Barb Gonzalez

CES 2013
NFC- Not Just For Smartphones Anymore
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 10, 2013
Near Field Communications (NFC) will be available on many streaming Home Theater devices. Here's how NFC makes connectivity easier.
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CES 2013
New Linksys Wireless Connector Improves HD Streaming
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 09, 2013
Linksys showed its new ultra-fast AC1300 Wireless Universal Media Connector at CES. Although a number of routers were launched last year with the new 802.11ac capability, few devices are available to take advantage of the faster speeds. Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, AV receivers, and media streamers can be connected to the AC1300 via Ethernet cables. The device receives the wireless signal from the router using 802.11ac and transfers the stream to the devices for higher quality HD video without lagging, long buffer times or other interruptions.

The previous 802.11n standard can connect at speeds up to 300 Mbps (megabits per second) on a home network. The new standard is capable of gigabit speeds with single wireless connections at up to 500 Mbps. While a Vudu 3D HDX movie only requires a speed of 9 Mbps to a streaming player, wireless speeds decrease drastically over distance. It's important that a wireless router is sending the signal as fast as possible as it can dip below the speed needed over relatively short distances within a home.

The AC1300 can receive the fast stream from the router making sure that your device doesn't downgrade your Netflix 1080p stream to a standard definition movie. This 802.11ac connector is available now for $159.

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CES 2013
D-Link Bows Router with Improved HD Streaming
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 09, 2013  |  Published: Jan 08, 2013
D-Link announced a new router with StreamBoost technology for better high definition video streaming, and with a new dashboard to monitor and control your home network. The DGL5500 router is called a "gaming router" because it has low latency (no lag time) for online game play. This capability also makes it an excellent router choice for streaming movies.
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CES 2013
Bang and Olufsen Announces First Smart TV
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 08, 2013
Bang and Olufsen announced its new flagship TV, the Beovision 11 with SmartTV features. Users can customize their SmartTV hub from a number of available apps.The first Smart TV for the upscale company, the TV includes access to not only the typical U.S. streaming services but services from all around the globe
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CES 2013
Toshiba's Smart TVs Become Cloud TVs
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 08, 2013
Toshiba is taking their Smart TV streaming capabilities a step further, announcing that their new TVs will have the Toshiba "Cloud TV." A list of features includes a Toshiba server based system for ongoing upgradability.

The Smart TV ePortal hub has a redesigned multi-page ePortal for "ease of use." The ePortal not only displays streaming media apps, it now includes a constantly updating news feed, weather, personal messaging and a family calendar. There is also a new MediaGuide with recommendations of TV shows and movies that you might like to watch.

All Toshiba Cloud TVs work with their wireless keyboard with touchpad accessory that is included with the L7300 TV models and above.

To make it easier to stream media from other devices, the Cloud TVs feature "Miracast" to mirror Android tablets and phones to the TV and are WiDi enabled to use the TV as a second display for your laptop.

The Cloud TV was announced at a mixer Sunday night where Toshiba demonstrated the features of its new TV line. While I'm not a fan of playing games on a TV, a poker game they demonstrated looked fun. Each player connects using the KontrolTV app on their device or on the Toshiba TV and can see their poker hand. Rather than challenging one other player, a group of friends or family can play.

CES 2013
Terk Digital Antenna With Roku
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 08, 2013
Although the idea of a digital antenna to receive over-the-air broadcasts with a built in media streamer makes odd bedfellows, it could be the answer to cutting the cable cord. Voxx Accessories announced that it is developing a digital TV antenna with Roku streaming capabilities. The product will be released under the RCA and Terk brands.

Part of Voxx's Roku-Ready partnership, the photo showed a Roku stick attached to a flat omnidirectional powered antenna. It is slated to be released in the fourth quarter of 2013. Few other details are available and I have a lot of questions about how it will work.

For now, it looks like a great solution for TV viewers who like network broadcast TV and a variety of streaming movie options like those available from Roku. We'll keep you posted as we get more details.

CES 2013
NETGEAR Releases NeoTV PRIME with Google TV
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 07, 2013
At the CES 2013 NETGEAR press conference, the company announced NeoTV PRIME, a Google TV streaming player that is available now for $129.99. Like other Google TVs, a growing number of apps can be added from the Google Play store. And like other Google TVs, it has global search to find the titles you want whether they are on live TV, streaming Internet services, web pages, or your own media on your home network.

What NETGEAR brings to the PRIME is a full access Chrome web browser. With Flash and HTML 5 plug-ins, it will (theoretically) play videos from any website (though certain websites have blocked Google TV access).

The included two-sided remote has a QWERTY keyboard, appears to be identical to the Vizio's Co-Star Google TV keyboard. The other side has a touchpad mouse control, directional navigation buttons and direct play buttons to immediately access Amazon on Demand, HBO Go, Crackle, Netflix, and YouTube. The YouTube smartphone app will have a "play to Google TV" button to send a video directly to the Google TV YouTube app. There is also a button for MyMedia that brings up the network attached storage (NAS) drives and other DLNA sources including ReadyShare available on NETGEAR routers.

SmartStream
CinemaNow Offers Disc-to-Digital Service From Your Computer
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 02, 2013
Best Buy's CinemaNow launches Disc-to-Digital service for buying digital versions of DVD and Blu-ray titles you own from your home computer.
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Streaming Device Reviews
Samsung Smart Hub Streaming Platform
Barb Gonzalez  |  Dec 31, 2012
Barb Gonzalez uses and abuses the Smart Hub streaming platform Samsung builds into many of its TVs and Blu-ray players. Just how smart is this hub and is it all that it's cracked up to be?
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SmartStream
Year-End Review: 2012 Streaming Video Innovations
Barb Gonzalez  |  Dec 27, 2012
2012 was a banner year for innovation in streaming media—innovations that are changing the home theater experience.
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