Category: PVRs

Thursday Links

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date June 29, 2006

ReplayTV resurrected?
looks like my old pal ReplayTV is back from the dead in the form of PC software. But for $100 and a $20 yearly guide fee, uh-uh. Replay, you were my first and my favorite, why did you have to piss off the TV industry so? See Dave Zatz for more commentary.

Yahoo! Messenger for Mac 3.0 in beta
I gave up on you so long ago, Yahoo! Messenger. Check out what your friends in at AdiumX are doing. [Via Jeremy Zawodny]

IDEA Design Awards on Businessweek.com
Always very shiny, very pretty.

Home Entertainment HTPCs PVRs Yahoo

Yahoo! acquires Meedio

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date April 18, 2006

Ten foot interfaces. Microsoft has one and recently, so does Apple. And now, Yahoo! bought their very own. Meedio, one of the many television front ends for Windows XP, was acquired today by Yahoo! Strangely, tho, it appears that only the company was purchased but not all of their products, so it is unclear whether Yahoo! intends to use the technology as a DVR front end or to merely have ten foot interface of their own.

This acquisition reminds me a bit of the Konfabulator (now Yahoo! Widgets) acquisition made earlier this year by Yahoo! Much like Konfabulator, Meedio had an avid developer community and there were many plug-ins developed for weather, news, RSS and the like. So while a web based DVR may be part of the picture, don’t be too surprised to see Yahoo! on your television in the not-to-distant future.

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(Via Zatz not Funny)

Dish Network Media Servers and Streamers PVRs Satellite Television

Sling Media gets $46 million in funding

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date January 31, 2006

You know, I’m usually on top of new tech, first in line, etc. But I gotta be honest with you, I haven’t had much interest in the Sling Box. I understand it’s coolness factor – place shifting television is very cool. I know that if I traveled more, I might actually care more.

Anyhow, I think I started to get it a little more today. There’s nothing like a big cash infusion from Dish Network to realize that this is a pretty cool technology. With Microsoft threatening to enter this business with the update of Windows MCE, Sling will need all the money they can get there hands on.

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(Via Zatz Not Funny. . ..)

DirecTV HTPCs Microsoft PVRs

DirecTV and CableCard on Windows Vista Details

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date January 30, 2006

Thomas Hawk, digital media enthusiast, has a long write up of his recent blogger’s dinner with Microsoft exec, Jim Allchin. In a turn of events, it looks like DirecTV will have less draconian rules than cable as to how their services will work with PCs.

All CableCard enabled Windows Vista boxes will have to be certified by CableLabs, the organization that created the standard. So, not only will manufacturers have to get certified by CableLabs, but each shipping PC must be certified as well. Basically, it means that you can forget about building a CableCard enabled HTPC yourself. This will make it tougher for smaller manufacturers to build these machines, as well.

On the other hand, DirecTV will allow after market cards to be installed by individuals, rather than buying brand new boxes. This will certainly make DirecTV more attractive to tweakers than cable.

No word on pricing or timing, but there are many details of the hows and whys of satellite and cable and how they integrate with Vista.

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(Via HDBeat.)

PVRs Rumors Tivo

Cisco courting Tivo?

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date January 30, 2006

CNET is speculating this morning about a potential “partnership” between Cisco and Tivo. Could Cisco be Tivo’s potential white knight? Well, the deal kind of makes sense, but I think that this is someone at CNET’s HQ is not-so-secretely wishing in their heart of hearts that their Tivo won’t go away.

Their rationale is that Cisco has been making a bigger push into consumer electronics, specifically with their acquisitions of cable box maker, Scientific Atlanta, and home networking gear maker, Linksys.

In any case, I’m also not-so-secretly wishing in my heart of hearts that Tivo won’t go away(and that they will ship their CableCard Tivo soon), so we’ll be watching this story closely.

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(Via HD Beat)

CES General HDTV PVRs Tivo

Hot Damn! TiVo HD Lives!

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date January 6, 2006

(Man, I get more and more sweary in my post titles the later that it gets. Maybe its the crappy wifi and crappier Muzak). Gotta check this out tomorrow, but apparently, TiVo is showing off their Series 3 CableCard 1 and 2.0 HD PVR at CES. According to megazone, this unit will have 6 tuners (2 NTSC, 2 ATSC, 2 CableCard). I’m sure they won’t all work simultaneously, but 2 should work. I hope this means I can chuck my Craptastic err… Comcastic box sometime soon. Unfortunately, TiVo has a bit of a reputation of showing off the vapor at CES, so no ship date or price.

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(Via Zatz Not Funny.)

Portable Entertainment PVRs

NBC on iTunes

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date December 6, 2005

Looks like you can download NBC/Universal programming from iTMS, including the Office, Surface, Law and Order and others. With ABC and NBC on board the iTunes train, how soon for CBS?

Check it out.

(Via eHomeUpgrade.)

PVRs Rumors Tivo

TiVo Beta Photos

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date November 29, 2005

Zatz Not Funny has some exclusive pics of some new HME features.

TiVo is beefing up their HME offerings by centrally hosting applications and partnering with Yahoo! Yahoo! weather, traffic, and photos are available by entering your account info on the TiVo box. Also being previewed are Internet radio (Live365), the podcaster application I saw at Digital Life, Fandango movie tickets, and some various games.

Looks pretty sweet, but criminey pete, just give me the CableCard model so I can dump my craptastic Comcast PVR.

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Home Entertainment PVRs

NBC and CBS jump on the download bandwagon

Post author By Randy Stewart
Post date November 7, 2005

Not quite as convenient or portable as Lost or Desperate Housewives, it looks like DirecTV users will get NBC programming and Comcast users will get CBS content on demand for the low, low price of $.99. Programming will be available only to in-house PVR users of the respective companies and not for iPods or other portable media devices.

Now, I don’t know about you, but personally, if I wanted to watch any of those shows, I’d record them on the PVR, rather than pay for them later.

I’m curious as to how DirecTV is planning on offering VOD as they haven’t been able to do this in the past.

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