Hasta La Gadget!

LAS VEGAS — Orb, maker of the little $100 set-top box that brings web content to your TV, will now do the same for your Blu-ray player in the form of a Blu-ray disc, called Orb BR.

Pop the disc into your PlayStation 3 or other Blu-ray player, fire up the companion smartphone app and you’re good to go. You can now stream Netflix, Hulu, Comedy Central, and Amazon video, amongst others, and watch it on your big-screen TV. With server software installed on your computer, you can also send content from there.

In fact, in some ways this magic disc is actually better than the actual Orb set-top box. The hardware only supports standard-def video. This $20 disc, on the other hand, will do 720p and 1080p.

Orb BR will be available late February.

See Also:

• Orb Brings Hulu and Network TV Streaming to Your Living Room …
• Review: Orb Audio Home Theater System Brings Well Rounded Sound …

This might not be the “most impressive” Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it’s a bad thing the complete saga will be released on Blu-ray in September, and there was no mention of any exclusivity shenanigans, but despite making this the least disappointing thing that has happened to the series in a decade or so forgive us for being slightly underwhelmed. Fans will appreciate the promised 30 hours of special features — or wait for Red Letter Media to recut them into a careful dissection of everything wrong about the prequels — but the ability to buy the two trilogies individually for $44.99 ($69.99 MSRP) is definitely appreciated. You can queue your $89.99 ($139 MSRP) preorder on Amazon right now while you check out video of the announce featuring Lord Vader himself, including a peek at the trailer embedded after the break.

Continue reading Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 hours of special features, available for preorder now (video)

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 hours of special features, available for preorder now (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony continues to push Blu-ray players forward with four new players for 2011 ranging from $150 to $250 and all ship in the first half of the year. The BDP-S780 begs the highest price of its brothers but for that you also get the ability to use a 720p camera to Skype with your friends and it even converts 2D content to 3D. The entire line supports the new Media Remote for iPhone and Android phones, and the Android version even has voice control. Also new this year is a 10.1-inch WSVGA portalbe Blu-ray player with a 5-hour battery which is set to ship in the Spring for $300. Lastly there are a slew of home theater systems sporting Blu-ray players, but if you are really interested in them, you’ll have to read through press release after the break.

Continue reading New Sony Blu-ray players are faster than ever, there’s even a portable one

New Sony Blu-ray players are faster than ever, there’s even a portable one originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanks to a couple of carefully planned slips over in South Korea, hardly anything about LG’s CES 2011 is apt to take you fully by surprise. But if you just so happened to disconnect over the holidays, we’ll break it all down below to ensure you remain firmly in the loop.

• For starters, the outfit seems pretty darn proud of its new SmartTV platform. Hinted at last month, this system enables HDTVs, Blu-ray players and other sources to access all sorts of streaming media, apps and even provides users with a way to surf the web. Four main sections are given — TV Live, Premium Content, TV Apps and a Launch Bar — and for TV models, owners will control things with a wave of the hand (read: Magic Remote). SmartTV picks up where NetCast left off, offering access to Vudu, Netflix, YouTube, CinemaNow, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video on Demand, NHL Gamecenter, NBA Game Live and MLB.tv. This here functionality is baked into quite a few of the outfit’s 2011 HDTVs, but should own an older model…
• Then there’s the all-new SmartTV upgrader! The ST600 is a minuscule set-top box that aims to transform any TV into a SmartTV. So long as your set has an HDMI input, you’ll be able to access the content mentioned above. But, of course, it’s on you to source your own Magic Remote.
• If it’s an all-new TV you’re after, the company is also revealing its 2011 LED and LCD HDTV line. Nary a one is different than those we heard about last week, but at least you can now rest easy knowing that the LW9500 and LW7700 Nano Full HD 3D models will indeed see a stateside release this month. The best news here is the use of polarizing glasses — none of that headache-inducing active shutter mess. There are 13 new LED LCD models in all, with nine of ’em shipping with the SmartTV platform embedded. Unfortunately, LG’s not dishing out pricing information on these bad boys just yet.
• Not so keen on picking up an LCD? Plasma still lives, you know! LG’s rolling out its 1080p Infinia PZ950 and PZ750 lines here at CES, with both available in 50-inch and 60-inch class sizes. Both lines come equipped with the SmartTV platform, a gesture-based Magic Motion remote andl as a free Android / iPhone app if you’d rather use your phone as a remote. The 50- / 60-inch PZ550 is saddling with NetCast 1.0, but it — along with the PW350, PZ950 and PZ750 lines — can handle 3D imagery. Sadly, LG’s also straying from providing pricing details on these.
• Wrapping things up, the company is debuting its 2011 line of networked Blu-ray players and home theater systems. The BD690 supports 3D BD playback and ships with an inbuilt 250GB HDD and the SmartTV platform. The majority of LG’s line also includes WiFi, DLNA streaming support and a MusicID feature by Gracenote that enables consumers to play a song from a movie of TV show by mashing a single button on the remote. The BD670, BD650, BD640, BD630 and BD650 are also seeing the light of day, with the latter being LG’s first portable BD deck.
• Finally, LG snuck in an image (seen above) of a 3D mobile TV prototype. We’ve no details whatsoever to go on, but you can rest assured we’ll be scouring the show floor in search of just that.

For more information on all of the goods here, head on past the break for the full releases. Don’t expect to find any pricing information, though.

Continue reading LG’s CES 2011 HD lineup: SmartTV platform, network Blu-ray players and HDTVs

LG’s CES 2011 HD lineup: SmartTV platform, network Blu-ray players and HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In recent years, Philips has strayed somewhat from introducing products catering to the North American marketplace. We’re thrilled to say that this year’s spate of CES announcements signifies a stark turn from that approach. The most interesting release from the company during this year’s blowout is probably the PS725 (shown above), a 7-inch portable DVD player that doubles as a mobile TV viewer. Before you bust out the yawn collector, you should know that Philips managed to stuff both an ATSC and an ATSC M/H tuner within, the latter of which just announced a major push into 20 major metropolitan markets back in November. The unit has an 800 x 480 resolution display, three hours of nonstop playback via a rechargeable Li-Polymer battery pack, a screen that swivels 180 degrees and a $299 price point. It’ll ship in March, just as your FLO TV service keels over. In related news, the outfit is also outing a PB9013 portable Blu-ray player, which touts a 9-inch display, a battery good for three hours of enjoyment, a bundled mounting kit and an HDMI output. You’ll also see this one ship in March, but with a $399 retail sticker.

Outside of those two, we’re told that the GeGear Muse MP4 player is now on track to ship in March, with the 8GB model going for $149, the 16GB edition for $179 and the high-end 32GB model for $229. For those out of the loop, it’ll deliver a 3.2-inch HVGA touchpanel, an FM radio tuner, 720p movie support and compatibility with FLAC and APE lossless files. Closing things up, we’ve got the Fidelio DS8550 and DS9010 speaker docks. The former handles your iPod, iPhone and / or iPad, streams tunes over Bluetooth and touts a built-in, rechargeable battery; this guy’s on sale now for $299. As for the latter? That one’s expected to ship at the tail-end of March for $599, with the price premium netting you an aircraft quality aluminum enclosure, improved audio drivers and a proximity sensor to activate a backlit control panel. Bullet points after the break, per usual.

Continue reading Philips crams ATSC M/H tuner into PD725 portable DVD player, intros PB9013 mobile Blu-ray player

Philips crams ATSC M/H tuner into PD725 portable DVD player, intros PB9013 mobile Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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