Netflix updates Player on PS3 with faster scanning and streamlined audio management

Netflix updates Player on PS3 with faster scanning and streamlined audio management

Look, we're well aware that you're already fantasizing about the PlayStation 4, but how do you think that makes your existing PS3 feel? (Hint: Not awesome.) For those still focused on remaining in the here and now, Netflix has issued an update for its PS3 Player that "is more consistent with the Netflix player on the web as well as [its] mobile and tablet applications." The key feature in this update is the ability to easily manage your audio and subtitle selections; before, you had to hop out of whatever you were watching in order to tweak those elements, but now you can make said changes while the content is still on screen. There have also been improvements made in the "trickplay" mode mode when scanning forward or reverse in play mode -- essentially, these images now load a lot faster, which ought to keep your blood pressure at a safe level. The update is out now for PS3 users, and should be hitting select Smart TVs and Blu-ray Disc players soon.

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Seagate’s Central debuts at CES, accesses your digital wares inside your home and out (video)

Seagate's Central debuts at CES, accesses your digital wares inside your home and out

Seagate's Wireless Plus portable streaming hard drive isn't the only device the company is pulling the wraps off of at CES. The outfit has also announced Central: a robust shared storage / consumer NAS solution for your home that allows streaming to DLNA compatible devices and Samsung Smart TVs as well as computers and mobile devices. The same Seagate Media app that sorts your files on-the-go is at work here on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire to push content to your living display or view while you're on the road -- and to multiple users, too. Central also allows for automatic and continuous backup of connected computers with 2TB, 3TB and 4TB options that range in price from $189 to $259. If you're looking snag one for your casa, you'll have to wait until March. But don't fret, a closer look and a quick demo reside on the other side of the break.

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Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not

Boeing 747-8

The more cynical among us would argue that allowing cellphones in-flight is only a guarantee of an even more unpleasant trip, at least for anyone wanting a distraction-free cabin. There must still be a few optimists: Boeing is promising that future production runs of the 747-8 and 777 will have the necessary support for in-flight cellphone use, live TV and internet access that comes through either headrest screens or WiFi. Aircraft with the upgrade should roll off the production lines before the end of 2013, and they'll be following a slight change to the 787 later this year that makes the technology support a common option. Some of us may wind up reaching for the earplugs in countries where regulators approve in-air wireless, but there's definite upsides for all but the biggest curmudgeons -- Boeing's moves could lead to more ubiquitous in-flight WiFi next year, on top of ready-made wireless media streaming due in 2014.

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Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Synology launches DiskStation DS413j NAS server for your own private cloud

Synology launches DiskStation DS413j NAS server for your own private cloud

If you like your data local, but crave remote access, you've now got options like Synology's new DiskStation DS413j -- a network-attached storage (NAS) server for your own private cloud. The feature-packed box has four drive bays for a total of 16TB storage, and you can mix and match HDDs of different sizes without losing the comfort of RAID. Along with what you'd expect from NAS, its media server will stream content to your console or TV via DLNA or UPnP and push tunes to your stereo, with iOS and Android apps for couch DJing. The server will sync your files across computers if you wish, and give you access to all that data on the move via the internet or mobile apps. And, if you need more files, you can download directly using your favorite protocols -- it'll even automate them if you trust RSS feeds to make recommendations. All this can be yours for around $380, depending on the retailer, but don't forget to budget for drives to fill those empty bays.

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Synology launches DiskStation DS413j NAS server for your own private cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WiFi alliance begins Tunneled Direct Link Setup certification, hopes to improve media streaming

WiFi alliance begins Tunneled Direct Link Setup certification, hopes to improve media streaming

You can thank the WiFi alliance for a number of things, and soon you can add TDLS to that list. That's Tunneled Direct Link Setup, if you were wondering, and it's a standard for creating direct links between devices. If this sounds familiar, that's understandable, but TDLS has its own tricks, like working in the background of a network to optimize performance, and it can even work over a WiFi Direct connection. For example two compliant devices can measure the signal strength on the network, and determine if a direct link would be better or not. TDLS also allows devices to communicate at the fastest standard available (802.11b / g / n etc.) even if this is superior to that available on the rest of your hardware. As this is a client-based protocol, you won't need to upgrade your access point either. If this hasn't got implications for better media streaming written all over it, we don't know what has. Especially as the certification is available to TVs, tablets, phones, cameras and gaming devices. There's only a handful of test products sporting the official approval at this time, but with names such as Broadcom, Marvell and Realtek in the mix, it shouldn't be long before it starts finding its way into front rooms and pockets proper.

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WiFi alliance begins Tunneled Direct Link Setup certification, hopes to improve media streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Nexus Q lets Android owners stream media from the cloud, shipping for $299 in mid-July

...And the Nexus Q is official. Google's first consumer electronics product is a small, sphere-shaped device that will work with the Nexus 7 tablet and other Android devices to stream media from the cloud. It's designed to hold court in your living room, pulling content from YouTube and the Google Play music app, among other services, to let you stream music and video. Anyone with an Android device will be able to take control of the Q to play content from their library; basically, everyone can be the DJ. What's more, the device can double as an amplifier, letting users plug in external speakers to receiver power from the Q's 25-watt amp.

Under the hood, there's an OMAP 4460 processor -- the same as in the Galaxy Nexus -- along with 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. There's also dual-band WiFi and Ethernet, along with Bluetooth and NFC for tapping a device to the Q to exchange software and media. The media streamer will go on sale for $299 in mid-July. As we mentioned before, Google will also sell a set of $399 Triad bookshelf speakers to go with the Q. More coverage to follow -- in the meantime, check out Google's videos about the new product.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012's opening keynote at our event hub!

Update: Excuse the dyslexic typo. The Nexus Q is powered by an OMAP 4460 CPU.

Continue reading Google Nexus Q lets Android owners stream media from the cloud, shipping for $299 in mid-July

Google Nexus Q lets Android owners stream media from the cloud, shipping for $299 in mid-July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft releases SmartGlass SDK to developers

Microsoft releases SmartGlass SDK to developers

Pumped to use Microsoft's upcoming Surface and Windows Phone 8 devices to help you bolster your gamerscore? Sit tight -- SmartGlass development starts now. Microsoft is now making the Xbox SmartGlass Software Development Kit available to partners with agreements to develop content for the Xbox 360. Approved developers can download the SDK from the Microsoft Game Developer Network, replete with a SmartGlass JavaScript library, the Xbox SmartGlass Studio and a sample application. Redmond hopes the SDK will give developers a head start on building applications for the technology before it launches later this year. Of course, if you can't wait to see what developers are cooking up, you can always just check out our hands-on again.

Microsoft releases SmartGlass SDK to developers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft’s SmartGlass gets official: app brings AirPlay-esque streams to Android, iOS and Windows Phone

Microsoft's Smart Glass gets official app brings AirPlayesque streams to Android, iOS and Windows Phone

Microsoft may not be introducing a next-gen console at E3 this year, but it is teaching its venerable Xbox 360 some new tricks. SmartGlass brings AirPlay-style wireless technology to Xbox and Windows 8 by letting you send video from your tablet or phone to your TV. It then turns that second screen into an information window giving you data of the content you're watching. Plus, it updates the info on your mobile device as the content on the TV changes. The app also enables peripheral controls for games you're playing -- so you can scroll through different plays on your tablet while playing Madden on your big screen, for example.

In addition to providing your peripherals with contextual awareness, the SmartGlass app turns your phone into a remote and trackpad for your Xbox, in case using Kinect and regular controllers aren't something you're into. So, you can pinch to zoom, move the onscreen cursor and scroll to your heart's content in Xbox's new web browser using your tablet or phone. When will we be seeing SmartGlass in living rooms? Unfortunately, not until this fall, so our liveblog photos of the app in action will have to suffice until then.

Follow our liveblog of Microsoft's E3 keynote right here!

Continue reading Microsoft's SmartGlass gets official: app brings AirPlay-esque streams to Android, iOS and Windows Phone

Microsoft's SmartGlass gets official: app brings AirPlay-esque streams to Android, iOS and Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Smart Glass coming at E3, AirPlay-style streaming from iOS, Android and Windows Phone?

Microsoft Smart Glass coming at E3, AirPlay-style streaming from iOS, Android and Windows Phone?

Windows 8 is coming and it features more and better Xbox integration than we've yet seen in an operating system from the company -- but it looks like Microsoft has something even bigger up its sleeve. We've just seen a presentation indicating the company will launch something called Smart Glass next week, a so-called "companion application" that will act much like AirPlay for the Xbox 360. Using the app, users will be able to play video and other media on tablets and phones and, more interestingly, push that content right to their consoles for playback on the big(ger) screen. But, it gets better: this app is said to be available for tablets and phones running Windows, Windows Phone, Android and iOS. Yes, it'll be about as multiplatform as it gets, and if this presentation proves to be legitimate, we'll be learning a lot more next week when E3 gets underway.

Microsoft Smart Glass coming at E3, AirPlay-style streaming from iOS, Android and Windows Phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How-To: XBMC 11 the XBMCbuntu way

For all intents and purposes, the original Xbox, with its NVIDIA GPU, 8-10GB hard disk and custom Pentium III processor was a high-end PC for its time -- albeit, one that connected to a television. What Microsoft didn't realize back then, though, was that when you put that kind of hardware in the hands of hackers and enthusiasts, it's only a matter of time before people start doing more than just playing Halo. Fast forward to 2003, the year the Xbox Media Center was born. Nowadays, it's simply referred to as XBMC, since it runs on more than just your Xbox. In brief, XBMC is an open-source software solution that enables a plethora of media streaming capabilities on all sorts of devices. What once was limited to the original Xbox, can now be put to use on everything from a bare-bones Linux desktop to an Apple TV. In this how-to, we'll show you how to build a simple XBMC setup using XBMCbuntu. Catch us after the break for the full step-by-step.

Continue reading How-To: XBMC 11 the XBMCbuntu way

How-To: XBMC 11 the XBMCbuntu way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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