I just had an idea that I’m going to try out in the near future. Hauppauge has a WinTV OCX/SDK for their PVR cards. What I’m wanting to do is create an application that does one simple thing: Take the input signal and output it to the screen without time-shifting.
Why would I want to do that? Because I’m happy with my ReplayTV setup. Here’s the idea: Instead of going from the ReplayTV to the TV, I’ll go from the ReplayTV to my PC to the TV. Buy why, you ask? Because that will allow me to do computer things while watching TV. What computer things?
First, I’ll be able to display widgets on top of the TV display. A small clock, the weather, radar images, news headlines. I’ll probably only end up using a clock, but that’s just fine with me.
Second, I’ll be able to send/receive IMs without disturbing my viewing too much. My buddies will IM me at home once in a while and I won’t get it until much later.
Third, eventually I would like to install cameras in some areas (front door or driveway to start with). This setup will allow me to quickly view the feed from those cameras so that I can welcome my visitors 
Fourth, I would be able to use the computer without having to truck upstairs. There’s been some occasions when I’ve had an idea that I wanted to jot down, wanted to check IMDB, or wanted to check my calendar. I could do it from the command station downstairs.
Ok, yes, those are tremendously lazy reasons. But it’s also about the challenge of doing it and setting it all up. It’s a project that I’ve been thinking about for a while now and I think things are starting to click into place. It would require the purchase of a wireless keyboard/mouse with a better range than my current ones. Maybe the Gyration set. It would also require some heavy software wrangling (working with the OCX and maybe even setting up the IR receiver). We’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep the multitudes of my readers posted on the progress…if it even materializes.
