Hasta La Gadget!

The OnLive MicroConsole is one way to get your streaming game fix, but here comes Vizio with four more — the bargain television company just revealed that those brand-new VIA Plus HDTVs and Blu-ray players (as well as that VIA Tablet and VIA Phone) will come with OnLive on board. Despite running as an internet app on top of the existing Vizio hardware, we’re told the service will support full 1080p resolution, stereoscopic 3D images, and OnLive’s low-latency wireless gamepads too — as Vizio’s units will apparently support IEEE 802.15.4. While the jury’s still out on when OnLive will actually be playable on touchscreens, CEO Steve Perlman says some games are being adapted to support touch right now, and that tablets that support external game controllers could also use OnLive normally. We’ve also got more good news for the home theater crowd, as OnLive’s signed a deal with SRS, bringing 5.1 surround sound as a free update to all OnLive users early next year. Because there’s nothing quite like having ears bombarded from all directions with digital explosions. PR after the break.

Continue reading OnLive turns into Vizio VIA Plus app, destined for TVs, tablets and phones

OnLive turns into Vizio VIA Plus app, destined for TVs, tablets and phones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh LG, you infernal tease. Instead of politely revealing its full set of plans for CES 2011, the Korean company keeps gently peeling away the layers of ignorance, with today marking its pre-announcement of a new Cinema 3D TV set. The LW6500 opts for passive 3D glasses, in place of the currently popular active shutter goggles, which has garnered it a couple of industry certifications to say that its 3D is guaranteed, definitely, totally flicker-free. Aside from that, you get a neat brightness booster to ensure that switching on the third dimension doesn’t dim the picture unduly, while the rest of the specs and extras on this 200Hz panel seem mostly unremarkable. We’ll be casting our eyeballs over it at CES next week, which will be followed, we’re told, by a rollout in select markets shortly thereafter.

Continue reading LG’s LW6500 Cinema 3D TV is certified flicker-free, launching at CES

LG’s LW6500 Cinema 3D TV is certified flicker-free, launching at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you buy an appliance like a fridge or a washing machine, it comes with a handy yellow EnergyGuide sticker that shows just how much energy they use. And starting in 2011 you’ll find these stickers on TVs as well.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that starting next year all TVs sold will require the EnergyGuide sticker. The stickers will feature both the TV’s estimated annual energy cost, as well as the estimated annual energy cost of similarly sized TVs. Additionally, starting July 11 of next year, websites will also need to display the EnergyGuide label when selling television sets.

“Unlike many years ago, before flat screens and plasma, today’s televisions vary widely in the amount of energy they use,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. “By comparing information on the EnergyGuide labels, consumers will be able to make better-informed decisions about which model they choose to buy, based on how much it costs to operate per year.”

Via GOOD

Killer flying robots? No, not this time. Our fearless leader is back once again in Jimmy Fallon‘s guest chair, this time with a bunch of new holiday gear at his disposal. Other guests include Jason Segel (Gulliver’s Travels), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), and Dr. Elmo himself performs “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” All the madness starts at 12:37AM tonight care of your local NBC affiliate… oh, and speaking of robots, don’t forget to check out this week’s Engadget Show while you wait.

Josh is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight! It’s a holiday miracle! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hard to say if you’re aware, but Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (best known ’round these parts at CSIRO) was the first to develop the WiFi transmission technologies that are widely used on Planet Earth today, and they’ve got stacks of infringement lawsuits to prove it. Now, the organization is testing out a radical new approach to solve the rural broadband problem, and rather than relying on newly opened spectrum or other forms of black magic, they’re simply tasking existing analog TV antennas to work a little overtime. Put simply, Ngara uses the broadcast towers that already exist in rural towns that receive television signals, and then with a new set-top box and a modified TV antenna, it’s able to funnel broadband internet into faraway homes. Recent tests in Tasmania — sections with higher populations of Devils than Earthlings — have shown the uplink working just fine, but they’re still a good ways out from getting data to download. Project manager David Robertson surmises that it’ll be around four years before the technology is ready for the commercial market, and you can bet your bottom (Australian) dollar that we’ll be counting down the days. And so will everyone else stuck in the Big Apple wondering why Jimmy McMillan didn’t get elected for mayor.

[Image courtesy of Geoff Ambler / CSIRO]

CSIRO’s Ngara internet transmission project begins in Tasmania, shows hopes for rural broadband originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 02:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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