Hasta La Gadget!

The current leader in subscription video streaming is Netflix, and today at its Las Vegas hotel suite we saw some of the technology it’s planning to stay a step ahead of the competition this year. First up was one of the most widely requested features — the ability to set up individual profiles for different family members, complete with their own queues and recommendations. The profiles can be set up on device or on the Netflix site, with toggles for a preference to its Just for Kids menu UI, as well as asking a bit about your preferred movies to seed initial recommendations.

We also got an eyeful of the new “Super HD” 1080p streaming, and although network issues kept us from getting a true gauge of the quality, we did confirm that the new max bitrates are well above the old “X-High” standards. Another thing we confirmed? That Cablevision and Google Fiber aren’t the only US ISPs on its Open Connect list — check the site to see if yours is.There was also a screen in the Samsung booth showing “early results” of their combined work on 4K video, but since it wasn’t actually streaming there’s not much to see.

Netflix was even showing off 3D streaming, and although we weren’t able to confirm the type of compression being used (top/bottom, side by side or something else) we did watch it and it was mostly clear with only a few hints of ghosting. There are apparently several dozen 3D titles available to start, although customer reaction may dictate when/if more are added. The second screen experience we’ve seen on the PS3 was also shown working with Samsung TVs, in much the same manner. One thing that could make it better however, is the DIAL multiscreen initiative it’s pushing with YouTube. If picked up as a standard, it would let you automatically launch these streaming services on a mobile device, and make them start playing on compatible TVs without having to launch the app on the TV first.

Not enough good news? Netflix also announced a launch date for another original series, Hemlock Grove, which hits April 19th (trailer after the break), and dropped the news that we’ll be getting 14 new eps of Arrested Development in May. We expect to hear a bit more about all of that later in 2013, but if you want a preview of the features we saw then just check out the gallery.

Continue reading Netflix previews family profiles, shows off Super HD and 3D streaming at CES 2013

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Netflix (Twitter)

The invitation to CES could say “please join us to look at infinite stupid iPad cases and ugly headphones,” and it wouldn’t be misleading. But amidst all the crap are some beautiful things like Hex’s newest line of headphones. More »

Pre-CES rumors suggested Intel would announce a “virtual cable” service (before being stamped out) but the partnership with Comcast it actually revealed turned out to be far more conventional. Very similar to the tru2way multiroom box Intel demonstrated back at IDF in 2009, the Multi-Screen Video Gateway by Arris capitalizes on DLNA standards — touted by the alliance earlier today — to bring video to virtually any device in your home. It’s “headless”, because it’s not built to connect directly to any TV, just shoved somewhere out of sight while you tune in on your various screens. Of course, these demos have been here before and the DTCP-IP technology behind it isn’t particularly new either, so why could 2013 finally be the year we see these features roll out from major providers?

As cited in the earlier press release, DirecTV has released Genie DVRs loaded with RVU that pushes video directly to TVs and even the PS3 in the past year, providing one example of the tech in action. The updated FCC IP interface requirements and continued work on the DLNA Premium Content guidelines are also forcing progress forward, albeit slowly. Finally, there’s some hope that the CE and cable industry can actually work together, as seen in Comcast’s RDK program that’s pushing the development of this box and others (like that Humax box we spotted floating through the FCC) with similar capabilities. The box was running Comcast’s new X1 cloud-based guide which has seen a limited rollout so far, but because of how it works is more easily accessed and updated on connected devices. Of course even with all that, we’ve been down this road before (again and again and again and again) so despite a slick demo we’ll withhold excitement until hardware is actually released.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Intel

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We’ll be talking about the potential of voice recognition with Nuance, the company behind the popular Dragon NaturallySpeaking and features in hardware like Samsung’s Smart TVs. The company’s CTO Vlad Sejnoha will be joining us on the stage.

Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here!

Update: video embedded

Continue reading Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Nuance’s Vlad Sejnoha (update: video embedded)

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Nintendo TVii‘s road to reality was relatively pain-free until its platform, Wii U, launched in November … without the promised TVii functionality ready for primetime. A month and many ambiguous company statements later, Nintendo TVii went live. But even then, the service went without two of its promised features: TiVo and Netflix integration, promised to launch later this month. Nintendo isn’t saying much about TVii post-Wii U launch, but we did manage to catch up with the company that created (and continues to support) Nintendo TVii, i.TV, during this week’s madness. I.TV co-founder Justin Whittaker stopped by the Engadget doublewide at CES 2013 to chat about his company, what happened (or rather, what didn’t happen) at launch, and what the future holds for Nintendo TVii. Head past the break and find out!

Continue reading Catching up on Nintendo TVii: an interview with i.TV co-founder Justin Whittaker

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Nintendo

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