GearBits

Personal Video Recorder Delivers Over WiFi

Sharp Electronics and Instant802 Networks have announced a partnership, bringing video distribution into the wireless age.

The partnership has resulted in the Sharp Galileo Personal Video Recorder (PVR), one of the first devices to leverage 802.11-based wireless systems for video distribution.

Instant802's wireless software platform is used for range of data networking devices. The Sharp Galileo PVR is one of the first consumer electronics devices using the platform. Instant802 also provides residential gateway solutions integrated with security solutions.

The Galileo PVR is available immediately in Japan, and is expected to hit North America later this year.

Wireless Media Hubs All Come Up Short

I've spent some time reviewing the wireless media hub options available, and they all come up short. What I want is simple, really: I want something I can plug into my stereo and, without using the TV, enable me to stream both MP3's (from a computer on our network) and Internet radio (from our broadband connection) to our home stereo using an 802.11g wireless connection.

There are several requirements in that description (i.e., integrated screen, MP3 and Internet radio streaming, and 802.11g), yet every wireless media hub out there (at least that I've seen) fails on one or more accounts. Here's a review of how they stack up (or fail to, actually):

• Netgear MP101
-- OK: Integrated 4-line LCD and streaming MP3
-- Failures: No streaming Internet radio (other than a subscription-based service...ugh!) and no 802.11g (low-speed 802.11b only). However, this discussion gives me hope that the MP101 might someday at least accommodate streaming Internet radio.

• Creative Sound Blaster Wireless Music
-- OK: Integrated LCD (on RF remote!) and streaming MP3
-- Failures: No streaming Internet radio and no 802.11g (again, 'b' only)

• Roku Soundbridge M1000 & M2000
-- OK: Integrated LCD and streaming MP3
-- Failures: No streaming Internet radio and no 802.11g (the Soundbridge relies on an optional CompactFlash Wi-Fi adapter, and those only exist right now in the 802.11b flavor)

• Turtle Beach AudioTron-100
-- OK: 2-line integrated LCD and streams both MP3 and Internet radio
-- Failures: No wireless of any sort (Ethernet only)

• Slim Devices' Squeezebox
-- OK: 2-line LCD and streams both MP3 and Internet radio
-- Failures: No 802.11g (802.11b only)

• SMC SMCWAA-B EZ-Stream
-- OK: Large LCD and streams both MP3 and Internet radio
-- Failures: No 802.11g (802.11b only)

There are quite a few other wireless media hubs that require you to use your TV as the interface, including the HP ew5000, the Play@TV NMP-4000, and the Linksys WMA11B. However, since I don't want to have to hook the unit up to the TV to use it (our television takes 24 seconds to warm up when you turn it on before an image appears, which is seriously annoying when all you want to do is listen to music), I'm not even considering these.

So, I'm still waiting for something that will let me listen to MP3s and my favorite Internet MP3 streams over our 802.11g network that won't require me using the TV. A couple of nice-to-haves would include (a) not requiring me to use clunky proprietary music management software and (b) a bitchin' RF remote. Any suggestions?

Update: I've added the Squeezebox to the list at the suggestion of the folks at eHomeUpgrade. The rationale for wanting 802.11g rather than 'b' is that I'd rather have a homogeneous wireless network to ensure the fastest possible connections for all attached devices. Utopian? Possibly, but IMO there's no compelling reason why we should be forced to use old technology when there's something better available now.

Update #2: I've added the SMC offering as well (thanks, KC).

Phone Your Television

NTT DoCoMo has announced that phones from its 3G FOMA videophone series can now be used in Japan to control home appliances from almost anywhere the phone can be used.

The heart of the system is an in-home control box that is contacted by the phone, and which in turn processes commands to appliances via infrared (IrDA) or via cable connection.

The controller can be connected to a PC via a USB port, or to external sensors (such as light or motion sensors) via an independent I/O port. It is connected to the mobile FOMA network via a special data card.

The system lets users control lights and air conditioners, for example, turning them on or off as appropriate.

More amazingly, it enables users to remotely program recording a television program, and then transmit the playback on the phone, streamed through the FOMA network.

A FOMA videophone can also transmit pictures to the controller, for viewing on a connected screen.

TiVo Statistics

I got my 'News You Can Use' TiVo newsletter today. In it were some usage statistics that I thought were pretty interesting:

• Number of WishList™ searches currently active: 11 Million
• Number of Season Pass™ recordings currently active: 21 Million
• Total number of programs recorded: 5.5 Billion
• Number of times a button to control live TV has been pressed (PAUSE, RWD, FWD, instant replay, etc.): 80 Billion

I suspect at least 20 billion of those were during the most recent Super Bowl half-time show.

Information on Latest Samsung DLP TV's

Those of you who have written in with comments and questions about the HLN-series Samsung DLP televisions should read this article at DigiUpdate.com. It provides some very interesting and useful information on (a) discrete IR codes, (b) internal reflections, and (c) lip sync issues.

Netgear MP101 Wireless Media Hub

We have a junky PC hooked up to our stereo and TV at home so we can access our MP3 collection. Well, it's badly in need of replacing, so I started looking at my options.

One compelling idea is to scrap the whole PC, move the hard drive with all the MP3 content on it to our main PC upstairs, and go with a wireless media hub like the Netgear MP101 (shown). The MP101's job is to stream audio content from your networked PCs to your home stereo.

One main thing differentiates the MP101 from many of the new media hubs coming out: it doesn't do video. No photo showing or video playing. It doesn't require, or even allow, a connection to your TV -- it is audio only. To counter this limitation, the MP101 actually has its own 4-line LCD. This makes it convenient since you needn't turn on your TV just to listen to music. That's a big plus if your TV has a long warm-up period like ours does.

The MP101 isn't available yet, but I'm thinking this might be a good, inexpensive (<$150) replacement for the dying PC that is our media hub right now. Of course, we lose the ability to do PC stuff on our TV, but frankly, we haven't done that as often as I expected us to. Oh, well...I'm sure that will change eventually.

Tell TiVo if You Want Your TV Content to Be Portable

TiVo is doing a research survey about a proposed "TiVoToGo" idea. Fill out the survey and let them know what you think about their idea.

One idea: Consider suggesting that they let you convert your TiVo content into portable formats (e.g. MPEG-4) so you can take it with you on your handheld device.

Leap Year Possible Cause of Scientific Atlanta DVR Mass Outage

All those (ahem) "happy" users of the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000, which has been heavily criticized by many users here at GearBits, have been left temporarily (we assume) stranded due to a Leap Year problem with the unit's software.

Time Warner Cable customers who use the Scientific Atlanta dual-tuner digital video recorder (DVR) have been unable to record any programming since yesterday. Reports that either a software update or a problem with programming coming with the February 29 date (or a combination thereof) have locked up the units with no user fix yet available. So, all these users are stuck waiting for Scientific Atlanta and TWC to roll out a correction.

I have to wonder if it really is just a software issue or if TWC is going to have to visit each house and/or require each owner to bring in his/her unit to a service center. If so, my guess would be that the folks at TiVo will be getting a lot of calls from TWC customers if not TWC itself looking for a new DVR supplier.

How to build a home theater projector screen

Being a rabid DIY person, I always jump at the chance to try building or fixing things myself. Many times I spend more in tools and time than I would have by calling in a pro, but I always learn something and I've never regretted a tool purchase. My personal motto is: "There's only two ways to do things - right or over." This time I decided to tackle the projector screen in my new home theater and I am most pleased with the results. I wrote up a little how-to and posted it over at the AVS Forums.

Guest Blog Entry: Bob's New DVDiVo

My pal Bob got a new DVD+TiVo unit and I asked him what he thought about it. He managed to craft up a nice post for GearBits, so here it is:

After listening to Craig's TiVo enthusiasm for weeks now, I decided to finally take the plunge and to treat myself to TiVo.

Not being an audio or videophile, I'll admit it did take some personal effort to cave in. I've had roommate who bought speakers and components at $5K a piece. While it's great stuff, that's just not me. Still, I still like sitting down in front of the tube to watch some dumb analog (I refuse to pay Comcast's ridiculous fees for digital box rental) cable TV. After listening to Craig, I feel I have a inalienable right to watch something good WHEN I want to watch it. Add a Wiggles-happy toddler to the mix and I have a compelling case.

My TV cabinet didn't have much room for extra components, so a new TiVo unit was going to be a tight squeeze. That's where the Toshiba SD-H400 DVD/TiVo (shown) combination unit (or, as Craig coined, 'DVDiVo') comes in. The DVDiVo solves this problem by being rather small and by replacing my existing DVD player.

Not counting the mandatory rewiring of the video and audio cables, the install was mostly a piece of cake. You first setup and configure the box with the phone line (a handy 25' phone cable is included!) That took about 30 minutes. After that, the Tivo was supposed to recognize my Linksys network adapter. It didn't. I had to reconnect with the phone line and spend another 90 minutes downloading (are we there yet?) the 5.1b TiVo software update. (Thanks to the Wireless Weblog for the tip.) After that, the wireless worked A-OK.

Remember, it's not fun unless you've had at least one technical snag to challenge your skills.

I've only had TiVo working for a day. I'm only using the TiVo basic service. But this TiVo noob loves his TiVo.

TiVo Basic, you say? TiVo Basic requires no monthly fee and comes with the Toshiba. You get three days of TV Guide information, but none of the fancy search or Season Pass features. Coming from analog cable, TiVo Basic gives me the feel that I've got some fancy digital cable or satellite service. I've used the TV Guide GUI to manually locate and program the TiVo to record several hours of shows (kiddie shows and my spouse's HGTV favorites) for the next few days. Not being someone who follows any particular show (yet?), TiVo Basic might suffice. I look forward to testing my will by signing up for the TiVo Plus service trial.

The DVD player seems to work really well. The GUI is certainly much better than my year-old Pioneer DVD player.

On the downside, I'll admit that the unit is a little noisy. If I'm cruising the TiVo menus without the TV audio on, I do notice the sound of the hard drive actuators softly clicking away. I'm not sure if that noise is specific to the Toshiba design. (Craig?) If so, then I figure it's just a trade-off for having such a small footprint. It's not a major problem for me. Besides any audiophile will already have this issue "covered" with glass component doors.

The other item to consider is the remote. TiVo spent a long time pruning down the buttons to make a good remote. Toshiba, on the other hand, had to stack extra buttons on their remote to support the DVD player. The remote works well, except for when you want to use the number buttons the change channels. The thoughtless placement of these teeny-tiny number buttons (0-9 + Enter) at the bottom of the remote makes me occasionally use two hands to change channels. (Hello, Toshiba? Does a majority of the population of the planet have double-jointed thumbs?) My thumb may get used to it. Better yet, I hope that TiVo is so good that I'll never have to manually enter channel numbers again.

Despite those two items, I'm very pleased with my DVDiVo purchase.

Painting Over A Masterpiece: Part 2

In my previous post I waxed philosophic on the grand plans I had for my new house. Two and a half months later, the rubber has met the road...to a point.

Being a true masochist, I decided to bite off a huge chunk by building a home theater and adopting HDTV at the same time. I did a lot of reading on the AVS Forums and on Projector Central and decided on a Sanyo PLV-Z2 for my projecting duties. This is an LCD-based 16:9 model with 1280x720 native resolution that has a militant following and is on Projector Central's list of highly recommended projectors. I had originally targeted a 61" Sammy DLP, but the cost difference was just too great (and my wife and I are susceptible to DLP rainbows). With my homemade 98" screen, I get 2.5 times more screen area and the projector cost 2.5 times less than the Sammy. There's also nothing on the floor for my little one to crash into.

For video input, I will be using a home theater PC. I built my last PC with this goal in mind and by switching cases to a Kanam HT-200 it even looks like a real HTPC. I have also added a MYHD MDP-120 HDTV PCI Tuner for over-the-air HD reception, HD recording and upconverting the DVD output from my ATI Radeon to 1080i. All the digital audio will be passed through on an S/PDIF link to my existing mishmash of Sony amps and Definitive Technology speakers.

The room itself was nicely sized for THX-recommended viewing angles. I have the seating position right at a 36 degree horizontal and a maximum of 15 degree vertical. Though it cannot be totally blacked out, I have enough light control to really make things look great.

The theater is not quite finished. I have a component rack to build, speaker wire to run, AC power outlets to install and still need to get my TV antenna mounted and aimed in the attic. Another week and I should be ready to pop the corn.

MPEG Camcorders Don't (Yet) Make Sense

I've been intrigued by the notion of a camcorder that bypasses tape and records in MPEG format direct to a flash memory medium like Secure Digital cards. After doing a bit of research, I'm skeptical they are ready for prime time.

Panasonic and Sanyo/Fisher currently offer tapeless camcorders. The Panasonic D-Snap line offers both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 recording. The Panasonic SV-AV100 is the only one that offers TV-quality (640x480 or better) quality recording, as the others max out at a meager 320x240. The SV-AV100 captures really nice looking 704x480 MPEG-2 direct onto an SD card.

The Sanyo Xacti C1 (shown above), which will also be sold by Fisher, foregoes MPEG-2 and relies exclusively on MPEG-4. It offers full 30fps VGA resolution (640x480) recording in two different quality settings as well as some lower resolution video capture modes.

Both units are impressively small and packed with features. For example, both the Panasonic and the Sanyo weigh less than 6 oz. and feature optical zooms. The Panasonic has a large 2.5" LCD viewer while the Sanyo even sports a flash/fill light.

However, one needn't look very hard to figure out that there is currently a major flaw with both these units (and all similar devices): cost-effective removable storage capacity needed is simply not available at this point in time.

In its best resolution (704x480) recording in MPEG-2, the Panasonic SV-AV100 can record only 10 minutes of video on a 512 MB SD card. If you drop down to 480x352, you get double that, but you're now below what most would consider a reasonable resolution for TV-quality video. The largest SD cards available today are 1 GB at a cost of over $350. So, to have a capacity of just one hour of TV-quality video on the Panasonic SV-AV100, you'll have to shell out around $700 for the camera plus an additional $2,100 just for memory cards.

A similar situation exists for the Sanyo device. At its best quality VGA 30fps recording mode, the unit chews through 3mpbs. Using this video setting, you can fit 40 minutes on a 1 GB card. So, a 1 GB card and a 512 MB card would get you an hour of recording time. Total cost for this setup would be roughly $750 for the recorder (estimated as US pricing hasn't been announced yet) plus $500 for memory cards.

Either way, this is an awfully expensive way to capture video, not to mention the hassle of potentially having to swap out media every 10-20 minutes. If you want to record to MPEG-2 (the best quality option), we'll essentially have to wait until 4 GB SD cards are available to make it a reasonable endeavor. That's not going to happen for a couple of years at least (unless someone comes out with a unit that uses CompactFlash). 1 GB SD cards provide adequate capacity for 30fps VGA MPEG-4 video recording, but the high cost and slight quality hit make this a questionable compromise.

While recording straight to MPEG is something I look forward to doing in the future, I don't see it being a viable option for any large number of users for at least another year or so. In the meantime, a decent mini-DV camcorder can be yours for around $400. Not ideal, but if you gotta have a camcorder soon, don't wait around on direct-to-MPEG.

Janet Gets 'Most TiVo'ed Moment' During Super Bowl

Who'd have guessed we'd get free pr0n during the game yesterday? Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" (Justin Timberlake's words, not mine) definitely gets nods for the most TiVo-worthy moment of Super Bowl XXXVIII. Makes me yearn for a HD DVR just that much more.

Thanks to LostRemote for the link.

Top Desires for HDTV Content

The Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group, recently published the results of a survey on consumers and HDTV (high-definition television). Here are a few interesting results, which can be found as a supplement in a recent issue of TWICE Magazine:

What Viewers Want
When asked what they most wanted to watch in high definition, consumers responded as follows:
• 38% Movies
• 21% Sports
• 14% Education
• 7% Drama
• 6% News
All other categories were 3% or less. What intrigues me about this is the fact that 14% said educational content was their top desire. I don't have stats for regular TV, but my hunch is that this is quite a bit higher than for regular old programming. Has anybody seen this stat for TV overall?

What Viewers Notice
What do prospective buyers recognize about the HDTV format?
• 85% Crystal clear picture
• 60% Wide screen
• 46% Dolby Digital 5.1
• 21% 16:9 display format
I'm not sure why "16:9 display format" isn't the same as "wide screen," but I didn't write the questions.

Would Pay Extra
This percentage of viewers would pay extra charges to see the following types of content:
• 34% Movies
• 25% Sports
• 23% Educational content
• 19% News
• 17% Dramas
• 15% Comedy
• 13% Music TV
• 12% Sit-Coms
Now I ask you...do we really need to see Ray Romano in high-definition?

Interesting stuff. Now if we can just get the signal providers to start carrying more HD content, we can start truly enjoying the wonder that is high definition TV.

TV Viewing Distance Calculator

I posted this in a comment just now, but I'll add it here in case anyone doesn't read the comments.

MyHomeTheater.com has a cool TV viewing distance calculator embedded in the webpage. Makes it easy to determine what size TV you'll need for your viewing distance or, alternately, how far away you should sit from your current TV. Works for both 4:3 and 16:9 displays. Check it out.

Doubts about HD TiVo

Being able to record shows on a digital video recorder (DVR) like our TiVo is just bliss. I don't think I need to tell you we're big fans. However, there are some limitations to the current TiVo product, including no tuning of digital cable signals and no recording of HDTV content.

The announcement of DirecTV's HD tuner/DVR with TiVo at CES was a big break-through. Finally, folks will be able to record HD signals onto a TiVo-type device. However, this only helps DirecTV (satellite) users, not those of us who are cable subscribers.

Scientific Atlanta rolled out its 8000HD, an HD-capable cable DVR, to Time Warner cable users in Green Bay, Wisconsin in December. That basic box is what I want to see TiVo produce, but it isn't likely to happen any time soon for a couple of reasons.

First, tuning ATSC (over-the-air digital programming) and over-the-air HD would fairly easy for a TiVo unit to do, but the number of people who rely on OTA signals for their HD content is pretty small. And as cable and satellite providers add more HD content, those folks will continue to diminish as a percentage of all HD consumers. Instead, TiVo would have to produce a box that can either tune/record satellite broadcasted content or tune/record QAM (cable) content. Neither of those is trivial because of proprietariness and/or controls enforced by the carriers (TWC, Comcast, DiSH, etc.). Plus, with new initiatives like OpenCable on the way, introducing an expensive new product based on today's cable standards might be a strategic mistake.

Partnering, such as what TiVo has done with DirecTV, will be necessary. But, it does not appear that TiVo has had much success so far partnering with any cable TV companies (e.g., Time Warner Cable and Comcast). Why these cable companies insist on using these schlocky DVRs is beyond me, but I suspect it gets down to minimizing their costs. Scientific Atlanta makes tons of low-priced set-top boxes and makes their software barely work. TiVo, in comparison, puts loads of work into enhancing the user interface and the whole user experience...and it shows. But this also makes their products more expensive. This might be a good example of "you get what you pay for."

So the upshot is that I doubt that we'll see a cable-compatible or "general-purpose" HD TiVo outside of DirecTV's unit any time in the next few years. In the meantime, I hope that Scientific Atlanta will license TiVo's interface so we can have the best of both worlds.

Free TiVo?!

The UPS man brought me a strange parcel the other day -- a TiVo I didn't know I should be expecting. Yet, there in my living room was a brand new 80-hour Series 2 TiVo, shipped directly from the company's Tennessee facility.

As an existing TiVo customer, I can log into tivo.com and check my account status and do various other things. Examining that revealed that, yes, a new 80-hour DVR had been added to my account. What was curious was that the Account Status for that unit was listed as "TiVo Evaluation Unit," whereas my current unit is shown as "Lifetime Service."

Confused, since I didn't order this unit, I called the friendly folks at TiVo's sales support. They didn't know what "TiVo Evaluation Unit" meant either, so they said they'd call me back. I hung up fearing that I had just looked the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. But then, keeping the unit and being charged later for the purchase price and/or setup fee wasn't what I hoped for either, so it was a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation.

A couple hours later, the lady from TiVo sales support called back and told me that yes, this was apparently a free TiVo and that I should keep it and hook it up. I hung up the phone and did a little dance. I guess clean living pays off once in a while.

Now I need to go buy a new S-video cable and a 4-way powered cable splitter so I can cram the new unit into our A/V setup at home. While I'm still not entirely satisfied with our DVR setup -- TiVo's can't tune any kind of QAM cable signal, HD or otherwise, so we're limited to recording only analog cable channels (ch. 2-78) -- this will certainly do for a while. Hey, you can't argue with free.

The other thing that intrigues me about this is if I'm not the only one who was "gifted" with a Series 2 recently. If TiVo is dumping inventory, that either means they're trying to get out of the hardware biz entirely (a risky proposition) or they are gearing up with a new model (an exciting possibility). Hopefully, we'll figure out what's going on one way or another with our favorite DVR company.

TiVo Sues EchoStar

TiVo has just filed a patent infringement suit against satellite TV company EchoStar Communications.

Some set-top boxes from EchoStar's satellite service come with digital video recorder (DVR) capabilities, which TiVo says violates its US patent for a "multimedia time warping system."

TiVo's patents are considered critical to its licensing business - which includes Pioneer, Sony and Toshiba as licensees - as well as for set-top boxes used by partner DirecTV, a rival to EchoStar. TiVo's patent portfolio includes 40 awarded patents and over 100 applications pending.

Why TiVo Ignores its Fans

Interesting article over at MarketingProfs.com, which examines why TiVo seems to pay little attention to the throngs of fans and "influencers" over at the TiVo Community website.

The main point in this part-1-of-2 article is that TiVo is more of a sales-oriented company, concerned with making the numbers, than it is a company rooted in evangelism, where the customer is the focal point.

"Our hypothesis is that the TiVo culture is rooted in sales, not evangelism. Evangelism is what’s good for a customer; sales is what’s good for a company. Managing a balance between the two is the challenge for any organization."

The second part of the article offers TiVo six pieces of advice in the form of mandates. They are:
1. Create a Cause
2. Create Community
3. Customer Plus-Delta
4. Napsterize Your Knowledge
5. Create Bite-Size Chunks
6. Build the Buzz

Some of it is patent marketing-ese, the fluffy stuff that fills management books, but there are some nuggets. They say about #3, Customer Plus-Delta, the following:

"TiVo should systematize online community feedback and make it a highly visible system. eBay’s executives convene customer advisory boards of Power Sellers several times per year. Meg Whitman, eBay’s CEO, often leads those sessions. She is a feedback machine who solicits customer input and uses it to make company decisions. ..."

Interesting read...I know of several companies who would be well-served by taking these lessons to heart regarding their own fanatical customer bases. [Thanks to Jeff for the lead.]

2K DLP Comes to North America

North America's first 2K DLP Projection system, a Christie CP2000, has been installed at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Millimeter.com has the complete story. The movie first shown on the new projector was The Last Samurai.

While this is the first US deployment of this technology, multiple international orders for 2K DLP Cinema projectors for early 2004 include 20 in Singapore, 20 in China, and 10 in Belgium. The 2K DLP technology from Texas Instruments allows 2048 x 1080p resolution and employs 3 DMD (digital micro-mirror device) chips, one each for red, blue, and green. The Christie CP2000 system installed at Grauman's also provides a contrast ratio over 500:1 and screen size up to 75 feet wide, and uses either a 4,500 or 6,000 Watt lamp. More information on DLP can be found at DLP.com.

Granted, this isn't really "Home A/V" news, since this technology won't be coming to home users any time soon, but it's interesting nonetheless. As home systems get more and more sophisticated, theater owners will be under increasing pressure to convince movie fans that it's worth the extra admission price and hassle to come to the theater instead of just watching movies at home. Once on-demand first-run movies come to cable, which I expect they eventually will, theaters could go the way of the community well.

Time Warner Cable -- Just Trying to Tick Me Off

There's one thing for certain...Time Warner Cable has cojones.

So I get a letter from Time Warner Cable a week or two ago outlining its rate increases for the coming year. Our cable service will be increasing by around 8% in 2004. But, hey, that's just inflation, right? Oh, wait a minute...inflation has been like 2% the past few years. So why the hell is TWC raising its prices so much?

I figure that I must be getting more. You know, they raise the price and introduce another 10 or 15 channels to make it seem fair. So I look into it and it seems that the only noteworthy additions that I'll see are the introduction of HDNet and HDNet Movies. Cool...two new sources of good HD content. OK, I cool down a bit.

Then, a couple days ago, I find out that it's not the case. TWC is moving four HD channels (InHD1, InHD2, HDNet, and HDNet Movies) into an "HD Package" that COSTS EXTRA. For the past 4 months or so, InHD1 and 2 have been part of my Standard Digital Tier. Now, I'm losing them unless I pay extra for this HD package. So, I'll be paying significantly more in 2004 for fewer channels, or I'll be paying WAY more for two additional channels.

Wow, it definitely seems that Time Warner really, really wants me to check out DirecTV and DISH...maybe I just will.

SASEM OnAir USB HDTV

SASEM is coming out with an external USB-based HDTV tuner for PCs and laptops (shown).

It supposedly supports both ATSC (digital cable) HD signals and NTSC (analog TV) with time-shifting (a la TiVo). It will sport both S-Video and composite inputs and both Dolby and SPDIF digital sound.

USB2.0 connections will permit the full range of HD formats (both 720p and 1080i), while USB1.1 connections will allow the OnAir USB HDTV module to deliver content in EDTV (480p/i).

Looks like an interesting product and might just fit into many a home theater setup. The USBHDTV.com website has more additional info.

Networked DVR Has No Local Storage

Wi-Fi Planet has a story about the Media Player/Recorder (MP/R), a forthcoming device from PRISMIQ (huh?). In a nutshell, think of it as a "distributed TiVo" -- a DVR that relies on using space on hard drives of PC's scattered throughout a wired/wireless LAN for recording TV or watching stored media. Read the full article if the concept isn't clear.

While reading this, I thought, "no way will that ever be successful." Why do I think that? Well, if the DVR is reliant on both the network and one or more PCs in the home, then everything has to work correctly for the DVR to function. If a PC needs to be rebooted or locks up (gee, that never happens) or a router needs to be reset or the WLAN gets bogged down by a microwave oven or other interference, then the DVR is disrupted.

Since TV streams in real time, if even a 5-minute interruption happens, the recording is, for the most part, shot. I can't imagine most geeks' spouses being willing to live with that risk, especially when self-contained DVRs are relatively inexpensive (no more so than this MP/R) and very reliable (at least my TiVo is). Then why does PRISMIQ think this a better solution? Being able to stream/store content in distributed fashion would be a cool additional functionality for a DVR, but IMO it's certainly not a substitute for local, dedicated storage.

Tight TAZ I Supposedly to Come with Removable Hard Drive

Tight Audio Systems has updated their specs for the forthcoming "TAZ I" portable multimedia system (see GearBits overview of the TAZ I here), shown above.

The big surprise is that it now appears to be specified as incorporating a removable/swappable cartridge-based hard drive. Tight's hard drive module is shown below. With claims that the audio cassette-sized HD will be available in sizes from 20 GB to 80 GB, this could be one very yummy multimedia player.

Plus, Tight's specs now also include a modular MP3 player: "About the size of a domino, mini-taz is a fully functional, stand-alone mp3 player that docks (and disappears) into the left hand side of TAZ I." Mini-taz also serves as the TAZ I's SD/MMC reader slot, so it itself is expandable.

Tight's website claims availability in early 2004. Let's hope they're on schedule.

Home Entertainment Industry News Tidbits

I was perusing this week's copy of TWICE (This Week In Consumer Electronics) and I noticed a few stories that seemed interesting in that they contained info I hadn't heard before. So, I'll summarize.

First, there's a large story about how sales of home audio (components, speakers, etc.) are in a major slump right now -- electronics retailers and custom installers just aren't selling much right now. Why is this? They suspect that the huge emphasis on innovative and large displays (DLP, plasma, LCD, etc.) is partly to blame (after all, consumers don't have endless checkbooks), but they also believe that the lack of innovation regarding compressed/digital audio (to attract younger buyers) and networking (part of integrated solutions) are also to blame. Sounds right to me -- there's just not much innovation going on in home audio right now...it's all in displays.

Second, there's an interesting pair of bar charts. While I can't reproduce them here, they provide the sales of LCD flat-panel TV's and plasma televisions from 1Q02 through 3Q03. I've long thought plasma was a neat, but interim and short-lived, technology -- something that was here for only a brief period until something significantly better came along (e.g., 8-track and DAT). Well, the numbers finally seem to be bearing this prediction out. Quarter-on-quarter growth of LCD sales during 2003 was 30% to 57% -- impressive numbers! On the other hand, during the same period, plasma saw only 2% to 7% growth. Granted, plasma sales last quarter were $438 million, versus $274 million for LCD, but the trend clearly shows LCD trumping plasma in 2004 and beyond. Unless something happens to either displace LCD or greatly improve plasma's performace or value, LCD will be the new king of the flat-panel display. For how long is anyone's guess -- maybe SED will rise up strong.

Finally, there seems to be a huge shortage of DLP- and LCD-powered rear-projection TV's. A Tweeter (retail chain) manager says that Samsung's DLP line is "turning very quickly." The root causes of the shortage appear to be overly conservative ordering by the retail chains as well as higher-than-expected demand by consumers. Could it also be the fact that there's finally enough HD programming on to interest a significant number of folks (e.g., the Super Bowl)?

Interesting stuff.

Motley Fool Thinks TiVo Inc. is OK...For Now

The folks over at Motley Fool often have some sage advice for investors. Alyce Lomax of MF believes that TiVo, the company, is still quite viable and not in as bad a shape as some pundits would have you believe:

"Competing DVR products from a company like Comcast, easily accessible with service fees bundled onto a bill that already comes every month, could stunt TiVo's growth. However, right now it seems there's no need to panic; TiVo's got a whole lot of people evangelizing it, and the DirecTV deal provides a great deal of comfort. It still brings millions of potential subscribers to the table, who may very well all talk up the power of TiVo."

I really wish the cable operators would adopt TiVo-powered DVRs instead of the clunky devices like the Scientific Atlanta 8000 that some currently offer. While tech junkies are usually pretty fickle since they want the latest and greatest, I've yet to come across someone who had TiVo and then got rid of it for something else. I'm sure it's happened, but it's definitely not very common (yes, TiVo is that good).

One Remote to Rule Them All

If you're like me, you've got a remote control for your TV, DVD, PVR, video, stereo, satellite, and other sundry electronic boxes....12 at the last count. Universal remotes? Cumbersome IR programming, new remotes which turn out to be incompatible, the need to switch modes from TV to DVD to stereo....I'd just about given up.

Until now. The Harmony Remote by Intrigue Technologies is a universal remote with a difference - well, three to be exact - and promises to herald in a new era of clickophile nirvana.

Advantage one: A scroll wheel aids navigation through different modes, and aids in accessing stored preferences, viewable via a small LCD screen at the base of the unit. This makes the Harmony ergonomically a joy to use.

Advantage two: Instead of having to switch control modes by electronic box (TV, DVD, stereo), the Harmony uses macros to organize functions by activity: "Watch TV", for example, turns on and controls your TV, cable/satellite and speakers. "Listen to CD" turns on and controls your amplifier, speakers, and CD player. "Play a DVD"....well, you get the picture.

Advantage three: The Harmony Remote is the first Internet-programmable universal remote. Connect the Harmony to your computer via USB, and you can tap into a growing online database of tens of thousands of remotes. Everyday new remotes are being added, thanks to Harmony's online user community. You simply select the remotes you want mimicked, and download to your Harmony....no more IR mating rituals to teach your universal remote new tricks. Oh, and you can download TV listings as well.

The reviews have been ecstatic. One user enthused: "My mother-in-law, a 77-year-old woman raised on an island mountain farm without electricity, got it working within seconds. And her techno-hostile daughter, my wife, declares the Harmony the first gadget I've brought home that actually does something useful."

All this adds up to the Harmony being possibly the one remote worth fighting over.

More HDTV DVRs on the Way

ExtremeTech has a nice round-up of high-def DVRs that they expect to see at the CES in January. The models include a couple from Scientific Atlanta, including the 8000HD (which I discussed in this blog entry) and 8300HD, as well as two DVRs from Motorola. Interesting stuff...and none too soon!

Painting Over A Masterpiece

My long journey is nearly at an end. For the past four years my wife and I have been looking for a new home. This started off as a list generated on my old HP 200LX capturing all the things we wanted our new place to have. Keeping that list always at hand, we concentrated mostly on pre-owned homes since I think it's silly for developers to continue swallowing up the beautiful farmland to build subdivisions when the MLS sites are full of great places that are already built. We went through lots of realtors, spent our Sundays going to open houses and did plenty of driving around checking out neighborhoods.

Oddly enough our searches kept leading us back to a very private street only a mile or so from our current abode. We looked at every house that became available there, but there was one house we loved that never went for sale. One fateful day last January our realtor marched up and knocked on the door of that house and got an impromptu tour of the place. She was giddy on her return and said "YOU JUST HAVE TO SEE THIS PLACE!!!" Since the owner (a home builder) was planning to move in the coming months, we did just that a few weeks later. We were smitten. But the house never went for sale due to delays in the construction of his new place.

Finally on October 15th, the house was listed. We went through it again the next day, made our offer and in just a few days we had a signed contract. A whirlwind of activity ensued which is why you have not heard much from me. I've done more painting, plumbing, and repairing in the last month than I want to do in the rest of my lifetime. Our current house is on the market and is in nice shape for a hopefully quick sale. And this leads me to the title of this little treatise...

The new house is perfect in every way except for one. It was built in 1995 when running lots of RG-59 and POTS cable was the norm. There isn't a Cat 5 or RG-6U drop in the whole place and to make matters worse, almost every space is finished with drywall. There is not much access for snaking wires though I do have a plan after studying blueprints until my eyes are sore.

I am going to attack this with the future in mind. I know that gigabit ethernet will be the norm rather than the exception in a year so my Cat 5e runs will have all four pairs pushed down. I cannot imagine life without my DirecTiVo so most of my cable runs will be pairs of RG-6U quad shield. I will probably upgrade my wireless access point from 802.11b to g. I have my eyes on a shiny new Apple Powerbook. I'm sizing up the built-in TV cabinets for DLP rear projectors. This place will be high and tight when I'm done with it.

My one grey area right now is with wiring architecture. I think the overly finished aspect of this place will preclude the use of the massive wire bundles that make up most structured wiring systems. I do want to have a central "wiring closet" where I can house my router, switches, amplifiers, wire terminations, video and audio distribution, etc, etc. If you have any experience in "old work" retrofit using the lastest wiring technologies, I would love to hear about it.

I'll try to keep this blog informed of my progress in what will be a labor of love. And please help Craig out with his HTPC as I will be doing another one of those pretty soon.

Building a New Home-Theater PC - Part I

About two years ago, I decided to build a proof-of-concept MP3 server (I've documented that project in this blog entry, so I won't repeat the details here). However, the current machine, a lowly AMD Duron 750 MHz w/ 128 MB of RAM, is well beyond its useful life in that capacity. For example, starting up Real One Player with our 10,000+ song MP3 database takes nearly two minutes. So, it's time to start thinking about what will, and should, replace that starter system.

I'd like the new machine to be more of a home-theater PC -- something that can perform as an MP3 server (at the very least) as well as possibly handle TV recording and other multimedia functions. Ideally, it could record HDTV signals, but I'll admit that I haven't looked hard enough yet to see if any home media software permits that functionality. I'd also like the new machine to come up out of the basement and live in the family room nearer the rest of the home a/v setup.

Now, it seems I have two primary form factors to consider. The first is the attractive option of the small-form-factor (SFF) case, like the AMS eCube bare-bones system I discussed last month. The second option would be the full-sized HTPC case that looks like a stereo component, such as is pictured above.

The SFF has basically just one advantage -- its size. I could fit it into our entertainment armoire fairly easily. Because it's small, it can also be easily schlepped from one place to another. I'm not sure how often I'd want to do that with an HTPC, but you never know. The disadvantages of the SFF are several: they have limited expandability (usually one PCI slot and one AGP slot), they often run hot, and they're often loud (because they don't have much, if any, sound baffling). Plus, most don't blend well with an all-black home A/V setup.

The component case has a few advantages. It looks good, it's heavily baffled (so it's really quiet), and it has plenty of space for expansion since it's a full-sized horizontal case. The main disadvantage is size -- I'm just not sure I can fit another full component into our entertainment center without displacing something we already have (I'm thinking the cassette deck could go -- I don't remember the last time we used it -- but the wife would not easily see the wisdom in that).

Cost is pretty much a wash. A new SFF would run close to $300, which is about the same for a good component case plus motherboard. All the rest of the innards would be the same for both systems.

So, right now, I'm not sure what I'm going to do -- do you have any advice or recommendations? I'm all ears at this point. Oh, and of course, I'll be posting my progress as time goes on here on GearBits.

Time Warner Launches HD DVR

In a press release today, Scientific Atlanta and Time Warner Cable-Green Bay (Wisconsin) announced availability of the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD to TWC-GB cable customers.

"Scientific-Atlanta announced today the availability of its integrated dual tuner high-definition digital video recorder set-top solution. The new Explorer® 8000HD™ High Definition Digital Video Recorder (DVR) will deliver two highly compelling video services – the control and convenience of a Digital Video Recorder and stunning High Definition Television (HDTV) video with digital surround sound. The industry leader in the deployment of DVRs and high-definition television service, Time Warner Cable is now initiating the deployment of HD/DVR set tops in its Green Bay Division, which serves over 150,000 customers in northeast Wisconsin." [read more]

I sincerely hope that the 8000HD is a more robust and better engineered product than its Explorer 8000 (shown), which has ticked off as many users as it has pleased. Personally, I'm hoping the HD TiVo is a dual-tuner box...otherwise, the 8000HD, despite its potential headaches, will seem a somewhat compelling and competitive alternative.

Home A/V Quickies: TiVo, HD DVD, and Giant LCDs

ExtremeTech has a nice article about the joy of truly discovering TiVo for the first time. If you're a TiVo doubter or are on the fence, give this a read.

Gizmodo links to an AP story announcing the adoption of HD DVD as the approved format for high-definition DVDs. While Sony, Panasonic and Philips won't be too happy (they backed the competing Blu-ray format), NEC and Toshiba are likely celebrating today. I'm just happy we can now move forward towards getting HD movies on rentable media.

Finally, DVDRecordable.org provides some details on Samsung's latest salvo in the size war in LCD panels. Samsung's 57-inch LCD panel is the largest in the world...for now. LG/Philips had the record at 55 inches last month. Now if you guys would just start actually making TV's out of the these things...sheesh.

Tight's TAZ I Personal Multimedia Device

I just came across something that totally blew me away -- the TAZ I concept device from Tight (pictured). I say "concept" because it's not out yet, but the Tight website says that they expect to start taking orders next month and ship product in December. God, I hope they do, as this sounds like one helluva device.

Check out these specs:

• Storage Capacity - at least 60 gigabytes; 2.5 inch hard drive; SD/MMC card slot
  
• Screen - 4 inch diagonal transflective TFT LCD with 640x480 resolution; 4:3 aspect ratio
  
• Audio Formats Supported - MP3, Monkey's Ape (lossless), OGG Vorbis
  
• Audio Inputs - On-board microphone; line in (stereo)
  
• Audio Outputs - 2 headphone jacks; digital optical out; line out
  
• Video Formats Supported - MPEG1, 2, 4, AVI, DivX; NTSC, PAL (video frame rates supported: 24fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, all)
  
• Video Inputs - composite video
  
• Video Outputs - composite, S video, component (Y Pr Pb)
  
• Video Output Formats - SDTV (480i); HDTV (480p, 720p, 1080i)
  
• Photo Formats Supported - JPG, GIF, TiFF, BMP
  
• Network/Connectivity - USB 2.0; on-board 10/100 ethernet
  
• Power - Internal XV DC battery; approximately 9 hours video playback, 20 hours audio
  
• Host PC Software - customized version of leading multimedia software suite
  
• Accessories: Sennheiser PX-200 headphones; hand-made leather carrying case; connecting cables; battery charger
  
• System Requirements - Windows 98, 2000, XP (future compatibility planned for Apple and Linux)
  
• Dimensions (approx.) - 6.3" x 4.2" x 1.5"

If you want updates on their shipping and availability, there is an email notification service available.

Update: I just now found out that Tight has had a discussion board up and there's some 2000 or so posts on it. Check it out.

HDTV Programming Guide

After perusing a handful of TV listings that claimed to have decent coverage of HD programming, I settled on HDTV Galaxy.

It's easy to use, well-formatted, always up to date, and as complete a broadcasting schedule as I've found.

While it is laden with lots and lots of banner ads, the information quality is quite high and I've yet to see any outages or errors in the past couple months of using it.

The Ugly Secret of Windows Media Center

Some Q&A from the Frequently Asked Questions About Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 page:

Q. What file format does Media Center record in?

A. Media Center uses a new file format called DVR-MS. DVR-MS is an MPEG-2 file that includes metadata about the recorded program to be stored.

Q. Can the file format used by Media Center be changed? Can I edit recorded TV files?

A. No, Media Center supports only the DVR-MS file format for recording TV. It's not currently possible to edit DVR-MS files (the format used for recorded TV files). However, some third-party software manufacturers have applications that support the conversion of DVR-MS files into other formats.

Q. Can the files generated by Media Center be converted to another video format?

A. At this time, there is no way to convert DVR-MS files to another format. Microsoft is currently working with third-party software manufacturers to add support for DVR-MS files to their products.

Q. Can I edit recorded TV files?

A. It isn't possible at this time to edit DVR-MS files (the format used for recorded TV files). Microsoft is currently working with third-party software manufacturers to add support for DVR-MS files to their products.

Q. Does Windows Movie Maker support the Media Center file format?

A. Windows Movie Maker does not support DVR-MS files at this time.

So, not only can you not pick the recording format, you are stuck using a proprietary format that nobody's products, including Microsoft, even handles for editing purposes. I got one word for Media Center 2004: fuhgettaboutit.

Self-destruct DVD

According to CNN, Disney is supposed to unveil disposable DVDs today. Unlike rental DVDs, you don't have to return the disposable DVDs, and that is sure to expand the retail distribution channel. Yes, now you can stop by a corner drug store and buy a disposable DVD for $5.

I don't know about others, but I'm not sure I'd like the idea of having the disposable DVDs yet. First of all, I'm not sure it's enviromentally friendly. Second, what happens if the DVD is defective (i.e., ages prematurely)? So instead of 48 hours, you only get 24 hours. I can't see myself standing in line arguing with a drugstore clerk that the DVD really expired prematurely.

Besides, what'll be next? Disposable CDs, rental cars, TV's, or how about a disposable book--after 48 hours, it mysteriously vanishes (talk about recycling). Although my head say it's Mission Impossible Cool, my heart says I'm not ready yet.

Another Wi-Fi Webcam

Along the same lines as Mitch's Axis 2100, Gizmodo is reporting that Linksys has begun offering a new wireless (802.11b) webcam, the WVC11B , that permits streaming of 320x240 video using its own internal web server.

One of the nifty features is that it can be wall mounted or it can stand in its cradle, which provides both power and a LAN jack for wired connectivity.

When Linksys gets into a market, you know things are about to become domain of the everyman. For under $200 (the Axis 2100 cost upwards of $500 when it first came out, and it wasn't wireless), the WVC11B may bring a whole new range of customers, and applications, to life.

Perhaps my recent thoughts on privacy, especially those related to webcams, aren't so far-fetched.

My First Baby Purchase

Craig's blog on pointing a webcam out the window got me thinking about one of my best technology purchases ever. As soon as we knew our new baby was a reality, we began to plan how best to prepare her room. Being a techie, I bypassed the traditional wallpaper and cribsets and went straight for an Axis 2100 Network Camera. Since it has its own web server, all you do is give it power and an ethernet line. This little marvel has let me keep an eye on our little marvel throughout her first two years from anywhere in the world I happen to be (providing I have web access). It's also a wonderful babysitting tool as we can put her image up on any of the house computers including the HTPC attached to the bigscreen TV in the living room.

HDTV: Too Little for Joe Consumer to Justify

I hope the situation changes quickly, but I hate to admit that there is *still* far too little high-definition programming for your average consumer to care about getting an HDTV setup.

Of course, it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation: without HD viewers, there's not as much incentive for stations to make the investment, and without stations broadcasting HD content, there's not much incentive for consumers to buy expensive HDTV equipment.

Thankfully, the US government mandated that the change will happen. Of course, we're now fairly well behind the planned roll-out schedule, and I don't see that gap being made up any time soon.

Scientific Atlanta DVR Not So Hot

A friend of mine just got the relatively new Explorer 8000 from Scientific Atlanta. The 8000 is a DVR (digital video recorder), much like TiVo or ReplayTV. It has some neat features, including an 80 GB hard drive, dual tuners, and a cheap, cheap price -- it's less than $10 per month from your local cable company (if it's like Time Warner is in our area). There's one big difference between the 8000 and your run-of-the-mill TiVo, however -- it appears to suck big time.

In the roughly 72 hours he's had the 8000, it has reset itself on him about half a dozen times, refused to quit recording, recorded the wrong show, and recorded several copies of the same show (even though it was set to ignore repeats). What's more is that he got no instruction manual or anything when he picked up the 8000. If it were so intuitive that you didn't need a manual, that would be one thing, but this unit's interface is far, far from intuitive.

The 8000 seems to be such an ornery piece of kit that a Yahoo! Group is dedicated to wrangling it into submission.

When I first heard that my buddy had this new unit, I was both curious and a bit envious. Two tuners?! 80 GB HDD?!? But, after hearing his ongoing tale of woe, I'm thankful we're a TiVo household. While we have had to fix the modem a couple times, our TiVo has never been so flaky as this Explorer 8000. Plus, the interface is pure joy to use. For these things, I am always grateful (thank you, TiVo).

Samsung Enters the TiVo Biz

TWICE is reporting that Samsung has officially launched its 120 GB (100-hour) DirecTV TiVo DVR (digital video recorder) unit. What's possibly even more exciting is Samsung's stated intention to release a HD version of the DVR early next year.

OK, Samsung, if you're listening to me, I have a few requests: First, make it a stand-alone TiVo so it will work with my cable. Two, put a functional DVI port on it. Three, you gotta have two HD tuners on the thing. Four, make it easy to connect it to a Wi-Fi network. If you do these things, I'll be first in line. Thanks.

Hats off to Gizmodo for the tip on this story.

myHTPC

myHTPC looks like a nice front-end for Windows-based home theater PCs. It appears to offer a lot of functionality (handles TV tuning and serving up music, photo, and video files) and seems to have an active user and developer community excited about it. They've just added a hardware forum for those considering building their own HTPC to work with myHTPC. I haven't tried it out yet, but post a comment if you have to let us know what you think.

Turn Your Pocket PC into a Universal Remote

For you home theater fanatics who might be in search of a universal remote control, I have an interesting alternative to suggest -- use your Pocket PC and the TV Remote Controller app (TVRC) by PDAWin.com.

TVRC basically turns your Pocket PC 2002 or 2003 into a full-color Pronto-compatible universal remote (note: if you don't know what a Pronto is, check out Philips' website). In short, just about anything that can be controlled via infrared can be controlled through TVRC.

It is insanely flexible. Using the free ProntoEdit software (from Philips), you design your templates and remote control layouts. Then, you upload the resulting .CCF file to your Pocket PC and open it up in TVRC. In "CCF mode," TVRC then emulates the Pronto (including hardware buttons!). If you don't have some infrared codes already in hexadecimal, no sweat -- just teach your Pocket PC using the "learn" mode and voila! TVRC also has a standard (non-CCF) mode that is far less exciting in my opinion.

Oh, and did I mention that TVRC can even accept voice commands!?! For less than $15, this is a really nice piece of software. Finally, I can put this Jornada 565 to use around my house! Check out TV Remote Controller 5.4 at PDAWin.com.

Newer, Better Services Coming from Cable and Satellite Providers

The New York Times Technology section has a really nice article summarizing the state of the cable-versus-satellite wars over our television watching. And it's just not about television -- everyone is trying to get in on broadband Internet access, cellular phone service, and a host of enhanced services like video-on-demand and digital video recording. The sector is awash in new technologies and better choices for the consumer. Hey, deregulation may actually be working! Nah...

So, will cable and satellite digital video recording services kill TiVo? Read the whole story at the New York Times website (free account required).

Time Warner Cable Box: 'No DVI Out' Mystery Solved

In two previous posts (1st and 2nd), I described the problem I was having trying to get my new Pioneer Voyager 3510HD set-top box working with my TV. Specifically, I was getting a weird error message when hooking up the two using the DVI ports.

Well, it turns out that the DVI ports on this set-top box aren't enabled. Why not? Nobody seems to know. The hardware, in terms of the physical connector, is there, but the firmware in the box seems to be such that it doesn't permit the DVI hardware to actually function.

This seems kinda dumb to me. Why would you purposefully hamstring the functionality of a piece of hardware that you're giving to your customers when they aren't paying you anything extra in the first place? Makes no sense. At least the mystery is solved.

Time Warner Cable Rant - Part 2

Time Warner came through yesterday evening and delivered a nice new Pioneer 3510HD set-top box. There's just one problem -- I can't seem to get the DVI connection to work. Whenever I hook up my TV to the DVI port, I get this weird black-and-white error screen saying something like "Please connect a high-definition televison to the set-top box."

Well, my TV is a high-definition display, so why won't this work? Component feeds work fine, but not DVI (one of the main reasons I wanted this box). Being able to set the box's output to 720p to match my TV works great -- overall, the picture quality is superb. DiscoveryHD looks like a window...it's that crystal clear.

Anyway, if you have any ideas or know where I can find a user's manual for the Pioneer Voyager 3510HD cable box, please let me know! Thanks.

Time Warner Cable Rant - Part 1?

If you want high-definition television (HDTV) in your house, and you are a Time Warner Cable user, you may or may not be very happy. Why? Well, it comes down to two things: the newness of a small connector and the bureaucracy of a very big company.

If you have a high-definition TV in your house and you want HD programming, you basically have three options. First, you can receive over-the-air (OTA) programming from your local broadcasters. This requires an antenna and a HD tuner box (unless your set has an HD tuner in it already, which few do). Second, you can receive HD signals over cable, such as Time Warner or Comcast here in the US. This also requires some form of set-top box, since HDTV sets rarely have tuners capable of handling digital cable signals. Third, you can subscribe to one of the satellite TV providers, like DirecTV and Dish Network. These require a set-top box and some form of satellite dish (always a nice addition to the aesthetics of the family dwelling).

Given that Time Warner Cable is highly integrated into my home (RoadRunner cable Internet + cable runs throughout the house), my first attempt at receiving HD is, of course, through TWC. Last week, I went and picked up an HD set-top box at my local office and set it up, eagerly awaiting the delivery of my new TV. It shows up and I hook up the component outputs to the TV. Looks OK on the HD channels, but not great. It turns out that the best quality picture is obtained when using the DVI connector, which makes sense.

The problem is that the Scientific Atlanta 3100HD set-top box that TWC gave me doesn't have a DVI port -- just component. The TV delivery guy informed me that he's seen a Pioneer TWC box here in Cincinnati in someone else's home, and it does have DVI, so I should request one. Doing a little searching, it turns out that the Pioneer Voyager 3510HD started being delivered to Time Warner Cable a few months ago. Some TWC regions have these already, including some parts of North Carolina. Why don't all regions have them? You got me. Nobody I spoke to at TWC here in Cincinnati had any clue whatsoever. One rep I spoke to actually told me that the HD box that TWC offers here in Cincinnati is a Scientific Atlanta 2000HD (Scientific Atlanta hasn't made that box in over 2 years and TWC's own offices are providing the 3100HD).

So, I returned the SA 3100HD box (which SA doesn't even make or sell any longer) and requested that a Pioneer be delivered today. We'll see if that happens, and I'll post here either way.

Nanotubes...the Next "Big" Thing?

Motorola recently announced that carbon nanotubes might soon provide an inexpensive technology basis for large displays, potentially replacing plasma and LCD even before they hit the mainstream market. Motorola Labs' July 1 press release briefly discusses the potential of these forthcoming "nano emissive display" (NED) flat-panel displays. Other articles can be found in Silicon Strategies and Cnet News.com. Or, if you want to read up on the science of carbon nanotubes, check out this page or this page.

Samsung DLP TV

In a previous post, I declared that my next TV would be some form of flat-panel set, most likely either plasma or LCD. Well, I lied.

A couple days ago, Circuit City delivered a shiny new Samsung HLN437W to my house. The HLN437W is a rear-projection set, but it's based on Texas Instruments' amazing DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology.

There are three main aspects that convinced me that this was the set to buy. First, it fits into the entertainment armoir that the wife insists we need to keep using. The interior dimension of the armoir is 40.9 inches wide by 21 inches deep. The external width and depth of the TV are 40.5 and 15.7 inches, respectively. It almost looks like the armoir was built specifically for this TV.

Second, because the set is based on DLP, it isn't subject to any screen aging or burn-in issues. Because a lot of what we watch is still 4:3 content, this was a concern for me. I'd hate to have to explain in a couple of years why the sides of movies we watch are brighter than the middle.

Third, the set sports a DVI connection with HDCP. If you're not familiar with this, it is the (near) future of digital imaging connectivity. All other connections (e.g., component, S-video, etc.) are analog, which makes no sense if both the signal and your TV are digital -- the digital signal from your content provider ends up being converted from D to A in the set-top box and then back from A to D inside the TV. This is all wasted conversion and introduces needless artifacting and other sources of image degradation.

I've discovered that Samsung's line of DLP sets have a large following over at AVS Forum, so check that out if you want to read more about this type of TV.

It's ALIIIVE -- TiVo Returns As Good As New

On May 1st, I wrote about the modem in my TiVo dying. This was the second time for this particular malady, which is quite common on Series 1 units. I didn't feel like giving another $99 to Philips, so after looking around a bit at alternatives, I found ElectricLegs, a gent in Corpus Christi, Texas, who repairs and upgrades TiVos at very reasonable rates.

So, after emailing the guy to make sure he could fix my TiVo, I disassembled my unit and mailed him the motherboard. About a week later, I got an email from him telling me the total price was $50 + $15 for postage and insurance -- quite a bargain. I PayPal'ed him the funds, and 2 days later, my neatly repaired TiVo motherboard showed up at my house.

After installation and some quick diagnostics, our house is now once again happily living in DVR-land. Thanks, ElectricLegs...my hat's off to ya!

Taps for TiVo

The modem in my freaking TiVo died...AGAIN! This is the second time in the 18 months I've owned it that the modem has gone out. The first time required a $95 fix and this time it will likely be something similar. Man, what a joke. I can't believe some hungry class-action lawyer hasn't seen all the Usenet postings and filed suit against TiVo, Philips, Sony and anybody else involved. I know there are a ton of hacks and mods that you can do to the TiVo, but most of these are fairly expensive and, after all, since it's my wife's TiVo, I think she'd object to it undergoing any major surgery. :-)

My Next TV

My next television is going to be either LCD or OLED, it's going to be HD (of course), 16:9 format, and it's going to be at least 40 inches diagonal. Today, you can actually consider buying that, as the largest consumer LCD TV is now a newly announced 40 inch model from Samsung. As the major LCD makers (Samsung, LG Philips, Sharp, et al.) keep upping the maximum size of working prototypes (currently at a massive 54"), my hopes are buoyed that I may not have to wait all that long for my dream display to become both a technical and a fiscal reality.

So, why don't I just go grab a plasma TV? I mean, heck, you can pick them up at Sam's Club now for not much more than a crummy RPTV. Well, it has to do with two issues. First, there's burn-in. Plasmas have a tendency to burn in if you watch a lot of 4:3 format programming (like most network and cable television), which we do. I'd consider just stretching the 4:3 content to fit the 16:9 format, thus alleviating the black bands, but I don't want to have to explain to my wife why the kids on Felicity look much wider and bloated than usual.

Second, there's the issue of copy protection. Right now, in the US Congress, there is still debate over what kind of digital protection scheme is going to be used to make sure that Joe Consumer can't record his digital perfect HD broadcasts onto DVD and sell bootleg copies. Is it going to be DHCP? Could be. Is it going to be something else? Hmm...maybe. Don't know yet, and until that's decided, anything you purchase today could have an effective usage life of about 5 years or less.

So, I think I'll hold off. Of course, if plasma gets down around $1000, that might change the whole value proposition. But, for the time being, I'm waiting on my bright, vivid, no-risk-of-burn-in, sub-15 millisecond response time LCD/OLED television with a full bore of standards-compliant inputs. I don't think it will be that long before we have these replacing tube sets, but then, CRTs have shown to be an amazingly stubborn technology to get rid of.