EchoStar to intro the PocketDish portable DVR
By Barb Dybwad 
posted May 26th 2005 11:51AM
posted May 26th 2005 11:51AM
Here are some more details on the upshot of EchoStar's buy into Archos: they plan to put out a portable DVR device called the PocketDish that will by symbiotic with its set-top box overlords via USB 2.0. They're not really giving a lot of details out, but what we do know is there will be three different sized versions of the device with 2-inch, 4-inch and 7-inch screens. Storage will be up to 40GB, none of which will be transferrable anywhere else convenient like say, your computer. It'll work with at least MPEG-4 and possibly other video formats, and expect it to be more than a bit reminiscent of the Archos AV700.
Will I be able to transfer a recorded program to PocketDish, then take the PocketDish to my girlfriend's house and watch that program on her (much larger) TV? If so, I'll dump cable and be all on their dish...
Wait a minute, your girlfriend has a bigger T.V?!?!?!?!?!
Of course she has a bigger TV.. that's why he's dating her.
I bet this thing will have crap record, tho. I had te MSI Mega View 566 and it records so tiny that it's really only playable on itself. Playback on computer brining the video to full screen looked horrible.
Well, she's cute and smart and all, but yeah, the giant HDTV is nice. Besides, I'm waiting for the OLED revolution, and all my spare cash is going toward a Treo 650. ;^)
If this PocketDish is going to be based on the Archos AV400 series, the recording quality may not be as bad as you think. The AV420 has gotten fairly positive reviews for its recording quality, and DishNetwork is already digital, which might work to the PocketDish's advantage. (No analog-to-digital conversion necessary.)
It should be able to record MPEG4-SP with at least 512 x 384 @ 30fps.
I hope DirecTV keeps up with DISH in this arena. (I know about TivoToGo, but DirecTV doesn't use it for their combo boxes)
I just wanna know if this will work with current DVR's, and if so, why hasn't somebody already found a way to transfer stuff to a computer? Wouldn't it be something if this little player had the capabilities of the new Nokia (WiFi web) AND a universal remote to boot? Now THAT would be something I would have to have. Why in the hell can't some company do that? Yes, I know you can do that on (most)any Palm or Pocket PC, but you really have to work at it, and it still is not just right.
They're saying that the quality of video playback will be comparable to the original. You can play content from the pocket dish on any TV, but you can't transfer content to another DVR. I think you need a Dish DVR to transfer to the pocketdish, there is a pocketdish interface program on the Dish DVR. HDTV isn't supported by pocket dish.
Go to www.pocketvideo.info to talk about this some more.
Dish Network fails to mention that the PocketDish is 100% compatible with only one of their receivers. The receiver sells for an additional $799.00.