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A PVR For Two Straight Weeks Of Video
Rob G. writes: "Story from Variety on Y! News this morning about a monster PVR that can store 320 hours of tv; price is $1999. You could tape full seasons of a dozen shows and watch 'em in the summer instead of BB2." There are some other cool features promised here, including free programming service for broadband users. Watch the hard-drive wars heat up on PVRs and smile at what that means for your time-shifting habits.
The question is, what happens if Replay wraps the firmware within their box with a thin layer of encryption? Trying to get around that would almost certainly run afoul of the DMCA, no?
Well, they're looking to fill the market that TiVo is refusing to touch... that is, the transfer of programs between TiVo units. And if it is able to transfer video, you can almost bet that it has an ethernet connector, and doesn't just do it over dialup. Good for them. Competition is going to make the PVR market better.
Regarding the 320 hours, that's going to be in low quality. I'm assuming that the ReplayTV has a two-drive limit. Either they are banking on future technology (2 x 128gb drives) or some additional compression, or both. (Additional compression is still possible, using existing methods. Anyone remember the TiVo bug where vertical resolution was lost, but was only noticable on SVideo units?)
In any case, I'm glad they're taking a stand on the sharing issue. That alone might be enough to make me switch.
Has something like this been used to record security camera footage, for archival purposes? Sounds like it would be perfect for that.
Try examining the output of Hauppauge->VGA->NTSC sometime and compare it to what you get out of a TiVo. It's like comparing apples to horseshit.
Why is it that as TV viewing technology gets better, TV seems to be getting worse?
You obviously don't own a TiVo. You would be amazed, there is actually good stuff on TV. TiVo makes it much easier to sift through the garbage and locate the gems. I know my TV watching has gone up drastically since getting my TiVo, and I'm actually watching stuff that I LIKE.
"The guide is definitive, reality is frequently inaccurate."
I don't bother to get a login because, frankly, I don't see the point. As an anonymous Coward, I get to see all the +1 stuff, and if the thread looks good, I'll read the "below threshhold" Score: 0 ones too.
:)
:) Some are Trolls, who know better, but are pushing for anarchy and mediocrity. (If you like that ast line, read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead - good book, if thick.)
I'm sure I miss out on some insightfull stuff that never got modded up, but if it was good enough to get a reply at +1 or so, I get to see it anyway (unless I'm First Read!ing
Some of the trolls are just ignorant or naive (i.e. think differently than you or I, and are therefore wrong
Moderation is a reall easy thing to fix if you genuinely want to, unlike my poor typing ability/keyboard.
1) Eliminate negative moderation. Sure, trolls will still mod each other up, as will boosters of misinformation. But they do that anyway now.
2) Allow borda count moderation on comments while the articles on the front page. That's "Am I hot or not?" for the trolls reading. Those comments which get broad support go up a point, those which don't stay where they are. Default browse score for archived articles can be set to 2, since most of the valid / ontopic score 1's would be boosted to 2 anyway.
It's pretty simple really.
Bu then there's no reason not to allow the submissions list to be seen. Preface the link with an anti-porn/crackhead/idiot/minor disclaimer and show only the title, not the submitter. Legitimate whining about submissions goes away and no one else checks it anyway, so it doesn't matter what the trolls do to it. A week or so later, either ditch it all, or if the editors look at the list, grab the good stuff which you reject anyway, and put it on a rejected page.
But what do I know? I'm just a no cookie Anyonymous Coward.
Obscure reference: Call me Tramper, these are my siblings, Guest and Visitor.
Boy, if you hate SPAM now, I can just see it: come home from work, plop down in the recliner, and fire up the ol' mega-PVR.
"You have mail! Downloading message 1 of 73 ..."
Two hours later (after everyone in the neighborhood complains about using all their cable bandwidth), you find that the helpful folks with the "FREE PAGERS" have sent you 12 identical infomercials, several fly-by-night lenders sent feature films showing how they can refinance your [mortgage|debt], you have 17 MLM videos that all begin with, "This is NOT an MLM", and a dozen pr0n companies have sent you samples of their latest films (OK, so it's not all bad news).
Meanwhile, Aunt Emma sent the latest home videos forwarded and re-forwarded from distant relatives you've never met ("Here's Johnny Applesmith's complete graduation ceremony. You can see him at about 2:50. Johnny is my neighbor's second cousin-in-law on his uncle's side, twice removed."), Uncle Joe sent a Norton infomercial (fowarded from a friend, etc.) that he wants you to see "RIGHT NOW" because of that "Good Times AV Virus" he heard about (acutally shreds your PVR drive into its component electrons, then melts everything in your freezer, or so he heard from his buddy Tom), and half-a-dozen old friends with way too much time on their hands forward all the latest compilations of stand-up routines snatched from Comedy Central (and each other, over and over again).
Two thoughts:
1. We're going to have to get a bigger Internet.
2. Time to dig out my library card.
(Come to think of it, the pr0n by itself would consume every Hz of available bandwidth. Death of the Intermet, film at 11!)
Technology can be a wonderful thing. Just keep it away from Marketing.