PVR Wire

As many of our readers may already be aware, AOL, PVR Wire's overlords, have decided to 'retire' some of the niche blogs in the Weblogs Inc. Network.

Sadly, PVR Wire will be among the blogs getting shipped off to the retirement home for old blogs.

So what will happen to the people who work on PVR Wire, and where will you get your news on TiVo, Sky+, Freeview and the big bad world of PVRs?

Tune in on January 31 for our farewell entry, but in the meantime, please keep reading as we'll continue to blog right up until the doors closes for good.

Dean Takahashi of the Mercury News has put together one of those "xx reasons" type of lists, this time about the forthcoming Windows Vista.

The launch of Vista (for consumers) is only a few days away, and already the hype machine is working its magic.

Chief among Dean's reasons for getting a hold of Windows Vista is the fairly obvious one for me: #5 Vista has a built-in version of the Windows Media Center user interface.

However, I'm not so sure that "when you move your mouse over the borders, you'll find they're a little thicker so it isn't as hard to grab them and expand the size of a window" is a sufficiently good reason to go out and spend the money on an upgrade so early in the day.

Make up your own mind.

Good news if you're a user of the Linux-based commercial desktop operating system Linspire or Freespie; SageTV has released SageTV Media Center Version 6 all for you.

I've neve used SageTV myself, but I understand it's pretty nifty.

Get yourself along to the one-click download and installation location at www.linspire.com/sagetv if you want to get your hands on a copy right away for $99.95.

We've mentioned TiVoServer here before on PVR Wire, but we've never really gone into any great depth as to its functions, foibles and fun-filled features.

However, Dan Farber and Larry Dignan (also featuring David Berlind!) of ZDNet have taken a stab at this technology for your Mac, Linux box or PC which allows you to share TiVo content with other TiVos around your house.

Of course, there's a few issues over DRM (which can obviously be worked around), but this sort of open-source software could spell the beginning of the end of the locked-down tyrants behind iTunes (and TiVo), who don't really want you to do anything with your own content, except pay them to watch it.

I've never had the pleasure of trying out any of Evesham's offerings in the PC market, but they seem to get fairly decent reviews.

PC Plus has a review of the most recent tower of of the blocks from the Evesham labs, a Vista MCE PC, no less -- which features a low-end case housing a Core 2 Duo processor and a paltry 1GB of RAM.

However, it also has a 250GB hard drive and a 19in widescreen display, a TV tuner and a TV-out graphics card, which all mounted up to some fairly decent bench-test results (although, games fared poorly).

The big advice I seem to be picking up from an upgrade of Vista, let alone the MCE editions, is to get yourself a beefy graphics card, or suffer the consequences.

This is the kind of thing we don't do often enough here on PVR Wire; putting out a call for help, giving people advice on the best product to buy, and harnessing the power of our own community to make sure our readers get the right product at the right price, for the service they require.

Over at Atomic, a user called Chestinator1 has put out a call asking for advice on creating a home theater setup.

He/she has a 40" LCD, an HD set top box (with no hard drive), a pioneer amplifier and two giant dali speakers -- and all he needs now is "a kick ass HTPC that will look sweet and run even sweeter."

He has a budget of around $3000 (lucky Chestinator), so why not pay Atomic a visit and help the poor soul spend his money?

I thought I'd published this one, but it seems to have slipped through the net.

Along with D-Link, Buffalo announced a new streaming digital media center at CES.

(I won't bore you with what a streaming digital media center does; if you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll already know).

Th Buffalo comes in two flavours; 250GB and 750GB, with the 250 model starting at about £106.

The 750GB model will cost you aound £360 -- but they look nice.

The D-Link MediaLounge won't be available until Spring, but will be capable of streaming HD video.

It supports 802.11n wireless and 802.11g and has the vital HDMI connector.

Even if you're well and truly embedded in the fast-paced world of technology and software, the imminent release of Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, might still be somewhat something of an unknown for you.

For example, most people I speak to seem to think of it as another bloated upgrade to Windows XP, rather than a top-to-bottom makeover -- and fewer realise that it's actually a massive expansion on Windows Media Center Edition -- which tells its own story, really.

Tom Gromak of The Detroit News has made a start at presenting a brief run-through of what to expect when the product hits the shelves (for regular consumers) on January 30.

His first bit of advice is not to rush, which is sensible. Don't be panicked into thinking you need to upgrade your PC, software, mouse, or any other part of your computer; rather, think of it as an opportunity to sit back and see what happens when Vista starts throwing up bugs -- and, more importantly, if the drivers will be available to operate the key peripherals you rely on for day-to-day operation (think printers, scanners, cameras).

Otherwise, Tom reckons Vista is pretty cool (a few moans aside); it has improved security, better networking, some nifty add-ons and, of course, the all-important Media Center tweaks to turn your PC into a PVR.

So far, the one thing to excite me about CES has been Netgear's announcement of the EVA800.

Unfortunately, its predecessor, the EVA700 never really hit the market in the way it was supposed to (I keep spotting it listed as available for sale all over the UK, but no-one ever has it in stock -- one supplier ran a whole feature in their annual catalogue, but never actually offered the item for sale).

As we already know from Brad's update and the Engadget gang, this device will plug directly into your TV like a DVD player or STB. It will have its own menu system, and will connect wirelessly to your PC, where it can scan for playable content (so far, we know that it supports MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, M4A, AAC, AC3, purchased music from iTunes on Windows (M4P), MPEG1/2/4, WMV, XviD, H.264, JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF) and has two USB 2.0 ports (front and rear) for playing content from flash memory, iPods or other portable music and video players.

It also has some other nice playback features too, such as being able to pause in one room and pick up in another.
Oh, and it streams in 1080p. However, for wireless HD streaming, you'll need a 802.11n router - but Netgear's clever PowerLine HD devices (which basically access the electrical wires in your house through an ordinary wall power socket) gives you those much-needed super-fast speeds.

I've been in the market for something like this for a long time, so I hope this hits the streets soon (although, the $349 price tag will need to drop slightly if it's to compete with Apple's thus-far unreleased offering).

One of the big topics at this year's CES is 'digital connections', ie. accessing media on different platforms and moving it around without the need for complex systems, setups or hard work.

As things move on, year-on-year, a big aspect of the digital home will not only be moving digital media around the home, but using your PC (or similar device) to control various other devices around your home.

But is it currently possible to set up a system on a wireless home network so that you can view your photos, videos and listen to your music from anywhere in the house -- on a budget of less than $1000, using components bought from high street stores?

Unfortunately, the answer is mostly no. Maybe $10,000 would be more like it.

However, with an 802.11n router, a few cheap upgrades to the various wireless devices around the house, and $500 worth of network storage -- and hook it all up to your current setup (presuming you have more than one PC) and you could be well on your way to a makeshift home entertainment system.

Unfortunately, this NY Times-based article doesn't really give any solutions as such -- more suggestions -- but I'd like PVR Wire's readers to give us an example of the setup you have at home (along with the rough costs) to give people an alternative to the expensive products being released this week in Las Vegas.

List your devices, model numbers, cost -- and how you went about setting things up in the comments section.

If you were lucky enough to receive a PVR-related product for Christmas, but you're finding difficulty figuring out how to use it, then here's some handy numbers and websites for you to try out before losing your marbles.

Sky+: The customer service number at Sky can vary in the waiting times, from as low as five minutes, to up to an hour. However, they tend to be quiet helpful and knowledgeable -- and if you're not getting satisfaction, insist on a engineer coming out to visit. But make sure you do have a fault, or you could end up being charged if you've done something stupid like taken the batteries out of your remote. Customer service ebsite: www.sky.com. Phone: 08705 800 800 for Sky+ support or 8702 43 5000 for other technical enquiries.

Telewest TVDrive: most people who have a Telewest/NTL product also have the telephone as part of the deal. If so, just dial 150 from your phone and follow the instructions to find the service helpdesk that you need. If you don't have the phone, try the FAQ section first or phone 0845 142 0000.

If you picked up a Humax PVR, try out their website first: www.humaxdigital.com/uk or phone 0208 744 5510. You can also email them on: sales-info@humax-digital.co.uk

If you received a Topfield PVR, try their website: www.topfield.co.uk/ or visit their forum, which has a small community of people ready to help out with any problems.

Most importantly, don't lose the plot if you're starting to get frustrated by a problem you can't resolve. I usually find that obsessing over it is often the best way to lose the affections of your closest family members -- while a simple process of taking a break and then methodically working your way through the issue usually brings about the best results.

If you're really, really stuck - just email us using the contact link here on the site (or comment on this entry) and we'll do our very best to help out or point you in the right direction.

Whatever you do, enjoy your holiday period and your PVR gift.

If you're a relatively new reader of this blog, or if you've stuck with us through thick and thin over the past year or so, myself, Brad, Chris, Matt, JJ and Dave would like to extend to all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday period.

If you're sitting here reading this entry on Christmas Day (25 December, to everyone else), then you really should be away doing something more interesting, like spending time with your family -- or better still, trying out one of those fabby new PVR-related gadgets you just opened up.

If you're struggling to use whatever PVR gift you've been given, tune in over the next few days and we'll publish some links to helpful websites, along with some phone numbers for you to call if you start losing your mind in the mess of cables and setup booklets.

In any case, have a fabulous time, and we look forward to spreading some more good PVR cheer well into 2007.

1. The Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Runaway Bride. BBC ONE. 25 December. 1900GMT. If you only schedule one recording over the Festive season, it has to be Doctor Who. Since the series was revived last year, we've seen no fewer than two Doctors, and the return of the Daleks and the Cybermen. Plus, there's a guest appearance from Catherine Tate as The Bride.

2. Peter and the Wolf. Channel Four. 24 December. 1630GMT. Sergei Prokofiev's classical music has been set to animation in Suzie Templeton's award winning film, updated with a modern setting and a horror-story edge. Tune in to see Peter gain the courage to overcome the dangers in the woods.

3. Dracula. BBC ONE. 28 December. 2100GMT. So you think you've seen the classic story about the 'son of the devil'? Think again. Once more, the BBC gives a classic horror story a re-vamp (pardon the pun) with Dan Stevens and Sophia Miles (David Tennant's girlfriend) in the roles of Vlad and Mina. Undoubtedly one to get your teeth into.

4. Ricky Gervais Meets...Channel Four. 25 December. 2000GMT. If last year's one-off special with Ricky meeting Larry David is anything to go by, then this one-off will be even better, as the UK's top comedy writer and actor travels around the USA meeting his heroes and chatting to them about all sorts. Featuring Gary Shandling and Christopher Guest as the men well met.

5. Monsters Inc. BBC ONE. 25 December. 1555GMT. If you don't already own this on DVD, then you should. If you're lucky enough never to have had the pleasure of sitting down and watching Disney/Pixar's brilliantly original digital animation feature (with voices from Billy Crystal, John Goodman and James Coburn), then you're in for a rare treat. Set it to record, and never erase it.

It's interesting to read the various slants taken on the news surrounding sales of Microsoft's Zune player, particularly those of the Mac-obsessed naysayers.

According to media reports scattered across the web today, Microsoft's first foray into the MP3 player market, the Zune, accounted for 9% of US MP3 player sales in its first week this year, making it the second-best seller of hard disk drive-based media players for 2006. (Corrections thanks to user Curtis Blow)

Meanwhile, Apple's total market share for the year has fallen to 82.7 percent, compared with 86.8 percent a year ago -- a share that also includes flash-based players, which Microsoft currently doesn't offer. (Ask Steve Jobs which figure he'd prefer, and I'll give you my life savings if he said he'd be happy with a drop in numbers).

Of course, the first thing all Worshipers at The Temple of Steve do when they see such mouth-wateringly low figures, is to bang away at their shiny white keyboards to produce some suitably dull and scathing criticism peppered with sneering remarks about the derisory brown-coloured MP3 player's pitifully low sales.

Let's get something straight here: the Zune has been officially on sale for less than six weeks -- yet it's still on course to sell a million units in its first fiscal year.

This is at a time when the market is literally saturated with MP3 players of all shapes, sizes -- and colours -- not least of which are the six different varieties of iPod you can currently waste your money on. (And, please, let's try not to pretend they won't be superseded by so-called 'newer models' before summer 2007).

Looking at it historically, the first iPod only managed to sell 250,000 units when it was released late in 2001, only to be superseded by a new model less than a year later -- and this was at a time when there was absolutely zero competition in the marketplace other than Creative Labs. Compared to Microsoft, Apple had a dreadfully slow start, and it took them until well into Q4 of 2003 before they reached the million sales mark -- almost two years.

It's much more interesting to read Microsoft's take on the whole thing, rather than the rantings of those struck blind by the glow from their G4 case:

"Microsoft expressed little concern about the sales. Jason Reindorp, director of product marketing for Zune, said, ``We are happy with the position Zune currently holds in the market, and are on track to meet our sales projection of 1 million units by end of the fiscal year.''"

I'm no Microsoft fan, and the Zune might seem a bit foolish for an MP3 player, but there's plenty of fools still prepared to buy it.

Over the next few days, the gang here at PVR Wire will be providing you with the a guide to the best shows and movies to record over the Festive period.

So, get your remote control out, with your fingers poised over the record button, as we dig out the best (and the worst) video junk to fill up your PVR for the next two weeks.

We kick off with Brad's guide to some top-notch Christmas movies, including one of my all-time favourites (although, not exactly a Christmas-themed movie), Ghostbusters.

And don't forget, you can suggest shows or movies to record, just by adding your comments to any of the individual guides.