Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

That sound you hear may be the death knell for the set-top box/dust magnet in your home entertainment center. Sony and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association have announced an agreement that will place the cable companies’ technologies inside future Sony TV models. This will allow consumers to dial up ALL their cable channels, access video-on-demand and use interactive services without having to find a place for a steaming-hot cable box near the TV.

The nation’s largest cable companies - Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House - are on board, and the pressure is now on Samsung, LG and other big-screen makers to follow Sony’s lead. The NCTA says they’re welcome to do so.

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Remember the rumor back in February that Google was buying Plaxo for $200 million? Well, for the most part, it turned out to be a trumor.  However, instead of Google making the purchase, it turns out that Comcast is doing the buying. The cable company plans to utilize Plaxo to deliver upcoming social-networking features currently in the works for their TV, Internet, and phone service. Plaxo will be used to bridge all three Comcast services together, linking devices such as TVs, DVRs, and wireless devices. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but the two companies have already been working together in developing SmartZone, an online portal available to millions of Comcast broadband and phone customers that provides easy access to several communications tools (e.g., email and voicemail)—all in one place.

Plaxo was founded in 2001 with an original premise of keeping users’ address books updated by automatically sharing data among friends. With the emergence of social networking sites, the start up company now offers capabilities to keep in touch with family and friends by sharing photos, videos, and messages. According to the Plaxo blog:

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Comcast has introduced a faster internet service, dubbed the “Extreme High-Speed Internet” and boasting of a 50mbps download speed. This is more than six times faster that the current consumer speed and 10 times faster that Qwest’s DSL Internet Service. Comcast is initially testing the new internet service in the Twin Cities of Minnesota but also aims to roll out the service in other cities across the nation later this year and to have it rolled out to all its network by 2010.

So, what do users get from 50mbps download speed? Tons of good stuff that any online video fanatic would love. For one, users can download 4GB of movie in less than 10 minutes. An hour of continuous connection to the Internet would enable users to download 6 full movies to their machines. Game players would also have a heyday with this internet service. Of course, good stuff like this always comes for a price and in the case of the “Extreme High-Speed Internet”, it’s a whooping $150 per month. This cost is more than double the price of Comcast’s current fastest service. But good news for those who are not willing to spend that much money for a faster connection, Comcast also plans to upgrade both the upload and download speeds of its current plans.

Via [Crunch Gear] Read [Star Tribune]

You pay how much a month on your cable bill just so you can have your standard HD networks, HD cable channels, and one of every movie channel and in total only get like 10 options!?!? Time Warner is trying to ease the pain a bit by offering one more HD channel. No it is not ESPN 2 nor National Geographic HD. They will be adding MHD to their lineup.

MHD or Music: High Definition is a high definition music television network that first aired on January 16, 2006. MHD shows music-related content from its MTV Networks. From Vail, Colorado, MHD broadcasts programming from MTV, VH1, CMT and less frequently MTV2. Cox systems has carried MHD since March 2006 in Atlanta, New Orleans, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix, with Boston getting MHD through Comcast. In June 2006, Cox began carrying MHD in the Fairfax market; Charter followed suit in St. Louis July 18, 2006.

Personally, I would rather watch high-def music and concerts over even more HD sports channels but I write gadget blog. What channel do you wish would finally flip the switch to HD?

Read [MHD Site] Read [Wikipedia] Via [EngadgetHD]

In an effort to reach out to their cable customers, Comcast and Time Warner Cable will both begin offering cellular service through Sprint’s network later this month - both companies are currently partners with Sprint for providing cable service.  In order for cable customers to qualify for the phone service, they must subscribe to at least one service other than cable TV through the providers (Internet or phone service).  Both companies are hosting piolet programs in two test markets.  Comcast will be available in Boston and Portland, OR, and Time Warner will make their service available in Austin, TX and Raleigh, NC.  The service that will be provided is using Sprint handsets and Sprint service, and is expected to integrate with cable subscribers’ home email and voicemail.

Read [USAToday] Via [PhoneScoop]
Image via USAToday.

I won’t even get started with the issues I am many others have with their cable companies. Problems such as poor service, lack of support, outages, slow periods, down time...oh right I’m not talking about it. But what would you do if this happened, the cable guy is over to fix your modem and you find him passed out on your couch? Tape it and post it to YouTube, of course! Enjoy this great start to the long July 4th weekend!

Read [NYTimes]

Motorola and Comcast got cozy lately and have been working together to rollout VoIP, cable, and internet solutions in homes across the country. Motorola now is a certified Comcast supplier of: voice-enabled modems, high-speed data modems, digital video set-tops, cable modem termination systems, video headend equipment, and conditional access technologies.

Latest on the agenda is the Motorola SBV5220, a combination modem and phone adapter, equipped with an integrated Lithium-ion battery back-up, providing up to eight hours of battery back-up in the event of a power outage in the home. Comcast wants to make sure that you don’t go calling bitching around when the power goes out and your VoIP phone doesn’t work. The SBV5220 serves as a single device connecting customers to their digital voice and high-speed Internet services. The SBV5220 can power up to two phone lines in the home using standard RJ-11 connectors. The eMTA can connect to a computer through either a 10/100Base-T Ethernet or a USB data port.

In the past, there has been a lot of talk about Netflix switching to a broadband distribution method. Some possibilities include over-the-internet downloads (for rent or buy) like Movielink, delivery to a cable providers STB (like Comcast), the possibility that Netflix is creating their own STB, or distributing through TiVo or Akimbo. These are all very good possibilities and would expedite the distribution system. The company had teamed up with TiVo, and promised to deliver a service by 2005. In October 2005, Netflix postponed its Internet-based download service plans and the Netflix-TiVo deal became very questionable.

While no one really knows what will be, Netflix has recently posted these job requirements:

• Design and development of System, Networking, and Audio/Video software for a Consumer Electronics Product.


• Developing creative end-user applications.


• Interfacing with middleware and device driver components within a Linux-based environment.

What do you think? What direction will Netflix take/what direction do you think it will take?

Read [Gigaom]