DISQUS

this is a second test of the comments

FYI Secret Life of an American Teenager is not a new show...it is a returning show.

So the wire is pretty good? Might have to add that to my "catch-up" marathon list...

More format support can be added by way of a hack, but it's fairly involved. I just couldn't get the energy to toy with it this past weekend to try it out...

Comment #2 from brent

Glenn,
You mean like Soccer and Tennis? It handled both well - Soccer was a real test and the HD-PVR handled it with flying colors in my first few tests.

Dave,
I've heard you can connect a USB device to move or copy recordings from the hard drive of this box because the resulting files are in fact unprotected. Does this sound correct?

By the way, this is another good step in the right direction. I won't be able to use this device because of cost and the fact I already have a more-than-capable HTPC, but I'm excited about this type of HD recording capability - sort of similar technology as the coming-soon Hauppauge HD-PVR device.

Dave,
Funny thing. I dug through that box o cables I mentioned in my post above and found not only another HDMI cable, but also a 6′ DVI->HDMI cable. So again thanks for offering your extra cables, but seems I over-purchased a while back and I'm finally catching up.

Did I mention I really love this SageTV HD extender? It's so easy to get working it almost seems non-htpc (gasp!) More on that later.

Thanks for the offer Dave, but already have the cable. Being the home theater/tech nut that I am, I have a box full of cables and such just waiting to be used. For the past year after my dad finished their new house, I brought that box with me every time and he was always amazed at the fact I always had the cable he needed :)

My next cable purchase will be some sort of HDMI to DVI converter cable. And I won't be purchasing it from the local retailer either...

My home theater is adorned with a lovely mustard colored chair from 1960-70's, a walmart purchased futon and old carpet. I do have a really nice bar that my wife and I made ourselves and it does look nice, but there is the awesome Home Theater PC there :)

When I first saw this, I was reminded that no matter how much money you have, there's always a way to have gadget envy.

I'm not so sure the VOD solution is the one that will be the answer for advertisers. I understand why their trying all these new things, but I wonder how many people will actually use the VOD's. I'm probably advertisers worst nightmare since with my HTPC, I skip all commercials unless its on a sports program. The real answer for the television networks is to lock down their content, but it sure seems like there are some things coming out soon that will circumvent those lock-downs such as the Hauppauge HD recorded coming out in the next few months.

I guess for the non-geek they'll be stuck watching commercials, but there will still be ways go get around it I think.

Myfairtunes was an app I used a lot. No I'm not a pirate, but it was a way for me to get the songs we purchased from iTunes (yes purchased) to my daughters non-apple music player. Here's hoping the non-drm movement continues and iTunes moves towards all non-drm music.

I'm guessing a Netflix deal with Microsoft is in the works. Something more official than the current user-made plugin that will give both Vista Media Center as well as Xbox 360 access to Netflix's streaming library.

Just a guess on my part though.

I'm one of those people perfectly happy with standard DVD's. I have a very large pile of DVD's in a storage box hid away in the basement since many of them are ripped onto my HTPC and served up via SageTV. The quality is still darn good for my tastes.

I guess eventually I could be swayed to follow the crowd if Blu-Ray acceptance hits the tipping point, but for now I'll stay in my price range with the standard DVDs. Oh by the way, my Dad was very confused about the whole HD-DVD and Blu-Ray thing too. He was worried about the message he got from Netflix telling him they would no longer stock HD-DVD's. I explained to him that he had the basic, standard DVD players anyway......

"Now that this war is ending, lets not lose site of the fact that the real fight will be between Blu-Ray and DVD."

I totally agree Glenn. At the moment I think the manufacturers are getting excited to provide a unified front to the consumers with one "new" format (Blu-Ray) as the latest and greatest new thing.
I think it will be a hard sell to the general public, but who knows.

On another note, my dad called me the other day saying he got this note from Netflix saying they would no longer would support HD-DVD format and asked me if that would affect him and his equipment. I explained to him that he just had the standard DVD player in his setup anyway, but it goes to show you the confusion out there on the subject.

I actually signed up for the coupon to use with a TV we have in our office that's a very old, but usable TV hooked up only by rabbit-ears.

I'm betting it will be a nonevent and there will just be several folks who go to walmart and paying - not realizing they could have gotten a coupon for it.

My dad is still ticked at Dish Network. Even though it was the local stations fault, Dish Network did absolutely nothing to help out their customers. DirecTV had an alternate SuperBowl feed reading for this exact situation and redirected their customers to the alternate channel within minutes of the outage. Dish could take a pointer from DirecTV on how to deal with such a situation.

My dad lives right by a lake and is surrounded by hills so no antenna reception as a backup....

Looking forward to the review. This is on my list of gifts for my Dad who loves taking photos, loves cameras, but hates to upload and organize the photos. In this digital world, that means I often don't even see his photos so this tool would be very nice for him to have :)

Wow,
Talk about keeping busy Dave. Any move can really eat up some time, but sounds like a positive change regardless.

Since you mentioned the Blackjack my wife's Blackjack phone just stopped working for internet and sms so their replacing it. That happened before we were able to upgrade to WM6 too....

I'm assuming you're liking the iPhone?

Since Big John mentioned it, I am maintaining a "remaining episodes" list and update it every day. It's sorted into one section of shows still alive (with new episodes still to air) and another section of deadpool shows. If you want to take a peek check it out here.

I just started watching Terminator: the Sarah Conner Chronicles and I think it's worth watching. As Dave mentioned Jericho is a must see and it's coming up soon. Lost is the other obvious one I'll be watching.

Brent

I have to agree that more connection options built-in make me happier. Apple and Sony have always ticked me off the way they force their own vision of what connections should be built-in. Sony is even worse by pushing their own proprietary connections/cards.

Looks nice, but my old MX-500 works perfect for my needs. My dad uses the Harmony remote for his setup though.

I wonder what they'll call the next version of the Harmony Remote? Will it be "The Next One"?

I'm jealous. I'd love to attend, but I trust you and Mari will keep us up-to-date with the good stuff from CES. Have fun and enjoy!

Brent

It's ridiculous for consumers to have to deal with this type of DRM nonsense. The providers such as Amazon and Netflix see this as a necessary evil.

Hope you get it worked out - be sure and mention this to mike at HackingNetflix as the Netflix folks watch Mikes blog pretty closely. Maybe you can get some help out of Netflix after all.

Brent

Happy New Year to Dave and Mari! Enjoy your vacation Dave!