Satellite

TV
June 27, 2012
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One-third of cord cutters say they’ll never go back to cable

By on June 27, 2012 at 11:40 AM.

One-third of cord cutters say they’ll never go back to cable

Survey Cable Subscriber Retention

It seems that a good number of people who have unsubscribed from cable or satellite television services never want to go back. According to a new survey released Tuesday by deal-aggregation website TechBargains.com, 33% of cable and satellite subscribers who have cut the cord say they will never go back even if service providers “drastically” reduce their prices. The survey also found that 83% of people who have ditched cable or satellite have done so due to high cost, while 17% of people who ditched their service did so because they were unhappy with the service or content provided. In all, 52% of the people surveyed were current cable subscribers, 19% were current digital satellite subscribers and 29% were former subscribers of cable or satellite. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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TV
April 4, 2012
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Over 1 million U.S. cable subscribers cut the cord in 2011

By on April 4, 2012 at 11:25 AM.

Over 1 million U.S. cable subscribers cut the cord in 2011

More than 1 million cable television subscribers in the United States canceled their service in 2011, opting instead for online films and TV shows available through services like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Nearly 2.65 million cable or satellite TV subscribers have canceled their service since 2008 to rely solely on Web-based services according to estimates from the Convergence Consulting Group. “It’s pretty obvious that there’s actual cord-cutting going on in the U.S.,” Brahm Eiley, president of Convergence Consulting, said in an interview with Bloomberg. The firm warns that the pace of defections may slow this year, however, as content providers tighten online access to shows and increase prices. It is estimated that roughly 930,000 customers will cut the cord in 2012, for a total of 3.58 million subscribers since 2008. The group also estimates that traditional television providers will add 185,000 accounts this year, up from 112,000 in 2011. More →

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mobile
March 19, 2012
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Dish Network’s spectrum should avoid GPS issues suffered by LightSquared, analysts say

By on March 19, 2012 at 9:30 PM.

Dish Network’s spectrum should avoid GPS issues suffered by LightSquared, analysts say

Philip Falcone’s startup LightSquared planned to deploy a nationwide 4G LTE network in the United States. The firm’s service was found to cause interference with spectrum used by various GPS navigation and tracking solutions, however, forcing the Federal Communications Commission to block the network’s launch. Dish Network is looking to build a similar network and is currently awaiting government approval. Executives and analysts have said that Dish will probably avoid the interference concerns that killed LightSquared’s network, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The satellite company’s frequencies, which are above 2GHz, are far away from those used by GPS devices and Lightsquared’s 1600Mhz band, and are less likely to interfere. “It’s not as close to GPS, so it’s unlikely to interfere,” said Matthew Desch, chief executive officer of Iridium Communications, which operates more than 60 satellites. “But the approval is going to take some time. The FCC is going to make sure they don’t have another LightSquared problem on their hands.” Bryan Kraft, an analyst at Evercore Partners, believes that Dish will gain FCC approval in 6 to 12 months. More →

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General
July 11, 2011
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Netflix beats Hulu Plus in social streaming showdown [infographic]

By on July 11, 2011 at 2:11 PM.

Netflix beats Hulu Plus in social streaming showdown [infographic]

When we last heard from social media listening firm Mashwork, we learned that future smartphone buyers were much more interested in purchasing the Samsung Galaxy S II than the 4G-friendly Motorola DROID BIONIC. Mashwork is back on Monday with some more interesting findings: according to the firm’s latest research, 45% more people prefer Netflix over Hulu Plus than vice versa. Pulling data from 10,283 relevant tweets between June 28th and July 6th, 2011, 29% of all users prefer Netflix over Hulu Plus for streaming movies and TV shows, while 20% prefer Hulu Plus over Netflix. Also of note, 51% of those accounted for in Mashwork’s study use both services and are hoping to cut the cord with their cable or satellite TV providers. Hulu certainly would like to have been positioned better in the study; Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed at a recent Allen & Co conference that Hulu owners NBCUniversal, News Corp and Disney/ABC Television Group are currently trying to sell the company. Mashwork’s full infographic follows below. More →

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3D
June 15, 2011
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Toshiba intros Satellite P700 series notebooks

By on June 15, 2011 at 2:35 AM.

Toshiba intros Satellite P700 series notebooks

On Tuesday Toshiba took the wraps off of its new Satellite P700 series laptops. The models include the P745, P755/P755 3D, and P775, which sport 14-inch, 15.6-inch, and 17.3-inch displays, respectively. Buyers will have the option to configure their P700-series notebook with an Intel Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 processor, and models sport either an NVIDIA GeForce GT540M GPU or an AMD A6-3400M chip with discrete Radeon graphics. Other features include HDMI-out, USB 3.0, up to 750GB of storage space, Harman Kardon speakers, support for Intel Wireless Display, and optional 4G WiMAX and Blu-ray players. The P750 3D offers a 15.6-inch stereoscopic 3D display, support for 2D-to-3D DVD conversion, and more. The P745 starts at $699.99, the P7555 begins at $629.99, and the P775 starts at $629.99. The high-end P775 3D will set you back at least $1,199.99. The entire P700 series will be available in major retail outlets beginning June 21st. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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mobile
April 25, 2011
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AT&T outs Remote Mobility Zone portable cell site solutions

By on April 25, 2011 at 10:37 PM.

AT&T outs Remote Mobility Zone portable cell site solutions

On Monday, AT&T took the wraps off of its new Remote Mobility Zone products that it hopes will help business, government, and public safety agencies stay connected during natural or man-made disasters. There are three different Remote Mobility Zone solutions, including a mounted fixed site deployment option, a “Park and Use,” cell site that can be integrated into vehicles with roof-mounted satellite antennas, and a super portable “fly-away” suitcase cell site that’s capable of providing communications up to one half of a mile away in all directions. AT&T said customers can use their current phones with each of the solutions, and cell sites support up to 28 concurrent users. “In the pivotal first minutes of a natural or man-made disaster, AT&T Remote Mobility Zone provides a solution to help maintain critical mobile communications,” said Chris Hill, vice president, Advanced Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions.  “With AT&T Remote Mobility Zone, users can set up a cell site in less than 30 minutes.” Hit the jump for the full press release. More →

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General
June 25, 2010
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Clearleap to bring on-demand cable TV to Roku

By on June 25, 2010 at 5:30 AM.

Clearleap to bring on-demand cable TV to Roku

netflix-roku-box

Folks on the fence about a Roku box may be swayed by the news that Roku is teaming up with Clearleap to bring on-demand cable TV programing to the video streaming platform. Clearleap is a growing company that serves as the middle man between cable, satellite and telephone companies that have on-demand content and video streaming services like Roku that want to dish up this content. This arrangement would allow Roku users to purchase on-demand movies from their television provider via their Roku box and have all charges tacked onto their monthly TV bill. That’s definitely great for those with more than one TV in their house, and could also potentially allow television providers the option to offer the Roku box as a cable box alternative. Roku’s move towards providing traditional video-on-demand content is still in its infancy as no content providers have currently jumped on board. But if and when this on-demand service materializes, Roku owners will only have to download an update with the on-demand application to activate the service. More →

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Entertainment
May 8, 2010
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Hollywood studios gain approval to block analog hole for new releases

By on May 8, 2010 at 9:07 AM.

Hollywood studios gain approval to block analog hole for new releases

movies-block-mpaamorons

Hollywood was granted a major victory by the FCC this past week in a decision that gives the studios permission to shut down the analog ports on home entertainment equipment such as televisions, cable boxes, and satellite receivers. The decision stems from a 2008 request by the Hollywood studios which asked for the power to block analog outputs which lack copyright protection and can be recorded from freely. Blocking these analog ports is an anti-piracy measure that would force television programming to play back via digital outputs which have copyright protection to prevent the recording of the video signal. This power to shut down the analog hole would only be used for first run content which, according to the studios, has the highest rate of piracy. Blocking this potential avenue for piracy would allow the studios to bring new content to the viewing audience sooner as well. New releases in exchange for Hollywood control of home entertainment equipment, sounds like a deal with the devil great decision, no? More →

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General
February 11, 2010
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Garmin-ASUS intros the nüvifone A50 and M10

By on February 11, 2010 at 5:54 PM.

Garmin-ASUS intros the nüvifone A50 and M10

garmin-asus-nuvifone-a50-m10

Any smartphone worth a darn has GPS capabilities, but some are more adept at finding their way than others. After getting a reputation for a company that takes it sweet-ass time launching a handset, Garmin-ASUS today announced two new handsets in the nüvifone A50 and nüvifone M10. First up is the A50. An Android device with a 3.5″ HVGA touchscreen display, 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA connectivity, 4GB of internal memory and accelerometer, the A50 is said to be one heck of a pathfinder thanks in part to its e-compass and GPS chipset that draws location signals from satellites as well as network and terrestrial sources. Add in not apps like Google Maps and cityXplorer but Garmin’s very own pre-loaded turn-by-turn navigation software and one no longer has any excuses for getting lost while driving to the in-laws new country cottage. Moving on we have the M10. Running Windows Mobile 6.5.3, it isn’t as spec’d out as the A50 GPS wise, but it still can take on any other smartphone and even many dedicated GPS units with one hand tied behind its back. Physical characteristics include a 3.5″ WVGA display (resistive), Wi-Fi and HSDPA radios, 512MB of RAM and ROM and 4GB of in-built memory. Consumers and procrastinators should note each handset features support for just about every location-based and social media service under the sun, while corporate types will be pleased to note that Microsoft Exchange is fully by both phones. And yes, the A50 does have a multi-touch WebKit browser. Barring any unexpected delays, both devices will go on sale by the end of Q2. More →

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CES
December 29, 2009
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DirecTV to launch 3D-HD channel in 2010

By on December 29, 2009 at 10:21 AM.

DirecTV to launch 3D-HD channel in 2010

DirecTV 3D

You know what was so 2009? Television in HD. You know what is so 2010? Television in HD and 3D. HD Guru is reporting that DirecTV is planning to launch an all HD and 3D channel in 2010; with an announcement forthcoming at this years CES show in Las Vegas. The new service will be made possible by a new DirecTV satellite being shot into orbit sometime in the very near future, a satellite slated to be fully operational by March of 2010. The channel will play a variety of movies and sports all conforming to the latest 3D standard. Now before we all get too excited, the new service will work with your current DirecTV HD box, thanks to a firmware update, but you will have to purchase yourself a new 3D compatible HD TV — many of which are to be announced at CES this year. Will 3D be the new buzz word of the 2010 television market? We will see. More →

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General
June 16, 2009
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DTV came, saw and conquered; was it good for you?

By on June 16, 2009 at 7:43 AM.

DTV came, saw and conquered; was it good for you?

Changeover day came and went this past Friday and while the vast majority of the country likely didn’t even notice, a handful of people were in for a rude awakening as analog broadcasts ended. Over the past week, the FCC’s official help line received about 700,000 calls — 347,450 on Friday alone — regarding issues leading up to and following the changeover. About a third of Friday’s calls were from people still looking for coupons to help pay for digital converter boxes and another third were from people having trouble operating their converters. About 20 percent of the calls were regarding reception issues. Michael Copps, acting FCC Chairman, had this to say regarding the tidal wave of calls:

Our job is far from over. This transition is not a one-day affair. We have known about re-scanning and reception issues for some time and have been doing our best to get the word out.

Re-scanning, as Copps mentioned, is said to resolve reception issues a great deal of the time. So, if Grandma decides to call you for tech support rather than dialing up 1-888-CALL-FCC, that should likely be the first stop on the troubleshooting train. As for BGR readers, we imagine most if not all of you have already been enjoying some kind of digital broadcast for years now. There are always a few stragglers though — anyone caught with their pants down this past Friday? Figuratively, that is.

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General
June 12, 2009
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DTV cometh

By on June 12, 2009 at 9:30 AM.

DTV cometh

Today is the day our grandparents have been dreading for quite some time now — that is, if they even knew DTV was on its way. Today is Friday, June 12th, and the switch from analog to digital TV is upon us. While those of us with modern sets and digital cable/satellite/etc have nothing to worry about of course, the generation of analog signals and Rabbit Ears may not be prepared. Then again, if you’re like some of us here at BGR, your grandparents have way more intense set ups than you and it makes you feel a tad uncomfortable. Moving along, it’s estimated that around 3 million US households are not prepared for the switch so Oprah, don’t be surprised if your numbers drop off for a short while. As for the rest of us, if your grandfather is threatening to cut you out of the will unless you come fix his box so he can watch the talkies again, the FCC’s DTV website is a good place for you to start.

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Software
March 12, 2009
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Sirius XM reveals iPhone app in the works; Q2 launch

By on March 12, 2009 at 5:44 PM.

Sirius XM reveals iPhone app in the works; Q2 launch

A lot of of chatter was generated when the team behind StarPlayr announced it was dumping its project to bring Sirius XM content to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Naturally, is was presumed that one of the main reasons for Apple’s decision — though logic is seemingly not always a consideration when Apple rejects apps — was a Sirius XM streaming app already in the works from the Satellite Radio provider itself. Sure enough this morning’s earnings call was the forum the struggling company chose to announce a forthcoming app. Forgetting the company posted a Q4 loss of $245.8 million, Sirius XM’s radio streaming app for the iPhone and iPod Touch will be released sometime in Q2 and judging by recent changes in the company’s subscription options, expect it to cost money one way or another.

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