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Boxee TV update brings DLNA access, on device DVR management and more
Boxee's second box is getting a fresh round of updates, as GigaOm points out software version 2.1.0.7781 has been detailed and is rolling out. It includes features that appeal to classic Boxee fans like support for DLNA rendering that lets it browse and play files from PCs or other devices on the same network and DMR that lets users push media to it from apps like Skifta. For more traditional viewers, the update also brings a standard TV guide users can pull up by selecting "TV" on the home screen, the ability to schedule and manage DVR recordings from antenna on the box itself (previously only possible via webpage for the still-in-beta feature), notifications for upcoming recordings and even 3D support in the Vudu app. Boxee co-founder Idan Cohen joined us at Expand and mentioned some of the other updates the team is working on, we'll see if oft-requested features like the ability to pause live TV are added any time soon. Hit the source link for the full list of changes, current owners should see the new software arrive over the next few days.
HDHomeRun Prime is the first CableCARD tuner to deliver live TV to DLNA Devices
Our favorite shows, anywhere, that's all we really want. Of course that is asking too much but we'll be closer to the dream now that Silicondust has announced its three tuner HDHomeRun Prime CableCARD is a certified DLNA Digital Media Server (DMS). While the options this opens are seemingly limitless, one specific use case is watching premium cable on a PS3. CableCARD tuners aren't exactly known for their ease of setup, but once you do get this working with your cable company and on your network, it'll show up like any other DLNA source to your PS3. From there you can browse the list of channels and watch any you happen to subscribe to. The PS3 isn't the only DLNA Digital Media Player (DMP) or Digital Media Renderer (DMR) that works with a DLNA DMS, and plays MPEG2 video. However, at this point it's the only one we know of that also supports DTCP-IP, which is the DRM required to play premium content. A representative of Silicondust told us he's confident more compatible devices are on the way, while even more devices will support the unprotected content. Keep an eye out for an official list of compatible hardware on its site some time after this update starts rolling out later this month. Finally, yes, you will be able to use your DLNA Digital Media Controller (DMC) to record content to your other Digital Media Servers -- is that enough acronyms for you? If this interests you, then stay tuned for CES where Silicondust plans to announce phase 2, which is where we think things could really get interesting.
Halo 4 guns go 'blop blop' in this video vignette
Halo 4 not only re-imagines the multiplayer conflicts of games past and the Spartans who engage in them, but also the tools available to these insatiable part-machine murderers. The video above from Halo Waypoint takes a quick tour of Halo 4's new arsenal and the remastered sound effects for each.Most of the guns have an added oomph – we like the whooshing sound behind rockets now, for example – but one thing is kind of odd: the shotgun still sounds like it's being fired inside a sound-proof room. Maybe that's just a special feature of all future shotguns.
Dennis Ritchie, pioneer of C programming language and Unix, reported dead at age 70
We're getting reports today that Dennis Ritchie, the man who created the C programming language and spearheaded the development of Unix, has died at the age of 70. The sad news was first reported by Rob Pike, a Google engineer and former colleague of Ritchie's, who confirmed via Google+ that the computer scientist passed away over the weekend, after a long battle with an unspecified illness. Ritchie's illustrious career began in 1967, when he joined Bell Labs just one year before receiving a PhD in physics from Harvard University. It didn't take long, however, for the Bronxville, NY native to have a major impact upon computer science. In 1969, he helped develop the Unix operating system alongside Ken Thompson, Brian Kernighan and other Bell colleagues. At around the same time, he began laying the groundwork for what would become the C programming language -- a framework he and co-author Kernighan would later explain in their seminal 1978 book, The C Programming Language. Ritchie went on to earn several awards on the strength of these accomplishments, including the Turing Award in 1983, election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988, and the National Medal of Technology in 1999. The precise circumstances surrounding his death are unclear at the moment, though news of his passing has already elicited an outpouring of tributes and remembrance for the man known to many as dmr (his e-mail address at Bell Labs). "He was a quiet and mostly private man," Pike wrote his brief post, "but he was also my friend, colleague, and collaborator, and the world has lost a truly great mind."
How not to download iTunes Store tracks or previews for Ringtones
We've just received word via Engadget that you may not use iTMS-purchased music or previews as ringtones. Engadget's awesome Nilay Patel addressed the issue this morning, clarifying that although you can legally install ringtones ripped from your personal CDs, iTMS tracks and previews are off-limits. He writes that the iTMS EULA prohibits the use of downloaded files as ringtones, probably due to its contracts with the music industry. Music ripped from CDs, however, are not derivative works and do not infringe copyrights.
TiVo Program Placement adds post-roll ad option to recordings
In a move that satisfies its never ending quests to both develop new revenue streams as well as assist advertisers in counteracting the commercial-skipping culture that it helped create, TiVo has unveiled a new initiative that will tack targeted ads onto the end of subscribers' recorded programs. This so-called "Program Placement" service will exist completely outside the world of traditional 30-second spots, and allows companies to append their commercials to the end of whatever show they please; if you've recorded That's So Raven, for instance, you might get hit with an ad for Disney's Mix Max PMP, or perhaps a pitch for the latest birdsong clock from the Audubon Society. Luckily for customers, the ads will not start playing until the user gives the okay on a post-program splash screen, though apparently the content is downloaded before that decision is made -- so either way, some of your precious hard drive space will be gobbled up, at least temporarily. So far Burger King, GM, and The Weather Channel have signed up to get their post-roll on, with BK's offering seemingly the most ambitious: instead of some long-winded spiel about how great the new Octo Stacker is, viewers have the option of exploring interactive content and getting to really know The King and his Big Huckin' Chicken. Since TiVo cheerleader and all-around good guy Dave Zatz seems tolerant of this new "feature," we suppose that we'll get used to it too, but if the DVR DMR giant starts pulling this crap at the beginning of our recordings too, well, we're gonna get back to that MythTV box which is still sitting half-finished on our workbench.Read- Press releaseRead- AdWeek[Via Zatz Not Funny]
TiVo Series3 + plasma TV = big problems
So you just paid $800 for your brand new Series3 TiVo ($1,000 if you transferred your lifetime subscription), waited patiently as the morons from the cable company tried to get their heads around installing CableCARDs in a non-TV device, and finally sat down on your couch to begin recording and commercial skipping all that great HD programming -- just to find out that your damn TiVo remote doesn't work! As many home theater aficionados know (first-hand, unfortunately), plasma TVs emit a significant amount of EMI and RFI signals from their surfaces that can confuse nearby IR sensors and render them useless, especially if your home theater gear juts out in front of the display. Well this problem has been happening in spades to new Series3 owners, as the box's IR receiver seems especially sensitive to other frequencies, so much so that they often need to press a button 10 to 15 times for a command to actually register. TiVo seems to be aware of the issue, but has not yet offered a solution, which is why the good folks who frequent the TiVo Community forum have put their heads together and come up with several effective workarounds. The most ghetto of these fixes involves attaching a tiny opaque "hood" around the box's sensor window, so that plasma interference can't go through but line-of-sight remote commands are still received. Since you probably don't want an ugly piece of cardboard hanging off of your beautiful $800 device, forum user "lightspeed" has come up with a slightly more difficult but much more aesthetically pleasing alternative: after carefully disassembling your Series3, you simply need to attach 6 to 8 small squares of GLAD Press 'n Seal to the inside of the IR window on the front face plate, which will serve to shield the sensor from the bad signals but let the good ones get through. Good job, intrepid TiVo devotees, but what we wanna know is: out of all the folks who beta tested this product, was there not even one of them who used it with a plasma and could have caught this problem much sooner? TiVo: makes a great product, but needs a little help in the e-commerce and quality assurance departments.Read- ProblemRead- FixRead- Fix pics
TiVo fanatics livid over Series3 shipping delays
So if you're a consumer electronics manufacturer in the midst of a highly-publicized product release, you'd think that the last group of customers you'd want to alienate would be the die-hard fanatics who participate in your forums everyday and were among the very first to place orders for said product, right? Well judging by the tone of the comments on the TiVo Community boards, that's exactly what the company has down to its so-called VIP subscribers -- you know, the ones who possess those coveted lifetime subscriptions and woke up extra-early this past Tuesday to ensure that their new Series3 boxes would arrive the next day. Except TiVo apparently wasn't ready to handle the deluge of orders that it received, and after two days of wondering what the heck was going on (calls to customer service were met by confusion and misinformation on the part of the phone reps), everyone finally received an email confirming the delays and promising shipment by Friday. Luckily TiVo had the good sense to refund the shipping charges -- in some cases $50 worth -- to these early adopters, but much to the VIPs' displeasure, they learned that they'd be unable to cancel their pending orders if they wanted to go the retail route; and what's more, there was some confusion as to whether store-bought TiVos would even be eligible for the $200 lifetime subscription transfer. As of this writing it seems that only a handful of folks actually got their boxes on Friday, with everyone else scrambling to reschedule the CableCARD installation appointments they'd made with their cable providers. So while there's little argument that TiVo makes a fine product with a world-class interface, perhaps when it eventually comes out with the Series4, it'll do some better planning or leave distribution to the professionals -- apparently, TiVo and e-commerce don't seem to go too well together lately.[Via HDBeat]
Circuit City site adds TiVo Series 3, cites October release
So the worst-kept secret in the consumer electronics industry right now is that TiVo is on the verge of releasing the CableCARD-sportin', HD-recordin' Series 3 box -- but no one seems to know exactly when you'll be able to buy one. We heard from Todd the Best Buy employee that the new machines will be in stock on the 17th of this month, and now our friend Dave over at ZatzNotFunny has spotted the highly-anticipated DMR (remember, they're not DVRs anymore, and TiVo won't sell you one if you use that terminology) on Circuit City's website showing an October availability. Now does that mean October 1st? The 15th? The 31st? Well if we knew, we'd tell ya, but at least now we seem to have an actual release window: the Series 3 will (probably) be available sometime between September 17th and October 31st. As usual, we'll keep you posted as more information comes to light, but if that's not good enough, you're always welcome to switch over to satellite and pick up on of DirecTV's new HR20-700 HD DVRs -- thanks to HDBeat, we know that Best Buy will ship you one of those post haste.Read- Series 3 [Via ZatzNotFunny]Read- HR20-700 [Via HDBeat]
Time Warner won't provide CableCARDs for Series 3 TiVos?
Remember how TiVo recently sent that letter to the FCC and cable operators telling them to be prepared for the Series 3 rollout, partly because of reports that some providers were refusing to hook up beta testers with the necessary CableCARDS? Well now it looks like the company's concerns may be completely legitimate, as a complaint on the website ConsumerFury contends that Time Warner Cable's Raleigh division responded to a recent customer inquiry on the matter by stating that "Time Warner Cable of Raleigh does not provide support for or allow TiVo devices on our cable network...CableCARDS will only be installed on cable-ready, CableCARD-slot-available television sets." Pretty harsh, especially considering the fact that Time Warner's policy may not even be legal: federal regulations concerning CableCARDS seem to indicate that providers must support them for any unidirectional TV, set-top-box, or recording device connected to a digital cable system. We certainly understand that cable companies see TiVo as a direct competitor to their own DVR offerings, but we're not sure that alienating customers with such a hard-line stance is the best move; after all, isn't a customer who brings his/her own DVR to the table better than no customer at all?[Via TiVoBlog]
