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One of the greatest selling points you will hear in regards to Vista
Cable Card OEM systems is: It will save you money, as you will not have
to rent whatever set-top-box your cable provider deems a requirement to
view digital and HD channels. And originally, it was a valid point and
one which really helped validate the necessity of the FCC's support of
something which would reduce the ridiculous monopoly which cable
companies had on how you can watch television.
I wonder if what's become of the situation is what the FCC and the
other Consumer Fair Rights groups had in mind when they came up with
the idea. Apparently, the Cable Companies (for this case, I will use
Comcast, but have also been told that Time Warner shares this fun
habit) have taken it upon themselves to deem that the charge for the cable cards alone are not substantial enough--most
likely as they are simply not making enough money out of the deal.
Having to provide a service without forcing a consumer to rent their
box?! ABSURD!
I will be the first to admit, the idea of being able to use my Media
Center with high definition cable was the number one reason I chose to
go with Cable Card. But a very close second was the cost savings--yes,
I know I had to purchase an OEM system, but I was going to anyways, so
in essence, it was a wash for me. Imagine my shock when I looked at my
cable bill, which had then jumped from $70 or so to the near $90 range,
and found out that the cable cards were the culprit!
I am in the San Jose bay area and am forced into Comcast San Jose. When
I initially setup cablecard, my understanding was that I would be
charged $1.79 per card. Not free, but hey, not nearly as bad as paying
$8-10 for a set-top-box with a hideous user interface and response
time. After looking at my bill however, it appears that is simply not
true.
Comcast, in their shrewd way, have apparently sought fit to start charging me an ADDITIONAL $6.99 fee PER CABLECARD! And yes, that is separate than the already charged $1.79 each.
After speaking to 3 customer service reps and 2 managers, I got a
variety of excuses and responses as to why they HAVE to charge me the
outrageous $6.99, stating on the bill it is for a "Digital Addon Outlet."
Even when I explained this is for a single Media Center PC and that
they have not installed any other outlet, they refused to budge. Here's
the kicker--when I posed the question to them of how much a Set-top-box rental costs, they replied, "$6.99," and even admitted that yes, it would be cheaper to go with one of THEIR set-top-boxes
instead of cablecards, stating, that the only reason he knows why
anyone would go cablecard would be to "hang their TV on the wall."
I feel terrible writing this, as I really love the technology but there
is already significant negative publicity surrounding cable card--with
the lack of inexpensive boxes, to the terrifying thought of Switched
Digital Video--but I had to bring this out into the open as I think
it's an absolute atrocity of the idea the FCC started which was
wonderful for the consumer. In the end, at least for now, it seems
Comcast and other cable companies will continue to gouge you in every
way, shape or form, until you confine to the fees and services they
want you to.
If this outrages you half as much as much it did me, I IMPLORE YOU to GET INVOLVED!!
Write your cable company, write to the Consumerist and other Consumer
Advocacy Groups. Digg this and any similar articles...and most
importantly, let your WALLET do the talking! I know I will be, and
there is power in numbers, and if enough Consumers speak up about this
atrocity then that is how things can change.
digg this article!
Cross Posted from: MissingRemote.com
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Long time MissingRemote readers will remember the 7th Life With a Plugin episode covering Remote Recordings in Media Center, which covered the only two options for remote scheduling shows: Webguide4 and MSN's Remote Record.
Remote Record has always seemed to play second fiddle to Webguide,
simply due to it's lack of features. But if there is one thing it
dominated, was simplicity. No port forwarding, no configuring...and
FAST since it relied on MSN's web server instead of using your PC as a
server. If you needed quick scheduling of a show or series, Remote
Record was the answer. And best of all, it was free.
So imagine my dissapointment today when I saw the following announcement:
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Disneyland--the happiest place on earth--and the home of some of the
most cutting edge in technology for the home? Apparantly so! I recently
was invited to tour the brand new attraction located in the
Tomorrowland of California's Disneyland Theme Park.
Take this as more of an opinionated tour guide, hopefully with some
pictures that give you an idea of the attraction. So let's see what
this home really had to offer. See the rest of the Tour at MissingRemote.com
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Ok, so I know that I just recently covered TVTonic
, but then they went ahead and released probably the coolest and well
implemented plugin in all of Media Center--Olympics!! If you haven't
already noticed, Vista Media Center (U.S. only, sorry international
folks) now has under it's Online Spotlight, a central icon for the
Olympics. Clicking on that link entered me into the most seamless plugin installation ever for Media Center! Just as a teaser, I was able to install the plugin with just my remote!
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Your Channels hold all your sports
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Browse and Add your favorite Events |
Overview
If you read my review on TVTonic, then you will probably find some of
these screenshots redundant, as it shares the similar controls and UI
of the regular TVTonic. Additionally, by installing the Olympics
plugin, you are automatically given the latest TVTonic package as well,
whether you want it or not.
Read the rest of the review at MissingRemote.com
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DivX made its name as the first truly popular way to
pirat...err....watch compressed movies over your computer. It caused
tons of hassles for those of us who had built lower powered HTPC's,
only to have lip sync or stuttering problems as our poor left over
400MHz CPU's could not handle it. My how times have changed... DivX is
arguably the defacto video compression codec used around the world. For
those unaware, DivX compresses a video file into a much smaller file
(think what MP3 is to those huge WAV files). 
The D-Link DivX DSM-330 is the first hardware venture from the company
as they try to join the constantly growing number of set top box
devices aiming to hold a place on your entertainment shelf. The idea is
simple--deliver not just your DivX video content, but most multimedia
content, from your loud media server wirelessly (or wired) to this low
powered, silent and small device connected in your home theater. So how
does it fare against the more well known and established Windows Media
Center Extenders hitting the market with a similar price tag? This $250
device clearly has it's work cut out for DivX, so let's see how it
does!
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I recall the days when the government passed a bill
back which forced the cable companies to play fair and allow for users
to access the entire library of channels with the use of a Cable Card.
The idea was simple: Cable Companies have a monopoly on regions and
services for cable television, and were essentially forcing users to rent their Set Top Boxes
for a nice profit to them. Cable Cards would allow users to purchase
Cable Card-enabled devices such as Media Centers, Televisions, TiVo's,
etc, and therefore just pay for the actual television service, instead
of renting a box which was awful anyways. Fantastic news, right?
Well, so it was. For a whopping 3 years. Not much has changed with
Cable Cards in that time, and still only One-Way cable cards exist in
the market, but for the most part, they work great. You are able to
tune to all your digital channels, and while you cannot view On-Demand
channels, it's a minor price to pay for the flexibility of using a more
robust device.
Continue reading at MissingRemote.com
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Time for another MCE Plugin quick review!! This time up, TVTonic!!
Video podcasts within your Media Center simply make SENSE! It makes so
much sense, that even Microsoft developed their own application to let
you enjoy some online programming, for free--Internet TV Beta. That
being said, Internet TV really is more of a "push" technology, with
very little customization. As opposed to TVTonic, which is geared
entirely around full user control of their content 
TVTonic has been around since the original Windows XP Media Center
days. I recall playing around with it back then, but had not touched it
for several years, until I was informed by its developer that they have
a very nice MCML interface! And you know me and my love for MCML
interfaces! Read the rest at MissingRemote.com
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HP has always been involved in Media Center, since the early days of
their z-line of PC's which really wanted to be placed into the living
room. Times have changed, and things are different at HP, but with the
introduction of the Media Smart line of products they have shifted
gears in how they attack the market. HP initially released their Media
Smart Connect services only as a part of their LCD HDTVs, ranging from
37"-47". The feedback was fairly positive, and HP decided to pull the
brains of that MediaSmart TV into an Extender device that could be sold
for less than the $1500 of the TV, which is how we got to the
MediaSmart Connect which I'll be covering.
Read the Rest at MissingRemote.com.
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Netflix & Media Center users must be excited these days. With
Netflix allowing for streaming of movies to your computer, it was
inevitable for some fantastic developer to create an MCE plugin which
would bring that to your home theater PC with the convenience of your
remote control & from your sofa.
Nobody could have predicted however, that there would not be one, or
two...but THREE different Netflix plugins for MCE. So, since we're here
to help, we've decided to do a special 10th edition of our Life With a
Plugin series, matching up the 3 Netflix Plugins to see which is worth
your time--MyNetflix, vmcNetFlix & NetflixMC.
Read the full head to head review at MissingRemote.com
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The HTPC community has come to know PCAlchemy's commitment to price and
service over the years. Recently, as of a couple of days ago, they have
extended this commitment to the Avideus line of Media Center PCs. To
celebrate this launch and to give back to the HTPC community,
MissingRemote.com has teamed up with PCAlchemy to give away a great
Media Center PC. Check out the specifications:
Chassis: Zalman HD160 HTPC Case
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400 2.13GHz 1066MHz 2MB Cache
RAM: 2GB DDR2
Video: ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB GDDR3
Storage: 80GB SATA 7200 RPM OS Drive + 320GB SATA 7200 RPM Media Drive
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-2202B Blu-Ray Reader and 12X DVD±R DVD Burner
Remote Control: Phillips OEM MCE Remote
Software: Acrsoft Total Media Theater, Acronis True Image, Norton AntiVirus 2007
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Sometime ago, we had a few readers request an update to our build
guides we published shortly after we started the site. I will remind
our readers of a couple important points. Ultimately we pick a piece of
hardware because we feel it offers the best bang for the buck. I would
imagine that there will be a lot of people that disagree with our
specific choices but we hope the guiding philosophy we lay out in our
guide helps you build a successful HTPC. I simply won't pick a piece of
hardware and say use this because I am damn smart. Instead, I hope to
provide that reader with an understanding of what we are trying to do
and he/she should be able to apply that to the hardware you are
interested in.
As well, keep in mind there are a many configurations and uses an HTPC
can take. As such, I am going to try and tackle a few different builds
based on budget and network topology.
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Useful for the experienced or the novice, MissingRemote.com has launched their Glossary for home theater & home theater PC terminology. If you've ever wondered what a specific term or acronym, or are trying to figure things out, it's a useful research tool. For example.....
ATSC:
Advanced Television Systems Committee: A committee established by the
FCC to define new digital standards for publicly regulated broadcast
television in the U.S. This is the format that over-the-air digital TV uses in the USA.
Visit the glossary here.
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Ok, so sorry i posted out of order, and this one is by Alan, not me, but continuing in our Life With a Plugin series I hope you all are enjoying...
The future of Media Center no doubt lies in its ability to present
online media from the 10' UI. While the Media Center group has done
some work with extras such as Internet TV and the Fox Sports
collaboration; there remains a lot of media we want to see. Yougle
steps into fill some of this void.
Yougle allows you to watch video and other media from several sites
including You Tube, Google Video, ICanHasCheezburger and Flickr. The
product is constantly in development and are always adding new sources
for your entertainment needs...
Read the rest at MissingRemote.comAnd don't forget to check out our contest with BigScreenGlobal.com!
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Remote Scheduling allows you to view your TV guide listings &
modify your Media Center recordings from anywhere in the world.
Currently, there's only two real players in this category. One is
Microsoft's Remote Record, and the other (Webguide), well...got bought
out by Microsoft. Both are useful in their own way, and I've found a
happy medium in using both at the same time.
The first & probably the most well-known plugin for scheduling
recordings is Webguide4, a do-it-all plugin that lets you schedule your
shows, manage your recordings, and even stream them! I've done a complete review of the application, which hasn't changed much since... Read the rest at MissingRemote.com and don't forget to check out our contest to win a BigScreen product courtesy of BigScreenGlobal.com
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So you have a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive, and it comes with Power DVD, but
how to make it integrate with Media Center? The process it two fold: 1.
Have it launch from Media Center and 2. Make the MCE remote work
properly with Blu-ray pop-up menus.
The first part is very easy now thanks to Media Center community member
'Armyb77' (Mike), he has very nicely created an installer that
registers PowerDVD with Media Center and creates a button to a launcher
that opens PowerDVD in fullscreen mode and once PowerDVD quits it
correctly returns to Media Center. There are both Vista and MCE 2005
versions available on his site here.
Read the rest of integrating PowerDVD with Media Center over at MissingRemote.com
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