We Are Watching More TV — Both Old and New [GigaOm]
The Nielsen Company has released data that indicates that Americans are watching more television than ever before - an average of 142 hours per month. That's an average of 5 more hours of television viewing than last year. At the same time, Americans are also watching more online video - an average of two and a half hours monthly.
On top of these numbers, as the number of households that own DVRs has grown to 27%, Americans are now watching an average of six and a half hours of time-shifted video each month.
GigaOm's article contains some more statistics about the growth of online video, which is undeniable. But while those numbers are increasing, it's not coming at the expense of traditional television viewing.
More channels, more HD, more time-shifting options. Makes sense.
More channels, more HD, more time-shifting options. Makes sense.
Cable's Future 'Gigabits' Networks [Multichannel News]
Multichannel News has interviewed Rouzbeh Yassini, the inventor of the cable modem, about the future of cable broadband. Yassini's response - he sees a future of gigabit broadband speeds. Some of the other interesting tidbits from the Q and A with Yassini include his assertion that broadband speeds have increased substantially while prices have dropped and that delivering video content will drive the bandwidth innovations that will bring faster speeds.
Sound familiar?
Sound familiar?
Blockbuster Set-Top Box Takes on Netflix [NewTeeVee]
With Netflix streaming movies over Xbox 360 and their own set-top box, Blockbuster has decided to get into the Internet streaming game with a set-top box of their own. The $99 box will allow Blockbuster customers to rent movie titles for $3.99 and stream them over their broadband connection. Unlike the Netflix set-top, the Blockbuster device does not require a subscription, but the movie rentals are a-la-carte.
It's interesting that the competitive pressures of the movie rental business have Blockbuster and Netflix both moving the direction of cable operators, which have offered movies on-demand from their cable set-top for years now. If studios would equalize the time between DVD release dates and VOD, consumers would benefit greatly. Besides, why is an Internet-delivered movie different than a cable-delivered one?
Wireless network security [Sherman's Security Blog]
Sherman has posted some excellent advice about securing wireless routers. He recommends hiding your router's SSID, so anyone searching for wi-fi signals cannot find your router. Sherman also recommends using WPA-PSK authentication. It's the most secure form of wireless encryption, which will keep the information you send over your wireless connection from falling into the wrong hands.
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