SonicBlue's Replay TV -- Sili Valley meets big media, again

SonicBlue's Replay TV digital video recorder (DVR) takes user-controlled programming to the next level by adding two important-and controversial-features to the usual set of autonomous DVR capabilities: advertisement bypass and file sharing of recorded material via broadband connection. Furthermore, the Replay TV reinforces the thesis that hard-disk storage will rule for most high-capacity multimedia applications.

Like its main rival, TiVo, the SonicBlue Replay TV provides features such as pause, instant replay and slow motion on recorded as well as live television broadcasts. Both systems include integrated user guides with theme-based or show-based channel search and record. With the addition of the Commercial Advance feature for skipping the ads and the peer-to-peer program sharing, the Replay TV advances both market opportunities and potential legal wrangling over copyright issues (remember Napster?).

The Replay TV model 4504 analyzed here uses a 40-Gbyte Maxtor hard drive, allowing up to 40 hours of broadcast recording (26 hours at highest resolution). The hard drive plugs into the roughly 500-square-centimeter mainboard, as does a network card that provides broadband connection through a 10/100Base-T Ethernet interface.

The four-layer mainboard supports the tuner and more than 38 integrated circuits. The mainboard also provides multiple interface connections, including VGA, digital audio, infrared and S-Video, as well as the PC connection for storing and viewing photos. While virtually all devices found in the Replay TV unit are "catalog items," the architecture is certainly unique to the DVR application. Most key ICs-including TeraLogic video processors and processor/logic components from PMC-Sierra and Xilinx-are connected to a shared PCI bus. Broadcom provides MPEG encoding functions, while a Philips device supplies video decode for external S-Video.

With an estimated manufacturing cost similar to retail price points, SonicBlue is clearly banking on monthly subscription service fees to generate meaningful profits. It will be interesting to follow this product category and see whether growing DVR sales spur development of more application-specific ICs to lower hardware costs. Whether these products remain niche devices for the "techie" crowd or become must-have replacements for the ubiquitous VCR may depend as much on the outcome of Replay TV's legal battles as it does on technical and design factors.

David Carey is President of Portelligent (www.teardown.com). the Austin, Texas, company produces teardown reports and related industry research on wireless, mobile and personal electronics.

http://www.eet.com

See related chart