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VidaBox Media Servers add metadata support for XBMC, Popcorn Hour and others
We wouldn't expect for upper-crust aimed media server setups like the ones offered by VidaBox to play nicely with the common rabble, but apparently that's just what is going on. With the click of a check box, its "Drop-n-Rip" Blu-ray and DVD archiving now includes cover art and other metadata compatible with third party streamers including Popcorn Hour, HDI Dune, TViX, XBMC, Sage TV and others. This probably won't drop the cost of a custom installed setup by much, but if you have one and want to bring your own extender hardware (similar to its recent iPad support) into the mix, it should be a simple upgrade.
Band of Brothers Blu-ray box art emerges from fog of war
Peep the first picture of the Band of Brothers 6-disc Blu-ray set, recently confirmed as due this fall. The sleeve promises DTS sound (which we'll conveniently take to mean DTS-HD MA), picture-in-picture commentary from the real men of Easy Company and an "interactive field guide" among other features. Fans of the miniseries can rest easy, this set definitely seems to be getting the proper treatment before it hits shelves, we'll keep an eye out for the official list of features that should be unveiled pretty soon.[Via TheHDRoom]
The Orange Box gets a much needed makeover
Ever since we laid our eyes on the Half-Life 2: Orange Box cover art we have been a little perplexed by its simplistic design. The cover art featured a mostly orange background with white text explaining the contents and that was about it. We accepted the cover though and never made a fuss. But now it looks like Valve has had a change of heart and design philosophy. TeamXbox is reporting that Valve decided to re-design the Orange Box cover and now it actually features artwork! Indeed, it shows off beautiful Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal artwork! We're glad to see Valve add more art to the cover art and spiffy up the Orange Box, because it really looks good. Check out TeamXbox's supplied Half-Life 2: Orange Box cover viewable after the break.
Kanji Ken's boxart: the legend continues
Kanji Ken's packaging doesn't look like anything you would expect from other "training games," but you could say the same about its teaching methods. The educational title eschews traditional academic themes, opting instead for a style that drills students on Chinese characters through kung-fu battles that play out on the handheld's topscreen. The game's cover art shows its martial arts hero at the crest of his flying kick, clutching a Nintendo DS Lite. A collage of characters surround his dynamite pose, each one more enthralling than the last! There's a drunken kung-fu fighter, an inviting blonde with no visible end to her dress' plunging neckline, and a sinister robot looming in the background. The Great Wall of China is thrown in to sweeten the deal.Head past the post break for a better look at Kanji Ken's casing and a new screenshot of the menacing automaton.
iTunes Artwork with Curator
Kavasoft has released version 1.0 of Curator, an iTunes Artwork management utility. Curator allows you to search for missing artwork and download any MIA items from Amazon. It also has a few spiffy features like creating Finder icons for your music and helping you perform custom searches for hard-to-find artwork. It costs $18 and there's a free trial version. One thing I've got to give Kavasoft huge props for is it's online guided product tour. I wish every software developer provided one. It gives a quick rundown of the software, complete with screen shots.
Browse iTunes cover art with CoverFlow
I have fond memories of sifting through stacks of LP's, not quite sure of what I wanted to listen to, hoping to be inspired by just the right piece of cover art. Or better yet, digging through rows of dusty milk crates in an out-of-the-way record store, searching for that one treasure that I just had to take home. Reading a list of text in iTunes just isn't the same. Could I somehow recreate that old experience on my Mac?CoverFlow comes pretty close. It's an album cover browser that's been written in Cocoa and makes use of OpenGL. Flip through your albums one at a time, while keeping the next and previously viewed album visible. Double click your selection to begin playing it in iTunes. Album art can be pulled from mp3 tags, Synergy, Clutter or Amazon, and if CoverFlow still doesn’t find the appropriate artwork, you can just drag and drop an image in place.It really is nice to look at, I have to say, and flipping through albums is fun. There's even a preference that allows you to set conditions that dictate which albums are displayed, smart album style (add or delete several conditions to seriously customize your options). The current release, version 1.6, is a technical demo and will expire on August 14th. The developer has set up a page of feature requests, and says that a wiki is in the works. I'm certainly eager to watch this application develop. Check it out if you're interested.[Via What Do I Know]
