The DV-220 offers consumers in the U.S. and Canada a single device with which they can record live TV and access a proprietary digital entertainment network via the Internet to locate media files for purchase. Users also can download content to the device's internal hard disk and connect, via a wireless or wired network, to their home PCs to access and playback audio, video and image files.
Additionally, DV-220 owners can rent or purchase more than 1,000 theatrical movies through this proprietary digital entertainment network and the device's web interface.
"People have so many choices now when it comes to digital entertainment,” Protron CEO Steve Brothers said. “They just want to be able to enjoy files in the comfort of their living room, regardless of whether they've recorded their favorite TV programs, captured family memories on their digital video camera or purchased audio and movie files online.”
Brothers said the DV-220 integrates easily into any home entertainment center, another feature for which the company said its consumers have clamored. The device includes a component, composite and S-video output, allowing users to connect the DV-220 to their existing home theater system or compatible television.
“With the DV-220, it doesn't matter if the media is accessed from our online digital library, recorded to the DV-220's hard drive or is stored on their computer's hard drive,” Brothers added. “We've given users the control to choose exactly when they'll enjoy any of their files."
The device also includes RF input/output to accommodate recording "over-the-air" broadcast or cable programming to its hard drive and RCA stereo audio outputs to connect the DV-220 directly to any conventional stereo system.
The DV-220 will be available to consumers come this summer, at a suggested retail price of $349.
"Existing VCRs and PVRs have given people a taste of 'time shifting' their entertainment to fit their schedules,” Brothers said. “The DV-220 gives them the ability to view or listen to content 'on demand,’ which gives them almost complete control of their entertainment schedule.”
