Long-time CE Pro writer and friend Julie Jacobson broke the story this weekend about VUDU’s problems. While the rumor mill has been going full-steam about VUDU and there were some exaggerations about the company’s demise, it does appear that they have laid off some employees, including the main outward facing contact to press and analysts Patrick Cosson. I was quite frankly surprised about this, especially given that the company has been doing some significant pre-briefings heading in CEDIA. The company has been talking about (as can be seen by this article by Julie) about lots more HD content support and allowing for 1080p HD content over component. All very interesting stuff, but now overshadowed by the company’s reported problems. MORE »

I thought Sir Howard was supposed to put an end to this type of thing. Apparently not, as Sony is back with another proprietary technology. Making it worse, they are offering up a wireless technology to transfer video and image wirelessly, a market where there are seemingly PLENTY of standardized technologies to do just this. Sure, they’ve pushed a consortium around TransferJet [PR], at least giving this effort the appearance of an industry-wide effort, but in the end this looks and feels like classic Sony pushing an internally developed technology as a solution where there already is one. MORE »

I think this is interesting, but perhaps unnecessary. From what I can tell, the large majority of new designs for set-tops have some form of IP connectivity. Certainly, as this Ars article mentions, moves by CableLabs to approve DTCP over IP have paved the way for carriers (in the US at least) to potentially feel more comfortable with home network based services such as multi-room PVR. However, what I have seen and heard is that most of this activity in the North American market will likely be MoCA based delivery, which wouldn’t necessitate an Ethernet port. MORE »

Finally, something other than YouTube on these Internet connected TVs. Sony and Amazon have announced that Amazon’s new streaming service will connect to Sony’s Bravia TVs, and as I’ve written about here, Sony has been working on a number of angles to get their Internet TV’s more content, much of it in Japan, but more and more I think they’ll partner with the likes of Amazon to get content to their devices.

As for Amazon, the service is their first streaming service, with Amazon VOD packing the Unbox download service capabilities within. As most of you know, Unbox has been largely seen as a disappointment, mostly due to a combination of a poorly executed launch with clunky software and the slow state of paid downloads. I think streaming is a good move, as consumers have shown that they want instant-viewing. MORE »

At Microsoft’s E3 event today, they finally made official the Netflix streaming service that has been rumored for months. This looks like a in-dash implementation that doesn’t rely on Media Center’s Online content, which is a good thing given how clunky Microsoft online offerings have been through Media Center. The service will offer the same movie library that consumers of Netflix get through the Netflix offering, which is about 10% of their total movie library. Like with all of these services, there is a big contractual overhang issue from studios and their agreements with other streaming services, DVD windows and other windows such as the VOD and those signed with HBO and Showtime. MORE »

Word is out that Akimbo, the pioneering over-the-top VOD provider that has had a million different business models, just shut its doors. I remember first getting the Akimbo pitch in 2004, when they were having a coming out with their set top box with accompanying video service. It was very early days, before YouTube and the wholesale move towards large media to over to top distribution, so Akimbo was forced to use whatever they could get their hands on for content, which needless to say at that time wasn’t very much. MORE »

This Ars article states the obvious, that we don’t need another proprietary STB for a single service online video provider. If you haven’t seen the gravestones littering the proprietary STB service graveyard, some of the names of the dearly departed include Akimbo’s box and Moviebeam’s among others. And while I think Apple TV and Vudu still have a good shot, they are succeed or fail because I think their visions do go beyond a movie service in a box, and also because their solutions are either best of class (Vudu) or leveraging a dominant digital media brand name/ service combo (Apple TV/iTunes). MORE »

While some say the death of HD-DVD was all but sealed when Warner Brothers announced just before CES this January they would move their high definition optical disk distribution entirely to Blu-ray, I think, as I said back in June of 2007, that the death knell for HD-DVD was actually when Blockbuster announced they’d go mostly Blu across the U.S. Don’t get me wrong, the HD-DVD folks had their chance to snatch life from the jaws of death before the Warner announcement, but I think by and large the decision of Blockbuster started the momentum in the direction of the Blu-ray camp. MORE »

While I – like many in the industry – am amazed at how Apple can move digital mountains and help jumpstart industries with their moves, it is also amazing to me at how people will give credit to Apple for so many industry firsts. Much of this can simply be ascribed to the fact the company has truly had the Midas touch when it comes to digital music and mobile/portable platforms. But as is often the case with Apple, everything they do is seen as a presumed automatic winner, and as a first. MORE »

I’ve felt that Digeo was in for problems given the fact that the market for multi-room PVR software has largely been commoditized and that most set top box guys have either developed their own or acquired a solution. What is so interesting about the news that Digeo would be laying off half their workforce and eliminating its retail based Moxi Digital Media Recorders is it comes less than a week after CES. I met with Mike Fidler, who is relinquishing the CEO role, and there was no indication last week of forthcoming issues or re-orgs. I suspect that the company saw less-than-stellar reactions to its products and product roadmap at the show, and after only having accumulated in the area of 400 thousand boxes in the field this long into the company’s existence, the writing was on the wall. MORE »