Hasta La Gadget!

It’s official, Star Trek: The Next Generation will follow the lead of the original series and be released in remastered HD form next year. The official site reveals 2012 will actually see two TNG releases on Blu-ray in honor of its 25th anniversary. A single disc preview package consisting of the pilot Encounter at Farpoint, and episodes Sins of the Father and The Inner Light called The Next Level arrives first in January with a $21.99 MSRP, followed by season one later in the year and subsequent seasons after that. All 178 episodes will get the treatment, converted to 1080p with 7.1 DTS Master Audio sound. This is being done by returning to the original film negatives and then recreating the special effects instead of converting them from videotape. Can’t wait until then? Check after the break for a (very) quick teaser trailer, or watch the eps in SD one more time on Amazon or Netflix.

Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray, starting in 2012 (video)

Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming to Blu-ray, starting in 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When is big not big enough? Apparently when it’s Sharp’s “spectacularge” 70-inch AQUOS LCD HDTVs that were introduced earlier this year, and have now been surpassed by a new 80-inch model the company showed off today. The LC-80LE632U isn’t an Elite branded model, but it brings all the features of its smaller brethren including full LED backlighting, 120Hz motion processing, built-in WiFi and access to services like Netflix and Vudu. All that is nice, but it’s standout feature is that extra viewing area, which can be yours for $5,499 (MSRP) when it starts shipping in early October. Preorders are already popping up for sub-$5k prices, if you need a big screen and can’t go the projection route (front or rear) this might be a good value — check out the details in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Sharp’s biggest LCD HDTVs get even bigger with a new 80-inch model

Sharp’s biggest LCD HDTVs get even bigger with a new 80-inch model originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If online video streams and locally stored media aren’t providing enough functionality for your Boxee Box, now you can watch regular TV on it too. The Digital Lifestyle mentions DVBLogic has released a new version of its DVBLink client for the device that lets you browse the program guide and watch live TV, provided you also have a home server set up with its software and a tuner. If you’re not familiar with the software, it lets you turn most any UPnP-compatible device into an extender capable of caching live streams, with clients available for iPad / iPhone already, plus Android and WP7 on the way. You’ll need the latest release candidate version of DVBLink Connect! server software to make it all go, then point your Boxee Box browser to the company’s repository to download the client software and let us know how it all works out.

DVBLogic’s Boxee app brings live TV streaming to the Box originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After last week’s slew of premieres there’s still a few new shows popping up this week, as well as season premieres of old favorites (Dexter, Mythbusters). Transformers: Dark of the Moon makes its Blu-ray debut on Friday but with no 3D or special features it’ll have to wait to top our list. 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.

Luther
The second season of this British detective show already finished airing in the UK but its four episode run is just getting started this week on BBC America. The Wire’s Idris Elba stars as DCI John Luther, an investigator who is as troubles as he is effective in tracking down killers, rapists and other unsavory characters. There’s a dozen crime procedurals to choose from, but this is one of the few that rises above the rest of the pack — check out the season 2 trailer after the break. If you can’t get enough of accents and tea, check out the season finale of Dr. Who and series premiere of Bedlam Saturday night.
(September 28th, BBC America, 10PM)

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
While the original release of Ico predates this site, its followup Shadow of the Colossus had us excited even when it was only in 480p. This week, both return in HD (and 3D) on the PS3, coming back for the first time on hardware that can actually handle creator Fumito Ueda’s vision. The two adventure games are some of the more unique gaming experiences you’ll find, whether or not you gave them a chance on the PS2 they’re definitely worth checking out this time around, check for a couple trailers after the break.
($39.99 on Amazon, September 27th)

Happy Endings
This comedy joined ABC’s lineup last year as a midseason replacement and quickly snagged a spot in our DVR queue with a hilarious ensemble of characters. While the show’s premise wasn’t a standout (bride leaves groom at the altar, we follow the group as they try to stay friends afterwards) the writing is spot on and gained enough a following to come back for season two, starting this week.
(September 28th, ABC, 9:30PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (September 26th – October 2nd)

Must See HDTV (September 26th – October 2nd) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been almost two years since Sezmi launched its hybrid antenna and internet TV service, and now it has announced the dream of pay-TV without cable or satellite is dead. An email went out to customers tonight informing them the ability to view or record programming on their Sezmi systems would be shut off Monday, September 26th. The only compensation given for the sudden disconnect? Free access to the VOD catalog before that disappears too, on November 1st. The $20 / month Select Plus package that offered pay-TV channels over antenna never spread beyond Los Angeles, although users happy to settle for basic channels and online VOD had access in other markets. Still, we predict it won’t be missed simply because it doesn’t seem like many people ever signed up. Despite nice features like unique profiles for different household members, the limited sports selection cut off many early adopters from the beginning. The company is apparently trying to pivot into selling its technology to other service providers, we’ll wait and see if a Moxi-like resurgence is in the cards. Check out the letter to subscribers and our original video demo after the break while we plan a month-long memorial service for those soon-to-be-useless 1TB DVRs.

[Thanks, John]

Continue reading Sezmi’s cable / satellite alternative TV service to shut down Monday, won’t be missed

Sezmi’s cable / satellite alternative TV service to shut down Monday, won’t be missed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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