Matchstick delays its Firefox OS media stick to include Netflix streaming
I hope you weren’t in too much of a hurry to snag Matchstick’s Firefox OS-based streaming media dongle. The fledgling company has delayed its namesake device to August in order to not only upgrade the hardware (to a quad-core processor and better WiFi), but to add support for anti-piracy protection. As the team explains, Netflix and other “premium” services won’t work unless you have some kind of digital rights management (DRM) — it’s hard to sell a media stick that can’t deliver the most popular content. The setback won’t please you if you’re an early backer (or see DRM as a blight on open standards), but it will make Matchstick’s $25 device more useful to viewers who’d otherwise pick up a Chromecast to get their online video fix.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD
Via: GigaOM
Source: Kickstarter
Disney CEO: ESPN’s standalone service won’t arrive anytime soon
If the rumblings of ESPN’s standalone streaming service back in the fall got you all spun up, you may want to take a seat. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger tempered the excitement this week with statements that indicate a cable-free option for the sports network isn’t part of any immediate plans. “We also are mindful of the value of the expanded basic bundle to this company, and we do not believe that there is any reason for us to attempt to take out some of this product, particularly ESPN, quickly or right now,” Iger explained. “In other words, there’s time.”
He went on to say that Disney’s other properties, like Marvel and Star Wars, are capable of powering standalone projects on their own, which is certainly interesting to think about. For now, the plan is to keep an eye on the streaming space to see when, or if, it’d be beneficial to cut out the cable companies — or “middle man,” as Iger puts it. ESPN is at least dipping its toe in the water, though, as the sports giant’s content is available via the new Sling TV service, and it’s offering subscriptions for individual sporting events like the Cricket World Cup. For the time being, it seems the folks at Disney aren’t quite ready to follow HBO’s lead and cater to the cord cutters… yet.
[Photo credit: Grant Halverson/Getty Images]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Mobile
Source: Multichannel News
Netflix’s ‘A.K.A. Jessica Jones’ gets David Tennant for a villain
Once you’ve won the hearts of a planet as the dashing lead in a science fantasy show, you’re faced with the lingering specter of typecasting. One actor who has managed to avoid such perils is David Tennant, who has thrown himself into any – and every – role imaginable to avoid being known as just The 10th Doctor. Now, however, the Scotsman is returning to the genre that made his name, after taking a role as the villain in Marvel and Netflix’s forthcoming A.K.A. Jessica Jones. There’s some more detail after the break, but be warned: there might be some spoilers.
Tennant has taken on the role of Kilgrave, the TV version of notorious bad guy The Purple Man. In the source material, Dr. Killgrave (two l’s) kidnaps and tortures the superhero Jewel for several months. Only after a bungled assassination attempt on Daredevil do The Avengers and X-Men rescue her. Unfortunately, Jewel is so traumatized by the event that she renounces the superhero life and goes back to being Jessica Jones. Given Marvel’s penchant for cross-overs and cameos – we’ve already seen Samuel L. Jackson pop up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, for instance – it’s probably worth keeping your eyes peeled to the background scenes in Netflix’s Daredevil.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Source: Marvel
Google will sell the Nexus Player at a store near you
Google is rolling out their Android TV powered Nexus Player in a big way. Starting this Sunday, January 25th, you can expect to see the hockey puck of a device on sale at a large selection or retail and online stores.
Nexus Player was brought to life shortly after Android TV was announced at Google I/O last June. At the show, developers got their hands on the ADT-1, a device that can best be described as the developer focused predecessor to the Nexus Player.
The media streaming Nexus Player began selling in the Google Play Store last year for $99. That price will remain through retailers moving forward. Although, much like the frequent sales that can be found for the Chromecast, we expect to see some deals come through for the Nexus Player as well.
One of the Nexus Player’s biggest tricks is the ability to connect its companion wireless gamepad, allowing you to bring your favorite Android games to the big screen. We’ve had the chance to try this out, and while we think the Nexus Player is a great unit, you likely will not be selling your PS4 or Xbox in favor of the Android TV powered unit. The gamepad will also sell through retailers for about $50.
Google is destined to make this a big year for Android TV, and the increased functionality of the device and connectivity with Android 5 Lollipop phones and tablets should continue to add value to the unit.
So, if you are in the market for an Android TV device, but are not a fan of purchasing through the Google Play Store, get ready to head on over to your local Walmart or log into your Newegg account to pre-order your Nexus Player today.
Is increased availability a selling point for you, or is the Nexus Player still not the device you are looking for?
Sony mulls selling mobile business as losses continue
Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony, and other leaders of the Japanese company are planning to either sell or prepare joint ventures for its TV and mobile phone divisions, which are not producing profit.
Sony expects to lose 230 billion yen ($1.9 billion) for the current business year to March. Additionally, it plans to halt dividend payments for the first time due to mediocre smartphone sales.
This process is not foreign to the company. Last year, it sold its Vaio PC line and downsized its TV division, leading to a loss of 5,000 jobs. Since Hirai became CEO, Sony has lost 15,000 employees.
The CEO added that Sony’s image sensors for cameras and PlayStation 4, which has sold 18.5 million units, are a success. However, it’s clearly not enough as he prepares to make tough decisions that may cost more workers their jobs.
Reuters quoted Hirai stating, “The mobile and TV businesses both require a drastic overhaul. Without drastic reforms such as join ventures or alliances, they will both be in the red three years from now.”
Sony is probably suffering financially because it has too many product categories. In a sense, it’s like a jack of all trades but a master of almost none.
Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga may have put it best after looking at the booths of his rivals at CES, “Anyone can make TVs these days. But you see this in smartphones too. not just TV.”
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Gas leak forces LG factory to halt OLED TV production
A tragic gas leak at one of LG’s domestic OLED TV panel plants this week might have some big ramifications for the TV market. South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor has ordered LG to shut down the factory while it investigates the accident, which killed two workers and injured four. A spokeswoman wasn’t willing to predict the closure’s effect on sales for Reuters, but it comes days after LG unveiled its Best of CES-winning Art Slim OLED sets and might affect a timely launch (at least for Koreans) if the investigation takes a while. The victims and the plant’s safety undoubtedly take higher priority — just don’t be surprised if there are ripple effects.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG
Source: Reuters
Fox reportedly orders a ‘Minority Report’ TV pilot
It looks like that fabled TV adaptation of Minority Report is poised to become a reality. According to Deadline, Fox has ordered a pilot episode for Steven Spielberg’s attempt to continue the storyline of his ambitious and occasionally prophetic sci-fi movie. Not that you’ll likely see Tom Cruise or other familiar figures, mind you. The hoped-for series reportedly takes place 10 years after the film and focuses on one of the Precogs’ (crime predictors’) attempts to adjust to normal life with the help of a detective who finds ways to use those mental talents. There’s no word on when the pilot could be ready, but the show at least appears to be more than just a twinkle in Amblin Television’s eye.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Deadline
4K, quantum dots and more: see the TV technology of CES 2015
Every year at CES, some of the most stunning visuals to be seen come from the TV manufacturers, and 2015 is no exception. 4K was the name of the game at this year’s show, but there were also displays with twice that resolution on offer, too. And while most of the TVs were of the LCD variety, there were stunning sets using OLED and quantum dot tech to deliver better, brighter pictures, too.
If you want to see more than just the TVs of CES, check out our 2015 Field Guide.
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Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
MHL’s new adapter can handle 8K video and link your devices
If you thought MHL’s existing adapter spec could handle just about everything under the sun, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The MHL Consortium has taken the wraps off of SuperMHL, a new connector format that’s ready for hardware you can’t even buy yet. It can play gigantic 8K videos at 120 frames per second, and it’s also ready for wider color ranges (up to 48-bit) that present a more natural-looking picture. Also, you can link multiple SuperMHL devices — it’s possible to steer your TV, receiver and Blu-ray player using one remote. Think of it as a supercharged version of the years-old HDMI-CEC control standard.
Other perks? You can now charge devices that use up to 40W of power, so you won’t have problems juicing up a high-end tablet (or theoretically, a laptop) while it sends video to the TV. There’s also support for all-encompassing sound technologies like Dolby Atmos and DTS-UHD, and the connector is reversible much like USB Type-C. If there’s anything holding the technology back, it’s the wait. The spec will be available near the end of January, but it’s going to take much longer than that for device makers to build it into TVs and peripherals. It’ll be a long, long while before you’re watching 8K movies on a next-generation streaming media stick.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Tablets, HD, Mobile
Source: MHL Consortium
Razer introduces a slew of new products for the living room
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It appears that Razer, the company known for making high-end peripherals, has been very busy as of late with their recent announcements at CES 2015. Four new products were announced, all aimed at providing a new connected living room experience.
First off is the Razer Forge TV. This “micro-console” runs android TV to bring games and entertainment to the living room for an affordable $99. The powerful hardware included should be able to handle any games or apps you could throw at it, but the defining factor of the console is the ability to stream PC games at full HD over Wi-Fi or an ethernet connection. More details should be available soon, as the release date listed from Razer is Q1 2015.
Packed inside the plastic exterior are a Snapdragon 805 processor, paired with 2 GB of RAM, a 2.5 GHz quad core CPU and an Adreno GPU. The processor offered in the console was built for supporting 4K resolutions, but so far Razer has not commented on whether or not 4K will be possible on this device.
The second announcement was an update to the popular PC game launcher, the Razer Cortex. This new update takes care of the software side of streaming to the Forge TV. It should be an easy setup as Razer has described it as “one-click … PC game streaming.” Multiple PCs are supported and the software will identify whether each game has a traditional mouse and keyboard style, or if a gamepad is worthwhile. The software will retail for $39.99, unless you buy the Forge bundle, or one of the console’s accessories in which case the software will come bundled along for free. As important as Cortex is to the overall experience and individuality of the Forge TV, it is set for a Q2 2015 release, meaning that the console will ship without streaming capabilities at first.
The last two announcements were accessories for the console, the Razer Serval and the Razer Turret which are a gamepad and a lapboard (basically a keyboard with an edge for a mouse) respectively. The Serval has multiple modes to be used with the console, android phones and tablets or with a PC, though it is described as being an android gamepad so its uses on PC are not yet clear. The turret is to be used with the console to bring the accuracy and familiarity of the keyboard-mouse combo to the big screen.
With a $150 bundle including the Serval and the console, 1080p 60fps PC game streaming and all the features of android, the Razer Forge TV is looking like a great deal for an all-in-one home entertainment system. Do you think PC streaming is worth it? Or would you rather hook up your PC or use existing consoles for gaming? Let us know in the comments down below!
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