November 27, 2003

Bush Lied! But for a good cause. 11:24:09 PM

After fruitlessly waiting for TiVo or SonicBlue to introduce their Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) into the Canadian market, Rogers Cable subscribers can now purchase a PVR/cable box combination from Rogers Cable. The Toronto Star reports that Rogers is offering a digital set-top box from Scientific Atlanta that can hold up to 50 hours of programming on a built-in 80-gigabyte hard drive and two TV tuners, which matches the description of a Explorer® 8000 Home Entertainment Server. Since the PVR has two TV tuners a person can watch one TV show while recording another or watch a pre-recorded program while two others are recording in the background. Previously the only PVRs available in Canada were satellite receiver/ PVR combinations from Bell ExpressVu’s satellite TV service, which cannot record and display different shows at the same time. While not yet on their web site Future Shop ads are listing it for $599 CDN with a $100 programming credit back on a 10 month subscription to a cable package. A $1.99 CND per month fee would also apply. The article notes that the device will be available for monthly rentals beginning in mid-2004. Scientific Atlanta’s web site states that such devices rent for typically $4.95 to $11.95 per month in the United States. 11:23:36 PM