Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen a fair share of Android-powered set-tops in our time, but KDDI (with the help of Panasonic) has taken a slightly different entertainment route with its recently unveiled Smart TV Box. Similar to some Google TV boxes, which the Smart TV Box isn’t, KDDI plans to bring this one to cable providers in Japan to act as the main unit in living rooms, with the testing phase set to commence as soon as next month. KDDI’s Smart TV Box is powered by an undisclosed dual-core chip and feeds off of a tasty bite of Mountain View’s Ice Cream Sandwich. As far as ports and other features, there’s HDMI and three USB ports on board, while ethernet (WiFi, too) keeps you connected and a built-in hard drive takes care of all your DVR needs. Like we said earlier, trial runs will start in August, but the Japanese company expects to have the brick officially up-and-running in a number of households later this fall. In the meantime, though, there’s a soothing video for your viewing pleasure just past the break.

Continue reading KDDI unveils ICS ‘Smart TV Box’ for cable providers in Japan, available later this year (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

KDDI unveils ICS ‘Smart TV Box’ for cable providers in Japan, available later this year (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 14:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The advent of movie support in iTunes for the Cloud was a boon to Apple TV owners as well as any iTunes user with a tendency to hop between devices — within the US, that is. Apple today swung the doors open and let Australia, Canada, the UK as well as 32 other countries and regions around the world get access to their movies whenever they’re signed in through iTunes or an iOS device. Not every studio is on the same page, as many American viewers will know all too well: it’s more likely that you’ll get re-download rights for a major studio title such as Lockout than an indie production, for example. Even with that limit in mind, there’s no doubt more than a few movie mavens glad to avoid shuffling and re-syncing that copy of Scott Pilgrim to watch it through to the end.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

iTunes in the Cloud movies find their way to Australia, Canada, the UK and 32 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps surprisingly, there was more news to discuss last week than just the DirecTV / Viacom split and Breaking Bad season five premiere. News from Ceton about its upcoming hardware plans has us excited for the fall while XBMC is doing its part to extend the HTPC experience by supporting Android. Finally, a slick Blu-ray box set for the Marvel / Disney movies has us considering whether to push the buy button, although we can all agree that selecting “play” is the best option for you right now.

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

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03:01 – Ceton Echo Extender for Media Center beta to start in September
07:20 – XBMC for Android app revealed; source code available now, beta APKs soon (video)
08:30 – Nexus Q hacked to run CM9 and XBMC, inches closer to usefulness
10:20 – Aereo avoids a preliminary injunction, keeps its antenna to internet TV service on the air for now
12:03 – OnLive reaffirms support for Marvell powered ARM Google TV boxes
14:05 – CasaTunes Air bridges traditional whole-home audio with AirPlay
17:40 – Viacom channels disappear from DirecTV after the two companies can’t reach a deal
20:00 – AMC to live stream Breaking Bad season premiere on its site, Dish customers rejoice
30:20 – Cablevision Optimum apps for iPad, iPhone upgraded with new UI, ratings and discovery features
34:10 – Marvel Cinematic Universe 10-disc Blu-ray box unveiled, Tesseract and all
37:45 – Must See HDTV (July 16th – 22nd)

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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget HD Podcast 308 – 07.17.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While some pay-TV providers are tied up in nasty battles with the studios that provide them content, Comcast and Scripps have just inked an agreement to bring the company’s lifestyle programming to cable subscribers over the internet. As noted in the press release (embedded after the break) the multi-year deal brings HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country to Comcast’s TV Everywhere portal, via mobile (and “other” devices) and on Scripps websites. Probably not a minor element in the deal is the inclusion of support for Comcast’s on the fly ad-insertion for VOD, which should push the efforts of both partners along, although potentially unskippable ads could be less viewer friendly.

Continue reading Comcast, Scripps deal brings more internet streaming video on Xfinity TV

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Comcast, Scripps deal brings more internet streaming video on Xfinity TV originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re one of the lucky few — 1000 actually — who received an email today from Ceton you will have the ability to join its paid Extender beta this September. For $179 Ceton will ship testers an Echo Extender for Media Center before anyone else, but in return they need to help work out all the bugs in time for the release this holiday season. At that price the Echo isn’t a budget alternative to using an Xbox 360 as an Extender, but between the additional functionality realized when paired with the upcoming Ceton Q multi-room DVR and other features like HDMI-CEC and MoCA, it will probably be the clear choice for some — not to mention it didn’t take long for the InfiniTV 4 to drop $100 to $199, so this too should be cheaper at some point. Other news from Kirkland includes the fact that there’s additional info about the Q coming in September and that the Ceton Companion beta is going well enough that the mobile apps for Media Center will launch at the end of this month. We guess it’s a good thing for Media Center fans Ceton missed the memo from their neighbors in Redmond that Media Center is dead.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Ceton Echo Extender for Media Center beta to start in September originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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