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The best plug-in smart outlet
By Rachel Cericola This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After spending over 22 hours plugging in and unplugging lights and other small appliances and turning them on and off using various apps (and by barking orders at Siri and Alexa when we could), we found that the Belkin WeMo Mini is the best smart-switch outlet adapter for people who want to add smart control to their existing outlets. It packs most of the same features as our previous pick, the WeMo Insight, into a smaller size, and it's less expensive. It also plays nicely with both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets and integrates easily with popular smart-home protocols and devices. All you need to do is plug the Belkin WeMo Mini into an existing outlet and install the app to get started with home automation.
The best USB-C adapters, cables, and hubs
By Nick Guy This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, they may earn affiliate commissions that support their work. Read the full article here. After 10 hours of preliminary research, we tested more than 25 USB-C accessories to put together this guide to the best ways to connect peripherals and devices to a USB-C–equipped computer. It's by no means exhaustive. USB-C can, in theory, replace every other port, and there are a seemingly infinite number of port combinations you might encounter. We focused on the most important tasks you'll likely face, such as connecting older peripherals like hard drives and hooking up an external display.
6 high-tech bikes that bring cycling to a new level
By Cat DiStasio For cyclists who want to go farther, ride faster and look cooler doing it, there are a lot of options on the market when it comes to high-end bikes. This week we're gawking over a few of the world's most technologically enhanced cycles. Some are electric hybrids; some transform for better ergonomics; and some take the notion of a bicycle and darn near throw it out the window. From the innovative to the chic to the out of this world, here are six of the world's most incredible (and expensive) rides on two wheels.
Hulu reportedly lands 'Seinfeld' streaming rights
According to a report by Variety, tomorrow Hulu will announce that it has won the bidding war for streaming rights to the Seinfeld series. The deal is said to be worth nearly $1 million per episode (a WSJ rumor puts the figure at about $700k per ep), adding up to some $180 million or so, enough to bring the complete series to a streaming service for the first time. According to the earlier rumors Amazon and Yahoo were also in the running for the series, although streaming giant Netflix had dropped out, apparently deciding to focus on original shows and its deal for the Friends series. The deal should be announced tomorrow during Hulu's "Upfront" presentation -- we'll be watching for more info on its Cablevision deal -- for advertisers and the media, scheduled to start at 8:30AM.
Final Breaking Bad season to air on Netflix UK right after US broadcast
Breaking Bad fans in the UK looking for instant gratification won't have to resort to the torrents anymore, as new episodes will hit Netflix in Ireland and the UK immediately after airing in the US. British viewers are accustomed to longer waits for such shows, but after broadcaster AMC worked with Netflix UK to make episodes of The Killing available sooner, the pair have now followed suit with Breaking Bad. Creator Vince Gilligan said the show has become a "phenomenon" in the countries, and added that he's "delighted" that fans there will be able to enjoy it earlier. Magnanimity aside, the move will no doubt take some of the sting out of the piracy that's inevitable with a long lag, too. Check the PR after the jump for more.
CBS tries multi-stage syndication for The Good Wife on Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus and TV
Almost by definition, TV syndication in the modern era leads us to wonder just where and when we'll get to see a show online. For CBS' The Good Wife, streaming on third-party services will be a cornerstone of an uncommon, multi-step syndication strategy that puts the internet first. The drama will be available for Amazon Prime Instant Video subscribers starting March 14th, expanding beyond its existing availability for purchase. Hulu Plus members, meanwhile, will get their own turn at streaming in September. Traditional TV will still be around, but it's notably pushed to the back of the queue -- Hallmark won't have airing rights until January 2014, and most other broadcasters will be denied until a year after Hulu. The new approach another sign that CBS' one-time cold shoulder to some forms of digital distribution is growing warmer and warmer.
Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray set arrives November 13th for just under three bills
The good news is that after many rumors, Warner Home Video has finally confirmed it's bringing the TV show Friends to Blu-ray this fall. The (potentially) bad news is that it's going to be an all or nothing affair, with all 236 episodes (90 hours) shoved into a 21-disc BD-50 set with the 17 hours of bonus features from the DVD releases, plus three hours of new special features. While the remastered HD episodes (in case you weren't aware, Friends, like Seinfeld, was recorded on film and has already been reformatted for HD and widescreen while airing in syndication) will feature DTS 5.1 audio, there's also a 32-page episode guide shoved into the case, which features lenticular shifting artwork that can be seen over on TV Shows On DVD. There's no price on Amazon yet but the MSRP will be $279.98 when it ships November 13th -- decide carefully how much having The Rembrandts "I'll Be There For You" video in 1080p is worth.
Lost Pages of Taborea: The Runes of Magic Database
A long long time ago, I wrote about community resources for Runes of Magic. In that article is a handy resource that gathers collected data from RoM called the buffed database. Key personnel from buffed.de started a new venture called Playata to provide content services to game publishers. The point of this boring news snippet is that Playata, in conjunction with Frogster, has created the official RoM database. This shiny new official site could be viewed as getbuffed 2.0. The official version is streamlined, runs better, and has a few nice extras that the original never had. This week I put together a guide explaining what the database is, what you can do with it, and some of the extra fun stuff it offers.
Live with Regis and Kelly HD details revealed
Behind the scenes of Live With Regis and Kelly's HD upgrade will be a new high definition control room, plus new HDTV studio and handheld cams. Not getting replaced for the resolution bump? The set, unlike Entertainment Tonight's new digs Broadcasting & Cable reports Live is just throwing a fresh coat of paint on what's there and moving forward. Unfortunately it seems the state of HD syndication ready local stations is still in disarray, so it may be some time before you actually get a look at the improved broadcast in your area, but everyone else should be more than taken care of January 5.
Oprah & Ellen & Dr. Phil & Entertainment Tonight & The Insider enter HD tomorrow
We know, you're all politics, sports, tech and other "serious" subjects when it comes to your HDTV programming schedule, it's just you have this...friend who watches daytime syndicated programming. Tell your "friend" that talk show hosts Ellen, Oprah (only a year after initially rumored) and Dr. Phil will all make the jump to glorious high definition. Later in the day, Entertainment Tonight and The Insider make the jump to 720p/1080i (depending on your local station and if they're ready to handle syndicated HD at all), complete with newly built sets and likely a few extra layers of makeup. Anything else your "friend" is still waiting to see get a resolution bump? Check after the break for a video tour of ET's new HDTV-ready digs.Read - Dr. PhilRead - Entertainment Tonight & The Insider
InteractiveDad launches syndicated HD news franchise
Arriving as a spinoff of the InteractiveDad.com online magazine, Interactive Dad TV positions itself as a syndicated news segment, produced in HD, with news stories aimed at fathers between 24-54 years old. Sure there's plenty of parenting content on most local news stations already, but according to iDadTV they're usually aimed towards mothers. All the same, be on the lookout for your (recently gone HD in most cases) local newscast airing these HD clips in the U.S. and Canada.
HD syndication expanding with Two and a Half Men
Now that HD has been around for some time, we're seeing more and more reruns of HD shows (the industry calls reruns syndication). Just because a show wasn't originally presented in HD doesn't mean it can't be syndicated in HD, as we've seen with Seinfeld and more recently Star Trek: Enterprise. Unfortunately for local broadcast stations and HD fans everywhere, additional equipment is needed to syndicate in HD. This is above and beyond what they've already acquired to pass on the network HD feed or even produce their own HD. So, just because the show is syndicated in HD, doesn't mean you'll actually be able to enjoy it. Now we can add Two and a Half Men to the short list of syndicated HD shows, that you may or may not have access to.
HD syndication: Seinfeld and Jeopardy
Starting on March 27th Sony will start to syndicate HD versions of some of the most popular syndicated shows on Television, including Seinfeld, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Syndicated shows are one of the last to go HD mostly because of the challenges involved in distributing the content. Unlike most network content syndicated shows are downloaded to the affiliates via satellite and saved for later when they will be shown and commercials spliced in. This poses all new challenges for networks and content providers. The other problem is that many shows that are syndicated today were originally aired before HD was widespread. Lucky for us most of these shows were originally produced with film, which makes it possible to go back to the source and remaster it in HD, since film has more resolution than HD does. But unfortunately as we have seen with DVD, not all transfers are created equally. No word yet on which networks will take advantage of the new HD programming, stayed tuned for more and please let us know of sightings.Before you ask; Seinfeld was 4x3 and HD isn't going to change that. As a TWIHD reader once pointed out, not all HD is 16x9 and not all 16x9 is HD. via [AVSForum.com]
