In case you forgot, Sezmi plans to roll up live broadcast and cable TV along with web videos, on demand-movies and DVR functionality in a single, easy to navigate set-top box. Needless to say, this is a tall order, and most of us probably relegated Sezmi to the vaporware bin. However, trials of the product have begun in LA and a $25 million cash infusion from investors has given the project new life. In fact, it seems that Sezmi spent the last year working out deals with the likes of Sony Pictures, MGM Studios, Paramount Studios, Warner Brothers, Lion's Gate Entertainment and Universal Studios for on demand streaming, and ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, Turner, MTV Networks Discovery Channel, Telemundo and Univision for TV content.

Sezmi plans to offer a tiered pricing plan that starts with Sezmi Select, the entry tier, which will offer all local channels (in SD and HD) as well as access to on-demand content for $4.99 per month. Sezmi Supreme will include cable and local channels for $24.99 per month.

If you are interested in participating in the trial, you can apply for the LA pilot here. If you are lucky enough to get in, the equipment and the service will be free of charge for three months, after which you will be offered a discounted price on the DVR and tuners which normally runs $300. [Sezmi via Variety and Zats]

The set-top box utilizes Sigma's hardware graphics acceleration, the MIPS architecture and improvements to Android's library to display high-definition video on full sized screens. While the demonstration was merely a proof of concept modeled around a television, MIPS envisions MIDs and digital picture frames based on the platform as well. There are no plans to commercialize the prototype yet, but having a standard developer friendly operating system behind all the miscellaneous living room gadgets is a pretty exciting prospect—I can't wait until my phone is able to be both my media center at home and media player when I'm away. [Engadget and Slash Gear]

Phonevision wasn't exactly a home theater PC or a Roku box, and actually had more in common with something like Pay Per View: It had three scheduled showings each evening, and you called and ordered one of the few options offered at a cost of one dollar per film. The set-top box would unscramble the picture and allow the movie to be watched on your TV. It was also limited to about 300 test subjects in the Chicago area, but they apparently loved it and Zenith was very excited about the prospects of moving "the theater into the living room." But what, you might ask, were the choices on this very early service?

The 300 Phonevision subscribers had an initial choice of April Showers, a 1948 musical starring Jack Carson; Welcome Stranger, a 1947 Bing Crosby comedy, and 1948's Homecoming, with Clark Gable and Lana Turner.

Interestingly, while the industry called Phonevision a "massive flop," Zenith president Eugene F. Macdonald loved it and considered it a rousing success, though it never penetrated very many markets and was officially cancelled in 1969. [Time, image from Early Television]

But perhaps it's time to examine the cable industry's lease model. Is having all of those logo-branded boxes on the balance sheet worth the pittance consumers pay to rent them? Is it worth dooming customers to a clunky experience when a third-party box could do the job better? Heck, gaming consoles, DVD players and other CE devices could simply double as cable set-tops if the cable industry could just finally… let go. All of this was supposed to happen years ago, by the way, with set-tops proliferating at retail. But it never came to pass for a variety of reasons. And now competition is fierce, online video is the boogeyman and gee… wouldn't it be nice if all those advanced boxes were out there right now?

Using Apple and AT&T as an example, the author notes that both companies are notoriously closed minded, but third party development has made the App Store wildly successful—and AT&T has benefited by letting Apple control all of the hardware and software issues. He even questions whether or not an Apple "iSetTop" for the cable industry would be a "competitive superweapon."

I doubt that the cable industry is ready for Apple to step in, but it appears that cable providers are starting to realize that change is necessary. Spending big bucks for subscriptions each month is increasingly unnecessary, and its only a matter of time before our televisions are all connected to the internet in some form or another. It's nice to know that that there are at least a few forward thinkers in the industry, but everyone is going to have to get on board with this in order to survive. That having been said, the article kind of glosses over the problem of pricing and customer service—an issue which really needs to be addressed first and foremost. Obviously, this would go a long way in retaining customers who might think about jumping ship before cable can catch up with the technology. Hit up CableFax for the full argument. [CableFax]

They've posted a survey on their blog to test the waters. They say that getting Boxee embedded on a specialized Apple-TV-like box will take "a long time" but it sounds like they're certainly considering it. As of now, Boxee's revenue model is pretty non-existant.

Right now, you can only use Boxee on a computer (which you can of course hook up to your TV), or on an Apple TV (if you haven't played with Boxee on Apple TV, hit up our guide this instant. It's awesome). I personally would love to see a Boxee box, as it pipes in just about every streaming video service one could think of wanting (Hulu, Netflix, etc) while it serves up your downloaded and ripped video very competently with no restrictions. [Boxee Blog]

"The factory in China is humming. We are eagerly awaiting our first shipments due to arrive in 4 to 6 weeks," said a Myka email sent to CrunchGear.

As we told you back in March, this Apple TV-esque looking box connects to the inernet via LAN or wifi. On the back there's ports for HDMI, composite, s-video and even SPDIF. Inside, you have some more options: A choice of 80, 160 or 500 gigabytes, with a price range of $300 to $450 (which is slightly more than the aforementioned Apple TV). [CrunchGear]

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said the box—which measures 8x8x1 and includes two USB ports, an HDMI port, Ethernet and WiFi, and an SD slot—is just a trial to check out consumer responses and “keep up with emerging technology.” Okay... except you know, Keyes, you're kind of going into an already crowded market now. When everybody and their mother already owns another set-top box offering, what are the chances they're going to switch to Blockbuster's option?

Blockbuster and 2Wire Introduce New Digital Media Player

MediaPoint™ digital media player provides instant entertainment from BLOCKBUSTER ® ONDEMAND straight to television

Thousands of titles offered including new releases like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Smart, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The Strangers, The Love Guru

DALLAS, TX and SAN JOSE, CA — November 25, 2008— Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B), a leading global provider of media entertainment, and 2Wire, a provider of integrated broadband solutions, today introduced the 2Wire MediaPoint™ digital media player, an easy-to-use, on-demand video solution that offers movie fans instant access through their television sets to BLOCKBUSTER® ONDEMAND content, including thousands of titles from the latest movie releases to classic favorites.

Beginning today, for a limited time, the MediaPoint digital media player is available free with the advance rental of 25 BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND movies for $99 at www.blockbuster.com. Unlike subscription-based services, which typically offer movies years after their release, BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND includes hot new releases, many available within weeks of leaving theaters. After the initial 25 rentals, movies are available for as little as $1.99 each. The players will begin shipping in time for the holiday season.

“The MediaPoint digital player, featuring BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND, is entertainment made easy. We are bringing Blockbuster, and the thousands of movies in our digital library, straight to customers’ televisions,” said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. “The player is simple to use, delivers DVD quality video, and there’s no monthly subscription commitment. We are delighted to team with 2Wire to give consumers this great entertainment product.”

Easy to install, the MediaPoint digital media player works seamlessly with any broadband connection, either wirelessly via built-in Wi-Fi or wired via Ethernet cable, to deliver the hottest new movies, classics, foreign films and television shows from the BLOCKBUSTER digital library. With full fast-forward, rewind, and pause capabilities, the viewing experience is DVD quality, no matter the speed of the broadband connection. Movies can be played right away or saved to watch later. Additionally, the player supports HD video content and can be connected to HDTVs.

“To be successful, a broadband video offering needs to deliver movies that people want to see, in the quality they expect, with minimal setup requirements,” said Pat Romano, chief executive officer of 2Wire. “BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND and the MediaPoint digital media player give movie fans what they want. We are thrilled to help bring this service to the living room, providing immediate access to high quality movies directly on the television set.”

The MediaPoint digital media player is extremely compact – about the size of two boxes of movie candy – and can be integrated seamlessly into home entertainment systems through composite cable, HDMI, component cable, or Toslink.

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

- more -
Blockbuster/2Wire
Page Two

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

No, you don't have deja vu: Two companies you never heard of launched similar-sounding interactive TV boxes within a few hours of each other. But this one is quite different: It doesn't mess with antennae or try to get in bed with cable or DSL providers. It's just a nice tidy box that sends all the world's content to all TVs in your house—without set-top boxes in each room. There are some catches, of course.

The first catch is that the box-and-remote combo costs $500. Sure, you only need one kit for the whole house (unless you want additional remotes, but every TV would get the same experience anyhow, so there's no point). But $500 is pretty steep.

Another catch is that the content itself is a little up in the air. Yes, there are plenty of services that let you buy or rent movies on a PC, and many more coming along that give you piecemeal content for free. But everyone does it differently, and you will have to become master of many interfaces with that one remote.

The launcher app, called Zviewer (what else?), is useful to aggregate all the different programs you'll want supplying you with video, and it also lists all of the BitTorrent and other video on your hard drive, not to mention photos and music. But there's no way to bring all web video into one seamless interface, and though ZeeVee will try to do just that, they admit that the beginnings will be a tad humbler.

I do like this concept. As soon as you connect your VGA out to the ZvBox and connect that to the coax network in your house, it scopes out the channels occupied by your cable box, and picks one that's not. Any TV with an ATSC tuner will see the ZeeVee stream as a high-def channel, and display it as such via the coax input most cable and satellite customers have generally forgotten about. You put the ATSC tuner to use, your coax cable gets new life, and you get an easy way to toggle from your other cable content to your PC's video bidness.

At this point, it's still a work in progress. Though the company promises a June ship date, the hardware shots are just renderings. The software, barely in beta, will only run on Windows XP and Vista, though ZeeVee assures us a Mac version will be out this year. I am a little leery of trying to use PC apps while sitting at my couch, so hopefully the software itself will handle most of my needs.

Promotional screenshots shown below depict some pretty nice media management, but the company admits that these are more aspirational, and will not represent the initial user experience:
If you think about it, the PC is kind of arbitrary here. I asked Brian Mahoney, ZeeVee director of marketing, if the company couldn't all the same turn this into a whole-house extender for my TiVo HD, or maybe a video iPod, and he said, "We can indeed take the video inputs from any device. That is a path we're looking at in the future."

My question for you, dear Giz readers, is this: Remote and PC software aside, how easy is it to build the box ZeeVee is talking about? And is it worth $200 to $250? Maybe it is. If you're really eager, it's going on pre-order at Amazon today, with plans to ship in June. If I were you, I'd wait until your friends at Gizmodo at least saw the thing in person before shelling out five bills. [ZeeVee]

Here's what we mean. Look at your entertainment system. If you're like us, you might have a TiVo (or a provider-branded box), a gaming system, a DVD player, a high-def DVD player a Slingbox and an AppleTV. Why do we need all this crap? This is what we want in a set top box:

• HD DVR Functinality. For example, a TiVo or a Windows Media Center box's video recording capabilities.
• DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray playback. All in one.
• Gaming. Throw an Xbox 360/PS3/Wii in there and we've got ourselves a date. Oh, and we'll want PC gaming as well.
• Slingbox-style broadcasting. Have this box stream to every device you own, be it PSP, iPhone, Windows Mobile or a laptop.
• On Demand. Make it friendly with your cable provider's content.
• Format Agnostic. Want Apple's movies? Done. Want Amazon's movies? Done. Want Netflix's movies? Done. Make it play back content from every digital online store.
• Friendly interface. Everyone loves the TiVo interface, but let's take that an expand it to encompass every sort of media you could want to play back on this miracle box.
• Plug and Play with other devices. Got a Zune that you want to play back music from? Just dock it into the box. Got a camera you shot an hour of footage with and want to watch? Plug it in.

We suppose the closest thing to this box is an actual PC, so you could get a kind of reasonable approximation if you stuck a Mac or a Vista HTPC machine to your TV. It wouldn't have all the features, and it wouldn't be nearly as friendly as we want, but that's why this is a wishlist.

The setup experience is so amazingly simple, it makes TiVo look complex. (Of course, compared to what this simple, broadband-connected video server does, TiVo is complex.
Speaking of TiVo, Vudu's remote is incredible, with five buttons and a clickable jog dial that you can intuit in record time. It's weird how quickly you can use it without looking. By the way, the remote is RF, not IR, so you don't have to point it at the box for it to work.

One of Vudu's setbacks is that it is, alas, a set-top box. In a world where game consoles and cable boxes are inevitable, this box, though small, still presents a stacking challenge.
But there is a cool solution: since Vudu's remote is RF, and talks to that little metal antenna you see at the back of the box, you can stash the box anywhere that you'd stash any device with a video processor and a spinning 250GB hard drive. Like a cabinet drawer...
Hiding it away (with or without my cat Wade) means one less thing you have to look at. While we can thank the RF remote for this, an RF remote does mean one more thing (*cough*PS3 Blu-ray remote*cough*) that you can't replace with a standard universal.
The home screen, which pops on 20 seconds after you first power up, and is instantly on in most occasions, is a nice example of how organized the Vudu interface is.
Though it's the home screen that you see when you first get started, there are some tweaking options, should you dig into them. I loved the overscan adjustment—you'd be shocked how helpful it is.
When you scroll through the constantly changing promoted movies on the home screen, you can see which ones are for rent...
...and which ones you can buy.
I found that most studio films at this time are rentals, mostly at $3.99. There are plenty of foreign and/or "special interest" movies you can buy, and some of those that you can rent for less, say $1.99. Frankly, the rental aspect of this proprietary box appeals much more than the ownership one.

There are many easy ways to hunt for a movie in Vudu. The genre search is fun, because you can select more than one genre to find interesting combinations like Sci-Fi Documentary...
...and yes, Gay & Lesbian Horror. (You know you were curious.)
You can search for a director or actor by name. In this search of Spielberg, you can get a sense that the Vudu catalog is not totally up to snuff. Yes, that is the entire Vudu Spielberg collection.
Some actors and directors are missing entirely. Being a Back To The Future fan, I had to search for Robert Zemeckis, but typing in his name, or even just ZEME, yielded zilch.
My main criticism with the Vudu is that while there are plenty of extra-sweet options like these...
...there just aren't enough good hits when you go searching. Here's a clue: in a search for "Coppola," Sofia had two movies, and Francis Ford had 3, none of which were the Godfather.

The good news is, Vudu has designed an excellent interface and a very satisfying alternative platform for delivering movies. I love browsing and watching movies on this thing—the instant gratification is awesome!

As we told you before, the system operates with both a central server and a P2P network, balancing each other to ensure an instant on-demand experience. During my week-long testing over both DSL and cable connections, I never once had more than a tiny video hiccup, and though you can't fast-forward straight away, the video can get to be 20 or 30 minutes ahead of you as you continue watching, so eventually fast-forwarding is an option.

And the picture looks stupendous. Even though the source material is (currently) 480p, that little box upscales that stuff to your desired resolution. In both 720p and 1080p tests, it looked great, perhaps better than a DVD. Here's a look, though even Ben Stiller getting slapped by a monkey doesn't truly do this thing justice:
Beyond my loudly voiced complaints about content, all I can say is, I wish it were a lot cheaper. Yeah, that's right, Vudu is selling these things for $400. So you can pay more money to buy or rent movies from them.

You could save the money by connecting your PC to your TV and renting from CinemaNow or Movielink. At the moment, both have slightly better catalogs, though that will change. Normally I don't whine about high prices, but I think $400 is a little too much for a box that doesn't come with any free content. There's never been a better case for the razor-and-blades model. With a pricetag like that, Vudu is certainly not going to scare the bejeezus out of Blockbuster Video—not nearly as much as it rightly should.

Microsoft Shatters the PC-to-Television Barrier, Releases First Details on Extenders for Windows Media Center New devices from Cisco Systems' Linksys division, D-Link and Niveus Media to bring the ultimate audio/video experience to any room in the home.

DENVER — Sept. 5, 2007 — Watching a live TV broadcast in the living room, pausing it, and then effortlessly resuming it at the same moment from the bedroom or kitchen will soon become even easier, as Microsoft Corp. provides a first look at the new Extenders for Windows® Media Center platform, which will power a variety of devices to be released this holiday season. A wave of new cool, quiet, home-theater-quality devices from companies such as Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems Inc.; D-Link Corporation; and Niveus Media Inc. may incorporate new features, including live high-definition (HD) video, wireless networking and expanded support for audio and video formats such as DivX and Xvid.

The new Extender devices, which will be unveiled later this month in a variety of innovative form factors and price points, unleash the pictures, music, video content and live TV from a PC running Windows Vista® Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate for viewing and listening on a big-screen TV display for the ultimate entertainment solution.

"With more than 60 million Windows Vista Media Center PCs in use worldwide, there are many customers eager to bring the simple and elegant Media Center experience to the televisions in their homes," said Dave Alles, general manager for eHome at Microsoft. "The new Extenders for Windows Media Center make it easy to get a wide range of personal and Internet content not only on someone's main TV but on all the TVs in the house. Whether it's a high-def show recorded from digital cable, new Internet video, or your personal library of pictures, music and videos, it's all on your television — just a remote-click away."

New extenders will be available in a wide range of form factors, including both stand-alone set-top boxes and integration with other devices such as DVD players and televisions, so now connecting to a PC running Windows Media Center is even more convenient and seamless than ever. New support for Wireless N high-speed technology means there is no need to run Ethernet cables throughout the home to watch HD video in up to six rooms at once.

Extenders for Windows Media Center are also, for the first time, enhanced to allow support for popular video codecs such as DivX and Xvid, along with continued support for Windows Media® Video HD files. These extenders will also lead the industry in supporting the ability to send protected HD content to additional rooms, including recorded TV from over-the-air Advanced Television Systems Committee or Cable Card tuners and movies and music available from providers such as CinemaNow, MovieLink LLC and Napster LLC. Extenders also support Media Center features such as Reuters news feeds, National Public Radio broadcasts, up-to-date sports reports from the FOX Sports Lounge, and subscription music from XM Radio. At the same time, these devices support Parental Controls built into Windows Media Center, allowing parents to choose the content their children are allowed to view.

Consumers have already logged millions of hours of use on Xbox 360s as Extenders for Windows Media Center. Microsoft is working first with Cisco/Linksys, D-Link and Niveus Media to deliver quiet, high-quality products, and the company will be expanding the Extenders' platform to other companies in the future. The new Extenders for Windows Media Center are being demonstrated at the Microsoft booth at the CEDIA EXPO 2007 in Denver Thursday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 9.

WiMAX seems like an ideal delivery method, given the range it covers and its beefy bandwidth, so what Building B wants to do is definitely possible. But, the service launches in the fall, and WiMAX won't exactly have most of the country blanketed by then.

Either way, their vague assertions without hard specifics leave Om Malik (and us) "inherently skeptical of their claims." Topping off our saucer of skeptic's milk is the fact that their targeted ad partner is Claria, better known in its past life as Gator Corporation, proprietor of the eponymous adware client that plagued tens of millions of PCs in the late '90s.

The bottom line is that we'll believe in the One True Box when it's sitting atop our TVs—we've heard way too many empty promises from far too many prophets to be true believers before then. [Building B via NewTeeVee/GigaOM]

The watermarks identify both the "network operator distributing the content" and the individual device. A spokesman said that people "should not be upset about this unless they are widely redistributing content." Thomson sees it as a way to "slow down piracy without limiting the use of the consumer."

So, if you feel upset or limited, that means you're a pirate. – Matt Buchanan

DSL gateways will watermark video to catch pirates [Computer World]