Mutterings from the HQ - Latest Comments

Re: Today’s Digital News January 11, 2012

fettman24 — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:05:24 -0000

Today’s tech trend has really been improving, just take a
look at what the Hopper from DISH can do!! What I’m speaking specifically about
is the PrimeTime Anytime feature, having the receiver automatically record the
four major networks during their prime time hours and storing them for a
rolling eight days, well that’s just amazing. My wife and I generally run into
the issue of conflicting recording times, and this usually causes me to miss
out on my shows since the lady of the house gets what she wants. This is the
perfect resolution, the Hopper will record her shows that come on during prime
time on the major networks, and still allow me to watch OR record my own shows.
I’ve been lucky enough to play around with the receiver since I work at DISH,
and I still have my fingers crossed on getting placed on the beta team to test
it.

Re: Today’s Digital News October 7, 2011

Natedogg86 — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:18:23 -0000

. DISH Network has more HD channels than any
other provider and customer of DISH can access all of their programming and DVR
content that they would get at home. I usually watch TV everywhere on my
Smartphone and you need at least a 3G cellular data plan. A co-worker from DISH
told me that customers who get the 922 DVR can access TV everywhere with out
this sling adapter.

Re: Today’s Digital News October 4, 2011

Erica Stay — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:25:24 -0000

news is the best

Re: Today’s Digital News October 4, 2011

Erica Stay — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:25:06 -0000

news is good

Re: Internet Connectivity during IBC 2011

Golffies — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:27:28 -0000

This is very nice of you to have taken time to share such a valuable knowledge. Your observations regarding best hotels' behavior are so right. Great to read that Vodafone "Internet Basis BloX" is compatible with teethering, even if the operator theoretically denies the right to do so. It worth to note as well that "Internet Basis BloX" option can be combined with "Internet op Reis Dagbundel", which provides a 20MB/day roaming Internet 3G access in Europe for a additional 2 euro per day. A good reason not to drop your SIM into some drawer as IBC2011 went over. See you there ? Regards.

Re: Today’s Digital News May 18, 2011

Naterichmond7 — Wed, 18 May 2011 10:29:44 -0000

U-Verses equipment seems to be inferior to DISH Network's
award winning DVR's. I work for DISH and I can tell you DISH Network's DVR has
won CNET's and PC Magazine Editors Choice for best DVR and we have the largest
hard drive in the industry! AT&T U-Verse and DISH Network both have great programs in
their line up but the big difference is the prices and HD selection. DISH
Network offers 120 channels for $44.99/mo and with U-Verse you get 100 channels
for $59.99/mo. You also have to pay for your HD channels with U-Verse and DISH
Network customers can get them free for life. Check this out www.dish.com.

Re: Mobile TV – Get Over It

Ian D. Nock — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:27:13 -0000

The proof will be in the pudding as we say in the UK - when someone, anyone, actually manages to launch and keep running a mobile service that receives sufficient revenue to make it a going concern and have organic growth. There is always someone who wants something, the key is making it more than a technical demonstration and make it a real product that has that organic growth. I have not seen any in Europe or the US that has actually done this. I look forward to being proved wrong as that would mean that business is actually being done, but I more than doubt it.

Re: Mobile TV – Get Over It

Ron Stitt — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:45:26 -0000

So, you're saying there won't be demand for live sports and breaking news, at a minimum? When I refer to "research", I'm talking about feedback from consumers who have been given actual devices and access to services for an extended period of time...and in the case of the OMVC Washington DC showcase, actual viewership as measured by Rentrak, and user feedback in the form of literally tens of thousands of comments posted in an online community run by Harris Interactive, and extended conversations with groups of actual users in multiple focus groups.

In the U.S. (and in a lot of the global efforts as well), attempts at mobile TV so far have not been broadcaster-driven. Along with a very robust capability now with the new ATSC M/H standard, U.S. broadcasters bring a lot of new assets to the party, from existing infrastructure to content, as well as strong brands and enormous promotional power. We will see what happens... stars are aligning though for a real run at it, with networks and station groups committed to pretty large-scale deployments later this year (with free access emulating Korea). There is also very strong interest still from the CE sector, who have quite a lot invested now in the idea that this will work.

I won't dispute with you that there is a lot of countervailing experience around the world, not to mention MediaFLO here in the U.S. But I am suggesting that the actual product formulation is key, and given the extraordinarily complicated ecosystem of moving parts that has to be assembled to optimize that, we still have not answered this question as definitively as you suggest.

Re: Mobile TV – Get Over It

Ian D. Nock — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:23:35 -0000

All the study and analysis of why it will work ignores the fact that outside of some limited success in Korea, almost all other deployments have failed to be adopted by consumers. Theory is all very well but I believe we have enough empirical evidence today to show that mobile TV is not wanted. Mobile video is another thing, as there is evidence that it is reaching consumer acceptance but interestingly consumed within the home and not when out of the household.

Re: Mobile TV – Get Over It

Ron Stitt — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:15:20 -0000

The failure of mobile TV to really catch on in a number of markets is perplexing and certainly "cause for pause". However, I have seen a lot of research...qualitative, quantitative (log viewing data) and face-to-face (focus groups) that suggests there is in fact an audience for mobile long-form content...and the enthusiasm for an ability to extend the living room TV experience, which is still largely linear, out-of-home. We saw this very clearly in the large-scale OMVC mobile DTV showcase in DC last year....which I look at in the context a large body of prior research/trialing. The extent of the interest/market is debatable, but I think not really a question fundamentally. Beyond entertainment, there is no doubt demand for a whole class of live content...most obviously sports and breaking news, but also a class of content that I see sitting between the live and on-demand environments...content that can be viewed/enjoyed on-demand, but is really better experienced live (think American Idol, for example). The desire to enjoy common, live experiences is hard-wired into human DNA. Part of what will drive this "in-between class" of content is, I believe, the social graph. Integrating mobile TV with social networks is therefore going to be a driver...in a larger sense though, what is going to ultimately make it work is integration of point-multipoint (broadcast) delivery with point-to-point (carrier/IP) technology in a way that is totally transparent to the user...viewing content and not really knowing whether it's live broadcast, live IP, on-demand (IP-delivered or locally stored on the device), with fully interactive overlay of the mobile internet. Fortunately, in America the ATSC M/H standard was developed in a way that contemplates and fully supports a path to this sort of product vision. Building a business model that gets us there is not a slam-dunk by any means but I believe it is achievable.

Re: Product lessons by Steve Jobs

Kieron — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:21:49 -0000

Ian,

what Google lacks is focus ... and that hurt Microsoft as well. Trying to build an eco-system of hardware based on your own software has proven, time and time again, to be very hard. RIM and Apple have avoided this and done well as a result.

regards,

Kieron.

Re: Today’s Digital News January 25, 2011

Erik Russell — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:59:46 -0000

This is great for Charter, however there is no guarantee the contract with TiVo will last more than a few years. I work for DISH network and love the fact that our equipment (DVR, Receiver, remote, SlingLink) is all made here in-house. As a result, we never have to worry about a company pulling the plug and leaving our customers without service!! Also, CNET and PC Magazine recently gave the award for Best DVR to DISH Network which works beautifully with the most HD channels, the lowest all-digital prices, and HD Free for Life!! Don't risk it. Go to Dishnetwork.com and get the facts!!

Re: Digital Britain – What now for Radio?

Tom Thomas — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 07:21:16 -0000

DAB has for me been the perfect example of pushing a technology where there are no discernable benefits for any of the stakeholders down the line. It's quite staggering.
1. (Current) audio quality inferior to a good FM signal. No debate.
2. Very poor coverage, still. No debate.
3. Still, even after 10 years, power hungry chipsets compared to analogue. Particularly pertinent for the portable market (where radio is in it's element), where I don't want to worry about recharging batteries every day.
4. Only 20MHz of FM spectrum anyway - not enough to make it a 'meaty' sell-off proposition for Ofcom (unlike Digital TV switchover)
A R4 Today interview a while back had one of the government proponents on the rack over these issues. He honestly could not give a valid retort to any of the questions put to him.
I am not a luddite, but I just do not understand the government obsession with DAB promotion.

Re: Lack of Online Content

Tom Thomas — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 06:26:44 -0000

Yes it's a bit of a dissappointment when you dig down. Classic case of the technical side working their butts off to launch this new feature, only for it to be hamstrung by the commercial hurdles (but then they knew what streaming rights were available before this feature launch, so no excuses)

Re: Youview nails

Tom Thomas — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:04:21 -0000

Yeah - this is pretty well a big chunk of what I am expecting from Youview (in terms of range of content available if not the access method)
Have you noticed how you cannot display BBC and rival channels simultaneously though? Intentional? (I assume so).

Re: Today’s Digital News July 30, 2010

escort services — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 05:17:36 -0000

He says the conventional method of teaching — basically, professors telling the students the answers to the upcoming tests — is badly outmoded in the digital age. "In today's world,” he said, “students can look that up any time they want ...

Re: Today’s Digital News January 17, 2011

fettman24 — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:03:09 -0000

The TV Everywhere is starting to come into it's own. The ability to use a device such as an iPad or iPhone makes the experience that much more enjoyable. As an employee I realized that this Xfinity app is very much alike the DISH Remote Access app with DISH Network. Scheduling recordings, watching recordings, and managing the guide. The only difference is the DISH app allows you to do all this and watch live TV outside of your home network, works great, I recommend this feature.

Re: Today’s Digital News January 2, 2011

D.Laserna — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:55:50 -0000

So would you predict 3D to be big business in 2011?

Re: Mobile TV–the end, long live Mobile TV

D'Laserna — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:54:21 -0000

I think you touch on a lot of important points on why (at least in the near future) a mobile service subscriber would not want to wath the full episode of the Apprentice on his iOS,Android, Win7 or BB device.

One aspect that needs to be taken into consideration is the poor radio coverage for UMTS/LTE,etc services in the UK, I have been in so many areas where you can not even initialte a simple phone call.

Re: Today’s Digital News November 23, 2010

Ian D. Nock — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 03:05:11 -0000

Google is under attack because they are Google. The networks in the US are petrified about letting Google access their content, as Google is the biggest platform challenger to them in advertising. They react with emotion and defensively. They are still figuring out their next steps as they try and understand how Hulu can be used - The Lion has begat a son but they are still trying to figure out if they should kill it, or let it grow to kill the new Lion coming into the pack.

Re: Today’s Digital News November 23, 2010

Lennart Broers — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 02:39:04 -0000

Will GoogleTV take off as they planned? Or will they figure it out together, the channels and Google? What's your opinion?

Re: Important Tools for the Consultant

Hebrides — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:26:25 -0000

OK so the Outer Hebrides do not have 3g :-(

We do have a wireless broadband service but it is incredibly expensive at £450 a month for a simple 4mb connection. Rural China gets 3g before the Outer Hebrides even though there are plenty of people who would eagerly take advantage of the increased speeds, especially with the recent offers by the phone networks for 3g broadband.

Re: Woolworths / EUK – An Opportunity for Digital Downloads

free satellite — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:09:24 -0000

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Re: Digital Transition Approaches

Ian D. Nock — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:41:31 -0000

I am a believer in the view that this is going to happen anyway, whenever the transition takes place. If the viewer wants to watch TV, they will solve the problem. This is actually not that complex.

Re: Digital Transition Approaches

john smith — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:34:57 -0000

the biggest problems for US viewers is not knowing about the technical problems if not a cable or satellite subscriber and how to hook up the converter box with all the different wires and whether your antenna will work or not... and to scan in the settings is really puzzling...also you have to re-scan for new TV stations that go digita ...and the digital footprint is less than the analog in many cases .....and the picture disaggregates when planes fly overhead...or there's bad weather....none of this is mentioned by the companies selling digital TV equpment or the converter box people....it's learn the hard way