Posted 10/27/09 at 08:22:53 PM by Jason Barry

MTube’s latest touch screen device isn’t a new mobile phone or netbook. Instead, the Mtube Android MID is intended as a multimedia device for living room entertainment.

It offers a 7.6-inch OLED touch screen, an ARM processor, internet access and wireless streaming to your television. You can send videos and images to your television using touch screen gestures. The details on how the device communicates with your TV are not clear; it’s likely a WIFI receiver will connect your HDMI ports (on the TV) with the MTube. MTube has been in negotiations to integrate a receiver into displays.

It’s not exactly production ready (the demo unit crashed in the video) but it is an interesting use of the Android operating system and could prove to be a clever entertainment device.

Check out the video after the jump.

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Posted 10/14/09 at 08:30:23 AM by Paul Lilly

Home entertainment company GlideTV on Tuesday announced a new device the company says combines the functionality of a keyboard, mouse, and AV remote all rolled into one.

The GlideTV Navigator, as it's being called, won the 2009 Best of Innovations Award at CES earlier this year. It includes a remote, charging station, USB wireless receiver, and works with Windows, Mac, Sony's PlayStation 3 console, and any set-top box that supports standard mouse and keyboard HID devices, the company said.

"Up to now, consumes who wanted to connect a computer to the TV to take advantage of digital content had to bring office equipment to their living room, making the experience bulky and cumbersome," said Chris Painter, President and founder. "With the Navigator, GlideTV brings simplicity to accessing internet-based entertainment and ushers in a new era for computing in the living room."

Some of the Navigator's features include backlit AV buttons, dedicated Esc, Enter, Back, and Function keys, an on-screen keyboard (Windows only), and rechargeable battery. GlideTV says its remote will work with all the media apps you're used to using, including Windows Media Center, iTunes, Boxee, SageTV, Firefox, and more.

The Navigator is available now for $150.

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Posted 05/12/09 at 06:30:00 PM by Michael Brown

Sorry, we couldn’t resist the headline. For the record: We’re not predicting the early demise of AMD’s new Live Home Cinema reference platform (code-named Maui). AMD sent us a sample build several months ago, but we wanted to live with it for a while before publishing our thoughts on the design.

We’re big fans of home-theater PCs, especially the build-it-yourself variety (be sure and check out the May issue of Maximum PC for Will Smith’s terrific how-to guide to building one of your own). If AMD can resolve one major issue, we think Maui will be the best home-theater PC platform on the market.

With a home-theater PC, you can stream all manner of Hollywood content for free (from websites such as Hulu) or for a small fee (from online stores such as iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon’s Unbox). While you can accomplish the same thing with a media center extender and any PC equipped with a version of Windows that includes Windows Media Center, a dedicated HTPC leaves that other machine available for other tasks. A home-theater PC with a Blu-ray drive can play HD movies, too, but comparing home-theater PCs to Blu-ray disc players—which are becoming increasingly PC-like—is more problematic. We’ll get to that soon enough; for now, let’s take a detailed look at AMD’s Live Home Cinema platform.

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Posted 03/03/09 at 04:18:37 PM by Andy Salisbury

A little while back Asus was toying with the idea of fitting a home theater PC inside a keyboard, and now we can happily say that this product is finally on its way.

The Eee Keyboard will come with wireless HDMI and a small touchscreen, and is expected to arrive in May or June, costing only $400-$600. Jerry Shen, Asus’ CEO, says that there are two models being worked on, a wired and a wireless version. It’s reported that the wireless capability is the difference between the $400 and $600 machines.

Underneath the hood it will have a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB RAM, a 16 or 32GB SSD, WiFi and Bluetooth built in. It will also feature wireless HDMI, 2 USB 2.0, VGA, HDMI and audio in/out ports.

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Posted 12/20/08 at 04:27:18 PM by Mark Edward Soper

If you're tired of tiny form-factor HTPCs run by underwhelming processors, the newest version of the Epson Endeavor ST HTPC is a shot of adrenaline. As Nexus404 reports, the new ST120, which measures only 75x185x195 mm (or approximately 2.95x7.28x7.68 inches), features powerful processing and movie playback power:

• Core 2 Duo processor running at speeds from 2.26-2.8GHz
• GM45 Express chipset
• HDTV Tuner
• 1GB DDR2 RAM with upgrade options to 4GB
• 80GB to 250GB SATA hard disk
• Blu-Ray or DVD drive

So, what's the catch? Catch us after the jump to find out.

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Posted 11/10/08 at 04:07:05 PM by Andy Salisbury

3D displays aren’t high on the list of things probable to be the next major form of home entertainment, but that hasn’t bothered JVC one bit. They’ve just announced their first 3D projector designed for home theaters, the DLA-RS2.

The projector won’t require any glasses; instead it uses D-ILA projection and stereoscopic video processing to present a 1080p 3D adventure.

Details are few and far between on the projector at the moment, but it has been confirmed that SENSIO 3D technology is at the heart, and it will provide a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. While the projector will require 3D content to make 3D images, it will be also compatible with DVD and Blu-ray discs until those become more common.

No word yet on the price, but it will be ready to take home sometime in 2009.

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Posted 10/07/08 at 07:14:06 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Cnet's Crave blog reports that Logitech has rolled out yet another member of its low-end 500 series of Harmony universal remotes, the 510. According to Cnet, the 510, which retails for $99.99 but is widely available for less, is similar in its control design to the 550 ($129.99 MSRP), but only controls five devices, versus 15 for the 550.

Commenters at the Engadget blog have already spotted the 510 "in the wild" and have noted that the older 550 is less expensive at some stores and has a blue backlight (preferred by some to the 510's green backlight). Many users are noting that the Xbox 360-compatible Logitech Harmony remote is also a better deal than the 510, as it supports up to 12 devices (and you don't need to have an Xbox 360 to use it).

Logitech's official web page for the Harmony 510 is here, and you can find all of the US-market models listed here.

Fans of under $100 universal remotes, time to speak up. Is newer better, or are you hunting for the 550 while you can still get it? Join us after the jump for your chance to chime in.

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Posted 07/31/08 at 08:11:55 PM by Michael Brown

Accell’s UltraAV HDMI 4:2 Audio/Video Switch is either a Dr. Jekyll or a Mr. Hyde of a home-theater product. The creature you’ll encounter depends on the video source you connect to it. Read on to find out just what we're talking about.

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