ZeeVee ZvBox: A New Kind Of Media Extender With A Funny Name

[Tim Williamson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018L7NUA/ref=amb_link_6773792_2?pf_rd_m=A' target='_blank'>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...792_2?pf_rd_m=A</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;ZvBox is the first device that allows you to watch anything you can get online or on your computer from all your HDTVs. Simply connect the monitor output of your computer to ZvBox, then connect ZvBox to your home&rsquo;s cable TV wiring. ZvBox takes the high resolution output of your computer, including Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, and creates a new HD channel that you can tune in alongside your other TV channels from any HDTV in the home. ZvRemote, combined with a ZvReceiver that is attached to your computer, provides full control of your computer from anywhere in the house, including multimedia and cursor control. The optional ZvKeyboard, available August 2008, makes it even easier to compose email, surf the web, and type text for desktop applications.&quot;</em><br /><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1211992354.usr209.jpg" alt="" /><br />For some reason I keep getting the <a target="_blank" href="http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/showthread.php?t=89253">news items</a> about new hardware with goofy names. Luckily, the killer hardware usually makes up for the goofy name, and this plain-looking ZvBox definitely pulls off a unique feat. It magically broadcasts whatever is showing on your PC, along with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, as a new HD channel throughout your house. Just tune into this new HDTV channel on any TV in your house, and voila, instant media extender! I'm wondering if it comes with any type of software interface, or do you have to fire up Media Center (or some other type of media center) software to get that 10-foot experience? Also, for $500, wouldn't it be just as easy to buy a cheap PC with Vista Home Premium (which comes with Media Center), and an HDTV output card? Do you think the ZvBox will ZvTakeoff? Or will it ZvBomb? ;-)

[Felix Torres]

By the pictures, the device is a video transcoder at heart; it takes in VGA video and encodes it as ATSC RF over cable.
The value here lies in the ability to send this video stream to multiple displays *simultaneously*.
I would expect this to be most useful in commercial settings--say restaurants--where the price isn't an issue, but a high-end display-heavy household would also have use for it as you could simulcast the same content to the kitchen, den, media room, or bedroom.
As pointed out, for single display households, it would clearly be cheaper to just hook up a Media Center PC to the HDTV, even if it means buying an HDMI-capable video card.

What I find most interesting here is the fact that the box can actually transcode 1080p VGA analog + 5.1 digital audio to ATSC digital in real time. That is not a trivial achievement.
Makes you wonder if the output section could be incorporated into a PC video card or into an ultra-low power OTA transmitter, sort of like the FM audio adapters for DAPs...

For now, it seems to be a solution in search of a problem, but its a device to keep an eye on, no? Might be a precursor to a new category...

BTW, with Amazon acting as exclusive distributor, they now have two in-house hardware products in stock. Can an official Amazon house brand be far behind?

[Tim Williamson]

I would expect this to be most useful in commercial settings--say restaurants--where the price isn't an issue, but a high-end display-heavy household would also have use for it as you could simulcast the same content to the kitchen, den, media room, or bedroom...

...BTW, with Amazon acting as exclusive distributor, they now have two in-house hardware products in stock. Can an official Amazon house brand be far behind?

I'm not very familiar with the technical aspects of HD transcoding/broadcasting, but I guess this really is a technological feat. And I didn't think about using this in a commercial setting, that's a really great idea and would be so easy to do. Interesting thinking on the "Amazon" house brand, I wouldn't be surprised.