PCs Take On VCRs And HDTV

By John Gartner, Wired News

27-Apr-00

PCs may soon be the cheapest way to watch HDTV and ""timeshift"" television broadcasts. At WinHEC on Wednesday, April 26, 2000, software companies Ravisent and Ligos showed off inexpensive alternatives to purchasing new televisions and dedicated boxes. Companies including Tivo and ReplayTV have created the category of digital VCRs that enable users to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and even record broadcasts through boxes connected to the television. PC companies are mimicking these features by adding controls to their MPEG software, which uses the CPU for playback instead of the expensive decoding chips. Ravisent Technologies showed off its CineMaster software, which it's licensing to computer manufacturers and video-card makers. Ravisent CTO Michael Harris said ATI has signed on to incorporate the software with its TV tuner cards, and should have the product available by August. He said the current version of the software makes a copy of whatever program is being watched into a temporary file that uses available disk space and requires about one gigabyte per hour of video. Ravisent will eventually add TV program guides that enable users to schedule recording as well as picture-in-picture features. Harris expects PC makers such as Dell and Gateway, which currently license their software DVD playback technology, to also distribute the software. Ravisent Marketing Manager Lori Crenny said the software will be sold with Conexant's $150 HDTV tuner card as an alternative to buying a TV, which can cost several thousand dollars. The company said its software requires 600MHz or faster PCs. Ligos Technology demonstrated similar software that is being used by ATI's All-In-Wonder TV tuner card and products from 3dfx. The company also is talking to set-top box manufacturers and additional video-card partners.