Tag Archives: multiroom

Intel demos ‘headless’ 6-tuner cable gateway for Comcast

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Intel demos 'headless' 6tuner cable gateway for Comcast

Pre-CES rumors suggested Intel would announce a "virtual cable" service (before being stamped out) but the partnership with Comcast it actually revealed turned out to be far more conventional. Very similar to the tru2way multiroom box Intel demonstrated back at IDF in 2009, the Multi-Screen Video Gateway by Arris capitalizes on DLNA standards -- touted by the alliance earlier today -- to bring video to virtually any device in your home. It's "headless", because it's not built to connect directly to any TV, just shoved somewhere out of sight while you tune in on your various screens. Of course, these demos have been here before and the DTCP-IP technology behind it isn't particularly new either, so why could 2013 finally be the year we see these features roll out from major providers?

Intel demos 'headless' 6tuner cable gateway for Comcast

As cited in the earlier press release, DirecTV has released Genie DVRs loaded with RVU that pushes video directly to TVs and even the PS3 in the past year, providing one example of the tech in action. The updated FCC IP interface requirements and continued work on the DLNA Premium Content guidelines are also forcing progress forward, albeit slowly. Finally, there's some hope that the CE and cable industry can actually work together, as seen in Comcast's RDK program that's pushing the development of this box and others (like that Humax box we spotted floating through the FCC) with similar capabilities. The box was running Comcast's new X1 cloud-based guide which has seen a limited rollout so far, but because of how it works is more easily accessed and updated on connected devices. Of course even with all that, we've been down this road before (again and again and again and again) so despite a slick demo we'll withhold excitement until hardware is actually released.

Gallery: Intel DLNA cable box demo

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Pure unveils Jongo for low-cost multi-room audio, revamped Pure Connect app

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Pure unveils Jongo for lowcost multiroom audio, revamped Pure Connect app

Many consider Sonos the main game in town for mobile-friendly, multi-room audio. Pure wants to give us at least one major alternative. Its new Jongo speaker line delivers multi-speaker streaming for radio, podcasts and Pure Music subscriptions across the home through WiFi, rather than a proprietary network, and includes Bluetooth for those who want to skip the network altogether. The system promises to cut the traditionally high costs of spreading sound throughout the home, as well: the inaugural Jongo S340B portable speaker (at left) coming in the first quarter of the year should cost $229, or about $70 less than its stationary Play:3 rival. An A140B audio-to-WiFi bridge (bottom) and a 100W S640B flagship speaker (top) should fill out Pure's plans when they ship later in the first half of the year, although there's no immediate pricing for a point of reference.

In tandem with the hardware, there's a matching refresh of the Pure Connect app. The software update brings in the control of Jongo speakers that you'd expect, but it also promises simpler navigation, tie-ins with Audioboo's user-recorded spoken word content and a dedicated discovery area to find music beyond the beaten path. Android and iOS users should have access to the app during the first quarter. Pure Music, a music store and a social listening component should reach the app in the near future, although Americans will have to wait until sometime in 2013 to use the service that their British and German friends have today.

Gallery: Pure Jongo @ CES 2013

Ben Gilbert contributed to this report.

Continue reading Pure unveils Jongo for low-cost multi-room audio, revamped Pure Connect app

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Source: Pure

Sonos Playbar appears at the FCC (update: WiFi explained)

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Sonos Playbar appears at the FCC with WiFi, finally

Sonos is the de facto choice for multi-room audio, but even some of its biggest proponents will grumble about the lack of built-in WiFi -- going wireless in any way has meant tacking a Bridge on to the cost of an already expensive system. An FCC filing for an upcoming device, the Playbar, hints that common sense might have the upper hand. While there's few details of the audio system itself, there's explicit mentions of dual-band 802.11n WiFi inside. Just what that WiFi does is another matter. Sonos prefers using its proprietary network to cut back on lag and interference, so the Playbar's additional wireless may extend functionality rather than simplify our lives. With approval out of the way, there's a better chance we'll know the full story in the near future.

Update: We've done some digging, and the WiFi may be more innocuous: Sonos' proprietary network is actually WiFi that's just invisible most of the time. Android users have access to settings that expose Sonos' WiFi network and make it usable. As such, the Playbar may be more conventional than first thought, although its exact role in the home is still a mystery.

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Source: FCC

Sonos for iOS adds direct device streaming, takes PCs out of the equation (hands-on)

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Sonos for iOS adds direct device streaming, we go handson

Sonos has been steadily reducing our dependency on the computer as the cornerstone of its multi-room audio system, but there's been one link left to cut: local music. Outside of an AirPlay workaround, a PC of some sort has always had to stay awake to stream a personal collection. If you're an iOS user, it's now possible to go truly PC-free. A 3.8.3 update for Sonos' apps plays music stored on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch directly through the system, with no hoop-jumping required. Local content is put on equal footing with pure internet sources, too -- the software can mix local tracks with those from Amazon Cloud Player, Spotify and other internet services as part of the same playlist. There's no official word of direct device streaming for Android, although we wouldn't be surprised to see it follow before too long.

We gave the update a quick spin of our own, and it works largely as you'd hope. There's a logical hierarchy for browsing music by categories; songs, albums and podcasts play almost as soon as you've added them to the queue, even if the Sonos app is in the background. We heard slight hitches when playing tracks meant to play seamlessly -- this may not be a dream Dark Side of the Moon setup -- but grouped speakers stay just as nicely in sync as they have in the past. The Sonos upgrade is more than good enough to save a walk across the house for a favorite tune, and that's really all we need.

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Source: App Store (iPad), (iPhone)

Humax’s take on an IP-connected TV box for Comcast passes through the FCC

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Humax's take on an IPconnected TV box for Comcast passes through the FCC

Comcast isn't opening up its set-top boxes (UI and all) in the way we'd like, but it has established a reference spec (RDK) for potential hardware partners to build their own versions of its next generation setup. As reported by Light Reading, Cisco, Humax, Pace, Technicolor and others are working on hardware for a new multiroom setup based on a central gateway (or maybe a Cablevision-style network DVR) that streams video to IP-connected extenders called the XI3. Now Humax's Xfinity-branded XI3-H has been revealed in an FCC filing spotted by Wireless Goodness. It sports a coax in/out connection for MoCA and TV, HDMI in and out, Ethernet and a USB port for a WiFi adapter. There's also an SD card slot interestingly, which could potentially be used as local DVR storage for quick pause and rewind without pulling from the main server.

Continue reading Humax's take on an IP-connected TV box for Comcast passes through the FCC

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Source: Wireless Goodness, FCC

Ceton’s $179 Echo Windows Media Center Extender is ready to go on sale ‘around Thanksgiving’

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Ceton's $179 Echo Windows Media Center is ready to launch, will go on sale 'around Thanksgiving'

Windows Media Center users still in shock over the indefinite hold placed on Ceton's Q DVR / Blu-ray player finally have some good news, as the company has officially revealed the details of the Echo extender. Now ready to go on sale around Thanksgiving, the Echo Windows Media Center Extender is looking much more polished than the demo unit we saw at CES, and Ceton says the final unit is actually 72 percent smaller, or 1/4 the size of the Xbox 360's power brick. The smaller size is not the only benefit to those looking for an alternative to the gaming console as an extender, as it claims to be 90 percent more power efficient, rated at less than 5 watts and should be much quieter to boot. In the beta period it's lacking some features that should be ready upon release like 1080p video, web browsing, and support for MPEG-1 / WMV9 codes, with more features promised in future updates.

Like any Media Center Extender, you'll need a properly equipped Windows 7 (or 8, once it's released officially with the Pro Upgrade) PC to run the show and an Ethernet cable drop since there's no WiFi, but this tiny box promises multiroom access to live and recorded TV, plus your personal media library. We'll have to wait for some hands-on time with a beta unit to find out if it lives up to the hype, but if you're looking to squeeze some more life out of the WMC platform this may be just the boost you're looking for. Check out the gallery for more pics or the source links for detailed specs, while confirmed beta testers should select the third link for relevant information like a $20 price drop.

Gallery: Ceton Echo Windows Media Center Extender

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Ceton's $179 Echo Windows Media Center Extender is ready to go on sale 'around Thanksgiving' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiVo Premiere 4 is official, brings four tuners and 500GB of storage for $250

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TiVo Premiere 4 is official, brings four tuners and 500GB of storage for $250

The TiVo Premiere 4 DVR that broke cover a few days ago has been officially confirmed by the company, with exactly the specs indicated. In case you're not familiar, it's a quad tuner DVR that ships with a 500GB hard drive and standard TiVo remote, slotting in below its big brother at retail -- the 2TB and THX-endowed Premiere XL4. The smaller hard drive is something that Doug Bieter, director of retail sales, says solves the Sunday night log jam of shows, even if its less of a multi-season archive, and with MoCA and Ethernet still coming along for the ride makes it particularly ideal for multiroom setups with that extender that's still due to arrive soon. The Premiere 4 will start shipping right away and will cost owners $249 along with a one year commitment to service at $14.99 or lifetime service for $499, check TiVo.com, custom installers and Best Buy Magnolia stores near you to snag one.

Continue reading TiVo Premiere 4 is official, brings four tuners and 500GB of storage for $250

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TiVo Premiere 4 is official, brings four tuners and 500GB of storage for $250 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dish Network adds ‘Auto Hop’ commercial skipping feature to its Hopper DVRs

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Dish Network adds 'Auto Hop' commercial skipping feature to its Hopper DVRs

One of the main features when Dish Network unveiled its Hopper and Joey multiroom DVRs at CES was PrimeTime Anytime, a setting that archives three hours of network programming, every night on the four main stations for a week and now it's upping the ante by adding commercial skipping to the mix. While automated commercial skipping as an out of the box feature went out from most DVRs with ReplayTV, the new Auto Hop feature edits out the breaks from those PrimeTime AnyTime recordings starting at 1 AM that night. While it's still been possible on other platforms like Windows Media Center, Sage TV and MythTV with third-party add-ons (we can show you how on Media Center) this requires pushing just one button. So, assuming our glowing review and the knowledge that you'd never miss another primetime show wasn't enough to make the switch, is saving a few minutes watching those shows on DVR later pushing you towards the (potentially Mad Men-less) edge?

Continue reading Dish Network adds 'Auto Hop' commercial skipping feature to its Hopper DVRs

Dish Network adds 'Auto Hop' commercial skipping feature to its Hopper DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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