Hasta La Gadget!

It’s been an especially bumpy road for the Blockbuster brand these past few years, and things just got a bit more rough. In an interview with Bloomberg, Dish Network founder and CEO Charlie Ergen confirmed that the company is abandoning its current efforts to challenge Netflix with Blockbuster, saying that it no longer plans to use the brand as a video streaming or DVD-by-mail service in the US. Ergen did say that Dish had other plans for Blockbuster, but he didn’t elaborate on what those may be. He also seems to be fairly resigned to the whole matter, saying “worst case, we’ll take our money after having wasted some time, not much money, and life goes on.”

Filed under: Internet, HD

Dish gives up effort to turn Blockbuster into a Netflix competitor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Bloomberg  | Email this | Comments

Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

When I was a kid, my parents actually rented our home phones from the phone company. They were hard-wired to the wall — no detachable RJ cables. The phones were heavy, and when you needed a new one, you would call the phone company and get in line. They would then come out in four to six weeks and install the new phone for you at your expense. If you wanted to move the phone to another room, the process was like calling an electrician: holes were drilled, ladders were scaled and money was spent.

The phone equipment itself was drab, heavy and came in your choice of two colors: boring and depressing. Answering machines were rare — instead, you had to use expensive answering services staffed by cranky women from New Jersey.

Continue reading This is the Modem World: Can I pick my own set-top box, please?

Filed under: Displays, Misc, Household, Internet

This is the Modem World: Can I pick my own set-top box, please? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

While most of us have spent the last few weeks preparing for the return of North American-style football (get our NFL Pick ‘Em league info here), soccer fans in the US and France have been tracking the sudden rise of international TV network beIN Sport. Operated out of Qatar by Al Jazeera, beIN Sport USA has snagged the exclusive broadcast rights to Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1, South American World Cup Qualifiers and Copa America 2015, plus the away games for the US national men’s team in their qualifying rounds. The bad news for those interested in viewing the games is that until just recently, there were no carriers for the channel, although DirecTV (which also recently added BBC America HD for Doctor Who fans) and Dish have subsequently added it to a few tiers. Most recently, Comcast announced the channel’s availability on its Spanish MultiLatino package and for English viewers on the Xfinity TV Sports Entertainment lineup, with access also available via internet streaming. It appears Fox and ESPN have a new challenger at least for broadcast rights to soccer, and beIN Sport has expressed interest into other arenas as well, which could see it become a newer version of the now-defunct Worldsport HD channel for fans of sports that are more popular outside the US.

Continue reading beIN Sport USA soccer channel comes to Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

beIN Sport USA soccer channel comes to Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  beINSport1 (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

While the various strands of Dish Network’s “Seinfeld strategy” have yet to come together officially, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal are reporting it could be ready launch satellite-based high speed data services nationally as soon as September or October. This would be separate from the service based on ViaSat’s Exede that’s available in some areas, and Bloomberg‘s sources say it could accommodate up to 2 million customers right away through a satellite Echostar launched in June, although more satellites may be needed to add more customers. Other than hooking up data connections for customers in rural areas, it would let Dish compete directly with data / TV bundles offered by wired pay-TV providers. Of course, this is all dependent on a favorable ruling by the FCC on its technology — you can just ask LightSquared what happens if that doesn’t work out.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

Dish Network’s nationwide satellite broadband service could be ready to launch soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Yes! Good news are in for those of you who were affected by the ongoing kerfuffle between Dish and AMC: the TV network just announced it’ll be live streaming the return of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman on its website. As you’re likely aware, this announcement comes shortly after Dish Network revealed it was dropping the home of Breaking Bad and Mad Men from its lineup, after both parties couldn’t reach a deal to keep the channel in place — if there ever was one on the table to begin with. Nevertheless, AMC’s taken it to the interwebs to stand its ground, and has rolled out a page inviting Dish customers to sign up for the free live stream of the season premiere this Sunday. Notably, TechCrunch reports an AMC rep told the site that “there’s no real way for the network to verify that viewers are actually Dish subscribers,” which pretty much opens the doors to anyone wanting to join the Season Five fun. The link to the nice streaming gesture is down below, so give it a bookmark if you’re planning on tuning in.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

AMC to live stream Breaking Bad season premiere on its site, Dish customers rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  AMC  | Email this | Comments