ReplayTV intros HD DVR with iPhone, iPod support

Hoping to offer an easy way for TV viewers to bring content to both their computers and their Apple handhelds, ReplayTV this morning launched its Personal HD recorder for PCs. The USB device bundles both digital ATSC and analog NTSC tuners into one device and, like newer USB tuners, will play both over-the-air HDTV signals and any analog TV source. Bundled software is the real key, ReplayTV says. The Personal HD is one of the first TV tuners to emerge with explicit support for the iPhone and the iPod touch, allowing users to schedule DVR-like recording and then transfer videos to a format that will play well on the Apple devices' widescreen displays. A unique multi-tuning recording mode is also available, according to the company: the software can preserve multiple shows at once and even supports USB devices from rival companies, such as ATI (AMD) and Pinnacle.

Other extras that form the package are direct encoding in a 4:3 ratio for the iPod classic, new iPod nano, and earlier iPods, an intelligent keywording system that helps viewers find recorded shows by normally hidden criteria like cast member names or genre. System requirements have not been set, but the Personal HD is known to support Windows Media Center in XP and Vista, and is due to ship this fall for $100 with a free year's subscription to the same ReplayTV digital program guide used by the company's set-top DVR boxes.