ie8 fix

video

ABC to Cox: No ad skipping on video on demand

Walt Disney's ABC and ESPN are expected to announce Tuesday a deal with cable operator Cox Communications to offer shows on demand, but there's a catch. Cox will have to disable its fast-forward feature that lets viewers skip ads, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Tuesday.

The deal is expected to be announced Tuesday at the National Cable Television Association's annual convention in Las Vegas. The arrangement will only apply to shows in the video-on-demand library and will not affect viewers using a digital video recorder, the newspaper said.

NBA offering downloads of playoff games

Lately, I've been getting into basketball. I know what you're going to say. That I'm jumping on the bandwagon. (I am.) It all started because of a man, of course.

No, not Steve Nash. It's because of a man who loves Steve Nash. He hooked me with the players' back stories, his impassioned declarations about the grace of the game and, more to the point, the way he distinctly pronounces each player's name.

So I started following the Phoenix Suns and then, naturally, my hometown team: the Golden State Warriors. (The last time I attended … Read more

Night-vision monitor to stop runaway babies

If you're a parent like us, you may have discovered a couple of dirty little secrets: Diaper Genies break and most baby monitors suck. We can't offer much about the first issue, but we're told that the second is making some significant advances.

U.K.-based Digitally Fresh, for example, has combined a video monitor and a wireless Webcam so that you can watch your precious creations as well as listen for them from anywhere in the house, according to Gearlog. But the best part? It has a night-vision camera so you make sure they're not … Read more

Joost and Heavy sign partnership

Online-video network Joost is expected to announce on Monday that it will feature videos from Heavy, a site popular among college-age males.

Joost, a start-up founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the duo that gave the world Skype and Kazaa, has been out striking a host of content deals with media companies ranging from Viacom to the Turner Broadcasting System to Sony Pictures.

The company aims to turn Internet video into a more TV-like experience for viewers.

One of the big questions analysts had about the company was whether it could land hot content from major TV networks and … Read more

NBC lines up against YouTube in copyright case

NBC Universal and Viacom have come out against YouTube in a legal case that could help to determine whether the video-sharing site is culpable for copyright violations committed by users.

On Friday, NBC Universal and Viacom filed a request with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles asking that they be allowed to file a friends-of-the court brief in support of journalist Robert Tur, according to a copy of the request obtained by CNET News.com.

Tur, a Los Angeles-area news reporter, accused YouTube of copyright infringement in a lawsuit last summer. Tur said in his suit that footage … Read more

Space Bubble: Robots and beat 'em-ups

Greetings and felicitations, Bubblenauts! This is Episode 3 of our new gadget show, set aboard a tiny bubbleship floating in geostationary orbit far above the planet. This week you can feast your tentacles on an exploration of whether robots deserve human rights, and witness everything there is to know about the socio-cultural evolution of the beat 'em-up videogame.

We'll also give you a bunch of good reasons to hate the Motorola Motofone F3--a mobile for the third world that's distinctly third-rate. Thrill as we blast it into a gabillion plastic shards. Subscibe to the podcast through iTunes, … Read more

Video mashup publicity campaigns take an angsty turn on Eyespot

I'd always considered Broadway musicals to be a pleasantly low-tech form of entertainment. When something's live on stage, there's only so much you can do to make people look and sound better (not to mention the special effects).

But what happens when you're trying to market a musical to the tech-addicted MySpace generation--and to those willing to admit they once fell into that age group? Clearly, you start a video remix competition. It is, after all, the trendy marketing tool du jour, now that faster broadband connections and improved Web technologies have made it possible for … Read more

Video phone sticks its neck out on HSN

Providing that you're not still calling home to ask for money, mom might actually appreciate a video phone for Mother's Day even if you're sporting the same mullet from college. And if she doesn't, you'll at least have a neat conversation piece in the "Ojo Shadow Video Phone" from WorldGate.

The device, which looks like a gangling-adolescent version of some long-necked laptops we've seen lately, is making its U.S. debut on the Home Shopping Network (don't laugh). Engadget points out that the $500 price for a pair might be a … Read more

Video watch gets all dressed up

Like any decent gadget freaks, we've fancied the idea of a video wristwatch since we were kids. But as tempting as some of the early versions might be, they just look, well, cheap. (And at prices starting just over $50, they are.)

It was only a matter of time before the marketing people got involved, however, and Epoq has come out with a model that Mobile Magazine calls an "upscale" MP4 watch. The reason? A silver metallic case and a leather strap, as opposed to the standard black plastic accoutrements (yech) of previous products. Other than that, … Read more

Video boombox puts us in disco heaven

Video speakers are becoming almost old hat in some product lines, but we've finally found a model that matches our decor at home and on the road. All hail the "Supersonic" boombox.

Not only will this sound machine take care of our entertainment needs--TV, DVD, CD, radio--but it also comes in a retro design (circa 1993) that makes us wonder where we put that "Best of Kool & The Gang" collection.

The $180 boombox has a 5-inch screen, but there's no mention of iPod or MP3 compatibility. That's OK with us, though, because … Read more