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Media Manager for Mac enables iPhone / iTunes media streaming to FiOS TV DVR (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 30th 2009 at 9:01AM

We're hearing that the PC version of this here software still beats out the Mac counterpart, but equality is slowly but surely becoming a reality. The main new feature over on the OS X side, however, is a good one: the ability to stream iPhone and iTunes media directly to your TV via your FiOS TV DVR. Fire up an iTunes playlist and watch the fun roll by on your home TV, and there's even support for photo slideshows and the like. It's available to download right now from the read link, and those still skeptical can catch a demonstration vid just past the break.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Continue reading Media Manager for Mac enables iPhone / iTunes media streaming to FiOS TV DVR (video)

Netflix CEO dreams of iPhone, TV, and game console ubiquity

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 5:37AM

When a CEO is asked to dream we shouldn't be surprised when he dreams big. In an Reuters interview with Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, we learn that Netflix is working in parallel to bring its services to "all the game consoles, all the Blu-ray players, all the Internet TVs." Naturally, he added that the Xbox deal is exclusive for the time being. The company is currently focused on the big screen but "will get to mobile eventually, including the iPhone." And while the streaming business is "booming," he says the DVD business is still growing as well, likely peaking in "5 years or so" with people still doing DVD-by-mail over the next 20 years. Reed then adjusted his monocle and disappeared in a flash of cigar and brick-and-mortar ash.

[Via All Things Digital]

Kaleidescape joins the iPhone as a remote party

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 10:53AM


It is only a matter of time before every single company in the world makes some kind of iPhone/iPod Touch app and if you make home theater gear that mean it is a remote. Remotescape for the Kaleidescape is the latest addition and from the looks of the Youtube video embedded after the break, it is a pretty slick mix of gestures and cover art goodness. The bad news of course is that the graphics in the interface are on par with the rest of Kaleidescape's products and the price tag is $69 -- but if you dropped the $50k on the Kaleidescape media server, then you probably think that is cheap for a iPhone app.

Continue reading Kaleidescape joins the iPhone as a remote party

Will Apple announce anything for HD snobs today?

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 9th 2009 at 11:49AM

Apple Rock n' Roll event

Sure, it is The Rock n' Roll event, but an HD snob can only hope there will be something for everyone in today's event. It isn't like there haven't been any rumors either. First up was the Blu-ray support in iTunes 9, then there was the updated Apple TV and the most recent is from a Harmon Kardon press release where we learned that the latest Bridge III iPod / iPhone dock and AVR 2600 and 3600 receivers can "play back HD video from iPod or iPhone products." You'd think at least one of these would have to be true -- especially with the Zune HD hitting the streets in less than a week. Personally we have our hopes up for Manage Copy support in iTunes, but we admit that we are just dreaming.

SlingPlayer 1.1 for iPhone promises DISH integration for US, 3G streaming elsewhere (maybe)

by Ross Miller posted Aug 10th 2009 at 6:31PM

As history tells us time and time again, iPhone apps / updates submitted to Apple aren't a sure deal for approval. Still, we can't help but like where SlingPlayer Mobile is going with the recently-submitted version 1.1. In addition to providing true 16:9 widescreen support that stretches across the whole screen, Slingbox owners with DISH Network can now navigate using a touch-supported native browser, instead of pushing through the TV-standard browsing screen being streamed in. That last bit's great for US customers, but it's what the rest of the world might get that has our interests very piqued. The company's submitted a version for use outside of AT&T's homeland that would finally allow for streaming over a 3G connection -- again, not a certainty for approval, but we'll be most interested to see if that one makes its way through the system.

Universal bringing BD-Live integration to the iPhone, irony to starving children

by Nilay Patel posted Jul 20th 2009 at 12:44PM


Although Apple still hasn't managed to achieve feature parity with any of its competitors by enabling Blu-ray playback in OS X, it looks like Universal's bringing the mountain to the Mac -- or at least the iPhone. At first, the upcoming special edition of Fast and Furious will feature integration with a special iPhone / iPod touch app that'll allow viewers to control 360-degree models of the cars in the "Virtual Car Garage," but later Universal releases will feature the ability to control movie playback, read annotations while watching your flick, and even download ancillary video content for later playback on the go. Sounds like pretty nifty stuff -- let's hope El Steve reconsiders his whole "bag of hurt" stance when he gets the demo.

[Via AppleInsider]

Comcast Mobile iPhone app video walkthrough

by Nilay Patel posted Jul 15th 2009 at 8:10PM


The free Comcast Mobile iPhone app just hit the App Store, and it's actually a pretty nice little interface to lots of Comcast features you might not otherwise use or care about. The 1.0 release offers access to your Comcast email, integrates with Digital Voice to provide visual voicemail, and serves up a rudimentary program guide and On Demand trailers -- nothing earth shattering, but all nicely implemented. Read on for some quick impressions and a video!

Continue reading Comcast Mobile iPhone app video walkthrough

Hands-on with the Apple TV iPhone remote

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jun 26th 2009 at 2:00PM


Around Engadget we're always looking for a better way to enjoy our HD home theater experience and a central part of that is the remote control. Now let us tell you, we've been through more programmable remotes then most people know exist and we still have yet to find one we're satisfied with. All that being said, we just can't believe that it's been well over a full year since capacitive touch screen devices have been readily available to consumers and no one other than Apple seems to understand the potential. As cool as touch screen interfaces look, for the most part they down right stink at controlling anything in a home theater. The root of the problem is that most require you to look at 'em, instead of the HDTV. This is such a bad idea on so many levels, but most of all, it doesn't work because just drawing a regular remote with buttons on a screen really defeats the entire point. Apple has shown it understands this in the past and with the latest update to its Apple TV/iTunes remote app it has stepped up its game a notch.

Continue reading Hands-on with the Apple TV iPhone remote

Not even Blu-ray's board of directors know how to spell Blu-Ray

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 9:16AM

iPhone Blu-Ray spelling
We've seen this so many times we're not sure why we even care anymore, but this one struck a chord. You see it's one thing when some website capitalizes the R in Blu-ray, because you know, they don't know any better. And it's another thing when a PR person for one of the members of the board of directors of the association does it in a slide at a press event. But it's a totally different animal all together when one of the members of the board of directors builds the incorrect spelling into the auto-correct feature of its flagship mobile phone. We knew Apple thinks Blu-ray support in OS X was a bag of hurt, but does that mean is has to go and spell it wrong? Hit the read link on Blu-raydisc.com for the correct spelling.

Pioneer's VSX-819H, VSX-819AH and VSX-1019AH officially available

by Steven Kim posted May 27th 2009 at 7:14AM

Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K receiver
Much to the unofficial surprise of owners who have been using Pioneer's new receiver models since early this month, they're now officially available. If you've been holding out for seamless integration between the receiver and your iPod/iPhone devices (you do have more than one, right?), you'll take some comfort in the "Works with iPhone" and "Made for iPod" labeling on Pioneer's VSX-819H, VSX-919AH and VSX-1019AH (pictured) models that come in at $299, $399 and $499, respectively. In a nod to lifestyle convenience, Pioneer's press release skips over the HT specs for these receivers and plays up the Advanced Sound Retriever and Auto Level Control features that promise to put some life back into your lossy encoded music. We're a little sad to see the HT side of things didn't get more ink -- these units offer good complements of features, especially at their respective price points; if you've been playing with one of these, let us know what you think below.

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone coming shortly: $29.99, no 3G support

by Chris Ziegler posted May 12th 2009 at 12:36PM


After what has become one of the longer (and certainly one of the highest-profile) App Store approval delays, SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone has finally gotten Apple's blessing -- with some serious changes under the hood. Most importantly, 3G access has been disabled, meaning you'll only be able to get your Sling on over WiFi -- a serious blow to the app and a huge change from the way SlingPlayer Mobile works on other platforms -- and likely a verification that either Apple or AT&T took serious issue with the bandwidth load imposed by this type of app on the HSPA network. Despite the restriction, Sling will be charging a whopping $29.99 for the download; in exchange for your troubles, though, they've decided to lift the ban on older Slingboxes, with the caveat that they won't be officially supported if you run into trouble.

We've had a chance to play with the app, and it certainly gets the job done -- we just wish it worked a little better. Even on WiFi, control feels laggy, and there's no native guide (though there's an icon to quickly pull up your set-top box's guide). When you're in letterbox mode, you've got black bars around all four sides of the image, meaning that the app isn't taking full advantage of the phone's display; we're hopeful this'll be fixed in a future release, though. Happily, we think Sling really nailed the app's UI -- the on-screen translucent controls are pretty cool and generally work well without obscuring the view. Look to grab your own copy some time between 12:01AM and 6:01AM EDT tomorrow morning, and in the meantime, check out our gallery.

Gallery: SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone hands-on

Myvu Crystal review

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Apr 24th 2009 at 2:41PM Featured Story



We have to admit we were initially apprehensive about the new Myvu Crystal personal media viewer. You see as much as we love the idea of a display that can be worn like glasses, we can't help but think they make you look like a dork. But as soon as we put them on and leaned back, we quickly realized that we've looked like a dork before, and for worse reasons. In fact our initial impressions after using them at CES was so good, that we decided to try 'em out and see if the novelty wears off after an hour or if they serve a real purpose.

Continue reading Myvu Crystal review

NetBlender drops iPhone exclusivity on BD Touch 2.0, connects Blu-ray to Blackberry, Android & Pre

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 20th 2009 at 9:21AM


It's a new year and NetBlender has a new change of gear, pairing with BluFocus to bring last year's BD Touch software -- and its BD-Live enabled Blu-ray player to iPhone / iPod Touch connections -- up to version 2.0, featuring crossplatform capability with other WiFi enabled handhelds like Blackberry, Android and Palm Pre. While going iPhone exclusive hasn't hurt some apps, hopefully we'll see wider adoption of the technology, which can enable things from making the phone a remote control to using it as a keyboard, downloading files from the disc or playing games, now that it supports more than one platform. More info should be available once it hits the floor at NAB 2009 later this week.

Firmware update brings file conversion, iPhone access to HP's MediaSmart ex485 / ex487

by Darren Murph posted Apr 13th 2009 at 12:01AM


HP's MediaSmart Server ex487 (1.5TB) and ex485 (750GB) both received copious amounts of praise when launched late last year, but considering just how many issues the original two had (the ex470 and ex475), it wouldn't take much to best 'em. Today, HP is issuing its second firmware update of the year for the series, but the first ever for the newest duo -- and make no mistake, it's a big one. The v2.5 update adds in loads of new features, far too many to cover in this space, in fact. If you're interested in hearing more, follow us past the break for all the details.

Gallery: Firmware update brings file conversion, iPhone access to HP's MediaSmart ex485 / ex487

Continue reading Firmware update brings file conversion, iPhone access to HP's MediaSmart ex485 / ex487

DirecTV's free iPhone app manages 100k downloads in its first week

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 7th 2009 at 8:11PM Breaking News


Shockingly enough, people seem to be interested in the possibility of easily browsing TV schedules and programming their DirecTV DVR from the iPhone / iPod Touch, for free. Available for just one week so far, it's already ticked over 100,000 downloads so yeah, it's popular, our only question is what's next? You've probably checked it out by now, let us know what features need to be changed or added, or just tee off on the fact that your TV or cellphone provider hasn't unveiled a similar setup yet, we're listening.




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