Hulu and SageTV – For Real This Time via 3rd Party Solution

We SageTV HTPC users had pretty much given up on the hope of having a good Hulu app inside of SageTV after the Hulu vs. Boxee debacle and hearing from SageTV’s CTO that they had for now abandoned the project.  Yes we have the ability to use Hulu on the HD200 extenders in standalone mode, but it was slow and extremely difficulty to navigate.

Hulu + PlayOn + SageTV = Awesome Online TV Access for HTPC

Well, thanks to some genius work by a 3rd party SageTV developer, it looks like SageTV may soon have an excellent (read: fast and easy to navigate) Hulu option right from the existing online videos section (currently has YouTube, Google Video & Many Video Podcasts Available) of SageTV!!!  This means navigation will work the exact same for Hulu inside of SageTV.  Since PlayOn has added Amazon VOD this news is even more exciting.  It’s currently been tested as a “proof of concept” and works – although it’s not available to us yet at least…

Requires PlayOn, but works on Computers AND Extenders!

This solution will require a PlayOn subscription, but it looks like it works very well thanks to a little UPnP action.  Better yet, it works for all users of SageTV including those with computers as their HTPC “extenders” as well as those who use the HD200 or HD100 extenders! 

Here’s a video clip of the Hulu/SageTV solution in action:

 

Looks pretty good to me.  According to the developer it isn’t quite ready for distribution to end users yet, but I’ll provide more details once it’s a little farther along, but It looks like there will be no additional cost to get this Hulu access except for the PlayOn license.  In the meantime you might want to pick up a PlayOn license while their being discounted – here’s the details on the PlayOn Discount:

$10 off PlayOn until the end of September.

Click on Buy Now and enter Coupon Code FALL10OFF. This coupon is valid from now until September 30^th, 2009 at 11:59pm.  There’s also a free 14-day trial here.

Disclaimer:  The Hulu functionality thus far is a proof-of-concept.  While I expect it will be available to all SageTV users soon, there is no guarantee until it arrives.

PopcornHour C200 Preview and First Look

It has arrived!  The new PopcornHour C200 has arrived for its review at GeekTonic and I have a few quick photos to share with you while you wait for the complete review:

 

This media player looks quite interesting.  It’s powerful, supports an extremely large number of video/audio formats and codes, has HDMI 1.3a support, support for an internal drive and a nice LCD screen on the front.  So as you can imagine I’ve been waiting for this thing anxiously for the past few weeks – and originally that’s when this review unit was supposed to arrive.  Unfortunately due to delays it arrive today – and I’m not at the GeekTonic home which makes the unboxing thing quite difficult.  Thankfully I found a substitute to take a few snapshots (sorry for the blurriness – Monday’s photos will be much more detailed and clear I promise).

 

 

The top of the C200 has the logo and name engraved in the metal.  The remote looks pretty decent with a good layout.

 

Next is a shot of the front of the C200 shows the LCD (with protective plastic still in place).  You’ll see the power button on the far left with two USB ports right below that.  Then the LCD screen, a navigation “circle”, storage bay (hard drive or ROM fits in there) and finally the PCH logo at the lower right.

 

The rear of the unit shows the many ports as well as the fan grill.  HDMI, Component Video, S-Video, Composite, Stereo Analog Audio, SPDIF, Optical and Coaxial Digital Audio and even two more USB ports along with the power port.

 

It’s definitely much larger than the old PopcornHour A-110.  This unit is closer to the size of a DVD player if not a bit bigger.

Included with the C200 are the following:

• Power cord
• 2 AAA Batteries
• HDMI Cable
• Quick Start Guide
• RF Remote Control
• RF Antenna
• Screws for mounting optional drive

Full specs and more info can be found here

I’ll have more photos including the innards for you shortly.  I don’t take reviews like this one lightly so I’ll likely do it in two parts.  My first Impression early next week and then the complete review after using it for at least a week.  You just can’t get to know a device like this in a day or two.  It definitely has most of the right hardware.  Next we’ll have to see how it all performs and try out the usability.  Stay tuned for more!

Multi Channel CableCard Tuner for MediaCenter Arrives from Ceton

Last night, Microsoft held a very brief press event focused on Microsoft Media Center at CEDIA.  The focus was certainly on CableCard with SDV capability, relaxed DRM restrictions and removal of the OEM requirement.  One thing they didn’t talk about though is something I picked up in the Microsoft Press Release – The new Ceton multi-channel Cable TV Card will get a tech preview this week at CEDIA and it looks like a sure-fire hit for MediaCenter fans.  I was curious so I checked in with the Ceton rep and he shared all of the details on the new CableCard tuners – yes there are 3 different versions!

CETON Multi-Tuner CableCard Being Previewed at CEDIA

Microsoft will be doing a “technology preview” of the Ceton multi-channel CableCard tuner with MediaCenter.  This product was first announced at CES earlier this year, but we hadn’t heard much about it since.  Now that SDV has been figured out it and the CableCard restrictions have been relaxed this product appears to be coming soon to MediaCenter!

The Ceton Multi-Channel Cable TV Card will be the first-of-its-kind solution for enabling advanced cable TV services natively on Media Center (i.e. first multi-tuner CableCard tuner)  It supports playing or recording up to 6 HD cable TV channels simultaneously, including premium channels, without the need for any cable set-top boxes.  It also enables secure distribution of all TV programming, including live and recorded shows as well as premium and encrypted channels, to additional TV sets in the home via Media Center extenders.

Below is a diagram showing how the CETON tuners would work in a MediaCenter environment

The Ceton Multi-Channel Cable TV Card enables Media Center PCs to play or record up to six live channels of HDTV at once and stream live HD channels or recordings to multiple HDTVs throughout the home, all from a single cable connection. With Ceton you finally have a solution to transform your Media Center PC into a complete entertainment platform for all your media - even encrypted cable TV - with terabytes of storage.

Facts About the Ceton Multi-Channel Cable TV Card

• Works with any U.S. cable provider.
• Supports all standard- and high-definition cable channels including premium and encrypted channels.
• Play and/or record up to six live HD channels simultaneously from centralized storage.
• Stream live and recorded HD programming securely to several HDTV sets in the home at once.

• Watch and record from all TVs without needing multiple DVRs or any set-top boxes. Pause a show in one room and pick it up in another.
• Supports all Media Center Extenders including the Xbox 360.
• Eliminate monthly set-top box rental fees — a single Media Center PC can support all the TVs in most homes.

Updates Since the Ceton Card Was Announced at CES

• Ceton has completed development and Windows 7 testing on the Ceton Multi-Channel CableCard
• The Ceton card will natively support SDV on Windows 7 PCs via a Tuning Adapter
• Since it’s CES debut, the card has been adapted to a smaller PCI low profile form factor to better accommodate slim HTPCs
• There will be  2-tuner, 4-tuner and 6-tuner versions of the card
• The 4-tuner version of the Ceton Multi-Channel CableCard will be entering CableLabs Certification process shortly – this certification is the final step before making it available commercially
• The 4-tuner version will be available first, with the 2-tuner version for consumers and the 6-tuner version for pre-configured OEM PC’s available later.
• The Ceton Multi-Channel CableCard will be available as a standalone retail offering as well as bundled in new PCs from OEM partners Ceton plans to announce in the future.  The 6-tuner version will only be available to OEM’s due to the maximum # of tuners limit that Microsoft puts on Windows 7.  OEM’s can expand the number of tuners supported in Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate to 6 tuners thanks to the AEP (advanced entertainment pack) support added in Windows 7.
• The new Ceton Multi-Channel CableCard is expected to be available by the 1st Quarter of 2010

 

Ceton Multi-Channel CableCard System Requirements (subject to change):

• Windows 7
• Minimum Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 Processor
• 4 Gigabits of RAM
• HDPC compliant graphics card
• HDMI Out or DVI out with sound card

I’m pretty sure this will be a huge hit for Media Center fans – at least the ones who have access to Cable.  Expected pricing wasn’t available yet so that will play into it’s popularity as well.

You can read more about the new Ceton Tuner at their website

Big Brother = Amazon? The Kindle Books That Disappeared

UPDATE:
This evening this story evolved with additional facts.  While the quote below from Amazon Customer Service was in fact true, it was missing one important additional fact.  The two books WERE in fact unauthorized copies of the book.  This of course changes things dramatically.  While it still is a little unnerving to know Amazon can remove a book from your Kindle just like that, it is much more understandable.
Here's the rest of the story according to the WSJ:

The issue, says Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener, is that the Orwell books had been added to the company’s catalog using a self-service platform by a third party that did not actually have rights to sell the books. “When we were notified of this by the rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and from customers’ devices, and refunded customers,” he said.

 The WSJ article goes on to quote an Amazon representative to say this:

“We are changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers’ devices in these circumstances,”

 Exactly what I want to hear from Amazon.  While they didn't communicate the situation all that well earlier in the day - I had the story wrong much as everyone else did including the New York Times where I first caught the story...

Now on to the original post:

Kindle owners take note – this isn’t a pretty picture…
A thread on the Amazon forums started this morning like this:

I've received emails today notifying me of refunds for $.99 for Animal Farm and 1984, and both have disappeared from my Kindle archived items. I didn't request refunds, and I also don't remember purchasing the titles - I'm thinking they were free downloads. It's been several months since I ordered them. Anyone else have any unsolicited refunds lately?

At first it was thought to be a mistake or an “unauthorized” copy of Animal Farm.  But after a while the official Amazon Response arrived saying:

The Kindle edition books Animal Farm by George Orwell. Published by MobileReference (mobi) & Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) by George Orwell. Published by MobileReference (mobi) were removed from the Kindle store and are no longer available for purchase. When this occurred, your purchases were automatically refunded. You can still locate the books in the Kindle store, but each has a status of not yet available. Although a rarity, publishers can decide to pull their content from the Kindle store.

So basically those who had copies of Animal Farm or 1984 (quite appropriate don’t you think?) on their Kindle’s were removed via wireless “whispersync” and those customers received credits on their accounts.

I guess you could look at this as a positive since most of those readers probably had already read the books and got all of their money back for free.  But in reality it sends a very bad message to those that spent $299 or more on their nice, electronic book readers:
You do not own those books you are paying for and Amazon and the publishers can yank them right off of your Kindle whenever they choose.  Kind of takes a little of the Kindle charm away doesn’t it?  My wife (and now my dad) both will continue to enjoy their Kindle eBook reader, but I would imagine they’ll always wonder what “rights” will be used against them and the books they have purchased for their Kindle.  Sad that I had to post this right after complementing Amazon… Kind of Orwellian isn’t it?
Amazon Kindle Forums via NYTimes

Blockbuster OnDemand on Samsung HDTVs

 

Blockbuster may be way down, but they certainly aren’t out yet.  Blockbuster and Samsung just announced a partnership to provide Blockbuster OnDemand service on nearly all new Samsung video devices including new Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray players and some home theater systems starting this Fall.  No details of which specific devices at this point, but it’s notable that Blockbuster made this deal in a sea of Netflix-enabled devices.

via Bizjournals

SageTV Developing Effortless Linux Media Server on Flash Drive

One of the more complicated things about setting up a Home Theater PC (HTPC) is the process of setting up the HTPC server.  Getting all the drivers, firewire setup and even the installation of the HTPC software itself can be daunting especially when you account for making everything work with the multitude of hardware configurations and operating system issues. 

SageTV is working on a solution for this problem that eliminates nearly all of that headache and makes the installation and setup as easy as booting from a USB drive.  You supply the computer and hardware and this product handles most of the setup.

 

Coming Soon: The SageTV Linux Media Server

In an interview GeekTonic had with Jeff Kardatzke, CTO of SageTV we learned of a new product coming soon - for now we'll call it the "SageTV Linux Media Server."  Basically it involves a USB flash drive that contains a complete "image" of the server software and all the drivers and programs needed to run a computer as a full-fledged HTPC server.  When I asked Kardatzke about availability he said this:

"we’re working on it [SageTV Linux Server] now so within a few months hopefully."

Kardatzke went on to say it should enter beta sometime in the next few months so it should be available for sale at some point after that.

SageTV Server With Everything "Built-In"

The SageTV Linux Media Server is designed to be used as with a "headless" (without TV/monitor) server.  So basically you would take a computer with all of its hardware installed, plug in the USB flash drive into the computer and boot the computer with that flash drive.  It boots up into SageTV and you already have your HTPC software there along with everything you need to make it work.  Also included is the ability to connect with Placeshifter, have all drives formatted into a raid array etc.

No Cost for Operating System

Since it will use Linux, there's no cost for the operating system either - and you really don't need much (if any) knowledge of Linux to run it either since everything is set up and handled by the USB drive.  Even better you won't need to use up hard drive space for the operating system so those hard drives will be free for storing and serving your media.

Hardware Support Should be Flexible

The Linux Media Server is being designed to accommodate as many hardware devices and configurations as possible.  Mr. Kardatzke said this to say about hardware support:

"It's going to be very flexible with regards to the hardware.  Pretty much any motherboards that work with Linux will work with it... we’re using the latest drivers on everything. So the only limitation is that the hardware has to work on Linux which is pretty open in terms of motherboards, hard drives, usb drives etc. The capture devices will definitely be limited somewhat, but the most popular ones such as the SiliconDust HDHomeRun, Hauppauge products and other tuners as well will all be supported."

Unanswered Questions about this are many as it isn't even in beta yet.  Here's a few of those questions:

• How much will it cost?
• What Linux Distro does it use as a base?
• When?
• Will commercial detection work?

Commercial Detection in Linux - How To

Regarding the commercial detection I asked a seasoned SageTV user "bcjenkins" who uses Linux with SageTV how he does it.  Here's how he handles commercial detection with the current Linux version of SageTV:

1. Install Wine
2. Install Comskip by decompressing zip file
3. Run my comchecker script

I use it to process mpeg-2 files with no issue. I haven't tried with H264 in a long while, but could revisit again.  He said that he would upload the script to the SageTV downloads section and it's also available here

Not sure at this point what setup will be involved for commercial detection or if it might somehow be worked into the install, but it looks like it is certainly possible. 

Conclusion

Overall I'm very intrigued by the concept of the "server on a stick."  I think it definitely has the potential to make HTPCs more accessible to those who might be willing to try HTPCs, but don't like the hassle or are wary of the computing knowledge required.  The success of such a concept really depends on how effortless it really is.

The Linux Media Server concept would offer an additional solution for new users or existing users who are considering a new server build.  Possibly a good solution for an HTPC enthusiast helping a friend or family member with an install as well.  Bottom line, it's a good thing for the SageTV ecosystem and likely a step further towards plug-n-play HTPC hardware.

 

Disclaimer:  While all of this article is based on discussions with SageTV, this product has not been released to Beta yet so the details are of course subject to change.

 

Stay tuned to GeekTonic for more in-depth and informative articles and news about Media Gadgets, HTPCs and SageTV.

Pandora Now Safe - Some Cost Involved

The popular Internet radio provider, Pandora made a deal announced today where webcasters will get a "alternative set of rates and terms" from SoundExchange, the group who manages performers' royalties in the U.S.  This should put Pandora and other online radio providers in a much better survival position going forward.

Pandora was fighting crazy royalty rates where they would have to give up most of their revenue to royalties before, but now will pay about 25% of its revenue based on the new agreement.

Users of the free, ad-supported version of Pandora are now limited to 40 hours per month, but if those 40 hours are exceeded in a month users would have to pay $.99 to continue using Pandora through the end of the month.  If you use the paid version of Pandora you of course won't have to pay the $.99 fee.  If you use Pandora much, the "Pandora One" subscription service isn't a bad deal at $36 a year with a desktop app thrown in and this $.99 fee makes that even more attractive.

Seems like mostly a good deal for Pandora and even for Pandora users, but I fear it will cause Pandora to be more locked down and therefor some of the Pandora apps out there might run into more trouble making applications work with Pandora - we'll just have to see that one out.  Such is life with the current state of online media though.

 

via Gizmodo

VideoLan VLC 1.0.0 Arrives

My very favorite non-HTPC media player released version 1.0.0 this week and includes some great new features.  If you're looking for a media player that can handle about any file you throw at it and is free, look no further than VLC.

 

New features include:

Major New Features:

• AirTunes Streaming
• Video Scaling in fullscreen
• Frame-by-Frame support
• More exact speed controls
• Zipped file playback
• Customizable toolbars
• EXPERIMENTAL work for the winCE port has been done.

Playback Features:

• Instantaneous pausing
• Frame-by-Frame playback
• Finer speed control
• Live, on-the-fly recording for all medias
• Timeshift for most medias
• RTSP trickplay support
• Subtitles core improvements and fixes

Decoders Added/Improved:

• AES3 (SMPTE 302M) decoder
• Dolby Digital Plus - E-AC-3 (A/52b) decoder
• True HD/MLP decoder and parser
• Blu-Ray Linear PCM decoder
• QCELP (Qualcomm PureVoice) decoder
• Improved Real Video 3.0 & 4.0 decoder
• WMA v1/2 fixed point integer decoder
• Closed Captions using the SCTE-20 standard are now correctly decoded
• Improvement of WavPack decoder to support all integer modes and float mode
• Corrections on 5.1 and 7.1 channel decoding and ordering

Demuxers:

• Support for Dirac, MLP and RealVideo in Matroska files
• Major improvements in RealMedia files opening (.rm and .rmvb)
• Improvements of the TS demuxer for M2TS files from Blu-Ray and AVCHD
• Metadata for mod files are supported
• GSM codecs in Wav files are supported
• New raw audio demuxer supporting raw PCM streams
• New Dirac demuxer for raw Dirac streams

Access:

• Playback for video in uncompressed multi-RAR archives
• DVB-S and ATSC cards support on Windows
• EXPERIMENTAL Blu-Ray Disc and AVCHD Folders support
• On-the-fly zip file decompression and browsing (MRL of the form
     zip://file.zip!/file.avi to specify the file - the development form of
     zip://file.zip|file.avi is not supported anymore)
• CD-Text support on the cdda module (CD-Audio)

Playlist:

• Export the playlist in HTML
• Lua script for BBC radio playback
• Better metadata handling and reading

Read about the VLC 1.0.0 release and get your download at videolan.org

Blu-ray Managed Copy Explained & Cost Discussed

You may have heard a couple of weeks ago that Blu-ray has plans to get managed copy - the ability to make a copy of your Blu-ray disk within limits as defined by the studios.  That's a great step in the right direction but there are many negatives to the way it will be implemented.  Ben Drawbaugh at EngadgetHD has the scoop on how it will work and the possible uses for this type of functionality.

We'll get out the bad things we know about this first:

The Bad:

• Will require new hardware - yes all that money you dropped on those shiny new Blu-ray players won't get you managed copy ever.
• Not free.  It will have some cost as defined by the studio.  Not a surprise, but still, do we really want to pay for the same movie over and over and over???
• Apple hasn't joined the group of studios for the finalized AACS license so it's unlikely we'll see support for putting that copy of Blu-ray onto your iPod or iPhone.
• You'll need an internet connection to copy the disk so it can check with the DRM server
• There's already an excellent (if not a bit of a stretch of the rules) way to do this called AnyDVD HD

The Good:

• They are at least trying to answer the need for more portability of the media albeit in the typical imperfect way
• According to EngadgetHD's interview with the chair of the AACS business group, managed copy was designed with the "movie jukebox" use concept in mind.  So the use in a HTPC-type scenario just might work.
• The concept is a good one.  One that has a lot of potential and at least acknowledges the studios know (or are starting to understand) how its customers want to use their purchased media.
• Apple could still get on board by the time managed copy goes live in 2010.

If you're at all interested in Blu-ray, be sure and read the article on EngadgetHD - it's a good one.

Popcornhour New Version C200 Announced

The guys over at networkmediatank's forums have been waiting anxiously for more details on the newest version of the PopcornHour and Sybas finally delivered the specs and a few pics (see below) to feed the frenzy.

Some things I noticed when browsing the specs and the forum Q&A include:

• It's pretty big - much bigger than those older PopcornHour A110's.
• A nice move up to the much faster (more powerful) SMP8643 Sigma Chip (the A110 uses the SMP8635)
• It looks like it will support standard DVD and Blu-Ray, but not HD-DVD - there's a removable drive tray that seems to support a hard drive, DVD drive or Blu-Ray Drive!
• Gigabyte Ethernet support finally.  Too many media players don't yet support this.
• It comes with an RF remote control - something not all that common even these days.  I'll be interested in seeing what that remote looks like.  I would guess it will be something much less than a Harmony remote and closer in function/style to the Snapstream Firefly remotes.
• The C-200 (16.73" x 11.42" x 3.14") appears to be close to 2x the size of the A110 (10.5" x 5.25" x 1.25")
• The C-200 will be running with the latest Sigma Chip SMP8643 vs. vs the Sigma Chip SMP8635 on the current A110.

I didn't see anything showing price, but I'm betting it will start in the $300 price range at least.  Those GB-PVR guys have to be excited about this media player as they can use this thing as a GB-PVR extender.

 

Here's the details announced this morning by Sybas:

• The new PopcornHour will be called the C-200.
• The C200 uses the Sigma Designs SMP8643 chipset - 667MHz CPU with floating point coprocessor
• Dimensions: 16.73" x 11.42" x 3.14" and 8.3 lbs
• Memory: 512MB DDR2 DRAM, 256MB NAND Flash
• A/V Outputs: HDMI v1.3a with CEC, 36bpp deep color, 12-bit xvYCC processing and HDCP 1.2 content protection
  Component Video, S-Video, Composite Video, Stereo Analog Audio, S/PDIF Optical and Coaxial Digital Audio
• 2x USB 2.0 host on front and 2x USB host on back
• 1x USB 2.0 internal
• 2x SATA (one occupied by HDD tray
• 3.5" HDD Tray
• Internal mounting for 2.5" HDD
• LCD display for quickly searching, streaming and/or downloading content - useful for listening to music without the TV on!!!
• 2.4GHz RF Remote Control
• IR Remote Control port
• Network: Ethernet 10/100/1000 and miniPCI MII inteface for optional 11n WiFi card
• Connectity options: Bonjour, UPnP SSDP, UPnP AV, Windows Media Connect, Windows Media Player NSS, Samba, NFS
• Media Servers: myiHome, myiHomeLite, myiHomeMS (UPnP), MSP Portal
• Third Party Media Servers: GB-PVR, BitTorrent P2P, Usenet downloader, WizD, SwissCenter, Llink,
• NAS access: SMB, NFS, FTP
• Video Containers supported: MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V), MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG, DAT, VOB), MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS), AVI, ASF, WMV, Matroska (MKV), MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
• Video Decoders supported: XVID SD/HD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 MP@HL, MPEG-4.2 ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC
  MPEG-4.10 (H.264), BP@L3, MP@L4.0, HP@L4.0, HP@L4.1, WMV9, MP@HL, SMPTE 421M (VC-1), MP@HL, AP@L3
• Audio Containers supported: AC, M4A, MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA), WAV, WMA, FLAC, OGG
• Audio Decoders supported: Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA, WMA Pro, MPEG-1 Layer 1, 2, 3, MPEG-4 AAC-LC, MPEG-4 HE-AAC, MPEG-4 BSAC, LPCM, FLAC, Vorbis
• Audio pass-through: DTS, DTS-HD HR, DTS-HD MA, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD
• Other formats: ISO, IFO navigation, Rich Object Based Interactive Graphics, AVCHD navigation, Blu-ray ready (requires addition of compatible BD-ROM and at least 1GB USB stick or internal HDD)
• Photo Formats supported: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
• Subtitle formats supported: SRT, MicroDVD SUB, SSA, SUB/IDX

UPDATE 06/17/2009:  A Representative of Syabas contacted me today confirming that the Popcornhour C200 is expected to be available in July for $299

via Networked Media Tank Forums & Digital Home Blog

Digital Transition Issues Crop Up for Some Media Center Users

You would think those using HTPCs for their TV recording and viewing would be the least likely to be affected by the Digital Transition deadline that just passed last week, but you'd be wrong.  Many HTPC users (mostly Microsoft Media Center users) that rely on over-the-air (OTA) TV broadcasts for their TV signal have been experiencing major issues with incorrect guide data and incorrect channel mapping since the switchover.

Reports across the web have been streaming in about peoples entire TV Guide lineup showing incorrect channels, nothing but static or in some cases just disappearing.  Here's a few examples of major rumblings on the issue:

 

Greenbutton - to see how angry many users are give this GreenButton thread a read - here's a quote from one of the many posts:

"...and no it's not wrong to be upset about it.  It's been fairly obvious that MS couldn't give two <shoots> about Media Center at the moment, we're all messed up, it's not just you.  For now you hack the file, deal with it, complain about it, and wait for MS to decide what they want to actually do or not do with this software."

Never overestimate the cantankerousness of a TV watcher ;)

ChrisLanier says:

"...the transition is causing grief for Media Center users, but for most that might be an understatement"

EngadgetHD - Ben Drawbaugh at EngadgetHD said:

"The exact cause isn't known, but what is, is that while anyone who has a $50 digital converter box can just rescan to find the channels at their new home, Media Center users have to go well beyond anything your mom could do to get all the channels back."

ZDNet - Over at ZDNet Ed Bott had this to say:

"With all that experience, you’d think that Microsoft would have sailed through the long-awaited transition to all-digital over-the-air TV broadcasts in the United States this past Friday. Instead, the company failed, in dramatic fashion."

And one of the comments to that post at ZDNet was just priceless:

"However, as my wife observed: Media Center users and little old ladies appear to be the only ones adversely affected by the changeover."

It Looked Like Microsoft Was Ready, but...

It appears that the problem came even after Microsoft put of a "Media Center Service Alert" on all web-connected MediaCenter PCs telling users what steps to take to prepare for the digital transition.  Unfortunately for Media Center users (it affected XP MCE, VMC and even Windows 7 users in similar ways) some broadcasters changed their channel numbers as part of the switch and Microsoft hadn't updated their servers with the new information.  This meant those Media Center users obtaining TV via OTA in the areas where the channel numbers changed were left with no solution and without TV on those channels over much of the weekend!

I have a little empathy for Microsoft as I'm sure they thought they had everything under control - and as luck would have it, not a lot was on TV over the weekend unless you were relying on your HTPC to get the NBA finals...

Temporary Fix for MediaCenter Users

If it hasn't been fixed for your Media Center guide yet, there is a temporary fix I found on avsforum:

• Note the channels you lost since the analog shutoff.
• Head over to TVFool, input your zip code
• From TVFool write down the "real" channel number listed in the table.
• Delete the file C:\program data\Microsoft\eHome\EPG\prefs\atscchannels.xml .  Next time you download (update) your guide this xml file will be generated again.
• Re-add the missing channels
  • Settings> TV > Guide> "Add Missing Channels"
  • Then add digital number missing like "6.3" with the assigned frequency of number that you wrote down from TVFool
• You should now have all of those missing channels back - you'll then need to do a rescan to get the other channels (the ones that weren't missing) by doing:
  • settings > tv > guide > "get latest Guide Listing"

 

 

Some Minor Side Effects for Other HTPC Users

Other HTPC programs were affected in some ways by the digital transition, but in a much more isolated way.  This is because Media Center uses its own online data for the channel info in the guide instead of using a 3rd party EPG data provider as most other HTPC programs do (almost all use Zap2It for U.S. guide data.)

Here's a couple of threads for the non-Microsoft HTPC programs dealing with minor digital transition issues:

BeyondTV's Official Digital Transition Thread and another related thread regarding BeyondTV

SageTV users seem to have been pretty lucky as I couldn't find any threads directly related to problems with the transition except for this one where an update to an unrelated channel change was slower than usual.  Here's another SageTV thread discussing the digital transition, but no problems that I could find.  If you are having issues with any OTA tuners guide data, some users report that you can fix it by simply deleting their tuners (in SageTV of course), re-adding the tuners and rescanning to get the correct channels to map up with the guide data.

GBPVR seemed to have no problems with the digital switchover either

 

Since I'm not currently using OTA broadcast for my TV tuning needs I thought I'd ask the GeekTonic Readers.  How did the digital transition go for you?  Let me know in the comments as well as your HTPC, DVR or TiVo of choice.

eBooks Future Form Factor

Watching this demo of the Plastic Logic thin-film eBook Reader, I see this form factor as the future of eBook Readers. 

I’m not sure how well it would compete today versus other eBook readers on the market including the Kindle 2 and Kindle 3, but I think the super thin, paper-like form factor is just the thing to help increase eBook Reader adoption – that along with major price reductions.

I can see an eBook reader with this super-thin, flexible form factor really making newspaper reading and magazine reading more palatable on an eBook Reader – especially if you throw in full color and easy touch-screen navigation.



The question is who will be the first to bring this sort of technology for eBook readers to consumers?  The real battle with eBook readers is near.  Amazon has made significant progress with the Kindle brand.  Someone like Google, Apple or Microsoft could push the envelop further and with competition and innovation bring eBooks into the mainstream.

via TechCrunch

ZuneHD Confirmed with XBox Live Tie-In

Well, the ZuneHD rumors have now been confirmed by Microsoft and it's coming this Fall.  And they are talking about a tie-in with the XBox Live service too.

Looks like the ZuneHD is targeted as a direct competitor to the iPod Touch.

 

A press release by Microsoft tells us the following about the new ZuneHD:

• The Zune HD comes with a built-in HD Radio receiver - I like this idea although it's not something I'd pay much extra for to get the feature.  Still its a differentiater that should help.
• It comes with a OLED touch screen interface and a 16:9 widescreen format display (480x272 resolution)
• A high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) audiovisual docking station that connects direct to an HD TV in 720p is available at an additional cost
• Zune HD will include a full-screen Internet browser optimized for multitouch functionality.
• Zune HD is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing for instant streaming to the device from the more than 5 million-track Zune music store.
• "Zune will be a premium partner in the Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace."  This means TV, movies and games could be accessible to the Zune through the Xbox Live Video Marketplace

I see a few things here with the Zune HD that are interesting for sure and I definitely would love to see Apple get a little more competition on the iPod front.  But you know what I see glaringly missing from the Zune HD press release?  There is no mention of any Microsoft MediaCenter tie in - absolutely none.  I hope I'm wrong on this, but this really sounds like once again MediaCenter is not going to get "connected" to another Microsoft hardware device.

The ZuneHD Website is now live as well.

via ZDNet

D-Link Sticking with MediaCenter Extenders

Quick note related to all of the Microsoft MediaCenter banter going on lately.  As Linksys and HP have dropped out of the MediaCenter extender market, D-Link has confirmed that they plan to continue selling their D-Link DSM-750 media center extender solution.  I confirmed this with a representative of D-Link yesterday:

"D-Link has no current plans to drop support for the MS MediaCenter platform, and will continue selling the DSM-750 as a media extender solution to the home network environment."

Even though they didn't exactly say much about any future plans, it's good to know there is at least one 3rd party company sticking with MediaCenter extenders for now - even if it is a "bit" on the pricey side at around $270

 

Do any of you own one of these DSM-750's?  If so, how do you like it?

Microsoft MediaCenter Extenders Dropping Like Flies - Now HP Announces

Just last week we heard that Linksys was ending all MediaCenter Extenders for the Microsoft MediaCenter platform.  Today, Gizmodo is reporting that HP is ending the MediaSmart TV and ConnectHD Media lines.

From the Gizmodo article:

"there will not be any follow on MediaSmart TV or MediaSmart Connect products in 2009"

HP uses the words "with the PC at the center of the experience" which means to me that any MediaCenter focus from HP is on the PC-side of things and CE extenders are out from their perspective. 

HP was bringing the TV with MediaCenter built-in, but so much for that.  I don't think HP was all that successful with their extenders, but it seems to leave two viable extenders for MediaCenter at the moment:

1. XBOX 360
2. D-Link DSM 750

So for you MediaCenter users, what will you purchase next time you need one?  Do you think there will be other extenders coming out with Windows 7?

 

via Gizmodo

 

Did I mention I really think extenders are the right way to go for a multi-room HTPC setup?

Linksys Discontinuing All Media Extenders DMA 2100 and DMA 2200

For the past year you could pick up a Linksys DMA 2100 for super cheap prices at various online stores.  So cheap the little MediaCenter extenders have become quite popular. 

Unfortunately it looks like Linksys is finally running out of the devices and officially discontinuing the Media Extender products entirely.

I say "looks like" because I haven't seen anything completely official yet, but after being tipped off on this by this post on the GreenButton Forums, I did a little searching.  What I found is the DMA-2100 is listed as discontinued at the following stores:

• Linksys Online Store - 2100 discontinued and 2200 discontinued
• Amazon.com - 2100 only available used and 2200 available for $207.49
• Newegg - 2100 discontinued and 2200 $139.99
• Walmart - 2100 discontinued and 2200 $299.98
• Dell Home - 2100 discontinued and 2200 $199.33

You'll note that the DMA-2200 with an optical drive is still widely available although it costs much more than the 2100 did.  Another concern among the many Linksys DMA 2100 users is whether they will continue to provide firmware updates as needed.  My guess is they won't, but hopefully that won't be a huge issue as it is a pretty mature product.

These extenders are V2 which means they work with both Vista Media Center and Windows 7 Media Center.  I hope Linksys isn't getting out the market entirely and plan to provide a newer version sometime soon. 

I've put in an e-mail to confirm Linksys's intentions and will report back if/when I hear back.

Update:  I've received a note back from a Linksys Representative who confirmed that Linksys has discontinued all extenders and have no plans to replace them with new models:

"Yes,they are in discontinue status and right now there is no plans to
replace. Sorry"

 

Did I mention I really think extenders are the right way to go for a multi-room HTPC setup?

The Kindle 3 is the Kindle DX - Bigger and still expensive

Today Amazon had their Kindle event and announced their new, bigger, more expensive Kindle.  The focus for this one is definitely on the newspaper, periodical and textbook consumer.  More details below.

The Kindle 3 Name

The new Kindle is named the Kindle DX.  I sure would like a name like "Kindle Extra!" or something a little more catchy, but oh well.

Size - It's Bigger

The Kindle DX sports a 9.7-inch display which is two and a half times the size of Kindle 2.  This will definitely help for those reading newspapers or magazines on the device, but I fear it puts it a bit too large for the avid reader that the Kindle 1 and Kindle 2 appeals to.  Not quite as easy to hold in a single hand for extended periods of time.  The Kindle DX keyboard looks more compact and that certainly makes sense to me.

Look, it Rotates

iPhone users will be familiar with this one.  As you turn the Kindle DX it automatically switches between portrait and landscape.  A nice feature that again tends to lend itself to the newspaper, magazine or textbook readers.

Native PDF Support

This is a great new feature - something I really wish the current Kindles could handle better.  The new Kindle DX has native PDF support although I wonder how fast that screen refresh will be for PDFs when you have that big of a screen to deal with.

Price - It's Not Just Bigger, its Even MORE Expensive!

I sort of suspected the price of the new Kindle would be about the same as the Kindle 2 unless they threw in a color screen or something really new.  Amazingly the price is even higher than the Kindle 2.  Kindle DX is $489 while the Kindle 2 remains at $359.  I'm sorry, but they will not sell many of these at a price of $489 - it's just too expensive.  Watch for a fire sale of these devices with a much reduced price come Christmas when they still haven't sold out of their first inventory.

Reduced Subscription Prices on Major Newspapers with LT Commitments

If you definitely will be reading your favorite newspaper on the Kindle DX, several of the newspapers will be offering reduced prices for long-term commitments.  This makes sense, but so far I haven't seen pricing on that yet - and my local paper, the Kansas City Star still isn't on the list of Kindle Newspapers.

It does Textbooks Too

Amazon announced agreements with three major textbook publishers (I didn't see names yet) who will supply their textbooks (not sure how many or which ones) on the Kindle platform.  The following Universities announced agreements with Amazon:  Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University Princeton, Reed College and University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

EARLY CONCLUSIONS

We have many of the same positives with the Kindle DX as with prior Kindles:

• Wireless Whispersynch delivering books to your Kindle quickly and effortlessly
• Light and fairly easy to carry and hold
• Much easier on the eyes than a computer or netbook screen
• Great battery life - especially over a computer
• The new Kindle DX has a bigger screen and therefore easier to read and navigate for newspapers, periodicals and textbooks

And we still have the negatives:

• Price is prohibitive for most people.  The higher price of the DX will push most who are interested to the Kindle 2.
• Bigger isn't better for all readers - The Kindle 2 is about perfect in size for the avid book readers.  Those will continue to prefer the smaller and less expensive Kindle 2
• No Color still
• Not enough newspapers available

That's my early take.  I see the Kindle 2 selling much better than this new Kindle DX.  Its definitely a step in the right direction in some ways, but I'm watching for some steep competition coming Amazon's way soon.  I'm shocked that we don't see a subscription model to reduce the price.  I imagine that has more to do with the difficulty in getting the publishers on board than anything else.

If you want one, you can preorder the Kindle DX for $489 now on Amazon.

via Engadget

Kindle Extra! A New, Large-Screen Kindle Arrives today for Newspaper and Textbooks

UPDATE:  The New, Kindle DX Available for Preorder - More Details Here

 

We’ve seen rumors of a new, large-screen version of Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader for months now and this past week those rumors have become very likely.  The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have both had stories leading us to believe that tomorrows Amazon “Event” announcement will be for the new, bigger Kindle that I’d like to name the “Kindle Extra!” 

Pay attention to tomorrows event and we’ll see if I’m on the money for the name, Kindle Extra!  It’s way better than the rumored “Kindle DX” name.

Questions abound about this new version of the Kindle including:

• Will it be in color?  This would undoubtedly help in the adoption rate of the Kindle for newspaper and periodical readers.  Illustrations must be well implemented and color is a part of that let alone everyone's beloved cartoons you find in both newspapers and magazines.
• How much bigger will the screen be?  Navigation of a newspaper is inherently different than it is with a book.  A somewhat larger screen will assist in the adoption of a eBook readers use for newspapers and magazines.
• Will it be cheaper than the current Kindle?  By far, the biggest stumbler to Kindle adoption is the current steep cost of the Kindle 2.  Bring it down to the $150 range and you’ll see it “kindle” a firestorm (pardon the pun) of adoption.
• Will they announce new newspaper and periodical support for the Kindle with this new version?  I currently can’t get my Kansas City Star (a McClatchy company) on the Kindle.  While the NYTimes is nice and the Wall Street Journal is essential, I really need to have my local newspaper the Kansas City Star arrive on the Kindle to make it a true, newspaper reader.  Rumors of cheaper subscriptions exclusive to this device abound.
• How many textbook publishers will support the Kindle?  If you want a school or student to foot the cost of a Kindle for textbooks, it really will need to support most or all textbooks.  I can’t see purchasing one for half or fewer of a students textbooks – it has to be more than that.
• Will the new Kindle allow new annotations within text – especially useful with textbooks
• Will the new Kindle include a PDF reader?  I’m going to guess it will.
• Is Amazon serious about making money from the Kindle, the content or both?

Amazon’s time to fend of the oncoming tidal wave of new, competing eBook readers is coming very and soon.  They have to be on their game and evolve extremely quickly or they’ll quickly become a dinosaur despite their current success in the small, but expanding eBook reader world.

Image via Engadget

Story via WSJ NYT

Windows 7 RC Available to All - With a Catch

If you still want to check out Windows 7 RC, it's now available to the general public for download.  Microsoft made it available via MSDN and a few other sites to members last week, but now everyone can get their hands on it.

You can download it now from here

 

Now for the catch.  This isn't surprising to me, Microsoft has put in a bit of a "timer" in these versions so you're encouraged to purchase the real thing eventually.

• Beta versions of Windows 7 will get an hourly shutdown beginning July 1, 2009
• Other version of Windows 7 will get an hourly shutdown beginning March 1, 2010

I gathered this tidbit from the Microsoft partner website thanks to tomshardware:

To avoid interruption, it’s recommended that you and your customers rebuild test machines by using a valid Windows operating system before Windows 7 Beta and Windows 7 RC expire. Windows will automatically notify you that the expiration process is about to begin. Two weeks later, your PC will shut down every two hours. For Windows 7 Beta, the bihourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009. The software will expire August 1, 2009. For Windows 7 RC, the bihourly shutdowns will begin March 1, 2010. The software will expire June 1, 2010.

I don't really see this as a problem - if you like Windows 7 enough to still be using it by those dates, you probably should purchase it by then anyway right?  Just be sure you remember to save all of that stuff you have on the PC with the beta (or unofficial) Windows 7 installed before the deadlines.

Comcast Presses Forward to Eliminate Analog Channels

Based on a conference call Comcast hosted for analysts, Comcast is pressing forward to eliminate most if not all analog channels and move towards an entirely digital lineup.  dslreports.com reports that the project named "Project Cavalry" intends to spend

"roughly a billion dollars to reclaim 40 to 50 channels of analog spectrum, freeing up bandwidth for DOCSIS 3.0, more HD channels, and more VOD"

This is good on one hand as it frees up bandwidth for Comcast to add more HD channels, VOD and internet services.  But for many HTPC users it makes those analog tuners useless and forces more towards CableCard, Hauppauge HD-PVRs and for the unencyrpted channels, QAM tuners like the SiliconDust HDHR.  For those who didn't want a cable box in the home this is not the best of news.

via dslreports.com