PVR Wire http://www.pvrwire.com PVR Wire http://www.pvrwire.com/media/feedlogo.gif PVR Wire http://www.pvrwire.com en-us Copyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/OMS-GX300 - The $4,995 Vista Media Center PChttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/31/oms-gx300-the-4-995-vista-media-center-pc/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/31/oms-gx300-the-4-995-vista-media-center-pc/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/31/oms-gx300-the-4-995-vista-media-center-pc/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Okoro OMS-GX300 Check out the Vista-ready OMS-GX300 Media Center from Okoro Media Systems. This beast of a media center will set you back $4,995 but includes some mouth watering specs:
  • A silver and sleek SilverStone LC18 case which comes with a little 7" Touch Screen display featuring a 15:9 wide display with HDTV transcoder for 720p
  • Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core processor
  • 2GB of Crucial's Ballistix memory
  • Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card
  • 1TB of hard drive space (2x 500GB) - can be upgraded to 2TB.
  • 16x Dual-Layer +-RW DVD Writer
  • Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX PCIE 768MB HDTV & HDCP
  • Saber 2020 TV Tuners with hardware MPEG-2 encoder.
  • PCI Over-The-Air HDTV Tuner
  • Optional USB HDTV Tuner
  • Microsoft Media Center Remote Control w/ IR Blaster
  • Snapstream Firefly Remote Control
You may be thinking this is a little over the top for a Media Center PC unless you want to do gaming. But as CrunchGear points out, a great feature of Vista is that it works seamlessly with the Xbox 360 controller making living room gaming from the couch much more appealing.

Full OMS-GX300 specs and features here.
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]]>mceOkoroOMS-GX300vistaChris Tew2007-01-31T09:16:00+00:00TiVX 5010-P HD TV recorder - Odd shaped diskless, media streaming, Korean HD PVRhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/31/tivx-5010-p-hd-tv-recorder-odd-shaped-diskless-media-streamin/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/31/tivx-5010-p-hd-tv-recorder-odd-shaped-diskless-media-streamin/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/31/tivx-5010-p-hd-tv-recorder-odd-shaped-diskless-media-streamin/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


TiVX 5010-P HD TV recorderThe new TiVX 5010-P HD TV recorder is one unique and sleek PVR from DViCO. To start off this futuristic grey cylinder does not contain an internal hard drive but requires you to add your own external one via a USB port.

I actually quite like the option of being able to add my own external hard drives as it makes for easy upgrades. But wait there's more; this HD TV recorder is more than just a weird looking PVR, it's also a media extender.

It can record videos in 1920 x 1080 resolution and stream files to and from a PC in a variety of video formats including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, (VOB, ISO and IFO), AVI, TP, WMV9. It can also send pictures and movies around the house too.

Other features include:
  • An Electronic Program Guide to use on your TV
  • ATSC hi-def television tuner
  • DVI, component, S-Video and composite video outs
  • 2x USB 2.0 ports for adding external disk drives
  • A third USB port for other storage devices (e.g digital camera, MP3 player)
  • fixed 10/100Mbps Ethernet or 802.11b/g WiFi
It is currently being launched in Korea and will cost $352. There is no word on releases in other territories, but hopefully there will be.
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]]>DViCOHD TVHdTvTiVX 5010-PTivx5010-pChris Tew2007-01-31T08:08:00+00:00Trinion L7 HTPC touts integrated touchscreen LCDhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/30/trinion-l7-htpc-touts-integrated-touchscreen-lcd/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/30/trinion-l7-htpc-touts-integrated-touchscreen-lcd/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/30/trinion-l7-htpc-touts-integrated-touchscreen-lcd/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Trinion L7

The Trinion L7 is a well packed Home Theater PC (HTPC) with a nifty 800 x 480 resolution touch-screen LCD monitor that can be controlled by an IR remote. It features easy playback of DVDs, photos, TV episodes etc and can even launch games and office applications from the LCD screen itself.

Features of this sleek looking HTPC include:
  • A silver chassis
  • 1.66GHz Intel T5500 processor
  • 1GB of DDR2 RAM
  • 250GB hard drive
  • 8-channel onboard audio
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Combo drive
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition
  • Front-panel flash card readers
  • USB / FireWire connectors
  • Audio in / out ports
The Trinion L7 should be available in South Korea sometime soon although no release details are available.
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]]>htpcmceTrinion L7TrinionL7Chris Tew2007-01-30T07:50:00+00:00Review of the WinTV-PVR-500 tuner cardhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/22/review-of-the-wintv-pvr-500-tuner-card/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/22/review-of-the-wintv-pvr-500-tuner-card/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/22/review-of-the-wintv-pvr-500-tuner-card/#commentsFiled under: ,


WinTV-PVR 500One of the most popular adjustments I have seen people make to their homebrew PVR's is the addition of a second tuner. Sure once you get your system up and running it seems great - until you realize that the broadcast companies don't always adhere to your personal schedule.

With that in mind, one the easiest fixes to this problem is to put a dual tuner card into your system right from the get go. I've always been a fan of the Hauppauge tuner cards - they tend to be pretty solid for the price, and as luck would have they also manufacture a dual tuner card, the WinTV-PVR-500.

Virtual-Hideout has gone forth and put this card through their tests and they let us know what they find in their two page review. Once you read the review you can decide for yourself whether the cost of the card (about $170) is worth it for the quality and ease of use of a single tuner card.

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]]>hauppaugepvrMatt Crape2007-01-22T09:12:00+00:00Crazy HTPC case shows off your hard drivehttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/21/crazy-htpc-case-shows-off-your-hard-drive/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/21/crazy-htpc-case-shows-off-your-hard-drive/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/21/crazy-htpc-case-shows-off-your-hard-drive/#commentsFiled under: ,


Silverstone CW01-WD

File this under "who thought this was a good idea?"

High-end home theater PC case makers Silverstone has decided to do away with that whole putting an LCD in the front of an HTPC case trend, and instead put a little window for you to watch your hard drive spin. I guess it gives you something to watch when you're wife's monopolizing your PC to watch period dramas.

Anyway, XtremeComputing put the Silverstone CW01-WD through the paces, and for the most part, they like what they saw. There's room for 6 hard drives and 2 5.25-inch bays, and the case includes a 52-in-1 memory card reader. The only real problem is that it takes a very long screwdriver to remove the hard drive cage at the front of the case. That, and when you're done, you've got a case with a visible hard drive in the front, (although the XtremeComputing reviewer seemed to think this was a good thing).
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]]>casehtpcsilverstoneBrad Linder2007-01-21T19:12:00+00:00Toying with TiVoServerhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/18/toying-with-tivoserver/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/18/toying-with-tivoserver/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/18/toying-with-tivoserver/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


TiVo ServerWe'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.
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]]>serverstreamingtivoMartin Conaghan2007-01-18T16:13:00+00:00Evesham 657Plus Solar Visto - MCE PChttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/17/evesham-657plus-solar-visto-mce-pc/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/17/evesham-657plus-solar-visto-mce-pc/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/17/evesham-657plus-solar-visto-mce-pc/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Evesham HTPCI'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.
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]]>Martin Conaghan2007-01-17T15:55:00+00:00Test driving Vistahttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/17/test-driving-vista/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/17/test-driving-vista/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/17/test-driving-vista/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Vista Media CenterEven 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.
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]]>mcevistawindowsMartin Conaghan2007-01-17T14:38:00+00:00Apple TV | A load of hype for nothinghttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/14/apple-tv-a-load-of-hype-for-nothing/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/14/apple-tv-a-load-of-hype-for-nothing/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/14/apple-tv-a-load-of-hype-for-nothing/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,


Apple TV

There was a lot of hype that the codenamed Apple iTV (now named the Apple TV) would revolutionize the TV industry and make Apple a mainstream competitor in living room entertainment.

What came out of Macworld was not the impressive revolutionary device that was expected. Rather all that came out was an inferior media extender that allowed you to watch iTunes videos on your TV.

If all Apple set out to do was let you watch iTunes video on your TV then it has succeeded in doing that, but that's neither revolutionary nor impressive, but it will keep the hardcore Apple fans happy.

The Specs and features:
  • HDMI, USB, Ethernet
  • 40 GB Hard Disk
  • 802.11 b, g, n wireless networking (AirPort)
  • Works with Apple Remote
  • 720p HD (H.264 Playback)
  • No video/audio cable included
  • Supported video codecs
    o H.264
    + Baseline profile LC (640x480x30 p)
    + Baseline profile (320x240x30 p)
    + Main profile (1280x720x24 p)
    o MPEG-4 simple profile (640x480x30 p)
    o does not support DivX, XviD or WMV.
  • Supported audio codecs: AAC (16-320 kbps), MP3 (16-320 kbps VBR), Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV
  • Supported image formats: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG
  • Auto-sync content from your PC
  • Stream content (wirelessly) from up to 5 computers
  • Take's 10 most recent unwatched movies and automatically stream in the background to Apple TV and be stored on the hard drive.
  • Theatrical trailers streaming from Apple.com
  • Costs $299 - will be released in February
Other media extenders are much better

Take a look at the NetGear EVA700 to see what a decent media extender can do. Many existing Apple TV alternatives already out-compete the Apple TV in functionality.

That's not even mentioning the new media extenders in the pipeline including the NetGear EVA800, the Xbox 360 IPTV and the MediaGate media extenders.

What's the deal with the hard drive?

It appears that Apple will sync your iTunes playlists with the Apple TV hard drive much like it does with your iPod. I guess the reason for streaming from the Apple TV rather than directly from a PC/Mac is because it means you can still watch the videos if your TV/Mac is off. This is one feature which I think Apple has got right.

PVR Functionality

Many people beleived that because the Apple TV had a hard drive it would also have PVR functionality. It was even suggested that Apple would be partnering or acquiring TiVo.

I've said before that Apple would never partner with or aquire TiVo, nor would it include PVR functionality in the iTV, although with such a high demand for PVR functionality on the Apple TV I did begin to wonder. But despite a huge demand for PVR functionality on the Apple TV, Apple hasn't delivered it.

But Apple's mission has never been to give the consumer what they want unless it encourages them to buy from the iTunes store. That is unless Apple really had to implement something to keep customers happy, such as MP3 support on the iPod.

However, with EyeTV you can get some form of PVR functionality in the respect you can watch TV recordings from your Mac on your TV, but that's about as far as it goes.

What can I do with the Apple TV?
  • Do all of my videos have to be played from iTunes on my PC Mac?
Yes, the Apple TV syncs up with your iTunes playlist much like with your iPod.
  • Am I restricted to the video formats that I can watch?
Yes, the Apple TV is very restricted only supporting .264 and MPEG-4. It does not support Xvid, DivX or WMV. In my opinion this is extremely restrictive meaning you'll need to do a lot of converting of video to watch everything through your Apple TV device.

The Xbox 360 is also is restricted to WMV but you can use something like TVersity to convert video on the fly. Maybe some similar third party app will be made for the Apple TV.
  • Am I restricted to watching stuff downloaded from iTunes, or can I watch any videos I've downloaded?
Really the Apple TV is designed for letting you watch video that you have downloaded from the iTunes store. You can add other plain Quicktime movies into your iTunes library though but this is still very limited.

You can use a third party program such as Movie2iTunes to add other video to your iTunes library, depending on the file format some of these videos could be played through the Apple TV.
  • Can I rip DVDs (which I own) and watch them on it?
Yes you can provided you convert them to a format compatible with the Apple TV.

How easy is it to watch TV:
  • According to the Apple TV website:
    1. Download movies, TV shows and more from iTunes.
    2. Sync wirelessly from your Mac or PC.
    3. Watch everything on your widescreen TV.
  • Lets compare this to a TiVo
    1. Turn on TV and play recorded programs straight away
  • Let's compare this to the Xbox 360 with the Xbox live video marketplace
    1. Download movie from Xbox Live marketplace
    2. Play on your TV
You can see from this that the Apple TV is the most complicated way to watch TV. Couldn't Apple have removed the need for a Mac or PC entirely and allowed the Apple TV to interact with iTunes directly? All this synching from PC/Mac to Apple TV is just an extra complication that will confuse the less techie mainstream consumer.

What other people say:

"For $100 more you could pick up an Xbox 360 with TV and Movie downloads direct to the console, no PC required. Oh yeah, you can do a bunch of other stuff too. The second issue I have is that Apple continues to lock us into their ecosystem - A model that has worked well for them with audio, but may not be as successful with video in the era of YouTube and DivX: The iTV has limited multimedia format support compared to products such as Netgear's new Digital Entertainer HD."
Dave Zatz

"This thing sucks, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Media Center user. It just doesn't do much of anything that can't already be done with other products that have been out for years! Why cache on the HDD? Is your network not fast enough with 802.11n to get that done? No PVR functionality. Tops out at 720p.

Other than Mac support, I don't think this offers anything new. Sure, it's really the first device to play video purchased from iTunes, but that's about it."
Chris Lanier

To Sum Up

The Apple TV is not a great product, but if you desperately want to hook up the iTunes movie store and your Mac with your TV then the Apple TV is the way to go. But if you want a more universal solution then the Xbox 360 or one of the many Apple TV alternatives will serve you better.

But there is one reason why the Apple TV will at least be partially successful. Apple really knows how to market a product.
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]]>appleapple itvapple tvAppleItvAppleTvmedia extendersMediaExtendersxbox 360Xbox360Chris Tew2007-01-14T16:02:00+00:00CNET - PVR product videos from the Consumer Electronics Showhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/11/cent-videos-on-ces/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/11/cent-videos-on-ces/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/11/cent-videos-on-ces/#commentsFiled under: ,


Cnet VideosIf you are like me then you probably weren't lucky enough to be at the CES this week to see all those fancy new PVR products that are hitting the market. Fortunately CNET has provided us with some nice videos of some of the hot PVR products from this year's CES.
  • Motorola Follow Me TV (video): The product for use with Motorola PVRs that lets you transfer recorded video around your house, onto your cell phone and control your PVR remotely using your cell phone.
  • SlingCatcher (video) - The SlingCatcher is a media extender that allows you to watch video from your PC and the internet on your TV set, much like the Apple iTV. I've said before that the Slingbox will likely merge with media extender functionality and this is the first stage.
  • SideLink Remote (video) - A Bluetooth MCE remote that includes 2.5-inch, 320x240 color QVGA display and a full selection of buttons for controlling and watching your media.
  • Hava Gold HD (video) - This will compete directly with the Slingbox HD and allow you to transfer video to any internet connected PC and using an Ethernet connection and also features some PVR functionality.
  • TiVo and Comcast (video) - A look at the TiVo interface for Comcast PVRs in action.
  • Digeo Moxi (video) - The new standalone HD PVRs from Digeo which will compete with the TiVo Series 3 PVR.
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]]>cescnetChris Tew2007-01-11T07:48:00+00:00Video: Hillcrest Labs Loopshttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/10/video-hillcrest-labs-loops/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/10/video-hillcrest-labs-loops/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/10/video-hillcrest-labs-loops/#commentsFiled under: ,


Susi Weaver over at Shiny Shiny got a chance to play with the Loop remote control from Hillcrest Labs, and she seems to like it. A lot.



To be honest, I'm much more excited by the user interface than the remote itself.

In some ways, the remote control doesn't do much more than the Gyration remote control which has been out for some time now. But here's the difference: while the Gyration remote lets you wave your hand around as if you were using a mouse to interact with existing software, Hillcrest labs has designed an entire user interface to work with the remote. There's only two buttons on the remote, and you can access all of your media just by flicking your wrist or hitting one of those buttons.

That said, the two remotes are really designed for different groups. The Gyration remote will work with Media Center PCs, letting you access video playback and similar functions with the traditional remote buttons, and sites like YouTube with the mouse-like cursor. The Loop remote and software will be bundled with television sets or cable company set top boxes.
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]]>Brad Linder2007-01-10T18:45:00+00:00Sharp TU-R160H PVR review - It's not goodhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/05/sharp-tu-r160h-freeview-personal-video-recorder/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/05/sharp-tu-r160h-freeview-personal-video-recorder/http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/05/sharp-tu-r160h-freeview-personal-video-recorder/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Sharp tu-r160hBack in October Martin brought to our attention Sharp's first attempt at the PVR market in the UK. It's safe to say that Martin's predisposed misgivings of anything Sharp have been proven to be true.

A review from Pocket Lint has found the 160 GB dual tuner PVR to be less than appealing with poor time shifting and recording functionality.

If something is already recording you can't time shift or record another TV channel at the same time. Pocket Lint also states that the Sharp PVR has below average picture quality.

I think it is advisable to stay clear of the Sharp TU-R160H PVR and go with another PVR on the market.
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]]>sharptu-r160hChris Tew2007-01-05T15:20:00+00:00Antec P180 Media Center Casehttp://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/27/antec-p180-media-center-case/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/27/antec-p180-media-center-case/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/27/antec-p180-media-center-case/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Antec P180A media server plays an integral role in your home entertainment setup if you're running multiple media center PCs and/or media extenders. It's very important you have the inner workings of your media server housed in a solid and reliable case.

Missing Remote set out to find the perfect media server case and found the Antec P180 to be a "must buy" for its $120 price tag. The P180 case was extremely spacious with room for a full ATX PSU, full ATX motherboard, six hard drives, four 5.25" drives, and one 3.5" drive with room to spare.

The Antec P180 also featured a dual chambered design, hard drive noise insolation grommets and foam strips to keep things quiet, extra reinforced side panels, three speed fans, a video card duct, washable air filters and a general modern look, clean fit and finish.

On the downside Missing Remote reported that there was no fan included with the video card fan duct, there was some slightly sharp edges, different mounting schemes for upper and lower drive cages, the 5.25" drive bay covers may vibrate, and the power supply may need extension cabling to reach top of upper chamber.

Overall through the Antec P180 does sound like the case for the job, especially given the price. Good media server cases are generally hard to come by since most cases are designed either for use as a PC, NAS, or media center.
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]]>antec p180AntecP180casemedia serverMediaServernasstorageChris Tew2006-12-27T09:34:00+00:00The Venice Project: the future of TV?http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/21/the-venice-project-the-future-of-tv/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/21/the-venice-project-the-future-of-tv/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/21/the-venice-project-the-future-of-tv/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The Venice Project screenshot

Om Malik at GigaOM got his hands on The Venice Project, the new broadband peer to peer TV project being developed by Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. Of course, when I say "got his hands on" I mean for exactly 30 minutes. This was more of a sneak peak than anything, but we know a lot more about the project than we did a few days ago.

Currently the application runs only on Windows XP SP2. It takes just a moment to download and install. Once you load the program, it takes you to a page with some channels, staff picks, etc. The picture quality is apparently near-TV, and consumes about 250MB per hour. There is a lag when you switch channels.

The biggest problem appears to be lack of content. There's no "live" streaming material at the moment, and most of what exists is streaming content from the Venice Project servers. As Malik points out, Skype and Kazaa were two programs that were made for self-perpetuation. If you wanted to use Skype, it behooved you to get your friends on board. Same thing with Kazaa.

Unless Venice goes the YouTube user-generated video route, which doesn't seem to be the goal, it needs to strike some deals with major content providers. Nobody's going to watch a TV replacement if nothing's on. But while 250MB an hour may seem like a lot to ISPs, from a consumer standpoint that's some great video compression for streaming near-broadcast quality video over the net.
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]]>kazaap2pskypevenice projectVeniceProjectBrad Linder2006-12-21T17:04:00+00:00Hava in the wildhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/20/hava-in-the-wild/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/20/hava-in-the-wild/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/20/hava-in-the-wild/#commentsFiled under:


Hava Interface

FoPW (Friend of PVR Wire) Dave Zatz has been playing around with a Hava unit for the last few months. Monsoon Multimedia's Hava is designed to be a Slingbox killer, offering the same ability to stream your personal media through the internet.

The difference is the Hava lets you stream to multiple computers simultaneously, and it includes Wi-Fi for connecting to your home network.

In a nutshell, he concludes that it's pretty nifty if you're a Windows user, but for now it's Windows only. The software's not quite as polished as Sling Media's, but we've been hearing that for months. But the software's the main reason I'm writing this post, as I haven't seen many screenshots before. So here, have another. This one's the configuration screen:

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]]>havaplaceshiftingslingboxBrad Linder2006-12-20T15:00:00+00:00HDHomeRun gets some review lovehttp://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/11/hdhomerun-gets-some-review-love/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/11/hdhomerun-gets-some-review-love/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/11/hdhomerun-gets-some-review-love/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


HDHomeRun

Two sites have come out with reviews of Silicon Dust's HDHomeRun, a network-attached HDTV tuner.

The HDHomeRun is a dual ATSC tuner box, and according to the product website, it's compatible with VLC, MythTV, SageTV, and support for Windows Media Center and BeyondTV are on the way (both are in currently in beta testing).

According to a DVR Playground review, the device is easy to set up, although there are no instructions in the box, only a sheet of paper that directs you to the Silicon Dust forums. Their review unit did a fine job of streaming a high-definition television signal using VLC and MythTV -- provided you use the ethernet cable. There was noticeable stuttering when using the 802.11b/g connection.

Missing Remote largely agrees that the HDHomeRun has an amazing feature set for the price ($170), but the setup is a bit cumbersome. While the HDHomeRun software automatically configures and updates the device to work with various software packages, you need to have Microsoft's .NET package installed, and you need to update the firmware from the company's website. This may not seem like the most user-friendly approach, but it allows for frequent firmware and software updates to be issued. And I'm guessing most customers in the market for this device are already pretty tech-savvy.


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]]>dvr playgroundDvrPlaygroundhdhomerunmissing remoteMissingRemoteBrad Linder2006-12-11T11:17:00+00:00PVR Wire Gift Guide #5 - What NOT to buyhttp://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/08/pvr-wire-gift-guide-5-what-not-to-buy/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/08/pvr-wire-gift-guide-5-what-not-to-buy/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/08/pvr-wire-gift-guide-5-what-not-to-buy/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,


My co-writers here at PVR Wire have been giving you some gift ideas for the Festive season, but I thought I'd be a little different and tell you what not to buy.
  • TiVo Series 3. Before you start shouting 'TiVo is great' -- hold it right there. I know TiVo is great, I know the Series 3 is a damn fine PVR and I know HD is the must-have thing this Christmas, but I just don't think it's the right time to buy a Series 3. Most stores are selling it at $799 although Yahoo Shopping found one at $670. That's pretty expensive for a PVR, no matter how good it is. But I can guarantee the Series 3 will have a substantial price drop shortly after Christmas, and that will be a much better time to buy.

  • XP Media Center without an Express Vista Upgrade. If you're planning on buying a media center PC running Windows MCE, then make sure it has an Express Vista Upgrade. With the right manufacturer you can get a free upgrade to the Vista operating system when it comes out before March 31, thus saving yourself the hefty cost of upgrading later on down the line. If you decide you don't want to upgrade to Vista, then you don't have to, but at least you have the option.

  • ZuneMicrosoft Zune - With so many excellent digital media players out on the market the Microsoft Zune just doesn't cut it. It's full of DRM and you have to hack it to do things that I would expect it to do as standard. I agree with Brad, the Archos 604 is a much more attractive option.

  • ReplayTV PC Edition - Turning a PC into a PVR is a great idea, but ReplayTV PC Edition is not the software to use. It lacks some much-needed features such as multiple tuner support, HDTV support, ability to stream video to other computers, and a free electronic program guide. It will cost you $99.95 with an additional $19.95 yearly fee. Sage TV and Beyond TV are a better option in my eyes, and you can always get basic PVR functionality for free with GB-PVR.
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]]>Chris Tew2006-12-08T14:00:00+00:00Remote control (or mouse) of the future?http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/06/remote-control-or-mouse-of-the-future/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/06/remote-control-or-mouse-of-the-future/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/06/remote-control-or-mouse-of-the-future/#commentsFiled under: ,


The Loop

Gizmodo got some hands on time with the new Loop controller from Hillcrest Labs. Ours must have been lost in the mail. Anyway, as silly as the thing looks, those Gizmodo boys say it actually works pretty well, better than a hacked Wiimote mouse, perhaps?

Anyway, the idea is that you can flick your wrist up, down, or from side to side to make selections on your TV or computer screen, rather than having to fumble with arrow buttons on a remote. It includes a mouse-like scroll wheel as well for flipping through items on your display.

Oh yeah, and Hillcrest is working on some media center software designed to work with the Loop. The software would run on a set top box or a home theater PC, and would allow you to record shows and playback video, music, and movies. Hillcrest is working on some partnerships, so the software will probably come bundled with some company's generic set top box sometime next year.
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]]>hillcrest labsHillcrestLabsloopmotion sensingmotion sensorMotionSensingMotionSensorremoteremote controlRemoteControlwiimoteBrad Linder2006-12-06T18:47:00+00:00PVR Wire Gift Guide #3http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/06/pvr-wire-gift-guide-3/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/06/pvr-wire-gift-guide-3/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/06/pvr-wire-gift-guide-3/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Sky HD1. Sky HD. If there's one present I'd really love someone to buy me this Christmas, it's BSkyB's news HD service. It's a Sky+ PVR with 160GB of storage capacity (around 80 hours) and it displays tons of Sky's content in glorious HD (presuming you have an HD capable TV. It'll cost you £299 for the box, £60 for installation and an extra £10 per month on top of your subscription, depending on the channels you already receive. More: www.sky.com/hd

2. Topfield TF5800PVR 160GB Freeview PVR. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of ordering one of these top-notch Freeview PVRs for the purposes of my job. It's a twin-tuner unit with a 160GB hard drive and a fairly easy-to-use setup and EPG. The only drawbacks are a slow reaction time on the remote, but it also has the added bonus of a USB connection, which comes in handy for moving videos around on to portable devices. You should expect to pay around £250, but it's worth every penny. More: Amazon UK.

3. Telewest TV Drive. If you're an NTL or Telewest customer in the UK, and you don't yet have a PVR, but you're sick of their basic on-demand service, you should consider treating yourself this Christmas by upgrading to TV Drive. It has a twin tuner, 80 hour capacity, 8-day EPG and series link facility. Humax PVROh, and it does HD too. Subscriptions start at an additional £10 per month, with no connection fee. More: Telewest UK.

4. Humax PVR800T PVR. If the Topfield doesn't take your fancy, you might want to consider the Humax PVR800T. It has pretty much all the same function as the Topfield TF5800, but with a slightly smaller HDD (80GB) and can only record one Freeview channel at a time. Expect to pay around £130.
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]]>Martin Conaghan2006-12-06T14:00:00+00:00PVR Wire Gift guidehttp://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/04/pvr-wire-gift-guide/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/04/pvr-wire-gift-guide/http://www.pvrwire.com/2006/12/04/pvr-wire-gift-guide/#commentsFiled under: , ,


PVR WireWell folks, the festive season is upon us again. And, whether you believe in Santa, the Baby Jesus, the Tooth Fairy, or the Miracle of the Oil, then the chances are you'll be celebrating the 25th in much the same way as everyone else -- usually by passing around trinkets and gifts, while stuffing your face with turkey.

If you're anything like me, or the rest of the gang here at PVR Wire, you're probably struggling for something to buy your loved one (or perhaps, what NOT to buy them).

If so, then look no further than PVR Wire's Gift Guide, featuring a selection of thoroughly considered PVR-related choices from the five wise men here at Weblogs Inc Central; me, Brad, JJ, Chris and Matt.

If you don't like what you see, you can always buy perfume, a box of chocolates and a copy of The Eagles' Greatest Hits (everybody loves The Eagles, right?).

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]]>christmasgift guideGiftGuideholidayspvrMartin Conaghan2006-12-04T13:59:00+00:00