Hasta La Gadget!

Each new generation of the Slingbox, since 2008, gets a little bit better in terms of features. This time around, the lower-end model, the Slingbox 350, picked up 1080p quality and a slick hardware redesign. It can help you get more out of your monthly cable package—at $179, is it worth it? More »

It may very well be time that Apple introduces another new product, this time taking what they’ve already got on the market with the ThunderBolt display and the Apple TV set-top box and combining them into one next-level product. This product – or something like it – was tipped this week by Jefferies analyst James Kisner whose anonymous source spoke with a North American cable provider (aka he said, she said, down the line) who said they were “working to estimate how much additional capacity may be needed for a new Apple device on their broadband data network.” Another possibility here is that the talks earlier today with Dish and Google may have leaked over into Apple’s universe.

When you think about a new Apple product – or the possibility of one, in this case – you have to consider how Apple would be able to market said product. They would never release a television set that just works with cable TV. That’s backward thinking. They also wouldn’t release a product that only works with online content the way the current Apple TV does – that would be a sideways move that, given the sales of the Apple TV now, wouldn’t make any sense either.

Instead you’ve got to consider how a new product would be marketable, and for Apple it’d be something like this: Apple TV, a new product that replaces your set-top box and your standard television, doing it all with a high definition display the likes of which have never been seen before! But they’d have to present an ecosystem of apps and content that could work with the device right out the gate.

Regardless of this, Kisner spoke the following: “we believe this potentially suggest an imminent launch of the Apple TV.” It’s interesting that they choose to use the term Apple TV since that’s the product that’s already on the market now as a content box that connects with Netflix and Hulu and your iPad and iPhone. But there’s nothing else to call it at the moment, is there? Apple HDTV is just about the best bet at the moment.

Apple HDTV product tipped as “imminent” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With certain exceptions, HBO has developed a reputation for being protective of where and how its content goes digital. That makes Louis CK’s plans for a 2013 comedy special a slight jolt to the system, even though it’s not his first digital release linked to the channel. While HBO will get a first crack at airing the show, which will be recorded during Louis’ ongoing tour, the comedian now plans to post the production online a few months afterwards using the same successful formula that has become his calling card: $5, no DRM and no region restrictions. The offering doesn’t overhaul the industry, but it undoubtedly wrests control from the network as soon as the download link goes live. Think of Louis as making a small crack in cable TV’s content wall.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Louis CK to offer HBO show as DRM-free download, chip away at cable content deals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been testing a handful of indoor digital TV antennas over the past few weeks. So far, they’re all complete disappointments. (You know it’s a bad sign when you’re going back to the ol’ rabbit ears.) More »

Like many people, I have a serious love-hate relationship with movie and television studios. I love a lot of the content they produce, but they never cease to irritate me when it comes to their heavy-handed approach to trying to block viewers from accessing content the way we want to access it. I think one of the best DVR features I’ve heard of in a long time is Dish Networks’ AutoHop technology.

This technology allows Dish Network users with compatible DVRs to record prime-time programming on major networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox and automatically skip all the commercials. The users can watch recorded content the day after the original broadcasts without having to sit through any advertisements or having to fast-forward.

As you can imagine that feature made the networks very angry, and Fox sued Dish Network for copyright infringement among other things. Thankfully, Dish Network and TV fans around the country have won this battle for now, with the judge presiding over the case ruling in Dish Networks favor. The judge found no copyright infringement for customers using the feature and ruled that the PrimeTime Anytime feature doesn’t infringe on the studio’s exclusive reproduction rights under federal copyright laws.