Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

How CableCard DRM Benefits Microsoft

SageTV has been adding all sorts of media center features to its product line, including clear QAM support and HD media extenders. They are completely out-innovating Microsoft. With all the features they are delivering, there is one lingering problem: SageTV does not support digital cable tuners and CableCards (i.e. cannot watch.record premium HD cable content). […]

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Inteset Adds Quad CableCard Support to Denzel Server

Another company has added themelves to the list of companies selling media center computers that support up to 4 digital cable tuners: Inteset. From CEPro: With four CableCard tuners, the Inteset server can distribute to up to 5 media center extenders with four Live TV streams and one pre-recorded stream. At $300 a piece, 4 […]

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Why Sideshow Support Should be Added to Zune

Sideshow, basically a way for a a device to communicate with a Vista computer, is one of the least used features of Microsoft’s Vista. A remote control is a perfect example of how Sideshow could be leveraged, with such a device being able to pick a song to play or a TV show to record […]

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S1Digital | Spend an Evening with Media Center on December 5

S1Digital and Microsoft are hosting a Media Center event in Manahattan on December 5th. If you live or work in Manhattan, it might be worth checking out. S1Digital is a Microsoft OEM that sells media center pcs with Digital Cable Tuners so you can record cable HD television shows on your computer. The average person […]

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ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac Will Support Clear QAM

When the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac hit the street, it was lacking one big feature for HTPCs: Clear QAM support. It looks like Clear QAM support will be added via a software download through ATI’s tvPORTAL. The USB Tuner is an ideal match for the Mac Mini, though it is not […]

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Blockbuster to Offer Downloads Via Kiosks

Blockbuster has been hemorrhaging lately, trying to keep up with Netflix. It looks like the large rental movie chain is going to jump into the video download service via kiosks, among oter things. Kiosks seem a little strange for a retail chain. I think Blockbuster is just trying to see what sticks in the marketplace. […]

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Sonos Zonebridge | So where is the bundle?

I have been trying to justify to mysef why I should spend almost $1,000 on a music system for my house. My conclusion….it is crazy to spend $1,000 on a music system for my house, even if it does offer integration with Sirius. That being said, I think I am going to finally take the […]

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Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra | Watch HD-DVD or Blu-ray Movies on a Media Center

Using Cyberlink’s PowerDVD Ultra, media center PCs are a perfect way to hedge your bet on the HD-DVD/ Blu-ray (high definition DVDs) format wars, especially if you have a projector or large screen HDTV. Although Microsoft is a big supporter of the HD-DVD standard, they left out native support in Vista for high definition DVDs. […]

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Clear QAM | Make Your Own HD Box Sets of Your Favorite Programs

Did you know that your cable company most likely provides your local HD channels via clear QAM (i.e. without encryption)? The availability of these channels, through what is know as Clear QAM, is usually not too publicized by your cable company. Clear QAM essentially is unencrypted digital cable without a set-top-box. The digital signal comes […]

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M-Card Cable Tuner Card for Microsoft Vista

Ceton has announced their upcoming M-Card Digital Cable Tuner. From their website: Connect your Microsoft Vista Media Center PC to any U.S. Cable TV Company including Comcast, Time-Warner, Cox, Charter, etc., to watch and record Cable programming via the new multi-stream, bi-directional CableCARD, the M-Card. Pause, rewind, fast forward, and record live TV utilizing Media […]

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