This is an oldie, but still, for all of you Mac lovers out there, who couldn’t get their Tivo to talk to their Mac, here’s a handy overview from the TivoBlog.
Though your best option will end up costing you money, I find the convenience of DVD backup of shows worth the cost. Besides, all you Mac lovers should be used to spending good penny on software anyhow 
[via TivoBlog]
It looks like the latest PS3 firmware update, which occurs automatically if your PS3 is connected to the Internet, introduces DLNA compatibility.
DLNA (Digital Life Network Alliance) is a set of standards that is increasingly supported by more and more devices, and while I did find Microsoft confirmation that they support it in the Media Center Extender (such as XBox 360), but to me that doesn’t implicitly mean that Windows Vista can be a DLNA server.
Unfortunately, I don’t have PlayStation 3 myself yet to give this a try. The high price is still a deterrent for me. But, if you have one, no reason not to try it out right away!
There is no official word on which file formats is supported, either. As usual, that will be major roadblock, as most of us tend to have a collection of so many formats with so many codecs these days.
[via Last100]
Apparently, lots of people still enjoy their big screen TV more than ever. Frankly, our household often doesn’t have that luxury, with kids running around, or watching their own shows, we adults seldom get our Big Screen TV time…
But, a study apparently says that even folks that do actively download TV shows off the Internet and watch streaming video on the Internet, seldom spend any serious amount of their time in front of the PC.
Their prime time watching is spent the old fashion way, in front of their Big screen TV.
As I may have mentioned in the past, we have an old PC connected directly to our big screen, I wonder if study attributed that kind of Internet streaming experience, where it’s still streaming, but directly to the big screen. Though, frankly, there isn’t any content that is of reasonable quality to stream down to big screen. Most content we watch via computer is pre-downloaded, either via Vongo or other means.
[via Zatz Not Funny!]
Looks like more and more CableCARD enabled MediaCenter Vista PCs are showing up. We are very disappointed that it starts at $4,500 still, which is Not reasonable, by any stretch.
It does sport some very impressive specs, especially in storage area, with sizes in Terrabytes using RAID 5, no less.
Granted the technology is very new, but frankly, there aren’t any super expensive components that are required to make MediaCenter Vista HTPC happen — lets see which manufacturer breaks the $1,500 mark. I think only then we will start seeing any kind of market traction.
[via Engadget]
I have been thinking more and more lately about where is Video viewing is headed in the future.
WebTV is creating major disruption, yet, most people still prefer to watch quality programming with big production values. Of course we all enjoy a guilty pleasure in the style of America’s Funniest home videos, and maybe even Rocketboom programming. But is it sustainable long term? Will people make viewing of such shows part of their daily routine? or even weekly?
I think the core difference is hidden in understanding the different models behind TV viewing:
So, where does Web come in for each of those? For Primetime entertainment, the networks quickly caught on (major ones, at least) and now offer a lot of their primetime shows on-demand. This is great, so they just need to improve quality and make sure they are getting paid properly from the Ads. And bandwidth cost can get excessive, and fast, so they better figure out some sort of P2P model.
And where are Discovery channel shows? And History channel? And PBS video?
But what about random time killing? YouTube is famous for this kind of massacre. But, since it’s programing is being contributed by non-pros, most of the time you go through lots of low quality material until you find something worthy. Not everyone is willing to put up with that. And the quality won’t ever be there, because of two factor: users have trouble creating high quality (read: resolution, light, etc.) videos, and the bandwidth is preventing high quality streaming, for the foreseeable time period.
So how do you balance your TV time between all those? And should you, even? TurboNick anyone?
Here’s the skinny, rumor has it Tivo will be offering $200 rebate on their Series 3 HD DVR for Fathers Day shoppers.
The rebate actually scheduled to run from May 27th to June 16th, plenty of time to find the lowest priced Series 3 and then get an extra $200 rebate on it.
Maybe I am just full of conspiracy theories, but this yet again shows that Tivo are prepping to hit $300 price mark in the near future (holiday season perhaps?). They will do it either by lowering Series3 cost (via Rebates or otherwise), or maybe by releasing a scaled down version of Tivo HD. But, whichever way it comes, I think we’ll all just be happy if it materializes!
[via EngadgetHD]
Not ready for HD just yet? Hop over to CircuitCity.com and pick up the popular Hauppauge PVR150, for under $70. It comes with Remote Control also, and 100% compatible with most Open Source PVR platforms, such as MythTV.
Ubuntu is quickly become the most popular Linux distribution. It is updated often, includes the latest Kernel, and sports a nice over-the-web auto-installer to add sea of custom applications.
Of course, MythTV is never known for it’s turn-key installation, not yet, anyways.
The latest version, 7.04 Feisty Fawn, improves one of the most lagging area of Linux, the Wirelss Network support. Frankly, when I installed it, it still had troubles recognizing my wireless USB adapter. But, you probably would want to run a network to your HTPC anyhow, to ensure high quality of service. Or, just purchase one of the adapters on their supported list.
So, here’s a handy guide, straight from the Ubuntu community guide itself, on how to install it in as few of steps as possible.
Now that the computers are dirt cheap, and AMD X2 dual-core processors starts at under $100, you have no more excuses.
So what is it? It’s a brand new concept, networks are trying to break out of traditional TV centric approach and embracing more of a digital / internet kind of approach. They goal is to create a mash up of community features with traditional TV show style experience.
A new company out there, called Next New Networks is making it happen. They have already launched 9 channels, and promising to bring that number up to 30 soon.
I think this is a great idea, but I do worry about the Console trouble. With so many sources of content, how will we even remember which “micro network” did I visit this week already and which I am yet to check out.
The only answer, of course, is RSS Aggregators. I already added a tag to my Google Reader (and my Bloglines reader), which marks all shows RSS feeds. If only I had time to actually watch all those 200 shows that have accumulated thus far. Of course, it’s the ultimate kind of PVR, unlimited space and keeps shows available for years, waiting for you to come and watch whenever you ready (with pause and rewind, of course).
Who would have thought just a year ago that we would end up watching TV show via our RSS aggregator!
[via TechCrunch]
Today we bring you another DVD/DivX player from Philips.
This beauty provides you with upscaled 1080p output, over HDMI with HDCP, for only $62.99
Plays all kinds of media, including DivX files, MP3, WMA, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2.
Get it from BestBuy.com or pick up in store.
Joost is rumored to be launching soon. They have released another beta few weeks ago, called Joost with Friends. It didn’t add that much, and I found the upgrade experience to be a bit negative.
In this day and age of auto-updates, I had to do everything manually. On my attempt to login, I was greeted with ‘You must upgrade your version to login, we have made many corrections” message.
I then had to manually locate download URL from Joost web site (which isn’t that public, since the software is in beta still), download new installer and proceed to uninstall old/reinstall new version.
I am sure it is one of those things they are working on still, they are in beta after all.
Looks like major companies really like Joost premise, since they are promising to offer their premium shows there. No talk yet about bringing HD to Joost, I wonder when that will happen…
Check out good summary of Joost news from TechCrunch.
This is a metapost, that is a post linking to a bunch of other posts, linking to other post, and so on and so forth
It is my duty to keep you informed on important Video & DVR related news, right?
It is really obvious that the government and the Cable/Satellite industry is strugling to understand the rapidly changing video landscape, and by the time they will understand it, it is most likely will be too late for them to have a say. Stay tuned, so to speak.
Sick of HD Media Externders? Not yet? Good, cause here is another one!
From the networking experts at NetGear comes this High Definition Digital Media extender that includes everything and the kitchen sink.
Seriously, check it out — iTunes support and YouTube support, among it’s flagship features, and of course the usual fare of XviD and WMV support. Another surprise? BitTorrent.com support, for the legally downloaded media (we presume). The software even supposed to work with TV tuner in your computer, though not sure if it’s streaming or you need to pre-record and watch later.
Check out complete details on NetGear product page, and here’s a nice Review.
And the price? That may be the only drawback, since it’s around $350 and up.
CircuitCity.com is offering the excellent Philips DVD/DivX player with Progressive Scan output over component cables, for under $40 with free shipping or store pickup.
The player actually supports many formats, including MP3 and WMA for audio. We have older Philips model for years, and were able to throw pretty much any kind of AVI file into the root of a burned CD or DVD and it would play in most cases.
You can even try throwing all those Tivo recorded shows that you transferred onto your PC into a root of DVD-R disc, and it should play fine. Just make sure to decrypt them first.
In other Friday deals, the Toshiba Gigabeat 30GB Portable Media Center for $149 deal is back. The player isn’t as small as video Ipod, but battery life is better and screen is bigger. Plus it integrates with your Windows Media Center PC or Windows Media Player 11, very nicely.
We haven’t been talking much about Windows Vista, but the new Microsoft OS is out there and gaining foothold daily. In fact, I am writing this post on my Vista Home Premium PC, which I must say, I am pretty satisfied with.
If you got a computer with Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition, it has the Media Center interface built-in, and all my kids find very convenient to watch movies/clips that are already on the computer via that interface.
If you are planning to buy a PC in the future, most like it will come with Vista. Make sure you are getting at least Home Premium edition of Vista, it contains Media Center, and the beautiful Aero Glass interface. The version below it, Home Basic, is something you should avoid at all cost. It’s only around $20 less, but stripped of Media Center and many other features. Frankly, looks like Home Basic was put out there just for people who are trying to install Vista on very old PCs, that can’t support modern interface or features.
Next thing to know is that most of the PCs with Vista Home Premium will Not have any sort of Tuner. Worry not, that can easily be added, if you choose to do so.
As I mentioned in the past, your only options right now are either pure Analog tuner card (make sure to get Vista certified one) or HD Over-the-Air tuner card. The Analog one is really designed to be connected to your local basic (analog) cable, and as you guessed, the HDTV expects to get connected to amplified and preferably roof-top mounted antenna.
Apparently market research shows that people will be buying a lot of these tuners in the coming years.
And what about Digital Cable support, you ask? That’s next up on my coverage list, stay tuned!
[via TV Squad via The Green Button via InformationWeek]
Of course I could have linked to InformationWeek article directly, but where’s the fun in that
Meet Mvix™ MX-760HD. I have prepared a nifty checklist to describe this gadget:
And finally, the price tag of this wonder? It isn’t cheap, as you might have guessed. It will set you back $329, plus the cost of PATA hard-drive, unless you happen to have one laying around the house.
To find more info, visit MvixUSA site. It has links to places to Buy it from and some good reviews.
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