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Microsoft emancipates Digital Cable Tuners with second Media Center update today

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 6th 2009 at 10:19PM

Scant hours after the SDV tuning, DRM-relaxing firmware update for Vista and Windows 7 Digital Cable Tuner users became available, Missing Remote let us know Microsoft has come through on the other half of its CEDIA promise by pushing the Digital Cable Advisor to Media Center Extras galleries everywhere. This half should enable all Windows 7 PCs to work with the CableCard tuners, sans-OEM requirement or inconvenient hacking. Sure we could ask for more from Windows 7 Media Center, but for now Netflix and these two (in less than 100 days) will have to do.

Read - MCE: Digital Cable Advisor Tool Available Now!
Read - ATI DCT Firmware update pops up on Windows Update, DRM-free MCE recordings are a go

Curious about SDV and Copy Freely support in Windows 7 Media Center?

by Darren Murph posted Sep 25th 2009 at 4:42AM

Look here, bub. Do you own an ATI Digital Cable Tuner? Has your Windows Media Center PC been waiting for a firmware update, since like, forever ago? If so, you should already know that SDV and Copy Freely support has been added to Windows 7 Media Center, which is the software coding equivalent of all of your dreams coming true. Of course, getting used to all this new functionality is a daunting task, but that's why Engadget HD is breaking things down to make it fit for digestion. Ready to get schooled? Well, head on over!

Video: Intel Tru2way server streams cable all over your house

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 7:14PM

Look, Moblin and MIDs and USB 3.0 are all well and good, but the real highlight of IDF is hiding in plain sight: it's Intel's CE 3100 Media Processor-based Tru2way DVR server, which has three digital cable tuners that can be streamed over a regular gigabit Ethernet or MoCA to any number of clients, ranging from other 3100-based set-top boxes to DLNA devices like laptops and even the PS3. It's seriously cool -- the clients all see the server's tuners as their own, so the experience is seamless, and since it all runs on the Tru2way stack, it doesn't matter what kind of client you plug in -- the three clients on the show floor were running interfaces from Intel, Comcast (Rovi), and Digeo. Of course, since it's a DVR, you can actually add more clients than tuners and have them play back recorded content while your other boxes use the tuners -- Intel was demoing XBMC on a Sony laptop connecting over DLNA and streaming a recorded program while a PS3 nearby ran a photo slideshow, all while the three cable clients streamed uncompressed HD video from the tuners. Intel says a number of cable companies are interested in deploying this stuff and that we should see things on the market in the next year -- we honestly can't wait. Check a video after the break.

Continue reading Video: Intel Tru2way server streams cable all over your house

Media Center CableCARDs freed from OEM requirement

by Steven Kim posted Sep 9th 2009 at 8:20PM

This just in from our team at Microsoft's MCE event at CEDIA -- the OEM requirement on CableCARDs has been officially lifted, freeing Joe Six Packs all over from having to buy whole systems. The photo above pretty much says it all -- enthusiasts (hey, that's us!) can add CableCARD tuners to their PC. Even though a DIY workaround has been around for a while, it's nice not to have to break/bend the rules to get your shows recorded, isn't it?

Apple CFO says DVR, CableCARD not coming to Apple TV

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 8th 2009 at 1:08PM

Although Apple has always referred to the Apple TV as a "hobby," there's been a lot of speculation regarding the future of the box recently -- it was first introduced nearly three years ago, and although the interface has since been upgraded, it's still essentially the same product, leading to whispers that Apple was working on a new DVR-enabled model with CableCARD tuners that would replace your cable box. Awesome, right? Not so fast -- according to analysts at Caris and Company, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer "pretty much killed" that idea when they asked him about it, saying it didn't mesh with Apple's business. Yeah, it's sad, but it makes a lot of sense -- Apple probably doesn't want you to record for free what you can buy from the iTunes Store, and we can't imagine anyone at Apple looking back at their experience with AT&T and deciding that partnering up with Comcast or Time Warner Cable was the next logical move. Still -- doesn't it seem like it's time for something to happen with the Apple TV? Who know, maybe we'll find out tomorrow.

[Via iLounge]

Okoro OMS-BX300 goes for the 'you must be high' end

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 27th 2009 at 8:27AM

You know, with the PS3 slumming it in a lower weight class and $300 price point, you'd think it'd be hard to sell people on costlier "Blu-ray Digital Entertainment Systems," but that hasn't stopped Okoro from trying. Updating its BX300 unit with dual Blu-ray Lightscribe drives, a Core i7-920, 6GB of 1,333MHz DDR3, pair of hot swappable 2TB HDDs in RAID1, and a 64GB SSD for OS duties is all well and good (okay, it's kind of awesome), but -- even though it has come down some -- the price is still a loony $3,095. There are also dual NTSC / ATSC / QAM tuners and a CableCARD option to go along with an ATI Radeon HD 4850 -- and for an extra $800, you can get the slinkier touch pad remote-pimping version pictured on the right. Ah well, just another reason to envy rich people.

[Via ZDNet]

Engadget HD takes an in-depth look at Media Center in Windows 7 RTM

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jul 27th 2009 at 12:42PM

If you've ever thought about forcing your Xbox 360 to do double duty and in addition to all the games you require it to host for you, set it up to replace your TiVo or cable company DVR, then now might just be the time. The reason is simple, in Windows 7, Microsoft has really made some nice improvements to Windows Media Center. What improvements you might ask? Glad you did, because over at Engadget HD the team went over the changes with a fine-tooth comb. This includes a comprehensive list of improvements and shortfalls in regards to using Windows 7 Media Center as a full time HD DVR as well as a few videos to really help you appreciate what's new and what the experience is like on an Xbox 360.

Gallery: Windows 7 Media Center review

Get a CableCARD into your DIY HTPC

by Darren Murph posted May 12th 2009 at 1:06PM

For years now, those in power at the top of the CableCARD chain have told you that installing your own CableCARD within your own HTPC was simply impossible. "OEM or bust," they said. It's a good thing they're wrong, isn't it? Over at Engadget HD, we've assembled a guide that explains how to get your existing media center PC to play nice with a dedicated internal CableCARD tuner, and the whole process just might be easier than you've ever imagined. Give it a look right here.

DIY'ers successfully build their own CableCARD equipped HTPC

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Apr 29th 2009 at 4:28PM

HTPC fans were devastated when it was revealed that only OEM PC builders would have the privilege of building Vista Media Center PCs with CableCARD support, but hope is here: it looks like a few members of The Green Button forum have figured out how to build their own CableCARD ready HTPC. There's two barriers to overcome, which unfortunately still make it more difficult than just picking up an internal or external ATI Digital Cable Tuner, but they're not terrible: would-be system builders just need to score an OCUR tuner product ID number and use a BIOS contains the correct OSFR table. No one's figured out how to tweak just any BIOS yet, but apparently most ASUS P5Q motherboards work fine -- so really you just need to score some used CableCARD tuners off eBay and ask the seller for the PID from their computer. Or you could throw caution to the wind and plug in the generic PID of 263DJ-2Y9YT-6X9G6-W28DB-697TF, which may or may not work. Anyone feeling brave enough to grab a new mobo and CableCARD tuner and give this a shot?

Ten years of TiVo: how far we haven't come

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 28th 2009 at 2:30PM

We'll be totally honest here: we love TiVo. TiVo DVRs of every vintage are scattered throughout the Engadget editorial ranks, and Series3 units are our preferred hardware for HD Netflix streaming and Amazon's nascent HD Video on Demand service. And, well, using a TiVo is just fun in a way that no other DVR ever is -- those booping noises still provoke smiles all around.

But here's the thing: it's been ten years since TiVo first introduced the Philips-built HDR110 at NAB, and while the company's name has since become synonymous with time-shifted digital video recording, it's not because its products have achieved runaway success. In fact, it's the exact opposite: most consumers choose to get by with awful cable- or satellite-company DVRs, and TiVo's only just barely pulled a full year of profitability, two factors that have kept it firmly on deathwatch since 2005. Not only that, but while TiVo might have pushed the DVR into the mainstream, it hasn't meaningfully innovated since -- apart from HD output and the aforementioned streaming services, you'd be hard-pressed to tell a brand-new TiVo HD from an original unit by using it for five minutes. Worse, the entire DVR category's essentially remained stagnant as well -- one study found that the average DVR-enabled family records just 15-20 percent of the TV they watch, a startlingly low number by any measure.

So look -- it's not working, guys. We're happy that Comcast is now offering the TiVo interface in certain markets as a paid option, and we'll be pleased as punch when those long-promised new DirecTiVo units ship out, but the simple fact of the matter is TiVo can't continue to rely on the same strategies and ideas that haven't worked for the past ten years. What TiVo needs is a new plan -- and we've got five simple ideas that might help kickstart the company and the DVR market for the next ten years. Read on for more.

Continue reading Ten years of TiVo: how far we haven't come

New CableCARD diagnostic tool for Windows Media Center makes installation slightly less frustrating

by Ross Miller posted Mar 7th 2009 at 10:03AM

Let's be honest, getting a CableCARD to work with Windows Media Center is far, far, far from a smooth process. Thankfully, the Media Center Integrator Alliance -- this sort of the things is its bag, naturally -- are set to show off a Digital Cable Tuner Diagnostics tool at next week's Electronic House Expo. It'll provide all kinds of information on your tuner and CableCARD, including modulation type, format, frequency, carrier, PCR Lock, encoding level, and authorization -- and if all that goes way over your head, there's an option to export the data to XML and send it to someone who can help. No word on when we'll see an official release, but no matter what, it won't be soon enough.

S1Digital intros P500 Media Center, updates ProLine Series of HTPCs

by Darren Murph posted Feb 5th 2009 at 8:08AM

It's been a hot minute since S1Digital tickled our attention with a new media center, but the outfit is hitting back this year with a new machine along with updates to a number of its ProLine Series rigs. The new kid on the block is the P500 Media Center, which is available with up to four CableCARD tuners (plus a QAM / ATSC tuner), support for internal RAID5 storage, HDMI / DVI, 7.1-channel audio output and Intel's latest Core 2 Duo processors. As for the refreshed bunch, you can catch the S800 and P600 with Blu-ray drives as standard, quad CableCARD tuners and support for home automation integration with Crestron, AMX, RTI, HAI and PC based-touchscreens over IP or RS-232. Every machine mentioned here can be ordered up now, with the new P500 starting at a staggering $5,999 sans tuners.

Ace Computers promises $999 CableCARD HTPC at CES 2009

by Darren Murph posted Jan 2nd 2009 at 8:26AM

HTPCs may still be a niche market, but getting one equipped with a CableCARD for under a grand could do great things for adoption. Little-known Ace Computers will reportedly debut such a rig at CES, and the machine will be known as the LMS 250. It'll be made available in a few configurations, one of which includes a triple-core AMD Phenom X3 and one that houses an Intel Core 2 Duo E7300; the former will be built around AMD's Maui entertainment platform, while the latter could quite possibly be the last to use Intel's own impossible-to-understand Viiv technology. Prospective customers with fatter wallets can upgrade the baseline rigs with a Blu-ray burner, but even the $999 edition will include 2GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD, internal ATI Digital Cable Tuner and between 8 and 12 USB ports. Sadly, we're not tipped off on a release date, but hopefully we'll learn of that -- along with many other delicious, heart-healthy tidbits -- in just a few days.

Okoro Media Systems ships 2009 OMS-LX100 HTPC

by Darren Murph posted Nov 20th 2008 at 10:22AM

2009 isn't even here yet (at least on the right coast of Planet Earth), but Okoro's being exceptionally proactive by announcing that its '09 OMS-LX100 is already shipping. The system, which is a revamp of the original that popped out in 2006, is situated in the outfit's "low profile" range of HTPCs, and it brings to the table a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo E2200 processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a front-panel display, optional 7-inch touchscreen, dual-layer DVD writer, up to 2TB of HDD space, NVIDIA's GeForce 9300 with 512MB of RAM, an ATI Digital CableCARD tuner, 7.1-channel audio output and an OTA HDTV tuner. Power users can certainly push the $1,725 base configuration well north of two large should they choose, but good luck explaining that to the SO.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

Panasonic reveals first tru2way HDTVs in Chicago and Denver

by Darren Murph posted Oct 15th 2008 at 4:58PM

We already saw Panasonic's 50-inch TH-50PZ80Q plasma doing the tru2way thing at CEDIA 2008, but the official lever has just been pulled in Denver and Chicago. As of today, Comcast's tru2way platform is active in the aforesaid cities, and the very first tru2way-capable HDTVs are arriving to retail. Eager consumers in the Windy or Mile High City who are ready to ditch the set-top-box altogether without sacrificing VOD and such can polish off their wounded credit cards, as both a 42-inch (TH-42PZ80Q; $1,599.95) and 50-inch (TH-50PZ80Q; $2,999.95) VIERA plasma will be on sale by "late October." As for the rest of the US anxious to dip in the cool, cool waters of tru2way? A few undisclosed locales should be going live with the service "in the coming months," though your guess is as good as ours as to what exactly that means.