Devices that hold video/TV content on a hard drive to be displayed on a TV
Never be fooled. Things always take a lot longer to change than you think they will – particularly where the mass adoption of a new technology is concerned.
The PVR lesson
When I started writing about TiVo back in 2001, I saw “PVR’s are a vital piece in the jigsaw.”
Continue reading The Rise Of The PVR: Painfully Slow. New Technology Adoption Is Slow
Just when you think that there’s hope for humanity, that mankind has escaped the slavery that is television, a survey turns up that tells you the complete opposite.
Published today, a study of 2,00 UK digital TV viewers reports that some of the supposedly tech savvy generation Y (16-24 year olds) are still choosing watching TV over other more normal activities.
Continue reading 16-24 Year Olds Still Obsessed With TV, Despite PVRs
Pace, UK-based creators of digital TV products, has won a new contract to supply BT with their next-generation V-box, for use on the BT Vision service.
Previously Philips supplied the V-box (that runs the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV middleware) but following Pace’s purchase of Philips Set Top Box (STB) division, it’s natural — but we imagine pleasing — that the contact should go to Pace.
While we were at the Archos launch in London last week we had a run through of the Archos Portation.
It’s a free plugin for owners of the Archos TV+ which lets you stream live TV from your TV+ to a laptop, Symbian phone or handheld Archo 605 or 705 with DVR station if they’re equipped with the £30 plugin.
Think of it as a free Slingbox with your Archos TV+.
Continue reading Archos Portation: Product Run Through: Audio
Archos today showed their TV product in London to a room full of eager journalists.
Continue reading Archos TV Plus Review-ette
We toodled along to the launch of Babel TV, a new TV/ PVR/ Internet/ Computing device, earlier this week.
Sadly we have to use that long, awkward description because, as yet, no one’s come up with a snappy term to match its wide range of functions.
Continue reading Babel TV Launches (Podcast)
As you’re aware there’s lot of new things being tried out in Whitehaven for the UK’s first analogue/digital switch over.
One that electrical retailer Currys is trying out is a showroom/shop that can be driven to remote areas giving those who are miles away from a shop, or who aren’t that mobile.
It’s a pretty substantial lorry that has side section that extends outwards providing a lounge-type feel.
There’s four flat screens on display (co-sponsored by Samsung) and a selection of eight STBs on show to demonstrated the range of boxes on view.
Continue reading Whitehaven Switchover: Currys Mobile Shop Trial
Those who have Nokia Nseries and Eseries phones will be able to buy software, SlingPlayer, to play the video content from their homes to the handsets, wherever they are, from their Sling Boxes.
Quick resume on Sling Box: plug one into your TV at home and any programmes that you can watch can be viewed remotely, either on a computer, or portable device. Not only can you change channels remotely, but control the DVR functions.
Continue reading SlingPlayer Mobile For S60 Symbian Phones
Sky has made the decision to scrap the subscription charge for the Sky+ PVR service starting 1 July 2007.
Since its inception in 2001, Sky has been charging users of the Sky+ service £10 per month to keep using it, this includes receiving the EPG information, required to drive the service.
Continue reading Sky+ Subscription Charge Ending
Our favourite UK Set Top Box manufacturer is celebrating their 25th birthday this year.
25 years! Staggering how old the industry is now isn’t it?
Waaaaaay back in 1982 they started off selling modems and software. Their first product was a PSTN modem called the Nightingale and we can even remember Pace modems from back when 1200/75 baud modems appeared as an exotic advance from the 300 baud ones that were the standard.
For all of you young ones who weren’t around in those days, that’s 1.2/0.075 Kbps vs 0.3 Kbps. Scarily slow.
Following their modem and software successes, Pace launched their first satellite set-top box (SR640) in 1987 and like all design, it was a product of its time, with a fab HiTech feel about it.
From there, Pace really haven’t looked back. They’ve consistently carried out pioneering development, building up a large selection of industry firsts, including the first digital satellite receiver in the UK, the first PVR (personal video recorder) in Europe, the first low-cost digital terrestrial adapter (thereby creating the freeview market in the UK) and, more recently, the very first H.264 DVB-S2 high definition set-top box in the world.
Their latest and greatest product is a HD DVR, the HR20, which records using MPEG-4.
If you, like us, dear tech trivia fan don’t know the history behind the name of Pace, you’ll be excited to hear that the name Pace came from an innovative shipping company in Australia called the Pacific Australia Container Express.
The Next 25 years
Looking forward to the next 25 years, Neil Gaydon, CEO, give his views of where Pace will be innovating, “Soon we will see multiroom and home networking solutions coming through, that will allow you to watch anything you want from any screen in the house, including mobile TV. When you add the fact you will import your photos and internet entertainment to any screen, your music to any room in the home along with wireless technologies emerging, so removing the need for wires, we are at the early stages of a new TV revolution.”
Best of luck to Pace in the coming years, may they continue their success.