Hasta La Gadget!

Well, they certainly made you wait for it, but the BBC has finally delivered on its promise, bringing radio support to its Xbox 360 app. When iPlayer launched on the console in March, patient customers were initially left without access to the national network’s vast catalog of audio programming. With today’s 22MB update that changes, but only so long as you’re sticking with archived materials. You’ll have access to the catch up feature, but no live streaming (so don’t expect to get your breaking news through your Xbox). You’ll also be able to pick up where you left off with previously accessed programs. If you’ve got an urge to find out about all the work that went into the UI design, hit up the source.

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BBC iPlayer adds radio support to Xbox app originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We haven’t heard a lot about TiVo’s Stream transcoder since it was officially unveiled in May, but today emails went out to winners of a Facebook contest informing them they can pre-order one for $129 (plus shipping) and receive it on September 5th. In case you’ve forgotten what its capabilities are, the notice shown above from Zatz Not Funny also includes a description of its capabilities which include streaming shows to up to three different mobile devices (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) in the home at once, streaming a show to your mobile as it’s recorded, or wirelessly transferring shows to the device to view them on the move, TiVoToGo-style. Those interested will of course need a Premiere series DVR that’s hard-wired to a router, but with that it’s just a one time fee to easily cut the tether on TV content. Interestingly, a few TiVo Community posters report being able to preorder from the listed number without being in the contest, so if you’re already intending to jump just pick up the phone and give it a shot.

[Thanks, @BrennokBob, Joe]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

TiVo Stream DVR-to-iOS transcoder box pops up for $129 pre-orders early originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have survived. The long hot summer is drawing to an end and as the days again grow shorter that can only mean one thing: football is back. While everyone stocks up on supplies for the longest football Saturday ever we’ve got a new podcast for you to check out, as we cover the latest TV apps for the Xbox 360, Google TV and even a relaunch of the TV Guide app on iOS. It’s also time to look towards the future as IFA 2012 gets rolling LG is already shipping its first 4K HDTV while the ITU has locked down a standard for 8K broadcasts. While we wait for those to become reality we’ll be watching the games (and Doctor Who, and the midseason finale of Breaking Bad) in standard HD, while choosing winner in our NFL Pick ‘Em league. Click here to join, the ID number is 1955 and the password is EHD12.

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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: Trent Wolbe

25:37 – NBC News app for Xbox 360 brings streaming show clips to the console
26:30 – US presidential campaign trail winds its way to Xbox Live on August 27th with Election 2012 Hub
28:40 – Sky’s Now TV service hits Xbox, beckons you forth with 30 day free trial
32:00 – Google Play Music app updated for Google TV, Play video content now streaming to Chromebooks
33:50 – Netflix inks deal with Weinstein Co.-owned Radius-TWC, films coming to watch instantly next year
35:42 – TV Guide Mobile relaunches for iOS with a new look, links to streaming video and social networks
42:15 – Hulu launches redesigned site with bigger artwork, ‘tray-style format’ of suggested shows
43:37 – Star Wars Episode II and III 3D re-releases officially dated for theaters in September and October 2013
45:00 – 4K, 84-inch ‘ultra’ HDTV from LG is ready to start shipping now in Korea, worldwide next month
46:00 – ITU approves NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly
47:44 – Must See HDTV (August 27th – September 2nd)

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Engadget HD Podcast 313 – 08.28.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is it, the crossover where summer and fall programming mix. College football is back in action, and we say good bye to some of our favorite summer TV shows like Breaking Bad. TV fans should also keep an eye out on the disc releases, as many shows boxed sets are hitting shelves before the new season begin airing soon. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Breaking Bad
This weekend the first half of the fifth and final season of AMC’s Breaking Bad comes to a close, before viewers wait for the second half to air in summer 2013. You won’t find any spoilers here, but the path Walter White has taken has certainly arrived at places few would have predicted when the show began. The only question now is how many surprises are left before it all comes to an end.
(September 2, AMC, 10PM)

Doctor Who
Also fresh this weekend is a new series of Doctor Who episodes, kicking off with Asylum of the Daleks. The better news as of late has been BBC America closing the gap in airing new episodes and that DirecTV is carrying the channel in HD at last. If you can’t wait for new shows, check out the Pond Life preview clip embedded after the break.
(September 1, BBC America, 9PM)

College Football
While preseason week four of the NFL season is skippable pigskin action, the return of college football this weekend will have us planted firmly in front of our HDTVs. The Hawaii/USC and Michigan/Alabama matchups Saturday night should start the season off with a bang and we can’t wait. Looking for your favorite team in the listings? We’ve got many of the nationwide broadcasts covered, but reader Jose Perez reminds us of this comprehensive TV schedule at LSUFootball.net that should let you know who is playing where all season long.
(August 30th – September 1st)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (August 27th – September 2nd)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Must See HDTV (August 27th – September 2nd) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While most of us have spent the last few weeks preparing for the return of North American-style football (get our NFL Pick ‘Em league info here), soccer fans in the US and France have been tracking the sudden rise of international TV network beIN Sport. Operated out of Qatar by Al Jazeera, beIN Sport USA has snagged the exclusive broadcast rights to Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1, South American World Cup Qualifiers and Copa America 2015, plus the away games for the US national men’s team in their qualifying rounds. The bad news for those interested in viewing the games is that until just recently, there were no carriers for the channel, although DirecTV (which also recently added BBC America HD for Doctor Who fans) and Dish have subsequently added it to a few tiers. Most recently, Comcast announced the channel’s availability on its Spanish MultiLatino package and for English viewers on the Xfinity TV Sports Entertainment lineup, with access also available via internet streaming. It appears Fox and ESPN have a new challenger at least for broadcast rights to soccer, and beIN Sport has expressed interest into other arenas as well, which could see it become a newer version of the now-defunct Worldsport HD channel for fans of sports that are more popular outside the US.

Continue reading beIN Sport USA soccer channel comes to Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

beIN Sport USA soccer channel comes to Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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