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All posts tagged "Tivo"


Monday, January 26, 2009

Options for Streaming Netflix

Posted by Chris Gohlke in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 05:30 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/19/...aming-shootout/

"Netflix seems to be doing things right when it comes to the streaming game, partnering with several hardware companies in an attempt to make its service more or less ubiquitous -- a pretty sharp break from the proprietary hardware approach taken by most of its competitors. That means Netflix subscribers have quite a few choices when it comes to streaming, and we thought we'd put the ones available now head-to-head and try to crown a winner. The good news? There isn't a mediocre choice out there. The bad? Well, read on."

I've been using the Roku box for a while now and find it pretty impressive and should be wrapping up my review soon. Sounds like they are all pretty good and the decision as to which is best really comes down to personal preference and how you plan to use it.

Tags: Xbox, Samsung, Tivo, Roku

Monday, December 29, 2008

Will Blu-ray Win the War, Not Just the Battle?

Posted by Timothy Huber in "Digital Home Talk" @ 03:00 PM

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/ne...s_bluray_doomed

"Doubts have been cast on the success of the Blu-ray format ever since it debuted. Initially, the format appeared to be doomed due to a poor adoption rate, thanks mainly to a host of factors, including the PS3's initial tribulations, popularity of the DVD format, and the steady rise in the popularity of digital downloads."

Blu-ray won the format battle against HD-DVD, but it has yet to win the war for HD-content delivery. The opposition? Digital downloads, for one. Personally, I'm a fan. VUDU's HDX rentals are extremely high quality and their full HD library is the largest anywhere. Other competitors include Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon/TiVo, and Netflix; each with varying pros and cons.

The other opposition? Interestingly enough, standard-def DVD. While it's not true HD content, the output of an upconverting player provides a very satisfying experience, particularly if the movie is good. And consider that many people can't tell the difference between SD and HD on their HDTVs. Basically DVD quality is, in many instances, good enough. While the DVD to Blu-ray quality difference is significant, it's not as big of a leap as VHS to DVD. I remember VHS video artifacts & that interfered with my enjoyment of a movie. Very rarely have seen a DVD issue that is a limitation of the media.

What do you think?


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Nero LiquidTV/TiVo PC: TiVo Interface On Your PC, Complete With Monthly Fee

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/09/2...face-to-the-pc/

"Rejoice, HTPC fans -- that partnership between Nero and TiVo has finally borne fruit in the form of Nero's new LiquidTV / TiVo PC DVR package, which brings the TiVo interface and featureset to Windows. The $199 package comes with a year of TiVo service, a Hauppage USB ATSC tuner, an IR receiver, and a Nero-branded TiVo remote, and does exactly as you'd expect -- it's TiVo on your PC. There are some interesting PC-specific features bolted on the usual kit -- you can navigate using the keyboard and mouse (there are even some nifty contextual menus) and you can export directly to iPod and PSP-compatible .mp4 from within the interface -- but for the most part it's the same TiVo experience you're used to, including streaming shows to and from other TiVos and TiVo PCs. If you're already running an HTPC setup, you can get the TiVo PC software and a year of service for $99, but your Media Center remote might be a little wonky without a remap, and Nero reps didn't make any promises about CableCARD compatibility apart from "it should work if Windows recognizes it.""

Ah, so this is what Nero was hinting at a couple of weeks ago - I received a teaser email and wondered what they were cooking up. It's nice to see some innovation in the PCTV space, but I'm not so sure that I'm sold on this particular implementation: $99/year for the Tivo software and service? I've never owned a Tivo, but is the Tivo experience really that much better than Windows Media Center, which is free on any Vista Home Premium computer? Engadget HD also has some unboxing photos for you to check out.


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