Sony PC/DVR Incorporates 7 Tuners & 1TB HD

GFD writes "TechJapan has an article on the 'Type X' Viao PC/DVR that will have 1TB and 7 tuners - allowing the recording of 7 shows at the same time. It also has a very cool look."

Comments

Time Shifting!

[WushuJim]

As an owner of a ReplayTV, I can think of one great use for 7 tuners. Time shifting! Buffer the last seven watched channels or however many tuners available. That way if you switch to a channel and see something you want to go back and watch, it is buffered.

Re:Sure, it has seven tuners...

[mjh]

Frankly, I'd prefer if the cable company would just store all this stuff at THEIR end, dump all the broadcast channels, and use the bandwidth to feed the cable modem system so I can watch anything I want, whenever I want, without having to make copies at my end.

Not me. I prefer to have the DVR at my house. Mainly because it allows me complete control. DVRs are a distributed problem; everyone has their own set of preferences that don't necessarily align with anyone elses. Consequently, distributed preference implies distributed control. So it makes sense to me that the solution also be distributed:

• I can manage my own data space without having to rely on the cable company's shared data space.
• I can decide that I want to keep a program for 7 months instead of relying on the cable co. to automatically delete everything after 7 days.
• I can decide which shows I want to record instead of relying on the cable co. to decide for me.
• I don't have to deal with latency associated with sending the command to do something accross the internet, and then be responded to by a machine that's trying to handle a gazillion of these types of requests simultaneously.

IMHO, DVR is a distributed problem. In the long run a distributed solution works better for everyone.

$.02