Mar 13
DISH has launched its Super Joey add-on to Hopper, allowing users to record up to eight shows simultaneously. Announced back at CES 2014, Super Joey throws a further two network … Continue reading
Jan 22
TiVo has laid off the majority of its hardware team as it exits the DVR business and focuses instead on software licensing, sources say, including pushing TV recordings to the … Continue reading
Nov 06
Hauppauge, a name that most of us would be familiar with, is back with yet another device which will further expand its video recorder family after launching their HD PVR Rocket at Paris Games Week recently. You might sit back and roll your eyes, wondering just what the big deal is when it comes to “yet another” video recorder. Well, here is the kicker – the HD PVR Rocket happens to be able to record video game play from PlayStation, Xbox and PC gaming consoles, and it will also be able to do so in Full HD resolution, now how about that? This would make the HD PVR Rocket as the ultimate portable video recorder since it is tiny enough to fit into your hand. Just how light is it? Try 4.6 oz for size.
Recording video is not all that the HD PVR Rocket does, it also comes with a built-in audio mixer and sports a USB port the avid gamer is able to plug in a USB thumb drive in order to record game play. Since USB thumb drives are just about dirt cheap these days, and you will most probably have amassed quite a collection of them from trade shows, a 16GB capacity USB thumb drive is said to be able to stash away up to 4 hours of video game play at an HD resolution of 1080p when plugged into the HD PVR Rocket.
The HD PVR Rocket might sound rather familiar to some, but that is because it follows in the footsteps of the HD PVR 2, which was first introduced in September last year. The HD PVR 2 then was the highest quality video game recorder on the market, but it required either a PC or Mac to store video recordings. With the HD PVR Rocket, you no longer need to take that particular route since it functions as a standalone device, and will not require a computer of any kind to perform a recording.
Expect the HD PVR Rocket to arrive in Europe from November 15 onward, as it bears a recommended retail price of 169 euros, while those living in North America will have to fork out the equivalent in dollars.
Press Release
[ Hauppauge launches HD PVR Rocket for consoles copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Sep 27
DISH and Control4 have teamed up to integrate the Hopper HD DRV into the Control4 home automation system, spreading control of the digital video recorder across any in-wall touchscreen, remote, tablet, or smartphone used in the home. Building on DISH’s API, which the company launched back in July, the integration means that those living in […]
Sep 11
This week the folks at TiVo Inc. introduced a transition point for the digital video recording universe, that being the movement of TiVo Roamio DVR technologies to a cloud-based system. With this new TiVo Network PVR, users will be able to extend the digital video recording experience they’ve known – or perhaps have not yet […]
Sep 11
However good TiVo’s new Roamio DVRs may be, not everyone can justify purchasing them — especially not TV providers that would have to buy in bulk. TiVo could make that experience more accessible with its just-unveiled Network PVR. The service (not yet pictured) puts the Roamio interface in the cloud, letting operators offer similar recording and streaming features though cheaper set-top boxes and mobile devices. Network PVR should also let providers offer perks that aren’t possible with locally-stored shows, such as sharing a recording with friends who missed the big season finale. There’s no estimated launch time frame for Network PVR, although that’s more likely to be dictated by the providers; don’t be surprised if it takes a while for the technology to reach viewers.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: CNET
Source: TiVo
Oct 22
Synology‘s network-attached storage devices have been turned into quad-tuner DVRs with streaming to computers, tablets, and smartphones thanks to a new DVBLink add-on. The app – when paired with up to four USB TV tuners – can be used to record TV and stream live broadcasts via DLNA, to XBMC devices, or to iOS, Android, and Windows Phone handsets with full remote control.
Satellite and various forms of digital terrestrial TV are supported, with electronic program guides that can be remotely accessed from a mobile device for setting up recordings. Alternatively, they can be navigated via the browser.
Four USB tuners have been tested with the plug-in: the DVB-S2 Stick for satellite TV (model:460e), nanoStick for DVB-T (73e, 73eSE), and nanoStick T2 (290e) for DVB-T/T2 reception. Others may well work, though they’re not necessarily certified.
Your Synology NAS will need to be running DSM 4.1 or above, too, and there’s a full list of compatible models here. Unfortunately, DVBLink isn’t a free update to Synology’s NAS range. After a 20-day trial, the package costs €25.21 ($33).
Synology NAS become quad-tuner DVRs with remote placeshifting is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 10
XBMC celebrates 10 years, latest build works in mainline PVR and Raspberry Pi support
Posted in: Today's Chili 
First, we must congratulate the entire XBMC team on reaching the tenth anniversary of one of the project’s first betas hitting the internet, when Yet Another Media Play (YAMP) and Xbox Media Player joined forces to create something beautiful. It’s outlived the original console by far, powered other projects and spinoffs (Boxee, Plex, GeeXBox — just to name a few) and is still going strong. Just to show how much progress it’s making there’s a new monthly build that adds two features most will have to wait for XBMC 12 Frodo to try out. If you like to live on the edge, the September cycle includes mainline PVR support, which pulls in TV broadcasts thanks to PVR add-ons like MythTV or MediaPortal, as well as integrated support for the Raspberry Pi. Other tweaks include performance enhancements on Android, better picture zooming and rotation on mobiles and much, much more. Hit the source links for a full changelog and details on what dangers running a build hot off the presses may entail.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
XBMC celebrates 10 years, latest build works in mainline PVR and Raspberry Pi support originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 26
Sky has launched a new 2TB Sky+ HD PVR, as well as an updated Sky+ iPad app that turns the Apple tablet into a second screen for social networking, remote control, and more. Powered by zeebox, the new Sky app will offer Twitter and show information for whatever program is currently playing, such as actor biographies, soundtrack listings, and more.
The Sky+ iPad already supports use as a remote control for the PVR, and puts the entire Sky+ planner on the tablet so that the set-top box can be navigated without the GUI cluttering up the main TV screen. The app is a free download [iTunes link] and Sky says the new version will be pushed out later this week. Update: The new app is now live in the App Store.
As for the new PVR itself, that has the same functionality as the existing 1TB box, but doubles up on storage space. In fact, it can now hold up to 350 hours of HD content on its 2TB drive. Update: Sky tells us that the 2TB box will be priced in line with the 1TB box, so ranging between £49 and £249 depending on customer status and which package has been selected.
Finally, there’s the addition of seven days of Catch Up TV service to Sky On Demand, assuming your Sky+ HD box is hooked up to your internet connection. Currently ITV Player and Demand 5 shows are available, with Sky saying that BBC iPlayer and 4oD will follow on “in early 2013″; there’s already access to box-set content, such as Mad Men and Mad Dogs, at no cost.
Sky+ adds 2TB HD box plus on-demand TV and iPad “second screen” app is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Sep 21
After nearly a year of waiting, GeeXboX 3.0 has arrived with XMBC 11 integration in tow. The developers announced the latest build today, revealing that it also includes PVR functionality, which means that you can watch and record live TV using GeeXboX 3.0. That feature will definitely be appreciated, as will the fact that the developers of GeeXboX have made this latest version compatible with a number of different ARM systems, in addition to the typical x86 32 and 64-bit systems the program typically supports.
The total size of your GeeXboX 3.0 download comes in at 140MB. You have the addition of new firmware and driver support to thank for that bump up in size. Of course, those additional firmware and drivers improve hardware support, so we’re thinking it will be quite easy to live with the increase in download size. The development team still wants GeeXboX to be available on “as many PCs and devices as possible” though, which suggests that future releases of GeeXboX won’t be quite as big.
Still, 140MB definitely isn’t bad for what you’re getting. Have a look at the full list of release notes below, straight from the GeeXboX website:
New features
• XBMC Media Center 11 “Eden” frontend.
• PVR support for DVB Digital TV, to watch and record live TV
• Improved remote control support
• Support for Full HD videos on PandaBoard
• Support for Full HD videos on Cubox
• Improved HDD installation
• Installation support for (U)EFI systems
• Installation support for SSD’s
Supported Architectures
• x86 32 and 64 bits PCs
• ARM TI OMAP4 Pandaboard
• ARM nVidia Tegra2 Harmony
• ARM Cubox (armada5xx)
• ARM Snowball ux500
System
• Linux Kernel v3.4.4.
• Systemd v188.
• BusyBox v1.21
• Connman Network Manager v1.6.
• Xorg Server v1.11.4.
• Mesa v8.0.3
• OPKG Package Manager v0.18
• USB persistent user data storage.
Audio Drivers
• ALSA v1.0.24.1.
• Support for Analog, SPDIF and HDMI output devices.
Video Drivers
• Support for Intel, nVidia, ATI, Matrox and VIA GPUs.
• Support for CRT, LCD and HDMI output devices.
• OpenGL and OpenGL|ES hardware assisted graphics acceleration.
• VDPAU, VA-API and Crystal HD hardware assisted video decoding for nVidia, Intel and Broadcom GPUs.
Input
• Mouse and Synaptics touch pads.
• HID Keyboards.
• Remote Controls.
• PluseEight CEC devices.
Networking Features
• NFS shares.
• Samba auto-discovery.
• UPnP / DLNA media discovery.
• ZeroConf services announcements.
• HTTP server.
• FTP server
• SSH server
MediaCenter
• XBMC Media Center 11 “Eden” frontend.
• Movies and TV Shows, with subtitles support.
• Music Collection
• Pictures and Slideshows
• CDDA, DVD and (non encrypted) Bluray support.
• Media Database Support.
• Internet MovieDB / TVDB metadata and covers grabbers.
• Skins
• Vu+ addon
• Xvdr addon
• Vdr server
• Tvheadend server
That’s quite a long list, so GeeXboX enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to with this latest release. A download of the ISO is available right now from the GeeXboX site, and in order to begin using it, all you need to do is download it, stick it on a USB drive, and reboot your computer. After that, you’re free to enjoy, and be sure to check out our interview with the folks behind GeeXbox while you’re waiting for your download to finish!
GeeXboX 3.0 lands with XBMC 11 integration is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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