DVRplayground - Latest Articles

Review of the EyeTV 250 Plus from Elgato

Peter Redmer — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:27:29 GMT

If you're looking for a svelte, effective, and fun solution for recording and watching television on your Mac, the Elgato EyeTV 250 is just the ticket.

Mvix MX-760HD Portable Media Center Reviewed

Doug Felteau — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:26:21 GMT

The Mvix Wireless HD Media Center (MX-760HD) is the latest media center product from Unicorn Information Systems Co. Ltd. featuring “outstanding visual quality, supported by leading-edge video decoding technologies, high resolution audio specifications and the capability from wireless connectivity to home and office networks”, the MX-760HD represents the next generation of the popular HD-based media centers.

EVA8000, Apple TV, Sling, Popcorn Hour, or VUDU - Which Is Right For You?

pardizzone — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:31:31 GMT

There are many different media streamers out on the market now, including NETGEAR's Digital Entertainer HD , Apple TV , and VUDU , among others - it can get a little confusing! Some devices support internet features, and others do not. Do you have a large collection of media already, that you are looking to view on your television? Do you just want to rent movies online? Are you looking for the most "geeky" features, such as user contributed skins or applications? Out of all these available options, which one do you choose? We'd like to help you decide by comparing each device, what features each device offers, and for whom each device is best suited for. NETGEAR Digital Entertainer HD Apple TV VUDU SlingCatcher Popcorn Hour Networked Media Tank The categories that each unit can fall into are as follows: Novice User: Device is easy to setup and use. It has a polished interface, and is dedicated to only certain features (i.e. movies only, etc.) Average User: Device is easy to setup and use. It has a polished interface, and is employs multiple functions (i.e. streaming media from PC, web functions, etc.) Technical User: Device has more functions, allows...

TiVo Vs. Media Center Edition

Tom Keating — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:12:21 GMT

TiVo may get all the headlines and they certainly have a rabid following, including geeks who modify their units, add additional hard drives, and perform other tweaks. But I’ll tell you, I would not trade my Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition 2005 PC for a TiVo. I’m hooked baby! Especially when you consider that TiVo decided to betray their customers by ADDING their own commercials — check out the storm of controversy in the tivocommunity.com forums. I believe TiVo adds popup ads AS YOU FAST FORWARD through commercials. If I spent >$300 for a lifetime TiVo subscription (or pay their monthly subscription), I would be pretty peeved that TiVo decided to change the rules, when one major purchasing factor is the ability to fast forward through advertisements. And speaking of subscriptions, that’s another reason why I love my Windows Media Center Edition 2005 PC - NO MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FEE! The TV guide listings download for free via the Internet to an XML file which the MCE PC is able to display. One of the "knocks" against the MCE 2005 PC is that it’s too big - no one wants a bulky PC in their living room and they want something...

Did My Satellite Box Cause My TV to Fail?

Matt Whitlock — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:33:37 GMT

A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question... Question: I have a RCA 1985 console TV in excellant condition. After the satellite guy hooked up my new DirecTV receiver, all worked fine. Later that same evening, I was watching TV and heard a couple of crackles or pops, and the TV screen is now a greenish/snowy with horizontal lines in it. You can hear sound fine, and maybe a little figure movement on the screen, but no more pops and no more picture. I know it's heading down the tubes, but any help would be appreciated. I just wanted to check if it's something that the sat box caused, the tech that hooked it up, or maybe it was the wave of technology. -submitted by mfriz121 Answer: If the output on the satellite box is routed through a VCR, you may want to check that the VCR is turned off while the satellite box is in use, which could cause a problam similar to what you're describing. Only a possibility, but probably not what happened in your case. The crackles and pops are more concerning, which indicates the set is failing. It seems unlikely that connecting a satellite receiver to a TV...

Use a Powerline Adapter for Internet Connectivity with TiVo, Slingbox, and Other Devices

Ron Repking — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:12:12 GMT

I was so excited. I bought this new device that would allow me to watch my TV from anywhere in the world. A Slingbox, from Sling Media, plugs into my TiVo (or any other video source) and transmits the video and audio over the Internet, so no matter where I am, I can watch my home TV channels. With baseball season coming up, I was especially excited to watch the Chicago Cubs when I was out of town (or even at work)! I took my Slingbox out and quickly realized that I need to resolve a connetivity issue. Since the Slingbox transmits over the Internet, it needs a wired Internet connection in order to work. Since I didn't have a connection near my TiVo, I needed to look for another solution. Running an Ethernet cable from my router to the Slingbox was not an option considering all of the walls I would have to go through. When it came down to it, I really needed a wireless way to get a wired connection. Seems like a paradox, but it is what I needed nonetheless. After some investigation, I learned that this is actually possible with a device called a powerline...

How Do I Record DirecTV on my HTPC?

Matt Whitlock — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:00:51 GMT

A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question... Question: I have DirectTV (satellite). I want to record shows on my computer. Do i need a TV tuner with more than 125 channels? If so can you give info. Thank you very much. Answer: Unfortunately, adding satellite recording to an HTPC isn't quite as easy as with basic cable, since there is no add-in card that sports a DirecTV tuner. The only tuners for DirecTV are the set-top boxes that satellite subscribers are familiar with. Adding a 125 channel TV tuner to an HTPC will only record programs from a terrestrial antenna or basic cable. What you'll need to do is get a video capture device, either standalone or one of the ATI All-in-Wonder cards, and connect it to your existing DirecTV satellite box. You should be able to find software to control the DirecTV box through with an IR blaster, which you'll connect from the back of the HTPC to the front of your satellite box. Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com Syndicated from TechLore: The Consumer Electronics Community

Tasking your TiVo

TechLiving — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:33:03 GMT

From Issue #10 -Submitted by TechLiving Related Articles from TechLiving On the Go with Sharp's AQUOS Spotlight on MovieBeam TiVo, Verizon Team for Cell Phone Scheduling Create a virtual movie library Today, while many own a TiVo™, few have harnessed the true power it holds. For instance, that black box (or at least the one with the TiVo logo on it) can actually act as a virtual movie library. That means you no longer have to retain your movies in hard-copy form, by downloading them to an iTunes-like database. While the concept of this is somewhat glaring, it's really one of those things that are so obvious we often overlook it. And even though the newly released weaKnees drive upgrade kit makes this project much easier, it was indeed possible without it. Step 1: Purchasing Parts Before you begin, you're going to need a few parts. First on the list is weaKnees single 250GB drive upgrade kit. This is what will give you the extra space to store your movie collection. Because each DVD is roughly 4GB in size, your current drive isn't going to cut it -- unless of course, you're only looking to store about 20 movies. You're...