Tag Archives: Media Players

Gaems M155 15.5″ Monitor: Console Laptop Mod Noob Edition

Posted on by

Aside from its name’s distracting spelling, Gaems is known for its specialized suitcases for Xbox and PlayStation consoles. The suitcases come with a monitor, speakers and the requisite cables, so all you need is to strap in your console. The drawback is that they are bulky and expensive. That’s where the new M155 monitor comes in.

gaems-m155-15.5-inch-usb-monitorzoom in

The M155 is a 15.5″ LED-backlit 720p monitor. It’s extremely lightweight – 1lb., about as heavy as a tablet – and it can be powered via two USB ports using an included cable. It also comes with an adapter so you can plug it in to an outlet. However, its customer reviews on Amazon leave much to be desired. Some complain that the bundled USB and HDMI cables are too short; some lament its lack of built-in speakers. Others say that the 90º viewing angle is not good enough. One customer even complained that the video from it is “very hazy.”

gaems-m155-15.5-inch-usb-monitor-2zoom in

gaems-m155-15.5-inch-usb-monitor-3zoom in

gaems-m155-15.5-inch-usb-monitor-4zoom in

gaems-m155-15.5-inch-usb-monitor-5zoom in

gaems-m155-15.5-inch-usb-monitor-6zoom in

Here’s a quick look at the M155 courtesy of YouTuber probuiltsystems, who also disliked the bundled cables.

I know we’d all rather all-in-one setups like Ed Zarick’s console laptops, but that comes with a steep price tag. The M155 offers an affordable alternative, but I guess you get what you pay for. You can order the M155 from Amazon for $170 (USD) or with a console backpack for $230.

Vcemo Wants to Be the YouTube of 360º Videos

Posted on by

Virtual reality headsets are not just great for games. They’re also great for viewing 360º videos, which are the video equivalent of Google Street View. In fact, there’s already a 360º documentary about virtual reality. It remains to be seen whether the technology will be a hit with consumers, but vcemo is betting that it will. The company is setting up a streaming website dedicated to 360º videos.

vcemo-360-video-streaming-websitezoom in

There is already software for headsets like the Oculus Rift that allow for viewing Side-by-Side videos uploaded on 2D video sites like YouTube. But vcemo wants to make simple and standardized processes for both creators and viewers.

vcemo-360-video-streaming-website-3zoom in

The goal is for vcemo to support 360º video taken with a variety of hardware, whether a dedicated 360º camera or a custom made setup, in the same way that YouTube and other streaming sites accept videos taken with a variety of devices.

vcemo-360-video-streaming-website-2zoom in

Viewers can then watch 360º videos on vcemo via either virtual reailty headsets or through their mobile devices with the help of VR accessories like the Samsung Gear VR or Google’s Cardboard VR kit. As with 2D video streaming sites – it’s amazing that we have to make that distinction now – vcemo will host and stream 360º videos for free, but it will allow content creators to sell their videos on the site too.

Pledge at least $25 (USD) on Kickstarter to be a vcemo beta tester. I get what vcemo is trying to do, but if 360º videos do take off I don’t see why Google won’t support those on YouTube. Then again, Twitch beat Google to the livestreaming game, so who knows.

[via The Gadget Flow]

LEGO Record Player: Brickophone

Posted on by

We’ve featured a record player made out of LEGO before, but that one was barely functional and resulted in a warped sound. This one made by Brickinside member Hayarobi is much better, because it can play at 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm.

lego-record-player-by-hayarobizoom in

It’s made out of 2,405 LEGO pieces and uses the Power Functions 8878 battery and the Power Functions 8883 M-Motor. It does have at least one non-LEGO piece, an Audio-Technica 1Ea cartridge.

lego-record-player-by-hayarobi-2zoom in

Here’s it is playing in 33 1/3rpm mode:

And here is it’s 45rpm mode:

Not bad! Hayarobi also made a matching tube amplifier replica and vintage cases for his speakers. Here’s his retro sound system at the 2014 Brick Pop Art Exhibition in Seoul, as photographed by Flickr user LoctiteGirl:

Check out Hayarobi’s posts on Brickinside to see more of his creations.

[via The Brothers Brick]

PianoArc Round Keyboard: Music is a Flat Circle

Posted on by

Brockett Parsons plays keyboard for Lady Gaga, who is as famous for her outlandish outfits as for her songs. Brockett wanted to get in line with his star and be an eye-catching performer on his own. Brock’s guitarist friend suggested that he build a circular keyboard. The PianoArc is the result of that bizarre idea.

pianoarc circular keyboard 620x412magnify

The PianoArc consists of three 88-note USB MIDI keyboards, shaped in such a way that they form a 6ft. circle when put together. The stand’s height and tilt are adjustable to make it easier to get inside and have all the keys within the player’s reach. Here’s Keyboard Magazine’s interview with Brockett and the other minds behind PianoArc:

Yep, you can have two (or perhaps even three) people inside it at once:

Head to PianoArc’s website for more info and to request a quote.

[via Gadgetify]

Windows Hack Lets You Play Video and Audio in Microsoft Excel: Slacksheet

Posted on by

Many companies restrict access to certain apps and other software features to prevent people from goofing off. Redditor AyrA’s employer went further than that – his work computer has an application that monitors running processes. But smart slackers are tough to beat. AyrA made ExcelStuff, an Excel sheet that uses Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to access Windows Media Player. This way, his computer’s watchful eye only sees Excel running. What it doesn’t see is Excel playing Wall-E.

excelstuff microsoft excel windows media player API hack by AyrA 620x273magnify

You can get ExcelStuff on AyrA’s GitHub page.

[via Reddit via Hack A Day]

Cassette Player Turned Into Spotify Media Server with Raspberry Pi: SpotiPi

Posted on by

Earlier this year we saw a couple of vintage radios that were turned into an Internet radio player using Raspberry Pi. Matt Brailsford’s cassette player Raspberry Pi mod is “only” a Spotify media server, but he makes up for it with an intuitive user interface.

raspberry pi cassette player spotify media server by matt brailsford 620x348magnify

With the exception of the record button, which now acts as a power switch, the buttons and the knob on Matt’s player work as they did before, controlling playback and volume.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, Matt added an NFC reader then attached an NFC tag on each side of a few cassette tapes. Switching tapes or sides changes the playlist.

Find out more about Matt and his project on CNET.

[via Engadget]

Pro Bono 1 Speaker Replaces Your Music with U2 Songs: Songs of Annoyance

Posted on by

A couple of weeks ago, after it unveiled the new iPhones and its smartwatch, Apple’s “one more thing” was… spam. The company gave away U2’s latest album Songs of Innocence for free to all iTunes users, making iTunes download it without people’s consent. Omer Shapira and Surya Mattu of Unstable Technology poke fun at Apple’s dumb move by making one douchebag of a speaker.

pro bono 1 speaker by Omer Shapira and Surya Mattu 620x375magnify

The Pro Bono 1 – pro bono means “for the public good” in Latin – speaker also has a microcontroller and a computer, with U2’s new album pre-loaded inside. When you connect a device and play music through Pro Bono 1, after a few seconds the speaker will replace whatever you’re playing with one of the songs from Songs of Innocence. To pile on the sarcasm, Omer and Surya made this Kickstarter-style presentation:

Masochists should head to Omer’s eBay page, where you can buy the Pro Bono 1 for $1,500 (USD).

[via Unstable Technology via Daily of the Day]

TiVo Mega Has 24TB of Storage & 6 Tuners: Record All the Things!

Posted on by

TiVo’s upcoming DVR is the Iron Throne of couch potatoes. The TiVo Mega comes with a ridiculous 24TB of hot-swappable storage. That’s enough to store 26,000 hours – about 3 years! – of SD videos or about 4,000 hours of HD videos. It also has 6 tuners for recording several broadcasts at once and a universal search engine that simultaneously trawls cable, video-on-demand and web apps. The TiVo Mega can also stream live or recorded content to mobile devices even if they’re not in the same local network.

tivo mega 24TB DVR 620x375magnify

The TiVo Mega will be available during the first quarter of 2015 for $5,000 (USD) – hopefully in time for the The Wire in HD – and will come with a lifetime subscription to TiVo, which would otherwise cost $15 (USD) per month.

[via TiVo via USA Today]

Chrome Extension Lets You Watch Netflix in a Small Window: The Death of Productivity

Posted on by

Earlier this year we featured a project from Netflix’ Hack Day; it automatically paused the service’s video player if it detected that you fell asleep. The company recently held another Hack Day, and one of the experiments from the event could lead to humanity’s downfall. Its creators call it NetflixMini, a Chrome extension that lets you access the streaming service through a small window within the browser.

netflix mini chrome browser extension by Adam Butterworth Paul Anastasopoulos and Art Burov 620x348magnify

Made by Adam Butterworth, Paul Anastasopoulos and Art Burov, NetflixMini lets you resume the shows that you’ve started as well as play videos from the categories in the Netflix homepage. It doesn’t seem to have the search function built in, which is probably for the best.

I bet that document stays blank and untitled for years. Seriously though this is the least gimmicky project that I’ve seen out of Netflix’s Hack Day, and I’m sure that subscribers would love to have this feature.

[via Netflix via Gigaom]

TorrenTV Streams Video Torrents to Apple TV & Roku: Netfreex

Posted on by

If you’re an avid movie watcher, you might have heard of Popcorn Time. Released earlier this year, the infamous software allowed you to watch movie or TV shows on your computer via peer-to-peer technology. Aside from its user friendly interface, what makes Popcorn Time so great was that instead of waiting for the whole video to be downloaded as with most torrent clients, it let you stream the movie immediately. A new app called TorrenTV does just that, but through Apple TV and Roku devices.

torrentv apple tv roku video torrent stream 620x254magnify

TorrenTV is available for Mac, Linux and Windows computers. To use the program, install it on a computer that’s on the same network as your Apple TV and then drag a torrent or a magnet link to its window. Roku users on the other hand will need to add the TorrenTV channel before they can stream. The developer behind TorrenTV says he’s working on adding support for Chromecast soon. You can learn more about the app from the developer’s Medium post.

[via TorrentFreak]