Welcome to a special President's Day Engadget HD podcast (ok, not that special) where we kick things off with last week's hot button topic: universal pricing. Is a forced even playing field between online and B&M retailers fair, or harmful to the consumer? You guys sounded off in the comments, so we took another look at Samsung's plan for its 2012 HDTVs. We've also got plenty of HTPC news, with InfiniTV access on more platforms, a new round of arguments between Boxee and the NCTA and Kinect for Media Center. It's also time to say hello to Aereo -- even if we think it may not be long for this world -- before taking a look at the latest receivers from Onkyo and what's on TV this week.

Get the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS - AAC] Enhanced feed, subscribe to this with iTunes.
[RSS - MP3] Add the Engadget HD Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace
[MP3] Download the show (MP3).

Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: Trent Wolbe

00:23:45 - BBC 3D London Olympics plans include one live sporting event, daily highlights
00:28:43 - Premium cable TV comes to XBMC, GoodPlayer and more via InfiniTV 4 tuner
00:34:50 - Boxee and the NCTA debate if ClearQAM is good for us
00:40:00 - March Madness streams to more platforms in 2012, but not everything is free
00:42:56 - Blockbuster On Demand pulls back from TiVo and others, is it on its way out?
00:47:15 - HBO Go rolls out to most Samsung Smart HDTVs -- but not through all providers
00:52:46 - Xbox 360 system update gets its colors in order, makes it mandatory
00:55:01 - Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC?
00:57:03 - Comcast slows the flood of video customer losses in Q4 2011
00:58:24 - Time Warner Cable's TWC TV launches for PC, brings live TV streaming to the desktop
01:01:04 - Aereo puts TV antennas in the cloud, streams OTA broadcasts on the internet
01:05:04 - Onkyo debuts new entry level receivers, HTIBs for 2012
01:09:30 - Must See HDTV (February 20th - 26th)

Hear the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)

Engadget HD Podcast 287 - 02.21.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Samsung / Blockbuster reportedly sign streaming deal in Oz, US and Europe next? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TNW  |  Smarthouse  | Email this | Comments

We may be living in the post-football era, but between Jeremy Lin, hockey and the Daytona 500 there's plenty for sports fans to chew on this weekend. Of course that's not all there is and there will likely be even more drama at the Academy Awards. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Fringe
We've completely lost count of the alternate universes and timelines at play in Fox's show at this point, but for sci-fi on network TV there aren't a lot of other options. The winter finale is this week and we're pretty sure Walter will say something funny, Pacey/Peter will figure something out at the last second and odds are 50/50 one of the Olivias will shoot someone.
(February 24th, Fox, 9PM)

NBA All-Star Weekend / Linsanity
The Jeremy Lin movement enters its third week and shows little sign of slowing down. Sure the New york Knicks point guard finally lost a game, but he put up some monster stats against the defending NBA champs over the weekend, and has already seen his name penciled in to Friday night's Rising Stars game as a result. It's a toss up over which game is more anticipated, that one or the main ASG Sunday -- or is it the Lin vs. LeBron showdown Thursday night?
(All Weekend, TNT)

Academy Awards
The 84th Annual Academy Awards take place Sunday night and we're figuring this will takes its place on the list of Twitter/TV events, so either work on your @Tront style jokes or just plan to do something else for a few hours. We'll be watching to see who walks away with the Best Picture statue.
(February 26th, ABC, 8:30PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (February 20th - 26th)

Must See HDTV (February 20th - 26th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It's Monday, and almost as regular an occurrence as the day itself, we're here to help by letting you listen into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3 at 5:30PM. Please be a part of it by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then participating in the live chat as you listen in.

Continue reading Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM

Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

A device that was selling for around $600 on eBay just two years ago, is now officially priced at $199 -- the second $100 price drop in the past eight months -- and is available immediately from some of your favorite online retailers. That means both the USB and PCIe versions of the CableCARD tuner that can record four HD channels at once, cost a mere $50 per tuner. While this makes it the cheapest per-tuner CableCARD tuner ever available, the dual tuner Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 at $149 retail ($112 street) still requires the lowest total entry cost into the PC CableCARD tuner market. We've come a long way since ATI offered a single tuner for $299, but the still-pricey cards make it easy to understand understand why TV manufacturers and other set-top box makers, like Boxee, can't hide the price of a CableCARD tuner in the cost of their products.

Continue reading Ceton officially drops the InfiniTV 4 price to $199

Ceton officially drops the InfiniTV 4 price to $199 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It's taken about eight months, but Sky Go is finally available on select Android handsets (HTC Desire, HTC Desire S, HTC Desire HD, HTC Incredible, HTC Sensation, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II) after launching on iOS last year. Beyond the limited hardware support, there's a few other caveats to be aware of -- the app is only supported on Android 2.2 and 2.3, so when Ice Cream Sandwich hits some of those phones soon, users will be forced to choose between upgrading or keeping Sky Go working. Another drawback is that due to DRM, the app is blocked from working on rooted devices. Once users have jumped through those hoops though, there will also be even more content available for viewing on all platforms including Sky Atlantic, Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts 1, before F1 coverage launches in March. Speaking of F1 -- Sky also announced its new channel will bring 5.1 surround sound to UK and Ireland broadcasts for the first time this season.

Continue reading Sky Go finally available on a few Android devices, brings some new channels

Sky Go finally available on a few Android devices, brings some new channels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android Market, Sky  | Email this | Comments

In the olden days of CableCARD circa 2004, only a select few devices and software could leverage the card's power to watch premium cable TV, but not today. Today just about any adventurous dev can take advantage of the fact that an OCUR is a network tuner and access premium cable TV -- as long as the content is marked Copy Freely, that is. The latest to unleash that power is XBMC which also helps extend the functionality to iOS via GoodPlayer and Buzz Player as well as any UPnP client with the help of a Serviio media server. Essentially this custom code is acting as a middleman, but fulfilling the dream that any software could directly control and stream from a CableCARD tuner like the InfiniTV 4 is within reach. The only drawback left is that even with the current sale price of the InfiniTV 4 at $199, it still isn't as low as the cost of entry of something like a ClearQAM tuner.

Premium cable TV comes to XBMC, GoodPlayer and more via InfiniTV 4 tuner originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Digital Lifestyle  |  XBMC Forum, The Digital Media Zone  | Email this | Comments

Last year CBS and Turner Sports brought every game of the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament home in HD on four cable channels, and streaming for free to PCs and iOS devices. While the broadcast plans remain the same this year, if you want to stream the 41 games broadcast on cable networks then you'll need to subscribe to an affiliated TV provider (all the major guys except Time Warner) and log into the TNT, TBS, or TruTV website on your Windows PC or Mac. For the other 41 games broadcast on CBS, CBSSports.com is your (free) online resource. Live streaming on mobiles (over WiFi or 3G) has been extended to the Android platform for the first time, however after being offered for free last year the rebranded March Madness Live app will cost $3.99 this time around, which is still less than the $10 it cost in 2010. Check out the press release after the break for all the details on what's viewable where -- cord cutting sports fans will want to make some alternate arrangements.

Continue reading March Madness streams to more platforms in 2012, but not everything is free

March Madness streams to more platforms in 2012, but not everything is free originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Turner Sports  | Email this | Comments

From Zatz Not Funny comes word that TiVo owners are being notified their access to Blockbuster On Demand will come to an end March 31st, ending a run originally announced three years before. While this certainly affects TiVo's ability to offer the one box to search multiple services idea introduced with the Premiere, it could be more telling about Blockbuster's plans for the current incarnation of its internet movie service. As forum posters on TiVo Community point out, the list of supported devices is rapidly shrinking, with Vizio and Western Digital WD TV Live owners getting their own Dear John letters only a year or so after the app originally rolled out. Currently, the list of connected TV devices is limited exclusively to Samsung HDTVs and Blu-ray players, plus some cellphones and tablets. Once upon a time, Blockbuster desired an On Demand presence in "nearly every connected device" -- not to mention "major market presence" for the now Redbox-owned Express kiosks -- but after its purchase by Dish Network clearly those days are over. Now the only question is if / when we'll see a new service that better fits with the already announced Movie Pass package and what devices it might work on.

Blockbuster On Demand pulls back from TiVo and others, is it on its way out? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Zatz Not Funny, TiVo Community  | Email this | Comments

For 2012, Onkyo is expanding its lineup with four new entry level receivers and two HTIB all-in-one packages. The receivers all pack the brand new InstaPrevue (PiP preview of each HDMI source with fast switching) and MHL, while the three networked models are the first with access to MP3tunes cloud stored songs, as well as a number of other services including Spotify. The top of the line TX-NR616 ($699, April, pictured above) packs the most power and rocks a THX Select2 Plus stamp of quality and, along with the step down TX-NR515 ($599, March) has Qdeo video processing that scale video up to 4K res and output audio on 7.2 channels. On the HTIBs, the 7.1 HT-S5500 ($649, March) and 5.1 HT-S3500 bring all the usual features wrapped around a new "Wide Range Amplifier Technology" that it claims reduces signal noise while still pimping up the power through discrete output-stage components. The full list of specs, prices and shipping windows are in the press releases after the break, hit the source links for a few more pictures.

Continue reading Onkyo debuts new entry level receivers, HTIBs for 2012

Onkyo debuts new entry level receivers, HTIBs for 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Missing Remote  |  Onkyo (receivers), Onkyo (HTIB)  | Email this | Comments