Tag Archives: set top box

LG SmartTVs and SmartTV Upgrader

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Jeffrey talks to Mark of LuckyGoldstar, sorry, LG about their foray into connected devices and smart TVs during 2011. Mark reckons that there are four key principles for smart TVs.

  • first, premium content providers and LG has over 20 including NetFlix, Vudu, Hulu, Amazon, NHL, NBA;
  • second, apps and LG will be launching its online apps store with over 200 apps from the likes of CNN and Comedy Central (and Tech Podcast);
  • third, include a fully functioning web-browser with Flash, just like LG’s;
  • and finally, make sure it’s DLNA-certified so that existing local content can be played, as LG’s TVs will.

Existing owners will be able to upgrade their TVs using LG’s new SmartTV Upgrader that brings all the features of LG’s 2011 TVs to a dumb TV. The SmartTV will work with any TV with an HDMI output, not just LG’s and of course, it’s wireless. Although it comes with a remote control, to make typing easier, apps for iOS and Android devices will control the SmartTV unit as well. That’s cool.

Jeffrey gets a demo of the user interface in the video so check it out if you are interested. Looks to be a smooth implementation.

Shipping in Q2 for $129.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast.

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Igugu Internet TV

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Mario Cisneros talks about Igugu TV (www.igugu.com), a hardware and software combination that turns your existing Windows-based computer into a TV set top box enabling you to easily get over-the-top television content from your computer to your flat panel television.

Igugu has three kit offerings, including $99 dollars for the remote control unit and software, $129 for the remote control unit, software, and miscellaneous wiring kit, and $249 for a wireless version.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Netgear NeoTV 550 Unboxing

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Today I received the new Netgear NeoTV which launched recently.  This is the latest in Netgear’s living room strategy of products to allow users to view their picture and video, stored on any PC on the network, through their TV, and also listen to music fro any PC through their A/V receiver.  This box holds a lot of potential from what I have read in the press releases, so it’s exciting to see if it lives up to the hype.  While I will be spending several days putting the device through its paces and seeing what it can and can’t do I wanted to post some early photos of the unboxing so that you can see what is included.  Enjoy the pics posted below.

The Future Of OTT TV Apps

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I’ve been experimenting for some time with connecting computers to televisions, along with a variety of other set-top boxes. I’m now at a point where I’ve begun to draw a few conclusions.

Are we there yet? The short answer is no. We’ve still got a long way to go.

After living a while with Apps on an Android smartphone, along with apps on an iPod Touch, it has become clear to me that the best apps running on these sorts of hand-held devices give a great, slick, quick-access media-consumption experience.

Apps running on Internet-connected TV’s or set-top boxes are going to be important in the future. However, so far what we have available today is a somewhat frustrating experience.

I’ve got a Mac Mini set up as an HTPC/DVR with an Eye TV USB HD tuner. The Eye TV software fails in a living room setting because the text within the application is too small to be easily read from across the room even on a big screen. I’ve also got the Boxee app installed on the same machine. Boxee does have a growing list of apps. However, many of the currently available Boxee apps still often fall short of genuine usefulness.

I want a software interface that I can read and interact with easily from across the room without having to deal with it as if it’s desktop software. I want software apps that are powerful, easy to use, and give me a consistent experience from one app to the next. If I’ve specified I want only videos, then the software should serve me up ONLY videos, with no audio podcasts mixed in.

The trouble with OTT content is that one size doesn’t fit all. The perfect app should allow me to cherry-pick my favorite Internet video content sources and turn them all into a single channel or series of channels.

The ideal OTT/set top box content delivery system is going to incorporate a system of apps much like either the Apple IOS app store, or the Android app store where the customer can choose from thousands of content gathering and/or content delivery apps. Like my Evo Android phone or my iPod Touch, I will be able to customize MY particular set top box with precisely the apps that I want without someone trying to steer me towards content that someone else wants to push towards me against my will. My iPod is my own, with my own selection of personal content. I want my TV to work in exactly the same manner.

OTT Tsunami

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We’ve been hearing quite a lot about Internet-delivered video content lately. Trends sometimes seem to advance slowly over a long period of time but then tumultuous market shifts seem to happen overnight.

Blockbuster just filed for bankruptcy. Blockbuster was unable to reconfigure their business structure to compete effectively with Netflix. It seems that Netflix has won the ongoing war.

Streaming video and video podcasts have been around for several years – these are not new ideas. However, what is new is the proliferation and increasing popularity of set-top boxes.

Back in the 1980’s backyard satellite TV dishes were a hobby among people that were looking for something different and as many choices as possible. That quest for choice ended up going mainstream in the form of commercial cable and satellite providers offering hundreds of channels.

Starting in 2004 people began experimenting with Internet-delivered content in the form of podcasts. I believe that podcasting happened as a direct result of broadband availability getting to a certain critical mass, combining the existing elements of RSS, MP3’s, etc. into a new form of communication. This new form of communication offered something very different along with unprecedented levels of choice.

Internet-delivered content of all kinds is rapidly becoming mainstream.

I believe 2010 is the year of the app. Apps suddenly seemed to have come out of nowhere to seeming to pop up on every device imaginable. Why the sudden popularity of apps? Desktop and laptop computers have been around for a long time, along with full-blown applications. What has really happened is that computers have now shrunk down to the point where they not only are in our pockets in the form of smartphones, but they are also showing up in HDTV sets and plenty of other devices. These devices we are running these apps on are actually quite powerful computers in their own rights.

There is now a wide variety of content that is heading for every computer-enabled screen you own, especially your HDTV.

Popbox Coming July 23rd

Home Theater, Media, Set Top Box, ,

For those still looking for a set-top box, the Popbox is now slated for release on July 23rd.  This is another promising release, coming on the heels of Roku, but well ahead of Boxee.

In terms of partners, it may be a little light.  While pulling in some new and interesting ones, there are a few old faithfuls still missing (like Netflix).  But, that and others, are promised later.

So, what is included at launch?  Here’s a list:

  • Funspot
  • Games
  • Picasa
  • Livestation
  • Youtube
  • Blip.tv
  • Next
  • New
  • Networks
  • Channels.com
  • Photobucket
  • Twitter
  • Shoutcast
  • Weatherbug
  • Revision3
  • MediaFly
  • Clicker
  • VideoDetective
  • MotorzTV

That’s a long list, but it also contains only a few things that most of us have heard of.  As I said, Netflix is missing.  That’s a BIG one.  Not to mention Hulu, who is now making these sorts of partnerships.  Others, such as networks like Comedy Central and online content like Crackle are noticeably absent.  As well as music sites like Pandora and Slacker.

The good news is that it’s upgradable.  The bad news is the obviously meager partners available at launch.

For the $129.99 asking price on Amazon, it’s not a bad deal, but I also  don’t think it’s a deal worth grabbing just yet.  This one is a wait and see.

Ending A Relationship

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Our relationship had always been so full of promise and fun. Being gone so much of the time due to my job was certainly a strain. Even so, when I was around, I didn’t make many demands.

Something was coming between us. Lately I’ve been looking elsewhere and slowly began finding satisfaction on the Internet. The thought of divorce has been crossing my mind over the past few months. It was a painful decision, but I knew it had to be made.

Today I decided it was time to sever our ties.

I’ve been a Dish Network customer for about 10 years – until today.

What came between us? I’ve been experimenting with the idea of getting TV content from various sources on the Internet. I’ve tried connecting both Mac with Front Row and Windows Media Center laptops to an LCD HDTV. A full-fledged computer is very flexible in that it can play virtually any file type, but the clunky, complex hands-on Interface is not designed to be operated from an easy chair. I want as much content as possible integrated into one place.

In the meantime I stumbled across some software called Playon TV available at http://www.playon.tv. The software comes with a 30 day trial and works with the DLNA and UpNP network device standards. The software sells for $39.95. Playon TV is designed to be installed either on a computer or a home server on the home network. Playon TV enables streaming of Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Videos, Pandora, etc. to a DNLA/UpNP device like the WD TV Live Plus, X-Box 360, etc. There are also plenty of free third-party plugins for Playon TV that add a mind-boggling and growing variety of content to the Playon TV network share. It works well with my hacked Apple TV with XBMC.

Yesterday I visited my local Best Buy store and bought a Western Digital WD TV Live Plus to connect to the small HDTV in my kitchen. The WD TV Live is a very small set-top box that comes with a small remote control that has an Ethernet port in and an HDMI port out. Straight out of the box it does an excellent job of playing Netflix and is capable of playing back 1080P content. Only the Plus version plays Netflix.

The WD TV Live Plus combined with the Playon TV software convinced me it was time for radical measures. This afternoon I cancelled my Dish Network account and will save $97 dollars per month. I also bought a second WD TV Live Plus unit to connect to my main HDTV/surround sound setup.

At $97 dollars per month savings the two WD TV Live Plus units will have paid for themselves within 3 months.

Can I live without access to Dish Network? I think it’s going to be similar to a few years ago when I dropped my wired phone line. There was a bit of an emotional attachment that I had to let go of, but once I cut the cord it was no big deal.