Hasta La Gadget!

When Rakuten launched the beta for its Wuaki.tv any-way-you-want-it video service in the UK, it left out the mobile apps that many crave. The company is rectifying that mistake today by officially bringing its Android and iOS clients to the country. There are few surprises for those who’ve used the apps in Spain, although the necessary Android update brings an option to rate shows. There’s also more platform support on the way — Wuaki.tv says that Brits will get access through game consoles and smart TVs later in the summer. As long as you’re content with watching videos over WiFi, you can grab both apps through the source links.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, Internet, HD

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Source: Google Play, App Store

When projectors are a dime a dozen, they have to do something truly special to stand out. BenQ’s newly available W1500 might just pull that off: how does high-quality wireless video sound? The DLP unit is billed as the first projector to offer WHDI over 5GHz frequencies, letting it stream 1080p 3D movies at quality that’s reportedly on par with an HDMI signal. The company isn’t leaning solely on this trick to lure us in, mind you. The W1500 integrates with mobile devices, courts gamers through 3DTV Play support and throws an 84-inch picture from as close as six feet away. Such convenience is expensive at $2,299, but it could be a viable alternative to stringing video cables around the den.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: BenQ

Canadians who love movies (but hate vowels) just received some good news: Rdio has launched Vdio in their homeland. The content and pricing is largely similar to what we’ve seen in the US, including major movies that cost $5.99 to rent and $19.99 to buy. There are a few glaring omissions, though — some bigger titles, such as Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook, are listed as “unavailable.” Vdio isn’t launching all that smoothly in the Great White North, then. Even so, its arrival is noteworthy when many online media services tend to skip Canada altogether.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Via: GigaOM

Source: Rdio Blog, Vdio

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt today sent an open letter to CBS CEO Leslie Moonves today, expressing a desire to resume negotiations and end the current programming blackout. In the document, which was reportedly received by CBS executives at the same time it was sent to reporters, Britt proposes that TWC make the network’s stations available to consumers with an a-la-carte pricing model — the cable company will hand over the entire tariff to CBS. While the terms are being discussed, Britt expects CBS to give permission to resume broadcasts immediately, and to re-enable CBS.com access for TWC internet subscribers as well. The bizarre “open” nature of this letter makes it possible to conclude that today’s action was simply a public-relations ploy, giving the impressions that Time Warner is being generous by bringing this peace offering to the table. We imagine the situation is significantly more complex than this single-page letter would make it seem, however.

Update: CBS has provided a short response to the letter, calling a “sham” and an “empty gesture.” For the complete war of words, check out both the letter and response in full after the break.

[Photo by Jonathan Fickies/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Deadline, AP (Yahoo)

We hope you weren’t planning to tinker with your Chromecast this weekend. GTVHacker has confirmed that a recent firmware update to Google’s streaming media stick plugs the bootloader exploit that many are using to get root access. Some XDA-Developers members have tried maintaining root by flashing recovery images and disabling signing keys, but those aren’t reliable solutions — we’ve seen a few reports of bricked Chromecasts. If you’re cautious, it may be best to wait until more adventurous owners find a vulnerability in Google’s newer code.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google

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Via: Android Police

Source: XDA-Developers, GTVHacker (Twitter)