cedia-related stories
Posted Sep 8th 2007 11:59AM by Brad Linder
Filed under: HDTV, PVR Wire, Cable/Satellite
DirecTV has unveiled that
HR21 high definition PVR we told you about the other day. And boy does it look like a doozy.
According to Multichannel News the unit's proper name will likely be the HR21 Pro, and it will be a prosumer device costing around $1000.
The HR21 Pro will be a rack mountable unit capable of recording 100 hours of HD programming in MPEG-4. It also packs an optical HDMI port for running long fiber optic cables without signal loss.
But for some reason or other, DirecTV has left out any ATSC tuners, meaning you won't be able to record over the air HDTV signals. DirecTV is rapidly adding HDTV channels to its lineup, so this might not be an issue in the long run. But for now, if you've got $1000 burning a hole in your pocket, you might be better off picking up a Series3 TiVo. Or better yet, get a TiVo HD and donate the rest to a good charity.
Posted Sep 5th 2007 6:01PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: HDTV, PVR Wire, Hardware, Software
Microsoft has announced that Windows Media Center machines will now be able to
support up to 4 CableCards, allowing users to record 4 HDTV cable shows simultaneously. This from the company that for years wouldn't include support for more than 2 standard definition TV tuners.
As you would expect, a machine capable of recording 4 HDTV shows is not going to come cheap.
Niveus and
Exceptional Innovation are the first two companies to offer support for quadrupling your pleasure. Neither company is known for making entry level devices.
Niveus will make systems that can work with multiple external tuners, while Exceptional Innovation will make a monster machine like the one shown above with four internal slots. EI is showing off a sample at the
CEDIA expo.
Microsoft also plans to announce new partners for its media center extenders at CEDIA tomorrow. Up until now, the Xbox 360 has been the only media extender device that works with Windows Vista. CEPro reports that Microsoft will
show off two devices from new partners tomorrow. No word on who those partners are.
[via
Brent Evans]
Posted Sep 1st 2007 12:00PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: HDTV, PVR Wire, Cable/Satellite, Hardware
The folks over at
DBSTalk found this juicy little picture in a flier for the upcoming CEDIA expo. According to the fine print, this could be the next in DirecTV's line of high definition personal video recorders.
The HR21 features 100 hours of HD recording capacity, which is about double what you get with the HR20. The unit is also rack mountable, although we hope the mounts are optional. We'd rather just sit this thing under our TV where any good consumer oriented device belongs.
The flier also says the HR21 will include an "optical HDMI port," which will allow you to transmit digital signals over fiber optic cable. Oh yeah, and this will be the first DirecTV box to support 1080p output. On the downside, there's no over-the-air antenna input for anyone who can't get their local stations in HD from DirecTV.
[via
Engadget and
technabob]
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