Cablevision has announced that it will be giving subscribers access to another 15 free HD channels, making 60 channels available now to customers.
Beginning at the end of July, the cable operator will be adding Nickelodeon, WE tv, AMC, Animal Planet, The Weather Channel, Travel Channel, FOX News Channel, Discovery Channel, Hallmark Movie Channel and FX.
Cablevision currently has 3 million subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and says that 1.1 million of those have “at least one high-definition TV and HD-enabled set-top box.”
The move is seen as an effort to fight off growing competition from satellite companies such as DIRECTV and DISH and more notably, Verizon’s growing FiOS network.
Analysts have long said that customers are under the impression that satellite TV offers more and better HD quality services than cable, but that is not entirely correct. Although the satellite companies do offer more HD channels, the quality is equal to that of cable. DIRECTV currently offers 95 HD channels and DISH offers 80. FiOS offers 30 but says 30 more are coming by the end of September.
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After many complaints surfaced that the latest PlayStation 3 firmware update, version 2.40, was bricking user’s consoles, Sony has confirmed that it is looking into the matter.
The latest update, which will bring gamers a few of their most requested features, in-game XMB (XrossMediaBar) and “trophies” for online gaming, was officially released this morning but many users have claimed that the update is freezing or even bricking their consoles, making reformatting the hard drive the only solution.
“We’re aware that some PS3 users are reporting issues after downloading and installing the 2.40 firmware update onto their system,” said a rep.
“We are looking into the matter further and will work with our customers to address any related issues they may be experiencing with their PS3 systems.”
On the official Sony PlayStation boards, there is currently a 42 page thread based on the problem, and I would implore current PS3 users to check it before deciding to update to 2.40.
View that thread here: PS3 official boards.
Update: It appears that Sony has taken the firmware update down as many users are confirming they can no longer update through the console or download from the Sony site.
“We have temporarily taken firmware v2.40 offline,” said Sony Computer Entertainment America corporate communications director Patrick Seybold. “We’ve received a limited number of calls from consumers experiencing an issue with installing the system software update on their PS3. While our consumer services department has seen a low volume of calls on this topic, we are committed to providing the PS3 community with XMB access features delivered in the v2.40 update. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up.”
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Virgin Media has denied recent reports that it plans to disconnect ‘pirates’ from the Internet for unauthorized file sharing and instead is working a policy out with the music industry. There is “absolutely no possibility” that users will be disconnected or that private details will be handed over to the record industry, added the company.
The BPI, the British equivalent of the RIAA, has been pushing UK ISP’s to be more responsible with the actions of an estimated 6 million citizens who allegedly share files. On one end, there is Virgin Media who says it is working with the music industry, while on the other end there is Carphone Warehouse who has refused to comply with the demands.
Virgin has been hit with a publicity blitz as of late after it was revealed that Virgin users were receiving ‘educational warnings‘ at the behest of the BPI. The letters began with “Important: If you don’t read this, your broadband could be disconnected” so many were led to believe that their Internet would indeed be shut off by the ISP. Virgin has changed its tune however and is now saying that header was a “mistake” and that it should be ignored.
Asam Ahmad, rep for Virgin, added that the ISP cannot be completely sure if the alleged offenses were even committed by the person who received the letter. “It is important to let our customers know that their accounts have been used in a certain way but we are happy to accept it may not be the account holder that’s involved. It could be someone else in the family or someone living in a shared house. It could even be someone stealing wi-fi. We are not making any form of accusation.”
