ScreenScribe

  Today’s announcement that the TiVo’s Australasian service would end in October was inevitable but Kiwis are getting a raw deal compared to Australians. Whereas Aussie customers at least are being offered $100 “swap out” with a Fetch TV PVR, no such exit strategy is available for New Zealanders. It’s ironic that such an iconic brand should fail […]

The crowd went wild over Freeview for the Olympics. The free-to-air digital TV platform reports sales of Freeview digital receivers, recorders and TVs passed 1.5 million units in the build-up to the 2012 Games. More than 14,200 Freeview digital receivers and recorders, and more than 44,200 Freeview-enabled TVs, were sold during July — the second-highest […]

TVNZ says it will announce its Dolby Digital plans next week. It’s been reported in some forums that the broadcaster already is transmitting in 5.1 audio, as TV3 has been doing since it went HD three years ago. But a spokeswoman says this is not the case. “As part of our preparations for launching 5.1 […]

Sky TV will start installations of its 1TB My Sky+ PVR from July 11. Orders for the uber-box can be taken from July 1. It will cost $20 a month to rent (plus $99 for installation) but will offer four times as much recording storage as the $15-a-month My Sky HDi. Alternatively, subscribers can pay […]

Sky is poised to triple the HD recording storage of its My Sky HDi PVRs. It’s not known when the new 1TB models will be offered to subscribers – or how Sky will roll out the changeover. Will it cost more? Will subscribers be able to transfer recordings? Whatever the logistics, expect Sky to launch […]

Australian media are reporting that the Australasian TiVo service is about to fold. Channel News quotes a US TiVo executive as believing TiVo in Australia “will not continue trading”. And The Register reckons “an asset sale for the video-on-demand platform could be on the cards”. Australian TiVo executives aren’t commenting on speculation about the fate […]

Sony’s HD PVR module for its PlayStation 3, PlayTV, goes on sale today for $200, with some retailers bundling it for free with the $730 320GB console. While it seems to have been hobbled by critical flaws, PlayTV boasts a clean and elegant electronic programming guide and graphical user interface, as seen from these generic […]

Sony’s claim that its new PlayTV PVR offers more features than other PVRs has been thrown into doubt by a damning NBR online report. It highlights failings that make PlayTV sound inferior to other PVRs and speculates a rift between Sony and MediaWorks is partly to blame. Like TiVo, PlayTV’s EPG will be hobbled by […]

TiVo users and subscribers to My Sky HDi and TelstraClear’s T-Box all had their normal service interrupted over the weekend. On Hallowe’en eve, My Sky HDi viewers lost coverage of a vital rugby game because of a power outage and TiVo was cursed by a glitch that delayed all recordings by two hours. TiVo fixed […]

Here is TelstraClear’s response to questions I raised about its new PVR/home media device, the T-Box, in today’s review. SS: Why can the EPG only be programmed up to a week ahead (and not two, like TiVo)? TC: This is the extent of information given to us by Sky TV. Due to customer confusion if […]