We’ve seen a number of different whole home DVR systems at CES so far, but most of them are similar to the DISH Hopper with a central multi-tuner DVR that feeds live and recorded TV to smaller extender units. The Simple.TV is intended to provide a whole world DVR system, turning any device into an extender unit. The Simple.TV asks […]
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One of the more interesting features that Microsoft has brought with the Kinect is voice control for the Xbox. It is a feature that fits into a larger trend as evidenced by the warm reception that Apple’s Siri has enjoyed. Voice control has gone mainstream. Nuance, developers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, have been working on speech recognition and voice control for […]
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Kyle and I got the chance to check out Intel’s booth early this morning and while Ivy Bridge didn’t make the trip, we did get to see some cool all-in-one (AIO) PCs both from OEMs and [more interestingly] found out that Intel will be enabling DIY builders to assemble their own AIO systems. There will be a wide variety of […]
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Some “out of left field” news from the Ceton camp, but interesting as well. The folks over at Ceton have been busy and I mean very busy. They are inviting the press at CES to their suit to show off their new Media Center Extender, as well as their dedicated Set-Top-Box based of of Windows 7 embedded which will include their very popular […]
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Hot on the heels of Netflix’s launch in the UK and Ireland comes word that Netflix’s original hardware partner, Roku, is also making the hop across the pond. Roku is launching their first streamers in the region. The launch devices represent the two ends of the lineup spectrum for Roku with the Roku LT handling the entry-level and the Roku […]
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At the Microsoft CES 2012 keynote, Microsoft has announced a content partnership with Comcast which will bring the Xfinity TV services to the Xbox 360 dashboard. Additional partnerships include Newscorp partnership which will bring Fox News, Wall street Journal, Fox and IGN content as well. Not word on the exact time frame just yet but we’re sure it is only […]
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While not directly HTPC or Media Center related, Microsoft has announced that Kinect for Windows will be available starting February 1st. There is currently no mentioning of Media Center support or anything along those lines but it is a bit interesting to see Microsoft go this route. Only time will tell what this will really get us but having voice […]
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The movie studios, and Warner Bros. in particular, were counting on UltraViolet to revolutionize movie buying by creating a buy-once-play-everywhere digital content locker system. Unfortunately, since its launch, UltraViolet has mostly served as a pundit punching bag and free advertising for iTunes. Akamai, the content distribution service giant, has decided that perhaps they are the missing ingredient for UltraViolet. Akamai has […]
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Just when you thought we had run out of devices in need of an app store, along comes Netgear with the announcement of their new Smart Network App Store. The idea behind the Smart Network App Store is to create an app store for your network and it’s connected devices. The demonstration apps they showed off, such as a wireless […]
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Intel’s WiDi wireless display technology has been on a bit of a slow burn, in large part because making the wireless connection requires that WiDi be built into both the receiving device and the transmitting device. Intel has some control over the transmitting side as they would love to see everyone buying new laptops to stream content to their TVs, […]
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