Year: 2005

Orbitcast (nice!) is reporting on a handheld Sirius receiver which is capable of recording programs as well as storing your own MP3 tunes. You’ll apparently be able to edit recordings on your computer, though no word just yet on pictures or whether this will be Windows only.

As predicted, Sirius is launching a video capability … clearly targeting young families with two children’s channels. We’ll probably see some nice auto units to support this, but I can’t imagine using it much in-home with the variety typically available through cable or satellite.

Sirius Satellite Radio today announced at CES that it has selected Windows Media Video 9 for use in Sirius’ mobile video platform (which was briefly mentioned during their NAVTEQ partnership announcement), and has reached an agreement with Microsoft to collaborate in the further development of video applications.

Sirius plans to offer a video service in the second half of 2006, and expects to devote 2-3 channels of premium video content designed primarily for children. With the explosive growth of DVD sales, video capabilities in automobiles are quickly becoming a prime feature for families and travelers. The automobile industry is increasingly interested in offering entertainment features to their new car buyers. According to Sirius, its automotive partners are eager proponents of the service, given the strong demand for rear seat video entertainment. [Orbitcast]

Just in from the NYT… This is a bold slap to Microsoft considering HP is the marquee brand used in all Media Center marketing. This makes a pretty clear statement on the ease of use … or lack thereof of the Media Center platform.

Hewlett-Packard will introduce a new device this fall meant to record and play back television as well as organize digital media, including photos, music and video, the company said yesterday.

Hewlett already offers similar devices based on Microsoft’s Windows Media Center Edition. The device, called the HP Media Hub, will be based on the Linux operating system.

Carleton S. Fiorina, the chief executive, said that by using Linux, rather than Windows, Hewlett can reduce the cost of the device, which has not been set, she said.

“The real motive is not the cost,” she added, but “the ease of use and simplicity. [NYT]

Sean Alexander at Addicted to Digital Media reports on Tivo’s launch of the TivoToGo service which has been highly anticipated by many.

It seems that aside form being a windows only deal – come on Tivo! – there are some significant restrictions, like not being able to take flagged content like the Sopranos with you, not working with DirecTV units, not working with many DVD burners (software purchased separately… and it’s not even out yet) and having to constantly enter your password.

Restricting what content works with a strong-DRM system is an incredibly bad move in my mind. Why even bother? Other than possibly being easy to use – and that’s questionable with all the password authentication and lack of support initially for DVD Burners – you’d be better off losing a degree of quality and sticking to the analog to digital conversion path most people have been using to archive or transport content.

There’s a chance it will work on the Mac eventually, but I fear Tivo might be missing a serious opportunity to keep this simple. When you read about the service on their site, there’s quite a bit off techno-jargon including codecs which is certain to scare off a good many people. At least it seems to be a free addition to your existing service.