I got an invite to the sneak peak of the Foxtel IQ this evening. It wasn't that exclusive as there were all sorts there, me included.

I took all my kids along, I told them SpongeBob may be there. (Well, the invite did say we could meet personalities from FOXTEL channels including FOX Sports, LifeStyle FOOD, W, The History Channel, Disney Channel, The Weather Channel, Channel V, Movie Network, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., FOX8 and Sky News.)

While the punters were being entertained by "the talent" I signed up for the service, scheduled the installation for early March, got my gift vouchers from Myer, and left as the demos were finishing.

As been discussed by others, the services offered aren't ideal and Foxtel still hasn't resolved the EPG issue with the 7 and 10 network - my response is not to watch their offerings.

Time shifted televion - bring it on.

9:03:59 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV

Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing
Downloading torrents is stealing..
Downloading torrents is stealing.
Downloading torrents is stealing.

[listening to: Kentucky Rain - Elvis Presley ]
8:25:08 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV

 

I was watching the Channel 10 news tonight and they had a story about a recent Simpson's episode in which a regular character (Patty) "comes out of the closet", and it deals with the topic of same-sex marriages. Even The SMH carried the story.

The kicker was at the end when the newsreader said that Australian viewers can see this episode in April!

UPDATE: Really? Here's the torrent - watch it tonight. Tell the networks that you are as mad as hell and you can't take it anymore

UPDATE: This episode has it's own special website - http://www.springfieldisforgayloversofmarriage.com/

[listening to: Dancing Queen - Kylie Minogue ]
6:30:54 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV

So, my procedure yesterday went well and I find myself at home recouperating. I am feeling a bit tender at the moment.

My care package from Amazon arrived yesterday, so I am kicking back watch a few movies

• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
• Kitchen Stories
• Ray

[listening to: Slow - Kylie Minogue ]
12:58:45 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV

Interesting times indeed. I spotted the following article in The SMH this week. It coves the topic of PVRs, lack of an Aussie EPG and what the networks are NOT doing. You may have guessed this is a discussion near and dear to my heart.

Them's the breaks
By Rod Easdown
The introduction of a clever device has the networks and advertisers spooked.

Personal video recorders (PVRs) - real ones, such as those in the US, not the pretend ones we've seen here so far - are about to arrive in Australia, and a lot of people are nervous.

PVRs record to hard-drives or high-capacity blank DVDs (or both), so they don't require tapes. But they're far more than just new and sexy VCRs. They're highly intuitive devices that record programs they think you'll like as well as the ones you've asked them to. They can prevent children watching inappropriate material, freeze a broadcast while you take a break, picking up from where you left off, and eliminate ads.

It's this last capability that has the networks sweating. Some expensive PVRs are so clever they automatically delete ads as they record. Even when you're watching broadcast TV they can automatically mute or reduce the volume during ads, blank the screen or switch channels, returning to the program when the ad has ended.

Simpler PVRs have an ad-skip function that jumps the recording ahead by 30 seconds, the length of most ads. As soon as an ad starts, you hit the button and keep on hitting it until the ads are finished.

Advertisers know all about this. American Business Week magazine says PVRs are a big reason why advertisers reach only 15 per cent of the American population with a prime-time ad, down from 40 per cent in the mid-'80s. Fearing this will happen here, local networks are doing all they can to stop American-style PVRs taking hold.

PVRs work by accessing an electronic program guide (EPG) over an internet link. Instruct a PVR to tape any episode of The West Wing, for example, and it will find them in the EPG and record them no matter what channel or time they're on. It's no surprise, then, to discover local free-to-air networks have no intention to broadcast their EPGs. The best they do is provide digital viewers with details of the program being broadcast and the one that follows. This is where Foxtel has jumped in, recently announcing a PVR for digital subscribers that will interact with its EPG.

A Sydney inventor, however, has developed his own EPG that will interact with several existing PVRs. From March 1, Peter Vogel plans to sell subscriptions to his service, called Ice (Intelligent Content Engine), for $3 a week. It provides subscribers with the benefits available to American PVR owners.

"It would be correct to say the networks are not happy about it and have been doing everything they can to stop it - which is nothing," Vogel says. "We tried to buy their TV guides but they refused, so we had to develop our own in line with legal advice we have received ensuring we don't breach their copyright."

Vogel's plans have been delayed by funding shortfalls. Put simply, investors were spooked by flack from the networks. "It became a classic case of inventor mortgages house to make invention," he says.

Ice subscribers will need a compatible PVR and an internet connection, or a computer with compatible software, such as Microsoft's Media Centre. Several PVRs have internet connectivity through a USB computer connection. Vogel points to Topfield's TF5000PVR, a standard-definition unit with a 120GB hard drive and twin tuners (so it can record from two channels at once), which sells for about $899.

Initially, Vogel's service will be available in Sydney and Melbourne, with other cities to follow. He's not the only one working on user-friendly solutions for TV addicts. Melbourne-based Development One is marketing a computer-based home-media centre that does much of the work of a PVR.

Details of Vogel's Ice are at http://www.icetv.info and information about Development One's products is at http://www.d1.com.au.

[listening to: Take Me With You - Kylie Minogue ]
6:02:56 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV

I spotted this in Australian IT today. Hmmmmmmmm.

 UK, Australia top TV piracy list
 
AUSTRALIA and Britain have been revealed as the world's biggest markets for pirate TV downloads.

The trend is being driven by tech-savvy fans who are unwilling to wait for popular US shows such as 24 and Desperate Housewives.
Australia ranked as second largest downloader of TV programs after Britain in a study of the phenomenon by UK technology consultancy Envisional. The US was in third position.

According to Envisional, Britain accounts for about one-fifth of TV downloads through file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent and eDonkey.

"Because there's such a demand for US TV, the UK is going to be the main downloader," Envisional research consultant David Price said.

Popular US television shows such as The West Wing, The Sopranos and Friends usually air in Britain and Australia months after they are broadcast in the United States. For impatient fans, the internet offers bootleg, advertisement-free programs that can be downloaded in a few hours over a high-speed connection.

Episodes of the espionage drama 24 show up on the popular file-trading network BitTorrent within minutes after they air in the US, according to Envisional, and a typical episode is downloaded by about 100,000 users.

The company said that 24 is the most pirated show online, with The Simpsons, The OC and a host of sci-fi programs including Stargate SG-1 and Enterprise also popular.

UK broadcasters Sky and Channel 4, which air large blocks of US shows, say they are monitoring the growing popularity of online TV downloads.

If the situation worsens, it may result in lower prices paid by broadcasters for shows such as the Friends spin-off Joey, which went to the UK's Channel Five after an intense bidding war.

For the moment no one in the UK or Australian television sectors will admit to losing any sleep over TV downloads.

"Unless you're a pretty big cybergeek, people are generally happy to watch it on TV," said an executive at one UK broadcaster who asked to remain anonymous.

Nevertheless, Hollywood is not standing by idly. Fearful of a repeat of the rampant downloading that crippled the music industry, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has forced the closure of several sites that provide the links needed to download movies and television shows.

Lawsuits are also being used.

When the MPAA shut down a site called LokiTorrent last week, they seized reams of data including logs of user data that could enable legal action against individual users.

"I'm not sure if the MPAA are going to follow that route," Mr Price said:

"The MPAA have found a very worthwhile technique, which is to go after the tracker sites and shut those down, which means the users don't have anywhere to go to get what they need."

But there is little evidence that Hollywood's counter-offensive has had any effect, according to web analysis firm CacheLogic, which estimates that BitTorrent accounts for a staggering one-third of all internet traffic.

"We've seen very little change, and in some cases we've actually seen an increase," CacheLogic chief technology officer Andrew Parker said.

"The MPAA has had no impact."

Reuters
AAP

[listening to: Don't Let the Man Get You Down - Fat Boy Slim ]
7:48:09 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV