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Vudu, a startup that sells and rents movies via its Internet-connected set-top box, has boosted High-Definition library to 1,100 on-demand titles – for now, outdistancing any cable operator’s HD video-on-demand service.

To build what it claimed is the largest library of HD content available to consumers, Vudu added on average of 150 HD titles per week in October.

The service requires a minimum 4-Mbps connection for instant playback of HD titles.

Vudu is attempting to sell its $300 set-top to home-theater buffs by emphasizing the service’s broad content selection and navigation features. Movies on the service are available for 24-hour rental for between 99 cents and $3.99, and $9.99 to $19.99 for download-to-own.

As part of its strategy to target high-end consumers, Vudu last month began offering 65 feature movie titles for rental in 1080p high-definition video format, the highest HD format currently defined. 

More at Multichannel News.

Tags: video on demand, vod, vudu

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones

Given that both the iPAQ Data Messenger and Voice Messenger were spotted on HP’s website last night, we didn’t exactly need a press release to affirm their ascent into officialdom, but hey, we’ll take it. The two WinMo 6.1-powered handsets will soon be loosed on Vodafone in Europe, and starting next month, prospective consumers can buy in for £399 ($677) / £333 ($565) off-contract; as for the subsidized rates, you′ll have to hold your horses for those. If you′re just interested in the hands-on video, however, you can mosey on beyond the break and mash play.

Continue reading HP’s iPAQ Data Messenger / Voice Messenger get official on Vodafone, hands-on treatment

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Looks like that rumor was mostly spot on, as two new consumer-minded iPAQ handhelds have emerged on HP’s website. Without much fanfare, the Windows Mobile 6.1-powered iPAQ Data Messenger and Voice Messenger have been granted dedicated sites, complete with imagery, specifications and recommended accessories. Starting with the touchscreen-heavy Data Messenger (seen above), you′ll find a 2.81-inch LED-backlit display (320 x 240), a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR / WiFi, HSDPA, quad-band GSM support, aGPS, a 3.1-megapixel camera and a microSD card slot. As for the Voice Messenger (pictured after the break), it’s packing a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 LED-backlit screen, a 20-key “keyboard” and most everything else already mentioned on its big bro. There’s nary a clue on pricing or a release date, but we imagine both of those snippets will reveal themselves shortly.

[Via WMPowerUser]

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Continue reading HP iPAQ Data Messenger / Voice Messenger handhelds emerge

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Oh Apple — release some new laptops so this madness can end. The forums at MacRumors are abuzz over a Taiwanese site that’s showing off pictures of what appears to be a very close cousin of that MacBook Pro-esque casing we saw earlier. This isn’t the same model, surely, but it does bear a striking similarity in both design and materials — and after lots of deliberation and comparisons, we’re fairly sure this isn’t the Air either (the hinge ends in a totally different spot in relation to the keys). That machined quality we noted in the earlier post is present, though as we said previously, the sides of these housings do look like separate pieces. Regardless, if any of this is even remotely true (and not another Photoshop from someone’s mother’s basement), Apple is indeed taking its laptops in an Air direction, which isn’t surprising — but signs of these being the end-result of new manufacturing process? The jury’s still way out. One more pic after the break of that controversial side piece.

[Via MacRumors]

Continue reading More pics of Apple’s supposed new laptops surface

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

You already witnessed our unboxing and hands-on with Sling Media’s Slingbox PRO-HD, and if you’re anxious to know when you can grab one of your own, how’s about right now? Sling has revealed that its $299.99 high-def box can be purchased this very instant from its website and other B&M retailers, and for Canadians feeling a touch left out, take heart — you all will be able to purchase the unit “in the coming weeks” for $329.99.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We were told that Sling Media was getting ready to ship the Slingbox PRO-HD, and looky here — one just showed up, looking just slightly less imposing than in the press photos. The $400 box isn’t a huge departure from previous Sling gear apart from the inclusion of component and coax digital audio inputs and outputs, but combined with the just-released Windows SlingPlayer 2.0 software, it’s the first Slingbox that can stream HD video. Setup with our TiVo HD was painless, and after some quick configuration we were watching pretty nice-looking 1080i video on our desktop, complete with the new ability to pause and rewind up to 60 minutes back. We did notice that the audio and video had some sync problems — and when we tried connecting the older Mac SlingPlayer client the video looked great for SD but the audio sync made it almost unwatchable. Given how rock-solid our other Slingboxes have been, we’re certain Sling will sort this out eventually, but it’s something to keep in mind before you drop four bills right off the bat.

Apart from that, there’s only so much left to say about the Sling experience that’s particularly new: the integrated program guide is extremely nice and much appreciated but not earth-shattering, and the new Sling Accounts single-sign-on system is handy but probably should have been implemented from the start. We’re not harshing the product, mind you, it’s just that the Sling system is so solid at this point (or will be, if the audio issues are resolved soon) that there’s simply not much to say — if you′re in the market and have the cash, this is the box to buy. We’ll save the detailed blowout for the SlingCatcher — we′ll be honest, we′re dying to get our hands on that thing.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

After a few false starts, the OS X-installing EFi-X dongle is finally shipping to consumers. Currently, two versions are up for grabs: the USB V1 for the average joe / jane and the USB V2 Developers Unit for, well, developers. In short, plugging this gem into your PC will enable select systems to install OS X, but we’d take a hard look at the fine print (and certified systems) before blindly plunking down $155 and hoping for the best.

[Via MacRumors, thanks Joseph]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Desktops

While some may have rightly questioned whether the OS X-installing EFIX device would ever actually see the light of day, it looks like the Apple irritant is very much real, and now in the hands of at least at two adventuresome InsanelyMac forum members, one of whom thankfully took time time to snap a few unboxing pictures. The other member, “np_,” went one step further and tested the device with an Asus motherboard and found that it worked “perfectly,” despite the fact that EFIX only officially supports Gigabyte boards. Hit up the link below for a few more pics and impressions.

[Thanks, Rich]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Home Entertainment

D-Link’s $230 DSM-330 media streamer has always been among the most flexible set-top boxes out there, and it’s just gotten even better, with the latest DivX Connected server software bringing Flash video support to the device. It’s not quite browse-and-play — every site requires a specific plug-in — but Hulu, College Humor, YouTube, ABC News, and Vimeo are already working, and there are more on the way. That’s pretty tempting for two bills, but we′ll stick to rocking PlayOn with our 360 and PS3.

[Via eHomeUpgrade and Zatz Not Funny!]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Digital Cameras

No sooner did we have a chance to wrap our mitts around JVC’s Everio GZ-HD40 and Samsung’s SC-HMX20C than Canon comes out with a pair of its own. Kicking things off is the iVIS HF11 (which turned up in name back in April) — an HD camcorder with 32GB of built-in memory, an SD / SDHC card slot, Full HD recording capabilities (using the polarizing AVCHD format) and a 12x optical zoom. The iVIS HG21 (pictured after the break) relates most closely to the aforementioned HD40, as it packs a capacious 120GB internal HDD, 2.7-inch flip-out LCD and most of the same specifications as its sibling. Expect ‘em both to land next month (at least in Japan) for ¥140,000 ($1,317) apiece.

Continue reading Canon churns out HF11 / HG21 HD camcorders

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Original post by Darren Murph

When your dog barks, it may be trying to tell you something. That belief is tied to Israeli jails using a custom-built computer program called DogGuard that interprets a guard dog’s barks.

Bio-Sense Technologies created the system to notify the prison staff when dogs were barking because of suspicious activity, i.e. prisoners trying to escape. It involves a sensor, placed on a wall or fence within a 15-yard radius of the dog, which can determine a dog’s stress based on the sound of its bark. If an emergency is detected by a bark, an alarm sounds in the prison’s control room.

“It collects the dogs’ barks through microphones…and sorts and grades them,” explained Noam Tavor, head of the Israel Prisons Service canine unit. “It relays only the barks that are significant in terms of security—barks that reveal stress or aggression in the dog.”

Using dogs as a means of patrolling a prison’s fences initially wasn’t an efficient system: “The dogs would bark, and staff of the prison wouldn’t hear it, or would hear it and would not take action fast enough.” Tavor said. However, after thorough research, Bio-Sense was able to record the patrol dogs′ different barking patterns, load these recordings into a computer program, and determine “what makes the emergency bark different than the other barks,” said Bio-Sense project manager Orit Netz.

The first DogGuard system was developed in 2005, and three more have been installed in Israeli prisons.

[via USA Today]

Original post by Jen the Weird Hunter

And you thought $49.99 was cheap. Word on the street has it that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, which has been seen as slightly less valuable since Toshiba pulled the plug on the once mighty red format, has stooped to €9.99 across the pond. For those not savvy on the absurd devaluation of the US dollar, we’re talking $15.47 — and that’s with a Media Center remote bundled in, too. We’re totally straight-faced when we say that’s actually not a half bad deal if you’re a fan of the media already out there, but the parsimonious among us are definitely waiting for these to come bundled with our favorite cereals before pulling the trigger.

[Thanks, Conor]

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Original post by Darren Murph

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/xbox/Xbox_360_HD_DVD_drives_going_for_e9_99_in_Ireland’; And you thought $49.99 was cheap. Word on the street has it that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on, which has been seen as slightly less valuable since Toshiba pulled the plug on the once mighty red format, has stooped to &euro9.99 across the pond at GameStop (among other locales). For those not savvy on the absurd devaluation of the US dollar, we’re talking $15.47 — and that’s with a Media Center remote bundled in, too. We’re totally straight-faced when we say that’s actually not a half bad deal if you′re a fan of the media already out there, but the parsimonious among us are definitely waiting for these to come bundled with our favorite cereals before pulling the trigger.

[Thanks, Conor]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Dell just pumped out a trio of Vostro laptops for small businesses. The new 13.3-inch Vostro 1310 (starting at $749), 15.4-inch Vostro 1510 (starting at $599), and redesigned 17-inch Vostra 1710 (price, undisclosed) all feature a slot loading optical drive and thinner / lighter designs. They also ship with 10GB of free online storage, Network Assistant and PC TuneUp — all crapware free. The 1310 and 1510 are available today in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) then May 1st for the Americas. The 17-incher hits mid-May.
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[Via Notebook Review]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Storage

Though it’s not the first box we’ve seen built to take your local backups elsewhere, the Datto Backup NAS drive could certainly fill a gaping security hole at many small / medium-sized businesses that are currently operating without any kind of off-site storage. Said devices come in 100GB and 500GB versions, play nice with Windows, Mac or Linux setups and pipe your data to secure external servers (using AES+ SSL key-based encryption, too) in order to keep the process load off of your machine(s). Granted, the annual service fee is $99 for 100GB and $249 for 500GB (monthly plans available), but that does include free support, 24 / 7 backup monitoring and the promise of bringing you back up to speed in under 24 hours should disaster strike. Both drives are available now for $399 and $599, respectively. [Warning: PDF read link]

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Original post by Darren Murph