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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
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. → Read More
Last year, overall satisfaction with television providers was at the lowest level in 5 years. It seems however, that when J.D. Power tells the providers that they suck, they listen. And now, they seem to have actually turned it around. → Read More
Toshiba, the company behind the now dead HD DVD format, first talked about joining the Blu-ray bandwagon back in June, but it seems there’s no hurry. The company announced a total of three new Vardia DVRs today [JP], and they all use DVDs and HDDs to store data. → Read More
Deja Vu? Yeah, EchoStar paid TiVo over a $100 million a couple of years ago for infringing on TiVo‘s DVR patents. But it seems that EchoStar didn’t follow the court’s orders to disabling all the Dish DVRs that infringed on TiVo’s patent. Now they have to pay. → Read More
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. → Read More
Digeo’s Moxi HD DVR, you know it as the other DVR that’s sort-of like TiVo, is getting a big software update that brings the sexy DVR up to speed with TiVo. Actually, these updates on paper make the Moxi box seem ahead of TiVo. Moxi’s calling card previously was a killer GUI and that hasn’t changed. Content on demand is being addressed this time around with PlayOn and DLNA support. → Read More
Digeo finally has made their next-gen HD DVR somewhat available. Amazon has a soft launch of the $799 box and as much as I dig the Moxi’s UI, I hope it has the right stuff to justify spending $200 more than a 1TB TiVo HD XL. True, you don’t have the monthly subscription with the Moxi box, but it’s half the storage for HD Desperate Housewives recordings. Eventually TiVo will get off its ass and produce a comparable user interface ’cause that’s the one thing Moxi has going for it. But if you have $799 to spare and want to own a DVR without the monthly fees, this Moxi might be for you. → Read More
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. → Read More
