PC Tuner for DirecTV - HDPC-20

[Queasy]

Engadget via DBSTalk

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Pretty cool even if it is a separate box. No word on pricing or availability.

 

[erwos]

TheGreenButton's forums are also burning up with talk about it. If it doesn't require a certified PC (and there's no indication so far that it does), this will be THE solution for getting HD programming to Media Center PCs. It also means they'll need to update the 360's MCX interface for H.264 support. Yay!

There was also preliminary confirmation that we'll be seeing full-blown DVD streaming (eg, with the menus) will be in the next Media Center release.

 

[pulse8]

I hope this thing does HD and doesn't require and OEM system because fuck cable cards. I'm going with this box.

 

[Shawn]

Pretty sweet. Now all I need is DirectTV.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: pulse8
I hope this thing does HD and doesn't require and OEM system because fuck cable cards. I'm going with this box.

I'm guessing that the HD in HDPC-20 means that it will do HD programming.

The good news is that this means that an update to Windows Media Center to support more video formats (specifically mpeg4) is coming. However, I'm guessing that update will only come to Vista and not XP MCE.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: pulse8
I hope this thing does HD and doesn't require and OEM system because fuck cable cards. I'm going with this box.

I'm guessing that the HD in HDPC-20 means that it will do HD programming.

The good news is that this means that an update to Windows Media Center to support more video formats (specifically mpeg4) is coming. However, I'm guessing that update will only come to Vista and not XP MCE.

This is correct. Jessica Zahn, a MS insider who posts over at TheGreenButton, has stated that there will be no more updates to XP MCE, besides security updates.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: pulse8
I hope this thing does HD and doesn't require and OEM system because fuck cable cards. I'm going with this box.

I'm guessing that the HD in HDPC-20 means that it will do HD programming.

The good news is that this means that an update to Windows Media Center to support more video formats (specifically mpeg4) is coming. However, I'm guessing that update will only come to Vista and not XP MCE.

This is correct. Jessica Zahn, a MS insider who posts over at TheGreenButton, has stated that there will be no more updates to XP MCE, besides security updates.

That just blows. Honestly. MS continually abandons updates to their MCE products in favor of the latest version. There are plenty of people that use XP MCE (like me) that would love to have mpeg4 support.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

This sounds nice but I'll wait to hear the price and the DRM requirements for this first.

Makes for some sweet possibilities though. A couple of these attached to a single server steaming to all the TVs via media extenders might be the nirvana I've been searching for.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
This sounds nice but I'll wait to hear the price and the DRM requirements for this first.

Makes for some sweet possibilities though. A couple of these attached to a single server steaming to all the TVs via media extenders might be the nirvana I've been searching for.

Yeah, I'm running 5 DirecTV DVRs in my house right now (mother-in-law in the basement is why). It would be a joy to be able to centralize the recordings instead of having to record the same shows on different receivers.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
This sounds nice but I'll wait to hear the price and the DRM requirements for this first.

Makes for some sweet possibilities though. A couple of these attached to a single server steaming to all the TVs via media extenders might be the nirvana I've been searching for.

Yeah, I'm running 5 DirecTV DVRs in my house right now (mother-in-law in the basement is why). It would be a joy to be able to centralize the recordings instead of having to record the same shows on different receivers.

I wonder if there will be a 4 tuner limitation with these like there is with the CableCard units? I'm not sure if that's a Vista limitation or something to do with the hardware.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: pulse8
I hope this thing does HD and doesn't require and OEM system because fuck cable cards. I'm going with this box.

I'm guessing that the HD in HDPC-20 means that it will do HD programming.

The good news is that this means that an update to Windows Media Center to support more video formats (specifically mpeg4) is coming. However, I'm guessing that update will only come to Vista and not XP MCE.

This is correct. Jessica Zahn, a MS insider who posts over at TheGreenButton, has stated that there will be no more updates to XP MCE, besides security updates.

That just blows. Honestly. MS continually abandons updates to their MCE products in favor of the latest version. There are plenty of people that use XP MCE (like me) that would love to have mpeg4 support.

You can already get MPEG-4 support in MCE2005 - just not to the extenders. Install the ffdshow-tryouts codec.

But, seriously, why waste dev time on a deprecated product?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Shawn

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: pulse8
I hope this thing does HD and doesn't require and OEM system because fuck cable cards. I'm going with this box.

I'm guessing that the HD in HDPC-20 means that it will do HD programming.

The good news is that this means that an update to Windows Media Center to support more video formats (specifically mpeg4) is coming. However, I'm guessing that update will only come to Vista and not XP MCE.

This is correct. Jessica Zahn, a MS insider who posts over at TheGreenButton, has stated that there will be no more updates to XP MCE, besides security updates.

That just blows. Honestly. MS continually abandons updates to their MCE products in favor of the latest version. There are plenty of people that use XP MCE (like me) that would love to have mpeg4 support.

You can already get MPEG-4 support in MCE2005 - just not to the extenders. Install the ffdshow-tryouts codec.

But, seriously, why waste dev time on a deprecated product?

That is what I am talking about. The MCE with extenders which is how the HDPC-20 would work.

Why waste time on a deprecated product? Because people still use Windows XP and Windows XP MCE?

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Why waste time on a deprecated product? Because people still use Windows XP and Windows XP MCE?

It's like this: XP will be unsupported in five years or so. Vista will be supported for another 9-10. It makes no financial sense to invest in the product you'll be selling less of.