The Gadget: HP’s Mediasmart Connect, a networked receiver that plays back H.264, DivX, XviD, MPEG-2, WMV video, photos, and even connects to your Media Centre to act like an extender. It’s also expandable space-wise with HP’s Pocket Media Drives, and supports 10/100 Ethernet and 802.11a/b/g/n. It comes in a glossy piano black finish which attracts dust and fingerprints as easily as an actual piano.
Whereas a live online stream of the first presidential debate was a bit harder to pin down, our pick for tonight’s at 9PM Eastern is Hulu. Its live stream of the final two presidential debates is actually Hulu’s first ever live broadcast, which is something they might do more of following the debates. (Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’ll be in HD.) But there are, of course, other options.
The Gadget: Sling Pro HD is the top of the line Slingbox that streams your cable to any computer that can connect to the internet. The Sling Pro HD is a big step forward for Sling, now centered around the full HD experience, with component inputs, and OVA tuner, and 1080 HD streaming not just over local networks, but remote connections as well. galleryPost('slingprohd', 3, '');
Looks like its Update Day at Apple–the company just released Apple TV 2.2, which users can access through the “update software” menu option in Settings. The software revamp now includes support for features introduced in iTunes 8.0, including video playlists, Genius playlists and HDTV show purchasing, and plugs a couple of security holes as well. How’s it playing, kids? Any problems? [Macrumors]
Vudu’s new HDX 1080p movies—promised to be “Blu-ray quality”—go live today. David Pogue has the first look, and while HDX movies are not literally Blu-ray quality (which would be an impossible with our crappy broadband), they are indeed “insanely sharp” and compared to other movie downloads, it’s like “seeing a movie on VHS videotape and DVD side by side.”
Almost two years after launching and spreading from PCs to set-top boxes and consoles, Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service is finally coming to Macs. In a post on its official blog, Netflix promises Mac users that “we’ll have something for you by the end of the year.” We’re taking that to mean the service (meaning they’ve come up with a new non-Windows DRM scheme), and not just a really funny Christmas card, though I do appreciate the rare art form that is a genuinely funny card. [Netflix via CNet]
Netflix will introduce their API to the public tomorrow at the Experience AJAX conference, and according to ReadWriteWeb, it will allow free access to movie data and stats stored on their servers. This doesn’t mean that anyone will be able to write a streaming video app for any random piece of open hardware. However, it does mean that people will be able to will be able to integrate movie info (ratings, related films, etc…) into widgets, like the ones you’d see on Typepad or Facebook. Or more importantly, create apps that allow for queue management (yes, this API is read and write capable).
An exploit has been uncovered in Adobe software that could be used to download free copies of movies and shows from Amazon’s Video on Demand service (and other similar services). Apparently, Adobe sacrificed a “a stringent security feature” that protects the connection between Adobe software and its players in order in increase download speeds.
Yesterday, I told you about Netflix inking deals with CBS and Disney to bring shows to Netflix as streaming content the day after they air. Now, will you look at this? The new season of NBC’s Heroes is available to stream already, with every new episode arriving the day after it airs. You can’t stop progress, people. Now boost the quality and bring more shows, please. How about 30 Rock and The Office, to start? [Netflix]
