All PVR

It may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but it is capable of recording 100 hours of HD programming. It’s the HR21 PRO by DirecTV. This information was leaked from a CEDIA advertisement (shown above).

Here’s the mild-mannered list of known specs:

1. Faster than a speeding bullet! It’s equipped with “Optical HDMI Output (DLI)”. This means you’ll be able to have longer runs of cable, due the the use of fiber optics instead of the regular [short] HDMI cables.

2. More powerful than a locomotive! It’ll be the first DirecTV DVR to support 1080p.

3. It’s the Brand-Of-Steel! It’s rack-mountable, for those who have home theater rigs.

There’s no pricing yet available, and supposedly, it’s due for flight in November. So keep an eye out for this friendly neighborhood DVR (it felt wrong not to include at least one Marvel reference).

Originated at technabob.com, discovered on engadget.com.

Get DirecTV’s NFL Superfan and Sunday Ticket Packages and you’ll be able to stream live games to your PC. Unfortunately, Apple and Linux users won’t be able to use this feature. Streaming requires Windows Vista or XP. It also requires a football-sized wallet for the $368 clams you’ll be shelling out.

From Ars Technica.com

Could this be the solution to our home entertainment nightmares? It’s certainly a step in the right direction. The Sony VAIO LT is an “All-In-One” 22″ Widescreen TV/PC with a DVR (and BluRay). Here’s what Sony has to say about it:

“Watch and record TV - including premium HD cable.
The high performance VAIO® LT PC/TV lets you watch and record analog, digital and cable TV (including premium HD channels2) on a stunning flat screen display. Featuring Windows Vista™ Ultimate (or Home Premium) with Media Center functionality, a remote control, and an optional external cable TV tuner that works with a CableCARD™ from your local cable provider, the VAIO® LT PC/TV lets you watch and record your favorite cable TV broadcasts, including premium HD channels, right from the box.”

“The VAIO® LT PC/TV can serve as your entire entertainment center – it’s all-in-one. The 22″ LCD display2 with XBRITE-HiColor™ technology acts as your HD flat panel TV while the cable TV tuner works in conjunction with Windows Media Center to act as your cable set top box with DVR. And since the VAIO® LT PC/TV features an available Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive, you can enjoy a movie in Blu-ray Disc® format and experience incredible picture and stunning clarity.”
“The VAIO® LT HD PC is sleek, slim and beautiful, but it can also rock some serious power. With an Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and an easily expandable roomy hard drive, the VAIO LT HD PC/TV is super-fast and can run multiple demanding applications simultaneously - such as graphics-intensive games and high-quality TV and movies - while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background.”

It also comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse, built in camera and microphone, wireless LAN technology (802.11 b/g/n), and wall-mounting system.

To make the purchase of this small wonder, you’ll have to shell out $2900 clams. (there’s also a no-frills standard model, without the BluRay drive for $1900).

Visit Sony.

(Mitsubishi Laser TV on Left, Samsung LCD on Right)

Per reader request, here’s a few links to quench your thirst:

Official Mitsubishi Electric Website Press Release
Technology Review (published by MIT): Article 1, and Article 2
News.com (Australia)
Product News (with YouTube video)
GadgetGuy.com (Australia)

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Mitsubishi will be releasing a HDTV at the end of this year that will be powered by lasers. If you’re thinking of purchasing a big screen HDTV (with which to watch your PVR/DVR) you may want to wait. According to the 2 companies making some of the TV’s components (Arasor International of Australia, and California-based Novalux), these new “Laser TV’s” will dominate plasma technology. Mitsubishi says they’re half the price, weight and thickness; twice as good, and use a quarter of the electricity of LCD’s and Plasma’s.

If you’re curious about how it works, here’s the skinny on the optoelectronic chip-laser technology:
1. It uses pure red, green, and blue lasers to create the image instead of the traditional white lamp. Displaying superior, and more vivid colors than any other display.
2. Lasers last the lifetime of the projection TV, i.e. no burnout.
3. It’s equipped with a Texas Instruments 1080p DLP chip.
4. It’s thinner, lighter, and more power efficient than LCD’s and plasma’s.

Novalux chief executive Jean-Michel Pelaprat said this of the picture: “If you look at any screen today, the color content is roughly about 30-35 per cent of what the eye can see, but for the very first time, with a laser TV, we’ll be able to see 90 per cent of what the eye can see. All of a sudden what you see is a lifelike image on display.�?

That’s big talk. I guess we’ll “see” what they mean in December.

In keeping with this week’s theme, here’s another all-weather HD LCD TV on which you can watch your PVR, spa-side. Produced by Aquivo, it’s so tough it can withstand the force of a fire hose. The reason? It’s constructed with a sealed aluminum frame and special tempered glass. Aquivo is one world’s leading all-weather LCD producers (based in the UK). They make LCD sizes from 25 to 55 inches. All HD or HD Ready.

Special Thanks To: Engadget and Shiny Shiny

Why don’t they ever release new technology in America first!? At the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Press Office they announced that PlayTV will be available for PS3 (just not in the states). PlayTV is a combination: TV tuner/Personal Video Recorder. In early 2008, it will be released in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain (with other PAL territories to follow).

What does PlayTV do? Here’s excerpts from the official press release:

“Designed to reinforce PS3’s rightful place in the Living Room at the heart of the home entertainment needs, the twin channel TV tuner peripheral and PVR software turns PS3 into a state of the art TV recorder, allowing users to watch, pause and record live TV. PlayTV will also record individual programmes or whole series1 to the PS3 hard drive for viewing later on the family TV, or for transferring to the PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) for remote viewing outside of the home.”

“PlayTV’s two TV tuners are High Definition ready and are able to view, record and play back High Definition signals in full HD1080P to fully complement PS3’s already impressive High Definition credentials.”

Sounds like a winner to me. Now, try shipping it to the USA.

Story From: SCEE via Joystiq via Gizmodo.

The Sunbrite outdoor LCD HDTV is just another way to watch your DVR (or whatever) by the pool, or on the patio. Have your house pre-wired and this TV stays outside permanently. It’s a 32″ super-bright, all-weather, HD LCD TV, with a native resolution of 1366 x 768. Here’s more specs:

“Protective anti-glare, contrast-enhancing and scratch-resistant window protects the screen from rain, dirt and other elements. Special coating protects internal electronics from corrosion. Dual-fan airflow system keeps unit cool and protects the TV from rain, dust and insects.”

It also has a Picture-In-Picture function and stereo speakers. It costs $4195 at Skymall.com.

Now you can watch your DVR poolside, patio-side, or yard-side (and so can all your neighbors). With a diagonal measurement of 120 inches, there’s no bad viewing angle. The screen comes with everything you’ll need to inflate, tether, and store it. It does not, however, include a projector, video source, or speaker system. That’s still not a bad deal for $250. A small price to pay for your inevitable fame amongst family, friends, and neighbors.

Found at: SKYMALL.COM

Fuze Media Systems may be a new name to you. However, if you’ve ever watched “On Command Video Service” in a hotel room, then you’ve used one of their systems. They are now offering the same, intuitive interfaces to homeowners.

It unfortunately has to be installed by professionals but, it’s somewhat complicated to hook-up. I would only recommend installing it yourself if you know what you’re doing.

What does it do? What doesn’t it do? It’s a whole-home multi-media system. It streams audio and video throughout the house. It’s equipped with a TV tuner and DVR (with storage). Not only does it integrate into your current home theater system, it can replace most of it. No more fishing around the sofa cushions for the 5 different remotes. With Fuze, there’s one remote and one interface. Together, they control your theater room and all other A/V equipped rooms in the house. Plus, there’s in-room controls. And, it controls lighting and blinds.

It seems that having Fuze is like hanging with Hef at the mansion. Everything is at your fingertips, you don’t ever have to leave. Now all they have to do is figure out how to get the pizza delivery from the front door to your seat, since, you probably don’t have a bunny around to do it for you. I know, too bad.

For a one-time activation fee of $40.00, you can utilize an external hard drive with your Dish Network setup. Connect your HDD to your DN receiver via USB and voila, endless storage for your favorite shows.

Zatz Not Funny! Archive.

Shinco, a company based in Hong Kong, has successfully spliced a LCD TV with a PVR (insert diabolical laugh here). I know what you’re saying…YEAH!!! Well, hold your mutant man-horses. It has limitations. At the moment, there are no specifications on storage capacity (if any). And, there’s no second tuner, so you can’t record Robot Chicken and watch Flash Gordon at the same time.
However, there is some good in it. First, it is equipped with a USB port. So, regardless of built-in storage size, you’ll be able to attach a external drive of any size to store movies. Second, it’s equipped with a decoder for MPEG-4 video playback. Third (drum roll please)…the price. A 32 inch LCD will run you $805 USD.
This mutation has potential.

Everything USB

XShot is a extension pole on which you attach your camera or video camera in order to take pictures of yourself. No longer do you have to worry about getting your arm in the shot. You don’t have to bother strangers, or worry about them running off with your camcorder. Attach and shoot.

If you’re wondering “How do I carry it around”? Wonder no more. It telescopes from 9 inches to 37 inches. It’s made of stainless steel and fits all digital cameras and many video cameras. Now you don’t have an excuse for getting out and documenting life.

According to the New York Times today, Time Warner Cable will offer a free “DVR-like” service to it’s customers, called Look Back.

The good news? There’s no extra monthly fee.
The bad news? You can’t fast-forward commercials. And…you can’t save the shows, and, you have to watch the programs on the same day, before midnight (almost sounds like a Time Warner “Gremlin”).

Starting in October, in South Carolina, and working it’s way across the country, Look Back will be a tested in different markets to see if it takes flight. At the moment they’re still shopping around for channels that will take part.

The reason Time Warner created this service is because they believe that advertisers and consumers have similar interests. Peter Stern, executive VP for new product development said “Many customers do fast-forward through commercials when given the choice, and that is an obvious and undeniable benefit of a digital video recorder. But the digital video recorder is principally about enabling customers to watch what they want, when they want. It returns control to customers over the television schedule.�? Basically, you’ll watch commercials if you have control over what you watch.

Well…it is free “time-shift viewing”. It’s genuine competition for companies like TiVo and Comcast. Jeffrey L. Bewkes (president of Time Warner Inc.) said in July, “People are used to advertising. A good number of people like the advertising. Our research and our in-market tests show people would rather have free everything you want, when you want.�?

Maybe they’re right, maybe they’re wrong. It’s all up to you, Americans!

The place? Scottsdale, Arizona. The store? Hub Clothing. They’ve installed, what they call, “The Butt Cam”. It’s a co-ed store camera that shows how a person’s posterior looks in jeans. One benefit of this new camera is you’ll never hear “Do I look fat in these jeans?” again. The pant wearer can see for themselves.
Hub Clothing Partner Tom Simon says “A lot of people dread trying on jeans and so any more entertaining you can make it the better. A lot of people compare it to trying on bathing suits, you know something they just don’t like to do, we’re trying to make it painless.” Unfortunately, he also said “We’re even thinking of doing a best of and putting it on DVD for the year. ‘Best Butts of ‘08′ or whatever, yeah.” Can’t wait to see the infomercial for that one. But, don’t worry, they’re not recording what the camera sees…yet.
This does, however, beg a few questions. Does the camera add 10 pounds? What will be the next “body-part cam”? When can I expect these cameras to be installed in Macy’s?

found on Gizmodo.com