Speaking of media extenders, I’m digging the Xbox 360 Dashboard refresh in conjunction with the updated Connect360. By utilizing UPnP on Mac OS X, Connect360 mimics PC Windows Media Player functionality in streaming content to the Xbox. I’ve played with it before to send pics and music to my 360, but this is the first time I’ve streamed video (Xvid) - it worked very well with the SD .avi content. I’m not sure if I’ll pony up the $20 license fee, as my MacBook Pro usually sits on the coffee table just a few feet away from the entertainment center… I’ve got plenty of USB sticks and I usually close the MBP when watching the plasma.

Many Home Theater PC users have been clamoring for a silent, easy-to-setup media extender that can handle High Definition video - a plug & play box that lets users remotely access their HTPC content from any TV in their home. Today, SageTV is answering their customers desires by delivering a new HD Media Extender ($199) now available for sale today that works with SageTV, their flagship PC DVR software. I had the opportunity to get a review unit to run through the paces prior to release. Over the past week I’ve been giving the SageTV STX-HD100 a workout by using it to extend my Home Theater setup.

I was very impressed with my overall experience with the SageTV STX-HD100 extender. It matched my SageTV interface almost exactly and handled just as well as the SageTV server does with a much easier setup than a full-fledged HTPC box. The only issue I had with the extender was one that was easily fixed with a firmware update. The positives far outweigh the negatives. This extender gives you the ability to place your digital content (TV, Movies, Music and more) wherever you want it - all in a small, silent box that’s affordable.

As Chris Lanier pointed out, SageTV has beat Microsoft to the market with an excellent HD extender that can handle about any file format you throw at it with great picture and sound quality. I highly recommend the SageTV STX-HD100 to anyone who owns or is considering the SageTV HTPC software for their Home Theater PC needs. This new HD extender by SageTV is an excellent solution for getting your media from your HTPC to your bedroom, living room or anywhere you have a television.

Check out the entire SageTV HD Extender review and many more pics over at Brent Evans Geek Tonic.

Several months after being acquired by video rental retailer Movie Gallery, rumor has it MovieBeam service is being shuttered next week. While I haven’t received a phone call or email notification (as a former customer), it wouldn’t surprise me if the service is killed - following in the footsteps of Akimbo’s dedicated hardware.

MovieBeam, originally a venture of Disney and later backed by Cisco, never seemed to gain much traction. In addition to competing against the embedded cable and satellite service providers to provide video-on-demand, MovieBeam had to overcome hardware sticker shock (are you listening, Vudu?) and an extremely limited selection of HD content - the kind of video us early adopters wanted. Additionally, MovieBeam leased broadcast TV spectrum to deliver movies… Which may sound good, but I have a much better Internet connection than I do aerial reception. Not to mention, a landline is required for billing (though I got it to sporadically work with a 25′ phone cable to my Vonage router).

Click here for my June 2006 review and video walk-thru.

(Thanks for the heads up, Glenn!)

With access to four tuners and 1.5 terrabytes of storage, I thought that I had the ultimate DVR setup. However, after seeing Snapstream’s Enterprise PC DVR in action, I’m envious of its capabilities and my home entertainment system suddenly seems wimpy. I don’t know how much Snapstream is charging, but if money grew on trees, I’d be all over this in a heartbeat.

With 10 tuners, one won’t worry about programming conflicts. And with 2 terrabytes of storage, it would mean that one can record 10 different channels, 24 hours a day for at least 8 days before worrying about archiving. Even, if one needed to save old content, the software enables video backup onto DVD.

While the specs had me drooling, the search capabilities were what I found most impressive. By taking advantage of the closed captioning system, SnapStream is able to search the transcripts of any program you record. This allows you to record a lot of junk and filter it for the information that you care about. Unlike the DVR in your living room, this isn’t limited to one monitor. SnapStream has designed the DVR to act as a server, allowing multiple users to search and stream videos from anywhere on a network.

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I had assumed Canada would be the first non-US country licensed for Xbox 360 movie downloads, but it turns out the larger European market (starting with Britain, France, and Germany) are getting video rentals on their console about a year after the American launch. Initially, only Warner Brother movies will be offered - though they intend to make over 40 titles available this month. The Hollywood Reporter writes:

The Xbox Live Marketplace Video Store will provide both standard movies and high-definition versions for rent at the estimated retail price of 3 euros ($4.42) and 4.50 euros ($6.64), respectively. The European rollout of the Xbox Live Marketplace service has been staggered because of the complex licensing issues for video content in different regions and to allow time to make deals with local content providers.

It’s no secret I’m a fan of Xbox Live Marketplace… at least until Amazon and TiVo get onboard with HD content. Quality has always been excellent, even if selection hasn’t. Ordering is painless, though they’re still insisting on the “Microsoft Points” over dollars. I wonder how they’ll be handling those Euros?

Update: Canada is getting video downloads, as well, on December 10th. Current SD movie rentals will cost 460 Microsoft Points ($7.36 CAD) and HD flicks will be 610 Points ($9.75 CAD)

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There seems to be a consolidation of web video services in the works… presumably driven by the costs of hosting and managing these online efforts.

AOL started by announcing plans to dump their higher-def streaming option (”Hi-Q”), saying the user count is: “very small, so small that we haven’t tracked it.â€? Part of the challenge is Windows-only playback coupled with a separate download as barriers to entry. Additionally, I’d argue that making visitors specifically seek out the better quality content also limited their success. Similarly, it appears CBS is opposed to higher def content if it requires a dedicated player: “Last thing you want to do is put another hurdle against people watching network television online.â€? (Realted - Brightcove is shuttering their direct-to-consumer video services.) The crux of this issue may be DRM… Flash video can’t provide the HD resolutions that protected Microsoft WMV can. While Adobe is beta testing H.264-encoded video through the Flash player, it’s not clear that this content is protected in ways that will keep studios calm. And the argument is being made that consumer expectations are lower with web video, that we’d prefer speed and selection over quality.

AOL followed their Hi-Q announcement by ceasing to distribute paid video downloads. Instead, they’re now reselling Amazon Unbox television and movie content. Om reports video will, of course, be featured within video.aol.com… and relevant search results. Over 20,000 Unbox videos are live and the transition should be completed later this week.

And while we’re discussing online video, NBC may have pulled their content from iTunes this weekend but it’s alive and well via Hulu, Amazon Unbox, and now Netflix. I’m surprised they went through with it, and I owe someone $5…

I received my Hulu beta invite last night, and I’ve got to say the service is looking pretty good. If you recall, the Hulu video portal was originally conceived of by NBC and is now an independent entity with various studio and web relationships.

At this point, the Hulu site is pretty spartan (too much white space and sharp edges) and content organization options are basic (please give me a filter to hide video more than a decade old like Kojak and Dragnet), but having a significant amount of primetime multi-studio television shows in the stable is huge. I also appreciate the simple, Flash-based video playback interface over a stand-alone application (think Joost).

I’m having home networking probs this week, and was unable to transfer 30 Rock from the Series3 to the TiVo HD. Instead of troubleshooting, I caught “Cougars” via Hulu in fullscreen. The resolution wasn’t great for my 1440×900 Macbook Pro, but it was watchable. And the few commercials were relatively painless - a good excuse to check email in another Firefox tab. In fact, I also ended up viewing the pilot episode of USA’s Burn Notice - it’s on hiatus but Mari’s been raving about it. Maybe someone at Hulu will read this and post the remaining episodes… (more…)