Hasta La Gadget!

Vizio, known mostly for its inexpensive, high-volume HDTVs, has entered the router business.

No, these aren’t the standard data routers (wirelessly) tied to your laptop or other device, but video-optimized wireless 802.11n routers,a dual-band connection which uses both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz band to tie your TV to the Internet. Vizio also announced a complementary dual-band Blu-ray player, which also connects to the Internet.

The XWR100 Dual-Band HD Wireless Internet Router prioritizes HD video
and audio to VIA HDTVs and Blu-ray players. Within it are four Ethernet jacks and a USB port for connecting a hard drive. Compatible
with both Mac and PC systems, the XWR100 will be available in Q3 at an MSRP
of $99.99.

Vizio also announced three wirelessly connected Blu-ray players: the VBR210, VBR220 and VBR231. Vizio’s pricing strategy is a bit difficult to understand; you’ll have to wait until July to buy the most expensive model, the VBR231, which will cost $199.99. But that’s just $10 more than the VBR210 and VBR220, whose chief difference is that they operate on the single 2.4-GHz band shared with other 802.11b/g devices, while the VBR231 uses both the 2.4- and the relatively unobstructed 5-GHz band. All three deliver up to 7.1 channels of digital audio output
over HDMI, with support for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS
HD audio formats.

Tech companies are in a race to redefine the TV experience by combining web video content with traditional programming. The goal: to control your living-room screen by creating an experience where using the remote to view BoingBoing’s latest video on your 52-inch plasma is as easy as playing the last episode of Lost from your Tivo, or clicking over to a live broadcast from Yankee Stadium.

Google announced a new set-top-box platform called Google TV last week. It will be based on Google’s Android operating system and will have access to Flickr, gaming sites such as Club Penguin, and music sites such as Pandora and Rhapsody.

With Google TV, the search company enters a crowded space where big companies such as Apple and Microsoft and scrappy startups such as Boxee and Roku have been trying to make headway for years.

Where Google TV hopes to score is in its ability to integrate cable programming with web video. Most other alternatives only offer access to free TV channels or select cable shows.

The first Google TV products, including a Sony TV running the software and a Logitech set-top box, are expected in the fall.

But you don’t have to wait for that — especially if you don’t care about cable TV.

Here are seven alternatives to Google TV that are already available.

Boxee

Boxee’s media player is probably the cheapest way to get a streaming-media player: It’s free. (Assuming you already have a computer, that is.) Add to that a great interface and access to some high-quality content, and Boxee is a strong competitor to Google TV.

Boxee organizes content into five buckets: movies, TV shows, photos, music and apps. So from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart to Jersey Shore and Joost, neat, square-shaped icons present a lineup that’s easy to navigate on the big screen.

Boxee integrates with Netflix, so it’s easy for Netflix subscribers to use Boxee to play movies instantly. It also takes music and movies from your computer’s hard drive and pours them into this interface so it can be found easily. Just download it to your PC, and hook up the machine to your TV through the HDMI port.

Boxee even has an iPhone app that lets you turn your iPhone into a remote to control the software.

It is available as a software-only download. Soon, you should also be able to buy a dedicated Boxee hardware box with the software preloaded. The Boxee box is made by D-Link and will be Wi-Fi enabled. It will include an ethernet-connectivity option, 2 USB ports, SD card slot, remote and a keyboard. The Boxee box is expected to be priced under $200 and available by fall.

WIRED Easy to watch online video on TV, user-friendly interface and navigation, free software.

TIRED Stability can still be an issue though crashes are less frequent now, playback of shows can sometimes be choppy, frequent skirmishes with Hulu.

Roku

Roku’s media player is targeted at those who want web content on their TV but don’t want to get their hands dirty with the setup.

The Roku set-top box is the definition of plug-and-play and offers a choice of free and premium channels. Customers largely use the device to stream movies from Netflix and Amazon.

It also offers some free channels include Twit.TV, and TechPodcasts.com, along with access to Flickr.

But in a world where its rivals are innovating fast, Roku can be very limiting. Basic web integration is now a part of most Blu-ray players, and Netflix is available through other options such as rival Boxee for free, or the Xbox 360. Why buy a Roku player for $80?

WIRED Set-top box is simple to configure and use, good HD-quality content.

TIRED Limited choice of online video content, no subtitles in movies, video quality can be inconsistent.

TiVo

TiVo’s digital video recorders are a must-have for anyone who cannot bear to miss Monday Night Football or a single episode of FlashForward. It’s also the original digital video recorder, giving you the ability to record and watch TV when you want.

While cable companies have marginalized TiVo by integrating DVR capabilities into their cable boxes, the latest version of TiVo has some unique features that make it worth a look.

TiVo has updated its DVRs to lets users access on-demand video from Netflix and Amazon, or watch endless videos from YouTube.

There’s also the ability to stream music and photos from online sites and transfer recorded shows to your iPod, iPhone or PSP.

Of course, all this comes at a price. TiVo Premiere starts at $300 and requires an annual service fee of $130.

WIRED Smooth interface that’s the hallmark of TiVo, recording capability is a must-have for TV addicts.

TIRED Pricey, no Wi-Fi, no browser.

Yahoo Connected TV

Millions of users access Yahoo services such as news, finance and Flickr through their PCs or phones. Not surprisingly, Yahoo has been working to extend its tentacles into the TV market.

Yahoo Connected TV, introduced last year, uses the concept of “widgets” to put services into boxes that can be sorted and organized by users. Apart from Yahoo’s own services, Yahoo offers widgets from Amazon, Blockbuster and broadcasters such as CBS and Showtime.

Yahoo says it will let developers create widgets to run on Connected TV. Yahoo has partnered with companies such as Samsung, Sony and Vizio to put the Yahoo Connected TV software inside TV sets. So if you have one of these sets, you can take advantage of the Yahoo-enabled features.

So far the company claims about 3 million TVs featuring this software have been sold since it was introduced in March 2009.

But depending on TV makers could be the flaw in Yahoo’s strategy. Sony has already moved into Google’s camp, promising to offer Google TV inside some of its TV models later this year.

Also, there’s no PC option. If consumers can’t download and run Yahoo Connected TV from their PCs, it’ll be difficult to sell them on the idea. After all, how will they know what they’re missing?

WIRED No separate box to clutter your living room, widget-based approach is easy to use.

TIRED Poor distribution; no browser, so you can’t go where you want.

Microsoft Windows Media Center

The Windows media player has been around so far and gone through so many iterations that it’s easy to forget that Microsoft was the first major tech company to see the potential of getting into the living room.

Media player offers access to TV shows, music and movie trailers. But Windows Media Center is the company’s real deal for the living room. Media Center lets your PC act as a DVR if you have a tuner card, listen to FM and internet radio stations, watch photos from your disk and even connect with Netflix on the big screen. And you can sync all your content with a Windows phone or a Zune if you use the Media Center.

Microsoft’s counting on its biggest strength to bring Windows Media Center to PC users: the Windows operating system. The program is included in Windows XP Media Center Edition, premium editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.

But there’s one big thing missing: the cool factor. And Media Center hasn’t inked partnerships or aggregated TV content to the extent that an Apple TV or a Boxee can offer.

WIRED Available with most versions of  Windows OS, so no additional software downloads.

TIRED User interface isn’t sleek, very limited TV content.

Apple TV

Apple has been seemingly firing on all cylinders for the last few years. Apple TV, introduced in 2007, is a rare flop.

The digital media receiver never reached the ubiquity of an iPod, nor did it become the gold standard for its category like the iPhone.

At $230, Apple TV isn’t cheap. But it lets users watch HD movies and TV shows through deals that Apple has struck with the studios. You have to pay to buy or rent most shows, but you can view YouTube content for free.

Despite its early lead, Apple TV falls far short in what users get for the price. Apple’s closed system means users are locked into iTunes to purchase movies. So if you want to run Netflix or Amazon video, you have to get Boxee on your Apple TV, which we think raises the question: Why not just get Boxee?

WIRED Great interface that blows away competition, beautiful integration with iTunes, good shows and movies for a price.

TIRED Back to iTunes for managing content, no direct access to Hulu, Netflix, not a dream Apple product.

Netgear Digital Entertainer

Streaming video players are so hot that even Netgear, otherwise known for its modems and routers, put out a box called Digital Entertainer.

Netgear’s internet-TV-player box makes online video, photos and music accessible through the TV, even for those who don’t have a PC. The player connects to the home network and the internet by ethernet or wireless USB adapater. The box includes upto 500 GB of storage for movies, music and photos.

But the streaming media player at Netgear may be even more of a hobby than at Apple. The company offers two versions of its box, priced at $100 and a whopping $400, and neither has exactly taken the market by storm.

WIRED Feature-rich, record and play TV shows if your PC has a TV tuner, works without the need to hook up a PC.

TIRED Ugly box, buggy, interface is a nightmare, pricey.

Updated to include Windows Media Center instead of Windows Media Player

Photo: Niall Kennedy/Flickr

Did you blink during the Super Bowl commercial breaks? Too bad if you did, because it means you may have missed the anemic number of gadget or tech-related commercials worth talking about tomorrow at the water cooler. But! Megan Fox!

Megan Fox is an obvious choice, for obvious reasons (if she’s your thing): She had a Motoblur, and we’re a gadget blog! See? Obvious. Anyway, tweeting from a tub on her new phone, she pondered what would happen if she sent a picture of her bathing out to the world. Hijinks ensued, people were hurt, and even a gay couple somehow got distracted by the fox that is Megan Fox:

And such is the power of Fox that there were scenes that didn’t make the final cut.

Then there was Beyonce, fresh off her Grammy performance, performing again for Vizio. Surrounded by Internet memes and celebrities, Twitter and what appeared to be an army of automobile assembly line robots (hopefully not ones from Toyota), she sang and sold that company’s Via/Internet Apps technology. Think Internet on your HDTV, not because I say so or because that’s exactly what it is, but because that’s the message Vizio assaulted viewers with during the 60-second clip:

Tough love was the story for Intel’s Jeffrey the Robot. The commercial was supposedly for Intel’s Core processor line, but I know the truth: Robot uprising. It 20 years’ time we can all look back at this commercial, when poor Jeffrey was snubbed For The Last Time by his human overlords:

Lastly, there’s one we actually covered yesterday. Google. Its poignant ad about a search-happy boy in love with a French girl aired yesterday, on the Internet, which is probably fitting. We’ll revisit it again here if you missed it tonight:

Sigh.

Personally, for me the ads were a bit stale this year. Even the Bud Light beer ads, which have made me laugh out loud on occasion in years past, felt a little tired. Betty White was a standout though, and there were back-to-back ads depicting grown men in their underwear. Possibly a first there. Also a first: Seeing a two-timing baby talk about eTrade while his “milk-a-holic” girl on the side blew up his shit over a webcam.

The one Bud Light ad I will give props to, however, was their Autotune bit. It’s a stretch including here on Gizmodo, but we have a history with that app (iPhone, anyone?), and we’ll take an opportunity here to thank Budweiser for hopefully killing the tech off for good with this Super Bowl ad:

OK, I admit it, I smiled a bit watching that a second time. Guilty.

The entire crop is over at YouTube in one convenient package (Fox’s is notably absent at the moment, although they appear to be updating throughout the night).

Since we can’t drool over sets without release dates forever, our attention at VIZIO’s CES event turned to flat-panels we actually expect to hit shelves in 2010. Still, we couldn’t have expected a sneak peek of the company’s planned iPhone remote control app (video after the break,) and the shock of seeing a 22-inch VIA & WiFi packing 22-inch LCD nearly overshadowed the massive 72-inch 3D set picture above. Also represented were a new soundbar surround package with HDMI 1.4 / Audio Return Channel due in May, a video-prioritizing wireless router and powerline networking setups, and of just to round things out, some iPod dock / touchscreen clock radios.

Continue reading VIZIO’s new LCDs (and upcoming iPhone remote app) eyes-on

VIZIO’s new LCDs (and upcoming iPhone remote app) eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here we go again, eh? Vizio‘s hitting us up with yet another round of wares here at CES, starting with a trio of Razor LED sets that are designed to watch mobile TV. The 9-inch VMB090 and 10-inch VMB100 are among the first to use the new ATSC-M/H standard and ship with an HDMI 1.4 input, while the 7-inch VMB070 holds it down on the low end. The whole trio arrive in enclosures that are less than 1-inch thick, though you’ll only really enjoy the integrated antenna if you live in a spot where the broadcasts are available. Speaking of, none of these will be available until “later this year,” with prices set for $149.99, $199.99 and $229.99. Moving on, the company’s outing 2.1 and 5.1 channel wireless surround home theater systems, wireless headphones and stereo Bluetooth headphones, and if you’re super interested in learning more about the bevy of options there, give those source links a tick of your attention.

Vizio digs into mobile TV market with three Razor LED TVs, other wild audio products originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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