If you like your data local, but crave remote access, you've now got options like Synology's new DiskStation DS413j -- a network-attached storage (NAS) server for your own private cloud. The feature-packed box has four drive bays for a total of 16TB storage, and you can mix and match HDDs of different sizes without losing the comfort of RAID. Along with what you'd expect from NAS, its media server will stream content to your console or TV via DLNA or UPnP and push tunes to your stereo, with iOS and Android apps for couch DJing. The server will sync your files across computers if you wish, and give you access to all that data on the move via the internet or mobile apps. And, if you need more files, you can download directly using your favorite protocols -- it'll even automate them if you trust RSS feeds to make recommendations. All this can be yours for around $380, depending on the retailer, but don't forget to budget for drives to fill those empty bays.
Continue reading Synology launches DiskStation DS413j NAS server for your own private cloud
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Synology launches DiskStation DS413j NAS server for your own private cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 04:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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You can thank the WiFi alliance for a number of things, and soon you can add TDLS to that list. That's Tunneled Direct Link Setup, if you were wondering, and it's a standard for creating direct links between devices. If this sounds familiar, that's understandable, but TDLS has its own tricks, like working in the background of a network to optimize performance, and it can even work over a WiFi Direct connection. For example two compliant devices can measure the signal strength on the network, and determine if a direct link would be better or not. TDLS also allows devices to communicate at the fastest standard available (802.11b / g / n etc.) even if this is superior to that available on the rest of your hardware. As this is a client-based protocol, you won't need to upgrade your access point either. If this hasn't got implications for better media streaming written all over it, we don't know what has. Especially as the certification is available to TVs, tablets, phones, cameras and gaming devices. There's only a handful of test products sporting the official approval at this time, but with names such as Broadcom, Marvell and Realtek in the mix, it shouldn't be long before it starts finding its way into front rooms and pockets proper.
Filed under: Wireless, Internet
WiFi alliance begins Tunneled Direct Link Setup certification, hopes to improve media streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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...And the Nexus Q is official. Google's first consumer electronics product is a small, sphere-shaped device that will work with the Nexus 7 tablet and other Android devices to stream media from the cloud. It's designed to hold court in your living room, pulling content from YouTube and the Google Play music app, among other services, to let you stream music and video. Anyone with an Android device will be able to take control of the Q to play content from their library; basically, everyone can be the DJ. What's more, the device can double as an amplifier, letting users plug in external speakers to receiver power from the Q's 25-watt amp.
Under the hood, there's an OMAP 4460 processor -- the same as in the Galaxy Nexus -- along with 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. There's also dual-band WiFi and Ethernet, along with Bluetooth and NFC for tapping a device to the Q to exchange software and media. The media streamer will go on sale for $299 in mid-July. As we mentioned before, Google will also sell a set of $399 Triad bookshelf speakers to go with the Q. More coverage to follow -- in the meantime, check out Google's videos about the new product.
Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012's opening keynote at our event hub!
Update: Excuse the dyslexic typo. The Nexus Q is powered by an OMAP 4460 CPU.
Google Nexus Q lets Android owners stream media from the cloud, shipping for $299 in mid-July originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Pumped to use Microsoft's upcoming Surface and Windows Phone 8 devices to help you bolster your gamerscore? Sit tight -- SmartGlass development starts now. Microsoft is now making the Xbox SmartGlass Software Development Kit available to partners with agreements to develop content for the Xbox 360. Approved developers can download the SDK from the Microsoft Game Developer Network, replete with a SmartGlass JavaScript library, the Xbox SmartGlass Studio and a sample application. Redmond hopes the SDK will give developers a head start on building applications for the technology before it launches later this year. Of course, if you can't wait to see what developers are cooking up, you can always just check out our hands-on again.
Microsoft releases SmartGlass SDK to developers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft may not be introducing a next-gen console at E3 this year, but it is teaching its venerable Xbox 360 some new tricks. SmartGlass brings AirPlay-style wireless technology to Xbox and Windows 8 by letting you send video from your tablet or phone to your TV. It then turns that second screen into an information window giving you data of the content you're watching. Plus, it updates the info on your mobile device as the content on the TV changes. The app also enables peripheral controls for games you're playing -- so you can scroll through different plays on your tablet while playing Madden on your big screen, for example.
In addition to providing your peripherals with contextual awareness, the SmartGlass app turns your phone into a remote and trackpad for your Xbox, in case using Kinect and regular controllers aren't something you're into. So, you can pinch to zoom, move the onscreen cursor and scroll to your heart's content in Xbox's new web browser using your tablet or phone. When will we be seeing SmartGlass in living rooms? Unfortunately, not until this fall, so our liveblog photos of the app in action will have to suffice until then.
Follow our liveblog of Microsoft's E3 keynote right here!
Microsoft's SmartGlass gets official: app brings AirPlay-esque streams to Android, iOS and Windows Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Windows 8 is coming and it features more and better Xbox integration than we've yet seen in an operating system from the company -- but it looks like Microsoft has something even bigger up its sleeve. We've just seen a presentation indicating the company will launch something called Smart Glass next week, a so-called "companion application" that will act much like AirPlay for the Xbox 360. Using the app, users will be able to play video and other media on tablets and phones and, more interestingly, push that content right to their consoles for playback on the big(ger) screen. But, it gets better: this app is said to be available for tablets and phones running Windows, Windows Phone, Android and iOS. Yes, it'll be about as multiplatform as it gets, and if this presentation proves to be legitimate, we'll be learning a lot more next week when E3 gets underway.
Microsoft Smart Glass coming at E3, AirPlay-style streaming from iOS, Android and Windows Phone? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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For all intents and purposes, the original Xbox, with its NVIDIA GPU, 8-10GB hard disk and custom Pentium III processor was a high-end PC for its time -- albeit, one that connected to a television. What Microsoft didn't realize back then, though, was that when you put that kind of hardware in the hands of hackers and enthusiasts, it's only a matter of time before people start doing more than just playing Halo. Fast forward to 2003, the year the Xbox Media Center was born. Nowadays, it's simply referred to as XBMC, since it runs on more than just your Xbox. In brief, XBMC is an open-source software solution that enables a plethora of media streaming capabilities on all sorts of devices. What once was limited to the original Xbox, can now be put to use on everything from a bare-bones Linux desktop to an Apple TV. In this how-to, we'll show you how to build a simple XBMC setup using XBMCbuntu. Catch us after the break for the full step-by-step.
Continue reading How-To: XBMC 11 the XBMCbuntu way
How-To: XBMC 11 the XBMCbuntu way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Details remain decidedly light on this one, but it looks like Samsung could be about to expand its AllShare media streaming / sharing service with a new piece of hardware. A device dubbed the AllShare Cast Hub has now turned up in some FCC filings, apparently packing some HDMI connectivity and dual-band WiFi capabilities. Unfortunately, that's about all that the filings reveal, but it's not too much of a stretch to infer that the device is a media hub of some sort, presumably with the ability to stream media from your computer or smartphone to TVs that don't already support AllShare out of the box. We're guessing Samsung will fill in the rest of the details sooner or later, but those into test reports can dive into the links below right now.
Continue reading Samsung AllShare Cast Hub hits the FCC, maintains an air of mystery
Samsung AllShare Cast Hub hits the FCC, maintains an air of mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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