All PVR

Ever wish you can take your DVR shows on the road? One enterprising user described how he loaded his video iPod with shows that he recorded off his DVR.

He just used a “$5 cable” to hook up his iPod to a hotel TV (with RCA inputs) and was watching The Daily Show, 30 Rock and Battlestar Galactica.

Ok, I noticed that the cable actually costs $8.99, but it seems like it would work just fine.

I also found another one:

Too bad you can’t use it to record TV shows onto an iPod.

Engadget has some news that Archos is making a mobile DVR, the Archos 704 with WiFi. Although the product hasn’t been released yet (and apparently was revealed by the FCC!), rumors abound that the 704 will have a TV tuner built-in. And it will have a bigger screen than previous products, 7″ rather than 4 something inches.

Apparently, the FCC broke Archos’ confidentially request and posted pics of the Archos 704 Mobile DVR.

Archos, DVR, PVR, digital video recorder, FCC

A website that encourages people to ask “Why Not?” had a submission recently that asked:

Why not allow DVRs to have a direct connection for iPods to download shows directly?

That’s a great question. Why isn’t there a simple way to transfer shows from your DVR to a portable media player, like a video iPod or Archos media player? Instead, you need to use our computer as an intermediary, which means downloading software, re-encoding then syncing it back with an iPod.

Why not make it simpler?

There’s no technological hurdle. A DVR can come with an iPod connection and software to download shows. (Someone please Tivohack this!)

One product that helps to bridge the DVR-iPod gap is the iRecord. It’s a box that you connect to the TV and an iPod. It has one big red record button. Press it while watching a TV show and it automatically records and transfers the show to your iPod. Press it again and stop recording.

The sole commenter for this question says that it’s a three part answer: 1) copyright issues from the content owners preventing this 2) CPU horsepower to transcode video and 3) closed systems like the iPod, which makes it difficult for anyone to install media.

Essentially, it’s legal issues–copyright and content owners are probably not happy with users being able to rip content from from a TV to a portable device. The layers that exist protect the content owners and discourage users from having the convenience of TV on the go.

Sure, Apple has iTunes with a few TV shows and movies, but it’s not enough.

I want a simple, easy connection on my Tivo so I can connect my video iPod. Please.

During CES, SanDisk announced a technology called USBTV, which aims to use flash-based storage devices to link computers and TVs. Naturally, SanDisk, the inventor of flash drives, wants to keep its flash drive business going strong and this was a bold move.

Flash drives are incredibly cool and easy to use, but there’s still a problem of plugging a USB device onto your TV. There simply are very few TVs that come with USB ports today. But why not put USB ports on TVs? Flash drives are already replacing the floppy disk. (OK, flash drives have really replaced the need for a floppy drive, but that’s another story.)

Getting content from your computer to the TV is an annoying process (from burning to labeling discs, etc.) but the USBTV requires that TV manufacturers add a USB port.

For now, SanDisk showed off a “product concept�? using a TV cradle and a remote control, allowing USBTV to connect a TV set. (Sorry no pics available.) Apparently, the USBTV device converts stored files into various audio and video formats for quick playback.

Said Eli Harari, SanDisk CEO. “…USBTV solves in a simple, elegant way the ‘last 10 feet’ of the content portability problem in the home between the PC and the TV.�?

Ah yes, that crucial last 10 feet. Why not use your home network or a media server? That’d be my first choice.

The press release says:

The first pocket-sized players, expected to be available this spring, allow consumers to access an on-screen guide where they can pick and choose from content they’ve stored on the USBTV player and play it on a TV. No wireless set-up or complex networking equipment is required.

Update: Just found a video on YouTube showing the USBTV in “action”.

USBTV, SanDisk

If you’re at CES this year, don’t miss the new portable HDTV receiver from RCA. The RCA portable TV Tuner called the “MPC4000 Laptop Teleceiver”, plugs into your laptop’s USB port and can receive and record shows from HDTV and analog TV.

It can also act as a PVR by recording shows directly onto its on-board hard drive. The product will cost $199 and is scheduled to be available in April 2007.

[From PVRWire and Electronic House.]

Still looking for a solution to copy shows from your DVR to a portable media player? Well, PC owners can just use the Archos 604 portable and the DVR attachment. Mac users have Elegato’s EyeTV 250. Now Streaming Networks has the iRecord video recorder, a stand-alone box that sits between your video device and transfers video directly to an iPod.

iLounge published a review of iRecord saying that it’s really easy to transfer videos with a minimum of cables. The iRecord can even recharge an iPod while it records.

On the downside, iLounge says that iRecord is pricey and lacks some output ports. Also, firmware updates are required to use it, since Apple does not support devices that record directly to an iPod.

You just hit a single record button to quickly transfer videos to your iPod. From the review:

For on-iPod viewing, iRecord’s video files are just fine. They’re encoded at 320×240 resolution and 768Kbps, which is appropriate to the 5G iPod’s 320×240 screen, but only 1/4 the resolution of today’s iTunes Store downloads, and less than optimal for viewing on a larger computer or iPod accessory display with superior resolution.

The big story is that Apple is creating these roadblocks for users that want to transfer videos directly to their iPods. Why? Probably it’s a deal with Hollywood studios, or the MPAA. But Apple is doing a great disservice to its loyal users. Apple may be working on its own solution and may not want the competition, too.

iLounge says that the iRecord appeals to the “early adopter crowd, namely people who are willing to spend a bit more cash and suffer through repeated firmware updates and incompatibility concerns for a while.�?

iRecord costs $200 (available for PC and Macs) and is compatible with the 5th-generation iPods.

Tip: Here’s CNet’s review of iRecord.

Tip #2: Here are some in-depth looks at the ports and diagrams of the iRecord.

The Associated Press’ Ron Harris reviewed the Archos 604-WiFi, a portable media player calling it “whip-smart�?. He writes about the add-on digital video recorder (DVR) docking station ($100), which lets the device connect to your TV and record shows directly onto the device.

He says the Archos 604 handles lots of audio (such as MP3, WMA, WAV and AAC) and video formats (MPEG-4, WMV, and H.264).

When he used it as a DVR (connecting it between his DirecTV box and TV), he could record the shows but that he couldn’t schedule recordings.

I was a bit flustered to learn that the only TV programming guide that synchs automatically with the unit comes from DISH Network. There’s no native support for the DirecTV guide, or TV Guide’s Web site, for example.

As a whole, Harris says the Archos really excels “[b]eing able to take television recordings on the road.” This is great for the growing number of people that are trying to watch their Tivo shows on the go. I know that I would definitely want to carry along the episode of “Lost” that I missed the night before, and watch on my commute in the morning.

So this is the second review I’ve found about the Archos 604 that seems to call it a pretty decent device. I’m definitely in the market for a portable video player, so I’ll keep looking for more reviews.

The Hartford Courant has a review of the RoverTV portable media player from writer Kevin Hunt. The RoverTV is yet another portable media player (PMP) with a 4.1 inch screen for watching movies on the go.

The good news is that it can connect directly to your TV thereby avoiding using a PC to copy shows to the device, like a video iPod. And unlike the Archos media player, it doesn’t require the purchase of an additional external adapter. The widescreen version retails for about $350.

In the review, Hunt says that the RoverTV needs an easier way to record video from your TV, since you need to have it tuned on the desired channel and program a recording via the RoverTV. This is fairly awkward and not very user friendly at all.

Hunt also says that the RoverTV is missing a search feature for finding shows and doesn’t have a “hold�? button so you don’t accidentally turn it on while it’s in your pocket.

Overall, Hunt says that he’s not convinced enough to buy a RoverTV, but “it did convince me that do-it-yourself portable video with perhaps a pay-per-download option makes a lot more sense than the iPod’s pay-only setup.�?

Perhaps worst of all is the storage on the RoverTV. It has no built-in memory; instead it uses a 2 GB SD card. That’s just about three hours of high-quality video mode which is not enough storage for such an expensive device. Hopefully future versions of the RoverTV come with more storage and fix some of the problems listen in this review.

Getting video from your TV onto your portable media player, such as an iPod can be a hassle. Usually, it means downloading content from your Tivo using Tivo2Go, then converting it into iPod format, then copying it to the iPod. All pretty time consuming and not very simple for someone that’s not a tech geek.

Enter the Archos 604 personal media player, with a 4.3in LCD screen and built-in WiFi. It has 30GB (which can fit about 120 hours of video), so it can store and play music, movies and photos. Since it’s portable and wireless, you can also check your e-mail on the go, as well as connect it to your home network.

The coolest thing, however, is that it can connect and record shows directly from a TV, DVD, satellite or cable box, MPEG-4 camcorder, even a VCR. However, you need to buy a separate adapter, called the DVR Station, in order to do all this.

There should be more functionality coming to the 604. Archos said recently that it was working on releasing firmware updates so that it can support podcasts, downloads and Internet radio stations.

CNet reviewed the Archos 604 and said that it works great, but that you have to buy lots of extras (like the DVR station, power adapter) to get the full experience.

It retails for $350, but do a Google search for better deals.