Gadgets Archives - Page 53 of 78

Wanna Watch YouTube on Roku Today?

Are the more obscure content offerings not doing it for you on your Roku? If so, perhaps the limitless video (of varying quality) found on YouTube makes for a better channel. I first caught wind of YouTube on Roku over a year ago. But it then seemed that Google changed their YouTube API and/or licensing … Read more

Catching up with the Sony Dash

Since I originally took a look at the Sony Dash ($200) home widget station about two months ago, it’s already seen a pretty significant update that improves touchscreen sensitivity and lag – a ding amongst the early reviews. Additionally, there’s a cool, new theme (above) which allows you to quickly scroll through and launch your … Read more

Roku (and partners) Launch 5 New Channels

Everyone’s favorite $99 media streamer saw five new channels launch last night, bringing Roku’s total partner count up to 42. (Obviously, some are better than others.) The newcomers, as cut & paste from Roku’s forum: SUNIMI loads of free content – create your own – share with friends Roxwel Free Rock, Metal, Indie, and Alternative … Read more

Hands On with the WD Live TV Plus (Netflix)

Greetings, fellow Zatz Not Funny readers. Like many of you, I’ve been searching for that perfect media player that can handle any video format as well as stream content from the Internet.

I like having all my movies at my fingertips. No need to go looking for the disc. And my journey started when I built my first HTPC using Meedio as the interface. While the HTPC did what I needed it was not with out its faults. One it was loud and PC cases at the time just did not blend well in the media cabinet. I was on that never ending quest to make that HTPC quieter and smaller. Over the years I just grew tired of maintaining yet another PC in my house. Then I found the Popcorn Hour A-110. This has been great device that plays almost every video format known, is small and blends will into the home theater. While I’m fond of the A-110, it is not with out its faults and I’ve kept my eyes open for other solutions. During CES the Pop Box was put on display. Upon seeing the demos I fell in love with it. Just like the A-110 but only smaller and able to stream Netflix, interface with IMDB to get cover art and movie information. So I made my pre-order and waited, and waited and continue to wait. So in the mean time, I’m playing the field and am giving the Western Digital TV Live Plus (~$125) a try.
wd-life-tv-plus

I’ve been looking at WD’s lineup for some time and finally decided to pick the newest rev up. It can stream 720p, 1080p video content and Netflix – the main things I am looking for. It also supports streaming popular media codecs and enclosures. Here’s the list supported file types:

Video: AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9
Photo: JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Audio: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
Playlist: PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle: SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI

Two Notes On The Kindle Price Drop

Click to enlarge Hot on the heels of Barnes & Noble’s 3G Nook price drop (and new WiFi-only model) yesterday, Amazon responded with a reduction of their own…. coming in lower by $10. ($189 versus $199) But you already knew that. What you might not have known is that Amazon has also gone ahead and … Read more

The eReader Price War Begins

Given Apple’s amazing iPad sales figures, it’s really no surprise that we’d see downward pricing pressure on the fewer trick ponies. And for some time, I’ve been saying eReaders need to drop under $150 for mass market adoption (and preferably even lower). Border’s Kobo was first to announce that more comfortable price point. However, they’ve … Read more

Hands On the Kindle 2.5 Update

The Kindle 2.5 firmware update announced over a month ago is now available for all. It will eventually auto-download to your Kindle while wireless is on, but, if you’re impatient like I, you can download it and install it manually using a USB cable. After a quick download, transferring the file to the root folder of the … Read more

iPad in the House! What Works, What Doesn’t.

This is a gadget and digital media blog, so despite the fact that Apple iPad reviews have been done to death, I feel the need to weigh in with my own initial thoughts after a week with one in our household. My husband is the rightful owner of the new iPad, but he’s been gracious enough to let me spend some time with it.

First of all, there’s no adequate way to describe how well the iPad display works for photos and video. There just isn’t. If you’ve seen anything close up in 3D, it’s kind of like that. The screen isn’t really 3D, but it feels like there’s an extra layer of depth in high-resolution pics and flicks. Because of the touch screen, you also get to interact with photos – zooming in and out, moving pictures around. It’s nothing you can’t do on an iPhone or iPod touch, but the screen size improves the experience exponentially. And Netflix? Forget it. The iPad is a sure travel companion if you’re going anywhere with Wi-Fi. Even if it’s just upstairs to watch a movie in bed.

As good as the iPad display is, it’s a shame more apps don’t take advantage of it yet. Google Earth, for example, only runs at iPhone size, which is extremely disappointing on a 10″ screen. And when I tried out a couple of shopping sites, I was underwhelmed by product shots that seemed to be begging for high-res, 360-degree views. In the New York Times Editors’ Choice app, one enterprising watch manufacturer has claimed all of the apparent ad space with stunning, rich-media display ads. Unfortunately, no other companies have jumped on board, so the same inescapable ads are rotated endlessly. Photos from stories in the newspaper app are generally disappointing too. They certainly don’t live up to what the iPad can deliver.