Review Horizon

A new year, a new top 10 list that tries to offer a comprehensive view of the top 10 best media streamers for 2012.

If 2011 was a year in which the media streamer boxes sales experienced a consolidation and media streamers like WD TV Live, Boxee Box or Apple TV exploded in sales, 2012 is a year when beside commoditization of the boxes at prices under $100, the manufacturers will fight quite hard to ensure access to content. From new technologies designed to put a media streamer in every TV sold in 2012 – see the Roku streamer USB stick that should add streaming content to every HDMI-MHL compatible TV on the market to new Google TV boxes from new manufacturers, everything is gearing up toward a complete online experience from your big screen TV. We are here to help you make an informed decision, whether you are trying to stream local / networked content or you just need to access as many web services as possible.

As in 2011, In terms of pure streaming, Roku deserves to be again on the first place due to its excellent implementation of web clients and the support for all important premium clients such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video on Demand, etc. HBO GO and many other additional channels fond their way to Roku Boxes and their prices are Read More…

Kindle Fire was one of the most eagerly awaited gadgets for this year and Amazon certainly created a lot of noise around it, raising the expectations through the roof. While using the term iPad killer is really inappropriate after so many wannabees, most of the analysts expected Amazon to release a tablet significantly cheaper than iPad but capable to offer the same kind of synergy between various media services, eBooks and applications, Amazon being one of the very few companies that can rival Apple in such offerings.

Amazon Kindle Fire was released just a few days ago and the question hot on everybody’s lips is how and if it can compare with iPad, with other Android tablets and with the Nook Tablet, its main competitor. Nobody really doubts of Amazon capability of selling millions of Kindle Fires, but to be Read More…

If you are interested in a dirt cheap Surveillance DVR (Digital Video Recorder), the lowest price I have ever seen is this Night Owl NONB-4DVR 4 x BNC Compact H.264 Digital Video Recorder with Smart Phone Access at Newegg. They have it right now for only $69 but it doesn’t include the hard drive. In my opinion this is actually a good thing since you can get a SATA drive for really cheap nowadays.

Obviously, at this price you can’t expect HD quality, but for $69 you can’t really go too wrong. Just remember! It doesn’t come with a hard-drive so you’ll have to get a SATA one separately. Has a mouse, remote control and you can connect it to your TV for instant 4 in 1 camera viewing. I got one myself so expect a review quite soon. there is tax in California, of course so expect it for $75.06 shipped.

Yesterday I had the pleasant surprise to find a package in front of my door – the new Roku 2 3100X has arrived. I unpacked it immediately so I can put it to the test – here is the Roku 2 XS review summing my impressions. I also own the previous Roku (review here)  box for more than a year, so I knew what to expect. I knew the software would be similar, so I was mainly interested in the new box responsivity and of course, the new gaming platform Roku just launched.
A bit of history on the side – Roku was the first company to release a dedicated streaming box and they are now at the 3rd generation. While weak for local content, they have arguably the lagest selection of streaming choices with content from Netflix to Vimeo and UFC to FoxNews. Private channels can be added as well to support Plex, YouTube, PlayOn, etc.

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If you haven’t heard of Roku up to this point, they hold the title for the first dedicated Netflix capable media streamer in the world. As weird as it might sound, back in the day not every media streamer was Netflix capable . Now, of course we live in different times, and Netflix is the largest movie streaming company in the world so Netflix streaming clients can be found everywhere, from stand-alone media streamer boxes to connected Blu-ray players and connected TVs, smartphones, tablets, you name it.

Roku obviously didn’t stop with Netflix, their boxes have the most streaming channels available in any media streamer box (see here our Roku review). The new version of this loaded box found its way to FCC and is currently in beta testing, so that means you’ll soon be able to find it in stores. FCC website lists three new models - 3000X, 3050X, and 3100X. Hardware wise, the new boxes are even smaller than the current version (44.65mm x 44.65mm) and built around a Broadcom 2835 SOC. The good news, they now feature a MicroSD Read More…

Introduction

I wanted to buy a photo frame for my parents in law with the following characteristics: reasonably cheap, large good quality screen, easy to use and, very important, capable to accept 220V power input because they are living in Europe. I wasn’t interested in any fancy features, no video / music, just basic photo slideshow and eventually remote control. I shopped around for a while and I found a product that met all my requirements – the ViewSonic VFD1027w-11 10.2″ 1024 x 600 Digital Photo Frame. I bought it, tested it and here is the review. Read More…

Unfortunately only for Japanese market at this point, CECH-3000B is a new PS3 hardware version that Sony plans to release on June 30th, only 10 days away. The new PS3 model comes with a number of improvements, notably a lower power consumption (around 200W compared with 230W for the current model, CECH-2500B). The hard-drive capacity will remain the same with two versions (160GB and 320GB) while the weight will decrease from 3kg (6.6lb) to 2.6kg (approx 5.7lb). The price for the newer model is 34980 yen or  around $435 ah the current exchange rates and will be available standalone or as part of a PVR Recorder Pack which will include torne, an USB – ISDB-T TV tuner. A new game, Tales of Xillia will be part of the upcoming 160GB model.

The lowered power consumption is very important, especially if you have more than one PS3 in your home. Considering that PS3 is the only game console able to play Netflix / VUDU / Hulu Plus without a monthly fee and includes a Blu-ray drive, it has become the multimedia device of choice for many cable cutters and I can imagine many of us are eagerly awaiting the availability of the new model in the US. Check after the break for a photo gallery and a link to the Sony Playstation Japan web page describing the new model. Read More…

I don’t know what is going one lately in SoCal but I don’t remember any year with a worse weather than 2011. Today it rained and overall, the average temperature is at least 10 degrees under the historical average for this period. But we DO have E3 and Microsoft announced today a bunch of goodies, from Live TV streaming, UFC, Kinect / Bing voice search and YouTube to cloud storage for your game saves and Live Profile. That’s it, no more carrying around that idiotic XBOX only compatible memory stick.

How it will work? Every achievement, points, profile data and game saves will travel with you wherever you go so Read More…

Introduction

Since I cut the cable cord a while ago, I am constantly looking for solutions to improve my TV watching experience. At this point, I am using a PS3 in living room and ROKU / WD TV Live Plus boxes in every room I have TVs. Recently Sony released a new media streamer box that offers streaming functionality similar (but improved in several ways) to their flagship entertainment product – Playstation 3.  The box is rather cheap at only $89  so I decided to give it a try. It got shipped fast enough and the results are described in this review.
The box includes the main media streamer box, the external power brick adapter, the remote, user manual and the good old red white yellow analog audio video cable. Why Sony did not include a HDMI cable in the year 2011 is beyond me.

Tech Specs

Codecs, Inputs, Outputs: Read More…

Todays’s deal of the day consists in the cheapest 1080p digital camera I have seen (while being a decent quality at the same time) from Amazon for $99 shipped and no taxes in most states. The camera is a HP V5061u 1080p flash memory based, features a 5MB CMOS sensor, a 3 inches LCD touchscreen with 960 x 240 resolution that can rotate to 270 degrees so you can take your self portrait (this is a nice touch and usually reserved for more expensive equipment), stereo microphone and a weight of only 9.2 Ounces.