There's just no way to followup a visit to Dish Network's booth than to hit up DirecTV directly afterwards, eh? Sadly, DirecTV's space was packed to the brim with individuals and an excessive amount of TVs, but we squeaked our way through the madness to get some shots of the company's HR21 Pro, which touts a sexy black chassis, a slew of ports in the rear, and interestingly enough, Viiv-certification. Oh, and the only murmurs we heard about the next big rollout of channels involved the phrase "between next week and next year."

During last years CES, there was one question that was constantly asked, "What is Viiv?". After one year after it's announcement it doesn't seem like it has gained much traction in the marketplace. While DirecTV also showed a Viiv compatible box at last years CES and there were even reports of the Viiv features on the HR20 last month. Now DirecTV is announcing that Viiv features on the HR20 are currently available as a public beta trial to all DirecTV Plus HD DVR customers. What really makes this interesting is the fact that they claim to be the "largest supplier of Viiv-verified digital media adapters", which can't be good news considering it is still in beta. We can only assume this means it is the only Viiv-verified digital media adapter. With all the media adapters announced who will end up in front? If you can't wait to try it out it's available in the latest firmware which is a manual update.

We're not exactly sure who'd spring for a completely wired version of a media streamer these days, especially with all the wireless renditions already out there, but I-O Data is officially launching its AVeL LinkPlayer2 for Intel Viiv anyway. Designed to stream audio and video over a wired Ethernet connection from your PC to your TV, this device supports HD streaming (1080i / 720p), WMV9HD, MPEG2-TS, and DivX HD, but recommends a Viiv-certified HTPC to be the sender of the data. Aside from the lack of WiFi, it also strangely lacks an HDMI port (and subsequently, HDCP support) and includes a component output instead, but you can connect external hard drives via USB 2.0 and stream files stored locally across your TV set as well as view standard DVDs via the built-in DVD player. Nevertheless, this admittedly less-than-attractive device can be snapped up later on this month for $279, but do take note of the "Viiv sticker" requirement that's supposed to be found on your connected PC (and try not to chuckle).

[Via DailyTech]

After DirecTV's long-awaited HR20 HD DVR finally got its rightful announcements and actually hit users' hands, it wasn't too long before folks were plugging and praying in hopes of getting their new toy to play nice with that HTPC beside it. While we knew the two firms had gone hand-in-hand awhile back, we finally got the thumbs-up that a new, Viiv-alicious DirecTV Plus HD DVR would be unveiled soon to interact out-of-the-box with Viiv-enabled systems, but more importantly, that a software update was coming to the plain ole HR20s to accomplish the same thing. The time has come, and users are reporting over at DBSTalk that the "0x108 software" has opened up the Ethernet port for use, and allows browsing / connections via a Viiv-certified machine, but definitely made things difficult for those not exactly keen on shelling out for a few new components. Nevertheless, there's already been somewhat of a workaround worked out, which allows PCs with just Windows MCE installed to "see" the HR20, but not "serve up files in a way that HR20 can work with," which we're all but certain will change as the wheels spin in owners' heads. Reportedly, DirecTV is establishing a dedicated website to getting folks up and running with the new connectivity options, and be sure to keep an eye on the linked thread for any "future developments" regarding non-Viiv-savvy PCs.

[Via PVRWire]

In case 80 cores doesn't get you going, perhaps this will: in other news to come out of the Intel Developers Forum, DirecTV and Intel are joining forces to produce the DirecTV Plus HD DVR -- which we first heard about all the way back at CES -- allowing viewers to check out content via the interweb when connected to a Viiv PC. In addition, there will be a new software update for DirecTV subscribers by the end of the year that turns subscribers' set-top-boxes into digital media adapters, the companies said in a press release earlier today. The new DVR, to be released later this fall, will capture 200 hours of standard definition programming or 50 hours of HD, or whatever combination of the two your little heart desires.

[Via CNET]

It's a little short on exact details, but Intel has released some details of the roadmap of their chipsets and motherboard designs. The line of interest to us at HD Beat is the Bearlake G+, which contains some built-in capabilities for HDTV decoding and display. It contains designs for an integrated video chipset on the motherboard, and should support hardware encryption and decoding of VC-1 and MPEG-4 AVC, as well as Intel's High Definition Audio. So if you get a computer with this chipset on the motherboard, rather than having to buy an nVidia, ATI, or other third-party card to get hardware video playback decoding for your HDTV, you can pick up one of the Media Series from Intel, plug in your DVI or HDMI cable -- with HDCP, of course -- and play back your HD DVD or Blu-ray media. The G+ series should be out in 2007.

That's what CE Pro is suggesting. After questioning Intel's underwhelming initiative, they have now softened their stance offered an alternate perspective and given us some food for thought on why Viiv might actually be worthwhile. Chief among those reasons is transcoding. For example, your second-gen Viiv equipped PC should come with the capability to stream any type of media to an Xbox 360, without any workarounds or extensions.


We'll wait until we see a Viiv PC with more useful capabilities, although this jibes with rumors we heard earlier about streaming functionality not coming alive until Viiv 2.0.

Viiv. Do you even know what it is. For starters it is somewhat like Centrino was to laptops a few years ago. Viiv is a combination of hardware that allows consumers to easily view and stream digital media. Intel introduced this last year at CES with a cool box that would look great in any equipment rack. But go into any major electronic store and seek out their Viiv systems. (if you can find one) HP has a desktop that is just a desktop filled with a few web clips and digital media files. Nothing special to us.

So where are all the cool Viiv products? Well, for one, remember that Onkyo media center. That's one. We are sure more is to come but this is a home entertainment product that someone like Onkyo or TIVO would be great at making. There is more to come and hopefully penetrate into homes.

[via digg]

I know it isn't news, but it is good to hear someone mention it since CES. Each year at CES there are at least a few items that end up being vapor ware. Here at HDBeat we love to stream HD Content around our house and using XP Media Center Edition with an Xbox360 is always a good option. Of course the biggest problem is that we can only stream OTA content and other HD content from our PC, but not content from Cable or satellite.

We are so excited about being able to use either CableCARD or a Viiv powered DIRECTV STB that you can bet we will keep you updated as soon as we find out more. For now all we have is a mention by DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey at the Intel development conference's keynote. He said that the Viiv-certified DIRECTV box was in the works.

The real question is if it will be available before the standalone HD TiVo. I probably won't buy both, but I will buy the first to market.

Nothing we love more than rumor mongering analyst predictions at HDBeat, the latest of which has revived the high definition or HDTV-based video iPod rumor. No news on possible Intel Viiv-based plasmas or MovieBeam integration, but we wouldn't rule out a surprise appearance by Bigfoot at this point.

The announcement, whatever it is, will be made at a just-announced press event February 28th, so check back here on Tuesday to see what is what. What do you think: is there anything video or high-def related coming out of Apple's closet next week?

Oh, there's quite a buzz going on about Viiv and the buzz continues to get louder as more info surfaces. There's apparently a "Supports Intel Viiv" logo that we're just starting to see and that begs the question: what will wear this badge o' honor and more importantly, will this be a sticker that you as an HD-project tinkerer actually get? We doubt it; it seems pretty certain that like CableCARD 2.0 certified Vista systems, a Viiv cert will be OEM-based as well.

Is that really a bad thing though? Not that we have a solid understanding of the Viiv platform (does anyone?), but it appears to simply be a way to put consumers at ease when mixing components and hoping that they work. If all of the components are Viiv-able, then your overall system should have no DRM challenges. If you cobble your own boxes together, you're on your own; which you realized when you started your little homebrewed high-def science experiment, right? If our interpretation of Viiv is right, then mainstream consumers should be happy. For the more technically astute, is Viiv really adding anything?

I think part of the reason it's so hard to figure out what Viiv is, is because it's so many things. One of those things, is a small form factor PC with dual cores that turns on and off almost instantly and runs Windows Media Center edition. This box, the µDMS P60 from Hi-Grade is only a concept, but it's one that I like: small, sleek and somewhat powerful. The question is: how is it at HD? It's said to have an optional ATSC tuner for OTA HD, but how about access to  DIRECTV HD programming?

[via Engadget]

It's a good thing we all have our OTA antennas ready because we're going to need them to enjoy the latest in HD entertainment: MovieBeam. Disney started testing this back in 2003 and now it looks like it's ready to go and in HD to boot. No firm release date yet It is availabe in some ares now and Cisco's Linksys division is going to make the STB and both Cisco and Intel are helping to foot the bill. If we're lucky there may even be Viiv support.

MovieBeam will be available in 23 cities and come preloaded with 100 films from most of the major studios. Considering the price of $200 plus a monthly and per movie fee, I wonder how many people are going to take advantage of this, not to mention how this will effect our OTA HD that we love so much. They are distributing the content with datacasting and I can only imagine where they are getting the wireless bandwidth from. Now we just need one to test in the HDBeat labs. This should be interesting to watch develop.

Intel's new platform that so far has provided more questions than answers is the subject of an interview by the CE Pro Weblog. Installers and resellers are just as interested as everyone else in what Viiv can do, so will this quell the "Viiv is DRM" rumblings?

Not exactly, although they do talk about transcoding, why Viiv is necessary despite DLNA, and Intel Virtualization Technology, so check it out.

*Shrug*, sorry Intel, but no matter how many partners you have, I just don't think I'll be impressed until you show me some muscle to justify wearing the "verified Viiv digital device" yoke. We prefer our high definition content DRM-free, but who knows how possible that will be in the coming year.

Certifications seem to be in the HD news lately, first it was CableCARD 2.0 and today it's a new service called Simplay HD from Silicon Image. Simplay HD isn't a mandatory standard however. Silicon Image's goal is to reduce consumer frustration to ensure that different high-def devices work together; sorta sounds like the Viiv platform only without validation of the DRM. According to the Simplay HD site, a device gains the Simplay HD logo if it can prove it meets the highest standards for getting and sharing a digital HD signal. Currently the only products on the approved list are several HDTVs from Mitsubishi, Sanyo and Thompson.

We're all for HD compatibility and clear standards, but is this really necessary?

Read [via eHomeUpgrade]