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FilmOn screen showing KVOS SeattleYou know what FilmOn needs? A blog.

If our favorite free streaming TV provider had a blog, it could add a post every time something new happened in one of its lawsuits. The FilmOn blog could have noted, as did Wendy Davis of MediaPost, that a couple of weeks ago broadcasters had filed an “emergency motion” to block FilmOn’s appeals until the US Supreme Court rules on the similar Aereo lawsuit. Then FilmOn could have added another post today when, over FilmOn’s objection, a court agreed with that emergency motion and put FilmOn’s appeals on ice, as reported by Colin Mann of Advanced Television. And during legal quiet periods, which now seem likely for a few months, FilmOn founder Alki David could direct his flow of pronouncements and opinions into a regular column in the blog.

One more legal note, the organization behind Chicago PBS station WTTW countersued FilmOn last week, according to yet another fine story by Wendy Davis. FilmOn had asked the courts there for a declaratory judgment that it’s not infringing copyright; this was WTTW’s answer that it strongly disagrees. More about WTTW in a moment.

As much as I’d love to see all these legal proceedings collected under one roof, the main reason I wish FilmOn had a blog is that it might use it to explain what the heck it’s doing with its channels, particularly US over-the-air broadcast channels. A couple of weeks ago, its free service added almost 40 new OTA stations, including superstations, digital sub-channels, and a dozen PBS affiliates. (Some of the new channels have a cute Linux desktop frame, as shown above.)

There’s so much to enjoy about these new channels, mainly because they don’t duplicate programming from the Big Four broadcast networks. There are a dozen CW affiliates, including superstations WGN, KWGN, KTLA, and WPIX. The dozen PBS affiliates, including WTTW, often run local programming too. There are three true independents, from Tampa FL, Atlanta (Peachtree) and Los Angeles. And there are affiliates of the little networks: My Network, MeTV, The Cool, Cozi, Bounce, PBS Kids, PBS World, V-Me, ion (or is it ion Life?), and Qubo.

For a few days last week, FilmOn also offered most of the OTA stations and sub-channels from the Los Angeles market, minus the Big Four affiliates. Today, they’re all gone, an example of why I hesitate to write about new FilmOn channels that can vanish as quickly as they appear. Why did they leave? Will they come back? An official blog could answer those questions.

FilmOn appears to be delivering this prime array of supplemental OTA TV to everyone regardless of market, as opposed to the Big Four affiliates in New York, which are only visible to NYC area viewers. It’s an amazing resource. I wonder how long these will last, or what FilmOn will do next. Sure wish they had a blog to tell us.

by ·Comments Off on CES Photo Roundup: iPhone cases and more

After last year’s International CES, I received so many comments from readers that said, “What a tease! You said there are a gazillion iPhone cases at CES, but you only showed us two measly pictures of them. Next year, we want more.” And then there was the guy who asked, “They’ve got everything else at that show, what about Hobots?” Comments like that were what drove me to take all of the following photos. Be careful what you wish for!

iPhone cases

Hello Kitty iPhone cases

iPhope cases

iPhone cases

iPhone cases

Scary poster from a vendor selling iPhone cases claiming to protect kids by blocking cell phone radiation.

From a vendor selling iPhone cases claiming to protect kids by blocking cell phone radiation.

iPhone cases

Hobot window cleaning robot

And there’s your Hobot. Turns out that it cleans windows.

 

by ·Comments Off on What it was like to attend CES

I still have at least two CES stories left to run, if you include the iPhone case roundup. But neither of them will be as long or as thorough as Kara Swisher’s sweeping, photo-dotted roundup that she wrote for Recode.net. If you want another glimpse of CES from the trenches, go read it!

by ·Comments Off on CES is still relevant, just not as much
At a booth at CES, man with his head on a table

I pity this poor guy. CES fatigue is real, but it normally takes a while to develop, and this was the afternoon of Day One.

The 2014 edition of the International CES is over, and all reports suggest that it was the largest yet. That’s true for automotive fans or health gadget followers, but for us satellite folks, it was a little disappointing.

Once upon a time, I could count on CES to show off the latest in satellite free-to-air equipment, the FTA in this blog’s name. That presence dwindled, and in 2014, there was absolutely zero satellite FTA at the show. Searching for “satellite” in the over 3200 exhibitors’ descriptions turned up only 15 matches, including “satellite offices” and companies that supply to satellite and cable providers. Even Dish Network’s “Be anywhere, watch everything” description didn’t mention that s-word; Dish just happens to deliver most of its content through geosynchronous whatchamacallits.

On the other hand, a few companies showed a renewed interest in over-the-air free TV viewing. I got to hold simple.TV‘s second-generation receiver, fresh off the boat. Tablo exhibited a OTA receiver that’s very, very similar to simple.TV’s but with a tablet-oriented interface. Even venerable antenna manufacturer Channel Master introduced its own OTA receiver, the DVR+, which will launch with no guide subscription fees. The DVR+ also won a CES Innovations 2014 Design and Engineering Award.

And most importantly, CES draws together all sorts of people to meet. I talked with technological innovators, iPhone case demonstrators, and some of the other folks who write about what’s new. I was even present for a friendly meeting of attendees from SatelliteGuys and DBSTalk at the Dish booth. There’s a lot of noise at every CES, but the connections make it worth it every year.

by ·Comments Off on The downside to the "Internet of Things"
iPhone cases, second in a series

iPhone cases, second in a series

One of the hot topic at the International CES this year (along with driverless cars, wearable tech, and iPhone cases) was the “Internet of Things”, sometimes called “Internet everywhere”. Companies pushing the next new thing extolled the virtues of wirelessly connected appliances, so users could turn off a washing machine from the office.

Very few people mentioned anything about the downside of having all these internet-chatting devices around the house. I was starting to put together an article to explain the problems with this setup, then I saw that Peter Bright had already written it for ars technica. You need to go read Disaster Waiting to Happen.