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Google TV quick tour shows off the service's inner workings, Kenny Powers' dreams (update: Netflix support!)
Considering the level of hype that has surrounded Google TV, freakishly little is actually known about how it'll work. Of course, a lot of that is expected to be cleared up on Wednesday when Logitech unveils its Google TV lineup, but the Big G itself is giving us all a sneak peek beforehand. The company has just launched a new 'quick tour' portal that showcases the most prominent Google TV features, including Search, Web, Apps, Remote (complete with an Eastbound & Down plug), Personal, Dual View and DVR. Frankly, we're pretty jazzed by the look of the user interface, and we can hardly wait to see what kind of punches Logitech and Sony throw in the coming weeks. Hit that source link to draw your own conclusion. Update: Google has elaborated some on its plans, and it's all shaping up quite nicely. We're told that Turner Broadcasting has been working to optimize the websites of TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and more for viewing on Google TV, and NBC Universal has collaborated with Google TV to bring CNBC Real-Time, an application that allows you to track your favorite stocks and access news feeds while enjoying the best financial news from CNBC directly on the TV screen. HBO GO will also be supported and the NBA has built NBA Game Time, an application that lets you follow game scores in real-time and catch up on the latest highlights from your favorite team in HD. Need more? Amazon Video on Demand will be present, and it sounds like Goog has hordes of other companies just moments away from offering compatible content portals. Hop on past the break for a quick video overview of the Apps segment. Update 2: Whoa, Netflix just confirmed that 'Watch Instantly' will be fully supported on Google TV devices launching later this month. Huzzah!
Screen Grabs: Turtle gets his Kinect on
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. The producers of Entourage have already shown their tech savvy with a littering of BlackBerry, Jawbone and iPad use, but how about some unreleased hardware? Turtle was spotted doing a bit of cardio in last night's episode, nothing too shocking about that, but he did it using Microsoft's Kinect peripheral as a workout buddy. Last time we checked, that motion-controlled goodness wasn't supposed to be out for another two months -- we can only guess that good old Sal Assante managed to get his name on that top-secret beta tester list. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HBO iPad app scheduled to arrive in six months
Do you need to catch up with Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm? Do you want to re-watch that interview from Real Sports? Soon, you'll be able to do just that on your iPad. HBO Co-President Eric Kessler said that the premium cable channel is planning on releasing an iPad app (dubbed HBO Go) that will enable viewers to view a library of up to 800 hours per month of the channel's movies and TV shows. Best of all, if you're already a paying HBO subscriber, you can access content on the iPad app for free. The content streaming app ecosystem on the iPad includes ABC Player, Netflix and Hulu Plus, and HBO Go is set to join this space. HBO plans to release HBO Go for the iPad in six months, which means that the app will likely be on the App Store sometime during the early part of 2011. [via Mashable]
HBO heading to iPad and mobile devices 'in six months,' still cold on Netflix
"There is value in exclusivity... [Consumers] are willing to pay a premium for high quality, exclusive content." There is something to HBO Co-President Eric Kessler's words that ring true with his company's goals, and unfortunately for Netflix enthusiasts, that subscription service isn't part and parcel with his philosophy. In an interview with Bloomberg, Kessler reportedly offered the previous statement as an explanation to why the two companies would likely not make a deal together, despite Netflix's best efforts. That's par for the course, so far, but what is new and exciting from the interview is an off-hand comment that in six month's time, HBO Go would be available "through all major cable systems, on Apple Inc.'s iPad, on mobile devices and elsewhere," free for those already signed up to HBO. We've seen the former option, but portable? Consider our interests very piqued. While far from official, we also think it's worth listening to a co-president on his own company's dealings -- at least a little bit. Hey, we're all for going the Hulu route if it's implemented well enough, but it looks like we won't be canceling our cable subscription in favor of going steady with Ol' Red Envelopes anytime soon.
HBO releasing Deadwood: The Complete Series on Blu-ray November 23
HBO and Warner have finally announced what Deadwood fans are waiting for -- no, not a movie or new season -- the complete series is coming to Blu-ray, with all 36 episodes in one boxed set. Getting all of the wild west into your Blu-ray player won't be cheap however, as it's carrying a $209.98 MSRP (currently on Amazon for $146.99), with no additional extras over what were already on the previous DVD releases. Still, seeing everything in 1080p with a DTS-HD MA soundtrack is what you're here for, and HBO claims this series is the most demanded on after only The Sopranos and Rome so there should be plenty of fans unwrapping these this holiday season.
Screen Grabs: Ari Gold will definitely fire this guy once he notices he's using an iPad
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. The latest episode of HBO's Entourage (if that's the kind of thing you're into) might have been a bit of an eye opener if you're also the kind of person who keeps an eye open for gadgets. Ari Gold's legal adviser (seen in around the 4th minute of the episode if you need the proof) has an iPad set up, keyboard and all. Now, we know Ari's character pretty well. He's the BlackBerry Bold type -- and while his wife uses an iPhone, we have a hard time believing Ari's going to put up with the iPad in the office nonsense for very long. You, young man, are on very thin ice. There's one more shot after the break. [Thanks, Pat]
Sky 3D channel comes home October 1 with Ryder Cup, EPL, movies and more
The Sky 3D channel has so far been officially available only in 1,500 or so UK pubs, but now its residential launch for all Sky+HD customers is slated for October 1. The 2010 Ryder Cup will serve as a launch event with three days of live coverage from Celtic Manor as the US and European teams do battle; the first ever in 3D, but the third such event it's covered in high definition. Golf fans won't be the only ones catered to, Premier League football will be returning once the season starts and today's announcement coincided with a SkyArts 3D filming arranged by the English National Ballet. Hollywood's major studios have already agreed to provide 3D movies including Bolt, Monsters vs. Aliens, Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince and more, while Sky has commissioned its own original 3D flick, Flying Monsters presented by Sir David Attenborough. Not quite ready for the 3D revolution? Feel free to put that on the backburner -- at least until the 2012 London Olympics -- as the network is also adding content from HBO, a large slate of new comedies, Anytime+ VOD, and a Sky Mobile TV iPad app. With an HD channel count of 43 and plans to reach 50 by year-end, there should be a little something there for everyone to enjoy.
PlayStation Network adds HBO content before Zune / Xbox 360, follows iTunes pricing
Congratulations PSN, you are the first video game console to sell content from HBO. That means you can't buy True Blood, The Sopranos or Rome on Xbox via Zune yet, but you already could on iTunes if you were willing to pay $3 per episode. Contrary to a few reports, that premium pricing doesn't extend to the rest of HBO's lineup which share their $2 per episode pricing with the SD versions of most TV shows on the PSN and elsewhere. It's actually not a terrible price, with the season two DVDs of True Blood available for $32 on Amazon buying all twelve episodes one by one will only cost an extra $4, and still let you avoid any that don't feature your character of choice removing their shirt. the only sad part is that just like iTunes, there's still no HD availability, so we hope you like 480p -- and if you're reading this site, you probably don't. Hey Sony, make a big deal when you've negotiated some higher resolution or lower prices than what's available elsewhere, and tell HBO to stop crowing to the Wall Street Journal about its ability to charge premium prices when it really isn't -- when you sell an episode of The Wire for the same price as the pilot for Bionic Woman that's nothing to brag about.
HBO joins PlayStation Network video service
Time Warner's premium cable channel is coming to the PS3 and PSP later today. Sony has just announced that programming from HBO will be made available via the PlayStation Network video delivery service in North America. The initial selection includes the both the first two seasons of True Blood (Season 2 debuts on DVD today, as well). In addition, select seasons of Big Love, Entourage, Eastbound and Down, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Wire, Rome, Da Ali G Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Flight of the Conchords will also be available, with "more titles and additional seasons to be added each week." Pricing information wasn't made available in the press release, but we believe it will be similar to the content currently available on iTunes: $2.99 per episode. HBO enthusiasts will definitely want to stay tuned for tonight's PSN Tuesday update.
Eyes-on with HBO GO
HBO GO is the latest new service to bring pay TV content to your PC -- assuming you can prove you pay for cable. So today when FiOS announced that its subscribers were to be one of the first to use it, we decided to try it out. Honestly we didn't even expect it to work considering, you know, we don't subscribe to HBO. Now we're sure it won't take long before this is locked down to actual HBO subscribers, but in the meantime we spent some time playing so you'd know what you were, or weren't missing.
HBO releases iPhone app
HBO has released their very own app for the iPhone, and it's surprisingly deep for an app released by a premium cable channel. There's the obvious stuff -- you can view schedules and watch clips and previews of HBO shows as well as behind-the-scenes and other content. But there's even some cool iPhone-specific stuff, like creating SMS reminders when your shows come on, some hidden object games to play, and even the option to buy some shows with hooks straight into iTunes. The app is designed pretty well, too, and for an app that's basically promoware, there's a lot of content and features included. It's very well done -- if you don't have HBO, you probably won't need the app, but if you are a subscriber with an iPhone or iPod touch, it's well worth the free download. [via Aaron H.]
Comcast On Demand Online renamed Fancast Xfinity TV, now streaming nationwide
After taking some time in limited beta, Comcast has renamed its TV Everywhere streaming venture Fancast Xfinity TV and made it available nationally to all customers with internet and cable TV subscriptions. A simple browser plugin authorizes up to 3 computers per account, but now that it's live we've found more has changed than just its unfortunate new name. Users won't need to be at home to activate their computers for viewing; all that's needed is a login and with plenty of cross browser compatibility it should work easily no matter your setup anywhere within the U.S. For us, the Comcast Access installer worked flawlessly on one Windows 7 equipped netbook while failing with an error message tech support couldn't decipher on a similar desktop. Once up and running, there's even some high-definition streaming video available (Juno, Max Payne, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary and others) with more on the way. All told there's about 2000 hours of content online including HBO and Starz restricted items, peep the full list on Fancast.com or check out the setup and viewing process in our gallery below. Technical glitches aside, for the price of absolutely nothing over our current cable and internet bill with HD streaming already active, we may have a new way to keep up with our stories while on the go. %Gallery-80361%
Canceled Halo game concept art found on ex-Ensemble artist's site
Aside from releasing an RTS title in Halo Wars this year, concept art found on ex-Ensemble Studios artist Dylan Cole's website reveals yet another game that the studio was working on in the Halo universe. No name is given for the shots, though Cole calls the above image "Halo Universe City," which could mean a city from the world of Halo or a game named "Halo Universe."He also mentions that the "concept paintings" were for "a project that was canceled," so you can bet we won't be seeing these beautiful vistas in game form anytime soon. We do know that the studio was at one time working on a Halo MMO that never saw the light of day -- maybe these shots have something to do with that? We've asked Dylan Cole for more information, but for now, check out the full gallery of concept art right here.[Via HBO]
HBO files trademark for True Blood game
With True Blood character likenesses (hey Jason and Tara!) already showing up in Left 4 Dead 2 this year, it certainly took HBO long enough to wake up and smell the O+. Superannuation has noted a US trademark filing for a video game based on the down-home vampire series, which should make fangbangers everywhere happy.Of course, there's no word of what the game -- if one ever comes to sunlight -- will entail. HBO's never really sunk its teeth into major video game development before. Anyone remember those Sopranos games?
Steven Soderbergh calls out the aspect ratio villains: HBO, AMC - We're talking about you
You've gritted your teeth every time TNT flips the switch on its dreaded stretch-o-vision, and we've done our part to explain why proper aspect ratios are so important, and yet few have taken heed. Perhaps director Steven Soderbergh can succeed where we have failed, railing against cable channels that, instead of using HDTV to deliver movies the way they were meant to be seen, are often cropping and squeezing to give what they think viewers want instead. The worst network? AMC. Not only is it guilty of pan scanning like HBO, but the advertisements tease the movies in their correct aspect ratio, the cruelest bait and switch of all. Check out the article for a full explanation from behind the lens of why correct treatment of aspect ratios matters, and please, tell a friend to tell a friend.[Thanks, Chevelleman & Fortified Live for the image]
Screen Grabs: Jawbone gets chewed out by Entourage's Johnny Drama
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. The best show to ever land on HBO has certainly seen its fair share of hot technology, from last week's Ferrari-fest (with a notable 'holla' to Porsche) to this week's love affair with Aliph's Jawbone. As you can see in the Screen Grab above, Johnny Drama couldn't help but sport the all-black Bluetooth earpiece to match his ebony jacket and equally dark motorcar whilst jabbering to Turtle. Nah, it's not the Jawbone Prime, but we wouldn't put it past Sloan to tease E (again) over one here in the not-too-distant future. Now, if only Marky Mark could convince the suits at Time Warner to allocate an hour per episode to this masterpiece, we'd really be in heaven...[Thanks, SmoothMarx]
Comcast adds HBO to its HD video on demand lineup
We're honestly surprised it took this long, but Comcast has gleefully announced it is the first to offer the "full" HBO On Demand lineup in high definition. True Blood, Entourage, The Wire* plus the network's movie selection are all available now, so the only questions left are when is this coming to your local provider, or why are you still reading this instead of watching Snoop and Chris? Don't end up in a vacant.Update: Except, of course, as sideshowRaheem points out in the coments, The Wire wasn't filmed in high definition, so you'll probably be watching something else.
Screen Grabs: the G1 gets some serious love on 'Weeds' and 'True Blood'
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. If you're unfamiliar with either Showtime's series Weeds or HBO's True Blood, we'll catch you up to speed really quickly. The former is about a widowed housewife living in California who sells stolen gadgets to make ends meet for her family, while the latter is a Southern-fried tale of a Louisiana town infested with vampires plus a cute young woman who can see the future, and uses her power to predict Nokia's product roadmap for 2010. No? Well, that's what we thought we saw. We'll tell you this much: we definitely spotted the G1 in both shows this week. Yes, in Weeds Andy took a call from Nancy, and boom! Android screen, while on True Blood, Eric did some evil, tanktopped talking on his own. Who knew vampires were nerds? Second shot is after the break. [Thanks, Brendan]
HBO, Cinemax coming to Comcast's On Demand Online
Following Starz, HBO has announced plans to provide programming on Comcast's On Demand Online trial. Of course, this move shouldn't surprise anyone given previous hints HBO was looking for ways to brings its video online or previous trials it has participated in. Just like Starz, users can expect a mix of television shows and movies, basically reflecting the current on demand lineup, including series like True Blood and Entourage, further detailed in the press release after the break. Also like Starz, following the launch, HD streaming is expected -- clearly premium channel subscribers have the most reasons to be interested in being included in the 5,000 customer nationwide trial Comcast is launching in the coming weeks, but what about the basic cable only folks?
Curb Your Enthusiasm going HD this season, if you really want to see Larry David in HD
Larry David mentioned in an Esquire interview that this seventh season of Curb Your Enthusiasm will be the first in high definition, although he has no idea why anyone would watch that way since "No one wants to see this old man on TV." True or not, you can still check him out on HBO in 1080i, but you can always flip back to SD if you want, we're sure it will still be funny.[Via TV Scoop]
