Niveus Media Unveils the Niveus Disc Changer

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://niveusmedia.com/collateral/PR101405_NIVEUS_DVD.htm' target='_blank'>http://niveusmedia.com/collateral/PR101405_NIVEUS_DVD.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Niveus Media, Inc., manufacturer of media entertainment devices for the high-end audio/video market, is excited to announce its newest digital home solution, the Niveus Disc Changer. With support for over a thousand DVD discs, the Niveus Disc Changer paired with an award-winning Niveus Media Center running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2, enables the “My DVDs” feature within the Windows Media Center interface. The “My DVDs” feature provides an on-screen movie poster guide for each of the movies stored on the device, allowing users to access their DVD collection through the same familiar interface used to access the rest of their digital media. Users simply click the poster of the movie they choose to view, and the Niveus Disc Changer delivers the content to the Niveus Media Center. Each Niveus Disc Changer can support 200 discs and can be coupled with additional changers to support a DVD library well beyond a thousand discs."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/family_changer.jpg" /><br /><br />Very cool - it's not as sexy as ripping and storing the DVDs digitally, but it's legal in the US because it doesn't break the DeCSS encryption. And based on how unreliable all the DVD ripping programs I've tried are, this is a method that will actually work. No mention of cost though, which could be a deal-breaker for many people.

[Felix Torres]

Very cool - it's not as sexy as ripping and storing the DVDs digitally, but it's legal in the US because it doesn't break the DeCSS encryption. And based on how unreliable all the DVD ripping programs I've tried are, this is a method that will actually work. No mention of cost though, which could be a deal-breaker for many people.

By rights it shouldn't be *that* expensive since a SONY 400 disk changer can be had for well under around $400. And it does upscaling, too.
Its an interesting approach for those of us with TV shows on DVD sets...
I'll have to see exactly *which* changers are supported by the MCE Emerald update...

[Jeremy Charette]

I saw this today at Digital Life in NYC. It's incredibly slick, with cover art for all of your DVDs, as well as metadeta about each disc. It runs quickly and smoothly, with no noticeable delays. Frankly, I love it.

I have about a dozen DVDs that I own, but have never watched. Why? Because I bought them and put them on the shelf. Big titles too, like The Aviator, Flight of the Phoenix, and Cirque du Soleil. I just walk by them over and over, never thinking to watch them. If they were just available to me onscreen whenever I turned on the TV, I'd probably take the time to watch them, as well as many of the extras on the DVDs I own.

I'll buy one. Currently there are only two announced companies that are making compatible DVD changers, but support for other companies' DVD changers is coming, including a huge name that you all recognize. More to be revealed in the coming months.