PurePVR

Although this one is geared more towards the Windows Media Center Edition crowd, it is still an interesting product for anyone who is into home theaters systems and HTPCs. Chris wrote up a review of the Simplifi Digital AV Expander which is a PCI card that allows you to connect more devices to your MCE box (like game systems and HDTV devices).

I won’t spoil the review, but there is no doubt that a product like this is definitely something that a lot of people should look at. I personally have to specially configure my system to share inputs because I don’t have enough available, but for $100 USD I could probably solve a lot of my issues.

Chris’ full review can be read here.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, HTPC, MCE, Simplifi

Today I am going to be playing catch up. Instead of one post talking about something in particular, I’m going to post a few links. Unfortunately I have been so busy lately that this site hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves. So here we go:

• Watch TV on PSP with TiVo ToGo – Daily Game
• TiVo Adds iPod Support — For a Price – Beta News
• Apps Turn Your Computer Into a Powerful DVR - PC World
• DirecTV Titanium - Luxist
• NVIDIA DualTV MCE - A review at Digital Trends
• Feature: Build a living-room PC - Computer Act!ve
• PVR gets new features as sales rocket - Biz Community

I thought all of the above had some interest, hence me posting their links. Currently I need to shuffle my days around a bit so I can find a steady time to work on this site. But for now, hopefully this will do.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, TiVo, iPod, MCE, DirecTV, SageTV, SnapStream, Beyond+TV

Now this can be a handy tool. Sonic (now owned by Roxio) has released a nice application / plugin for Windows Media Center Edition 2005 called MyTvToGo. The plugin retails for $29.95 USD, but it appears to be well worth the price (a free trial is also available).

The main focus behind this program is to convert digital recordings from your MCE PVR / DVR and transfer them to your Pocket PC, iPod, PSP or laptop. Sure, there are already programs out there that will allow you re-encode video and transfer it, but this is integrated right into MCE for a no fuss solution. The whole process is done in the background, so after a show is recorded it is re-encoded and queued up to be synchronized with your device.

Found via WindowsForDevices.com. The product page can be found here.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, MCE, Media+Center+Edition, iPod, Apple, PSP

In what is sure to be a great advertising gimmick, TiVo will be giving away thousands of free TiVo units for free today at various Minor League Baseball venues. The scoop is that you can show up and get a free TiVo unit if you agree for a year of service. For $30 more you can upgrade to a dual tuner model.

As I have mentioned a few times in the past, I live in Canada. So, things like this make me quite jealous. I don’t know if I would subscribe to a monthly service, but if I could the hardware free I would definitely look at it long and hard.

More info, including locations where the units can be picked up, can be found at Zatz Not Funny…

Technorati Tags: TiVo, DVR, PVR

Engadget has a sneak peek at the Zalman HD 160XT. The HTPC fits in a nice small case and comes with a built in 7” LCD touch screen as well as a remote. Looking at the specs there also seems to be plenty of room for expansion in there. Unfortunately at this time no price is available. It does appear to run Windows Media Center Edition, judging from the pictures available here.

My biggest beef is that it reminds me way too much of an older (circa 1980s) ‘portable’, somewhat similar to the Hyperion that I cut my teeth on (lots of time compiling BASIC programs on that sucker).

The full Engadget post can be found here.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, Zalman

For all of you Mac users out there who are looking for a decent PVR / DVR / HTPC solution (but don’t want to spend the big bucks), you may want to look at the EyeTV EZ from Elgato.

The EyeTV EZ is one of the few dedicated solutions for the Apple Macintosh. It is a USB 2.0 device that has a tuner built into it, so installation from a physical aspect is a breeze. And as far as size goes, it’s just right to sit on top of your Mac Mini.

The gang over at Inside Mac Games has gone ahead and given this new unit a full review. I won’t spoil the results, but if you are looking for a PVR / DVR / HTPC solution for a Mac, you may want to check into this.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, HTPC, Apple, Mac, Macintosh

Whew – that was a bit of a mouthful.

A forum member by the name of HTPCGB over at Build Your Own PVR has put together a great flash video explaining how multiple TV tuners work as well as how to hook up your PVR / DVR / HTPC to a set top box (i.e. a digital cable or satellite receiver).

The video itself is not long and by no means a complete guide to PVRs / DVRs, but I do highly recommend it for newbies and even to those of us who have been around the block. It’s great to see a useful resource like this show itself. Hopefully HTPCGB will continue with more videos in the future.

Found via Build Your Own PVR.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, HTPC, Tutorial

Whilst going through my daily email I found a link to this article at the Chicago Tribune, written by Alex L. Goldfayn. In it, he describes a company called DVRupgrade which will help you out when it comes to adding more storage to your TiVo.

DVRupgrade allows you to get the work done using one of 2 methods: either you send it in to them or you can order a kit and do it yourself. The kit isn’t up to much, just a hard drive, cable, bracket, wrench and instructions.

If you are a TiVo owner and you are looking at getting an upgrade, you may want to check this out. However, this could also be seen as a good reason to go the do it yourself route. Most DIY PVRs / DVRs / HTPCs can easily be upgraded by just popping in a new hard drive without worries of a proprietary system.

PVRWire also has a post on this (posted about 40 minutes ago as of this writing).

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, HTPC, TiVo

David Zatz has reported that TiVo is now offering their new Series 2 180 hour, dual tuner units for online purchase. That’s a whole lot of recording, especially for a commercially available unit.

At the moment TiVo is still mainly a US phenomenon, so I unfortunately will not be trying this unit any time soon. At the same time though it is good to see a new unit from them. If nothing else, it should drive the independent PVR / DVR / HTPC makers to stride for better features so they can get a cut of the ever growing market.

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, HTPC, TiVo

Chris Lanier is carrying news about a new product release from Blueado, a company which specializes in building HTPCs and using primarily Windows Media Center Edition 2005.

The new model is quite a beast. The standard model includes a standard STSC TV tuner as well as an Over the Air HDTV, a 400 GB hard drive, 2 GB of RAM and a slew of other features.

The Blueado mini m5e Sport Edition is availble to US customers through Blueado’s website (www.blueado.com) at prices starting at $1999. Definitely more than a do it yourself solution, but it does look like one hell of a nice system

Technorati Tags: PVR, DVR, MCE, Blueado