Saturday, January 09, 2010

SiliconDust CableCard Dual Tuner Details from CES – I’m Interested

As reported on GeekTonic before CES began, SiliconDust has their own dual-tuner CableCard in the works and it will be a networked tuner device just like their other HDHomerun tuners!  We’ve since learned several other details about this exciting device including pricing and ETA.

SiliconDust plans for the tuner to sell for $249 when first available.  They plan a public beta sometime in March 2010 with the device slated to go on sale sometime in 2010.  I know that's pretty unspecific, but I expect the timing uncertainty has a lot to do with the CableLabs certification process and the unique nature of SiliconDust’s implementation of this CableCard product.

According to SiliconDust, the dual tuner will connect to your home network via Ethernet cable just like the companies other HDHomeRun products.  This is different than other CableCard tuners because it doesn’t take up a slot on your HTPC server.  It also means you can share a tuner with different PCs (with MediaCenter) and extenders (XBox360) in the home albeit only one tuner to one PC at a time.  The caveat to that I see is the dreaded DRM that CableCard has built in.  If the TV content is marked as “Copy Once” by the Cable Company or station, you only get to watch that content on the PC.  I trust SiliconDust will work all of this out in the long run.

I’m intrigued by the way this tuner will work as it just might open up the opportunity for 3rd party solutions.  I’m thinking programs like SageTV and possibly even other operating systems might find this implementation useful because it appears that the video comes out of the HDHomeRun CableCard across the network in the clear as long as those channels don’t have the CCI flags marked.  Many cable companies do not flag most of their channels except for the premiums so it might just open up the possibility for non Windows 7 MediaCenter users at some point without needing an add-on like is being implement for SageTV.

 

GreenButton has a nice interview of Jason Ludka of SiliconDust about the new HDHomeRun CableCard tuner:

' target=_blank>video by Pete Brown of GreenButton

 

More info on SiliconDust HDHomeRun CableCard tuner and a good explanation of the implementation of this tuner at Engadget

SiliconDust Press Release

Ceton Multistream CableCard Tuner Details from CES

As reported on GeekTonic before CES started, the long awaited Ceton multistream tuner is real and the four-tuner version is scheduled to arrive by March 2010 for $399.

Ceton Quad MultiStream CableCard Tuner

The Ceton Digital Cable Quad-Tuner will be available as a PCI Express, Low-Profile form factor at a suggested retail price of $399.  The Ceton tuner was highlighted at Microsoft’s keynote address at the beginning of CES.  Steve Balmer highlighted the Ceton four-stream CableCard Tuner with a demo during the keynote address showing how Windows 7 could be used with Windows MediaCenter.

From the Ceton Press Release:

PCs running Windows Media Center, included with most versions of Windows 7, with a Ceton Digital Cable Quad-Tuner card installed will natively support high-definition pay TV, including premium cable TV channels, without the need for a separate cable set-top box. In addition to standard- and high-definition channels, the Ceton solution will also support channels delivered using Switched Digital Video (SDV) via a Tuning Adapter. A single Ceton Digital Cable Quad-Tuner card with a single multi-stream CableCARD(TM) (M-Card) and single cable RF connection will support playing and/or recording of up to four live channels of high-definition digital cable TV simultaneously.

The card requires Windows 7 with MediaCenter.

Because there’s quite a bit of interest around the Ceton card, you might be interested in the following two quick videos.  The first is an interview of Jeremy Hammer of CetonCorp.  The second is another interview, but you get to see the card

Interview via Pete at the GreenButton

 

video via theOnButton.com

 

Full press release from Ceton

Ceton Website

Hauppauge Confirms CableCard Device

Hauppauge Logo

Dave Zatz stopped by to meet with the folks at Hauppauge at the end of CES and confirmed something I had reported on this past summer, but had since lost hope on:  Hauppauge is in fact working on a CableCard device!

Not much additional information on that front, but good news nonetheless for MediaCenter fans who have gone from seeing non CableCard tuners available to several.  Hauppauge will be joining SiliconDust and Ceton as new, small companies developing CableCard tuners for MediaCenter HTPCs.

Lets hope this device will be multistream like the ones from SiliconDust and Ceton coming this year.

via ZatzNotFunny!

Thursday, January 07, 2010

SageTV Working on Version 7 Update with New User Interface

2947630815_21df26318a[1]

Not a big surprise here, but good to know SageTV is working on the most asked for improvement – the User Interface.

Dave Zatz had the opportunity to meet up with the SageTV guys at CES today and learned a little about what they are working on:

I was hopeful of getting a sneak peak at version 7 of SageTV which features an all-new 3D UI. But we’re going to have to wait a bit longer.

So while SageTV did confirm that SageTV 7 is in the works and it includes a new 3D User Interface, there are no screenshots or anything else to see at this point.  It’s definitely good news for SageTV HTPC enthusiasts though as this means SageTV should be nearing a new beta cycle for the next version of SageTV!

via ZatzNotFunny!

AverMedia Brings Competitor to Hauppauge HD-PVR – Forgets 5.1 Audio

I’ve been hearing about a new competitor to the Hauppauge HD-PVR – a device that captures HD video from cable & satellite via component output and transcodes it to H.264 on your HTPC.  I use the Hauppauge HD-PVR to do this very thing with SageTV and would welcome any competition in the area.  Unfortunately, the AverMedia device only records stereo audio – not 5.1!  Talk about leaving out the important details…

I’ll be watching to see if there are any plans for a better version of this device from AverMedia, but for now Hauppauge has “the” device for this purpose with only CableCard as a viable competitor in my opinion.  Then again, if you don’t care about 5.1 audio, this might be a good device as the price goes down from its starting $200 MSRP.

 

AverMedia Press Release

via Engadget

Boxee Box & Remote Control Hands On

The new Boxee Box and Remote Control from D-Link gets a hans-on from Dave Zatz at CES.

Boxee Box Rendering

Dave addresses man of the questions we had about the box and remote.  Zatz says the Media Player/Extender:

“should ship sometime in the next few months for under $200. (I’ll guess $199.) The unit looks more sophisticated and sexy than the fine renders we saw last month with a polished front face, that was next to impossible to photograph.”

Boxee Remote via ZNF

                   Photo via ZatzNotFunny!

Dave said the remote looks great and the possibility of inadvertent key presses is pretty remote (pardon the pun).  The keys are chicklet-style and recessed so it should work on a tabletop.  Best of all the remote will also sell separately with a USB dongle for use on computers running Boxee.  I might have to pick one up to see if I can get it working with SageTV and MediaCenter as well!

No official word on pricing but the word is sub-$200.

Read more at ZatzNotFunny!

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Microsoft Keynote – a little MediaCenter, a little XBox360 and other Stuff

If you find the title to this post a little awkward, it’s intentional.  It’s very much the way I felt after watching the Microsoft Keynote address at CES via their livestream.  Here’s some quick thoughts on the address:

 

MediaCenter

There was a nearly 15-20 minute long demo of Microsoft MediaCenter – this is of course good since MC has been mostly ignored by Microsoft in these sorts of public addresses lately.  The exciting Ceton quad-CableCard tuner was part of that demo and yes it looked pretty good.  But in my opinion the demo was very awkward and did a pretty poor job of highlighting HTPC’s and more specifically MediaCenter.  No sign of extenders, no peep about Windows Home Server as a MediaCenter server.  Pretty much nothing new beyond the Ceton product.  Perhaps more was planned since Steve Balmer mentioned that he wanted to show us the “big TV with the PC built in” but couldn’t because the power outage “blew the tube.”  I’m glad they spent the time on MediaCenter, but I’m pretty disappointed in how they did it and what they didn’t say.

MediaRoom

They did a quick demo of their IPTV MediaRoom product and announced MediaRoom 2.0 is available with AT&T Uverse compatibility.  I’m not a fan of MediaRoom, but that’s coming from a HTPC fan I guess. 

Mediaroom in MediaCenter

In my opinion the nice thing they announced about MediaRoom is that the IPTV MediaRoom content will be accessible from MediaCenter – sort of like a MediaCenter on-demand product without needing a tuner – nice!  View Press Release

Also demoed was he MediaRoom programming working on a mobile phone.

Blio e-Book system

The Blio e-book system was demo’d and looked pretty nice.  It’s basically a free e-Book “system” software that works on windows PCs.  Nothing Kindle-killing, but really pretty cool and the price (free) is right.  Blio is also interesting because it was started by futurist, “Ray Kurzweil.

Blio

More on Blio with a hands-on video at Engadget

Blio’s webage

HP Touch Slate

Certainly not the device we had hoped for, but the HP Touch Slate (a table PC) with the Kindle software running on it.  It’s multi-touch and looks pretty nice.  But it’s simply a PC and not the Courier tablet everyone had rumored.

Here’s a very short promo video from HP that shows the slate off:

XBox 360 Support for AT&T UVerse

We learned that AT&T U-Verse subscribers will be able to use their XBox 360’s as a set-top box.  They said this would be available later this year, but nothing on how much it might cost.

XBox 360 Natal

The cool XBox 360 “Project Natal” has been slated for a Holiday 2010 release.

 

Conclusion

Overall although they did show off some really interesting products, the keynote didn’t go well.  They started with a serious power outage, took a very long time to re-boot everything on the stage back up and then when they started some things noticeably didn’t work.  There was definitely some great stuff being demoed at the keynote, but the presentation was most certainly underwhelming.

Winners from the keynote:  XBox 360, AT&T UVerse, Ceton and HP

Netflix and Warner Bros Agreement Screws Their Customers

Netflix Logo

The biggest news so far today wasn’t from the early CES news.  No, came from the normally friendly Netflix folks.  The two companies just created what the biz calls a DVD rental window – and not the good kind.

Today Netflix and Warner Brothers announced that they inked a deal for Netflix to wait for 28 days after the actual DVD release to make that DVD (and Blu-ray) disc available for Netflix rental.  In return Netflix gets a discount on those Warner DVDs and also gets more access to Warner Brothers movies and TV shows for streaming.  This is something Netflix has been offering the Studios since November and Warner is the first to bite.

The only positive here is that more content will be available for streaming from Netflix.  But the negative in this day and age is much more important.  This is likely the beginning of a delay for movie rentals beyond the movie purchase availability & watch for other movie studios looking for similar deals.  The next question is, what will Blockbuster and Redbox do here?  Does this create an opportunity for others to move in against Netflix?

I see this as further evidence of the media companies not caring what the customer wants and instead looking for more ways to deliver paid content to their customers in ways the customer wants they are saying too bad…

Press Release

via HackingNetflix

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Popcorn Hour Has New Media Streamer – the popbox

Popcorn Hour just a few months ago showed off their new, do-it-all Popcorn Hour C200 media player that I reviewed and gave away here at GeekTonic.  And now they have yet another hardware device.  This one is smaller, without an internal drive bay, costs and is awkwardly named the popbox.

popbox-lg2

Key Facts:

  • Cost: $129
  • Shipment ETA: March 2010
  • Newer UI than current C200
  • Size: 15.9 Oz, 8”x6”x1.25”
  • 1 USB 2.0 on front and 1 USB on back
  • SD Card Slot on back (2GB SD Card included)
  • Video: M1V, M2V, M4V, MP3G1, MPEG2, TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS, AVI, ASF, WMV, MKV, MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4, FLV, F4V
  • Video Output: HDMI (1080p/720p/480p) and Component Y/Pb/Pr
  • Apps: Netflix 2.0, Shoutcast, Revision3, Twitter etc
  • Network: Ethernet 10/100, WiFi 802.11 N/B/G (option), and UPnP

You can find out more about the popbox at the following locations:

Official Website: http://popbox.com

Full Forum Thread

Engadget has a video of their hands-on with the device

popbox-lg10popbox-lg3popbox-lg1

To me it looks very similar to the SageTV HD200 in size and similar in specs too.  Definitely a competitive price that should make waves.

Boxee Box Will Be Sold by D-Link, Includes Flash Support and Sport Qwerty Remote

Don’t ever say Boxee is  to be a little different.  The Boxee team has taken it’s XBMC beginnings, private equity money and bold thinking to shake up the somewhat geeky tech media market with their Boxee product.  This week the Boxee Box “aka extender” gets priced and today they announced a unique remote control to go with it.

Main_Boxee_Box_With_Cables_BLACK.663

Boxee Box Gets Spec’d at CES

The Boxee Box is already a mostly-known entity after it’s unveiling last month.  But this week we get the rest of the details – in particular pricing:

  • D-Link is the hardware manufacturer
  • It’s pretty small and a little unusual looking
  • Cost will be under $200 (read $199.99 MSR)
  • Format Support = DivX, VC-1, H.264, WMV, MKV, Flash 10.1, Mp3, WMA, AIFF, FLAC, AAC, DTS, Dolby, Ogg Vorbis, Jpeg, TIFF, BMP & PNG
  • Integrated Online Services include: Pandora, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Picasa
  • Add-on apps bring many other niceties including Hulu
  • Remote will be different – read below for more

via Engadget

Boxee Box Remote with QWERTY keyboard

Now Boxee is showing off their new remote with a keyboard.  It certainly is functional, but to me is like holding a calculator upside down and using it as a remote control.  I mean I’ll be hitting text keys constantly when I pick up the remote – it’s bound to happen!

I might be in the minority on this view as Mrs GeekTonic whom I expected to agree with me thinks it’s a great idea…  She did say it would be nice if the keyboard were hidden with a slider-type covering since it isn’t needed most of the time, but she (and I) like the idea of being able to easily type in text for searches and the like without pulling out a full-blown keyboard.

Boxee-Box-remote-1024x662

D-Link-Remote-Keyboard-Layout-ZACH-2-1024x660

What do you think of the handheld keyboard er remote?

More on the Boxee Remote at the Boxee Blog

Ceton 4-Tuner CableCard Price and Info Leaked

Dave Zatz is reporting that the Ceton Quad-Tuner CableCard that the Windows MediaCenter community has been waiting for anxiously will sell for $399 and be part of the annual Microsoft opening CES keynote address tomorrow night.  Zatz speculates that the inclusion of Ceton in Steve Balmers CES keynote signals possible additional attention on MediaCenter or at least home media tech.

Looks like this CES could actually end up being a significant one for the GeekTonic crowd – check out my “what to watch for at CES” post for an idea of what I’m looking for this year.  We should learn much more in the coming days.  What do you MediaCenter/HTPC enthusiasts think of the price for the 4-tuner CableCard Ceton?

via ZatzNotFunny!

Skiff e-Reader Outed

Another very interesting e-Reader having it’s coming out party at CES is the Skiff Reader.  It’s focus seems to be with magazines and newspapers but of course works with e-Books as well.  It looks really nice, has a flexible form factor with a touchscreen surface but be ready for a large footprint.

Check out these photos to see why this e-Reader excites me.  It’s similar to the PlasticLogic Que e-Reader and will compete with the Kindle DX.  Now that I mention it, both of these devices seem to easily beat the Kindle DX (not necessarily the Kindle 6”) with the feature-set as well as the form factor.

 shot05_enlgshot01_enlgshot03_enlgshot02_enlg

More Details:

The wireless will be provided by Sprint, will also have WiFi and the device will be sold in Sprint stores.  It’s just over 1/4” thick and touts itself as the thinnest e-Reader announced to date.  It also has a large 11.5”, 1200x1600 pixel (UXGA) display that is touchscreen.  Weight is just over 1 pound.

More info at the Skiff website

via jkontherun

Monday, January 04, 2010

SiliconDust Networked CableCard HDHomeRun Confirmed

SiliconDust CableCard HDHR

Quick update to yesterdays post about the SiliconDust HDHR CableCard device.  I received confirmation today from a very reliable source of the following:

  • SiliconDust does in fact have a HDHomeRun in development that is a CableCard tuner
  • This device WILL be networked just as the current HDHomeRun works today meaning it requires no port on your computer.  Not sure if this would mean that it can be used on multiple computers in a setup or not given CableLabs limitations…

There are a few reasons I find this exciting news.  First it’s from SiliconDust who made Networked QAM tuners a working reality.  Second the fact that you can have CableCard tuners on a network could really make sense with the limiting Windows MediaCenter lack of softsled – that is IF you can use one of these with more than one PC.  And finally it’s a strong sign of life for CableCard when not long ago it seemed like technology that wouldn’t make it.  We’ll have to see if it’s a dual tuner or not – that would make this even bigger.

More details will flow this week at CES so stay tuned!

COOL-ER e-Book Reader Lineup Expanded

As I suspected there will be quite a few challengers to the e-Reader scene at CES this week.  First up is an expanded lineup from Interead with their COOL-ER e-Reader product.

I really couldn’t care less about the multi-color thing these things sport, but the form factor looks promising.

Here’s the product lineup they’ll be showing off at CES:

COOL-ER Compact

As the name suggests, this is the smallest of the bunch at 6.7" x 4.6" x 0.41" (170 mm x 117 mm x 10 mm).  It has a 6" E Ink® screen and 2GB of onboard memory (expandable via SD card to 6GB total).

COOL-ER Classic

COOL-ER e-Reader Classic

This is the one they have available already today at www.COOLREADERS.com.  It will be arriving in new colors though.

Cool-ER Connect

This one adds WiFi and touch-screen to the Classic version.  It weighs 5.8 oz.  Scheduled to be available in Spring 2010.

COOL-ER 3G

This is the newest e-Reader in their lineup and is slated to be available in mid-2010.  3G wireless connectivity via AT&T is the big item on this one.

COOL-ER e-Readders work with ePub and PDF and has access to bookstores online like www.Cooler-ebooks.com

The biggest obstacle these e-Readers will encounter is the pricing compared to the Kindle and Nook.  Because the bookstores they access are less known and likely have a smaller U.S. catalog, the price has to be lower.  Currently the classic COOL-ER e-Reader runs $249 on their website.

via Engadget

What To Watch For at CES in 2010

CES hasn’t even begun and we’re already seeing quite a bit of tech news as a result of the annual “Geek Nirvana” show at Las Vegas.  I thought I’d start off the week sharing how I follow the CES show from afar and what to watch for if you’re at all interested in the latest and greatest of the tech world.

1. If you want to be in the know on what’s happening at CES, there are a few ways to see it all and be one of the first to get all of the details available – even easier than being there at CES yourself:

  • Watch Engadget and Gizmodo for the news.  It’s nearly impossible to even keep up with these two blogs during CES as they spread their writers across Las Vegas to cover every possible story they can get their hands on.  They are often first to the story and a great way to watch from a birds eye view the happenings at CES
  • Follow these folks on twitter:  Dave Zatz & Mari Silbey of ZatzNotFunny cover CES and often scoop the big boys.  They both post twitter updates often and provide a kind of coverage beyond what you see at the Engadgets and Gizmodos of the world.  Kevin Tofel & James Kendrick of jkontherun for mobile device news, Lance Ulanoff of PCMag for general CES news and Ben Drawbaugh of EngadgetHD for HD and Media Center/HTPC news, Ian Dixon for Media Center News and of course GeekTonic (me) for the HTPC and Media Gadget news – I’m watching intently (and losing sleep because of it) for anything of particular interest to GeekTonic readers.  I trust there are other good twitter folks to follow so let me know in the comments if you have a favorite or two.

2. While there is always a few surprises at CES, here’s a few specific things I’m watching for from CES this year:

  • Media Players – Hauppauge should be sporting their new MVP-HD devices and there’s a new PopcornHour with a new UI and cheaper price.  What other players might we see?
  • Extenders – Hello?  Anyone out there?  I have little hope for this, but I’ll still be watching to see if Microsoft or any CE companies will have a HTPC extender or two to look at.  Perhaps a new MS platform for CE companies to build from?
  • CableCard – Its sort of ironic, but even after the media companies seem ready to dump CableCard for something else we should see some very exciting CableCard devices this year including new products from SiliconDust (ethernet external tuner?) and Ceton (multi-CableCard tuner).  The rumor about a Hauppauge CableCard device seem to have disappeared so I'm not counting on that one any more although I still hold out a tiny bit of hope for it.  It appears that Hauppauge does not have anything new on the HD-PVR (component tuner) device so no update or refresh coming on that front.
  • SageTV – SageTV will once again be in Vegas, but not on the CES floor.  I understand they will have something to see but I’m not sure what that will be.  Watch for some sort of news on that front here on GeekTonic this week.
  • Boxee/D-Link – The Boxee box should be on display at CES.  We should get some closer looks at the new extender.
  • E-Readers – I’ll be watching for Plastic Logic’s new Que e-Reader and the new Skiff e-Reader both of which are set for a coming out party this week as well as many other e-Reader devices.  This should be an interesting field over the next year.
  • Tablets – Yes it appears the tablet is the buzz device currently so we should see some tablets at CES this year.  I’m not too excited about this and wouldn’t be even if it were Apple showing theirs off.
  • TV – I fear 3D will be the thing most on display at CES in the TV world.  Not something I’m really excited about, but the CE companies sure are.

3. Expect CES this year to be smaller.  As mentioned in the ZatzNotFunny article “5 Things Missing from CES 2010” the show should be smaller in numbers of companies and size of displays due at least in part to the economy.  This doesn’t mean there won’t be anything exciting, but it does make for fewer big news items.  We’ll have to wait until CES is over and see how this holds true.

4. Mobile will be bigger this year.  Google has their announcement about the Nexus One and it isn’t even at CES, but I expect we’ll see a lot of new mobile stuff this year as it is one area innovation pushes on.

5. Auto Tech – I’m personally excited about the new Ford Sync updates that will make your car an actual Wi-Fi hotspot with a 3g USB stick.  My Ford Sync is a favorite addition to my tech world this year and it looks like Microsoft and Ford are pushing to keep improving it.

 

Those are the things I’ll be watching this year during CES.  What are you excited about for CES 2010?

Sunday, January 03, 2010

TV Premieres, Finales & Specials This Week 01/03/2010

2010 rings in the new year and the new, Winter 2010 TV season.  Many TV series return to the tube this week along with a few new premieres.

 

Don’t miss the Ultimate Guide to the 2010 Winter TV Season Premieres with free downloads by premiere date & by show name!

 

Nip/Tuck

                  Nip/Tuck returns for season 7 on FX

 

Below you’ll find all this weeks TV premieres, finales and specials through next Sunday.

NOTE: All Times are Listed for EST

 

Sunday, January 3

Platinum Weddings (9pm on WE) New reality TV series – not in HD

Brothers & Sisters (10pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Season 4 continues with so much overly done drama Mrs GeekTonic’s emotions will be torn :)

Desperate Housewives (10pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Season 6 continues.  Housewives like this don’t seem to be in my neigborhood – probably not yours either.  Perhaps that’s the appeal of this soap opera?

Worst Cooks in America (10pm on Food) – They finally found a realityTV show I’m qualified for – just ask Mrs GeekTonic about the bugs in the broccoli meal ;).  New realityTV series for Food network.

Secrets of Aspen (10pm on VH1) – A new documentary/soap – we’ll call it realityTV

 

Monday, Jan 4

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (8pm on ABC Family - Available in HD) – returns for the second half of season 2

The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (8pm on ABC– Available in HD) – Season 14 of the ever lasting bachelor realityTV series

Heroes (8pm on NBC – Available in HD) – Season 4 continues.  Back to it’s 9pm time slot on 1/11

Make it or Break it (9pm on ABC Family– Available in HD) – Returns with the second half of it’s first season

This Emotional Life (9pm on PBS – Available in HD) – A three-night special where a Harvard psychologist engages with some famous folks to discuss relationships and well-being.

Be Good Johnny Weir (10pm on Sundance) – A new RealityTV show

Blood, Sweat & Takeaways (10pm on BBCA– Available in HD) – A new RealityTV show

The Goode Family (10:30pm on Comedy) – Season 2 premiere

 

Tuesday, Jan 5

The Biggest Loser (8pm on NBC) – Season 9 premiere.  Still not in HD

NCIS (8pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Season 7 continues

NCIS: Los Angeles (9pm on CBS – Available in HD) – Season 1 continues

Last Restaurant Standing (9pm on BBCA) – Season 3 of this realityTV show

The Forgotten (10pm on ABC– Available in HD) – Season one continues

Life After People (10pm on History) – Season two premieres.  This is a documentary that shows what the earth will be like without humans.  I actually watched part of season one and it was okay.  But I’m shocked to see they brought out a season two…

The Good Wife (10pm on CBS) – Season 1 continues

 

Wednesday, Jan 6

I Get that a Lot (8pm on CBS) – Celebrities pretend to be everyday people to pull pranks on unsuspecting people.

Mercy (8pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Season one continues

The Middle (8:30pm on ABC– Available in HD) – Season one continues

The 36th Annual People’s Choice Awards (9pm on CBS– Available in HD) – Awards show hosted by Queen Latifah

Modern Family (9pm on ABC– Available in HD) - Season one continues.  I might add this is our favorite sitcom this season – possibly the best in a few years.  THis episode stars Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order) as Manny’s bio-father

Law & Order: SVU (9pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Season 11 continues

Ghost Hunters Intl (9pm on SyFy– Available in HD) – Season 2 premiere

Cougar Town (9:30pm on ABC– Available in HD) – Season one continues with Lisa Kudrow guesting and reuniting with Courtney Cox (both from Friends of course)

Ugly Betty (10pm on ABC– Available in HD) – Season four continues at yet another new day and time.  The biggest suspense in this one might just be whether this ends up being the final season.

Nip/Tuck (10pm on FX– Available in HD) – This is the season seven premiere.  Note that these nine episodes will be the last before the series ends.

Conviction Kitchen (10pm on Planet– Available in HD) – A new RealityTV series

 

Thursday, Jan 7

BCS National Championship Game (7:30pm on ABC – Available in HD) – Texas battles Alabama

Community (8pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Season one continues

Parks & Recreation (8:30pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Season two contines

The Office (9pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Season six continues

30 Rock (9:30pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Season four continues

 

Friday, Jan 8

Bones (8pm on Fox– Available in HD) – Season five continues with encore episodes

Ghost Whisperer (8pm on CBS– Available in HD) – Season five continues

Dollhouse (9pm on Fox– Available in HD) – The final three episodes of season two… and forever since this series has been cancelled.

Medium (9pm on CBS– Available in HD) – Season six continues

Shark Tank (9pm on ABC) – Season one of this realityTV series continues

Numb3rs (10pm on CBS– Available in HD) – Season six continues

Manhattan Marriage Project w/Gino Fillippone (10pm on TLC) – A new RealityTV series

John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show (11pm on Comedy) – A new RealityTV series showcasing folks like Janeane Garofalo, Paul F. Tompkins and Brian Posehn

 

Saturday, January 9

Operation Wild (10pm on Planet– Available in HD) – New series

 

 

Sunday, January 10

Food Network Challenge (8pm on Food– Available in HD) – Season 10 premiere

The Simpsons (8pm on Fox– Available in HD) – The 450th Milestone episode followed by the 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D

Chuck (9pm on NBC– Available in HD) – Chuck gets a two-hour season three premiere and then moves to it’s regular time-slot on the 11th.

Big Love (9pm on HBO– Available in HD) – Season four premiere

Celebrity Rehab (10pm on VH1) – Season three premiere

 

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SiliconDust to Announce CableCard Product at CES

We’ve been hearing of something exciting coming from the SiliconDust shop – the company that brought us the ever-popular SiliconDust HDHomeRun dual tuner product (a favorite of mine) and it looks like this is the week we’ll be getting the details on it.

SiliconDust HDHR

This hasn’t been officially announced or completely confirmed yet so we’ll have to wait for final confirmation later this week.  But on the SiliconDust forums, it’s been leaked that the company will be announcing a new CableCARD HDHomeRun product!  The official announcement with all of the details will come at CES later this week.  Here’s a screenshot leaked by a developer at SiliconDust earlier today:

SiliconDust HDHR CableCard

The developer posted this screen-shot in response to questions and speculation on the forums about a new product – he also said

“We are quiet because we are busy – {More info at CES)

Very exciting news given SiliconDust’s excellent track record and the flexibility of the HDHomeRun Networked TV Tuners.  The recent elimination of the CableLabs certification requirement for the PC makes CableCard more accessible to all Windows 7 Media Center users.  Add to that the ongoing development of a plugin to bring CableCard to SageTV users and it’s exciting to even more HTPC enthusiasts.

More information coming soon – I can only hope there’s a multi-tuner CableCard possibility with this… 

And we’ll soon find out more about the Ceton multi-tuner CableCard at CES as well.