Okay, I’ve had it! We have too many remotes! Apple TV, Direct TV, TV, DVD, Roku, a Vizio sound bar, and I may even be forgetting one! Has anyone tried one of those smart remotes with a screen? I’m considering a Logitech Harmony remote, but I’m wondering if there is something even better out there?
The stream of cool stuff continues with some cool looking new Polaroid and iLuv Announcements from CES 2014. The list of their introductions is insane and impossible to capture here, but it includes Polaroid cameras, tablets, smartphones, and Roku-ready HD TVs; and from iLuv no less than 14 speakers, earbuds, iPad folios and iPhone cases!
We love our Roku 3, it’s a fantastic device. For those who want the Roku experience, but also crave a “smart tv”, Roku and TCL have teamed up for the Roku TV! Details are still forthcoming, but if the experience is as seamless as the Roku box, this could be a big boon for the Roku brand! Prices and availability are still forthcoming, but you can check out the full details at the Roku blog.
I haven’t set foot in a Blockbuster Video in at least six years. Yet when news broke this week that the final stores were closing, I felt a little bit sad. The experience of going to the video store was so much more than just clicking a button on a remote, and it made me realize how many great memories I have thanks to Blockbuster. When I think of Blockbuster, my first thought is the store I used to visit in Brighton, MA. I was working for Borders, and my schedule was always way off from my friends, so I…
Harman Kardon’s new $299.95 Nova system combines analog and optical inputs along with Bluetooth so it easily works with systems such as Roku, HDTV, Apple TV and pretty much any Bluetooth-enabled device. Compact and unique-looking, the Nova’s 2.5” drivers, 1.25” tweeters and passive radiators pack a punch and make this system more than just a pretty face.
I’ll admit that I’ve done my fair share of kicking Barnes and Noble. I think they’ve let themselves be run in two contradictory directions (being a digital company versus being a bookstore) for too long, and their half-hearted attempts to bridge the two were too promotional and short-term to make a real difference. At this point, though, criticizing B&N feels almost mean — when so much is going so wrong, is it really helpful to pile on and point out how much worse things really look? What’s looking so scary? Well, for starters, it looks like the company has no…
A few days ago Google let the ChromeCast out of the bag. For those who don’t know, the ChromeCast allows you to send Netflix, YouTube and other content to your TV from your laptop, phone or tablet. More applications are sure to come, but people are already snapping up this tiny dongle so fast that Google has had to discontinue including 3 months of Netflix. At $35 dollars it is a steal of a deal for what people can do with it. Some are saying that it’s a big game changing device. I am not totally convinced that it is….
Sarah and I have been loving the new Netflix series “Orange is the New Black”. It’s incredibly well-written, has an amazing cast, and manages to add levity and entertainment to a relatively depressing premise (it’s not exactly happy time watching a protagonist navigate life in prison). I’ve been recommending the show like crazy and was surprised when Dan told me he recently cancelled his Netflix subscription. We use Netflix constantly and it didn’t occur to me that not everyone pays for the service! It sparked a larger discussion among the Gear Diary Editors about what subscription services we pay for…
Since getting the Roku box, one thing I have loved about it was that I could use the Plex Media Server to stream my personal content at home to my TV. Plex Media Server is a media streaming server available for Linux, Windows, and Mac; it is also supported on select Network Attached Storage(NAS) boxes like those available from Qnap, Synology, ReadyNAS, ASUSTOR and unRAID. Plex is an awesome piece of software that works wonderfully in conjunction with the Roku, however I am not always in front of my TV. While Plex does have a web server built in that you…
Well, THAT didn’t take long! In fewer than a dozen hours the XBOX One reveal went from being exciting … to a disappointment. Over at GameIndustry.biz they are already calling the reveal of the XBOX One an ‘awful start’, and discussing how Microsoft needs to redeem itself at E3. Of course, leave it to Ctrl-Alt-Del to joke about how Sony hasn’t even figured out how to assemble their new console yet! Rather than pontificate on that sort of stuff, I wanted to address 5 areas of concern to me as a PC gamer:
The popcorn keeps expanding at the Popcornflix movie streaming service, as Unicorn Media, a leading Internet video solutions provider, announced partnerships with Cypress and Screen Media Ventures, LLC for expanding the free Popcornflix app on Xbox LIVE (gold subscribers). Popcornflix also owns and distributes its own content via iOS and Android apps, Roku, connected TVs and online for free. Screen Media Ventures, LLC developed and owns Popcornflix. Cypress, in conjunction with Screen Media Ventures, developed the Popcornflix Xbox LIVE app using CypressX, Cypress is a digital agency that creates apps that provide interactive experiences across mobile platforms and gaming consoles….
Gadgets have become packed with more and more features, many of which we end up forgetting about or just never use. When the Roku 3 was announced, we had an internal discussion at Gear Diary about how the headphone jack in the remote was a useless feature — who would hook up headphones to a remote to watch TV, when they could just plug headphones into a tablet and have the same private viewing experience? We use our Roku 3 all the time but never gave the headphone jack a thought, until today when I stumbled upon a situation where…
When we were shopping for an HDTV, I briefly considered whether we needed a “smart TV”. Eventually, I decided we probably didn’t, but I was very excited to take a look at the SmartStick TV accessory, as it turns my decidedly not-smart HDTV into a smart version running Android. Unfortunately, it isn’t without its drawbacks, and it has left me wondering if the benefits are worth the quirks. Read on to find out my take! Physically, the SmartStick is extremely compact. It’s just a little bit bigger than a stick of gum, and it uses HDMI to connect to the…
After what seemed like an eternity Roku has released a brand new streaming box today. The Roku 3 finally does away with all connections for old standard definition TV’s in this iteration making the box HD only. It has HDMI, Ethernet, USB and a power port and that’s it. The new box has beefed up hardware and improved searching on the device itself. Roku promises that the user interface on the Roku 3 is the most responsive they have designed as well. One last bit of news for the new Roku 3 is that the wireless remote now includes a…
Sarah and I are HDTV shopping (our old TV is the size of a coffee table and weighs as much as my first car). I understand the basics of HDTV like 720p vs 1080p. But when you get into features like Smart TVs, and when you look at the price difference between buying, say, a Samsung TV versus a Vizio, what’s worth considering and what’s just hype? I was lost, so I turned to the experts at Gear Diary for some HDTV shopping advice and tips: Joel McLaughlin My take on HDTV Shopping? My next TV I will not look at whether it’s…
This holiday season was the season my family finally made the jump to HD TV. I absolutely love HD TV, and I am really looking forward to watching NASCAR and actually being able to read the tickers! As result of getting the TV, I ended up receiving or giving products that needed an HDMI connection to the TV. We got an Xbox 360 for Luke and I, plus I was given a Roku 2 XS and a Blu-ray player for Christmas. One of the things on my Amazon list was a Kinivo HDMI switch as I knew right away I…
I know! I know! How could I, an Open Source guy, send my money to Microsoft by purchasing an Xbox? Well, when my family is concerned, I need to consider them when purchasing tech. My son wanted an Xbox, so Santa got him one this year — no matter what Dad thinks. So, here are my thoughts about the Xbox system as a whole, from the perspective of an open source guy. Updates Updates Updates I swear my son was about ready to bust when it took HOURS to get the updates installed. It’s not that there were so many,…
As I have been in Knoxville, TN visiting my folks this holiday season, I have had the opportunity to show my parents Netflix on a TV. I have not one, but two devices with me that can stream Netflix to a TV. My Roku 2XS and my son’s new Xbox. One afternoon I was flipping through the Netflix app on the Xbox looking for something to watch, and lo and behold my Mom said one thing: How can they expect me to pay for this when everything is so old? Boom. There’s the problem. Every streaming service I showed her…
Apple has a reputation and standing as one of the best customer support organizations in all of the consumer world. They top the ratings each year; due to their retail stores, the ability to quickly talk to someone knowledgeable has made using Apple products easier than ever for millions of folks. Truth is, in more than 30 years of owning Apple products starting with the Apple ][+, I have never needed service of any type. I have had a couple of questions, and had to email support about a couple of iTunes issues, but I have never had an actual…
Over the years writing for Gear Diary, we often have chats behind the scenes about all sorts of issues. Some are private and will never see the light of day, but many times what is said ends up in a long string of comments that would make a great post. This one all started by a gift I received from a friend — a brand new Roku 2 XS — which I love a lot. I posted in our back channel about it, and off we went. Joel: Received a Roku 2 XS from a friend of mine. Best thing ever. First…
I have been highly critical of Android tablets (shock, I know) for a number of reasons, and 7″ tablets in specific. But as has been pointed out, I also tout enjoying the Google Nexus 7 quite a bit for a number of reasons. I was also the last one holding on to my launch-day Kindle Fire from last year, and pre-ordered and have happily kept the Kindle Fire HD. All of that screams ‘cognitive dissonance’ to me, so I thought it was worth explaining – and what better way than to list a bunch of things I love about each…