Netflix was a pioneer in the business of movie rentals — getting consumers to rent DVDs online and mailing them out in cheery red envelopes. Recently, it has put a lot of effort into a service that delivers movies digitally over the Internet to subscribers, preparing for a day when getting movies on a physical disc will become outmoded.
For HDTV owners who want a digital video recorder, the choice can be tough. The Comcast high-definition DVR is a cheaper, but flawed product and the TiVo Series3 is an excellent, but overpriced one.
The beauty of digital media is the flexibility, Walt argues, and that flexibility shouldn’t be destroyed for honest consumers just because the companies that sell them have a theft problem caused by a minority of people.
Walt says the Slingbox — a new gadget that allows viewers to watch TV shows they receive at home in other locations, and on devices other than their TV sets — is a very good product that makes place shifting a reality.
Edited by Walt and written by Katie Boehret, this is a guide to gadgets, web services and other consumer technologies.
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