Recently in Home Entertainment Category

Today at CES, CopperGate Communications, a provider of home networking technology for triple play IPTV and MDU access over existing wiring, announced its CopperStream CG3210, the highest speed solution for networking entertainment data over existing coax and telephone wires. The CG3210 is the latest of CopperGate's HomePNA 3.1 compatible solutions and supports data rates of 320 Megabits per second enabling distribution of digital content in buildings and homes driven by emerging applications from satellite and telco service providers such as multi-room IPTV PVRs. Wow, with 320 Megabits per second, who needs fiber-to-the-home (FTTH)? Scratch that, since this is an in-home networking solution. You still need a fat pipe to the home. ADSL2+ is pretty impressive though using copper to get lots of bandwidth (25 Mbits/s) to the home.

I should point out that the CG3210 is double the rate of the previous CG3110 chipset which peaked at 160Mbps. CG is currently the sole supplier of HomePNA 3 chips. I should mention that AT&T Uverse uses CG and they are engaged with Alcatel, Microsoft, Motorola, Scientific Atlanta, and 2Wire. CopperGate claims to be the main supplier of chips for in-home connectivity.

"With millions of chipsets shipped, Coppergate has established the home networking standard for TelcoTV, said Gabi Hilevitz, CopperGate CEO. The CG3210 adds valuable capabilities to the CopperStream product line which is being deployed today by both large and small service providers worldwide for the distribution of IP services within the home and MDUs.

"With multiple HD streams and whole-home PVRs becoming a reality for commercial IPTV service, adequate bandwidth inside the home becomes critical", stated Gartner Research analyst, Van Baker. "The existing wiring inside the house is no longer just wiring; it is a high performance IP network critical to delivering differentiating features while driving down costs. Products are now required that deliver the high capacity and headroom needed by service providers for advanced applications."

You think you're a good multitasker? You've got 20 Firefox tabs open (or IE) and you're watching a YouTube video while reading email. Bet you're proud of yourself huh? Well, have a cool piece of software for you! It's called TeVeStream OctoMediaPlayer, a new multiple view video player for Windows that allows the viewing of eight videos simultaneously.

With the standard Windows Media Player, only one video can be viewed at a time, making it impossible to compare videos, or to search multiple videos quickly. With OctoMediaPlayer, Created by Arcosoft, up to eight videos can be viewed, as seen here:
 

Of course, simultaneously watching & listening to 8 videos is impossible for the human brain to decipher. Star Trek's Data could do it though. In one episode he even had several pieces of classical music playing in his quarters. When the time traveler & gadget stealer Berlinghoff Rasmussen (played by Matt Frewer) arrives in Data's quarters, he asks Data to reduce the number of songs playing since it was giving him a headache.

According to Memory Alpha, two of the pieces of classical music simultaneously listened to by Data in this episode were heard again in later Trek episodes. The Third Brandenburg Concerto was later played by Captain Picard on his Ressikan flute and La donna è mobile was regularly sung by The Doctor.

In any event, OctoMediaPlayer runs on Windows Vista, XP, and 2003 and it priced at $29 USD, and an evaluation download is also available.

SyncTV will demonstrate a proof-of-concept device that will play downloads, including 1080p HD video content on a television set at CES. The device will also work on Windows PCs, Macs and Linux PCs.  SyncTV claims to use an open-standards approach which facilitates third-party hardware manufacturers developing compatible devices. Other devices that SyncTV could be integrated into include television sets, in-car video systems and other portable players.

SyncTV is an unlimited TV download service that launched in private beta in November 2007. The service allows users to download entire seasons of home theater-quality TV shows at a low monthly subscription fee.  As well as subscriptions, SyncTV also supports purchase and rental models for TV content.  Pricing and channel line-ups will be announced when the service enters a public beta later in Q1.  During the private beta, channel subscriptions will be available for free to users.  You can can request participation in the SyncTV beta program on their website.

The minimum video quality of all the content is comparable to the same content on DVD, and where possible, HD content will be available across the different channels. SyncTV will also have programming available in discrete 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.  SyncTV has a flexible usage model, allowing playback on up to five home devices, such as PCs, set-top boxes or TVs as well as up to ten portable devices.  

John Gildred, President of SyncTV commented: "This is just the start of the SyncTV ecosystem.  We only use open standards for all communication protocols and data formats, which makes it easier for developers to create devices which support the service.  As more compatible devices are developed by manufacturers, people will see the benefits of the flexible playback model that we 'baked in' to the service."

Pretty cool, but I wonder how much content they will be offering. They are a subsidiary of Pioneer Research Center USA, so they do have a big name behind them to get the licensing agreements from the copyright holders. I know plenty of people are tired of paying $50-$100/month for hundreds of TV programs they never watch. They watch like 4-5 of their favorite TV series and get much of their news and weather online, with little need for live TV programming. Thus, they can save a great deal of money with SyncTV and other competing solutions. Heck, I can't even get HDTV channels from DirecTV since their HDTV satellite is blocked by a mountain in my neighborhood and when I had Charter, they offered like 6 measly HDTV channels. Streaming HDTV "on demand" may be the way to go for me as well.

Rejoice! Skype on the Sony PSP may be unveiled this week at CES. Sony's CES page seemed to "leak" the details (click the PSP controller graphic on their site). The Sony PSP doesn't have cellular data connectivity so you'll need a WiFi hotspot to use this. Fortunately, PSP users get free T-Mobile Wi-Fi access. It's about time the Sony PSP got VoIP considering the Nintendo DS has been running VoIP for some time. Now Sony just needs to add SIP support to work with any SIP provider.

Question is, does this mean Sony will be killing off the Sony Mylo? which just about nobody has bought - even if it is a cool device. It provides users access to online instant messaging services, Web pages (fully-featured Opera browser), e-mails, play music, and view photos. But more importantly it came with Skype preinstalled.

Here's a screenshot of the Sony website with the text “Call friends, talk trash to fellow gamers or catch up with acquaintances via Skype for PSP system.” on the right-hand side:


Via Digital Battle.

How would you like to use your Slingbox with Skype or is it Skype with Slingbox? Anyway... For a few months now I've been playing with using Skype along with a Slingbox, a popular gadget that lets you stream your home TV content, enabling remote viewing of live and pre­-recorded television over the Internet. I've been a huge advocate of streaming live TV across the Internet for years, so figured I'd post my tips on streaming TV utilizing Skype, Slingbox, and TV tuner cards.

Slingbox includes a software player for remote playback of your TV/video content, so you're probably wondering why anyone would want to use Skype instead. Well, the answer is simple. Suppose you're driving out of state and the local radio stations don't carry your favorite sports team. Or suppose you're a Fox News, or BBC junkie and want to be able to listen to live "breaking news" while driving. Well, using a cell phone, Skype, SkypeIn, and a Slingbox you can stream the audio of any TV channel to your mobile phone, a device which you typically carry everywhere. I'll cover remote video streaming later in the article - it's a non-Slingbox solution.

Skype streaming Slingbox's audio

Basically, we need to "tap" into the Slingbox software player's (SlingPlayer) audio stream, which is played out your PC speakers. In order to hear what is being played over your PC's speakers you need to enable Wave Out Mix, also sometimes called "Stereo Mix". Essentially, the sound coming out of your speakers is looped back (via software) into your PC so you can record it or have another software application access the sound stream. You can of course use a 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo line out/line in stereo jack and connect the sound card's speaker's output to the sound cards' microphone input and do a hardware-based loopback.

First we need to check and see if the Wave Out Mix option is enabled. In Windows XP it is usually on be default. You can check it with these steps:

1. Right-click your volume control in the system tray and choose Volume Control. (you can also access it via the Control Panel)
2. Click Options and then Properties
3. Click the Recording bullet.
4. Make sure Wave Out Mix is checked.
5. Click Ok
6. You should now be back to the main Recording Control screen. From here is where you can select 1 recording device. Choose Wave Out Mix to record the sound coming out of your speakers.
Note: When you want to use your microphone connected to your sound card, make sure to switch it back to Microphone.



Windows Vista is trickier since it is off by default. To enable it:

1. Right-click the volume control in the System tray and choose Recording Devices or select sound from the Control Panel and then the Recording tab.
3. Right click on the background of the tab and choose "Show Disabled Devices."
4. Right click on Wave Out Mix and click enable.


If you don't see Wave Out (or Stereo Mix, Mono Mix, WAV, Wav Mix, etc) your sound card may not support this feature or it may need a driver update to enable it. Dell PCs with Vista are notorious for NOT supporting Wave Out mix even with the latest driver. I've read rumors that copyright groups (i.e. RIAA) pressured Dell or Microsoft to remove Wave Out since Wave Out recording allows you to record anything on your PC in 100% digital quality, including streaming Internet radio. Apparently music pirates would record Internet radio streams, separate out the individual songs and then upload them to P2P networks. I'm not sure I buy this theory, but I do have one Dell Vista PC that doesn't support Wave Out and it's very annoying.

In any event, once enabled, you simply highlight it and choose Set Default. Now with that all squared away, let's get Skype working with Slingbox.

Configuration:
1. Run your Slingbox player (SlingPlayer) and choose the channel you want. You can do this remotely using VNC or Remote Desktop as well.
2. Make sure Skype is running on your home PC using your SECONDARY Skype account. This account should NOT be your primary Skype account otherwise all your buddies will be able to dial in and listen to your TV channels.
3. Next, in Skype click on Audio Settings and select the audio source that your Slingbox player is sending its sound through. It should be your sound card and not any USB audio devices. (USB audio sources don't support Wave Out Mix)
4. You'll need to turn on auto-answer incoming calls. You can do this by clicking on Calls, Call Settings, Advanced button, and then checking the 'Automatically answer incoming calls' box.
5. You'll need a SkypeIn number for calling your PC from your mobile phone.
6. Done!

Usage:
1. Call your SkypeIn number
2. Skype will auto-answer and start playing whatever TV channed the Slingbox is tuned to. Listen to your favorite TV program wherever you go!

Limitations:
- To change channels you'll need VNC or Remote Desktop, which if you're driving and listening via your mobile phone is kinda hard to do. Could always call home and ask the spouse or roommate to change the channel though.
- You use cell minutes, but if you have an unlimited plan, who cares? (SkypeIn doesn't charge per minute for inbound calls)

Earlier, I mentioned a video streaming non-Slingbox solution. The cool thing about this solution is that you get BOTH audio and video. The only caveat is that this solution will require a PC on both ends for the video to work. If you just want audio you can use a cellphone though.

Skype non-Slingbox streaming TV solution (TV tuner card)

All you really need is a PC TV tuner card and two Skype accounts.  In fact, you don't have to mess with turning on Wave Out mix for this to work.

Here's how you stream audio & video using Skype.

Configuration:
1. Go into the Skype configuration for the Video calling (Tools, Options, Video Settings) and instead of selecting your webcam, select your TV tuner card. You should see the current TV tuner's selected channel in the mini-video preview window.
2. Check the box that says "Start my video automatically when I am in a call".
3. Next, click on Audio Settings and select the audio source that your tuner card is sending its sound through. [again, no need for Wave Out Mix for this]
4. You'll need to turn on auto-answer incoming calls. You can do this by clicking on Calls, Call Settings, Advanced button, and then checking the 'Automatically answer incoming calls' box.
5. Make sure Skype is running on your home PC using your SECONDARY Skype account. This account should NOT be your primary Skype account otherwise all your buddies will be able to dial in and WATCH/LISTEN to your TV channels.

Usage:
1. From your secondary Skype account, call your primary Skype account (home PC). It will auto-answer and auto-start the video which will be your TV tuner card's video. Sweet TV video streaming goodness across the Internet using Skype's amazing compression codecs!
2. To change channels you'll need VNC or Remote Desktop to connect to your home PC. Your TV tuner card came with a software application that lets you change channels.
3. If you just want audio, similar to the Slingbox solution you can call via SkypeIn.

Limitations:
- Pain to have to remote desktop to the home PC to change channels.

Pretty cool eh?

If using remote desktop solutions to change the channel is too much of a pain, there is a Japanese company selling 'TV for Skype' that lets you IM the channel you want to change to, i.e. ##12# to change to channel 12. TV for Skype includes an analog tuner on a USB stick and their software was designed to capture Skype IM messages and change the channel accordingly. Considering the FCC is pulling the plug on analog TV channels, you may want to weigh your options before plopping $85 on this product.

I still like the second solution the best, since it gives you both streaming audio and video and it only requires an inexpensive TV tuner card. Many PCs already have TV tuner cards, so if you don't have a Slingbox, this is the best route if you want to stream TV using Skype.

DirecTV, my satellite TV provider, recently changed the firmware on my two DirecTV Plus DVR boxes and totally hosed the ability to fast forward easily. I noticed this on my upstairs receiver about 2 weeks ago. Basically, with the DirecTV Plus DVD receiver you can press the Fast Forward button up to 3 times to fast forward (2x, 3x, 4x). The problem is the damn Fast Forward Correction. If I have it on high-speed fast forward 4x, and then click Play where I want it to stop, the Fast Forward Correction rewinds the video to where it "thinks" I wanted to stop. It winds up rewinding so far back, sometimes it even rewinds to a point in the video that is BEFORE where I initiated the fast forward. What the heck?

I try again, the same thing happens, and I wind up going BACKWARDS in time, not forward. I thought my receiver was on the fritz so I rebooted it, but no nice. A few days later I went downstairs to watch TV and the wacky fast forward bug was happening on that receiver as well. I pretty much have to use 2x or 3x fast-forward now since 4x is useless. I suppose I could use the 4x FFW, but I'd have to overshoot whatever TV program I am watching, which goes against every fiber of my fast forward finger. My finger - make that thumb - has years of training in the old method.

DirecTV "espouses" this feature on their website when they write, "Fast-forwarded too far? Fast Forward Correction takes you to where you really wanted to stop". Yeah, right. Can I sue for false advertising? Losing the ability to FFW is really starting to tick me off.

Now in theory, the Fast Forward Correction is a great idea. After all, with the video fast forwarding so fast, it is impossible to stop exactly at the point where you see a scene where you want to stop. However, since I've used DirecTV for awhile, so I'm pretty nimble at pressing the Play button at the right time. I might overshoot the video a little, but then I just press the Back button (left arrow) which rewinds a few seconds (8s I believe) at a time. Yes, I know I can press the Skip button (right arrow) which will FFW 30s at a time. But it doesn't instantly "skip" or jump 30s - it actually fasts forwards through the video at about 2x speed. So using the skip button isn't an option to quickly FFW through several commercials. Fast forwarding at high speed is the best option on DirecTV receivers.

Further, I'm pretty good at guessing exactly when I want to stop even before seeing the scene on the TV. For instance, say I'm watching The Biggest Loser and it cuts to commercial. I press the Fast Forward button quickly 3 times to reach warp 4x fast forward speed, I wait about 5.5s and hit Play and I'm usually right where the commercials end. If I undershoot I press the Skip button (30s forward) and if I overshoot, I press Back (8s rewind).

There was always a slight rewind auto-correction but DirecTV must have really cranked up the dial on the latest firmware download. Last time I checked, TiVo PVRs allow users to manually select the exact number of seconds for autocorrection, but unfortunately, DirecTV and TiVo parted ways in 2005 and DirecTV developed their own PVR. Alas, DirecTV has "locked" most of the customizable features, such as autocorrection in their DVR boxes.

There is a glimmer of hope however, with Ars Technica reporting that Liberty Media, the new owners of DirecTV, are big fans of TiVo and have been collaborating with TiVo. Maybe I'll be able to trade in my current DVR/PVR sometime in 2008 for a TiVo model. Then it will truly be a Happy New Year!

3D animated avatars using either "cartoonish" or even realistic photos are nothing new. Gizmoz was one of the first to allow you to animate avatars that were based on real photos of yourself. The software would automatically detect and add facial movement, mouth movement, eyebrow movement, etc. when you spoke or moves certain facial features. Of course, you have Klonies, which also work with Skype. Then there is IMVU, which offers cartoonish avatars and I'm sure there are many other 3D avatar making pieces of software out there.

Now word comes from another company PQ Computing Corporation offering you the ability to animate pictures of yourself, family members, pets, etc. using their PQ Talking Photo application. They're known for their DVD video conversion software PQ DVD, which can convert a DVD to iPod, Zune, PSP, or 3G format. How or why they decided to branch off into 3D avatars is beyond me. But apparently 3D avatars are popular amongst teenagers and they are willing to pay for avatars just like they pay for ringtones. Personally, I feel ringtones should be free, since you can easily install your own custom ringtones, but what do I know? Ringtones are a multi-billion dollar market, so either there are a lot of ringtone buying fools or I'm just too damn techy (or cheap) for my own good. Even if 3D avatars don't reach the billion dollar plateau, it sounds like it could be a lucrative business.

In any event, below is a sample. Oh and if you are a blogger, you will receive a copy of PQ Talking Photo just by blogging it ($59.90 value for free). It's a limited time offer: you must blog before Xmas. Your blog cannot be newly created and must have at least 10 previous posts.

 

 

Creative leaked the Creative InPerson Wi-Fi videophone via their FCC filing.


It features H.264 video with SIP support, high video quality (up to VGA resolution and 2 Mbps bit-rate) and claims to perform well under low light. It features a wide-angle lens, and dual microphones with acoustic echo cancellation and noise. It comes with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery that will power the 7-inch, 16.7 million color LCD for about 2 hours. Creative apparently has partnered with SightSpeed to provide the account login/authentication as well as the video functionality. I know SightSpeed quite well, as well as their PR rep Andy Abramson, who usually tips me off to interesting stuff like this. Apparently Andy didn't want to give me a Christmas gift (news tip) about this cool videophone gadget. Ah well. Andy did send me a Christmas card, so all is forgiven.

Hmmm. It's very interesting that Creative Labs partnered with SightSpeed and not Skype. I wonder if the device which is based on SIP is "locked" into using SightSpeed for termination? If so, maybe the firmware will be hacked to allow any 3rd party SIP provider.

Looking at the FCC filing, I see it uses the TI DaVinci processor/chipset which was designed for digital video processing applications, such as portable multimedia players (PMPs), digital video recorders (DVRs), and apparently videoconferencing devices such as this one. The DaVinci chip can perform encode/decode of H.264, MPEG4, H.263, WMV9, MPEG2, JPEG, AAC+, AAC, WMA9, MP3, G.711, G.728, G.723.1, and G.729ab.

Features include:
• Wi-Fi
• Rechargeable, removable Lithium-ion battery
• Auto Login
• Auto Answer
• Screen Saver
• Speed dial
• Call History
• Contact List
• Take Photo during video call

Usage Scenarios
• Built-in dual microphones, and audio output to external speakers (not included) with the bundled RCA cables.
• Built-in dual microphones and internal speaker.
• For privacy: bundled microphone and earphones.
• Viewing on a larger screen: video output to TV with the bundled RCA
cables.

I've tested SightSpeed in the past and was impressed with the video quality, so I'd be interested to test this product. Whether there is a market for portable WiFi videophones other than for gadget freaks like me remains to be seen. Maybe if this device played MP3 music, DivX, AVI, and allowed you to store ripped DVD files (external USB stick), then it might make for a good multi-purpose device for the road. I'd also like to see a full QWERTY keyboard for email access and Internet browsing. In any event, I'll put my feelers out to see if I can get a review unit. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are some leaked photos: (Note the word 'FatPipe' in the last photo. That's a copyrighted term by a company (FatPipe, Inc.) that provides bandwidth management. Unless FatPipe is involved somehow. Update - I looked at another one of the FCC photos (not posted here) and it says Fatpipe Lithium-Ion Battery 3.7V 3500mAh. Never heard of a company called Fatpipe that makes batteries. Tried googling as well but couldn't find them.)

Our friends across the pond (the Brits) get a sweet HD DVD player deal that just got sweeter. The eagerly awaited, low cost Venturer SHD7001 High Definition (HD) DVD player from Venturer will not only offer an add on package worth around £50.00 (two HD DVDs; Hulk and Troy, and a free HDMI cable) it will also now include a voucher that enables customers to redeem 5 more free HD DVDs courtesy of the European HD DVD Promotional Group. That's right, for £50.00 you get a total of 7 HD DVDs and a free HDMI cable. Personally, I think all HD DVD players should come with a HDMI cable anyway. Still, for £50 which gives you 7 HD DVDs, that's a pretty good deal.

Customers have until January 31st 2008 to use their redemption voucher to select 5 of their favorite titles for free from a list of HD DVDs. No additional charges will be made as postage and packaging will also be completely free.

The SHD7001 will initially be available to buy in the UK exclusively from QVC TV Home Shopping Channel QVC, which is available on Sky Digital channel 630, Freeview channel 16 and Virgin TV channel 740.  The product will become available from December 29th, when it will be the featured product of the day (Today's Special Value). What? 4 days after Christmas? Talk about missing a golden opportunity to sell this like hot cakes. Not a very smart marketing move to wait until after the largest shopping holiday of the year is over with.

Further, the price of the SHD7001 remains undisclosed until its official launch on QVC on December 29th. So for all I know they're going to sell this thing for $500, which wouldn't make it much of a deal after all.

Who wouldn't love R2-D2 in their living room projecting not just Princess Leia, but any damn movie you please. Hammacher Schlemmer, who carries the Skype R2-D2 I oggled over, has done it again with The R2-D2® Home Theater System a home theater system modeled after the famous droid from the Star Wars films. (note: Nikko Home Electronics makes this)



R2-D2's head houses a DLP projection system with superb 1,500:1 contrast, that can project DVD movies, TV shows, images, and video games from his radar eye at 1024 x 768 resolution onto walls up to 16 1/2' away, equivalent to an 80" screen. Further, he can also rotate the viewing angle up to 65° to project images onto your ceiling. They even threw in a DVD/CD player into one of his mechanical arm housings. Even cooler, R2's anterior louvred vents rotate to reveal a docking station that fits most iPods (including video iPods), so you can play music or videos through his two 20-watt built-in speakers, and an access panel adjacent to the docking station conceals slots for memory cards and a USB port, allowing you to project digital pictures.

His rear logic display has an LED message center that alternates between R2's current function and random light patterns, and R2's sensors keep him from falling off tables, down stairs, or down trash compactor chutes while he moves forward, backward, left, right, and pivots. A mounted model of the Millennium Falcon conceals a remote that provides complete control of all R2-D2's functions.

Measures 20 1/2" H x 13 1/2" Diameter (14 lbs.) and will cost ya $2,799.95 - well worth the price for all you Star Wars geeks (myself included)! It'll become available to ship on December 21st - just in time for someone to buy it for you for Christmas (or someone to buy it for me for that matter ).

[via Hammacher Schlemmer R2-D2 Home Theater System product page]