Recently Dish networks introduced its version of automated ad-skipping. Apparently it resembles the 1999 ReplayTV technology, and is now available to all owners of the Hopper DVR’s.

Obviously some companies aren’t very happy with this development, so it’s going to be interesting to watch how this one plays out.

PS if you want to autoskip ads on your Windows Media center, look no further then this tutorial.

Wired showcases the ‘surfaces’ prototype by NDS. It’s a great looking entertainment wall where the main program can be resized, moved and annotated with contextual information. Everything is controlled from an iPad app.

I can’t help but wonder wether a crafty DIYer wouldn’t be able to rebuild this system for a lot less money. Any one up for a challenge?

You’ve probably seen the Echostar HDT-610R on other blogs, but this was too nice to skip. So enjoy these shots and wait with us for the price. It was supposed to be available on Amazon for preorder by now, but nothing yet.

One of the most important parts of a home built PVR is the capture card. You need to pick one that matches your TV signal and your other hardware components. The many choices are daunting for newbies and experienced users.

VideoHelp’s overview of (currently) 812 capture cards will help you pick the right one for your setup.

The Terratec Cinergy C PCI HD CI, just one of over 800 capture cards available

In preparation for a major overhaul of the tutorials, I’m scouring the Internet fora for interesting builds. This one by pbc on hometheatreequipment.com is an affordable base that can be adapted to many situations.

Check out the component list:

• AMD A6-3500
• Asrock A75-MITX
• Antec ISK300-65
• Crucial Ballistix 1866 2 x 4gb
• OCZ Agility 3 60gb SSD

Antec Case ISK300-65

SilverStone is no unknown in the HTPC case market. However many of its cases are beyond the budgets of many builders. The GD06 combines the good things of the more expensive cases with a price that doesn’t break the bank. However, at $122 (on Amazon) I wouldn’t exactly call this a cheap case. And neither is the built quality cheap, you get a great, solid case that will fit in almost any home theater setup.