Hasta La Gadget!

This week sees even more shows saying goodbye before a holiday break, but as usual cable and reality TV are around to try to pick up the slack. While Fear Factor returns on network TV, Discovery fans can check out the season premiere of Dirty Jobs. The Blu-ray release schedule has a little something for everyone as well, with cult classic The Rocketeer joining City of God and two very different 3D flicks in Kung Fu Panda 2 and Fright Night. Check below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listings of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

City of God
When Lionsgate announced its deal to distribute Miramax’s movies in the US, long delayed Blu-ray releases like Pulp Fiction (deservedly) received a lion’s share of the attention, but this week another one of our favorites, City of God, emerges from the vaults at last. Released in 2002 and previously available in HD internationally, this Brazilian flick tells the story of two boys growing up in Brazil’s slums as one grows up to lead one of the local gangs and the other becomes a photographer. A crime epic on par with any of the other classics, it has characters that will stick with you long after the movie is over, and has a story that unfolds with more layers than can be described in this space. If you’re not familiar, check out the trailer after the break.
(December 13th, $14.99 on Amazon)

Fear Factor
One of the shows that started off the reality TV craze is back this week, as Fear Factor returns on NBC. Airing for the first time in HD, host Joe Rogan will once again cajole, encourage and tease a group of contestants through a series of increasingly gross / thrilling / dangerous stunts until they are eliminated. High-brow entertainment it ain’t, but it can still be a fun watch. Check out a trailer showing what’s in store this season embedded after the break.
(December 12th, NBC, 8 & 9PM)

Always Sunny in Philadelphia
This week sees the season finale of Always Sunny, and as usual the gang is up to no good. This is the second of a two-part episode as they attend a high school reunion, and to recap, Dennis misguidedly believes he was one of the cool kids and is ducking his dead-toothed ex wife, Dee unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate the cool table by slinging insults around, Mac’s real name has been revealed and Charlie is unconscious after huffing chemicals. So, they’re up to their usual antics.
(December 15th, FX, 10PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (December 12th – 18th)

Must See HDTV (December 12th – 18th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a little bit behind schedule, but the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB has finally begun shipping, nearly ten months after it was first unveiled. Originally scheduled to ship on September 19th, this external CableCARD TV tuner is now available from Amazon, New Egg and other retailers for $300. For that price, you’ll be able to record four HD shows at once, stream live shows to your PC or TV and access all your photos, music and Netflix account from a single device. Interested? Hit up the coverage link below to grab one for yourself.

Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB tuner now shipping, offers infinite entertainment for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The World Series is finally over and TV schedules have settled into their normal fall pace. Fox has its lineup set and is finally ready to air new episodes of Bones again, while those waiting more Blu-ray 3D movies have several to choose from. Both the Toy Story and Shrek series come home in the format this week along with the debut of Cars 2, and Uncharted 3 offers 3D support on the gaming side. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Update: Commenter Bervick reminds us the Steve Jobs – One More Thing special airs on PBS November 2nd. Check the official site for airtimes on your local station.

Burn Notice
If you listen to the HD podcast, then you know this is one of our favorite shows. Michael Westin is a “burned” spy who bides his time trying to get back into the CIA by picking up odd jobs helping people around Miami Macguyver-style. Throw in a best friend played by Bruce Campbell and a health assortment of explosions and gunfire, and you’ve got everything we could ask for — except better picture quality, but you can’t have everything.
(November 3rd, USA, 10PM)

LSU vs. Alabama
This is what we like the most about college football. We’re deep enough into the season that a 1 vs 2-ranked matchup actually means something and we couldn’t have two better teams ready to face off. Both have won national championships, both are incredibly talented and well coached. Who will win? we’ll have to watch to find out.
(November 5th, CBS, 8PM)

Hell on Wheels
So far AMC’s switch from broadcasting classic movies to mixing in original programming has had its standout successes (Mad Men, Breaking Bad), and disappointments in The Killing and The Walking Dead. Sunday night it launches its latest effort, Hell on Wheels, which follows a former Confederate soldier hunting down the Union soldiers responsible for killing his wife. The name comes from the Nebraska town he ends up in along his quest that follows the construction of the railroad across the country. An interesting concept to be sure, but we’ll have to lay our eyes on it to know which category this one falls into — check out a trailer embedded after the break.
(November 6th, AMC, 10PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (October 31st – November 6th)

Must See HDTV (October 31st – November 6th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t think Roku is sitting back on its laurels after rolling out a slew of new hardware including the Roku 2 family and the new, low end Roku LT. As promised, it has issued a firmware update enabling new gaming options including Pac Man:CE, Galaga, and Angry Birds Seasons. Even if you’re committed to Roku’s hockey pucks as purely video streamers, there’s a new firmware update to correct, among other things, issues that caused a darker than normal image on some displays, WiFi performance, boot performance, readiness for HBO Go, and subtitles on Netflix. Check out Roku’s blog for the full list of fixes or just hit the software update section in your settings menu to make sure you have the latest software.

Roku adds more games, cleans up the PQ on its latest streamers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boxee updates iPad app to version 1.2, adds global Spotify support originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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