HP Unveils Its Digital Media Receiver

strictnein writes "Looks like HP is getting into the media box market. Today they introduced their new HP Digital Media Receiver 5000 series. Some of the key specs are: Wireless networking support (on the ew5000 model), S-Video and composite video output, and MP3 and WMA support. The OS support is limited to Windows ME or XP. This is an interesting addition to their Windows Media Center based 863N, 873N, and 883N desktop models."

Comments

We have to ask...

[lostchicken]

Will it support ogg?
*ducks*

The All-Important Business Question

[Amsterdam Vallon]

... Is there a market for this kind of thing?

I'm a hardcore geek and have expert certification on everything from Windows 2000 to A+ certs to Novell Network certs to CISCO certs to _____ . You name it, I've done it.

But I personally could probably just barely piece one of these "home media units" together. Furthermore, I wouldn't even know what to use it for.

Some of us, like myself, still buy CDs from BMG and Columbia House. Yes, you read that correctly -- some of us still buy CDs.

So, we have more need for 6 disc changes than we do for 10 GB discs of hard drives on which to store mostly-illegally-obtained mp3s.

Sorry to rant, but:

1) HP clearly is out of their league and doesn't know their market,
and,
2) No one aside from the most hardcore Slashdotter would even know what to do with one of these

Re:The All-Important Business Question

[Anonymous Coward]

> I'm a hardcore geek and have expert certification on everything from Windows 2000 to [...]

Hardcore geeks don't have certifications, esp. not on Windows... hardcore geeks don't have high school-diplomas, we were kicked out for turning harmless items around the school into anything we could think of that would either blow up, exit smoke or insult someone... hopefully insult someone while blowing up and covering the whole school with smoke... smoke which would be used for playing lasertag...

> But I personally could probably just barely piece one of these "home media units" together. Furthermore, I wouldn't even know what to use it for.

You, sir, are an insult to all the geeks all over the world; you are at most a wannabegeek... real geeks don't just put it together and use these things what they were meant to do... we rebuild and use them for a lot more than they were ever meant to do; and if we're lucky that'll mean that they eject smoke and insult someone, and blow up the PC for the guy nextdoor; his fault for running windows anyways.

> Some of us, like myself, still buy CDs from BMG and Columbia House. Yes, you read that correctly -- some of us still buy CDs.

Reread that... Now... think about it... no no no... really think about it... ok... Do you still insist on calling yourself a geek?

> So, we have more need for 6 disc changes than we do for 10 GB discs of hard drives on which to store mostly-illegally-obtained mp3s.

A geek using CDs... hey man, you like living in the 80's or something?

> No one aside from the most hardcore Slashdotter would even know what to do with one of these

Can't argue with that one.

=)

Re:The All-Important Business Question

[Jordy]

I'll tell you the market. The market is people who want to eliminate needless hardware and centralize the interface for various components in a multi-room (or single) environment.

If you can stick a high enough end digital output device on a PC (because no one trusts DAC's in an electromagnetically noisy PC) and make it realiable enough to store my DVD collection, my CD collection and integrate into my TV to give me PVR-like functionality while at the same time delivering content that is on-par with my originals (ie., no MP3, but AAC is ok), then I'd be the happiest person in the world.

The problem a lot of people have is multi-room installations aren't particularly transparent. I want to be upstairs watching TV in my bedroom and pull up a TV program I recorded yesterday using the interface in my living room. Only, I don't want to know where it is stored. Hell, I don't care. The same goes for my DVD collection, my CD collection, my, uh, "picture" collection.

Then there is all the other functionality I would like. Pulling down movies from the Internet (legally available of course), audio books and what not. Hooking into my security system to record what is on my security camera and letting me access it. Controlling lights, drapes, etc. to save electricity.

The thing is, you can do a lot of this stuff right now. It just is all done by these little independent pieces of hardware that don't talk to eachother nicely and are rather expensive independently.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Re:The All-Important Business Question

[SuperDuG]

I'm a hardcore geek and have expert certification on everything from Windows 2000 to A+ certs to Novell Network certs to CISCO certs to _____ . You name it, I've done it.

Obviously with that standard A+ and level one CNE along with MCSE ... you sir are a computer genuis.

But I personally could probably just barely piece one of these "home media units" together. Furthermore, I wouldn't even know what to use it for.

Right, see this is a set-top box that happens to have a computer inside of it that runs and OS that most all of us are used to. That doesn't mean I want a computer sitting on top of my TV that has been rigged to use my TV-Out on the old video card. This is meant to be like a TiVO (read: Also a computer) where you don't ever have to do anything except use the remote to make it work, but it can interact with your home computer without wires (read: magic).

Some of us, like myself, still buy CDs from BMG and Columbia House. Yes, you read that correctly -- some of us still buy CDs.

Obviously here on slashdot all we do is STEAL them from the poor artists, hence why we hate the RIAA they just want to stop us all from breaking the law.

So, we have more need for 6 disc changes than we do for 10 GB discs of hard drives on which to store mostly-illegally-obtained mp3s.

Perhaps they didn't cover this in your "A+" training, but it is possible to take a CD that you own and rip it into an mp3/ogg/whatever and listen to it. But catch this, you need some type of media to store it on, usually a ... catch this ... a harddrive. 6 Audio CD's will easily fit on an CD with the songs compressed as MP3's making that 6 disc changer, non-essential, amazing isn't it?

Catch this, you can even rip a CD ... while you listen to it, making it non-essential to rip the CD at a later time, you can even setup a cd/mp3 software "program" to do this ... automatically (read: requires magic).

Sorry to rant, but:

Ahh, if you apologize first that makes it impossible for jerks like me to pick apart your stupid posts ...

1) HP clearly is out of their league and doesn't know their market, and,

Whoa did I see a degree in economics somewhere in that mess of worthless credentials at the top of this post?? Nope, obviously you don't have any clue what the intended market is for this product as it hasn't even been sold yet and you've declared it "out of their league". When obviously there is so many greater rivals out there doing the same thing, wait a minute, no their aren't.

2) No one aside from the most hardcore Slashdotter would even know what to do with one of these

Well I'm guessing they'd probably be used for ... viewing media ... hence the clever name of Digital Media Receiver.

Ya know, I remember when the TiVO came out and everyone said the EXACT same thing. That microsoft would come out with a better product to pound TiVO into the ground and that no one excecpt the uber geek would ever want to have one. Yet low-and-behold, even my grandma has a TiVO now because she doesn't like how hard it is to program her VCR. HP isn't stupid, they make computers really easy to use and asthetically appealing to the eye, look at Mac's popularity.

I think you need to realize that you aren't as smart as HP, seeing as they're a huge company and you're a moron with a win2000 cert ... hehehehe ... you want some advice, don't ever advertise you have an MCSE on slashdot. That's like saying you love to watch linux suck.

Re:The All-Important Business Question

[Artifex]

Some of us, like myself, still buy CDs from BMG and Columbia House

No offense, but that line just took away a lot of your credibility with most of us. Besides the fact that these vendors make money off people forgetting to return stupid cards every 4 weeks and the stupid shipping fees, why don't you buy from online sources, like this one, which has cheap prices and free standard shipping on any size order? ("And no more you have to buy, ever!")

Wanna know something? I have probably over a thousand legitimately-purchased CDs of music (not bragging, it's a small collection compared to many people I know, and I think it's way too many to be practical at all). For me, a 6-disc changer won't cut it. A 400-disc changer won't cut it, either. No, I want to be able to rip stuff to a good quality format and fill up a couple huge hard drives, just so I can page through a screen from my couch instead of having to dig through my crates of CDs or a binder full of listings of what's in a changer.

I'm a hardcore geek and have expert certification on everything from Windows 2000 to A+ certs to Novell Network certs to CISCO certs to _____ . You name it, I've done it.

Telling us your certs doesn't tell us a thing about what you've done. Certs are just tests of minimum proficiency; they're not basis for judging your real-world experience. You want to impress us, tell us about the software projects you code for, or the networks you've designed, or the RFCs you authored, or... even that you don't do any of these, but your company depends on you to support their internal LAN and install software for secretaries, and we'll give you respect.

Sorry to rant, but:

Sorry to rant, but: there is a CCNA for Dummies book, an MCSE book, and an A+ book, as well. (I haven't located a "Novell for Dummies," but it's probably implicitly assumed by anyone writing for that audience, anyway.) There is no corresponding book that matches being out in the field with production servers, having to teach (over the phone) your customer's consultant enough BGP so that you can explain to him why his multi-hop config is entirely bogus, while at the same time paging through a zonefile in vi and trying to make sense of cryptic emails from someone who doesn't really share any languages in common with you, whom you can't call even if she did share a common language because of an 11-hour time difference, asking you to "please to have maked the mail fast to the new server 192.168.0.3 verry improtance!" and wanting it done before her office opens in the morning so she can get her mail (oh, did I mention that you can't send her return mail, because she's already moved her mail server to that black-hole IP?) Meanwhile a customer has just walked through your office, past the empty secretary's desk (secretary having been laid off because of budget cuts), and wandered to your cubicle, asking you to escort him to his colo a few blocks away so he can collect his gear "for testing," even though you know he's on the list of deadbeats who haven't paid in months and his account manager is permanently out to lunch and you personally shut his interface down last night... and it's not even 9:25 yet? And you're "the new guy," so you have the lightest load on your team?

Yes, some people might want to lie down on the couch and use something like this device, instead of messing with a changer or thinking about what CDs might be in the cartridge, or anything else beyond some brief pattern-recognition. Please maked it also to be bringing the soda and too the ibuprofen, verry improtance? Yes?

Re:The All-Important Business Question

[g4dget]

I'm a hardcore geek and have expert certification on everything from Windows 2000 to A+ certs to Novell Network certs to CISCO certs to _____ . You name it, I've done it. But I personally could probably just barely piece one of these "home media units" together. Furthermore, I wouldn't even know what to use it for.

I don't have any of those certifications (thank God!), but I have had no trouble pulling together a "home media unit" from scratch.

A standard Linux install pretty much has all you need, and you have lots of choices for how to set it up--all of them pretty simple. You can set up the box as a streaming media server, or you can make it part of your own in-home P2P network, or you can handle all the music through web interfaces. You can push audio to a Linux box or have it pull it from other systems with standard commands.

Another very simple approach is to get a Macintosh--iTunes pretty much does everything you need for that out of the box.

So, we have more need for 6 disc changes than we do for 10 GB discs of hard drives on which to store mostly-illegally-obtained mp3s.

I own all the CDs for the MP3s that I have. Why store them on-line? Because a computer is much, much more convenient than two 300 CD jukeboxes or, worse, lots of jewel cases and strange looking pieces of furniture.

No one aside from the most hardcore Slashdotter would even know what to do with one of these

My parents seem to have no trouble understanding the convenience of just selecting a CD from an on-screen list, as opposed to dealing with hundreds of jewel boxes.

Of course, little of this applies to this HP device, which does sound much more complex, less functional, and proprietary than just getting a Mini-ITX system.

Bah...

[Anonymous Coward]

SliMP3 has

• a high-end fluorescent display
  
• very nice software that runs on all platforms
  
• killer web interface
  
• support for unlimited music
  
• open-source development community
  
• hot chick on their web site.
  

HP got crap reviews for their first overpriced stripped-down media PCs. I'll stick with my Slimpy, thanks.

pfft

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Video Output: NTSC, 30 FPS, 60 Hz

NTSC? That is so 20th century. Where the hell is the high-definition version with DVI and component analog outputs? I'm not greedy; even 720p will do!

Hell, if the XBOX can do 1080i and 720p output, this piece of junk-- er, extremely worth market entrant ought to be able to.

I mean it's not like the thing is recording or playing back video, for crying out loud; it just does still photos. Given that most digital cameras are recording pictures in 1600 x 1200 or bigger, even a 1280x720 output would be nice, nice. But no, we're stuck with lame-ass interlaced NTSC. Pfft. I'd rather describe my vacation snaps to my friends than show them in crappy NTSC.

a picture is worth ...

[ramzak2k]

check out the picture . Looks very cool.

If their target market is someone with a "home network", they better tend to needs of uber geeks and release a linux version of their software.

Build it yourself.

[PyroX_Pro]

For $300 I can build one myself, stuff it into an old vcr box, and play anything I want on it, including but not limited to:

1) Music ( All formats )
2) Video ( All formats, inc. dvd )
3) PVR
4) MAME, SNES, NES, ect ect ect
5) Digi Cam Pict Viewer Gallery Thingy
6) Internet


Of course, I would run a cable to mine, the budget is not there to go out and buy wireless just for this. ( Plus the speed of the connection is a factor )

You can do this too, just go out to ebay or pricewatch and do some research with google.


Just me 2 cents worth.

For more info about this market

[joeflies]

Pick up this month's Computer Power User (January 2003). There is a lot of info on PC-based PVR's, including

a) Ananad Shimpai talks high level about Microsoft Media Center Edition, the HP unit, and the hardware requirements issues (i.e. need for an MPEG encoder, high CPU power requirements so that it will keep running)

b) PC Challenge is for a PC-based unit for Home Theater. The challenger built a butt ugly slime green unit, but the editor used a shuttle

c) The Linux TV-out issue with Macrovision. This covered issues that I didn't know about, namely card manufacturers and home brew Gatos project are faced with either licensing Macrovision and going closed source, or don't built it at all if there is a chance it will play material which should be macrovision encoded.

d) Alex St John talks about HP's 873n and Media Center

and most importantly e) Malda talking about typing his column on his girlfriend's macintosh

I think the pc-based PVR market is enormously interesting, because it serves both DIY and pre-built units in distinct markets. It brings new easy to use software to the TV, where entertainment is. And it creates a new market for selling pc's (both in lieu and in addition to a home pc)

Re:We have to ask... (apple?)

[Pathwalker]

Personally, I would be happy with just support from Apple for the Vorbis audio codec in a Quicktime wrapper.

It would be difficult for me to find a way to care less than I do about the OGG wrapper format, but Vorbis seems to actually be a rather good audio codec. In OGG, it is decent, but in QuickTime, it could be outstanding!

As one example, the ability for a Vorbis stream to be stripped to a lower bitrate on the fly seems to be a perfect match with the QuickTIme Packetizer API to create a Packetizer/Reassembler combo which can compensate for lost packets by replacing them with packets at a lower bit rate, keeping the total stream bandwidth below the specified limit!

Plus, you wouldn't have to decode all of the headers in the stream (to read the granule positions, to determine at what time each frame starts) before being able to seek around in it, as in Quicktime the Sample Table Atom holds everything you need in one place.