All PVR

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 ¥400,000 or $3252.29 USD.

Engadget.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.

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.

mythTv, ubuntu, htpc

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]

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

Vista, PC-PVR

Our household has been fortunate to participate in NetFlix Streaming for about a month now. We basically got an extra Tab in our NetFlix account to watch movies On-Demand. The selection of “Watch Now” movies is very limited still, with most being documentaries, but I am sure it will grow.
You can actually watch streaming (and only streaming for now, no downloads) movies up to dollar amount of hours of your monthly subscription. For example, we pay about $18 per month, that gives us 18 hours of on-demand movie watching per month. This is in addition to NetFlix sending out their DVDs in their usual rotation.
NetFlix is doing limited beta/roll-out of this, as I understand, before making it available to everyone.

But the latest buzz is around next version of NetFlix On-Demand movie player. It’s incorporating new Microsoft technology called Silverlight, making it into handsome, and fully featured, full-screen movie player.
Good folks at Webware bring us a video preview of this upcoming wonder.
I do hope that Silverlight will further improve the quality of on-demand streaming, to bring it not just to DVD quality, but perhaps even higher

[via Webware]

sliverlight, Netflix, WebTV, InternetTV

Actually, the title is a bit misleading.

It does presume that you already have a computer which you can dedicate to help you with PVR functionality, although as I understand, the computer can continue doing other things concurrently (presuming it’s powerful enough).

This setup also isn’t the most user friendly in the world, so consider yourself warned.

But, no more monthly fees for Tivo is a big plus, and you get to use those cheap Huge hard-drives on your PC to store tons of shows. Another advantage is rather small box which is all that is needed to be setup next to your TV, the computer can be elsewhere in the home, as long as PC is near Cable outlet and is connected to your home network (another pre-requisite, btw).

Here are the details.

pvr, dvr

I have been playing with Joost during the last few days, so here are my impressions thus far. I only noticed minor quirks, but since it’s Beta version, those are expected. Still, here they are:

• It had a minor glitch on my Windows Vista machine during initial installation. Joost officially supports Vista, and ended up working fine after restart. Before that, however, it complained that it needs DirectX 9.0c (and my Vista has 9.0c, I confirmed), and it had some sound issues.
• Video playback over wireless seem to be problematic, with more frequent video playback hickups and degraded quality, or so it seems. However, it could be due to particular wireless hardware or some other issues…
• Quality overall is disappointing. It is full screen, but compression artifacts abound. It sure seems to me that it can stream much better quality and maybe it’s scaling back until more Joost users (and thus P2P nodes) are out there

Now to the positives:

• It’s COOL! The Interface is clean and done well, with many translucent components and big clear icons.
• It has integrated Search, which is very important! You can search shows across networks using simple keywords. Once found, click Play and enjoy!
• Good content is coming from major networks, though right now it’s still scarce, now while it’s still in beta.

Overall, I am impressed. It’s TV over the Internet with potential to disrupt, as it really should. I am also thrilled that it seems to be Free and Advertisements supported by design. There may be hidden Pay-per-View functionality somewhere, but I didn’t see it (and don’t want to !!)
Majority of other competitors that are trying legal Internet TV, such as BitTorrent and Vuze (based on bittorrent protocol) have a Pay-per-View model. I think most people hate paying for each episode or each separate show.

Gosh, people are still having major arguments whether paying per Channel A-La-Carte is a better alternative then packaging! But, paying per individual episode, I say this model won’t last!

But what about the sneaky title of this little post, you ask? The other side of Joost is it’s social aspect, which is very initial right now, but possibilities are endless.

I think Joost is actually quietly taking Metadata it even further — They actually can collect statistics about your viewing habits, shows, related-shows, length show watched, etc.

Think about it! Joost can actually figure out that 85% of the people watching turn off the show on the 4:17 second mark. Producers armed with that kind of data can see what happens around 4:17 mark and figure out how to improve it in future episodes, to retain their viewers 100% ! Now, that’s metadata!

Furthermore, Joost is by definition a 1 viewer experience. In other words, whereas traditional TVs are often being watched by 2 or more people, Joost on PC represents single viewer, which gives Marketing folks even bigger satisfaction, since now it’s easier to count / analyze and, most importantly, Advertise To, that individual.

To summarize, as long as Joost can get their quality to near HD and with bigger content selection and no streaming disruptions, things will really take off.

joost, newteevee, internettv, web tv

Joost is a new P2P service coming soon from the good folks that brought you Skype VoIP revolution, and it continues to generate buzz. It promises instant streaming Peer-2-Peer TV, and if the Internet doesn’t collapse under it, should be able to deliver near HD digital quality playback on your computer.
While Joost is still in closed beta, somewhat simplified service in this space, called Pando, is already live and kicking! Pando is designed to download Video Casts, usually in High or HD quality, onto your computer, automatically. Right now it only has few channels, but more will get added, I’m sure.

But, onto the big announcement - Joost struck a deal with CBS ! Yes, big time shows, like the Excellent CSI series, NCIS, Numb3rs and other prime time favorites will be available on Joost !! This is a huge win for all of us, and once it materializes, I predict the shift to the Internet TV will grip hold of everyone, like a wild fire spreading.

So take this weekend to reflect on the following burning questions:

1. Will CSI, Numb3rs and other prime-time shows be free via Joost? Or will they try to nickel and dime us for shows that are otherwise freely broadcast in HD over the air?
2. Will you still need your Cable or Satellite provider after this? Maybe just keep Cable around, for their high-speed Internet only?
3. Why keep a DVR at all, if you can watch with Pause/Play via the Internet at your leisure?
4. Do you have a PC connected to your TV yet? If you did, would this news take on different light for you?

Not ready to ponder these questions just yet? Then click through to official CBS/Joost press release instead.

webtv, joost, pando, internet video, dvr, cbs

ReplayTV announced a deal for its ReplayTV PC Edition, its newly released DVR software (sorry Macs, PC only). Originally $99.99, ReplayTV is offering the software for 20% by February 27th. Simply use the coupon code RTVJAN0720 at checkout.

The bad news? You must pay an annual fee of $19.95 for the electronic program guide service (the first year is included in the price). Doesn’t that seem kind of lame? Especially when you can get rival software, like BeyondTV without the annual fee.

It also comes with a 30-day free trial, if you’d just like to sample it before buying.

And if you need a tuner card, there’s also a rebate for $20 from Hauppauge–the WinTV-PVR 150 or WinTV-PVR USB2. Just buy either model by January 31st and get a $20 rebate direct from Hauppauge.

DVRPlayground reviewed the Pinnacle PCTV To Go and said the remote control interface was “unfinished” and that it needs support for more devices using the IR Blaster.

Shawn Kent wrote a pretty detailed article about his quest to build his own DVR. He describes all the prices, has great links and plenty of pictures. So if you’re interested in (or are thinking about) building your own DVR, this is yet another great take.

He uses an old Pentium 3 computer, a 250 GB hard drive, a DVD-RW drive, Windows XP and Beyond TV.

Overall, he said he spent $800, which is kind of pricey. But then again he won’t have to pay monthly fees, like with cable or Tivo, so it can pay for itself after a few months. Still, $800 for a Series 3 Tivo will give lots more space and HD capability.

Tivo, DIY, DVR, PVR, digital video recorder, personal video recoder, BeyondTV

Hardware maker Pinnacle Systems announced that it was releasing two new products: PCTV To Go HD Wireless and PCTV To Go HD.

The Pinnacle PCTV To Go family connects to computers, and lets viewers watch TV with PVR functions. The ToGo part means that viewers can tune in using any PC in a networked home, or on a remote computer.

Pinnacle says the products will work with the Windows Media Center and with the forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.

The price is $249.99 for Pinnacle PCTV To Go HD Wireless and $179.99 for Pinnacle PCTV To Go HD.

[Press Release here.]