Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

CableCards are typically not covered in the mainstream press. The best source of information on CableCards has typically been blogs like Chris Lanier’s.

Today, the New York Times had a brief article on the potential of CableCards. It is worth reading though there is not much new information. There is no mention [...]

Digeo is scheduled to release two DVRs this fall as retail products, after years of selling products to Cable companies. Now that CableCards are a requirement in most set top boxes, it will be nice to have some choices to replace the standard cable box. Right now the only options are Tivo [...]

I frequently talk about how over the air high definition broadcasts of network TV are free. A media center is a great way to watch these broadcasts. Not only can you ditch your cable company, but you can record anything you want in high definition.

All you need is an antenna and a [...]

A couple of weeks ago I went in search of the VAIO Digital Living System VGX-XL3 at the Sony Style store at Tyson’s Corner in Virginia. I wanted to to see if they were selling Sony’s CableCard offering. It took me a while but I found it stuck in a [...]

Sometime I think I focus too much on CableCards and Vista Media Center. So, I have decided to start doing a weekly round-up of stories, videos, and blog posts that I find interesting. Every week I plan on highlighting not only news stories involving digital media but also cool things to watch online.
This [...]

Engadget recently had two articles about its writer’s experience with a Vista media center with CableCard support. One writer had a promising installation experience while the other was mired in CableCard hell. While the articles are interesting and worth the read, the comments on the articles left by readers prove to be even more interesting. [...]

It seems there are a lot of benefits in being the big boys on the block. The writers at Engadget had two Dell XPS 410s (estimated cost of $3,400) with CableCard support delivered to them yesterday.  One installation went smoothly while the other was a comedy of errors, similar to the PCMag.com article. Here [...]

Reviews of Sony’s CableCard PC are trickling in from the usual suspects. ZDnet recently published their own review on the system, comparing it with Velocity Micro’s CineMagix Grand Theater. From the review:

We understand why many people might like a slimmer home theater PC, but Sony’s smaller case also means that you have [...]

Today, HP updated its website to include the Pavilion Media Center m8010y with Digital Cable Tuners. This new system from HP appears to be the cheapest way to get a Digital Cable Tuner. With a base price under $1,000, the m8010y can be purchased with a DCT for an extra $400 [...]

According to EngadgetHD, HP is planning on releasing the m8010y and d4890y systems with Digital Cable Tuners as an option. The m8010y series will start at $929.99 and the d4890y series will begin at $949.99. The systems will also include Nvidia GEforce 8800 video cards and possible a next generation DVD combo [...]