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The SlingModem: cable modem plus Slingbox

(Credit: Sling Media)

EchoStar will be officially unveiling the SlingModem at next week's Cable Show trade event in New Orleans. As the name suggests, the product combines a standard DOCSIS cable modem and a Slingbox media placeshifter--which transmits live TV broadcasts to Windows PCs, Macs, and a variety of smartphones--in one compact housing. If it sounds familiar, it's because the product was soft-launched at January's Consumer Electronics Show (following several online appearances at various enthusiast sites). The SlingModem will be sold directly to cable providers, who will then sell or lease the product to their customers. Exact price and availability weren't disclosed.

Having the SlingModem in the AV rack would be potentially helpful for the increasing number of consumers using network-capable devices for home entertainment (TiVo, Apple TV, and all three game consoles, for instance). ... Read more

The latest software pledges to fix the dodgy video quality on the Sprint Mogul.

(Credit: CNET)

Sling Media is offering upgraded versions of three of its mobile software clients: SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Mobile PocketPC (now version 1.6), Windows Mobile Smartphone (also 1.6), and Symbian S60 (1.1). According to Sling's press release, the updated software adds support for additional hardware--including the Nokia N95 8GB, the Treo 500v, and the Samsung i760--and improves the streaming experience on "select handsets," including the the Sprint Mogul. The upgrades are free for registered users of the previous versions. Download prices for new users remain at $30 per handset, and with the free 30-day trial period, you can try before you buy.

Still available (but not updated today) is Sling's Palm OS mobile client. The company is pledging Symbian UIQ (for Sony Ericsson phones, as opposed to the Nokia/S60 version mentioned above), and BlackBerry support by the end of 2008. Of course, in order to stream live TV (or any other home AV source) with the SlingPlayer Mobile software, you'll need a Slingbox up and running in your home.

What do you think: do the new Slingbox Mobile software clients make a good product even better? Or do you prefer rival offerings from the likes of Sony, Hava/Monsoon Multimedia, and--soon--Archos? Or is the whole "TV on your phone" movement overrated?

SlingPlayer Mobile downloads (US): Slingmedia.com

Looks like Dish may have spoken a bit too soon.

A little over a week ago, an appeals court determined that Dish Network (formerly EchoStar Communications) had indeed violated a software patent held by TiVo on digital video recorders.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

While TiVo gleefully celebrated, Dish expressed disappointment, but assured its customers that none of its products would be affected because the software that was in violation had already been remotely updated by the company some months before.

Now it appears there's just a bit more to the story. Engadget has a blog pointing to notices Dish sent on Monday. The Colorado-based satellite TV company informed customers that though most of its DVRs are in the clear, there are four models--the 721, 921, 942, and Homezone 1022--that can no longer be sold because their software has not been updated. This only affects hardware bearing those model numbers that have not been sold or activated. If you already have one of those models installed, Dish says it is not subject to the injunction.

It's really important to note that these are fairly old models, so this likely won't affect many Dish resellers. The 942 model, for example, was reviewed by CNET in 2005.

Updated at 11:45 a.m. PDT with Dish Network's statement.

Another court has upheld TiVo's patent suit against EchoStar Communications.

A U.S. Appeals Court on Friday denied EchoStar's appeal on an earlier court ruling that said the company's Dish Network digital video recorders violated a patent held by TiVo. The ruling was first reported by Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection blog.

Friday's appellate court decision comes two years after TiVo's initial victory, in which a court found that EchoStar's DVRs (digital video recorders) "willfully infringed" on TiVo's patented TimeWarp technology. EchoStar appealed the ruling, which awarded $73.9 million in damages to TiVo. It was also upheld by an appeals court in January.

Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo first sued EchoStar in 2004 for selling its Dish Network DVR, which, like TiVo's DVR, allows TV watchers to record one channel and watch another simultaneously.

"We are extremely pleased that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today denied EchoStar's petition for a rehearing en banc, upholding the court's unanimous ruling in our favor on January 31, 2008, in EchoStar's appeal of the district court judgment of patent infringement, full award of damages and an order for the injunction to be reinstated," TiVo said in a statement.

EchoStar said it was "disappointed" by the court's decision not to rehear its appeal. "The decision, however, will have no effect on our current or future customers because EchoStar's engineers have developed and deployed 'next-generation' DVR software to our customers' DVRs," the company said in a statement. EchoStar said the updated software has been delivered to its customers and that none of the DVRs currently infringe on TiVo's patent, and promised that customers will see no interruption in service as a result of the ruling.

EchoStar, which has since changed its name to Dish Network, said it plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is just getting silly.

The makers of the popular Slingbox have been promising the SlingCatcher for almost a year and half now. And once again, the projected release date will come and go quietly.

Sling Catcher delayed again. This time, they're crossing their fingers for a release date sometime before the end of this year.

(Credit: Sling Media)

Gregg Wilkes, vice president of sales for Sling Media--which is now owned by EchoStar Communications--told a frustrated customer in an e-mail that the goal to release the device during the second quarter of this year will not be met.

Wilkes writes: "Will the catcher ship in Q2? No. We are upgrading the user experience and making enhancements to the feature set. These may or may not all ship at the same time. Will the Catcher ship in '08? All indications point to this happening in 2008."

The SlingCatcher is a set-top box, separate from the Slingbox, that brings video content from a Slingbox to another TV in a house, or from an external hard drive. The SlingCatcher also lets users project Web content to a TV screen, either wired or wirelessly, through an application called SlingProjector.

The device was originally introduced at CES 2007, and shown again at CES 2008, which was when Sling was floating the Q2 time frame.

(Credit: DTV2009.gov)

The DTV transition is less than a year away and as of January 1, 2008, Americans have been eligible to sign up for a $40 coupon to help purchase DTV converter boxes needed to receive new digital TV signals. While your instincts may tell you to sign up as quickly as possible, there's a strong argument to be made to hold off for a little while. Here's why:

1. The coupon expires in three months
If you carefully read you the FAQ on the government's Web site, the program clearly states that the $40 coupons expire three months after they're shipped. That's unfortunate because we're guessing many people don't think much of it, and are just trying to sign up before they forget. Now you're forced into getting whatever DTV boxes that are currently on the market, even though...

2. Better, cheaper boxes are coming
... Read more

Could satellite TV provider Dish Network be planning to build a mobile TV service with its newly won 700Mhz spectrum?

That's the question that many analysts were asking after it was disclosed this week that the company, also known as EchoStar Communications, spent $711 million for a block of licenses in the auction that is ideal for offering mobile broadcast TV, according to a Reuters story.

The much-talked about auction ended Tuesday raising about $19.6 billion for the government. Wireless carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless won the bulk of the spectrum.

The licenses that Dish bought were in the 6MHz sliver of spectrum called the E-Block. Because these licenses cover such a narrow band of spectrum, it would be hard for Dish to build a broadband wireless service to transmit two-way communication. This means that building a cellular phone or wireless broadband service using this spectrum is nearly impossible. But the spectrum could be used to send communications one-way, making it ideal for services such as broadcast TV.

Qualcomm already owns spectrum that is adjacent to the spectrum that Dish bought. Qualcomm uses its spectrum to deliver its MediaFlo TV mobile broadcast TV service. Qualcomm had also been bidding in the auction and was attempting to get the E-Block licenses. The fact that it wasn't able to get those licenses is a negative for the mobile technology company.

"It makes more sense for one provider to operate both pieces of spectrum," Steve Clement, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities told Reuters.

Dish hasn't said yet what it plans to do with the spectrum. Some analysts in the Reuters story speculate that it could cost the company between $3 billion and $5 billion to build a mobile TV network. The company said in a financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February that it might "make investments in or partner with others to expand our business into mobile and portable video, data and voice services."

There's also a possibility the company could work with Qualcomm.

Dish bid on the spectrum through its partner Frontier Wireless.

A federal court upheld Thursday an earlier ruling that EchoStar Communications infringed on a digital video recording software patent owned by TiVo.

The Washington, D.C., court of appeals also agreed with the lower court's award of $89.6 million in damages to be paid to TiVo by EchoStar, which recently changed its name to Dish Network.

Dish plans to appeal the award for damages, the company said Thursday.

The court's decision "will have no effect on our current or future customers because EchoStar's engineers have developed and deployed next-generation DVR software to our customers' DVRs," Dish said in an official statement. The software update went out to customers "several months ago," according to Dish spokeswoman Kathie Gonzalez.

TiVo said it is "extremely pleased" with the outcome.

"Today's ruling is confirmation of the value of TiVo's IP portfolio, which is in addition to the other benefits TiVo has to offer. TiVo can now continue to focus on its goal to drive greater distribution in both its stand-alone and mass distribution efforts," TiVo said in an official statement.

Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo initially sued EchoStar back in 2004 for selling its Dish Network DVR, which, like TiVo's DVR, allows TV watchers to record one channel and watch another simultaneously.

One of the largest satellite TV providers is slicing itself into smaller pieces.

Formerly called EchoStar, it will be split into two businesses: the satellite broadcast service will be called Dish Network, and its fixed satellite services and set-top box business will be called EchoStar Holding Co., according to SEC filings dug up by GigaOm.

(Credit: Dish Network)

Current chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen will retain both titles as head of both companies.

EchoStar Holding Co. (EHC) will include Sling Media, which was bought by EchoStar in October for $380 million. The Slingbox is now one of several set-top boxes that EHC could possibly sell to other cable operators or other satellite companies.

There had been rumors earlier this year of AT&T being interested in buying EchoStar, and Dish Network as its own business could be easily snapped up by the cable operator.