Hasta La Gadget!

We don’t want to slight these three new Blu-ray players from Mitsubishi — they’ve got all the latest features that the kids are clamoring for, like 3D Blu-ray, BDXL, AVCREC, and VOD support. However, sometimes accessories are the most fascinating part of a product, as seems the case with this dual-faced remote — not entirely unlike the ones we’ve seen from Samsung and Boxee. One side controls the TV and the other does the DVR, while a built-in sensor lets the system know which side you’re using. The DVR-BZ450, DVR-BZ350, and DVR-BZ250 are pretty much identical, save for internal storage, which ranges from 500GB to 2TB. All are due out in Japan on May 31st — no word on when the rest of the world will be able to get our hands on the latest technology for losing two remotes at the same time.

Mitsubishi Blu-ray players have BDXL, 3D support, and a two-faced remote originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Akihabara News  |  Mitsubishi Japan  | Email this | Comments

So, an update. Er, a refresher if you will. Back in September of last year, TiVo announced that ingrained Hulu Plus access would be coming to its DVRs “in the coming months,” but we’ve heard precisely nothing on the matter ever since. Enter the present. We’ve got a tipster who owns a TiVo Premiere and was just invited to join a Field Trial to “test Hulu Plus on TiVo,” and he’s also receiving codes to receive a free month of service. It’s hard to say what kind of gap we’re looking at between the testing period and the go-live period, but at least we’ve got a little assurance that no one simply forgot about their promise. In related news, other tipsters are starting to receive some fairly interesting surveys from TiVo itself, with a few questions in particular asking consumers how they’d feel about the option to “stream live TV, DVR recordings and TV shows from a cable company’s On Demand library to one’s iPad.” This seemingly includes in-home and remote streaming, and we have to say — streaming to the tablet just might be the magic feature that finally gets TiVo out of the hurt locker. Probably not, but are you really going to judge us for being blindly optimistic?

Hulu Plus on TiVo apparently being tested, live streaming to iPad apparently being considered originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  TiVo Field Trial Login  | Email this | Comments

The companion app for TiVo Premiere DVRs worked out well when we reviewed it, but ZatzNotFunny points out it could get even better soon when it will feature “limited support” for Series 3 / HD boxes, along with TiVo DVRs offered by cable providers like RCN and Suddenlink. This “coming soon” info was included in an update yesterday that added a new DVR selection screen to the setup process, ability to run in the background plus assorted performance enhancements and bug fixes. Of course, we now know that TiVo’s “lifetime” offers won’t last forever (ten years, give or take) but for users who would prefer to stick with their existing hardware instead of upgrading to a Series 4, there are still a few new features coming down the pipe.

Older TiVo Series 3 / HD boxes will work with the iPad remote app soon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  ZatzNotFunny, iTunes, TiVo Community  | Email this | Comments

TiVo has revolutionized TV watching in much the same way that cable did, back in the 70s/80s. But contrary to popular belief, the company didn’t pioneer the DVR. Motorola is claiming that title, and now the company is suing TiVO to prove it.

The company claims that TiVo violated the patents on the Motorola DVR that came out in 94. There’s some speculation that the move is payback to TiVo lawsuit against Verizon. You see, TiVo sued Verizon over similar claims, leading Motorola filing a suite to protect the assets under Motorola. However, it gets sticky here for both parties. Verizon uses Motorola DVR technology, which TiVo sued Verizon for. Now with Motorola suing back, all cases could be thrown out of court if the connection proven.

Motorola issued a statement saying that TiVo is making false claims against Verizon, which uses Motorola DVR technology under the patent that was filed under Motorola. No word on how either of the lawsuits are doing, nor how much they are asking for in return.

Via Hot Hardware

We’ve seen IP cams before, inexpensive ones like the DCS-930L from D-Link that get the job done with no frills, rather fancier ones like the Logitech Alert system that offer a premium feel — at a premium cost. But nothing quite like this. It’s the Swann DVR4-2600, a system that comes with four separate cameras, each offering a “high resolution” VGA that are about 10 years past a time when VGA could reasonably be called “high resolution.” They do, at least, offer 65 feet worth of night vision and all-weather functionality. There’s also a 500GB DVR included that can be connected directly to a TV or accessed remotely from a plethora of mobile apps covering everything from Android and iOS to Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian. You can get e-mails whenever your prisoners guests move and, the pièce de résistance, the kit includes four theft deterrent stickers. If those don’t keep the crooks away, maybe the rottweiler* will. Full details in the PR below.

*Rottweiler not included.

Continue reading Swann DVR4-2600 kit is 4 cameras and 500GB worth of remotely-accessible home security overkill

Swann DVR4-2600 kit is 4 cameras and 500GB worth of remotely-accessible home security overkill originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments