New Technology Reviews!.: Netflix

Apple TV Netflix Player Arrived

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #3b3b3b;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080519/rokuplayer_270x202.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Netflix Player" border="0" class="cnet-image" height="202" src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080519/rokuplayer_270x202.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;" width="270" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Netflix Player by Roku is the first product that allows subscribers to have movies and TV shows from the service's Instant Viewing feature (aka "Watch Now") to be streamed directly to their TV screen.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Previously, Instant Viewing was available only to Windows PC users through the Internet Explorer browser. With the release of the Netflix Player, subscribers need only have a wired or wireless broadband connection to access the entire Instant Viewing catalog through their TV. But for those who prefer to cut right to the chase, here's the short and sweet version:</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="cnet-image-div image-medium float-left" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 270px;"><div class="image-caption" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The diminutive Netflix Player can access about 8,000 titles--so far.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="image-credit" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">(Credit: CNET)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="image-credit" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</span></span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">     We've been playing with the Netflix Player for about two weeks, and--for the most part--we found a lot to like. Setup is simple, and--if you've got a solid broadband connection--picture quality is acceptable and streaming performance was almost entirely lag-free.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">     Those looking for the HD video quality and polished interface of Apple TV and Vudu will be disappointed. The Netflix Player is strictly barebones--you're not intended to do anything more than just dive in and watch the movies and TV shows you've already queued up via your online Netflix account. The biggest drawback--for now at least--is the dearth of quality content. Thanks to Hollywood's byzantine licensing system, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9940529-1.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0066a0; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Netflix Watch Now: Missing too much popular content -- Friday, May 9, 2008">less than 10 percent</a> of Netflix's 100,000-plus library of titles is available for streaming to the Player.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">      That means, for now, that only two of Netflix's top 100 DVDs are available for streaming: <i style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">March of the Penguins</i> and <i style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</i>.</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That said, the Netflix Player has a major trump card in terms of price: it retails for $100, and delivers unlimited streaming to any Netflix subscriber on the $8.95 plan or above. That's a major departure from Apple TV, Vudu, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Amazon Unbox, all of which offer only pay-per-view options, including download-to-own videos and rentals with tight viewing windows (e.g. rental titles must be completely viewed within 24 hours).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the time being, Roku's affordable box is the only Netflix hardware on the market. However, Netflix has reaffirmed that three other hardware partners are scheduled to release competing products by year's end. (One is confirmed to be LG; the others have yet to be named.) It's likely that the subsequent players will be more upscale products--such as a Blu-ray or DVD player--that include Netflix playback as a value-added feature rather than the main attraction. In the meantime, the Roku solution offers a quick, easy, and affordable way to watch a limited selection of Netflix videos on your TV.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What do you think: is the Netflix Player a game-changing product that bests Apple TV? Or is the selection too lackluster to be worth even its $100 asking price?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #2e2e30; font-size: 16px;"></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">The good:</strong> <span class="summary" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Affordable sub-$100 price tag; streams a variety of Internet video and audio services, including Netflix, Amazon, Pandora, Major League Baseball games, and Mediafly podcasts; built-in Wi-Fi; works with all TVs; upgradable firmware allows for periodic update of content and features; good HD video quality (on channels and programming that support it).</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="summary" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">The bad:</strong> Ever cheaper Blu-ray players offer many of the same Internet-viewing options plus disc playback; video quality varies from channel to channel, depending upon provider and source material; setup and content queues usually require at least some PC interaction; yet another box under the TV; no centralized way to access, search, and manipulate channel providers.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">The bottom line:</strong> <span class="description" id="seodescription" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">A low price and growing roster of online content makes the Netflix HD Player a good choice for anyone who wants a quick and easy way to add Netflix--and a variety of other Internet media channels--to any TV.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="description" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
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Apple TV Netflix Player Arrived

The Netflix Player by Roku is the first product that allows subscribers to have movies and TV shows from the service's Instant Viewing...

Netflix tests new web UI for kids

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<img alt="Netflix Just For Kids" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-84262" height="216" mce_src="http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/8648/18netflix.jpg" src="http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/8648/18netflix.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Netflix Just For Kids" width="384" /></div>
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While Netflix is a service that offers video content for people of all ages, it doesn’t exactly have the most user-friendly interface – for people who are young enough to be considered kids. However, it looks like Netflix is attempting to address the issue. Some Netflix members have reported that they now have a “Just For Kids” tab in the web UI of the service which takes them to a Kids-friendly version of Netflix.</div>
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<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:yIl2AUoC8zA" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:yIl2AUoC8zA" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2574/91728599.gif" src="http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2574/91728599.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:qj6IDK7rITs" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:qj6IDK7rITs" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9641/83036015.gif" src="http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9641/83036015.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/8023/76592358.gif" src="http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/8023/76592358.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:-BTjWOF_DHI" mce_href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ubergizmo?a=07HmmiIlXPo:q6YOO8VeEhc:-BTjWOF_DHI" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="" border="0" mce_src="http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3030/36532429.gif" src="http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3030/36532429.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" /></a></div>
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Netflix tests new web UI for kids

While Netflix is a service that offers video content for people of all ages, it doesn’t exactly have the most user-friendly interface ...

20th Century Fox Bringing Blu-ray Digital Copy Downloads to Android

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For those that buy Blu-ray titles and have noticed they always come with a downloadable digital copy mostly for your PC or iDevice things are about to change and soon they will be offering them for Android. With only a few movie watching or streaming options such as Netflix for Android and Hulu having limited options and device availability, being able to download any Blu-ray you buy would be a great addition.</div>
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20th Century Fox is aiming to change all that and will be bringing digital copy downloads to Android. The first movie they tested this with was actually Unstoppable but we didn’t hear much about it. 20th Century is looking to improve the system and programs already in place on PC and will allow you to download a digital copy and then side-load that to any and all of your Android devices, more than one.</div>
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I know previous users have reported just taking the Windows Media Player version and adding that to their SD card for playback but the new system will be fully supported and easy for all users. 20th Century Fox aims to get this rolling fast especially with how big Android is getting.</div>
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The first available film for Android digital copy is said to be X-Men: First Class and more will follow this fall. We should start seeing this in the U.S., UK, Germany and France with more coming soon.</div>
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20th Century Fox Bringing Blu-ray Digital Copy Downloads to Android

For those that buy Blu-ray titles and have noticed they always come with a downloadable digital copy mostly for your PC or iDevice thi...

Microsoft: Kinect accuracy better now than at launch

<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="150" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/product_005-200-200.jpg" width="200" /></p><br/>Microsoft has confirmed that its Kinect motion sensor has improved in accuracy since it launched in November 2010.<br/><br/>But that's not the end of it; the company says it has updates for both the Xbox 360 and its Kinect accessory in the works.<br/><br/>Speaking to EuroGamer, Xbox senior product manager David Dennis said, "I think like we showed at E3… a lot of that tech is the advancements we've made in the accuracy, the tracking... being able to show finger tracking in the sparkles demo he did.<br/><br/>"You saw too with Ubisoft's gunsmith demo [for <em>Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</em>] he was using his hand to fire in the firing range mode. I think that's the kind of thing we're going to continue to iterate on."<br/><br/><strong>Clever girl</strong><br/><br/>Speaking of the forthcoming Xbox 360 updates, he added:<br/><br/>"That's the beauty of Xbox. We've been doing that with Xbox 360, starting three or four years ago - continuing to deploy new software updates to improve the functionality, like enabling finger tracking and voice search, and also to bring new partners like Netflix on.<br/><br/>"These [updates] are very deliberate and planned and programmed.<br/><br/>"There are already people working on things for next year and the year after inside our secret bunkers, and we'll continue to bring amazing stuff that consumers love."

Microsoft: Kinect accuracy better now than at launch

Microsoft has confirmed that its Kinect motion sensor has improved in accuracy since it launched in November 2010. But that's not the en...

Report: YouTube to spend $100m on original content

<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" src="http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/8764/youtubelogo200200.jpg" /></p><br/>Google is planning to capitalise on the internet TV revolution by turning YouTube into a home for new and original, professionally-produced programming.<br/><br/>A report in the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013604576247060940913104.html">Wall Street Journal</a> claims that Google will reshape the site by spending $100m to commission low cost, original content that will screen exclusively on YouTube.<br/><br/>The new look YouTube would be based around a host of new topic-centric channels, each of which would "feature several hours of professionally produced original programming a week."<br/><br/><strong>Niche</strong><br/><br/>The programming would aim to fill the void between user-uploaded content and the polished, full TV shows on regular TV networks.<br/><br/>"Google is hoping to carve out a niche of original, professionally produced Web videos that it hopes will cultivate loyal viewers," says the report.<br/><br/>The move would help YouTube keep pace with web TV portals like the BBC iPlayer in the UK and streaming powerhouses like Netflix and Hulu in the US.

Report: YouTube to spend $100m on original content

Google is planning to capitalise on the internet TV revolution by turning YouTube into a home for new and original, professionally-produced ...