Hauppauge has released beta software that adds ClearQAM support to several of its HDTV television tuner cards. If you've got an HVR-1250, HVR-1600, HVR-1800, or HVR-2250, right now you can tune into analog NTSC broadcasts or over the air ATSC signals. But no matter how many times you plug in the cable that runs to your digital cable box, you're not going to pick anything up without the new beta driver.
Once the new drivers are installed on a Windows Vista computer (sorry, Windows XP and Mac OS X are not supported), you should be able to access Hauppauge's ClearQAM scanner in the programs section of Vista Media Center. Using this tool, you can find any unencrypted digital cable channels available in your area. Typically broadcast networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and the CW don't encrypt their signals while premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime do.
Embedded Automation has released a beta plugin for their budget home automation software that lets you control your lights, home security system, and personal video recorder all at once. The company's mControl software is basically a cheap version of the Life|ware software from Exceptional Innovation. While EI charges thousands of dollars for their software, you can get mControl for under $100.
So what exactly does the new mControl Vista Media Center Controller driver do? It lets you send and receive messages to your Windows Vista Media Center machine. That means you can have your TV playback pause any time the phone or doorbell rings. Or if you leave the lights on in another room, you can have a message pop up periodically reminding you to turn them off.
Currently it doesn't look like you can use the software to automatically dim your lights when you're watching a video and bring them back up when you hit pause. But that sort of functionality should be available in a future release.
Ever since it was first demonstrated that you couldcontrol the Netflix "watch now" interface from Windows Media Center, MCE plugins for Netflix have been populating like bunnies. There are now three different plugins that let you browse or search your Netflix queue and watch movies all from the comfort of your couch.
Missing Remote has an in-depth look at vmcNetflix, MyNetflix, and NetflixMC. And it turns out that not all Netflix plugins are not created equal. Some are Vista only, while others will run on Windows XP Media Center Edition. Al three have attractive interfaces and most of the features that you'd expect. But only one vmcNetflix supports Windows Media Center Extenders like the Xbox 360.
If you're looking for Windows XP MCE support, NetflixMC is pretty much your only option for now. And if you're looking for support for media extenders, vmcNetflix is the way to go. But if you're looking for a more detailed overview, you should check out the full article at Missing Remote.
Snapstream has released a new beta version of BeyondTV, the company's PC-based personal video recording software. BeyondTV 4.8.2 includes a bunch of bug fixes, and a few new features that I've been looking for for a while:
You can configure automatic Showsqueezing (WMV or DiVX compression) of HD, SD, or all videos
Improved performance when recording overlapping shows. If one recording is scheduled to end at 10:02, and another begins at 9:58, the program with the highest priority will win.
Set permissions for library folders (block your kids from watching Dora The Explorer as a prank -- or you know, programs they actually shouldn't be watching).
The feature I'm most excited about is integration of a Couchville-style program guide with the web admin. Snapstream launched Couchville to much fanfare last year and then shut it down a few months ago. The TV listing site is simple, easy to use, and apparently cost the company more money than it was worth to maintain. It's good to see Snapstream salvage the technology for use in its core product: BeyondTV.
Amazon Unbox is probably one of the simplest non-Apple services for renting and buying downloaded TV shows and movies on a PC. The service is also compatible with TiVo, but I know a few folks who refuse to pay for any video unless it comes in high definition. And so far, HD video has not been available via Amazon Unbox.
Bu it looks like that could be changing. TiVo Vice President Jim Denney tells TV Week that HD capabilities are coming to Amazon "in the not too distant future." And judging from the source, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that means you'll be able to download and watch HD video using a TiVo HD or TiVo Series. As MegaZone at Gizmo Lovers suggests, it's likely that Amazon will use the H.264 codec, which would let the company distribute high definition videos with relatively small file sizes (relative being the key word here).
The BBC may be porting its iPlayer internet television service to the Nintendo Wii and other video game consoles and set top boxes, but for some reason the BBC has ignored the mos obvious way to get web content onto a TV: Windows Media Center.
Most computers sold today come with Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, which means that they already have Windows Media Center software designed for displaying video and web content on a TV screen. Taking an application like the iPlayer, which is designed for keyboard and mouse navigation, and integrating it with Windows Media Center for remote control navigation should be a breeze. And it turns out, it kind of is. Since the BBC hasn't designed a MCE plugin, developer Martin Millmore made his own.
The plugin isn't perfect yet. While you can navigate iPlayer content with a remote control, Millmore hasn't been able to get programs to play or switch to full screen mode without using a mouse. And of course, the iPlayer service won't work if you don't live in the UK. But that's a feature, not a bug.
It seems like just last week that member of the TiVo community figured out that you can control a TiVo from an iPhone (or pretty much any other internet capable device for that matter), via a simple telnet connection. Oh right, it was. In order to actually flip channels or perform other functions, you had to enter IR codes like "ircode thumbsup" by hand, but now a member of the TiVo hacking community has released a graphical utility for the iPhone that lets you press a series of buttons, just as God intended.
TiVoRemote isn't going to win a beauty pageant anytime soon. The interface looks more like a crossword puzzle than a TiVo remote control. But it gets the job done. Because the utility connects to your TiVo over an internet connection, you'll need to know the IP address of your TiVo. And the program will not be able to control your television set or other A/V equipment. Just your TiVo. In other words, this software is pretty cool and could come in handy if you misplace your remote control. But I wouldn't recommend replacing your TIVo or universal remote control with TiVoRemote just yet.
You know how Apple's iTunes store was once music only, and then the company added TV and movies? Yeah, replace the word Apple with Microsoft and you've pretty much got today's news. Well most of it, anyway. Microsoft has rolled out an updated version of its Zune Marketplace software. And while movies are nowhere to be seen, there are about 800 episodes from popular TV shows available for purchase at $1.99 a pop.
Titles include South Park, The Office, Heroes, 30 Rock, Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, Robot Chicken, and Rock of Love. All of the shows are from NBC Universal, MTV, or Turner. While the pricing in competitive with Apple's iTunes Store, it'd be nice to see a slightly larger content library. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that if the networks currently on board sell a decent number of TV episodes, we'll see other networks join soon enough.
A little while back, TiVo teamed up with home automation software maker Crestron to allow TiVo users to control their light switches, thermostat, and other information through their Series3 and TiVo HD set top boxes. But it appears that a side effect is that anyone can now connect to their TiVo units via telnet, and blogger Dave Zatz figured out that means you can use simple command line codes to replicate TiVo remote control functions from pretty much any internet connected device. In other words, you can use an iPhone as a TiVo remote control.
The easy part is that all you have to do is figure out your TiVo's IP address, use Port 31339, and you can start entering commands. The complicated part is that you have to type out commands like "ircode pause," and "ircode thumbsup," instead of, you know, using your TiVo remote control and just pressing those buttons.
But now that we know this is possible, it's probably just a matter of time before we see third party developers writing TiVo remote control applications with pretty interfaces for the iPhone, Windows Mobile devices, and other internet connected gizmos.
While the window between a movie's theatrical release and DVD release has continued to shrink over the years, it's taken a while for the major studios to creep into the 21st century and offer digital downlaod options at all. Now that you can get most major releases from iTunes, Amazon Unbox, and other online stores, it looks like Apple has turned its atention toward the next digital divide: The length ot fime betwen a DVD release and iTunes releases. Today the company announced partnerhips with a whole slew of movie studios to release videos to iTunes customers the same day as the DVD release.
Participating studios include Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, Sony, Lionsgate, Image, and First Look. Apple says this week you'll be able to pick up American Gangster, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as well as existing titless. The press release doesn't make it clear whether the simultaneous release applies to $2.99 movie rentals or just $14.99 movie purchases.
If history has taught us anything, it's that while Apple may be the first company to announce the news, we suspect the studios will be working with other online video distributors to enable simultaneous release dates soon.
Startup ZeeVee announced its new set media streaming device, the ZvBox today. Unlik the Apple TV, Windows Media Extenders, or pretty much any other set top box designed to let you watch PC and internet content on your TV, the ZvBox works with your home's coaxial cable network. In other words, you plug the ZvBox into your PC so it can use your internet connection, and plug the other end into a spare cable jack. It will find a TV channel not currently used by your cable provider and allow create a new HD channel you to tune in to on any TV in the house to access the ZvBox service.
So what content can you access? Pretty much anything you can watch on your PC, including YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, BitTorrent, and Netflix content. If your PC has a DVD player, you can access that. If it has a TV tuner, you can use ZvBox to watch live TV.. on your TV. Or more to the point, you can set up a PVR in the bedroom and watch recorded shows on any TV in the house -- assuming you have cable in each room in the house. If you're in a bunny-ears only household, the ZvBox might not be the best solution.
The ZvBox (plus the ZvRemote control and Zview software -- they like the letter Z) will be available in June for $499.
The BBC iPlayer service lets UK residents catch any TV show they missed in the last seven days, provided they're willing to watch on a computer or other supported device. Earlier this month the BBC discussed plans to create an iPlayer channel for the Nintendo Wii that would let video game console owners use a Wii to watch TV shows on an actual TV. But now it looks like the BBC is expanding its support for devices and partnering with Virgin Media to give cable customers access to the same programming.
Virgin Media has 3.5 million customes, and while I don't happen to have the number of UK households with a Nintendo Wii handy, I think it's safe to say that more people are going to wind up with access to the iPlayer service through Virgin than Nintendo.
It's likely that the BBC is working on deals with other cable, satellite, mobile phone, and device companies as well.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog picked up on two interesting tidbits related to the Apple TV today. First up, the latest software update from Apple includes the ability to listen to internet radio streams. You'll need to connect your Apple TV to a computer with iTunes, and that computer will need to have some streams saved in a playlist.
But the much more exciting news (if you happen to be a big nerd) is that hackers have figured out how to load Linux on an Apple TV. That means if you're a fan of the Apple hardware, but not so much the Apple TV interface, you might be able to turn your box into a MythTV FrontEnd, or even load a port of XBMC, the media center suite originally developed to run on converted Xbox video game systems.
You can find out more about the Linux bootloader at the atv-bootloader page.
Tired of your fingers bleeding and still only getting 219 calls in for your favorite contestant each Tuesday night? Do you go to bed with hand spasms, because let's face it your fingers aren't as young as they used to be? Well, now you can still vote for your favorites like a teenager with more free time than you have left in the rest of your life without all the hassle and stress (do I sound like an infomercial yet?).
Gizmo5 is a software package that can be installed on your computer (XP, Vista and Mac!) as well as your mobile phone. A new contact is created named "Idol Voting." Simply select this contact and select 1 to cast 25 consecutive votes for your favorite Idol contestant automagically (I know what I said; it's magical to me!). I know it works because I tested it last week voting for Brooke and Jason and ... oh! ... um ... sorry about that, Carly fans. Well, you can still save your favorites this week. And your fingers, too.
PS: If someone at Gizmo5 is reading this, Carly was cut last week so you can remove her from your site. Cool?
Sling Media has launched an update to its SlingPlayer Mobile software for Windows Mobile and Symbain S60 phones and PDAs. The software lets Slingbox owners use their mobile devices to tune into live or recorded television streaming from a slingbox connected to their TV, TiVo, cable box, or other video device at home.
Today's update featured improved video streaming quality and support for additional telephone handsets including the Nokia N95 8GB, the Samsung i760, and the Palm Treo 500v. There's also support for additional set top boxes, which means that the software is more likely to bring up a virtual remote control that will work properly with your cable box or PVR.
The update is free for existing users, while new customers will have to pay $30 for the software. There is a 30 day free trial available.
Current SlingPlayer Mobile customers are entitled to a free upgrade. New customers are offered a free 30 day trial, then SlingPlayer Mobile is a one-time $30 (USD) fee. In addition to these mobile OSes, we also offer SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS - plus Symbian UIQ and Blackberry support will be available later this year.
Startup 
The Unofficial Apple Weblog picked up on two interesting tidbits related to the Apple TV today. First up, the latest software update from Apple includes the ability to 
Tired of your fingers bleeding and still only getting 219 calls in for your favorite contestant each Tuesday night? Do you go to bed with hand spasms, because let's face it your fingers aren't as young as they used to be? Well, now you can still vote for your favorites like a teenager with more free time than you have left in the rest of your life without all the hassle and stress (do I sound like an infomercial yet?).
Creator Hart Hanson talks about Bones
All the new shows - VIDEOS
The Upfronts: FOX
