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Switched On: Rethinking the living room PC
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment. Even as Microsoft continues to support broadcasting standards around the world to bolster Media Center's support for broadcast television, the future of noisy, black 17-inch-wide boxes sharing a cramped cabinet with your stereo receiver remains in jeopardy. Indeed, the future of the living room PC may be sitting in your lap.When Microsoft announced the Media Center edition of Windows XP, it was in some ways the desktop counterpart to the Tablet PC mutation. Whereas the Tablet PC was envisioned as a new form factor for notebooks, Media Center held the promise of transforming the desktop into its own new form factor. Indeed, in one of Bil Gates's final CES keynotes promoting innovative PC designs, he didn't mention desktops at all, referring to stationary computers as "entertainment PCs" in an AV component style.But while a few companies continue to sell Media Center PCs explicitly designed for connection to a television -- among them Sony, Alienware, and companies targeting custom installers such as Niveus Media, the form factor hasn't taken off for a variety of reasons. Microsoft, in turn, has focused more on Media Center Extenders such as the Xbox 360 and HP MediaSmart Connect to bring the Media Center experience to the big-screen TV. And despite some technological improvements coming to help the cause, that situation is unlikely to change dramatically.
Archos TV+ TVportation plug-in shifts your TV to 605 / 705 PMP
Got yourself an Archos TV+? How's about a WiFi-enabled 605 / 705 PMP? Even if you're sadly answering "no" to the latter question, folks with a Windows or Windows Mobile-based machine can still get in on the placeshifting action, as Archos has just announced a swank new TV+ plug-in that brings Slingbox capabilities to those devices. The May-bound TVportation application, which will be available gratis for those who register their Archos TV+ on the firm's website (it's $49.99 otherwise), simply enables users to control their set-top-box from anywhere where WiFi is accessible, giving users the ability to watch live TV on their handheld. Sure, it's more of the same, but for the Archos faithful who refuse to trade in their 605 / 705, it's a dream come true. Check out a lengthy demonstration vid after the break. [Warning: PDF read link][Thanks, Charbax]
Archos TV+ hits the FCC
We already knew it was coming, but it looks like the Archos TV Plus (now known as the Archos TV+) has just cleared one of its final hurdles on the way to a release, with the device now making its all-important debut at the FCC. Of course, there's not a whole lot of surprises given that Archos already spilled all the details on the device, but the FCC has kindly provided plenty of pictures of the set-top box, including a peek at the its innards, which you can check out in the gallery below. As you can see, not much has changed from the prototype we got to check out first hand, and the specs appear to have remained the same as well, including integrated 802.11g WiFi, video recording at no more than VGA resolution, and a full complement of ports including composite, s-video, component and HDMI outputs, and composite, s-video and component inputs (plus USB, of course). Assuming nothing else has changed since the announcement, you can expect this one to set you back $200 or $350 for the 80GB or 250GB versions, respectively. %Gallery-9956%
Archos TV Plus details, hands-on
Ok, ok, we admit, the Archos TV Plus we got to manhandle was only a prototype -- at best. (It was really more of a mockup.) But we did bring home a lot of interesting info for those curious to know more details about Archos's first DVR / media streamer. The Archos TV Plus will feature typical DVR functionality, including an IR blaster for cable boxes; it takes input via component, composite, or S-Video It can only output up to 720p via HDMI; it only records up to VGA resolution MPEG-4 files, so HD programs will be downscaled The media files it records are un-DRMed, and can be synced to your Archos portable -- but only via direct USB connection, not over Ethernet or WiFi It can also stream WMV, FLV, and MPEG-4 content via your home UPnP server It also has a remote with jog-wheel and QWERTY keyboard It will start out with two drive sizes: 80 and 250GB, and should run between $200 and $350 when it launches this fall Ok, we're done with that biz -- ready for some pics?%Gallery-3984%
Archos TV Plus announced
Not really a surprise that Archos is finally really tying to break into the set-top box business, given its propensity for DVR-recording functionality in its portables line and partial ownership by Echostar, but it looks like the Apple TV has a new device to worry about: the Archos TV. We're still getting details in, but it looks like the 80 - 250GB box will pull content off your home network via WiFi or Ethernet, as well as grab from external storage, in addition to recording DVR-style with component in (and HDMI out). More on this new media streamer we get it.
