When I built my first HTPC 8 or 9 years ago, people who did not understand my geeky tendencies quite so well as my wife would ask me why I would want to hook up my computer to a TV, and it was often difficult to provide an argument that they would find compelling. Of course, that was before YouTube. A couple of years later, whenever someone would pose that same question, all I had to do was fire up YouTube on the big screen. YouTube has experimented with a couple of different 10-foot user interfaces intended to make navigating YouTube easier on the TV as part of a project called YouTube Leanback. Leanback is still there at YouTube, but the future belongs to YouTube TV, a new 10-foot interface at youtube.com/tv.

YouTube TV looks and feels much more like an app on a media streamer device than YouTube Leanback and I would not be surprised to see a YouTube TV app pop up at some point in the Chrome Web Store. It's not just the look and feel that is more app-like either. YouTube TV offers the option to login to YouTube and control YouTube TV from a mobile device. There are device codes and pairing codes that need to be swapped at different sites, but the process should be familiar to anyone who has ever activated an online service on a device like a Roku or WDTV. So familiar in fact that YouTube TV feels like a test run for the future of YouTube on streaming devices. At this point, the entire experience does seem to be rather insular. In my admittedly limited testing, the account login and device pairing option were only available when using Google Chrome. Firing up YouTube TV in Internet Explorer resulted in far fewer suggested viewing options as well. Also, the device pairing might be limited to Android devices at this point. With only iOS devices to test, I did not have access to the Menu Grid icon that leads to the field for entering the pairing code. Even without the mobile device remote control, YouTube TV is already a compelling upgrade over YouTube Leanback and an intriguing glimpse of the web app future of streaming media.

The new mode, accessible via YouTube.com/TV, allows users to more easily control the YouTube experience from a TV or large monitor.

You control the interface with your keyboard — using the arrow keys to navigate and certain letter keys to access various functions. For example, the “G” key acts as home and “S” acts as search.

Mashable

CREATEC 2012, Japan's annual electronics expo, is underway, and although CREATEC tends to cast a much wider net over the electronics and IT industry than a show like CES, it can still be a place for companies to take the wraps off the latest in consumer electronics. Toshiba took to CREATEC to show of their new Regza HDTVs, the J7 Series and the Z7 Series. The J7 Series is the more entry-level of the two lines, relatively speaking, ranging from 32" to 65". The higher-end Z7 Series only offers three models ranging from 42" to 55", but comes packed with a pseudo-DVR that automatically records up to 40 hours of content and offers up programming suggestions. I'm not sure the price difference is enough to justify a feature that fails to replace even the most basic HTPC or TiVo, but it is a differentiating feature.

 The J7 Series offers 32-, 40, 50- and 65-inch options, all of which boast 1080p resolutions save for the 32-incher. Pricing starts at ¥75,000 (about $961) and tops off at ¥370,000 for the largest model. The slightly higher-end Z7 Series includes 42-, 47- and 55-inch models, with pricing ranging from ¥180,000 to ¥370,000. 

Engadget

There was a veritable flood of intriguing Mini-ITX cases released this summer, including the Cooler Master Elite 120. Cooler Master took a somewhat conservative apporach with the Elite 120, offering up a fairly conventional shoebox-style case that didn't rock the boat by eliminating the 5.25" bay or limiting internal bays to 2.5" drives. The result is a largish, jack-of-all-trades Mini-ITX case. It may not scream HTPC, but part of the beauty of Cooler Master's approach is that the Elite 120 will fit into any role. Use it in your home theater stack this year and then pass it off to the kid's room next year. The Cooler Master Elite 120 might not quite offer the cooling capacity that Cooler Master was hoping for, but with a flexible design and some aggressive pricing, the Elite 120 might just fit the bill for the right setup. 

The Elite 120 Advanced is about as far from the Cosmos II as you can get and still be considered a "computer case". Since it's designed to use a standard ATX power supply and has a full-sized 5.25" bay, some might argue that it's on the large end of the mini-ITX case spectrum, and while they'd be right, it's still pretty tiny in absolute terms.

Benchmark Reviews

As far as HDTVs go, my set is getting to be a bit long in the tooth. There have been a number of advances in technology over the last several years that have tempted me to petition my significant other for an upgrade, but the arrival of 3D TV absolutely was not one of them. I know I am not alone in that assessment, but a recent USA Today story highlights just how not alone I am. Evidently, 3D TV penetration is only expected to hit 6 percent by the end of this year, and even that can largely be chalked up to 3D TV capabliilites rapidly becoming a standard feature in larger TVs. The few 3D channels available are relegated to the priciest subscription packages and do not draw enough viewers to even generate a Nielsen rating. Obviously, these are still early days for the technology in the home and there will be a time when 3D is a standard feature on every TV, but the article does do a nice job of breaking down the advantages that HDTV adoption had versus 3D TV adoption and the consumer resistance that 3D has met with.

 Another awkward point: Some people just don't like 3-D. In a phone survey last November of 1,300 Americans who had seen 3D TV, Leichtman Research Group found that 38 percent rated it poorly at 3 or below on a scale of 10. That's twice as many as rated it excellently, at 8 or higher.

"It's one of those examples where seeing isn't believing, thus far," said Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research. "That's certainly not a great place to start."

USA Today

A big part of the appeal of the forthcoming Roku Streaming Stick is the idea of having the power of a full Roku box plugged in and hidden away behind the TV itself. Roku has already begun talking up their Roku Ready branding logo which serves to underscore the reality that the MHL-enabled Streaming Stick is going to be reserved for newer TVs and receivers. For anyone running an older TV or receiver, or not necessarily interested in joining the Roku-verse, then FAVI Entertainment would like to introduce you to the FAVI SmartStick. The FAVI SmartStick is an Android media streamer squeezed up into a small package so that it can be plugged in and hidden away behind the TV. One end plugs into an HDMI port and on the other end is a micro-USB port. The included micro-USB to USB adapter is intended to plug into the TV's USB port to power the device, though the company also sells a USB power adapter in the event one's TV lacks a USB port. The SmartStick will come in 4GB and 8GB capacities for $49.99 and $79.99 respectively and should be available by the end of October. The Wi-Fi-enabled SmartStick will be running Ice Cream Sandwich and have full Google Play Store access and DLNA support. The company has a video of the FAVI SmartStick in action up on their website which suggests that the SmartStick UI is going to be a pretty thin layer, so things will be largely cursor-driven once one gets into an Android app, though is not uncommon among Android-based media streamers. Interestingly enough, the SmartStick comes with an infrared remote control, so using the SmartStick should be fun for anyone who actually takes FAVI up on their offer of installing the SmartStick behind their TV. Good thing the company is also selling a mini wireless keyboard for $39.99.

If you thought smart TVs were only for the privileged few, think again — a technology that once cost hundreds of dollars can now be had for the low price of $50. The FAVI SmartStick is a small dongle that can be plugged into any HDTV, instantly transforming the device into a full-blown Android-powered smart TV with the ability to stream music and movies or browse the Web. The stick runs Ice Cream Sandwich and is equipped with 4GB of storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, DLNA support for media sharing and access to the Google Play Store.

Boy Genius Report

About a month ago, Logitech announced its first lineup of Ultimate Ears products since buying the company. Although Ultimate Ears is best known for its earphones, the product announcement was dominated by Bluetooth speakers and a curious little radio that looked suspiciously like the Squeezebox Radio. As it turned out, it was the Squeezebox Radio, rebranded under Logitech's new Logitech UE label and attached to a new UE online service and controller software. Left unspoken at the time was that Squeezebox was dead. With the advent of systems like DLNA and Airplay and the growing capabilities of mobile devices, there is not as much demand for multi-room music systems capable of tapping into local and Internet music streams, but Sonos and Squeezebox had seemed to carve out pretty solid niches for themselves in recent years by hopping on the mobile app bandwagon and integrating the right collection of online music services. The Squeezebox Server software had also established itself as a popular addition for home servers and consumer-level NAS devices.

The demise of the Squeezebox brand was unexpected and created a great deal of consternation in the community that Logitech might prematurely disrupt the Squeezebox ecosystem by discontinuing support and closing down mysqueezebox.com, the website that powers the online services for Squeezebox devices. A representative from Logitech UE recently took to the Logitech company blog to reassure current Squeezebox owners that Logitech UE does plan to contine to offer active support and troubleshooting for Squeezebox devices, that mysqueezebox.com will continue to operate, and that Squeezebox Server and it UE replacement are able to run alongside each for a mixed environment. She also reiterated plans to allow Squeezebox Radio owners to update their devices to become UE Smart Radios in the future if they choose to do so. The post seems to be about a month late and fails to address some of the issues that the Squeezebox community is concerned about, particularly the need to have Internet access for local network streaming, so it will be interesting to see if Logitech can assuage the concerns of Squeezebox fans and convert them to become UE evangelists down the road.

Hello Squeezebox Fans,

I’m Ariel, director of products for Logitech UE, and I’d like to take a moment to provide some additional explanation about our transition from Logitech Squeezebox to Logitech UE Smart Radio.

First, we want you to know that Logitech values you, and we will actively support the service in its current form, so you can continue to enjoy the Squeezebox experience you love.

Logitech Blog