(18 November 2006 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Avid Technology in the US has announced that its consumer division, Pinnacle Systems is expanding its popular Pinnacle PCTV product family with the addition of Pinnacle PCTV To Go.

This new product gives customers the ability to enjoy their home entertainment systems from any location in the home or around the world. This is amde possible through an easy wireless setup, integrated Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) support and comprehensive digital video recorder (DVR) capabilities.

Pinnacle Systems GM Jeff Hastings says,“PCTV To Go is the ultimate wireless solution for TV viewing on a PC. It’s easy to set up, easy to control, easy to access, and all without extra set-up or monthly service fees. Not only can customers use PCTV To Go to access and watch their home TV from anywhere in the world, they can also control features remotely, such as changing TV channels, video sources, and programming on their DVRs.”

Pinnacle PCTV To Go enables consumers to watch full resolution, DVD-like quality in MPEG-2 while viewing television in and around the home, or high quality MPEG-4 while viewing television remotely, with nothing more than a simple internet connection. Designed to quickly plug into an existing entertainment system, the product acts as a pass-through device and eliminates the need for reconfiguring the entertainment system.

In addition, Pinnacle says that the product is unique in the market in that it communicates wirelessly to an existing network or directly to a wireless PC. This specific feature eliminates the need for consumers to co-locate an Internet router and/or access point in the proximity of the entertainment system. With Pinnacle PCTV To Go, consumers can connect to a broad range of devices, including cable and satellite set-top boxes, over-the-air antennas, DVD players and fully functional DVRs.

Furthermore, Pinnacle PCTV To Go seamlessly works as a TV source within a wirelessly connected Microsoft MCE equipped PC, meaning that consumers can set up and use an MCE entertainment system in a location far from their TV source.