Before we get into the HD-XR, there's the other new model to introduce. The low-end Roku SD is pretty much a stripped-down version of the current Roku HD model, appropriately enough. It has Wi-Fi b/g and Ethernet, but only offers composite output—no HDMI, component, S-video or optical audio out, all of which the Roku HD has. The SD offers just standard-def streaming to go along with its standard-def output, and retails for $80 (the HD, in comparison, sells for $100). Both the SD and HD-XR are crammed into the same small, fanless case as the HD, so they're all the same size.

The HD-XR is Roku's new high-end model, selling for $130: In addition to everything the Roku HD has, the HD-XR is packing 802.11n Wi-Fi and, intriguingly, a USB port. But therein lies the problem with the HD-XR, and the reason we're bringing you a hands-on and not a review today: The USB port doesn't do anything. Yet.

Roku tells me that they've got some substantial additions coming to their service via automatic firmware upgrade in "the coming weeks." First is the Roku Channel Store, which "will offer a number of new content channels for the Roku player, many of which are free." This comes in addition to the currently offered Netflix (duh), Amazon and MLB. What could the new channels be? We'd say Hulu is a fair bet, given past rumors. Other dedicated streaming sites like ABC or MSNBC wouldn't be out of the question either, and since everybody's doing it, I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook and Twitter come to invade your tidy little Roku box.

Second is that currently-useless USB port—it may not do anything yet, but I assume it'll allow video playback from UMS devices like hard drives and flash drives when it's enabled through firmware. A helpful tip, Roku: Extensive codec support is mandatory, not optional, in a device that has as few features as this one. It only does a couple things, so it had better do them damn well. DivX, MKV, and H.264 would be a start.

So how does the HD-XR perform? Just about as well as I could hope. It's a bit slow to start streaming a video (two minutes at most, but that's a long time to stare at a progress bar on your TV), but once it started it never stutters, and video quality is nearly as good as when streaming on a computer. I do wish you could browse through Netflix's catalog, rather than only being able to stream what's in your Instant Watch queue, but it's super simple and works well. The remote is small but feels solid, and has few enough buttons that pretty much anyone can figure it out. Setup is easy and the antenna picks up my Wi-Fi signal just as well as my laptop. Overall I was really pleased with it, and so were my non-tech-savvy roommates—no mean feat, since they're not usually into all the nerd stuff that I deal with every day.

So what's new right now? Um, well, 802.11n. That's it. It's pretty disappointing to see new hardware released without the accompanying software that takes it to the next generation, especially given Netflix's invasion onto Blu-ray players (only $100!), HTPCs, PS3s and god knows what else. I'm not so sure the HD-XR is worth $130, given the growing ubiquity of Netflix streaming, so Roku had better bring it with this firmware upgrade—the days of a one trick pony in the living room are nearly up. [Roku]

Crave posted a pretty good $70 price, a far cry from the $199 retail and $132 it runs on amazon. But a quick Froogle search turned up the same package at Fry's for $60. Considering you're getting the exact same software standalone TiVo boxes use and a USB TV tuner that can decode ATSC and QAM, that ain't a bad deal at all.

Keep in mind you will have to pay $100 bucks a year for TiVo service, the one thing about TiVo that I never liked.

Also, the tuner can only accept clear QAM, ATSC and NTSC signals, so no premium cable. Hopefully now that Windows 7 supports CableCARD so well, you'll be able to expand your channel selection soon. [Fry's, Crave]

• CBS Audience Network: Featuring a variety of shows from CBS Primetime, Daytime, Extras, and TV Classics, including full-length episodes of current TV shows, CBS Classics TV shows, short clips, and Web originals.
• Full Zune Video Podcast Library: Thousands of hours of entertainment with full TV episodes, webisodes, clips, and videos from providers including ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, CNET TV, Comedy Central, Current TV, The Discovery Channel, Fox, G4 TV, HBO, MSNBC, NBC, Showtime, and Revision 3, along with some of the best user-generated videos on the Web. Some video podcasts are also available in HD.
• MSN and msnbc.com: Clips as well as full length episodes from TV shows such as Arrested Development, news and weather from MSNBC, editor picks and most popular videos, five day weather forecasts, news, video playlists, music videos, movie trailers and more.

If you haven't already noticed the upgrades in your Windows 7 Media Center menu, you can manually update by going into Tasks >>Settings >> General >> Automatic Download Options.

Unfortunately, extender support and HD streaming are still not part of the Netflix package—a major disappointment. Engadget also claims that Internet TV picture quality is lacking. Still, all things considered, it should be a welcome update for fans of online TV. For most Windows 7 users, the updates should show up automatically—otherwise they can be downloaded via Tasks. Hit the link for a full gallery. [Engadget]

Engadget got them to say that, depending on your order, the four-tuner version of the card will retail somewhere between $300 and $600. In comparison, an ATI Digital TV Tuner is $230, so four of those would bring you up to $920. And, you would need four separate CableCARDs from your cable service provider. which at $5 each, runs you an extra $20 on your bill. And the savings get better when you go to the 6 card version.

The official launch is 2010, so we won't be seeing these cards for a little while yet, so there's time for the networks to collaborate to make and air six shows that are worth recording in the same time slot. [Ceton via Engadget]

First, the Windows 7 stuff. The ability to add any old CableCARD tuner to your setup is realized, as we just shoved on a tuner and Windows 7 automatically recognized it and installed the correct drivers. The setup with Comcast was fairly simple, as all we had to do was run through the Tuner setup program, and all Comcast had to do was read some numbers back to home base and have them activate the CableCARD.

The copy freely features work just as you'd imagine. There's not much to "show", in that all it enables is the ability to watch your recorded shows on any other PC. So we copied a recording off of the Zone Pro, onto another Windows 7 PC, and it played back fine.

To enable this, you need Windows 7 and you need to upgrade your firmware on your ATI Tuner—the latter will be available for free from ATI and other OEMs, depending on where you bought your current tuner. The new format for recorded TV, .WTV, is also key, so if you recorded something on a Vista machine, you wouldn't be able to share it with other computers on your network (obviously). Eventually there will be third-party transcoders that can take the .WTV file and make it capable of being read on Zunes and iPhones. And with the Zune HD, you'll be able to handle HD recordings as well.

As for Windows 7 media center itself, the Zone Pro handles it just fine. All the effects are there, such as transparent overlay, are there, and the box can handle two simultaneous tuners at once. Pretty amazing, seeing as the size of one of the external tuners is basically the same size of the Zone Pro itself.

Niveus will start shipping the Zone Pro with Windows 7 to arrive by Win 7's launch. [Niveus]

What it means to you, theoretically, is that you should be able to go out and buy CableCARD tuners and add them to your Windows 7 machines to turn any old machine you have lying around into an HTPC. Also, they've raised the limit to four tuners per "tuner type", so you can have four digital cable channels simultaneously without any kind of special setup.

There is also a new Firmware update for ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuners to mark copy-freely content—the content you can move around your network and portable devices. [Microsoft]

Here are the specs: 1080p, Blu-ray drive, HDMI 1.3, eSATA, Core 2 Duo, Gigabit Ethernet and a $2000 price tag. It lands in a strange spot between performance and "HTPC-ability", as in the ability to sit nicely on your home entertainment center without standing out too much.

We tested it ourselves, and found it was a very capable Windows Vista Media Center, doing all the Media Center tasks (streaming network content, Netflix, watching Blu-rays, what have you) as larger machines we've tested. (We haven't tested the previous Zone, so we can't compare it to that.)

Despite its small size, it is capable of supporting one Media Center extender, such as an Xbox 360, so you can watch the same show on your 360 as you can on your Zone. This, provided you add the third-party TV tuners. We're going to test how well that performs in the coming weeks.

There are still some tests other than that to run as well, including actually using it as a Media Center for an extended period of time, plus putting Windows 7 on there, but for the most part this is a quality compact HTPC. It's a little pricey, but Niveus has previously lived in the enthusiast (read: rich man) market, so the Zone and the Zone Pro are their way of bringing their home theater experience down to the slightly well off man's market. [Niveus]

It looks like there's always going to be a tradeoff when choosing software to move media from your PC to a PS3, Xbox 360 or any of the other DLNA-compatible hardware that plugs into your TV. PlayOn, for example, has built-in support for Hulu, ESPN, CNN, Netflix, and CBS—but it costs $40 and can't handle RSS, audio or photo streaming. For our money, we'd go with TVersity, mostly because there's no money involved. [TubeCentric]

Sonic (makers of Roxio) are bringing CinemaNow to the Wii. CinemaNow, in case you've forgotten, offers streaming movies (a catalog of about 14,000), short films, and concerts for rent or purchase. They haven't gotten much of a foothold here in the States despite being around since 1999, even after being bought by Blockbuster a few years back. They've got a decent catalog, especially for new releases, and have partnered with all kinds of software, so the Wii should be no problem for them.

It might be more of a toe in the water than a real balls-out jump, but we're glad Nintendo is open to expanding the Wii's media capabilities. Remember, it's Japan-only for now, but we wouldn't be surprised to see this kind of integration appear Stateside. Press release to follow. [CinemaNow]

Fujisoft Teams with Sonic Solutions to Deliver Hollywood Hits to

Nintendo Wii Game Console

Roxio CinemaNow Begins Streaming Movies from Paramount Pictures

Novato, California (June 25, 2009) - Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), today announced that it is partnering with Fujisoft Incorporated to deliver premium entertainment to the Nintendo Wii game console. Sonic's Roxio CinemaNow® will be providing Hollywood content, beginning with new releases and catalog titles from Paramount Pictures, for Fujisoft's video-on-demand service in Japan, called "Minna no Theater Wii" (Everyone's Theater Wii). The companies will continue to work together in order to expand the range of entertainment available for virtually instant streaming to the TV via the popular game console.

"Sonic is a key content partner, enabling us to greatly enrich the video entertainment options available to Wii customers," said Minoru Yoshida, Executive Managing Director, Fujisoft. "We look forward to continuing our partnership with Sonic and providing consumers trouble-free access to more great Hollywood entertainment at home."

"Increasingly, consumers are looking to access and enjoy movies via their connected entertainment devices, whether at home or on-the-go," said Alex Carloss, Executive Vice President, Digital Distribution, Paramount Digital Entertainment. "Therefore we are delighted to become the first major studio offering video-on-demand through the Nintendo Wii."

Roxio CinemaNow offers a broad selection of regularly updated premium video entertainment for rental or purchase, including new releases from major Hollywood studios often on the same day the DVD is available in stores. CinemaNow's cloud-based media services power devices from multiple manufacturers, forming a connected ecosystem that consumers can use to seamlessly choose, move and view video entertainment.

"Fujisoft is a renowned technology thought leader and major supplier of embedded software for everything from mobile devices to digital home electronics, so we are extremely pleased to be collaborating with them to bring Hollywood movies to the Wii," said Mark Ely, executive vice president of strategy, Sonic Solutions. "Thanks to this new relationship with Fujisoft, consumers now have another convenient way to access high-quality entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow."

Premium entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow is currently available on a range of devices including Blu-ray Disc players from LG Electronics, Dell PCs, and Archos portable media players. As well as being available on a range of consumer electronics, Roxio CinemaNow is currently powering internet movie delivery for Blockbuster and is instantly accessible through Bestbuy.com.

The channel goes live now, and gives men's college basketball coverage by providing 1-2 minute highlights of every game, post game interviews, buzzer beaters (the last 2-10 minutes in a very tight game), and full games in "condensed" form. The condensed form means you won't see time-outs and half-time, but you will see all of the standard play. It's free for Windows Vista media center users, which is kind of a fantastic deal if you're a sports fan.

Microsoft plans to add more content in a similar vein (more sports, possibly TV and movie content) in the future, but they can't give any details.

Toshiba doesn't look like they're showing any of said MCE-equipped products here. So we'll just have to take their word for it, but if you're a Media Center head, this might be the way to go later this year. At least it's something to make up for their still-gaping Blu-ray hole.

TOSHIBA INTRODUCES NETWORK DEVICES DESIGNED TO DELIVER ON THE
PROMISE OF THE CONNECTED HOME
New TV, LCD TV/DVD Combo and Standalone Player Utilize Widget Channel, Developed by
Intel® and Yahoo!®, and Microsoft’s Windows Extender for Media Center Platform to Deliver
an Exciting Content Solution for the Home

CES, LAS VEGAS – January 7, 2009 – Toshiba America Consumer Products, L.L.C.
(“Toshiba”), announced its new audio/video (A/V) devices with Network Player capabilities,
which deliver on the promise of digital convergence in the home. Toshiba is launching this
initiative across three product categories – REGZA® LCD TVs, LCD TV/DVD Combos and
standalone players – in an effort to meet individual consumer needs.

Toshiba’s new A/V devices offer consumers access to a diverse range of rich content over the
Internet. With an extensive library of TV shows and movies, music, sports, and information
services such as stock prices and weather forecasts at their fingertips, consumers will be
provided with greater flexibility to easily customize and enhance their entertainment experience.

“Toshiba took the initiative to bridge the ways consumers normally access Internet content and
entertainment media with the introduction of network devices that will bring the Internet
experience to consumer electronic products in the home,” said Yoshi Uchiyama, Senior Vice
President, Corporate Planning. “According to a recent study conducted by NPD for Toshiba, a
large majority of consumers cite simplicity as the essential issue for adoption of Internet content.
Therefore, key to Toshiba’s home network strategy is a focus on simplicity – making it simple to
2
 
connect, simple to operate and simple to access content. The new line of Toshiba AV devices
with Network Players will open up an entire new world of content delivery in a way that
consumers will like.”

Getting Connected
Toshiba’s A/V devices with network player capabilities use a combination of two core
components, including the Widget Channel, developed by Intel and Yahoo! and Microsoft’s
Extender for Windows Media Center.

While consumers may be familiar with widgets from the PC world, TV Widgets, enabled by the
Widget Channel framework, now take that simple to use “dashboard” experience and place it
into the TV allowing consumers direct access to numerous sources of content simply via their
remote control. While some TV Widgets may be pre-installed, consumers now also have the
flexibility to customize their experience by adding widgets of their own selection based on their
interests or needs. TV Widgets will feature a rich array of content and as more TV Widgets
become available, consumers can add them to the Network Players to enhance their assortment.

By integrating Extenders for Windows Media Center in Toshiba’s new A/V products with
Network Player capabilities, the devices will act as “hubs” for delivery of content anywhere in
the home. Using a home network, Extender for Windows Media Center technology allows users
to access a wide range of digital content from Windows Media Center on the PC to their big
screen TV. Windows Media Center also delivers an extensive amount of Internet TV and movie
content, live and recorded TV with the addition of a TV tuner, plus photos, music, home videos
and more.

The combination of the two software platforms in one hardware device will deliver on the
promise of the new digital lifestyle.

Toshiba will approach the market by offering several choices from which consumers can select
the product that best fits their particular needs.
3
 
The Network Player capabilities described above are scheduled to be built into certain models of
Toshiba’s REGZA LCD TVs. This will provide consumers with easy access to the rich media
experience without the need for an external set top box or device.

As the market leader in the LCD TV/DVD Combo category, Toshiba will also integrate the
Network Player capability to offer flexibility and simplicity for consumers whether they choose
to use it as a primary TV in the home or in the bedroom, kitchen or children’s room.

Toshiba will also develop a standalone player, which acts as a hub for content delivery into the
entertainment space. The new player can deliver content directly from the Internet, content from
the PC with Extenders for Windows Media Center or from its built in DVD player with 1080p
upconversion. With an SD card slot and USB port for added flexibility, the device allows
consumers to access their entertainment content in any room of the house and all at a value that
consumers have come to expect.

Toshiba’s A/V devices with Network Player capabilities will feature picture quality enhancement
technologies, allowing viewers to enjoy a wide range of content upconverted to near HD quality.
The new models are planned to ship in the second half of 2009, and product pricing and
availability will be announced later this year.

A few days back, I showed you the new touch interface for Media Center PCs running Windows 7, and though I had to pull the video, I promised a walkthrough of proposed Windows 7 Media Center features. I say "proposed" because, like everything else about Windows 7, this is all alpha and subject to change. But these features are very cool, and really should be included. One more thing: These screens were projected on a wall in a well-lit room, so they look horrible, but anyone familiar with Media Center (and Microsoft has shipped like 100 million of them, so that should be plenty of ya) will have a good idea of the pleasantness to come. Or you can just drink in the following prose descriptions:

• Shows appear dissolved behind menus - When you're watching something and want to pull up a menu to add a new show or browse the channel guide, or even go into another area of the Media Center, the current show stays on, not as a picture-in-picture, but tastefully dissolved into the background.

• Chronological turbo scroll for channel guide - When you're looking at the channel guide, but want to go from Tuesday to Sunday in a hurry, you just hold down the arrow button on the remote, and the days start to whip by. Listings become a blur, but the days of the week, and the portions of the day, appear floating over the listings to give you an idea of when to stop.

• Live thumbnail forward and rewind - During HD video playback, you might want to jump around. Grab the time marker and drag it forward or back, and as you do, you see a miniature version of the show playing backwards or forwards at the same speed.

• Launch TV from Start menu - Media Center can occupy a pole position in the Start menu, and when you hover over the MC logo, a list of recently recorded shows pops up, along with other frequently used MC features.

• Floating Media Center gadget - Not only can you access shows from the Start menu, you can browse MC features from the desktop with the gadget. I am not clear whether or not you'll get to have actual video playing in it, but for people who need MC at their fingertips, this appears to be a nice, subtle execution.

• Alphabetical turbo scroll for music - The chronological turbo scroll on the channel guide is cool, but this one will come in more handy for me: As you scroll through the countless artists in your music collection, the names become a blur but your location in the alphabet is denoted by two letters, probably so that those longer letters like J, M, R and S can be broken up better.

• Drifting cover art grid - When you're playing a song, the album art for that track appears with some basic metadata, and all the cover art for every other track you own materializes and drifts in the background. The primary cover art jumps from side to side and top to bottom, so that everything is in constant, fluid motion.

• Scattered photos picture show - As you're playing music, you can opt for a photo show that essentially reaches into a folder, grabs a handful of shots, scatters them evenly around the page, and then zooms in on one at a time. A nice touch: In the wide angle, all the photos look like desaturated black-and-whites, but as each shot gets its own screen time, it magically becomes full color.

• Copy remote content - If you are browsing multiple libraries or Media Center PCs and come across a show you like, you can watch it or save it for later by hitting "make a copy." As long as there's no broadcast flag or some other DRM, the vid will flow over to your local HDD so you can watch it when you've left the network.

• Virtual channels without TV tuner - One of the new Media Center's central concerns is the new popularity of internet-based video, not just YouTube clips but whole TV episodes like those shown on Hulu. DVR functionality is key to making the most of an MC, but at launch there will be loads of virtual channels with shows you can watch just as easily. Microsoft demoed a special MSNBC channel that had clips and full shows; it's of course feasible for them to build similar channels for third-party web video services too. [Windows 7 on Giz]

Visiting Microsoft's Media Center posse in Redmond, I just caught a glimpse of the Windows 7 Media Center interface with integrated touch control (no third-party software) on an HP TouchSmart. All I can say is, I've always loved the MCE user experience—it really is a highlight of Microsoft design—but adding smooth touch interaction makes it even better. The only thing missing here is multitouch, but I'm told that's coming. Check out the vid. [Windows 7] Update: At Microsoft's request, we have removed the video, but will soon publish a walkthrough of Windows 7 Media Center features.

The control unit is as stunning as the early, blurry pics had implied. With a sharp 1024x768 screen, a brushed aluminum control knob and an attractive, minimalist interface it would be a treat to use as a home media controller. Unfortunately, if predictably, it is only compatible with one product, which is, you guessed it, a Bang & Olufsen server. Called the 500GB BeoMaster 5, the box is a largely unchanged followup to the company's $2700 BeoMedia media center PC.

In other words, the BeoSound controller is just that — a gutless remote. Without the BeoMaster, which it connects to via DVI, it's just a screen with a pretty dial. B&O haven't given any clues as to the price of the unit yet, but the BeoSound and BeoMaster will be, shall we say, luxury items. They're set for sale in May, you can find more detailed info at the B&O forums, or glance the presser below. [Bang & Olufsen via Acquire]

The BeoSound 5 are two components which make up the new audio master media player which was launched on 11th November 2008 The Beomaster 5 is intended as the a replacement for the Beomedia 1 and subsequent to the launch the Beomedia 1 will be discontinued.

The Beosound 5 has the following Key Features and Spec:-

* Graphical User Interface which provides the user the ability to navigate their entire music collection
* The users music files now resided on the 500GB hard drive located in the Beomaster 5 unit which has a physical size and appearance of the Beomedia 1
* When the music comes to an end, BeoSound 5 will continue to play ‘More Of The Same’ (MOTS) – that is, it will find other music on your system that complements what you’ve already been listening too.
* There’s an aluminum wheel that enables you to scroll smoothly and quickly through tracks and a 10.4” LCD with 1024 x 768 screen resolution that displays crisp graphics and album covers. You have your entire digital music collection plus thousands of internet radio stations available to you
* Mount it flat on a wall; or on a wall bracket with stand so you can tilt and angle it; or simply place it on a pedestal on an aluminum floor stand
* Designed by Anders Hermansen
* Cabinet finish is Aluminum/black
* Dimensions and weight is 12” x 7” x 3” and 5.8 lbs (31cm x 19cm x 8cm and 2.65 kg)
* Connections are via three which go to the BeoMaster 5 (DVI, Power, USB)
* An Aluminum and black wall bracket is included with the Beosound 5 and as an option you can have an extended wall bracket, a table stand in black and a floor stand in aluminum

Beosound 5 Overview

The BeoMaster 5 uses a VIA 2.0 Ghz processor made by VIA Technologies Inc with 1GB of random access memory and a 500GB hard drive and runs an embedded Microsoft Windows XP SP2.

The unit has DVI-I, S-Video and YPbPr for TV along with Masterlink, two Powerlink sockets, two USB sockets and a 10/100 Mbit/second ethernet.

BeoMaster 5 provides power to the Beosound 5 as well as infra-Red and USB mini. Display resolution via DVI-I is 1920x1200 and supports HD 1920x1080p

Denver, CO – CEDIA EXPO 2008 – September 4 – 7, 2008 – Booth #410 – When you take the best possible options for high definition entertainment and combine them into one seriously powerful media server, you’re going to need a new name for the experience you create. Life|ware™, makers of whole home automation and entertainment solutions, have done just that, unveiling a new “High Density Television™” initiative that brings in more high definition entertainment and distributes it around the home more effectively than ever before.

“High Density TV reinvents how we will move and/or view high definition entertainment around the home,” said Seale Moorer, Life|ware’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is the first solution to provide a whole house entertainment server that provides unparalleled capability in terms of HDTV tuners, HDTV streaming and Digital Media management for consumers.”

Life|media™ 810: 8 TV tuners, 10 Extenders, 12 TB of Storage
Several new Life|media units highlight the effort, headed by the company’s new Life|media LMS-810, which has 8 HDTV CableCARD™ tuners and can support up to 10 Media Center Extender devices.

“The 810 is a very powerful Media Server,” said Moorer. “It deftly handles the high-definition feeds from eight CableCARD tuners and provides HD streaming to ten extenders over the existing home network.”
The 810 provides an incredible 12 terabytes of RAID 5 storage which provide the disk space for a huge digital library of recorded TV, movies, music, photos and videos.

“The Life|media LMS 810 is the centerpiece of a digital entertainment solution as we all envision it,” said Pat King, senior vice president of Seagate’s Consumer Solution Division. “Seagate’s Pipeline HD hard drives are designed specifically for this type of scenario. With HD video optimization, exceptionally quiet acoustics and power management, Pipeline HD drives enable the LMS 810 to provide a reliable way to enjoy digital entertainment.”

Life|tuner™ provides more video options
Also being unveiled at CEDIA is the Life|tuner series of HDTV CableCARD tuner devices that work with Life|ware’s Life|media media servers, allowing the addition of up to six additional HDTV tuners to the Life|media experience.

“Life|tuner is another product that makes life easier for our dealers,” said Moorer. “Obviously, TV tuners themselves are nothing new, but this product allows the easy addition of two, four or six CableCARD tuners to our Life|media servers.”

Life|media media servers feature two CableCARD TV tuners. By adding the six-tuner Life|tuner unit to a high-end Life|media, a consumer has a remarkable 8-tuner DVR solution.

Mplayer codecs mean you can handle just about every file format you can find (including uncompressed VIDEO_TS rips). Other add-ons include the Sapphire media organizer, a WebKit browser, game emulators, the ability to FTP into your box to avoid iTunes and more, all without blocking any of the out-of-the-box functions. Not bad at all for $60. [aTV via 43 Folders]

Hug your DVRs, people, because while NBC might be the most anal network about how people watch its shows (very likely because it's last place in ratings), they may very well be just the first to use broadcast flags this way (CBS would probably be the last, they're oddly the most forward-thinking network on the digital front). While the broadcast flag was conceptualized to protect premium and PPV content, it could increasingly be used to protect marquis shows like Heroes, to force you to view them on NBC's terms, like at NBC.com. Why? Ad dollars.

But while it's expected for networks to act like this, it's sad that Microsoft is effectively choosing content producers over consumers, when it doesn't have to, and as the EFF points out, "the only way customers know what Microsoft has agreed to is when the technology they've bought suddenly stops working." And that's just wrong. [Cnet via Slashdot]

[Apartment Therapy Unplugged]

Microsoft's had this ability in Media Center to prevent specific shows from being recorded for a while, and the last time there was an error was a few years back during an episode of the Simpsons. It's not something broadcasters usually do. This also isn't a unique thing to Microsoft—TiVo has something similar but not quite as severe—it does illustrate the fact that if the providers wanted to, they could shut down your Media Center DVR right now and you couldn't do much about it. [JustinJas via Ars Technica]

Here are the key features:

Available in a 2TB or 4TB modular design Audio/Video Form Factor with Rack-Mount Option Reflection™ Data Mirroring for auto updating remote server(s) with master server uPnP Media Server for playback of media content via UPnP-compatible devices Easy-to-use interface via Niveus Client PC Software Access media from anywhere on the home network Always-on operation Automatic Backup; Digital Media & Documents Advanced File Searching: Database Indexing, Meta Data Lookup Unique Family Member Login Individual Remote Access via Secure Login Silent Operation - fanless & anti-vibration technology throughout Low Power Consumption Software Feature & Security Updates via Internet Download RAID 0 or RAID 5

You can add or subtract movies from your queue, sort through your history and recs, browse top movies by genre, etc., and here's the killer part: Browse and play "Watch Now" streams (especially since they're all-you-can-eat.) It's in public beta, so it might have a few rough spots, but he wants the feedback, so be sure to check it out if you've got a Netflix account and a Vista box. [Anthony Park via Chris Lanier via Engadget]

The Price: $299

The Performance: Fantastic. We were able to stream live 1080i over-the-air (OTA) HDTV with no glitches for the most part, and whatever glitches we did see were due to the fact that OTA reception in our area isn't great and we had a small antenna. But when we watched pre-recorded content in both 720p and 1080p, there were zero glitches or dropouts. We tested this both with the wired internet and the Wireless 802.11N network via Linksys's WRT600N Router, and it was super smooth even over Wi-Fi.

Its DVD playback was fine, and is convenient if you want to use this in a spare guest room or a bedroom to stream HDTV off off without hooking up HDTV connections or getting another DVR. The DVD is just a bonus. Also, this extender handles XviD files (but not DivX), meaning you can grab TV shows you missed off of BitTorrent and watch them as well, without having to transcode anything.

The Verdict: Did the extender do everything it promised to do and do it well? Definitely. Streaming perfect HD over 802.11n Wi-Fi isn't a small feat, and doing so when supporting XviD and DVD playback is impressive as well. But is it worth $299 when you can get an Xbox 360 that does pretty much the same thing for the same price? Yes, if you want 802.11n Wi-Fi streaming and XviD playback inside the Media Center interface. If not, then you're better off getting an Xbox 360 and getting gaming out of the deal as well.

SONY'S WELL-ROUNDED HOME THEATER PC GOES HIGH-DEF

LAS VEGAS (CES, Booth #14200), Jan. 6, 2008 ⎯ Sony today introduced a new high-definition version of its stunning, spherical digital living system— the VAIO® TP Home Theater PC.
A unique approach to the home PC design, the new model's round chassis serves as an entire entertainment center, where you can watch and record analog, digital and cable TV, including premium HD channels (CableCARD™ required). It can also access the Internet so you can play back online TV programming on a compatible big-screen television.
The VAIO HTPC comes in both a standard and a premium configuration. Both versions feature a Blu-ray Disc™ optical drive to enjoy high-definition movies. The premium model comes with two external CableCARD compatible TV tuners so you can view and record two HD television programs simultaneously.
With built-in DVR functionality, each unit can record up to 50 hours of HD television programming and pause and rewind live TV for on-demand playback.
Engineered to be easy to use, the models connect to compatible high-definition televisions via an included HDMI™ cable for playback in full HD 1080 resolution through a single cable. And with integrated BRAVIA® Sync™ technology, based on HDMI-CEC functionality, you can power on connected devices, at the touch of a button, eliminating the need for multiple remote controls (on certain BRAVIA HDTV models only).
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"We're defining the digital home by integrating the latest HD technologies into a one-of-a-kind showpiece," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. "This new unit will revolutionize the way you watch TV, allowing you to turn your entertainment center into an eye-popping, high-definition media hub."
Designed to Compliment Any Home
The console's small, circular shape is engineered to fit into areas of the house not typically known for having a PC, such as the living room, without the added network cables. With its built-in wireless LAN technology and a wireless router, it can be positioned virtually anywhere in the house and still access your home network.
The model also comes with a remote control and a matching, wireless keyboard ergonomically designed to fit on your lap so you can surf the Web from the comfort of your couch without the restraint of tangled cords.
Power of the PC for Your Living Room
The unit is equipped with a powerful Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T8100, allowing for high performance while maintaining a smaller, cooler form factor— making it ideal for a living room setting. It also employs the Windows Vista® Home Premium operating system, discrete graphics and a half-terabyte hard drive.
The VAIO TP Home Theater PC standard model, available in polar white, will start at about $1,600, while the premium model, available in piano black, will go for around $3,000. Both will be available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.sony.com/pr/tphd" www.sony.com/pr/tphd and sold at Sony Style stores and select retailers around the country starting later this month.