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Roku, the $99 device that allows users to stream Netflix (Etilities Forum) movie content directly from the internet to your TV just announced its support for Amazon Video-On-Demand
(Etilities Forum) and Netflix can only benefit customers like you by improving the selection and availability of content and driving costs down.
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
Which technology services made a significant, positive impact on you as an individual in 2008? Which most impacted the market as you see it? We performed an in-depth evaluation of the services we covered this year and combined it with your feedback to compile a list of the cream of the crop.
Vonage: VoIP has taken the market by storm. Switching to Vonage (Etilities Forum) can result in amazing monthly cost savings, and the provider shines amidst the competition thanks its features, price and reliability.
Netflix: Implementing the first mainstream DVD-by-mail model was impressive enough, but Netflix (Etilities Forum) did not rest on its deserved laurels. It is constantly working on new ways to deliver content to your TV set – as well as the other screens in your home. It has formed an impressive number of partnerships this year to to improve their video-on-demand offerings.
Read the rest of this entry »
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
The state of New York has not escaped the current economic downturn and has seen its budget deficit swell. In a recent proposal, NY Governor David Paterson announced his intent to implement a variety of new taxes – 88 in total – covering everything from gas and beer, luxury items like $60,000 cars or $500,000 planes and entertainment services such as movie theaters or sports venues. Overall, these new taxes are expected to bring in an additional $4 billion in revenue for the state and plug some of its deficit.
As with the TARP program, Gallop Services performed an in-depth review of the specifics of the Governor’s Budget Briefing Book and 2009-10 Executive Budget Economic and Revenue Outlook. Paterson’s proposed budget identified several areas which may impact technology services users including Cable and Satellite Television and Radio, Digital Content, Telephone and Internet Sales.
Read the rest of this entry »
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
Back in July, we blogged about the industry trend towards more versatile entertainment hardware, but never in our wildest dreams did we expect it to apply to pizza deliveries. Yet now it does. Tivo (Etilities Forum), which has already formed partnerships with Amazon
(Etilities Forum) to sell products and movie tickets and Netflix
(Etilities Forum) to stream movies, just added Domino’s pizza to its menu! Users will now be able to order pizza online both directly through the TiVo interface and during Domino’s commercials, giving a brand new meaning to the phrase ”TV Dinner.” This service will be accessible to TiVo users through their broadband connection. You can set up and save your Domino’s profile online and place orders for pick up and/or delivery. Of course, the estimated 30 minute delivery time still applies.
This type of alliance is representative of a more general industry trend. In many areas of the industry, advertising has been suffering, in part because of the flailing economy. The positive effect has been that media and technology providers have been driven to develop new ways of piquing clients’ interest. We at Gallop are excited by this partnership, especially since it’s a good example of the kind of solution that we can expect to see in the future, as well known companies work together to provide innovative technology and entertainment offerings to consumers.
Now… if only Domino’s delivered beer!
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
In what has become a recurring theme, Tivo (Etilities Forum) announced that its customers will soon have full access to the “Watch Instantly” streaming feature from Netflix
(Etilities Forum). The move brings over 12,000 titles from Netflix’s streaming library into the homes of TiVo’s many customers.
The service will be available at no additional charge for those who already subscribe to both TiVo and Netflix services. While there is no mention of whether HD content will be included now or in the future, Netflix has already announced an HD streaming service, so it’s a safe assumption that TiVo users will soon have this feature as well. The TiVo hardware that will support Netflix – TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL – is all HD-capable.
Understandably, the press release focuses solely on the announcement of the partnership, but let’s take a brief look at the total footprint now served by the two companies:
This development brings a number of benefits to consumers. Aside from expanding the menu of choices, increased competition will drive prices down and innovations up. For example, one factor in the development of this cooperative effort between Netflix and TiVo may be iTunes (Etilities Forum) growing customer base and wide availability of movies and TV content.
This convergence of media and products will only become more prevalent as broadband connections become as universally available as electricity and running water. Consumers will also appreciate that they don’t need to purchase a different piece of equipment for each entertainment service that they use.
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
If you’re just joining this series of articles, welcome! You may want to read articles one, two, and three first, or just jump in with the final installment.
Now that you’ve got the foundation of a robust backup process at your home or small office, let’s take a look at what it will take to truly complete the picture – an offsite backup. While this was once limited to large corporations that could afford many computers at widely varying locations, the advent of commodity storage services accessible over a typical home broadband connection has changed the landscape dramatically. It is now possible to have virtually unlimited secure storage spread out across the country or even the world, all without leaving your desk or drastically changing your backup strategy.
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
As we’ve previously discussed, the boundaries between types of content delivery have been slowly eroding for a while. More than likely, hard media (CD, DVD, BluRay) will gradually become less prevalent while digital media (downloadable and/or streaming content) will become the norm. It’s already very easy to buy or rent movies and TV shows digitally through services like Amazon (Etilities Forum) Video-on-Demand or Netflix
(Etilities Forum). The difficulty is that often you can only play your media on a few devices – sometimes just one! For example, you may have bought the latest season of The Office from Amazon, but if you want to watch an episode on your Zune while working out, it may be a complicated endeavor due to the limitations of the notoriously pesky DRM implementations out there.
The industry is keenly aware of this fact and last week officially formed a group to discover a solution to this problem that would allow the content you’ve purchased to be viewable anywhere. Most of the big names among movie studios and media retailers are joining the effort, with the notable exception of Apple, Inc, which will no doubt continue developing their current solution to this problem: just buy all Apple products and you can watch your iTunes (Etilities Forum) purchases anywhere! (This solution has been working great for me, by the way.)
Regardless of whether or not this initiative succeeds (there are no details about it yet except for the fact that the group has been formed), this is definitely a step in the right direction and if anything shows that the industry is aware of this limitation and is actively trying to overcome it – and eventually will.
©2008-2009, Gallop Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
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