Barb Gonzalez

SmartStream
Walmart Disc-to-Digital Service Available Via Vudu
Barb Gonzalez  |  Mar 19, 2012
Physical DVD and Blu-ray collections may soon be a thing of the past—the trend is clearly toward streaming movies from online sources. Walmart and the Hollywood movie studios know this, and they've responded by announcing the Walmart "Disc-to-Digital" service. I've been focusing on streaming media for a number of years, and I'm extremely excited about this forward movement by retailers and Hollywood movie studios.
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CES 2012
Netgear Routers and Devices to Include Apps
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 17, 2012
Netgear showed off the new Smart Network Cloud Application Platform on its 2012 routers, network attached storage (NAS) drives, and media players, where users can access a number of useful home networking apps through a dashboard called the AppManager. These third-party-developed apps include home lighting and power control, media search capabilities, and internet usage meters.

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CES 2012
Wifi Routers Stream Several HD Movies Simultaneously
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 17, 2012
While home theater enthusiasts may not have given much thought to routers and other home network devices in the past, it’s time we started to pay attention. Whether we are streaming a high definition movie from Vudu, or everyone in the house wants to stream to their own TVs, the router must be able to handle the demand. Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, and Belkin all showed new routers that are capable of streaming several high definition mov
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CES 2012
Streaming Movies and TV Shows Include Dolby Digital Plus
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 17, 2012
Dolby announced that movies and TV shows from HBO Go will include Dolby Digital Plus. Dolby Digital Plus supports up to 7.1 channel surround sound so you can experience a movie, or TV show, the way the director intended. This means that viewers can have a high definition movie experience with full surround sound similar to that of watching a Blu-ray Disc.

Dolby previously announced that Dolby Digital Plus is available Netflix and Vudu streaming services. Initially, the multichannel surround sound format could only be played through a Playstation 3 or XBox 360 video console.

With the CES announcement, Dolby Digital Plus will be available on TVs and Blu-ray Players with these video on demand apps.

CES 2012
Live TV Comes to the Boxee Box
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 16, 2012
To offer an alternative to cable, Boxee offers hundreds of channels of online content, a web browser and now live TV. Better than connecting an antenna directly to your TV where you simply surf through channels, connect an HD antenna to the Boxee Live TV USB dongle and browse cover art for TV shows on broadcast TV channels you receive.

Boxee believes that by adding live TV, more people will be able to “cut the cord,” that is quit their cable service. Premium content from Netflix and a variety of other online streaming sources along with your local ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox channels are combined in the Boxee experience.

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CES 2012
Stream Movies with DLNA Premium Video Certification
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 16, 2012
Until now, DLNA certifications were used for personal content--movies, music, and photos--stored in media libraries in your home network.

This is a revolutionary advance because manufacturers have been searching for a way to make movie and TV studios comfortable with sharing premium content in a way that cannot be pirated. Premium Video certified products will communicate digital rights management information for each movie or TV show and allow the streaming to take place but will not allow recording. In fact, devices that can record--NAS drives, computers--will probably not be Premium Video certified.

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CES 2012
Access All Your Media, Search 400,000 Titles With Technicolor's M-Go
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012

Technicolor showed off M-Go, the robust new media app for TVs, tablets, smart phones and computers that makes it possible to access anything you want to watch on the device or thrown to your TV. Through a simple menu on your mobile device or computer you can get to your desired movie or TV show without the need to navigate to each service, comb through the TV program guide or scroll through your DVR to find it.

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CES 2012
Tablets as a Second Screen
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
This year most TV manufacturers are pairing tablets with TVs to create what they call a “second screen” or “Dual Screen” experience. Why interrupt what you are watching to bring up menus that shrink the screen or overlay TV guide grids that block your picture, when you can bring up the menus and guides on your tablet?

Toshiba, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, LG and others showed up their apps that run on tablets to control and enhance your TV viewing experience. Although they would like you to buy their tablets, the apps will run on any Android or iOS device.

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CES 2012
Tablets as Remote Controls
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
Your universal remote control may become a thing of the past. TV manufacturers are creating apps that can not only control the TV, but can be programmed with macros to control your whole home theater system.

Remote control apps have been appearing over the past year. These apps work over wifi to control connected TVs and devices.

This year, Sony and Samsung are showing tablets with IR (infrared control), that can send commands to most any home theater device.

What do you think? Are you ready to chuck your home theater remote for an app on a tablet?

CES 2012
Tablets as Media Servers/Media Renderers
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
Along with control and second screen capabilities, TV manufacturers are pairing their tablets to TVs allowing users to send media to their big screen directly from their tablet.

The TV apps make it possible to “fling” photos, music, or movies that are stored on the tablet towards the TV and have it play on the big screen. Most apps will be able to find media stored on other sources--computers, media servers--in a home network and push that media to the TV (Media Renderer capabilities).

Both the tablets apps and the TVs are DLNA certified which makes the media sharing possible. While this is possible on other DLNA certified media apps, the paired apps will undoubtedly create a seamless experience.

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