Hauppauge‘s HTPC HD-PVR device, originally scheduled for March availability and then later this spring, has been delayed and “should hit the market toward the end of May, early June.” Another tidbit I’ve picked up is that the HD-PVR, which will record digital television straight from any component video output, won’t initially be compatible with Microsoft Media Center – though support is planned for sometime this summer. MC integration may be more difficult because Vista doesn’t currently offer native H.264 playback. My guess is that we’ll see H.264 support within the upcoming “Fiji” Vista Media Center update, now recruiting beta testers, as they roll out DirectTV tuning functionality. Additionally, I expect both SageTV and BeyondTV to support Hauppauge’s device; Company representatives have both mentioned the HD-PVR and seem to understand the extra capability it would bring to their software.
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Any word yet on how much these are going to cost?
I haven’t heard. I figure it’ll land in the $200 – $300 USD range.
Marc,
Hauppauge initially projected $249 U.S. and 199 euros in Europe. Those were just estimates that were given back at the CES and CeBIT shows – Hauppauge hasn’t put out anything publicly about the device since the CeBIT show other than their sales department giving that delayed released date.
Pretty good sounding prices.