Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

The Gigabyte M700, was announced back in March, but at the time not much else was known. The only features we were aware of at the time was its 1.2 GHz VIA processor, 7-inch touchscreen display (1024x600 resolution), 1GB RAM (2GB maximum), 40/60GB hard drive, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, front and rear web cams, and dual ExpressCard slots with Wi-Max support.

Fast forward to today and we now know that Gigabyte is pushing the M700 as a mobile entertainment center. The 1.43-pound device will be sporting a digital TV tuner with IPTV support in its base station, allowing it to stream TV content over a network similar to a Slingbox. The premise is to simply connect your TV source to the base station and watch streaming live TV on the tablet. The docking station will have various audio/video inputs, a SD card slot, IR port, and an optional optical drive. Gigabyte has chosen Windows Vista Home Premium as the OS and has equipped the M700 with a three hour battery life. The device is expected to go on sale Q3 2008, for a yet to be determined price tag. In the mean time, check out the video preview below.

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Just a few days ago, Netflix announced plans to jump into streaming their library online, so customers do not have to wait for TV shows or movies to arrive in the mail before watching.  Brian from Gizmodo posted his first impressions on the service, and he overall seemed impressed.

The new Netflix video download service streamed in near DVD quality over his 6 megabit connection in about 800 wide, by 480 tall.  The 1 hour and 40 minute movie that he watched took about 16 minutes to fully download, and started streaming almost immediately.

I won’t spoil any more of it, so if you want to read more about his first look, head over to Gizmodo to read it.

Read [Gizmodo]

Netflix has given word that they will begin delivery of TV shows and films over IP starting this week.  Customers will be given choices in IP rental plans ranging from 6 hours of viewing time per month up to 48 hours.  I assume they’ve capped it at 48 hours to combat piracy, because once the signal is in your home, you can do whatever you want with it (technically - not legally).  At launch, Netflix will offer about 1,000 titles and will only be available on Windows XP PCs with IE.

Now what about picture quality?  The quality is limited to what a subscriber’s bandwidth can take.  DVD quality will be at around 3 mbits; however, a picture will still stream all the way down to 1 mbit.

The company will first roll out the service to 250,000 existing users per month, then scale to meet the needs of their 6 million subscribers.  They are claiming that they will be fully scaled by June.  It seems that Netflix’s master plan is unfolding right before our eyes.  This will cut out shipping costs - which are a majority of the company’s costs to begin with.  If this model ends up a success, I can imagine their profits would skyrocket.  Once they form some partnerships to get set-top-boxes in living rooms, this may be the end-all, be-all solution for TV / Movie rental.

Read [Netflix] Via [TechCrunch]

MY-IPTV Anywhere provides an inexpensive solution for catching the shows you want, on your home channels, when you’re not home. The software allows you to deliver your home or local TV programs to anywhere in the world as long as you have broadband internet access (like Slingbox and Sony’s Location Free TV).

TV programs are delivered to you using MY-IPTV Anywhere’s built-in MPEG-4, H.264 software compression technology. Soon you will also be able to pause, rewind and play live TV programs utilizing MY-IPTV Anywhere’s PVR function. Once you have registered with honestech’s online membership, connection to your home PC and local TV programs is just a click away. The connection is peer to peer so you can be assured of a secure connection. You can also burn recorded TV programs onto a DVD.

The product sells online for an average of $130, which is about $50 less than Sling Media charges for its comparable Slingbox Tuner hardware. Other place-shifting hardware for viewing TV remotely--such as Monsoon Multimedia’s HAVA Wireless HD and Pinnacle’s PCTV To Go--are even more expensive, at $250.

My-IPTV can’t do all the things that high-end place-shifting hardware can. But if you want a cheap way to watch your favorite midday soap opera and to keep tabs on Fido as he sleeps on your living-room floor while you are in a remote location, My-IPTV & Cam Anywhere is a great option.

Read [Hones Tech] Via [PC World] Via [Boston]

IPTV has been on the rise ever since video podcasts (or vodcasts) became popular.  The founders of Kazaa and Skype are now moving into the space with their new P2P software, dubbed The Venice Project.  Earlier today, they sent out notifications to those that registered (myself included) that it is now time to move into private beta.

Welcome to The Venice Project beta testing program. As you may know, we’re working on a project that we think will completely revolutionise television. Combining the best features of TV with the powerful social features of the internet, The Venice Project will give TV viewers, advertisers and content owners more choice, control and creativity than ever before.

We’d like your help in realising this vision. Today, we’re inviting you to take a sneak preview of our work and take part in The Venice Project’s first beta testing phase. This is a private, invitation-only beta test and the software is still in the early stages, but we would greatly value your opinions. We hope you’ll participate actively by giving us your feedback on everything from bugs to performance issues and suggestions for new features.

The Venice Project