The much anticipated MPEG4 replacements for the ExpressVu 6100 and the 9200 have been delayed until the fourth quarter of 2007 according to a memo released to ExpressVu dealers. With this announcement, its also been revealed that Bell does not forsee moving to MPEG4 broadcasts until 2009, which means that we are not likely to see a mass upgrade program, and that 9200 HD PVR you just purchased is still going to work for a few more years.
Its worth mentioning that ExpressVu has also stated that the Ethernet port, and the USB 2.0 ports on the two new recievers are to be disabled at launch, reserving them for “future use”.
With all of the uncertainty surrounding the new HD receivers, I’m glad I decided to rent my 9200. I won’t loose anything when the new receivers are finally released, and with the date pushed back, the new units will be available at the same time as my contract is up.
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Hugh at Digital Home has his list of HD channels available in Canada up. its current up to April 2007, and its worth a look if you are looking at switching from Cable to Satellite or otherwise.
The main reason for the update to the list appears to be the addition of HDNet to StarChoice and Shaw Cable’s lineup. (not too surprising, StarChoice is owned by Shaw). Bell has had HD for a while now, and they still appear to be the HD leader in Canada.
I’m not expecting to see many new HD channels this year, Bell is expected to focus on upgrading to MPEG-4, adding additional bandwidth for HD channels, as they try to stay ahead of the Cable, and IPTV providers.
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There is some big news for the Express Vu 9200, firmware version 149 was released today, and there appear to be some major changes.an
I’m still trying to “discover” all of the many changes, and I will post the updates as I discover them.
Here is a list that can get you started, if you notice anything new, please feel free to post below.
In summary, the unit feels a lot faster, and more reliable. I also like the diagnostic changes, and the updates to the guide.
- Daylight Savings time fix (remember DST comes three weeks early starting this year).
- Picture in Picture (PIP) has been revamped to include “side by side” mode.
- The system information screen has been totally revamped, menu, 6-1-3
- The guide now shows more information, season, show number, and original air date. The same info is also shown on the PVR screen.
- The ability to rename events on the PVR.
- General bug fixes, HDMI audio sync, HD 30 second skip.
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Rumour and speculation are rampant this week as news is starting to leak out that Bell ExpressVu will be releasing two new HD recievers sometime in April 2007. Just to be clear, this has not been confirmed, and my sources at Bell tell me that its “Very Likely”. Considering the enevitable upgrade to MPEG 4 later this year, it makes perfect sense that Bell would start to sell a new HD and HD PVR reciever.
Read more…
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Gizmodo has a review up of the first HD / Next Generation disc player, compatible with both Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Read on for the full review, full gallery, screenshots, and how it stacks up to the Xbox DVD Drive.
read more | digg story
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Bell ExpressVu has updated the firmware for the 9200 / 9220 HD PVR to version 145. This is mainly a bug fix release and there are no reports of new features that have been added yet.
So far, since I received the update a day ago, performance seems to have improved quite a bit. The menu’s appear to load faster, and the fast forward bug also appears to have been fixed.
Read more…
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Its about time. I’ve been waiting for channel 814 to show up, and it finally came into existance yesterday, and it looks like it is going to stay. In late October HDNet did make an appearance in the ExpressVu lineup, but it was either a mistake, or it was removed due to technical difficulties.
HDNet is a US network that was concieved to show nothing but HD content 24×7. Much of the programming is origional; however, you will find sports and movies on HDnet as well. Now this leads us to why HDNet has been highly anticipated, they carry a lot of NHL games in HD. Currently the best place to see hockey in HD is CBC, but Bell only carrys CBC East HD, so unless you are a Maple Leafs fan, you were out of luck until now.
Give HDNet a try, I personally like “Nothing But Trailers”.
No word yet on how much this will cost, or what prerequisite theme packs will be required.
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