My Digital Life

Comcast blocking Windows remote assistance coming from Verizon FIOS

It looks like Comcast is blocking remote assistance sessions from Verizon FIOS. I can connect fine from FIOS a PC on Hargray.com and Kuhncom.net networks, but when I try to connect to my mother's PC on Comcast, the initial connection attempt times out. When I use Verizon Wireless' EVDO Broadband network it connects without issue. There are no differences in PC configurations between the two connections. I am using my X60 in all scenarios, and since I can connect to other individuals on different networks using FIOS, I have to assume that Comcast is in fact blocking remote assistance connections from FIOS.

Comcast has already been chided by the FCC for its stance on Net Neutrality slowing and/or blocking peer to peer traffic. At yesterday's FCC's open public meeting  (Gigaom article) on the subject at Stanford, they failed to show up. Comcast is already a lousy cable TV provider, now they want to add lousy to their Internet service. As competition grows from Verizon FIOS and others, I would think they would want to rethink their strategy but they seem to have their head in the sand. I also have to chide Verizon and the other large telecoms for not showing up at this meeting. I can understand that telecoms don't want more regulation, but if they want to avoid it they need to reign in the likes of Comcast.

This is not a positive environment for the consumer and I believe Congress needs to take some action.

Directv looses one of its major advantage of viewing a PPV movie for more than 24 hours

As of today Directv subscribers will no longer be able to view a Pay Per View (PPV) movie purchase for more than 24 hours (link). The ability to watch a movie in several sittings has been a major plus for my wife and I over the last 12 years as Directv subscriber. When I upgraded to HD, this was one of the major selling points for us to stay with Directv. This weekend we watched "Into the Wild" and it would have been a drag to watch the 2 and 1/2 hours in one evening. Watching a movie over multiple sittings may be heresy to movie buffs, but I find that it allows you to ponder the story.

What I find interesting about this whole situation is that we seem to be in the minority. There does not seem to be a major uproar from subscribers. I googled forums on the subject and found very little dissension. I could not even find a post on the subject on the dbstalk.com forum, although they seem to be less and less independent.

For our use this probably means we won't be purchasing any more PPV movies, we may become NetFlix subscribers and it opens up the door to switch to FIOS TV. Since I currently use FIOS Internet, the current triple play promotions is probably a cheaper solution than Directv. I would have to balance the promotion against the purchase cost of a Tivo HD DVR, since it looks like the current FIOS Motorola DVR does not allow the use of the eSATA port for my 1 Terabyte hard disk array. As telecommunications, the internet and television technologies merge, it seems that flexible consumer solutions are becoming harder and harder to find. I understand the fear of piracy, however I feel Digital Rights Management is hampering my legal rights to use the content I purchase.

I can understand movie studios not wanting us to keep a PPV movie indefinitely but 24 hours is a ridiculous time frame.  I think 72 hours would  be more appropriate and would work for us. I agree that if someone wants to keep a movie indefinitely they should purchase a DVD or permanent download.

In the end this is a big step backwards for Directv who has been a leader in providing advanced technology and content to users. It seems to only advantage they have left is for the die hard sports fan. However, as those contracts come to an end and the cable/telcos offers the same packages, Directv may have a real problem on their hands.

Spb Software House Mobile Shell 2.0

I installed Spb  Software House Mobile Shell 2.0 this past weekend. The two major changes the applications are the program's size and the ability to use gestures to access the Now, Program, and Favorite Contacts screens. It took me a little while to get the gestures right and it works pretty well given the lack of real sensitivity on the Kaiser touch screen. I am not sure that using these extra screens simplifies one handed operation, but it does help with using touch and gestures. The one set of new features I find very useful on the Now screen are:

• Direct access to the clock plug in by tapping the time.
• Direct access to the weather plug in by tapping the weather icon.

Unfortunately, they have not added functionality to trigger 3rd party PIM like Pocket Informant (other than MS and their own) from a displayed appointment or the calendar. All in all though this is a worthy upgrade.

pocketnow.com has just published a review (link).

Power went out, good test for my FIOS setup

The power went out around 8:10 am  (I will have to check my logs for the correct time). My Wireless network is and FIOS are still up and running thanks to my 3 APC BACK-UPS ES-350 bricks I have my network equipment attached to (my setup). This will be a good test of my setup and how FIOS handles power outages.

My XPS 720 attached to an APC RS 1300 LCD shutdown in an orderly fashion after it determined that it only had 5 minutes of power.

It is now 8:35AM (25 minutes), I will update this thread periodically.

Update: The power was out for a little over 1 hour, the power was restored for about 5 minutes about 40 minutes into the outage. I never lost access to the Internet or my land line both on FIOS, I did find a couple of minor issues in my setup:

• 2 of my BACK-UPS ES-350 were beeping. I need to load up the APC software on my laptop and plug into the units to shutoff all alerts. It is too bad you can't shut off the beeping directly on the unit.
• It looks like the XPS 720 is set by default to hibernate rather than shut off when instructed to shut off by the UPS. A nice feature, but during the 5 minute power restore the system did not come out of hibernate correctly. I was told by Dell tech support on a earlier call about a USB issue, that they had issues with sleep mode and USB devices which is fixed in Vista SP1. Maybe this is related (further investigation required).
• The Thecus SATA hard drive array attached to my Directv HR20-700 DVR did not turn back on after the power was restored.The DVR rebooted from the internal hard drive. This situation would not be good if I was away since my To Do list on the internal drive is empty (you can only one drive, internal or external). I am sure this is by design to protect the disk array, however I need to investigate potential solutions.

It looks like the outage affected about 73,000 homes in Northern, no word on what caused it.

The key point to this test was that I never lost FIOS, I wonder how folks did with Comcast...

 

Directv updates DVR software and adds Video On Demand

Last week Directv started rolling out a version 0x1b4 to the HR20-700 DVR which I just received this morning. In addition to general performance improvements (release notes), this version adds Directv's implementation of Video On Demand. The Video On Demand only works if your HR20-DVR is connected to the Internet. From what I understand it starts the download of the program via the Internet connection and starts playing within a couple of minutes. VOD seems to be very popular with cable users. With this new feature Directv can now match cable functionality.

The VOD screen via my Sling Player, the program is still in Beta. As of this morning I had no programs to choose from.

10/31/07 update: Last night when I came home, the Directv On Demand lists were populated. I was able to queue up a program and within a minute start playing it. The technology is pretty cool, however the content needs works (no HD content yet)....Once the show starts to download, it becomes part of the list of shows on the DVR.

The week of September 17th in My Digital Life

It is Monday morning and I have a rant about football, program guides, and technology. Ever since the big viewer outrage (at least 15 years ago) over CBS cutting off a Giants game (I think it was) to start the 60 minutes show at 7PM, all of the networks have allowed premiere sporting events to be viewed until their conclusion, and then start the next show. In today's world of DVRs where you can select a show by title and not have to worry about when it will air, I don't understand why the program guide cannot be updated in real time. I have a Season Pass for 60 minutes on Sundays at 7PM, however during football season it never starts at 7PM, yet the guide shows 7PM. This means that if I do not want to miss a 60 minute story, I have to add minutes or record the show after it. Why do the cable and satellite companies use arcane technology (batch processing) for updating their program guides. The television network control centers plan for the delay and should be able to provide an estimated lag time in real time to the program guide providers and in turn download the update to our DVRs. The DVR can then automatically adjust their recording times. This is not "rocket science"!

I have had fun playing with the iPhone last week. The touch interface and Safari browser are exceptional. It has it shortcomings (more to come on these, even the Apple store associates I have to talked to agree), however it does provide Apple with a truly innovative platform. After my post on the "irate Apple followers", the comments have been thoughtful and have forced me to refine or redefine my thinking about Apple, their products and overall strategy (I am not done commenting...). Even though they are a minor player in the desktop/laptop arena, the fact that they are the undisputed market leader with the iPod gives them a great deal of power in our personal digital lives. I am keenly interested on how they use that power, the iPhone is clearly a projection of that power. It is interesting to note that the Apple web site clearly lists OS X as the iPhone's operating system, yet the iPod Touch has no mention of an operating system. I would have thought that OS X would have also been used for the iPod Touch. Maybe this is just an oversight. If they are using OS X on the iPod Touch, this would clearly show a strategy of projecting OS X to new computing platforms which could be quite significant.

I finished my review of Ilium ListPro 5.0 and it should be published on pocketnow.com sometime this week.

This week:

• Continue my review of the Etymotic ety8 Bluetooth headphones.
• Continue my comparison of Windows Live Search and Google Maps for Windows Mobile.

Verizon FIOS - My installation

Last week I finally got Verizon's FIOS installed, it took 3 weeks...I was originally was told that I could not get FIOS until the end June, however in late April when I was reviewing my land line phone bill on-line, I saw a link displaying that FIOS was available at my address. I ordered the installation on-line and scheduled it for May 3rd. On May 2nd I got a call from Verizon that there was a technical issue and rescheduled for May 4th. May 4th came around and no one showed or called. I called Verizon, explained the situation and found someone who was very helpful. She analyzed the order and found that it had an issue which caused it not to be dispatched. The problem was that the cut over dates for the land line and connection for the Internet were different. The order system does not automatically dispatch when you have different service due date on one order. She elevated the issue to the order department for resolution. May 7th went by without a call, so I followed up on Tuesday. At this point I voiced my displeasure in the process, and the gentleman researched the issued and overrode the system to force the installation for the morning of May 15th. This time the process worked as planned,  I was called the night before to confirm and the technician called me before arriving.

The technician arrived and could not find the fiber router listed on the order. Routers support 25 to 50 homes, they seem to be on the ground next to poles. I told him there was one at each end of the street and based on the routers street address listed on the order I pointed him in the right direction. The next step was to run the fiber cable from a connection point on the router to my house. The fiber cables come in pre-defined lengths and cannot be altered by the technician. They are built by Corning Glass. He decided to use a 350' cable. The longest part of the installation was the stringing of the cable down and across the street to my house.

The next step was to install the Tellabs 1600 Optical Network Terminal (ONT). I wanted it placed in my garage but at the technician's insistence we decided outside was better for two reasons. First, the fiber connector on the end of the cable is quite large, it would require a large hole through my brick and block wall. Second, if there was an issue with the ONT Verizon could not service it from outside and I would have to be home. The ONT requires a power source so we decided to place the power supply and backup battery next to an outlet in the garage. The ONT enclosure measures 13" x 13", so it is not too obvious. Since the technicians have to use fixed length fiber cable the ONT has a slack storage compartment to hold the excess, very nice design feature.

The fiber connection inside the ONT. The bottom black connector is the large fixed end of the Corning Glass cable coming from the street.

The ONT provides both cable and RJ45 LAN outputs. Verizon provides an Actiontec MI424WR 4 port wireless router which accepts cable or RJ45 LAN inputs. Since my plan was to use my D-Link DFL-210 router I wanted to use the ONT LAN output. Because most homes already have cable, Verizon prefers this method, however we agreed that a LAN drop was better in my situation and I offered to run the drop. One note, since I have Directv and the ONT's cable output is not compatible with the satellite dish cable signal, this gave me another reason not to use cable.

The user interface side of the ONT. From left to right, the RJ45 LAN connection, the 2 land line phone (POTS) connection, and the cable hookup.

Verizon strongly suggest that you use their router with stickers that warn about network degradation if you don't.  I really don't think there is anything the Actiontec router has that my DFL-210 can't do. In order for the DFL-210 to acquire an address from the network, all I had to do is clone the MAC address from the Actiontec router. I compared the speeds with and without the Actiontec, they were the same.

It took 6 hours to complete the install, the major portion of time going to running the fiber drop to my house and resolving a cut over issue from copper to fiber on my land line at the central office.

So far I am very happy, the download speeds average 5.1Mbps are equivalent to Comcast while the uploads of 1.8Mbps are 6 times faster and at $39.99 a month cheaper than the $57.99 Comcast was trying to charge me.

My HDTV Adventure...Slingbox part 2

My previous HDTV to Slingbox experience was not positive. The components and HDMI outputs did not work simultaneously on the Comcast SA 8300HD DVR. I am very happy to report that the Directv HR20 DVR component and HDMI outputs work simultaneously. I can now use the Slingbox player even if my Sony KDL46XBR2 in on.

I can also report that SlingPlayer is working well on my new Thinkpad X60 Tablet with Windows Vista Business.

My HDTV Adventure...DBSTalk

With my Directv Tivo DVR there are two main forums I frequent when I have questions: the Tivo Community Forum provides general information and the DealDatabase.com forum which is more geared to provide software solutions. Both of these sites have forum areas for the HR20, however DBSTalk.com seems to be emerging as the forum of choice.

It seems that the DBSTalk.com forum is being used by Directv to help with debugging the HR20 software. From what I have read, I feel lucky that my HR20 experience is starting with version 0x145 of the DVR software. It looks like previous versions were not up to par, almost akin to my experience with the Comcast Scientific Atlanta 8300HD.  Once they understood that the number of unhappy HR20 owners was growing and at the prodding of the DBSTalk.com forum moderator, they seem to have reacted very quickly to provide fixes. This is just another example how forums can be extremely important to Customer Service organizations (take note Comcast). Yes there are a lot of inane comments posted and there are the folks who think beta = production quality, however once you filter those posts out there always seem to be extremely valuable information from individuals who seem to know what they are talking about. In my experience with forums, I have probably solved 90% of configuration related issues without using  a company's customer service. Companies are realizing this and starting their own forums, however I think independent forums provide a better source of open product discussion. The caveat is for those forums to keep their independence and for companies to provide measured responses when forums cross the line into what might be considered proprietary. In the end it will benefits both sides.

Anyway if you have a Directv HR20, I highly recommend visiting the site...It has already helped me immensely to find Tivo like functionality in my HR20.

My HDTV Adventure...Directv

Third time was a charm. My Directv 5 LNB dish and HR20 DVR were successfully installed yesterday. When my Sony KDL46XBR2 was delivered in early January, I called the Directv retention team (based on advice from this forum) and was able to get the HR20 DVR for free and a free year of DVR service. They scheduled me for  a March 19th install. March 19th came without an installation, the installer had an accident (fair enough) but no one contacted me. Directv rescheduled for the next day, an installer and supervisor showed up. Both convinced me that there was no way for me to get the HD signal because of how they have the angle the oval dish and our large trees. I did not push it since their explanation seem plausible and I had read of many individuals (including Walt Mossberg who lives in the DC area) living near tall trees being unable to receive the HD signal. However a week later, I talked to a neighbor who had the same experience but he pressed and the installer found a line of sight.

I decided to try the stronger tack and to reschedule my installation with Directv. Unfortunately they had canceled the order and could not reactivate it. I had to create a new order, customer service called me back and could not give the deal from my previous order. I had to call back and talk to the retentions desk. I did but they did not want to give the HR20 for free, after strongly objecting that it was not fair, they told me that I should never have gotten this deal in the first place. At this point I had two choices, give up on Directv or pay. I ended paying $334.90, receiving a $105.00 credit and 1 year of free HD DVR service. This is pretty pathetic customer service for someone who has been with them 10 years. I plan on writing the CEO on two fronts, one that they should honor their original deal with me and two the fact that they may be losing a lot of customers due to incompetent or ill-trained installers.

After discussing the situation with the installer, showing the dish on my neighbors roof, he agreed to check the signal on the roof. He took up a test dish and meter (the original installers never did). Within minutes he found a suitable spot. We decided to put the dish as close to the top of the roof line to make  sure I got the best signal possible. I am now getting 100 for many of the transponder on the Tivo upstairs and downstairs in the family room the HR20 is in the mid 90's due to the long cable run. I think that is pretty good signal strength given the comments of the previous installers. The signal on the Tivo is better than what I had before.

I connected my 1 TeraByte external hard disk array, HDMI, an optical audio cable, and  a LAN cable. The unit booted right up, it immediately wanted to upgrade the software which I did. The version is now 0x145, the original version was 0xbe. Here are my initial findings:

• It detected the external hard drive immediately.
• I enabled network access so I don't have to use a phone line (very easy).
• HDMI seems to be working well, I did have to enable valid resolutions in the settings and pass through mode (hold down the format button). The Sony seems to be a little slow to recognize resolution changes but it works, unlike with the SA 8300HD.
• Dolby Digital only works with certain channels so for now I am using PCM. Switching is not that easy (too many keystrokes). Given that not all channels are transmitted with Dolby Digital audio, there should be one button on the remote to switch back and forth. 
• The ATSC off air receiver does not seem to be as sensitive as the Sony's. I am using a split off of my Terk stick UHF/VHF antenna which works fine on the Sony but flaky with the HR20. I may need to purchase a Terk HD antenna if I want to use off air channels.
• I love being able to record PPV movies and only pay for them when we watch the recording (press R to record PPVs in the guide). Also recording PPV movies allows us to watch them over several days, unlike the 24 hour limit with Comcast and Verizon FIOS. This is much more like renting a DVD and fits our viewing habits much better.
• The one problem I have with the installation, are the two little dongles for MPEG4 that need to be connected to the satellite inputs. It makes sliding the HR20 all the way back in my tight cabinet tough. I will have to reroute them elsewhere.

I am much more pleased with the HR20 than with Comcast's SA 8300HD. It is clearly a step or two above, however the UI is still not as easy as the Tivo.