Archives For Gaming

Is It Lights Out For Vizio?

Dave Zatz —  June 26, 2012 — 11 Comments

vizio-led

A year after announcing intentions to bring their high tech, low cost approach to home lighting, Vizio has yet to deliver on their LED promises:

The company’s eco-friendly line of High Efficiency LED bulbs are recyclable, do not contain mercury and boasts a glass-free design to prohibit shattering. With the longest lifespan of any source, including incandescent and CFL, VIZIO’s LED light bulbs last up to twenty-five times longer than incandescent bulbs. While LED light bulbs are known to be efficient, long lasting, cooler running, silent and do not emit UV rays, VIZIO’s new High Efficiency LED lighting line will boast additional benefits. The High Efficiency LED give off a warmer hue of light, reminiscent of a natural source, compared to many other LED options. Additionally, VIZIO High Efficiency LED lighting has tripled the lifespan of CFL bulbs, with up to 25,000 usage hours.

The line of bulbs was expected to launch in mid- to late-2011 at “a Vizio price” but has yet to materialize. Vizio’s press representative will neither confirm nor deny the initiative is dead, responding with “we have no update at this point.” A bummer really, as we’re posed to re-enter the housing market this summer with plans t0 geekify the new pad. Any reasonable alternatives to suggest?

In Gaming, Home
 permalink

The Trojan Horses Have Been Activated

Mari Silbey —  February 8, 2012 — 20 Comments

Dave threw the gauntlet down back in 2006(!) when he suggested the Xbox was a Trojan Horse, designed to be activated in the future as a central device in the connected living room. Today, that reality has, in many ways, come to pass. According to Microsoft exec Russ Axelrod, more than 20 million Xbox homes are connected to Xbox accounts, and of the total time users spend on their Xbox consoles, 44% is dedicated to non-gaming activities. Analyst firm SNL Kagan points out that in addition to those 20 million Xbox-connected homes, there are also 30 million homes in North America connected to PlayStation Network accounts. That’s 50 million households with connected game consoles. Not a shabby number considering there are roughly 120 million households across the entire US.

Yet despite the growth of connected platforms, the world of distributed entertainment is still limited, at least where TV is concerned. The Xbox can be used as a set-top, but Microsoft has shed its ambitions to become virtual MSO thanks to the high cost of content licensing. And while cable industry veteran Jeff Baumgartner thinks that change is coming, there are still a lot of messy battles to be fought where streaming rights are concerned. The soldiers have emerged, but the war for the connected living room is far from over. It may be several years yet before the victors are decided.

In Gaming, Home, Playstation, TV Shows, Xbox
 permalink

Will it be Netflix vs. Amazon? Or OnLive?

Dave Zatz —  January 28, 2012 — 17 Comments

While Netflix may or may not have gained paying streaming subscribers last quarter, they’ve clearly given up on the idea of peddling physical video game rentals. But, I have to wonder, if thinking games and given their current emphasis on digital delivery, might Netflix elbow into OnLive or Steam‘s territory at some point?

In regards to Netflix’s core video streaming competency, Amazon is reportedly rethinking their Prime Instant offering, currently bundled with a shipping discount program ($79/year), into something more directly competing with Netflix. From the New York Post:

Jeff Bezos and his team at Amazon are weighing a move to beef up the Web retailer’s video-streaming service — possibly carving it out as a standalone, subscription-based operation

Given the effort currently expended to license content, potential upside, and rumors that Amazon contemplated a Hulu acquisition, this isn’t so far fetched. If so, what might Amazon charge for a dedicated streaming subscription? I can’t imagine Netflix’s $7.99/month is sustainable as content licensing fees increase. Which we suppose is the price of success. And if it’s the likes of Netflix versus cable, the establishment has already won… as content owners such as HBO and ESPN tie arguably more compelling online entertainment to television or broadband packages.

In Gaming, Netflix, Video, Web
 permalink

Apple TV 4.4 Jailbreak Now Available

Dave Zatz —  October 18, 2011 — 3 Comments

Just a few short days after Apple TV was upgraded to 4.4 (and then 4.4.1), the user friendly Seas0nPass jailbreak utility has now likewise been updated to free you from the stock confines of Apple’s diminutive media streamer. Sort of.

Unfortunately, this initial 4.4 Apple TV jailbreak requires the aTV be tethered  to a computer at boot. An annoyance, yes. But not a deal breaker. Which brings us to the fairly critical plugins which fail to work under the update… including XBMC.

Considering a majority of jailbreakers do so to harness the more extensive local media playback capabilities of XBMC, this limitation could be a non-starter for many. So it’s probably good news that for the time being it’s possible to abstain from upgrading your hacked 4.3 Apple TV. By the time Apple removes 4.3 code signing and forces an upgrade, one hopes these early jailbreak issues will have been resolved.

Itemized plugin status follows: Continue Reading…

In Apple, Gaming, Hacks, Video
 permalink

The iHome iW1 AirPlay Speaker System Review

Guest Blogger —  September 7, 2011 — 14 Comments

Initial impressions of the iHome iW1 by Adam Miarka.

Background and Initial Impressions

My new iHome iW1 AirPlay speaker system has arrived. And it’s probably one of the more anticipated AirPlay speakers to hit the market due to its portability. In fact, demand was so strong, the device was sold out within a half hour of going live on iHome’s site when it debuted August 31st. iHome took to Twitter and Facebook to calm those who didn’t get in on the initial launch, indicating a broader iW1 release on September 26th. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones.

As for an unboxing, the iW1 consists of the speaker, AC adapter, charging “dock”, remote control, and a set of instruction manuals. Upon first picking up the speaker, there is definitely some heft to the device – it doesn’t feel cheaply made at all and features a nice clean design. The instruction manuals are straight forward and easy to follow.

Click to enlarge:

Charging / Power

After I removed everything from the box, it was time to charge it. iHome has taken a unique approach to charging the iW1. Instead of having a plug and unplug the device, you simply remove it from the charging dock. Around the back of the speaker is a hidden handle to allow you to move the speaker easily from the dock.

Also around the back is a battery indicator button on the back which lights up the top panel of the device and shows the amount of battery left. Lastly, there is a power switch which can toggle the speaker’s power on and off. Continue Reading…

In Apple, Audio, Gaming
 permalink