Good morning, cable gang. Today's industry roundup leads with a look at the buzz being generated by cloud-based video startup Bamboom.
Navic Networks founder Chet Kanojia is turning heads with Bamboom, a startup that's looking to woo cable cord-cutters with a cloud-based video service that rents subscribers access to local broadcast programming delivered from server farms equipped with mini HD antennas and DVRs. While Bamboom must overcome legal and technical hurdles, Kanojia -- who sold targeted advertising firm Navic to Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) in 2008 -- is worth keeping an eye on. (See Microsoft Nabs Navic .)
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is taking some heat for capping its "Extreme 105" 105Mbit/s wideband service at 250GB per month, with some observers noting that customers could hit the bandwidth ceiling if they downloaded video for about five hours at the maximum allowed bit rate. (See Comcast Pushes 105-Meg to 40M Homes .)
Because the reshuffling of TW Cable's channel lineup in Kansas City will result in channels from Liberty Media Corp. (NYSE: LMC)'s Encore being kicked into a US$5 monthly "Movie Pass" package, some locals are calling the move a "backdoor rate hike."
DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV) mistakenly told subscribers that they'd be able to watch Russell Brand's Arthur on VoD starting May 1, just 23 days after the movie hits theaters. The DBS company said it's actually distributing the original 1981 movie starring Dudley Moore.
Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) looks to put a bit more pressure on Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) by letting small- and mid-sized businesses do a bit of comparison shopping for voice and data services using a new MSO's "Savings Calculator." Optimum Business, the SMB unit of Cablevision, is debuting the calculator in concert with a TV campaign and using it to help prospective customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut figure out how much they can save by switching to the MSO. (See Cable's $5B Biz Services Bonanza .)
It says only 5 hours of downloads at peak speeds will consume 250 GB. Let's not forget that this represents something like 40 HD movies, or about 80 hours of HD content. And don't forget that streaming video takes up a lot less bandwidth than downloads, so you could stream a lot more than 80 hours without exceeding the cap.
Another option for TV with a slower connection is TVDevo website it seems to run faster and it supports slower connections speeds. It's mostly for TV shows . Netflix is for movies, but it always bogs down my connection.
That's good point. They were trying to point out what could happen if someone went full bore with D3, but the vast majority of residential customers still won't be near that cap. JB
It says only 5 hours of downloads at peak speeds will consume 250 GB. Let's not forget that this represents something like 40 HD movies, or about 80 hours of HD content. And don't forget that streaming video takes up a lot less bandwidth than downloads, so you could stream a lot more than 80 hours without exceeding the cap.