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Intel, Adobe plan a chicken in every pot, Flash on every HDTV
Intel's been talking up the CE 3100 (née Canmore) processor for quite some time now, and with Adobe as its newest partner -- late again Yahoo? -- pushing HD Flash streams to Internet connected TV's and set-top boxes. Frankly, we've already gotten quite used to YouTube and other online video access in the living room, but with the first Flash Lite-enabled system-on-a-chip due by mid-2009 and everyone and their mom watching TV on Hulu this could be the push that takes online video to the TV mainstream. Still, Intel must know that only Flash support so 2008, we'll be expecting more widgets to come.
D'Oh! The Simpsons TV makes it to iTunes
Back in 2005, TUAW conducted a poll of its readers to see what TV series they wanted to purchase through iTunes. Among the top five was The Simpsons.The Simpsons Movie was previously available through iTunes, but it is one of the movies that has disappeared in the past few weeks. In the past couple of days, however, the main Simpsons TV series has finally made it into the iTunes lineup.Only the eight episodes aired thus far in season 20 are uploaded in standard definition. Hopefully earlier seasons will arrive, along with high-definition once it starts. The Simpsons (link opens iTunes) can be purchased from the U.S. iTunes Store for $1.99 an episode with a season pass for $37.99. Or, for those wanting a free alternative in the U.S., the episodes are also on Hulu and can be streamed onto Apple TV using boxee.Thanks for the tip, Tyler!
Sony: No plans to change XMB or offer Netflix service
After Microsoft's successful launch of the NXE (New Xbox Experience), GamePro had a few questions to ask Sony. The redesigned interface for Xbox certainly looks a lot sleeker than before -- would Sony consider changing up the XMB (Xcross Media Bar) to make it feel new and fresh? Unlikely, according to John Kohler. "Grand-scale changes [to XMB] are probably not realistic, because it's something that's been so well-received," he states. The XMB is used in a number of Sony products, from PS3 to PSP to DVR systems and HDTVs. Why change something that's uniquely "Sony"? However, Kohler does note that PS3 fans that are vocal about a change are likely to get it. "If consumers pound on our door loudly enough, we'll make sure they're listened to. That's been evident in the firmware updates [for the PS3 and PSP], which came out because of consumer feedback."One of the big changes added to the NXE was the addition of Netflix streaming support. However, it doesn't appear Sony will offer a competitor to the service any time soon. "We've concentrated most of our efforts on our download service, both rentals and downloads of movies and TV shows. Our efforts will continue to be there, because our customers want to own the content." Netflix offers users access to a large number of titles to stream for a monthly fee; Sony's model allows users to buy the content a la carte. While we wish Sony would also offer an unlimited rental service for the PlayStation Store, there is an alternative that we've been using lately: Hulu. Ever since the last firmware update, we've been visiting the site to catch up on our favorite TV shows. Now if only Sony would add Hulu to the XMB ...
Flickr videos now iPhone compatible
The folks at Flickr have released some good news today. Specifically, their mobile site at m.flickr.com has been improved to include, among other things, video support for the iPhone and iPod touch. It seems to work by playing a Quicktime version of your clips, thus getting around the whole lack of flash support. The folks at Flickr note that the iPod touch and iPhone are the only mobile devices that can play the movies for now, but others will be added soon.Other improvements to m.flickr.com include the option to comment on photos and add them to your collection of favorites. I found the site to be very fast indeed over WiFi and no slouch over EDGE, either. Those of you with later model iPhones (and iPod touches) will have to tell me how your experiences have been. Thank you to Flickr and the Yahoo! Video Platform group. Now if only some others would follow suit (we're looking at you, Hulu).[Via Daring Fireball]
Boxee releases new alpha, adds Netflix support
It's a pretty awesome day to be a Netflix fan. Not only is the Watch Instantly service officially available for OS X, it's also now working via boxee, my favorite media center application!Boxee pushed out an impromptu update last week for Apple TV owners, specifically to address issues with the 2.3 firmware update. Today's update is targeted at all boxee versions and adds a host of new features, including the big dog: Netflix support for US customers. Note: Netflix support is currently only in the Mac version of boxee. The boxee team is working hard to bring it to the Apple TV, but they need to work around some of the hardware limitations. They'll be posting updates on the boxee blog on their progress.Here's the rundown: Netflix support for Mac users Improved Hulu performance and a new Hulu interface, including access to your personal Hulu queues Access to TheWB.com (US only unless you use a proxy) The Boston Globe's Big Picture blog - amazing photos from around the world MTVMusic - songs/artists in your collection are now linked with music videos New YouTube interface, improved performance and .h264 support Custom interfaces and improved playback for CNN, Flickr and Picasa All in all, this is a pretty stellar update. When I talked to the team from boxee last week, they made it clear that Neflix was the #1 priority. That they got Netflx running in boxee in under two weeks is nothing short of amazing. Yes, I do wish that support would be extended to Apple TV users, but I can be patient. If you haven't tried boxee, you can go to http://boxee.tv/tuaw and get an invite. You'll need an Intel Mac running OS X 10.4 or OS X 10.5 or an Apple TV. Boxee is also available for Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04, though I'm unsure if the team was able to implement Netflix support for Ubuntu yet.Give it a shot and tell us what you think in the comments!
Neuros LINK web / media viewer gets unboxed
That floor looks mighty familiar, huh? That's because it is. Just days after Mr. Dave Zatz treated us to an unboxing of the 2Wire-built MediaPoint Blockbuster movie set-top-box, here comes yet another gift from the same den. The recently announced Neuros LINK was said to practically be a full-on computer, with the whole kit weighing some 15-pounds. Initial reports are that Hulu content played back beautifully in full screen, so yeah, that's a thumbs-up. We know why you're really here, though, so give the read link a visit for the gallery of photographs.
Sling.com open to all...in the U.S.
The Sling.com portal is still sporting the beta tag, but now anyone can hit it up for a dose of streaming movies and TV shows, with Slingbox owners able to add live TV from home to the mix. Sans-Slingbox, the lineup as is mimics Hulu without the lovely HD gallery, and the truly groundbreaking Clip+Sling support is still in development. Still, give it a look or check out DownloadSquad's hands-on to see if Sling Media has a hit on its hands.
GotGame releases their ingame browser separately
Behold the power of WoW Insider -- GotGame told us about their browser and social networking service a little while ago, and we were so much more fascinated with the browser part of their app that they split it off. And here it is: Rogue is what they're calling their ingame browser application -- you can download it for free from the site, and after a quick install, you can open up a browser in any PC game.As lots of commenters said on our last post, this isn't really an ingame browser, it's more of an overlay that lets you browse while playing the game. And all it really does is save you the couple of minutes it would take to tab out and check your own browser (or just run WoW in a windowed mode, and use both at the same time).But there are a probably a few users out there who would find it really useful. Downtime is the main issue I can think of (though lots of my downtime is filled lately with the Bejeweled addon anyway). But if you've been waiting for a solid, standalone ingame browser to come along (complete with Flash support, which makes it easy to pull up Hulu or Pandora while playing), Rogue is it.
New version of Boxee supports Hulu
We've covered the Boxee social-networking media center application before, including the recent release that runs on the Apple TV. Now yet another alpha has been released that adds a long sought-after feature: internet flash video playback for "Hulu, CBS, Comedy Central and MySpaceTV." Other updates include improvement to UI performance as well as the ability to add your own RSS feeds manually, including those containing audio and video payloads (i.e. podcasts). This naturally opens the door to considerably more content for your Boxee device, whether it be a Mac, Apple TV, or even, perish the thought, an Ubuntu Linux machine.Unfortunately, Boxee remains invitation-only. However, you may register at the Boxee site to receive a future invitation.
Boxee delivers Hulu to Apple TV
For Apple TV owners who don't shy away from tinkering, we've got some excellent news. As of today, video viewers can now catch Hulu.com content from within Boxee (and by extension, on their Apple TVs). No need to wipe the sleep from your eyes -- Hulu accessibility has arrived on Apple's set-top-box, as the embeddable player has been ported over to Boxee. Additionally, Boxee has added CBS.com to its list of viewable internet video sources; head on down to Boxee's website for more, and jump past the break for the full release.
Community: internet TV's biggest leg up over HDTV?
Almost all experts agree that internet viewing is growing in popularity, be it TV shows or just random clips to escape from reality, but we've all wondered just how viable the world wide web was as a standalone source of programming. An insightful writeup over at The Daily Cardinal got us thinking even more, as it points out one advantage online TV has over standard TV in almost every instance: community. As the author stared into the 900+ options in a satellite EPG, he at first "marveled at the number," but soon he found the overload to be "just annoying." From there, he noted that internet TV brings near-instant viewing on anything you have a mind to search for, and while he couldn't remember the last time he and his pals had a great time hovered around the traditional tube (Super Bowl notwithstanding), he vividly remembers the first time his posse checked out the "Charlie Bit Me!" clip on YouTube. Frankly, we still don't think internet TV will be eating into pay-TV anytime soon -- if anything, it'll act as a complement -- but for those thinking the former had zero advantages over the latter, should you not think again?
Poll: Which HD download service do you prefer?
Now that Vudu has stepped up the bit-rates of its HD downloadable movies, have you been drawn away from Apple TV's gigantic selection of movies, or the Xbox 360's impressive array of Hi-Def TV shows? Although it seems like not one box offers everything anyone could want, we still want to know: which HD download service do you prefer? %Poll-20513%
DivX Connected users treated to new software, Hulu support
When Stage6 slipped six feet under, DivX Connected users were largely out of luck when it came to fetching online content. Now, however, a v1.4 of the Connected software has been released (at least in beta form), which reportedly provides support for a svelte Hulu Player plugin (among others). The app provides users with the ability to queue on Hulu.com and watch on Connected, and you can also watch recent videos and search, the latter of which was impossible on Stage6. Interested, are you? Check the read link for all the downloads you need to get going.[Thanks, Karolis]
PlayOn media server update smashes bugs, adds 64-bit Windows support
Just that fast, the folks behind PlayOn's Hulu / YouTube / soon-Netflix streaming software have gone to version 2.58.3152, including support for 64-bit versions of Windows and fixes for a few niggling video playback bugs experienced a few days ago. If you've somehow avoided grabbing the free beta software, go ahead and check it out (if you must, there's also our gallery for a the Buckaroo Banzai-YouTube-clips-streamed-to-PS3 future that awaits), but for any already on the bandwagon please be sure to uninstall the previous version and reboot first. Let us know, was it as easy as Head-on (apply directly to forehead) or has the pain continued?
PlayOn media server brings Hulu / YouTube to consoles, Netflix coming soon?
PlayOn wants to make sure you can get your daily dose of Barackrolls and Airwolf episodes beyond the desktop, while Hulu might not have a slick streaming set-top box of its own, this media server software turns flash video RSS streams into easily browsed folders for your DLNA-compliant hardware. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and HP MediaSmart HDTVs being at the top of that list (with Nintendo Wii support planned by year-end) owners can grab the beta release of the software and stream low-res episodes of Psych, or any assortment of YouTube video they please. With Netflix support "just down the road" this could provide an end around for PS3 owners looking for streaming love, or Xbox 360 owners without Xbox Live Gold (we know you're out there.) Bad news is the beta only lasts 60 days and there's a $30 pricetag waiting at the end of the free lunch highway. Our experience was good, with no stutters in a Psych episode streamed via Wi-Fi to the PS3 (albeit with no choice of HD clips), but we'd wait for confirmation on the whole Netflix bit before dropping any dough.Update: Getting 69-C00D36C4 / folder could not be accessed errors on your PS3 or Xbox 360, or waiting for 64-bit Vista support to dive in? PlayOn CTO David Karlton updated the official blog to let users know fixes and additional support is in the works, so keep an eye out for more news shortly if things aren't working just yet. Gallery: PlayOn Media Server [Via PS3 Fanboy]
PlayOn beta allows streaming Hulu; Netflix support planned
The PS3's media server capabilities just got a nice injection with the recently released PlayOn beta. The easy-to-use client streams media from your PC to your PS3. The most exciting thing about the client must be its support for Hulu, the free video streaming site which broadcasts a number of high-profile network shows. For example, we installed the beta and we were able to watch NBC's 30 Rock almost instantly.There are a few problems, though. The files are poorly compressed: a single episode of 30 Rock is over a gigabyte, which demands a rather speedy connection between your computer and PS3. The quality isn't too great thanks to the web-friendly MPEG-2 codec being used. And, once the 60 day trial ends, the service will ask for $30. However, if PlayOn can get the planned Netflix streaming to work, they may just have a new customer.
Hulu refreshes HD Gallery with 720p TV shows
Pull up that task chair and fire up that web browser, HD-mavens. Hulu has finally stepped up its HD game with the latest update to its HD Gallery. If your rig has a 2.5 Mbps connection to the outside world and a few CPU cycles to spare, Hulu is looking to hook you up with full-length, 720p episodes of Heroes, 30 Rock, 24 and The Office. If you need more incentive to check it out, how about the fact that these videos are ad-free for the time being? If TV isn't your thing, there are a few scraps (read: excerpts) in the "Nature and Documentary" section, and the "Sports" genre houses Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals. Yes, the selection is thin and the "Movie Clips" heading is crushing. But since we're feeling "glass half full," we'll be encouraged that Hulu is getting serious about HD internet video. And really, you can't beat the price.
Safari AdBlock Frees Hulu
TUAW reader Eric F sent in a note letting us know that "Safari Adblock allows you to watch Hulu programming completely commercial free!" I gave it a try. I downloaded a copy of Adblock from its SourceForge repository, installed it, activated it, and fired up Hulu. A nearly complete episode of Buffy later, I can confirm that I wasn't shown commercials. I haven't give this enough of a test obviously, to be able to say decisively one way or another -- especially since I don't regularly use Hulu -- but the news is promising enough that I thought I'd share. Let us know in the comments if this solution works for you.
Adobe Media Player & Adobe TV officially launched
Since everyone else is launching a Flash-based video portal, Adobe itself is mixing things up with the AIR-powered Adobe TV. Via the new Adobe Media Player (AMP) 1.0 standalone app, users browse through assorted content from partners like CBS, Universal Music Group, Viacom, PBS or RSS feeds of video podcasts, while the Adobe TV channel itself focuses on how-to content for the company's various tools like Photoshop and Flash. AMP supports up to 1080p, however while ad-support TV content like The Hills and CSI: NY is disappointingly low-res, there are some HD online shows, but the bitrate's so low it's tough to tell if we're getting all the promised pixels. It's a lightweight download, check it out and see how it measures up to Hulu and the rest of the internet challengers.Read - Adobe TV press releaseRead - Adobe Media Player press release
Three Sheets Season 3 premiere hits Hulu before MOJO
One of our favorites is getting set to come back for Season 3, and needless to say, our HD DVRs are already queued up to capture it all. Still, for those who can't (or just won't) wait for the April 10th launch of Three Sheet's third season on MOJO, the first episode can be viewed in its entirety right now via Hulu. You heard right -- the whole half hour show, which sees the always animated Zane Lamprey head down to Chile, can be seen right now by following the read link below. Are you still here? Maybe you missed the part about a new Three Sheets episode waiting for you right down there![Via NewTeeVee]
