best DVR. The
Moxi HD DVR has new services available directly from the on-screen menu including Internet video from
YouTube, Netflix, Hulu™ and more streaming directly to the TV through MediaMall Technologies’
PlayOn™ media server software as well as the streaming digital music service from Rhapsody®. The
Moxi HD DVR also now includes eControls, a home automation feature that allows users to customize the
home theater experience by adjusting lighting and other Z-Wave supported products. The Flickr® online
photo service and MoxiNet Internet browser were also enhanced, and Moxi is now certified to support the
DLNA® standard for improved home networking.

These new services will be available automatically to customers with a Moxi HD DVR via a software
upgrade at no additional charge from Digeo.

Additionally, as part of this new functionality, the company is offering existing and new Moxi customers a
PlayOn® license key (value $39.99) free for a limited time, as well as a free 30-day Rhapsody trial (value:
$12.99).

“In the current economic climate, people are more focused on at-home entertainment options and on
getting the most out of their HD investments,” said Greg Gudorf, CEO, Digeo. “The world’s best HD DVR
now delivers even more valuable entertainment services for the best home entertainment experience.”

The Moxi HD DVR is designed to appeal to the most demanding digital cable entertainment enthusiasts.
With its native HD interface and Emmy® award-winning Moxi Menu, dual tuners, and up to 75-hours of HD
recording space (up to 300 hours at standard definition, and expandable well beyond with an external
eSATA drive), the Moxi HD DVR makes it effortless for consumers to discover, experience and share high
definition media from their digital cable provider, PCs on the home network and the Internet.

Adding to an extensive list of advanced features and services, the enhancements announced today as
part of the Moxi HD DVR Spring 2009 software release include:

• PlayOn – This media server software currently provides access to Internet videos from YouTube,
Hulu, CBS, Netflix, CNN, ESPN and more through the Moxi HD DVR from a PC on the home
network. Video formats are automatically converted so Moxi users can watch Internet video
directly on their widescreen HDTV.

• Rhapsody® – The leading on-demand digital music service is now available through the Moxi HD
DVR, allowing users to easily listen to any one of more than 7 million songs from all the major
record labels and hundreds of smaller independent labels. Rhapsody delivers complete control
over the music experience, helping users to easily find and play full length tracks, build playlists of
favorites or listen to Rhapsody’s professionally programmed genre & artist channels. Starting
today, Rhapsody and Digeo are bringing music without limits to every user of the Moxi HD DVR.

• Media Link – Certified to support the DLNA home networking standard, Media Link connects the
TV or home entertainment system to PCs on a home network. Moxi users can easily stream
digital movies, videos, music and photos from their PCs for viewing or listening from the comfort
of their home entertainment environment.

• eControls – Moxi users can now manage their home entertainment environment through the Moxi
menu to set the mood. Users can adjust most Z-Wave-certified products such as lighting (e.g.,
turning sets of lights on, off or dimming), control volume and power on AV devices, as well as
monitor IP baby-cams or outside cameras, all from the remote control.

• Mosaic – A new browsing feature for the Flickr® online photo service available through the Moxi
menu, Mosaic allows users to rapidly scroll up, down and across their photos as they are
displayed as mosaic tiles on the display.

• MoxiNet –Moxi registered users can now bookmark their favorite websites at Moxi.com and
browse them on their home entertainment display using the Moxi remote as a virtual mouse. This
expands upon MoxiNet’s quick access to news, sports scores, movie times, weather and other
information from the Internet.

For more details, including details of the PlayOn license key offer, technical specifications and screen
images of the Moxi HD DVR expanded feature set, please visit: www.moxi.com. You can also follow Moxi
on Twitter at www.twitter.com/moxi_hd or on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/c9vuxf
[PSGallery=55tissnem2]

We feel for soldiers stationed abroad. It’s hard enough to watch Desperate Housewives without the Misses, but it also comes on at a weird time ’cause of the time difference. Allied Telesis Capital is helping our soldiers with a gigantic time-shifting device that will broadcast U.S. television programs at the right time on the right day kind of like a super TiVo.

Exact details aren’t available – probably classified super-top secret – but the system shifts 33 TV stations nine hours so it has to be loaded with data storage. Currently, the system is only in place at the Yokota Air Base in Japan, but hopefully, an even bigger, super-duper time shifting device will one day provide all of our soldiers with metabolism-killing American TV programing.