Vudu Streaming Movies In 1080p/24 Super-HD HDX Format

It's no travel bag. In fact the latest news from Vudu is oh so much better. The IP-based video-on-demand service has come up with a new 1080p/24 video format that they claim eliminates artifacts. Geared at owners of HDTV's larger than 40-inches, the HDX format basically works by analyzing the entire movie and using a variable bit-rate encoding scheme, decreasing the bit rate for simple scenes and pumping out everything its got for complex, action-type scenes. Of course analyzing the entire movie takes a little time, so expect to wait about 3 hours after ordering before you can watch your movie. Right now there are a few more than 50 HDX format films, but every new HD movie release will now be available in the new format in addition to many of Vudu's 300 HD titles that'll be converted. HDX movies will be priced exactly as HD titles, kind of a fair trade-off for making you wait 3 hours for on-demand content.

Via CEPro

Apple TV 2.2 Update Brings HD Shows

Aside from the Boxee hack we told you about, the Apple TV just got a little more functional thanks to a simultaneous iTunes 8.0.1 and Apple TV 2.2 update last night. Along with a few security fixes, the 2.2 update allows users to purchase and download high-def television shows straight from the box usually for the price of $2.99. This is a big move as previously all's that was possible with the Apple TV was browsing through iTunes looking for standard-def shows and movies. In addition, the Apple TV now supports the iTunes Genius recommendation engine allowing you to make playlists of songs you like with the press of a button on the Apple TV's remote.

Via AppleInsider

Hack Boxee Onto Your Apple TV

The great thing about open-source and more so the programmers that know how to utilize it, is that closed platforms like those of Apple can be worked around to add more functionality. That's what programmer Scott Davilla has done, finding a way to add the open-source content platform Boxee to his Apple TV. Not only does Boxee allow you to control and organize all your multimedia content, once on the Apple TV you'll be able to route content off a local area network or the set-top box's hard drive. In short, you'll be able to playback content not downloaded from Apple.

There is one problem though. The installation process is complicated and I'm not going to even try and explain it here. It definitely requires some techie know-how, and you have to be a member of the Boxee alpha which at the moment requires an invite. But if anyone gets this hack working we'd love to hear about it. Get in touch.

via newteevee

Leave The Vudu At Home, Grab The New Travel Kit

If you're still on the Vudu bandwagon and happen to travel a bit, constantly unhooking your entire setup to lug the streaming box on the road, Vudu's Travel Kit has just hit their website. The solution to all your Vudu-related travel problems, the Travel Kit comes with an extra antennae, power supply, HDMI and composite cables so that you can leave the box at home. Packed in a nice travel case as well, the Travel Kit costs $69.99.

Via Vudu Forums

Slingbox PRO-HD Finally Shipping

Excited to see the new Slingbox PRO-HD is now shipping in the United States, and headed for Canada in October. First announced way back in January, the PRO-HD can stream HD content from your HDTV to laptop/desktop computers in and around your home. Plus if you have a broadband connection of 1.5 Megabits per second or higher, the PRO-HD can stream content pretty well anywhere outside the home you can get a fast network connection.

The Slingbox PRO-HD also includes SlingStream 2.0, maximizing audio and video quality in both high and low bitrate network environments, support for both 4:3 and 16:9 screen formats, and compatibility with all sorts of high-def video and audio formats.

You can get yours from Amazon for $299.99, or if you're in Canada wait a few weeks for the $329.99 version to hit Best Buy, Future Shop and London Drugs.

Buy The Slingbox PRO-HD From Amazon

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Sony's BRAVIA Internet Video Link Gets Amazon Video On Demand, Dailymotion

Amazon Video On Demand movies and TV shows are now accessible through the BRAVIA Internet Video Link. The commercial-free content can be purchased or rented, and streamed to your compatible BRAVIA HDTV after registering the Internet Video Link with Amazon. Sony has also partnered with Dailymotion, a video platform offering both high-def and standard def content in genres ranging from world news to independent film. With the two new partners the Video Link can stream a wide variety of internet-based content to your BRAVIA TV, also from providers such as YouTube, Sports Illustrated, The Minisode Network, FEARnet and others.

The BRAVIA Internet Video Link is available from Amazon for $223.

Vatata Set-Top Box Solution Brings P2P To Your HDTV

Vatata, a Chinese P2P solutions provider, has developed a set-top box solution that brings streaming peer-to-peer video content straight to your HDTV. Right now set-top boxes featuring Vatata's Vakaka P2P streaming platform are headed for China where three providers have licensed the product for use including TV maker Skyworth and set-top box maker Himedia. Not only does the platform allow access to the Vakaka network, but also public P2P networks and protocols such as Gnutella and BitTorrent.

While copyright issues are a potential kink here, Vatata says that the solution itself is perfectly legal and companies licensing the platform would be responsible for maintaining content databases, putting fair use issues directly on them. Eventually the company will incorporate P4P network-aware features into set-top boxes so that content from the user's ISP will be prioritized which will definitely make American cable providers extremely happy if and when the platform makes a debut here. And apparently it will make the jump across the pond sometime soon. Vatata is in talks with some prospective US customers, so definitely keep your eyes open.

Via NewTeeVee

ArcSoft TotalMedia 3.5 Gets DMB-TH Mobile TV Support In Time For Beijing 2008

Just in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, set to kick off in a couple of days, ArcSoft has announced that ArcSoft TotatMedia 3.5 supports DMB-TH, China's mobile TV standard. With high-def Olympic broadcasts set to break all kinds of barriers in the next two weeks, ArcSoft TotalMedia 3.5 will allow Chinese citizens to conveniently view Olympic events in up to 1080p resolution on their PC's and laptops.

TotalMedia 3.5 also features support for DVB-T, ATSC, analog and hybrid TV tuners, most popular audio and video codecs, and allows you to watch time-shifted TV with the option of editing out unwanted portions. For an extensive list of specs and pricing details, hit the read link.

Via ArcSoft

Amazon Launches VOD, Bring Content To Sony Bravia's

Amazon seems to be making some smart moves in the digital video market, moving beyond their Unbox service and unveiling Amazon Video On Demand yesterday. The new VOD service currently has over 40, 000 TV shows and movies available to be streamed directly to your HDTV, without any file downloads to your computer's hard drive a la iTunes.

The company has also struck a deal with Sony to directly integrate the new VOD service right into Bravia TV's via the Sony Bravia Internet Video Link. Of course, right now the requirement of the Internet Video Link adds a $300 expense to the partnership paid by the end user, but in future Bravia models the service should be embedded directly into the TV's.

Amazon says the partnership with Sony is only the beginning of many. The company ultimately would like to partner with every company that offers "connected" devices now that they offer support for both streaming and downloading. Pretty much all major studios offer content on the new service aside from ABC and parent company Disney who are in bed with Apple at the moment.

While this is a great new service from Amazon, the company doesn't expect it to make them much money. Developing the massive infrastructure to support the service plus big bucks paid to Hollywood to license content will make margins tight. The real hope in the end is that with the video-on-demand service integrated into everyone's TV, it'll pump up sales in Amazon's store with nothing more than the click of a remote.

Via New York Times

Belkin FlyWire: Wireless 1080p Video To Any Room In Your Home

With wired home theaters it's always a hassle to find the perfect place for your HDTV, but with the Belkin FlyWire it'll no longer be an issue. The FlyWire is a simple box that transmits 1080p video and audio wirelessly over a 5 Ghz band to your HDTV and is capable of connecting Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, receivers and set-top boxes. Belkin claims that interference is minimal and because the FlyWire doesn't compress video it will transmit sans latency. It comes with an transmitter that connects to your A/V components, whether or not they're analog or digital and has an SD card slot that allows for upgrade and expansion. The FlyWire has plenty of connection options including a trio of HDMI inputs, a couple of component and a composite input plus the accompanying audio inputs and an HDMI output. It also supports all IR and universal remotes. Sound good so far? You have a bit of a wait. The Belkin FlyWire comes in two different model. The first, AV69003, will set you back $999.99 and will come out come October. It's meant as a multi-room solution. The second, the FlyWire R1 or AV69000, will set you back $699.99 is meant to be a single-room device and will hit shelves in Q1 2009.

Via BusinessWire

FyreTV: Porn Streaming On Demand

FyreTV will be releasing a set-top box this fall that will enable DVD-quality porn to be streamed from the internet to your TV, and you don't even need a PC. The box will be free, but users will have to pay for content of course. 100 minutes of porn will set you back $9.99 per month, pretty expensive, but company founder Estefano Isaias Jr. says that the average porn consumer only watches about 4 minutes at a time. And to make it easier not to waste those precious minutes, 25, 000 movies have been tagged and sorted by scene so that you can find exactly what turns you on, so to speak, and jump to that particular act.

The box features component, composite, ethernet, optical audio, and HDMI-out ports and actually has 802.11g WiFi support. It'll be interesting to see if FyreTV succeeds where others have failed. Companies such as ITVN went bankrupt after unsuccessfully trying to bring on-demand streamed porn to the masses, so FyreTV is in tough but they seem entirely confident that this time around the business model will work.

Via Gearlog

Kodak Theatre HD Player: Media Streaming Personal Memories

Kodak, better known for their photographic technologies than home theater products, has unveiled the Kodak Theatre HD Player. But here's the catch: this home theater is all about the memories, moving beyond the bounds of television programming and bring HD pictures, music, video, podcast, and web-based content to your HDTV. Rather than being a typical media streamer, the Kodak Theatre HD Player "turns consumers into the directors of their own show with a wireless remote control pointer in-hand", in 16:9 aspect ratio and up to 720p resolution.

Rolling out in stages, the Kodak home theater will roll out in stages with a market trial starting this September and feature partnerships with Flickr, YouTube, RadioTime, and Kodak Gallery. It'll also be able to pull content off of USB sticks and SD cards. Come September, head to Amazon, Best Buy or Kodak.com to get your Kodak Theatre HD Player for $299.99.

Via press release

D-Link's DivX Connected DSM-330 Media Streamer Now Available

D-Link's MediaLounge DSM-330, the first DivX Connected device to hit the US and soon Canada, is officially available as of today. We won't say a whole lot more here, because you can check out our hands-on review for an inside look, but with an MSRP of $299.99 we will say that Amazon's current $199.99 deal is something you don't want to miss!

WhereverTV: Media Streaming For Foreign TV Junkies

If you're big into foreign programming, WhereverTV, sold by a company of the same name and repurposed from Neuros' OSD will probably be right up your alley. The new receiver and service announced at the SINO Consumer Electronics Show today allows users access to hundreds of live television channels in more than 40 languages from 100 countries around the world with no activation fees or recurring service charges. The WhereverTV receiver delivers programming from the internet directly to the TV without the need for a direct PC connection, simply hooking up to your router. Controlled via remote, WhateverTV uses a Global Interactive Program Guide to manage international internet TV content in an easy-to-use right on the TV screen. WhereverTV is available from Amazon or the company's website for $199.99.

Via PRNewswire