ReplayTV and TiVo, watch out: here comes the PC
Digital Video Recorders, also known as Personal Video Recorders or PVRs, are devices that hook up to your television and a cable or satellite connection and allow you to record broadcasts on a hard disk. In fact, these units record automatically, allowing you to "rewind" live TV. Some models also have predictive features. You can train the TiVo, from San Jose-based TiVo Inc., for example, to make assumptions about what you might want to record, using little "thumbs up" and "thumbs down" buttons on the unit's remote control.
But the market dominated by ReplayTV and TiVo started to look crowded in 2000 as both America Online and Microsoft prepared to enter the market. On June 13th, 2000, Microsoft announced its intention to partner with Thomson Electronics (maker of RCA equipment) and Hughes Corp.'s DirecTV satellite-based digital broadcasting system to offer "Ultimate TV" -- a new service that extends the Internet-on-TV capabilities of Microsoft's WebTV efforts to include personal video recording functions and satellite reception features. Then, on June 19th, 2000, AOL announced its AOLTV product, based in part on TiVo technology.
Early TiVo units weren't particularly advanced in the hardware department. A Series 1 Tivo included only 16MB of RAM and a 54Mhz CPU -- it used a dedicated encoder chip to perform its recording magic.
Early Steps and Missteps
Microsoft's first effort in the PVR arena was a box, co-developed with Thomson, with enough storage capacity to record up to 30 hours of high-quality TV, delivering results notably better than VHS tapes. It was also capable of replaying videos in slow motion with no loss in picture quality. This 30-hour capacity at top quality was, at least at the time of its announcement, substantially more than the best units offered by its competitors. The highest-capacity TiVo unit at the time, for example, delivered just nine hours of recording with its "best" quality setting. Before it dropped out of the consumer market in the fall of 2000, the best ReplayTV unit offered just seven hours of high quality recording. (The company subsequently announced its intent to re-enter the consumer arena with a souped-up model in Aug. 2001 before filing for bankruptcy protection in Mar. 2003.)
Its best model, Microsoft said, would store up to 320 hours of TV shows and would ship, the company says, in time for the 2001 holiday season. As it turned out, almost no one noticed. The pre-announcement, as is typical for many Microsoft "pre-emptive strikes," ended up looking like little more than a trial balloon, as the markets for TiVo and ReplayTV faltered and waned.
Microsoft's offering didn't attempt to duplicate the predictive features of the TiVo units, admitted the company. Instead, it focused on advanced ways to help users find and record programs. One key feature of the Microsoft unit is the inclusion of dual tuners, making it, the company says, the only satellite or personal-TV box to let viewers watch one channel while recording another -- or even record two different channels simultaneously.
By 2000, personal computers had grown powerful enough that PVR technology was viable on a PC. At Computex 2000, MGI & iCompression debuted a Windows PC-based Personal Video Recorder prototype and reference design. Soon afterwards, ATI began shipping All-in-Wonder cards with PVR features. While, at this writing, both TiVo and ReplayTV are still in business, TiVo senior vice president Brodie Keast acknowledges that "The PC has won as the center of digital content."
Pinnacle Systems, Inc. in Dec. 2000 announced plans to offer a USB Personal Video Recorder. The product, named Bungee DVD, turns a PC into a Personal Video Recorder for the TV, giving users the ability to pause live TV, create instant replays and schedule recording events. Bungee is an external device with USB and video ports that easily connects to any desktop or notebook PC. Bungee has TV output capability that allows users to timeshift programs on their PC and watch them on their TV set. Bungee DVD shipped in Spring 2001.
In Jan. 2002, Sony began shipping Vaio consumer PCs with its GigaPocket PVR. SnapStream Media, Inc. announced software designed to work with your TV tuner or video capture card and streaming media technology to watch, manage, and record television and video recordings in a fashion similar to TiVo and ReplayTV recorders. Click here to read more.
Windows MCE
In July 2002, Microsoft, again playing the role of 800-pound gorilla, announced its plans to deliver a version of Windows XP with a built-in PVR capabilities less than nine months after Bill Gates featured SnapStream at the Windows XP Launch keynote. PCs equipped with the software, dubbed Windows XP Media Center Edition, are expected to ship before Comdex in Nov. 2002. The system, code-named Freestyle, promises to unlock the operating system's digital media features via a remote control and new user interface. Hewlett Packard, Samsung and other manufacturers have committed to releasing entertainment PCs and hybrid devices based on the design.
On Oct. 29, 2002, Microsoft officially unveiled a project previously code-named "FreeStyle" -- a version of its Windows XP system software optimized for multimedia. The software, known as Windows Media Center Edition, is (officially, at least) shipping only as part of dedicated Media Center PCs -- currently available only from HP.
These computers -- we tested an HP model based on a 2.53 GHz Pentium 4 processor -- include an IR remote control (if the line-of-sight requirement of infrared technology doesn't work for you, it is possible to use an RF-based ATI Remote Wonder instead) and feature the ability to record and play back television, video, DVD, and the many audio and image formats supported by Windows XP.
The machines also happen to be full-fledged PCs, carrying with them all the pros and cons this entails. The remote control works well for selecting and launching audio, video and slideshow files, but it is inconvenient if you happen to press the "Desktop" button, where the "eHome shell" of FreeStyle is hidden, and you're right back to Windows XP's good old Luna interface.
Windows MCE is, at its heart, Windows XP plus Service Pack 1, with about 16 megabytes of extra goodness in the form of a stylish and dynamic new interface designed to be navigated with a handheld remote control. It's decidedly weird to see a remote with a Windows "Start" logo on it, but it works surprisingly well.
Microsoft's growing expertise in graphical user interfaces is evident in Windows MCE: it is much easier to use than any of the other PC add-on products we've seen, and can be comfortably used whether you are sitting right in front of the screen, or three meters from the a large-screen TV.
The eHome shell is very slick. Navigation buttons on the remote (corresponding to the cursor keys and backspace key on the keyboard) allow you to traverse the hierarchy of directories. Extra-large lettering on the screen makes the display highly appropriate for across-the-room viewing. In this way, Windows Media Center Edition is much more successful than, say, the Multimedia Center interface of ATI's All-in-Wonder series of products. If you prefer to do your computing while sitting in front of the computer (what a concept!), you can change the text size display defaults.
The default Media Player is Windows Media Player 8; however, we successfully upgraded the eHome shell with Windows Media Player 9, with no apparent ill effects.
Similarly, although the default configuration does not directly support DivX video playback, the drivers can easily be installed to provide added functionality. This is perhaps the best reason to consider a PC-based PVR instead of a dedicated box, such as the recently announced Panasonic DMR-HS2.
According to HP, all of its Media Center PCs include the HP remote control, DVD+R/+RW or CD-RW drives, a floppy drive, a PVR TV tuner card, a Media Center keyboard with easy-access to entertainment features and volume control knob, an infrared (IR) receiver, TV-out, one front-access and four rear-access USB 2.0 ports, one front-access and one rear-access IEEE 1394 port, an IR blaster to control a set-top box, a 10/100 Base-T network interface and an optical mouse. The included TV tuner/capture card was an Emuzed Maui PVR -- according to hardwaregeeks.com, Media Center currently recognizes only the Hauppauge WinTV PVR PCI II, Emuzed EvcapMaui Device and PVR 250 TV Cards. The list of working TV Tuner cards is located in %windir%\inf\medctroc.inf. At this time, we don't know whether it is possible to configure this file to allow third-party TV cards to work.
However, there may still be hope for users of other PCs. Emuzed says it is producing an external USB tuner compatible with Windows Media Center Edition. A number of portable computer manufacturers, including Toshiba and Alienware, are expected to produce MCE-compatible portables. Bill Gates showed a prototype of one model at CES in Jan. 2003.
In addition to the features mentioned above, the HP Media Center PC 863n is powered by an Intel Pentium 4 2.4-GHz processor and includes 512 MB DDR memory and an 80 GB hard drive for storing digital libraries, as well as CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives for burning CDs and watching movies. Available beginning Nov. 3 through retail store kiosks and hpshopping.com, the HP Media Center PC 863n is priced at US$1,349.
The HP Media Center PC 873n tested by PC Buyer's Guide includes an Intel Pentium 4 2.53-GHz processor, 512 MB DDR memory, a huge 120-GB 5,400-rpm hard drive, a second-generation HP DVD+R/DVD+RW recorder, a CD-ROM drive and Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX-certified 200-watt speakers. The HP Media Center PC 873n is available as of Oct. 29 in retail stores and at hpshopping.com for an estimated U.S. street price of $1,649 -- about C$2500.
The most powerful model, dubbed the HP Media Center PC 883n, includes an Intel Pentium 4 2.66-GHz processor, 512 MB DDR memory, 120-GB 7,200-rpm hard drive, a DVD+R/+RW drive, a CD-ROM drive and Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 THX-certified 500-watt speakers. The HP Media Center PC 883n is available as of Oct. 29 (currently, as an online special order only) for US$1,999.
For more coverage of the Media Center PC launch, see Tech-critic.com. For a collection of Media Center Edition tips & tricks, visit Olcay-its.de.
TiVo
A further twist in the PVR saga comes from market leader TiVo, which, as of mid-2002, has begun recording infomercials without prompting from its users. These items are displayed in the TiVo's menu of available selection and are obviously paid for by advertisers. Fortunately, any recording slated for the same time as these infomercial programs (typically broadcast late at night on obscure channels) takes precedence. Still, it has users wondering how far TiVo will go to match their viewing preferences -- which, by default, are sent to TiVo, although such activity can be changed by contacting the company and requesting that it not be -- with targeted ad content. Read more....
The company also announced in Jan. 2003 plans to connect TiVo devices to the home network, with new software that allows recorders to access and share content with networked PCs. The US$99 Home Media Option will be downloadable to Series2 recorders from TiVo in the second quarter of 2003.
ReplayTV, etc.
ReplayTV, on the other hand, has gained a loyal audience by focusing not on monthly subscription fees, but by delivering a simple and effective technology to eliminate ads from recorded content. (It was subsequently sued over its ability to instantly skip commercials.) Its parent company, Sonicblue, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Mar. 2003, says it hopes to sell the ReplayTV and RIO portions of its business.
There are other hardware-based recorders hitting the market, too, from Toshiba, Pioneer, Panasonic and others. As noted on Slashdot, the top-of-the-line Panasonic DMR-HS2 ($1000 US) has a 40 GB hard drive, offers “Time Slip Playback” (similar to TIVO’s “pause live TV” function), and allows you to move shows off the hard drive onto DVD. You can even record straight to DVD-R or DVD-RAM discs (which is what the $700 DMR-E30(K/S) does). There’s a IEEE-1394 (FireWire) input, so you can record from sources that have a FireWire output. It’s a progressive-scan DVD player, too.
Apple has been curiously absent from this market. An April 1, 2002, report suggesting that Apple was preparing a Mac-centric product based in part on TiVo technology proved to be an April Fool's Day hoax. El Gato Software subsequently launched EyeTV, the first consumer PVR for the Macintosh market, in July 2002. EyeTV has been updated several times since then.
At CeBIT in Mar. 2003, Germany's FAST took the whole concept of PVRs to a higher level with its announcement of a Mac-savvy media-server solutions, including the Fast TV Server and a TV Player. Dubbed the TVS 200-N, the TV Server is a compact and stylish blue box (shown at right) that records up to 200 hours of programming to its 160GB hard drive. The FAST Media Player 100-N works with the TVS 200-N to allow films, photos, or music stored on a Mac or PC be chosen, viewed, or listened to using a TV. It supports such media formats as MP3, JPEG, and MPEG-4, 2, or 1.The products are expected to be available this summer.
And AOL in March 2003 announced that it was stepping up for another kick at the can with a new TiVo-like PVR service it calls Mystro. Reportedly, Mystro will use content stored at the cable provider and not in the local hardware -- apparently as a ploy for additional cable company revenue. (Shudder.)
Perhaps the ultimate PVR announced so far is the Sony NDR-XR1 digital recorder, equipped with the 80GB hard drive and a DVD recorder. The unit features a broadband connection to retrieve a programming guide. The system can record up to 90 hours of programming on the 80GB Hard drive. Recorded shows can be directly burned on DVDs with the built-in DVD writer. The unit will be introduced, initially to the Japan market only, on April 12, 2003. Slashdot has details.
Another Sony PVR product is also noteworthy. Due in August 2003, the Vaio W PCV-W500GN1 is an all-in-one desktop design with a 17.5-inch display, a 2.66GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and a combination DVD-burner and CD-burner drive. The unit incorporates Sony's Giga Pocket personal video recorder and a remote control, letting owners use the PC to record and watch television programs.
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