According to lots of rumors in the last week, Apple is looking to unveil a home media server that can share a user’s home video, music and photos from anywhere in the home or over the Internet. Yes, that’s all your media served up in a cloud.

According to 9to5Mac, it would run through your MobileMe account, where a dynamic DNS will tie into Apple’s home media server. Essentially, this box will let you access all of your media (video, music or photos) anywhere in the world as long as you have a broadband connection.

According to the rumors, the media server would run on Apple’s Time Machine, not the Leopard operating system.  This makes me wonder what will happen to Apple TV, which has fizzled in the market. It’s sold so poorly that Jobs even called Apple TV a “hobby”.

So is this a real product Apple is working on? I sure hope so! Odds are it won’t be released during this year’s MacWorld show, but you never know. I would pay about $10 to $20 a month for a service like that.  It would be really convenient because I wouldn’t need to carry CD or DVDs with me when I travel, and I don’t have to worry if I have all my music with me wherever I go.

Not to mention, having instant access to all my media anywhere in the world would put my Xbox Windows Media Center to shame. (Uh, Microsoft, maybe you should work on something like this too?)

As if that isn’t enticing enough, there’s talk allowing the iPhone to access your media on the cloud.  So you won’t even need a computer, just your iPhone to access all your media. However, there is already one iPhone app that let you listen to your home music files. Simpfly Media says that their software allows users to access iTunes from iPhone via 3G or Wi-Fi networks.  I haven’t used the software yet, but am testing it in the next few days and will report back here.

I was reading this article from Electronic House about the future of media servers, and it got me wondering. When will media servers finally rule the world?

People have been touting media servers for many years now. Millionaires like Bill Gates have them. They put all their music onto hard drives, all their movies onto a central server and can access them from anywhere in their home. Want to watch “The Matrix” again? No need to pull out a DVD and use your DVD player. Simply pull it from your media server off a menu and start watching any movie in your library. In your living room or in your office computer.

I bought something that promises to do this. It’s a Buffalo LinkStation network storage device. It has 750 GB capacity so I can fit all my music and multimedia with lots of room left over for work files and other documents. It even has a USB port so I can connect external USB drives and provide additional storage, if I need it in the future.

The best part about my LinkStation is that it has DLNA certified, which means it can act as a storage server for a media device. Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) makes it possible to access and share digital content throughout a home network. It aims to connect PCs, peripherals and TV/consumer electronic devices using your existing home network.

So far, there are just a few DLNA-certified products out there. There are a few media extenders, storage servers and other products, but they are not very popular yet.

I think consumers aren’t really thinking about their home networks too much and haven’t thought of the possibilities available with a home media server and storage devices. An inter-connected maquinas tragaperras webjugar interactivo portal internetapuesta dinero lineajuegos apuestas portales webjugar interactivo onlinevideo poker portalcasinos internacionales webganar premio paginas webjuego pagina internetmaquina tragaperras pagina webdescargar ruleta de la suerteonline casino listecasino online slotcasino websitecasino online texasonline kenoonline casino softwareonline spiel automatmultispieler spieleroulette spielregelcasino im internetgolden palace online casinoamerican slotscasino online wiesbadenonline slotmaschinen spielenbwin roulettecpayscom2 casino onlinebaccarat downloadcasino pc games,www casino games,casino gamescasino online livevideo poker onlinecasino slots games,casino slots,casino slots downloadonline casino testcasino automaten spieleslotmachines online spielenbaccarat spielenechtes kasinospielroulette spielregelncasino spiele decasino kostenlos spielencasino spiele downloadcasino online vergleichroulette gratis,roulette gratis spielen,roulette gratis downloadwww rouletteeigenes casino onlinemobiles casinoslots spielen gratisroulette trickskostenlose casinospiele,internet kasino spielen,casino spielecasino online mac home makes a lot of sense for people with lots of media assets. I think DLNA products are set to explode–maybe not this year, but soon.

I’ve already started encoding my CD collection onto my LinkStation and going completely digital. Then I can just hook up my iPod and take my entire music collection on the go.  No more fumbling for CDs.

As a bonus, I can also use my Buffalo LinkStation over any Internet-connected computer and access my files. When I log in to my home LinkStation, I can see anything that I’ve set up for sharing. Anything else is protected and invisible to me. I can upload files and save them for later, or access any of my shared files over the Internet.

My music folder is my favorite thing. I can log in anywhere and listen to any of my MP3s. I can even listen to folders of music right from my browser, since it comes with a built-in player. It’s quite dreamy–all my music, available anytime, anywhere.

Isn’t that what you want from the Internet?

Technorati Tags: Buffalo Technology, LinkStation, LinkStation Live, Media server, iPod,   DLNA

Over at Crunch Gear and Crave, they’re showing off a new product called the TVix media hub. It looks cool–somewhat like a coffeemaker–but it connects to your TV (via HDMI or other connections) and lets you access your media from your PC. Apparently, it can play 1080p movies, DVDs, music, photos and movies on a built-in hard drive.  It can also be used as a DVR by connecting a tuner adapter, sold separately.

Not a bad idea, but there are lots of other products like it. But is it really worth $520? Who would want to buy this except media geeks and early adopters?

Sure it looks cool and I’d love to play with it, but do I really need it? Check out the manufacturer’s page here for more info.

[Via NewEgg]

Technorati Tags: TVix, media hub, DViCO, media extender, DVR, PVR

In a bid to remain atop the online movie rental business, NetFlix said it will deliver movies directly to TV sets later this year. Currently NetFlix only lets subscribers to its “Watch Instantly” service view rentals on PC screens.

This new service will come in the form of a new set-top box that connects to the TV and computer, much like Apple’s Apple TV product. In many ways, the device isn’t a new approach or anything really startling–the main thing is that it’s coming from NetFlix which already had a deep library of movies, an existing DVD by mail rental business and the PC viewing option. Those things make it a very compelling strategy and is may make it a success for NetFlix.

In essence, NetFlix is understanding that it’s critical to deliver content (movies, TV shows, etc.) to TV screens since many people are getting HDTV sets and most do their viewing on the big screen in the living room.

Having yet another set-top box, however, seems like the biggest flaw in this plan. People will not rush to buy another box unless it offers something compelling that they can’t get anywhere else. And customers can definitely get movies in many other ways, without getting a new box and hooking it up to a PC, like the NetFlix service requires.

For example, want to watch a recent hit movie like Pirates of the Caribbean? There’s On-Demand, DVDs, free TV, premium channels like HBO, and online pirated versions available. Will consumers really flock to a device that just delivers movies? Tivo seems like it has the right approach with its partnership with Amazon for its Unbox movie delivery service. However, Unbox (and even Apple TV) have not been huge hits.

Another downside is that the movies that NetFlix delivers to TVs will likely not be HD-ready. Many people will still want to rent the physical DVDs, especially if they own Blu-Ray or HD-DVD players.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see how NetFlix tackles this interesting new delivery to the home.

Technorati Tags: Apple TV, Apple, NetFlix, Amazon, Tivo, Unbox

Digeo unveiled a software version of its DVR set-top box which lets PC users record TV from their computers. Digeo makes a line of media recorders called Moxi.

Users must have Windows XP, a TV tuner card to use the Moxi TV for PC software, which is available free during the beta trial period.

Other software-based DVRs include ReplayTV, BeyondTV, Windows Media Center and Orb.

[Via Download Squad]

Technorati Tags: Moxi, Digeo, DVR, PVR