The Green Button has a new discussion on Away mode in Update Rollup 2 for Media Center and whether you actually need new hardware or not to be able to use Away mode. MORE »

Popularity: 3% [?]

Prepared to be impressed. Chip PC has introduced a “computer in-the-wall” thin client PC called the Jack-PC that is so small and so self-sufficient that anyone who has a home wired up for Ethernet will want to take notice (via WindowsForDevices). The Jack-PC basically replaces your in-wall Ethernet LAN jack and swaps in a network virtual PC that interfaces independently with the home’s central server. The Jack-PC includes connection ports for a keyboard, monitor (DVI/Analog), 4 USB devices, audio speakers (through a headphone jack), and microphone jack (MSRP $299). MORE »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Siemens Communications, Inc., today announced that its SURPASS® Home Entertainment portfolio of broadcast server provider solutions has made IPTV a reality for more than 75 U.S. regional operators as well as many more worldwide. Siemens has the most IPTV deployments in the United States, with two-thirds of its customers making Internet protocol television solutions commercially available to subscribers. Globally, Siemens IPTV contracts now cover more than 38 million broadband lines. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Royal Philips Electronics today introduced a new family of audio/video decoders to significantly enhance the consumer experience of the digital home. By integrating multi-standard stereo and a seamless interface with advanced silicon tuner solutions into the new SAA7136 and SAA7137 decoder family, Philips is enabling Connected Consumers to experience high-performance features, such as high-fidelity stereo and 480p/576p component video capture, in wireless TV, media gateways, digital media adapters and other emerging applications, at approximately 20 percent lower prices than older generation stand-alone analog stereo and video decoder solutions. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Apple® today announced that iTunes® Music Store customers have purchased and downloaded more than one million videos since they debuted on October 12. Customers can choose from over 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films and hit TV shows for just $1.99. Top downloads include music videos from Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim and Kanye West; Pixar’s “For the Birds” and “Boundin’”; and episodes of ABC’s hit TV shows “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

If your Series 2 TiVo is wired to your home network and you also happen to be the proud owner of an iPod with Video, Sony PSP or Palm PDA, then TVHarmony AutoPilot is an application that might interest you (via FirstAdopter). AutoPilot can be scheduled to download and convert your favorite shows so that you don’t have to sit in front of your PC waiting for the latest episode of Lost to be transfer over your network. To get TiVo content on your portable, you’ll need TivoToGo, 10GB of available disk space on your PC and Windows 2000 or XP. The tool is currently in beta, but is available as a free download (donations accepted, of course). MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

Alex Raiano of TiVoBlog is out with a post comparing a top of the line TiVo to a Media Center Computer on value vs. cost and comes up with the following conclusion: MORE »

Popularity: 6% [?]

Though its model name suggests it’s a robot from the future intent on the destruction of human-kind, the T600 from Maxian is the 4,756,890th Portable Media Player (PMP) to be released this year (via AVing, Engadget). What is its claim to fame to stand out from the crowd? Well, it can actually RECORD content onto its 20 (or 30) GB hard drive. Additionally, you can schedule the recordings effectively making it a DVR. MORE »

Popularity: 3% [?]

Jeremy Charette over at Digital Media Thoughts had some interesting things to say after reading Peter Rosser’s blog post on Recording over 1394 (Firewire) in Media Center. Warning: what he writes might offend the diehard I-Want-My-PC-CableCard-Now crowd. MORE »

Popularity: 2% [?]

If you’re in the market for a Media Center PC with all the bells and whistles - and $5000 doesn’t make you flinch - then the VoodooPC Aria Media Center PC may just be for you — according to PC Magazine’s review, it’s the Mercedes Benz of Media Center PCs. MORE »

Popularity: 7% [?]