Hasta La Gadget!

Yahoo’s been working hard to include support for Apple services in its Screen iOS app, now it’s gone one better and launched its video-discovery app on Apple TV. With an emphasis on comedy, Yahoo Screen has been designed to collate the best of web video, including clips from Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and The Daily Show, as well as live news, events and music. You’ll also be able to browse trending videos and watch Yahoo Originals programming, which are delivered direct to your Apple TV without the need to AirPlay them across. AllThingsD reports that PBS has also quietly pushed a new app, letting users get their Nova, Frontline or Antiques Roadshow fix (older episodes of Downton Abbey will be available shortly after PBS begins re-airing seasons early next year). Today’s update may only available to US users but Apple isn’t being shy about broadening the number of Apple TV apps available across the globe.

Filed under: Internet, Software, HD, Apple

Comments

Source: Yahoo Screen (Tumblr)

While Sony was content to toy with radical designs for the PlayStation 4’s controller, it turns out Microsoft took a more conservative approach when building the Xbox One’s gamepad. GamesBeat scored a look at the controller creation process and discovered that Redmond was reluctant to tweak the Xbox 360 controller at all since it considers the hardware “best-in-class.” After some pressure from Zulfi Alam, Xbox’s general manager for accessories, Ballmer and Co. decided to explore what changes could be made, and invested over $100 million throughout the course of the effort.

Despite the firm’s aversion to rocking the proverbial boat, it still wound up with more than a few unconventional prototypes — some of which packed built-in displays and cameras. One of the strangest versions included a cartridge for emitting smells, and another featured a built-in projector that could throw out visuals reminiscent of illumiroom. Ultimately, the wackier iterations gave way to the traditional kit that’s heading to stores, as the adventurous features drained battery life too quickly or the company’s “core base didn’t appreciate them,” according to Alam. While we wouldn’t have expected the Xbox One to usher in the age of smell-o-vision, we can’t help but wonder what that future would have looked smelled like.

Filed under: HD, Microsoft

Comments

Source: GamesBeat

Last week it was the PS4’s turn, and this week the Xbox One ships for eager gamers, bringing along its own slew of titles including exclusives like Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Ryse and Killer Instinct. We’ll have our review of Microsoft’s new box tomorrow, but another major highlight this weekend is a Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special. The Day of the Doctor will air at 2:50PM ET on BBC America, simultaneous with other broadcasts around the world. Also key for Whovians is the Adventure in Space & Time film that will air Friday night, looking back at the beginning of the phenomenon, and The Night of The Doctor mini-episode — the film’s trailer and the entire mini-ep can be found after the break.

Amazon will premiere the first three episodes of its second original series, Betas, on Friday morning, and on Blu-ray we’re looking forward to Star Trek:TNG season five, Aubrey Plaza in The To Do List and Lilyhammer season one arriving ahead of its season two Netflix debut. Race fans should also keep an eye out, as the Formula 1 series wraps up its season in Brazil Sunday morning. Look after the break for our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Major League Gaming’s been tinkering with better ways to show and monetize its Call of Duty and Starcraft battles for years, occasionally showing up on ESPN and utilizing myriad online streaming solutions to get its premium content to the people. However, MLG decided that YouTube and its ilk aren’t enough, and so has launched its very own online network, MLG.TV, to better cater to e-sports fans (and pull in bigger ad dollars, of course). TechCrunch reports that this new platform, aside from streaming up to 1080p video, will also have social sharing capabilities and Twitter-based chat. While exclusively an online portal, MLG.TV is borrowing some ideas from broadcast television. It’ll have weekly shows (like the recently debuted SportsCenter-esqe eSports Report) at specific times, and the plan is to build out a TV-like programming schedule as new shows are created.

Filed under: Gaming, HD

Comments

Via: TechCrunch

Source: MLG.TV

If you start counting from the Magnavox Odyssey, we’ve been playing console games for seven generations now. Yes, it’s crazy to think of, but it’s even more alarming to realize that the industry has been in an all-out “war” since generation three. For better or worse, competition became a part of the hardware cycle. The players (you know, Sega, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft) have changed several times through the years, but until recently, the game hasn’t — the console wars were fought over who had more bits, what had the most RAM and how fast a machine could render frames. Now, as we kick off generation eight, we’re seeing a very different kind of contest.

We’re not saying that hardware specifications don’t matter — they absolutely do — but this time, the two leading armies are packing painfully similar heat. On paper, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 really aren’t that different. So, what’s going to win the war? Software, services and brand.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony, Microsoft

Comments