Now that the SlingLoaded ViP922 DVR is actually available from Dish Network it’s ready to offer more features from the Sling Mobile side of the menu, with plans to add free live TV (or recorded DVR program) streaming to its own mobile apps. Right now, the iPhone and recently released iPad app (Android version due in October) just let the devices control the box and view listings information, but after an update in September it will offer similar functionality to the $29.99 SlingPlayer Mobile, minus all the IR blasters and potential compatibility issues. The best part? According to the Associated Press all this comes at no extra cost to Dish subscribers, other than the fee for the new DVR or broadband connected 612, 622, 722 and 722k set-tops hooked up to a Slingbox.
To cut a long story short, Onkyo’s LPF10M01 is basically a netbook’s screen sans (most of) the netbook. 10.1 inches of LED-backlit LCD get covered in a 1,024 x 600 pixel array and are backed up by 250 nits of brightness and a 500 to 1 contrast ratio. The big selling point here is the inclusion of an HDMI input — still something of a rarity in picture frames — which sidles up alongside a USB port, SDHC and Memory Stick card reader, and 512MB of integrated memory. We’re fancying the flexibility of using it as a secondary display or as part of some truly minimalist desktop environment, but doubt many will be won over by the austere 140 degree horizontal viewing angle, which narrow down to a zany 110 on the vertical axis. Anyhow, it launches on August 6 in Japan for around ¥19,800 ($227).
You’ve heard about it for months, and now the universal remote that looks nothing like a universal remote is finally on sale in 52 nations. Thinkflood’s RedEye Mini — which simply plugs into the headphone jack of your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch — can now be procured for $49, and when used with the gratis app in the App Store, can control anything in your home entertainment setup that accepts IR commands. ZDNet was fortunate enough to get a little hands-on time with the device, and their early impressions are quite positive. In fact, they recommend skipping the Harmony hoopla and heading right for this if you’re already an iDevice owner (who doesn’t use an imposing case or Bumper), and at a buck under a Grant, we certainly aren’t in a position to argue.
It’s all about how you hold it, apparently. Intel’s Labs have churned out a proposal for a new user-identifying system to be embedded into remote controls. Given a bit of time to familiarize itself with particular users, this new motion sensor-equipped channel switcher is capable of correctly recognizing its holder just by the way he operates it. Taking accelerometer readings every 100 nanoseconds, the researchers were able to build a data set of idiosyncrasies about each person, which would then be applied the next time he picked up the remote. Alas, accuracy rates are still well short of 100 percent, but there’s always hope for improving things and for now it’s being suggested that the system could be employed to help with targeted advertising — which is annoying anyway, whoever it may think you are.
Oh, sure — ThinkFlood promised us back in early March that a RedEye mini would be landing this summer, but at the time, all we had were a few luscious renders. Today, the company has finally revealed the first actual shots of the forthcoming device, along with a video showing it in action. While diminutive, it’s certainly not as compact and discrete as IR-enabled cases, but if you’ve already committed to an iPod touch / iPhone / iPad case (or just prefer rocking your device sans clothing), this here dongle is likely the next best thing. In case you’re wondering, this little guy will transform your iDevice into a universal remote, enabling it to talk to any home entertainment component that listens to IR (read: that’s just about all of ’em). We’re still stuck waiting a few more months for this $49 product to hit shelves, but for now, feel free to hop past the break and peek a brief demonstration.
We’re usuallypleasantlysurprised by the interface technology out of Redmond, but we rarely see Microsoft tackle anything as simple as a TV remote control. However, a July 1st patent application by the software giant describes a fairly interesting gizmo with controls on multiple sides. With a six-axis inertial sensor package, the unit always knows which direction is up and activates only that side — allowing engineers to slim down the unit (or cram more buttons into the same space) by putting contextually-aware touchscreens on any surface of the device. When you move the remote, the sensors detect that, too, and immediately illuminate the screen. Just goes to show you can always find a new angle for mundane technology, eh?
Tablet control for HTPCs is nothing new to VidaBox, but with users quickly buying up tablets of their own it’s switched focus from the proprietary vPad and $2,600 TouchClient to wider compatibility through web apps. This iPad control interface demonstrated at the Asian Pacific CEDIA Expo, lets users browse and control their Media Center PC’s videos and music with cover art and related information right in the palm of their hands. Built on the company’s vAutomation 2.0 platform the software can control other connected devices including lights and cable boxes, while integration with online sources like Rhapsody and Pandora is also in the works. The iPad version is scheduled to make it to dealers and integrators in Q3 and its web based roots should make Android or other platform support a snap, though you will need to own one of the company’s systems to take advantage.
Lenovo seems to have developed a clear two-pronged strategy: for business, it leans on the knowhow and tradition it purchased from IBM with the demure Think line, and for the consumer end, it’s developed its own, oftentimes flamboyant, Idea range of computers. Prime example of the latter is the IdeaCentre A300, which features an edge-to-edge glass screen, chrome accenting aplenty, and an unhealthily thin profile. As such, it’s one of the more unashamed grabs for the hearts and minds of desktop aesthetes, so we had to bring it in for a test drive and see what we could see. Lenovo also sent us one of its diminutive Multimedia Keyboard remotes to have a play around with. Follow the break for our review of both.
This might be a little later than the promised late February release, but we’ve finally gotten word of the iPhone L5 Remote accessory shipping. You’ll remember that this little infrared dongle, also compatible with the iPod touch and iPad, turns your touchscreen device into a universal remote control, replete with customizable and easily programmable buttons. The L5 costs $50, a tidy 20 bucks cheaper than the i-Got-Control alternative, and can be had now via the company’s website below.
In a quest to get the perfect shot, Eric Austin, a Texas-based videographer, found a neat way to fuse a remote controlled helicopter and a Canon DSLR camera so he could shoot aerial videos easily and get the kind of footage that would otherwise be difficult to pull off.
“I took a hobbyshop helicopter and modified it to hold a camera, so I can get low altitude, close and tight aerial shots,” Austin told Wired.com.
An amateur videographer turned pro, Austin got interested in remote-controlled photography just four months ago.
“As I did more photos and videos, I realized I could develop a niche where I could use the advancements in technology to provide the kind of photos most people can’t get easily,” he says.
Austin is one of the many hobbyist photographers who are finding ways to use drones and remote-controlled helicopter toys to get a more attractive camera angle. Wired magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson helms a site called DIY Drones where users have found a way to use unmanned aerial vehicles to do aerial photography. Last year, New York City photographer Anthony Jacobs showed a helicam built using a German helicopter rig called MikroKopter. Jacobs used his helicam rig to shoot videos of neighborhooods in the city.
Austin, who has a website devoted to his RC helicopter videography, says he wanted to do something similar and offer HD-quality video and photos.
That’s why, he says, he decided to create a rig that would be reliable and produce the kind of footage that could be used by professionals. And as this clip shows, the video can be interesting.
Austin started with a remote-controlled helicopter called Align T-REX 700 and modified it to carry a special frame and camera mount. He tweaked the landing gear for the helicopter, covering it with a bright pink foam from the “noodles” used in swimming pools.
“The color stands out when I am flying the helicopter outdoors,” says Austin. “And if I crash into the water, my whole equipment won’t go to the bottom. It will be ruined, but at least I will get my gear back.” Austin says he hasn’t crashed his helicopter yet, but the foam ensures that in case of a hard landing, the equipment is less likely to completely fall apart.
He adjusts the camera’s settings when it’s on the ground and presses the Record button right before takeoff. For still images, Austin says he uses an external timer that activates the shutter every few seconds.
To create his flying video rig, Austin says he spent hours on the online discussion forums at the Helifreak.com website.
“I didn’t know anyone to talk to,” he says. “And then realized the only place to go was online where people were discussing this.”
One of the more challenging shoots that Austin has done with his helicam was flying over a cliff that was about 25 feet high with a river below. And he didn’t crash the copter.
“The probability that a crash will happen is there, but so far, I have been careful,” he says.
To download video, Austin has set up a 5.8-GHz video downlink feed using an on-board wireless transmitter.
All of this didn’t come cheap. Austin estimates the entire rig cost him about $15,000. But for those at home, who want to do something similar, he says there are cheaper alternatives.
“I went for the best and most expensive components because I didn’t want to risk it failing mid-air,” he says. “But you can get an RC helicopter for about $400 and put a point-and-shoot camera on it.”
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
