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Linux Hackers Offered Early Access to Next-Gen DVR

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the going-after-the-right-market-segment dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Linux hackers are being given the first crack at beta units and early release versions of a new Linux-powered DVR. The new device, available from Neuros Technology, is able to record MPEG-4 video from many media sources including cable, broadcast TV, and DVDs allowing the user to then transfer that video to portable media players or serve the media over a network. From the article: 'Neuros says "hundreds" of open source community members helped finalize the OSD's design. About two dozen purchased an early hardware prototype earlier this year. Partly to thank the community, and partly as a way of getting the device into the hands of highly critical users early on, Neuros will offer an initial "beta" production run exclusively to hackers.'"

6 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Neuros seems interesting by Kadin2048 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Neuros seems like a really intriguing company. I haven't (yet) purchased any of their gear, mostly because I'm currently happy with my third-gen iPod and relatively ancient USB EyeTV tuner, but I like the way they seem to be developing products.

    The killer is going to be software, though; if they can't get a cohesive user experience down, the best software in the world isn't worth more than a VCR. With all the digital covergence stuff, interoperability and ease of use are the two main pillars that support everything else. By using open standards and free software, I'm confident they'll have interoperability on the technical side, but I wonder about the ease of use and vertical integration with other parts of the "user stack." (That is, the applications that let the users do particular tasks, like pull a recording from the STB and burn it to a DVD; will there be one integrated app to do that? Or will it require an awkward chain of tools?)

    But in general, I think they're on the right track, and it's refreshing to see a company produce a product that honestly looks neat. It's been a while since I've seen that.

    Now, if only they made one that would record DTV without dropping it to an analog signal first...an ADC is nice, but it seems a little late. TV is going digital, and I'd love to see an unencumbered recording device that worked there, before the FCC gets in there and starts crippling things.

    --
    "Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
    1. Re:Neuros seems interesting by JoeBorn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Speaking for Neuros, I think your comments are absolutely right regarding the "cohesive user experience." We know that hackers will add features and get all kinds of "proof of concept" stuff working, but at the end of the day, it's our job (as the manufacturer) to stitch it together to make it work for the average person, that "doesn't need another hobby," as someone else said here. The first stage of this product's life will be geeks and hackers, but we need to get the user experience right to broaden the appeal. If we do that, I'm not so worried about the fact that this unit is SD v. HD and analog v. digital, we'll address that with future (more expensive) models. This one will serve a need for users that want a way to stitch together their SD video, digital audio, photos and connect that content (or internet content like Youtube, etc) to their TV and Stereo at a reasonable price.

      --
      If you're going through hell, keep going -Winston Churchill
  2. Potential by mkosmo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But how will the MPAA like that Linux hackers can go through and do whatever they want with a video stream? I think they will have a fit. But when has that ever stopped anybody from keeping backup copie(s) :)
    And more seriously, has anybody gotten their hands on one?

  3. Re:IR Blaster by russ1337 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, I have a similar setup but without the IR Blaster. I manage OK. The biggest limitation is not being able to record one channel and watch another... but they replay crap so over-and-over that I just set it to record it at 1am or whatever.

    I have to set the DVR (mythtv) to record the show and also set the Set-Top-Box to 'auto-tune'. But it works out as I record the same shows every week. (auto-tune set to always switch to 'The Daily Show', Family Guy etc, and the mythtv always to record that show at that time). It is 'slightly' cumbersome, but no worse than a VCR! Plus Mythtv has ad detection and skips them entirely.

    My mythtv build is here http://nzrussmyth.blogspot.com/ with the my 'connection diagram' about 3/4 the way down.

  4. Re:IR Blaster by JoeBorn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A lot of set-top tuners have serial controls as well, which is supported by the Neuros device. There's a serial cable included as well as IR Blaster...

    --
    If you're going through hell, keep going -Winston Churchill
  5. iTV? by mikeee · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is it just me, or is this pretty much what Apple's upcoming iTV will be? The hardware sounds like it's pretty similar.

    Useful mostly for streaming low-to-medium resolution video from PC to computer. Neuros adds the ability to record - maybe useful to an attached MP3/video player? (I guess you could NFS-mount a filesystem from elsewhere...?) In practice, I'd bet that's too much of a hassle to be worth the trouble.