Yes, now you too can download HD video as fast as someone in Roppongi, provided you live in urban Minnesota and have $370 a month to pony up for the privilege. But really, this isn't meant for normal customers who just check email and hit up MSN News, It's meant for businesses and people who download stuff ALL DAY and it's meant as ammunition for anti-FiOS marketing.

Hell, Optimum Online has been offering up its 101Mbps Ultra package in the Northeast since earlier this year, but it isn't sweeping the area by storm. On the one hand, I certainly appreciate that these ISPs are pushing the limits of broadband. On the other hand, until it's available to more people and for a price somewhat approaching affordable, what's the point? If you're trying to show that you can beat FiOS speeds for more than three times the price, well, nice work. But until the prices are lowered and the tech is proven to work when more than 25 people are using it, I'm not sure what it does for us.

Sounds crazy, but he cites the historical example of rural telephony, where the public owned the wire, not private companies. It'd work like this: A city or neighborhood would all have fiber run to it at once, and then you'd purchase a share of the fiber and connect to whatever ISP you want. There'd be a connection point where any company could pay to set up equipment and offer service, which is sort of how it works in Amsterdam, Slater explains.

Once a normal thing, it's now a pretty powerful idea, choosing your ISP—in most places, you don't have a choice. There's Comcast. There's Time Warner. Or whoever the local monopoly is. Choice breeds competition: Where do you think cable companies are rolling out fiber-fast internet? It's not a coincidence it's where Verizon or AT&T are offering high-speed internet. And this could be the way to speed up the painfully slow rollout of Godzilla internet in the US, especially in those rural areas. [Fora.TV via digg]

This guy HAS to be related to Christian Slater. I was like, "Hey it looks like Christian Slater giving a lecture." And then the name "Derek SLATER" popped up. Speaking of, did anybody that watch show he had on NBC, where he had the split personality, before it got canceled? Surprisingly not bad.

Essentially, Verizon argues that Cablevision is trying to pump all this bandwidth through their crappy cable infrastructure, and it won't hold up, with bandwidth hogs lowering everybody else's speeds. Furthermore, the true speeds will be slower once users have to deal with the speeds of the servers they're trying to access. Oh, and also, nobody wants such high speeds.

But then they start bragging about how fast their service is. But wait, I thought no one wanted fast speeds and, in any case, fast speeds were impossible to actually get thanks to slow servers? Which is it?

The fact of the matter is this: Cablevision is offering higher speeds at lower prices than you, Verizon. You can make your BS contradictory arguments all you want, but no one is going to pay you much mind. Offer up higher speeds at lower prices. That is what people will notice.

Bring on the battle of the high-speed providers, I say. [Verizon Policy Blog via Boy Genius]

The package includes 15Mbps upstream, and it's $100 a month. And everyone in Cablevision's service area—suburban New York—will be able to get a piece. Verizon FiOS's speediest package now looks comparatively pokey: 50Mbps down, 20Mbps up.

On the other hand, while we're dazzled by insane internet speeds that were previously exclusively to cradles of technology like Korea and Japan, we shouldn't forget the otherwise miserable state of broadband here. As Cablevision deploys DOCSIS 3.0 with full force, Time Warner is pulling back on it following the backlash to its proposed caps in cities outside of Beaumont, Texas. Meanwhile, Comcast employs caps and throttling, while AT&T tests caps on its U-Verse service.

So it's still going to be a while before we can pat our ISPs on the back for the wonderful, speedy service they're providing. [Bits]

I have never been so appalled as when I called Cablevision to activate BASIC cables service for an apartment in Brooklyn. I called Cablevision on behalf of my boss's 95 year old uncle. He currently has rabbit ears providing his television signal at his fathers house. He asked me what would happen as of February 16th. I told him that if he was using an antenna to get his local channels that it would cease working as of that date. He asked me to call Cablevision and ask them to provide BASIC service as of that date.

I called Cablevision and after entering the correct prompts, I was routed to the sales department as a new customer. I gave the sales rep the address that I needed service at. After he verified that Cablevision serviced that particular building, he told me that iO service was available. I informed him that I only needed BASIC cable, channels 2-12 only. He told me no problem, I would even receive HBO and Starz free for 90 days. Again reiterated that I ONLY wanted channels 2-12. I said that I did not need a box, I only wanted to hook up signal to a cable ready tv. After talking over me, he said that Cablevision requires a box no matter what. I told him that was incorrect and that a box was not needed for local channels if you have a cable ready tv. The rep then told me that I was "disrespecting" him and that he knows what he is talking about. I then asked to speak to a supervisor as this guy had no idea what he was talking about.

I am a communicatons installer and my company not only specializes in telephones, we install and set up home theater systems as well. I could not believe what I was going through to get simple basic service from Cablevision. After waiting on old for two or three minutes a supervisor came on the line and I basically said that after speaking to your rep, he tried to sell me a box and a service that was not necessary. I didn't want a box or digital service, I just wanted BASIC service. He asked me if that was all and I said yes. He put me on hold and in another two or three minutes went by and the original representative came back on and told me that a supervisor had "approved" my request to have basic service without a converter. We finished the order and after hanging up I was absolutely floored that they would try to sell their iO service and a monthly box rental after SPECIFICALLY asking for only local channels and saying that I did not want their "free" channels. A supervisor has to "approve" having local service only??? How many people are they scamming with this obviously unfair and illegal sales tactic.

This is specifically the reason why I dumped this horrible company for Verizon Fios at my home. I would rather pay more that even give a dollar to Cablevision.

A cable company trying to scam DTV converts? Why, cable companies are known for their ethical sales practices—much like car salesman and Best Buy. I am shocked and appalled. UPDATE: It has come to our attention that some neighborhoods do require a box—but the fact that this request was eventually "approved" without a converter still raises questions. [Consumerist]

If you recall, the SDV switch jacked Time Warner, Cablevision and Cox customers out of channels if they had CableCard sets or boxes that couldn't be updated. A dongle was promised, but it's taken it's sweet time making its way to the market, in part because it needs to pass CableLabs testing.

Well, the argument that CableLabs kept making didn't seem to work with the FCC, who said this specifically in the Cox fine:

Taken to its logical conclusion, Cox’s reasoning would permit an MVPD [cable operator] to move all of its programming to an SDV platform without regard for the impact its actions would have on customers using or wishing to use CableCARD-equipped UDCPs [one-way devices]. Such an outcome would be fundamentally at odds with the Commission's goal of protecting cable subscribers' ability to view signals through the use of commercially available navigation devices offered in a competitive market.

The fines, levied against Time Warner and Cox (no mention of Cablevision), were mere slaps on the wrist—$60,000 a piece, pertaining to just three markets where formal complaints were brought up. But it's good to know that the FCC isn't the lapdog of the cable biz, especially when we hardware junkies want more out of our TVs than what the cable co's box alone can deliver. [Ars Technica]

Update: According to the unofficial TiVo Blog, Time Warner sent a note that 34 "lesser viewed" channels—including BBC America and Universal HD, among other nerd favorites—would no longer be viewable without the TiVo dongle, which would be available "later this year." So they are firm on when they will cut off their poor subscribers, but not so firm on when a return to service will come, and at what cost. Real cool, TWC—you deserve more than a $60K fine for this chicanery. [TiVoBlog]

Cablevision sees RS-DVRs as a way to reduce the price of service and offer more storage, and the option to expand your storage if you can't bear to part with your saved seasons of Big Brother, seasons 20-26. I see a potential bandwidth problem considering how often my Time Warner on demand is "unavailable." Either way never a terrible thing to see tech defeat ridiculous copyright haggling. [Reuters]

• "Content available on cable networks is changing all the time. New services are added, some are redesigned and others are removed."

• "SDV technology is designed to expand the range of services offered by cable operators, not reduce them."

• "Many CE companies chose to implement receivers that lack the necessary circuitry to provide a full two-way cable experience with the CableCard."

• "No product was ever originally designed to work with this new Tuning Adaptor including the existing Tivo UDPC products...Since consumer products don't use Microsoft Windows, they don't have plug-in drivers. Instead a new firmware update is needed to include the necessary driver controls to interact with this new external device. Makers of any existing UDCPs that already have a USB port (there are many) are just as able to provide new firmware as Tivo, if they chose to do so."

• "Consumers should look for products identified as tru2way to ensure they will be able to get all the new and advanced services their digital cable systems can deliver."

Last we checked, Panasonic was the only one with a tru2way TV pegged to an actual shipdate, and Comcast was the only cable company even talking about implementing it this year, but again, hopefully we'll hear a lot more about this come the NCTA's Cable Show on May 18-20. We certainly look forward to hearing good news from CableLabs (and we're sure they look forward to sharing some). [CableLabs; Original HD Guru Story]

Cablevision and Time Warner Cable say that there is a CableLabs fix, a USB-based dongle that will enable the upstream communication required for SDV. But Merson says makers of CableCard TV sets (fewer and farther between these days) can't make use of any USB dongles. TiVo, on the other hand, said in December it would release the SDV-compatible dongle at an unspecified time this year, though they're not talking any more about it at the current time.

It's a lot of cable-tech mumbo jumbo, but if it means losing channels (and not getting any kind of payback for the loss, says Merson), well, it's a crisis. Fortunately, the big industry Cable Show will be happening soon, so let's make sure they have something to talk about. Check with your provider, and let us know if you're experiencing any SDV-related shafting on your end. [HD Guru]

All the usual VOD rules apply still: 24-hour viewing window, etc. This take on VOD is like Hollywood's wet dream though, since there is literally no cannibalization of the DVD sale, and they rake in most of the money here, not the distributor.

I think a better solution—i.e., one people use, maybe—would be giving you the option to buy the DVD after you've watched it on demand, and for a reduced price. If I'm watching something on demand, I'm really just checking it out—I don't know I want the DVD. And if I really want something on DVD, especially on release day, I haul my ass over to whichever B&M or online store has it cheapest and buy it. The way it is now, it's like a mutated Goomba from the Super Mario Bros. movie, which has "fail" written all over it. [CNN via Broadband Reports]

Press release:

TiVo Service Now Available to CABLEVISION Subscribers in Mexico City

- Spanish language version of TiVo user interface helps CABLEVISION further differentiate services and expands TiVo's international presence -

ALVISO, Calif., Sept 13, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ —

TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), and CABLEVISION, S.A. de C.V. (CABLEVISION), Mexico's largest digital cable operator, announced that beginning today TiVo(R) DVRs and the TiVo(R) Service are available for the first time to CABLEVISION's digital cable subscribers throughout Mexico City.

CABLEVISION subscribers can now access the first Spanish language version of the Emmy(R) award-winning TiVo user interface, which includes internationally recognized TiVo features like SeasonPass(TM) recordings, WishList(R) searches and TrickPlay functionality, which enables users to pause, rewind, instant replay and slo-motion live TV.

Chief Executive Officer of CABLEVISION Jean-Paul Broc said, "The combination of TiVo's state-of-art technology and breadth of services with CABLEVISION's superior digital cable programming creates an unmatched television viewing experience for our subscribers in Mexico City. We are extremely enthusiastic that the opportunity to bring the TiVo service to Mexico City has come to fruition and are confident that the TiVo brand will not only increase customer loyalty but serve as a driver of new cable subscribers."

"TiVo continues to make sustained progress across international markets and CABLEVISION in Mexico is another example," said Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo. "Growing our business with the right partners is critical and our strategic distribution relationship with CABLEVISION, and its parent Televisa, is proof of that. TiVo will enable CABLEVISION to further differentiate its pay television service and maximize its programming packages. The combination of TiVo and CABLEVISION will offer the best entertainment experience for subscribers in Mexico."

CABLEVISION is introducing the TiVo service to Mexico City consumers through a broad-based media campaign including cross-channel and broadcast television, print, online, radio and outdoor advertising. In addition, CABLEVISION plans to leverage its extensive programming assets and celebrity spokespeople to promote TiVo capabilities on air.

TiVo service is being offered to CABLEVISION subscribers as a package with a monthly charge covering both service and box rental.

As a Cablevision subscriber with all of the channels the carrier now offers, all I can say is, "Please, dear God, no more programming!" Why would I say this?

The story mentions that Comcast and DirecTV are also building up capacity for HD, but not once does the story mention how the hell anyone intends to access this veritable sh'load of content. Cablevision, based mostly in and around the New York metropolitan area, uses the same Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD that its archrival Time Warner Cable NYC uses, yet with an even worse user interface, if you can imagine it:

• There's no way to search for shows (without growing a full beard in the process)
• There are 17 redundant options for scheduling a season pass, yet no way to skip recording one given episode
• By default, old content stays and when capacity is reached it stops recording new content, with no warning
• DVR and VOD options are separate channels, so there's no good way to do contextual search, among many other problems

I have been contemplating it, but now I will solemnly vow it: I will walk the fiery-coal path towards a Cablevision CableCard, to use with DVRs from TiVo and Microsoft. I will do so in the name of Giz, and in the name of 500-channel shitty-DVR sufferers everywhere. Down with the CableCo-mandated EPG!!! – Wilson Rothman

Cablevision could air 500 HD channels by year-end [Reuters]

Strange things afoot at Cablevision. They're apparently working on a DVR without a hard drive—the content is stored remotely on Cablevision servers and then pulled down when needed. Customers "record" by pressing a button, ensuring that the cable company's server's don't get bogged down by simply recording everything that goes over the customer's tuner.

The new service, called RS-DVR, will launch in Long Island, NY and then possibly spread to other areas. There is no major hardware upgrade needed, although existing cable boxes will need a small firmware upgrade.

While I'm all for off-loading the storage burden to folks who might have some money for a few terabytes of storage per user, I'm wondering about privacy and fair use implications.

Cablevision to test network DVR [News.com.com.com]