The best little streaming black box just got a spanking new model: the Roku 3. The slightly updated design adds a few curves to the square black box design and also throws in an updated user interface, a much faster processor and even a private watching mode that uses wireless audio from the remote control. Yes, the remote control has a headphone jack. More »
Roku introduced the new Roku 3 set-top box that delivers more than a hobby. It’s probably the best streamer on the market.
Your move Apple.
Almost two years after its last major set-top box rollout, Roku is ready to introduce its first third generation player. Other than a new curvier design outside the Roku 3’s main differences are a more powerful processor inside, the addition of dual band WiFi and a tweaked remote with audio out (headphones included) for private listening. Of course, hardware is only half the story and the new player debuts a reworked interface that will also spread to “current generation” players (read: Roku 2, new HD, LT and Streaming Stick) as an update in April. Roku 3 goes on sale tomorrow through Roku.com and Amazon.com for $99, taking the place of the current top of the line XS model. We’ll go more in depth about what’s new this time around, including a video preview of the new UI, after the break.
Gallery: Roku 3 hardware, interface
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Roku Blog
We’ve been hearing rumblings about Google’s plans for a Spotify-killer for what seems like forever now. More recently, there’s been word that the company’s YouTube brand is also getting set set to enter the space, albeit with some overlap from a Google-branded effort. Fortune spoke to some anonymous-type folks in the record industry who confirmed the latter, adding that the service is set to launch this year. The offering will apparently give users some free streaming, with additional features being made available for a subscription fee. The site reached out to YouTube, who offered the following bit of hopeful non-commitment:
While we don’t comment on rumor or speculation, there are some content creators that think they would benefit from a subscription revenue stream in addition to ads, so we’re looking at that.
So, you know, stay tuned.
Source: Fortune
The Tesla Model S is an undeniably cool vehicle. The car looks great and has zero emissions while offering very impressive performance. The car has been dinged in recent reviews over its driving distance, but any purely electric vehicle will produce range anxiety. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently showed off a relatively unknown feature that the Model S offers.
It turns out that the high-tech car will play any song you ask for whenever you ask for it. You don’t have to have the music on a connected iPod or smartphone either. You simply press the steering wheel button, tell the car what song you want to hear, and Musk says the car will go on the Internet, find a stream of the song, and begin playing it immediately – presumably using the car’s built-in 3G data connection.
From the video demo, it appears that the whole process happens impressively fast. I’ve owned a car with the Ford Sync system in the past that would play songs from my iPhone using voice commands, and the delay for that system and a local device appears to be about as long as the Model S needs to grab a song from the Internet.
The YouTube app for iOS updated today with a cool new feature that allows your iOS device to pair with a select number of smart TVs and set-top boxes in order to push videos from your device to the television. YouTube says it’s just another way they’re working to make it “super easy to watch YouTube on any screen.” The update is available now.
As for what smart TVs and various other home theater devices that the YouTube app works with, the company says that it’s compatible with Bang & Olufsen, LG, Panasonic and Sony devices right now. However, companies such as Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio, and Western Digital will add support later this year, with even more companies to add to the list later on as well.
So technically, you won’t need a smart TV, but a receiver or a set-top box will also do the trick. To get your TV and your mobile device synced up, just head into “Settings” and then tap on “Pair YouTube TV.” From there you’ll enter in the “Pairing Code” and the name you want to give the TV. To get the code, open up the YouTube app on your TV.
YouTube also announced that the app is available on over 400 million devices, and over 25% of YouTube’s video viewing comes from mobile devices. That’s technically not too surprising, though, as smartphones and tablets have been taking the world by storm lately, and video watching while on the go is becoming quite prevalent.
YouTube for iOS updates with “send to TV” feature is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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ISPs in the US are just getting around to enforcing a “six strikes” policy against illegal P2P sharing, but France is now contemplating a crackdown on the streaming and direct downloads of pirated content. Hadopi, the government organization behind the country’s existing “three strikes” law, released a new report that proposes websites take a page from YouTube’s book and actively monitor content by using recognition algorithms and the like to take down things that are presumed illegal. If a site weren’t to cooperate after a round of warnings, it might face penalties including DNS and IP blocking, domain name seizures and even financial repercussions that involve having their accounts with “payment intermediaries” (think PayPal) suspended. As for enforcement of this potential government mandate, the dossier posits that it could lean on internet service providers instead of hosting services, which according to EU law, can’t be forced to conduct widespread surveillance. For now, these suggestions aren’t being made policy, but Hadopi is mulling them over.
[Image credit: keith.bellvay, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Hadopi (1, translated), (2, PDF)
Surprise, surprise: Apple isn’t the only company that’s rumored to be developing a music streaming service. According to Financial Times, Google is working to augment its current download store with a streaming service that could take on the likes of Spotify, Slacker and Nokia Music. The outlet’s sources suggest that Google is currently in the negotiation stage with record labels, and that its service would likely feature both paid and free, ad-supported components. Naturally, while this news remains in the realm of rumors for both Apple and Google, it seems that the race is now on for which company is both willing and able to supplement its music store with a streaming service. Anyone care to place bets on which company is first to the starting line?
Via: CNET
Source: Financial Times
According to the Financial Times, Google is currently in talks with “big music labels to launch a streaming service to compete with companies such as Spotify.” Google previously launched its own digital music store over a year ago but this service will be different than the digital tunes shop, Google’s streaming music service will offer free unlimited access to songs (with advertisements), along with subscription options. [Financial Times] More »
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