The Xbox fall update is just weeks away from unleashing the new Metro-inspired UI and expanded streaming media services support on the world, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s reaction to it. I anticipate a whole lot of angst. It’s no secret that one of the big features of the fall update is extensive, integrated Bing search support. […]
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Comcast is still working on their app-like Xcalibur settop box UI, but evidently Comcast feels they need something to hold folks over until Xcalibur arrives. Comcast was recently showing off their revamped high definition guide, codenamed Barcelona. It’s already rolling out in select markets and will be going wider before the end of the year. Like other HD UI overhauls […]
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Sony and Logitech were Google’s hardware launch partners for Google TV, but there were other companies looking at building their own hardware. One such company was Samsung, who even showed off a couple of early devices at CES 2011. Google wasn’t too keen on CE manufacturers showing their Google TV offerings last January and evidently Samsung wasn’t too keen on […]
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With the advent of Thanksgiving more and more deals are popping up and while I was browsing my feeds and looking at all the sales this gem popped up. The Lenovo IdeaCentre Q180. Fully equipped with BD drive, HDMI with 7.1 Audio, AMD 6450 Video, USB 3.0, 8-in-1 card reader all wrapped up in a small form factor. The Lenovo […]
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There are more companies releasing media streamers each year and each year it gets harder to choose the perfect streamer. If you are taking advantage of this year’s season of shopping to pick up a new media streamer, there are no end of reviews out there to help you in making your selection, not to mention our comparison guide to […]
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Western Digital has been quietly adding new services such as Spotify and Vimeo to their WD TV Live media streamers, working to make their little streamers ever more attractive. The guys at Silent PC Review took the WD TV Live for a spin with an eye to how it compares to an HTPC. I’ve recommended previous WD TV devices to folks […]
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If you consume most of your online movie and TV streams through a browser, then Matcha.tv has a service intended to bring all of your streaming services together in one site. Matcha.tv aggregates video from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, iTunes and Comcast Xfinity, and ties it all together with a recommendation engine. The recommendation engine is actually what Matcha.tv is hoping […]
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HTPC enthusiasts tend to put a lot of thought into how they are going to control their systems, whether it be with a remote control or a keyboard device. Personally, I’ve always wanted some sort of secondary screen specifically so that I can control music playback on the HTPC without turning on the big TV. I’ve tried hooking up extra […]
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Sony builds the PlayStation 3 which comes with PlayStation Home, the virtual hub where gamers can gather to play games, chat, and hang out while watching movies and listening to music. Sony also owns Crackle, a media streaming service that primarily serves up movies and TV shows produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony Pictures Loot, the internal Sony group in […]
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Although I try to set up our HTPCs to operate with just a remote control, there are times when it comes in handy to have a keyboard at hand. There are a number of companies making mini wireless keyboards that work perfectly in the living room. However, in most cases such keyboards are actually geared toward presentation systems rather than […]
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