Wired@Home.blog

Programming Alert - DIRECTV Channel Changes

DIRECTV® is shuffling it's movie channels around next week possibly because they're going to add some additional HBO channels, hopefully in HD...Thanks to PDI-SAT for the announcement.

DIRECTV® is shuffling it's movie channels around next week possibly because they're going to add some additional HBO channels, hopefully in HD...Thanks to PDI-SAT for the announcement.

DIRECTV Begins Public Beta of Multi-Room HD DVR Service

DIRECTV has started the public beta of it's much anticipated Multi-Room HD DVR Service. I don't know about you but I've been waiting for this new service for quite some time.

Here's some details from DIRECTV:

Watch what you want, when you want, in any room you want. With just one HD DVR, you can watch your recorded shows on any TV in your house that's connected to an HD receiver. But that's just the beginning. You can also:

• Start watching a recorded show in one room and continue watching it where you left off in another room
• Record and delete shows from any TV connected to an HD receiver, not just the one connected to the HD DVR
• Record two shows at once, while watching two different shows in separate rooms
• Set separate parental controls for each TV

If you have more than one HD DVR, the DIRECTV Multi-Room HD DVR service keeps things simple by showing you a single, combined playlist of all your recorded programs on any connected TV.

You need an HD DVR* (models HR20-23) and at least one compatible HD receiver (models H21-23) that are already networked, along with HD Access and DVR service.

Visit DIRECTV for more information or check out the DIRECTV MRV Beta Technical Forum.

7 iPhone Apps for Your Home Theater

Electronic House Magazine has posted a great article for all you iPhone users just itching to find a yet another way to show off to control your home theater! From remote simulators to DVR controllers to TV guides, these 7 iPhone apps can make your home theater experience even better. You be the judge and report your findings back to us, maybe we'll take your word for it...

Continue reading article

10 Popular Products for MDU Installations

CE Pro magazine has posted "10 Popular MDU Products" which shows solutions for multi-dwelling units (MDU), housing complexes and gated community housing projects. One of my favorite installation products, the DIRECTV SWM-8 Single Wire Multiswitch, has made the list. Here's a preview:

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2009 Inauguration Mix channel on DIRECTV

DIRECTV will use it's signature interactive news mix channel to bring you 8 camera views of the 2009 Presidential Inauguration on channel 102 and 352 and of course it will be available in HD.

DIRECTV will also run a “blog ticker” at the bottom of the screen, updating viewers on the networks’ perspective on this historical event, the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency, significant quotes and upcoming guests.

Coverage will start at 7am to 2pm Pacific Time.

10 Best Blu-ray Players

Just in time for Christmas and high on every movie lovers wish list, Blu-ray players will be hot sellers this holiday season. Thanks to Digital Trends for making our Blu-ray shopping a bit easier by assembling their 10 Best Blu-ray Players List.

According to Digital Trends, here's what they looked for in the Blu-ray players tested:

When considering the best Blu-ray Disc players available today, we looked at audio and video quality—high-end video processing with 12-bit or 14-bit Deep Color—aiming to reproduce the most realistic picture. But a few caveats to note when doing your own research as well:

• Most players now have Bonus View (a picture-in-picture capability for some discs) and BD-Live support for unlimited online special features.

• Quick start is a convenience feature on some Sony and Samsung players that eliminates that interminable wait for loading discs and menus on many players.

• New players from LG and Samsung offer not only Blu-ray Disc playback, but also add the ability to download Netflix movies. Samsung adds the online Pandora music player too.

More...

Good shopping!

10 Movies that Belong on Blu-ray

Electronic House has put together it's Top 10 list of movies that belong on Blu-Ray:

Glory - Announced for Blu-ray but no release date

Saving Private Ryan - A great movie but no Blu-ray release date

Finding Nemo - One of my grandson's favorite movies 

The X-Files TV Series

Braveheart - A True Epic

E.T. - A timeless classic

The Star Wars Series - Everyone loves Star Wars don't they?

The Indiana Jones Series - Ditto

Gladiator - Another great flick that should be high on the priority list for Blu-ray

Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Another epic series that every collector wants

The Wizard of Oz (Bonus Selection)

Wired@Home.com: Fresh Redesign, Social News Features

I'm happy to announce that Wired@Home.com has undergone a complete redesign being transformed into one of the largest online databases of DIY Home Theater and Home Entertainment related news, product reviews, forums and more. The site is also very social so any article can be emailed to a friend, saved to your favorite bookmarking site, shared across your social networks or even saved for reading later.






The site is in open beta right now so please, check it out at www.wiredathome.com and see what you think. There will be more tweaks, changes, new features, etc in the coming weeks so let us know what you like or don't like.

Thank you for your patience during our redesign period. We hope you like the changes!

David Ward
Wired@Home.com

Amazon.com Launches Amazon Video On Demand

Amazon.com has launched it's Amazon Video On Demand service for movies and TV shows. You can now choose from thousands of movies and commercial-free TV shows to watch from your PC or Mac, no downloading required! They even have new Fall TV shows that you can watch before they premier on TV!






I will give the new service a try and report back here later this week. You can check it out now as there's some great content to choose from including hours many worth of free content. Let us know what you think of Amazon's new Video On Demand service.

DIY: Calibrate your HDTV (or become a professional and make money!)

Here's your chance to learn how to calibrate your HDTV set like the pros. Better yet, if you're going to spend the money on the top 9 calibration tools, why not become a professional and charge others for the service. Read the CE Pro Article.