Last week's dispute between the Weather Channel and Dish Network seems to have been resolved, with the Weather Channel getting most of what it wanted from the satellite service provider.

But the underlying issues -- whether the Weather Channel's new entertainment programming is doing a dangerous disservice to viewers when major storms loom, and the increasing pressure from cable channels for greater fee concessions from service providers -- are far from resolved and are only going to get worse in the months ahead.

Viewers at home should brace themselves for rough winds.

As if the loss of billions of dollars in pension money and the possible bankruptcy of Medicare aren't enough, America's retired community may now be facing their worst setback yet: the loss of the Weather Channel.

That's right. According to the New York Times, The Weather Channel is currently in a contract dispute with Dish Network that may result in Dish subscribers losing access to the network that turned high pressure fronts into high entertainment.

In fact, the deal between The Weather Channel and Dish Network actually expired last night, though so far everything seems to be proceeding as normal according to the latest updates. This is seen as a sign that perhaps the two parties are still at the negotiating table and could signal the possibility of a last minute reprieve for the millions of grandpas and grandmas who have turned The Weather Channel into one of cable television's most unlikely destinations over the past 28 years.

Google is quite the active gal. She's hooked up with email, telephones, document processing, web browsers and even computer operating systems. Now she's about to hook up with your TV.

The company is testing a new TV searching service with Dish Network that allows TV viewers to not only search for their favorite shows, but also for info on the web and videos on YouTube.

Between this, TiVo, Netflix and Playstation, is there any reason anyone should ever have to leave the comfort of their couch? Not until Google develops a service with AdultFriendFinder, and trust me, they are working on it.

Just in case you needed another reason to park yourself in front of the boob tube: Satellite TV provider DISH Network, along with Oberon Media and the Tetris Company, has announced the launch of an interactive game service called Tetris TV.

Here's how it stacks up: For $2.99 a month, the new service allows DISH Network customers to play the addicting video game on their television sets with their remote controls, for hours and hours (and hours) on end.

Echostar, the company behind the Dish Network and the Slingbox, is offering digital TV converters for $39.99. With the $40 coupon the government is offering for those with older sets that still use rabbit ears, the converters would end up being free.

Originally, the converter boxes were going to be offered between $50 and $70. Echostar is offering the converters at a discount in the interest of obtaining new customers and spreading their brand name.

Obviously, it's a good idea. I can't think of a single person who would pay $50 for something they could get for $40. It is a free-market situation that would warm the heart of most libertarians.

According to Engadget, the Dish Network is bumping up the number of HD channels it supports from 76 to 100 and expanding local service from 65 to 100 markets. Competition from DirecTV has apparently made the company fight for its title of "Top HD provider".

Of course, this is good news for the consumer who gets a larger selection as a result. That is assuming Dish Network doesn't justify an increase in price later as a result of this expansion.

EchoStar has upgraded its line of DISH Network personal video recorders. The ViP722 is a multi-room dual-tuner high definition recorder, much like the ViP622. You can watch HDTV in one room while viewing standard definition programming in another.

In fact, the ViP722 is pretty much exactly the same box as the ViP622 except it's black and comes with more storage space. The new box packs a 500GB hard drive, which is enough to record 350 hours of standard definition or 55 hours of high definition programming. That's compared with 30 hours of high definition recording on the ViP622.

There's no reason to call DISH for an upgrade if you've got the older box though. This week DISH issued an update that lets you plug in an external hard drive for extended storage. The update is good for both ViP622 and ViP722 boxes.

Looks like Forgent could be in for another unpleasant court battle. The other day, we told you that Forgent had lost its patent lawsuit against EchoStar. Forgent claims that pretty much every major personal video recorder on the market is violating its patent for computer controlled video systems that can play and record at the same time.

While a number of companies have reached out of court settlements with Forgent, EchoStar fought it out in court and won. TiVo's going a step further, and suing Forgent before the company can sue TiVo.

On May 17th, TiVo filed suit asking for a ruling showing that TiVo's technology does not infringe on Forgent's patent. While it might look like the move is a reaction to the EchoStar ruling, TiVo filed its lawsuit about a week before the courts ruled in that case.

Forgent says it's made about $28 million from settlements with other PVR companies, but almost half of that money was eaten up by legal costs.

[via TiVo Lovers]

EchoStar/Dish Network has won a patent lawsuit filed last year by Forgent. The company had claimed its patents described how to build a computer controlled video system that can play and record video at the same time. In other words, they wanted royalties from anybody who had ever built a personal video recorder.

A Texas jury disagreed, finding in favor of EchoStar and denying Forgent's request for more than $200 million in damages.

Forgent had sued companies including Comcast, Time Warner and the Washington Post company. A number of those companies had reached settlements with Forgent, but EchoStar V.P. David Moskowitz said that he's pleased the jury has upheld the satellite broadcaster's view that the patent was invalid.

Sure, Microsoft's built CableCard compatibility into Windows Vista, but what have they done for Satellite television customers lately? Well, apparently, Microsoft is working with both DirecTV and Dish Network on cards that would allow home theater PC users to receive satellite signals directly through their computer.

Microsoft and DirecTV first announced they were working on HTPC cards over a year ago, but the first news that Dish Network was involved in similar talks came out of CES this January.

Our regular roundup of what's on our sister blog, HD Beat.

• Hey, how would you like to guest host the HD Beat podcast?
• HD DVD releases are outselling catalog releases.
• Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: fact and fiction.
• Now you can see Emeril cooking food in HD.
• What do Bruce Lee and The Dukes of Hazzard have in common?

Rabbit ears, or television antennas, could soon become a relic of the past. A new poll, out in time for the CES convention in Las Vegas, finds that 22% of Americans get their television "over the air". That is, through television waves transmitted by stations. The big powerhouse for television is cable, with 51% of people receiving their signal that way. Only 26% of American households have satellites. The report says the findings "are significant, because they indicate that analog services are now the minority in the TV marketplace." Interestingly, the poll also found that 25% of adults have a DVR hooked up to the television set.

Personally, I like DirecTV and TiVo over rather than cable. How do you prefer to get your television?

[Via Lost Remote]