DirectTV Programming Straight into your Computers

Watching standard and high-definition programs on your computer is already possible. For years, a lot of people has been using a Slingbox or a TV tuner to watch standard and high-definition content on their 19-inch monitors. However, this setup has its limitations such as Slingbox unable to display high-definition content and of course, it is very uncomfortable to sit in front of your computer monitor just to watch your favorite movie.

However, this might soon come to an end - or in other words, improve as TV manufacturers are slowly integrating Web-based content into their sets. If it is released, the promise of the DirecTV’s HDPC-20 might change everything. The dual-tuner device has been in the making for some time now, with product photos and tidbits of information floating around blogs during the past year. As far as we know, the product could do the following:

-Allows you to record and watch DirecTV programming on your computer, and connects via USB.
-Features dual-tuners, however high-definition programming is not yet assured.
-Includes an Ethernet connection possibly to strean content to multiple Windows Media Extender devices and Xbox 360.
-A fully-featured media hub to stream downloaded movies, music, and pictures.

If ever these features will be released(blog sites speculate a November release), then it would be a giant leap for this technology. In the meantime, there are already plenty of solutions to stream media from and to your computer. Most of them, however, still don’t come close to offering an easy way to pull in high-definition television programming, integrate it with Web based video, and stream it to your HDTV.

Source:
http://news.cnet.com
http://www.engadgethd.com