media pc or bust!!
Are you paying for TV that you don't have time to watch? Now, you can watch many TV shows in 1/5 of the time, with a MEDIA PC! Skip the ads, and even skip the content that you don't care about. Get to the point of a show, at the speed of life!
With a media PC, you can:
- Pause, rewind, and record live television
- Everything else that you can do with a computer
You can build the $2000+ retail media PCs for less than half of the price, and you'll have a custom-built PC with components and configurations of your choosing. Nothing is better than making the most of what today's computers can offer, at less than half the price.
Even so, building a computer can be scary. Here are the TV-friendly alternatives, in order of cost:
The non-committal way: Rentals
Some cable companies are renting DVRs to their subscribers for low monthly fees. I'm not certain of the capabilities of these DVRs, but they're probably decent. This might be a good way to try living with a DVR without committing to its price tag.
The old-school way: VCRs
VCR+ etc. was pretty good, but it's dead now, since VCRs are no longer being manufactured. VHS tapes provide reliably poor image quality, and they wear out quickly.
The trendy way: TiVo
TiVo is awesome. Hard drives are more reliable than VHS tapes. TiVo offers good image quality, with the convenience and ease-of-use of a conventional consumer A/V component. I've read many stories of TiVo units dying shortly after their warranties had ended. $299 USD buys you the unit and a lifetime subscription, but it may seem like too much to pay for a what is essentially a limited computer.
The old gadget-hound's way: DVR
Same as TiVo, but at higher price points ($300-$600 USD at the time of writing), with no subscription fees. Many will let you burn shows directly to DVDs, but they're all still limited computers. The price point is in the territory of full computers.
The new gadget-hound's way: Media PC (HTPC)
These are full computers that do everything DVRs do, and more. The prices of these things are ridiculous, though. These units are targeted towards gadget-hound consumers, and I don't think that any self-respecting techie would buy one.
Of the above options, only a media PC can accomodate a form of media other than TV or DVDs. No music, photos, games, internet, communications, file storage. Companies recognize this limitation, so there have been various devices released, each addressing different types of media in different ways. Companies continue to try to set new standards for handling media, and the result is a market of me-too consumer products, which address current trends, but which offer no promise of compatibility with the future. If you want ultimate flexibility with your media, you could end up with an entertainment center full of these inflexible gadgets.
Instead, you can build a media PC.
With a media PC, you can:
- Pause, rewind, and record live television
- Everything else that you can do with a computer
You can build the $2000+ retail media PCs for less than half of the price, and you'll have a custom-built PC with components and configurations of your choosing. Nothing is better than making the most of what today's computers can offer, at less than half the price.
Even so, building a computer can be scary. Here are the TV-friendly alternatives, in order of cost:
The non-committal way: Rentals
Some cable companies are renting DVRs to their subscribers for low monthly fees. I'm not certain of the capabilities of these DVRs, but they're probably decent. This might be a good way to try living with a DVR without committing to its price tag.
The old-school way: VCRs
VCR+ etc. was pretty good, but it's dead now, since VCRs are no longer being manufactured. VHS tapes provide reliably poor image quality, and they wear out quickly.
The trendy way: TiVo
TiVo is awesome. Hard drives are more reliable than VHS tapes. TiVo offers good image quality, with the convenience and ease-of-use of a conventional consumer A/V component. I've read many stories of TiVo units dying shortly after their warranties had ended. $299 USD buys you the unit and a lifetime subscription, but it may seem like too much to pay for a what is essentially a limited computer.
The old gadget-hound's way: DVR
Same as TiVo, but at higher price points ($300-$600 USD at the time of writing), with no subscription fees. Many will let you burn shows directly to DVDs, but they're all still limited computers. The price point is in the territory of full computers.
The new gadget-hound's way: Media PC (HTPC)
These are full computers that do everything DVRs do, and more. The prices of these things are ridiculous, though. These units are targeted towards gadget-hound consumers, and I don't think that any self-respecting techie would buy one.
Of the above options, only a media PC can accomodate a form of media other than TV or DVDs. No music, photos, games, internet, communications, file storage. Companies recognize this limitation, so there have been various devices released, each addressing different types of media in different ways. Companies continue to try to set new standards for handling media, and the result is a market of me-too consumer products, which address current trends, but which offer no promise of compatibility with the future. If you want ultimate flexibility with your media, you could end up with an entertainment center full of these inflexible gadgets.
Instead, you can build a media PC.
posted by dallas and/or kris at 2:32 PM
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