The Washington Post yesterday reported on the war between the two high-definition video formats. One of these formats will quickly go the way of the Betamax, or the Laserdisc. Both HD-DVD players and Blu-Ray players can cost anywhere from $500 to $1000, and as an organization embracing frugality, we cannot endorse purchasing a product when a clear future is uncertain for both.

Most experts agree, that in a year or so, one of these formats will be gone. But this will delay a new high-definition video disc format of any type from being widely adopted by consumers for that time.

For us, we’re just annoyed that our efforts to rid ourselves of VHS cassettes in favor of DVDs are not yet done and the DVD is already being replaced by a High-Definition cousin.

Yesterday, we discussed some interesting alternatives to the the DVRs offered for rental by cable and satellite companies. However, as SeekingAlpha reports, TV Monopolies Benefit From DVR Industry Competition.

Tivo recently unveiled a high-definition version…however the pricing requires several hundred dollars of investment even with box rental from the company. Tivo offers a monthly service plan. If you buy your box, you pay a few dollars less per month. Like a cell-phone plan, you own the phone at the beginning of you contract, but there is a termination fee.

Tivo’s biggest problem is the same problem found with most other DVR systems…if you have a set-top cable box, you have to use an infrared emitter to change to channel…essentially, the same technology your remote uses. Despite integrated cable-ready tuners, digital tuners are much less common, and there are issues with descrambling content.
The FCC mandated plan to solve this problem is the CableCard. CableCards are supported by TIVO. Frequently Asked Questions about the Cablecard can be found here. Simply, the Cablecard is a card that fits into a special slot on Cablecard ready devices that stores subscriber information and codes for descrambling the television signal. Thus, the cable company, by renting you a Cablecard, can allow you to use your own tuning equipment.

Currently, there is no real standard input on cable boxes or satellite boxes to allow for remote control. Cable boxes serve four basic functions – view television channels, descramble channels and premium programming, identify the customer who has them and authorize access to features they purchase, provide two-way interactive communications to download program guides, pay-per-view, and video on demand. The current version of CableCard does not allow for two-way communications, but a future version will.

The FCC has also barred cable companies from offering integrated boxes to customers in the future, although the implementation deadline has been postponed several times. The cable companies fought the mandate requiring Cablecards and lost last month. The industry makes about $2.5 billion a year leasing boxes to consumers. Cable operators say they have developed new downloadable technology that will be less expensive to deploy.

OpenCable is that technology. It includes both hardware and software components. The hardware portion would define the standards for whatever electronics device incorporated the standard. The software portion would create a common platform for television applications that could be implemented on a variety of hardware platforms.

Now, even if this big portion of the barrier to universally usable DVRs is removed, there are still issues. The cable companies have had problems with their own DVRs, simultaneously, Tivo has wonderful user interfacing, but they have some features lacking on their hardware. Easy integration with the television signals(cable or satellite), for one.

All new cable tuners must have firewire ports on them. As we’ve mentioned, the cable companies don’t want you to have them, and will put many obstacles in your path should you wish them. But if you have a compliant firewire recording device, a D-VHS recorder, you can record all programs that allow recording. Computers have no support for the encryption protocols used, so you will only be able to record unencrypted content. Encrypted content can either be set for record once, or record never. Unencrypted content is set for record always, and is usually broadcast TV.

For cable company DVRs, there are many advanced features, but there are many reported software bugs, especially in the versions of the software for the box customized by the various cable companies. The SA8300HD, the top of the line from Scientific Atlanta, includes an external Serial ATA connector to add additional drives, but it and various other ports are often disabled by the cable company.

DVR machines are actually embedded computer systems with hard drives, specially built to handle their functions. But if it were that simple, there would be many Tivo clones out there. But this isn’t that true, and won’t be until better compatibility standards.

Until then…your best bet is building a MythTV or Freevo DVR and dealing with the various limitations…or giving in and renting from your provider. Your provider may not be as good as Tivo…but they certainly cost less.

In the world of DVRs, there is obviously Tivo. Tivo is so popular, it has become a verb for the usage of a Digital Video Recorder, ie I will TIVO that program. But Tivo isn’t the only option.

The Slingbox is a device which can control your video source and give you access to it over the internet. As Crunchgear.com reports, Slingbox has launched three new models of their popular product. The Sling Media Slingbox PRO ( SB200-100 ) with a High-Definition input, widescreen support, high-quality programmable video compression, and full control of up to four sources. It will be $250 with the HD Adapter costing an extra $50.

The other two models are a bit less expensive. The Sling Media Slingbox AV ( SB240-100 ), which gives you control over a digital cable, satellite, or DVR set-top box. Or the Sling Media Slingbox Tuner ( SB220-100 ), for people with standard basic analog cable who don’t need a setup box. Both are smaller than the original Sling Media Slingbox.

If you’d rather have more control, there is always buying a computer with Windows XP Media Center Edition, which includes some DVR functionality. Unfortunately, MCE is not sold officially to consumers, only bundled with purchased systems. We prefer an open-source(and thus free) solution.

There are two popular Linux-based DVR systems. MythTV and Freevo. MythTV features basic live-tv functionality(pause, ff, rewind live), support for multiple tuner cards and simultaneous recordings, a distributed system allowing multiple machines to record and playback on the same network, video compression, commercials detection, a program guide, and multiple themes and plugins to add functions. Freevo, conversely, has a bit less, but still a good feature set, with live TV functionality of its own, along with plugins for extra functionality as well. We will be talking more about Linux-based DVRs in the future.
Of course, the simplest way to get a DVR is to rent one from your cable company…but they are hardly motivated to give you the best in DVR technology…although you won’t have to have a box separate from your cable box.