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Hulu Plus Comes to Apple TV[teaser]That's a whole new range of viewing choices for customers, assuming they don't mind the subscription cost.[/teaser] When Apple TV launched it was a bit limited as far as content. It essentially only gave you access to iTunes and Netflix. Apple announced today that there's going to be just a bit more content added thanks to Hulu Plus, which will now appear on the home page of the Apple TV. If you want to sign up for Hulu Plus you can do so through Apple TV, iTunes or through Hulu directly, though first time users will want to sign up through HuluPlus/AppleTV for a one week free trial. After the week ends, it's $7.99 a month. Home Media MagazinePosted Thu Aug 2, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Roku Streaming Stick Ready Devices Coming from Onkyo, Mitsubishi, Oppo, Insignia and More[teaser]The tiny streaming device will play nice with TVs and remotes from a handful of companies when it launches[/teaser]. Roku's Streaming Stick is an impressive gadget not too much bigger than a typical USB drive. What it does is plug into an HML compatible HDMI port and give your dumb TV the capabilities of a smart TV. It has built-in Wi-Fi and it's even made to work with your existing remote. Roku has revealed several companies that will be launching hardware that's "Roku ready," including Onkyo, Integra, Oppo, Apex, Mitsubishi, Insignia, Hitachi, Haier and Element. It's a significant list, though it's missing the major players in hardware manufacture. Roku says that some of these devices will bear a logo stating that they're compatible while others will actually ship with the bundle included. Source: EngadgetPosted Thu Aug 2, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Google's Nexus Q Gets Delayed - Customers Who Preordered Get One Free[teaser]How's that for treating early adopters well?[/teaser] We've all been there before. You've preordered a Blu-ray or a videogame or a piece of gear only to find out it's been delayed. You really have no choice but to wait longer and you never end up getting anything in the way of an apology. Google does things a little differently. According to a statement by the company, pre-order customers will all be added to the preview program and will be sent a Nexus Q to them absolutely free. It's unclear whether this means that the customers will be refunded for their preorder and will get the device for free or that they'll be getting a second Nexus Q, but either way it's a great way to apologize for the issues. The delay is, according to Google, to make the device better. Further specifics were not mentioned. Source: EngadgetPosted Thu Aug 2, 2012 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Emotiva Announces a Trio of Amps[teaser]Two of them are right in a reasonable price range – the other definitely rests in the high-end. [/teaser] Emotiva's new UPA-200 and UPA-500 run $350 and $399 respecitvely and both give you a good source of power for your audio. The 200 pumps 200 watts into two channels, and is designed to pair with a five channel amp for a 7.1 home theater. The UPA-500 is, as aforementioned, a five channel amp that gives you 120 watts of power to each channel at four ohms. The high end amp that's newly released is the XPR-5. It gives you five channels at 400 watts per, a high-efficiency Class AB amplifier and a Class H toroidal power supply. It also packs an ARM-7 processor that monitors and controls the custom operating system that makes the whole thing work. You can pick it up at $1,999. Source: Electronic HousePosted Tue Jul 31, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
TV Prices are Currently the Highest They've Been in Over Two Years[teaser]The primary difference seems to be more featured TVs and a rise in the share of higher-end sets. [/teaser] The average retail price of a high-deft television has reached $1,224 – the highest price since the first quarter of 2010 and a significant step up from 2011. The difference, according to research firm IHS, is the rising popularity of connected, LED backlit and 3D TVs. The market share of 3D sets rose by around three percent, while LED backlit and Smart TV sets increased by around four percent. There's some overlap in there of course, but with numbers like these there's no denying that people are developing an appetite for higher-end sets. While most prices increased, a few went down. The average for a 32" set, for example, shrank from $495 to $435. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Tue Jul 31, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Yamaha Releases a Pair of New Blu-ray Players[teaser]The higher end model offers both 3D compatibility and DACs for improved audio.[/teaser] The folks at Yamaha have a pair of new Blu-ray players available now, both of which give you Netflix and Pandora, both supply you with USB ports for hard drives and the like, and both have FLAC playback capabilities. What separates the $329 BD-S673 from the $229 BD-S473, aside from 3D capabilities, is audio. Only the S673 offers you built-in Wi-Fi, DivX HD Plus playback, analog two channel mixed down output and, most importantly, a 192kHz/24-bit DAC for much higher quality audio. Both players are available now. Source: Electronic HousePosted Tue Jul 31, 2012 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
BenQ’s New Projector Does 1080p at $899[teaser]The entry level EP5920 is a DLP based projector aimed at the entry-level enthusiast.[/teaser] BenQ’s latest projector is one aimed at folks that don’t want to spend a lot of cash but want some bang for their buck. The 1080p DLP EP5920 gives 1,800 ANSI lumens brightness, a 4500:1 contrast ratio and a six-segment color wheel. BenQ says that the EP5920 is “virtually color-decay free” and supports 1.07 billion colors. You can show video from anywhere as small as 12 inches on up to 300. The EP5920 is available now at $899. Source: TwicePosted Fri Jul 27, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
NVIDIA Puts its Support Behind Miracast Wireless Standard[teaser]It’s a slick setup, but obvious latency makes it a no-go for gamers.[/teaser] Wi-Fi has gone from being a luxury to a fairly common thing in homes. The same can be said of smartphones and, increasingly, tablets. All of those wonderful wireless gadgets floating around are great, but now they need a way to work with one another – especially your TV. Companies are rushing to be the first to develop a standard that people can get behind and NVIDIA is no different. They’re teaming up with Miracast for wireless video to pair with its Tegra mobile platform. The way it works is nothing you haven’t seen before – the TV mirrors what’s on the tablet, allowing you to browse, watch videos and more. NVIDIA’s promo video shows folks gaming using the tech as well, but even in the advertisement the latency looks like it will make everything but the most basic games unplayable. It’s especially evident during a segment where one of the actors is playing a racing game and scraping against the wall the whole way. Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Jul 27, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Google Kicks off Fiber Service at $120 for Gigabit Internet and TV[teaser]Oh, and they’re throwing in a Nexus 7 tablet in as your remote. [/teaser] At this point, we’re pretty used to expecting little and getting less from our cable and satellite service, but Google is planning to change all that. Their new Google Fiber rollout offers quite a bit that you won’t find elsewhere, starting with a free Nexus 7 tablet for use as a remote. Internet speeds are blazing fast with a potential of a gigabit per second – more than most folks know what to do with. You’ll also get a wide range of channels, a full terabyte of Google Drive space as well as 2TB worth of storage locally as well as the ability to record eight shows simultaneously. Google is waiving the $300 construction fee that’s required to get fiber optic lines into your house, though if you pay the fee up front you’ll get free 5Mbps internet for a minimum of seven years, which comes out to around $3.50 a month – not bad if that’s all you need. Google Fiber is, for now, only available in Kansas City. Source: Google FiberPosted Fri Jul 27, 2012 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Google TV Updated with More Video Finding Features[teaser]New Releases section pops up, as does phone and tablet control. [/teaser] Google TV has been improving regularly since it first launched and the latest update, while not mind-blowing in any way, adds a bit of usability to the platform. The first piece of the update makes it easier to find new movies by adding a New Releases section. It just makes sense. The other part of the update that was revealed – more may be on the way – is the ability to control YouTube videos with your phone or tablet, just like you’ll find on Google’s Nexus Q. Source: EngadgetPosted Thu Jul 26, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by:
