Sezmi Altering its Cable Alternative Package
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, December 20, 2010 · 
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Letters to Sezmi subscribers were sent out last week detailing changes in the content packages. Sezmi will discontinue the $19.95 Sezmi Select Plus package of 23 channels currently offered only in the Los Angeles area.
Sezmi will instead concentrate on Sezmi Select, a $4.95 package of local channels with an online component that allows access to video on demand (VoD) movies and online TV shows. Sezmi currently provides service in 36 markets delivering its line-up via digital spectrum leased from local TV stations.
Subscribers must purchase a Sezmi set-top-box equipped with a 1TB DVR and an antenna. The $149 box is avalable at Best Buy in the Sezmi-served locations. Sezmi is said to be offering six months free Sezmi Select to orphaned Sezmi Plus customers along with $150 credit for VoD content.
Cincinnati Bell Offers Whole-Home DVR
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, August 2, 2010 · ·
Cincinnati Bell has joined the whole-home DVR movement, deploying Motorola’s multi-room digital video recorder (MR-DVR) solution to its subscribers.
The MR-DVR solution uses a media software application running on a combination of up to eight DVR and non-DVR DCX all-digital high-definition set-top boxes. The system enables Cincinnati Bell subscribers to pause live TV, record and play back content, and manage their recorded library and DVR settings on any set-top in the home, even if it is not a DVR set-top. Read more
Comcast Jumps on the Whole-home DVR Bandwagon
Posted by Jesse Ward on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 · ·
As expected, Comcast recently launched AnyRoom DVR. The service allows a customer to view DVR recordings on any networked set-top box in the home, and to finish watching a saved recording in one room that was started in another.
AnyRoom DVR is comprised of one HD/DVR set-top box as the primary outlet — which controls scheduling, deleting and recording settings — and up to three additional HD set-top boxes which can view and navigate within recorded content. The client set-tops connect to the central DVR using the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) specification.
The service is initially being offered in limited markets in Oregon and Washington. The primary DVR ranges from $13.95-$19.95 per month, with secondary set-tops running an average of $8 per month. The service requires a one-time activation fee of $29.95. Read more
Whole-Home DVR: A Necessary Feature of Your Video Bundle?
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 21, 2010 · ·
Several video service providers are now offering whole-home DVR services, which leaves me wondering, is whole-home DVR a mandatory feature in order to remain competitive in the video marketplace?
Whole-Home DVR typically lets users record and playback from multiple locations within the household. When users choose to watch the same recording, they can do so in different rooms with the ability to fast-forward, pause or rewind without affecting other viewers. Whole-home DVR also allows a subscriber to pause a show in one room and resume watching in another one. Read more
Dish Network Avoids DVR Shutdown
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, May 14, 2010 · ·
A federal appeals court today granted Dish Network’s request to rehear its patent case with Tivo. Tivo held that Dish Network and Echostar had violated the Tivo DVR patent.
In March a lower federal appeals court had ruled in favor of Tivo affirming the finding of a jury trial held in Texas. The May 14 ruling will allow Dish Network to persuade a new court that it’s DVR software does not violate the Tivo patent. This ruling effectively vacates the March decision. Read more
Cox Launches Whole-Home DVR
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, May 10, 2010 · (3) ·
Cox Communications has revamped its home entertainment experience launching a new Trio program guide, tru2way-capable Cisco set-top boxes (STBs) and the first whole home DVR-system by a nationwide cable operator. The new features will be available to subscribers who pay $5 more on top of any level of Cox Advanced TV service and subscribe to the Plus Package. Read more
DVRs Now in One-Third of U.S. Households
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, September 28, 2009 · ·
A new report from Leichtman Research Group found that 36% of TV households in the United States have at least one digital video recorder (DVR), an increase from just 8% four years ago.
LRG estimates that DVRs will be in about 71 million households at the end of 2013, double the number of households with DVRs at the end of 2008. Other related findings include: Read more