Skifta leaves beta, streams media to and from your Android device wherever you may be

Skifta

When we first saw Skifta back in February, it was a pretty neat app for beaming media on your phone to other DLNA capable devices in your home. Well, now it’s left beta and added a new trick to it repertoire — stream media from your other gear to your Android device, over 3G. To celebrate Skifta hitting the magical 1.0 mark, Qualcomm Atheros also unveiled a new media server plug in for Linux, OS X and Windows that lets you pull music and movies from your home PC to your phone or tablet, even while you’re out and about. Skifta (in addition to its terrible name) also sports a Channel Library which allows you quickly queue up content from Facebook, TED, ShoutCast, Revision3 and more. You’ll find full PR after the break but, more importantly, the download links at the source.

Continue reading Skifta leaves beta, streams media to and from your Android device wherever you may be

Skifta leaves beta, streams media to and from your Android device wherever you may be originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSkifta, Skifta (Android Market)  | Email this | Comments

Boxee Box adds music streaming from Spotify, just press play

Today the Boxee Box becomes the next media streamer in the US (after the WDTV Live and Live Hub) to add support for Spotify’s streaming music library. Assuming you have a premium subscription at the ready (free and unlimited passes won’t cut it, consider this the same as access on a smartphone) all you need do is log in and your personally curated selections from the company’s catalog of sounds is available in your home theater. We gave it a quick try on our own system and found it synced our favorites with no problem, however if you don’t have playlists set up there’s no way to search or pull in songs from different sources. Still, considering how difficult it is to throw a party with more than one participant around your laptop, this should be the perfect way to take your dubstep playlist to the big speakers. And maybe invite some other people.

Boxee Box adds music streaming from Spotify, just press play originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSpotify, Boxee  | Email this | Comments

Popcorn Hour A-300 ready to sit quietly and enjoy the movies, starting October 18th (video)

Syabas has released a torrent of details about its next media streamer. The forthcoming Popcorn Hour A-300 houses the latest Sigma 800MHz CPU and Real Media decoder support, plus USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet connections to ensure dizzying transfer speeds. Like its predecessor, the aluminum-encased streamer is entirely fanless, broadcasting your favorite content in stoic silence. The A300 will be available starting October 18th, direct from Syabas. You can prepare yourself by checking out the source link below for a plethora of detailed videos and screengrabs of the A-300’s interface in action.

Continue reading Popcorn Hour A-300 ready to sit quietly and enjoy the movies, starting October 18th (video)

Popcorn Hour A-300 ready to sit quietly and enjoy the movies, starting October 18th (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Missing Remote  |  sourceNetworked Media Tank  | Email this | Comments

Spotify streaming hits the living room on the latest $99 WDTV Live, WDTV Live Hub

The latest iteration of the WD TV Live family is here and this micro sized, 802.11n WiFi-equipped, internal storage-lacking, streamer supports the latest version of its UI — as seen in the already available WDTV Live Hub. Also new to these two boxes is support for Spotify, bringing up to 320kbps music streaming to the living room, as well as Dailymotion to the existing list (Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Facebook etc.) The new WDTV Live is available for $99, check after the break for a pic of the box itself and the press release with all the details.

Continue reading Spotify streaming hits the living room on the latest $99 WDTV Live, WDTV Live Hub

Spotify streaming hits the living room on the latest $99 WDTV Live, WDTV Live Hub originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech officially drops Revue price to $99 today, clarifies ‘more returns than sales’ remark

Google TV not worth 300 bones to ya? How’s about a cool Benjamin? As promised, Logitech has slashed the price of its Revue set-top box from $299 to $99 on its own site and at retailers like Best Buy, giving prospective customers something awfully tempting to consider alongside the prospect of running Honeycomb on their TV right away. Oh, and the much-reported nugget from its earnings about “returns exceeding sales”? It should probably be noted that wasn’t about returns from end users, which the company claims “have averaged at levels comparable to other Logitech products”, but from the distributors and retailers it sells most of its hardware to. So, you in, or are you still holding out for the 90 percent off sale that may or may not ever materialize?

Continue reading Logitech officially drops Revue price to $99 today, clarifies ‘more returns than sales’ remark

Logitech officially drops Revue price to $99 today, clarifies ‘more returns than sales’ remark originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Central  |  sourceLogitech, Best Buy  | Email this | Comments

MediaMall’s PlayLater brings DVR to internet video

PlayLater brings DVR to internet video

Aching to ditch your cable box, but can’t bear to let go of that sweet, commercial-skipping DVR? If the folks behind PlayOn get their way, you won’t have to. MediaMall launched the beta for PlayLater this week, a service it’s calling “the world’s first DVR for online video.” The idea of a DVR for the internet sounds a little wonky at first, but it is an accurate description of the program’s facilities — pick a network (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc.), a show, and an episode, and PlayLater downloads your selection to your computer’s hard drive for belated enjoyment. Simple? Sure, but not without a catch — anything PlayLater pulls down it wraps in a neat layer of DRM, locking that content to the PC that downloaded it. Time-shifting Hulu will set you back $5 a month, but beta testers (the first 5,000, at least) can score a free month just for trying it out. Hit the break for a press release and additional details.

Continue reading MediaMall’s PlayLater brings DVR to internet video

MediaMall’s PlayLater brings DVR to internet video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CrunchGear  |  sourcePlayLater  | Email this | Comments

Roku 2 HD struts its stuff in the wild along with a new remote (Update: new comparison pics)

Sure it already posed for the FCC’s unflattering cameras, but now we can observe the Roku 2 HD — with packed in MicroSD card and lightly refreshed remote — in its natural habitat. Our tipster didn’t indicate the provenance of this particular package but we’d previously heard they would start shipping to beta testers last week with an updated UI and this likely represents one of the lucky few delivered so far. The polished state of the hardware and packaging suggests the testing period is to work out any software kinks and (more likely) get in a few rounds of Angry Birds; until we hear something about more specific you can check out a few more of shots in the gallery.

Update: Another anonymous tipster has just sent over this picture of one of the new units next to a Roku XD that gives a good impression of how tiny the new units really are, and another showing the surround sound option. They also noted the new hardware shows improved picture quality, however at this stage the UI isn’t different and there aren’t any new games available yet.

[Thanks, Geraldine]

Gallery: Roku 2 HD

Roku 2 HD struts its stuff in the wild along with a new remote (Update: new comparison pics) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku 2 HD struts its stuff in the wild along with a new remote

Sure it already posed for the FCC’s unflattering cameras, but now we can observe the Roku 2 HD — with packed in MicroSD card and lightly refreshed remote — in its natural habitat. Our tipster didn’t indicate the provenance of this particular package but we’d previously heard they would start shipping to beta testers last week with an updated UI and this likely represents one of the lucky few delivered so far. The polished state of the hardware and packaging suggests the testing period is to work out any software kinks and (more likely) get in a few rounds of Angry Birds; until we hear something about more specific you can check out a few more of shots in the gallery.

[Thanks, Geraldine]

Gallery: Roku 2 HD

Roku 2 HD struts its stuff in the wild along with a new remote originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku 2 line passes through the FCC with modest hardware updates and a reset button

Roku 2 XS

It hasn’t even been a year since Roku last updated its line of streaming media players — but nine months is a long time in the gadget world. So it was pleasant, though not entirely surprising, to spot a trio of new devices from the IPTV pioneer sauntering through the FCC bearing the model numbers 3000X, 3050X, and 3100X. Eventually the three boxes will likely be sold as the Roku 2 HD, XD, and XS respectively. We’ll have to wait to see if there’s anything new on the software side, but we can tell you there have been a host of hardware changes, even if they don’t amount to a major upgrade.

First off, the new models are more rounded and much smaller than their predecessors. Judging by the label affixed to the underside — which we know is 44.65mm x 44.65mm (about 1.7 inches) — the latest Rokus are about the size of an Apple TV, and perhaps a bit smaller. Inside that tiny case is a new Broadcom 2835 SOC, an 802.11n radio, a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth, and (most exciting) a reset button — no more unplugging when Hulu freezes up. Oddly, only the XS retains the Ethernet jack, though the top of the line model ditches support for dual-band WiFi. The primary difference between the HD and XD models still appears to be the latter’s ability to push out 1080p video, while the XS adds a USB port and gets a spiffy new RF remote, which we’re hoping takes a cue from the Boxee clicker. While you impatiently await important information, like pricing and release date, check out the comparison chart after the break.

Continue reading Roku 2 line passes through the FCC with modest hardware updates and a reset button

Roku 2 line passes through the FCC with modest hardware updates and a reset button originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

Xtreamer’s Prodigy media streamer gets upgraded internals, shoots 3D video to your screen for €149

Last time we saw the Xtreamer Prodigy, it was shaping up to be quite the slick little media streamer with a Realtek 1185 chipset running at 500MHz, a plethora of supported codecs, and a fancy flash-based GUI with Android underpinnings. In the months since, the Prodigy hit the gym and now packs Realtek’s 1186 silicon clocked at 750MHz and HDMI 1.4 for pumping out video in three dee. There’s also Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, and support for up to a 3TB HDD in its 3.5-inch bay, so you can source your videos from home or abroad with the greatest of ease. Currently up for pre-order, this digital media distributing dandy will cost €149 (that’s $213 here in the States), but won’t ship until September.

Xtreamer’s Prodigy media streamer gets upgraded internals, shoots 3D video to your screen for €149 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceXtreamer  | Email this | Comments