If you like to follow the ever-growing integration between computers and home theater, then the recent innovations have been a welcome, and quickly, growing surprise. Boxes like Roku, Apple TV, Google TV and others have made life much easier than the days when I built my first HTPC and looked for the best ways to stream my home media to it.
Then Google unveiled Chromecast, a surprise, as it came at an event where everyone expected only the new Nexus 7 to be unveiled. The tiny stick plugs into a spare HDMI port and allows customers to “cast” media to their TV from compatible web sites, as well as Android tablets and phones.
But what about your home media — all of those ripped DVD’s and music that you have stored on your home network. That too is easy enough, though you need to be using the Chrome web browser.
- Open a new tab
- Press Ctrl + O
- Open a file (video or audio) that Chrome can play
- Click the cast button
That is all there is to it to get your own media up and playing on your big screen.
Nomad, DirecTV’s answer to the popular Sling Hopper from competitor Dish Network, has been updated and renamed. The newly christened GenieGo, named after the latest DVR (the Genie), has received a new, cheaper price and also some updates.
Microsoft may be planning to unveil its next Xbox console in the near future, but that has not stopped the company from continuing to update its current 360 version of the device.
This morning Roku unveiled its brand new Roku 3 box. This is the first update to the Roku lineup in some time and there are quite a few changes with the Roku 3. The announcement calls it the “fastest, most powerful streaming player to-date”.
If you are looking to produce media at any level then you will likely want to check out some of the products from 
Qualcomm’s Skifta rep stopped by TPN during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to talk a bit about its whole-home audio systems and its iOS launch.