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Ceton CableCARD tuner briefly appears on Amazon flying the InfiniTV flag
It's gone now, but for at least a moment there was an opportunity to pre-order Ceton's quad-tuning CableCARD solution for Media Center PCs on Amazon, a sure sign that it is moving even closer to reality. Branded the Ceton InfiniTV (not to be confused with XFinity) 4 digital cable tuner card, the read link is the now-busted address for your F5ing pleasure -- do it too much and you'll go blind.
Big Screen EPG by remote isn't the Webguide replacement we've waited for
For those not familiar with the tragedy, Microsoft hired Doug Berrett a few years back and he was the developer of one of the greatest 3rd party plugins for Vista Media Center. His WebGuide would not only let you do something that even the crapiest of DVRs can do today, remotely schedule recordings, but it would also let you watch your recorded shows over the internet. Well with Windows 7 came a new Media Center EPG database which broke WebGuide and while Microsoft built show streaming right into Windows 7, the void for the rest has never been filled. Recently we've seen two new add-ins that try to fill in the gap with the latest being Big Screen EPG "by remote." But we're sorry to say that the wait isn't over. The problem with Big Screen EPG isn't that it is a pay app, but that it is using Microsoft's guide data. Now this is a problem because they don't have a licensing agreement to use this data (that we know of) and we'd be shocked if Microsoft let this go unnoticed. But the bigger issue is that the remote interface is built on Silverlight which means it doesn't work on mobile phones -- although the developer left a comment stating that mobile browser support is on the road map -- and since Microsoft doesn't seem interested in letting Doug spend some company time on this, who knows how long this wait will go on.
Extenders for Media Center aren't dead, they just seem like it
Many Windows Media Center enthusiasts were very disappointed by the fact that Microsoft didn't mention Extenders for Media Center at CES 2010. This anxiety started some time ago when both Linksys and HP let it be known that their current Extenders had been discontinued. Of course not every was shocked, as Extenders aren't as popular as many had hoped -- which is expected considering they left so much to be desired. Sure they were quiet, power efficient and easy to setup, but with a few new features in Windows 7 Media Center not being supported, the Extenders looked pretty antiquated. Not only do the existing Extenders not support H.264 in the new WTV container of Windows 7 -- commonly used for broadcast TV in the UK and other countries -- but even worse, the new internet streaming features included with Windows 7 require Flash and Silverlight, neither of which are supported by Extenders. Now although we understand the Media Center community's belief that Microsoft has given up on Extenders for Media Center, we think it is a little premature. In fact if you click through you'll not only find out why, but you'll also learn when we think new Extenders might make it to market.
Toshiba aims for living room domination with StorE TV media set-top box
You know who has yet to produce their very own connected set-top box? Believe us, it's hard to formulate a correct answer here. Toshiba has somehow managed to stay far, far away from the STB bandwagon, but all that's fixing to change in the year 2010. Electric Pig was able to toy with a pre-production version of the StorE TV, which is Tosh's next-gen media center / streamer. It'll eventually ship in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB flavors, with the whole lot playing back just about any type of local or networked media that you could think of. As predicted, 1080p playback is present, and it'll accept files from UPnP devices on the network, external sources connected to the USB socket and even an SD card. Further details (including a price) are expected later in the year, though we're told that it's on track for a Q3 release over in the UK.
Ceton's CableCARD tuner to work over the network too
Weighing yet to be released CableCARD on PC products against each other? Add this tidbit to the comparison: Ceton's MOCUR should work as a networked tuner, according to a post by VP Jeremy Hammer on The Green Button forums. His post indicates that, like the HDHomeRun CableCARD, Ceton's product will be available to other PCs by bridging it with the host computer's Ethernet card, and not blocked as it was with ATI's product. That might help to smooth the $399 price tag when it goes on sale soon, for those still stuck on reply hit the forums with your questions or check out our CES hands on for another look. [Thanks, @brennokbob] %Gallery-82026%
ZAGGbox media center / streamer now available for pre-order
ZAGG has been dropping a few hints about its ZAGGbox media center for a little while now, but it's so far been keeping a relatively low profile -- it even managed to slip under our radar at CES. It was at the show, however, and its now finally announced that the ZAGGbox is available to pre-order for $799. Not exactly the cheapest set-top box around, to be sure, but that price will get you a few fairly unique features, not the least of which is simultaneous transcoding of captured video for easy viewing on both your TV and the mobile device of your choice (it also comes with its own iPhone app). Otherwise, you'll get an ample 1TB of storage, a full range of A/V inputs and outputs, built-in 802.11n WiFi, and some Slingbox-like streaming to any device, anywhere you like. Unfortunately, ZAGG still isn't making any firm promises about a release date, although it will supposedly be out sometime in the second quarter of this year.
Windows Media Center gets networked tuners via DVBLink
Although not many service providers in the US have leveraged the new Protected Broadcast Driver Architecture (PBDA) in Windows Media Center, the folks over at DVBLogic sure have. You might remember the name DVBLink because it's the software that makes the Hauppauge HD PVR work with Windows 7 Media Center, and now the company has once again stepped up and filled a void in Media Center by enabling network tuners -- what's next a software Extender? The way this works is that you install server software where the tuner is installed and a client on the Media Center PC where you want to use it. This opens up some interesting possibilities like the ability to install tuners on your WHS, and use them on your small form factor PC sitting in the home theater -- sure you could just use a HDHomeRun, but this would work with any tuner. We've yet to try this ourselves, but the directions are not as straight forward as we just described it, regardless, as long as it works it sounds like any installation woes would be well worth the trouble.
HDHomeRun's CableCARD implementation lives up to the brand
We have always thought the HDHomeRun was an ingenius idea, especially since it's possible to share multiple tuners with multiple PCs over the network. When we first learned that SiliconDust was going to release an HDHomeRun that supported CableCARD, we were concerned that our favorite features wouldn't make it into the product. So we dropped by the booth and checked out the development board (pictured above) to learned more about the plans -- this is a dual tuner test board, despite the fact it looks like it has three. The best news is that you'll be able to share a tuner with multiple Media Center PCs, which is really cool. Now obviously only one PC can use a tuner at a time and if the content is marked Copy Once, you can only watch it on the PC where it was recorded, but it is still cool. The HDHomeRun software that works with the existing hardware, also works with this, but isn't required. SiliconDust expects to start the beta in the next few months -- no you can't sign up yet -- with a release later this year. The box will look a lot like the existing single tuner HDHomeRun (the blue one pictured in the gallery) but without the hump and will include a CableCARD slot and a USB port. Speaking of the USB port, it is for a Tuning adapter, but you can also plug it directly into the PC like the ATI or the Ceton card, but obviously that kind of defeats the purpose. %Gallery-82083%
Hands-on with the low profile Ceton quad CableCARD tuner
We caught up with Gary Hammer from Ceton this morning and snapped some pictures of the low profile quad CableCARD tuner that will be the first version to reach consumers. The card includes a little RG6 dongle so that it'll fit in either a full or low profile PCI-E slot and will be available late in the first quarter for $399 -- an exact date wasn't given, but we believe this means March 31st. The other new tidbit is that there is a new fan on the card that helps keep things cool. The tuner will at least be available for purchase on Ceton's new website via Amazon, but we're told there's plenty of interest from other retailers to carry the product when it launches. Ceton's intention is to offer this to the mainstream, so the initial product will be in a retail package and will also be bunlded with new PCs. We tried to get Gary to tip his hat in regards to other configurations that might reach the market and although he's on the same page with our dreams, he wanted to focus on the initial offering for now, but did promise multiple configurations are in the works and expected in 2010. %Gallery-82026%
HDHomeRun developing a dual CableCARD network tuner for $249
We had a feeling that after Microsoft removed the draconian OEM requirement from Windows 7 Media Center that we'd see more CableCARD tuners and we're glad to say we were right. The original ATSC/QAM HDHomeRun was love at first sight for us three years ago, so we were very pleased to learn that the crew over at Silicon Dust was working on a network based CableCARD tuner. The dual tuner model in development will require just one CableCARD and one coax input, but will allow you to record two HD shows at once, and all for $249 -- less than the single ATI CableCARD tuner sells for today. The nice thing about the networked tuner approach that has made the HDHomeRun so popular, is that even if you have your heart set on a small form factor PC like the Dell Zino HD, you can still have access to premium content even without any empty PCI-E slots. The only bad news is that the press release after the break has no mention of when this little guy might be available.
Windows 7 Media Center gets Mediaroom support
During the Microsoft keynote, Ballmer mentioned that customers of IPTV providers like AT&T U-Verse will be able to watch TV on Windows 7 PCs, but he glazed over the how. The how is Windows 7 Media Center -- according to the press release that is available after the jump -- and there's no special hardware like a tuner required. The when wasn't mentioned because it is dependent on the provider, but when they do upgrade to Mediaroom 2.0, Media Center fans will have access to all the same content as a set-top like HD and on-demand, which is something pretty cool.
XBMC 9.11 'Camelot' now available for download, huge changelog in tow
Frankly, we haven't heard much noise coming from the XBMC camp in quite some time. All that changes today, as the project has just launched its latest major update in v9.11. The so-called Camelot build is now available for download on Windows, OS X and Linux, with the most notable changes including a revamped user interface, DirectX support by default in Windows, a "complete reorganization of the settings menus, automatic video information extraction, and smoother video playback." You'll also find updated scrapers, expanded remote control support and updated codecs. Tap that source link for the download and condensed changelog -- though, we should caution you that the live installer seems to be causing issues for some, so try and stay positive, okay? Update: We've been informed that a live-repack has been released, so those install issues should be long gone.
Piixl EdgeCenter 3770 media PC slides behind your flat panel, doesn't get the attention it deserves
Unorthodox media center PCs aren't anything new; if you can dream it up, there's most likely an option out there with your name on it. Piixl's newest entry, however, has a fairly decent shot at appealing to more than just the home theater junkies, but only time will tell if the London-based startup can convince consumers that they really need another slab of machinery behind their flat-panel. The EdgeCenter 3770 is essentially an ultraslim HTPC with an enclosure that's engineered to mount directly behind flat-panel HDTVs through their VESA mounting interface. The whole thing is just 30mm deep and can fit screens ranging from 37- to 70-inches, and if you're worried about it being underpowered, don't be. The base configuration is equipped with a 3Ghz Core 2 Duo chip, while Core i5 and Core i7 options (not to mention discrete GPUs) are available for those with the spare poundage. Interested parties can order theirs now starting at £2,490 ($4,043), though it's frighteningly easy to push that well into five figure territory.
Are CableCARD tuners for Media Center sold out everywhere?
It figures that Microsoft would finally give DIY Windows Media Center users the ability to add a Digital Cable Tuner with CableCARD to their PC and now the devices are no where to be found. Since these devices were never actually available to the public, they've always been a little hard to come by, but we have seen 'em for sale from Dell as well as from Cannon PC and even on Sony's site. This entire situation only makes us even more sure that ATI's days in the Digital Cable Tuner business are numbered. What we mean is that there is no doubt that ATI knew this was coming to Windows 7 long before we did, so any company who actually wanted to sell something would have actually had them available at retail by now. One thing is for sure, there is a pent up demand for CableCARD tuners in the Media Center community and a more affordable, more available, option can't get here soon enough. While we wait for the 1st quarter of 2010 to come, you can pay through the nose for one on eBay in the meantime.
Boxee goes beta
After what has seemingly been a never-ending "alpha" period for the famous XBMC fork, Boxee, tonight the Boxee crew have finally (as expected) unveiled the first beta release of Boxee. For starters, they have totally revamped the user interface especially surrounding the home screen. Up top are the usual suspects movies, TV shows, music, etc. On the far left is the news feed which aggregates content recommendations from friends on Boxee, Facebook and of course Twitter. Proudly, in the middle, is the "featured" section which contains recommendations from Boxee staff and associated partners (read: this is where money is made). And on the right is a list of items in your queue, but more on that in a moment. Read on for the TUAW overview of the Boxee pre-release beta.
Boxee Beta unveiled: refreshed UI, DirectX support, and new content partners
Boxee's growing up! The media center's hit beta status, and with the new Greek letter comes a revamped UI and some new functionality. For starters, the front page has been redesigned to highlight the menu, your personal queue, featured content, and recommendations that are fed in from Facebook or Twitter. For video, local files and online content are integrated into the same menu, can be filtered by free or pay content, and television shows are now sorted by season and episode. We're particularly fond of the new global menu for quick shuffling through the menu and to shortcuts. At an event tonight in New York, the company's also announced three new apps: The Escapist, Suicide Girls, and most interesting of all, "TV Guide to the Web" Clicker. On the more technical side of things, the graphical backend has switched from OpenGL to DirectX, and NVIDIA's been cooperating to better optimize the software for use on the Ion platform via DXVA and Flash 10.1. Good changes all around, except we did just hear that it won't support 64-bit in Karmick Koala -- sorry, Ubuntu fans. As previously mentioned, there's no wide release available yet, so you'll just have to live vicariously through the gallery below! %Gallery-79795%
SSD drives don't help dedicated Windows Media Center PCs much
We had a chance to play with the Kingston 40GB SSDNow and of course we just couldn't wait to see what kind of magic it could work for our dedicated Windows 7 Media Center PC. The bad news is the answer is, not much. In fact we tried just about every combination we could think of from setting the SSD drive as the Live TV recording buffer, to just copying recordings to be scanned for commercials. But in the end Media Center just isn't an application that requires much disk I/O to perform well and there really wasn't any noticeable improvement. The real issue is that HD recordings are so big you can't fit many of them on the drive and at 40GB, you can only hold about 5 hours of HD, so recording to the SSD until it was scanned for commercials and then moving to a spinning platter just doesn't work. Now if the SSD was 120GB or bigger, then in this likely scenario we could avoid the UI lag that we experience if we try to record five HD shows at once while playing back one and scanning two for commercials. But at the current price of large SSD drives and frequency of that scenario, it just isn't something we think is worth the money right now.
Kingston 40GB SSDNow review
From the moment that we heard of the new 40GB Kingston SSD, we couldn't help but get our hopes up. Who knows if (or more likely, when) SSD drives will ever completely replace spinning platters with all the digital media people collect today, so rather than stretching your budget and compressing your media in order to stuff everything onto a 256GB solid state drive, we dug the idea of snagging a small (and affordable) SSD for boot / application operations and utilizing a spacious HDD for archival. Not to mention -- regardless of how fast a disk is -- two are almost always better than one. If you're interested in rigging up a similar setup, hop on past the break to have a look at our impressions.
Microsoft emancipates Digital Cable Tuners with second Media Center update today
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
ATI DCT Firmware update pops up on Windows Update, DRM-free MCE recordings & SDV are a go
Microsoft delivered the first half of two promised ATI Digital Cable Tuner-related updates as the 1.19.12.09050155 firmware update is now available from Windows Update (listed with the optional udates) that will relax the way it handles DRM on its recordings and add support for Switched Digital Video. With the new update applied, all Copy Freely-marked programing will be recorded without DRM allowing you to move it between PCs, convert it to another format or whatever you wish with ease, however as our hands on experience with the new firmware indicated you'll still need your cable provider to pass along the right bits to make it all operate properly. Still waiting in the wings is the Advisor Utility that will allow Digital Cable Tuners to work with any PC, no OEM purchase or hacking skills required. [Thanks, Rob]
