Streaming

On the cusp of the PS3 Netflix news, Netflix has officially announced Netflix for the UK and Ireland. Available for 5.99 pounds/6.99 euros a month, but starting today for those of our UK readers can join Netflix and use the service for free for one month. 

While it was already live for many, Netflix has made its launch in the United Kingdom and Irelandofficially official, streaming its catalog of entertainment for 5.99 pounds / 6.99 euros a month. Residents can queue for a one month free trial at the website right now, and at launch it works not only on PCs, but also the usual suite of game consoles, Blu-ray players from LG, Samsung Smart TV, iOS and Android phones plus smart TV adaptors from Philips, Western Digital and Roku. As for content, it's sourcing from All3Media, the BBC, CBS, Channel 4's 4oD, Disney UK & Ireland, ITV, Lionsgate UK, MGM, Miramax, Momentum Pictures, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox and Viacom International Media Networks. Like the Latin American service, it also includesOpen Graph Facebook tie-ins that are apparently held back in the US due to regulatory concerns. Check the official press release for more details on what's currently available after the break, or just hit Netflix to sign up and give the streaming a shot no matter which side of the pond you're on.

Engadget HD

While most won't care, and some will even say why bother, Google TV is moving away from the x86 platform and migrating towards the ARM processing platform. As part of that move Marvell has been selected as the processor of choice with its Armada 1500 dual core processor as the new heart of the Google TV platform. 

The Armada 1500 dual core system will get you 3D BD hardware acceleration, Video encoding and decoding, all while using very little power. While this all sounds great without real world bench mark testing, only time will tell if this is a good move or not.

After all the rumors including word that Intel was backing away from its Atom CE4100 CPU it's finally official: Google TV is moving from x86 to ARM, and Marvell is letting everyone know its Foresight platform has been selected to power the next generation of Google TV hardware. The Armada 1500 dual-core CPU at its heart promises PC-like performance with cellphone-like power management and support for Blu-ray 3D, video encoding / decoding and upscaling. enabling fanless smart TV products built on the package like this demo box seen above. Marvell Co-founder Weili Dai considers this as an opportunity to fundamentally change the relationship between content producers and consumers, a lofty goal for the second round of products after a lackluster market response to the initial effort.

Engadget HD

Firecore the developers that brought you the ability to update your Apple TV with customized firmware and the ability to play a plethora of media files such as MKV, AVI, MP4 and even ISO has recently move out of Beta. Now that the development is out of Beta Firecore is charging a $30 premium for the software.

On top of the added file playback features, the new aTV Flash includes the ability to steam your media from any file server without the need to run iTunes. Also included is an HTML 5 browser, Last.FM support, and a Plex client.

We're definitely of the opinion that the dedicated devs who do all the heavy lifting so you can tweak and hack your pile of gadgets deserve a little something for their troubles. That being said, Firecore's aTV Flash (black) is still going to be a tough sell at $30 (now that it's left beta). But, before you go, perhaps you'd like to know what that chunk of cash will enable your 2nd-gen Apple TV to do. For one, it blesses Cupertino's hobby set-top with an all new media player that can open AVI, MKV, MP4, ISO and host of other file formats. There's also an HTML5 browser for surfing the web and streaming media. Want more apps? How about a Plex client and Last.FM radio? Perhaps best of all, though, it allows you to play back files stored on a PC, Mac or NAS without the need for iTunes. Check out the video demo after the break.

Engadget HD

Earlier this month Roku and HBO had released news that the HBO Go service was coming to the Roku network streaming platform. Today it is now available. So if you have a Roku device and have access to the HBO Go service give it a Go (pun intended) and leave some feedback and let us know how it goes.

Less than a month after Roku announced HBO GO was headed to their set-top streamers… the service has arrived. And, at first blush, it looks to offer the same level of programming as found on HBO’s mobile apps — both original HBO programming, like Boardwalk Empire, and a selection of full length movies. I’ll dig in a bit deeper over the next few days, breaking down the content and evaluating the picture quality.

ZNF