End User

Get Connected: Little Boxes (That Stream Video and More)

One of the subjects that the new Amazon Connected Home covers is how to stream video content--HD movie rentals, TV shows, YouTube, etc.--from the Internet and from network-connected computers in your home. This fall, we're seeing the debuts of the several streaming video boxes that will be competing for space in your home entertainment center--the new Apple TV (check out my first impressions), the revamped Roku line, and the long-anticipated Boxee Box.

To help you sort through things, check out this handy graphic over at the Mashable blog that compares the three boxes and notes differences in playback resolution, supported video and audio formats, and compatibility with external streaming sources.

To learn more about broadcasting media through your home, be sure to check out Connected Home's Streaming Video and Streaming Music sections.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Get Connected: Amazon Connected Home Opens Its Doors

While it might be lacking the jet packs and space station vacation resorts I dreamed of as a youth in the mid-70s, I love today's modern world of technology where I get to live and play with technology that would seem so sci-fi or magical some 30-plus years ago. Imagine telling my 10-year-old self back in 1977 that 33 years hence I'd be able to listen to virtually any song I could think of--anywhere in my house and at any time--rather than have to rely on calling up the local radio station to request another play of Meco's Star Wars Theme and wait through hours of Rod Stewart and Peter Frampton before it played. Or that I didn't have to wait until summer re-runs to watch my favorite episode of Logan's Run again (not to mention that a TV with rabbit ears wasn't required).

But while these little bits of magic are available to us in a plethora of forms--gadgets, software, network connections--getting the magic to perform for you and sifting through exactly what you need to make it happen can get overwhelming.

That's where the new Amazon Connected Home section comes in. Officially launching this week, Amazon Connected Home pulls together a plethora of articles, videos, and FAQs about a wide range of technologies that can help you do more in your house without having your mind boggled. The sections include how-to materials on:

• Streaming music through your home
• Watching streaming Internet movies and TV shows on your HDTV
• Improving your cell phone coverage via your own mini cell tower or over Wi-Fi
• Using security cameras in your house and remotely
• Controlling home lighting and appliances remotely
• Sharing printers on your network with multiple computers

Each section provides some options on what might suit your needs, as well as some handy FAQs for those who aren't completely savvy about tech terms like femtocell or powerline networking. (And if you're still not sure about how best to get started with setting up a home network, be sure to check out the Networking 101 guide.)

But the centerpiece of Connected Home is the series of 1-minute videos created for each section and hosted by Paul Hochman (seen on the screen grabs on the right). The Connected Home team and Paul have done a great job at synthesizing the basics of each home-connecting subject and providing a primer on what the tech can do for you as well as introducing some solutions to look into--all with a bit of humor (a spoonful of which definitely helps the tech specs go down).

Now, if you consider yourself an advanced gadget tinkerer who can pull together a PC from spare parts lying around the house, you might feel that these videos might be a bit too basic. But they're perfect for your parents or your less geeked-out friends. I often get phone calls from my Mom, Mother-In-Law, or pals who are swimming hard against the tide of tech and need either some suggestions on how to accomplish certain connectivity projects... and Connected Home is a great place to send them to learn about the possibilities.

But you might also learn a thing or two as well. While going through the videos in Connected Home, my wife (who's an architect) was watching over my shoulder in our home office, and we both got excited about some of the solutions for automating our home that we'd never considered before--from door locks that can open using your cell phone to easy monitoring of our home energy use (we are definitely ordering this featured Black & Decker Power Monitor).

Check out Amazon Connected Home today.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Bites from the Apple: First Impressions of the Apple TV

"Honey, did you order a box of new checks via FedEx?" my wife called as she walked in the front door with the mail.

Nope, that would be the new Apple TV. There's been a lot of focus by Apple TV first responders on just how small the device is, and I've gotta admit I was wowed by its diminutive proportions (just 3.9 inches square) as I unboxed it like a Matryoshka doll.

As you can see in these pics on the right, it's significantly smaller than its previous iteration, and is also smaller than the previous generation of the Apple TV's main competition--the Roku XR streaming video box (though the Roku line has now been revamped with a sleeker design).

But its size, while something to marvel at, is ultimately rather unimportant in determining whether the Apple TV is a worthy device for your home entertainment center. The question is, does it do the job of streaming the content you want from the cloud or from your computers without many hiccups?

The New Jack Apple TV is easy peasy, lemon squeezy to set up--just plug it in, connect to your Wi-Fi network (or plug in an Ethernet cable), and start surfing the TV show and movie rental offerings. Navigate using the longer, sleekly solid aluminum remote over to the Computers heading to connect to an iTunes library using the Home Sharing feature of iTunes 10 (and entering the email address of the iTunes account you used to set up Home Sharing). Once set up, you can stream all the movies, TV Shows, podcasts, and music that you have stored on that remote computer through to the Apple TV.

Our iTunes setup has the main library stored on an HP MediaSmart home server and funneled through an original Core Solo-powered Mac mini. With our OG Apple TV, there was always a bit of a lag as streamed video content would start at the beginning but then go black for several seconds before restarting playback up about 10 to 15 seconds into the video (I was never sure whether this was down to the ATV device or the connectivity to remote computers/servers). However, the new Apple TV seemed to have a much springier stream capability from server-stored video and was fairly immediate in playback.

Before going any further, I whipped out my iPhone and fired up the newly refreshed Remote app, which provides more interactivity with the Apple TV--namely flicking your finger on your iOS device to control the ATV interface as well as typing user account/password combos far more easily than scrolling with the physical aluminum remote. I then hooked up my Netflix account and immediately started streaming an episode of Doc Martin, picking up right where I last left it when watching on my Roku the night before (the ATV asked whether I wanted to resume playing or start from the beginning).

On the Apple iTunes Store side of things, further testing included a rental episode of Glee and a full-length HD movie rental with the new release of Get Him to the Greek (testing technology can be a hard job, but someone has to do it). With both choices, streaming was nearly instantaneous. Glee played perfectly, though I noticed one or two very brief instances of onscreen blockiness due to some buffering issues while watching the latter stages of Greek.

Based on just a few days of use, can I recommend the new Apple TV? Well, it depends on several factors. If you're focused on watching movies either rented through the Apple TV, bought from iTunes and stored from a home computer, or streamed from Netflix (for subscribers only), the ATV is priced right and works as advertised--with nearly instantaneous streams from both Apple's iTunes Store and Netflix and quickly responsive streaming from networked computers.

However, if you want to watch TV shows on it, it's a bit swings and roundabouts. Due to reticence/nervousness from certain media quarters over Apple's business model for offering cheap TV rental content, you can only directly rent shows using the Apple TV from ABC, Fox, and BBC America--NBC, CBS, and other cable channels are taking a wait and see approach. Thusly, if you're a fan of 30 Rock or How I Met Your Mother, you're out of luck... sort of. You can still purchase these shows from Apple's iTunes Store (starting at $2 for standard definition versions), download them to a home computer, and then stream them to your Apple TV. But currently there's not a direct way to get them by browsing through the rental storefront on the Apple TV (where rentals are just $1).

For now, I can't wholly recommend the Apple TV to those who mainly want quick, affordable access to TV shows--at least until content providers start to get on the new Apple paradigm. Another factor in the equation is how the AirPlay feature--which enables you to stream music and video wirelessly from an iOS device--will play out when it gets implemented in the iOS 4.2 update slated for November. Will it mean that you'll be able to stream video from apps on your iPad or iPhone--such as the TV.com or Hulu Plus apps--to the Apple TV? That would be pretty sweet, but it's still a couple steps removed from just clicking a button on your remote and getting instant video stream satisfaction for just a buck.

For my uses, though, I'll be keeping and using the new Apple TV... as well as the old-school Apple TV, which I've hacked using the aTV Flash package of software add-ons that allow me to play a variety of video file formats not supported by Apple. Also on the credit side for the new Apple TV--I like that it's pretty much completely noiseless, actually goes to sleep when not in use, and doesn't produce the surface-of-the-sun-like heat that the original ATV does.

The big question is whether I'll keep my Roku XR, which duplicates the new ATV's Netflix streaming capabilities but also provides access to Amazon's Video On Demand as well as other channel options. But that's a question to be answered a bit down the road once I and my wife completely sort through our video access needs.

For other views on the new Apple TV, check out reviews at iLounge, Engadget, Fox News, and CNet.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Get Connected: Roku Debuts New Streaming Boxes

If you hadn't noticed already, the video rental store is slowly fading into the sunset, and today's news that Blockbuster officially declared bankruptcy (after a month of prepping the world for just such a move) put another nail in the coffin of the old paradigm of driving to a store to find yourself limited largely to a giant wall of new releases. The new way of video movie and TV show rental is downloaded or streaming over the Web through your cable DVR or a box like the Apple TV or Roku.

Apple's new incarnation of its Apple TV (which we'll just call ATV) was announced earlier this month and there are indications that pre-orders (such as mine) are about to ship. And with its imminent release, Roku--one of its main competitors--this week announced refreshed models of its own.

For those unfamilar, Roku's little black boxes provide a hub that connects your HDTV to your network and provides access to streaming video services like Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix, as well as a plethora of channels ranging from MLB TV to Vimeo and even audio streaming sources like Pandora.

In addition to getting a more svelte, modern look (seen at the left, sitting atop the old XR model, via Hacking Netflix), the lineup gets two new models that provide 1080p Full HD playback in the Roku XD and Roku XDS. Additionally, both these models provide Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking for faster speeds and broader range, plus a new Instant Replay feature found on the new remote control--which enables you to skip backwards in 10-second increments.

The top-of-the-line XDS also adds dual-band Wireless-N capabilities, component video in addition to HDMI, an optical audio output, and a USB port for playing digital media stored on an external hard drive or thumbdrive. What media formats will it play? It's limited to MPEG-4 video, MP3 audio, and JPG and PNG photos--so no AVI or DiVX files. Additionally, it won't become operable until a free software upgrade planned for this November.

Engadget was able to test out the Roku XDS, and found it to be quite capable with the 1080p resolution video playback. However, your options are currently limited as partner providers like Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix currently just offer up to 720p HD streaming video (though Vimeo offers 1080p capabilities). At the least, though, the XD and XDS models will be able to take advantage of this higher resolution as it becomes more available unlike the Apple TV--which is 720p only.

The older Roku HD remains in the lineup (but in the new squatter refreshed box), and it provides 54g Wi-Fi (802.11g) connectivity (as well as Ethernet) and 720p maximum resolution.

Here's a handy lil' comparison chart of the three refreshed models:

Models	Roku HD	Roku XD	Roku XDS
720p HD
1080p Full HD	--
Instant Replay	--
Wi-Fi	802.11b/g	Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)	Dual-band Wireless-N (802.11b/g/n)
Ethernet (Fast)
HDMI output
Component video output	--	--
Composite A/V output
USB port	--	--
Audio output	HDMI, analog (L/R)	HDMI, analog (L/R)	HDMI, digital optical, analog (L/R)

It boils down to this: you'll be happy with the HD if you've got just a 720p-compatible HDTV or haven't upgraded to a Wireless-N router. And you'll probably be satisfied with the XD over the XDS if you don't need the USB media capability or don't need to fuss with a dual-band Wireless-N router.

And if you have an older Roku HD-XR player (like myself), there's some good news from Dave Zatz:

(Y)ou existing Roku owners are in luck… as the upcoming 2.7 software update that brings 1080p to the HD-XR will enable instant replay on your unit as well. iPhone owners will be able to upgrade the fine virtual DVPRemote (.99c) in the very near future while others can order an actual physical remote (price unknown at this time).

All three models are available for pre-order now.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Wii Gets Netflix Streaming This Spring, iPhone on the Horizon

Seeing as there is a dry, sunny day unfurling right outside my window, Spring can't be far away, and with it the long rumored Netflix Instant Streaming functionality creeps ever closer to Wii owners, and yes, by owners I mean me.

Truth be told, this functionality is far more than a rumor. It was in fact confirmed on the Netflix Blog back in January. Also, of course Netflix streaming is nothing new, having been available for a good long while via computer and a pretty wide array of devices, including Wii competitors Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The question has got to be though, why did this take so long? After all, with literally millions of Wiis having been sold across a very mainstream demographic in less than four years, Nintendo's device would seem the perfect hardware target. It might be that Netflix was bound by exclusivity agreements in these earlier deals, or perhaps it is that Nintendo didn't see video functionality as worth its time, considering the Wii's modest processing power, the overall limited number of titles available via the service and/or that they would not have total control. Along with possibly a little arrogance on Nintendo's part, all of these are fairly valid possibilities. What is certain though is that a large number of Netflix subscribers use the streaming service, not to replace the mail-based primary Netflix service, but as a supplement to it. Myself, I have an Xbox 360 in one room and a PS3 in another, both set up for streaming. Like the PS3, Wii owners will need a free Netflix-supplied disc that must be inserted into the drive in order to stream content. (A Netflix unlimited account of any level and a broadband connection are also required) The disc-in method is much more clumsy than those utilized by the other devices, which either were manufactured with Netflix streaming in mind or were patched with a software updates. Using the PS3 as an example, it is doubtless true that the disc method both adds a little noise to the viewing experience and uses more energy. The Wii is very energy efficient and pretty quiet though, so there should be few issues. In addition, perhaps Nintendo will get a clue and add a Netflix channel to its Wii functionality, which could eliminate the need for a disc down the road. Until then a disc will do fine.

On a side note, and perhaps something of an indicator as to why Nintendo adopted a "better late than never" attitude towards Netflix functionality, Netflix continues to forge ahead in the realm of streaming content. They recently further consolidated their relationship with Internet video content delivery specialist Akamai. Reportedly Netflix will receive a substantial per/gigabyte streamed discount in the deal, which underlines the assumption that Netflix will continue to extend its reach in the realm of content streaming. This is further seen in rumors that a deal with Apple for content deliver via the iPhone (Wi-Fi) may be in the making. If Netflix is not already at the top of the streaming heap, this would certainly get them there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few episodes of Spartacus: Blood and Sand to catch up on via my Instant queue.

--Tom Milnes 

Amazon.com's High-Def Heaven Sweepstakes: Win a 55" LG HDTV, Blu-ray Movies, and More

Amazon is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary of Wish Lists with ten amazing sweepstakes.  

This week (from November 23-29, 2009) is the High-Def Heaven Wish List Sweepstakes with a chance to win an LG 55-inch LCD HDTV and an LG 1000-Watt Blu-ray Disc Home Theater in a Box, plus tons of great Blu-ray DVDs from Warner Brothers. 

Customers can enter weekly at www.amazon.com/wishlist10th by creating, adding an item to, or sharing an Amazon.com Wish List. As the holidays get closer, Amazon Wish Lists are a great way for customers to let friends and family know what they are wishing for this season.   See official rules.

--Aric A.

When You Wish Upon a List: Epson Ultimate Backyard Theater Sweepstakes

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Amazon Wish Lists (frankly, I can't remember a world without my wish lists), the Wish Lists team is in the midst of running 10 weeks of sweepstakes with this week's prize the ultimate backyard home theater supplied by Epson.

In addition to the high-definition Epson MovieMate projector (seen at right) and 80-inch projection screen, the package also includes a professional popcorn maker, books on entertaining outdoors and the 1001 movies you need to see before expiring, and a set of candle-like LED lights. Epson also includes its Artisan 810 all-in-one printer and Perfection V500 scanner for creating invitations to send around the neighborhood, because the kicker of this sweepstakes package is the $15,000 portion of the prize--which you can spend on refinishing/refurbishing your backyard patio or using it to host one heckuva blowout movie night.

Entering the sweepstakes is easy peasy: just create a new Wish List or add something to an existing Wish List. After adding an item, be sure to click the Enter Sweepstakes button that appears, looking a bit like this:

To be entered into the drawing for the Epson Ultimate Backyard Theater sweepstakes, you need to do your Wish Listing by 11:59:59 pm Pacific Time on November 8 (you can read up on all the rules here). And if you miss out on this week's sweepstakes, there are still five more weeks of prizes coming up, including a Yellow Stone photo trip with Canon (complete with Canon EOS 7D) and a heavenly high-def package that includes a 55-inch LG HDTV.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Wireless USB Solution of Atlona's AT-HDAIR Misses the Mark

Although HDMI is more common than ever on laptops, if you are working on a base model more than a year or so old you may very likely be SOL when it comes to options for exporting video content to your HDTV (DVI excluded). Sure, there is almost always the VGA port option, if you can rig an audio workaround, but as anyone who has tried to stream video to their TV in this way, say through Hulu or Netflix knows, VGA cables also have resolution limitations that will keep you from getting wide-screen image quality. With this in mind things seemed to be looking up with the announcement a while a go of Atlona's AT-ADAIR.

A wireless USB device that hooks into your laptop via USB and transmits a signal to a base that then can input into your TV via HDMI (or VGA), for $200 it sounds like a fair solution, but then came the Engadget hands-on review. Sad to say, it looks like there are some deal-breaking flaws here. According to the review, which is borne out in the video below, the wireless video transmitted is pretty choppy and much more importantly, the connection does NOT support audio. (this last point is called out of the Atlona site) That's right, no audio. Apparently Atlona is working on a solution to this, but you would think with the world crazy for streaming video that they would have made this a priority in this product. Unfortunately that was not the case, and so unless you were looking to use the AT-HDAIR for something like PowerPoint displaying or silent movies, you might want to hold off on laying down any cash.

For more details, click on the image below and scroll to the bottom of the page. There you can see the Engadget video review.

--Tom Milnes

Mitsubishi HDTVs to Come With Free Vudu Boxes This Summer

Not that too many of us necessarily need another pay-per-view movie option, but if you are in the market, especially for Hi-Def content, and you happen to also need a new HDTV, you might want to take a look at what Mitsubishi has on offer since you could end up getting a free Vudu box and a bunch of free movies bundled with it.

The promotion has yet to be noted on either the Mitsubishi, or Vudu sites, but according to Twice.com, and picked up by Engadget and Gizmodo, the promo is available beginning today, July 16 through August 10th, on any Mitsubishi HDTV sold through an authorized retailer. Let the buyer beware on this last point. As for the details of the offer though, it is pretty straight forward. It looks to include a standard Vudu box and a $50 service credit good for content on the system. More or less $200 worth of free stuff. Again, if you are in the market for a HDTV and are happy with what you see in the Mitsubishi line, you had best check out an authorized dealer on this.

--Tom Milnes

Hulu Desktop Makes a Play for Your Home Theater PC

If you have a home theater PC, you've probably been wondering what it would take to get and use Hulu.com content on it easily.  Media Centers like Boxee and Plex offer a hacky kind of integration with Hulu through plugins, and some work better than others, but up to now it always seemed like you could either get the full Hulu experience with guides and playlists, or you could use your remote control with it, but not both.

It's worth noting that one of the problems has been with the content providers, who don't want their content served through other applications, and have blocked access by media center applications more than once.  But now there's a solution that might make everyone happy.

Hulu Labs' Hulu Desktop application is a sort of hybrid between a media center app and a website.  It's functionally the same as Hulu.com, but since it's a resident app on your hard drive, you can use your Apple or Windows Media Center remote to control it.  Like the website, you can't download videos and you still have to watch commercials, and unlike a traditional media center app, only Hulu content is served--you'll still need a separate program to watch videos on your hard drive.  But still, you just found one more potential reason to chuck your cable bill.

Hulu Desktop is available for Windows and Mac (no Linux support for now).  Learn more and download here.

--Aric A.