PC PVR Needs Vista and PVP-OPM!

[Jeremy Charette]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://msmvps.com/chrisl/archive/2005/08/15/62771.aspx' target='_blank'>http://msmvps.com/chrisl/archive/2005/08/15/62771.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Using Windows is your best hope for a PVR that will continue to include the ability to do more with what you pay for, in this case, your TV. Since Microsoft is taking on the task of building a system to allow playback and capture, you benefit with the ability to do just that. Media Center is of course an application that will greatly benefit from this. Having the new ability to capture the currently protected TV that you already pay for, pay next-gen DVD’s that require a playback path that is protected, and more will all be brought to life with Windows Vista. I’m going to assume, but don’t know for sure, that Microsoft will allow other programs to tap into this. This would most likely be the same type of method used for Windows Media Rights Management currently. The third-party software developer would license the technology from Microsoft, giving them the ability to bring these new opportunities to their applications."</i><br /><br />I think Chris Lanier is missing the point here. Once Windows Vista comes out, consumers will be <i>forced</i> to upgrade if they want to use their PC as a PVR. Rather than offering consumers an option if they have an existing Media Center PC, they will have to buy new hardware and software to get the same funcitonality they've already paid for. Situations like this are what keep the average consumer from buying a Media Center PC. It's only useful until the latest and greatest innovation comes along. Frankly, I'd be livid if I spent $1500-2000 on a Media Center PC, only to find that it was outdated just 12-24 months later. A scorned consumer spends his or her money elsewhere, something Microsoft is about to learn.

[gdoerr56]

I've said it before. Microsoft is simply building a system that attempts to satisfy the content providers while still giving the consumer the functionality they want.

The whole 'Protected Path' concept is required because PCs are open systems and it is possible on XP today to grab the decoded data streams on the way to the outputs and write them to disk.

Because it is 'possible' to do this, the content providers are going to assume that you WILL do it and will do so for nefarious reasons.

Now, if we weren't all criminals, life would be so much simpler and vendors could spend their development money on adding features people actually want instead of on keeping the data streams encoded all the way to the screen or speaker!

[ChrisL01]

You will not have to upgrade your PC at all after Vista is released to use it as a PVR. Anything you do now, you will be able to do then in both Vista and XP.

You will have to upgrade if you want the new functionality that Vista will be able to offer. There is nothing Microsoft or any other IT company can do about that. The creators of the content protection system set the bar which any company wanting to implement a solution must meet. If Microsoft could snap their fingers and give everyone CableCARD support in Media Center, I bet they would do it in a second. Problem? CableLabs says Windows doesn’t meet the bar they have set!

The PC as a PVR has seen all it's going to right now unless a protection framework is added. Now we can record OTA HDTV, unencrypted QAM, analog, etc, etc. That's it. No protected content, nothing like HBO HD, Discovery HD, etc, etc. Fast forward to Vista, and the systems that will be in place will allow that protected content (that many of us already pay for) into the PC.

Chris Lanier

[Jeremy Charette]

Chris,

I understand what you're saying, and I don't disagree. Existing PC PVRs will work fine even after Vista comes out, for OTA HD broadcasts (we'll see how long those last), and for SD content. The "forcing" part happens January 1, 2007, when the FCC has said all broadcasts in the US must be digital (though not necessarily HD). At this point, nearly every existing PC PVR will be useless for all intents and purposes. We won't be able to record and manage our content the way we can now, without upgrading to Vista and significantly changing our hardware (video card, monitor, etc.).

I don't blame Microsoft, I blame the content providers and CableLabs. But that doesn't change the fact that the above is true. And for the average guy who just wants to record and watch his favorite TV shows, that's a crying shame.

[ChrisL01]

Umm. No. First the date is December 31, 2008, not January 1, 2007.

Second, it has yet to be seen how the FCC plans to do this. It's not going to kick the 20+ million that only can receive analog broadcasts.

Third, by December 31, 2008 99.9999999% of people using their PC as a PVR will have already upgraded to hardware that will be supported. Prices will drop, and this will be a none issue based off the FFC digital date.

This is just not an issue here, at all. :P

[Jeremy Charette]

Where do you get the 2008 date from? The FCC says December 31st 2006.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

[ux4484]

umm....I believe that requirement is that all stations have to be broadcasting digital by 2007, but they will continue to broadcast analog for the duration while the "low cost" DTV set top boxes are distributed and determined to be in the majority of US homes.

Considering that most broadcasters are years behind the original deadlines....I don't think anyone's going to lose their analog broadcasts any time soon.

I would easily guesstimate an additional 1-3 years before analog broadcasts even begin to be shut off.