flash-memory-related stories
Posted Dec 28th 2007 3:57PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: PVR Wire, Hardware
Evergreen's new
DN-MRC200T recorder is a full fledged PVR in a tiny package. While this is hardly the first device that records TV shows directly to flash storage (Memory Stick, SD, or MMC cards in this case), it is one of the few flash-based PVRs I've seen that packs a built-in TV tuner. That means you can slap an analog cable into the back of the unit and record programs whether the DN-MRC200T is plugged into a TV, cable box, or other device or not.
There's also room for a 2.5-inch hard drive if you want to record programs for watching at home, and not just on the go.
Evergreen plans to sell the DN-MRC200T for about ¥19,999 ($176). No word on if or when it will be available in the west.
[via
Engadget]
Posted Oct 22nd 2007 1:30PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: PVR Wire, Hardware, Software
This weekend, Buy.com
leaked the details on a new digital video player from SanDisk. We were a bit baffled by the concept. The Sansa
TakeTV plugs into your PC as a flash drive, letting you copy movies. You then place the flash drive in a dock next to your TV and watch downloaded movies. Was this essentially a tool for watching your pirated copies of Hollywood films?
Turns out the answer is a big no. Well kind of. What Buy.com didn't tell us is that SanDisk is also launching a video download service called
Fanfare. You can download videos directly from Fanfare and transfer them to your TakeTV for watching. Or you can watch other DivX, XViD, and MPEG4 movies.
Here's the skinny on TakeTV and Fanfare:
Sansa TakeTV
- USB 2.0 flash drive works with Windows, Mac, and LInux
- Connects to TV via composite/S-Video jacks
- Includes a remote control
- Supports DivX, XViD, and MPEG4 video
- NTSC/PAL support
- 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio support
- Video resolutions up to 720x576 at 7Mbps
- 4GB model for $99 and 8GB model for $149
Fanfare
- Content partners include CBS, Jaman, Showtime, Smithsonian Networks, the Weather Channel, and TV Guide
- More than 85 titles available today, including CSI, Survivor, Dexter, and Sleeper Cell
- Content owners can offer up paid or ad-supported downloads
- You'll be able to play videos on other SanDisk Sansa portable media players
- You'll need Sansa software to play back the videos -- it includes a proprietary DRM scheme
- Only available in the US
Fanfare launches in beta today, with a wider release scheduled for early next year.
Sesame Street's 40th: Five biggest controversies
Press Kits Unwrapped: The Prisoner
Ask TV Squad: Eureka, The Prisoner and more!
