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Continue reading Libratone’s AirPlay-enabled soundbars want to cozy up with your iOS wares

Libratone’s AirPlay-enabled soundbars want to cozy up with your iOS wares originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now there's yet another place where you can lose hours of your life to Angry Birds

If your favorite thing about the latest Apple TV is its size, you’re going to love the Roku 2. The already dinky little box has shrunken even further — at 3 inches on each side, it is smaller than the Apple TV and shorter than a pack of cigarettes (both 3.5 inches).

More importantly, the Roku now plays games. Specifically, it can play — among others — Rovio’s Angry Birds. In short, not only can the Roku pull in pretty much any streaming content out there on the web, it can also turn your TV into a game console.

The Roku 2 follows a trend of hardware consolidation, especially in the television space, where internet-connected devices are becoming increasingly versatile. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, for example, offer video rentals in addition to gaming functionality. While the Roku 2’s primary focus is still internet video, with the addition of some lightweight gaming capability it provides an inexpensive alternative to the traditional game console.

On the TV side, little has changed about the Roku 2. You can stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and more, as well as live sports and music from Pandora and MOG.

But what about those games? To play them, you just tune in to the games channel and pick up the new Game Remote. This doubles as a regular remote when you’re watching TV and movies.

The remote is included with the top-of-the-line XS ($100) which also comes with a free copy of Angry Birds. For the other two boxes in the new lineup you’ll need to buy both the remote and game (games are bought and accessed through the Channel Store).

As for the hardware, we’ll go from the bottom up. All models have Wi-Fi. The $60 HD can show 720p video, the $80 XD adds 1080p and the $100 XS adds 1080p, an Ethernet port and a USB port for adding music, movies and photos. As mentioned above, only the XS includes a game and Game Remote.

All three are available now.

Roku 2 product page.

See Also:

• Review: Roku Netflix Set Top Box Is Just Shy of Totally Amazing …
• Roku Launches $60 HD Streaming Media Player
• Roku Moves Beyond Netflix, Says Hello To Amazon

Best Buy and TiVo announced they were forming a “broad partnership” two years ago, then revealed a connected HDTV product last year, and now it’s apparently just days from being released. This information posted over at ZatzNotFunny pegs the launch date for the Insignia cTV as July 31st, packing the TiVo Premiere’s menu system and apps like Netflix, CinemaNow and Pandora. The 32- and 42-inch models feature built-in WiFi, but no included DVR and don’t require a TiVo subscription. With the recent launch of multiroom streaming on the TiVo Premiere and another DVR-less product from TiVo in the Preview, this is a perfect opportunity to include multiroom access, no set-top box needed. Unfortunately, like the pricetag of the cTV units, that detail has yet to be revealed.

Best Buy Insignia cTV with DVR-less TiVo built-in launches July 31st originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You probably know Netflix raised its prices. And, like everyone else, you’re probably outraged at the death of $10 1 disc + streaming plan. But the $6 price hike doesn’t have to be the end of the world. More »

Panasonic has already lured some big names to its Viera Connect platform, like MLB and Hulu, now the company is opening up to smaller devs who want to see their creations blown up for the big screen without the aid of additional hardware. The SDK went live back in January, but now the company is providing an easy path from creation to release for its smart TV ecosystem. Of course, Panasonic still maintains final control over what apps make it to the Viera market, but expect new games and streaming video sources to start popping up soon. Check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Panasonic’s Viera Connect developer portal opens to eager TV app creators

Panasonic’s Viera Connect developer portal opens to eager TV app creators originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 02:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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