Filed under: Home Entertainment

We hear you loud and clear Roku — now go prove to someone other than Netflix that your box is worth toying with. At the recent Streaming Media West conference, Roku CEO Anthony Wood reiterated details that we already knew: it really, really wants to work with companies other than Netflix. Said Wood, “We’re opening up the platform to anyone who wants to put their video service on this box,” and he continued by stating that “we’re going to release the software developer kit, so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs.” Of course, both Netflix and Roku knew from the get-go that the relationship would involve other partners, though it remains to be seen who’s willing to call for seconds at Roku’s shindig.

[Via CNET]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

What’s this? A little standardization in the TV realm? Announced today at IBC2008, Microsoft has launched its Protected Broadcast Driver Architecture (PBDA), a new worldwide platform that was made possible by the recent release of Windows Media Center TV Pack. In short, this system enables the “PC-TV hardware ecosystem to integrate virtually any free or premium TV service into Windows Media Center,” which keeps content guardians ultra-stoked while giving consumers more choice when it comes to TV tuning. Essentially, PBDA gives OEMs and tuner-makers the ability to develop and ship wares for WMC “regardless of geographic location or television standard.” The initiative is being backed by some serious players, too — Hauppauge, AVerMedia, NEC, and NXP just to name a few — and a couple have already shipped PBDA-based solutions overseas. Hit the read link for more… if you dare.

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Filed under: Portable Video

Now that the Zune’s most vocal (and deranged) proponent has apparently jumped ship, Microsoft is looking for some other method of gaining market share. The most recent report on reinvigorating the portable media player has Redmond execs looking low and high at talent agencies and production companies in hopes of “licensing exclusive original video programming.” According to Richard Winn, director of entertainment development at Zune, the company is searching for “non-conventional programming that can capitalize on the device’s social networking platform.” Details are unsurprisingly scant at the moment, but Winn also noted that the outfit was looking for something that “iTunes or any competing service” couldn’t provide. We hear Vongo’s going for a song… just sayin’.

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Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

We were kind of wondering when it was finally going to happen: Microsoft’s inked a deal with a Hollywood production company to do original content for the Xbox 360. The licensed back catalog of stuff is good and all, but this would fill that niche in between Xbox 360’s digital downloads and long-promised IPTV.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Well folks, it’s finally, really happened. According to reports, the last vestiges of NBC have been uprooted and removed from iTunes. In accordance with the company’s contract (which expired this month), all the shows you know and love have disappeared and been trucked over to the network’s own content portal, NBC Direct. So, those of you hoping to make that one last 30 Rock purchase before the big N cleaned house can put the dream to rest, as well as hopes of grabbing anything from Bravo, mun2, NBC, NBC News, CNBC, NBC Sports, Sci Fi, Sleuth, Telemundo and the USA Network. Hey, at least you can get them at the network’s site… what’s that? You only get to watch shows for 48 hours, and there’s no Mac support? Oh well.

[Via TUAW]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Don’t look now, but it seems that three rivals in the UK have found enough love in their hearts (or promise for profitability) to team up for the good of the consumer. Reportedly, the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 will be joining hands in order to deliver an on-demand service that hopes to “bring together hundreds of hours of television programs in one place” — a collaborative effort once known as Project Kangaroo. Of course, the grand idea still has to be approved by the BBC Trust and other broadcasters’ boards, and an official name for the service still has to be thought up, but at least the wheels are apparently turning, right? We’re hearing that content from the trio will be available for “free download, streaming, rental and purchase via the internet, with expansion onto other platforms planned,” and just in case you were curious, the iPlayer, ITV’s catch-up service and Channel 4oD will indeed coexist with the new aggregator. Hang tight UK, the to-be-named service is set to go live sometime next year should things pan out nicely.

[Via Yahoo / Reuters]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Yesterday YouTube unveiled YouTube Video Identification, a system designed to prevent copyrighted videos from making their way onto the site without the consent of the owner. Rather cunningly, YouTube requires that content owners send in a master copy of all their copyrighted content — y’know, so they can cross reference it against uploads (nothing to do with Google’s aim of indexing everything, ever … no.) Any data that matches the reference data can be deleted automatically, but only if the content owner says so. According to YouTube chief counsel Zahavah Levine, there will be a way for content owners to set it up so YouTube can scan content on other servers — removing the requirement for a master copy to be uploaded to YouTube — although Levine said that method “would be more difficult.” For who, Google, or the TV and movie studios?

[Thanks, Michelle]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

If you’re into DRM-free music, you have a reason to get pretty excited today. As speculated, Amazon has launched the public beta of its new digital music portal called Amazon MP3, which will feature two million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels, all without the painful and annoying restrictions of DRM. The press release claims that the site, which will include EMI and Universal tracks (take that, Jobs), will make separate songs available for $.89 or $.99, and boasts that all of the “top 100″ tracks will be priced at the former, lower amount. Albums will range in cost from $5.99 to $9.99, with the best selling albums coming in at $8.99. Of course, since there’s no DRM, users are free to throw the 256Kbps MP3s on any player they like, as well as burn CDs, copy to MiniDisc, and dump to 8-track.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!