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Amulet shows off Kinect voice control for Windows Media Center (video)
The Amulet Devices team has been pushing voice control for Windows Media Center through its remote accessory, but now it's dived into the pool of Kinect hacks with a demo (video embedded after the break) using the Xbox 360 add-on instead. The company blog breaks down some of the hardware capabilities of the device that make it ideal for voice control (as previously seen in the Xbox apps for ESPN3, Hulu Plus and Netflix) and also details some of the efforts used to make it work here. If there's enough interest it may release the demo software for free, and already plans to bring out a full version when Microsoft unleashes a commercial version of the Kinect SDK. We're still not sure if voice control is ready to take over for standard remotes but at least talking to the TV is less of a strain than gesture control on our weak made-for-blogging arms.
Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB is CableLabs certified, almost ready to go
Not finding the current CableCARD tuner options satisfactory? Perhaps the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB will fit the bill. We first got our hands on it at CES (along with the InfiniTV 6) in January and the company tweeted tonight that it is now CableLabs certified. There's still no word on details like ship date and pricing, but with regulatory hurdles cleared it should be shipping very soon. Check a few more hands-on shots in our gallery.
Recorded TV HD plugin for Media Center adds commercial break indicator
The Recorded TV HD app for Media Center users debuted earlier this year, bringing the ability to sort saved TV shows by genre or personalized favorites list with additional metadata pulled in automatically. Today, developer Mark Terborg released v1.4.18, which adds a Sage TV-style commercial break indicator to the scrub bar, provided users are running properly configured commercial scanning software as well. The familiar look may ease the nerves of switchers jumping from the Sage ship, who can get a taste of the add-in during its 30-day free trial but will have to pay $19.95 for a license covering one PC plus extenders, or $39.95 for a whole household. Check after the break for a shot of the plugin's UI, or hit the source link for the full changelog.
AllVid still seems like a dream, but new CableCARD rules go into effect soon
It's no surprise that a government entities' own deadlines are never met, but while the FCC's Broadband Plan originally expressed its intent to apply bandaids to CableCARD in the Fall of 2010, November 1st 2011 is the date most feeling the pain can circle on their calendar. That is the day all cable providers will be required to allow self installs, while December 1st is the day that the new useless IP interface must start working -- certainly to be made useless by unlicensable DRM, like 5C did to 1394. These new CableCARD rules are still great for TiVo, Moxi and InfiniTV customers, but the dream of AllVid seems destined to follow a similar fate with 2011 half way over and almost no progress towards the promise of a 2012 deployment made.
Six tuner HDHomeRun Prime CableCARD tuner ships tomorrow
We're not exactly sure what is so complicated about building CableCARD tuners, but after being bitten by the inevitable delay bug Silicondust says it is ready to ship the six tuner version of its HDHomeRun Prime. A tweet went out earlier stating Newegg would be forwarding the units to customers beginning tomorrow, while a post on the company forums confirms the first shipment leaving their location just a short while ago. Unfortunately that still leave the $249 three tuner version twisting in the wind, but if you preordered just hang in there, more word is promised "later this week."
Microsoft's new Xbox 360 Media Remote is missing the Media Center buttons
It was a bit of an afterthought in today's announcement from the Xbox team, but we thought you might like a closer look at the new Xbox 360 Media Remote. While it has a decent layout of controls, including your usual Xbox A, B, X, Y, and guide buttons, but the most notable buttons for us are the ones that are missing. As The Digital Lifestyle points out, it has no Windows Media Center buttons, unlike the previous Xbox 360 remotes. Does this mean its place as a Media Center Extender is suddenly unnecessary? We're not sure of that yet, it could just be a value choice made for the $20 remote that's due to ship in November, but with a press release playing up its ability to control Live TV it's certainly worth wondering what Microsoft is planning for the future.
Four tuner firmware update for Cisco Tuning Adapters rolling out
With less than two weeks to go until the very same FCC requirement (FCC-10-81) goes into effect, a Cisco Tuning Adapter in the wild received the F.1402 firmware update that upgrades it from double to quadruple duty. This is fantastic news for those who already have a Ceton InfiniTV 4 on a system that uses Switched Digital Video, as it will eliminate the need for one more set-top box, but should also be good news to the company who formally requested CableLabs change the spec to require four tuners in the first place; TiVo. No way to know exactly when this firmware update will roll out, but we're sure we're not alone when we say we hope it brings some much needed stability along with it.
Acer ships AMD-powered Revo RL100 HTPC to Americans: $499 and up
Acer actually popped out its Revo RL100 media center right around six months ago, but for those unable to make the trip to Asia, today's the day for getting jovial. Said player is now shipping to the US of A, hailed as a "digital hub" and outfitted with a dual-mode wireless touchpad / keyboard as well as the company's own clear.fi streaming solution. A pair of models will be available -- one with Blu-ray and one without -- with the entire box measuring just 1- x 11.81- x 7.09-inches. As expected, an HDMI port 'round back will handle the bulk of the data transmissions, and an internal NVIDIA Ion graphics chip will be responsible for 1080p video playback. Within, you'll get a 1.3GHz AMD Athlon II K325 CPU, 750GB SATA hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, three USB 2.0 ports, a multi-card reader, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and an Ethernet socket. Windows 7 Home Premium will be the OS of choice, and it can be yours for the tidy sum of $499.99 (or $569.99 if you're looking to add BD capabilities). %Gallery-126127%
InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuner adds $100 instant rebate, new retailers
While there's no official price drop yet, Ceton has officially authorized several new retailers for the InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuner, and announced partnerships with several new retailers. The shocking price drops spotted over the weekend seem to have mostly dried up -- the $282 eBay auction shows 3 left, Amazon's super low offer has disappeared, Buy.com is sold out and Erwin Computer's price is up to $278. However, the addition of new retail partners means snagging a card for $299 is easier than ever, and while that may not put some Hamiltons back in your pocket it should at least provide some peace of mind.
Remote Potato for Media Center hits v1.0, serves up recorded TV, videos, and music to wherever you are
If you want control of your Windows PC and access to the media stored on it -- including Media Center recordings -- while you're actually somewhere else, the free Remote Potato server powers many solutions to enable that and recently hit version 1.0. Some of the new features include fully seekable video streaming in a web browser, on iPhone or iPad, and streaming of videos in "most major formats." Check the video demo above for an example of just what this software can do or hit the source link for the full changelog.
AirPlay for Windows Media Center does exactly what you're thinking it does
This isn't the first time Windows has been invited to the AirPlay party, but Thomas Pleasance's AirPlay for Windows Media Center addin seems to already be one of the smoother combinations we've seen and it's still in beta. Unsurprisingly, it does what the name says, so after installing Apple's Bonjour service and the free client on your Media Center PC you should be able to stream video or pictures to it (there's no support for music yet) from an iPad or iPhone with a simple click. The Digital Lifestyle has already gotten a quick hands-on with the app and got it working seamlessly as seen above, check that out for more details or hit the source link to download the necessary software to make it all work.
HDHomeRun Prime TV tuner officially available for preorders for $249, six tuner version next week
After a false start when it passed certification earlier this month, SiliconDust's three CableCARD tuner HDHomeRun Prime is finally available for preorder from Newegg for $249. The release date is scheduled for June 29th but those interested in getting it hooked up to their HTPC as quickly as possible may want to wait until next week when the six-tuner 6CC version goes up for preorder, as those are expected to begin shipping first. There's no volume discount on the tuners at $499, but at $83 per tuner you might be able to justify it as a better value than the four-tuner and also network-sharable InfiniTV 4. Either way, if you just need a bit more information before purchasing, you'll find it on the sales page, on the linked PDF below or in the video trailer embedded after the break. [Thanks Justin & @TheReal_PeterF]
Plex Media Server launches client for Roku
Plex has been serving up streaming video for more than a minute, bringing content to Macs, iDevices, and even jailbroken Apple TVs (not to mention apps for all sizes of Android). For those who are neither Apple aficionados nor dedicated 'droid users, the company has rolled out a client that runs on Rokus. It's currently in beta and only supports video, but Plex plans to provide picture and music management in the future. Plex's XBMC secret sauce paired with Roku's ample streaming content buffet? Sounds delicious. [Thanks, James]
HDHomeRun Prime TV tuner passes CableLabs tests - Update: Preorder pulled, 6-tuner ships first
We've been waiting for SiliconDust's CableCARD-compatible HDHomeRun Prime for a little over a year and it seems finally ready to bring its triple tuner TV magic home, having gained CableLabs certification as of April 28th and subsequently showing up for preorder on Amazon. While this is mostly big news for Windows Media Center fans who need a new way to get premium channels on their box it also supports other DVR software like MythTV on Copy Freely-marked content. HTPC builders don't have to choose between this HDHR3-CC and the (suddenly in abundant supply and still $399) Ceton InfiniTV 4 just yet, since the listing has no shipping date and the last we'd heard from SiliconDust was that preorders would ship around 30 days after it completed certification. Check out our hands-on impressions from CES a few months ago if you're on the fence, but right now all that's standing between you and that grey box is a little bit of time... and $207. Update: According to a post on its forum, SiliconDust confirmed the HDHomeRun Prime has been certified and an email announcement will follow shortly, however it expects to deliver a 6-tuner Theater version first with the three tuner box appearing afterwards. The post also notes sites are "incorrectly listing" the HDHomeRun Prime for preorder and "will not be first in line for delivering product" so you may want to wait for the official word on which "major retailer" has the go-ahead to make sure you're first in line. The option to preorder disappeared from Amazon this morning, we'll let you know when and where the option to purchase pops up next. [Thanks, robniep] %Gallery-113086% [Thanks, Neil]
Plex plays nice with your Honeycomb slate after app update
We've praised Plex in the past for delivering us box-free XBMC and for it's prodigious media streaming proficiency. Problem is, its app wasn't optimized for the Honeycomb OS and the upsized screen real estate of Android slates -- until now. With the updated code comes tablet-friendly layouts and fast-scrolling in all grid and list views so you can zip through your large local media library. It also includes direct play and internet streaming sans-transcoding (just like the recently revised iOS app) for sating those right now vid cravings. The improvements serve smaller Android devices as well, which makes the newly egalitarian app more enticing than ever before. Best of all, it's still only five bucks. [Thanks, Andrew]
SecondRun.tv v2.5 Media Center plugin arrives with upgraded integration of locally stored files, Netflix, Crackle
While most of our focus on Windows Media Center is working with cable or OTA sources, the SecondRun.tv plugin is all about tying in strictly internet distributed video by building a TV guide full of streams from Hulu, the websites of the major networks and more. It's upgraded to version 2.5 recently and according to the changelog will let users bring in movies from their local folders (with automatic meta data lookup), Netflix and web based RSS feeds like Crackle.com. There's also a new extender optomized UI for viewing your local files and more. It will set you back an entire $3.99 for the pleasure, check out the website for more info on the features and a link to purchase.
Ceton InfiniTV 4 tuners now available on Amazon
Ceton's supply of InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuners must be running strong now, as it's finally available through another retailer -- some tiny outfit called Amazon. The MSRP is still $399 just like everywhere else but as usual Prime customers can score cheap/free shipping. Let's see how waiting on that HDHomeRun Prime feels now that the buy button is this close.
ShowAnalyzer developer is hard at work on v2.0
One of the most important pieces of our official Ben-o-vision toolkit should be getting an update soon, as ShowAnalyzer developer Jere Jones mentioned on his Android Buffet podcast that he's been busy for the last few months on v2.0. For those not already in the know, the software automatically detects commercials in your Windows Media Center recordings so they can be removed providing you with uninterrupted viewing pleasure -- we break down how to make it all work here. The Digital Media Zone speculates based on forum postings that there won't be a cross-platform version for OSX or Linux, but notes some are hoping to see the Schoolhouse app (or something similar) for adjusting commercial detection return in this version.
Plex 1.1 for iOS improves streaming over 3G, pipes video to your TV
If you're not already running the Plex Media Server on one of the twenty-three beige boxes networked across your tiny domicile, you may be sorely tempted to install a copy this week, because the iOS app has just received a truly massive update. Where once the XBMC spinoff would have to transcode every video it delivered to your device across the ether, Plex claims it can now either bypass that CPU-intensive process or use an iOS-optimized technique, pumping H.264 video over the air far more efficiently. Second, it can deliver that content from iOS direct to your TV, via either a video-out cable or experimental support for AirPlay. Not bad, right? How's universal search sound -- the ability to type in a word and have the app reach out to local servers, remote servers, and online video services like YouTube and Vimeo too? Yeah, that $4.99 price tag is looking mighty affordable right about now, and there are plenty more improvements to peruse at the links below.
New InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuners feature a simpler (to make) design
It appears we have a new design to thank for solving the long wait times for InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuners. Keen eyes will note in these pictures from Missing Remote that the newer cards have a much simpler layout (compare to our original hands on) that VP Jeremy Hammer says is easier for the company to manufacture. Most electronics products go through production revisions that make them simpler and cheaper as time goes on and these cards are no different. The new cards have actually been shipping for some time, while we haven't heard anything about a change in MSRP it's good to know we can expect the supply to keep flowing steadily in the future.
