One of the things fun about this job is finding diamonds in the rough, so to speak.
Today I ran across T.S. Microtech and their HD-DVR that burns to DVD and streams HD throughout your house! If that sounds exciting, they have promised me a review sample so a full blown review will be coming (hopefully) next month.
Here is a picture of the unit.
The unit is called the HD360 and is basically a turn-key HTPC with incredibly smart integration.
Here are the spes from their home page (www.HDeHome.com)
Features:
• HD & regular TV receiver
• View & record HDTV.
• Archive to DVD. Each DVD holds 1 hour of HD TV contents.
• 120G of harddisk. Holds 15 hours of HD TV contents.
• Transfer your favorite programs to DVD for years of enjoyment.
• S-video, Composite and audio inputs
• Up-convert all incoming video to 720p or 1080i
• 2 RF Inputs both HDTV compatible
• RGB and Component (Y-Pb-Pr) output for HD contents
• Dolby Digital 5.1 Multi-channel audio via S/PDIF
• Record to D-VHS
• Optional DVI & Firewire (1394) outputs. Adds $99.
• Plays both NTSC and PAL DVDs.
• NTSC version
• Dimension (mm): 102.8(H) x 387(W) x 413(D)
Corporte Price $999
($1099 with 2 ATSC tuners)
A visual representation of the features is here.
A little more in-depth on the features on the poster, starting from top left and going counter-clockwise.
Bullet Proof System- Windows XP/Media center is notorious for freezing and crashing, usually when you need to restore to a previous state it's a software solution that takes precious minutes, up to 10 minutes. The HD360 features a flash memory restore that can restore the unit in 3 seconds! No more missing a program because Windows decides to crash..
Unlimited online DVD/HD storage-It's a PC at heart, you can archive on DVD or add hard drives for over a terrabyte of HDTV goodness.
No setup No monthly Fee- It's a plug and play ATSC, QAM, and NTSC recording device, without needing a phone line and paying every month to use it!
BR, HD-DVD archive- When available you can add a Blu-ray or HD-DVD burner. It comes with a dual layer burner that allows you to store 1 hour of HD on a DVD. More on that later.
Scaler- Naturally it will scale DVD or game systems to HD quality.
Multi-room Media Server- Don't let the picture fool you, it will stream HD up to 5 rooms via Cat-5e or adapters. More on that below.
FREE HD- As stated it will record ATSC, QAM, and NTSC.
Remote internet scheduling- You can log into it from anywhere to schedule recordings, like AT&T Homezone but free Hd only.
Watch one record another- The dual ATSC version is a $99 upgrade from the base package hat allows you to watch/record on 2 channels simultaneously.
So you want to know how it does HD on a standard DVD don't you? The HD360 captures the OTA HD as a .ts or .TP file. 1 hour of 1080i equals about 1 dual layer DVD. TSM has free software to download to watch the .ts file in HD via another PC with VGA-component out or via a DVD player that supports the format!
Media Server/ House distributun- TSM has adapters that plus into your electrical outlet ($59EA) or Phone outlet ($79EA) that will stream HD over Cat5 to any point in your house. They also have an upgraded version of the electric line version that is 200meg capable which can stream the HD video to up to 5 rooms in your house.
For $149 TSM sells a portable 20 Meg media player pictured below.
You can download to it via USB and it features a VGA out with which you can use a VGA to component cable to connect it to and HDTV with component inputs.
I like it, I like it alot! The HD360 comes with a 1 year parts and labor warranty, and the only ongoing cost to use it is the electricity it consumes.
Stay tuned to Satelliteguys for an in-depth review coming soon!
Today I ran across T.S. Microtech and their HD-DVR that burns to DVD and streams HD throughout your house! If that sounds exciting, they have promised me a review sample so a full blown review will be coming (hopefully) next month.
Here is a picture of the unit.
The unit is called the HD360 and is basically a turn-key HTPC with incredibly smart integration.
Here are the spes from their home page (www.HDeHome.com)
Features:
• HD & regular TV receiver
• View & record HDTV.
• Archive to DVD. Each DVD holds 1 hour of HD TV contents.
• 120G of harddisk. Holds 15 hours of HD TV contents.
• Transfer your favorite programs to DVD for years of enjoyment.
• S-video, Composite and audio inputs
• Up-convert all incoming video to 720p or 1080i
• 2 RF Inputs both HDTV compatible
• RGB and Component (Y-Pb-Pr) output for HD contents
• Dolby Digital 5.1 Multi-channel audio via S/PDIF
• Record to D-VHS
• Optional DVI & Firewire (1394) outputs. Adds $99.
• Plays both NTSC and PAL DVDs.
• NTSC version
• Dimension (mm): 102.8(H) x 387(W) x 413(D)
Corporte Price $999
($1099 with 2 ATSC tuners)
A visual representation of the features is here.
A little more in-depth on the features on the poster, starting from top left and going counter-clockwise.
Bullet Proof System- Windows XP/Media center is notorious for freezing and crashing, usually when you need to restore to a previous state it's a software solution that takes precious minutes, up to 10 minutes. The HD360 features a flash memory restore that can restore the unit in 3 seconds! No more missing a program because Windows decides to crash..
Unlimited online DVD/HD storage-It's a PC at heart, you can archive on DVD or add hard drives for over a terrabyte of HDTV goodness.
No setup No monthly Fee- It's a plug and play ATSC, QAM, and NTSC recording device, without needing a phone line and paying every month to use it!
BR, HD-DVD archive- When available you can add a Blu-ray or HD-DVD burner. It comes with a dual layer burner that allows you to store 1 hour of HD on a DVD. More on that later.
Scaler- Naturally it will scale DVD or game systems to HD quality.
Multi-room Media Server- Don't let the picture fool you, it will stream HD up to 5 rooms via Cat-5e or adapters. More on that below.
FREE HD- As stated it will record ATSC, QAM, and NTSC.
Remote internet scheduling- You can log into it from anywhere to schedule recordings, like AT&T Homezone but free Hd only.
Watch one record another- The dual ATSC version is a $99 upgrade from the base package hat allows you to watch/record on 2 channels simultaneously.
So you want to know how it does HD on a standard DVD don't you? The HD360 captures the OTA HD as a .ts or .TP file. 1 hour of 1080i equals about 1 dual layer DVD. TSM has free software to download to watch the .ts file in HD via another PC with VGA-component out or via a DVD player that supports the format!
Media Server/ House distributun- TSM has adapters that plus into your electrical outlet ($59EA) or Phone outlet ($79EA) that will stream HD over Cat5 to any point in your house. They also have an upgraded version of the electric line version that is 200meg capable which can stream the HD video to up to 5 rooms in your house.
For $149 TSM sells a portable 20 Meg media player pictured below.
You can download to it via USB and it features a VGA out with which you can use a VGA to component cable to connect it to and HDTV with component inputs.
I like it, I like it alot! The HD360 comes with a 1 year parts and labor warranty, and the only ongoing cost to use it is the electricity it consumes.
Stay tuned to Satelliteguys for an in-depth review coming soon!
