(Credit:
Crave UK)
If you aren't one for harsh, unforgiving corners in your living room, you should take a look at the Samsung HT-X715 DVD home media center in a box, which doesn't feature a harsh edge anywhere on its seven-part system. Everything is rounded to within an inch of its life, and we love it.
Not only is everything as well rounded as George Clooney, it's also as pretty as Brad Pitt and as refined as Stephen Fry. The X715 is finished in a subtle reddish tone, designed to match its rose-black TV range. Fortunately it's a discreet look, so whatever TV you've got, this 5.1 system will sit comfortably next to it. Click here to see more.
(Source: Crave UK)
(Credit:
Sony)
Sony's PlayStation 3 is a multimedia powerhouse, juggling the playback demands of Blu-ray, DVD, and DivX with ease. But while on-demand content is growing in popularity, there remain a vast number of people who watch regularly scheduled, over-the-air broadcasts. So it's not surprising to see Sony enter the market with PlayTV, a new device that will let you watch and record digital TV on your PlayStation 3. It was announced for the European market last year and will sell for 80 pounds, or about $156.
Using a USB tuner, plus the included software, PlayTV will allow users to play, record, and stream free-to-air digital programming. These types of broadcast are common across Europe, where the open DVB standard has been incorporated into such services as TDF in France and Freeview in the U.K. Our colleagues at GameSpot UK sat down with a pre-release version of the device at a recent Sony event. Find out how it works here.
(Source: Crave UK)
CNET reader Mathias notes:
Just a quick note/observation of mine: I can't find any DVR out there that works without a subscription and has a tuner built in for analog and digital over-the-air television signals. This strikes me as absolutely incredible. I am actually considering buying a VCR, assuming I can find one with a digital tuner. What's going on here?
To paraphrase here, it appears that Mathias gets his TV from an antenna (not cable, satellite, or fiber), and simply wants to be able to record his favorite shows with the convenience offered by a DVR with an electronic programming guide. He's also on track by searching for one with a digital tuner, since over-the-air analog TV is scheduled to shut down in February 2009.
Mathias--and plenty of others--doesn't want to pay a monthly subscription fee, so that rules out the otherwise excellent TiVo HD. So what are the alternatives? ... Read more
New TiVo customers will be getting discounted service fees
(Credit: TiVo)Just in time for the holidays, TiVo's making some temporary changes to its service fee structure. For new TiVo buyers from now through February 2, 2008, service choices are as follows:
- 1 year monthly service: now $12.95/month (originally $16.95)
- 1 year prepay service: $129 (originally $179)
- 2 year prepay service: $249 (originally $279)
- 3 year prepay service: $299 (unchanged)
To reiterate: those pricing discounts apply only to new TiVo customers (including those who've purchased in the past 30 days); existing customers won't see any changes to their bill. However, TiVo does have an offer for current customers: the return of the lifetime service fee. Existing customers (who already own at least one TiVo DVR) who buy an additional TiVo on the same account can opt for a one-shot product lifetime service fee for that new DVR for $399. That's $100 more than the equivalent plan that was offered by the company until last year.
Additionally, TiVo is making what it calls a "permanent change" to its multiservice discount (the service price paid for up to five additional TiVos on the same account). Subscribers can choose between a $9.95 monthly charge or a $99 yearly prepay (per DVR).
(Credit:
Crave UK)
It's hard to criticize Korean companies these days. There was a time when LG and Samsung were famous only for their low-end products, but these days, nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, it seems to be the Korean companies who are innovating and adding new features, and in LG's case, it's only gone and stuffed a Freeview PVR into its new TV, the LG 32LT75.
LG, which has done this before with previous models in the U.S. market, isn't the first company to put a PVR in a TV--Humax first did this a while ago. But other companies have been slow to understand what a simple yet brilliant idea this is. If we had our way, there would be a PVR in every TV, because the cost of these devices is plummeting, and they're incredibly useful.
The PVR boasts a 160GB hard drive, so you should be able to store somewhere in the region of 80 hours of TV--more in some cases. There are also two tuners, so you can watch one channel and record another.
There are plenty of inputs too: a pair of HDMI sockets, component video and VGA should keep most people happy. And there are two Scart sockets available for your older equipment. Interestingly, the HDMI sockets will happily accept 1080p inputs, which the TV will rescale to fit the screen, and 24p movie inputs are accepted too.
The LG 32LT75 is also a fully HD -ready, 720p LCD TV, so there's no compromise on picture quality, and as you can see from its mugshot, it's a handsome beast too, offering lovely rounded corners and a pleasing black finish. LG claims an 8ms grey-to-grey response time, and a life expectancy of around 50,000 hours, which should keep even the most TV-addicted couch potato happy.
(Source: Crave UK)
TiVo To Go: Just one of several features coming to HD TiVos
(Credit: TiVo)TiVo is finally delivering some long-promised features to its two high-def models. In the coming weeks, the company will roll out software updates to the TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD that will add support for expandable storage, Multi-Room Viewing, TiVo To Go, and progressive downloading of Amazon Unbox and TiVoCast videos. Full details on each, after the jump:
... Read more
TiVo Series3 HD DVR
(Credit: CNET)TiVo is slowly rolling out a software update to its Series3 high-def DVR. Among the improvements in the 8.1 version (as reported at tivocommunity.com): TiVoCast (video downloads); Extend Live (autoprompt for live-event recording extensions); KidZone (family-friendly content control); wireless networking improvement (WPA support added to WEP); Product Watch (download preferred advertising videos that caters to your interest); and Recently Deleted Folder (resurrect accidentally deleted content). As Dave Zatz points out, that brings the Series3 functionality in line with that of the non-HD Series2 boxes except for two big missing features: TiVo To Go and multiroom viewing, both of which will remain MIA on the Series3 for the foreseeable future. (We hear that TiVo would love to turn them on, but CableLabs--the organization that licenses the CableCard technology used in the Series3 box--considers it a potential security concern, and won't authorize the features.)
The list price of the Series3 TiVo remains at a rather stratospheric $800 (not including the monthly fee), but it can be found online for under $650. Meanwhile, the Web has been abuzz with rumors of a price cut in the near future. And while even a $500 price tag would be steep, the promise of additional on-demand content options--such as the newly added TiVoCast and the forthcoming Amazon Unbox--provides at least the potential for swaying consumers who might otherwise be tempted by the "free" high-def DVRs now offered by most cable providers.
Editors' note: CNET Networks is one of the several content partners that provide video content via the TiVoCast service.
On Sale Now: $399.95
View the latest prices for TiVo Series3 HD DVR (32-HD hours)
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