beamer
Latest
10 tips for getting the most out of your Apple TV
Did you get a new Apple TV for Christmas? Or, are you looking at your old, faithful friend and wondering if there are any new tricks you can teach it? The folks over at Reddit compiled a number of great tips for the Apple TV, some that are familiar to us, and others we've never seen. A couple tips have come through our dealings with the ATV. Here are 10 ways to make your Apple TV work better for you. You can use your iOS device to set up your Apple TV. This will transfer your WiFi information, iTunes account and any region/language preferences you have. Are you playing a video or deep in a nest of submenus and want to quickly get back to the home screen? Just hold down the menu button, and it'll take you back to the top instantly. Put the Apple TV to sleep by holding the play/pause button on the remote. Press up on the remote during playback, and you'll get information about the video you're watching. Press select, and audio options will come up. Go into Settings > General > Restrictions, create a passcode and then you can select what apps appear on the Apple TV's home screen. Map any remote to the Apple TV by using Settings > General > Remotes. Tired of slowly keying in data or afraid you'll lose the included remote? Download Apple's free Remote app for your iOS device. Want to rearrange the icons on the home screen? Take a cue from your iPhone. Press and hold the center button on the remote until the icon begins jiggling, then move the icon where you want. A frequent complaint is audio not syncing when using the Apple TV. Rebooting the Apple TV will fix this. Take a look at third-party apps to boost your Apple TV experience. iFlicks will convert and boost the metadata on your files to have them looking as good as possible. Go for version 1 ($9.99), not the more expensive and buggy version 2 that's US$24.99. Beamer ($15) allows you to play any video format on your Apple TV by streaming it from your Mac via AirPlay. No need to convert a file. A free trial is available. There is also a way to get PlexConnect to work with the Apple TV via the Trailers app. Play around with your screen saver settings. You can use the default photos, but you can also select movie posters fed via the Trailers app, a specific Photo Stream or a Flickr album. Do you have any recommendations? Let us know in the comments.
Stephen Elop says he's ready for change at Microsoft
All eyes are on Stephen Elop. Just hours ago, he introduced Nokia's first Windows tablet; he's also overseeing his division's integration into Microsoft; and Redmond is even considering him as its next CEO. During our interview today, Elop understandably couldn't comment on the prospect of taking Steve Ballmer's place, but he did say he's ready to take up the challenge of bringing the two giants together, no matter what. "I'm looking forward to being a part of driving that change within the company in whatever capacity," Elop said.
BMW's Ultimate Drive app lets you share your favorite routes, crowdsources day tripping
Are you driving to get somewhere, or are you driving to drive? That's the fundamental question behind BMW's Ultimate Drive -- a new app that allows iPhone and Android users to share and rate their most enjoyable routes. With this arrow in your smartphone's quiver, you can create and upload your favorite paths using Google Maps, while evaluating other user submissions based on traffic, scenery and that ever-elusive thrill factor. As CNET points out, the app won't let you upload maps from your computer, nor does it allow for Yelp-style ratings of locations along the way, though those features may only be an update away. Check out the source links to download the free app and enjoy the journey. Full PR after the break.
Price check -- Runco's LS-3 projector within reach of mere mortals
We'll admit that sour grapes coming from the direction of our wallets usually make us look right past Runco's offerings. It's great stuff from a good company, but let's just say if you slip the Runco logo into a Rorschach test, we won't come up with "affordable." So in case you missed it in our CEDIA blitz, Runco's LS-3 LightStyle beamer carries a MSRP of $4,995 -- not cheap, but not new car kind of money that we associate with the brand, either. It's a 1080p DLP projector that packs a list of Runco tech like ConstantContrast, Vivix enhancement, Runco image processing, that all together are good for 10,000:1 contrast. If you're fortunate enough to be in the market for something like a JVC projector, consider adding the LS-3 to your audition list and call us over for some popcorn.
