ptorrone writes "The Portable Media Center is officially shipping today, along with announcements of more TV Tuner and recording hardware. The NYTimes covers some of this and Engadget has an in-depth review with photos, screenshots, videos and how to convert DVDs to play on these devices."
Kinda small but they will sell
by
erick99
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I can see how folks would take these in their cars, on trips, to the office, etc. Even at around $500 they will probably sell pretty well. They aren't that much more than a portable DVD player. I don't think I could look at that little screen for an entire movie though. Perhaps a younger set of eyes could handle it. The screen is quite sharp, though. But, a tad small for me for any kind of extended viewing.
Cheers,
Erick
-- http://www.busyweather.com/
Re:Kinda small but they will sell
by
Jeff+DeMaagd
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· Score: 2, Informative
Even at around $500 they will probably sell pretty well. They aren't that much more than a portable DVD player.
A portable DVD player can be bought for $250.
For $400 I bought a PIIIm 800MHz laptop with the earliest Mobility Radeon chip. Granted, it only got three to four hours of battery life, I prefer it to any dedicated portable media player. Still, I can use it for task, not just media. At 5
It's useless
by
News+for+nerds
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· Score: 3, Informative
Re:It's useless
by
News+for+nerds
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· Score: 2, Informative
In "useless", I mean all metadata of recorded TV material, which is the juicy part of sync, is lost, if you don't have Media Center PC. MS can't to it without giving Windows XP Media Center Edition some superiority over other products out there. It's natural thing for corporations as Apple does with its FairPlay tech and toward Real's hack, but it's still grain of salt to users.
Re:If Apple Did It It Might Be Worth It
by
antikarma
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· Score: 2, Informative
Very limited list of supported formats : (
by
AlexMidn1ght
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· Score: 5, Informative
From the article:
"Supported digital media file types:
Windows Media Video and Photo Story files (.wmv,.asf) at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and at a bit rate less than 800kbps
Windows Media Audio files (.wma)
MP3 audio files (.mp3)
JPEG image files (.jpg,.jpg,.jpe,.jfif)
Compatible with:
Windows Media and Photo Story files (.wmv,.asf) at a resolution higher than 320 x 240 pixels and/or at a bit rate higher than 800kbps
Microsoft Recorded TV Show file (.dvr-ms)
MPEG movie file (.mpeg,.mpg, mpe,.m1v,.mp2v,.mpeg2)
Windows Video file (.avi)
Windows Audio file (.wav)"
But seriously, what is the difference between "supported" and "compatible" in their marketing lingo?
Re:Very limited list of supported formats : (
by
ptorrone
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· Score: 2, Informative
i'm pretty sure "compatible" means it can convert the file the file to play, while supported is native on the device. based on my use of the device that seems to be accurate.
Re:My kind of thing. WAIT NO DivX?
by
DAldredge
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· Score: 2, Informative
The large media corps that help decide nextgen dvd standards do not like DIVX and Microsoft doesn't want to piss them off. Microsoft need to grow and having every dvd player maker on the planet pay them money will help them do that.
Re:No thanks
by
Jeff+DeMaagd
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· Score: 2, Informative
Screen resolution: 320x240 pixels
No thanks. Give me a cheap laptop or tablet with XGA.
I agree. I had bought a used PIIIm laptop with a 14" screen, weighing 5lb with an SXGA+ native resolution. It is a a handy little portable media device that can be used to surf the net, play videos, make drawings, write code, etc.
Before I sold it to buy this one, I had paid about $400 or so for a used PIIIm 14" XGA laptop which did all this for nearly the cost of the smaller portable video player.
All this out of a device I bought purely for wireless networking.
covert advertisizing?
by
nchip
·
· Score: 3, Informative
I agree.
Atleast they could mention that there are several NON MICROSOFT portable media players out there too:
``Seems like it falls under fair use, but depending on who you ask and what time of day it is, it may not be. So be smart. We don't think recording a DVD for personal use you own to a device you own should ever be considered illegal, but these are odd times folks and we're not giving you legal advice.``
Just to be clear: this is not legal according to statutory copyright law, and it is unlikely that the DVD license gives you permission to do it. It would be really nice if it _was_ legal, but unfortunately it isn't. Whether you'd get caught is another issue (considering how many people transcode CD's to MP3 for personal use...).
You're not confined to the tiny screen.
by
huchida
·
· Score: 2, Informative
One feature that most people seem to be missing: it has video out. You can load movies from your computer and connect it to your TV. Or take it with you and use it on a friend's. Much quicker than burning DVDs, much less complicated than connecting the computer to the entertainment system.
Slashdot Mirror
Cheers,
Erick
http://www.busyweather.com/
if you don't have Windows XP Media Center Edition to sync.
You didn't get the memo?
From the article: .asf) at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and at a bit rate less than 800kbps .jpg, .jpe, .jfif)
.asf) at a resolution higher than 320 x 240 pixels and/or at a bit rate higher than 800kbps .mpg, mpe, .m1v, .mp2v, .mpeg2)
" Supported digital media file types:
Windows Media Video and Photo Story files (.wmv,
Windows Media Audio files (.wma)
MP3 audio files (.mp3)
JPEG image files (.jpg,
Compatible with:
Windows Media and Photo Story files (.wmv,
Microsoft Recorded TV Show file (.dvr-ms)
MPEG movie file (.mpeg,
Windows Video file (.avi)
Windows Audio file (.wav)"
But seriously, what is the difference between "supported" and "compatible" in their marketing lingo?
The large media corps that help decide nextgen dvd standards do not like DIVX and Microsoft doesn't want to piss them off. Microsoft need to grow and having every dvd player maker on the planet pay them money will help them do that.
Screen resolution: 320x240 pixels
No thanks. Give me a cheap laptop or tablet with XGA.
I agree. I had bought a used PIIIm laptop with a 14" screen, weighing 5lb with an SXGA+ native resolution. It is a a handy little portable media device that can be used to surf the net, play videos, make drawings, write code, etc.
Before I sold it to buy this one, I had paid about $400 or so for a used PIIIm 14" XGA laptop which did all this for nearly the cost of the smaller portable video player.
All this out of a device I bought purely for wireless networking.
I agree.
Atleast they could mention that there are several NON MICROSOFT portable media players out there too:
Iriver pmp-120
Archos gmini400
When you have several articles touting A less featured microsoft/creative model without mentioning alternatives, sounds like advertisizing indeed.
signatures pending - ansa@kos.to - (dont mail there)
``Seems like it falls under fair use, but depending on who you ask and what time of day it is, it may not be. So be smart. We don't think recording a DVD for personal use you own to a device you own should ever be considered illegal, but these are odd times folks and we're not giving you legal advice.``
...).
Just to be clear: this is not legal according to statutory copyright law, and it is unlikely that the DVD license gives you permission to do it. It would be really nice if it _was_ legal, but unfortunately it isn't. Whether you'd get caught is another issue (considering how many people transcode CD's to MP3 for personal use
One feature that most people seem to be missing: it has video out. You can load movies from your computer and connect it to your TV. Or take it with you and use it on a friend's. Much quicker than burning DVDs, much less complicated than connecting the computer to the entertainment system.