Sony's Vaio X: Like TiVo on Steroids

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: October 5, 2004 8:27:47 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Sony's Vaio X: Like TiVo on Steroids
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

[Note:  A great machine to automate the production of content destined  
for the Darknet.  Sony should sell a lot of these.  <g> DLH]

Sony's Vaio X: Like TiVo on Steroids
Tue Oct 5,11:00 AM ET
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/pcworld/20041005/ 
tc_pcworld/118050

 CHIBA, JAPAN-- Sony will begin selling in Japan in November a  
combination personal computer and video server that can record up to  
seven channels of television simultaneously, it said at the Ceatec 2004  
exhibition here.

 The Vaio VGX-X90P goes on sale in Japan on November 20 and will cost  
around $4727.

 To understand the Vaio X computer it's best to think of it as three  
things packed into one black, shiny box.

 On one side it's a multimedia personal computer, with two 250GB hard  
drives and a television tuner. Users can do all the normal things they  
would with one of the company's Vaio computers including recording  
television programs from a single analog channel or, via an optional  
unit, a digital TV channel.

 Also packed into its tower-PC sized case are two video server boards.  
Each unit contains three analog TV tuners and is connected to a 250GB  
hard drive. The unit runs on the Micro iTron operating system and the  
interface with the rest of the PC is via an Ethernet port, says Junji  
Tsuyuki, a senior product producer at Sony's IT and mobile solutions  
network department.

Simultaneous Recording

 The three analog tuners mean it's possible to record three channels at  
once and because there are two server boards this rises to six channels  
simultaneously, says Tsuyuki. With the tuner from the PC side of the  
device also added, a user can record seven channels at the same time  
although the focus of the device is continuous, simultaneous recording  
of six programs via the dual video servers.

 That works out well for the company's target audience of consumers  
because most areas of Japan are served by two public television  
channels and between three and five commercial TV networks.

 The 250GB hard drive space is enough to store five and a half days  
worth of programming from each of the three channels assuming  
continuous recording, or one week's worth of programs assuming 19 hours  
per day of TV per channel, Tsuyuki says. What's more, users can specify  
400GB drives for the video server units when they order the Vaio X.  
This would raise its total storage capacity from 1TB to 1.3TB.

 Users can bring up a grid-like electronic programming guide screen  
that, instead of looking forward, contains the past few days of  
television. Then, at the press of a button, any program can be watched  
on demand--a function Sony likens to a time machine.

 "In America, TiVo (news - web sites) is very famous but we don't have  
it in Japan," says Tsuyuki. "This is a kind of TiVo for Japanese  
users."

 Sony has licensed technology from TiVo and also holds a stake in the  
Alviso, California, company but none of the company's technology was  
incorporated into the Vaio X, says Tsuyuki.


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