television Archive

  • Interview: Chuck Pagano talks ESPN 3D, mobile streaming

    Interview: Chuck Pagano talks ESPN 3D, mobile streaming

    Posted on June 12, 2010 | No Comments
    During our time at ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut this past week, we were able to peek inside every nook and cranny of the company's technological side. We discovered some pretty remarkable things about the culture and attitude toward innovation, and while the bulk of that discovery will be seen in a forthcoming Engadget Show segment, we couldn't help but share some insight from a kind fellow who has been deeply involved in the blinking lights portion of ESPN from day one. We sat down for a brief one-on-one interview with Chuck Pagano -- ESPN's executive vice president of technology -- following the outfit's 3D launch, and while we were both bitter over the 1-1 result in the South Africa vs. Mexico match, he was understandably excited about the future of his firm's latest channel. For Chuck's take on 3D, the move to HD and the impending arrival of ESPN streams on your phone, be sure to grab your best reading glasses and click on through.

    Continue reading Interview: Chuck Pagano talks ESPN 3D, mobile streaming

    Interview: Chuck Pagano talks ESPN 3D, mobile streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video)

    Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video)

    Posted on June 5, 2010 | No Comments
    And you wonder why the cabbies here are so addicted to mobile TV. Innocomm's latest -- hailed as the first Android 3.5G smartphone with Telegent's mobile TV solution -- was on-hand here at Computex, and while the Shark didn't look too special at first glance, it actually proved to be a mighty respectable phone after we opened our mind and gave it a few precious moments of our lives. The handset itself manages to boast an impressive WVGA (800 x 480) 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen, and there's an 8 megapixel camera around back to accompany the 3.5G connectivity, inbuilt WiFi and analog TV tuner. We found the device to be running Android 2.1, and for all intents and purposes, it hummed along like a clock. Touchscreen response was top notch, and the TV application loaded and closed with nary a hitch. Innocomm plans to ship the thing worldwide in the coming weeks, though users in need of a digital receiver will have to wait for a future model. Have a look at us presumably getting cursed at by a daytime drama queen just past the break.

    Continue reading Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video)

    Android-based Innocomm Shark tunes into Taiwanese TV, makes us want to move here (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Jun 2010 13:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Boxee for iPhone, iPad and Android all but confirmed in Vindicia payment processing deal

    Boxee for iPhone, iPad and Android all but confirmed in Vindicia payment processing deal

    Posted on May 11, 2010 | No Comments
    Oh sure, having Boxee nailed down to the desktop of your PC is fine and dandy, and that Boxee Box will ensure that the same experience is enjoyed by all who plant their fundament in front of your HDTV. But we all know what you're after -- lemon drops. And a mobile version of Boxee. In a post today by the company, it expressed outright joy in inking a deal with Vindicia in order to bring a payment processing solution to the platform; slated for implementation "by the end of the summer," this CashBox add-in would enable users to purchase "premium content" from Boxee's programming partners via credit card, gift card or PayPal. It's a vital step in Boxee finally finding a revenue stream (something it confessed to needing on a previous episode of The Engadget Show), and better still, "Vindicia's flexibility makes it possible for [Boxee] to enable payments on its website and across mobile platforms like the iPhone, Android and iPad." Yeah, those are the company's own words right there, and in case you still aren't believing your eyes, chew on one final quote:
    "Boxee's eventual expansion to these platforms will pave the way for universally accessible content no matter where a user is (we love this idea!)."
    Huzzah!

    Boxee for iPhone, iPad and Android all but confirmed in Vindicia payment processing deal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 20:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Samsung looking into bringing Android to the TV

    Samsung looking into bringing Android to the TV

    Posted on April 27, 2010 | No Comments
    Sources at Samsung revealed that they are looking at TV’s that incorporate Google’s Android OS in them. I’m not so sure I want a TV that is quite that intelligent. An anonymous Samsung exec was quoted as saying, “we are considering Google TVs.” It makes sense to license Android, since the application base keeps growing, and [...]

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  • Hack your Samsung TV, linux guy

    Hack your Samsung TV, linux guy

    Posted on March 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Interestingly enough, the official Samsung firmware for several different models is based off the Linux kernel. This opens up a whole world of possibilities, particularly since many users feel that the current firmware is broken. The major problem is that the media player functionality is very basic, and missing key file types needed to make it useful.

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  • Sony opens 3D Experience in Vegas

    Sony opens 3D Experience in Vegas

    Posted on March 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Well, TV manufacturers are definitely embracing 3D for the home. Obviously it's going to require the networks to jump in too, as evidenced by Sony and CBS building the "Sony 3D Experience" in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

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  • Boxee + Clicker = so close, yet so far

    Boxee + Clicker = so close, yet so far

    Posted on December 3, 2009 | No Comments
    I don't watch a lot of television programming, and I'm not particularly patient with the way "Big Media" treats me, the consumer. I really wanted to like Flash Forward, but it's pretty clear that the show is more interested in hitting that 100 episodes mark to earn syndication than it is in delivering an interesting, gripping story. So I gave up on that, and on a lark decided to try Fringe, to kill some time. Unfortunately, Hulu doesn't have the beginning of the series, let alone the beginning of the current season. I'm not excited about jumping into the show midstream. I'm also not interested in navigating the various network websites to find their hosted copies of the shows I might watch. Isn't that what Hulu was supposed to do for me? Enter Clicker.com. "Clicker aims to become the complete programming guide to Internet television." Indeed, they have an impressive catalog of more than 400,000 television episodes from 7,000 different shows, not to mention movies and original web content. They've been around for awhile, but today they're unveiling their new Boxee app, allowing you to access their impressive catalog of content from within Boxee.

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  • FCC starts up white spaces database, devices now inevitable

    FCC starts up white spaces database, devices now inevitable

    Posted on December 1, 2009 | No Comments
    White space devices seem likely to play a major part in the FCC's solution to the wireless spectrum crisis. Operating in the buffers between frequencies used by television broadcasts, these devices will be able to exploit TV's airspace without interfering with the incumbent users' traffic. The unlicensed utilization of white spaces has been approved going on for a year now, but really important government stuff has gotten in the way of making that vote a reality. It was only recently that Claudville, Virginia got the very first such network, and initial results show that it hasn't disrupted any of the fine, fine programming percolating the local airwaves. The only issue we see is that your WSD will need to be capable of both identifying its own position by GPS and hooking up to the database to find out what bands it may use, but then it's not like anyone sells smartphones without these capabilities nowadays, is it?

    FCC starts up white spaces database, devices now inevitable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Judge sides with Telus, says Rogers’ ‘most reliable’ claim reeks of half-truths

    Judge sides with Telus, says Rogers’ ‘most reliable’ claim reeks of half-truths

    Posted on November 24, 2009 | No Comments
    Wireless networks in the States have a storied history of throwing fits over each others' "most" and "best" claims -- and now they're really getting into it up north, too, seeing how Telus just lit up a shiny new 21Mbps HSPA network that seems to be matching or besting Rogers' existing infrastructure in many ways. As is all too often the case, the spat has ended up down in the court system where Telus is bellyaching that Rogers' claims of running "Canada's most reliable" and "fastest" airwaves have been invalid as of November 5, when its competing hardware went live (funny -- and telling -- that it didn't bother levying any complaints back in the CDMA days). Anyhow, a judge has just ruled -- apparently after analyzing paperwork filed by both sides -- that "the present network technology is at least equivalent between Rogers and Telus," invalidating Rogers' reliability claim. Rogers isn't too happy about this (though they've tiptoed away from speed claims in their latest advertising, smartly) and intends to appeal with new courtroom drama getting ready to roll on Friday. So, we turn it over to our Canadian readers: who's really offering the best service right now in the trenches?

    Judge sides with Telus, says Rogers' 'most reliable' claim reeks of half-truths originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild

    FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild

    Posted on November 20, 2009 | No Comments
    We don't know if watching TV on a 3.5-inch display is your bag, as it were, but it looks like Qualcomm is moving onward and upward with its plans for FLO TV on the iPhone. Not too many details at the moment, just some pics that Electricpig snapped of a handset running a proof-of-concept app that relys on an external device for reception, streaming re-runs of Mayberry R.F.D. to your handset via WiFi. No word yet on the when this device might actually go "prime time," but with any luck the five pocket TV enthusiasts out there may someday be freed from the tyranny of the FLO TV Personal Television. Get a closer look after the break.

    Continue reading FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild

    FLO TV for iPhone proof-of-concept caught in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Microsoft to sponsor commercial-free Family Guy special on November 8th

    Microsoft to sponsor commercial-free Family Guy special on November 8th

    Posted on October 14, 2009 | No Comments
    Lest you think Microsoft isn't serious about Windows 7, get this: on November 8th the company will be sponsoring a big commercial-free Family Guy special on Fox. According to AdAge.com, “The Microsoft-sponsored variety show, whose working title is ‘Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show,’ is a mix of live-action ‘Family Guy’ musical performances, animated shorts and celebrity guest appearances, and is part of an all-Seth MacFarlane night on Fox.”

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  • Steampunk broadcast controller will get you kicked off of the set

    Steampunk broadcast controller will get you kicked off of the set

    Posted on October 1, 2009 | No Comments
    It’s hard to get much attention at major conferences and it seems that Hi Tech Systems has figured out a way to make a bit of a stir. They created a steampunk console that uses their own products inside a case that looks like it belongs in H.G. Well’s sex toy drawer. The device has all [...]

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