DirecTV HD DVR owners keeping an eye on Cutting Edge releases got a special treat this weekend with a new update that enabled multiroom viewing and dual live buffers on HR2x and R22 receivers. Allowing users to pause one tuner for up to 90 minutes while they watch the other, DBSTalk notes this test release is a "Very High Risk" so don't bother calling customer service if it doesn't work properly, and if you missed the downloading window Friday then you'll have to wait for the next test period -- or whenever DirecTV is confident it has worked out all the kinks -- to give the new (or old, if you're a DirecTivo owner) features a try.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Heads-up, OTA lovers. DViCO has just announced the formal launch of its FusionHDTV7 PCI-Express card, which claims to be the "world's first dual HD (digital or QAM) tuner PCIe card." The device is designed to pick up digital (ATSC) / analog (NTSC) terrestrial signals, and the twin silicon tuners also provide picture-in-picture support as well as the ability to watch and / or record two high-definition broadcasts simultaneously. And at just $140 (available now), we have a feeling this one's going to be a fan favorite.

[Via TVSquad]

If you've been looking beneath couch cushions in an attempt to scrounge up enough cash to pick up a pair of Hauppauge HD PVRs for some sweet dual recording action, hold your horses just a second. We're seeing conflicting reports floating around the web stating that Hauppauge isn't officially supporting dual tuner setups, yet some inquiries are yielding the opposite response. Interestingly, we've heard that the HD PVR drivers actually do understand multiple tuner setups, but the outfit has yet to test and officially acknowledge support for such scenarios. For those who already grabbed a couple, why not give it a go and let us know how it turns out? Either way, we're hoping Hauppauge clears this up in short order, but we'd probably steer clear of ordering several until that happens.

[Via TV Squad]

Read - HD PVRs don't support dual tuner setups
Read - HD PVRs do support dual tuner setups

Although these miniscule USB TV tuners have long been available overseas, we're thrilled to see Diamond Multimedia bringing the tiny OTA tuning love here to the States. The firm's HDTV100 sports an attractively small thumb drive-like enclosure, is powered entirely by USB, and features both ATSC and analog tuners within. Aside from supporting EPG, allowing you to schedule recordings and simultaneously playback a stored show while capturing another, it also comes with a "video capture dongle" to grab content from sources other than your trusty TV antenna. Best of all, Diamond's wee gem can be snapped up for just $99, which should give American travelers yearning for a little TV action while on the go little to frown upon.

Thats what Japanese researchers for Sharp and Sony are saying we can expect......in 2010. The good news is that once broadcasters switch to DTV, building devices capable of recording whats being broadcast on every channel, all of the time will become much less complicated, the bad news is that even with new compression technologies like MPEG-4, you'll still need a 2-3TB HDD to store all the high definition content being broadcast, and there isn't an affordable 3 TB storage method yet, but they expect there will be in the next few years.

Another challenge is building a suitable GUI for such a product, navigating through 7,000 recorded programs could be a bit difficult. Additionally, if IPTV and video on demand services really take off, there might not be a need for all-channel recorders by the time they become available, or broadcasters might move to block them to protect their advertising revenue. Despite all the potential challenges, it is an interesting concept, I just can't wait until 7,000 high definition programs are broadcast every week.