AMD is going to turn your world upside down by transforming your PC into a home theater bursting with features. The introduction of two ATI TV Wonder USB dongles will convert your PC or laptop into a DVR for your HD content. The TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe gives you the ability to record your cable and local broadcasting while also boasting the ability to record QAM stations via ClearQAM tuning if you want to say “buh-bye” to your cable box (assuming your cable provider supports such an activity.” The 650 also gives you the option of recording digital TV programming while simultaneously watching or recording analog TV channels. The TV Wonder 600 USB package works across multiple platforms via the A/V-input adapter to record video from your VCR (what’s that?) and camcorder. It does include a credit card-sized IR remote and who doesn’t need another thing to lose in the couch cushions? → Read More
Following the announcement of the new G-Series AQUOS LCD TVs Sharp has also announced five digital TV tuners that come in 250GB (DV-ACW72), 500GB (DV-ACW75) and 1TB (DV-ACW80) capacities. The top-of-the-line ACW series has two digital tuners, one analog tuner, two USB ports for photo transfer, HDMI and support for supports EPG (Electronic programming guide). The low-end AC series comes in 250GB (DV-AC72) and 500GB (DV-AC75) models come with one analog and one digital tuner. The ACW series will be available August 21 and the AC series will say hello September 10. The 1TB model will set you back approximately $1550. Press Release [via Impress] → Read More
Portable digital video recorders are becoming an essential item in any traveling video geek’s arsenal. But Archos and Cowon aren’t the only companies pimping PMPs that help you pirate time- and place-shift your favorite TV shows and movies. The Blue Raven MediaMate 7000 sports a 7-inch widescreen LCD and up to 80GB of storage, as well as a $429.95 price ($379 for the 40GB model) that will hopefully be lowered before the way sexier Archos 705 WiFi drops in the fall. (Product page) → Read More
Our Japanese reader will be excited to hear that Toshiba’s updating its DVRs over there to include built-in HD DVD burners. The DVRs, which come in 300GB (RD-A300) and 600GB (RD-A600) capacities, have two tuners. As anyone around during last year’s dual tuner TiVo madness knows, having two tuners lets you record two programs at the same time. → Read More
Over at Zatz Not Funny, the greatest name ever for a blog, Zatz asks an important question: What’s up with CableCARD-ready PCs? Did they fall off the face of the planet, or are people just not enthusiastic about the idea of sticking a PC in their entertainment center? → Read More
A lot of rumors flying around the inbox today. The latest is that Cisco could be working on a high-end DVR that would sell in retail stores under the Linksys brand. Since Cisco owns Scientific Atlanta and Linksys, this is a totally an option for the networking company. Business Week talks about the box and notes that it would feature DVR capabilities with wireless networking so any television in the house could stream media from it. → Read More
As a general rule, journalists (particularly us of the tech stripe) go gonzo when trying to proclaim something a new “trend.” We take one example of a hit YouTube video and proclaim it to be the death of TV. The stories are usually the same: Lead with an example of a internet video that became part of the geek cultural canon (take the anti-Hillary Clinton/Apple “1984” mash-up video, or perhaps the whole Lonely Girl15 thing), talk about how this sort of thing wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago, and proclaim the death of the boob tube. The tube may be sick, but plasma and LCD are to blame—not the Interweb. Cell phone-bound videos, Tivo, iTunes, and anything else that “changes” the way people watch Heroes isn’t either. → Read More
Sharp’s latest edition to the AQUOS line of products brings back some old school that might not have a place in the home anymore, but some people still live in the past. The DC-ACV52 is a 3-in-1 media recorder that includes VHS, DVD and a 250GB HDD for video recording. Just like other AQUOS media recorders the DC-ACV52 records HD programming and works perfectly with other AQUOS products. There’s no official price, but it will go on sale May 21 with 5,000 units being produced a month. Press Release → Read More
It seems that Consumerist reader John ordered a Time Warner DVR and, after a long wait, received a refurbished unit pre-owned by someone who really enjoys the PR0N. When his wife turned on the machine, she found reams of porn video. John received an angry call from said wife, who complained that the kids could have seen this and that the collection did not include that classic, Juranal Park. Ah, the magic of refurbished devices. Why doesn’t this ever happen to single men or stay-at-home dads who have a few hours while junior naps to visit a few Hole Diggers during his downtime? Your New Time Warner DVR Comes With Porn! [Consumerist] → Read More
Hitachi is taking a page out of the Apple rumor book, launching a series of widescreen HDTVs with built-in DVRs, cutting out the pesky Tivo middleman. The idea itself is nothing new, having a DVR and HD tuner built-in to the TV set makes sense. What makes these Hitachi’s notable, however, is that the DVR’s discs are removable. Granted, the discs are in Hitachi’s own iVDR format, but it plans of releasing a series of non-TV products to interface with the drives, like USB computer devices. We like it. And the line of HDTVs is called the “Wooo”, also awesome. What’s even more interesting is that Hitachi has partnered with Warner Home Video, who will be launching several titles from its library in HD on iVDR cartridges. If this catches on, then it will definately shake-up the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray wars. We’re going to make some popcorn, sit back, and watch the fight. Hitachi Wooo series HD TV’s with iVDR hard disk [New Launches] → Read More
In a less than surprising move, Verizon and Sprint are following AT&T’s lead and announced plans to allow customers to control their DVRs via mobile phone. Launching next week, Verizon customers will be able to program their TiVo sets for a monthly charge of $1.99 a month, which will work on more than a dozen models. Keep in mind TiVo customers can already program shows they want to record online and, in most cases, months in advance. Sprint Nextel will also offer a similar service with Comcast and Time Warner Cable later on this year. It doesn’t seem as though customers even want this feature based on both surveys and what analysts are speculating about such services. According to the poll conducted by Juniper Research, less than 10 percent of responders said they wanted the service. This means that it’s a dumb idea. Reuters → Read More
Much to the chagrin of your humble reporters, we try to keep things SFW here at the Gear (that’s “safe for work”, n00bz). If you’re for that sort of thing, then you’re most likely also the type that thinks that the tube has gotten a little crass. You’ll want to purchase a PTC the day they hit the store shelves. What, you ask, is a PTC? → Read More
As Biggs mentioned in his Wii rant/post, TiVo is sucking because there’s a high demand for DVRs that come directly from the cable provider. In fact, demand has been so high, that Time Warner Cable can’t keep up with the demand and are fresh out of HD DVR boxes. Those of you bugging out about the Super Bowl can breathe a sigh of relief though. Time Warner says it has plenty of regular HD boxes without DVR capabilities in stock, so you can at least get the big game in glorious HD—you just can’t DVR it so you can watch all the ass slaps later in slow motion while covered in Vaseline. Time Warner Runs Out Of HD DVRs [All PVR] → Read More
SlingMedia let drop today SlingPlayer Mobile for Smartphones (v1.0.5) and for PocketPC (v1.1). In addition to several bug fixes and tweaksm the smartphone edition features support for the Samsung Blackjack and the T-mo Dash. You can try it out for free for 30 days and after that it’ll cost you $30. Download [via Zatz via Gizmodo] → Read More
<img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/antenna jacks, but also Freeview HD and digital satellite inputs. In addition, it has specialized software to automate recording of your favorite broadcasts and a TV-style remote control to operate the whole shebang. It's mostly only of use to our friends in the UK, their TV systems are very different than our own. That being said, if you're in the UK and in the mood to brew your own mega PVR, go get it. WinTV-HVR-3000 [Product Page] → Read More
SageTV makes a handy media center application for Windows and Linux PCs, which does all kinds of good things, but mostly it turns your computer into a powerful DVR. The company makes and sells a companion app called SageTV Placeshifter for tapping into the media center to control and watch live or recorded TV from any computer connected to the Internet, much like a SlingBox. Today its announced a version of Placeshifter for Mac OS X. Yay. So if you’re one of those people that has a Windows- or Linux-based PC set up to record TV, you can now access it with your Mac OS X computers. Assuming you’re using SageTV to record stuff. Which you totally should be, now that you can access the stuff on three different OS platforms. The Mac Placeshifter will be available this month as part of a $99.95 bundle with SageTV Media Center. Additional concurrent placeshifting connections will be available for $29.99 each. SageTV [company site] → Read More
I’m not sure what TiVo’s excuse is for not providing non-Windows users, including myself, access to TiVoToGo features. Probably the same one I get from every other company that doesn’t provide Mac/Linux support: There just aren’t enough users. But it’s that kind of attitude that drives people to do things like break DRM. PVRWire has a report of a project that developed a command-line program that’ll strip the DRM from TiVoToGo files, which would allow you to play the Windows-only files on any device. There’s a wiki detailing the progress of the project if you want to read more, but basically, the program gets rid of the DRM, changing the file from .tivo to .mpeg, which is playable on many many devices. And probably more importantly, uploadable to many many Web sites. TiVoToGo DRM cracked [pvrwire] → Read More
So it seems our good friends at EchoStar are all set to piss off some networks. To that, we say “Kudos!” They’re set to announce a DVR archiver that will let users of certain Dish Network DVR models create a “virtually unlimited” library of saved shows. No clue if the shows will be on a local hard drive or some external server. Look for this at CES, but who knows when it’ll actually hit or what it will cost. → Read More
Looks like Pinnacle has caught a case of the ol’ Slingbox bug that’s going around. They’ve just announced that in late November for $249, you’ll be able to purchase PCTV To Go. This new product stays true to their popular PCTV line of products by allowing consumers to watch TV on their PC via their wireless network, integration with Windows XP Media Center Edition, and gives the user the ability to use their PC as a DVR. Like Slingbox, you can set it up to view your local TV channels anywhere in the world as long as you have a decent broadband connection. The box will be sold in stores and online nationwide. Better start brainstorming again Slingbox, as PCTV To Go looks to be a strong competitor against ya’ll. → Read More
Miglia, makers of the wireless VoIp solution for Macs, has come out with another Mac device. And this one is pretty dern cool. The TVDuo turns your Mac into a fully-functioning DVR. It contains two tuners and is compatible with the DVB-T standard. Pricing has yet to be announced, but I’d expect it to be affordable and worth it. This could really come in handy when Apple announces those huge HD TVs, right? Miglia announces TVDuo TV tuner for Mac [Mac Minute] → Read More
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