Topic: HD - Engadget

By Billy Steele posted Mar 8th 2013 9:30AM 0

Distro Issue 81: Exploring NASCAR's technological dichotomy HD

Despite adopting new hardware like the Gen-6 car, NASCAR has been reluctant to embrace the high tech when it comes to other facets of the sport. In the latest issue of our tablet mag, we visit Daytona to take a look at the split between history and progress that dominates the sport spawned by bootleggers. Before the checkered flag waves, Eyes-On has a glance at the Wacom Intuos5 touch, Brad Molen wraps up a month with the BlackBerry Z10 and IRL returns with a look at our personal wares. Buckle those seat belts, and head to the repository of your choosing to snag a copy for your slate.

Distro Issue 81 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro in the Windows Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

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By Richard Lawler posted Mar 8th 2013 2:42AM 0

Movie studios sign on for satellite-based digital delivery to theaters HD

We doubt we'll see any reduction in ticket prices, but the process of bringing new movies to theaters could get easier very soon as five major studios have signed on with the Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition (DCDC) to use its satellite distribution network. Lionsgate, Universal, Disney, Warner and Paramount are all on board with the scheme, which says it will provide participants access to "a host of delivery options" as digital projection becomes increasingly common. The Hollywood Reporter quotes spokesman Randolph Blotky saying the network is expected to reach 300 locations when it launches this summer, all of which will be equipped with an appliance from video distributor KenCast. The satellite end of things is being handled by EchoStar/Deluxe, and once it's rolled out should make things much easier than the current system of shipping hard drives back and forth. Of course, what we're not hearing so far is if/how this upgrade will reach smaller, older theaters that are facing pricey upgrades from film-based equipment, but with theater chains like AMC, Regal and Cinemark forming the DCDC along with Universal and Warner, those considerations are probably a little further down the list.

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By Jon Fingas posted Mar 7th 2013 11:56PM 0

LG ships its MT93 Personal Smart TV to your dorm this March HD

College students and studio apartment tenants still don't have many options for advanced TVs; they often have to make do with a PC monitor or find a way to cram a bigger TV set into a tiny space. It's a good thing that LG's MT93 Personal Smart TV is shipping to Europe this month, then. The 27-inch, IPS-based upgrade to last year's model carries the same smart app platform, 3D imagery and Magic Remote as LG's larger sets while doubling as a monitor for HDMI-equipped PCs. It even stuffs in wireless sharing support that rarely makes it to small TVs, such as Miracast and WiDi. LG hasn't said which other countries will get the MT93, but international expansion plans later this year could please at least a few more campus dwellers.

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By Terrence O'Brien posted Mar 7th 2013 6:48PM 0

Zotac's StreamBox and RAIDbox build upon the ZBOX's HTPC pedigree HD

Zotac has this media-friendly SFF computer thing pretty much nailed. For years the company has been churning out ever smaller machines purpose built for living rooms and media servers. The StreamBox and RAIDbox aren't standalone computers, but accessories that build on the home theater capabilities of their ZBOX PCs. The StreamBox pushes content to your TV from a laptop, Android smartphone or tablet using DLNA or Miracast for mirroring your portable's display. In addition to the 10/100 Ethernet jack and dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n radios, there's also a USB port on board for connecting external storage devices. What kind of storage devices, you ask? Well, how about the USB 3.0 RAIDbox that was unveiled alongside the StreamBox. The box itself doesn't ship with any drives inside, but you can slip in a pair of mSATA SSDs and it wont even require an external power supply. Sadly, the really important details like price and availability haven't been announced, but you can still read the PR after the break.

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By James Trew posted Mar 7th 2013 9:03AM 0

Barnes & Noble signs licensing agreement with MGM, Lionsgate, National Geographic and more for Nook Video service HD

Barnes and Noble has just dealt up some good news for movie-loving owners of its Nook HD and HD+ slates, with the announcement of new licensing agreements with a host of studios. Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount, Relativity Media as well as National Geographic, Little Pim and Film Buff are all part of the new wave of additions to the Nook Video line-up. This means titles such as The Hunger Games, Mad Men, and the Twilight Movies will be available for rent or purchase starting today. Little Pim provides foreign language learning for kids, so there's something to expand the minds of the little ones too. This, combined with that UltraViolet integration and the odd item at the FCC suggests that Barnes & Noble is taking its media content offering more seriously than ever. We're certainly not complaining.

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By James Trew posted Mar 7th 2013 5:00AM 0

Engadget HD Podcast 339 - 03.07.2013 HD

Now that Cablevision is actually suing Viacom over channel bundling, is there a chance that major changes are coming to the pay-TV landscape? We're not entirely optimistic, and most regular listeners may already understand why but we'll lay out the obstacles as they stand (spoiler: money). Still, progress marches on with new developments from YouTube and DirecTV apparently getting ready for its inevitable 4K channels. We also take a look at F1's first 3D broadcast just as LG starts shipping its... unique new laser projector.

Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: James Trew (@itstrew)

Hear the podcast

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By Richard Lawler posted Mar 7th 2013 4:32AM 0

LG's 55-inch OLED HDTV gets UK launch details: £9,999, ships in July HD

Nearly a year after LG first showed off the production design for its 55-inch OLED HDTV and just as it begins shipping in Korea and the US, the company has announced UK details for the set. The 55EM970V with its ultra-thin frame and high contrast screen is available for pre-order now at Harrods, Knightsbridge for about £9,999, with delivery expected in July. The only problem (other than scraping together the necessary cash) is deciding between this one and LG's other "world's first" HDTV, the 84-inch 4K model it's also currently shipping. Of course, waiting until 2014 (or beyond) for more supply and lower prices is also an option -- we're sure you will choose wisely.

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By Terrence O'Brien posted Mar 6th 2013 11:46AM 0

Amazon adds another original kid's program with high-profile pedigree HD

Amazon doesn't have any original programming just yet that can quite compete with the buzz of House of Cards or the resurrection of Arrested Development. What it does have, however, is a compelling lineup of exclusive children's programming from big names like Angela C. Santomero and Carol Greenwald, the people responsible for Blue's Clues and Curious George, respectively. The two are collaborating on Sara Solves It, the second project from Santomero for Amazon's burgeoning Prime lineup. The series, which stars bother and sister Sara and Sam, was created with help from WGBH Boston (home of Frontline and Nova), where Greenwald works and is currently under contract for 12 episodes. It's unclear when the duo will begin solving their "absorbing and relatable" math mysteries, but our friends across the pond can rest easy knowing the interactive children's programming will be coming to Lovefilm in the UK and Germany as well.

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By Richard Lawler posted Mar 5th 2013 9:00PM 0

Roku 3 goes on sale tomorrow for $99 with upgraded CPU and a new UI HD

Almost two years after its last major set-top box rollout, Roku is ready to introduce its first third generation player. Other than a new curvier design outside the Roku 3's main differences are a more powerful processor inside, the addition of dual band WiFi and a tweaked remote with audio out (headphones included) for private listening. Of course, hardware is only half the story and the new player debuts a reworked interface that will also spread to "current generation" players (read: Roku 2, new HD, LT and Streaming Stick) as an update in April. Roku 3 goes on sale tomorrow through Roku.com and Amazon.com for $99, taking the place of the current top of the line XS model. We'll go more in depth about what's new this time around, including a video preview of the new UI, after the break.

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By Richard Lawler posted Mar 5th 2013 5:26PM 0

Time Warner Cable's TWC TV app is now streaming on Roku HD

Time Warner Cable has already brought live TV streaming to iOS, Android and PCs, and now it's finally released its TWC TV service on a device for your TV. Now available on newer Roku players (and, we presume, whatever hardware is coming next), it brings up to 300 channels to subscriber's set-top boxes via the internet. Hit the link below to add the channel to your box -- assuming you have Time Warner cable + internet and your Roku is located in the house where you have service, of course. We've seen demos of the software on Samsung and Panasonic connected TV platforms before, and the Xbox 360 features similar access from a number of providers, so take that into account when guessing which one may be next up.

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By Ben Gilbert posted Mar 5th 2013 4:46PM 0

Valve's Steambox prototypes heading to some Steam users in '3 - 4 months' HD

We've known that game company and Steam operator Valve Software was going to offer prototypes of its hardware to Steam users for some time, but company head Gabe Newell niw says that those prototypes will start arriving in the next three to four months time. Moreover, beyond just the controllers we suspected to be part of the beta program, Newell tells the BBC that said prototypes will be of the Steambox, Valve's living room-friendly PC gaming initiative. "We're working with partners trying to nail down how fast we can make it," Newell said.

He cited noise and heat concerns as the holdup for retail availability of various Steamboxes -- both Valve itself and a variety of third-party companies are working on the initiative, including Xi3 and unnamed others. He also speculated about what control device might be included in various Steambox setups (the systems are said to range in power and price, from low to very high). He did posit that some form of biological monitoring would be built into a potential Valve game controller (biometrics). "You need to actually be able to directly measure how aroused the player is -- what their heart rate is, things like that -- in order to offer them a new experience each time they play," Newell said. He also cited the controller as a current roadblock in making the Steambox available. "The main thing that's holding us up right now is nailing ... we have a couple of different controller prototypes that we're using, and that's one of the things that we're giving to customers," he added. Valve is apparently planning on including a handful of controllers with Steambox prototypes in its upcoming beta, so that users can give feedback for each and Valve can break down how players are using them.

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By Ben Drawbaugh posted Mar 4th 2013 7:45PM 0

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 8:30PM ET HD

Hope you took advantage of -- and enjoyed -- last week's late show time because we're doing it again. Yes, you can join the Engadget HD podcast tonight live when we start recording at at 8:30PM. If you'll be joining us, be sure to go ahead and get ready by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then you'll be ready to participate in the live chat.

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By Richard Lawler posted Mar 4th 2013 6:44PM 0

Must See HDTV (March 4th - 10th) HD

We begin this week for a vital PSA aimed at the fan of ABC's Zero Hour -- that show has been cancelled after airing just three episodes. In other news, fresh iterations of SimCity and Tomb Raider arrive this week for some old-but-new-again gaming. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Wreck-It Ralph
In addition to Academy Award winning animated short Paperman, Wreck-It Ralph promises enough classic videogame references to alight nostalgia in pretty much anyone. Ben-o-vision certified, this story of an 8-bit villain who wants to be a hero instead seems a good fit for kids and adults alike.
($27.99 on Amazon)

King of the Nerds
TBS' reality competition wraps up this week with one contestant ready to be named King of the Nerds. We haven't been keeping up with the series around these parts but reviews have been shockingly positive and it's already been renewed for a second season.
(March 14th, TBS, 10PM)

Saturday Night Live
Sure some (ok, most) would agree the show has fallen off a bit, but if there's one thing you can count on to revitalize SNL, it's an episode featuring Justin Timberlake. Hopefully we can count on yet another Lonely Island collabo alongside followups to classic skits like Come On Down to Liquorville, but who knows.
(March 16th, NBC, 11:29PM)

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By Jon Fingas posted Mar 4th 2013 4:01PM 0

Intel launches Atom CE5300-based storage platform with multiple streams, smart scaling HD

There's been more than a few Atom-based storage servers. Most of them either have to lean on the same Atom processors you'd usually get with nettops, though, which makes them less than ideal for media tasks than a chip dedicated to the job. Intel has just launched a new platform that might be a better fit for home network storage. New NAS arrays from Asustor, Synology, Thecus and others (none yet pictured here) all revolve around a dual-core Atom CE5300 system-on-chip that's better-optimized for media processing duties: it can stream video across the network to multiple devices at once, and can automatically downscale video to accommodate smaller screens. The small chip contributes to a relatively small price at the same time, with NAS boxes starting around $299. Not everyone can suddenly justify a dedicated media server in the home just because the CE5300 is an option, but those that do may at least get more for their money.

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By Terrence O'Brien posted Mar 4th 2013 2:17PM 0

Canonical announces Mir, a custom display server that will serve up future versions of Unity HD

The X Window Server has been serving Linux users faithfully for the better part of a decade. And Ubuntu has been using the standard-issue display server to push its GUI to monitors across the globe since its color scheme was more sludge than slick. Canonical originally planned to replace the aging X with another display server called Wayland, but the developers apparently couldn't bend the compositing-friendly protocol to their cross-device whims. So, Mir was created. The goal for Mir is to easily scale from the TV, to the desktop, to tablets and phones while providing "efficient support for graphics co-processors." That means Canonical is relying heavily on GPU acceleration, which will require the cooperation of manufacturers like NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm and others.

As part of the cross-form factor convergence, Unity will be getting a rewrite entirely in QT and QML (the current version uses a Nux-based shell on the desktop). The Unity Next project will incorporate several core components from the Ubuntu Touch interface, inching the Linux OS closer to its goal of a truly unified codebase. Mir should make its debut on the mobile variants of Ubuntu soon, with Canonical aiming to get the UI unified and stable in time for the next LTS in April of 2014. For some more technical details check out the source links.

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