Media @ Home

Niveus is now giving away a free version of its Media Center Companion, which allows users to access certain Media Center functions from third-party devices such as Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs).The version, called Companion Basic, works with any Media Center PC. Previously, Niveus made the software available only for use with its own media servers.Companion Basic has limited functionality compared to the full-blown version. The lightweight Companion only supports three tabs: My Music, My Pictures, and My Remote. The full version, on the other hand, enables access to virtually all Media Center functions, and allows users to control remote TVs connected to Media Center Extenders.Companion Basic does not support Extenders.

Late last year, Niveus revamped its Companion software, adding support for DVD changers and Extenders, among other new features.

Companion Basic can be downloaded free of charge by registered users at Niveusmedia.com.

Niveus is accepting user’s input on the software and new features, so go register at the forums, download the software, try it out and join the conversation with developers. 

Source: CE Pro
More Info: Niveus Media Center Companion

UPDATE (9/26): updated links to new Niveus sites.

TigerDirect has a great deal on 750Gb Maxtor OneTouch III external hard drive for all your digital photos, mp3 and high definition videos. The drive has such nice features as Automated OneTouch Back Up, System Rollback which restores your system to a point in time just before your system crashed, while keeping your current data safe and up to date, Maxtor DriveLock™ which password protects the contents of your drive for an extra measure of security and more.

Specifications
Capacity (GB): 750
Interface: USB 2.0
Spindle Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Memory: 16MB
Average Seek (msec): <9.0
Data Transfer Rate on USB 2.0: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Temperature, Operating (°C): 5 to 35
Dimensions: 5.3″ x 2.6″ x 8.5″

Available While Supplies Last.
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Pulse~LINK introduced its CWave® wireless HDMI system that enables the placement of an HDTV anywhere in the room, reducing wire clutter and simplifying connectivity between your media devices.

CWave is using an approach similar to German’s WiMAC only instead of the slower WiFi wireless using UWB (ultra wide band) chipset which enables simultaneous operation of Ethernet over Coax, 1394 over Coax and Wireless connections to your HDTV. This chipset backed with power grid support allows for several simultaneous HD streams on the network.

Devices enabled with the CWave® UWB PL3100 chipset allow HD/Multimedia content located anywhere in the home to be shared across the existing coax backbone with wireless networking connections in each room for Set-Top-Boxes (STBs), HDTVs, DVRs, DVD players, Media Center PCs, and other multimedia equipment. Unequaled data carrying capacity also enables interactive “Trick Play” capabilities (pause, fast-forward, fast-rewind) and menu navigation throughout the home.

Pulse~LINK has a nice intro video of CWave technology on their website.

 Cable clutter and interface problems will soon be a thing of the past. In the living room of the future, all devices are connected wirelessly and can be easily operated via the television set. Fraunhofer researchers and their industrial partners will be presenting the first solutions at CeBIT in Hanover on March 4 through 9.Thick instruction manuals, a confusing tangle of cables and endless different standards – trying to connect your flat screen, DVD recorder, MP3 player, surround system and computer to one another and get them to work is rather a complicated task. Help is on its way in the form of a project called WiMAC(at)home (Wireless Media and Control at Home).

In this project, which is being financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), researchers are working on the wireless connection of electronic devices for broadcasting and entertainment in home networks. Among the partners in this consortium are Loewe Opta GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Germany’s Broadcast Technology Institute (IRT), Nagravision GmbH and Weinzierl Engineering GmbH.

At the heart of the system is a novel TV set which unites several functions in one device. It serves as a digital media archive that can store music, videos and photos, and make them available together with live TV programs in the home network. Pay TV contents, too, can be distributed in a protected environment and in compliance with copyright regulations. The TV can even be connected to automated home systems, enabling heating appliances, alarm systems and air conditioners to be controlled via the screen. All devices in the wireless WiMAC(at)home network configure themselves automatically. New components are incorporated independently by means of Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology. The system is based on the specifications of the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), a global collaboration between computer and consumer electronics manufactures who have set fixed standards for home networking. Thanks to these standards, it is possible to connect notebooks, surround systems, digital video recorders and TVs of different brands. (more…)