ZeeVee Launches ZvBox, New

ZeeVee's new ZvBox is a device that allows consumers to watch anything they can get online or on their computers on all the HDTVs in their homes.

ZvBox achieves this by simply connecting to the monitor output of the computer and turning it into a new high-definition (HD) TV channel called Zv, which is then broadcast across the existing cable wiring to all HDTVs in the home.

As a result, ZvBox frees TV watchers from restrictive set-top boxes, rigid network schedules, and the strain of hunching over laptops to view online video.

Press release

Blockbuster eyes streaming to TVs

According to Reuters, home video giant Blockbuster is developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month.

"The device would join a growing roster of devices that aim to bring broadband video to the living room, including Apple TV, which hasn't quite seen sales match the hype surrounding the product. Blockbuster rival Netflix also has indicated that it will compete in this market with a similar device being created with LG Electronics.

The product would be an offshoot of Movielink, the online film service Blockbuster acquired last year that allows consumers to watch films licensed from the major studios on their PCs."

Will The Future of Search Be Televised?

From Search Insider: Would you believe the next Google-killer is coming from Samsung?

"Samsung doesn't refer to its See'N'Search set-top boxas a Google killer; that's generally a phrase used by the media to describe some technology you'll never hear from again. What Samsung is doing actually doesn't interfere with Google's current business model in the slightest, though it could spell competition going forward.

Mashable describes the new See'N'Search "as a set-top box that reads the closed captions on a television show, as well as listens for keywords, to search for related Internet articles to the content you are currently watching.

Engadget has posted a six-minute video demo from a Samsung exec. It's a good preview of where interactive TV is heading. "

BBC’s iPlayer scores big

More than one million visitors went to the BBC iPlayer site during the two-week period ending January 7, with an average of 250,000 programs being downloaded or streamed a day, according to BBC research.

Each program streamed is watched for less than 25 minutes. Streaming is more popular than downloading by a factor of eight to one.

[via Cyberjournalist]

FyreTV: A set top box for porn only

Something new for set top boxes: FyreTV.com - designed purely to download porn.

Juicy news gathered from The Inquirer who writes: "The service - which is currently in beta, and due to launch at CES / AVN in a few weeks - allows users to stream DVD-resolution pornography to a broadband-connected set top box. The box is designed to do nothing beyond connect to the FyreTV service".

When up and running, the service will allow you to select from a wide variety of movies by search term, category, performer or even uh, particular performer characteristics."

Netflix says exploring partnerships for TV video

Neflix is exploring sending movies and videos to television sets through Web-connected high-definition DVD players and Internet-connected game consoles, said Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings on Monday, reports
Reuters.

"We are trying to understand the best ways to provide inexpensive viewing of online content on the television," he said.

Netflix, the leader in online DVD rentals, in January unveiled its long-awaited Internet movie delivery feature, which allows subscribers to play back about 1,000 mostly older movies in real time via streaming video.

The company for quite some time has said it was looking to extend that service from PCs to the television."

5 Alternatives To Apple TV

Anyone thinking of getting a set top box, should check out NewTeeVee's review of 5 different models on the market (D-Link Media Lounge, Netgear EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD, Zensonic Z500, Xbox 360 and the Mac Mini)

Is the Apple TV officially a flop?

Scott Woolley on Forbes calls the Apple TV "a flat-out" failure, claiming that it's sold less than 250,000 units in six months. [via Crave]

"His timing was impeccable. When the product debuted in late March, the cost of delivering TV shows over the Internet had plunged, and the Web was brimming with video of ever greater variety and quality. The major TV networks were adding online downloads of such hits as NBC's Heroes, and Hollywood's titanic studios had begun talks to rent movies online through Apple's iTunes service.

Six months later iTV is a flat-out iFlop. Renamed Apple TV upon launch, the ballyhooed box has sold perhaps 250,000 units--far behind the 1 million sold for the iPhone, which was priced twice as high and has been on the market less than half as long."

... So while Woolley's "iFlop" description is something of a hyperbole, the essence does ring true: the Apple TV doesn't have the "gotta have it" appeal of the iPod. In its current configuration, I certainly wouldn't spend my own money to buy one.

What would it take to change that? John P. Falcone for Crave offers some suggestions. Read on.

Microsoft and partners to sell TV set-top boxes

Microsoft and its hardware partners are trying to bridge the divide between home computers and television sets this holiday season with the release of several "media extenders." The IHT reports.

"These television set top boxes will connect wirelessly to computers running the Home Premium or Ultimate flavors of Windows Vista and enable users to use their televisions to watch movies, shows and Internet video that is stored on their computers.

Microsoft was expected to announce the prices and more details about the systems, known as extenders, Thursday at the DigitalLife trade show in New York."

Cable Without a Cable Box, and TV Shows Without a TV

Following a new Federal Communications Commission rule that went into effect July 1, cable companies in the United States now have to separate the security functions that prevent you from watching channels you haven’t paid for from the TV tuner box most of us rent, reports The New York Times.

"The practical result of the rule is that cable companies now have to supply set-top boxes that come with a removable CableCARD. The cards, which look like the PC Cards used in notebook computers, contain the information necessary to unscramble digital cable channels like HBO.

But they could allow other equipment to become much more versatile. The cards are designed to be inserted into a host of other devices, including TVs, digital video recorders (DVRs) and computers."