Hasta La Gadget!

Hope you weren’t enjoying watching YouTube on the television screen via Popcorn Hour and other set-top boxes, as they have been given notice by the newly 1080p and network TV-friendly website that they are no longer welcome to access its content. The new Hulu-ish Terms of Service (section II, item 10) restricts API clients from the ability to “use the YouTube API in connection with any API Client created for use on television set top boxes, television game consoles, or video screens packaged and marketed as television sets;” according to Popcorn Hour COO Alex Limberis this applies to all with the exception of “a few strategic partner’s Google has singled out” — PlayStation 3, Wii, TiVo, Panasonic, Samsung and other licensed hardware is safe.

Update: After speaking with Alex we’ve got a better view of the situation — as is clear from the TOS, manufacturers streaming directly via the API as Popcorn Hour did are no longer welcome without cutting a seven figure check to license access. Google did offer to allow continued access via its YouTube XL interface, but for devices like theirs not built around Flash, that possible solution proved to be technologically unfeasible. Obviously these changes apply to all, but as of yet we’re not aware of anyone other than Popcorn Hour that has been contacted directly about it.

Update v2: After the break is Google’s response, stating Popcorn Hour and the like have been in violation of the above TOS for over a year, from its perspective, this is a simple matter of defending its rights from “video scraping technology.” As we mentioned above that means most are in no danger of losing access, but fans of these media streamers will have to live without it, until either YouTube can control the experience or the manufacturer pays up.

Continue reading YouTube pulls a Hulu — yanking API access from Popcorn Hour (Update: Google responds)

YouTube pulls a Hulu — yanking API access from Popcorn Hour (Update: Google responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hard though it may be to believe, the Roku has been rockin’ the lives of Netflix fanatics for nearly 1.5 years, and if you were thinking an updated version was in order, you’d be on the right train of thought. Images delivered to us today prove that a refreshed iteration is on the horizon, with the Roku XR (model number N1101) retaining the same overall look and feel as the original but adding in niceties like 802.11n wireless support, a USB socket (presumably for loading up media locally) and a 2.5A power input (as opposed to 1.5A). You can also see that the dedicated reset button has been yanked and the bundled remote is exactly the same; in fact, we’re told that the old remote controls the Roku XR sans issue. There’s no word yet on a price or release date, but we’re guessing we’ll know significantly more prior to Christmas. Oh, and yeah — you’re not the only one thinking this is quite the underwhelming update, but hey, maybe it’ll street for $9.99.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Roku XR adds 802.11n, USB port and a longing for something more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d been hearing that Western Digital was about to update its WD TV set-top media player lineup, and it looks like that leaked WD TV-2 has turned into the WD TV Live on the way to Best Buy. Nothing here too out of the ordinary — wide codec support, Dolby Digital and DTS decoders, HDMI out, and an Ethernet jack for DLNA streaming and accessing YouTube, Flickr, and Pandora make this one a solid buy at $119 if you need it, but it’s not going to blow up the world, you know? We’re still saving up for monster Windows 7 / CableCARD Media Center rig.

[Thanks, Keith D.]

Filed under: Home Entertainment

New Western Digital WD TV Live media player hits Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a post-CES “streamlining” resulted in layoffs and left highly anticipated products like the Multi-Room HD DMR to never see the light of day the future of Moxi DVR builder Digeo has remained in doubt, but that’s all behind us as it has been acquired by ARRIS. Promising not only continued support for current Moxi customers but also plans to continue to develop and market the line of products, it appears the communications company sees this as a way to expand its own networking expertise. The cost to snap up Digeo’s IP, 75 employees and other assets? A mere $20 million cash – we expect to find out more details via conference call tomorrow, any questions you want answered about the future of Moxi? Let us know in the comments, whether this means the UI will get a makeover is already on our list.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Digeo purchased by Arris, promises continued Moxi development, sales and support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On Tuesday, Netgear launched the Digital Entertainer Live (or EVA2000), a small set-top box that connects an HDTV to a local USB or networked hard drive or to Web video services like YouTube or Hulu.

The EVA2000 went on sale today for $149.99, and a complementary USB wireless adapter (the EVAW111) is priced at $39.99. However, there are also some hidden fees you may need to be aware of.

The EVA2000 looks quite similar to the Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player, which is priced slightly less, at $129.99. In fact, the two remote controls look nearly identical. (Disclosure: I purchased a WD TV box about six weeks ago.) Both boxes also use an HDMI cable to connect to an HDTV, although neither includes it. There’s one key difference, however: the WD TV outputs up to 1080i video, while the EVA2000 supports up to 720p.

The Netgear box supports a nice array of video formats (WMV 7/8/9, VC1, VP6, –
H.263, H.264, MPEG 1/2/4) and file types, including AVI, DivX 4.x, DivX 5.x, Xvid, MOV, MP4, MPEG2-PS, MPEG2-TS,
DVD VOB, FLV, Matroska, and ASF.

The one drawback to the WD TV, obviously, is that it lacks any sort of network access, either to the home LAN or to the Internet at large. The EVA2000 rectifies both deficiencies. Since it lacks a true network browser, however, the EVA2000 requires some intermediary software to access popular Web video sites, and this is where the additional fees come in.