Samsung Smart TV
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Netflix explains why its apps won't work on older TVs and set-top boxes
Netflix recently announced it service would stop working on older Roku players and older Samsung smart TVs, with only a brief error message saying that "Netflix will no longer be supported on a small number of older devices due to technical limitations." Now, the company has offered more details about why it is ending support for these devices next month.
Apple's redesigned TV app arrives today
If you've been patiently waiting for Apple's redesigned TV app, which was revealed back in March, today is your lucky day. The company is now rolling out the updated application to iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and compatible Samsung smart TVs, complete with a fresh look, the new Channels feature and curated sections such as "For You" and "Kids." Aside from the overhauled design, which focuses on offering big, beautiful imagery for movies and TV shows and a UI that's intended to help you swipe/scroll less, the biggest changes to the TV app are the addition of Channels and the full iTunes library.
Daily Roundup: Google's robotic dog, one-way trips to Mars and more!
In today's Daily Roundup, we marvel over the impressive stabilization abilities of the latest robot from Google-owned Boston Dynamics, get all the details on why people want to go on a one-way trip to Mars and review BlackBerry's latest phone, straight out of 2011. All that and more past the break.
PlayStation Now hits Samsung Smart TVs in first half of 2015
Game-streaming service PlayStation Now is coming to select Samsung Smart TVs in the first half of 2015, meaning you'll be able to enjoy PS3 games without owning a Sony system or even a Sony TV. The Smart TV-based form of Sony's cloud-based service will roll out in the United States and Canada, according to this week's announcement. Sony says Samsung Smart TVs will support "all functionality" of PlayStation Now, including trophies, cloud saves and online multiplayer.
Game of Life and Monopoly are EA's first games on Samsung Smart TVs
Thanks to EA and Samsung, its now possible to play board games with your family while simultaneously negating the purpose of board games – which is to spend meaningful time with the people that you care about away from the noise and radiation of the all-engulfing boob tube.Samsung Smart TV owners have access to virtual versions of both Monopoly and The Game of LIFE via their television's Samsung Apps marketplace. Each game costs $10 and features exactly what you'd expect from each: Buying/selling/trading property in Monopoly, becoming a teen widower in LIFE, etc. Players that also own Samsung smartphones (specifically the S1, S2 and S3) can download a free companion app that turns their phone into a motion controller for throwing dice and spinning wheels.We'd also like to take this opportunity to announce that "Playing The Game of LIFE while staring at a giant, expensive television" wins Joystiq's Unintentional Irony of the Year Award.
Samsung Smart TVs getting Monopoly and The Game of Life as first two EA titles
Samsung Smart TVs can now boast more than just bird flinging in the games department, with EA today dipping its toe in the Samsung App store in the form of two major digital board games: Monopoly and The Game of Life. The games cost $10 a pop, and are controllable with your WiFi-enabled Samsung Galaxy SI, SII, and SIII mobiles -- you'll need to snag "mobile companion apps" for each game to enable controls, which adds some tilt sensor-based waggle (the apps are free). That brings the grand total of notable standalone games on Samsung's Smart TVs to three, but then there's always Gaikai support to tide you over as well, eh? And hey, we hear there's a new Nintendo machine on the way pretty soon, in case you wanna go down the rabbit hole even deeper.
Samsung 2012 Smart TVs get Amazon Instant Video streaming app, synchronicity with your Kindle Fire
Samsung just sweetened the streaming video pot for current and would-be owners of its modern Smart TVs. Viewers who've been craving Amazon Instant Video can download an app today to watch movies and TV shows through their 2012 set's internet link, in the event options for Blockbuster, Hulu Plus, Netflix and Vudu weren't already enough. It's not necessarily a cut-and-dried port, either -- Samsung is flaunting a redesigned interface tuned for big-screen distances and quick access to queuing, recommendations and captioning. Amazon junkies who wanted a larger canvas than their Kindle Fire HD now can't get much larger.
Samsung partners with Spotify, brings streaming music to its 2012 Smart TVs in Europe
Europeans who have been pining for a(nother) way to bring Spotify into their living rooms can rest easy, now that Samsung is on the case. The pair have teamed up to bring 18 million tracks to Sammy's 2012 E-Series Smart TVs with a new app designed for the platform. The software will arrive later this year, with existing Premium users finding their playlists already syncing, while those new to the service will be offered a short free trial to coax them into signing up. If you've yet to make an investment in one of the displays, the company is also planning to add the functionality onto its Blu-Ray players and Home Theater systems in short order.
BFI to digitize 10,000 British films as part of Film Forever investment plan
The British Film Institute plans to digitize and provide easier access to 10,000 British flicks as part of a new £500 million (approximately $800 million) "Film Forever" initiative. In addition to driving growth in the UK industry by investing in education, filmmaking and the like, the institute wants to put a mixture of free and paid content on its website, YouTube and VoD services. A BFIPlayer app will be providing a similar service to Samsung Smart TVs, PCs and mobile devices. Cinemas, DVDs and TV channels will also play host to the films, selected for digital rebirth by a bunch of experts and in part, by the general public. And, in the spirit of digitization, full details of the ambitious Film Forever enterprise (slated to run from 2012-2017) are available in e-brochure format at the source link below.
Angry Birds with gesture controls collides with select Samsung Smart TVs
We first caught wind of Angry Birds' impending arrival on Samsung Smart TVs earlier this month, and now the war against pigs is available as a free download on some of the company's silver screens. Thanks to a built-in camera and the firm's Smart Interaction tech, which typically help users navigate menus and browse the web, gamers can smash through swine defenses using gesture controls. In order to download the app from the Samsung Smart Hub, you'll need a television in the Plasma 8000 range or a 2012 LED 7500 or higher. If your TV's not as intelligent as Samsung would like, however, the avian protagonists can already stage their skirmishes on your tube with a Roku, and come this holiday season, they'll be soaring on the Xbox 360 and PS3.
PSA: Download Angry Birds on your expensive new TV today
For those of you who were unable to resist the siren's song of a TV with built-in motion controlled Angry Birds, or for those of you who bought a Samsung Smart TV for other, more valid reasons, good news: Rovio's avian aviation simulator is now available as a free download for eligible televisions.Specifically, if you've purchased a Samsung LED 7500 (or higher) model TV or something in the Plamsa 8000 range, Angry Birds should be available for download in your television's Samsung 'Smart Hub.' Also, we'd like to borrow some of your apparently overflowing wealth. We're good for it, we promise.
Samsung 75-inch ES9000 smart TV makes stateside debut: on sale in August for $9,999
The mammoth 75-inch ES9000 LED smart TV that Samsung recently unveiled for the Korean market is making its way stateside. Today the 3D-capable, LED-backlit set was on display in New York as part of the Sammy-sponsored SpaceFest marking the Space Shuttle Enterprise's arrival at the Intrepid. How smart TVs relate to Space Shuttle orbiters is beyond us, but the ES9000's US debut is welcome news for those with a massive living room to fill, and were disappointed after the ES8000 75-incher shown at CES and even given a price tag earlier this year failed to materialize. Detailed specs are currently MIA, but as we noted before in our hands-on, the 75-incher's bezel measures just 0.31 inches, and the frame sports a rose-gold finish. There's also a built-in web camera that retracts when not in use, and the TV comes with four pairs of 3D glasses. Being a smart TV, this guy also includes the full suite of Smart TV features, such as Smart Interaction for enabling gesture and voice controls and Smart Content for sharing media across several devices. Samsung also used today's occasion to introduce a new Angry Birds app for its smart TVs, which lets users play the game entirely with gesture controls. The app will be available for a free download later this month, and the ES9000 will go on sale in August for a super-sized price of $9.999. Check out the PR below for more info.
Samsung Smart TVs are now the most expensive way to play Angry Birds
We can't really think of an honest reason why Rovio wouldn't port Angry Birds to something even halfway capable of supporting the game, so excuse us for not being completely surprised by hearing that the now-iconic mobile title has been ported to Samsung's latest line of "Smart" televisions, which support gesture-based input.Similar to the forthcoming Kinect and Move-enabled versions, the Smart TV release of Angry Birds has the player controlling the slingshot's aim and tension via gesture commands. Unlike those versions, however, the Smart TV release requires ... a Smart TV, which costs about two thousand dollars. We can't really recommend buying one specifically for Angry Birds, but if you're going to get one anyway, you may as well drastically under-utilize it with a port of a phone game.
Angry Birds land on Samsung Smart TVs, wage war with gestures
If your contempt for green swine runs deeper then you can express on a smartphone, maybe its time you took the war to something bigger. How about a Samsung Smart TV? According to the firm's Flickr page, Rovio's Angry Birds are once again taking their war to your living room, and will be utilizing the platform's motion control features. Sounds like Sammy's Smart Interaction setup is good for a bit more than changing channels and browsing the web from your couch. Don't own a Smart TV? Sit tight, your Xbox and its fancy Kinect sensor will have their day on the battlefield soon enough.
Gaikai's cloud gaming beta arrives on cue to high-end Samsung Smart TVs
Gaikai announced with a flourish that it was partnering with LG and Samsung for Smart TV cloud gaming, so its acquisition by Sony made us wonder if those arrangements would still hold. Well, it looks like all's well with the arch-foes, at least on that front. The service has landed in a closed beta, provided you're the lucky owner of a 2012 Samsung LED 7000 series or higher Smart TV with the latest firmware update. Should you decide to download the software, you'll be offered the chance to check out the company's early access program, which will not only let you sample the cloud gaming wares, but also get you a Logitech Gamepad to boot -- provided you're a "selected participant." That'll let you kick back and test out some Gaikai games for yourself, so if you're among the select few with the right TV, check the source to see how the install works.
Gaikai-powered cloud gaming coming to Samsung Smart TVs (update: hands-on video and impressions)
At this point, most people (in the tech world, at least) are quite familiar with Gaikai's cloud gaming platform, which lets users have a not-quite-console quality gaming experience on any device. The technology has found its way onto Facebook and in LG TVs, and now Gaikai's bringing gaming to Samsung TVs, too. Called Samsung Cloud Gaming (SCG), it'll be available via the Smart Hub on Samsung 7000 series and up Smart TVs in the US this summer. The technology powering SCG is the same as what's behind LG's service, but Sammy's customized the UI to suit its sensibilities. We got a chance to speak with Gaikai CEO David Perry about his company's latest partnership, so join us after the break for more. Update: Video hands-on added after the break. We also demoed the service playing Darksiders, and aside from some mild stuttering the button masher was smooth enough to play using a USB-connected controller. We're told that the software we viewed isn't final, so it may not reflect the final look. Joe Pollicino contributed to this post. %Gallery-156996%
Nuance takes credit for voice features inside Samsung's 2012 Smart TV lineup
Back at this year's eventful CES, Nuance announced it was launching a platform to bring voice recognition services to connected TVs, among other devices. Now, just a few months later, the communications outfit's taking credit for the voice features packed inside Sammy's 2012 Smart TVs. Essentially, this means those speaking commands used to control the Smart Hub, applications like Skype and even web surfing are all powered by Nuance's Dragon technology. The move itself isn't a surprising one, given Nuance's credibility within the industry. So, now you know who's making it all happen the next time you're telling that ES8000 what to do.
Breaking News gets a TV app, channel-agnostic news ticker
Do you ever wish you could have a news ticker on your TV, regardless of what channel you're watching? Neither do we really, but we're sure there's someone out there who does. If that person also happens to own a Samsung Smart TV or Blu-ray player, well then, have we got some Breaking News for you. (See what we did there?) The premiere, primarily Twitter-based news aggregation service Breaking News now has an app in the Samsung TV Apps Store. Just install it, launch it and enjoy while breaking headlines are fed to your screen, regardless of what you're watching. You've even got the option to have a constant stream of headlines or only alerts for seriously breaking news. Fire up the Apps Store to download it now.
Samsung's 2012 HDTV family prices leaked?
In the market for a HDTV upgrade? Then you may be interested in hearing how much you'll need to pony up for Samsung's new screens. HDGuru's got its hands on a whole list of purported MAPs (minimum advertised prices) for its 2012 range and, sadly, they're slightly pricier than last year's models. You will, however, be getting some extra bang for your buck; its latest top-end sets include built-in cameras, speech recognition and gesture-sensing remotes. The LED LCD 8000 series of Smart TVs maxes out at 75 inches ($7,299), "shrinking" down to a 46 inch model ($2,699). These all pack a 3D screen alongside dual-core processors for TV-based apps. Meanwhile, if you're in the market for a plasma, expect to pay around $2,249 for the 51 inch model with the same specifications outlined above, while a 64 inch vista will necessitate 3,399 notes. Prices aren't set in stone just yet and could change depending on competitor's pricing ahead of hitting the shelves. We're hoping any potential price adjustments will be in the downward direction. Also of note: in 2012 you may not be able to find deep discounts at online shops like Amazon vs. big box retailers like Best Buy, as HDGuru mentions Samsung is reportedly looking to enforce Apple-style uniform pricing on its high-end products. Check the full -- and pretty darn comprehensive -- list at the source below.
PayWizard offers more ways to pay for content on Samsung smart TVs
PayWizard's "multi-screen" TV payment platform has been available for some time in the UK, but the company's now taking advantage of CES to attempt a big push into the US market. That multi-screen bit comes from the ability to manage your account and purchase content on multiple devices (including smartphones and PCs, in addition to smart TVs), and the company is also touting a new voucher system that can be used for gifting and promotions from content providers. While it remains to be seen how widely it will be used, the company has already gotten off to a decent start by announcing an application for Samsung's smart TVs, which will let folks refill their balance and manage their accounts. Additional details can be found at the source link below and in the press release after the break.
