With all of the conspiracy theory and negative talk surrounding the merger of Comcast cable TV and NBC, the more uplifting news tends to get buried on the back page.  Let’s help bring some of the positive news to the forefront.

According to a press release from Comcast, the cable giant is using On Demand technology and the power of its far reaching services to help law enforcement find missing kids.  As the press release states, “Comcast’s Missing Kids On Demand and online, produced in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, features 20 video profiles chronicling missing child cases from across the nation.  Each video provides relevant details about the child’s case, including the name of the missing child, city of the disappearance, possible whereabouts, likely abductors and photos.  In cases where the child has been missing for a long period, an age progressed photo showing what he/she may look like at a more recent age will also be available.  In addition, during the airing of each profile, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline (800-THE-LOST) will be displayed on the bottom of the profile, so viewers can report tips should they have any information.”

With all of the talk of corporate greed and government regulations, it can be easy to forget how much good can from a company the size of Comcast.  Missing Kids On Demand is a noble effort to help the children who need it most.

According to Fortune, Comcast cable TV will officially take control of NBC on January 28, 2011.  That’s just 3 days from now.  While speculation and accusation have accompanied the planned merger since its inception, a new article at Fortune points out the government’s role in the Comcast NBC merger.

Fortune’s Dan Mitchell claims the Comcast NBC merger opens the door to governmental micromanagement of future media deals.  The end result in the Comcast NBC deal is a laundry list of restrictions put in place by the FCC to “protect” consumers and other companies.  Equal pricing for online distributors and the more traditional cable TV outlets, standalone Internet service for non Comcast cable customers, and budget prices for low income consumers are just a few of the government mandates Mitchell points out.

The article goes on to say, “If Justice and the FCC had simply said ‘no’ to the merger, nascent online video outfits wouldn’t need to be ‘protected’ from the monster that has been created. There would be no monster. Or at least, it wouldn’t be so monstrous.

And it’s far from clear that the Netflixes of the world, or consumers, are protected at all. The conditions set by the FCC are riddled with ambiguity. For instance, Comcast may not ‘unreasonably’ restrict the availability of online video, the FCC says. What does ‘unreasonably’ mean?”

Should the FCC have simply vetoed the deal?  Maybe not.  Regardless, it’s been approved and the government is now in the business of calling the shots in cable TV.

Time Warner Cable Internet packages have expereinced some upgrades in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.  The end result is an upgraded experience with speeds up to 50 mbps downloads and up to 5 mbps for uploads.  Of course, the upgraded speeds will require a new cable modem.  However, these new modems do come with built-in wireless connectivity.

One source, DSL Reports, claims a $25 fee increase over Time Warner’s current Internet rates with a max of $99, while another, the LocalTechWire, had no pricing data as of yet.  Regardless, the increased speeds should be well received in the tech hot spots of Research Triangle Park.

I heard from a friend, who heard from a friend . . .

Anders Bylund, over at The Motley Fool investing news site, cited Zatz Not Funny as the source for this story picked up from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  Apparently, Verizon Director of Consumer Product Development Joe Ambeault told Zatz Not Funny that the future of Verizon TV is the Internet, and only the Internet.  That’s right, Verizon will be IPTV all the time and that could mean cutting the cable TV cord for consumers coast to coast.

For consumers, the move to Verizon IPTV would be relatively painless.  The story claims the majority of the heavy lifting will be on Verizon’s end, so consumers won’t have to make a ton of technology upgrades.  Another plus for consumers would be choice, an option not many have had in the realm of cable TV providers.  If the speculation is correct, an Internet based Verizon TV service could launch coast to coast without the restraints of physical cables and connections.  Your Verizon TV service could technically be piped into your house over your Comcast cable TV or Time Warner Cable high speed Internet connections.

That also means that satellite TV companies like DIRECTV and DISH Network wouldn’t be th only national pay TV players anymore.  I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again today.  These are interesting itmes we live in and we are seeing the future of TV evolve right before our eyes.

We spend a lot of time discussing the idea of “TV Everywhere” and the evolution of TV as we know it.  Thanks to increasing broadband speeds, cable TV providers are at a digital crossroads.  No where is that point better illustrated than in a recent article by Ty Braswell at Venture Beat.

As the article bio states, Ty was the VP of New Media at Virgin Records during the Napster heydays.  He saw first hand how new technology changed an industry forever and makes some good points about cable TV providers and how they should embrace the idea of “TV Everywhere”, rather than fight it.  Record companies took a big hit.  Cable companies should take a look back at our recent history and learn what NOT to do.

Ty says it best when he says, “2011 will be the most significant year in the history of television. We are days away from the tipping point. Industry leaders who fail to organize with their competitors will see their business evaporate.”

Some companies, like Comcast cable TV, have made good strides toward merging the Internet and TV to accommodate the needs of their customers.  Take a look at their Xfinity TV app.  The biggest problem with the Comcast app to date is the resistance from content providers to allow their content to be rebroadcast in multiple mediums.  That problem can be worked out, but it needs to happen soon.  How long did it take for iTunes to completely change the shape of the music industry?  Netflix appears to be on a similar path with TV entertainment.

Robert F. Kennedy was right.  ”like it or not we live in interesting times.”

Comcast cable TV everywhere might not be as spectacular as first hoped, and it’s not for Comcast’s lack of trying.  Once again, “redistribution” is the wrench in the plans.  While several networks have signed on to let Comcast “redistribute” their content pretty much everywhere, including the recently released Internet enabled iPad app, some are crying foul.

According to an article on ZD Net, Comcast has redistribution deals in place from premium networks Cinemax, HBO, Showtime and Starz.  Other networks point out that the new Xfinity iPad app isn’t covered in existing content distribution deals.  Existing deals cover your at home TV viewing  or even some limited Internet viewing in the home, neither of which offer the remote viewing promised with “TV everywhere”.

As the possibilities of TV everywhere continue to expand with the evolution of the Internet and Internet enabled devices, expect to see more legal wrestling between networks and cable TV providers.

Looking for more affordable cable plans from Time Warner Cable or Comcast cable TV?  You may just be in luck.

According to a report in the Philadelphia Business Journal, Time Warner Cable and Comcast cable TV are battling recent trends in customer fall off with more affordable cable TV packages.  The article claims Time Warner and Comcast cable TV are both offering “lower prices for no-frills cable-TV packages in some areas.”  However, Comcast is quick to point out that the believe the recent drop in subscriptions is due to over the air antenna use, not an up-tick in Internet TV.

To see if you can take advantage of these new, lower priced Time Warner and Comcast cable TV packages just enter your address in the “Find Savings” widget at the top of the page.

There’s been a lot of analysis around the pending NBC/Comcast Cable TV merger.  Much of that analysis has revolved around whether Comcast will openly offer NBC content to rival companies and channels.  Recent discussion has centered around the FCC possibly requiring Comcast cable TV to offer NBC content to rivals as part of the deal.  The speculation is that such a deal may spell the end for the partially NBC owned online content portal Hulu.

A recent article on  All Things Digital brought up a good point concerning Comcast cable TV and Hulu.  The NBC merger and FCC mandated content sharing would weaken the main defenses of Hulu by taking away its exclusivity.

In the article, ATD’s Peter Kafka offers a brief, but adequate background on Hulu.  He says, “Each of Hulu’s three partners/owners–GE’s NBC, News Corp.’s Fox and Disney’s ABC–has agreed to mutual exclusivity pacts. If you want to watch one of their shows for free online, you can see them on the networks’ own sites, or via Hulu–either on the main site itself, or via other sites that are taking Hulu’s feed.”  So, Hulu is set up to have good content first or exclusively.  So how would an NBC/Comcast merger effect Hulu’s content?

Well, the FCC would have Comcast/NBC fairly offer up the same content.  That move would all but automatically give Hulu a hit in viewership.  But that’s not all.  What about Comcast offering it’s own online TV portal in the form of the existing Xfinity product?  How does Xfinity play with Hulu?  They both offer TV and movies online, but Xfinity is wired into the Comcast experience.  It’s a natural extension of your Comcast cable TV into the online realm.  With Comcast pulling the strings, the future of Hulu is shaky at best.

In an article titled “Kiss your 100-watt lightbulb goodbye“, the Mercury News details the early adoption of national energy efficiency laws in California and Nevada.  Both states have long been champions of energy efficiency, but the latest additions come a year before the rest of the country will be held accountable.

According to the article’s author, Tracy Seipel, “As of Saturday, what used to be a 100-watt light bulb manufactured and sold in California will have to use 72 watts or less. The 72-watt replacement bulb, also called an energy-saving halogen light, will provide the same amount of light, called lumens, for lower energy cost.

Similar new standards for traditional 75-watt, 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect in California over the next few years, with wattages reduced to 53, 43 and 29 respectively.”

The new standards will be required throughout the country starting January 1, 2012 and will cause traditional light bulbs to be 25 to 30 percent more energy efficient.   California and Nevada may be leading the way, but we’ll all be joining them soon enough.