Tis the Season for Updates. El Gato has released version 2.5.2 of its EyeTV TV tuning software this morning. The minor update addresses recently discovered problems with several of its tuner devices, including the HyBrid, Diversity, and DTT Stick.

Here is a run down of all the changes found in this update:

EyeTV Diversity

• A reception issue with EyeTV Diversity connected to a single antenna has been resolved. To reconfigure EyeTV Diversity, re-run the EyeTV Setup Assistant from the Help menu and specify the antenna configuration

EyeTV for DTT Stick

• A reception issue with EyeTV for DTT has been resolved.

EyeTV Hybrid

• A problem where EyeTV Hybrid would lose sound after some time running in analog mode has been corrected.
• A problem with CPU usage while recording in VCD quality under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard on a single PowerPC based Macintosh has been resolved.

This update is recommended for all EyeTV users, but specifically for Hybrid, DTT Stick, and Diversity Tuner owners. The update is free to all EyeTV 2.0 Registered users, and can be downloaded from El Gato's Website.

Amazon MP3 has added several Warner Music Group artists to their online catalog. Through a recent agreement with Warner Music Group, you can now download DRM-Free music from the likes of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Metallica.

With this deal Amazon is now boasting "The Earth's Biggest Selection of a la cart DRM-Free Music". Prior to this Amazon ranked behind Apple iTunes Plus catalog. Being DRM Free the music you purchase can be played on any music player including Apple iPods, iPhones, AppleTV, Zunes, etc. Warner Music has also said they expect to bundle albums with special tracks, not available a-la carte.

Looks like the hot ticket for 2008 will in fact be Movie Rentals through iTunes. The Financial Times reported that Apple and 20th Century Fox have inked a deal for digital movie rentals. The deal will allow for the consumer to rent a Fox DVD release from iTunes for a limited time. After the allowed time expires the movie self destructs or something mission impossible style. Earlier this month we had reported Fox and Apple working out a deal for Movie distribution through iTunes, we just didn't know it could be rental related.

Added to the deals is a rumor we've heard floating around for a while. An upgrade to AppleTV which will allows for iTunes Store browsing. We also anticipate seeing Steve's old company, Pixar's movies appearing at the same time.

We hope that after Fox has a successful test run, other movie studios will join in seeing the potential. iTunes is currently connected to millions of computers, ipods, and AppleTV's internationally, making the exposure for the studios reaching further then any other media box out there. This launch could result in leapfrogging Amazon or Netflix popularity in downloadable rental services.

Flip4Mac has released version 2.2, making playing Windows Media files through Quicktime even easier. The release is specifically geared towards improving support for 10.5 Leopard, but it also improves upon several Windows based technologies, as well as export encoding.

Here is a full run down of the changes:

• Added JavaScript support to the browser plugins
  
• Added support for URL Stream Scripting
  
• Improved ASX handling
  
• Improved support for MMS servers and live streams
  
• Improved compatibility with many different web sites
  
• Removed the user enabled "Create Streaming Movies" preference
  
• Added support for manual Deactivation/Reactivation
  
• Fixed potential security issue reported by Drew Yao where an attacker could potentially cause a security issue by deliberately malforming WMV files.
  
• Significant encoding speed improvements for Intel Mac
  
• Improved video quality when encoding 2-pass VBR
  

Ver 2.2 requires 10.3.9 or later and QuickTime 7.0. The demo is available for download. If you really love the product, you can purchase the full version for about $30 USD.

Equinux has always been quick to update and improve their software line. Yesterday they released The Tube 2.0.1, featuring increased stability and new enhancements. As you may recall, earlier this month Equinux release The Tube 2.0 which features Tube Talk. These issues fix a few bugs that have been reported by The Tube users and take steps to improve your Tube experience. Here's a brief run down of the update.

• Log-In Process is a lot faster
• Chat logs are saved when surfing from channel to channel.
• Improved Spotliht Results
• Australian ORF Channel Support
• Incorrect Password Endless-Loop is resolved.
• External drive prefered over internal for recording.
• Sidebar issues resolved.
• Flexible iTunes locations when exporting.

The lastest version of The Tube can be downloaded for free. Enjoy...and happy holidays!

Popular Mechanics have selected the AppleTV as one of the '10 Worst Gadgets of 2007.' The consumer review magazine generally hands out praise for most of Apple's products, but once a year, the flip the script and point out the strange, disappointing, and sometime simply perplexing products from the year.

Their review points out the limitations of the device, and specifically critiques its in ability to stream movies, unlike several competitors. Playing nice they don't blame the device itself, but the video industry, and consumer interest to own physical discs and not necessarily digital media files.

2. Apple TV | $299
There is nothing wrong with Apple TV. Unfortunately, there’s nothing overwhelmingly right about it, either. This is the rare black mark in an otherwise spotless multi-year streak from Cupertino—a product that was not only completely overshadowed by the company’s own iPhone, but by the larger industry of video-download devices and services. This was the year that YouTube showed up on Oprah, TiVo went hi-def and a startup called Vudu debuted a novel peer-to-peer service with a surprisingly large selection of movies. The field has become very crowded, very fast, with Sony recently announcing video downloads for the PlayStation 3 to compete with the Xbox 360’s equivalent service. Even Netflix, with its reliance on hordes of plastic media and snail mail, now streams entire movies.

The magazine touches upons a lot of the points we made last week regarding AppleTV struggle as a true Home Theater PC.

Apple release Quicktime 7.3.1 for both Windows and OS-X operating systems today. The release addresses specific security issues found in QuickTime. Here's what Apple is saying about it:

Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted RTSP movie may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
Description: A buffer overflow exists in QuickTime's handling of Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) headers. By enticing a user to view a maliciously crafted RTSP movie, an attacker may cause an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issue by ensuring that the destination buffer is sized to contain the data.

More specific details is available at Apple's QuickTime Security Documents, and not surprisingly, Apple has updated its QuickTime Broadcaster software as well.

7.3.1 comes in four flavors, Tiger, Leopard, Panther or XP. The free update is available through software update or download through the Apple website. It is a recommended update for all QuickTime 7 Users.

Its been a busy day for HTPC software. Equinux joined the happening and introduced The Tube 2.0, the popular HTPC software with a lot of new bonus features. Version 2.0 features a TubeTalk feature allowing users to chat about the current program, or checkout what other customers are viewing with BuddySurfing. In addition to TubeTalk and BuddySurfing, Tube 2.0 improves and simplifies the recording process.

New Feature List:

• TubeTalk: Chat with other viewers, create buddy lists, and with viewer profiles utilizing your Equinix ID.
  
• BuddySurfing: Checkout what your buddies are watch, and even let them change the channel.
  
• Recording: Autostop when a program ends and tags from the EPG. Wake from sleep to record, and back to sleep.
  
• Find Recording: Search by date or name, or even spotlight recordings.
  

If your an existing registered user, you can download The Tube 2.0 for free, or utilize the update feature. If you still need to purchase The Tube, it can be purchased from the Equinux Store for € 19.95, or The Tube can be purchased with the DVB-T (DTT) USB receiver TubeStick for € 39.95.

The BBC is making good on their commitment to the Macintosh computing platform, by announcing that the iPlayer for the Mac will be released on December 25th. The Windows version has been available for a while now allowing viewers to download shows for viewing within a 7 day window of their BBC transmission. The download feature will be remain Windows only for now. The ability to download shows for Mac and Linux users, is expected to be released sometime in 2008. Currently we can stream the content, using a flash based viewer.

Previously support for the Macintosh and Linux platforms were ignored by the BBC, and not considered in the first iPlayer release. The BBC board of directors insisted on platform neutrality for its iPlayer software, making a strong commitment to bring BBC programs to all viewers regardless of operating system.

Check out the beta site for iPlayer and prepare to start catching up on your BBC programming.

An update to Kenbushi Pro 7.2 was released by Lava Soft today. The HTPC software update includes a Internet TV system including over 180 channels, with regularly updated program guide. The DVD and CD cover art download process has been simplified. Also included is a one-click setup wizard, powerful internet download management tools, and various enhancements and fixes.



Kenbushi Pro is available for download from Lava Software's site, and is free for personal use. This now includes government and companies. Versions are available for Windows 2000/XP and MacOS X. A Linux version will be updated soon.

One area we get a lot of questions about are remote control options for MacHTPC systems. We've tested a few options including the Apple Remote, ATI Remote Wonder, Salling Clicker, and Keyspan's Digital Media Remote. But all of these were designed to work exclusively with your computer. Our MacHTPC is only 1 part of a entertainment center that includes a DVD player, LCD, Receiver, and PS2, and we wanted t do away with the 5 different remotes.

Enter the Logitech Harmony 880. We chose the 880 due to the color LCD diplay, computer based programming and the great deal we were able to get through Amazon. (More on this Below). The remote is the basic size of most TV and DVD remote, but the color LCD makes this thing really stand off.

The configuration software isn't the most inuitive method for programmng your remote, but taking advantage of Logitec extensive library of remote codes makes your forget about all other universal remotes. We were able to quickly identify the LCD, DVD, Reciever and PS2. Finding the Apple Remote codes were difficult. We were not able to find them listed under Media Center Computer or Computer. We did however find AppleTV under Media Center computer, and because they use the same remote, your set.

Once programmed and using some suggested Activities, the user experience was pleasant. We could quickly switch between TV, DVD, and HTPC. For example, select Play DVD and our Receiver selects the proper input, LCD goes to the proper input, and the DVD player turns on. Setting our receiver as our master volume control allows for volume adjustment no matter what activity we were on. The remote includes a software CD, and a charging station so you never have to worry about AAA batteries.

We recommend the Logitec 880 for your multiple component HTPC. The only way we could see upgrading from this would be a killer RF Color LCD remote.

* Ever once in a while Amazon has a great deal on the Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote. This time its for $130 w/ free shipping. And after that Logitech offers a 10% Rebate on this item, making it $117.

All you Canadian HTPC owners out will soon no longer have to resort to torrents or crossing the US border to download TV Shows. It took over two years to arrive, but Apple will be adding TV Shows to the Canadian iTunes sometime on Wednesday of this week. Till this release iTunes have only made TV Shows available to the United States and United Kingdom. All the licensing terms and conditions were finalized with some canadian networks, as well as already existing itunes networks to allow for the distribution.

But before you expect a wealth of new content, the Canada's TV Shows will be rolled out slowly, adding a few shows and networks a day. Sometime Wednesday, CBC, CTV and a few US networks will add their content. NHL content is also expected relatively soon.

Miglia's New TVMini² is the smallest avaliable digital TV available, and from what we can see it is. The slim design allows for neighboring USB port access. This DVB-T tuner is USB 2.0 powered and features a high performance tuner and demodulator able to capture HD resolutions (requires dual g5 or intel processors).

The Tuner and Demodulator technology was borrowed fro m the in-car entertainment market, translating to a much stronger signal, then the previous model. The TVMini² captures video in MPEG-2 digital quality, allowing for easy editing and video management.

Included with the TVMini² is the latest version of Equinox's The Tube software, which now includes Timed Recording, EPG, and open XMLTV standards, which we have covered before.

Unfortunately the TVMini² will do us Americans little good with limited DVB-T broadcasts, but Europe can take full advantage of this innovative product. The TVMini² sells for £59.99 or €78.99, and includes a 2 year manufactures warranty.

For those of you that always wanted DivX 6.8 Professional but never wanted to purchase it, today may be your luck day. DivX is giving away free legal serial numbers to their software. The one requirement is you must provide a valid email address.

DivX Pro includes the DivX Converter, allowing you to instantly create divx files, even in a batch process; Pro Codec, allowing you to play DivX files from QuickTime / FrontRow, DivX Player and Web Player. This bundle of applications are generally sold for $19.99, but free today.

For more informaiton on this special check out the DivX website, or download it now. It looks like their website is getting slammed so be patient.

AppleTV's launch is approaching the 1 year mark. The time when analysts, can start to determine if a device was a hit or a dud. When introduced at last years MacWorld along the side of the iPhone, most analysts loved the media hub concept from Apple. The initial response was very positive. Hundreds of Apple and technology enthusiasts purchased over 400,000 of them in the Spring. Another 400,000 is expected to be purchased over the holiday season. But these numbers are below expectation, and its probably due to AppleTV content.

We feel that the AppleTV is failing due to one important reason. Content.

Apple has done a great job of building a strong iTunes library of Movies, Music, Podcasts and TV Shows, but none of this is accessible through AppleTV. You first have to purchase the content on your computer and sync the libraries. What is puzzeling is the AppleTV connects to the internet to display YouTube Videos and Software Updates. Why couldn't they build in an iTunes Store interface. I mean the iPhone got one!

So lets say you purchase a movie from iTunes, and then sync it with your AppleTV. The quality of the videos is not the brilliant resolution we would expect to see. 640x480 video look bad on a 43in Plasma. There's no doubt about it. The resolution for the video available needs a boost, or Apple will continue to see video sales decline to those companies that provide real dvd quality. This quality level doesn't even begin to consider HD quality, that the AppleTV can display.

But really users of the AppleTV need fresh quality content. For this we offer a few solutions:

• Apple could hookup with VuuDuu, or Netflix and provide downloadable rentals. Users could select from a wide assortment of DVD titles to rent and stream the content directly to the AppleTV for a nominal fee of course. This is already being done by other media hubs, why restrict Apple?
  
• Online Video Channels: Take a good look at Microsoft MCE, and the one feature that really shines is the almost unlimited content available through their Media Channels. Hackers were able to get Joost running, on an AppleTV. Include it as a plug in, and access all of this content.
  
• What about allowing iTunes to rip DVD's like it does for music. I'm sure people would love to have their DVD collection on their AppleTV and skip the searching for the scratched DVD disc which might not play. This would also be good for travelers who want to drop their favorite flick on the laptop, ipod or iphone.
  
• Adding YouTube was a great idea, but allowing the AppleTV to directly download podcasts would be better. This would stop AppleTV from having to sync with itunes, and provide immediate daily content. Hundreds of podcasts are updated daily, and a lot of them are now appearing in an HD quality level.
  
• Another solution could lie with the 'service' usb port on the back. What if you could hook up an EyeTV device and capture video, making the AppleTV a DVR.
  
• AppleTV Plug-Ins: As we have covered here, a lot of plugins have been developed and written for the AppleTV. They range from RSS feeders to Internet Video Feeds. Select and install plug ins from iTunes, and have live, user selected, content available.

AppleTV is a great product. But for $299.00 the initial excitement of the device wares off after a few weeks of use. This is not because the device is bad; its because the content is bad. Apple needs to improve the quality of their content and take in some of the supplied user feedback, and make a device that sells as hot as the iPod.

In an interview, Steve said they had 3 sides of the business and a pet-project, AppleTV. It is becoming very apparent that AppleTV will remain to be treated like a pet project, unless Apple puts some passion into it.

I'm proud to point out that Sapphire is the first FrontRow 2.0 plug-in that we have successfully installed. For those unfamiliar with Sapphire, its a media browser plug in for FrontRow. Sapphire will identify TV Shows and Movies based on the files names, and assign metadata and cover art based on TV Rage, IMDB, and IMPAwards. But like most applications, we tested it out to get a personal look into the plug-in.

We installed Sapphire on our Mini HTPC to give it a good test run. The installation was straight forward and identical to installing AppleTV plug-ins. It instantly appears in your FrontRow menu, and will list the common media storage locations, such as external drives, ~movies directory, etc. We had it scan our iTunes Library and movies where we have several different types of movie formats. The scanning process is extensive and takes a considerable amount of time, but this should be anticipated. Our first run resulted in a crash, but the next scan ran flawlessly. Through its easy to navigate menu's we were able to assign the proper album art and meta data to our TV shows and movies. The Artwork pulled from these sources is good, but no the highest of resolutions. We also noticed if you want to add new media, you have to scan the directory again, as it does not automatically find new files. The IMDB Top-250 and Academy Award movie listings were some our favorite features.

Overall we have had a very positive experience with Sapphire. It does however duplicate the Movies and TV Show functionality of FrontRow, so we figure Sapphire is for more diehard media collectors.

Sapphire is a free download, and is still in a beta version, so don't expect a finished product, although we found it to be very polished.

Twentieth Century Fox and Apple are working on a deal to distribute the studio's movies through iTunes. Apple has worked with studios before to distribute movies, but this time around Apple has agreed to sell movies at a higher price point. It appears $15 per title is where Fox wants to sell their titles at.

This move can be seen as a decision to stay competitive with Amazon, which already sells movies from Fox and other studios. It curious, if Apple gave into Fox's demands, why not NBC's. It sounds like they only wanted to test the market with a $3-4 per TV episode. Perhaps Steve got stubborn.

We all knew it was coming. NBC has pulled all of their TV Shows from the iTunes Store. Last August the NBC vs. Apple spat went public, each accusing each other of not being fair to the other. NBC opted not to renew their contract with Apple's iTunes Store, in favor of their own download service, Hulu, and Amazon Unboxed. But these systems are packed with DRM and require IE and a windows box to play but a mac version is due sometime in 2008.

So as of today you won't find Bravo, NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, SciFi, USA, or Telemundo programming in iTunes. In disgust a good number of NBC TV Show customers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the network, encouraging other to download the shows via torrents or peer-to-peer solutions.

NBC had provided iTunes with three of the top ten selling shows last season, and accounts for 30% of all TV Show sales.

bump bump bump... another one bites the dust. AOL's online video download service is officially dead. After a year of service, last night in the wee hours they pulled their custom video store in favor of Amazon's Unboxed service. The details are unknown, but you would figure AOL and Amazon would split the revenue.

To date, it appears only Amazon's Unboxed Service and iTunes have made money in the niche market. Apple has sold over 100m TV Shows and 2m movies.These numbers are good but are weak compared to DVD sales for the same movies or shows.

For you VLC supporters that have been having some difficulties with VLC in Leopard, VideoLAN has your solution. The open-source video player is now available in version 0.8.6d. While the Windows version addresses some ActiveX security issues, the OS-X version has improved its Leopard compatibility. The fullscreen controller and mode changes have been improved as well as H.264 encoding speeds and Ogg file formats. Other improvments include additional Apple Remote support, video out improvements and various bug fixes.

More details on the changes in this version can be found within their change log.

The upgrade is recommended for any VLC users running Leopard. And of course VLC is a free download, in Universal and Intel Builds.