Soon, DVRs entered the marketplace and everything changed. My cable company provided me with a DVR, allowing me to record a show at a given time. Best of all, it was recorded on a hard drive, so I didn’t need to worry about using my tapes. The transition was incredible, and it was something that I thought could never get better.

[Image credit: Steve Garfield]

But then things got better. Each year, it seemed better software kept coming to my cable company’s DVR, and with a few upgrades here and there, the device seemed to work better. I even bought a TiVo and realized just how well that product worked.

But now things are different. Perhaps it’s because I’m spoiled or because I’m asking too much, but my DVR today sucks. And what’s worse, just about every DVR I’ve used is downright awful.

For a few days last week, my Motorola DVR has not recorded a single show, despite the fact that I have set it to record several series. Then suddenly, just yesterday, it started recording my shows as if nothing happened. It was a hiccup, my cable company said, and something that was worked out.

As happy as I am to see the fix, I know I’ve been in this position before. The DVR works well for a while and then suddenly, stops. In some cases, that means my hard drive gets filled up extremely quickly, despite the fact that I have only five shows saved. And when that happens, it doesn’t take long before shows I recorded have been deleted.

When my hard drive is functioning properly, I find that my series recordings get screwed up. And if I want to record too many shows at once, the DVR software doesn’t seem to follow the rules I’ve placed for hierarchy of importance.

I’ll freely admit that my TiVo, which is in another room, works much better than my cable company’s DVR. But even that product has its issues. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, the tuning adapter I need to have connected to the device stops working and my TiVo doesn’t record anything. I’ve also had TiVo delete shows I haven’t watched for, well, some reason.

I’ve come to the unhappy conclusion that DVRs, in far too many cases, are simply disappointing. And over the last few years, I haven’t seen the kind of improvements that would make me believe that the companies are trying to improve things.

Worst of all, I know I’m not alone. Just Google “DVR problems” and you’ll find millions of people suffering from the same woes as me. And each one of them has discovered that, as many complaint calls as they make, nothing changes.

So, I think it’s time for something new. The DVR is far from perfect and perhaps moving away from even satisfactory. DVRs suck. And unfortunately, I’m forced to live with them. That sucks, too.

Satellite and various forms of digital terrestrial TV are supported, with electronic program guides that can be remotely accessed from a mobile device for setting up recordings. Alternatively, they can be navigated via the browser.

Four USB tuners have been tested with the plug-in: the DVB-S2 Stick for satellite TV (model:460e), nanoStick for DVB-T (73e, 73eSE), and nanoStick T2 (290e) for DVB-T/T2 reception. Others may well work, though they’re not necessarily certified.

Your Synology NAS will need to be running DSM 4.1 or above, too, and there’s a full list of compatible models here. Unfortunately, DVBLink isn’t a free update to Synology’s NAS range. After a 20-day trial, the package costs €25.21 ($33).

The Sky+ iPad already supports use as a remote control for the PVR, and puts the entire Sky+ planner on the tablet so that the set-top box can be navigated without the GUI cluttering up the main TV screen. The app is a free download [iTunes link] and Sky says the new version will be pushed out later this week. Update: The new app is now live in the App Store.

As for the new PVR itself, that has the same functionality as the existing 1TB box, but doubles up on storage space. In fact, it can now hold up to 350 hours of HD content on its 2TB drive. Update: Sky tells us that the 2TB box will be priced in line with the 1TB box, so ranging between £49 and £249 depending on customer status and which package has been selected.

Finally, there’s the addition of seven days of Catch Up TV service to Sky On Demand, assuming your Sky+ HD box is hooked up to your internet connection. Currently ITV Player and Demand 5 shows are available, with Sky saying that BBC iPlayer and 4oD will follow on “in early 2013″; there’s already access to box-set content, such as Mad Men and Mad Dogs, at no cost.

The total size of your GeeXboX 3.0 download comes in at 140MB. You have the addition of new firmware and driver support to thank for that bump up in size. Of course, those additional firmware and drivers improve hardware support, so we’re thinking it will be quite easy to live with the increase in download size. The development team still wants GeeXboX to be available on “as many PCs and devices as possible” though, which suggests that future releases of GeeXboX won’t be quite as big.

Still, 140MB definitely isn’t bad for what you’re getting. Have a look at the full list of release notes below, straight from the GeeXboX website:

New features

• XBMC Media Center 11 “Eden” frontend.
• PVR support for DVB Digital TV, to watch and record live TV
• Improved remote control support
• Support for Full HD videos on PandaBoard
• Support for Full HD videos on Cubox
• Improved HDD installation
• Installation support for (U)EFI systems
• Installation support for SSD’s

Supported Architectures

• x86 32 and 64 bits PCs
• ARM TI OMAP4 Pandaboard
• ARM nVidia Tegra2 Harmony
• ARM Cubox (armada5xx)
• ARM Snowball ux500

System

• Linux Kernel v3.4.4.
• Systemd v188.
• BusyBox v1.21
• Connman Network Manager v1.6.
• Xorg Server v1.11.4.
• Mesa v8.0.3
• OPKG Package Manager v0.18
• USB persistent user data storage.

Audio Drivers

• ALSA v1.0.24.1.
• Support for Analog, SPDIF and HDMI output devices.

Video Drivers

• Support for Intel, nVidia, ATI, Matrox and VIA GPUs.
• Support for CRT, LCD and HDMI output devices.
• OpenGL and OpenGL|ES hardware assisted graphics acceleration.
• VDPAU, VA-API and Crystal HD hardware assisted video decoding for nVidia, Intel and Broadcom GPUs.

Input

• Mouse and Synaptics touch pads.
• HID Keyboards.
• Remote Controls.
• PluseEight CEC devices.

Networking Features

• NFS shares.
• Samba auto-discovery.
• UPnP / DLNA media discovery.
• ZeroConf services announcements.
• HTTP server.
• FTP server
• SSH server

MediaCenter

• XBMC Media Center 11 “Eden” frontend.
• Movies and TV Shows, with subtitles support.
• Music Collection
• Pictures and Slideshows
• CDDA, DVD and (non encrypted) Bluray support.
• Media Database Support.
• Internet MovieDB / TVDB metadata and covers grabbers.
• Skins
• Vu+ addon
• Xvdr addon
• Vdr server
• Tvheadend server

That’s quite a long list, so GeeXboX enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to with this latest release. A download of the ISO is available right now from the GeeXboX site, and in order to begin using it, all you need to do is download it, stick it on a USB drive, and reboot your computer. After that, you’re free to enjoy, and be sure to check out our interview with the folks behind GeeXbox while you’re waiting for your download to finish!

There’ll also be new software for Sony Tablet users, plus those with a PSP or PSP Vita ; they, along with their VAIO PC counterparts, will be able to remotely access the nasne and stream live and recorded digital terrestrial and satellite content across their network. Sony’s gadget also supports standard DLNA streaming for non-Sony devices, such as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Smart TVs.

nasne packs both a terrestrial tuner and a satellite tuner, along with a 500GB hard-drive and a B-CAS card slot for paid broadcast access. It allows for live streaming and recording, as well as remote access from outside of the home network, pausing live TV, and sharing photos and music as with a regular NAS.

Originally, nasne was intended to go on sale on July 19 in Japan, but at the last moment Sony identified an issue with the SATA drives believed to be down to issues in how they had been transported. The PVR box is priced at 16,800 yen ($214), and Sony is yet to announce any international launch plans.

According to Sony’s press release, the hard-drive inside nasne is the victim of the damage. Problems arising during transportation are blamed, though Sony also says that the factories responsible for producing nasne apparently skipped some of the quality inspections that might have identified the issues earlier.

Meanwhile, the v1.50 system update Sony had also scheduled for this week will be postponed as well. The new firmware will enable interconnectivity between nasne and Sony’s existing torne, as well as allow Xperia smartphones and tablets to remotely access content funneled across from the set-top box.

Sony hasn’t given a new date for nasne availability, and nor has the company said whether it will be releasing the STB outside of Japan.

[via Kotaku Japan]

Sony says it plans to “proactively collaborate with DLNA client software developers to enhance compatibility between their software and nasne, so that users can enjoy even more content on their devices through the media server features.” That could mean the tuner-enabled box ends up useful even to those without a PS3; Sony had already said it would be streaming content from nasne to VAIO computers, its Smart TVs, and its Xperia phones.

The new update will also enable inter-compatibility between nasne and torne, and Sony has partnered with Japanese content providers SKY PerfecTV ! e2 and WOWOW. How nasne is presented to other devices via DLNA is also customizable, with user-selectable icons and a client management tool.

nasne is a compact tuner and DVR box, with integrated terrestrial and satellite digital tuners and a 500GB hard-drive. It hooks up to a wired network and can stream live and recorded content to multiple DLNA devices, while remote access from a web-based client is also supported. A USB 2.0 port supports adding extra storage.

Sony is yet to confirm whether nasne will go on sale outside of Japan, though the fact that the v1.5 software update announcement has been pushed out both in Japanese and English (which is not always the case) might imply that there are international launch plans on the drawing board. The STB is priced at 16,980 yen ($214).

There’ll also be integration with “G GUIDE TV OUKOKU CHAN-TORU,” a Japanese program guide service, which will enable scheduled recordings to be set remotely from Sony hardware. Streaming, though, uses DLNA, so any compatible TV, phone or tablet should be able to access content stored on the nasne.

Ports include gigabit ethernet, antenna input and output, a B-CAS card slot, and a USB port for hooking up external drives to augment its internal capacity. Multiple nasne units will be supported by various Sony devices so as to boost the number of simultaneous recordings: the PS3 can handle up to four, with the “torne” app, while VAIO PCs will manage up to eight using the free “VAIO TV with nasne” app.

Meanwhile, a “torne for PS Vita” app is in the pipeline for this year, allowing the PS Vita to access shows and transfer them directly onto the gaming handheld. Tablets and Xperia phones will be able to stream across a local network.

The Sony nasne will go on sale in Japan on July 19, priced at 16,980 yen ($211). No word so far on launch plans outside of the country, though we wouldn’t be surprised if Sony was considering it.

“How much would you be willing to pay for the ability to record 300hrs of TV?” the Boxee survey asked, offering a choice of $5 per month, $10 per month, $15 per month or “Not interested” as possible responses.

Currently, the $49 Live TV adapter allows Boxee Box owners to tune in to free-to-air TV broadcasts and watch them in real-time. However, while there’s an SD card slot and external drive support on the Boxee Box, the tuner dongle doesn’t permit recording of content; instead, viewers are expected to use streaming catch-up services, such as Hulu and Netflix, if they missed the show first time round.

The Boxee team said it was evaluating the possibility of DVR features and that, if it proved viable, would have more to announce later in the year. It seems a free upgrade to do that isn’t the company’s priority, though, which could come as a frustration to owners of the STB.

Luckily, though, I accessed my favorite shows on my DVR and TiVo. Whenever I had a chance to check out an episode, I did. And when I realized that what I was watching was really not worth it, I deleted it and moved on. Best of all, I didn’t have to watch a single commercial.

[Image credit: Leo Reynolds]

My DVR experience over the last several weeks has solidified my belief that a world without the DVR is one that I don’t want to live in. In fact, I think it would be a crying shame if we were forced to go back to a time when the DVR wouldn’t be available.

I realize that there are many people that don’t have DVRs and they’re just fine without them. They sit down at a specified time each night to watch their favorite shows, and they might even enjoy watching commercials. It’s a ritual of sorts that they’ve grown comfortable with. And it’s something that those people wouldn’t want to lose.

But I have a different take on it. I’m one of those people that can’t stand online ads, commercials, or any other advertising initiative that distracts me from what I’m trying to enjoy. So, when I have the chance to skip commercials, I can’t wait to take advantage.

There’s also the issue of watching all the many shows I want to to watch. At any given time, I might have two or three shows on that I would really like to watch. Rather than pick one, DVRs afford me the opportunity to not miss either show. It’s a great option that I think far too many people look past when they’re deciding against buying a TiVo or paying just a few bucks a month for their cable company-provided DVR.

Of course, I realize I’m not covering new ground by saying DVRs are a fine option for the living room. And I’m sure the vast majority of you out there agree with everything I’m saying. But I wonder — given TiVo’s history and the sub-par quality of standard DVRs — if enough people see value in them. TiVos aren’t exactly flying off store shelves, and I’m still shocked by the number of people in my life who aren’t using DVRs — and see no reason to do so.

There appears to be a divide among those who are DVR owners and those who are not. One group couldn’t live without DVRs, and another can’t see a reason to live with them. Whereas some say they’re worth the cost, others say that they aren’t. And although there are some folks who say DVRs give us more time to do other, healthier things in our lives, like read a book or take a walk, detractors say they keep us tied to our couch.

So, what’s the truth? At the end of the day, it all depends on the individual. But as far as I’m concerned, DVRs offer a host of benefits — and very little, if any, downside.

There’s also on-demand access to HD content from ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, Sirius XM radio and Blockbuster @Home with a further 3,000 titles on-demand. The Weather Channel, msnbc, NBC Sports and Access Hollywood apps are preloaded, and there’s predictive search to help you find the content you’re interested in more readily.

Inside Hopper there’s a 750MHz Broadcom chipset and three satellite tuners, capable of streaming to four sets simultaneously. You also get Bluetooth for wireless headphones and picture-in-picture support. The included remote pairs up via ZigBee RF4CE, not IR, which means it doesn’t demand line-of-sight, and there’s even a “locate” button on the Hopper and Joey units that makes the remote wail so that you can find it more easily.

DISH intends to add Facebook, Twitter, Pandora and photo sharing to the system, as well as games, news, weather, sports, and stock quotes. More immediately, there’s a new HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand offering with expanded content to stream, along with DISH Unplugged that loads new HBO content on your Hopper every day via satellite.

Hopper and Joey will be available in Q1 2012; DISH Network will announce hardware pricing and package costs closer to launch.

But as of late, I’ve learned the hard way that my love for technology is in no way universal. In fact, some of my closest friends and family members will look at something so appealing to me and find it to be boring or unnecessary.

That was the case over the weekend when I had an interesting chat with a friend. We were talking about some of the television shows we enjoy watching, and I mentioned that my DVR is packed with past episodes of shows I need to catch up on. I told my friend that I’d like nothing more than to have a couple DVRs connected to my television, so I could catch everything I’m interested in.

My friend, however, saw things much differently. He told me that he doesn’t have a DVR in the home, and as far as he’s concerned, there’s no reason to have one.

As you might expect, I was taken aback. DVRs have become integral to my entertainment life. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to watch half of the shows I enjoy now, and I would argue that I would have less time available to me to engage in other activities, such as work, exercise, and gaming.

But my friend sees things differently. He said that by using a DVR, I’m investing more time in watching television than I should. And he argued that our reliance upon DVRs to help us get through shows quicker by skipping commercials could hurt us in the long-run by forcing programs to bring more commercials into epsiodes.

Admittedly, I understood where he was coming from. And I can appreciate that DVRs, in some cases, can contribute to more television viewership than less, but I see no reason to not have a DVR in the home. Sure, it could do some harm, but can’t it also do some good? After all, if you simply couldn’t make it home to watch an important show, having a DVR as your backup makes great sense.

But as with anything else in this industry, there are some who see value in the addition of tech in the home, and there are others who don’t. My friend says that DVRs are unnecessary, and when one considers their actual value to our daily lives, they don’t even justify the $10 or so we pay our cable providers each month to have one.

And, he said, don’t forget that services like Hulu and Netflix are out there to help us catch up on a series that we might have missed.

Though I won’t agree with my friend, he makes some interesting points that serve as a solid jumping-off point for a discussion on DVRs: are they really necessary? Are they causing more harm than good in our lives?

Let us know how you feel about DVRs in the comments below.

I’m speaking next month in San Diego at the Internet Retailer conference on the subject of the future of TV. I plan to dive into depth on how internet-connected or Smart TVs combined with over-the-top-services are will soon provide a viable alternative to paying a cable or satellite company. In fact, for a growing number of consumers they have already made this leap, cutting the cable cord in favor of online TV.

This doesn’t mean that the issue of ads will go away. Of that 22-24 minutes of ads per hour show you see, many of them are not relevant to you, which is why we skip them. Instead they will become more relevant and more personal.

Images of Minority Report come to mind.

My primary point is that there are a good deal of brands and consumer goods, electronics etc. that I am very interested in and I am willing to subject myself to marketing if it is indeed something I am interested in.

As I begin to consume more TV related content using the internet as a delivery mechanism, the personalization power of the web comes into affect. This will allow me to set my preferences or even have the service learn about my interests and deliver me more relevant ads.

Now, at the end of the day, we know nothing is truly free. The studio networks, your internet provider and more will all want a piece of this action. What I think will happen in the future as over-the-top services become more mainstream is that access to TV online will be bundled with your internet service costs.

This may mean internet service costs go up, but right now one would reasonably pay $110 dollars for TV and internet service from Comcast. In this model, perhaps the cost is $60 dollars a month and you get the internet with access to over-the-top TV services.

The reality, however, is right now TV on the internet is much like the internet itself in the early days. It’s not mature and is in the infant stages of maturing. There are still a number of challenges to bringing TV in its entirety over the internet:

• - The networks are still not sure how to monetize streaming vs. their revenue from cable companies
• - The cable companies don’t want to lose control of their broadcast pipe to your home
• - There aren’t enough internet-connected TV’s or long form web streaming demand to justify the costs
• - Legal issues between content rights holders, licensees and the networks need to be solved

That’s why this isn’t going to happen tomorrow or at the end of the year and not even next year. This is probably a five year journey at a minimum.

As a Microsoft executive once said to me, “Television is going to change in the next five years more than it has changed in the last fifty.” The only problem is, that was four years ago.

I did not cut off TiVo because of incompatibility problems, though those do exist. I have eschewed satellite television and IPTV solutions like AT&T U-Verse because they are incompatible with TiVo. I suffered cable service, and I was using cable cards before the cable company installers themselves even knew how to use them. I recently moved to a new apartment, where I had a choice between Time Warner Cable and AT&T U-Verse. After 3 weeks of meditating on the issue, and living without cable TV or wired Internet, I chose U-Verse.

(Disclosure: I work for Samsung in the mobile phones division. We sell stuff on AT&T.)

When my wife and I split, I got the good TiVo. She got the Series 2, I took the TiVo HD. I thought she would live with the non-HD model, but I went to visit one day and sitting above her TV was a shiny new TiVo Premiere. She asked me to help set it up, but I had already returned my cable cards. She needed a professional. Of course the installer showed up without the proper cable cards, and though Time Warner claimed to have scoured the North Texas area, none could be found for half a week.

At first I was jealous. It was a shiny, new black box. The remote was fresh, with no buttons worn down or missing. I couldn’t wait to give it a whirl. Then I noticed the WiFi adapter sitting next to the box. It was the old adapter I had used for my Series 2 and my TiVo HD. It cost a fortune, because the TiVo HD requires a TiVo-branded adapter, which is a scam and a half (maybe there are 3rd party solutions, but I went the easy and lazy route).

I turned on the new TiVo, expecting a shiny, new, modern interface. Nope. Same old interface. The same design I’ve been staring at for years and years. New features, of course, but these are mostly buried in the menus, and not obvious to users. The device didn’t seem to perform any better. There was still a long delay after button presses. Search was unimproved. Season Pass management is still a slog.

The biggest change? TiVo service is now $20 per month. For $20, you mostly get a TV Guide listing. It’s not even 100% correct. It’s especially bad at separating first run shows from reruns on the same channel from syndicated reruns on less-popular networks.

I never bought a TiVo lifetime pass. When I bought my first TiVo, actually a Sony box, I was living paycheck to paycheck in New York City. I couldn’t scrounge the money for a lifetime pass, but I could handle the $12 monthly fee. I’ve been paying the monthly fee ever since, for almost 12 years. When I finally could afford the lifetime plan, I was never convinced TiVo would be around long enough to justify paying in advance. I’m still not convinced.

When I finally cancelled my TiVo service, I was paying 2 monthly fees, one for each TiVo. One was $12, the other was about $16. Almost $30 per month for a TV Guide. You can use TiVo without paying the fee, but you have to manually assign each recording, and they show up in the recorded program menus with a time stamp, not a program name. Too much hassle.

My ex-wife bought her TiVo Premiere for $300. With that ‘subsidized’ price (excuse me, I just threw up a little in my mouth), the user still has to pay $20 per month. You can pay more for the Premiere, and then you get a cheaper monthly plan. But there is no lifetime option any more.

Where to begin? When I was pricing Internet and TV packages, I compared similar offerings from Time Warner and AT&T U-Verse. Time Warner was cheaper, but the difference was less than a hundred dollars over the course of a year, with all of the discounts and premiums thrown in. However, AT&T U-Verse came with a multi-room DVR, while my Time Warner plan involved skipping the provided DVR in favor of my TiVo. The DVR provided by most cable companies is an embarrassment. It’s horrible to use, and I think DVRs would be much more popular, and more highly regarded, if the cable companies spent more than 5 minutes on interface design.

Including the monthly TiVo fees, the cable service is much more expensive. This comparison does not take into account the quality of service. I wasn’t worrying about compression issues with HD programming over IP (U-Verse), or the saturation of users on available modem bandwidth (Cable). I was only thinking about the channels I wanted, and the download speeds I require.

Then there is the hardware. The TiVo Premiere box is huge. It’s about the size of a large gaming console, and much larger than an HTPC that you could buy to perform the same tasks, and much more. There is no WiFi built in. How can that be? I suspect a cynical grab at more money from accessories, which is also why the sliding remote control with a QWERTY keyboard, which is really a necessity for power users, is also an add-on.

The reliance on cable cards would have been a convenient option if the cable companies had played along, but they did not. They charge a similar rental fee for the cards as they do for the box, and getting cards installed properly can be unreliable, depending on your technician. I’ve had the cards installed three times in three states, and only once did a tech get it right on the first try.

Most offensive, though, is the pricing. On TiVo.com, the company prominently promotes generous upgrade pricing for existing users. In fact, TiVo’s prices are higher than Amazon’s. TiVo doesn’t care that I’ve been a member for 12 years. It doesn’t offer any real discount for existing members, even though I would trade in my older hardware for a new box if they would knock $100 off the price. They have even raised the monthly fee, and existing users don’t catch a break on this increase.

TiVo treats its customers like dirt. As an original TiVo owner, I feel like TiVo has been riding my coattails, milking me for all the money I’m willing to shell out without making any significant improvements. There have been no great hardware improvements, no great software design improvements. The logic behind the search and program management systems is horrendous and confusing. TiVo has failed to innovate for the last decade.

This might have been acceptable when there were no better alternatives. For years, TiVo customers could be happy knowing their boxes were better than the DVR offered by the cable company. But a Windows 7 Media Center PC is a great improvement over TiVo. AT&T’s U-Verse seems like a much better interface, with more features to boot, though I’ve only been using it for less than a week.

TiVo, I’m sad to go. I have great affection for my TiVo, in the same way I’ve had great affection for many groundbreaking products over the years. I thought it was the best product of the last decade, even though it was launched before the turn of the century. But it’s still just that, the best product from the last decade. Instead, I want the best product for right now.

The Regza ZG2 line have IPS displays measuring in at 42-, 47- or 55-inches, 16-segment LED backlighting, along with Active Scan 480 for high-speed screen refreshes. There’s also upscaling – both of SD to HD content, and 2D to 3D content – active shutter glasses and 2TB integrated hard-drives that support timeshifting and scheduled recordings. Toshiba has thrown in a total of six digital terrestrial tuners.

The sets are all networked, and support “Remote Play” from Windows 7 along with streaming DLNA content. There are USB ports for hooking up external storage and camcorders for direct AVCHD playback, various HDMI ports and an SDHC memory card slot. No word on pricing or availability outside of Japan at this stage.

As for the Blu-ray DVRs, the RD-BZ810 has a 1TB drive and the RD-BZ710 and RD-BZ610 each have 500GB drives. They also support USB storage, direct AVCHD playback, reading/writing various Blu-ray and DVD discs, and ethernet streaming. Again, no word on pricing.

Video demo after the cut

The HDS-600RS does a lot, and there’s plenty of box to accommodate all that too. Measuring in at a hefty 386 x 280 x 58 mm, it follows the usual trapezoidal Slingbox style with red highlights. Up front is a 16-character LCD display and a row of nine touch-sensitive buttons, along with a USB 2.0 port and Smart Card reader. On the back, meanwhile, there’s HDMI, two SCARTs, S/PDIF digital audio, RCA audio, another USB port, 10/100 ethernet, twin RF inputs and the power port.

Inside, meanwhile, there are two DVB-S2 freesat+ tuners – allowing the HDS-600RS to record two channels simultaneously, or show live TV while recording another program – together with a 500GB hard-drive good for up to 300hrs of SD content or 100hrs of HD. Regular 576i SD broadcasts can be upscaled in-box to 720p or 1080i.

Rather than the more common – and more easily installed – Freeview standard, EchoStop opted for freesat+, which is subscription free but still demands a satellite dish be installed (or a leftover Sky dish be used). That, the company told us, was to bypass the “unregulated free-for-all” of budget Freeview boxes and DVRs as well as give the company more scope for launching the HDS-600RS hardware across Europe. With only minor – and relatively low cost – modifications, the DVR can be adapted to suit Germany, Italy, France and Spain, following the UK debut.

Of course the most interesting aspect of the new EchoStar box is its Sling functionality. Like the Slingbox Pro-HD, it can push content from its own tuners either within the home network or over the internet, using automatic quality-scaling to suit the capacity of whatever connection you’re working with. The HDS-600RS is particularly targeted at multiroom media addicts; 55- to 60-percent of Sling users funnel their content around the home rather than outside it, and EchoStar expect the DVR to be popular with young couples and small families who want to be able to pause TV in one room and resume playback elsewhere without the traditional hassle of setting up a distributed A/V system.

EchoStar SlingLoaded HDS-600RS demo:

The Sling component works with the company’s existing iPhone, iPad and Android apps, together with the web portal for notebooks and PCs. If you’d rather watch on a regular TV, there’s the SlingCatcher; that comes with its own remote, but the software viewers show the same on-screen UI as the main HDS-600RS itself. Since that’s being rendered on the DVR and then squirted over the wireless connection it can be a little slow to respond; we asked if there were plans to make a free-to-download remote app, similar to what Logitech and Sonos offer, to run on an iOS or Android smartphone, but currently EchoStar plans to stick with just the regular place-shifting apps.

That does mean you’ll have to pay a reasonably hefty fee per mobile device. The iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7 and other apps are $29.99/£17.99 each (though you can install the iOS versions on up to five devices, as long as they’re registered to the same iTunes account) though the regular web portal is free. EchoStar is yet to confirm pricing for the HDS-600RS itself, though the box itself is expected to go on sale – initially in John Lewis retail stores and though Amazon online – from April 1, with pre-orders from tomorrow.

After that, EchoStar told us, they’d be looking to potential bundles, pairing the HDS-600RS with other Slingbox components. A “TV Two” style package is perhaps the most likely, with the PVR and a SlingCatcher. Meanwhile, the PVR itself is likely to see regular updates thanks to its expansible design; it will ship with BBC iPlayer support, and the company tells us other IPTV services will be added shortly after launch. Future plans could include pay-per-view or subscription streaming content, something which – when paired with Sling functionality – might mean an end to digital rentals going unwatched because they’re stuck on one device in your living room. If the HDS-600RS is popular enough, a Freeview HD version could also be on the cards.

Press Release:

EchoStar Europe launches the world’s first Freesat+ digital television recorder with SlingLoaded® TV anywhere

London – 22 March, 2011: EchoStar Europe (www.echostar-europe.com), a leading developer of added value, connected device solutions to the digital television industry, announce their SlingLoaded® HDS-600RS, the world’s first HD digital video recorder (DVR) to combine Freesat+ features with Sling Media’s (www.slingmedia.com) unique place-shifting ability, enabling TV anywhere, on all popular smartphones and tablets*.
The SlingLoaded feature enables users to watch and manage their live and recorded TV remotely anytime, anywhere, via 3G or Wi-Fi, with no additional monthly fees. With Freesat+, viewers get over 150 digital channels, including HD, On Demand services and the ability to pause, rewind and record TV, all subscription free. There’s seamless access to catch-up TV including BBC iPlayer, with other connected TV services including ITV Net Player to follow.
Once connected to home broadband, the EchoStar HDS-600RS will Sling live or recorded TV anywhere, to your iPhone®, iPad® or Android™ smartphones or tablets, and any device supported by SlingPlayer® Mobile* (www.uk.slingbox.com/go/spm), even to your Mac® or PC via SlingPlayer® (which can be accessed for free, online at www.uk.slingbox.com). This ensures that you’ll never miss a moment of your favourite show, movie or sports event ever again. Throughout your home or around the world, you can truly Sling your TV anywhere.
The EchoStar HDS-600RS delivers a host of viewing options; ‘live pause and rewind’, simultaneously watch one show and record another, and one touch series-link via the High Definition (HD) Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) all ensure that you’ll never miss a show! The 500GB hard disk drive provides huge capacity to record up to 300 hours of Standard Definition (SD) programming or up to 100 hours of HD programming. You can even connect to a compatible Dolby® Digital home cinema amplifier, using the integrated Digital Audio Port, allowing you to enjoy cinema quality sound at home. All this is packaged in a stylish unit with a touch sensitive display.
“For TV lovers everywhere, this is the ultimate combination of subscription free TV anywhere meeting digital television recording and connected TV”, said Rhod Williams, General Manager of Echostar Europe. “We’re bringing together the strengths of EchoStar and Sling Media Inc. to create a hybrid device that will give people the ultimate TV viewing experience; what they want, when they want and where they want it. With this industry first we’re making TV anywhere a reality that delivers an enhanced user experience to consumers, with no monthly fees.”
Freesat Managing Director Emma Scott commented “This is a great partnership for us. It’s our first foray into EchoStar’s ‘TV anywhere’, and offers even more fantastic choice for our customers. Freesat has constantly evolved since launch and this paves the way for more exciting innovations in the future.”
The product will be available for purchase online at Amazon.co.uk and in-store and online at John Lewis (www.johnlewis.com) from 1st April 2011. Consumers can pre-order from Amazon.co.uk from 23rd March 2011. Please see retailers’ websites for the latest pricing.
For all of the latest product news and purchase information, please visit the new EchoStar consumer website www.myechostar.com.

Ports include one USB 3.0 Device, for hooking up to a computer and dropping files onto a SATA HDD in the EM7195′s internal bay, together with three USB host ports for external storage. There’s also 10/100 ethernet, HDMI and a multi-format memory card reader.

Supported file types include MKV and H.264, though Eminent is yet to reveal a full list. It also gets a backlit remote control. No pricing, but the Eminent HD EM7195 is set to hit the UK come March 2011.

Press Release:

Eminent announces new HD media player EM7195 with DVB-T twin tuner

The Eminent HD media player EM7195 with DVB-T, USB 3.0 and a next-generation Realtek chipset offers a complete home cinema experience. Eminent expects the HD media player EM7195 to be available in the UK in March 2011.

Supplier of ICT accessories Eminent will equip its HD media player EM7195 with a DVB-T twin tuner. As a result, it is possible to watch one Freeview™ channel and record another one at the same time. Use the electronic program guide (EPG) to choose from free digital TV channels. The Eminent HD media player EM7195 allows to schedule recordings and record up to two channels simultaneously.

Eminent is the first company offering an HD media player with the next-generation Realtek RT1183 DD C+ chipset in the UK. High stability, fast navigation and HD audio support add to the comfort of using the Eminent HD media player EM7195. It supports a broad range of video formats, including MKV and H.264.

The USB 3.0 connection facilitates fast movie transfer from a PC to the hard disk inside the Eminent HD media player EM7195. It takes seconds to copy a complete movie to the HD media player. Furthermore, it is possible to connect external storage devices to the USB ports, SATA port and card reader. Connect the Eminent HD media player EM7195 to the home network to stream multimedia files from a PC to the TV.

Additional accessories, such as the full-size luxurious backlit remote control, clearly add value to the Eminent HD media player EM7195. Eminent provides all necessary cables, including an HDMI and USB 3.0 cable. The Eminent HD media player EM7195 is an elegant black device made of brushed aluminium.

Eminent offers a 5 year warranty. This HD media player will be available in the UK in March 2011.

“Currently, Hulu Plus will not be available on MVPD-provided TiVo Premiere DVRs,” Netflix told GigaOm, meaning there will be a significant feature-gap between standalone TiVo units and those supplied by cable providers. Suddenlink rolled out TiVo Premiere units as a $15 per month option recently; however, $5 more a month gets you TiVo’s own lease, and a box with Netflix support and Hulu Plus incoming.

The content issue could see TiVo struggle to pick up customers among cable companies, which had previously been identified as an under-staturated market for the DVR firm.

That slot will take SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards – up to 64GB in size – which is good enough for up to five hours of Full HD, 24Mbps video. Alternatively, there’s a USB port to which you can directly hook up an external drive, for even longer storage.

The only problem is that the media files the VIERA creates won’t apparently play on other TVs, computers or mobile devices, which seriously undermines the TH-L42G3′s usefulness as a way to get video onto your smartphone. Other features include an ethernet port for smart TV functionality, two HDMI ports, VIERA Link, video-on-demand connectivity and DLNA. It’ll drop in Japan come January 18 2011, priced at the equivalent of $1,800.

[via CrunchGear]

And then the fun began.

[Image credit: Steve Garfield]

As I turned on my DVR, it took about 15 seconds to start. When I tried changing the channels, it took about 10 seconds to perform the action. And in the moments when I hit a few buttons, like the channel up and channel down keys to test response time, it locked up for about a minute or so. When it came back, it performed all those actions in about a second.

At that point, I had enough. I knew the drill from talking to my cable company’s customer service agents in the past that the best idea in that situation is to unplug the DVR, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. So I did.

And then, as I stared at the black display on my television for, oh, about 5 minutes, I realized something. DVRs today are arguably the worst set-top boxes in any person’s entertainment center. And yet, many of us have them, so we can watch our favorite programming and record shows we want to see.

That is precisely why I can’t wait to get rid of my DVR. I long for the day when a single set-top box (or even a few) will be able to deliver me all the content I care about, so I can finally call the cable company and tell them that their DVR services are no longer required.

The best part is, I think I’m getting close to that point. I have Netflix streaming for old programming, the prospect of using Hulu Plus on my Roku set-top box at some point in the near future for the new stuff, and the possibility of seeing all kinds of content with Google TV once the search giant can find a way to coax studios into seeing its potential as the next big thing in home entertainment.

But alas, I’m not there yet. I watch too many cable shows for me to just ditch Time Warner Cable. And the content I’m currently accessing on other set-top boxes, like that on the Apple TV, can in no way match what I’m getting from my cable provider. At this point, I need to take the abuse my DVR doles out so I can be entertained.

But my patience is wearing thin. I have had countless DVRs over the years, and none of them have worked up to a standard that I even find adequate. There is no attention to detail put into the design of the boxes. They are simply poorly designed pieces of equipment that have no place in the home.

Now, I’m sure some might say I should get a TiVo. I should note that I have one in the bedroom. I replaced it in my living room with my DVR due to the issues I was having with my cable provider’s switched digital video adapter that accompanied the TiVo in order to access several channels. It was a major issue for me.

So, as I sit here contemplating what I will do tonight, I’m afraid I’ll have to go back to the DVR. It’s not that I want to — that’s certainly not the case — but at this point, I simply have no other choice.

What sort of DVR replacements do you think would solve this problem?

There’s also streaming content support, with an ethernet port on the back which allows users to access YouTube videos.  The hook-up to your TV is via HDMI, plus there’s an SD card slot and you can access content directly from memory cards.

Recorded video is encoded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, and the hard-drive can hold around 290 hours in Full HD.  The DMR-BF200 will drop in Japan on November 15 priced at the equivalent of $860; no word on a release elsewhere as yet.

[via CrunchGear]

The only stipulation is, unsurprisingly, that the TiVo units themselves must be broadband connected for the new online manager to work.  All of the company’s broadband-compatible DVRs will support the service, and you still get online scheduling as well.

The new TiVo Online Season Pass Manager will be available later on today at tivo.com/spm.

Press Release:

TiVo Launches Online Season Pass Manager Giving Customers Superior Control Over Their Recordings

Enhances TiVo’s Already Robust Online Offerings So Users Never Miss an Episode of Their Favorite Programs

ALVISO, CA — (Marketwire) — 10/13/2010 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), a leader in advanced television services, including digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced the launch of a Season Pass® manager on tivo.com. This tool, requested from customers directly, enhances TiVo’s already robust Web features, allowing TiVo customers to easily manage and transfer their Season Pass recordings online. This new feature joins TiVo’s online scheduling functionality on tivo.com for browsers and m.tivo.com for mobile devices, both of which allow customers to schedule recordings from anywhere they have access to the Internet.

For years, TiVo has allowed customers to remotely schedule recordings and set up Season Passes from tivo.com. With this updated tool TiVo subscribers can now also reprioritize or delete Season Passes on tivo.com, so that they have more control over their TV than ever. Customers can also transfer a Season Pass recording from one broadband-connected TiVo box to another box on their TiVo account making the addition of new TiVo DVRs or the transition from one TiVo DVR to another even easier.

“This is just another example of TiVo leading the way for in-home entertainment innovation and listening to customer feedback. The Season Pass manager is something that our subscribers have asked for and we are pleased to make it available to them today, saving customers time and giving the unique ability to ensure they do not miss a single episode of their favorite shows when they upgrade to a new box. No other company makes this level of control so easily,” said Jim Denney vice president and general manager of product marketing for TiVo. “TiVo has always been the easiest DVR to use and the Season Pass manager gives consumers even more control over how they choose to manage their recordings and settings.”

To manage Season Pass recordings online the TiVo box must be broadband connected and connected to the TiVo service. The Season Pass manager is available to all broadband-connected boxes including TiVo Premiere, Series3™, HD and Series2™ DVRs. To learn more about the Season Pass manager visit www.tivo.com/spm.

As with a Slingbox, with the Vulkano and the right smartphone app you can remotely control channels and access the EPG; on the iPad and PC/Mac apps you can also pause live TV.  UPnP streaming support allows you to display content stored on NAS or wirelessly-connected smartphones or PMPs, while Yahoo! Widgets, Netflix and Hulu compatibility is promised for the near future.

You can also view YouTube in up to 1080p HD quality, record to either 8GB or 16GB SD cards, or install up to a 1TB eSATA external hard-drive.  Connectivity includes HDMI, composite, component and S-Video, among other ports, plus two USB 2.0 ports (host and device); the basic Vulkano comes with 16GB of storage for $279.99, while the Vulkano Pro comes with a 1TB external drive for $379.99.  Both will ship on August 10th 2010.

[via Crackberry]

Press Release:

Vulkano – World’s First Universal and Affordable Video Platform for Smartphones, PC/Macs, iPads and TVs

Vulkano Integrates Multiple Disruptive Technologies – DVR, Web Video, Place Shifting, Universal Plug and Play streaming and Mobile Video Recording – Eliminating Multiple Boxes

SAN MATEO, CALIF. – July 27, 2010 – Monsoon Multimedia, a leading provider of video convergence products, today announced it is now taking pre-orders for Vulkano, which is shipping in early August 2010. Vulkano is a sleek consumer device as easy to set up as a video game console. Vulkano is a tightly integrated hardware and software platform that has a powerful video processor and local storage. Vulkano in addition to replacing multiple boxes such as TiVo, Slingbox and Roku provides significant other benefits and energy savings, giving consumers tremendous performance at a low cost. Cost of a Vulkano ranges from $259 to $379, depending on storage capacity.

When connected to a set-top box and a TV, Vulkano enables a complete video experience across Android, Blackberry, iPhones, iPads, Macs, PCs and the living room TV. Vulkano allows users for the first time to experience their TV channels, videos and photos on whichever screen they want, when they want it. Vulkano will be sold through Monsoon’s www.myvulkano.com, Amazon.com, leading retailers and etailers, and through strategic OEMs.

By downloading a free software application onto their device from www.myvulkano.com, or for iPhone/iPad from the Apple App store and installing a Vulkano, consumers can watch and control any home TV channel through a wired, Wi-Fi or 3G connection from anywhere in the world. They can schedule a recording through an included EPG (electronic program guide) and transfer and watch these recordings at any time on their TV, computers, smartphones or iPad type devices. Software players for PCs/Macs and iPads also come with Pause/Live functions.

Vulkano lets users watch YouTube on their big screen TV. Moreover, by using a technology called UPnP (Universal Plug n Play), Vulkano users can stream video and photos from their smartphones, computers and cameras wirelessly on to their living room TV without having to use messy cables. In the near future, Vulkano will offer free service upgrades such as Google TV, Yahoo! Widgets, Netflix, Hulu and others.

TV set-top boxes are commonplace in households today with over 210 million shipped in 2009 alone, according to analyst firm In-Stat. The fundamental flaw in nearly all set-top boxes is that they are “closed.” Vulkano “opens” these boxes by allowing consumers to enjoy a total video experience on their smartphones, iPads, PCs and Macs, or access services such as Netflix or YouTube.

“The combination of mobile video recording on iPads/smartphones, viewing YouTube on big screen TV, DVR and Universal Plug and Play streaming changes the television and web video experience in ways never before imagined,” said Colin Stiles, EVP Sales and Marketing at Monsoon. “We are proud to the be first to deliver your live and recorded TV content immediately with a simple screen tap. Whether in your backyard or on an international flight, you’ll have your favorite programming available anywhere, anytime – live or recorded.”

“We designed Vulkano from the ground up to replace single purpose solutions, such as TiVo, Roku, Slingbox, etc,” said Steve Stone, CTO at Monsoon. “In the coming months we will be pushing new apps to Vulkano owners for free so they can rest assured that this is the first and last product they’ll need for all their TV and Internet media needs.”

Mobile Video Recording (MVR): By using Vulkano’s unique MVR technology, consumers can schedule and record content from any TV channel on to the Vulkano’s local storage and either on demand or automatically transfer the content to smartphones, computers or iPads/iPod touches. A wired, Wi-Fi or 3G connection is required and an included EPG can be used. For instance, iPad owners can schedule a recording before going to sleep and have it automatically downloaded to the iPad. It is then ready for watching anytime, anywhere at a cafe, airport, airplane, office or in one’s bed. Hundreds of recorded movies, sports events or TV shows can be stored onto the 64GB iPad for viewing anytime. PC, Mac and iPad apps also come with Direct Record, Pause and Live functions.

Place Shifting Live TV: Consumers can watch and control their home TV or TiVo from anywhere in the world, including their home.

Digital Video Recording (DVR): Users can select programs to be recorded to the Vulkano SD card or optional hard drive, which can store over a thousand programs depending on memory size. Once recorded, the programs can be downloaded to computers, smartphones or played back on living room TVs. Vulkano also allows a consumer to schedule recordings through a TiVo or other DVRs that may be built into a set-top box.

Web Video: Vulkano supports YouTube content (up to 1080p) streaming and progressive downloading for a big screen TV experience. Future software releases will add support for Netflix, Cinema Now, Amazon and free media content providers. Yahoo! Widgets will be released later this year and Google TV early next year. A fully functional web browser with media extensions (including HTML5 media support) will be released later this year.

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP): Consumers can easily enjoy photos, video and music stored on smartphones, iPads, PCs and Macs on a big screen TV by deploying industry standard UPnP technology. This capability also enables multiple UPnP devices, such as video cameras, to play directly on the TV eliminating the tedious job of plugging and unplugging cables into the TV.

State of the Industry
Hundreds of millions of TV set-top boxes worldwide are “closed” preventing consumers from accessing new services and exciting video experiences. Due to the cost and logistics involved in constantly upgrading these boxes, companies cannot keep pace with the rapid changes in technology. The result is an array of single feature boxes resolving specific issues.

Consumers today are saddled with paying for TiVo, Sling, Roku, Vudu, Apple TV and other single solutions to address their needs. This has led to a cluttered living room, multiple service fees and constant maintenance of multiple devices. They are also often difficult to install and can cost over a thousand dollars combined. Vulkano eliminates all of these issues while saving on power consumption.

Summary of Vulkano Features:
• Transforms smartphones, iPads, iPod touches, PCs and Macs into Mobile Video Recorders
• Recorded programs play back on smartphones, iPads, PCs and Macs
• Direct record mode allows for Pause, Fast Forward/Rewind
• Schedule TV recording by show, channel or date and time
• Browse EPG for shows and episode descriptions
• Mark channels as Favorite for quick access
• Watch and control your live TV on the go via Wi-Fi or 3G
• Watch at home on iPads and computers in near HD resolution
• Change channels just like at home
• Search and watch YouTube videos on your home television
• Enjoy photos, video and music on home TV from UPnP supported devices, such as smartphones, PCs/Macs and cameras
• Multiple users can have recordings on Vulkano hard-drive and access independently
• Control Vulkano features and settings through intuitive television menu
• Connect to all major TV sources – cable, DVD, satellite, DVR, TiVo
• Stream video at H.264 and MPEG-4 standards at rates as low as 150kbps
• Includes 8GB or 16GB of SD card storage or e-SATA hard drives up to 1TB
• Connects wirelessly through Vulkano’s on board .11n WiFi to home router
• TV content is passed from the set-top box’s analog output (component, composite) to Vulkano; using resolutions up to 1080i

Pricing and Availability
Vulkano is available immediately for pre-order at www.myvulkano.com and www.amazon.com. Vulkano comes with 8GB, 16GB of SD storage and Vulkano Pro comes with 500GB and 1Terabyte e-SATA hard disk storage. Vulkano will be generally available in August through selected etailers, retailers and distributors worldwide. 8GB Vulkano will cost $259, 16GB $279, 500GB for $349 and the 1Terabyte Vulkano for $379. Monsoon will release its 3G version for the recently introduced iPhone 4 in August, 2010.

The new package will require the customer to use Sky Broadband as well as the company’s Freetime calling package, together with viewing all Freeview channels, on-demand Sky TV and various pay TV channels including Comedy Central, FX and National Geographic.  Pricing is tipped at £5 to £10 ($7-14) per month for the basic TV, with further channels such Sky Movies as levied as additional fees on top.  No word on when this might arrive on the market.

Installation looks straightforward, though it’s not quite as plug-and-play as a regular USB WiFi adapter; instead it works more as an ethernet bridge, with two connections: one for power and the other plugging into the Premiere’s ethernet port.  While it’s billed as a TiVo Premiere accessory it will in fact work with all TiVo DVRs bar the DIRECTV DVR with TiVo.

The TiVo Wireless N Network Adapter is available to buy online from the company’s webstore now, priced at $89.99.  It’s also expected to land in Best Buy stores later on this week.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

The REGZA R1 HDTVs use IPS panels complete with a special enhanced gaming mode for smoother play.  There’s also DLNA streaming support, four HDMI ports, various PC and analog inputs, plus two 10W speakers.  The REGZA 32R1 is due on April 30th, priced at 130,000 yen ($1,393), while the REGZA 42R1 and 37R1 will arrive in early June priced at 230,000 yen ($2,465) and 180,000 yen ($1,929) respectively.

As for the REGZA H1, they have 500GB HDDs built-in, with IPS displays, DLNA streaming support and the same sort of connectivity as the R1 series.  The REGZA 37H1 and 32H1 will arrive in early June, priced at 200,000 yen ($2,143) and 150,000 yen ($1,607) respectively.  Finally, the REGZA A1 series get two HDMI ports, TN panels and no USB recording support; they’ll drop in early August, priced at 90,000 yen ($964), 75,000 yen ($804) and 65,000 yen ($697) for the 26A1, 22A1 and 19A1 respectively.

[via AV Watch]

$299.99 bags you a basic, stock TiVo Premiere, but for $499.99 you can get an upgraded one with a bigger hard-drive good for up to 2070hrs of standard definition content or 236hrs of HD.  Step up to $699.99, meanwhile, and an even bigger HDD upgrade makes for a whopping 2777hrs of SD or 317hrs of HD.

Finally, $999.99 gets you the biggest TiVo Premiere system of them all, pairing the upgraded DVR unit with an external hard-drive for up to 5600hrs of standard-def or 640hrs of high-def.  Despite the upgrades, the boxes are still eligible for TiVo’s Lifetime Service, and if you use the promo code “ZNF” – negotiated by Dave Zatz – you can save 5-percent on the sticker price.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

That drive can be used for local playback, standalone Torrent downloading or time-shifting, though since there’s no onboard tuner you’ll need to hook the ULTIO Pro up to a cable or satellite box.  Ports include ethernet, two USB host, one USB 2.0, a multi-format memory card slot, HDMI, component, composite and coaxial digital audio, and there’s an IR remote.

DLNA network streaming, optional WiFi 802.11n support and UPnP round out the main network features, and of course there are photo and music player apps as well as video.  The MvixUSA ULTIO Pro Home Theater Media Player will begin shipping in the first week of February 2010, priced at around $169.

Press Release:

MvixUSA Launches ULTIO Pro, the 1080p Home Theater Media Player with PVR (Personal Video Recording)

Chantilly, VA. January 27, 2010: Mvix(USA), Inc., a market leader in market leader in technology and products for high-definition entertainment, business signage solutions and networked accessible storage devices, announces the worldwide launch of the Mvix Ultio Pro, a Hard-Disk Based media center capable of HD digital media playback with video output as high as 1080p and personal video recording capability.

Ultio Pro’s high-end video processing not only plays Blu-Ray quality video, it allows to store entire Hi-Definition media on its internal hard drive, plug it into a TV via a HDMI and enjoy movies, digital music and family photos on large LCD or Plasma. The flexibility and scalability of Ultio makes it the easy to play HD movies or home videos. Ultio supports most 1080p HD video codecs, and formats such as H.264, MKV, Dixv HD, MOV, VC-1, FLV, etc. Ultio Pro is completely scalable – one can choose upto 2TB of media storage in its internal hard disk. Ultio Pro comes with an embedded Torrent client combined with NAS (Network – Access-Servers) features that provides an ideal setup for digital media acquisition, storage and sharing.

Combined with spectacular picture quality of HD video and crystal clear sound clarity of digital audio, the Ultio Pro enables analog recording of TV shows from the Cable or Satellite, or family videos from a Camcorder. It provides an ideal setup archiving old VCR tapes and DVDs to digital media files. Ultio Pro even supports time-shift and scheduled recording functionalities – making Live TV playback a snap.

Mvix Ultio Pro is being launched worldwide in 2 flavors: the regular version (without a HDD) is priced at $169, whereas the premium version (bundled with 2TB Hard Drive) will be available at $348. Pre-Orders start immediately.

Speaking on the occasion, Mike Mallon, VP of Business Development at Mvix, commented “Mvix Ultio Pro is the amalgamation of high definition media playback and recording. We’ve been working on the personal video recording (PVR) technology for some time and we’re happy to combine HD media playback and recording in a single device that should serve as the ultimate solution for home entertainments and business videos. Our aggressive pricing structure with a comprehensive set of features is likely to set highest standards in high definition entertainment.”

Ultio is also internet-ready and pre-equipped with a network port and an optional Wireless-N capability. It sports a samba server and a UPnP implementation, allowing seamless integration with services like PlayOn® or Tversity® (for streaming video content from Netflix®, Hulu®, CBS®, Youtube®, CNN®, ESPN® and much more). Wireless-N accessories for Ultio Pro will also be launched simultaneously.

Mike further added, “We are excited to launch this new product in the new year. This is our most comprehensive product to-date and we feel very confident about its market traction. In reality this new model is built by our valued customers – each feature on this device is an outcome of customer feedback on our older models.”

Pre-Orders of Mvix Ultio start immediately and shipping is planned for first week of February. Mvix Ultio Pro will be available at popular retail locations such as Amazon.com, Buy.com, Thinkgeek.com, B&H Photo Video.com or directly from Mvix’s Online store.

For more information, please visit http://mvixusa.com/product/ultiopro

Once you’ve recorded a show – using the new on-screen GUI which shows all the available channels – you can then load it onto a Memory Stick Micro M2 or Memory Stick Pro Duo and slot that into your PSP for watching on the move.  Footage will automatically be optimized for the PSP’s display; alternatively, if you have WiFi access while out, you can use remote play to control the Torne and watch streaming content on your PSP.

It’s all reminiscent of the PlayTV peripheral launched in Europe back in 2008, which basically offered the same digital TV recording/time-shifting but for European broadcasts.  Sony Torne for PS3 will arrive in Japan come March 2010, priced at 9,980 yen ($109).

The 3View box allows the watcher to tune into HD TV programs with an interactive program guide. The box works as a home hub and a PVR with 320GB of storage space. The box can also pause and rewind live TV.

Dual tuners let users watch one show and record another and the box is internet-connected. The internet connectivity means that the box can access YouTube and other content that is stored on the home network. Users can also watch IPTV serviced and access Facebook or Twitter. The box is due to hit stores in March.

In fact the DVR box has a whopping 3TB of storage (up to 2TB set aside for time-shifting) and supports DLNA streaming and YouTube playback, too.  Both it and the display are finished in “smoked aluminum”, and the screen also uses “self-congruency” to improve picture quality at the edges of the panel, and 2.5x the luminance of regular sets.  A 7-speaker sound bar is slung under the display.

The Toshiba CELL REGZA 55X1 will arrive in Japan come December, and is tipped to be priced at 1,000,000 yen ($11,107).  It’s also to be the first of a number of similar sets, including smaller (and hopefully cheaper) models that offer the same CELL processing and DLNA server technology.

Press Release:

Toshiba Unveils the CELL REGZA 55X1

The World’s First1 LCD TV Integrating the Cell Broadband Engine™–To be Available in Japanese Market from December–

Tokyo—Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today unveiled the future of home entertainment, the CELL REGZA 55X1. This new LCD TV, the flagship of the company’s REGZA line-up, offers viewers state-of-the-art picture quality, including a dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1, and supports this with ultra-high-speed processing and recording, enhanced navigation and seamless network interactivity. The CELL REGZA 55X1 will be available in the Japanese market from the beginning of December.

The heart of CELL REGZA is Toshiba’s CELL Platform. A combination of the high speed parallel processing of the Cell Broadband Engine™ 2, specially developed for demanding multimedia applications, and Toshiba’s advanced image-processing algorithms, the CELL Platform achieves an arithmetic processing capability approximately 143 times 3 that of the current top-of-the-line REGZA TV, allowing it to support unrivaled image-enhancing capabilities. These include:

CELL Platform Super Resolution Technology that builds on Toshiba’s current4, super resolution technology to offer unmatched picture quality.
Self-congruency, a dedicated process that improves image quality at the edge of the picture.
Enhanced color and brightness balance that improves picture color and definition.
LED backlight control system. In the CELL REGZA, the display is divided into 512 distinct areas, each with individually controlled lighting. Luminance is pushed to an industry high 5 of 1250cd/m2, 2.5 times the level of typical TVs, and the dynamic contrast ratio6 is an astonishing 5,000,000:1.
Another distinguishing feature of CELL REGZA is its storage capacity: a 3-terabyte (TB)7 hard disk drive. Two terabytes of capacity are dedicated to the CELL REGZA’s “time-shift machine,”8 which can simultaneously record up to approximately 26 hours of programming for up to eight channels9 of digital terrestrial broadcasts. The time-shift machine allows viewers to catch up on missed programs simply by pressing the “time-shift machine” button on the remote control.

With the ability to store a massive amount of recorded programs, a fast, easy search function is essential. Toshiba delivers with “roaming navigation.” This allows viewers to find and display information on recorded, current and future programs simply by inserting an identifier—the title, person’s name, genre or related keywords.

The CELL REGZA consists of a striking, slim monitor and a stylish tuner that also integrates the hard disk drive. Both have a smoked aluminum finish, achieved with an alumite10 deposition process that lends the design a feeling of luxury. The remote controller is finished in the same way.

Drawing on some 80 years of experience in TV technology, and on synergies between its visual products, semiconductor and storage device businesses, Toshiba has developed CELL REGZA not only as the flagship model of its REGZA series, but also as a statement of the future of the LCD TV.

Product Outline

Product Model Screen Price Launch in Japan
CELL REGZA 55X1 55-inch
Full HD Open Beginning of
December 2009

Background to Development

As Japan approaches the end of analogue broadcasting in 2011, the digital TV market has entered a period of diversifying customer needs. In order to meet demand for more vivid reproduction of high contrast, high definition images, simultaneous viewing and recording of multiple programs, along with access to broadband content, Toshiba has developed the CELL REGZA TV and its innovative CELL Platform.

Key Features of the CELL REGZA

1. CELL Platform Super Resolution Technology achieves superior HD images

The CELL Platform supports the most advanced version of Toshiba’s super resolution technology. Faithful image reproduction includes enhanced edge detail and color saturation, and also extends to better rendering of video from the Internet.

Super Resolution Technology: Self-congruency captures edge detail
Self-congruency, a newly developed technology, reconstructs the edge of the picture with more detail and greater realism. It samples successive patterns with the same intensity around the edge of images, and then copies pixels from these more defined areas to other parts of the edge. The result is more precise detail and more realistic high definition images.

Super resolution technology: Brighter color and image definition11
Digital images are rendered as a combination of “brightness” and “color” in each individual pixel. In normal digital broadcasts, the processor cannot match the pace at which data is delivered from the receiver, and data transfers are typically made with color information compressed to one-fourth that of brightness. The CELL Platform uses a Toshiba-developed algorithm to boost reproduction of color information to half the level of brightness information. Increasing color information reduces blurring at the edge of images, creating sharper, better defined pictures.

Super resolution technology: Improved Internet content and animation
Video content from the Internet viewed on a TV tends to be blurred, due to the lack of resolution and noise compression. Super resolution technology detects the noise compression of low-resolution Internet content and then separates and corrects the image to reproduce a sharper, clearer image more suited to a larger screen. The super resolution technology also detects animation content and controls noise at the edges.

2. High contrast of Mega LED Panel and LED Backlight control system

CELL REGZA integrates a Mega LED panel specially designed to interface with the CELL REGZA’s high luminance LED. Together they achieve outstanding picture quality that is further enhanced by the CELL Platform.

Peak luminance is boosted 2.5 times and enhanced by intelligent peak luminance control
A peak luminance of 1250cd/m2 (the display’s highest level of brightness and the maximum yet achieved in the industry) assures stunningly bright whites, while the wide dynamic range achieved by backlight luminance adjustment delivers a dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1, assuring deep, detailed blacks.

LED block array divides display into 512 separate areas
Toshiba’s previous LED backlight control system divided the screen into 9612 distinct areas; the CELL REGZA control system divides it into 512, over five times more. This increase enables much closer management of image contrast and brings out image detail to the full. Better backlight control also sharpens edge detail and the textural effect of adjacent areas of brightness and darkness.

3. Doubling the effect of ClearScan 240

Toshiba’s ClearScan 240 defines the standard for blur-free fast moving images, but with the CELL REGZA the company sets the bar even higher. By combining the 120Hz scan rate of ClearScan 240 with its new Backlight Scanning technology, Toshiba now achieves 240Hz scanning that makes action scenes crisper than ever. The new double backlight scanning function divides the display into 16, against eight for current REGZA models13.

4. Improving picture quality with color temperature control

Picture quality is also affected by ambient lighting conditions. CELL REGZA delivers real-time color temperature analysis that can identify daylight, evening sunlight, interior lighting and darkness. Optimum picture quality is achieved by automatic fine tuning of multiple control settings: 1024 steps in color temperature, a 128 scale dynamic gamma range, 100 brightness settings, 32 settings each for color saturation, color sharpness, and adjustment of super resolution, plus control of the LED backlighting.

5. Support for multiple recording and playback functions with a 3TB hard disk

“Time-shift machine” function simultaneously records multiple channels
CELL REGZA integrates a tuner supporting eight digital terrestrial channels, and its time-shift machine can store up to 2TB of recorded programs—that adds up to approximately 26 hours of programs simultaneously recorded from eight channels (the number of terrestrial digital channels available in Japan). Simply pressing the time-shift key on the remote control gives instant access to this huge library of recorded programs, and allows viewers to enjoy missed TV programs—or old favorites—whenever they like.

“Roaming Navigation” supports relevancy-based searches
“Roaming Navigator” can search for and deliver data on archived, on-the-air, and to-be-aired programs. A visual display centers on a thumbnail14 of the program chosen by the viewer, and other programs are shown circling this, either nearer or further, depending on relevancy15. Searches can be based on program title, a character or actor’s name, genre or keyword. Relevancy-based searches deliver what you are looking for, and much more.

Multi-Image display of eight digital channels simultaneously while recording
The split screen is nothing new, but an eight-window multi-display16 is. With multi-image display for up to eight digital channels, it is a lot easier for viewers to check out programs and make choices.

“Multi Thumbnail” display shows scenes of recorded programs as thumbnails
“Multi Thumbnail” displays recorded programs as a multi-display of 40 time-divided thumbnails, making it very easy to select and go to a particular scene.

6. Network functionality

Supporting high image quality YouTube17 with high quality picture
A browser supporting full HD, based on the Opera18 browser and co-developed with Opera Software, provides full support viewing YouTube contents at near HD level quality. In addition, CELL REGZA supports:

- Broadband service
- DLNA19
- Display of JPEG digital photographs

7. CELL REGZA audio

CELL REGZA’S picture quality is complemented by a newly developed audio system and multi-amplifier system that deliver vibrant, full-bodied sound far surpassing that of current TV sound systems.

8. Others

Screen Size: 55-inches
Hard Disk: 3TB (Built-in)
Dimensions: Monitor: 133.3 x 96.3 x 40.2cm (W x H x D) (including stand)
Tuner: 43.6 x 10.9 x 38.7cm (excluding external projection),
Weight: Monitor: 44.0kg, Tuner 10.5kg
Power Consumption: Monitor: 320W (remote control stand-by mode: 0.10W)
Tuner: 140W (remote control stand-by mode: 0.2W)
Annual Power Consumption20: 324 kWh per year
For further information, visit http://www.toshiba.co.jp/regza/

(The above web site is in Japanese)

9. Focus on Environmental Considerations

Mitigation of global warming

- Power consumption is controlled by maintaining optimum image brightness
- The TV automatically goes into stand-by mode if no command is received from the remote controller for approximately three hours.
- Stand-by mode operates when the TV is set to external input and no signal is received.

Effective use of resources
All CELL REGZA components that use over 25g of plastics indicate the materials used and are designed for recycling.

RoHS21 and J-Moss22 (Green Mark)compatible
CELL REGZA contributes to moves toward environmentally conscious products by observing the requirements of the EU’s RoHS and Japan’s J-Moss.

Environmentally Conscious Products
CELL REGZA contains no brominated flame retardants (BFR) in the monitor part. Moreover, as an industry first23, polylactic oil and fat of plant origin are used for transparent front cover of power display, that contributes to reduce CO2 emissions.

For more information, visit http://www.toshiba.co.jp/env/en/products/index.htm

Toshiba Group, a Corporate Citizen of the Planet Earth, is committed to realizing a better environment. Guided by “Toshiba Group Environmental Vision 2050″ the Group is implementing measures to boost environmental efficiency by 10 times in FY2050, against the benchmark of FY2000. The core target is to reduce projected CO2 emissions by a total equivalent to 117.7 million tons a year by FY2025, through the development and sales of highly efficient power supply equipment and systems, and the manufacture of environmentally conscious home appliances and office equipment. By working to mitigate global warming, make efficient use of resources and control management of chemicals, Toshiba Group creates value for people and promotes lifestyles in harmony with the Earth.

1.
As of October 5th, 2009 for digital high definition LCD TV.
2.
Cell Broadband Engine (CELL/B.E.), jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba, is a breakthrough design featuring a central processing core based on IBM’s Power Architecture technology and eight synergistic processing elements (SPE). CELL/B.E. brings an unseen level of broadband processing power to digital products. CELL Broadband Engine is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
3.
A floating point computation capability of 200 GFLOPS at theoretical peak performance. Metabrain in REGZA ZX8000 is 1.4 GFLOPS.
4.
Reproduction technology for image improvement. With current Super Resolution Technology, an image is once up-scaled and then converted to a lower resolution image. Toshiba’s proprietary algorithm compares the edge detail and image texture of the lower resolution image against the original and detects areas that can be improved. This information is incorporated into the up-scaled image. The current function is adopted in other REGZA TVs, including the REGZA ZX8000 series.
5.
As of October 5th, 2009 for digital high definition LCD TV in Japan. Compared with ZX8000 series.
6.
The ratio of maximum luminance of an image with a 30% window white signal and minimum image luminance ratio of total black signal when looked directly from the front.
7.
1TB is calculated on the basis of 1TB = 1,000 GB and 1GB = 1-billion bytes.
8.
Programs that can be viewed using this function are limited to programs that the user has specified for simultaneous recording, for up to eight channels of digital terrestrial broadcasting. When the hard disk capacity designed for this function becomes insufficient, the oldest programs are the first ones deleted from the archive. Recorded programs can be moved to the built-in hard disk drive or to an external USB hard disk drive.
9.
This function is limited to programs that the user has specified for simultaneous recording, for up to eight channels of digital terrestrial broadcasting and up to one day of recording, for high-definition TV program (at a rate of 20Mbps).
10.
A coating process that adds corrosion resistance while decorating the aluminum.
11.
Super resolution technology for color can be applied to digital terrestrial, BS digital and 110 degree CS digital broadcasts, but not to video input from an external source, such as an optical disc.
12.
Compared with 55ZH8000
13.
Compared with ZX8000 series.
14.
Thumbnails will not be displayed for programs that have not yet aired. Information is displayed.
15.
The content displayed at the center of roaming navigation is based on Toshiba’s relevancy evaluation technology and on analysis based on program information. It is not based on information from the manufacturer of the content or the provider.
16.
The multi –image display applies to digital terrestrial broadcast, BS, 110 degree CS digital broadcasting. The sub-display is applied to channel that is set-up by digital terrestrial broadcasting.
17.
YouTube and YouTube logo are trademarks of Google Inc.
18.
Opera is a trademark of Opera Software ASA. Opera browser is available with the touch-pad function by downloading the version of designed server and broadcasting that start from January, 2009.
19.
DLNA: Digital Living Network Alliance
20.
Energy consumption calculations follow as the standard defined by Japanese law.
21.
The RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive, which came into effect on July 1, 2006 in the European Union, limits the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and ploybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in electronic and electronic equipment.
22.
J-Moss is the framework for disclosure of information on chemical substances defined in the Japanese Industrial Standards contained in electrical and electronic products.
23.
As of October 5th, 2009 for digital high definition LCD TV.

Both single record and “season pass” are available, and you can search by actor, keyword or title.  Unfortunately there’s still no way to stream content from your TiVo to your BlackBerry, but if you’re the forgetful sort that is always missing shows because you neglect to set the DVR before you leave the house, TiVo for BlackBerry seems worth a try.

Rather than attempt to take on the growing legion of entry-level mediaplayers, Neuros are aiming for the high-end of home entertainment.  A minimum 2GB of DDR3 memory is confirmed, together with SATA/eSATA, gigabit ethernet, SD/MMC and PCIe support.

There’ll also be an HDMI output and component input, while component outputs are also being discussed.  A full web browser with HTML5, Adobe Flash and Hulu support is also a given.  Part of the reason Neuros is talking about this so early is to get feedback from their users about what functionality people really want, so head over and add your two-cents’ worth.

[via Gear Diary]

Video demo after the cut

There’s also a new On Demand Top Picks service, which works out film title recommendations based on previous viewing history.  That will roll out to Los Angeles, Cleveland, Hartford, St. Louis, Atlanta, Sacramento, San Antonio and Austin customers within the next few weeks, with the remaining U-verse subscribers getting it next year.  All users will have free, unlimited access to Starz movies throughout July.

U-verse can share recordings with up to eight TVs per receiver, record four shows simultaneously and playback four simultaneously.  Each DVR can hold up to 233 hours of standard-definition video or 65 hours of high-definition content; full comparison details with rival systems in the matrix below.

Press Release:

AT&T Rolls Out More U-verse Enhancements at No Additional Cost to Customers

Upgrades Include Exclusive Total Home DVR Feature, Broadband Speed Increase, New On Demand App and More

Since its launch three years ago, AT&T U-verseSM has continually evolved and added new features. This month, AT&T* will rollout another series of enhancements that make AT&T U-verse even better for customers. Today and over the coming weeks, AT&T U-verse will add — at no extra cost as part of customers’ existing subscriptions — upgraded DVR capabilities and user interface enhancements for all customers, increased downstream speeds for AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Max residential and business customers, and a new On Demand Top Picks application for customers in select markets.

“Turning on the TV and seeing something new is what AT&T U-verse customers have come to expect from us,” said Jeff Weber, vice president of video services for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “These latest upgrades are further examples of how we’re using Internet Protocol (IP) technology to give you more control and more value. With AT&T U-verse, you’re getting DVR capabilities you can’t find from any cable providers, exciting and useful apps, and faster broadband speeds. We’re giving you an advanced entertainment experience, and this is still only the beginning.”

The U-verse enhancements announced today include:

Exclusive new AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR feature. AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR capabilities will be expanded market-by-market in the upcoming weeks to add the ability to schedule and manage recordings from any U-verse receiver — a feature exclusive to AT&T among multi-room DVRs. The feature adds even more convenience and control over recorded shows by allowing customers to set or delete recordings from any room in their home, instead of from the DVR receiver room only. The enhancement follows the launch of Total Home DVR in 2008, which allows all U-verse DVR customers to watch standard and High Definition recorded shows on up to eight connected TVs in the home — all from a single DVR.

Free speed increase for AT&T U-verse Internet Max customers. All AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Max customers have been given increased downstream speeds from up to 10 Mbps to up to 12 Mbps — a 20 percent increase in speed at no extra cost. The faster up to 12 Mbps downstream speed is available to all new and existing U-verse Internet residential and business customers who subscribe to the Max service.

New On Demand Top Picks application. U-verse TV movie buffs will also have a new way to find that perfect movie with On Demand Top Picks. The new application will enable U-verse TV customers to view On Demand recommendations based on their past video rental history and view a list of the top ten On Demand titles U-verse TV customers are renting. The app will also give customers the ability to rate a movie they have previously rented, which will be averaged into other U-verse TV customer ratings and displayed next to the title in the On Demand recommendations list. On Demand Top Picks will be available to customers in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Hartford, St. Louis, Atlanta, Sacramento, San Antonio and Austin within the next few weeks. AT&T plans to make the app available to all U-verse TV customers next year.

Web Remote Access to DVR enhancements. U-verse TV customers will soon have a new interface to schedule and manage their DVR recordings from any web-connected PC. Powered by Yahoo!, the enhanced functionality enables faster browsing of the program guide; sorting the program guide by genre, favorites or High Definition (HD) channels; easily referencing recently recorded shows and upcoming scheduled shows on a side panel; targeted searching by title, actor, and channel; and personalizing favorite channels. U-verse TV customers will also be able to utilize sub accounts — in addition to their U-verse master account login — to access this app. AT&T was one of the first providers to introduce online DVR control in November 2006, and brought three-screen DVR access to all U-verse TV customers with Mobile Remote Access to the DVR in April 2007. On average, more than 100,000 U-verse TV customers use Web Remote Access every month to schedule and manage their recordings.

U-verse TV navigation improvements. U-verse TV customers will have a more simple and streamlined way to navigate and find programming with enhancements rolling out market-by-market along with the Total Home DVR upgrade. From within the U-verse programming guide, users will be able to select Enter to pull up a panel of options to jump to another channel, time or day to find the programming you want to watch. Customers will also be able to select Enter while watching live TV to bring up a side panel that allows them to select from zoom and audio options.

Free movie month. As an added bonus, all U-verse TV customers will get even more options for their summer entertainment with unlimited access to Starz at no extra charge during July.

These upgrades are the latest examples of standard AT&T U-verse services and applications that give customers more freedom and flexibility over their entertainment experience. U-verse TV customers can also enjoy several other integrated applications, including personalized, on-screen weather, sports, traffic and stock information via AT&T U-bar; local and national weather forecasts on-demand; the ability to view personal photos on your TV that you have uploaded to flickr.com; remote access to the DVR from any web-connected PC or wireless phone; and more.

AT&T’s U-verse deployment is rapidly introducing competitive choice and next-generation services to more consumers. AT&T U-verse customers enjoy quadruple-play integration, enhanced features and greater value, all made possible by IP technology. AT&T U-verse TV ranked “Highest in Residential Television Service Satisfaction in the North Central, South, and West Regions,” according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM.

Residential and small business customers who want additional information on AT&T U-verse — or to find out if it’s available in their area — can visit http://uverse.att.com.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

However, TiVo execs did confirm that DirecTV had been delivering lower revenues throughout the quarter, and that the company is having to cut back on marketing.  They are also only just finalizing relationships with partners like Comcast, describing the situation as “in a nascent stage”.

Meanwhile the call also revealed that TiVo are developing for the tru2way platform of interactive digital cable services.  However no specific details of how that will interact with TiVo services have been revealed.

“We are working with Comcast to develop a TiVo application that is truly compatible with the tru2way stack, which is somewhat different than the current middleware that we are operating on in the Boston and New England market[...], the fact that Comcast’s R&D activity with us involved upgrading TiVo’s application to their tru2way middleware stack.” Tom Rogers, TiVo

[via Zatz Not Funny]

There’s enough room for up to 75hrs of HD content or 300hrs of SD, as well as CableCard support, access to Flickr and the online Finetune music store service.  MOXI also gives you remote scheduling, live TV pausing, dual HD tuners and a scrolling ticker with news and other information.

The MOXI MR-1500T3 HD DVR is available now through Amazon, priced at $799.99.  MOXI have even put together a handy “you suck, TiVo HD XL!” crib-sheet, below, to show you why you’d be a fool to look elsewhere.

Update: MOXI have been in touch to let us know that the HD DVR has actually been generally available since January.  Has anybody out there bought one?  Any feedback?  We’d love to hear from you.

[via Engadget HD]

That “more” includes Panasonic’s Viera Cast system, so that you can stream content across your network or from the internet, together with an SD card reader for instantly viewing images or video from a digital camera or camcorder.  There’s also a USB port, for loading footage from a memory stick, and you can then burn content directly to a Blu-ray disc.

Obviously there’s the usual ability to schedule recordings, watch live TV while recording something else, or pause TV when the phone rings or you’re forced to answer a call of nature.  So the only hiccup, then, is the price, which according to Panasonic will come in at around £1,000 ($1,450).  That’s a lot of money, but then you do get plenty of media playing, recording and shuffling equipment for your cash.

Most Mvix media player doesn’t come equipped with an on-board storage but this MvixPVR is documented to has supported SATA drive for up to 1TB in size (Fat32 and NTFS). The included USB 2.0 port allows user to add external storage or flash-based storage cards. The device when connect to compatible system, will reveal itself as an external storage. Audio video connectivity including HDMI, component, SPDIF, Optical, composite and a pair of stereo output.

The multi-talent media player is also said to be able to record digitally from any source, from set-top box, satellite receiver or your camcorder. The MvixPVR is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux PCs. Price and availability are unknown at the moment.

Connections include two USB 2.0 host ports, one USB 2.0 port for hooking up the So Speaky PVR as an external hard-drive, one 10/100 ethernet port, A/V outputs, component outputs, HDMI, optical digital audio and a 5-in-1 memory card reader.  320GB, 500GB, 640GB, 750GB and 1TB drives are available, all 3.5-inch 7,200rpm, and it comes with an infra-red remote.

Supported media files include MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (720p & 1080i), MPEG-4 (1080p), XviD, DivX 3/4/5/6 (HD), IFO, VOB, DAT, AVI, MPG, MPEG 2 TS, ISO, MP4, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG (no DRM), AC3, JPG, JPEG (720p/1080i) and BMP.  Dane-Elec also supply backup software for using the PVR as a NAS.

The Dane-Elec DaneDigital So Speaky PVR is available now, priced from €199 ($254) for the 320GB model, up to around €299 ($381) for the 1TB version.

[via GenerationMP3]

It’s also possible to search for programs by actor, title, director, and keyword, with additional functions including Daily Recommendations and Most Popular.  Access to the site is open to all, even those without compatible TiVo DVRs, with the company seemingly pushing it as a general listings guide as well.

You can access the TiVo Mobile site at http://m.tivo.com/, to program Series 2 or Series 3 boxes, with no extra fees or subscriptions.  The site is currently in beta and will apparently be available on a wide scale “in a few weeks”.

Press Release:

ANOTHER REASON TO GIVE THANKS – A FREE, NEW MOBILE WEB SITE PUTS TIVO SCHEDULING IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND, YOUR NEIGHBOR’S HAND, EVERYONE’S HAND

New TiVo Mobile web site allows TV fans to browse, search, discover, and record television shows on the go, adding another great value to the already invaluable TiVo service

Alviso, Calif. November 25 — Heading out to holiday dinners, get-away vacations, or just being away from home no longer means missing out on your favorite television programming. That’s because TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs) launched TiVo Mobile, a free mobile phone-optimized Web site that allows subscribers and non-subscribers alike to browse, search, and discover television shows, regardless of mobile platform, carrier or browser. The site can be accessed with any Internet-enabled phone through any network, regardless of carrier, opening up the service to millions and millions of cell phone owners.

The new mobile site, located at m.tivo.com, lets television fans stay in touch with their TiVo® DVR when they are away from the living room, giving them the power to schedule recordings directly to their TiVo box from their mobile phone. TiVo is known for its simple, intuitive interface, and the TiVo Mobile web site delivers more of the same. The site is optimized for easy use on a small screen, offering the exceptional user experience TiVo fans know and love. Site visitors can search for programs by actor, title, director, and keyword, with additional functions including Daily Recommendations and Most Popular. Like TiVo’s famous recommendations engine, the TiVo Mobile site features an “If you like this…“ tool to help users find new shows.

“TiVo started out making television a more convenient, personal experience, and this is the next step to give television lovers total control over their media. Whether you are standing in line at the bank or talking about a new show with friends at dinner, you can now find and record shows whenever, wherever, a perfect tool for everyone,“ said Jim Denney, vice president of product marketing at TiVo Inc.

TiVo subscribers have the option to schedule recordings on their Series2™ or Series3™ TiVo boxes directly through the site, bringing a new level of ease to recording TV.

Anyone can browse, search and discover television shows, whether or not they have a TiVo DVR at home. The TiVo Mobile site extends on-the-go functionality to a large audience, bringing the freedom of TiVo scheduling to places it has never been before.

The new application joins an unmatched set of service features available to TiVo lovers, including content from Amazon Video on Demand and Jaman, as well as videos from YouTube direct to the TV set. Coming this December, thousands of movies and TV episodes can be instantly streamed from Netflix. The new mobile site also nicely complements remote scheduling through TiVo.com and TiVo Desktop Software, which allows viewers to transfer their shows to an Apple iPod, Sony PSP, or other portable players.

M.tivo.com
is in beta beginning today and will be available on a wide scale within a few weeks.

The TiVo Mobile web site was built in conjunction with mobile application development agency, Mobui Corporation. More information on Mobui Corporation can be found at http://www.mobui.com
.

# # #

About TiVo Inc.
Founded in 1997, TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) pioneered a brand new category of products with the development of the first commercially available digital video recorder (DVR). Sold through leading consumer electronic retailers, TiVo has developed a brand which resonates boldly with consumers as providing a superior television experience. Through agreements with leading satellite and cable providers, TiVo also integrates its full set of DVR service features into the set-top boxes of mass distributors. TiVo’s DVR functionality and ease of use, with such features as Season Pass™ recordings, WishList® searches and TiVo KidZone have elevated its popularity among consumers and have created a whole new way for viewers to watch television. With a continued investment in its patented technologies, TiVo is revolutionizing the way consumers watch and access home entertainment. Rapidly becoming the focal point of the digital living room, TiVo’s DVR is at the center of experiencing new forms of content on the TV, such as broadband delivered video, music and photos. With innovative features such as, TiVoToGo™ and online scheduling, TiVo is expanding the notion of consumers experiencing “TiVo, TV your way.“ The TiVo® service is also at the forefront of providing innovative marketing solutions for the television industry, including a unique platform for advertisers and audience measurement research. The company is based in Alviso, Calif.

TiVo, TiVoCast, ‘TiVo, TV your way.‘ Season Pass, WishList, TiVoToGo and the TiVo Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TiVo Inc. and its subsidiaries worldwide. (c)2008 TiVo Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.