Hasta La Gadget!

DLNA is one of the most widely adopted digital content sharing protocols around, and at CES this year you’d have a hard time finding a new HDTV on the floor that doesn’t use it to stream videos, pictures and music around the home — not to mention all the other multimedia devices. The new guidelines released earlier this year are finally making their way into new devices and these new guidelines are apparently what cable TV providers have been waiting for. Unlike most current DLNA implementations, the new clients can now display the DLNA server’s user interface, and although you might not be in love with it, your cable company is. So what this could mean to us is that if we buy one of these new HDTVs with DLNA baked in, we would be able to use the cable company’s DVR via the network even if the DVR is in another room — not to mention PlayOn and a number of other DLNA servers. Now of course no one wants to mount a set-top under your newly wall mounted HDTV, so this could really end up being what many have been waiting for — not to mention the fact that all your content should be available to any room of the house. Of course a press release is one thing and implementing is another, but this is one that we’ll be following closely.

Comcast, Time Warner and Cox are excited about the latest in DLNA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After taking some time in limited beta, Comcast has renamed its TV Everywhere streaming venture Fancast Xfinity TV and made it available nationally to all customers with internet and cable TV subscriptions. A simple browser plugin authorizes up to 3 computers per account, but now that it’s live we’ve found more has changed than just its unfortunate new name. Users won’t need to be at home to activate their computers for viewing; all that’s needed is a login and with plenty of cross browser compatibility it should work easily no matter your setup anywhere within the U.S. For us, the Comcast Access installer worked flawlessly on one Windows 7 equipped netbook while failing with an error message tech support couldn’t decipher on a similar desktop. Once up and running, there’s even some high-definition streaming video available (Juno, Max Payne, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary and others) with more on the way. All told there’s about 2000 hours of content online including HBO and Starz restricted items, peep the full list on Fancast.com or check out the setup and viewing process in our gallery below. Technical glitches aside, for the price of absolutely nothing over our current cable and internet bill with HD streaming already active, we may have a new way to keep up with our stories while on the go.

Comcast On Demand Online renamed Fancast Xfinity TV, now streaming nationwide originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As expected, Comcast on Thursday announced that it has brokered a deal with General Electric to acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal (NBCU) for $6.5 billion.

The arrangement puts the value of NBCU at $30 billion. As part of the deal, GE will acquire Vivendi’s 20 percent stake in NBCU for $5.8 billion, putting GE’s stake at 49 percent. Comcast will make its $6.5 billion payment to GE.

The deal includes: NBCU’s businesses, Comcast’s cable networks, regional sports networks, and certain digital properties, Comcast said. NBCU will contribute its cable properties like MSNBC, broadcast stations NBC and Telemundo, the Universal movie studio and theme parks.

The combined entities will be known as the Comcast Entertainment Group (CEG), which will stand alongside Comcast Cable. Jeff Zucker, current president and CEO of NBCU, will be CEO of the new joint venture and will report to Steve Burke, Comcast’s chief operating officer.

“Consumers of all of our products – on screens large and small – will have the benefit of enhanced content and experiences, delivered to them in new and better ways as a result of this transaction,” Zucker said in a statement.

The joint venture “will bring together Comcast’s cable programming networks (including our regional sports networks), Fandango and Daily Candy with the broadcasting, cable programming, movie studio, theme park, and online content businesses of NBC Universal,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts wrote in a blog post.

The combination “will create a base from which all of these content assets will grow in quality,” Roberts wrote. “The new venture will facilitate the launch of new content as well as innovative distribution opportunities through multiple platforms in and out of the home.”

Reaction to the deal was swift and varied.

We told you we had a feeling this thing was happening — less than a day after GE consolidated ownership of NBC Universal in preparation to spin it off and sell a controlling stake to Comcast, CNBC is reporting that the deal is actually done and will be announced Thursday morning. As rumored from the start, Comcast will now own 51 percent of NBC to GE’s 49 percent, and the new company will fold in Comcast’s various content assets, which means the new NBC will rival Disney in size. That’s a big enchilada, and it should make the future of Comcast initiatives like TV Everywhere extremely interesting. Of course, all this still has to go through the FCC and FTC, and we wouldn’t expect anything to be approved and finalized for a year, but none of that takes away from the magnitude of this deal. We’ll obviously know more in a couple days, stay tuned.

Comcast deal to buy NBC is done, will be announced Thursday originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been over a month since we last heard anything about the rumored Comcast takeover of NBC, but things are slowly starting to move forward: Bloomberg says that NBC parent company GE has bought out Vivendi’s 20 percent stake in the broadcaster for $5.8b, with up to a $2b refund due back if the Comcast deal isn’t done by the end of 2010. That’s no small gamble — Comcast will have to clear a “gauntlet” of federal regulators from the FCC and FTC, who will scrutinize everything from the transfer of TV broadcast licenses in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to the effects on competitors like Dish Network and Verizon, who will still want access to NBC’s huge stable of content and programming. Big challenges, to be sure, but we get the feeling this deal is going down one way or another — get ready for a rocky 2010.

Comcast inches closer to buying NBC originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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