If you have a large music collection like me, you suddenly realize what a pain it isto cart your library around so you can listen to your tunes at work or on the go. I have an 60GB iPod full of stuff, but that’s only about 1/6 of my music. Not only does it take me forever to move that many songs on to an iPod, it even takes longer for me to whittle down the songlist to make sure the essential stuff gets on there. The end result is that my iPod song list never gets changed and it is hopelessly out of date. It’s also a pretty big pain to find the music I’m looking for using the iPod’s user interface. MORE »

PVRBlog is reporting that there will be a new programming guide service available to MythTV called LXM Suite. Users will be charged a small monthly fee (6 months for $30 during their trial period), but hopefully the coverage and reliability will improve. MORE »

One site that is particularly helpful for Linux PVR users is the PVR Hardware Database, which is a community-driven WIKI that includes a comprehensive hardware/software configuration database. It’s very useful for people trying to decide which hardware to buy to build a MythTV or Freevo box. Much of the success in building a functional Linux DVR is finding someone else who has done it before and has posted it up on a web page, and PVR Hardware Database is a good place to start. MORE »

One of TivoBlog.com’s bloggers laments the need to delete his favorite shows because he’s running out of space and asks for a way out? From the comments to the post, most suggest hacking the Tivo in one fashion or another since there is no standard way of backing up shows unless you have a model with DVD Recording capablity (or purchase Sonic’s MyDVD which can burn DVD’s of Tivo2Go files). There should be an easier way. MORE »

Gamespot has more noise on the expanding role the Playstation Portable may have in the future. According to the article, when the PSP is released in South Korea in May, it will include a new piece of bundled software called the Network Utility UMD. With that running, users of the PSP will be able to: MORE »

Along with many others, I waited in line patiently Thursday to purchase the Sony’s new Playstation Portable (PSP), and thankfully with the many units on the shelf at the local Bestbuy, I didn’t have to wait too long. Like others in line, I was eager to try out some of the new game titles, but I also was very eager to try out the Videora with PSP Video 9, Sajeeth Cherian’s latest freeware software product that makes it easy to move video on to the PSP. While the PSP is cool product for gaming, PSP Video 9 also makes the PSP a good product for viewing videos. MORE »

Mark this under your “bad news” column. Slashdot is reporting that the deadline for cable and satellite operators to include support for CableCARDs has been extended an additional year (from 2006 to 2007). MORE »

Do you need to build a file server on a shoe string budget? If you have an old PC (we’re talking original Pentium old) lying around with an ethernet card, then NASLite+, the new offering from ServerElements, may be the best way to build a a big file server for very little money. I’ve used the original, free, NASLite for quite a while now, and having tried NASLite+, it is well worth the $24.95. MORE »

TiVo announced that it was awarded several new patents both domestically and internationally. Among those patents were it’s fast-forwarding technique of backing up a little to correct for reaction time, as well as some other user interface features unique to TiVo. TiVo also announced that it has an exclusive license for what they call the Goldwasser Patent, the earliest patent known in regards to DVR technology. MORE »

With the cost of solid state disks like Compact Flash and USB thumb drives coming down in price, they have become an attractive option to use as a replacement for hard drives on home entertainment PCs. They are noise free and generate very little heat. This article describes how I was able to get BeyondTV Link, a .Net application, running Windows XP Home using an inexpensive compact flash card. As a disclaimer, please note that your mileage may vary when doing this procedure so please don’t blame me if things go badly, your spouse leaves you, and/or your dog bites you as a result of this article. MORE »