LUS Fiber has announced a long awaited upgrade to its cable service: a new digital cable operating system developed by Microsoft touted as the answer to the state-of-the-art television features LUS has long promised. The upgraded software, Microsoft Mediaroom, is already being used in several other markets, serving more than four million consumers worldwide. The upgrade will require existing LUS digital cable subscribers to changeout their cable settop boxes, and in a press conference yesterday, LUS Director Terry Huval said LUS technicians are already calling cable subscribers and scheduling appointments to deliver the new system.
“During the deployment of our LUS Fiber system, a number of our customers asked us for more advanced video features,” Huval said. “Microsoft Mediaroom provides the platform that will deliver the features our customers want and, because it’s a web-based system, it offers us endless possibilities for future applications and expansion.”
Faced with mounting complaints over its digital cable interface and glitchy digital video recorders (DVRs), the upgrade comes at a welcome time as LUS prepares to complete its citywide fiber rollout next month. The new features Microsoft Mediaroom will bring includes whole home DVR, which links set top boxes in the home so you can record a program on one TV and watch it on another; instant channel change, which allows for seamless viewing while channel surfing; and advanced program searching, where viewers can search for programs by title or genre.
City-Parish President Joey Durel, who has been touting the new cable upgrade in recent public appearance, stated in a press release: “We are excited about the unique features of Microsoft Mediaroom and are moving as fast as possible to upgrade our existing customers to the new system."
Not to be outdone, LUS' chief competitor, Cox Communications, today announced the launch of nine new channels, including six new High Definition (HD) channels, a new interactive Music Choice Channel, a digital shopping network and a leased access channel. Channels launches for the market includes: Wize Buys (ch. 117), Leased Access (Ch. 195), Pay Per View (PPV) HD (Ch. 701), FSN Houston HD (Ch. 721), Fox Soccer HD (Ch. 783), Starz Edge HD (Ch. 798), Style HD (Ch. 789), We HD (Ch. 799), and SWRV (Ch. 900). With this launch, Cox now offers 81 HD channels in its Acadiana Market which includes all or parts of Acadia, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Mary and Vermilion Parishes.
MAY 22 This post was written the day after the second line shooting in NOLA, by Brentin Mock. Mock is a friend of Deb "Big Red" Cotton, a blogger who was shot in the back and was seriously injured. It is a raw, emotional piece of writing, something the writer obviously felt he needed to get off his chest. But it raises questions that can't be easily dismissed, and might give some insight into where the source of these events truly is.
MAY 22 In this Baton Rouge Business Report post, Rolfe McCollister considers the privatization of bus service in Baton Rouge. After decades of under-funding, it is a mess, and although a tax (partially) passed last year, improvement hasn't happened yet. McCollister apparently feels it is time to let private business get in on the transit business.
MAY 22 This post on Bayou Buzz by Jeff Crouere urges the defeat of a bill that would grant modest pay increases over the next several years to the state's judges and clerks of court. The state is in no position to fund pay hikes, Crouere argues, with the pay increases costing a total of $9 million over several years. It sends the wrong message to the (proverbial) hard-working people of Louisiana, he says.
MAY 22 The Advocate reports here that State Treasurer John Kennedy is complaining about a meeting of the corporation that oversees the state's tobacco settlement. The Governor wanted it restructured, and he has some support, but not a lot. The corporation agreed with his plan, but Kennedy didn't, and it appears that the meeting was noticed in a manner completely different than that of all previous meetings. Kennedy's given to hyperbole, but in this case the fish don't smell too fresh.
MAY 22 In this Advocate story, Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout says the recent federal indictment of a strip club owner is all wrong. The indictment alleges that drugs and prostitution went on with impunity because club staff made arrangements with "local" police. Stout says it never happened, and while his cops do work security in the parking lot, they're not allowed inside.
MAY 22 This amusing post in DIG Baton Rouge recounts an ad that ran on Craig's List recently; the advertiser was seeking tenants for a Beauregard Town house. He knew his market, and wrote an ad that the most ironical hipster couldn't resist. Apparently, he really did know his market, because the ad worked like a charm.
MAY 22 In this post in The Lens, Mark Moseley comments on the rhetoric Gov. Jindal employed in trying to save his tax "reform" package. One interesting point concerns Jindal's use of his brother, Nikesh, in a little story. Nikesh left Louisiana because of his inability to get a decent job, the story goes, but the story won't hold water: Nikesh lives in DC, which has an income tax level comparable to Louisiana, Moseley says. If income taxes caused the dismal situation, it should exist in DC too. Right?
MAY 22 This post by columnist John Maginnis traces the trajectory of the bill that would fund construction at community and technical colleges -- and bypass the Board of Regents and traditional higher ed funding mechanisms. Sure, it will bust the legislature's self-imposed debt limit, but some leges feel that there's more need (because there is more growth) in the community and technical college area than in the university area, he says.
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