April 26, 2006 7:44 AM PDT
Yahoo's free software turns PC into DVR
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The software,
The cost of a few cables and TV tuner card, in comparison with the hundreds of dollars being shelled out for DVD players or DVRs, could lure consumers away from DVR competitors like TiVo. And many industry leaders see TV-computer combinations as the portal for reaching consumers.
Microsoft said recently that its Windows XP Media Center software is
The Yahoo software, as of yet, only runs on Windows and requires a computer with 20GB of disk space to store recorded programs, 512MB of RAM and a 1GHz processor.
The DVR feature on Go for TV also requires a TV tuner card and connector cables for connecting to a TV monitor. Yahoo also suggests using a remote control, which usually comes standard with the purchase of most TV tuner cards. While the software works with any TV signal, Yahoo recommends a 1.5mbps broadband connection for best results.
Television listings are provided via a Yahoo Go for TV interface. Users are prompted to give their ZIP code during setup, so that the proper service provider can be chosen. Yahoo Go for TV updates the listings daily. Those who already use TiVo can still use the Go for TV digital video recording feature by simply connecting each component to a different video input outlet. One system will not interfere with the other, as long as they each have access to the TV signal.
Last year,
The Yahoo Go for TV software works in conjunction with many of
Last week,
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with a PBTV tuner card inside of it.
It has done, under Windows 3.11, 256 VGA color at 320 x 200
resolution and stereo sound under an old SoundBlaster 16 the
very same thing this program claims to do. During my first years
of college, it was my TV as well as computer, using PlayStation
and Saturn on it.
It also did automatic recording of TV shows under the program,
which I forget what it's called, but it could record two shows at
once.
So, as far as Yahoo! and Media Center PCs/Front Row Macs go,
I've already been there and stayed there.
That doesn't mean I don't have an HDTV DVR box for DTV/HDTV
channels, though.
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/04/how-to-run-yahoo-go-for-tv-anywhere-in.html
Why is there a requirement for a 1.5 mpbs connection ?
The above quote is taken right from the article. What does the 1.5 mbps broadband connection requirement have to ddo with working with any TV signal? What if your a Dish Network, DirecTV or Digital Cable Customer like me? How does this software help you change the channels on the box for TV? Sounds kind of useless. Maybe that's why it's free.
Yahoo is also offering their own content. I downloaded the demo and they have some free content from major stations, movie trailers, music vids from launch etc.
I would assume that they plan to make money on ads for their content, or sell movies/shows etc. through the portal.
So the broadband requirement is for the content provided by Yahoo.
The article was poorly written and full of inaccuracies or misleading statements.
Who pays hundreds of dollars for a DVD player, or even a DVR for that matter?
You could connect the PC to a home theater receiver rather than the TV and simplify switching.
You don't even need a TV for this, you could just watch the recorded item on the PC.
et cetera...
As for being "free", if your PC doesn't have a TV tuner card, you've got to buy one (and, as has been pointed out, they typically come with adequate software for DVR capabilities). If your tuner card doesn't happen to come with a remote (and the cheap ones that people looking for "free" stuff will tend to buy), then you've got to buy a remote, and fool around with how to hook it up and get it to work with your tuner card's or Yahoo's DVR software (not automagical, by any stretch of the imagination). If you're planning on using an old beater computer to dedicate to this function (and you'd better, because if you use your primary computer for anything else besides DVR recording and playback, it's gonna have problems doing more than one thing at one time), it's going to have to have the requisite processor speed, RAM, hard disk space, etc., and for my brother-in-law, Joe Six Pack, who buys a new computer about every five years (if that often) that is likely to not be true, either, so it's off to buy those upgrades, too. By the time you've put together something that might work, that "free" software is going to look pretty expensive.
I suppose there are a dozen people who haven't been paying attention who will get all excited about this, but the early adopters have been doing this ever since TV tuner cards became available, the medium adopters already have their TiVos, ReplayTVs, etc., and everyone else is still trying to clean up after having lost everything when wiped out by a hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, etc.
The interactive Net/TV convergence that the industry manufacturers, content producers, and pundits have been all ga-ga about for decades is still being ballyhooed every time something like this is announced (Google the Time-Warner interactive TV experiment of the 1980s in Orlando, Florida - the founders of TiVo were involved in that when they had more hair). Well, I've got news for them and the newsies, it still ain't here, and in all likelihood will never happen. Regular people have enough trouble getting PIP set up on their shiny new HDTV displays, much less any actual HD content displayed on it at anything close to 780p or 1080i. Interactive content via a computer (and its attendant mish-mash of usually incompatible software) married to all of the other hardware required to make it work seamlessly? Fuhgeddaboudit.
At least C|Net is allowing us to get plenty of sleep while we wait for some real breaking news to show up.
All the Best,
Joe Blow
Any card that has hardware encoding capabilties will be able to do multiple things whiel recording or watching tv without any fear of getting out of sync.
I've been using the Hauppauge pvr-350 for a few years now and I have never gotten out of sync and I often watch one show while recording another, or surfing the net, or even playing.... GASP... DOOM 3
While your post was indeed lengthy it certainly isn't representative of the experiences of ANY of the HTPC users I know......
Frankly, I'm staying with my current recording equipment. They can't revoke my rights to save a show and watch it again, or loan it to family and friends, or bequeath it to my heirs.
Frankly, I'm staying with my current recording equipment. They can't revoke my rights to save a show and watch it again, or loan it to family and friends, or bequeath it to my heirs.
plan on using a PC 24/7 for DVR purposes, be aware of the danger
that these machines are flammable, do the research and take
necessary precautions.
you mean? By your logic, don't leave your VCR, cable box or fridge
on 24/7 because they're flammable too.
RB