eHomeUpgrade

Hulu Plus App Launched for Nintendo Wii

Staff — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:37:46 +0000

Nintendo has added a Hulu Plus downloadable app to the roster of Wii apps, allowing subscribers to shop at Wii for Hulu Plus networking. A version of the app will be available on Nintendo 3DS. Netflix also offers a Wii app that was released in 2011. BBC’s lauded iPlayer has been available as an add-on [...]

Twine for Connecting the Unconnectable

Editor — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:04:18 +0000

If you haven’t yet come across it, you should check out one of the recent success stories from Kickstarter and start getting excited. Want to hook up things to the Web? Maybe you want to get a tweet when your laundry’s done, or get an email when the basement floods while you’re on vacation. Well [...]

Windows Home Server 2011 Update

Staff — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:27:45 +0000

Microsoft has released the Windows Home Server 2011 Rollup 2 Update. It is a maintenance update to fix a variety of issues the server program has, such as bugs that have been reported to Microsoft by users. The fixes include the ability to disable the Media Streaming Metadata Synchronizer, so that scheduled tasks that can [...]

Redbox and Verizon Partner to Offer Internet Streaming

Staff — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:00:00 +0000

In an attempt to ensure that theay aren’t lef tbehind in the digital content stakes Redbox and Verizon are partnering up and hoping to steal a march on Netflix, the encumbent market leader for streaming video and DVDs. Netflix offers both whereas Redbox only had DVDs that one has to drive to get. So very [...]

Launch Event for Windows 8 Set

Staff — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:59:36 +0000

The beta version of Windows 8 will be previewed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 29th. Microsoft did not provide any further details of its plans. It did mention that there would also be an event in the US, but the details of this event will be released later. The event will [...]

Introducing the Beam Brush – the Smart Toothbrush

Staff — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:11:17 +0000

The latest device to get the connected home treatment is; yes you’ve guessed it, the toothbrush. Strange as it may seem at first appearance there does seem to be a method to the madness. When we say connected that doesn’t however mean you can stream video from it. Not just yet anyway. The Beam Brush [...]

Peel TV Control and Spotify Box Prototype Win Interaction Awards

Staff — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:41:54 +0000

Two innovative new connected home products have been recognised in the first Interaction Awards. The Peel TV controller which we first covered back in June last year and the Spotify Box Player prototype designed by Swedish student Jordi Parra, which we featured way back in April, were amongst the winners in these Google sponsored awards [...]

Google TV Rolls Out Android 3.2

Staff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:55:58 +0000

Google TV is now a part of Android Honeycomb 3.2. A new update was released last week to allow Google TV to go Android in keeping with Google’s promise earlier this month to release frequent updates. This is the latest update that will happen before Android 4 is provided to users. The new software is [...]

Apple Would Like Universal Remote

Staff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:55:56 +0000

An intriguing and innovative patent application, which was registered by Apple in September 2011, has appeared. The patent app explains a new universal remote control program that appears to be unique to Apple. Named Apparatus and Method to Facilitate Universal Remote Control, the application proceeds to describe a universal remote control that has a user-friendly [...]

Netflix Tip – Get Alerted When New Titles are Released

Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:41:37 +0000

If you want to make certain you are aware of all of the new uploads on Netflix and don’t want something more personal than InstantWatcher.com there is an option you can add to your home setup. Think of it as a different type of home automation. Using RSS and your favorite feedreader you can now [...]

Is This the Future of TV Remotes?

Staff — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:03:00 +0000

A lot of attention has been paid to the interfaces of the Smart Tvs and the media software that runs on them but very little has been said about the TV remote. From humble beginnings the average remote now has more buttons than the space shuttle and requires similar training to operate it. As we [...]

Frequent TV Upgrades Planned by Google

Staff — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:53:51 +0000

Google has stated that its most recent television version will be receiving yearly software updates, in addition to voice search and customized suggestions. Google said that it is intending to update its Google TV software by the end of 2012, incorporating new content as well as more customized recommendations and keeping its yearly software upgrade [...]

D-Link High-End Home Networking Earns Honor at CES

Staff — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:57:23 +0000

An announcement has been made by D-Link stating that it has been named as an International CES Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree for its amplifi™ HD Media Router 3000 (DIR-857) with SharePort™ Mobile app. Items that are entered into this exclusive program are evaluated by a leading panel of independent commercial designers, members [...]

Momentum Increase for Home Automation Technology

Staff — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:20 +0000

As a number of the country’s biggest telecommunications and cable organizations keep making their drive into the home security industry, the usage of home automation technology has increased substantially. On Monday one of the companies that is seeing the advantages of this trend, iControl Networks, made an announcement that its OpenHome software program is going [...]

Home Networks Make the Move to Cloud

Staff — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:51:12 +0000

It isn’t just businesses that are making the move to cloud computing. At CES, leaders in home networking Netgear and D-Link are exhibiting a variety of products that utilise cloud services to provide customers with more access to and more management of home networks – and network content – from mobile devices. Cloud features [...]

Apple-Based Automation Control Systems Showcasing at CES

Staff — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:23:31 +0000

An announcement has been made by Savant Systems LLC declaring that they are going to be presenting a media, automation and control system at CES 2012 in relation to Savant’s scalable SmartMedia answer, which is aimed at an extensive customer market section. As well as managing security cameras, climate, lighting and more, the adaptable SmartMedia [...]

Boxee Releases Last Version that Supports the PC

Staff — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:00:21 +0000

Have Boxee Shot Themselves in the Foot by Turning their Back on the Home Computer? Boxee sees the way forward as internet TV, and the PC, which started everything, is not a part of that way forward. Boxee’s most recent release, v.1.5, is going to be the final one that supports the local PC. Growing [...]

Broadcom Creates Way Forward in Home Networking

Staff — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:30:07 +0000

Silicon that will use the future coaxial home networking standard, with a speed of 400Mbps, will be demonstrated by Broadcom next week at the International Consumer Electronics Show. In June 2010, the Multimedia over Coax Alliance’s MoCA 2.0 standard was completed and the team anticipates that products will be certified under the standard this year. [...]

iOS Apps on an Apple TV

Staff — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:23:18 +0000

A gentleman by the name of Troughton Smith has hacked his Apple TV to run fullscreen iPad apps – not streamed across AirPlay, but straight off the box. It may not be entirely practical, entirely pretty, or indeed released to the public, but it’s an intriguing look at what’s possible when you bend Apple’s rules. [...]

Control4 Release Android Home Automation App

Staff — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:12:13 +0000

Control4 are one of the many choices in home automation, offering a range of products for the home and for businesses. They’re not cheap, but they are stylish – check out the HC300 Home Controller that we first wrote about in ’07. If you’ve bought their systems, or are looking to, you’ll be pleased to [...]

XBMC Eden Beta Reveals Myriad Improvements, More Control Over Them

Staff — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:20:13 +0000

Just in time for the New Year, the XBMC team have released the first beta version of XBMC 11, codenamed Eden. Eden follows on from XBMC 10 Dharma, which itself entered beta 16 months ago and was released this time last year. The developers have not been idle in that time, as you can see [...]

Viewsonic’s Passive 3D Not Yet Ready

Staff — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:40:10 +0000

As film studios continue their push to release more and more 3D movies, it’s likely that this time round 3D isn’t a passing fad. The cinema-goer has been enjoying the newest 3D technologies, boasting reduced eye-strain and increased comfort, and these technologies are beginning to filter down to the home electronics market. The Viewsonic V3D231 [...]

Home Networks Pursue Their Advancement Towards Becoming Multiple-Service Platforms

Staff — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:52:45 +0000

It is apparent that the consumer home network is evolving. It used to be simply a couple of telephone lines and a data modem to connect to the internet, but now it is becoming a center for high quality online data and video services – clearly transforming the game. It is due to this new [...]

Learning Experiences & Educational Content Delivered Wirelessly to Console

Staff — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:14:01 +0000

A new selection of interactive academic content for the children within the household will be heading to a television set near you. AT&T has formed an agreement with TVTextbook to supply connectivity via mobile broadband to TVTextbook’s eLearning linked device portfolio. TVTextbook (TVT) provides K-12 curriculum that is of high quality and is distributed via [...]

UK Broadband Bills: Don’t Get Caught Out by Downloading Christmas Films

Staff — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:12:48 +0000

UK families that are fed up of watching the same Christmas shows and films on TV could find themselves footing unexpected bills if they decide to rent movies online instead. Huge names including Apple and Google, as well as several DVD rental organizations such as Amazon owned Lovefilm, encourage people rent the most recent TV [...]