Hasta La Gadget!

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Amazon is still determined to snag every TV exclusive possible, and it just scored one of its better deals — or at least, one of the more forward-thinking. It now has the sole unlimited subscription streaming rights to the previous seasons of five NBCUniversal shows. The highlight could be Hannibal, which will reach the service later this year; gamers may also like the crossover SyFy series Defiance, which should be ready in early 2014. Those who just can’t wait to stream something will get their fill through exclusives for Covert Affairs, Grimm and Suits, all of which are in the catalog today. Amazon isn’t completely shutting out rivals like Netflix, however: its expanded NBCU deal includes regular deals for Alphas, Eureka, Smash, Warehouse 13 and a collection of children’s shows destined for Kindle FreeTime Unlimited. While we’d prefer that there be as few exclusives as possible, there’s no question that some Prime members will feel better about springing for that $79 yearly fee.

[Thanks, John]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon

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Source: Amazon

From the latest harbinger of the robopocalypse from Boston Dynamics to more friendly looking machines like Romo, Engadget has a longstanding love affair with all forms of robots. Syfy channel’s newest show, Robot Combat League (RCL), has provided us with twelve new objects of robotic affection –and the best part is, we get to watch them destroy each other in gladiatorial fashion. RCL isn’t the first show to have ‘bots do battle on TV, of course, but it is the first to have the robots be humanoid avatars that mimic the movements of the people operating them. Mark Setrakian is the man who designed and built the dozen robots on the show, and we recently got the opportunity to chat with him about how he did it.

Filed under: Robots, HD

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I’ve been exceptionally unhappy with SyFy over the last week or so after hearing that they canceled Alphas. It looks like they’re trying to get back on my good side with a series called Defiance. Along with the new science fiction series also comes a video game from developer Trion World with the same name. The game is a first-person sci-fi shooter and what happens in the game promises to impact the storyline of the series.

The video game went up for pre-order this week with various versions available starting at $59.99 (USD). The standard version pre-order includes an invite to the Beta for the game, a three-day XP boost, and a pre-order weapon along with other goodies. A deluxe digital version will sell for $99.99 and include all of that, plust a 30-day scrip boost, increased inventory space, rocket launcher and shield upgrades, and a bunch of other special goodies.

Console versions include The $99.99 Collector’s Edition of the game, which comes with a fancy box, Hellbug figuring, special weapon, a making of DVD, soundtrack and a bunch of other stuff. The Ultimate Edition of the video game will sell for $149 and will be offered only at GameStop. This version of the game includes everything in the Collector’s Edition, plus a  messenger bag, extra in-game title, a lock box, and a one-year season DLC  pass.

The Defiance TV series is set to premiere on Monday, April 15 at 8pm Central on SyFy. The video game is also set to launch in April and will be available on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

[via Forbes]

It’s that time of year, when our favorite TV shows go one winter break. There’s a sudden flood of fall finales, so while most will be back in a few weeks/months, don’t be surprised when your DVR is looking a little thin next week. 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.

Syfy 20th Anniversary Special
Love it or hate it, the network formerly known as Sci Fi celebrates 20 years on the air tonight. The stars from some of its most loved shows will be stopping by to talk shop and celebrate with nods to shows like FarScape and Battlestar Galactica, as well as newer ones like Alphas and Haven and a peek at upcoming content like the platform-spanning Defiance.
(December 10th, Syfy, 9PM)

College football
The bowl season kicks off this weekend with the New Mexico bowl and Idaho Potato Bowl, but that’s not all of the college football there is. Also keep an eye out for the Division II and III championships Friday night / Saturday afternoon if you’d like to get a preview of what a college football playoff is like.

Continue reading Must See HDTV (December 10th – 16th)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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