Recent Comments:
Broadcom's new DVR chip could make all our dreams come true {Engadget HD}
Oct 29th 2009 4:55PM We'll see DVRs with these SoCs sooner than some may think.
Chinese / Taiwanese distributors already have these available in limited quantities.
Ask Engadget HD: Is it (still) a good time to buy a TiVo? {Engadget HD}
Oct 29th 2009 4:28PM If all you care about is recording and watching television (and maybe Netflix), then the core functionality of the TiVo is still very competitive. The TiVo's upconverted SD UI shows its age, but the box remains an excellent "toaster" for TV recording and playback. If you want to access PC videos and music, then Windows Media Center offers advantages that the aging TiVo hardware cannot match.
The TivoHD and DirecTV DVRs are based on the latest Broadcom SoC from early 2007, but that 300MHz CPU is clearly showing its age. It was never intended to support more than an upconverted SD UI, and it will never *natively* support popular Internet video codecs such as XVID and DIVX. It was not designed with multi-room in mind, so network throughput is limited.
For TiVo to be competitive with Media Center moving forward, it needs a design refresh based on a modern Broadcom SoC. The new and upcoming Broadcom SoCs feature 2-3x the performance to support high-definition UIs, 4+ tuners, whole-house DVR functionality (think multiple extenders), high-speed networking via the existing coax in the home with MoCA, 1080p60 upconversion, and more PC video codecs.
Looking forward, it's simply unrealistic to expect a 2006-2007 DVR hardware platform with a 300MHz CPU and limited 2D graphics capability to match all the bells and whistles of the latest PCs running Windows Media Center 7. But if all you want is TV recording and playback, then TiVo still does that well with an intuitive interface. Despite its age, it's still a significant upgrade over the the vast majority of cable DVRs (some cable DVRs like the Motorola DCX have newer hardware, but no new software to take advantage of it).
Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players {Engadget}
Sep 24th 2009 2:49PM Thanks, I couldn't make that out on the slides.
Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players {Engadget}
Sep 24th 2009 2:39PM No SATA controller for DVRs. :(
Cablevision asks FCC for a waiver to encrypt all Clear QAM channels {Engadget HD}
Sep 24th 2009 12:54PM "After all, this is just OTA stuff. "
Keep in mind that local channels are only "free" when received over-the-air. The local channels are not free for Cablevision.
Few affiliates invoke their "must carry" rights, so cable companies must often pay local networks a per-subscriber fee for the right to deliver those channels via cable. Cablevision also paid for the equipment necessary to obtain and deliver those local signals on their system.
Ceton is set to take over the CableCARD PC tuner market {Engadget HD}
Sep 11th 2009 5:08PM thebasa,
All M-CARDs support decryption on up to six streams. Current CableCard products feature a maximum of two tuners, so that's all we can use today. That's a limitation of existing DVR products; it's not a limitation of M-CARDs.
Comcast does not charge extra for M-CARDs. In fact, M-CARDs are the only CableCards now in production. Production of single-stream CableCards (sometimes referred to as S-CARDs) was discontinued more than a year ago.
Comcast includes one free CableCard with every digital cable tier. You are only charged a CableCard fee if you already have a STB -- you get one free STB or CableCard as part of digital service, not both. If you have both, Comcast *may* charge you $1.50 to $2.85/mo for the CableCard plus a $4-6/mo "secondary outlet" fee.
Ceton is set to take over the CableCARD PC tuner market {Engadget HD}
Sep 11th 2009 4:27PM I'm not surprised at the cost. From the pictures, it certainly looks like a $400 product.
As far as AMD, recall that they sold their ATI DTV business to Broadcom last year. Most of those involved with ATI OCUR project are no longer with the company.
TiVo awarded $200m in damages in EchoStar case, consumers not awarded end to the Echostar case {Engadget HD}
Sep 6th 2009 12:38AM Can we stop linking to articles that require registration or subscription? There are plenty of other news sites that do not require registration, ex:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10345910-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
DirecTV, Cisco and Samsung have whole house DVR plans with RVU alliance {Engadget HD}
Sep 2nd 2009 10:18PM Verizon joined RVU as a "founding promoter."
Source: http://www.multichannel.com/blog/BIT_RATE/22579-Verizon_Joins_TV_Interface_Group.php
Clear QAM HD isn't going anywhere! {Engadget HD}
Aug 29th 2009 2:04AM Ben--
You're absolutely right that those capable of receiving more than HD locals are in the minority. But of the minority with cable channels available via ClearQAM, a disproportionate percentage took advantage with MythTV, SageTV, and Vista Media Center.
Comcast was prepared to transition all of its basic cable SD channels (not just the locals) to Clear QAM as part of Project Cavalry **if** the FCC didn't grant the waiver on the DTAs. That was their Plan B. With the waiver, that's not going to happen, and it is disappointing for those who hoped to receive those channels with their HTPC setups. MythTV and SageTV do not support CableCards, so those users depend on ClearQAM (or the Hauppauge HD PVR).
