HTPC

DivX To Support The MKV Video Format

Good news web video fans. Hot off the presses Doom9’s forums, we learn that the upcoming release of DivX 7 is going to support the Matroska video format! Now I know that many of you are probably asking yourself Matroskwho?, but believe me when I tell you that this is a big deal for both DivX and Matroska fans.

A DivX / Matroska hook up will not only give web video creators even more options over how they want to present their content, but it will also ensure that consumers are able to take advantage of these advanced features with their favorite consumer electronic products. In the past, Matroska fans have had to go through a painful and complicated process in order to get their MKV files to play nice with their DivX hardware devices, but with the 7.0 release, it should be as easy as hitting play on DivX 7.0 gadgets.

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Track Stock Portfolio via Home Theater PC

You’ve had a long day at work, come home and want to see how your stocks and the market have been doing. Okay, maybe you don’t want to know at the moment given the current market conditions but bear with me… You sit down on you couch, fire up the HTPC TV and click on … Read more

Windows Media Center Extenders Compared

EngadgetHD’s Ben Drawbaugh recently abandoned TiVo in favor of a CableCARD Vista Media Center and has been evaluating the current crop of extenders. His ultimate advice: If you’re a gamer, stick with the Xbox 360 (despite the cost and noise). Otherwise, the quiet and relatively inexpensive Linksys DMA2100 ($240) is the way to go.

Sports, myp2p.eu and the VideoLAN Media Player

This post’s author, The Media Patriot, is a fellow consumer who enjoys music and television but condemns DRM. His pseudonym pays homage to the original participants of the Boston Tea Party. Are you getting all the sports coverage you want from your cable or satellite provider? Ever wonder if that UEFA Euro 2008 soccer match … Read more

Boxee: XBMC Reloaded

While the XBMC desktop port continues, a new player (Boxee) is stepping in to create a (free) unified front-end that layers social networking features on top of traditional media extender functionality. For those unfamiliar with XBMC, I’ll go ahead and quote myself: when you’ve completed the upgrade, the classic Xbox is more capable, useful, and … Read more

D-Link DivX Connected Media Extender Unboxing & Setup

As we approach the release of D-Link’s DSM-300 DivX Connected media extender, I (and several of my blogosphere buddies) have been offered an advance look at the set-top box. Like a Windows Media Center or Sage TV extender, the DSM-300 primarily relies on Windows-based software to serve up your digital media (and I’m told a … Read more

Hauppauge HD-PVR – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

After more than a week with my Hauppauge HD-PVR, I can say that my excitement hasn’t waned. This thing brings all the channels: HD, digital, SD – everything to the HTPC user without worrying about CableCARD, broadcast flags, or other DRM issues. I’m still working out the final details for a complete review of the … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: Hauppauge HD-PVR Unboxing & First Look: Brent Evans Geek Tonic Canadian Movie Download Services Compared: The Daleisphere H.264 Decoders That Work: Brent Evans Geek Tonic Latest Sign of the Bandwidth Apocalypse: Connected Home 2 Go 3G iPhone Coming to Canada: The Daleisphere Starz Align(s) for … Read more