Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen a few TVs with thin bezels in our time — some affordable, some not so much — but they usually sell at prices that have many of us turning to less than elegant screens. If Hisense has its way, the lines between higher style and lower budget will blur with the unveiling of its T770 series. The 42- and 52-inch sets in the range both have extra-narrow 7mm bezels yet cost an entirely reasonable $800 and $1,200 respectively, according to a spokesperson. For the cash outlay, the two TVs share the common foundation of a 1080p LCD with edge LED lighting, active shutter 3D and 120Hz refresh rates. They likewise share a quartet of HDMI ports, WiFi and the seemingly obligatory local media support through DLNA sharing and USB. Although Hisense might not lure some viewers away from bigger or simply more elaborate screens once the T770 is in stores sometime in the undefined near future, it may have given us a friendly reminder that interesting design and sane prices don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Continue reading Hisense T770 takes thin-bezel 3D TVs to the masses from $800

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Hisense T770 takes thin-bezel 3D TVs to the masses from $800 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Nov 2012 06:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although Hitachi was one of the first in line to promise support for Roku Streaming Sticks through MHL, it didn’t have much more to say without the TVs to back up the claim. The second half of the puzzle is complete now that the company’s fall TV revision is underway. Snag its new UltraVision UltraThin S606 TV in its one of its 42-, 46- or 55-inch sizes and you can discreetly (if optionally) hide the equivalent of a full Roku box in one of the HDMI inputs. The S606 sits strictly in the mid-range, however. Its 120Hz, edge-LED LCD design is superceded by the W806, which comes only in 48- and 55-inch sizes while carrying 3D, IPTV support and WiFi. Those who can get by on 60Hz refresh rates can opt for the Value line, where the H306 and S406 offer 720p in 29- and 32-inch dimensions; a third H316 line brings 1080p to those same sizes while adding a 39-inch panel. Hitachi hasn’t said whether stores are stocking the TVs today, but it sees pricing ranging from $329 in the smaller Value sets to $1,399 for the largest W806 variant.

The TV builder’s audio mix isn’t being ignored with the refresh. Launching in tandem with the TVs, the HSB32B26 and HSB40B16 sound bars are designed to respectively match up with 32- and 40-inch TVs while delivering 3D sound processing and Apt-X Bluetooth audio. At $149 and $199, the sound bars are close enough in cost that we may only need a measuring tape to settle any purchasing dilemmas once the hardware is in stores.

Continue reading Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Roku-ready HDMI, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Hitachi intros UltraVision LED TVs with Roku-ready HDMI, freshens Value TVs and sound bars for the fall originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, commercials. They’re convenient for those times you want to grab more snacks without missing any of your show, and maddening when you just want to watch TV without seemingly endless commercials. Dish Network offers two features via its Hopper Whole-Home DVR that allows users to record shows and skip commercials. Fox tried to block these features, but a judge has ruled in Dish’s favor.

PrimeTime Anytime allows subscribers to record prime time shows (hence its name), while AutoHop gives an option for skipping commercials on certain recordings. Fox requested a preliminary injection to block these two features, concerned about the effect it will have on advertising revenue. According to a statement published by Dish Network, District Judge Dolly Gee ultimately rejected Fox’s request.

Says the announcement, the block was rejected for several reasons, a few of which were related to copyright. The ruling stated that the use of PrimeTime Anytime does not infringe on Fox’s reproduction rights and that users cannot be held liable for infringement, and neither of the two features fall under unauthorized distribution. About AutoHop specifically, Judge Gee ruled that the feature doesn’t violate Dish and Fox’s 2010 RTC agreement’s Video-on-Demand provision, but that it does “likely violate” the RTC agreement in general. Fox, however, hasn’t provided any proof that it has been harmed by the feature.

Dish’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel R Stanton offered this statement. “Today’s ruling is a victory for common sense and customer choice … The ruling underscores the U.S. Supreme Court’s ‘Betamax’ decision, with the court confirming a consumer’s right to enjoy television as they want, when they want, including the reasonable right to skip commercials, if they so choose.”

[via Dish]

Judge rejects request to block Dish AutoHop and PrimeTime Anytime is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

British TiVo owners with Virgin Media have sometimes had to watch as their American counterparts get first crack at the latest extras, not the least of which have been the mobile apps. The UK has just caught up, and then some, now that Virgin has rolled out a finished TV Anywhere app for iOS, Macs and Windows PCs. While the software has the obligatory DVR queuing and remote controls, the “anywhere” portion comes through a selection of as many as 45 live TV channels accessible from most any broadband internet connection. Reinforcing that connected vibe is fresh multi-room streaming to share recorded shows with that TiVo in the basement. TV Anywhere and multi-room support are both gratis parts of a subscription, so Virgin customers have every excuse to liberate their TV viewing.

[Thanks, Stuart]

Continue reading TiVo TV Anywhere app, multi-room streaming launch for Virgin Media viewers

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD

TiVo TV Anywhere app, multi-room streaming launch for Virgin Media viewers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has always been about expanding the scope of its products to more than just a select demographic. The company’s Xbox 360 is now more than just a gaming console; it’s media center device meant for the whole family. According to recent job listings, even more features may be coming to the living room in the form of cloud TV.

Microsoft is looking to hire engineers to build client applications for a service described as a “cloud-based TV platform,” and encourages candidates to “get in on the ground floor of an ambitious new project.” Obviously, we’re left with even more questions than what we started with, but it seems that Microsoft is looking to take cloud computing to a new level.

Microsoft is looking for engineers with experience with different web application technologies, such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, as well as common frameworks like jQuery. The company also wants people who have experience with mobile and browser application development, and they list iOS, Android, Windows 8, and Windows RT as examples.

Microsoft is also requiring its candidates to be able to “pick up new technologies rapidly”, and “set and maintain a fast pace of execution”. The job listings are all part of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business division, which is responsible for the Xbox 360, Xbox Live, and Zune, so it looks like that the Xbox platform will be the one to get this so called “cloud TV” if or when it releases.

[via LiveSide]

Microsoft cloud TV platform shows up in job listing is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.