Roku £50 set-top box gets iPlayer, goes on sale in UK
Roku -- a budget set-top box that's big in the US -- is now available for us Brits. And it's rocking BBC iPlayer, the company has just announced.
It's good news, because while the box 'boasts' more than 40 'channels', we can't say we're that bowled over with most of them. Many are merely apps that give you access to a separate web service -- but that may be all you're looking for. Netflix and iPlayer may well be enough, especially at this price. Continue reading...
Is it worth seeing Star Wars in 3D?
Last night 20th Century Fox treated me to a screening of the new 3D version of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which is in cinemas now. As I got to see it for free, it only seems fair I should let you know if it's worth spending actual money to see it.
First off, it's worth mentioning the obvious. No amount of 3D can change the fact that there's waaay too much about trade taxation routes in this film. The whole 'is Natalie Portman grooming a child?' sub-plot is still there. Jar Jar Binks hasn't been digitally erased. But if you're reading this, you probably already have your own views about the artistic merit of this movie, so I'll stick to the techy stuff. Continue reading...
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Sky available online in 2012, no dish required
Sky is ditching the dish. For the first time, you'll be able to get full Sky packages without a bowl on the side of your house with a new online service launching in the next six months.
Up until now, Sky's online services, such as Sky Go, have acted as catch-up or on-demand add-ons for customers who already have a dish. But while it will continue to beam your TV via satellites, you'll be able to subscribe directly to Sky Sports, Sky Movies and the rest without sending a man up a ladder on the side of your house. Continue reading...
BBC iPlayer now on Sky, with Anytime+ open to all
iPlayer is coming to Sky for the first time. To make sure everyone can catch up on BBC shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock, Sky is opening up Sky Anytime+ -- its on-demand service you watch via your Sky box -- to any Sky viewer, not just those on its broadband package.
ITV Player also arrives on Anytime+ this week. Popular ITV shows such as Prime Suspect, Lewis and Cold Feet will be available to watch from tomorrow. Other ITV series, including Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and popular BBC shows like Top Gear, Hustle and Outnumbered will follow later this year. Continue reading...
Top tech trends at CES 2012
The annual CES show in Las Vegas is arguably the greatest gadget show on earth. Traditionally many of the biggest names in tech use it to launch their key products for the coming year.
CES 2012 may not have had one dominant theme in the way that 3D TVs stole the show in 2011, and tablets the year before, but there was still tonnes of interesting tech strewn across the ample exhibition space. Here's what we think were the key trends of the show. Continue reading...
BBC iPlayer has record year, iPad viewing up 600 per cent
BBC iPlayer had a record year in 2011, with shows such as Top Gear and Sherlock fuelling demand. Auntie Beeb's regular BBC iStats reveal we watch and listen to more and more TV and radio on our phones, smart TVs and games consoles -- and iPad iPlaying has skyrocketed by 600 per cent.
We watched and listened to 1.94bn programmes in 2011, including 187m in December. The Top Gear India Special, David Attenbrough's Frozen Planet and cockerney misery-porn EastEnders were the most watched shows over Christmas. A record 145m TV and radio shows were streamed to the viewing and listening public. Continue reading...
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Bond 50 Blu-ray box set features all 22 James Bond films
The name's ray... Blu-ray. All 22 Bond films appear on Blu-ray for the first time this year in the Bond 50 Blu-ray collection. Shocking... positively shocking.
Mix a Martini -- shaken, not stirred, obvs -- and invite Mish Moneypenny or Pushy Galore round to enjoy the girls, guns, gadgets and high adventure in high definition -- 00720p, perhaps? Continue reading...
Sky remote control comes to your smart phone
What do you call the remote control in your house? The remote, the clicker, the hoofer-doofer -- or the iPhone? Sky has teamed up with telly-watching app Zeebox to turn your smart phone or tablet into a remote control for your Sky box.
Remote-control features will be built into Sky apps so you can take charge of your viewing with your mobile or slate, as well as discussing what you're watching live with other viewers on social networks. Continue reading...
Netflix now live in UK with a month's free movies
Grab some popcorn: Netflix is live in the UK and Ireland. You can now stream on-demand films and TV programmes to your computer, phone or tablet -- even over 3G -- with a month's free trial available now.
Netflix is massive in the US, and its launch in Blighty will be a huge boost for online streaming of movies and TV. After the one-month free trial, it costs £6 in the UK and €7 in Ireland. Continue reading...
LG BH9420PW has 3D Sound Zooming to drop you in the action
While 3D might be struggling to win the nation's favour, here's a cool feature that will help make for a more immersive experience. LG is due to announce a new surround sound system at CES, and it comes packing a feature called 3D Sound Zooming.
Now this is rather clever. It syncs sound with the location and movement of the 3D images on an LG 3D TV. So if something appears to come out of the screen, the sound will match it, and the same if something shoots off into the distance. Sounds great, and it should make for more immersive viewing. Continue reading...
First Google TV for UK coming from LG in 2013
Fancy firing up Android apps on your telly? You could do just that with the LG's Google TV, the first telly to use the system announced for the UK.
Google TV puts Google in your gogglebox by using Android -- Google's mobile phone and tablet software -- to run your telly. Sadly, although it's the first to be officially confirmed for Britain, it won't actually land in living rooms until 2013. Continue reading...
BBC Red Button services head to Virgin Media TiVo
The BBC Red Button is coming to TiVo. Bonus news and sport content can be yours at the touch of a button on your Virgin Media TiVo box some time next year.
The BBC Sport app and BBC News app will offer interactive extras from the 2012 Olympics in London, Wimbledon, Euro 2012 and the BBC's truncated line-up of Formula 1 races. Continue reading...
The Dark Knight Rises prologue: We've seen it, you can too
We've been privy to a screening of the first six minutes of The Dark Knight Rises, the third Batman movie from director Christopher Nolan. The movie's not out until summer next year, so to whet your appetite, we thought we'd lay out our first impressions of the movie's high-octane opening.
SPOILER WARNING: We'll try to be careful about not giving away too much, but if you'd rather go into the caped crusader's latest outing with no knowledge of what's to come, stop reading now. Continue reading...
Apple TV accounts for a third of set-top boxes sold in 2011
Here's a surprising stat: Apple TV now accounts for almost a third of all set-top media streamers sold this year, according to a report. That's right, a third. Not too bad for something Apple describes as "a hobby".
That's compared to things like the Boxee Box and the Roku -- not cable or satellite PVRs such as Sky+ or TiVo -- but it's still impressive. It's also sure to fan flames about Apple's rumoured upcoming TV set. Continue reading...
Sky Go Movies Express offers free Christmas train travel
All aboard the Sky Movies Express. Sky is running a free train from London to Birmingham this Christmas, decked out in the style of festive films favourites and stuffed with iPads for the lucky crimble commuters.
The Sky Go Movies Express was christened by Tamsin Egerton -- off of St Trinian's, apparently -- and will make a day trip to Brum and back in the week before Christmas. Four vintage train carriages are styled after Christmassy classics Mary Poppins, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, It's a Wonderful Life and, er, The King's Speech. Continue reading...
Tesco adds free online movies to DVDs bought in store
Tesco is giving you a free digital copy of any movie you drop in your real-life trolley. Buy a DVD or Blu-ray in a Tesco store, and a digital copy automatically appears in your online Clubcard account.
Starting with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, your movie blockbusters can now reside in your online locker as well as on your shelf. We think it's a great idea: when you buy a film, you're buying the film, not the box. You should be able to watch that film wherever you want, on whatever screen you want. Continue reading...
Sky Movies joins Sky Go on iPhone and iPad
Sky Movies are on the iPhone and iPad. Sky Go, the on-demand service that lets you watch Sky when you're aht an' abaht now includes Sky's movie channels.
If you're a Sky customer you can now watch all 11 Sky Movies channels on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Continue reading...
Sony Personal 3D Viewer hands-on video 
Hit play on the video above to witness our hands-on testing of Sony's thoroughly weird Personal 3D Viewer headset, which straps two tiny screens in front of your eyes to deliver a totally isolated movie experience.
The Viewer itself attaches to your bonce, and is secured in place by a series of straps. Two 0.7-inch OLED screens, each with a 1,280x720-pixel resolution then fire images into your eyes, creating a 3D effect. Continue reading...
Arrested Develoment resurrected by Netflix
Arrested Development is coming back! Great news for fans of the cult US comedy -- and for online telly-watching, as the new episodes are financed by on-demand service Netflix.
And there's even more good news for us Brits, as Netflix will have launched over here by then. Continue reading...
Biographer: Steve Jobs reinventing TV, cameras and textbooks
Walter Isaacson, writer of the recently released biography of Steve Jobs, has revealed that the late Apple supremo was working on 'reinventing' three key areas of technology: television, photography and textbooks.
And despite the famed secrecy surrounding the development of Apple products, it seems Jobs may have been uncharacteristically candid with Isaacson -- although we shouldn't expect the writer to reveal any of the details he discovered. Continue reading...
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