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Mike's Blog

April 2007 - Posts

  • HIPEPC does Vista based Car Media Centers

    This is the first time I wish I didn't have a Prius wish (almost) all of this built in (and also non-replaceable) as I would be all over this.

    http://www.hipepc.com/store/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=102

    Meet Driv-N: The future of automotive connectivity and entertainment
    Brings all of the functionality of a high powered PC where it's never been before - your car. Watch DVD movies, listen to CDs, MP3s, enjoy XM online satellite radio, Internet Radio and browse the web, while remaining connected to to your home or office PC in ways you've never imagined. Seamlessly access all of your home media files and documents without the clumsiness and risk of balancing a notebook on the passenger seat. Best of all, Driv-N can be controlled entirely by voice! Simply speak the song/movie title, artist, album or genre and Driv-N will play your selection, whether it's on your car PC, home PC or notebook.Driv-N Car PC Chassis

    Like a traditional car amplifier, Driv-N's rugged extruded aluminum chassis may be installed under the seat or in the trunk, with a plethora of touchscreen options ranging from a motorized in-dash solution with AM/FM radio that slides down to reveal a DVD-ROM drive, to roof mounted or headrest mounted solutions that can either compliment or replace an existing car stereo or DVD Player. Driv-N's smart car power supply survives engine cranks and shuts your PC down properly when you turn your vehicle off, keeping your data safe.

    Vehicle PC - Bluetooth, GSM, Edge, Wi-Fi, Wireless G

    Mobile Internet Browsing - Surf the web from your car
    Fancy yourself a Wardriver?  Browse the Internet at high speed from thousands of hot spots or through your mobile phone provider's high speed connection.  Look up movie times, restaurant guides and check your email without exiting your vehicle.

    Transfer over your scheduled appointments, favorites, contacts, email and have them read aloud to you while you're driving, courtesy of One Voice's advanced speech recognition engine, allowing you to keep your eyes on the road.

    DVD and CD playback with Windows Vista Media CenterAbsolute Media Playback - CD, DVD, MP3, MPG and more
    If your home PC can play it, Driv-N can play it too; without the file type or encoding limitations found in standard head units. Best of all, there's no files to transfer. Driv-N can play back all standard CDs, DVD movies, Internet video or you can remotely network with your home PC for unlimited access to all of the music in your shared media folders.

    One Voice Media Center CommunicatorMedia Center Communicator Speech Recognition by One Voice Technologies: Just say it to play it
    Hands free operation has never been easier! Simply speak the name of the song, artist, album, genre or movie title you want to play and Media Center Communicator will play it instantly.

    And unlike most voice recognition packages, Media Center Communicator requires no voice training and can even understand most common accents with outstanding clarity. With the powerful networking capabilities in Windows Vista, Media Center Communicator can play all of the video and audio files on your home computers or Xbox 360 as well.

    XM satellite radio - CarputerAM/FM radio, Internet Radio and XM Satellite Radio
    Expand your music options like never before with full access to familiar AM and FM radio stations, optional 170+ XM Satellite Radio stations and hundreds more Internet radio stations from around the world. Driv-N is also compatible with all external XM Radio FM Modulators.

    Driv-N features an integrated reverse switch compatible with all composite rearview CCD Cameras that activates when you're backing up for provides additional safety, day or night.OBD II diagnostics automotive computer pc

    OBD II In-Vehicle diagnostics
    Ever wonder what the 'check engine light' means? Driv-N's optional OBD II Vehicle Diagnostics will tell you and also allow you to clear codes without a trip to the mechanic.

    OBD II diagnostics also allow you to monitor vehicle speed, engine rpm, temperature, performance, sensors and more via real time onscreen graphs.

    Cross Posted from My Media Center Blog
  • Niveus teams up with MusicGiant for HD Music downloads in Vista Media Center

    Now this is cool, but I wish it was available to users of other media centers.

     

    NIVEUS MEDIA CENTERS NOW SHIPPING WITH HD MEDIA STORE, FEATURING MUSICGIANTS’ HD MUSIC

    MusicGiants and Niveus Media become the first to deliver CD lossless quality and multi-channel music downloads directly into the Media Center experience.

    Milpitas, CA – April 11, 2007 – Niveus Media, Inc. the award-winning manufacturer of hardware and software digital media entertainment solutions, and MusicGiants™, the leader in HD music downloads, are pleased to announce the availability of high definition 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround sound music downloadable on Niveus’ 2007 Windows Vista-based media centers!

    Niveus’ new HD Media Store provides an intuitive media center interface to access MusicGiants’ extensive network of digital downloads from major and independent labels. Niveus’ exclusively designed media store is the first high definition media portal that enables downloads and purchases through Windows Media Center via MusicGiants. The HD Media Store enables customers to easily browse, purchase, and download music from MusicGiants in the Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMA) format store, and seamlessly access this content from within the Windows Media Center ‘Music’ menu, providing a single location for one’s entire music collection.

    “Niveus is excited to bring our dealers and customers into the world of HD Media downloads,” states Tim Cutting, CEO of Niveus Media. “By working closely with MusicGiants, Niveus is the first to launch an integrated music shopping experience that delivers the best in high quality music downloads from the MusicGiants catalog.”

    Purchasing uncompromised HD music has never been easier. Niveus’ 2007 Vista-based media servers, including the Summit Series, Rainier and Denali Editions, as well as the Pro Series, n7 and n9, are now shipping [and are a great option for those dealers and custom integrators looking to fill the void from HP’s recent decision to discontinue development of its Media Center Edition (MCE)-based Digital Entertainment Center (DEC)] and incorporate the live HD Media Store software application.

    MusicGiants, which launched in 2005, is the only music download service to offer high-definition, digital recordings from the top music companies such as EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Their downloads deliver full resolution music at up to 1100 kbps for “true CD quality” sound. This WMA format boasts up to four times the sound quality of any other download service, including those expected to be available in May 2007 from EMI through Apple. MusicGiants also offers Super HD downloads (as in re-mastered DVD Audio or SACDs available in either 5.1 surround sound or 2.0 stereo) which play at sample rates up to 11,000 kbps.

    “We’re pleased to have Niveus be our first hardware partner to deliver MusicGiants’ integrated premium HD entertainment to their media centers,” said Scott Bahneman, CEO of MusicGiants. “The combination of Niveus and the Vista platform now allows consumers to purchase their entertainment at the highest quality available for home use and also transcode it down for all of their portable devices.”

    Niveus customers with Windows XP-based media centers can visit the website for the latest product and software updates, product information, and software downloads, including the MusicGiants portal. Niveus’ 2007 media centers are amongst the first Windows Vista Ultimate-based Media Center systems to incorporate Intel’s Viiv™ technology including Core 2 Duo processors, HD DVD and CableCARD compatibility for premium HD television viewing and recording.

    For more information on Niveus Media, please visit www.niveusmedia.com.
    For more information on MusicGiants, please visit www.musicgiants.com.

    Press Contact: Caster Communications, Inc. at 401.792.7080
    Katie Short - kshort@castercomm.com
    Kimberly Lancaster - klancaster@castercomm.com
    For digital images log on to www.castercomm.com

    Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. ###

    http://www.niveusmedia.com/collateral/PR041107_HDMediaStore_NowShipping.htm

    Cross Posted from My Media Center Blog
  • PCMag reviews Velocity Micros CableCard system

    You can read the full review here.  There are a couple things I'd like to point out about it though. 

    The first, listed as a con, is "CableCARD incompatible with satellite TV" I'm not sure what to even say about that other than duh! 

    The next thing that caught my eye is the price they're quoting, $3699.  While you can certainly customize the system to get to that price you can also get it for $2649 with dual digital cable tuners. 

    They reviewed the system using Verizon's FiOS, which I think is great.  I know if FiOS service was available in Houston I'd switch over to it, so I'm glad Verizon is supporting CableCard customers. 

    I'm not sure how this happened or if it really did, but they claim that what they recorded using the digital cable tuners with CableCards inserted wasn't copy protected.  This is technically impossible.  Anything recorded with a digital cable tuner with a CableCard inserted will only be playable on the machine that recorded it, and only in Media Center.  I'm not sure how they came to the conclusion the shows weren't protected but I'm going to bet that they didn't try playing them back on another system, or even in WMP on the same system.

    Cross Posted from My Media Center Blog
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Aero 2007 SP2.2 (Build: 2007.6.28.32271)
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