All PVR

Cable Companies, like Al Capone, think they can muscle you into submission by cutting off your ability to use analog TV signals. Well, according to the FCC, 40 million Americans still use “rabbit ears” and analog TV’s, and they think those people should have choices. Elliot Ness would be proud.

Originally slated for February 2009, the FCC’s “digital transition” has been reviewed and extended to 2012. “Digital transition” means that the use of analog (over the air) broadcast signals will be eliminated, and replaced with digital broadcasts (over cable). All consumers will require a digital TV or converter box to watch their favorite programs. No more rabbit-ears. It hasn’t been decided yet whether the cable companies will have to convert a signal before it leaves the station, or whether they will need to send all relevant customers converter boxes. Either way it could be expensive for them (which, in turn, could be expensive for us). It’s really anyone’s guess what the future holds.

In 2012, the FCC will review the stats again and make another determination. If they decide that America is ready, they will only require cable companies to broadcast in Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD), instead of SD, HD, and Analog signals.

Whatever… I say it’s good news for all of you “old-school technology” lovers out there (like me, you remember 8-track tapes and own AM radios). Long live VCRs and “floor TVs”!

Thanks to: arstechnica.com

According to Gizmodo, the TiVo Series 3 DVR (including TiVo HD) will have Multi-room viewing and TiVo-To-Go; available in November.

Also announced for the Series 3 DVR, is the addition of a Crestron touch-panel. Be like Captain James T. Kirk, and control all of your electronic devices from one throne.

This from Mac Rumors via Gizmodo; It seems, amidst Apple TV Update 1.1, lay a curious iTunes Store “setting”. According to Mac Rumors, it has little affect on the Apple TV functions. So… what is it for? Many computer geek detectives are weighing in. With the addition of WiFi iTunes Store on the iPod Touch (and for the iPhone in the very near future), the educated guessers are saying it’s for Apple TV to download from iTunes Store directly. Because it is currently unable to do this without the aid of a computer, it has become an issue for Apple TV owners. Time will tell if it’s a strong assessment.

Alienware has landed, and they brought with them, a hi-def media monolith (I’m renaming “Gort”). Packing 4 Terabytes of storage, their HD Media Server is ready to vaporize any and all 1080p source material that stands in it’s way. It also contains HDMI outputs, Dolby Digital 7.1 preamp output, and is rack-mountable.

The “big-brains-covered-with-veins” at Alienware say their media center will distinguish itself by keeping it’s users within it’s interface 99% of the time (even while accessing Blu-ray functions), and they also didn’t add any of those useless, commercial product bell and whistles that the competition adds. It’s all about high-end functionality.

Unfortunately, no pricing is yet available, just price speculation. So, stay aware for more Alienware HD Media Server information. I’m sure you’ll hear more about this machine again, because they won’t command “Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!”

On August 31, 2007, I posted an article about a DirecTV secret-weapon. It seemed there was a product leak, featured in a CEDIA color-supplement, about a powerful new “Super-DVR”. A DVR capable of recording 100 hours of HD programming… Well, they’ve finally revealed it’s true identity.

The HR21 Pro is a rack-mountable rig that sports optical HDMI output and supports 1080p. It contains 2 HD tuners (for recording and watching at the same time), and not only records 100 hours of Hi-Def, but records 400 hours of Standard-Def programming.

Superhero of HDTV? Maybe.

The Stinger (above) may be “old-school gamer” on the outside, but it’s all modern-tech on the inside.

David Flagg, President of Game Cabinets Inc., describes it like this:
“Anything you can do on your home computer you can do through this joystick on your TV.â€? That includes surfing the Internet and having fun with online gambling, using Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition, loading in PC games and using its DVR function, he says, adding that it also has a DVD drive.”

Upgrade to The Stinger Plus, and it includes about a trillion old arcade games. It’s like a Video Game conjuring genie, magically producing games like Dragon’s Lair (1 &2), EA Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Pacman, Toobin’, and Dig Dug (click here for entire list of games).

It’s geared toward home theaters, but it’s also a fairly portable video game/entertainment system. With dimensions of 28.5w x 13.75d x 5h inches, you can easily take it to a buddy’s house.

Flagg says it successfully unites nostalgia and modern technology: “It wraps everything into one. The functionality is cool because there is so much you can do with it.�

You can even get a Xbox and PSX adapter, which converts the output from the Stinger Controller into X-Box or PSX commands.

Think it’s expensive? Starts at $499 (’nuff said).

From Spycatcher of Knightsbridge, comes a pair of sunglasses befitting of “007″. As if from the dusty journals of “Q”, these sunglasses are not what they appear. Hidden inside the frame is a color video camera, PVR, and microphone (to film everything the wearer sees). And, that’s not all:

“The personal video recorder includes a built-in colour monitor and speaker, 32MB internal memory, which can be expanded by inserting a more powerful SD/MMC card and the ability to time and date stamp all video recordings.”

“Video system: NTSC/PAL
Resolution: 350 lines
Number of effective Pixels: 510×492 (NTSC) 500×582(PAL)”

Being like James Bond, will of coarse, cost you. In this case, (minus the Martini’s) the price is £816 or $1650.

Many of you have heard rumors that there is a HD projector being sold at a mythical price point, and won’t be released in America. BUT, Mitsubishi will release the HC6000 projector, in the US, soon (no exact date available yet). What we know about this invading monstrosity is: it’s a 1080p projector for less than $4000! Your PVR will never look the same again (it’ll only look better).

It’s alive…ALIVE! A report from Gizmodo has uncovered a creature so fierce, that Dr. Frankenstein himself would weep with jealousy. From the bowels of Harmon Kardon’s laboratory comes “the DVC600″ (insert scary voice here). All we know about this Unix-based media center is:

-It records up to eight high-definition TV shows simultaneously.
-It’ll record and playback Blu-Ray.
-It may, or may not be unleashed upon America (by the year’s end) Yet, it will most certainly flog Europe.
-It’s going to cost as much as Dr. Frankenstein’s electric bill, $3000 to $4000 Euros ($4092 to $5456 US Dollars).

Godzilla has been unleashed upon Japan…only…much smaller. The new Qosmio G40 from Toshiba is set to trample much of Nippon into a pulpy mess. It’s jam-packed with powerful guts, DUAL DIGITAL TV TUNERS, and a heavy price tag (did I mention dual digital TV tuners?).

Here’s a few specs:
-Watch one program, record another (contains CyberLink SoftDMA and HDMI-CEC compatible with new Regza TV’s).
-HD-DVD drive.
-NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics, 256MB.
-17-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) display.
-2 megapixel webcam.
-2GHz, T7300 Core 2 Duo processor.
-2GB memory, upgradable to 4GB.
-320GB of HD space.

And so, the “thunder-lizard” stampedes on, cutting a swath through Japanese cities the size of the Amazon river basin. To tame the beast it’ll cost you Â¥400,000 or $3252.29 USD.

Engadget.com

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 Vistaâ„¢ Ultimate (or Home Premium) with Media Center functionality, a remote control, and an optional external cable TV tuner that works with a CableCARDâ„¢ 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-HiColorâ„¢ 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 Discâ„¢ 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® Coreâ„¢ 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.â€?

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