Roku is launching a streaming stick later this year, and now it’s announced some hardware partners for the upcoming device. Problem is, they’re like that weird friend you always call when you don’t have any plans and all your more interesting and exciting friends are busy. More »
At CES 2012 we were promised that Yahoo would integrate IntoNow’s SoundPrint technology with its backend to pull up useful extra content about whatever TV program was being watched and now it’s delivered that and more. IntoNow 3.0 for iOS (no upgrade yet for the Android version) enhances the app’s TV companion experience in three key ways: TV / Music Sync, “CapIt” screengrabbing and finally Group Chat. The TV and music sync brings not only the associated info we’d heard about before, but also brings Shazam-style information about any music that might be playing. CapIt can pull screenshots from the cloud of any of the TV shows IntoNow’s backend is monitoring, which adds up to about 13 million frames a day, then pops them up ready for meme creation and sharing. Group Chat does exactly what it sounds like, and lets you talk to friends or set up circles of fans around particular shows.
We gave the app a try and found it worked as advertised, quickly identifying what was playing whether live or on DVR and popping up episode info, cast listings and Wikipedia links. The CapIt feature (shown above) pulls frames with surprising speed and ease, even on live broadcasts, and allows users to scroll backwards or refresh for new freezes to grab just the right one. It doesn’t monitor what you’re watching live, but punching the green TV icon in the upper left corner causes it to sync right away, which also creates an entry of what was being watched and when.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablet PCs
Yahoo’s IntoNow TV companion app for iOS adds screen grab, music recognition and chat features originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s time for Google Fiber to go big as the company lets loose not just its pricing, packages, and hardware scale, but the fact that Kansas City will be using the Nexus 7 as their remote control for all their TV-related services. Google Fiber’s TV plan (as detailed this morning) will cost you a $300 installation fee and $120 a month – unless you sign up for a 2-year contract, in which case installation is completely free. Included in that plan is several pieces of hardware: a TV Box, Network Box, Storage Box, and no less than the Nexus 7 itself.
This tablet has gotten rather famous and wanted rather quickly as Google revealed the product just weeks ago at their very own developer conference in California, Google I/O 2012. This conference also had all attendees getting the tablet (and several other goodies) for free while the general public had to wait just a week or so. Now the tablet appears to be all but sold out across the whole entire earth with Google hopefully pushing hard to replenish stock.
Now right after the first official TV ad has been released for the tablet, Google is once again pushing hard to get the device in the hands of many. Or at least they’re making a grand effort to make the tablet seem ubiquitous as they rely on it to be the one and only controller for the Google Fiber Gigabit + TV deal users will be grabbing very, very soon.
The Nexus 7 will have an official Google Fiber TV application installed on it when it arrives in Kansas City users’ homes, and we expect we might get a peek at the functionality of the system in greater detail soon as well. Stay tuned, and hit the timeline below for all the Google Fiber news you can handle!
Nexus 7 gets spotlight in Google Fiber bid is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google just kicked its Google Fiber efforts into overdrive. The company’s Kansas City effort is getting a full launch and now includes Google Fiber TV — a “real” TV service with recognizable channels and its own, fully searchable interface that mixes DVR results with Netflix and YouTube. As many as 500 shows can be stored in full 1080p HD, and several TVs within the home can tune in at the same time.. Not surprisingly, there’s also a major mobile component taking advantage of that 1Gbps fiber link, as users will have the option of browsing, sharing and eventually watching live TV directly from tablet apps. The company is also promising an ever-evolving service that includes Google+ video hangouts. For hardware, Google has its own dedicated Network Box with a four-port gigabit Ethernet router and 802.11n WiFi, a TV Box with live viewing and a WiFi access point as well as a Storage Box DVR with 2TB of data and the ability to record eight shows at once. Your remote control? A free, bundled Nexus 7 tablet, naturally.
The overall service will come with 1TB of Google Drive space, although it’s expensive to get started: there’s a $300 “construction fee” (currently being waived) to wire a home for the fiber optics. Three packages will be on offer, starting with a Gigabit + TV package that includes the essentials, all major channels and “hundreds” of fiber channels (plus on-demand content) for $120 a month. Skip traditional TV and it costs $70 a month — and if you’re a local resident willing to pony up the construction free, you can get 5Mbps internet access for free for “at least” seven years. Key institutions are getting the full gigabit access for free, as well. Only small slices of Kansas City in both Missouri and Kansas state should have access at first, but Google is conducting a six-week “rally” where the most people paying a $10 pre-registration fee dictate where Google Fiber goes next. Now if only other cities would go the same route.
Update: The full event replay is available for your inspection after the break.
Gallery: Google Fiber July 26 event
Continue reading Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV (update: event video)
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Networking, Internet
Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV (update: event video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Roku is a hell of a media streamer: its only real competitor is the Apple TV, but it costs half as much. No brainer. And when News Corp and British Sky Broadcasting pony up $45 million to help Roku win the streaming race, the possibilities start to seem limitless. More »
Subtitles make TV far more accessible for deaf people, but new research promises to give people with hearing difficulties the option to subtitle their everyday lives, too, using crowdsourced transcribers. More »
We first caught wind of Angry Birds‘ impending arrival on Samsung Smart TVs earlier this month, and now the war against pigs is available as a free download on some of the company’s silver screens. Thanks to a built-in camera and the firm’s Smart Interaction tech, which typically help users navigate menus and browse the web, gamers can smash through swine defenses using gesture controls. In order to download the app from the Samsung Smart Hub, you’ll need a television in the Plasma 8000 range or a 2012 LED 7500 or higher. If your TV’s not as intelligent as Samsung would like, however, the avian protagonists can already stage their skirmishes on your tube with a Roku, and come this holiday season, they’ll be soaring on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment
Angry Birds with gesture controls collides with select Samsung Smart TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 02:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A lot of consumers are getting into the market of smart TVs these days. Of course, the biggest problem is that there isn’t a cohesive, universal platform for Internet-connected TVs. We’re not even at the point where there are a couple platforms vying for dominance; we’ve stepped back to the Stone Age where each manufacturer has its own operating system.
That’s a problem when you understand that TV manufacturers aren’t really in the business of creating software platforms. But Boxpay hopes that these manufacturers will soon all coalesce around the Android OS, and enable access to its new universal payment system for TV apps. There are many premium apps you can buy for your TV, most of which are casual games, but very few people choose to.
Boxpay’s new software development kit allows consumers to pay for TV apps through their Android phone, billing all purchases through their mobile carrier. This is much more convenient than going through the hassle of entering a credit card number with your TV’s remote control. Boxpay’s Gavin McConnon said in a VentureBeat interview, “We are still in the early days of Smart TV. But the vendors are interested.” So stay tuned.
[via VentureBeat]
Boxpay aims for frictionless TV app purchases is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple is reportedly working on a television. From analysts to reports out of China, all signs point to the company developing a set that would include the latest HD technology, a nice design, and iCloud integration. And as more rumors pile in, the chances of that device launching sooner rather than later seem awfully high.
Well, that is, if you disregard the fact that Apple hasn’t said that it’s actually planning to launch the television.
In fact, as with its many other products, Apple has decided to go with radio silence on any speculation that it’s launching a television. The company is content with people wondering and the rumor mill crafting stories. It’s a formula that has worked exceedingly well for Apple over the last several years.
But I can’t help but wonder if the formula might fall short this time around. Yes, hiding the truth about televisions will be a solid idea from a hype perspective, but can it really hold up in a marketplace where people are buying new products every decade or so?
See, the nice thing about secrecy in the smartphone or tablet market is that it doesn’t really matter what people have now. If they like the $200 iPhone Apple just announced or that really cool $500 iPad, they’re going to get a new device, regardless of the fact that they already own a smartphone or tablet.
“When people plunk down cash for a television they expect it to last”
Televisions, however, are a different story. Today’s sets go for anywhere between a few hundred dollars for entry-level televisions to sets costing over $2,000 for something really nice. When people plunk down that much cash for a television, they’re expecting it to last them a long time.
Realizing that, perhaps Apple should start talking about a television if it is, in fact, considering launching a set. After all, with each new major television purchase, Apple is losing a potential customer to Samsung, LG, and others. And the chances of it getting them to spend another, say, $2,000 for a television anytime soon seems slim.
Simply put, the millions of people that will buy televisions worldwide this year might not be Apple customers for at least a decade.
By announcing its television now, Apple has the luxury of stopping would-be television buyers from actually doing so. Why buy that Samsung, those people might say, when Apple is planning to launch something even better in the next few months? By not being secretive, Apple can actually do more harm than good to its competitors.
But alas, I know I’m talking to a wall. Apple has only one mode when it comes to its products, and that’s secrecy. The very idea of tipping its hand is enough to send the human resources department through its headquarters in Cupertino to remind everyone that a single leak can mean termination.
Apple’s no-nonsense policy has helped the company considerably in the past. But I’m concerned that it might actually fail Apple this time around.
Is Apple’s TV Secrecy A Good Idea This Time Around? is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We’ve known for some time that Amazon is planning to make original TV content. But now Bezos and co have announced that Amazon is turning its back on the US, instead choosing to develop a center in London to spearhead its move into media. More »
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