A pioneer in DVR technology, ReplayTV has released software this week that can turn a PC into an advanced DVR and multi-room TV distribution platform.

The ReplayTV PC Edition software includes extensive searching and programming features, an easy-to-use interface, and multi-room networking capabilities. With the emergence of Windows Media Center and PCs with built-in tuner cards, computers are fast becoming a popular platform for TV and video viewing. Cable companies and services like Tivo offer many of the same features as the ReplayTV software, but charge significant fees.

For people that have PCs in multiple rooms of a house, the software could be a boon, allowing them to watch recorded shows in any room. Likewise, for small apartments and dorm rooms, a PC could become the sole entertainment platform for audio and video. One unique feature of the software is the ability to let different programs be distributed to various rooms in the house simultaneously. The ReplayTV software can also consolidate recorded shows from all ReplayTV PCs in a network into a single view.

In order to run the software, users need a PC with a Pentium 4 processor, Windows XP, and a TV tuner card with outputs to a TV or monitor. The ReplayTV PC Edition costs $99.95, including a one-year show guide, which costs $19.95 per year afterwards. The software will also be bundled with Hauppauge WinTV/PVR tuner cards, on a free 30-day trial.

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