Recently Filed in Set Top Boxes

Say you have a Control4 home automation system and a Slingbox remote-viewing product. You’re on the road and you want to check in on your house. Easy enough: Just pull up your personal Control4 Web site to check the temperature at your place, play with the lights and check out the surveillance video. Now you want to watch Dexter, recorded on your home cable box. Close the Control4 window and open the Slingbox window. What a drag! Now you can do it all through the… View this story
Set Top Boxes • Home Control Systems

Has it really been almost a year-and-a-half since the death of HD DVD, and we’re still talking about a format war with Blu-ray? Oh, we don’t mean a high-def optical disc format war. We’re talking about what some are already calling an irrelevant and in a death spiral, against one that’s the trendy future. It’s Blu-ray vs. Digital Downloads/Rentals, and we’re taking a look at the tale of the tape for this prizefight. Yes, we know what you’re thinking – no contest, why even bother… View this story
Blu-ray • Digital Media Stores • DVD Players • Set Top Boxes • Info and Answers

Tomorrow, June 12 is essentially the second analog to DTV transition deadline because President Obama signed a bill to delay the original Feb. 17 deadline. With a four-month extension, let’s see what formulas electronics outlets came up with to capitalize on the built-in consumer demand for TV upgrades and knowledge. After all, there are still 2.8 million homes unprepared for the switch. Following are tactics that some electronics outlets are using to leverage the DTV transition. RadioShack: Education and Advice It issued a press release… View this story
Displays • Set Top Boxes • Digital TV Transition • Info and Answers

So you’re up to speed on the Digital TV transition set to take place at midnight on June 12, 2009, right? (If not, read ”Everything You Need to Know About the Digital TV Transition.") If so, you know that the only people that are going to have to take action before the transition are those who are currently watching free, over-the-air broadcasts of TV on an analog TV. Those folks will have to buy an external digital-to-analog converter box in order to continue watching free,… View this story
Displays • Set Top Boxes • Digital TV Transition • How To • Home Theater • Info and Answers • Research

One day soon, TV as we know it will enter a new era: the digital era. While many stations have been broadcasting in digital for the last few years, at midnight on June 12, 2009, analog signals will be turned off completely, and only digital broadcasts will be delivered to your TV set. Say goodbye to the analog era of snow and static. You will have no other option as a consumer than to watch digital television, which, according to Megan Pollock, spokeswoman for the… View this story
Displays • Set Top Boxes • Digital TV Transition • Home Theater • Info and Answers

What is analog television? Analog television is the traditional method of transmitting TV signals. Since the inception of television, analog transmission has been the standard broadcast technology. Radio Frequency (RF) waves are used to transmit and display pictures and sound, however, this traditional method of broadcasting is less efficient because analog signals are susceptible to interference and “snow,” degrading picture and sound quality. Once the DTV transition is completed, those frequencies once used to transmit analog TV signals can be reallocated to public safety organizations,… View this story
Displays • Set Top Boxes • Digital TV Transition • Home Theater • Info and Answers

The Vudu box, which is already jam-packed with goodies, just got even more interesting. The company announced a partnership with Brightcove that allows Brightcove media customers to distribute content right onto Vudu’s $149 set-top box (or Entone box perhaps). Brightcove might not ring familiar to many at first glance, because it’s the behind-the-scenes engine rather than the content provider, but it’s the online video platform that fuels a bunch of sites’ web videos. Its first customer that will take advantage of the partnership with Vudu… View this story
Set Top Boxes • IPTV • Product News

If you really dig online videos and want them directly on your TV, the options are growing. You might want to check into one of the smallest ones—the palm-of-your-hand-sized VuNow PoD. Especially after maker Verismo Networks updated the VN1000 PoD player, which comes in high-def and standard-def versions, with its 3.0 software enhancements. For one, the PoD will handle your web videos quicker, as it’s been bumped up from 802.11g to 802.11n wireless support. That’ll come in handy when you’re surfing all of the new… View this story
Set Top Boxes • IPTV • Web Services • Product News

Is this the start of something bigger? You may not have heard of Entone, but the IPTV provider has partnered with Vudu to chop at least one set-top box out of the equation while delivering an influx of on-demand high-def viewing. Entone announced today that its next-generation media hubs will feature the integration of Vudu’s on-demand movies and TV shows already inside—no need to shell out the $149 for a separate Vudu box. Of course, you may not have heard of Entone because it’s an… View this story
Digital Media Stores • Digital Recorders • Set Top Boxes • IPTV • Product News

Are you ready for the switch from analog to digital? If not, a new website sponsored by Zenith can point you in the right direction. The site, www.ConnectYourBox.com, illustrates step-by-step how to connect a digital converter box to an analog TV. “We’re taking thousands of phone calls each day from consumers who have purchased the Zenith DTT901 converter box but don’t understand how to best connect it to their analog TV,” says Zenith Senior VP Richard Lewis. “And while it’s not difficult to hook up… View this story
Set Top Boxes • Digital TV Transition • Info and Answers

Since we know there are plenty of you out there who haven’t redeemed your coupons yet for a digital-to-analog converter box in anticipation of the digital TV transition, you might like the convenience of Meritline’s current offer. Meritline has the AirLink ATVC102 price dropped to $40 to conveniently match the amount your government coupon is worth toward a digital converter box (don’t let it expire). This way, they’re able to offer the AirLink free of charge, provided you drop in the 16-digit code and Meritline’s… View this story
Set Top Boxes • Digital TV Transition • Product News

The rumors about Amazon adding high-definition content to its Video On Demand service have become a reality. The company announced today that “Instant HD” is here, with movies and TV shows now available in HD. The company says the pickings are of more than 500 HD TV episodes and movies, with studio support including Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, MGM, Universal and Showtime Networks. You can make selections of HD rentals for $3.99 - $4.99, and TV shows can be purchased for $2.99. Of course, what… View this story
Digital Media Stores • Set Top Boxes • Product News