[ExtractStream] Re: Tivo capability in a PC

[Rob Royse]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Steve,

I agree with you, and I have much of the same functionality in my new ATI
Radeon 8500DV video card, and they have even added an excellent RF remote
with this card and firewire capability to boot. I can see this card being
VERY popular with those trying to integrate the PC into their home theatre
setups. The PC is a logical "Tivo Killer" for all the reasons you cited,
except:

The only problem I see with it is a common one that all the PC-based
products seem to stumble over:

1.	Simply no mechanism for controlling the source tuner if it isn't
broadcast "over the air" or in basic cable not requiring some sort of set
top box. Same thing with DBS Satellite systems. The one thing Tivo does
(among others) EXTREMELY well is to control/change channels of DSS receivers
and Cable Boxes. I have yet to see any sort of viable solution on the PC,
despite the fact that the PC has even more robust connectivity than a Tivo
does. I don't know about you, but 95% of the programming I am interested in
archiving to a CD or DVD from my Tivo is what I consider to be "premium"
content, and it requires intelligence from either the PVR or the PC to
change channels. I know it isn't rocket science, but I haven't seen it yet
on the PC.

I would be extremely surprised if someone either hasn't developed such a
solution or isn't working on one. I just haven't looked into it yet. I wish
whoever the best of luck and I hope to see such a product soon!

I would love for my PC to become the "hub" of my entertainment system, at
least as far as archiving and distribution inside my home is concerned. I
already have several sources inside my home modulated for output to unused
cable channels so that I can watch any source in any room of my home, but
the PC just has to develop the proper control mechanisms...

Just my two drachmas,

Rob


-----Original Message-----
From: steve bryan [mailto:steve_bryan@m...] 
Sent: December 28, 2001 2:37 PM
To: ExtractStream@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ExtractStream] Re: Tivo capability in a PC

There is now a working TiVo-style product available product from 
Creative Labs for about $100. So instead of trying to cobble on an 
ethernet connector and bypass the intentional obfuscation of the 
captured signal you get access to everything just as we expect with a 
PC (as differentiated from consumer electronics boxes). Of course the 
image is on a PC monitor rather than your TV (unless you have the 
necessary ingredients of a HTPC) but the results are very nifty. 
Because it does the mpeg-2 encoding in a dedicated chip there is 
almost no burden on the main processor (around 5% has been reported). 
You can easily be playing "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" in the 
foreground and not even realize it is recording in the background 
(you need to leave the program running in standby mode in the system 
tray). You could be viewing other recorded programs while recording 
or even do the standard TiVo trick of viewing earlier parts of a 
program while recording the later parts. This really seems to be the 
realization in a $100 pci card of a 'digital' TV product first 
introduced in the early nineties based on a SGI workstation (anyone 
remember the name of that product?).

I wouldn't say there is nothing to be improved in the scheduling 
software or the steps needed to make the files available to other 
applications but this is the real item. There is also no interface to 
any of the electronic programming guides. However, in every other way 
this is even better than the revamped ReplayTV or hacked TiVo. I've 
not seen the product in a store yet but it can be ordered directly 
from Creative Labs.
-- 




Yahoo! Groups Sponsor


ADVERTISEMENT

<http://rd.yahoo.com/M=215002.1818248.3328688.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=17085687
70:HM/A=847665/R=0/*http:/ads.x10.com/?bHlhaG9vbW9uc3RlcjcuZGF0=1009571836%3
eM=215002.1818248.3328688.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1708568770:HM/A=847665/R=1> 


<http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=215002.1818248.3328688.1261774/D=egroupmai
l/S=1708568770:HM/A=847665/rand=341072268> 

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ExtractStream-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service. 

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.merlins.org/archives/extractstream/attachments/57fd8b9c/attachment.html

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--