Hasta La Gadget!

The successor to Sony’s underappreciated Netbox was introduced at IFA recently, and now the company has revealed pricing for the SMP-N200 in the United States. It’ll be on sale for $99 in October, and updates the old box with support for 3D, live streaming content and other unspecified new features. The original featured then-impressive support for local media playback and streaming, but does the Blu-ray-less wonder does it have what it takes in 2011? If it has a UI refresh and access to comparable sources thanks to Sony’s now streamlined Video Unlimited / Music Unlimited media approach then this could play well as a one-two punch with a connected PC, phone or tablet. We’ll find out next month, check out the details after the break or our hands on pics from CEDIA here.

Continue reading Sony’s SMP-N200 player set to take on Roku, Apple TV for $99 next month

Sony’s SMP-N200 player set to take on Roku, Apple TV for $99 next month originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 21:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another CEDIA is in the books, and if you weren’t there, just know the story was — as it has been in many corners of the country — the economy. Oh sure, projectors that cost only $10k still seemed value priced, but everywhere you looked companies were extending their products a little closer to the mass market. Whether it’s a heavy duty wall mounts, wireless hi fi systems or, most surprisingly, $300 powered shades from companies like Lutron, custom theater equipment is getting cheaper and ready to work in more homes. Interested in remaking a home theater while spending less than $10k and without building an entirely new house around it? 2011 may be your year.

As far as the hardware on display, we also got a look at TiVo’s new Premiere Elite DVR (hint: it looks and runs like a TiVo) and Dish Network’s new Tailgater portable satellite dish. Another treat was an MHL-to-HDMI adapter from DVDO that could make hooking your celly up to pretty much any TV on the go and charging it at the same time easy. At the THX booth, it had its stamp slapped on LG’s newest Nano LED lit 3D LCD, as well as a new program for soundbar / subwoofer combinations it says will result in more accurate sound for implementations where surround speakers don’t make sense. We also got a demo of its new Media Director protocol that can automatically configure compatible home theater equipment based on the content being watched. The Star Wars Blu-ray discs will be the first ones to ship with the embedded metadata, while partnerships with chipmakers mean software updates could start rolling out shortly for manufacturers that choose to deliver them — the demo ran on an HDI Dune player — and next year’s new devices should ship with the feature included.

The usual slew of projectors included new models from Mitsubishi and Digital Projection, with automatic settings for ultrawidescreen viewing as one of the hot features (other than 4K) this year. For a better look at some of the things we spotted on the show floor check the gallery below, and details in their press releases after the break.

Continue reading CEDIA 2011 odds and ends wrap up: THX, TiVo and plenty of projectors

CEDIA 2011 odds and ends wrap up: THX, TiVo and plenty of projectors originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Throwback podcast time! We’ve got lots of DVR news after our FiOS review, Microsoft Mediaroom / Media Center updates and a new box from TiVo. Of course, we also visited CEDIA last week so there’s plenty to talk about there too, including 4K, ultrawidescreen and more. There’s also plenty to talk about when it comes to smart TVs and exactly why they’re struggling in the market so far, and what a new deal between ESPN and the NFL could mean for 3D. Last but not least, it’s Star Wars Blu-ray week, so we’ve got to include them among our options of what to watch on TV.

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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: Trent Wolbe

00:04:17 – Verizon FiOS HD DVR review (1.9)
00:11:17 – New Mediaroom clients to bring Microsoft’s TV platform everywhere this year
00:14:08 – TiVo Premiere Elite will bring quad tuners, 2TB storage to retail this year
00:18:45 – Xbox Live Fall 2011 Dashboard update preview: Bing search, voice control, and a Metro overhaul
00:27:00 – Sony announces a 4K projector for the home, prices HMZ-T1 3D head mounted display in the US
00:33:53 – Sony brings new media streaming box and updated Google TV hardware to CEDIA
00:36:50 – JVC shows off projectors with 4K precision, but not quite 4K pixels
00:40:03 – Kaleidescape adds iPad control, ultrawidescreen support to its media servers
00:42:42 – LG’s 55-inch LW9800 3D HDTV earns THX certification, our home theater respect
00:44:49 – ESPN’s new Monday Night Football deal includes 3D broadcasts, WatchESPN app
00:51:10 – Did Netflix just start limiting users to one movie stream at a time? No
00:53:12 – LG, Sharp and Philips to build developer’s kit, create Smart TV app standard
00:55:15 – Viewsonic abandons plans for Boxee-powered TV
01:02:41 – Opera promises cross-platform apps for Smart TVs, gives us little to complain about
01:05:45 – Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray due September 30th, 3D version later
01:08:28 – THX Media Director coming to Star Wars Blu-ray discs
01:14:15 – Must See HDTV (September 12th – 18th)

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Engadget HD Podcast 265 – 09.13.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Summer is coming to an end and that means the disappearance of the few remaining summer TV shows still hanging around on the schedule (LA Ink, we won’t miss you). It also means the appears of a certain war movie that takes place in the stars on Blu-ray, and an opportunity for networks like NBC and CW to get some of their fall programming kicked off early. Of course, we’re still all about football and Monday Night Football returns in earnest for the first time tonight with a doubleheader so while you know what we’ll be watching then, check out our highlighted picks of the week here, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Star Wars
While the rest of the world already got their taste, here in North America those looking to obtain legitimate HD copies of the series have to wait until Friday. Whether you’re buying six or three movies, there will be plenty of extras to go along with them, although unfortunately word is there’s been a few (more) changes made. You can have the movies of your childhood in 1080p and crisp surround sound, but you’ll also have to take a quick NOOOO from Vader in Episode VI (clip after the break) — is it worth it? Only you can decide.
($79.99 – Complete Saga, $39.99 – Original Trilogy / Prequel Trilogy on Amazon, September 16th)

Archer
The most hilarious animated series on television. The third season starts this week on FX and we’ll be there to watch the exploits of drinking, womanizing, and not always clear on the details super spy Sterling Archer. Explaining the appeal is impossible and quite possibly illegal, so check season one out on Netflix streaming if you need any further convincing, but do it fast.
(Thursday, FX, 10:30PM)

63rd Emmy Awards
We prefer 40 Year Old Virgin and Party Down Jane Lynch to the current Glee-ified version, but we’ll still tune in to see her host the Emmy Awards this weekend in an arena where big song and dance numbers should be right at home. Check the wiki to see which of your favorite shows are up for an award — can we admit that we didn’t watch HBO’s Mildred Pierce, which leads all others in number of nominations with 21?
(Sunday, Fox, 8PM)

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

Must See HDTV (September 12th – 18th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Besides being a lightning rod for the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD wars, the Transformers series also racked up some of the biggest HD sales ever, and now we’ll see if the latest entry, Dark of the Moon, keeps up that trend. Paramount has announced it will be released September 30th in Blu-ray/DVD combo form for $29.99, with a “deluxe” release including Blu-ray 3D expected in “the coming months.” There’s no specifics on any extras included in this release, but it looks like PHE is going the Avatar route and saving those for later. For those anticipating the 3D release, hopefully this doesn’t equal a similar exclusivity period, but until the disc is actually announced we won’t assume anything. If 154 minutes of Michael Bay exploding things sounds like a good idea to you, check after the break for a press release and schedule that Friday off — you have somewhere to be.

Continue reading Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray due September 30th, 3D version later

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray due September 30th, 3D version later originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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