From the Washington Post article:

“What Aereo is doing to bring broadcast signals to its customers is interesting,” Time Warner Cable chief executive Glenn Britt said in an interview with The Washington Post. “If it is found legal, we could conceivably use similar technology.”

That’s a big admission from Britt, and illustrates both how rapidly the internet is changing the television industry. But what would be an even bigger admission would be if Britt would consider delivering that public broadcast package beyond its existing subscriber base.

A modest proposal

In short, would Britt be willing to break the unspoken agreement that has kept the telcos and cable providers from infringing on each other’s turfs even as IP technology has made it possible for them to deliver their TV packages over the top?

If Time Warner Cable were to implement an Aereo-like business model and offer it to anyone, it might hurt Aereo but it would set off a war between the telcos and cable companies to deliver their services over the top. In many cases, the technology isn’t stopping this revolution, but the business implications would give them pause.

If Comcast’s Xfinity service were available everywhere and so were Verizon’s FiOS packages, then pay TV will have been decoupled from the entwork. All you would be left with are dumb pipes and whole lot of companies offering to provide the same channels of television. Would we need 20 “premium cable offerings?”

My hunch is no, which would have trickle down effects on the money the networks make as well as hasten the rise of a la carte pay TV packages, or even simply paying for a show. However, all of this speculation is premature as Britt cushioned his statements by telling the Washington Post that his company is only watching Aereo’s legal battle and that it doesn’t have concrete plans.

Taking action on this sort of talk would hugely piss off the broadcasters that own some of the channels that Time Warner Cable depends on to keep its subscribers happy, and may just be a feint in the ongoing fight between cable providers and content companies about retransmission fees.

Back in the real world

But Britt is clearly a fan of shaking things up. Unlike many ISPs that view Netflix as a threat to their triple play bundle, Time Warner Cable sends out advertisements touting Netflix as a reason to upgrade broadband speeds. He’s also letting consumers stream live TV to their Roku boxes with a Time Warner Subscription (that might come in handy should it elect to make an Aereo-style over the top offering). And he’s also been more vocal about the need for more flexible packages of channels for consumers.

He reiterated that to the Washington Post:

“The structure needs more flexibility,” Britt said. A customer shouldn’t have to pay for less popular channels like VH1 Honors in order to get Nick Jr. and MTV. “There are fellow citizens who are struggling financially and can’t afford large programming packages. We want the ability to offer those customers smaller, more affordable packages.”

It’s better to keep a customer paying you something, rather than decamping because they don’t want to pay for a $150 cable bill. Britt seems to get that, and wants to find a middle ground before the internet and over the top TV offerings take that ground out from under his feet. I wonder if he’s willing to take it even further.

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Wood told me in early 2012 that his company had sold 2.5 million players by the end of 2011, which was below its own forecast. It looks like sales have picked up since then, with Roku customers buying another 2.5 million players in just 16 months. Just as a frame of reference: Apple sold two million Apple TVs during last year’s holiday quarter, and has sold more than 10 million total since the device was introduced.

Roku has invested heavily in advertising for its products to keep up with the market leader, and has raised around $67 million to finance its ad blitz.

The company has also made advancements to its product line: Roku recently launched its 3rd generation Roku player, and the company also started to partner with TV makers to bundle its MHL-based Roku stick with TV sets that don’t use an integrated smart TV platform.

Take a look at our Roku 3 review below:

This story was updated at 10:36 am to clarify that the 35 hours of weekly streaming that occurs on 1 in 4 Roku players includes music, and not just video.

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Using your Apple TV

If your home is fully equipped with Apple products, the easiest way to watch home movies privately is by using an Apple TV.  There are several options to display your home movies on your Apple TV, it just depends on which Apple device you happen to have your movies on.

From your iOS device: With point and shoot cameras dropping in sales by 30 percent in recent months, more people are using their iPhones to capture all of their personal moments on video.  Provided you are running iOS 4.3 or greater, when the video files are still on your iPhone, you can view them directly on the AppleTV using AirPlay. Simply turn on your Apple TV, tap on the AirPlay icon and select which AppleTV you want to view your videos on.

Directly from your Mac: If you do not have an iPhone, and you have been off loading your video files from your digital camera directly to your Mac, you can still use AirPlay from your Mac to watch your videos on your Apple TV.  Macs running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion can also stream their entire screens directly to an Apple TV using AirPlay Mirroring.

If you do not have a newer generation AirPlay-capable Mac (mid-2011 or newer), you still have two choices.  The first is an app in the Mac App Store called HUDTube ($4.99, Mac).  This is the only video player app in the Mac App Store that supports streaming to an Apple TV using AirPlay.  With HudTube, you simply drag and drop the video file you want to view, and select the Apple TV you wish to stream to.

The second solution for your Mac is to use a product called Air Parrot ($9.99, Mac).  This product brings the same AirPlay streaming capabilities to older Macs.  One nice feature that Air Parrot has that Apple’s own AirPlay Mirroring does not is the ability to select just one app window.  This feature is called “App Mirroring.”  As an example, with App Mirroring you can display just the QuickTime Player rather then your entire desktop.

Home Sharing from iTunes: You can also use iTunes on your Mac to stream your home movies to your Apple TV.  Beginning with version 10.1 of iTunes, you have been able to share your video files alongside your photos with Home Sharing.  Home Sharing is a way to share your entire iTunes Library on your local network to all of your Apple devices.  It is easy to enable, but does require that you have an iTunes account.  Keep in mind that all Home Sharing will be limited to devices that are configured with that account.

Once you have Home Sharing enabled in iTunes, from iTune’s File menu go back to Home Sharing menu item and click on “Choose Photos to Share with AppleTV.”  Here you can select either an iPhoto Library, an Aperture Library, or any other folder on your Mac containing photos and videos you want to share.  Just be sure to check “Include Videos” when you first set this up.

To watch your shared movies, you must also enable Home Sharing on your Apple TV.  Now you will be able to select any one of the movies you shared by accessing them from the “Computer” icon on the home menu of your Apple TV.  Even thought they are videos, they will be listed under “Photos” of your computer’s Home Sharing library.  Keep in mind that this Home Sharing solution is limited to your devices connected to your home network.

Direct connection with cables

If you do not have an Apple TV connected to your HDTV, the next best thing is to use a cable to connect your Apple device directly to your HDTV.  How you connect to the HDTV will depend on which Apple product you have and the type of connectors your television supports.  For the most recent Macs that come equipped with either a mini display port or Thunderbolt, there is the Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter for $34.95 which will allow you to connect your Mac to an HDTV using an HDMI connection.

For your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that still has the older 30-pin connector, you can use the Apple Composite AV Cable for $39.  While this is not an HDMI solution, it does connect to a wider variety of home theater equipment.  There are also the Lightning Digital AV Adapter for $49 that works with the iPhone 5 and latest version of the iPad that come with the new Lightning connector.  Each of these solutions will allow you to play back your movies from your Apple device directly to your HDTV.

Copy files to USB thumb drive

If your Mac is not near your home theater equipment, or you just don’t want to mess with cables every time you want to watch a home movie, you may be able to watch your video files from a USB thumb drive.  Many of todays home theater appliances come equipped with a USB port.  The challenge here is getting your home videos into a format that your device can display.  To convert mine, I have always used Handbrake (Free, Mac).  Handbrake is capable of reading in a wide variety of video formats and can export to the industry standard H.264.

If you are looking for a solution that works just as well, but is available through the Mac App Store, then try Smart Converter Pro ($4.99, Mac).  Like Handbrake, Smart Converter Pro can convert all of your home movies in a batch process.  Unlike Handbrake, it can also encode your home movies to DivX, a popular video format that a lot of older home theater equipment still supports.  Once you have your home movies in the format that you need, simply copy them over to your USB thumb drive and plug it into your home theater equipment.

Host your own UPnP/DLNA media server

Another option is to host your own Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) or Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) media server from your Mac.  Most smart HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players, Roku and popular game consoles like the XBox and Playstation all can play videos served up by a UPnP/DLNA server.  The problem with this solution historically has been finding a media server solution that your home theater appliance works well with.  This sounds complicated but it really is not.  It is basically the same thing that iTunes does via AirPlay to the Apple TV outlined above.  Just think of UPnP/DLNA as AirPlay for the rest of the home theater market.

For the Mac, there are two popular media server solutions that are UPnP/DLNA compliant.  The first is Plex Media Server (Free, Mac).  Plex has been around for a while now and has done a great job of ensuring that its solution works well on a wide variety of devices.  Once installed, there are tutorials and instructions to help publish your local video files over your home network.

The second solution that does not have nearly all of the features the Plex has — but does a great job at serving up a folder full of home movies — is Serviio (Free, Mac).  Both solutions are easy to set up and will provide access to your home movies to almost any UPnP/DLNA compliant device attached to your home network.

There are several options available to you when it comes to watching home movies at home.  Not every solution requires that you use only Apple products to record and watch your home movies.  Each one offers its own benefits, from being able to play back your recently recorded videos directly from your iPhone, to storing years of home movies on your Mac and being able to bring them up any time you want to view them.

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Show notes for this episode:

• The Roku 3 is available for $100 online, and will come to retail stores some time in April. More information about the device can be found on Roku’s website.
• Roku 3 comes with apps for most major content providers, but still doesn’t have its own YouTube app. Check here to learn how to play YouTube videos on Roku.
• Check out our e-book Cut the Cord: All You Need to Know to Drop Cable to learn more about various devices that help you to get rid of cable. The book is available for $5 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes.

What’s your take on the new Roku, and especially the headphone jack? Worth a buy, or just a gimmick? Sound off in the comments below, get in touch with us on Twitter (@cordcutters) or email us at cordcutters @ gigaom.com. Also, please check out our new Google+ Cord Cutters community!

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• Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room

Broadcom first hinted at a cooperation with Roku at CES, and it highlighted the partnership at Mobile World Congress this week. Roku has been using Broadcom chips for some time, and in the past IT closely collaborated with the chip maker on the launch of its second-generation hardware, so it makes a lot of sense for Roku to add support for Broadcom’s Miracast as well.

Check out the video below for a demo of Miracast:

There is no official word yet on which devices are going to support Miracast. However, Roku’s recently introduced Streaming Stick already supports Wi-Fi Direct, the wireless networking standard at the core of Miracast’s technology that allows devices to directly communicate with each other.

I noticed that this would enable wireless video streaming when Roku first demoed the stick back in September, and Roku Director of Product Management Lloyd Klarke confirmed at the time that the company was working on bringing video mirroring to its devices. One can assume that Miracast will be added to the Streaming Stick through a firmware update, perhaps when Roku is rolling out version 5.0 of its software.

It’s unlikely that Miracast will work with Roku’s existing streaming boxes, but the company seems to be working on a hardware refresh already: Engadget spotted an FCC filing for a still-unanounced Roku 4200X player earlier this month, which likely supports Wi-Fi Direct as well.

Roku didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this article. A Broadcom spokesperson confirmed that the hardware used for Roku’s Streaming Stick is Miracast-capable, but declined to comment on Roku’s plans for the technology.

AirPlay-like wireless video streaming has emerged as a key strategy for connected device makers in recent months. In January, Netflix and YouTube launched a joint effort for an open second-screen protocol called DIAL, and just a few days ago, Samsung unveiled its very own media streaming device to mirror content from Samsung mobile devices on legacy TV sets.

Broadcom’s Miracast has added a number of partners in recent months, including Intel a nd Google, which integrated the technology into Android 4.2. However, hardware support for Miracast video mirroring is still somewhat spotty. For example, Miracast is supported by the Nexus 4, but not by the Nexus 7 or 10.

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Time Warner Cable will stream up to 300 channels to subscribers through the service. The actual channel line-up depends on where customers live, as well as their subscription package, but I’ve been told by Roku that this isn’t one of those “get all the major broadcasters, minus the two you actually watch” kind of deals: “All channels will be included,” a Roku spokesperson told me.

This is a significant win for Roku, and it foreshadows where the company is going: In the past, Roku has often advertised itself as a cord cutting solution, with Roku CEO Anthony Wood telling us back in 2010 that 12 percent of his customers had already given up on their pay TV subscription. But since then, Roku has put a bigger emphasis on authenticated offerings like HBO Go. The Time Warner Cable deal now marks the first time a pay TV operator is streaming live TV straight to Roku devices.

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Optimize your home network

Got a Roku 2 XS? Then make use of that Ethernet port, and connect the device directly to your router

Here’s one way to mess with anyone’s holiday spirit: Imagine you’re streaming a movie with your new Roku – and suddenly, it starts to buffer. Again and again. Even though your Internet connection should be fast enough. In many cases, issues like these are caused by problems in your home network. Maybe your baby monitor is interfering with your wireless router. Or maybe that wall between your living room and your home office is just a bit too solid for a good Wifi signal.

The easiest remedy is to use a wired Ethernet connection instead, if at all possible. An Ethernet cable connecting your router directly to your Roku will always get you the best signal possible. Unfortunately, that’s only possible with the Roku2 XS. The XD, HD and LT models as well as the new Roku streaming stick don’t have any Ethernet port, and have to rely on Wifi instead. You could always try to move your router closer to your living room TV, or upgrade to a newer router if nothing else helps.

Watch YouTube

Roku has plenty of channels to keep you busy over the holidays and beyond, but there’s one big one missing: you won’t find any YouTube channel in the Roku channel store. But no worries: You can still watch all your favorite YouTube clips with your Roku, as long as you also have an iPad, Android tablet, iPhone or Android mobile phone. Just install Twonky Beam on your mobile device, use it to navigate YouTube’s catalog, and beam the clips of your choice to the Roku, AirPlay-style. Take a look at our demo video below:

Get Plex

Plex is great to access personal media stored on your home PC – including your music collection.

Want to watch home movies and downloaded content on your Roku? Then get the Plex channel, and install the Plex Media Server on your Windows PC or OS X computer. Not only does Plex do a great job at organizing and displaying all your local media, it also offers access to a number of additional content channels. And with MyPlex, you can even share media with other Plex users and access their shared content libraries on your Roku.

Get the official mobile app

The Roku app for Android and iOS doesn’t just have handy shortcuts for your Roku channels, it also lets you beam content from your mobile phone.

It’s bound to happen: sooner or later, you’re gonna lose the Roku remote between your couch cushions. That’s when the official Roku remote app for iOS and Android comes in handy. The app not only lets you navigate through Roku’s menus, you can also quickly fire up your channels through dedicated shortcuts. And you’ll even be able to beam any music and videos saved on your mobile phone straight to the Roku.

Install third-party channels

Roku has more than 600 channels available through its channel store, which should keep you busy for some time. But there’s more: A few hundred private channels, including adult content and offerings that aren’t quite ready yet for prime time, can be accessed through special channel codes. Check this description to learn how to add private channels, and then browse the catalog on Roku-channels.com to find more channels for your new Roku box.

Want to use your Roku to get rid of cable? Then check out my ebook Cut the Cord: All You Need to Know to Drop Cable.

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