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10 ways to watch TV cheaper

April 9th, 2010, 8:10 am by
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My prediction: This is going to be a big year for TV. But not because the last episode of “Lost”  airs next month. Or because yet another season of “American Idol” is one of this year’s highest rated shows.

What’s changing is how we watch TV. Hulu.com, which offers a ton of recently aired TV shows, is a mainstream hit. There are trials by Time Warner Cable offering subscribers access to some cable TV shows on the Web. Dish announced something similar (read: “Coming soon: Dish to let users watch TV online“).

Cable TV companies are losing subscribers. Online video sites, which allow users to pick and choose what they want to watch, are gaining viewers. And for the first time last fall, a major cable provider took its fight against the ever-increasing fees paid to networks to rebroadcast shows public. Something has got to give!

While the state of paid TV is undergoing a monumental change, several services are already available to help consumers pay for only what they want to watch. Now, there’s probably more than 10 suggestions on how to watch web TV on a TV, but you get the picture.

While you can hook up a computer to your PC (a la Windows Media Center or some other DIY software), I’ve tracked down some newer alternatives to pipe TV shows from the Web to your big screen TV.  I’ve listed some below, but I’m sure every reader has his or her own favorites. Please share with the rest of us in the comments and if I’m able, I’ll elevate them to the list below. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 26 Comments »

Boxee’s Web TV going beyond the D-Link box?

February 10th, 2010, 2:35 pm by

Boxee Box by D-LinkNoted: Web TV-ish service Boxee has a deal with Fountain Valley’s D-Link Systems to release the first piece of hardware with Boxee’s online video service. That won’t be out until next quarter. Now, NewTeeVee reports that Boxee isn’t limiting itself to D-Link’s hardware. Could there be a Boxee Blu-ray player in the works?

Boxee, a free web service allowing users to watch TV shows on the Web while socializing with online friends, told the news site that it wants another hardware device for consumers by the end of the year.

Interestingly, NewTeeVee writer Janko Roettgers also mentions the Hulu dilemma. Hulu owners like NBC don’t want the free Web TV shows to be accessed by the Boxee Box or other similar devices. Boxee said it plans to ask for a licensed application. Read the story:  Next Up For Boxee: A Blu-ray Player?

Recent Web TV news:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Changes at D-Link bring pebbles, boxes and a doorbell

January 29th, 2010, 3:30 am by
D-Link 3G doorbell
D-Link’s 3G door bell, actually called the D-Link Door Phone, is a home security system with a camera built inside the bell. When someone pushes the bell, the camera starts streaming video online, which can be viewed by a 3G wireless phone so owners can see who is at the door even when not home. The door phone comes out in the second quarter of 2010 for $199.99.

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, D-Link Systems showed off its core product: a wireless router.

But then the Fountain Valley firm pulled out a device mixing Web TV and social networking. And an eReader. And a … doorbell!

There have been major changes inside the company. Last May, it reorganized, letting go of CEO Steven Joe, who has since resurfaced over at Irvine’s hot HDTV company Vizio (read earlier story: “D-Link replaces president, announces reorganization“). Nick Tidd, pictured below, stepped in as vice president of marketing. This week, Tidd was named president of D-Link North America.

Tidd answered some questions to give readers insight into what D-Link is all about today.

Question: With some major management shifts behind it, how has D-Link changed as a business?

Nick Tidd, named president of D-Link North America in Jan. 2010.D-Link’s Nick Tidd: The most significant changes have come since last May when we had a complete reorganization of our North American and Pan American operations. We’ve made a number of changes to the organization in order to optimize and leverage resources across North America. We’ve built teams and budgets for areas which were lacking and built structure and systems so we’re better equipped to compete in a fast and dynamic marketplace. But overall, we’ve tried to instill the sense of fun and empowerment among our employees needed to achieve the next level of success as a company. We are aggressively driving into new markets, while solidifying our presence in existing markets where we have a very compelling value proposition to companies with constrained budgets and consumers looking to get more out of technology and their connected devices. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Gadgets • Wi-Fi & networking • • • • • • • • • | 20 Comments »

D-Link shows Boxee, touchscreen router, 3G doorbell

January 8th, 2010, 10:38 am by

dlinkimg_7660The Boxee Box from Fountain Valley’s D-Link Systems is getting a lot of attention at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show because it will make the free Web TV service available to more people everywhere who don’t want to hook up a PC to their TV or buy a game console.

Boxee Box by D-LinkThe surprisingly small box  – less than 5-square inches — runs the exact software as regular Boxee. For those unfamiliar with the product, Boxee offers an online library of 200 applications. Many are video providers, which allow consumers to watch TV shows, movies and other video inexpensively from the Web.

The draw is likely the Boxee service itself. It’s clean, user friendly and thorough. The service also will scan computers and devices attached to the home’s network in search of photos, home or recorded movies and music files. Boxee offers a menu to easily access all that content. Some images of what the service looks like on a TV: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

Why is everyone in line for D-Link?

January 7th, 2010, 10:54 am by

Spotted at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas: A line for D-Link Systems in the hallway of the south hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Fountain Valley company is usually out on the show floor with its home networking products. Still, people were lining up:

Line for D-Link at CES 2010

Free coffee from D-Link at CESEntertainment next to D-Link's free coffee stand at CES 2010.Ahhh… Free coffee! Just what I needed…

Free music too!

Much better than the usual plethora of free bags, pens, magnets and other doohickeys that probably got thrown out after the show anyway.

For more CES 2010 coverage, visit the Gadgetress CES page at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/ces2010. Read the rest of this entry »

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D-Link boxes in Web TV’s Boxee

December 7th, 2009, 4:52 pm by

Corrected, 12/8/09: D-Link plans to launch the box in second quarter 2010 (not 2009)!
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D-Link Systems is jumping on the two hottest tech trends of social media and Web TV with … a box.

Not just any box. The Fountain Valley company is teaming with Boxee, an open-source software developer of free software that lets computer users watch favorite Web TV shows and videos on their home TV —  and share what they’re watching with friends online.

Here it is, the Boxee Box by D-Link:

Boxee Box by D-Link

Boxee Box by D-Link, backThis little black box — about 5 square inches — will let Boxee subscribers forgo connecting cables and laptop to a TV. Instead, the box sits next to the TV and pipes in Internet video to the TV. No need to remove it when done, as one would a laptop. Click photos on right to enlarge images.

A lot of geeks like Boxee because it lets them watch only the TV they want to watch via sites like Hulu.com, CBS.com, Netflix, etc.

Boxee adds a simple directory so it’s easier to browse what TV shows are available online. Also, since the box lives on the home computer network, Boxee can build a digital library of digital movies and music found on any computer connected to the same network. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Gadgets • Internet • Video & TV • Wi-Fi & networking • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

O.C.’s bamboo drives, laser TVs, more get nod from tech industry

February 6th, 2009, 12:05 pm by

The Consumer Electronics Association, best known for hosting the annual tech show CES every January, named a handful of Orange County companies today as finalists for its “2009 Mark of Excellence Awards” for custom home electronics.  While there is a ton of competition, O.C. has a good showing:

Best Control System:
NevoS70 Controller (pictured on right) from Universal Electronics in Cypress. This super-sized all-in-one remote can control everything from your stereo system to computers on the home network. 

Best Green Product, Service, or Corporate Policy
D-Link Systems in Fountain Valley, nominated for its corporate policy, which includes building Energy Star-approved products, and supporting local recycling, reuse and reclamation of consumer goods. Offers “green Ethernet” products, which put unused cables in sleep mode.

Fabrik’s [re]drive is made from bamboo

SimpleTech, a Fabrik Company, in Santa Ana, introduced the [re]drive (on left) last year made partly from bamboo grown near its manufacturing plant in China. The drive also has a fanless cooling system and a low-powered drive and an Energy Start adapter to help cut energy usage by 90 percent over comparable drives.

Best Video display
LaserVue TV from Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. in Irvine. A new type of flat TV that uses laser technology to produce the video, which is touted as offering twice the color while using half the power as comparably sized TVs.

For a complete list of finalists, visit www.CE.org/MOE. Winners will be announced on March 13, 2009 at the Electronic House Expo Sprint 2009 in Orlando, FL.

Recent Gadgetress stories:

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CES gadgets: D-Link’s nifty photo router, USB monitor

January 6th, 2009, 4:13 pm by

The Consumer Electronics Show officially starts Wednesday night, with a keynote message from Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. But the gadget announcements have already started coming in. I’ll post them as time permits.

First up: Fountain Valley’s D-Link Systems. The home networking company always manages to find some new twist on routers. And the new Xtreme N DIR-685 is like no other router I’ve seen. It looks — and acts — like a digital picture frame as well. The loaded router has a 3.2-inch LCD monitor and SharePort technology to add a printer or scanner for the whole house to share.

The monitor can be used to show photo slide shows or the network status of the router and home network. Photos are managed on the FrameChannel Web site at internetphotoframe.com. Also, since it’s plugged into the Internet, it can stream Internet video, show weather forecasts and display other Internet information. It’s essentially a mini Internet station complete with viewing portal. 

It also has two USB ports that turns anything plugged in it into a networked device that can be shared with every computer on the home network. This is a great way to share ordinary printers, scanners and external hard drives. 

D-Link also is introducing a small USB monitor called the D-Link SideStage. This is a 7-inch monitor that is intended to be a secondary monitor to display instant messages and other widgets that might get lost behind all the open windows on a desktop or laptop computer. Click images below for a larger look:

 

The USB 2.0 powered monitor weighs 1.34 pounds and is 4.6 inces tall, 7-inches wide and 3/4-inch thick. Don’t expect great picture quality — resolution is 800 by 480.

This actually reminds of a Windows Vista  SideShow feature that was all the rage at the 2006 CES, but never made it mainstream. SideShow allowed a connected smaller monitor to display widgets, e-mail and other information. Manufacturers had created interesting applications, including this laptop bag by Elekson that put a 2.5-inch monitor on the bag’s exterior so users could quickly look to see if they received new messages. 

No price has been set but D-Link is trying to get it below $130. According to Dan Kelley, D-Link’s senior director of marketing, the monitor is expected to be available in stores during the first quarter of 2009. The “photo” router also has not been priced, but is expected to launch later this year.

For more coverage of CES 2009, check the archive: gagdgetress.freedomblogging.com/tag/ces-2009

Posted in: news • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

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