Recent Comments:
Digital transition causing grief for Windows Media Center users {Engadget HD}
Jun 14th 2009 10:35PM Oh c'mon Ben....it's Microsoft, it's Media Center, it something they had literally years to plan for, what could possibly go wrong?
Oh, and I also liked that Update right at the last second too...what it couldn't go in with SP2 a week earlier? So let's put it out there right before the big transition that's good change control and risk analysis there...I waited until today before I even attempted to install that and I don't even use ATSC (Cablecards and an HD Homerun for ClearQAM here).
And they wonder why people don't trip over themselves buying these things...I'd hate to be a Media Center integrator right about now...probably a lot of pissed off people who spent big money to be "ready" and then get tripped over something completely stupid and avoidable like the guide data being wrong. Wow. It will be interesting to hear Ian's and Dr. Flick's show this week.
I've always wondered why Microsoft didn't at least give you the option of using the "in-band" guide in ATSC...yes I know the ATSC guide data doesn't go far enough into the future to be really usable in a "DVR" but it would work as a backup in case, you know, the out-of-band guide is FUBAR'ed. But that wouldn't happen, would it...
Sharp's 20-inch AQUOS DX LCD HDTV has a built-in Blu-ray player, no 1080p panel {Engadget HD}
May 22nd 2009 7:53AM Oh and I suppose my PS3 connected to by 50" 1366x768 Plasma is pointless as well?
Sharp's 20-inch AQUOS DX LCD HDTV has a built-in Blu-ray player, no 1080p panel {Engadget HD}
May 22nd 2009 7:52AM Actually a 20" LCD at 1080p resolution would be kind of pointless...the screen is just too small. Also, I could see a market for this in Japan....they don't exactly have room for 40+ displays and a separate Blu-Ray player in every room.
Netflix Watch Instantly comes to Vista Media Center, not Extenders {Engadget HD}
May 20th 2009 2:51PM Let's see Microsoft has two ways to support NetFlix Streaming.
The first way does HD, but you need to pay $50.00 per year and you need to setup the queue on a computer (with a web browser) beforehand.
The second way is free, requires a PC, allows you to select and start programming directly from the NetFlix program, but doesn't support HD or Extenders.
You can see one or the other but how many years of therapy does it take to think doing both makes sense?!?!?
You know, we may go with DirecTV if we move...maybe I'll just get his and her DVRs and wait for their whole house DVR solution to come out. This Media Center stuff is getting to be nonsense.
NFL & Comcast reach agreement: NFL Network switches to digital classic by August 1 {Engadget HD}
May 19th 2009 5:15PM And the really bad thing is that the Sports and Entertainment Package price won't be reduced. I'll end up paying more for the channel that I was getting anyways. At least when Digital Classic goes up...you've at least added a channel.
NFL Network & Comcast could be close to a deal, moving channel to digital basic {Engadget HD}
May 18th 2009 6:11AM The article is exactly right. NFL Network wanted to be on a basic ANALOG tier. This seems to be splitting the difference and right where I figured it would end up.
Engadget HD Podcast 135 - 05.06.2009 {Engadget HD}
May 7th 2009 8:26AM Thanks for the shoutout guys. Great podcast as always but the one thing I was kind of disappointed not to hear discussed is the impact that the Media Center BIOS hacking was going to have on OEMs and the on the platform in general.
It will be interesting to see how Microsoft responds to this. I think it is pretty obvious that those tables were put in for a reason. I don't expect anything immediately, but I believe you will start to see both PIDs and BIOS tables revo'ed and BIOS updates being sent out to change the tables.
Ben, as you mentioned, there are only probably a thousand or so of these Media Centers in use. That being said, if the OEMs now have to start sending out BIOS updated periodically, now bad does it have to get before they say..."you know, we don't sell a lot of these systems, and all the BIOS updating eats away at whatever profits we do make...why should we bother with this?" And how many OEMs stop making Media Center PCs? And how many OEMs quitting the business can the platform take before Microsoft just throws in the towel and gives up any kind of true integration and we are back to OTA, ClearQAM, and kludgy STB hookups with IR blasters, and lifeline cable analog service.
And what does Dish and DirecTV think about this? I know everyone makes that huge assumption (and that is what it is as no one has said what the requirements are going to be) that the Satellite providers won't require "certified PCs." I could certainly see someone at both companies taking a second look at this because I think the message from the "enthusiast" community is pretty clear, "We are going to actively hack whatever conditional access system you try to put in." And they are going to look at this and go, you know it's not worth it. We are only going to sell so many tuners and we just opened up a new piracy vector for ourselves and the community continuously shows that it just won't respect any kind of rules or restrictions. You know, let's just sell our own DVR that we can control.
I really fear for the future of Media Center...a shame too as this probably the best product Microsoft has ever put forward.
DIY'ers successfully build their own CableCARD equipped HTPC {Engadget HD}
Apr 29th 2009 6:52PM
You know I sat down and thought about this. I don't see how this hurts Cable at all.
1.) You still have all the DRM
2.) You still have to subscribe to the services
3.) You still have to rent the cablecards themselves.
If this hurts anyone, it's the OEMs. It hurts them in two ways.
1.) Obviously the loss sale.
2.) Loss of "legitimate" customer satisfaction as I will all put guarantee that PIDs will be shutdown and "legitimate" customers will suffer some loss of service (until the PID issue is resolved by using the one on the sticker if it is an OEM PID that gets revo'ed or a new PID is issued).
Yep, you guys sure stuck it to cable...
DIY'ers successfully build their own CableCARD equipped HTPC {Engadget HD}
Apr 29th 2009 6:29PM Actually some people did get locked out after multiple installs of Windows 7 during the beta process (see http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/344318.aspx). But that isn't the issue. The issue would be Microsoft seeing the same Digital Cable PID tied to a bunch of different Vista PIDs (as far as I know the two PIDs are not linked). Microsoft should have no issue shutting down that obviously cloned Digital Cable PID.
DIY'ers successfully build their own CableCARD equipped HTPC {Engadget HD}
Apr 29th 2009 6:14PM On second thought...I mean this really doesn't enable a mass DIY option.
1.) There are only so many PIDs in the wild (and I am sure Cablelabs would insist that Microsoft shutdown PIDs that are known to be comprimised/cloned)
2.) There are only so many DCTs in the wild. You still can't just go buy them in a store AFAIK and that can easily be restricted back to you can only buy them from your OEM as it was in the beginning.)
And this really doesn't solve the DRM issue. This is similar to cloning DirecTV cards back in the day other than Microsoft does have a way of revocating the PIDs.
