Tivo released some very exciting information about their upcoming Series 4 set-top box, the Tivo Premiere.  In the home media market, bridging the gap between a regular cable box, and a net appliance has always been separated into two or three separate devices.  This integration is indeed the next evolution of digital media delivery to your Living Room.

Two models

TiVo Premiere

• 320GB storage space
• Can record up to 45 hours of HD programming or up to 400 hours in SD
• Supports digital cable, high-definition digital cable, antenna (ATSC) and Verizon FiOS
• Outputs: HDMI, Component video, Composite video, Optical audio, Analog audio
• Video output modes include: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
• Inputs: CableCARD™ support (request a Multi-Stream cards from your provider), Cable coax, Antenna coax, Ethernet
• Ethernet connection, USB 2.0 ports (2), E-SATA support for external storage
• TiVo Wireless N and G Network Adapter support (optional- must buy separately)

TiVo Premiere XL

• Same network/video connectivity options as the TiVo Premiere
• 1 TB of storage space
• Can up to 150 hours of HD programming or up to 1350 hours in SD
• TiVo premium backlit remote control
• THX-certified
• THX Optimize- a video calibration tool that lets users fine tune color, black levels and other settings to improve picture quality.  A pair of THX Optimizer Blue Glasses, designed for adjusting Color and Tint settings, is included with the owner’s manual.

New Interface

Click here to view the embedded video.

The long-awaited interface refresh (Series 4) was done with Adobe Flash, which should give it a dynamic, content rich feel.  I put some pictures below to give you an idea of what to expect.  If you aren’t familiar with Tivo’s interface historically, it has always been far superior to the Cablevision / Time Warner / Brighthouse cable boxes.  The search functions have always performed better, and more logically as well.

New QWERTY TiVo Remote

Later this year, consumers will have access to a groundbreaking, slide-out QWERTY TiVo remote.  It will have a plug n’ play installation, extended range utilizing Bluetooth (about 30′) and backlit programmable buttons.  The remote will be shipped with a Bluetooth USB dongle that will be plugged into an available USB port on TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, or TiVo Premiere boxes.

I don’t know if I would use this, but I see a perfect use-case for a Tivo iPhone App.

TiVo Wireless N Adapter

Coming in May, the TiVo Wireless N Adapter allows for quicker transfer speeds and longer range, utilizing both the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.

What it means for you

The key to the success of this box, and it will be a success, is the integration of web-based content from places like Blockbuster, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, and others.  Hulu is conspicuously gone.  The addition of that service would make this a killer device.

Another major feature is Tivo search.  It not only looks for future TV shows, or previously recorded items stored on your DVR, but looks for available web-based content as well.  This brings back the Saturday-night family movie night!  Microwave popcorn, anyone?

At the very least, this will be the beginning of a new type of DVR /set-top box offered by Cable /Satellite /Fiber providers.  One of the most obvious places for future home computing, and centralized media delivery, is the TV, and these devices will become more and more like a thin client solution.

After having paid an exorbitant fee for a monthly rental ($12/mo for 6 years = $864) for an excruciatingly painful DVR from Cablevison, I will gladly pay for Tivo’s service.

When and How Much

Premiere media box: 320 GB model for $299 or 1 TB model for $499

Wireless card: $89.99

Service plan: $12.95 (Month-to-month); OR $10.79/mo. (1-year for $129); OR $8.30/mo (3-yr for $299); OR $399 (lifetime)

Availability: Early April

What if you paid for your Internet access as if it were a utility bill?

This is what Mr. Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer has confirmed. Stephenson made this comment during his keynote webcast at the Morgan Stanley Conference this past Tuesday.

For the industry, we’ll progressively move towards more of what I call variable pricing, so the heavy [-use] consumers will pay more than the lower consumers,” Stephenson said in the webcast of the meeting.

Read more at the Huffington Post….

I can hear the wives applauding now. 

Logitech just released information about two of their new Harmony Universal Remote Controllers.

As an A/V component madman, I can tell you that it is really difficult to get a truly universal, AND usable, remote control for under $200- let alone $100.  The new Harmony 600 and 650 are the newest additions to their award-winning line.

The entry-level 600 is has a monochrome backlit screen, controls up to 5 devices, and is expected to retail for $79.  The 650 is very similar to the 700, except that it only controls 5 devices (vs. 6), lacks backlit buttons, or a rechargeable battery.  The 650, however, can access the internet using 2.4Ghz Wireless, which is not available on the 700.  We are still waiting for more information about this feature, but sounds really exciting.

Personally, fumbling for unlit buttons in the dark can be frustrating, especially for remotes that have unremarkable differences between different buttons.  Fortunately, the 600 & 650 seem to have very clean, distinguishable, and natural button layouts.  So, if you don’t want to exceed your $100 price limit, you’ll have a high-quality remote, without the blind button hunt.

If you don’t already know about Logitech’s Harmony series, they are incredibly easy to setup (you can test drive part of the setup process here), has an online database of around 250,000 home entertainment devices spanning 5,000 brands, and can control virtually any device through their simple, well- laid out remote.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on one of these bad boys, and seeing how they compare to the 510, 880, and 900 series.  Expect availability in April.

Harmony 700 vs. 650:

The National Broadband Plan has been a project that the Federal Communications Commission has been charged with since early 2009. The plan is designed to address the lack of broadband availability not only throughout the United States but in underserved and economically depressed areas. The full report will be presented to Congress on March 17th. Fortunately, over the past few weeks the FCC has begun sharing certain details with the public.

Read more on the Huffington Post…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 has targeted broadband as an instrument to help in revitalizing our economy. The investment in this information infrastructure will not only help to create jobs but assist in developing new technologies, applications and services. These initiatives are part of the — “Transforming Our Economy With Science And Technology” heading. The recovery bill states that “for every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.” The bill plans to allocate (in grants) $6 billion dollars to expand broadband access to businesses and every community.

Read more at the Huffington Post….

I was invited to a private Project Natal sneak peek. The event was held at the beautiful EZ Studios in New York City. I met with a member Project Natal product team. She gave us a brief explanation of the Natal vision and gave us only a few technical details:

• RBG camera
• depth camera
• Current games will not be compatible with Natal

Read more at The Huffington Post…

I love the “I am a Mac“ commercials and who doesn’t have a favorite or two. The chemistry between Justin Long — Mac and John Hodgman — PC is fantastic. Take180.com has done a wonderful parody of the “I am a Mac” commercials. Instead of Long and Hodgman it’s the iPad and Jersey Shore’s “The Situation.”

Take180.com posts 180 second (or less) web shows made by the community.

It’s a community where people come together to make awesome web shows. You power the episodes, by submitting stories, ideas, videos, photos and artwork — and/or commenting and voting on other people’s submissions. And hey — prizes happen. Episodes are never longer than 180 seconds and there are new ones all the time — just like TV.

Unfortunately, the Apple iPad will not be available for a few more months and I don’t think we will ever see an “I am an  iPad” commercial. Thanks to the folks at Take180.com we can at least get a good laugh.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Every morning my day starts with my Blackberry’s alarm clock waking me up. I then pick it up, hit the snooze feature and try to get an hour more of sleep. Sadly, my Blackberry only allows me to have a ten minuet respite before it starts ringing again. Then I stare at it like a child that is waking his parents up for waffles, too early on a Sunday morning. As I pull myself together and reach over to stop the ringing, I see all the notifications from, my email address, my calendar, and Facebook. I know it is time to start my day. By the time I have brushed my teeth and I am entering the shower. I have checked all my emails and caught up on all the drama and nonsense which is my Facebook existence. As I sit in the tub, responding to my emails and Facebook correspondences, I notice how much I get done with my Blackberry on a daily basis. I check email, social networks, news of all kinds, I know my exact GPS location whilst I shower, everything and anything I need to know or get done, is at my finger tips. Oh yeah, I can even use it to make phone calls, what a nifty feature that is.

As I sat responding to all my text messages and other things, I started to make comparisons to other computers, and PDA devices I have owned in the past. My first comparison was my very first computer, a Commodore 64. Don’t judge me it was the early 80’s and the Commodore 64 was at the time, the pinnacle in home computing. I started to do some research to make a proper comparison and stopped once I realized that my Blackberry is far superior in every way. The Commodore 64 had 64k of ram and my Blackberry has 94mb of on board ram. Also it has a 225 MHz processor, my Commodore 64 have a measly, if not paltry 1.02 MHz. That being said let’s move forward to my first Compaq desktop computer.

My Compaq had a whopping 166 MHz processor, 16mb of ram and 3gig hard drive. This was 1996 or 1997. That system cost me a couple thousand dollars at the time and caused much mayhem in my home between my ex wife and me, it was truly the straw that broke the camel’s back. Still though my Blackberry defeats it easily, and to be honest, it crushes the thing. My Blackberry has a four gig micro SD card as well. I could easily install a 16 GB micro SD card in it, if I so choose to. That to me would be overkill, how many videos, songs, documents, apps, games etc, does one need? Not as many as one thinks, I am sure about that.

I also once owned a Palm Pilot in 1999. It was handy but had a green screen reminiscent from the old days of computers. It kept notes, addresses, names, phone numbers etc but, let’s face it; even then it was sort of annoying. With having to learn to write in Palms own alphabet, it was a tad silly. Backwards squiggly line and a dot meant the letter  D or, a forwards slash and two quick dots was, um whatever it was, it was annoying, so let’s move past this dinosaur of a device and journey forward, to the future! Um, by the way, we still do not have flying cars, we have not gone to Mars (2001 a Space Odyssey, anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Ferris Bueller?) Nor have we gone to Mars to see Jupiter become a second sun (2010 A Space Odyssey) and though entertaining, Soviet Russia is already gone. How could they not see this coming but, I digress, onward and forward!

Now, I have had many different computers since, that my Blackberry can’t compete with but, it does sync with them and play nice. So then again, it is powerful enough to keep my entire life together and organized. It plays nice with my other components at home and at my workspace. I can even print pictures directly to my HP Photosmart premium printer, via Bluetooth. I am sorry to say but, that is downright sexy to me. I have had girlfriends that couldn’t get along with my other female friends but, my Blackberry wants to play nice with everything and everyone, it can also be used as a telephone, amazing. I think I may be in love with my Blackberry. Its ok, I know it is not good to love ones possessions but, let’s be honest here. It gets along with my devices at home, it gets along with my friends devices via blue tooth, text messages, emails, Facebook, USB, telephone and I can go on and on! I think I should throw it a party or something, to just give it the recognition it deserves. Oh, did I mention that I can via Bluetooth or USB connect to my laptop and use it to tether an internet connection! Told you it is sexy! I wonder if it would like a Blackberry themed party. I am pondering if it would like to be registered at some electronics store? Ok, I am being ridiculous; maybe a Best Buy gift card will suffice.

My Blackberry also helps in all my domestic relationships as well too, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how. You see my older children love to text message and send me goofy pictures and call me at all hours of the day. So it helps us remain close no matter where I am in the country or, around town. It reminds me of dates I have made with my significant other and anniversaries as well. It keeps the peace in my life and for that I am very thankful, thank you Blackberry! XO Now back to business, there will be no tom foolery or loafing here Mr., Mrs., or Ms. Blackberry! I don’t know its sex or sexual preference because I respect its privacy.

I keep text notes, edit word documents, excel docs, audio notes, organize my schedule, send faxes, and look over PDF’s, I am able to email and forward my resume and headshots, and write and post blogs from it. It is in truth my mobile office in every way. I am truly at the mercy of this device! It even syncs with my Google account so I lose no information what so ever! My God! This thing has me in it hands and at its mercy! I am in the Blackberry Matrix and I have to say I am grateful!

By the way, for those of you reading this, if you’re going to use your Blackberry or any other PDA device in the shower, as I often do, here is my little secret. Now, I do not recommend this at all, nor is it the opinion of anyone else here at Dads on Tech but, I place my Blackberry in a zip lock baggy before I get into the shower. I make sure to remove all the air from it, seal it up tight and leave it on a table next to my shower, so I can hear it. Pathetic, I know but, it is and has become a necessary evil in my life.

At night, when I am out on the town traveling around to perform or meet with my agent or manager, it helps me find my way around and even suggests places for us to meet. It allows me to go over my notes and new material and be ready to perform. When I travel around the country, it is my GPS device, giving me turn by turn directions in such places as Minnesota, Oregon, Los Angeles, Florida, and Maryland etc. It also helps me find food, gas, movies, museums, art galleries, bathrooms, and even lets me know which places to avoid. All in all my Blackberry and me are the best friends we could be! Yeah that’s right I sampled a My Buddy commercial! Hey if president Obama can get elected by sampling a line from Nickelodeons Bob The Builder (can we fix it? Yes we can!) I can sample a toy commercials theme song.

Till Next time

Mark Anthony Ramirez

Resident Evil Comedian @ Dads on Tech.

The prices of HDTV’s has fallen significantly over the past few years. So much so that mainstream shoppers have been purchasing HDTV’s in record numbers. Due to the rapid adoption of High Definition Television’s and the death of analog HD broadcasting — media companies like Netflix are pumping out (digital) HD content. Today, 1080p is the most sought after resolution for broadcasting as it is considered “full high definition.”

Read complete story — Huffington Post

Google Earth is a virtual globe application. This is a program that can be used to view the Earth’s surface — in both 2D and 3D. You can search by coordinates, addresses or just simply browse Earth. In addition to being able, to see the surface of the Earth — you can now experience global changes, space exploration and discover the ocean’s secrets.

Google Earth has been with us since June of 2005 and on January 12, 2010 Google released version 5 of the popular service. This is a rather sophisticated application. Google Earth is a combination of software, satellite imagery, GIS 3D, data collected by NASA and aerial photography. Earth comes in three flavors — Google Earth, Google Earth Pro and Google Earth Enterprise.

Read complete story — Huffington Post