http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/articles Latest articles, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/150372 Unlock your iPhone, supercharge your camera, and take your TiVo shows on the road for free. These six hacks unleash the hidden power in your mobile gadgets. Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/howto/148462 If you haven't calibrated your HDTV, you're probably not seeing the picture you paid for. Here's how to get a near-perfect image on your high-def screen without breaking the bank. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/22606/ These days, TiVo has become a generic term for any DVR on the market, and for good reason. They paved the way for the rest of the industry, innovating unique features like trick play and pausing live TV. Similar to other innovators and leaders in their respective industries such as Xerox or Kleenex, TiVo has been adopted into the American lexicon. But just because someone may call any DVR a TiVo, it doesn't mean that there isn't a long way to go before it could even come close to the real thing. You see, while cable and satellite providers have been satisfied to only provide their customers with the rudimentary features that TiVo perfected eight years ago, TiVo themselves have never stopped innovating. Aside from simply recording programs you want to watch --which, as far as I'm concerned, TiVo does better than anybody using Wishlists, Swivel Search and Suggestions-- there are many other features on a TiVo that generic DVRs simply don't have, and probably never will. Sure, you can watch Pay-Per-View on a cable DVR, but how many allow you to rent movies from the extensive Amazon Unbox library? None. Or how about: playing your MP3 collection, browsing through... Tue, 27 May 2008 16:29:10 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/20064/ ...I wanted to give the Neuros OSD a spin. When I first heard about it last year, I knew it was a unique product, but it wasn't until I got my hands on one that I figured out how useful something like this can be. Don't get me wrong, it's not 100% innovation at its best, and while the execution of its secondary features is somewhat flawed, the core of the product can be extremely useful for those in the analog jam... Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:50:45 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/18817/ Call in the band and strike up the fanfare; there’s finally a high definition TiVo that doesn’t cost as much as one month's rent! In fact, at $299, you could call TiVo's newest addition, the TiVo HD DVR, affordable! If all you needed to hear was HD TiVo and $299 in the same sentence, then don't hesitate. Go get one while the getting is good. If you want to learn more, read on. Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:17:55 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/17973/ I'm sure you've been there; your son, daughter, husband, wife, etc. entered a code into the parental control setting and now can't remember, or you purchase something used that was locked with a code from a previous owner. Either way, now your device is locked down tight, and you need to guess the password in order to use your device. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:56:52 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/15363/ With Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) becoming a required piece of consumer electronics in many households, we figured it was time to recommend a few accessories to help you get the most enjoyment out of your DVR. The first two DVR accessories listed are really more of a requirement for anything above just basic usage and include a satellite or cable feed and the proper audio and video components. The final accessories really take you a step beyond your basic setup and enhance your DVR experience. As always, feel free to post your thoughts in the discussion area. Tue, 24 Oct 2006 13:36:07 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/13183/ I had been keeping my eye on the Akimbo folks for the past year so when they dropped the price of their Internet DVR to below $100, I figured it was time to give it a shot. What follows is my initial take on this intriguing new product/service combo. I will surely follow up with additional impressions and feedback after I put some hours in. A quick intro for those not yet familiar with this product. Akimbo makes a... Sun, 15 Jan 2006 11:59:27 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/11979/ Asking "What channel is that show on?" seems like an outdated concept in 2005. I caught myself asking this question after a friend introduced me to a new TV show that he thought I would enjoy. Right after I said it, I realized that with built-in program guides, DVRs, and program search capabilities, I really didn't need to know the channel - or time for that matter.I think that after owning a TiVo for more than five years, I have almost completely lost track of what show is on which channel. In fact, without the Season's Pass and Wish List features, I would not even be able to find my favorite shows as they jump around networks in syndication.Only a few networks have been able to break through the haze and I have to marvel at their efforts. HBO and FX are two that stand out and I strongly associate quality programming with their respective brands. Other than that, it might as well be one big channel.I am also excited about the future of content delivered over the Internet. Akimbo has a product that does this already and TiVo has recently previewed a similar feature. I think this would only ... Wed, 31 Aug 2005 10:14:46 -0400 http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/116602.html Wed, 27 Jul 2005 17:23:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10603/ While it's great that high definition-capable displays are getting so cheap nowadays, there still seems to be a lingering problem with most of them: if you actually want to watch anything in HDTV, it's still going to cost you an arm and a leg for a tuner. And forget about recording it unless you're a DirecTV subscriber and you feel like dropping a grand for a hi-def Tivo. No thanks. So about a year ago, I decided to conduct an experiment and see if I could find a way to watch and record HDTV for a more reasonable price. I'd had a 42" Toshiba rear projection TV for a couple of years and the only way I'd been able to take advantage its increased resolution was by hooking up my home theater PC to it. This was nice for movies but it didn't make regular TV look any better - on the contrary, I've found that an off-the-shelf Tivo box will almost always beat a PC when it comes to television recording, both in terms of quality and reliability. This is usually due to the fact that when a PC records an analog TV signal, it must encode that signal ... Thu, 10 Feb 2005 14:18:22 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10501/ Since the invention of the VCR, TV viewers have been blessed with the ability to record a television show and watch it at a later time. However, VCRs have never been perfect, since setting up recordings on a VCR isn't always intuitive, and using a removable medium like a tape makes them inefficient. A VCR is a dumb box. It has no idea what it's recording, but only that you told it to record a channel at a certain time. Today, recording devices are getting smarter and more efficient. Millions of people have replaced their VCRs with a hard-disk drive recorder (also known as a DVR, which stands for Digital Video Recorder) that time-shifts programming by compressing your shows in real time and saving it on a hard-drive, which is similar to how your computer stores files, web pages, and documents. This means that you no longer have to bother with tapes, or fast-forward and rewind, to find your previously recorded show. Some of these recording devices operate in conjunction with a service called TiVo. What is TiVo, and what do they do? TiVo is a service. What they do is provide an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) that ... Thu, 20 Jan 2005 17:14:52 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10297/ Recently, I have circled back with many of my fellow TiVo-ers and discovered that, like me, many have opted for a second TiVo for their household. While anyone who has discovered the DVR phenomenon will certainly understand how two TiVos can be better than one, it may surprise even TiVo advocates just how many different -- and good -- reasons there are to double up. His and Hers The reason I bought a second TiVo was to give my wife and kids their own space to record the junk that was crowding my hard drive. Men and women are always going to have different tastes when it comes to television programs and there could not be a better invention for resolving inevitable conflicts that arise when two shows are competing for single timeslot. Most people who follow this path have separate TVs for viewing the programs independently as well. While this may seem somewhat anti-social, it actually keeps TiVo-related arguments (the worst kind!) to a minimum. Resolving Conflicts For those of us who don't have two tuners in their TiVo (most DirecTV TiVos offer two or more tuners in the same case), the second TiVo becomes a necessity when you ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:18 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10241/ Let's face it - there's usually never a phone jack where you need one. Whether you want phone in the living room or want to move your TiVo or ReplayTV to a television somewhere without a phone jack, wiring one in can sometimes be impossible or expensive. You can easily forego the expense and hassle of hardwiring in a phone jack where you need one by using a wireless phone jack extender. The kit comes with two devices - a transmitter that wirelessly transmits the phone signal and a receiver which catches the signal. These devices usually range between $50 and $100, and can quickly solve your phone jack issues. Setting one up is pretty easy. Plug the transmitter unit into an electrical outlet near a phone jack. Since the effective range of the transmitter is about 100 feet, connect it as close as possible to the location where you want the phone jack to be. Connect a standard telephone cable from the transmitter to the phone jack. If the phone jack was in use, plug the device into the other phone jack on the transmitter. Plug the receiver into an electrical outlet near ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:17 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10226/ Many new TiVo owners have little difficulty making the initial connections, getting the cable or satellite signal into their unit, and then connecting it to the TV and/or stereo for viewing. Oftentimes, this simple setup is sufficient for months of enjoyment as the new user gradually becomes oriented to the new television viewing experience. But then it inevitably happens. There is either too many programs taking up valuable space on the internal disk, or the owner wants to share a program with someone outside of the home. In both cases, the solution is the same -- and one that the TiVo folks have encouraged the use of by including it in the on-screen menu. "Save to VCR" This option is available in the menu for every program that TiVo records. There is nothing special about clicking on this option as opposed to Play except that TiVo will display an introductory screen for about 10 seconds prior to starting the program. This screen provides useful information about the show, which includes the title, description, channel, duration, etc. When the actual program does start, it is important to remember that it will behave like any other show you playback through the device, ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:16 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10217/ HDTV Is Spectacular - If You're Home To See It.One of the fundamental issues surrounding the adoption of HD is the busy life of the average person. If you've owned a TiVo, ReplayTV, or any other kind of DVR, you obviously know how difficult it can be going back to watching television on the network's schedule rather than your own. Recording programs to watch later has allowed individuals of all ages to maintain a life and still see their favorite show. Until recently, there was no good way you could record a high-def show if you couldn't be home to watch it. Those who work nights or have places more important to be than their living room sofa, have had to settle for the low quality version of a program even if they're setup to receive the HD version. Finally, good options for recording HDTV shows have arrived. And although none are truly perfect, they are better than nothing. Devices That Record HDTV ProgramsD-VHSDigital VHS has been around for years. D-VHS was the first real consumer option for recording an HDTV program even though it was priced out of the reach of all but a select few individuals. There are ... Tue, 14 Dec 2004 10:13:16 -0500