PVR Wire

Yesterday I mentioned Microsoft's propriety video format MS-DVR which is used for Windows Media Center recordings.

Previously you would need to convert the videos to a more standard format using something like DVRBox so you could edit them with ease. However Vista Movie Maker now comes with full support of MS-DVR files so editing out those adverts is now pretty easy.

And if you get stuck you can always ask for help in the Windows Movie Maker forums.

The Vista launch has come upon on us and so it's a busy time for a lot of PC related companies. One of which is Hauppauge which has announced that it has the widest range of Vista ready PC tuner cards available.

Hauppauge will now be offering the new Vista driver software with every Hauppauge product shipped from today. Existing customers can upgrade from the Hauppauge website.

If you are keen to read more about the Windows Vista launch then check out Engadget.

OQO, a company that specializes in ultra-mobile personal computing, announced the Model 02 at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

The Model 02 is an extremely powerful portable mini PC that has the ability to run Windows Vista Ultimate. Kevin Groppe of FloppyHead pointed out that if it can run Windows Vista Ultimate (which comes with MCE) it must therefore be a mini Media Center PC.

Further more the Model 02 comes with USB support so could get hooked up with a USB Digital Tuner turning the Model 02 into a portable mini PVR. Also the Model 02 has a HDMI output so could be hooked up to any HD TV.

Whether this little PC could stand up to the heavy requirements of PVR recording and playing HD content is yet to be seen. But it would damn cool if it could!

[Via Digg]

DVR-MS is a proprietary Microsoft format that is used in Media Center Edition to record videos. Unfortunately this format can't be played on may other devices so you may want to be able to easily convert your DVR-MS video recordings to some other format..

DVRBox is free open source software that does just that converting your DVR-MS video files into other formats including Xvid and MPEG 4. Features include:

• Editing of DVR-MS videos
• Batch processing
• Automatic crop detection
• Scheduled compression
• Outputs to MPEG-4 including XviD, x264

In development is manual cropping, directory scanning, profilesand iPod Support.

The Trinion L7 is a well packed Home Theater PC (HTPC) with a nifty 800 x 480 resolution touch-screen LCD monitor that can be controlled by an IR remote. It features easy playback of DVDs, photos, TV episodes etc and can even launch games and office applications from the LCD screen itself.

Features of this sleek looking HTPC include:

• A silver chassis
• 1.66GHz Intel T5500 processor
• 1GB of DDR2 RAM
• 250GB hard drive
• 8-channel onboard audio
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Combo drive
• Windows XP Media Center Edition
• Front-panel flash card readers
• USB / FireWire connectors
• Audio in / out ports

The Trinion L7 should be available in South Korea sometime soon although no release details are available.

Anti DRM group DefectiveByDesign will be boycotting the Microsoft Vista Launch Events in NYC over all the DRM that will be in the soon-to-be released Vista.

It is true that Vista will be packed with plenty of DRM which is especially annoying for any Media Center Edition fans due to the many restrictions involved with streaming content around their house, placeshifting and making copies of PVR recorded media and paid content, just to name a few.

But DefectiveByDesign, as Chris Lanier has correctly pointed out, are targeting the wrong people. Microsoft is mostly using DRM because it has too in order to meet regulations and allow Vista to play DRM media files.

Bill Gates has said he is not a fan of DRM, but that's not to say Microsoft doesn't have its own flaws when it comes to DRM (Zune for example). However, the targets that DefectiveByDesign should really be concentrating on are such organizations like the RIAA, the MPAA and Apple with its Fairplay, rather than boycotting a Vista Launch event.

Simply attacking a company simply because it implements DRM in its products will just cause people to lose respect for DefectiveByDesign.

It is now possible to hack your Xbox 360 so you can add a larger hard drive, but it's just a shame that your Xbox will still think it is a 20GB hard drive.

The hack is done using a DOS based program that currently only works with Western Digital BEVS hard drives.

Although you can't use the space of the larger hard drives it will allow you to save money by not buying the $100 Xbox 360 hard drive and getting a cheaper Western Digital 40GB hard drive for $60.

You can then lay in hope that Microsoft updates the Xbox 360 to look for larger hard drives or alternatively someone creates a hack to make the Xbox do it.

GameVideos has an excellent interview on video (see below) with the two Microsoft execs Chris Satchell and Albert Penello, talking about IPTV on the Xbox360.

The Xbox 360 IPTV service is not going to be something like getting YouTube videos on your PC but a service that is more familiar to the cable and satellite TV services that we have now.

Sarchell and Penello talk about downloadable movies, the Xbox 360's channel guide and even the use of the Xbox 360 as a PVR (gotta love that one!). Although not confirmed directly the interview hints that a larger hard drive will also be offered to cater for the PVR functionality.



Part 1 of the video shown above and you can see part 2 here.

[Via 1up]

With the upcoming general public release of Windows Vista just around the corner there has been a lot of talk about the new Media Center features it brings with it, as well as its limitations (i.e. DRM).

One of the biggest offerings though is its ability to recognize and use CableCard technology. Although this improvement has been widely touted by Microsoft, we haven't heard a whole lot from manufacturer's in the way of implementation, until now.

Vidabox, the makers of various Media Center powered HTPC systems, announced this morning that they will be introducing new systems which support dual tuner digital cable receivers via CableCards. This is great news for anyone who wants to start recording HD channels without the hassle of trying to get a cable box working with Media Center.

Other improvements to the line include the addition of Blu-ray and HD-DVD drives and the option to add more than 3TB of storage via RAID-5. Also noted in the press release is the ability to stream HD content recorded via CableCard to an Xbox 360 (and presumably to other next-generation media extenders).

Dean Takahashi of the Mercury News has put together one of those "xx reasons" type of lists, this time about the forthcoming Windows Vista.

The launch of Vista (for consumers) is only a few days away, and already the hype machine is working its magic.

Chief among Dean's reasons for getting a hold of Windows Vista is the fairly obvious one for me: #5 Vista has a built-in version of the Windows Media Center user interface.

However, I'm not so sure that "when you move your mouse over the borders, you'll find they're a little thicker so it isn't as hard to grab them and expand the size of a window" is a sufficiently good reason to go out and spend the money on an upgrade so early in the day.

Make up your own mind.

Mark Cuban poses an interesting question: Why are companies like Apple and Microsoft working so hard to give you a way to move video from your PC to your TV screen? Why not just make the video available on your existing set top box or PVR?

Basically, he argues that cable or satellite services could transfer video feeds directly to your PVR and you could peruse video clips from content producers like CBS or from frat boys running around like idiots. No computer needed. Your PVR is already designed to let you easily sift through a large amount of video content to find what you're looking for, all from the comfort of your couch.

The problem is, you'll never be able to store the same quantity of video content on your PVR hard drive that you can access by visiting sites like YouTube. Nor, I suspect, would you want to. The beauty of internet video is that it's there waiting for you if you want it, and it's not taking up space that you'd rather use for other things, like say, choosing your own television programs to record.

While I agree with Cuban that you could easily access internet video with a PVR, I think the way to do that is to connect more PVRs to the internet. Throw a web browser on there. You can already access online video using PC-based personal video recorders like Windows Media Center (with Yougle), or SageTV (which can access Google Video). Why not add the same functionality to set top boxes, which are basically stripped down computers these days anyway.

Or you could always buy an Apple TV or Xbox 360 to stick next to your TiVo so that you can record shows to watch on one box, and flip a switch to use another box that will let you watch programs recorded on your third box, the PC in the other room. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

With Microsoft Vista set to officially launch in a couple of weeks, Microsoft has begun adding content to the Online Media section of Vista Media Center.

The Online Media function provides online content to Media Center users in the same interface they use to view their personal media such as television recordings and music collections. Some of the new content includes clips from the Discovery Channel, Yahoo video, VH1, Napster, and other music services, and access to MovieLink video purchases and downloads.

While Media Center functions are included in several versions of Vista, most computers still aren't sold with TV tuners, so I imagine online content is sort of a selling point for using a Vista PC as a digital hub in the living room.

I've never had the pleasure of trying out any of Evesham's offerings in the PC market, but they seem to get fairly decent reviews.

PC Plus has a review of the most recent tower of of the blocks from the Evesham labs, a Vista MCE PC, no less -- which features a low-end case housing a Core 2 Duo processor and a paltry 1GB of RAM.

However, it also has a 250GB hard drive and a 19in widescreen display, a TV tuner and a TV-out graphics card, which all mounted up to some fairly decent bench-test results (although, games fared poorly).

The big advice I seem to be picking up from an upgrade of Vista, let alone the MCE editions, is to get yourself a beefy graphics card, or suffer the consequences.

Even if you're well and truly embedded in the fast-paced world of technology and software, the imminent release of Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, might still be somewhat something of an unknown for you.

For example, most people I speak to seem to think of it as another bloated upgrade to Windows XP, rather than a top-to-bottom makeover -- and fewer realise that it's actually a massive expansion on Windows Media Center Edition -- which tells its own story, really.

Tom Gromak of The Detroit News has made a start at presenting a brief run-through of what to expect when the product hits the shelves (for regular consumers) on January 30.

His first bit of advice is not to rush, which is sensible. Don't be panicked into thinking you need to upgrade your PC, software, mouse, or any other part of your computer; rather, think of it as an opportunity to sit back and see what happens when Vista starts throwing up bugs -- and, more importantly, if the drivers will be available to operate the key peripherals you rely on for day-to-day operation (think printers, scanners, cameras).

Otherwise, Tom reckons Vista is pretty cool (a few moans aside); it has improved security, better networking, some nifty add-ons and, of course, the all-important Media Center tweaks to turn your PC into a PVR.

At the CES last year it was announced that DirecTV and Microsoft were working together to link up DirecTV and Microsoft entertainment devices such as the Xbox 360 and MCE PCs.

Many believed that this would mean you would be able to have an installer come out and install a DirecTV tuner into your Media Center PC and get your local cable channels complete with PVR functionality. In other words your Media Center PC is your DirecTV set top box.

From a May interview on Engadget a Microsoft representative said "you can get essentially a receiver device that is a DirecTV receiver and connect it through some digital connection to your PC. [Doing so] lets you get all the great value from the DirecTV service, including High-Definition. If you subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket, you'll be able to get that. All that good stuff."

According to DBSTalk from a quick Q&A session with DIRECTV at CES last week, the HTPC DirecTV Cards are still in progress and in internal beta testing.

However I still think it will be some time before this is released otherwise we would have heard a little more coming out of the CES camp last week. I'd expect the very earliest we'll see this is the middle of this year.