I was checking out some Podcasts at the Zune Marketplace, when I realized that I seemed to be missing all the Videocasts from the Ricky Gervais Podcast. Upon further investigation I noticed that the Zune Player seems to get confused when handling feeds with mixed content (audio and video), even though RSS specifications clearly indicate that this is feasible.

I moved into my new home this week and as I mentioned before I was planning on trying out AT&T U-verse. I must admit that the whole experience from the installation to the current usage has been a pleasure.

Cable:

I found out sometime last week that AT&T is currently using Mediaroom from Microsoft. The only indication that this is indeed the case is by checking the System Information and strangely enough the OS is recorded as WinCE (5.0.1400). I did not expect that, but I suspect that a partial OS is all that is necessary for the Motorola VIP 1200 series hardware (160 GB standard).

The pipe to our house currently only supports 1 HD line and 3 SD lines, this is probably the only disappointing thing about the system. This means if I decide to watch ESPN HD on a system upstairs while my wife is watch HGTV HD downstairs I will be prompted to switch HD control to the active box. This is even more annoying if I am trying to record HD channels as I cannot watch another HD channel. I can, however, watch any of the 3 available SD channels.

Clearly this a management challenge that I do not want to be hassled with, but apparently later this year we will be upgraded to 2 HD channels and then subsequently 4 HD channel capacity!

The actual performance of the of the U-verse cable box is exceptional, I have a couple of decent points of reference that include Comcast and Buckeye-express and each would regularly hang for several seconds quite randomly. The U-verse response is as snappy as I have ever seen and I am already getting use to the ne remote control after about 2 days of use.

The on screen layout follows the same fundamental pattern of most cable boxes, there are however a couple of nice perks sitting there waiting to be discovered. Firstly there is a great page preview system that takes advantage of the inherent Picture-In-Picture (PIP) technology of Mediaroom. Now I can channel surf to my hearts content without actually bothering my wife. In fact, when executing most program controls the cable picture is still viewable in the background (see picture on the left).

The two additional HD receivers will, sometime later this year, be able to access your main DVR and play recorded programs. This is a real bonus as I do about half of my TV watching from my bedroom. It has always been a hassle to be forced back down stairs to watch pre-recorded shows. This ability to have complete access from more and more rooms is the flexibility I crave.

We are currently still in the process of unpacking in our new home, so my wife suggested that we get pizza. I was getting ready to grab my computer to check for a local Pizza joint when I suddenly realized that I could check local services from the cable box. I had already punched in my zip code and so within a couple of intuitive clicks I had a list of Pizza places ordered by distance, with a number, and a small map. That was easy and cool, and once again my wife loved it.

The U-bar is another simple but effective application that allows you to check stock lists that you select along with things like weather, sports and local traffic. Again completely configurable by you at your AT&T home page.

The coolest feature IMHO is the ability to remotely select and record programs. I have been caught out of town a couple of times, or simply been running late and really wanted the opportunity to record a program I was going to miss. This remote service has nailed it.

Internet Service:

I selected the highest service available at 10 down\1.5 up (Mbps), this apparently will go up to 15+Mbps later this year. AT&T provide a modem for you which is  normal for cable companies. What is not normal is that the modem serves as both a wireless and wired router. This does of course mean giving up a certain level of control over your network and I have grown used to that idea as long as it just works. I started asking the installer a load of questions about the setup but my enthusiasm must have given me away, and he politely proposed that I should not make too many changes.

As I mentioned all U-Verse packages provide you with 1 HD DVR and 2 HD receivers (you can also rent additional boxes), the thing that is really cool about that is they are actually on your network (connected via coax), and each box has its own IP address (see image on the right). Each box in turn has an RJ-45 connection in the back and as such serves as additional wired access points to your network and out to the Internet! This has thankfully allowed me to cancel my plan to have network drops littered throughout my home which would have been both costly and a pain.

Conclusion:

I am definitely an early adopter of AT&T U-verse in the Central Ohio area but this system is a thing of beauty and the near future will see all that potential fulfilled. Things I still want to test for or see in the future include:

• Cable box should be able to access UPnP resources on my network.
• Access to Media Center on my PC, which seems like a logical step.
• Access cable programming from my Xbox (which I do not have yet).
• Direct access to my Zune content.

As the closing on my house gets closer and closer I am starting to think more and more about the various digital services that are available in the greater Columbus area.  I think FIOS would have been my first option (up to 30 Mbps downloads and 5 Mbps uploads), however, this service is not available in any part of Ohio.

I am fortunate, however, to no longer be under the tyrannical rule of Buckeye-Express, who have made some kind of pact with the City Toledo to ensure that no other cable company competes on a level playing field. The two main cable providers in the Columbus Ohio area include, Time Warner (TW) and Wow Cable, with AT&T U-verse filling the role of young upstart.

I cobbled together the following information based on the cable companies web sites. TW has the advantage in the estimated download speeds and have a better price point than WOW cable. I am not much of a premium channel guy so the free channel offerings are not drawing me in to the WOW service. AT&T has 2 free receivers in addition to the DVR box which more than makes up for the $15 difference in the price offered by Time Warner cable services.

Info: As of 3/9/2008

So what intrigues me the most? AT&T U-verse! which by all accounts is powered by Microsoft Media Room. Hanselman mentioned this last year but they were not taking orders back then, they are now in full swing apparently. I am fascinated by the potential integration to my PC viewing pictures and\or music and videos, I am assuming through Media Center or some kind UPnP services.

I need to ask more questions about the potential Xbox 360 as it seems to be able to act like another receiver, I am definitely jumping the gun here as I do not have an Xbox yet, but with the current rumors about an increase in 360 storage I am tempted!

Of course the actual device software is designed to be a DVR interface with a dynamic MultiView (multiple picture-in-picture) capabilities that will allow you to have up to 16 Picture-in-Picture (PIP) ... I need to see that before I believe it.

My wife is pushing toward the AT&T solution and simply waiting for the phone service to be available in the near future. I think the choice has been made for me ;)

A fascinating announcement by Warner Brothers should ensure the demise of the HD-DVD format and thereby allowing Sony to enjoy its first real format victory. In a move that seems to echo back the historical figure of Benedict Arnold, Warner Brothers has jumped ship from HD-DVD to Blu-Ray!

It was Warner Brothers support of an alternate form to Blu-Ray that started this whole thing in the first place:

In March 2002, the forum voted to approve a proposal endorsed by Warner Brothers. and other motion picture studios that involved compressing HD content onto dual-layer DVD-9 discs.

I must admit that my decision was made when Warner started distributing the Complete Matrix Trilogy in HD DVD format, together with Sony's propensity to lose format wars I thought Blu-Ray would lose for sure. When the triple layer (51Gb) out did the dual layer of the Blu-Ray (50Gb), with almost identical production costs I thought for sure that it was over.

Now that the Matrix will no longer be available on HD-DVD I am on the Blu-Ray band wagon!

I now have two Vista machines at home (and one XP) and I am really digging Windows Media Center. I am looking at getting a Cable converter so that I can start recording shows directly to my PC.

I am also looking at the various MCE Extenders that are being offered. Clearly the XBOX 360 is at the top of quite a diverse list but I am also curious about a few others:

• HP Media Smart (42", 47") - The first HDTV with integrated Media Center Technology - $1,699.99, $2,099.99
• LinkSys Media Center Extender (also with DVD player option) - There is a new model available in November but you can find olde models on Amazon for less than $200,
• DSM-750 DLink Xtreme N WiFi HD -  No price point set yet

On a related entertainment note, have you noticed the fact the HD DVD prices have taken a sudden dive!! Circuit City is currently advertising HD DVD players at about $130!! Plus you get 5 free HD DVD's with the purchase, not bad eh!

UPDATE: Price was changed to $197.99 the very next day, nice catch Ed!

Blu-ray is still at $650 ... your move Sony!

To be honest I am not sure if this is the last dying breath of HD DVD or whether this is a legitimate attempt to pull the market back into its favor, but with studios firmly aligned in one camp or the other the casualties in this stand off will invariably be the consumer.

I have come across my first major issue with WMP 11, last week I was trying to setup sharing on my home network (mistake # 1) and at some point during the whole debacle my whole library was no longer available to me. I could not add any of the files back to the library and it would not scan any of the file on my machine. In fact every time I would open WMP11 it would ask me to setup sharing for the network, I had just purchased the Corrine Bailey Rae CD and was looking forward to ripping it to my library but nothing.

This was ultra annoying! I tried uninstalling WMP 11 several different ways, and even went as far as installing when the moon was at its zenith, but nothing worked. There was no useful troubleshooting information I could find from Windows support website's. However some judicious Google searches led me to try the following:

• Close WMP11.
• Stop "Window Media Player Network Sharing Service".
• Delete "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player" ... trust me!
• Simply restart WMP11 and under Library select "Add to Library" and you should start to see activity and your music files start to replenish its depleted store!

Of course this should not have been necessary as one of the main points to using WMP11 was the improved database integrity. I never had a problem with WMP10, but then I guess I did not have the option to try to share my media across networks ... probably will not try that again!

"Knowledge is power." - Francis Bacon