This goes to 1080p: Good/Better/Best options

Over on the Holiday Gadget Guide, I posted a quick review of three 1080p flat TV options. I haven't gone 1080p yet, but when the Playstation 3 and high definition DVDs are easily available, it'll be time to take the plunge.

December 13, 2006 in Products | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rent My DVR

The concept behind the new site Rent My DVR is something that television networks will be extremely interested in.  Users of the site can pay 20 Euro Cents to request an episode of a TV show.  Other users on the site are informed that the episode has been requested and if they send a video file of the episode to the requester, they get paid.

OK, but is it legal?

Dave Zatz talked to founder Micke Langberg, who said I can’t see that there should be any legal concerns related to our service, since it is exactly the same thing as asking your neighbor to record a TV show for you.  The FAQ on the site expands on this:

According to fox networks it is OK to ask a friend or co-worker to tape video shows for you. We at www.rentmydvr.com are all friends. See "ask fox question 8."

8. Can I get tapes of FOX Network Primetime Shows sent to me?

ANSWER:
The FOX Network does not provide nor sell videos of any of shows, specials or movies that air on the Network.

Our recommendation is to ask co-workers, friends, family and neighbors for anyone who may have taped off-the-air the show you are looking for.

OK, but is it legal?  Well, that's for the lawyers to answer, but given recent supreme court decisions you might want to play it safe and check for spare change in your couch instead.

September 27, 2005 in News, Products | Permalink | Comments (6)

Orb: Slingbox without the box

Orb is a free software-based place-shifting service that lets you access your media from anywhere over the internet. Orb runs on computers with Windows XP or XP Media Center and provides streaming access to the audio and video on the computer. It also can stream live TV if you have a tuner attached to your computer, and it provides TV listings and scheduled recordings.

Once your computer is set up to stream, you can get your media streamed in WMV, RealVideo or 3GP. That means in addition to watching your videos on your computer, you can also see them on some PDAs and mobile phones. You can also access your photos and mp3s through the service, in case you're into that sort of thing.

Update Aug 11, 2005: It looks like there's a TiVoToGo plugin that lets you watch your Series 2 TiVo from anywhere, available here. I haven't tested this but if you do please leave a comment saying how you like it!

August 7, 2005 in Products | Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack

Give your TiVo a Facelift

This is an odd development but may be useful for some folks. The guys behind Weaknees figured out that you can interchange the front faceplates of TiVo boxes between almost any series 2 TiVo or DirecTiVo.

One of the downsides of having a standalone TiVo is that if you lose the remote or the batteries die, it's essentially a useless box. But the DirecTV versions always included basic TiVo nav buttons on the face. I've had a couple DirecTiVos for the past few years and from time to time if I'm sitting in front of my home theater setup fiddling with buttons, I tend to use the faceplate controls instead of a remote, but it's not very often that I do it.

Still, for die-hard TiVo fans a new button-filled faceplate might serve as a good backup in case your standalone TiVo remote ever dies.

May 25, 2005 in News, Products | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Sony launches new PSX (PVR)

Switch's blog point's to Sony's new PSX (DESR-5700 and DESR-7700), a PVR which incorporates PS2 game functionality alongside the PVR functions. The new PSX really only has one new feature.  TV content that has been saved to the PSX can be moved over to your PSP (via your Memory Stick Duo) for viewing on-the-go. 

I'm disappointed though that Sony didn't add larger HDDs or other obvious upgrades.  This feels much more like a .1 update than a 2.0 release if you want my honest opinion.

If Sony had launched the PSX outside of Japan, what features would you want to see in a PVR that also had PlayStation2 built in?

PSX with PSP Support [a bloglines blog]

March 15, 2005 in Products | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Olivelink's person-to-person video and audio streaming

Olivelink is a new product that looks pretty impressive. It's a bit of video server software that you can run from your computer (with a broadband connection) to any number of people you specify. This allows for a sort of podcasting of video, right from your desktop to outsiders.

What's most interesting is that this builds on technology like Sling Media, which allows you to watch TV  you have at home from anywhere, by letting you broadcast your own video out to anyone on earth, either to specific private users or to the world. What's also cool about this idea is that it uses your home broadband connection to transmit video, so instead of users having to upload huge video files and worry about their website bandwidth, they can provide the media from their unmetered home broadband connections.

I believe technology like this could really be the thing to give video blogging a shot in the arm and I can't wait to see what bloggers do with this technology. [via rootburn]

March 6, 2005 in News, Products | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

EvolutionTV - Another Mac PVR

It looks like the EyeTV is going to get a run for its money. Miglia has announced EvolutionTV, another box to turn your Mac into a PVR.

It features onboard MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and DivX hardware compression so your Mac can spend its processor cycles on more noble causes, like curing diseases. [While I haven't used the product, I hope that they quote this post in their marketing materials to make allusions that their product somehow cures diseases.]

The EvolutionTV has coax, composite and S-video in; USB out. Yes, it is odd that they chose USB over Firewire for a Mac product. It also supports NTSC and PAL, for our European friends. I can't find any size information on the site, which is important if you're planning to duct tape it to the back of your plasma TV next to your Mac Mini.

No HD support and no word on the software other than a mention the fact that it is inside the box. At $280 it's $20 cheaper than the EyeTV 200 and it ships March 15th. That's pretty soon, hopefully they'll replace their rendered picture with a picture of the actual product by then.

(Via Engadget.)

March 2, 2005 in Products | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Opera speaks up

Opera, the company that makes the browser you're too cheap to use, is stepping up their PVR options.  They have a software platform for set top boxes that provides media playing, web browsing and interactive TV.  While we'll leave it for historians to decide if "iTV" was an idea before its time in the mid-90's or just a bad idea, Opera's voice controlled program guide sounds like a great idea. Truly, we are living in the future.

February 22, 2005 in Products | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

MythTV 0.17 released

MythTV, the open source PVR program, has released version 0.17.  While 0.17 seems pretty low, version numbers in the open source world can be misleading.  I'm not saying to base your new start-up on MythTV yet, but it's been in development for almost 3 years and works for a lot of people.  If you're building your own PVR and handy with Unix, you'll want to take a closer look at MythTV.

Some of the new features in this release are:

• Support for playback on Mac OS X (no recording yet)
• "Timestretch" to speed up/slow down video playback without affecting the audio of the pitch - Arrested Development at 1.5x won't sound like the Chipmunks
• Recording from Firewire HDTV cable boxes

February 11, 2005 in Products | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

LaCie silverscreen announced

If your USB thumbdrive is going to be your MP3 player, why not make your USB 2.0 hard drive your media center?  That's the question LaCie is asking with their newly announced silverscreen. 

It's got all the features that you would expect in an external hard drive — storing and retrieving information — but on the back you'll find a big port which we assume connects to a break-out box of some sort. The datasheet (PDF) lists composite, S-Video and component out video; "dual stereo analog audio" (is that redundant or are there two stereo-outs?), coaxial SPDIF and optical SPDIF audio; and an IR receiver for the included remote. You can push the usual suspects through those ports: MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 (yes, that means DivX) video of various flavors; MP3, WMA and AAC audio; and JPEGs up to 8 megapixels to remind you of how inadequate your digital camera is.

While it gets its power from USB, they do list a power adapter on the datasheet so you won't have to drag your computer over to the TV to use it.  Hopefully the next version will use Firewire and allow you to hook it directly up to an HDTV without the need for all those cables.  Pricing is $250 for the 40 GB or $330 for the 80 GB and is expected to ship in mid-February.

January 14, 2005 in Products | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Moxi has, well...

When the Diego Moxi PVR debuted at CES in 2002 they quickly gathered praise from all corners and were by all accounts destined for big things.  Then, nothing.  When the CEO stepped down a little over a month after that same CES, the press were quick to declare the company DOA.  I don't blame them, I hadn't heard of them in the nearly 3 years since that CES and kind of figured they had gone the way of DivX DVDs.  As it turns out, the Moxi is not dead.

According to Daily Wireless the Moxi, which is only available to cable companies, got picked up by BendBroadband of OR.  They are the fifth operator to carry the Moxi, after Adelphia, Comcast, Sunflower Broadband  (they're in Kansas, from what I can tell) and Digeo corporate cousin Charter.

A couple of the features the Moxi has above the normal pause-live-TV and scheduled-recordings are HDTV support, DVI and S/PDIF output and A 'ticker' at the bottom of the screen that you can personalize to show news, stories, sports scores or stock prices that sounds interesting.  Updated: Looking over their product info it looks like the Moxi has a DVD player a standard DOCSIS cable modem built in, as well as support for ripping CDs into MP3s that are stored on the device.

For pricing, BendBroadband charges $7/mo for service, $15/mo for Moxi rental or $450 to buy the Moxi.

I haven't heard anything from anyone who has a Moxi, so if you've used one please let us know what you think in the comments.

December 14, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (141) | TrackBack

Skin It!

SkinIt is an interesting new litte startup that offers adhesive skins for your devices. They offer skins for all sorts of phones, handheld games, and PDAs, but I thought it was kind of odd that they offer skins for the front of your TiVo and your remote.

It'll probably make your remote less useful by removing the labels but in return you do get the bling factor. [via red ferret]

November 9, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Gateway kills the Connected DVD player?

One of my favorite devices and the source of hundreds of comments here and dozens of sales of the unit, may just be dead. The official Gateway DVD page no longer lists it for sale, even though it is mentioned in the page's title tag. Over the past few weeks, prices on the unit had fallen to just over $100, so it's not really too big a suprise to hear it's now gone from the page. They're now moving the DVD recorder at just $149.

If the change is permanent, it's a bummer to see it go, but hopefully they took it down to instead launch an updated unit (hey, I can dream, can't I?). If they combined the networking with a DVD player and recorder, I would jump at the chance to own one.

October 11, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Anand builds a MythTV

Kristopher Kubicki of Anandtech.com has gone to some considerable work and effort to document the building of a SuSE Linux-based MythTV PVR using a Hauppauge WinTV PVR-250MCE for the TV tuner card. He summarizes:

And finally, after several hours of turmoil and despair, we have installed and tested our Linux device. Its far from perfect - we cannot readily work with digital TV broadcasts, for example. What we do have is a machine that will readily emulate all of the basic Windows MCE or TiVo functionality at a reduced cost - and we can hack/configure/manipulate it to any extent that we wish to in the future. On the downside, it did take us over four hours to set up and install everything.
...
Other drawbacks of MCE devices include the inability to play back the video content on anything but other MCE devices, and the inability to re-render the recorded files into a different format to save space. With MythTV and Linux, on the other hand, we can capture, re-encode and playback on completely separate machines, even Windows systems. For the truly crafty, Myth allows us to connect the front end of a different machine to the first MythTV system and play video files/streams in that manner.

Me? I'd buy a Tivo and be done with it :)

Building a Linux PVR [Anandtech.com]

September 6, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Philips Streamium

While not directly PVR-related, I think this may be of interest.

Philips has launched their new entertainment platform, Streamium (cheesy name!)

Streamium currently consists of 4 products - a wireless music jukebox, a wireless multimedia box (essentially using your TV as a monitor for your digital media), a wireless media platform (sort of like aspects of Tivo's Home Media Option, but you still need a PC) and the Philips Media Manager (Windows only) software. It is an impressive debut and I look forward to reviews.

That said, there are a lot of little "features" that I worry about.

- You must share your photos online with Yahoo! Photos. However, that feature should be configurable to a few different photo sharing platforms, not locked to just one.

- Why are they pushing Music Match? Does their software not handle the music management functionality?

- There is the "My.Philips account" which enables the user to manage/organize your media via a browser.

- Can you configure the unit to go to non-sanctioned Internet radio or Internet film sites? Customers want that kind of flexibility.

With respect to DRM, Streamium supports MPEG4 and DiVX, but it isn't clear what DRM they may or may not have and what other formats it supports. Suffice it to say that there are many other formats that would be required for the average user.

If anyone has seen/used this hardware or the Philips Media Manager software, please let us know your thoughts.

August 5, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250

DesignTechnica has a review of the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250. It's designed for people who want to integrate a Windows-based PVR into their Media Center PCs. One key benefit is the onboard MPEG encoder, which takes that workload off your main CPU. You would still need Snapstream or another front-end to use with the Happauge card. They conclude that:

Hauppauge’s WinTV-PVR-250 TV tuner and capture card is the product of choice for HTPC enthusiasts and Windows Media Center system builders, and for good reason. There certainly are lower-priced solutions available, but the PVR-250 has quite an advantage over them with its hardware based MPEG encoder, saving valuable processor performance for other tasks.

Onboard analog connectors allow you to not only watch, record and pause TV, but they allow you to record from other sources such as VCRs and analog video cameras.

Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-250 Review - Designtechnica Reviews

July 25, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Gateway Connected DVD for $87 at their fire sale

Tony posted a great tip in the old Gateway player thread. Gateway is closing all 188 stores on Friday of this week, and they're slashing prices on all their products in the store. I don't know if they'll have any cheap plasma screens, but they're selling the Gateway Connected DVD player (with free wireless g card!) for about $87.

If you've been thinking about getting this unit, remember the stores close Friday, so dump your zip into their locator and get to a store quick!

update: I just called a store and found out they're selling their plasma screens for 15% off, which would mean almost $500 off on a $3k model.

April 6, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

pre-built MythTV boxes for sale

An Australian company has started selling pre-built MythTV boxes that look to be based on a shuttle PC chassis. The full set of features are here and a linux hacker has already figured out a couple missing features and a handful of security holes.

The major downside to this is the price. At current exchange rates, they're asking about $1350 for the PC loaded with MythTV. Another potential downside is using a pre-packaged version of MythTV. As MythTV continues to be updated, will owners of this device need to wait for official updates from the company? [via BoingBoing]

March 26, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

EyeHome Macintosh PVR

"Dr. Mac" reviews Elgato's EyeHome wireless module for the EyeTV PVR platform.

EyeTV, if you don't know already, is the little USB (and now FireWire) device that lets you watch, record, and play recorded network or cable television programs on your Mac and store the files on your hard drive. I've heard it called a "Mac TiVo," a DVR (Digital Video Recorder), and a PVR (Personal Video Recorder). I don't have a TiVo so I'm not sure about that one, but the other two fit.

EyeHome is a small silver cigar box-sized device that plays media files from your Mac's Home folder -- movies, pictures, songs, and EyeTV recorded material -- on a TV and/or stereo even if it's in another room, over Ethernet or wirelessly over 802.11g (AirPort Extreme), It is plug-and-play over Ethernet, but requires additional hardware, namely, an Ethernet-to-Wireless Bridge

I haven't had a chance to play with either EyeTV or EyeHome, but together they sound like a great platform for Mac users who want PVR capabilities. Anyone have personal experience with either product?

The Mac Observer: Dr. Mac: Rants & Raves - EyeHome: A Must Have [macobserver.com]

March 14, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

BBC Internet Media Player (IMP)

The BBC is planning to launch a PVR service called iMP (Internet Media Player.) It will be using Microsoft DRM, and will only work on Windows PCs. It will have a rolling 14-day schedule (one week previous and one week ahead) and will use some sort of a P2P backend for content delivery.

Why am I almost positive this will fail miserably?

BBC ponders P2P distribution [theregister.co.uk]
More details of BBC iMP revealed - All content DRM'd [digital-lifestyles.info]

February 26, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Intel Moves Further Into Consumer Electronics

Intel is joining the fray of computer companies jumping into the consumer electronics market. CNET has a story detailing the semiconductor company's future plans.

Part of these plans include releasing what they call the "Entertainment PC", or EPC for short. The computer is a full blown PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition, and will run on a 3ghz version of Intel's upcoming update to the Pentium 4 processor, code-named Prescott. The EPC is said to look more like a VCR and will use TV's in place of normal monitors. It will be used for playing music, viewing pictures, watching videos, and will have PVR functionality. Intel will be licensing the EPC out to PC manufacturers, and will have an estimated cost of $799. The EPC's release date is set for sometime in the middle of 2004.

Intel also has introduced a semiconductor designed for projection televisions and displays that are greater than 35 inches across. The platform is called Cayley and is based on LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology. LCOS is a revolutionary way to project images on large screens, but up until recently the five year old technology has suffered from low production yields. Intel (who originally developed LCOS) has found ways around this and is able to produce it cheaply as well. The first TV's based on Cayley are predicted to enter the market near the end of 2004.

The company also claims that during 2004 more and more standalone PVR's and other video players will run on Intel processors and semiconductors, and that in 2005 they expect to sell more imaging chips for digital cameras and camcorders. Intel also announced new graphics chipsets for handhelds.

January 9, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

VIA Entering Entertainment PC Market

[H]ard|OCP has a scoop on a new device from Apex Digital called the "ApeXtreme Personal Gaming Console and DVD Player". Despite the unwieldly (and horrible) name, the device looks to sport a pretty typical PC-Meets-Stereo-Component exterior. Under the hood is VIA's Eden Embedded System Platform which should provide more than enough power for all types of video and audio playback, but is lacking for cutting edge PC gaming.

The ApeXtreme comes with an ethernet port and a modem for connectivity (no built-in wireless yet), and has RCA, DVI, and S-video outputs. The device also comes with a Component Video output, giving it High Definition capability. It also appears to have a 40GB HDD for storage.

Running an embedded version of Windows XP, the device should have a familiar interface for most users. Of interest is the news that the OS will not be "locked down", which definitely means hacks and add-ons will follow from the community not too long after its release. Perhaps one of these will be PVR functionality? Getting a USB WiFi adapter up and running should be very feasible as well.

Estimated pricing will be US $299-$399. More info should be available any day now, as it is expected to be launched at CES.

UPDATE: VIA has a press release about the device, as does S3 (maker of the graphics chipset). The VIA press release mentions a 20GB HDD, but perhaps the $399 version will come with the 40GB one mentioned in the rumors? VIA also has a page detailing the platform behind the device called the Glory Personal Gaming Console Platform. This is essentially the same as the Eden platform, but with the S3 graphics core and fancy audio.

January 8, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Gateway Connected DVD hacking

After looking through the comments in the Gateway Connected DVD player review and my first post when I discovered it, There is a wealth of information for owners looking to extend their use of it. Here's a short list of highlights from the valuable comments that have all come in (thanks to everyone that posted and shared their info, by the way):

- How to allow >3Mbps movie streams
- Linksys 802.11g cards are supported with the newest firmware
- How to let it index and use files on mapped network drives in XP
- How to go about hacking in streaming radio support
- How DivX streaming is done and what is required for it (latest software + fast processor on your PC)
- full list of 802.11b cards that are supported
- Where to download the latest firmware and desktop server

Now, if someone could figure out how to change all the gateway graphics with personalized graphic files, I think we'd have pretty much every major feature request covered on the unit.

January 1, 2004 in Products | Permalink | Comments (171) | TrackBack

HDTV-recording TiVo

Earlier this year, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, TiVo was showing off a prototype of the HDTV-capable TiVo. Here's a shot of a standalone HDTV TiVo. Here's a photo of the front of a DirecTV/HDTV/TiVo device, and here's a photo of the rear hookups for the same unit, though there are rumors the production units will have DVI connectors as well.

Word on the street is that they are going to go on sale first quarter of 2004 (March-April it looks like), at a cost of about $700-800 for the receiver.

November 18, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBack

Pinnacle Systems - Product summary - ShowCenter

The Pinnacle ShowCenter is a new entry into the network media devices arena. It looks like a bit of a hybrid system, with a $299 silver box that goes into your home theater setup, acting as a wired/wireless gateway point to your PC's library.

It does music, movies, and images with the added twist of including music and movie ripping into the package. There aren't any thorny piracy questions with this device, as they encourage you to encode your CD and DVD collection for playback from your computer. It's nice to see fair uses of copyright figure largely into a new device, as this is essentially a $300 super CD and DVD changer than can hold as many albums and movies as you have hard drive space for.

November 17, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Designtechnica Forums: List of Known Networked Media Devices

In my last post, I mentioned my search for a home media device, but I didn't list my feature wishlist:

• 802.11g capability
• stream DiVX, MPEG, and quicktime video from any networked PC or mac
• stream MP3 (any encoding including variable bitrate), WMA, iTunes purchased AAC files, and streaming MP3/Realaudio from net radio stations
• streaming Slideshows of jpegs and tiffs from my PC and macs
• RCA connectors to home theater box, would be nice if it had S-video and digital audio as well

While continuing my search, I stumbled upon this comprehensive list of networked media devices at Designtechnica. Nothing quite fills out my wishlist, but it looks like the technology is catching up. The Joyport (at a pricey $699) does almost everything but 802.11g.

November 1, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

SMC's EZ-Stream Universal Wireless Multimedia Receiver

While searching for wireless multimedia adapters for my home stereo setup, I stumbled across the SMCWMR-AG from SMC Networks. It looks to be the first 802.11a and 802.11g compatible media receiver. It handles jpegs, mp3, mpeg 1 and 2, and internet radio streams (through a PC server interface), but unfortunately doesn't handle DiVX video, AAC audio, or WMA audio. It's available for pre-order on Amazon, though I'll have to keep looking for the perfect home media adapter.

November 1, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Dell To Sell DirecTV DVRs

Starting next month, Dell will begin selling Dell-branded DVRs with DirecTV service. The device looks to be a DirecTiVo receiver and pricing starts at $99 with the usual 1-year service agreement. The move furthers Dell's recent push into the consumer electronics/home media market, adding to other Dell-branded devices such as an iPod-competitor MP3 device and LCD-based televisions.

October 20, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

KiSS DivX Player

A post on Gizmodo has renewed my DivX interest. KiSS Technology has upped their DivX playing box and introduced the KiSS DP-558. Not only can it play DVDs, but also DivX 3.11/4/5, XviD, CDs, MP3s, Oggs, and a lot more. Ethernet ports on the back allow you to stream, and it also has a 80GB hard disk to record television programs onto.

October 9, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Interview with MovieBeam execs

After I posted about MovieBeam last week, their PR firm was kind enough to extend an interview invitation with a MovieBeam executive. I fired off ten questions and got the responses a couple days later. While some of the answers approach marketing soundbites, I was glad to hear several of the technical questions I had answered as it paints a more complete picture of what they are offering. Check it out:

Matt Haughey, PVRblog: I'm impressed to see that Moviebeam will be offering content from other studios aside from Disney. I imagine it was difficult to coordinate that. What studios will also be carrying films on the MovieBeam box?

MovieBeam: MovieBeam will offer movies from almost all major studios, including Dimension Films, Dreamworks SKG, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Miramax Films, New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios, Warner Bros., Touchstone Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Pictures.

MH: I couldn't find out from the details available what sorts of things Moviebeam is doing about film ratings. Are there systems in place to only show G and PG films unless a password is entered (like say, when I'm not home while my kids are)? Will the offerings be most popular G rated through R rated films?

MB: Parents can set weekly spending limits and restrict access to selections based on Motion Picture Association of America ratings - all by using a simple on-screen guide. Also, there will be no adult content.

MH: Companies have been talking about video on demand for going on ten years now, but this looks like the first viable application that could meet with broad mainstream demand. Is Disney seeing this as long-term venture to replace movie rental houses moving physical product like DVDs and Tapes?

MB: MovieBeam is part of a portfolio of services that we have for delivering movies to the consumer in the home - it augments current home movie viewing options but delivers even more value to movie fans. Over the years, Disney has used the power of technology to enhance the way consumers experience entertainment, adapting our content and our delivery accordingly. With the MovieBeam service, we have yet another opportunity to expand the movie-viewing options for consumers. We have been and will continue to provide product to video/DVD rental and retail outlets.

MH: I could imagine that with a system like Moviebeam in place, coordinating release schedules with DVD release might be less important. Do you someday see Moviebeam offering films that are still available in theaters or only recently out of theaters? Would Disney, et al, be comfortable moving more business into direct home VOD in leiu of theater chains?

MB: For current movies, windowing will vary title by title. Generally speaking, MovieBeam will offer titles in their "VOD" window: some titles will be available same-day or near to the VHS/DVD release date, while others will be offered in the traditional PPV window.

MH: With the explosion of the internet and constantly advancing home theater technology, security is a big focus for Hollywood these days. What sort of uses will be allowed for the Moviebeam content I've paid for?

MB: Once rented, movies can be watched multiple times during the 24-hour viewing period.

MH: Will the movies stick around forever on the box, or can I tape them legally to a VCR or recordable DVD?

MB: MovieBeam offers an ever-changing lineup of 100 movies, including New Releases and other Popular Favorites, all available twenty-four hours a day at the touch of a button. Each week the MovieBeam service automatically refreshes its offering with up to 10 new movies.

MovieBeam does not support the recording of movies off the set top box. The receiver features significant encryption and security systems and is enabled with analog copy protection capabilities.

MH: I'm intrigued to hear about how the transmission system works. It doesn't use cable, ethernet, or satellite, but instead uses an antenna. Is this an HDTV offshoot or something proprietary that Moviebeam developed in-house?

MB: The MovieBeam process works by first converting movies into data files, then these files are turned into a stream of bits which are inserted invisibly into a conventional television broadcast. The MovieBeam receiver separates the stream of bits from the television programming, reconstructs the files and saves them to the hard drive for later viewing. All movies are digital quality.

MH: If I'm buying content over the air, I'm concerned with my personal information being secure. How will security be handled in these devices? Is there an encryption standard being employed to protect my account info?

MB: Any personal information is transmitted over a conventional phone line.

MH: What is the video quality and format like, is it close to DVD quality or does it approach HDTV quality? Is the audio going to high digital quality? (5.1, DTS, etc)

MB: All movies on MovieBeam are digital quality. The MovieBeam Receiver supports "Surround Sound" via both Dolby® Prologic and Dolby Digital (AC3).

MH: How is the movie storage done? The box looks pretty small in the photos, so I couldn't imagine this is hard drive based. Do the movies stream over the air when starting playback or are they all stored locally?

MB: The MovieBeam receiver - manufactured by Samsung Electronics - is a first-of-its-kind device that automatically receives movies, stores them on its 160 GigaByte hard-drive, and gives consumers the opportunity to view them on their schedule.

I want to extend a big thanks to David and the MovieBeam folks for giving me the chance to do this interview.

October 6, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Gateway Connected DVD

Gateway's Connected DVD player looks amazing with an impressive feature list. For $199, you get a progressive-scan DVD player, it plays DVDs, VCDs, and MP3 discs, it's got a card slot that accepts wired or wireless connections to put it on your network, and you can stream music, photos, and video from any PC to your TV.

There are a dozen or two products that let you stream photos and music to a TV, but few stream video. I'm moving to a new DirecTivo system in a few weeks and will lose my Home Media Option, so I'm seriously considering this. About my only worry is the PC software required (I'm assuming it's PC-only), and the speed of my wireless home network being fast enough for DiVX streaming. That said, I'm probably going to pick one of these up and will hopefully post a review in a few weeks.

update: after buying one and using it for a month, I posted a full review.

October 6, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (241) | TrackBack

New Series 1 upgrade brackets

Anyone thinking of upgrading their old Phillips or Sony series 1 TiVo should know about Weaknees' new TiVo Series 1 upgrade bracket. It's simple, cheap, and includes the torx tools needed to crack open your TiVo. If the fit and finish is anywhere close to their series 2 twinbreeze kit, it's a bargain.

September 27, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Nokia Throws Its Hat Into The PVR Ring

Nokia is the latest company to join the PVR market with their Mediamaster 260 S product.

All the familiar features are there: digital satellite receiver, digital video recording, comes with an 80GB hard drive. But there are some added goodies as well.

Like many of the new PVR's on the market, the Mediamaster has photo album functionality, as well as having a few (albeit hokey) games built-in. It also has smartcard support for various pay TV services.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature is the Bluetooth support. One will be able to take a photo on a Bluetooth enabled camera-phone and upload the image to the Mediamaster for viewing.

However, it appears the device is not yet available in the United States.

September 8, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

The Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter

Linksys' Wireless-B Media Adapter adapter seems to do everything TiVo's Home Media Option does.

It's not too expensive (Amazon is selling it for $169), though the amazon reviews point out the installation is a bit flakey and it doesn't say anything about video streaming support. [via jrobb]

August 14, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

myHTPC: Home Theater PC frontend

myHTPC looks like a free clone of the Windows Media Center XP interface, available for free personal use. It's a generic front-end to PC apps and allows for mouse, keyboard, and/or remote input.

I'm downloading it and giving it a spin this week, I'm hoping it's fully customizable and I can run winamp and snapstream through it. [via Anil].

August 11, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

The Prismiq

While searching around for a product that would let me stream video files from my pc to my TV, I found the PRISMIQ, a black box of sorts that does a lot of what the home media option on the TiVo offers, but also lets you stream video and your desktop to a TV. It offers an ethernet port and something I haven't seen too often: a PCMCIA slot to allow standard laptop wireless cards to be plugged in, giving you 802.11.

July 29, 2003 in Products | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack