Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Tru2way is coming and Panasonic is putting it in their VIERA TVs!  Yeah!  That’s great!  Now what is tru2way?!

Well tru2way is the consumer-friendly name for a technology that lets you have access to all kinds of cable television guides, on demand services, and actual cable television without the need for a convertor box. 

Panasonic is working with Comcast to show off tru2way in Denver and Chicago right now.  Other cable systems will roll out the service over time.  More after the break.

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Last night’s town hall debate between presidential candidates was more than just debate #2.  It was the first time Hulu streamed live.  That is right, in addition to the myriad of ways to catch the

“straight talk,“ add Hulu to the list.  Who cares right?

Here is why you need to care:  It is all about money.  Click more to find out.

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Sections: Video, Content, HDTV, Gadgets / Other, Household, Web, Web 2.0, Websites, Online Music/Video

Plug your PC into a wall electrical outlet, and that’s all your need to surf the web at high speeds. Tell the cable and DSL service providers where they can stuff their plugs, while you ride the wave of yet another next-generation technology at cheaper prices.

Well…not yet.

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the concept of broadband over power line (BPL), which the Federal Communications Commission has been touting since 2003 as possible pricing competition for cable and DSL providers. It’s only a pilot program in a handful of cities, but the FCC commissioned studies on the technology and wanted an accelerated rollout of the program. Now you can scratch one of those cities off the list, while the FCC studies themselves are being attacked by amateur radio operators.

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Realizing that many people now watch movies through their PC or laptop, HBO will give its current subscribers exclusive rights to download and watch hundreds of movies and original programming through the Internet, at no additional cost. The trial run will commence this week in Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin and will be cascaded nationwide shortly.

But there is a twist in its strategy. Unlike many major TV networks that stream videos free for all online users, this Time Warner Cable subsidiary will provide its qualified subscribers a separate software program that automatically downloads videos directly to the hard drive of your computer. Added features include parental controls, customized accounts for every family member and ability to view a live TV version of HBO.

But there are also some limitations in this new service. For one, you must subscribe to HBO. Also, even if you are already a subscriber you cannot still save these videos permanently because they will expire after 4 weeks. Sideloading to other portable devices is also not allowed. While not perfect its seems to be a very good starting point.

Read [The New York Times]

• Blockbuster to offer streaming set-top box
• Some Columbia Pictures movies return to NXE streams
• New MacBooks and MacBook Pros require HDCP for some iTunes videos

Sections: Video, Content, Web, Online Music/Video

If you are a heavy user of high-speed Internet, your happy days of peer-to-peer downloading might soon be over. Time Warner Cable, currently the second largest U.S. cable operator, plans to shift from the standard flat fee to a usage-based billing scheme.

The Internet subscribers in Beaumont, Texas are the chosen guinea pigs for the first trial run. The test is slated later this year but the terms had not been set yet.

Since video downloading and streaming are very popular nowadays, the cable operator claims this is a strategy to minimize network congestion. Moreover, it assured the public that its impact is very minimal for only 5% of all customers are considered heavy users. In fact, this new billing scheme is claimed to be very favorable for the majority of light users.

Other cable companies are quietly observing the results of this new pricing test. If proven effective without much hullabaloo, this could entice other players to adopt this scheme and abandon flat fee pricing totally.

Read [Reuters]

• Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T temporarily free
• New .tel domain opens up
• Reality TV meets Symphonies and Youtube

Sections: Computers, Web, Downloads

It is very hard to find an HDMI cable longer than 50 feet and at that point the quality begins to suffer. Intelix came up with one possible solution. They announced a HDMI over CAT-5 converter, which will allow you to run two 150-foot CAT5 cables to connect your HDMI equipment. Furthermore, the device is HDCP compliant. This will now let you run HD video feeds from your system in the closet to your TV.

Read [HD Beat]

• Asus intro’s 24, 25.5-inch personal entertainment LCD monitors
• Eee box gains home theater features
• Panasonic makes a move for 3D Blu-ray