Hasta La Gadget!

The PlayStation 3 has kept access to Hulu even without PlayOn or other workaround while others were blocked — with the exception of its own remote friendly desktop software — thanks to its browser’s Flash support, but this morning multiple users have reported the above message indicating “Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Some odd glitch related to the recent 2.80 firmware update or other temporary problem, or is this the latest platform to get the Boxee treatment when trying to bring streaming video to TV screens? We’ve reached out to Hulu for an explanation but so far, haven’t heard a response. Interestingly, the Hulu TOS was just updated as of June 26, and although we haven’t found any PS3-specific passages, changing a browser’s user-string to match the console reveals it is definitely being specifically blocked.

[Thanks Sev, and to Tyler from FormatWarCentral.com for the picture]

Hulu to PlayStation 3 browsers: “This video is not available on your platform” originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hidden under a pile of bad, old fashioned marketing attempts we find this DIY gem: printable filter gels for your flashgun. Appropriately available from the Digital Secrets Site, you have to follow a treasure hunt to get the eBook telling you how to make them:

When you click on the image here, you will see a third item, but then when you release that click, whoosh—off you go to the detail page […] Click the picture in the previous article to find the magic preorder link.

Honestly, though, we don’t care. The pictured filters are designed to fit into the Nikon SB-900’s filter holder. If you have one, you’ll have the supplied filters and therefore all the information needed to make some more. If you don’t own one, a simple rectangle and some gaffer tape is all you need.

The trick is to use a heatproof acetate sheet. The kind meant for use in photocopiers should work. You should also run the sheet twice through your printer to up the color density. And thirdly, some advice from Digital Secrets: If using with the SB-900 adapter, you risk the ink transferring to your gear. The solution isn’t given, but we expect an extra, non-printed piece of gel sandwiched in there should take care of things.

Off you go. It’s probably best to buy actual color correction filters to ensure accuracy, but for wild experimentation, go crazy. And don’t limit yourself to flat colors either. That cheesy gradient fill tool in Photoshop finally has a use.

To get the printable PDF seen in the picture, you’ll need to buy a whole e-book about the Nikon D300 camera for $60.

Product page [Digital Secrets]

Been hankering to see what Flash — via the Open Screen Project — actually looks like on an Android (or any modern mobile) device? Well hanker no more, ya’ll. Adobe has helpfully dropped a video on us which has Flash team member Adrian Ludwig demo’ing the newly minted HTC Hero (multitouch gestures included). Once the content loads up, it seems to run at a pretty snappy rate, though waiting on Flash content to appear doesn’t look encouraging if you’re in the midst of casual browsing (or on a weak connection). We’ll be interested to see what this is like in the real world — and for platforms beyond Android — but for now at least we’ve got something to go on.

Read – HTC Hero: The first Android device with Flash
Read – New HTC Hero Delivers More Complete Web Browsing Experience with Adobe Flash Technology

Filed under: Cellphones

Adobe demos Flash on the HTC Hero originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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David Honl makes cheap and useful light shaping tools for flash photographers. You may remember that we liked the look of the gear and had a crack at making our own fake copy of the strap’n’stick Velcro based kit, with pretty successful results.

Just announced today is a new member of the lineup: a purpose made carrying bag. I know what you’re thinking: If it’s so easy to make the actual snoots, straps and gobos, isn’t it even easier to make a pouch in which to put them? We’d be tempted to agree, but we’d also be tempted to take a look at the $30 bag. The nylon sack has a clip on one end (smartly attached to the zipper handle so the bag stays closed when hanging) and a loop on the other. The Honl gear is pretty lightweight but doesn’t all fold down small enough to fit inside a camera bag, so an external pocket is a good idea.

It’s also water-resistant – something a homemade version is unlikely to be – and fashioned from nylon, which means it should last a while and also not stick to the Velcro strips on the tools. And while $30 isn’t a great price for a simple bag, it’s not too expensive, either. In fact, like most of the Honl gear, it’s cheap enough to make you think twice about the home-made version.

Product page [Honl Photo]
See Also:

• Make Your Own ‘Honl’ Lighting Kit

If you didn’t believe the Tegra hype — 25 days audio, 10 hours of 1080p video on single charge — already then pull up a stool, son, NVIDIA wants to tell your a story. TechVideoBlog sat down with Gordon Grigor, NVIDIA’s Director of Mobile Software to see Tegra’s little Atom smasher in action. So sit back while Gordon smoothly streams a 720p MSN HD trailer off the web (over WiFi) then switches over to Firefox to take Flash for a spin at full-screen. Gordon also clarifies earlier confusion over Tegra’s ability to handle HD video; see, the Tegra 600 can do H.264 video at 720p while the Tegra 650 can decode 1080p. Gordon also gives some more insight into memory configurations. It seems that the OS (either Android or Windows CE in single or dual-boot configurations) will be embedded with minimal on-board storage like those early Eee PCs. RAM will also be limited to about 512MB on base units going as low as 256MB and as high as 1GB in future (unannounced) devices. A 512MB model limits Firefox to about 3-4 opened tabs at a time. All of this is meant to keep prices down below $200 (or less when subsidized by carriers). Also of note is how the Tegra’s GPU assists in rendering pixels anytime they appear on the display. In other words fonts, Firefox pages, scrolling, and of course video playback all benefit from an extra boost by the GPU. Check the video after the break to hear Gordon make some not so subtle jabs at Intel’s relatively power-hungry Atom processor.

Continue reading Video: NVIDIA Tegra’s GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash — Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt

Filed under: Laptops

Video: NVIDIA Tegra’s GPU gets busy with HD video and full-screen Flash — Intel 945GSE shrugs, kicks dirt originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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