Smart Home Blog

Niveus Media has announced the 2007 Pro Series media centers, n7 and n9. Pro Series Media Centers are based on Intel Viiv technology and Core 2 Duo Extreme processor and have Nvidia’s GeForce Series 7 Graphics, HDMI output, HD DVD, from 1TB to 3TB HDD, up to 4GB of Memory, boasts up to 4 television tuners (2x NTSC, 2x ATSC) and 8-channel audio.

Additionally, it includes Niveus’ proprietary Glacier Passive Cooling™ technology (active & passive cooling), Niveus ConvergencePanel™, HDMI, RS-232, an integrated flash card reader (SD, MMC), and RAID 5 Hard Drive Data Protection. The Pro Series media centers use Windows Media Center 2005 as operation system.

Niveus Media’s Professional Series n7 and n9 MSRP start at of $6,999 and $14,999, respectively, and is expected to ship September 30, 2006. I’m not surpriced about the price because Niveus Media announced its participation in the following programs: AMX’s InConcert manufacturer partner program, Crestron’s Integration Partner program and Exceptional Innovation’s Life|ware Ready program.

[via eHomeUpgrade]

HDHomeRun is a Networked Digital HDTV Tuner which allows to watch over-the-air digital TV from all computers in your home network. It’s compatible with VLC (Windows, Linux, Mac), MythTV (PVR for Linux and Mac), Windows Media Center (coming soon) and SnapStream BeyondTV (coming soon).

Detailed Specifications:

• 8-VSB (ATSC over-the-air digital HDTV)

• Dual HDTV Tuners

• IR Receiver (38kHz)

• 100baseTX high speed network

• Open source drivers/support

The HDHomeRun will be available 22 September at the price $169.95.

[via eHomeUpgrade]

MythTV fans get ready to update! Release candidate 0.20 has added support for some excellent new plugins, peripherals (i.e. HDHomeRun), and OpenGL interface enhancements. Below is list of the major changes since 0.19:

• Added MythArchive plugin for archiving recorded shows

• Menus are now drawn by MythUI using OpenGL. This option can be enabled/disabled in the Appearance settings.

• Improved internal DVD player – now supporting menus and other missing features

• Added MHEG content implementation (Interactive TV in UK)

• Added Hotplug support for removable media in Media Monitor and MythGallery

• Added support for the HDHomeRun encoding device

• Added support for basic FreeBox recorders

• Added support for H.264 (aka MPEG-4 AVC) TS decoding

• Added an MPEG1/MPEG2/MPEG4-AVC IP network recorder

• Added internal UPnP server support for TV and Music

• Added experimental second commercial detector

• New socket class for backend communications

• OSD image cache which improves channel changing speed

• Fixed program transition while Watching LiveTV

• Added beginnings of firewire capture support for MacOS

• Support for DVB radio channels and guide data collected via EIT for them

• Added mouse support in menus, including gestures

Here is a brief introdution to the one of the most popular, open source system to build home media center – MythTV:

MythTV is a software suite that’s available as a free download. It consists of a menu system, several plug-ins and a unique frontend/backend network architecture that can be used to transform an existing Linux, BSD, Mac OSX or Windows desktop computer into the multimedia entertainment centerpiece in your den, bedroom or office. Using MythTV, you can morph your desktop into a video viewfinder, a slideshow gallery, a DVD burning station, a VoIP phone console, a Netflix manager and more.

Additionally, MythTV can be used as part of home automation system. In particular, Plutohome supports it.

MatrixStream Technologies, Inc., has announced a new offering, an affordable high definition video on demand (VOD) and IPTV basic server package consisting of an IMX500 middleware server, an IMX 2410 XMS streaming server, and an IMX 4010 video encoder, capable of handling up to 500 concurrent users. The price set for this package is to be under $70,000 USD, which is a relative bargain compared to current cable or satellite offerings but the inherent value and costs savings are embedded in MatrixStream’s proprietary XMS streaming technology.

The intrinsic value can be seen in the video itself. MatrixStream’s platform system is a H.264 compliant, fully integrated, end-to-end solution, complete with billing management, subscriber management, channel management and digital rights management – engineered to duplicate and advance the home theater experience, bringing a virtual video retail store into the family room. MatrixStream’s solution can in fact match and even exceed broadcast and satellite quality video standards over any broadband network with no quality of service (QoS).

The cost savings are built-in. Since the IMX server package is a fully integrated turnkey solution, IPTV and VOD services can be up and ready within days if not hours. Costs for deployment are thus kept to a minimum, which cannot be said for most IPTV systems. Moreover, considering the MatrixStream solution performs over any broadband network with no QoS, and brilliantly so, costs can also be avoided from forgoing expensive network upgrades.

About MatrixStream

MatrixStream Technologies, Inc., offers a complete end-to-end IPTV platform solution based on proprietary XMS streaming technology, designed to work over the any broadband network – engineered to duplicate and advance the home theater experience, bringing a virtual video retail store into the family room. Currently, MatrixStream is working with major broadband providers in the U.S., Canada, UK, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and elsewhere around the globe. For more information, please visit www.matrixstream.com.