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notes reviews

TiVo versus Comcast DVR

I’ve had a TiVo for about two and a half years now and it definitely did change the nature of my personal entertainment, probably forever. There is no way I will watch television without a PVR/DVR sort of device again. The TiVo is far from perfect, but it does provide an overall excellent interface to what is actually a fairly complex technology underneath. There is one important thing my TiVo is unable to do, though. It can’t record Comcast’s HD channels.

Since I got my HD-capable television I have increasingly wanted to watch as much HD content as possible. It is difficult to go back after experiencing HD video with digital surround sound audio. Split between the TiVo interface and the Comcast supplied HD DVR (dual tuner) service, I decided to go with the one that could record the stuff I wanted to watch. I don’t think I’m the only one who would have made this decision, and I’m pretty sure TiVo knows that. TiVo has signed a deal with Comcast to provide them with a TiVo branded DVR device for use with their service. Knowing that, I figured I could deal with the Comcast DVR interface for a little while even if it really sucked.

Well, now I’ve been using the Comcast DVR almost exclusively for a couple of weeks and I’ve developed some opinions about it. It’s a very usable device, but there are some thorny parts of the interface and some annoyances with how it operates. The main differences I’ve noticed seem to center around the fact that the TiVo is a PVR first and foremost, while the Comcast box is a cable box first and then a PVR second. That makes sense, but it takes some getting used to after a TiVo. Also, there are some inexplicably confusing and strange aspects to the way the interface and menu system work.

Here’s a good example that I think applies to both of my gripes at the same time. There is a ‘My DVR’ button for the Comcast DVR. I assumed it would work like the TiVo button on a TiVo, but it doesn’t really at all. The My DVR button takes you to see your list of recorded shows, and that’s it. You can sort the list by Date, Channel, or Title. To go to your list of series recordings (Season Pass in TiVo-speak), you push the ‘Menu’ button once which brings up the quick access menu, and you select ‘DVR’ from there. That somewhat oddly takes you to a menu where you can choose either ‘DVR Recordings’ (ie, where the My DVR button takes you) or ‘DVR Schedule’ where you can view upcoming scheduled recordings on a date grid, view your list of series recordings in order of priority, or create a manual recording. It is pretty well organized, but why is there no option to create a series recording from that screen? That befuddles me. To create a series recording, you go back to the quick access menu and choose ‘Find’, search for the show and then create a series recording. I probably am TiVo-trained now, but I think it’d be more convenient to be able to pick Search directly from the DVR area instead of having to go back to the menu. It’s not a huge difference, but it still trips me up.

The cable box interface itself is pretty good, but the DVR part feels a little tacked on. From the quick access menu where you can choose ‘DVR’, you can also choose ‘HD’ to explore available HD content (very nice!), ‘Movies’ to see movies playing, ‘Sports’ for sports, etc. It’s pretty handy! Also, the currently playing recording or tv channel continues playing in the upper right-hand corner of the screen while you fiddle with the programming guide, the menus, or the DVR component. TiVo should take some notes from that!

Overall, the Comcast DVR gets the job done and I’m gradually forgetting about the TiVo. The TiVo interface is more intuitive and well-designed, but the Comcast interface is usable and has some nice features I’ve gotten used to. Being able to record and playback HD movies from HBO HD with the full digital soundtrack pushes the Comcast DVR over in my book. TiVo needs to provide a very compelling product for Comcast subscribers in mid to late 2006 or they could be facing a long hard decline from relevance as these competing DVR products mature. At the end of the day, it’s the content that people want and they’ll put up with a lot to get it. TiVo’s interface lead is not enough to keep them going for long.

Categories
reviews

The Day After Tomorrow

I’ve always been a sucker for those ‘end of the world as we know it, everyone has to work together against all odds’ movies. I’ll never forgot how I felt the first time I saw Red Dawn, and Stephen King’s The Stand was one of the first not-just-for-kids books I read outside of what I was assigned to read in school. The Day After Tomorrow takes place in a world where the Earth has been suddenly thrown into a second ice age and a few small groups of people have to survive in the harsh arctic environment. That pretty much sums it up plot-wise so if that doesn’t grab you, don’t bother seeing it. If that does interest you, it also has some very nice cinematography and special effects (probably mostly the latter) and you can’t beat seeing Los Angeles destroyed in just a few minutes.

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photos

Furry bike found on Street

I saw this furry bike and liked it.

photo
Categories
musings

You Call me and Put me on Hold?

Twice in the last two days my home phone has rang and I’ve daringly answered it only to hear a robot tell me to wait until a human has time to talk to me. What kind of shit is that? It should be illegal for a company to call me and put me on hold immediately. They should be paying humans to sit there and wait for ME! I deserve that!

Categories
outside

GTA: San Andreas Goes too Far

The organization that controls the video game rating system, the ESRB, has decided to revoke the ‘M for Mature’ rating from the GTA: San Andreas. The game cannot be sold in stores until some sort of resolution is found. This all stems from some mods that were released for the game that exposed some graphic sexual content in the form of a mini-game.

Categories
outside

Google Invests in Broadband over Powerlines

Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) is already available in some markets today. Power lines reach deep into rural areas that cable companies have not ventured into and where DSL is not available so there is a lot of excitement about the potential for expanding broadband access. So far BPL has not gained as much traction as cable and DSL Internet and they are still ironing out some kinks, but this infusion of cash should help that situation. It would be very nice to have another way to get the high-speed hookup so I’m hoping it all works out.

Google’s reason for the interest is not totally clear. They say they want to “help promote better access to the Internet” and I think that is a true statement. I’m sure they would also like to have their fingers deep into this new broadband pie when it becomes more universally available so there is an additional financial incentive. I’m all for a company like Google giving the telcos and the cable companies some good competition!

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outside

Growing Meat

Experiments for NASA have shown that meat tissue can be grown from existing meat cells, and now a new paper proposes two new techniques for large-scale production of lab-grown meat for human consumption. They still have to figure out how to make the cultured meat more meat-like by combining all the different kinds of tissue naturally found in meat and ‘exercising’ it for the proper texture, but they seem confident.

The article is very optimistic about the potential health and environmental benefits, but I’m wondering about the possible cultural ramifications. There is already a divide between the people who eat organic food and those who eat standard chemically treated food. Organic food still mostly costs quite a bit more than standard food so there is a resulting economic (and social) gap. Some people just can’t afford organic food no matter how good it is for you. With cultured meat, a similar thing may happen.

If cultured meat techniques develop to a point where it is cheaper overall than raising and slaughtering livestock, the number of people producing traditional meat may go down and the prices may go up. If that trend continues then, at some point, only the well to do of the world will even be able to afford real meat and most people will only ever eat food grown in labs or genetically engineered to be easier/cheaper to produce. Organic, natural food may become even more of a luxury item than it already is today.

Categories
outside

Broadcast Flag May Become Law This Week

The Broadcast Flag that was recently struck down by a Court of Appeals as not within the FCC’s jurisdiction may become law this week after it was tacked onto an appropriations bill. This has very serious implications on the future of all media content. The flag would allow content creators to specify how you are allowed to use their content that you acquired legally. They could specify that you can only view it once after you record it, for instance… presumably unless you pay them to watch it a second time. All devices sold in this country would have to abide by the flag. If you care about your right to do what you want with something you buy, contact your local important people now.

Categories
reviews

Groundscore 10 Year Anniversary

Fabio and I went to the Groundscore 10 year Anniversary party last week (June 3, 05). Groundscore is the crew behind the Eklektic, Hektic and the Rude Metal Series of parties in the San Francisco area. It was our first drum ‘n bass party in years and had a huge lineup with some of the really big names from the last 10 years, Aphrodite, Fierce and Shimon.

Shimon’s set was filled with huge barnstormers, one after another. Some of the tunes had the crowd going, but the mixing didn’t flow that well and he repeatedly lost the energy he had built up. The songs were big enough to build thing up again quickly but I would have preferred more of a dynamic throughout the set.

Fierce’s set flowed better and of what he played I mostly remember a few intense tracks with some hard beats that rolled nicely. Fierce’s intensity behind the turntables was infectious and I found myself moving to the music without realizing it.

Aphrodite went on at 2:15 and made the night for me. He played a good mix of music including some great jump-up tunes. You just don’t hear much jump-up playing these days, and it was cool to see the whole crowd grooving to it.

We left before Aphrodite finished (because we’re old now) and I think the way too loud sound in the second room may have done permanent damage to my ears as we walked through it to the exit. Once we got outside we could still hear the sound from the club a half block away. Wow!

Overall, I had a good time and it looked like most of the sizable crowd did as well. Nice job, Groundscore!

Categories
musings

France and Spain

I’ve been traveling in France and Spain for the last week and a half or so. Before this trip, I had not been to a far-away land for about 16 years! We’ve spent all of our time in major cities and it’s been great to get a little bit of a feel for how other people in the world do things. We’ve got lots of great pictures and a more or less complete travel log will be posted at some point soon. Traveling is a lot of fun, but it’ll be really nice to be back home where I can mostly communicate with just about everyone I meet! We’ll be back in a few days.