Audio Video News

On March 17, Ino Technologies of Austin, Texas announced that, for only $799, its new TVPC with DVD has "cracked the code" of the long-elusive home-convergence device. Otherwise known as the "Living Room PC," the TVPC connects directly to a regular television; unlike other so-called living-room devices, TVPC comes complete with a full-function remote keyboard, a hand-held remote, and a DVD drive.

Users will be able to play PC games, access the Internet via the onboard 56k modem, watch DVD movies with surround sound, or use TVPC as a PC. The TVPC comes in a smooth black finish to match home-entertainment equipment and is no larger than a typical VCR. The front panel also includes a microphone socket for use during Internet telephone functions. Other standard features on the remote control include one-button Web access, volume control, and DVD controls. All functions are also displayed onscreen in a format similar to those found on recent TVs.

But wait, there's more: TVPC also includes CouchWare, a software utility that makes the included Windows 95 operating system function better in a television environment. For example: The text in a Windows "dialog box"---such as when clicking on Run from the Start menu---is often too small to read on a TV. CouchWare makes all dialog boxes readable on a television screen.

CouchWare also makes entering data on websites much easier to read by enlarging these boxes as well---of particular importance for online commerce. Other features include contrast, overscan, and underscan controls, and special configurations for S-video or composite inputs.