PluggedIn: Watching your own TV, thousands of miles away

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - So you're moving from the United States to another country and the most important thing you can think of is how you can watch the new season of "American Idol"?

You're not alone -- "placeshifting" is one of the hottest new areas in TV technology. People no longer need to live in a country to see all of their local TV stations. In fact, they don't even need a TV anymore.

There are platforms for watching popular shows on the Internet and there is technology to actually make a full television feed available just like in the living room. Either way, it can be relatively cheap and surprisingly easy to keep up while on an overseas assignment.

PLACESHIFTING

The best-known technology for moving an entire TV feed from one place to another is the Slingbox (www.slingbox.com), which came out a few years ago. Although the developer was later acquired by satellite company EchoStar, the device works with any platform, even an over-the-air antenna.

The Slingbox, which currently comes in two models starting at $180, connects to a video feed and to the Internet, and lets users watch that feed as though they were in the same room. It even offers an on-screen remote control for changing channels, pausing, opening menus, and so on.

The Slingbox is available for Windows and Mac, as well as the BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Symbian and classic Palm mobile platforms.

One downside of the Slingbox, though, is that it does not offer wireless support out of the box, meaning users need to put their Slingbox close to their Internet router or buy a separate wireless or home powerline adapter. Also, it is not designed to let users record video onto computers.

For those who want wireless or who want to record to a PC, Monsoon Multimedia's Hava Media Player (www.myhava.com) offers many of those features. It leverages the Windows Media Center software to turn a PC into a personal video recorder, using a remote video stream from a Hava box. Hava has four models that start at $120.

However, Hava does not offer a Mac version, and its cellular support is limited to Symbian and Windows Mobile. Hava also charges a subscription fee for some services.

The problem with the Slingbox and the Hava is that if something goes wrong overseas -- a power outage, a broken cable, an overly inquisitive cat -- they can be difficult or impossible to fix.

For American expats with money to burn and a need for guaranteed service, there are options like Nationphone & TV. The company will actually sign you up for cable service, put your cable box in their data center and stream the output to you over a fiber-optic connection.

The service costs $99 a month for 65 channels without a digital video recorder, or $199 a month for 200 channels with a recorder and premium movie stations. There is also a one-time set-up fee of $175. (here)

THE INTERNET

Some people are content with just a few shows, though, and don't necessarily need to watch the Sunday morning current affairs program from their local public access channel.

Sony Ericsson MW600 Review

If you're someone who regularly finds themselves driving, or cycling, or skiing, or cooking, or cleaning, or doing anything - for that matter - which requires your hands and at least a portion of your concentration, then you'll know the value of a Bluetooth headset. But in the more energetic of the aforementioned pursuits, you'll find that a regular ol' one-eared headset won't do. They fall out. When you're halfway down a Colorado piste, or leaning over your stew, the last thing you want that little bit of expensive plastic to do is fall out. Enter Sony Ericsson's MW600 - a teeny-tiny device with a big clip that lets you turn any pair of headphones into a Bluetooth headset. But is it worth shelling out your hard-earned cash for? Do you really need the MW600 in your life? Look down at your little finger on your left hand. The MW600 is about the same size as that. It has a clip on the back that reaches two-thirds of the w...

La publicité est aussi efficace sur le Web qu'à la TV

La publicité sur internet est aussi efficace que les campagnes télévisuelles auprès des consommateurs. Selon des études menées par ComScore et dunnhumby USA, publiées le 26 août, des publicités sur la Toile ont permis d'augmenter de 9% sur 3 mois les ventes au détail pour les marques, utilisées dans le cadre de ces recherches. En savoir plus sur : www.reseaux-telecoms.net Posté par Gaylor

HTC Sensation- A Multimedia Super phone

HTC has officially come out with Sensation 4G available at T-Mobile stores across the nation. HTC Sensation is being touted as a never before entertainment phone. The HTC Sensation includes an immersive HTC Sense experience making it easy-to-use and a top entertainer. The unique design, combined with contoured glass edging, The HTC Sensation is indeed a multimedia super phone. Some of the most captivating features of HTC Sensation are instant camera capture, richer internet experience, active lockscreen and a lot more with immersive experience. It has Qualcomm’s 1.2GHz dual-core processor that debuts in the phone. The users of the phone feel it’s a thicker, heavier device, but the rounded-off corners and subtle curve to the edges of the display make it somehow organic. If the closest competitor Samsung feels like a small tablet, the Sensation 4G feels like a phone, even though the display is the same size and, most importantly, can fit more on-screen thanks to the higher resoluti...

Technology Revolution

Search This Blog