pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/tivo_toast.jpg" width="400" height="391" align="left" hspace="4" vspace="2"/According to CNN, you are not the only one who may have "a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/02/tivo.guilt/index.html?eref=rss_tech"TiVo guilt/a." Plenty of people keep shows on there forever. So, how far back do your unwatched TiVo / DVR shows go?/p pscript type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://static.polldaddy.com/p/1159505.js"/scriptnoscript a href ="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1159505/" How Far Back Do Your Unwatched TiVo / DVR Shows Go?/a br/ span style="font-size:9px;" (a href ="http://www.polldaddy.com" polls/a)/span/noscript/p blockquotepResults from "a href="http://gizmodo.com/5100474/question-of-the-day-who-is-most-to-blame-for-the-walmart-trampling-incident"Who is Most to Blame For the Walmart Trampling Incident?/a"/p pWalmart 12%br / The Walmart managers at that store. 9%br / The shoppers. 53%br / The materialistic society we live in. 21%br / The media 1%br / Other 1%/p/blockquote p[Image via a href="http://www.jakeludington.com/life/2007/tivo-toaster-and-roxio-toast/"Jake Ludington/a]/p br style="clear: both;"/ a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=710c2634a05eb868e92022f254776918p=1"img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=710c2634a05eb868e92022f254776918p=1"//a img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=710c2634a05eb868e92022f254776918" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=Q6Bg5Oca"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=120" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=7pb9amm9"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=fyKQbHSS"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=fyKQbHSS" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=RbffCWtQ"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=RbffCWtQ" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/ZmovzCAduTQ" height="1" width="1"/

According to CNN, you are not the only one who may have "TiVo guilt." Plenty of people keep shows on there forever. So, how far back do your unwatched TiVo / DVR shows go? How Far Back Do Your...

a href="http://adage.com/digital/article.php?article_id=132931"/aNEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Add to the thousands of channels and on-demand shows on TiVo web video from Blip.tv, distributor of shows such as quot;Golf Girl TV,quot; quot;Political Lunchquot; and quot;DadLabs.quot; It#039;s another infusion of web-originated shows for TiVo and a small narrowing of the web-to-TV chasm for Blip.tv, one of the biggest distributors of a growing category of entertainment: indie web series created on budgets of $10,000 or less. pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/F4Av_YXIJey1CzvZOjZAsLlWrd8/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/F4Av_YXIJey1CzvZOjZAsLlWrd8/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adage/complete/~4/kdAsLxWy2Ww" height="1" width="1"/

pHow many DVR owners skip ads? Not even the networks agree, with estimates ranging from "half" to "all." TiVo wants to save the industry it helped to pulverize./ppa href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-dvr-commercial-skipping-50-or-97-depends-on-whom-you-ask.html"Read More.../a/p pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/tOOjgTXt8eUvf_C28SdyLq1-JyE/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/tOOjgTXt8eUvf_C28SdyLq1-JyE/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?a=WvO6PbKM"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?i=WvO6PbKM" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?a=dUgEEF7Z"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?d=50" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?a=zw2DmlrH"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?d=41" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~4/yp1ZsRBT78o" height="1" width="1"/

pHow many DVR owners skip ads? Not even the networks agree, with estimates ranging from "half" to "all." TiVo wants to save the industry it helped to pulverize./ppa href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081202-dvr-commercial-skipping-50-or-97-depends-on-whom-you-ask.html"Read More.../a/p pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/tOOjgTXt8eUvf_C28SdyLq1-JyE/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/tOOjgTXt8eUvf_C28SdyLq1-JyE/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?a=WvO6PbKM"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?i=WvO6PbKM" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?a=dUgEEF7Z"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?d=50" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?a=zw2DmlrH"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/arstechnica/BAaf?d=41" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~4/yp1ZsRBT78o" height="1" width="1"/

TV shows are by far the most wanted files on BitTorrent, and according to some, it’s becoming the modern day TiVo. But what are all those people downloading?

Heroes is leading the chart again, with over two million downloads for the latest episode only, closely followed by Prison Break. Jack Bauer returns shortly in 8th place.

The data for the most recent TV episodes are collected by TorrentFreak from a representative sample of BitTorrent sites and is for informational and educational reference only.

Thanks to ShowInsider we now also include a list based on the total number of downloads (not only recent episodes) of all shows in the past week.

Top Downloads (Recent Episodes) November 23 - November 30 Ranking (last week) TV-show torrentfreak.com 1 (1) Heroes 2 (2) Prison Break 3 (8) Dexter 4 (3) House 5 (…) Entourage 6 (…) Californication 7 (…) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 8 (…) 24: Redemption 9 (…) True Blood 10 (…) Top Gear Top Downloads (All Episodes) November 23 - November 30 Ranking (last week) TV-show showinsider.com 1 (1) Heroes 2 (2) Prison Break 3 (3) Dexter 4 (4) Desperate Housewives 5 (9) Grey’s Anatomy 6 (6) True Blood 7 (10) Smallville 8 (5) Californication 9 (15) Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 10 (11) House

Post from: TorrentFreak

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/12/0...etflix-problem/

"For weeks now, Roku Netflix Player owners have noticed an almost universal drop in quality dots (which range from 1 to 4 in order to show quality levels), with many finding the new feeds "unwatchable." CNET recently had a talk with Tim Twerdahl, vice president of consumer products at Roku, about the issue, and according to Tim, all he knows is that "Roku didn't make any changes." Furthermore, we've seen comments in our own posts noting that other Netflix-enabled boxes are also seeing the quality drop. The worst part is that there's still no definitive solution in sight, so we suppose our only advice is to kick back and watch Netflix and Roku bicker over who's really to blame"

I don't have a Roku box, but apparently users are having issues with Netflix streaming quality, to the point that the video becomes unwatchable. This got me thinking about the fundamental differences between streaming and download services particularly as it relates to the (relatively) new category of IP set-top boxes.

Streaming services like Netflix automatically adjust the quality of the video based on the media player: bandwidth, resolution, etc. The stream is not stored, but played and then discarded. Time to playback is typically short but quality may be limited. If the connection is unreliable or unavailable, a streaming solution effectively no longer works.

Conversely, download services deliver an existing video file but may require the entire file to be downloaded before beginning playback. Since the file is stored locally, quality is consistent and it can easily be replayed. In a system with progressive download, used by Vudu and the new Blockbuster set-top box, playback is started before the video is completely downloaded. However, depending on connection speed and quality, playback may be delayed while waiting for the video download to finish.

Personally, I've had a great experience with progressive downloads, like Vudu or Amazon Video on Demand to Tivo. My connection is fast enough that SD and HD movies on Vudu are available for immediate viewing, and if I choose to wait I can have the extremely high-quality HDX video. I can even get Amazon video to the Tivo in our bedroom, which struggles to hang on to a wireless connection.

I've also streamed a few Netflix movies to computer. It works quite well on those computers wired into my network. But I have noticed serious video artifacts when streaming to my wireless-G-connected kitchen computer. Netflix streaming is a great secondary VOD source, but I can't see it as my primary movie source, at least not for the next couple of years.

Do you have a Roku box? Are you experiencing these quality issues?

pimg class="float_right" src="/~~/f?id=486b8404796c7aa8003a1b3amaxX=320maxY=231" border="0" alt="blockbusterstore.jpg" title="blockbusterstore.jpg" width="320" height="231" /Like rival Netflix, Blockbuster (BBI) is hoping to build its a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/blockbuster-web-movie-rental-box"new streaming service/a into as many living room gadgets as possible. Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes, a href="http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Elbowing-Into-the-Set-Top-Scene-Q-and-A-With-Blockbuster-CEO-Jim-Keyes-65310.html"via E-Commerce Times/a, a href="http://newteevee.com/2008/12/01/blockbuster-vod-going-to-blu-ray-players/"via NewTeeVee/a:/p p style="padding-left: 30px;"We'll be able to put the same capability into a Blu-ray player. We'll go into DVRs (digital video recorders), game consoles, etc., just as others are doing to make the same capability available through other devices./p pSmart (if obvious) strategy, but Blockbuster is about a year behind Netflix (NFLX), which already has deals to build its streaming service into Samsung and LG Blu-ray players, Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360s, Roku Web video set-top boxes, and TiVo (TIVO) DVRs./p pThe good news: This game is far from over, and as far as we know, none of Netflix's deals are exclusive./p pThe bad news: a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/netflix-ceo-cable-cos-not-very-excited-about-netflix-streaming-nflx-"Neither company is close/a to getting its rental service on the set-top boxes a href="http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/9/why-video-on-demand-is-still-cable-s-game-to-lose"where they'd make the most impact/a -- the ones you rent from cable companies like Comcast (CMCSA) or Time Warner Cable (TWC)./p pstrongSee Also:/strongbr /a href="../../2008/11/blockbuster-web-movie-rental-box"Blockbuster's Web Movie Rental Box: Good Deal, Lots Of Competition/abr /a href="../../2008/11/netflix-ceo-cable-cos-not-very-excited-about-netflix-streaming-nflx-"Netflix CEO: Cable Cos Not 'Very Excited' About Netflix Streaming/abr /a href="../../2008/9/why-video-on-demand-is-still-cable-s-game-to-lose"Why Video On Demand Is Still Cable's Game To Lose/a/p pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/NLLFo6OlvoH3x7xobw25m2NCjWM/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/NLLFo6OlvoH3x7xobw25m2NCjWM/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=kbNyn3cP"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?i=kbNyn3cP" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=2YOD5jCT"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=52" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=TVEA1kpp"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=80" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=vQ2sDKfb"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?i=vQ2sDKfb" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=CKYyy4Lb"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=131" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=72A7QiR2"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=336" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=ZqwIMNAs"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?a=vGHzHcYP"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider?d=50" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~4/gtJrzT44ctg" height="1" width="1"/

Hot on the heels of releasing its own set-top box, Blockbuster said it will expanding its on-demand video rental service into Blu-ray players in the first quarter of next year, as the company goes toe-to-toe with Netflix over direct delivery of video content to your TV.

In an interview with E-Commerce Times posted over the weekend, Blockbuster CEO and Chairman Jim Keyes spilled the Blu-ray beans and other plans for the on-demand service:

We’ll be able to put the same capability into a Blu-ray player. We’ll go into DVRs (digital video recorders), game consoles, etc., just as others are doing to make the same capability available through other devices.

Not only is Blockbuster playing catch up with Netflix, it’s matching its video rival move for move. Netflix has the Roku set-top box; Blockbuster has the MediaPoint. Netflix is on LG and Samsung Blu-ray players; Blockbuster will deliver to Blu-ray devices. And will Xbox and TiVo, which have Netflix capabilities also have Blockbuster? Seems like a definite possibility, given Keyes’ statement.

The one area where Blockbuster won’t be copying Netflix is through its rental model. Blockbuster is sticking with the a la carte service in order to keep the new releases available, while Netflix has the subscription model, which inhibits its ability to get new releases, because of licensing issues with the studios.