Filed under: General, Hacks, News, Software, Tips, Beyond TV, DIY, Downloads

Everyone likes to customize their PC with some pictures and themes, if its not a picture of some hot girl or a desert island on your desktop, it’s a load of fishes swimming around on your screensaver.

The Snapstream community has created a nice set of skins for the BeyondTV PVR interface meaning your TV experience can now be that little more personalized too.

A selection of the skins available can be seen here including dolphin, desert island and pirate themes. Installing a skin is easy and requires simply replacing one file in the BeyondTV directory.

Anyone fancy making a PVR Wire theme? You know you want too!

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/25/beyond-tv-skins-customize-the-look-of-beyond-tv-with-themes/. Continue reading Beyond TV Skins – Customize the look of Beyond TV with themes →

Filed under: General, Cable TV, HDTV, News

According to a NewsChannel 9 story posted yesterday Time Warner is out of HD PVR boxes for its customers due to an overwhelming number of requests, according to the company. Well either that or Time Warner just didn’t organise getting enough of them.

Time Warner has stated that new boxes will arrive within two or three weeks. In the meantime Time Warner subscribers can pick up regular HD set top boxes, get on a waiting list for the HD PVR, and get one as soon as it’s available.

[Via All PVR]

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/25/time-warner-out-of-hd-pvrs/. Continue reading Time Warner out of HD PVRs →

Filed under: News, Apple, Home Networking, Streaming

I was a bit disappointed with the Apple TV to say the least but I have to say it was nice to see RocketBoom being shown on a full screen TV set via the Apple TV, although the Apple TV is of course one of the many products that can do this.

The video below shows the Apple TV in action and it looks and smells all Apple-ey. It’s small, looks good next to your TV set, and has a friendly user interface that my girlfriend could even figure out.

It was of course expected that Apple would deliver a user friendly, fashionable device, but its just a shame the Apple TV is all about getting you to buy from the iTunes store, while also lacking many much needed features that can be found elsewhere.

I don’t think Apple will be threatening TiVo and the Cable companies just yet.

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/25/the-apple-tv-in-action-its-everything-apple/. Continue reading The Apple TV in action – It’s everything Apple but nothing new →

Filed under: General, HDTV, News

You may not have heard of Compro, a company that creates PC graphics and multimedia products, but you might be interested in its new HDTV USB Tuner.

The U2700 hybrid DVB-T tuner brings OTA (Over the Air) High Definition and Standard Definition channels reception to your TV (NTSC/SECAM/PAL) and features full PVR functionality including time shifting and scheduling capabilities.

It connects via USB 2.0 and has the odd ability to let you watch five digital 1080i streams at once, providing four of those are already recorded and you have a beefy 3GHz processor. Not quite sure why you’d want to do this, but it’s there if you need it.

The PVR interface is from the ComproDTV 3 / Ulead software and works with the included IR remote. The device is also Windows Vista certified which is always handy.

No details on price or when the U2700 tuner will launch. More specs are on the Compro website.

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/25/compro-u2700-hybrid-hdtv-tuner-gets-vista-certified/. Continue reading Compro U2700 hybrid HDTV tuner gets Vista certified →

Filed under: News, Software, Media Center Edition, Downloads

Back at the end of October Brad talked about an XML file that could be used within Windows Media Center which would automatically download cover art, descriptions, ratings, cast, etc about any DVD that you may have ripped.

Now although that site has been a huge help in that it saves you from having to create these individual files for each DVD on your system, there were some short comings with the site. Well hopefully most of those have been taken care of.

DVDXML.com has just completed a major overhaul that includes a new, easier to use download section, and a new and improved search engine. However because of the upgrade they are temporarily not accepting new XML files, but that restriction will be lifted in the near future.

If you have a Windows Media Center based PVR and you like to keep your DVD’s on your hard drive, be sure to check out this site. It’s all the little things like this that make you realize how customizable a do it yourself PVR really can be.

Found via.

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/25/dvdxml-com-gets-a-facelift/. Continue reading DVDXML.com gets a facelift →

Filed under: Advertising, Cable TV, News, Comcast

It seems to be a continuing trend for TV companies to start implementing adverts within the Electronic Program Guides (EPGs) of PVRs. Comcast is one such company which is continuing to get on board with this.

Here on PVRWire we have discussed these ads appearing in some territories on Comcast PVRs. The ads have previously been reported in Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Tucson AZ, and Washington DC areas.

Now PVRWire has recently received an email claiming that the adverts are now appearing in the Miami/Florida region, bumping the 5th row of the program guide for a banner advert.

JJ Hawkins has summed up why these adverts are not only a pain, but unfair for Comcast subscribers. If you don’t like these ads then why not get involved and let Comcast know about it and Kill those Comcast Ads!

[Thanks Fullman for the tip!]

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/24/comcast-s-onscreen-guide-ads-rollout-continues/. Continue reading Comcast’s onscreen guide ads rollout continues →

Filed under: Cable TV, Hacks, HDTV, Tips, DIY

If you want to record television shows directly onto your PC from cable it is possible for a number of channels. The FCC requires that all cable boxes have a firewire port allowing you to connect your PC and Cable Box together.

Unfortunately it’s not as simple as connecting your PC and Cable Box with a firewire cable (pictured right) and starting to record. You’ll need to install various software and drivers first.

Also it is unlikely that you will be able to record any premium channels as they will be encrypted. All regular broadcast channels must however be open, if they are not get on the phone to your cable operator and tell them to sort it out.

Uber Lounge has the full steps for recording cable TV in both SD and HD to your PC.

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/24/record-tv-from-your-cable-box-to-your-pc-even-in-hd/. Continue reading Record TV from your cable box to your PC, even in HD →

Filed under: News, Support, Tips, DirectTV, DIY

Back in December reports of problems with DirecTiVos began to appear explaining that the PVRs were being erratic in their ability to record shows. The PVRs would often fail to record shows altogether and mysteriously delete some recorded programs.

DirecTV then said that it had fixed the problem but DirecTiVo users still continued to have the same problems. Now DirecTV spokesperson Robert Mercer told TVPredictions.com yesterday that “a reboot will clean it up and the unit will start recording again.”

So the age old trick of “turning it off and on” should hopefully put your DirecTiVo back on track.

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/24/directivo-owners-reboot-now/. Continue reading DirecTiVo Owners Reboot Now! →

Filed under: Hacks, News, Software, TiVo Series 2, TiVo, Home Networking, Streaming

Announced at the TiVo Community forum was a neat piece of Windows software called TiVo.net that allows you to use your TiVo as a media extender so you can play a variety of video formats from your PC.

A list of video formats and codecs that TiVo.net supports can be found here. The software works by converting the video on the fly to MPEG2 TiVo compatable video that can then whizz across your home network to your TV screen, via your TiVo.

TiVo.net is an open source project so others can get involved. It’s early days for the software and if you experience any bugs it would be worth pointing them out to the developer.

[Via TiVo Lovers]

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/24/tivo-net-play-almost-any-video-file-from-your-pc-on-your-tivo/. Continue reading TiVo.net – Play almost any video file from your PC on your TiVo →

Filed under: General, HDTV, News, Software, Home Networking, Streaming

The HAVA Gold HD has been launched today at the highly respectable price of $129. For this small price you can turn a regular Windows PC into a PVR and also stream MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video to multiple PCs on your home network, and also over the internet, just like a Slingbox.

Additionally when used with Windows Media Center (both XP and the soon to be released Vista MCE) it opens up the option of using the HAVA Gold as a TV Tuner appearing on the PC as an installed TV Tuner card.

The HAVA Gold HD will connect to any TV source such as Cable, Satellite, DVD, TiVo or a Camcorder allowing you to spread your TV to any PC over your home network or the internet.

Unlike the higher end HAVA Wireless HD model it does not come with built-in wireless features and fewer I/O options.

I have to say as an entry level Slingbox device I like the specs and I like the price.

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/23/hava-gold-hd-entry-level-high-definition-slingbox-competitor-rel/. Continue reading HAVA Gold HD Entry Level High Definition Slingbox Competitor released →

Filed under: Photos, TiVo, TiVo Series 3

Ever wonder how your 13 inch TV and Series3 HD TiVo home setup measures up against other TiVo users’? The folks at the TiVo Community Forum have posted a number of photos of their TiVo units in action and at rest.

Popular TiVo playmates seem to be large screen TVs and Xbox 360s. While some users seem to find beauty in a simple setup that hides the wires and most of the AV components, others seem to revel in showing off as many AV boxes as possible. My personal favorite is a shot on page four of the 16,000 wires used to plug in what appears to be a Series3 TiVo, several DirecTiVos, some serious audio hardware, and what might very well be a possibly a warp drive.

[via Davis Freeberg]

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/23/gallery-of-tivo-series3-boxes-at-home/. Continue reading Gallery of TiVo Series3 boxes at home →

Filed under: General, News, Apple, Home Networking

Not so long ago I expressed my views that the Apple TV was an extremely disappointing device which brought us nothing that we couldn’t really do already using non-Apple alternatives and did not innovate in any way.

At the point of writing the article I felt pretty confident that the Apple TV is not going to have major penetration into the living room with only true Apple enthusiasts taking it on board.

The San Francisco Chronicle also supports this argument by raising the point that people’s living rooms are already over-packed with consumer electronics and adding another one just isn’t appealing not to mention the number of established companies that Apple is competing with here.

Its my personal belief that an Apple TV type product will only really hit mainstream when it becomes integrated into a PVR, or with a games console, like has already been done with the successful Xbox 360.

[Via TVPredictions]

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/23/no-room-in-the-living-room-for-the-apple-tv/. Continue reading No room in the living room for the Apple TV →

Filed under: General, Hacks, News, DirectTV

The Xbox 360 comes with some great features extending it beyond a Games Console to a DVD player and media extender connecting your PC to your TV via your home network.

For this reason it’s quite nice to have the Xbox 360 remote control, but unfortunately this little convenience will set you back $30. That is unless you have a DirecTV remote control.

The instructions below explain how you can use your DirecTV remote control to control your Xbox 360. There are little details on what restrictions it has but it appears that it will only allow you to skip chapters on a DVD, view the main menu and use secondary select.

1. Switch the DirecTV remote to AV-1. Point the remote away from your receiver. Press and hold the select and mute buttons until the light above the AV-1 switch blinks twice.
2. Press 991, then press 2. Now press Power.
3. Press Ch. Up 35-40 times, pausing between each press. The light above AV-1 should go on every time you press it.
4. When your Xbox 360 turns on, immediately press Select.

This Xbox 360 hack was done with the RC-32 DirecTV remote control.

[Via Gaming Bits]

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Read more at: http://www.pvrwire.com/2007/01/23/how-to-program-a-directv-remote-to-control-an-xbox-360/. Continue reading How to Program a DirecTV Remote to Control an Xbox 360 →