ProVision, who wowed the CES crowds earlier in the year with their wireless high-def streaming kit, have just lifted the covers off of their potentially game-changing AXAR2010 HD video system.
Though not yet available to buy, the AXAR2010 will allow four separate HD signals to be streamed to multiple sources around the home from a single box.
Using the 5GHz 802.11n wireless standard, four different 1080p HD streams (HD TV channels, Blu-ray, games consoles etc) can be sent to different TV sets around the house. Potentially, the technology could do away with the need for separate set-top boxes per room in a house.
"AXAR software technologies are sold under an IP licensing model and will be integrated into set top boxes, TVs, DVD players and media routers from major consumer electronics manufacturers and multinational OEMs", said Steve Cliffe, CEO of ProVision.
No word on a retail release yet, but ProVision are said to be in talks with distributers on both sides of the pond.
Apple are rumoured to be re-launching their Apple TV service. Though just last month Steve Jobs shrugged off the platform as just a "hobby" at a D8 conference interview, sources have now revealed that a fully-fledged re-vamp of the hardware could be in the pipeline.
According to Apple sources quizzed by the NY Times' blog, there is a whole team working on re-vamping Apple TV. Graphics and user interface specialists are in place, as well as a hardware team tasked with producing a new bit of kit for the software to run on.
The iOS based re-launch would also be more app-centric than its predecessor, with the likes of Hulu and Netflix potentially coming built-in.
Though Jobs is certainly keeping his cards held closely to his chest with this one, it's hardly a far fetched proposal. With Google TV just around the corner and the likes of Samsung throwing themselves head-first into the trend for web-connected TVs, you can almost guarantee that some sort of plans for a re-vamped competing device are in place.
We'll keep a close eye on this as any further developments are revealed.
Sky's Anytime video on demand service is to get a massive overhaul later this year. Called Sky Anytime+, we got a sneak peak at at a preview event today which will allow Sky viewers almost instant access to over 500 movies and hundreds of hours of programming.
Piped into your existing Sky HD set-top box through an Ethernet connection, movies and shows will be offered up in standard definition as opposed to full HD, presented in a dedicated section of the Sky EPG. Programmes can be watched within a minute of selection n a 2MB broadband connection, taking around 20 minutes to download an average-length film.
Downloads can be queued, trailers can be watched and the whole system can be searched using a revamped interface tailored to hunting out specific VOD content. Content is subdivided by genre and channel, and can be searched using the alphabet characters on the Sky remote. Downloads can also continue while the box is on standby, using less power to grab shows and movies overnight.
Sky's Box Office service is now fully on-demand too. Purchase a flick and it becomes available within minutes, rather than having to wait for one of the scheduled slots to begin.
A background over-the-air update later this year will upgrade all existing Sky HD boxes with the software needed to run Anytime+, so you wont have to really do a thing to get going with the new service. You wont need to upgrade your Sky HD box in any way, as it already features an Ethernet port which can be used to download the films to your box. However, a Wi-Fi unit will be available for those who'd rather a fully wireless set-up, which looks something like a mini Sky box. Made by NetGear, you'll need a separate Wi-Fi box for each Sky HD box you want to connect to your router.
There is a catch however, and it's a rather big one. The service will only be available to those who also subscribe to Sky's own broadband package, or at least initially.
That means subscribing to Sky's £7.50 a month 20MB broadband tariff. The service comes with an unlimited download quota , which is handy as you'll burn through most limits within a few hours of using Sky Anytime+. Of course, the VOD content you can access is also limited to the Sky TV package that you've already purchased. Don't expect to be streaming movies if you cant already access the Sky Movie channels.
With the service going head-to-head with Virgin's own VOD service, you can understand Sky's reasoning for this closed approach to other ISPs. It's good to hear they are planning to roll it out to other ISPs in the future, but it would have been great to have this feature from the off.
Providing it eventually rolls out to all broadband providers this service could be very exciting indeed. More news on this as we get it.
It's been rumoured for quite a while, but yesterday Google officially unveiled Google TV, bringing the Android OS and Google Chrome to HD TVs and set-top boxes.
The idea is to bring the best of the internet and Google's operating system to your living room, making it easier to combine web and traditional TV sources to find the shows you want to watch. You'll have access to a full unrestricted web browser with Google TV, as well as apps from the Google Chrome web store.
Google TV will be powered by an Intel Atom CE4100 "system-on-a-chip" processor, which Google claim will be able to produce home cinema style levels of performance. Sony have signed on to make the first batch of Google HD TVs, while Logitech are working on a companion box and universal remote to give existing TVs similar functionality.
Though there are now plenty of internet connected TVs and services, such as Samsung's Internet@TV and the Cello iViewer, few have been as ambitious as Google's plans to put the web and apps at the heart of your living room. With the platform set to be open source, it'd be unsurprising to see many TV manufacturers experiment with Google TV in the near future.
No word on pricing yet, but expect an early 2011 release date for the first batch of Google TVs. Steve Jobs must be looking at his Apple TV unit and sighing pretty heavily right now.
Humax released their impressive HD-FOX T2 Freeview box back at the start of the year, but it's this, the Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview HD recorder, that we've been really looking forward to. Humax have now finalised the details of the recorder's release, so read on for the low-down on this impressive set-top box.
Due out in July, the Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview HD recorder can playback and record the free High Definition TV service offered by Freeview. It features a 500GB hard drive, storing 125 hours of HD video, and roughly double that for standard definition content.
The Humax HDR-FOX T2 Freeview HD recorder will also play back mp3s, photos and video from a USB port or across your home network via Ethernet.
Pick this one up for around £349 when it launches in July.
With preparations for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa now getting into full swing, Sky have announced details of a limited edition range of Sky+HD boxes.
With specially decorated 1TB boxes from designer Wayne Hemmingway, illustrator Gerald Scarfe and Quadrophenia star Phil Daniels, footie mad tech fans can pick up the limited editions from 26th May, priced £249.
"To mark the World Cup being broadcast live and in high definition this year, Sky has joined forces with three famous faces to produce a limited edition collection of football themed Sky+HD 1TB boxes," Sky's press release reads.
"The exclusive designs are a must have for any football enthusiast looking to soak up every detail of World Cup drama," it adds.
Sky have announced a new deal this morning, bringing their on-demand Sky Player to Humax Freeview set-top boxes, expanding the number of Sky viewers by thousands.
The deal comes hot on the heels of similar ones made with 3View and TV manufacturers Cello, as well as Microsoft and the Xbox 360. However, the new partnership with the popular Humax brand is a significant move for Sky, as Humax themselves are key players in the now-lucrative Freeview market.
"Until recently, Sky Player has largely been confined to the PC screen but that is changing fast. Since last autumn, it has been available on the Xbox and this year it will roll out to more broadband-enabled devices through deals with the likes of Fetch TV, 3 View and Cello," said Sky's chief executive Jeremy Darroch.
"Just today, we're announcing a further expansion of Sky Player through a new agreement with Humax, the leading provider of Freeview boxes. And there are more deals in the pipeline."
Speaking in Cannes, much of Darroch's speech focussed on Sky's fight with Ofcom over the price of its premium sports content. The expansion of the Sky Player and the increasing move away from satellite based services seems to show that quality content is the most high on Sky's agenda.
"In providing both new and existing customers with more choice and control over how they access Sky content, we continue to harness secure and high-quality distribution platforms like Humax," said Griff Parry, Sky's Director of On-Demand.
"We know that many Sky homes also have Freeview in other rooms, and this provides a great way for them to enjoy Sky away from their Sky box. And for new customers, particularly those in Freeview homes, it provides an innovative new access point to Sky's high-quality pay TV content."
Humax's Graham North added:"The addition of Sky Player on our Freeview HD boxes ensures Humax is positioned to offer consumers an exciting way to experience digital TV, with great content and a range of home networking and content sharing features."
Sky's online TV service will launch across Humax's new range of IP-enabled high definition Freeview boxes, including the Humax HD-FOX T2.
Philips have timed the launch of their new HDT8520 HD PVR and DTR5520 HD receiver set-top boxes to perfection. Packing in Freeview+ HD receivers as the high-def channel list continues to grow and just in time for the World Cup, these sleek-looking new items from Philips could be sitting pretty underneath your HD TV this Spring. Here are HDTVUK's first impressions after our quick hands-on session.
First up is the HDT8520 HD PVR. Broadcasting and recording Freeview HD channels, it's 500GB HDD can store 125 hours of high-def content or 125 hours of standard definition broadcasts. There's an upscaler inside that will boost standard definition content up to 1080p, while the broadcast resolution itself ranges from 720p to 1080i.
The 8 day EPG was very easy to navigate, with a dedicated back button to jump straight back to the previous channel watched. Most impressive was the recording library, where a picture-in-picture preview of your stored shows was shown. Recordings are automatically protected, making the dreaded accidental wiping of a series finale a thing of the past. Dual receivers also mean that one channel can be watched whilst another is recorded, and there is a series record function too. The box features one-touch recording in increments of ten minutes, with a 3 hour time shift buffer and playback speeds ranging from x1/4 slo-mo to x128 super-fast-forward.
Next up was the DTR5520 HD receiver set-top box. Again receiving Freeview and Freeview HD channels, it features the same EPG, upscaling tech and HD resolutions as the PVR, minus the recording functionality. As a result, the set-top box is a shade slimmer (290x37x160mm), and consumes less than <6W of power on average. Both boxes also feature a USB port for photos and MP3's (sadly no video playback) and an Ethernet port for any future software updates.
It was an impressive showcase. Both the Pace-built boxes were very responsive, with little lag between inputs and the commands shown onscreen. Philips proprietary EPG styling is simple to use, and the low carbon footprint across both models was again impressive.
The HDT8520 HD PVR will be available in May, priced £299, with the DTR5520 HD receiver due a little earlier in mid-April, priced £159.
Sagemcom have unveiled their first set of Freeview HD TV recorders for the UK, the RTI90-320 T2 HD and the RTI90-500 T2 HD.
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that Sagemcom were once the communications arm of tech manufacturers Sagem. Sagemcom are now a manufacturer in their own right, and these two brand new DTRs represent their first step out into the big wide world of consumer tech.
Both models have basically the same set of specs, barring the amount of storage available on each. The RTI90-500 T2 HD features 500GB of recording space, while the RTI90-320 T2 HD has 320GB. 500GB equals roughly 250 hours of SD video or 125 hours of HD, while the 320GB model can hold around 160 hours of SD video or 80 hours of HD.
Both are capable of recording and playing back the full range of Freeview + channels, including the growing number of HD channels the service provides free of charge. As both are packing in dual twin tuners, you're able to watch one channel and record another at the same time.
There's an eight-day EPG at the heart of the UI, as well as one-touch recording, series recording and one-touch access to your library of saved shows. Looking t the future, there's also an Ethernet port for a potential roll out of interactive services.
The the RTI90-320 T2 HD will be available at the end of April, whilst the RTI90-500 T2 HD will hit stores at the end of May. No pricing available yet.
Virgin Media have secured the rights to broadcast the new
Film4 HD channel, as well as E4 HD.
It's a big coup for Virgin Media subscribers, as Film4 HD offers one of probably the best catalogues of films outside of Sky Movies and Sky Movies Premier.
"Channel 4 has a great track record in delivering innovative and compelling content and we're delighted to bring some of their very best films and most popular programmes to our customers in stunning HD", said Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media.
"As more and more households become HD-ready, we're lining up content that makes the most of High Definition and are making HD available to all our of customers for no extra fee."
As well as Film4 HD and E4 HD, Virgin Media's HD line up also includes BBC HD, C4HD, ESPN HD, FX HD, MTVN HD, National Geographic HD, LIVING HD and Eurosport HD, with Discovery HD also on its way.
The message boards over here at HDTVUK have been alight with readers venting their spleens over the new-look Sky + HD guide, which completed its nationwide roll-out last week.
Many of you have been complaining that the new Sky Guide isn't up to scratch, either running too slowly, not being particularly intuitive or with text too small to read.
Alex Foligno posted on December 17th:
SERIOUSLY AWFUL the greatest injusticed (sic) is the fact that non-HD (lower paying customers) have the classic menu which we have all loved for the past decade. A CLASSIC option would be much appreciated.
James followed up with a similar sentiment:
I thought I would give it a go for a week before I complained as I thought it would grow on me. I was wrong. I still hate it. I want the old one back. The old one was straight forward and easy to use. This one is just a mess. It really puts me off watching TV.
Some readers have had such difficulty reading the new guide that they have contacted the Royal National Institute of Blind People, believing the new guide to be an affront to accessibility for the visually impaired.
Your complaints have not fallen upon death ears completely however! A Sky customer services representative today confirmed to HDTVUK that visually impaired Sky viewers will be able to revert back to the previous Sky + EPG. However Sky + HD subscribers will have to downgrade to a Sky + box in order to get the old guide back. This may be however just a temporary solution, as all Sky boxes, including earlier models, are expected to take on the new look guide sooner rather than later.
What do you think? Should all Sky +HD subscribers be given the option to revert back to the previous guide? Or are the complaints all smoke and no fire, with the guide being well suited to your needs?
Let us know!
(Thanks to HDTVUK reader Mark for the tip!)
We spoke about this little Humax number a few weeks back. The Fox-T2 Freeview HD box has now been officially unveiled and HDTVUK have all the latest details.
The Fox-T2 will be able to pick up HD signals without need for a satellite dish, upscaling standard definition content and also being able to play media content straight from a USB drive through an integrated USB port. Scart and HDMI connectivity are both also included.
Humax's outlined web portal services will also be fully catered for by the Fox-T2. An onboard Ethernet port will mean that the FOX-T2 will be ready to take online content when Humax launch the service early in the new year.
Sadly though, the Fox-T2's recording capabilities are a little lacking. With only one built in tuner, users will be unable to watch one TV show while recording another.
Hitting stores in February, you'll be able to pick the Fox T-2 box up for around the £170 mark.
Humax are also planning on launching an upgraded Freeview+ HD model in time for next year's World Cup, which will feature a 500GB hard drive.
Humax also unveiled the Foxsat-HDR2. It boasts an integrated BBC iPlayer catch-up widget, as well as home networking and the ability to record video directly onto a USB stick.
Looking for a Freesat+ DTR that will be HD ready straight out of the box? Sagem's Freesat+ DTR could soon be filling that gap under your flat screen.
Available in two 250GB or 500GB models, the new boxes feature auto set-up options to help you watch HD content within minutes of plugging in the DTR.
Sagems' MD Raphael Fainac said, "Sagem is a leader in set top box technology, we provide our customers with products that they need. Our top of the range Freeview + boxes and exciting new Freesat+ DTR's will bring a festive cheer to UK households this Christmas. We pride ourselves on providing great quality and hard wearing devices that give customers a completely satisfactory user experience from purchasing to using and any required customer care."
Confused over the differences between Freesat and Freeview, and not sure which set-top box you should be getting? Fill out Sagem's handy questionnaire at www.sagemdigital.co.uk to help find the box for you.
With Freeview HD content just around the corner, we we're starting to worry whether or not we'd get our hands on a Freeview HD set-top box before the end of the year. Humax are now set to be first out of the starting blocks with their Fox-HD-T2 being unveiled on December 9th (though they won't be available to buy until early 2010).
Featuring an integrated DVB-T2 tuner (a must for picking up the HD Freeview signal), the box will not be compatible with the DVB-T system currently used by Freeview broadcasts.
Humax are also readying BBC iPlayer for the FOXSAT-HDR before Christmas.
Though details are scarce, Humax are also looking to roll-out a brand new EPG across its range of set-top boxes.
Looks like Humax are keeping themselves very busy. We'll have more details on these new developments after the December 9th launch date.
Sagem Communications has just launched its latest pair of digital TV recorders (DTRs), boasting large hard drives, standard definition upscaling via HDMI, and low power consumption.
The DTR 67320T Eco has a 320GB hard drive built-in, able to store around 160 hours of SD content, while the DTR 67500T Eco has a 500GB drive offering 250 hours of storage.
Intel and Adobe have announced that they are collaborating in a bid to optimise Flash and Flash Lite to bring it to the Intel Media Processor CE3100 which can then be embedded within TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray disc players and AV devices.
"The Intel® Media Processor CE 3100 is a highly integrated solution that provides a powerful, yet flexible technology foundation that will bring to life the high definition capabilities of Adobe Flash," said general manager of Intel's Digital Home Group, William O. Leszinske Jr. "Our effort with Adobe is poised to accelerate a rich, yet relevant Internet experience on the TV that will provide consumers with access to a growing number of Flash-based applications that will ultimately be enjoyed across a number of screens seamlessly, from the laptop to a MID and now the TV."
Flash Lite could be implemented within the Intel processor as early as mid-2009. Will Microsoft look to form any similar partnerships to push its HD-capable Silverlight platform?
In a grand-sounding consultation paper entitled "Temporary assignment of UHF analogue interleaved frequencies", Ofcom is considering the possibility of large cities in the UK, including London, gaining access to high definition over Freeview, despite their official digital switchover date being two or more years down the line.
Though the Granada TV region will see analogue switchoff, and hence more spectrum available for Freeview HD, from late 2009, other regions are being phased in gradually until 2012. London and the South East are the two of the last regions to be switched.
The BBC has applied to Ofcom to temporarily use special frequencies for high definition broadcasts until the switchover is completed in 2012. If approved, it would ensure that many more British consumers could access high definition content, including the 2010 World Cup.
The BBC is planning to broadcast its first regular high definition programmes over the DVB-T2 platform by November next year, according to Catherine Smadja, head of strategy at the BBC.
One multiplex will be upgraded to DVD-T2 and MPEG-4, carrying the BBC HD service and two or three others. Eventually, as the analogue signal is switched off across the country, the service should be available to 98.5% of the UK population.
Smadja said that DVB-T2 was "an absolute necessity".
Kodak has announced the Theatre HD Player, a digital box which will give wireless access to music, video, and pictures stored on other computers in the home, or across the Internet.
It can grab multimedia from networked PCs, memory card, USB storage, a Kodak EasyShare camera, photo sharing web sites, Internet radio stations, and podcast sites. It also allows you to send and receive photos and albums using Kodak's Picture Mail function.
MediaGate has announced the release of its MG-450HD entertainment server, offering both wireless and wired streaming of high definition video, music, and photos directly from a networked PC or USB stick to HDTV.
The unit can also be fitted with an additional hard drive for local storage of multimedia.
It works over 802.11g Wi-Fi networks, HDMI output, plus composite, S-Video, and component video outputs, plus stereo, optical/coaxial digital, and 5.1 analogue audio outputs.
Available now for $229 (around £140)
Product page
ProVision, who wowed the CES crowds earlier in the year with their wireless high-def streaming kit, have just lifted the covers off of their potentially game-changing AXAR2010 HD video system.
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