PVR News Blog

The television revolution began on September 22, 2005 when Verizon FiOS TV launched in Keller, Texas. Powered by the company’s fiber-optic network, FiOS TV unleashes unprecedented choice and value for consumers. Now available in markets in Texas, Virginia and Florida, FiOS TV is coming to many more markets in 2006.

Unrivaled Programming Choices

More than 330 all-digital video and audio channels, with more on the way. More than 20 high-definition channels. Plus a growing library of on-demand movies and shows. And this is just the start. Verizon FiOS TV offers a wide selection of viewing choices – national networks, movie and sports packages and newer networks that tap a variety of interests. FiOS TV’s multicultural programming features Spanish-language channels, African American networks, and more than a dozen channels from around the world. The Verizon FiOS TV channel line-up was designed with viewers in mind. Channels are grouped by category, providing viewers with an easy way to find all programs in a particular genre. Unbelievable Picture and Sound Quality Fiber-optic TV means amazingly sharp pictures and theater-quality sound across the all-digital channel line-up. The stunning capacity of Verizon’s fiber-optic network delivers HD programming with hyper-real color that leaps from the television screen and puts the
viewer right in the middle of the viewing experience.

Unparalleled Control

Nothing gets in the way of viewers’ favorite programs when they have the digital video recorder. It lets them record up to two shows at once. Or watch one show while recording another. They can even pause and rewind live TV. The interactive programming guide provides a 14-day listing of the all-digital programs as well as specialized guides for VOD nd HD programs. Intuitive and easy to use, the IPG enables viewers to search for programs through a wide variety of categories – day and time, program title, actor or topic. The mini-guide feature enables a viewer to display program listings while watching a program. And FiOS TV makes it easy for parents to control what their family sees with asy-toset parental controls.

Unlimited Future

Beginning in 2006, FiOS TV will add even more interactivity and control, giving viewers the ability to personalize their home-entertainment experience. The revolution is all about you, and you can watch it on FiOS TV.

Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with Built-in DVD Recorder/Player

1. Combines three boxes in one – lessening the amount of equipment needed.
   No more changing inputs on your TV and juggling remotes. Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player is three powerful devices in one – a high-powered digital set-top box, a DVR and a DVD recorder/player – with only one remote to operate, simplifying the means for which consumers can store their favorite content and watch whenever and wherever they want.
2. Enables the creation of personal DVDs with DVR content libraries.
   Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player is the first and only networked set-top of its kind to enable the consumer to record DVR content onto a DVD. With this product, Scientific-Atlanta is advancing entertainment mobility by making it even easier for consumers to get digital content, save it and own their own copy of it.
3. Gives consumers more space in the living room/television entertainment center.
   Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player not only enables consumers to record DVR content, but also plays “off-the-shelf� commercial DVDs and CDs, including:DVD Video, DVD -R/RW, DVD-VR with CPRM, Archived DVD and Audio CD formats. Now, consumers no longer have to purchase multiple devices to have all the features and capabilities they
   want.
4. Gives the consumer more hard drive space.
   By enabling consumers to transfer their DVR recordings from the hard drive to DVD, this fulfills one of the most important needs expressed by consumers in Scientific-Atlanta’s research, particularly DVR owners - to have more hard drive space for recordings.
5. Enables the consumer to take DVR content outside the home.
   Viewed as the next-generation DVR, Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player enables consumers to play back their recorded DVR content in a variety of portable devices, opening the door for people to take their favorite shows outside the home and watch them in the mini-van, on the train, on the bus or on an airplane, depending on the recording format and the capabilities of the playback device.
6. Expands DVR functionality to other televisions in the home.
   Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player also supports Multi-Room™ DVR. With Multi-Room DVR, viewers in up to three additional rooms in the home can simultaneously access content stored on the DVR hard drive. Individuals can not only watch different recorded programs, but they can view the same program time shifted at different points in the show.
7. Supports exciting future DVR capabilities, such as “Direct to Disc�.
   Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player will enable consumers to purchase video, music or software from their service provider and then record that content on a disc using their set-top box. Our future ‘Direct to Disc’ distribution model could allow content owners to monetize more titles and could increase service providers’ ARPUs. And from a security standpoint, scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with DVD could also record protection schemes customized by the content owners during the authorization process.
8. Won CES “Best of Innovations� Award in its category.
   Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player received the Consumer Electronics Association’s “Best of Innovationsâ€? award for Video Components in the CES Innovations 2006 Awards competition. This product also received Communication Technologymagazine’s “2005 Readers’ Choice Awardâ€?in the Advanced Video category.
9. Gives consumers a full range of services.
   Although satellite providers are aggressively pushing DVR services, Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player delivers a full package of DVR, Multi-Room DVR, high-definition DVR, dual DVR recording and external SATA storage expansion, giving subscribers the range of services they want - not currently offered elsewhere.
10. Delivers and records high-definition programming.
    Scientific-Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD recorder/player gives consumers the control and convenience of DVR, combined with the ability to view and record dazzling HDTV (high-definition television) programming Also, while off-the-shelf DVD recorders can only archive analog formatted content, Scientific-Atlanta’s product can archive both analog and digitally encrypted programming formats.

SageTV Media Extender, is a $99.95 accessory for SageTV Media Center for Windows that provides a whole-house PVR, music and photo media center system with no subscription fees. Now any TV connected to the SageTV Media Center through the home network with the SageTV Media Extender, or any networked PC running the SageTV Client software, can access the SageTV user interface as well as any media available through the software.

The combined SageTV Media Center and Media Extender system allows customers to set up a whole-home media center for a few hundred dollars, compared to thousands of dollars for other solutions. There is no need to purchase additional digital video recorder boxes to add more recording capability or purchase brand new PCs with Microsoft Media Center Edition to get DVR and media management control.

SageTV Media Center enables Windows users to record a single show or whole season of their favorite standard and/or high-definition television programs on PCs equipped with the appropriate tuner cards. Users can also pause, rewind and fast-forward live or recorded cable, satellite or antenna TV shows, and record multiple shows simultaneously because of the application’s multiple tuner support. HD and standard definition programs can be streamed to multiple PCs on the network using SageTV Client, and standard definition content can be streamed to multiple TVs in the home with the SageTV Media Extender.

More information on the SageTV Studio is available at http://www.sagetv.com/studio.html .

ReplayTV will introduce a new Digital Video Recorder (DVR) software solution in 2006 based on its acclaimed DVR expertise. The new software application is designed for the personal computer, which globally is the fastest growing video entertainment platform.

ReplayTV has teamed with Hauppauge Computer Works, the leading manufacturer of TV receivers for PCs, to create an affordable and innovative PC-based DVR solution. ReplayTV plans to bundle its PC DVR software application with Hauppauge’s WinTV-PVR tuner/encoder PC cards beginning in 2006 for the North America market. ReplayTV will soon complete the sale of all remaining 5500 Series DVR products, completing the first phase of the transformation of the brand from a hardware manufacturer to a leading provider of advanced DVR software and services to consumers of entertainment PCs.

Product details and pricing will be announced in 2006.

TVDrive is a new set-top box that offers the combined advantages of video-on-demand, a PVR (personal video recorder) and High Definition television. This new tv service will fully launch early in 2006 and uses SeaChange TV Navigator.

SeaChange TV Navigator is the software application that provides unique PVR capabilities enabling viewers to actually pause live television broadcasts; record two programs simultaneously, while watching a third; using a simple intuitive interface. Telewest customers can chose from a vast library of on-demand options with fast-forward, rewind, and pause functionality through their Teleport service, or use their TVDrive PVR for alternative live television programming. You can save a program from the beginning even as the program is ending. Now, the temporal constraints of television are eliminated as viewers can rewind a program or sporting event at their convenience, or simply access alternatives from the on-demand library. SeaChange TV Navigator provides an electronic programming guide for viewers making it simple to browse programming schedules days ahead, to access on-demand choices and to schedule personal recordings. It also supports games, internet access, mail, chat applications and complete DVDs to be streamed.

See www.seachange.tv for more.

This is an awesome piece of software! Now you can record TV shows on your computer for playback on the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), Apple video iPod, and other portable video players. Wing can also be used to convert existing TV recordings to the PSP and iPod format.

Wing is sold as a $24.95 accessory to Hauppauge’s PC-based WinTV-PVR personal video recorders. Live TV shows can be recorded with a single click and played on a PC or TV set as well as a portable video player. Wing records in H.264, MPEG-4 and Divx formats, and also will record directly to a recordable DVD disk.

The Wing application comes with three components: a plug-in for the popular TitanTV internet based electronic program guide for automatic recording of TV shows, a plug-in for Hauppauge’s WinTV Scheduler for manual TV record scheduling, and an off-line recorder which will turn MPEG-2 videos into any of the formats supported by Wing.

Hauppage’s Eskape Labs division is also developing a version of Wing for the Apple Mac using the myTV.PVR, the Eskape Labs Mac-based personal video recorder and will be released in early 2006.

Wing is available directly from Hauppauge.