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Xbox 360 Fall Update tomorrow, 85+ tweaks included
We called it! Microsoft has confirmed the worldwide street date for the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update: tomorrow, October 31. The update will incorporate roughly 85 changes (down from Spring's 125 features and fixes), most notably: 1080p output HD-DVD support XNA functionality WMV compatibility (streamed from PC; or read from discs or USB storage devices) Auto-downloads for new Arcade demos WMV's are a start, but we want DivX & XviD support. And still no web browser? (The other guys will have 'em.) Strange. So what else is missing from the update? Anything still broke? Tell us.
Xbox 360 fall update details revealed: 1080p, auto-download, WMV playback and more
Microsoft has finally seen fit to release the details of its Xbox 360 dashboard update. Scheduled for release the morning of October 31st -- yes, that's tomorrow -- the update will add the much-talked about 1080p / HD DVD support, as well as the ability to play WMV files from a connected PC, disc, or USB storage device. Currently, users can only stream video from connected Windows Media Center PCs, but any XP machine running Windows Media Connect or Windows Media Player 11 should be able to do it post-update, as demonstrated during a press conference in Japan with several 720p-encoded videos. This compares to the PlayStation 3's recently-revealed compatibility with MPEG-4 and other video files, but so far neither has announced support for DivX / Xvid and Media Transcode 360 still requires Media Center. Apparently only 84 things needed fixing this time, down from the 125 in the spring update, including the option to automatically download demos of new Xbox Live Arcade titles, Zune media streaming, wireless headset support, XNA Game Studio Express and numerous improvements to video playback and menu handling.[Via AV Watch]
PiMPstreamer homebrew streams video
One of things I wanted in the next official firmware upgrade was the ability to stream video. A reader by the name of Joel stated that "the PSP doesn't have a Core 2 Duo, it has 237 Megahertz. Live streaming video needs mmuch more."Well, looks like homebrew has proven you wrong. Very wrong. A homebrew application called PiMPstreamer has just been updated, and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive. The program lets you stream movies and music from your PC to your PSP. Movies can include traditional MPEG, AVI and even WMV files. It's only been tested on 1.5 firmware, so those of you that homebrew-compatible PSPs might want to check it out. For the rest of us, I think it's a clear indicator that the PSP is very capable of a video streaming function, and we should demand Sony implement it in the next firmware.[Via PSP Hacks]
Universal Flip4Mac coming soon (Today!)
People who want to play Windows Media files on their Intel Macs can rejoice, eventually. That's right, Telestream, the makers of the very cool Flip4Mac which enables Quicktime to play Windows Media files, have posted a note on their website. It basically says that they are working on a Universal Binary and they hope to release it within the next few weeks.Update: The real story here is that the Universal version of Flip4Mac (2.1) is available from Microsoft right now. Go forth and download. Thanks, Andy!
Datasafe's Oomi 2GB DAP: Still a Pebble by any other name
Clearly it was the name "Pebble" which caused the EZAV EMP-700 music player to come up short in its attempt to usurp the iPod from its DAP dominating position. Oomi, yeah, duh, that's the change that's needed. That and support for PlaysForSure WMA, MP3, a 2GB capacity, voice recorder, FM radio, and a reported 12 hour battery life will almost certainly, uh, make no difference whatsoever. Here's a hint: think ecosystem. This Korean product, made in China can be yours in the UK for about £70 or $130. Now you know.[Via Stuff]
WMV-HD vs DivX-HD
So what is the best codec to use when recording high-def? WMV-HD or DivX-HD are both recorded at 1280x720 but one must be better quality then the other. Each one of these codecs can record at different quality at the same resolution but the bit rate changes to allow for smaller file sizes. DEN GURU did a set of tests that compares them against the original high-def transport stream. What we liked about their shoot-out is the split screen shots that lets your eyes decide which one is better then the other. Sometimes though, the picture quality isn't everything. They liked the WMV-HD image better but the DivX-HD produced a file five times faster and 50% smaller. That's worth something in our book.[via eHomeUpgrade]
Klegg's Mini V12 video player with Bluetooth stereo audio
Klegg just dropped a new Bluetooth 2.0 video player into the mix with their Mini V12. The V12 sounds pretty sweet on paper with listed support for MP3, WMA, MPEG-4, WMV, DivX and AVI formats, a "bright" 1.8-inch TFT, 20 hour battery (audio only, presumably) and Bluetooth A2DP stereo audio support for cable-free listening. Prices will start at $100 for players in capacities of 1 / 2 / 4GB but only the 4 gigger includes Bluetooth. And yeah, Klegg's still got the minerals to boast in true ambiguous terms that the V12 is "slighter smaller than an Apple iPod." Oh, would that be the iPod nano, Shuffle, 5th gen with video or maybe some earlier generation iPod, hmm? Expect the V12 to drop mid-summer under a marketing and distribution deal with VisioNET who will provide the user interface for access to their "first-rate" media content. We say bring it Klegg... if you can. Read -- Press Release (Via dapreview) Read -- VisioNET deal
SavitMicro's Dueple: HD media player with DVD
We've seen Korean manufacturer SavitMicro a few times before, once with a hub for multi-cam recording and another time with a media-playing drive enclosure, and now they've popped up once again at Computex with yet another device that promises to simplify your digital life. Like their drive enclosure, the new "Dueple," as it's known, also accepts swappable 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives for multimedia playback, but throws in a DVD player as well for spinning any of those old-fashioned discs you may have laying around. The Dueple features DVI, component, S-video, coax, and digital audio outputs for hooking up to your home theater gear, Ethernet and USB ports for data transfer, and lets you watch/listen to MPEG-1/2/4, MP3, DivX, WMV, WMA, and OGG files, including high-definition content. There are probably better ways of getting your digital swag onto a TV than this particular solution, but if it sports a reasonable pricetag when it comes out within the month -- from e-tailer GeekStuff4U -- we imagine that it will draw some interest.
Flip4Mac begins beta testing Universal Binary WMV QuickTime components
For Intel Mac users who either love or hate WMV but have to deal with it one way or another, Flip4Mac has just begun beta testing the long-awaited Universal Binary version of their WMV QuickTime components. Announced in their forums today, it is more or less an invite-yourself program, as I had to contact them weeks ago to get on their email announcement list.After briefly testing on my MacBook Pro, it seems like everything is working just fine. I'm able to play embedded WMV files with no problem, but I unfortunately don't have any locally saved WMV's to try at the moment. So far, the beta seems like a success, and while I hate the WMV format just as much as the next Mac user, it's nice to no longer receive that 'plug-in not found' error.
NTI Comodo's NP-950 DAP with in-dock VoIP and DJ functions
Talk about a convergence device-- not only does NTI Comodo's new NP-950 digital audio player perform the obligatory playback and recording functions, it can even act as a VoIP "handset" or broadcast tunes DJ-style over the Internet when docked in its USB cradle. Being marketed as the "Universal MP3 Player" in conjunction with OpenCast, this model is available in 512MB or 1GB flavors and supports MP3, WMA, ASF, and WAV audio tracks, WMV and AMV video files or JPEG/BMP/GIF photos on its 1.5-inch LCD, as well as English, Korean, Japanese, or Chinese eBooks. We're not really sure exactly who's being targeted with this unit -- whose price and release date are unknown -- since you can't store all that much content on it, and the chat/broadcast features seem more gimmicky than useful.
Gigabeat S previewed by AV Watch
We're doing our best to not lament on the Japanese snagging the Gigabeat S first, which is officially due for release April 28th -- yes, this year. We still don't know how long it'll be until we get our own launch this side of the Pacific, but AV Watch's DEVICE Viking (ahem) took a good long look at the portable media device that first whet our appetites at CES. We won't waste your time with so much wonky machine translation interpretation, but from what we could tell, they liked it -- you know where to go if your appetite too could use a little re-whetting.
Toshiba Gigabeat S shipping this month ... in Japan
If you haven't been getting your internet access via Webaroo, you must know that the Toshiba Gigabeat S is one of the most eagerly awaited new products of the year -- especially by us (we were seriously tempted to "borrow" one from the Toshiba booth at CES, but managed to resist). Now the Windows Portable Media Center is nearly upon us, getting a full list of specs and a rough ship date -- for the Japanese market, that is. Specs look basically consistent with what we saw at CES: both the 30GB S30 and 60GB S60 will include a 2.4-inch QVGA display, an FM tuner, and full compatibility with Windows DRM for both audio and video. They're expected to ship in Japan, in white, black and red versions, by the end of this month at prices of around $299 for the S30 and $399 for the S60. And we're going to have to decide whether to bite the bullet and pay the markup to pick one up through a gray market shipper, or continue waiting for the eventual US release.
Samsung's YM-P1 20GB PMP available for pre-order
It's hitting our shores a little later than expected, but you can finally queue up for the US version of Samsung's hot little YM-PD1 personal media player (pictured), the YM-P1 (the absence of the "D" refers to the lack of a DMB over-the-air DTV receiver). Since we've been following this model for some time, you'll no doubt recall that it features a 4-inch widescreen TFT display, sports in-line recording to a 20GB hard drive, and supports a gaggle of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, AC3, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, AVI, WMV, JPEG, and BMP. You can also jack up the memory a bit via the SDIO slot, listen to and record FM radio, and even play some videogames (although the controls don't look all that well-suited for serious gaming). SamsungHQ spotted the P1 available for pre-order on Datavision's website at $370 (where "Our prices are too low to advertise!"), although there is no mention of when the devices will actually be shipping, so don't toss your Archos aside just yet.
NVIDA's PureVideo with H.264 hardware acceleration
NVIDIA's PureVideo H.264 hardware acceleration was officially announced today and there was much rejoicing. Why bog down your CPU with mundane video decoding tasks when your GPU can do it for you, right? PureVideo hardware decoding supports all of the standard MPEG-4 flavors such as H.264, VC-1, WMV and also supports the "soon-to-be-legacy" MPEG-2 compression as well. NVIDIA's PureVideo technology will show up in both desktop and notebook products: the GeForce 6- and 7-series will sport the new technology, as well as the nForce 6150 series of GPUs. Note that this should cover you in a PC solution for either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD since all of the usual suspects codecs are supported.
MacBook Pro: the ultimate portable HD machine!
I have had my MacBook Pro 2.0 for almost a whole week and let me tell you, it is fast! The only way I have been able to max out both cores is by playing a H.264 and HD DivX files at the same time. (If I try two H.264 files QT crashes) The 2.0 Core Duo has more than enough juice to decode any HD files I can find for my computer. It can decode two HD videos at once and watch them in Expose, but not without dropping a few frames
Goodbye, WMP for Mac OS X
Yesterday, we wrote about the extraordinary generosity that Microsoft displayed by distributing the Flip4Mac player available for free. Flip4Mac is a tool that allows you to play WMV files with Quicktime. Before you get a warm fuzzy for Microsoft, check this out: They've suspended development of Windows Media Player for Mac OS X. No big loss, of course, especially now that we have an alternative.[Via What Do I Know]
Microsoft offers Flip4Mac for free
Flip4Mac is a plugin for Quicktime that allows you to watch Windows Media files in Quicktime itself, and that's pretty cool. However, what is even cooler is that this great little plugin is now available for free thanks to Microsoft.You read that correctly, Microsoft is freely distributing Flip4Mac thought they are only offering the viewer, if you want to create WMV files in Quicktime you'll still need to pony up the cash.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
"Only in HD, Please"
It's official. I'm boycotting all things not high def. E3 was the start, and last weekend's Tokyo Game Show sealed it. The high definition gaming era is upon us, and I'm not squinting at low resolution photos and postage-stamp sized movie trailers anymore. I'm going to play it in high definition, why would I try to judge a preview of it in anything less? Microsoft and Sony have taken the right steps in person, displaying their wares on glistening high definition displays at each tradeshow, but finding proper quality trailers and screens is still much like panning for gold, a few shiny nuggets every now and then, but mostly just mud.Bus passes for the revolution after the jump, along with links to the best sources for HD resolution trailers and pictures I've found.
Don't have HDTV? Try a WMV HD video.
Since not everyone has an HDTV set and programming can be scarce, we thought to share the HD experience in a different way. If you have a computer with enough horsepower coupled with a broadband connection, you could try a Microsoft WMV HD video to get the 720p or 1080p experience in your home. These aren't full feature-length programs mind you; these are just great examples of high-definition content.
