Meedio TV: Cheaper than TiVo,
more customizable
Meedio TV
The product: Meedio, a company that's been working diligently on a software alternative to Windows Media Center, is releasing at CES a digital video recorder (DVR) package called Meedio TV. How does Meedio differ from the DVR in Windows Media Center or other competitors such as SnapStream Beyond TV? It's not actually that different, but Meedio TV is $10 cheaper than SnapStream and much cheaper than a long-term TiVo subscription. Also, because it's built on an "extensible platform" and provides a software development kit, third-party developers can write add-ons and plug-ins for the software. Soon, you should be able to customize the Meedio interface to look however you'd like. So far, Meedio TV's features include:

• Time-shifting, as with TiVo
• Ability to wake up automatically to record programs
• Ability to catalog recorded shows for categorizing and searching
• Integrated program guide

But the real clinchers will come in future releases, which Meedio says will include:

• Multituner support for recording multiple shows simultaneously
• A Web interface for programming remotely
• Online streaming so that you can watch recorded TV from other Internet connections
• The ability to detect and forward through commercials

The price: Meedio TV solo costs $59.95. Bundled with Meedio Essentials, a more general Media Center-like digital media management interface, the software costs $99.95.

The prospects: Compared to SnapStream, Meedio isn't particularly compelling with its current feature set. But as it adds features promised in future releases and piles on the third-party add-ons, Meedio could become a compelling alternative to TiVo. And paired with Meedio Essentials, we predict it'll be a great choice over Windows Media Center PCs--no need to shell out for a new machine to get some serious functionality.

By Lindsey Turrentine, section editor, CNET Reviews