CE Pro magazine and ZeeVee have treated us to a sneak peak of the ZvPro a few days ahead of CES.
From what I gather, based on the full page ad and prior conversations with ZeeVee’s (former) marketing director, the ZvPro contains a superset of ZvBox ($500) functionality. In addition to providing a (Firefox-based) front-end for streaming Internet video via PC around the house, the ZvPro will also encode a variety of other sources (think: HD DVR) for whole-home viewing by transmitting content over existing coax cable to televisions capable of tuning clear QAM. While video distribution isn’t new, the ZvBox may be more accessible than other solutions… and with the added benefit of Internet content.
Of course, how well the ZvPro performs will be dependent on more than just hardware. The software must provide a sufficiently robust interface for quickly and reliably relaying most commands from the RF ZvRemote to attached set-top boxes, like a TiVoHD, via IR blaster.
Ben believes the ZvPro will land at $800. However, the rack mounting crowd is tolerant of higher prices for the right solution. So, as long as we’re guessing, I say it’ll come in closer to $1000 – $1200 (similar to Vudu’s “pro” lineup pricing) with one remote – additional Zv remotes will continue to sell at the current $130. We’ll find out more from Vegas in a few days…
Regarding concerns in the EngadgetHD comments about content “leakage” to your neighbors or back up to the cable-co, Zv provides an RF trap to reflect ZvBox broadcasts on channel 125 within the home. Also, the reason you don’t see HDMI or DVI support is because the device takes advantage of the “analog hole” and avoids HDCP issues.
Thanks for the info, Dave. I’m really interested to see how this performs and what exactly you can hook up to it. So if I have a tivo series 3, I think that I can hook it up to this via component and keep the hdmi to my receiver. My problem will be the setup. I have my pc and modem upstairs and tivo and xbox downstairs connected to the network via slinglink turbo. I guess I could switch the setup around and connect the pc via the slinglink.
Before I get ahead of myself, i should probably wait for the reviews, lol. Anyways, I did email zeevee for a spec sheet. I’ll post it when i get it if anyone is interested.
I didn’t intend on predicting 800, I meant it will be more than 800. 1000 to 1200 sounds more like it, but it could be as cheap as 800.
I can defeat hdcp by soldering in a coax cable? Sweet.
I was e-mailed the data sheet in pdf form from ZeeVee. A lot of useful info. Please let me know if you want me to forward you a copy. Only one component input, though.