Hasta La Gadget!

As promised, Vizio has starting taking pre-orders for its Co-Star Google TV box. For a penny less than a Benjamin, it adds the new Google TV experience to your existing setup, and brings along its remote with QWERTY keyboard on the underside and integrated IR blaster. Based on one of Marvell’s ARM processors it’s ready for apps like OnLive, and now that the price is competitive with the hockey puck streamers like Roku, Western Digital or Apple, we’ll see which one consumers choose. August 14th is the current estimated shipping date, if you’d like to be the first with one (and take advantage of a “limited time” free shipping offer) before the box hits retailers hit the source link to get in line, or check out the press release and quick video preview embedded after the break.

Continue reading Vizio Co-Star Google TV set-top box is up for pre-order, $100 brings it your way in August

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Vizio Co-Star Google TV set-top box is up for pre-order, $100 brings it your way in August originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 06:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Western Digital must not want to leave casual TV gaming to the Roku crowd. Our friends at the FCC have just posted a filing that shows the as yet unannounced WD TV Play taking on its set-top rival with a dedicated gaming channel. We’re only given a small peek into the new media hub’s gaming universe through the pre-release user manual, but we know that a Texas Hold’em variant and other titles will find their way in through the gaming services Funspot and PlayJam. No signs have surfaced of a Roku-like motion control, either, although the remote has been given an overhaul compared to its WD TV Live cousin with prominent shortcut buttons for Hulu Plus, Netflix and Vudu. There aren’t any immediate clues as to when the otherwise pedestrian-looking Play will take over store shelves — that said, the virtually complete details hint that there’s not long to wait.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

WD TV Play media hub revealed by the FCC, puts Texas Hold’em on the big screen originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Surprise surprise, after popping up on the iPad last year, XBMC developers revealed tonight that they’ve created a version of the media center that runs as an Android app. Currently the team has it stable on the Pivos XIOS DS set-top box, and posted a video (embedded after the break) showing it running on a phone and a tablet. Of course, the different varieties of Android hardware audio and video decoding is mostly a software only affair, but universal hardware decoding is in the plan. The truly dedicated can dig up the source code right now, but APKs for beta testers are promised “in the coming weeks.” According to the blog post, it currently includes a community member created touch oriented skin and hopes to have more available before any version of this hits Google Play officially.

[Thanks, Bharath]

Continue reading XBMC for Android app revealed; source code available now, beta APKs soon (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablet PCs

XBMC for Android app revealed; source code available now, beta APKs soon (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The UK is getting a new way to watch television today with the introduction of the YouView set top box, which offers on-demand content from the likes of the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 in addition to standard Freeview content. Lord Sugar unveiled the box today in London, saying that it offers an easy to use interface while combing live TV with on-demand internet content.

The on-demand content partners at launch will include the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, and Five, with television shows and movies being pulled down from their current online libraries. The box will feature an EPG that will allow you to see what’s currently showing on Freeview channels, and also look at programming schedules seven days in advance. On top of that, the box plays nice with HD channels, and you can pause and record live TV.

YouView will be available in two options; a subscription free set top box for £299, or subsidized as part of an internet or phone package. The box will be available in stores like Amazon, John Lewis, Richer Sounds, and Comet. YouView will be available for purchase towards the end of July, and BT and TalkTalk are expected to announce their packages including the box shortly.

YouView launching in the UK this month is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you are searching for an affordable Android set top box, then check out the GEANEE ADB-01. Measuring 180mm x 180mm x 30mm and weighing at just 360 grams, the gadget features a 1GHz Rockchip RK2918 processor with a 512MB of RAM and a 2GB of storage space. The GEANEE ADB-01 is compatible with most of famous multimedia files such as MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4, H.264, FLV, WMA, MPA, WAV and AAC. The set top box runs on the Google Android 2.3.1 operating system. Additional specs include an HDMI out, two USB ports, an SD card slot and an Ethernet port. [Akihabara]