Blockbuster OnDemand Streaming Video Player

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Blockbuster has announced a streaming video player made by 2Wire.   This article in Information Week says it competes with Apple TV and NetFlix, but, unfortunately, it completely leaves out the one participant in this space that TelBitConsulting.com uses and loves:  VUDU.  

No matter what, the future is clear:  Watching movies via the Internet will happen and may happen, in a big way, faster than I had originally thought.  

Gathering some information on the new 2Wire player it looks like it does support HD.  Neither NetFlix nor AppleTV (as far as I understand...can support HD).   It works via a built-in wireless or wired Internet connection.  

Here are some specs I grabbed from 2Wire's Press Release:

Technical Details 
In the Box

• 2Wire MediaPoint Digital Media Player (8" x 8" x 1")
• Quick Installation Guide
• Power Adapter
• Composite A/V cable (supports SD viewing)
• Remote Control
• AAA Batteries

Video and Audio Connections

• Composite
• Component*
• HDMI*
• Stereo Audio
• Toslink (digital optical audio)*

Network Connections

• Ethernet*
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)

*cable must be purchased separately

UPDATE:  TelBitConsulting.com asked 2Wire a few questions (thank you to 2Wire for their prompt reply):

1. What size hard drives are available?

The built-in 8GB of flash memory can store approximately 5 SD or one HD and an assortment of SD movies at a time, depending on the length of the movies.

2. Can you connect an external hard drive to add capacity?

This is not currently an option.

3. Can a person purchase a movie?  If so will it be stored on the person local hard drive?  Is there a backup or archive capability to save the movies in case the hard drive dies?

At this time, you can not purchase movies through the MediaPoint digital media player.

4. Will Blockbuster make HD movies available?  How many movies are currently on the list?  How many are HD?

There are currently over 2,000 movies available through the ONDEMAND service, including a small but growing selection of HD movies. Blockbuster continues to add SD and HD movies to the ONDEMAND library.

5. Does your unit support 1080p?

Not at this time. The 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player currently supports the following: High Definition - 1080i, High Definition - 720p, Standard Definition - 480p, and Standard Definition - 480i.

6. Does your unit support 5.1 or 7.1 audio?

The 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player delivers stereo sound and supports 5.1.

7. If I want to watch an SD movie, how long do I have to wait before it starts?  HD? 

This depends on factors that include the speed of your Internet connection and the length of the movie. For example, with a 3 mbps connection, you could begin watching a standard-length SD movie within 30 seconds to one minute after beginning download.

8. What is the size of your unit?

The dimensions of MediaPoint are 8 in. x 8 in. x 1 in - about the size of a box of movie candy.

9. Do you support HDMI out put to the TV?

A composite A/V cable is provided with purchase. The player does support HDMI output, but the cable must be purchased separately. The HDMI Digital A/V output jack provides digital audio and video signals to a compatible HDTV or HD monitor.

10. Are any currently in use?  Can you tell me how many?  (If not, that is ok)

We are very pleased with the sales figures since the launch, but cannot divulge specific numbers.

11. How is the streaming handled?  From a central location only?  Peer-to-Peer?  Other?

Unlike media players that stream movies over the Internet, the 2Wire MediaPoint uses progressive download to let movie fans access high-quality videos, and begin watching them during download. The video and audio quality is consistent, and does not depend on your Internet connection speed.

TelBitConsulting.com says:  If a streaming player does not support HD....forget it.  To introduce a product in 2008 that does not support HD is wrong.  It looks like 2Wire got it right.  I know VUDU has it right....

Summary

The new Blockbuster player from 2Wire is significantly different than the VUDU player.  It is interesting to see how different design directions can be taken to solve a problem.  Engineering at it's best.  

For example, the 2 Wire player was designed, it appears, to watch a movie then that movie is gone.  There is some storage capacity but the smallish 8 Gig flash drive will not allow the massive storage the the 1 TB hard drive that VUDU can come with.   You cannot "purchase" movies with Blockbuster, but, that is not surprising since Blockbuster is a rental organization.  

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years....either way, TelBitConsulting.com thinks this is the way people will be watching movies....as long as the Internet connections stay open...

See all my Blog entries on Streaming Video including a V-E-R-Y detailed review of VUDU.  

Electric Vehicle Charging Network in Bay Area

It's 2008 in the San Franciso Bay Area and you own an electric car that is running low on charge.  What do you do?  Where do you go to re-charge?  Right about now you are wishing you had your gas guzzling, carbon emission spitting, automobile back and the heck with the environment.

But wait....fast forward a few years to 2012 and the San Francisco Bay Area is now dotted with electric car recharging stations where you can grab a fresh battery or recharge yours.  Parking lots, public buildings, even telephone and light poles have charging stations.  Suddenly, owning a car that reduces dependence on foreign oil is looking like a good deal.  And you are looking pretty smart.   

Even though California could have been an innovator in the electric car biz over ten years ago (See "Who Killed the Electric Car" documentary for details on this debacle), maybe we can redeem ourselves in 2008.  

A couple of days ago the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose agreed to work towards implementing, with Bay Area company Better Place, this charging infrastructure all over the Bay Area.  See this report for a lot more information.  

I have written about the need to save the environment, telecommute, and find alternative energy sources.   This is great news!  

I hope it works out, and I pledge to do all I can to help, starting with this Blog entry.  See all my Blog entries on Saving the Environment.  

Here is more information on Better Place's idea for an electric car and infrastructure.

Telecommute

Gas prices have come down.  

I went to the gas station yesterday and paid $1.94 for a gallon of gas.  For a starving blogger, this is good news.  I now have more precious $$ in my pocket for other things (Did someone say beer at The Great Plate?)

Do you stop thinking about telecommuting?  

Do you stop thinking about more efficient cars?  

Do you stop thinking about alternative energy?  

The answer is a resounding NO!  

Do not be lulled into thinking the gas prices will stay low, they will go back up again...rest assured.

In the meantime, enjoy the low prices, but, continue to telecommute (or plan for it) for the OTHER reasons telecommuting is a great alternative work style:

1. It helps save the environment.  Your car sits in the driveway / garage and no carbon emissions are sent into the air.

2. Productivity increases.  A telecommuter has more time to work witth fewer interruptions (luckily they are not married to my wife).  

3. Time.  A telecommuter gains many many hours a week, month, year and lifetime.  Spending an hour or two (or three or four) on the road means that time is taken from your family, from you.  

4. Help keep the demand for oil low.  Keep the prices low and permanently reduce the demand for foreign oil. 

5. Safety.  You never know when a pandemic or terrorist act will force changes to be made. Knowing how to effectively work remotely NOW will help companies better prepare for the future. 

In short....do not stop thinking about telecommuting just because gas prices are temporarily low.

The benefits of telecommuting reach far beyond gas prices and touch every part of your life.  

See all my articles on telecommuting and visit my web site for more information.  

And remember videoconferencing allows your old fashioned boss (OFB) to see you!  No more excuses...

Google Gmail Video Chat Review

Rating: 3 WaterTowers

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Summary

I signed up for Gmail (twice) and then downloaded the Google Videoconferencing application to see how well it works.

Result: It works well although it appears to be limited to point-to-point video and text chat (i.e. no whiteboard or app sharing).

Is it easy enough for “GrandMa” to use? No.

But, then again, if you know your way around a computer and spend a little “think” time, this application can work for you.

Before we get started....meet Serge from Google:

What Do You Need

You will need a Mac (Well....Google's web site says it works with Safari, but, not specifically if it works with a Mac or not..I have found that they have very poor specification / support information on the Web...meaning I could not find it) or Windows PC and a web cam. The supported browsers include Firefox 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Safari 3.0 and above, and Google Chrome.

I used Google Video Chat on two different Windows XP computers using Firefox 3.0.4 and Google Chrome.

Installation and Set-Up

First I had to sign up for Gmail. Luckily it is free, and I may even like it better than Yahoo, we will see.

Once I signed up, and was back in my new Gmail window, I did not see a video option (see below). How weird.

However, a short time later (was it my plugging in my web cam?), bingo, there it was. That is either very cool, or I was too quick to try to test this.

Oh well….welcome to my world…always the first to try something new! ;-)

I downloaded and installed the “New! Video chat” application and it went very smoothly. I did this again for Sunny, our Yellow Lab, and it again it went smoothly.

You can see below that a video camera icon has been placed next to my name in the Chat area. I then clicked on “Settings” and was allowed to make changes to the voice and video chat settings and also to verify these settings. Very nice.

I’m good to go.

Now I needed to add Sunny to my contact list. This was fairly easy to do but not super easy as, again, I had another window to contend with and then had to wait for Sunny to accept in chat invitation (but, that is a good thing, because I had a request from some unknown person that I said “No” to).

Can you tell that the number of separate windows that are popping up are starting to get to me?

Making the Call

Sunny accepted my invitation (good dog) and I see him in the chat window.

Now I have to mouse scroll over his name (opening a new window), click on chat (opening another new window), then I need to open up a menu option (another window), to select “Start Video chat”. Whew.

Sunny’s computer rings and he accepts the call.

The result is shown below.

The video quality is good and the audio worked in both directions. Success!

Playing around a bit, I found that you can disconnect the video from the browser and then make it larger or smaller depending upon your needs. You can also make it full-screen and you can grab and drag the picture-in-picture. Nice.

Features (and Non Features)

You can videoconference with one other person (my current understanding is that this is only point-to-point, but, I will verify). You can text chat with that person.

You cannot, as far as I can see, whiteboard or share an application. To transfer a file you need to use email.

What was Confusing

The process, the buttons you need to push, the layout of the browser, and the number of windows that pop up, all had me guessing what the next step might be.

To set up a video call, I had to:

• Go to my Chat list and see who has video enabled
  
• Roll my mouse over that person (or Dog) to see another window then click on “Chat”.
  
• Another window comes up with a message I can enter to start the chat (I thought)
  
• But....I need to click on the “Video & more” menu to actually start the video chat session.
  

Too many windows, too many steps.

TelBitConsulting.com says: Google needs to make this easier. When I see the video camera next to my contact, I should be able to click on it and start a video call. Simple and clean. The person at the far end, of course, has the option of not accepting it.

Summary / Comments

Google (being somewhat well known) has taken a bold step by bringing videoconferencing to the “masses”. Bravo!

TelBitConsulting.com has, for years and years, felt that “desktop videoconferencing” is the way to the hearts of millions and this is a great step in that direction. However, the process should be much simpler, and I feel the process may hinder many people who are on the computer, but, not computer savvy from trying it.

For videoconferencing on your computer ooVoo is much easier (and I will continue to use it as my main non-standards based VC application), and other (standards-based) applications such as the Polycom PVX or Mirial Softphone have more capabilities.

Technical info / specifications / features on this application is lacking. At least I could not find it...

Google Adds Videoconferencing to Gmail

Google announced yesterday (see this article from Bloomberg) the addition of videoconferencing capability to it's Gmail service.  Bloomberg also says it is available to users of Google Apps.

Looks like I have some signing up to do!  

I'll give the VC over Google a try and review it here in a day or two....

TelBitConsulting.com says:  The way to go for VC is anywhere, anytime, by anyone.  Google appears to be taking a needed step in that direction.  Bravo!  

More:  Here is another article.   As it turns out, this application is the result of Google's purchase of Marratech.  Marratech had some good stuff, but, I believe one reason they had a hard time was that they were ahead of the time.  We had Marratech exhibit at our last (so sad that it had to end) ESnet Workshop.  

Election Day Technology - Hologram Reporter

If you were not watching CNN last night...here is a very cool application they used to talk to a reporter in Grant Park in Chicago.  

Hologram reporter....very cool.

If anyone knows a techie person at CNN who can give me the details, I'd love to post a simplified version of how they did this on this Blog.

Thanks to Brewcaster who commented to this Blog posting with a link to Gizmodo that explains how the hologram stuff is working (well....as simply and as well as one can since this is sure to be extremely complicated).  

Obama Wins!

At last...at long last....we have HOPE.  

Google Chrome Review

Rating: 3.5 WaterTowers

This Blog has moved...please visit this entry here.  

I have been seeing a smattering of Google Chrome browsers hitting my blogs and main web site so I decided to find out more.

I downloaded Google Chrome a few days ago and have now made it my “default” browser.

Really quickly here is what I have found out:

1. Google Chrome has a few quirks that I will talk about shortly.
2. It is fast. I can access web pages much faster than I can with Firefox (I hardly ever use IE since it ….oh well, I will be nice).
3. I like the “Home” page Chrome presents to me (see below). I can click on a thumbnail of one of my “favorite” destinations and bingo…I’m there.
4. Chrome has an “incognito” feature that allows you to browse in secret. This could come in handy if, for example, you are ordering Christmas presents and don’t want others to see what you have been doing. Likewise, visiting not so savory sites can be kept secret…not that I do that.

Home Page Pic (click to enlarge)

What Works

In my normal browsing day I can add new content to my Blogs (Blogger), I can visit Google Analytics to see how many people visited my blogs and web site, I can listen to KAT Country, I can watch a YouTube video or two (or three), I can order something for Christmas “incognito”, or I can watch live news on CNN.com. And more….

Chrome works just fine for all that I mentioned above.

What Does Not work

When I first started using Chrome, I could not find the “Home” button. How frustrating. In any browser, you use the “Home” button to go home. I had to dig for awhile to find that the home button is an option!

Here is a suggestion: Make the home button show up as a default. The reason for this is because every other browser uses it and chances are everyone is used to using it. If you want, make its disappearance optional.

I cannot for the life of me find how to adjust the page settings when I print. This is irritating because when I print the type face is so small I can barely read it. Google: Is there a page setup control? If so, where is it? And remember this…the population is aging hopefully someday you will understand….size does matter

In Blogger…how funny is this since Google is Blogger….I cannot take away a “Gadget”. The popup that ultimately completes this task does not pop up in Chrome. I have to use Firefox (or that other browser) to complete the removal process.

I also can't select a picture in Blogger to cut and paste it to another location in the blog. I have to use Firefox to finish.

Some feel that there are privacy issues with Chrome.  I have no experience with that, but, you can read this article to find out more.  

Summary

Overall Google Chrome is working fine for most of the tasks I complete on a day-to-day basis. I understand that a few quirks still exist, and hope that Google finds the time to fix them. I like the speed and the “Home” page a lot, so I will keep using Chrome until something crops up that I cannot work around. Firefox is my backup, but, I like the forward looking features of Chrome better.