Hasta La Gadget!

Do you miss walking over the TV to change the channel? We know LG does. It just launched a 32-inch LCD set, the 32LN630R, that resembles a ’70s tube TV down to the working channel and volume dials. Not that the company is foregoing modern luxuries, mind you — its 1080p, IPS-based display supports both USB-based storage and MHL video from mobile devices. The 32LN630R is available now in South Korea for 840,000 won ($754), but there are no immediate plans to sell the TV to nostalgic Americans.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG

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Via: Engadget Spanish (translated)

Source: LG (translated)

While we enjoyed our time with the TiVo Mini multiroom DVR extender when we reviewed it, we noted several drawbacks including missing apps for Netflix and Amazon Instant Video (Hulu Plus has been present since launch). Both have been supported on standalone TiVos for a long time, but according to user reports Mini owners may finally have access to them. Zatz Not Funny posted the picture above and points out a TiVo Community post where users report icons for both are suddenly appearing on their Minis, although currently only Netflix is working. Forum poster and Engadget reader sbiller reports 1080p streams currently cause the Mini to reboot, so even that app may not be quite ready for prime time. Whatever the case, it should be active so if that’s been stopping you from adding a Mini to your setup it may be time to reconsider, or re-reconsider.

Filed under: HD

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Source: TiVo Community, Zatz Not Funny

Microsoft just detailed how the Xbox One’s “Home Gold” will spread the Xbox Live Gold love across multiple users of a particular system, but what about those with the current generation’s Xbox Live Family Plan? The folks in Redmond stopped accepting new subscribers to the $99 / year package back in March, and now users are receiving an email (included after the break) with details about what happens next. First, the good news: As of August 27th, if you have the family plan then each one of your activated subaccounts get full Xbox Live Gold status for the duration of your remaining subscription, plus three extra months. Prior to the conversion, you can still add sub accounts to the maximum total of four, and if you’re set to auto-renew prior to conversion then that will still happen. The conversion may not happen exactly on that date, but subscribers can expect another email a week before it actually occurs.

Now the downsides: Activity reports and Microsoft Points allowances are going away, with reports disappearing at the time of conversion and the latter with the next system update. Another issue will apply to those who used it to game on multiple consoles in or across multiple households, since they’ll need multiple individual XBL Gold subscriptions to do so — one of the big problems the Family Pack resolved when it launched back in 2010. That could make sticking with the Xbox 360 or upgrading to an Xbox One more expensive going forward, check out the FAQ for all the details and run the numbers for yourself.

[Thanks, Corey]

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Xbox Live Family Plan conversion FAQ, Microsoft

The Xbox One game console will enable all users of a single console to enjoy the benefits of a single users’ Xbox Live Gold account, Microsoft announced this afternoon. This initiative, called “Home Gold,” includes online multiplayer, various streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, NFL), Game DVR and the One Guide — services that are specifically enabled through Xbox Live Gold membership ($60 a year). That also includes digital games that any user of a single Xbox One purchased as well, a variant of functionality that Microsoft previously promised with Xbox One and subsequently rolled back after consumers reacted negatively.

Microsoft’s Xbox VP Marc Whitten announced as much on the company’s Xbox news site, Xbox Wire, where he wrote:

“It means that your account and your gamertag are truly yours. You don’t have to share your gamertag for multiplayer gaming with others in your home, or see recommendations for your kid’s cartoons next to the recommended first-person shooter for you. It also means that you can introduce new games and enjoy multiplayer with friends while they are at your house. Last but not least, it also means that when you buy one Xbox Live Gold membership, multiple people can enjoy the best benefits of Xbox Live Gold on your Xbox One at no additional charge.”

Apparently the same XBL Gold account can be signed in on both an Xbox One and an Xbox 360; as expected, Xbox 360 Gold accounts carry over to Xbox One, though this is the first we’re hearing about peaceful co-existence between the two consoles. We’ll surely hear more from Whitten and co. in Cologne, Germany during Gamescom 2013 in just a few weeks.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Microsoft

Nobody can accuse Oscar-winning director Ang Lee of being stuck in a box, having gone from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Hulk to Life of Pi. According to Deadline Hollywood, he’ll next tackle a boxing film that looks at the 1960s and ’70s golden age or prizefighting, with such rivalries as Ali-Frazier and Hearns-Duran. Intriguingly, he intends to give us an intimate peek into that world by filming it in 3D, presumably using Life of Pi‘s Cameron Pace Fusion 3D technology. Other story and technical details have yet to come out, but given the filmmaker’s love of complex themes and the epic clashes of the era, he’s got our attention.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: The Guardian

Source: Deadline Hollywood