It would appear that Dish Network satellite TV is in a bit of a tussle with Disney.

According to a story on AdWeek, Disney is suing the satellite TV provider in a Manhattan court.  The suit claims Disney is losing money by Dish Network offering free access to its movies through their current Starz network promotion.  The promotion offers free Starz programming in celebration of its 30th anniversary.

The AdWeek article goes on to publish a Dish Network statement on the matter.  In that statement, Dish Network states that it pays “hundreds of millions of dollars” to distribute Starz content.  The statement also proclaims that Dish Network isn’t involved in the contract agreements between Disney and Starz, so the company will defend its customers right to watch the content Diosh Network pays to provide.

Everyone looking into Verizon bundles is likely seeing a few news items mixed in with their results today.  There’s a more product oriented story floating around focused on Verizon FiOS.  However, there’s another story about Verizon’s beloved advertising symbol, “Test Man”.

First, Connected Planet reports Verizon FiOS is increasing the size of its On Demand library to “about 24,000″ titles.  Apparently, there will be 15,000 additional free titles and almost 4,000 will be available in HD.  Plans were also announced to try and sign several more content providers to the ever expanding On Demand library in the coming months.

Then, TV Week posted a story about what ever happened to “Test Man”.  For years, Verizon bundles and cell service were synonymous with, “Can you hear me now?”  Everyone immediately recognized the jacketed, bespectacled “network guy” as the symbol of Verizon’s sturdy, reliable service.   But, as the TV Week article points out, he seems to have been replaced by lightning bolts and radio wave towers.

Well, Verizon has come out and said he didn’t get the axe.  According to TV Week, “Test Man” is still under contract, but he’s all but served his purpose.  Verizon is thought to be reliable and “Can you hear me now?” was a big part of that campaign.  Now, Verizon is all about speed and the lightning does a good job capturing that image.

Suddenlink cable TV and high speed Internet has made a couple of big announcements over recent days.  While it certainly doesn’t affect a far reaching audience, it is good news to the local communities and a glimmer of hope for other rural areas.

First, according to Victor Godinez on the Dallas News Tech Blog, Suddenlink announced plans to roll out faster broadband Internet to a few rural communities outside Dallas, Texas.  The new areas could see speeds up to 50mbps in the next month or so with cheaper Internet plans in the 20, 10 and 15mbps range.  While the new speed doesn’t cover the nation, or even all of Texas, it is good to see a cable Internet provider reaching out to the more rural areas.  Perhaps we will see braodband Internet nationwide in the near future.

In other news, A post from Todd Spangler at Broadcast & Cable reports Suddenlink has also announced plans to offer HBO GO, the TV everywhere service from HBO, to all of its HBO subscribing customers.   Even better, the HBO GO service is free for current HBO subscribers on any high speed Internet connection.

After the switch to all digital broadcasts from your local cable TV providers, you are likely familiar with the small, black boxes known as digital transport adapters (DTAs).  Several cable TV providers were providing these adapters free of charge in order to get their customers ready for the big switch that started back in June, 2009.

As many of us found out, the DTAs were no frills utilitarian connection boxes.  There was an incoming connector for the cable cord coming from your wall and another leading out to your analog TV.  The whole idea was to allow you to keep using your analog TV, so you didn’t have to run out and buy a new digital ready TV.  It seems to have worked as planned.  Those of us with analog TVs were able to enjoy the new digital broadcasts without interruption (in most cases).  However, these DTA boxes were in no way comparable to the DVR or HD DVR boxes you could rent from the cable TV providers.  Well, that is slowly changing.

Comcast cable TV is beginning to offer a more appealing DTA box.  According to a story from Broadcasting & Cable, Comcast cable TV “plans to roll out an HD version of the DTAs and is even testing a way to deliver program-guide info to them.”  While HD DTAs would be nice in some households, I think we could all agree that the program-guide info is the most missed feature.  Finally being able to see what’s coming up later in the day is a cable TV essential and it will be a welcomed addition to any set top box.

It looks like Dish Network satellite TV will be looking to the Supreme Court for a final ruling in the Tivo DVR patent case.

To recap, back in 2004 Tivo accused the satellite TV provider of infringing on its patented “Time Warp” technology in Dish DVRs.  The Time Warp technology allows users to record one show while watching another, a trait that seems standard just a few short years later.  Regardless, in October 2010 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled in favor of TiVo’s Time Warp patent.  Dish Network is now looking to appeal the decision from the Court of Appeals that reaffirmed the USPTO’s original ruling.

Tivo would likely be looking for damages and/or some form of licensing agreement with Dish Network.  In the meantime,  Dish Network has been working to simply replace the older DVRs with newer models not covered in the patent skirmish.

There’s been a couple of new features announced from DIRECTV satellite TV.

As of today, DIRECTV satellite TV customers will be able to access HBO GO and MAX GO, the mobile versions of the two premium channels.  Of course, only customers currently subscribed to the premium channels will have access, but that’s to be expected.  In a press release issued by DIRECTV, Derek Chang, EVP of Content Strategy and Development, said, “The addition of HBO GO and MAX GO is the next step in bringing quality video content to our customers anytime, anywhere.”  Chang went on to say, “Giving our customers the opportunity to experience their favorite programming, no matter where they are, truly enhances their overall viewing experience and helps them get the most out of the content they subscribe to.”

DIRECTV also made a few other changes recently.  In another statement, the satellite TV provider announced more local coverage plans with local HD channels available 16 more markets.  According to the statement, “By the end of 2011, DIRECTV will offer local-channel access to 99 percent of U.S. TV homes, covering 190 markets across the country, including local HD in 174 of those markets.”

DIRECTV satellite TV customers  can expect new local HD channels beginning this summer in parts of Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montanna, New York, Tennessee and West Virginia.

We’ve all seen the fall of Blockbuster video in recent months.  There have been banners reading, “Still renting!” posted on sides of stores.  Then, only weeks later, a new banner goes up reading, “Store closing”.  It’s sad.  But there may be new life for the originator of the home movie rental.  Dish Network won a bankruptcy auction for the failing entertainer. The big question on everyone’s mind seems to be, “Why?”

Why would the Dish Network satellite TV provider buy a home movie rental chain as it falls into obscurity?  There certainly seems to be no lack of speculation.  Yahoo! News even claims that Dish Network will keep the 1700 remaining Blockbuster Video stores up and running.  But how do home rental stores equate to sales for satellite TV providers?  Right now it’s anyone’s guess.  What is clear is that Dish Network’s purchase of Blockbuster Video could be a game changing play for a section of the streaming video market currently run by Netflix.

A recent article from TV Week brought a home a realization, an epiphany, if you will.  The article discusses how the different channels airing the March Madness games are all but sold out of ad space.  March Madness is upon us.  College basketball team will soon be all over your TV.  so you’ve got to ask yourself, is your TV ready for March Madness?

Sure, the physical representation of your TV is in question.  Is your screen large enough to truly enjoy each and every game you can possibly catch over the next month?  Size does matter, but so does quality and that’s where we switch from your actual television to your provider.  Are you setup to catch every game?  Does your provider offer all the channels?  Do you currently subscribe to all those channels?  You better get on the ball.

According to TV Week, Mach Madness college basketball games will be shown on CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV.  TruTV?  Yes, college hoops will be shown on the network formerly known as Court TV.   It seems like the majority of those channels would be included in your basic cable channel lineup.  However, your digital switchover box may not tune into every channel.    That may be an error or a glitch in the box, but it  could also be your subscription, or lack thereof.  Either way, it makes sense to call up your provider to make sure you can access all the games no matter the channel.

For that matter, it may be a good time to make the jump from over the air digital signals to subscription based programming.  Depending on you area, you’ll have to decide which product is best for you:  cable TV providers, satellite TV providers or telco based products like AT&T U-Verse or Verizon FiOS.  Whatever you choose, do it soon.  Tipoff is just around the corner.

In an effort to break into one of the fastest growing entertainment sectors in recent history, Amazon has launched its own online video service.  It’s an obvious attempt to try and capture some of the revenue and traffic associated with a service that has been largely dominated by Netflix at this point, but competition seems to bring about the best in innovation.

A letter addressed to customers has been posted on Amazon.  The letter, from Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos,  says Amazon Prime members will have unlimited access to the 5,000 movies and TV shows in the Amazon library.  Amazon Prime membership currently requires a $79 annual fee and allows members to use “free” 2 day shipping on most Amazon products.  The letter also states that Amazon’s online video service will not be an additional fee, so if you’re an Amazon Prime member check it out.

Of course, there are a couple of side notes.  First, if you’re not an Amazon Prime member you can always join.  Second, you’ll need the technology.

In order to stream video through Amazon Prime, you’ll need a high speed Internet connection and a compatible viewing device.  you can see the rather exhaustive list of acceptable devices over at Amazon’s video page.

There’s new news from the good folks over at Comcast cable TV.

An article from Multichannel News claims Comcast will launch its 24 hour Xfinity 3D channel on Sunday, February 20.  Following in the footsteps of its forerunner, ESPN 3D, Comcast’s Xfinity 3D channel will carry original content, shows, concerts and movies.  ESPN 3D actually went 24/7 earlier this week.

The launch is definitely promising and it turns out the kickoff is actually more of a puck drop.  According to Multichannel News, “Xfinity 3D will go live at 6 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Feb. 20, with the 2011 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, an outdoor matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. That’s to be followed at approximately 8 p.m. by an MTV World Stage concert by Kings of Leon from the O2 World in Hamburg, Germany.”

Are you ready for the big launch?  See if you can get Xfinity 3D by comparing plans and prices for Comcast cable TV using our “Savings Widget” at the top of the page.