Personal Technology Tips in Plain English
Archive for March, 2007
Download Movies To Your Tivo from Amazon.com Unbox Video Download Service
Mar 8th
Link Your Tivo to Amazon’s Video Download Service
LINK YOUR TiVo ACCOUNT TO AMAZON IN LESS THAN 2 MINUTES:
1. You’ll be asked to log into your Tivo.com User account. Simply enter your User ID + Password and that’s it!
2. Basically, you just give permission for Amazon‘s Unbox Video service to move files through your Tivo account over the web directly into your TiVo box in your home!
3. When you’re done, your Amazon.com page lists all the registered TiVo boxes through the service and you can select different movies and then push them to your TiVo’s NOW PLAYING screen!
As of March 2007, there are over 1,450 downloadable movies, tv episodes, etc from Amazon.com Unbox Video Service
You can see which ones are the current Best Sellers
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Here’s the FAQ section from Amazon.com:
How does the Amazon Unbox on TiVo service work?
Using Amazon Unbox on TiVo is easy. After a simple one-time registration process, you will be able to select your TiVo DVR as a RemoteLoad download destination each time you purchase or rent a video from Amazon Unbox at amazon.com/unbox. Your Unbox video will download directly to your TiVo DVR.
How is Amazon Unbox on TiVo different than other options for watching digital videos on my TV?
Unlike most digital video-to-TV services, Amazon Unbox on TiVo is not an extender service so you don’t have to somehow connect your PC to your TV or extender device. Instead, your TiVo DVR communicates directly with the Unbox service through your home network, so your videos get downloaded directly to your TiVo DVR, where you already watch your favorite movies and TV shows.
Which TiVo DVRs can play videos from Amazon Unbox?
Any broadband-connected TiVo Series2™ or Series3™ DVR can download and play Unbox videos. Sorry, this service is not available for DIRECTV TiVo subscribers, TiVo Series1™ owners, or TiVo subscribers who use a telephone phone line to access the service.
Do I need to install any special software on my PC to use the service?
No, you can use the standard web browser on your PC or Mac to purchase your videos at Amazon Unbox and to download them directly to your TiVo DVR.
How does the quality of Unbox videos compare to the quality of shows recorded by my TiVo DVR?
Unbox videos watched on a TiVo DVR are of equal or better quality than videos recorded at the Best Quality setting on a TiVo Series2 DVR.
Which Unbox videos can I download and watch on my TiVo DVR?
You can download thousands of titles from leading studios and networks to watch on your TiVo DVR. To identify videos that are available for download to your TiVo, just look for the TiVo logo on the detail page of your favorite movie or TV show.
Where can I find my downloaded videos on my TiVo DVR?
Your downloaded Unbox videos appear in your Now Playing List with the rest of your TiVo content, just where you would expect them to be!
If I delete my Unbox videos from my TiVo DVR are they gone forever?
Amazon Unbox stores your purchased videos in Your Media Library for re-download – so your videos don’t have to take up all the space on your TiVo DVR. (Please note that due to licensing restrictions certain new release movies are unavailable for re-download for an unspecified period of time starting 90 days after their release date. While these movies can be viewed as often as you like during this window, they cannot be re-downloaded from Your Media Library.)
How long does it take to download an Unbox video to my TiVo DVR?
Download times vary depending on your actual Internet connection speed, the speed of your home networking hardware, and the length of the video. With a fast broadband connection (5 Mbps), a movie can download in about an hour, while a 1-hour TV episode can download in about 30 minutes. However, on a slower broadband connection (less than 1 Mbps), a movie can take up to 5 hours.
Fortunately, the Unbox RemoteLoad feature allows you to order from Amazon.com and download anywhere. So, you can order a video while at work and it will be ready to watch by the time you get home.
Can I use TiVo Home Media features with my Unbox videos?
While the TiVoToGo™ and Multi-Room Viewing features have been disabled to meet rights holder requirements, the Amazon Unbox RemoteLoad feature allows you to download your videos directly to up to 2 PCs or TiVo DVRs at any time.
How many copies of my Unbox videos can I have downloaded at one time?
Your videos from Amazon Unbox can be downloaded on up to 2 PCs or TiVo DVRs and 2 portable devices at any one time.
March Madness: Free Samsung Blackjack
Mar 7th
WHAT? I paid $299 retail for my Blackjack from the local Cingular store + I had to go back to the store twice to get the phone since they were out of stock originally.
Nowadays, you can apparently get the Blackjack completely free with a simple contract as usual on the Cingular network. Boy do I feel jipped. Oh well. That’s the price of technology…dropping as always.
AdviceOnWireless.com has it on sale for $149 – $149 rebates. Plus they throw in free FedEx shipping as well. So there’s no excuses now separating you and your future 3G video-streaming, email reading, music listening, photo-taking, videoclip recording, i607 Blackjack! 
If you’re a current Cingular subscriber and willing to extend your contract (even better if your contract has elapsed have no commitment right now! You might as well have 2 phones if you’re going to keep paying on the same plans!), this site allows existing customers to extend their contract and get the phone via FedEx for $39. That’s a steal still.
Here’s another place that also sells it for FREE. Wow. Amazing phone, amazing deals.
No wonder Samsung has sold over a quarter of a million of them so far and they just launched it Q4 2006!
ABC Channel 7 Eyewiteness News TV (NY area) On The Samsung Blackjack
Mar 7th
After running HandiTV on my Blackjack, I’ve found that the channel choices are kind of limited. It’s neat to have streaming video on the device of any sort. It’s definitely a conversation starter for anyone that passes by that notices I’m watching video on my phone. My question now is what other video content can I view on my Samsung Blackjack? Free is better of course.
I found out that the ABC television channel has their Eyewitness News programs available for mobile devices and it works quite well on my Cingular network, as long as I have at least an EDGE connection. If you have a 3G connection, it’s pretty much flawless. And at worst, you get full audio, and either jumpy or realllllly bad slide-show like video.
This of course, should work on any Windows Mobile platform cell phone.
Just go to Internet Explorer and go to http://www.7togo.com
You can actually go there online right now from a PC to see the same exact content. It’s just aimed at the mobile viewing experience, so bandwith requirements is low – resolution of the video is low for regular monitors on a desktop or laptop of course — but you can see everything there.
I like the weather forecast. They have animated radar too for the “big picture” with which you can ZOOM IN. This is both for the tri-state NY/NJ/CT area as well as one for national weather radar.
I also really like the traffic feature (although I know that GoogleMaps has live real-time traffic too on the Blackjack) they have. The linking is VERY intuitive and really takes into consideration the mobile experience. For example, they break it down by roads, bridges, tunnels, airports. It also breaks it down into states (NY,NJ,CT) and then into “NUMBERED ROADS” or “NAMED ROADS”, etc. So in the end, you can VERY EASILY page through to get to the exact highway you’re trying to find traffic status for. That’s what you want when you’re on your phone. Find the exact information you want quickly and without too much thought or attention when going through menus.
Bravo WABC-7!!!!
Daylight Savings Time (DST) Update for Samsung Blackjack and Windows Mobile Devices
Mar 6th
With the “Energy Policy Act of 2005” in which Daylight Saving Time was MOVED UP 3 whole weeks to March 11th this year *AND* the fact that we’re going to change back 1 week LATER than usual – the 1st Sunday of November (November 4, 2007) vs. the last Sunday of October — I now have to deal with it on my Windows Mobile device, the Cingular Samsung Blackjack i607.
They say that I have to do it sooner than later and it has to be compeltely done at once, otherwise appointments that I set-up pre-DST-time-change and pre-software-update may affect how they’re scheduled post-software-update and post-DST-time change with various combinations of scenarios like if you pass March 11th, but didn’t do the update yet, and then create an event in the calendar, and then do the software update, etc, etc. The problems in appointment scheduling can be a headache that haunts you in the future
| Changes in DST will cause the following problems for Windows Mobile powered devices in the U.S. and Canada unless the updated detailed above are applied: | |
| Impact between March 11, 2007 and April 1, 2007 |
Impact between October 28, 2007 and November 4, 2007 |
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Microsoft has a bunch of patches to take care of it on your desktop. And now they’ve issued instructions for how to deal with it on your Windows Mobile smartphone / cell phone device. . . Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft Updates for Windows & Office for Daylight Savings Time 3 Weeks Early in 2007 – March 11th
Mar 6th
Life is complicated as is. And George Bush seems to do what he does best – complicate things for us. And this time he’s bending the laws of time – literally. Back in 2005, he signed the “Energy Policy Act of 2005” in which Daylight Saving Time was MOVED UP 3 whole weeks to March 11th this year. And we’ve change back 1 week LATER than usual – the 1st Sunday of November (November 4, 2007) vs. the last Sunday of October.
There are a couple of places in our country that are immune to the powers of George W. it seems since these places don’t follow Daylight Saving Time changes which is based on the original Universal Time Act
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Arizona
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Hawaii
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American Samoa
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Guam
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Puerto Rico
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the Virgin Islands
What about all our computers? Microsoft has a wizard that walks you through their products and offers a solution if needed like patches… Read the rest of this entry »
Find New Applications To Load Onto Your Cingular i607 Samsung Blackjack
Mar 5th
I’ve think I’ve finally hit my groove with my Samsung Blackjack and started to really integrate it into my daily work life. I just transferred a bunch of audio books and teleconference recordings that I need to review in my spare time. And I’m looking for more things that my Blackjack can do for all the “down time” I have like when I’m waiting in lines, etc.
One application that may not make me productive, but help kill the time when needed is a video application. I just purchased HandiTV for Windows Mobile from Handango.com for $20.95 which supposedly lets me watch streaming video and live TV on my phone since it has 3G capabilities. Cingular actually has a Cingular Video service for $10/month which is powered by MobiTV, and the Mossberg’s column in the WSJ gave it positive reviews. But I found that the company sells a stand-alone application which does the same thing as a one-time purchase application as well…so here
goes!
There are 2 ways to install the application once the zip file is expanded on the PC. You can use activesync or move the CAB file to the device and run the application.
There are 2 separate add-ons that you can purchase one is the CNNxpack and the other is the CBS Xpack to get additional video content from those 2 channels. They are both $4.95 each. So we’ll have to see if it’s worth it to add them on later.
I love tech, gadgets and the web. Hope you pick-up a useful tip or two here today that helps you use technology to your advantage! Better yet, why not share your own expertise in a comment on a post today to help the other readers that land here for answers!