The set-top box is said to have been designed several times by now, and the latest ones that made it into prototype mode reportedly have support for Kinect, enabling voice and motion control of the system. The device would, in addition, work in conjunction with Microsoft’s other devices and offerings, such as the Xbox and mobile Windows devices.

The sources went on to say that work is being done on the development side to make it simple for developers to create content for the device, including having instructed its development teams to create programs with Microsoft-created coding standards. The goal, says the sources, is for developers to have a simple way to write software for use across the company’s many devices.

Such a rumor comes at a time when Microsoft is readying the launch of the next-generation Xbox, the same thing Sony is doing, with the PlayStation 4 slated to go on sale in time for the holidays. As we’ve previously noted, however, the consoles present a bit of uncertainty, with some feeling that they might not live up to expectations. Microsoft declined commenting on the rumor.

[via Wall Street Journal]

The set-top box will be deeply integrated with Amazon’s video selection, including its Instant Video service, and its collection of other video on-demand products. It will do wonders in getting Amazon more business for its Instant Video service as well as getting more viewers for its original series. It would also help it compete against other video-streaming services, like Netflix.

According to Business Week, the set-top box project is being led by Cisco’s former VP of Emerging Video Products, Malachy Moynihan, and the product is being built at Amazon’s Lab126 division. Lab126 has several engineers that are experienced in developing TV-related products, including Andy Goodman, who was a top engineer at TiVo and Vudu, and Chris Coley, who used to be a hardware architect at ReplayTV.

The name for the set-top box is still going under consideration, but sources say that it could be dubbed “Kindle TV”. There’s also a good chance that Amazon will include other streaming services onto the set-top box, including Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, giving customers more options to view their favorite shows, and also giving customers more incentive on purchasing its product. And knowing Amazon, this product will be priced competitively against the other set-top boxes currently on the market.

[via Bloomberg Businessweek]

Intel Media said to GigaOM that Baldwin will be missed, “but we have a very strong engineering organization in place with a deep leadership bench,” that will make up for Baldwin’s absence. Baldwin played a crucial work for Intel Media’s TV project. He was previously a key player in the Microsoft Mediaroom project, where he stayed for 8 years. He worked on several other TV projects including WebTV Plus, Echostar Dishplayer, DirecTV, and Ultimate TV.

Baldwin was instrumental to making Intel’s dream of launching its new Web TV service a reality. Intel Media’s Web TV service will be a subscription service that will allow viewers to watch live TV, video on-demand, and also watch TV shows/movies that the viewer may have missed. Intel Media plans on launching the Web TV service in the U.S. by the end of the year.

Intel Media says that its Web TV service will be a game changer, but it has received some criticism from all around, mainly due to the camera installed on Intel Media’s set-top box. The camera will be used to monitor whether a user is in the room, if the user is paying attention to the TV content, and the age and gender of the user. It will use the data it gathered to play targeted advertisements for the users, as well as offering suggestions on TV shows/movies the viewer(s) may enjoy. Consumers and critics feel that the camera is an invasion of privacy, however, Erik Huggers, Intel Media’s CEO, defends the camera by comparing it to the Kinect devices millions of homes have, which people have no problem using.

[via GigaOM]

Apple says that it or Apple Authorized Service Providers will replace the affected products for up to two years from the original date of purchase at no cost to the buyer. An Apple certified technician does have to determine that one of the three issues covered is causing the Wi-Fi problems.

Once the technician determines that the Apple TV is suffering from one of the problems, the unit will be replaced as part of a replacement program Apple has launched. Only specific serial number ranges for the third-generation Apple TV set-top boxes are covered in the replacement program. The serial numbers must have two specific alphanumerical ranges to be covered.

The last four letters of the serial number must be DRHN. The serial number must also have specific third and fourth alphanumeric characters including one of several pairs. The second image above shows eligible third and fourth alphanumeric character pairs.

[via 9to5mac]

Roku has bragging rights as having offered the first video streaming device for televisions back in the early summer of 2008, with the device first being called the Netflix Player (due to Netflix being the only content platform available at the time). Following this, it was eventually renamed to Roku, gaining both additional content services and, years later, gaming via the addition of Angry Birds.

In addition to Netflix, users now have access to content from Amazon, VUDU, and others, as well as streaming music via Pandora and more. Several different models are available, with one of the device’s elements helping drive sales (besides being awesome) is its low price, starting at only $49.99 for the purple LT version, with more expensive models offering better and additional features.

All of these things have helped propel the small device, which has a diameter a tad larger than the size of your palm, to 5 million shipments in the US. To mark the occasion, Roku has released an infograph that contains the evolution of streaming television as seen from the perspective of its streaming device, starting in 2008 when it was launched to 2013 and its 5 millionth sale.

[via Roku]

One of the biggest changes that users will notice is its new interface, which you can check out in the video below. Says Roku, the updated design offers quicker access to content and features, as well as more content and options being displayed on the screen. Both Search and the Channel Store have been integrated into the home screen to accompany their new designs.

Another new feature is a headphone audio port on the set-top box itself, making it simple to plug in your headset and have a private listening session. When a pair of headphones are plugged into the Roku 3, audio will automatically be switched to the headset while the TV’s speakers are muted. No manual settings changes are required; it’s all plug-and-play.

Those who use the Roku 2, HD 2500, LT, and Streaming Stick models will see the new user interface roll out as an auto update sometime in April, although a definitive date wasn’t given. As for the Roku 3, you can pick it up now from the company’s official website, at Amazon or other retailers online. It is priced at $99.99.

[via Roku]

Despite its small size and thin profile, the device is stuffed with hardware providing for impressive performance and the ability to stream all sorts of media. Huawei says the device will support multi-screen interaction, media management, video calls, and gaming. The set-top box is powered by a quad-core HiSilicon K3V2 ARM Cortex A9 processor.

The set-top box supports wireless projection through an HDMI input and when connected to an external camera video calls are supported over the Internet. Internal storage for the device is 32 GB and the box has a microSD card slot for storage expansion. The set-top box comes with games preinstalled including Ducati Bike and Breaker’s Revenge II.

The box also ships with a universal learning remote control that controls the set-top box, the TV, and other digital devices. The box also includes software allowing users to convert smartphones into a mouse and keyboard controller making it easier to find content and play games. Huawei is still playing coy on pricing and availability only saying that those two details will be announced soon. Back at CES 2013, the box was tipped to have a price of around $80.

[via Huawei]

The device supports all popular audio and video formats in HD resolutions up to 1080p. The device has its own 1 TB integrated hard drive for storing all of your media such as videos, songs, and photos. The set top box also supports the ability to access and control your content using a smartphone or tablet.

The manufacturer also has apps available for various devices allowing your tablet or smartphone to act as the remote control for the set-top box. Other available hardware features include a pre-installed DVB-T/ATSC TV tuner allowing the device to act as a DVR for over the air programming. Thanks to the large hard drive and integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, the device can be used as network attached storage.

Connectivity options on the device include 3.5 mm audio I/O jacks, optical S/PDIF output, a VGA port, and HDMI port, integrated Ethernet port, and five USB ports. The device also has a single USB 3.0 port on the front and a memory card reader. The processor inside the box is an Intel Atom D525 and graphics are handled by a Radeon HD 5430 GPU.

[via Arctic]

Obviously, this sounds really creepy right off the bat, and it mentions that the camera watches for things like fiddling on your phone, exercising, eating, singing, cleaning, sleeping, etc. While companies like Facebook and Google are capturing all sorts of information about what you’re consuming online, this almost takes it to a whole new level.

However, before get you too upset and start to cancel all of your business with Verizon irrationally, it’s probably a good bet that Verizon would certainly require users to opt-in before doing something like this. It’s definitely something that no company would be allowed to do without consent from the user.

As far as what kind of advertisements Verizon would push towards its users of the camera set-top box, the company mentions that sounds of arguing could prompt ads for marriage counseling, while cuddling could prompts ads for contraceptives. Then again, we’re not sure if Verizon will actually put this system into place. The idea is only a patent so far, and a lot of patents usually don’t see the light of day when it comes to putting it into action, but we’ll see what happens.

[via FierceCable]

This set-top box would obviously be a media streaming device meant to challenge the likes of Apple TV and Roku, but Microsoft is also developing this box with gaming in mind. You won’t be able to play full blown console games on it of course, but The Verge’s sources say that Microsoft is looking to have casual games on its box. Perhaps we’ll see the company launch something like Xbox Live made specifically for this device?

The box will also be running Windows 8, and will make use of a chipset that allows it to boot up and a resume from sleep quickly. Given the fact that Microsoft has been trying to turn the Xbox 360 into a media hub rather than a simple games console, the jump to a set-top box isn’t that hard to make. Things get even more interesting, though, when we hear the claim that Microsoft may also be planning to introduce a phone that’s capable of full Xbox Live functionality. Here’s what Microsoft said when questioned about this rumor:

Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend the console lifecycle by introducing controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention.

That isn’t the typical “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation” we’re used to hearing, so Microsoft may indeed be planning something along these lines. We should find out if it is soon enough, as the sources claim that Microsoft will reveal its set-top box next year, releasing it before the holiday season. Would you pick up an Xbox-branded set-top box, or will you be going all out and picking up Microsoft’s next-gen console?

The set-top box is manufactured by D-Link for Boxee and looks more like a traditional set-top box than some of the company’s previous devices. Previously, Boxee offered the ability to view live TV by connecting a separately available external tuner to their existing products. The new Boxee TV supposedly has that TV tuner built right in.

It appears that the set-top box is available to beta testers right now, and one of those testers snapped some pictures and leaked them. The tipster notes that documentation included implies that you can watch the content recorded on the box on multiple devices. Presumably, that means using the Boxee smartphone app allows users to watch recorded programs on the go.

Other features of the new set-top box include the ability to stream full HD video within the home across a network. Interestingly, rather than the double sided remote control Boxee currently uses that has a keyboard on one side; the Boxee TV apparently uses a traditional single sided remote offering no keyboard control. Reports indicate that it may be a while before this device turns up for your average consumer to purchase, apparently the software the device runs is unstable and crashes frequently with updates promised from Boxee.

[via The Verge]

Bloomberg spoke to two people familiar with the situation, with one of them claiming that the sale could potentially bring in $2 billion for Google. Such a sale has been rumored for a while, with one of these anonymous sources claiming that Motorola has been trying to sell off this division for a number of years – back in 2009, the source claims, Motorola tried to sell it for a hefty $4 billion.

It isn’t hard to imagine why Google doesn’t have any interest in set-top boxes. Google bought Motorola for access to its extensive patent portfolio, and building Motorola’s smartphone and tablet business is one of the top priorities for Google. After all, Google has Apple to compete with, and it views this Motorola acquisition as a good way to do just that.

This sale is still at a very early stage, so it may be a while before Google can find a buyer for the Home Business division. Then again, that may not be the case at the end of everything, because Google will be trying awfully hard to sell off this division so it can take that money and focus on Motorola’s smartphone business. Stay tuned, as we’ll have more information on this potential sale when it surfaces.

Thanks to 500GB of storage, TiVo says around 75 hours of HD programming will be able to be recorded to the box before it fills up, and the company’s custom user interface helps customers find programmes with relative ease. When searching for a particular show, the box not only checks cable listings, but also online services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video.

The box is compatible with digital cable (QAM) and Verizon FIOS, with ports including HDMI, Component, Composite, and optical plus analogue audio. CableCARD support is onboard, and other inputs include Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, and MoCA. A TiVo Wireless N or G wireless adapter can also be plugged into the box if you don’t fancy running an Ethernet cable through your living room.

The Premiere 4 costs $249.99 outright, but comes with a one-year contract and a $14.99 monthly fee. TiVo says the box should be available starting from today online, with the device also heading to various home theater and Magnolia stores across the country in the near future.

The on-demand content partners at launch will include the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, and Five, with television shows and movies being pulled down from their current online libraries. The box will feature an EPG that will allow you to see what’s currently showing on Freeview channels, and also look at programming schedules seven days in advance. On top of that, the box plays nice with HD channels, and you can pause and record live TV.

YouView will be available in two options; a subscription free set top box for £299, or subsidized as part of an internet or phone package. The box will be available in stores like Amazon, John Lewis, Richer Sounds, and Comet. YouView will be available for purchase towards the end of July, and BT and TalkTalk are expected to announce their packages including the box shortly.

The box will stream content from VUDU, Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook. D-Link also says that coming soon the box will support Hulu Plus streaming as well. Other features include the ability to view digital photo albums from Picasa. D-Link is also bragging about another 130 channels that are available for streaming and apps that can be added to the box.

The DSM-312 will work with most TVs and has integrated wireless connectivity plus Ethernet connectivity. An app is also available for the box that allows them to access live video feeds from mydlink-enabled Cloud Cameras. The media player can be pre-ordered right now for $79.99 and will be available in retail and online stores in July.

At Computex, Taiwanese manufacturer Honeywld has announced a new Android 4.0 based Google TV box that can stream movies directly from Android 4.0 smartphones and tablets. The feature works similarly to Apple’s AirPlay, which lets iPad or iPhone users directly stream content to their Apple TV.

The box can also sync other multimedia content between the devices, such as pictures. However, an app must be installed on your Android mobile device in order to get the streaming and synchronization capabilities. That app is still under development.

The Honeywld set-top box features a Marvell dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 4GB SSD, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, microSD card slot, Ethernet and HDMI ports, and optional WiFi. It runs a customized version of Google TV based on Android 4.0 and is expected to ship in July, priced between $95 and $120. However, distribution will be initially limited to Taiwan.

[via IDG]

Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca had previously admitted that the company over invested on the new technology, a move that turned out to be a big mistake. Google TV lets users stream videos, access apps, and connect to the internet via their TVs, but consumer adoption has been slow. Revue sales were down by $15 million this year due to both the company’s early announcement of discontinuing the box and the major price cut from $299 to $99.

However, Logitech revealed that it plans to strengthen its lineup of Harmony remotes as that category has also been weak for the company. It’s best selling Harmony One remote, introduced almost four years ago, is over due for an update as are other models in the lineup. The new remotes are expected to arrive in the coming months.

[via Engadget]

Samsung and DIRECTV are founding members of the RVU Alliance, which aims to optimize multi-room entertainment experiences for consumers. The companies introduced the RVU protocol last year, which is based on industry standards such as DLNA and UPnP. It allows a set-top box server to provide a complete, multi-room viewing experience, including DVR services, across all connected TVs through one set-top box.

Now, Samsung is embedding RVU in its entire Smart TV lineup, eliminating the need for a set-top box. DIRECTV has created the HR34 Home Media Center HD-DVR, which replicates the set-top box UI and other features to be directly displayed on a Samsung Smart TV. Users will continue to be able to enjoy features such as live pause on all screens in the home, picture-in-picture, record five shows at once, and store up to 200 hours of content. The new RVU-enabled Samsung Smart TVs are expected to be available in Spring 2012.

The Roku remote app for iOS works on all models of the set-top box, from the original through the current year’s redesigned models. It can also be paired with multiple Roku boxes and works by connecting your iOS device to the box on the same network and then signing in with your Roku account.

All existing services, such as Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, and Netflix can be accessed via the app. You simply touch-and-swipe to navigate and you can also rate channels and add or remove channels from your set-top box directly from the app. If you have the Roku 2 or Roku LT boxes, you’ll just have to make sure to upgrade to Roku software version 4.2 for compatibility.

The iOS app is free and available now. The company has promised an Android version, but has not given a timeline yet.

[via Engadget]

Apple has 32% of the set-top box market with the Apple TV box. The analytics firm predicts that in 2011, total global sales of the connected TV boxes like the Apple TV and Roku boxes will more than double compared to the number that sold in 2010. The company thinks that the total market will see nearly 12 million units sold this year with Apple alone selling almost four million units.

One interesting thing that the analytics company came up with in their report about the market is that Apple TV users are spending more money on movies and TV shows than other users. The report found that 30% of Apple TV owners rented movies and TV shows compared to 20% of other set-top box users. It’s interesting that Apple is leading the market with a product that is something of a hobby in Cupertino even though the box is selling decently. We have also heard rumors of a real Apple TV set coming with Siri integration recently.

The forum post reveals that the new TiVo set-top box will be available only in the following ten major US cities: Chicago IL, Denver CO, Los Angeles CA, New York NY, Philadelphia PA, Phoenix AZ, Sacramento CA, San Francisco CA, Seattle WA, and Washington DC. A nationwide rollout for other markets is still being evaluated.

However, this new TiVo-powered DVR will carry a $5 per month TiVo service fee in addtion to the $7 DVR service fee and the $10 HD Access Fee. With the new TiVo box, users will be able to access all of DirecTV’s live, on-demand, and pay-per-view videos. Updates will be downloaded via satellite and remote DVR functions are supported.

[via CNET]

Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca was talking at an analysts and investors day this week and pulled no punches when talking about the pure fail that the Revue box turned out to be. The CEO called the entire Christmas 2010 launch “a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature.” De Luca went on to say that Logitech would be letting inventory of the Revue run out this quarter. The price of the Revue was previously reduced to $99. I wonder if prices will go even lower.

After that stock of devices is gone, Logitech will not be making a replacement box. Interestingly de Luca called the software beta and noted it was far from ready at launch. That begs the question of why the device was launched at all. It’s nice to see honesty, but someone should have though things through when the Revue was coming to market at an inflated price with no redeeming qualities.

[via TheVerge]

Apple is introducing with iOS 5 the iCloud and a feature called Photo Stream, which lets users easily access and sync photos saved in their iCloud accounts across their mobile devices. With version 4.4, Apple TV users will also be able to access those photos from their Apple set-top boxes. Photos or any other content on your iPad 2 or iPhone 4S screens can also now be shared to your Apple TV through AirPlay Mirroring.

Additionally, the update brings extra content with new access to National Hockey League games, which adds to other paid professional sports subscriptions such as baseball and basketball that are already accessible through Apple TV. There’s also now free news updates offered through Wall Street Journal Live, a new Trailers area for browsing and watching hundreds of movie trailers, new slideshow themes, and Netflix support for subtitles.

[via MacWorld]

The device is priced well, but still gets a ton of content with over 300 channels available. The player supports Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon instant Video, Pandora, EPIX, Crackle, Disney, and more. It will also get HBO Go, but you have to subscribe to HBO on a qualifying cable company to use that HBO Go app. It’s also worth pointing out that HBO Go has just today been announced on the Roku platform. When I saw the price, I figured what you give up is HD resolution.

That’s not the case with the Roku LT supporting 720p HD and it sports WiFi as well. The player will be available online and in retail stores in early November. The device lacks some of the capability of the new Roku 2 family though with no Bluetooth or gaming capability and no memory card slot.

The Sony SMP-N200 sports a sleek design in the form of a glossy black box that should fit well and discreetly into most decor. Its connection options include composite, component, HDMI, and WiFi, which will allow you to connect to almost any TV to add all the features and content access you can get from the Sony Entertainment Network. These features include live streaming TV shows, movies, music, and photos. There’s HD and 3D content, internet radio, and video and music on-demand services as well. However, the 3D streaming will require a 3D TV.

Additionally, the Sony SMP-N200 now supports DLNA, which will allow you to easily connect and control a network of devices, including PCs, smartphones, and tablets. A remote control is included, but you can also use your iOS or Android device instead by downloading the free Sony Media Remote app. The device will hit store shelves sometime in October and is priced at $99.99.

The addition of MOG means access to the millions of songs through the service, which is similar to Spotify and Rdio. MOG emphasizes that songs are streamed in high-fidelity at 320Kbps, which they claim is higher audio quality than any other music streaming service. Boxee Box owners will now get to use this service to stream music to their TVs and home theater sound systems while album art is displayed with 1080p HD image quality.

MOG boasts a collection of 11 million songs and costs $4.99 per month for an unlimited plan and can be accessed from any mobile device with a web browser. And now its available through the Boxee Box, which costs $199.99 and offers many video and music streaming options through services including Netflix and VUDU.

[via Boxee]

The geeks at GTVHackers have built an unofficial Honeycomb Android OS upgrade specifically for the Revue. The upgrade can be downloaded right now. There is a catch though, the update could ruin your device and you might not be able to revert to the official OS. The update is a beta offering and is not ready for the general public.

TechCrunch applied the unofficial update and says that not much changed. The media player reportedly supports more formats and the update does apparently break Netflix. Netflix is one of the star features of the box so that might be a deal breaker for some folks. The update does allow the installation of apps from the Android Market though so Angry Birds might offset the loss of Netflix a bit.

[via Android Community]

The cool part about the box is that it supports three tuners to allow you to record more shows than you can with most set top boxes. The box works with existing HDHomeRun units to allow you to add more Prime boxes to support more tuners on the home network. The device supports unencrypted digital cable and premium digital cable.

To get the Prime to work you have to put a cable card inside. Running multiple cable cards can get expensive though since some companies charge for each of them like a separate cable box. The device is compatible with Windows Media Center. It measures 4 x 7 x 1 inches and weighs 1.5 pounds. The device can be pre-ordered right now for $207.20 with free shipping. The exact launch date isn’t noted by Amazon.

[via Amazon]

The price of the Flow is right under $100 at $99. The Flow box plugs in between your TV and your set-top box be it a satellite receiver or a cable receiver. It can shoot the programming that flows through it over a wireless network in your home to a Mac computer or a PC. You can also shoot that content over to an iPhone and Android device as well.

ZatzNotFunny reports that the streaming capability of the Flow over WiFi is very good. The only clear downside to the box to me is that it handles only up to 720 x 480 resolutions. Any HD content shot through the Flow box is downgraded to SD automatically before streaming. When you consider that most mobile devices like smartphones can’t handle HD resolutions that lack of HD streaming might not be such a big deal to you. The device lacks a lot of support for Mac users right now apparently. The company also charges $12.99 for the mobile clients for smartphones.

[via ZatzNotFunny]

It’s not clear exactly how the box will allow the user to control games on their big screen, but with the boast of tight integration with an Android tablet or smartphone, perhaps they are used as a controller. The set top box will stream on demand media as well.

IN Media also notes that the new set top box will work for businesses that need a digital signage solution. The box will allow the content displayed on the digital sign to be changed via a browser. That would be very convenient. Pricing, availability as well as official photos are unavailable.

[via Android Community]

The BlueDot box will be available in Japan in March, and sell for 13,000 Yen, or about $155.

[via Akihabara]

In its first generation, the unnamed streamer will be a separate box that hooks up to cable, satellite or other STBs. However Motorola Mobility expects to integrate the technology into its standalone range of STBs soon after. Both generations will be supplied by service providers rather than sold directly to end-users, and the company warns that it will be up to those providers to decide whether any additional fees are demanded.

The concept sounds a lot like a Slingbox, though presumably with greater native integration with Motorola-brand STBs. It’s the company’s first step in a streaming roadmap that, president Daniel Moloney believes, will see consumers able to watch any of their content wherever they are, with the exec suggesting it is “one consumer proposition that will come sooner rather than later.”

Update: Dave Zatz flags up that Motorola have shown off prototype hardware for this before, in the shape of the Motorola Media Mover all the way back in April 2009. That could use WiFi or Bluetooth connections, transcode footage on the fly and even had an SD card reader and webcam for wireless streaming; it’s unclear how much of that functionality will make it over to whatever device Motorola unveil at CES in January.

The update is specifically made to bring some much-needed changes to the User Interface. Users will now be able to reorder channels on the home screen, so that they can better access their favorite channels. The Channel Store now features a new grid layout, which should help in users finding new content, faster. Something that’s been missing since the launch is a clock on the home screen, as well as time controls, but those have been officially added in this new update.

There are some points in the fine print, though. If you want to actually reorder your channels, you’ll need to have the new Roku controller that was announced along with the new Roku boxes not too long ago. If you have an older box, you can still get the updated firmware, but you’ll have to drop $15 to get the new remote. And, while Roku has promised Hulu Plus streaming in the past, it didn’t make it to this update. You should see a pop-up notification that your system is ready for an update. Let us know how it goes, and how you like the improvements, if you update your box.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

Ports include two full-sized USB 2.0, HDMI, 10/100 ethernet, S/PDIF optical digital, component and composite, along with a miniUSB port for hooking the RevoView up to a PC and treating it as an external hard-drive.  There’s also a multi-format memory card reader on the front.

Up to 2TB drives can be installed inside, and the RevoView will work with UPnP/DLNA streaming sources.  The compatible file types and codecs includes MKV, MP4, H.264 and ISO – there’s a full list in the gallery below – and the STB itself is expected to go on sale in the UK on November 8 for £119.99  ($194).

Press Release:

Acer Aspire RevoView – the best TV companion

London, 3rd November 2010 – The new Aspire RevoView is an HD DLNA certified media player that can playback media content from all DLNA certified devices that helps you share and enjoy your digital media. Featuring network capability and Full HD 1080p playback, it makes watching digital content on a high-definition TV easy and intuitive. There is no need of complex devices settings, burning DVDs or connecting a computer to the TV: Aspire RevoView connects directly to your TV via an HDMI port, plus it seamlessly integrates with your surround speaker system for an immersive entertainment experience.

Four easy steps are all you need to enjoy digital content on your TV with the Acer Aspire RevoView:

1. Save your created or downloaded content to an USB storage device or memory card

2. Plug USB device into the Aspire RevoView or insert memory card in the slot

3. Connect the Aspire RevoView to your TV

4. You are ready to enjoy your HD content on TV!

It can get even easier than that. The Aspire RevoView can be equipped with an internal swappable 3.5” HDD for seamless media exchange. The HDD tray can be shared with the 2010 Aspire M Series desktop PCs, allowing you to easily share and enjoy your downloaded or created content. The RevoView really bridges the gap between the computer and entertainment world.

An Ethernet port provides direct access to the Internet allowing you to watch online videos via YouTube or enjoy your or your friends Flickr or Picasa photo slide-shows in the comfort of your living room.

There’s no end to the fun thanks to the extensive digital media support: the Aspire RevoView makes it easy for everyone to store, play and share their media with no concern for compatibility.

A user friendly interface brings together all available media, permitting to effortlessly navigate through music, video and photo collections. Content can be displayed by folder, list or thumbnails and it can be sorted either alphabetically or by date. Plus, you can playback content from USB connected mass storage and memory cards as well as optical disks.

For seamless operation, the Aspire RevoView comes with an handy 26 keys remote control permitting to easily work media playback functions from afar and to swiftly navigate through the user friendly media center. What’s more, main functions, such as videos, photos and music are quickly accessible through dedicated hotkeys.

Aspire RevoView can also be used as an USB external hard drive where you can store your growing digital libraries and can be used as a back-up drive. A fully featured media player, Aspire RevoView combines high storage capacity, a compact design and seamless playback functionalities.

The Aspire RevoView will be available from the 8th November with RRP starting at £119.99 inc Vat.

That’s precisely why I’m so excited to get my hands on Google TV. The search giant’s platform strikes me as a product that does everything the Apple TV should have done. It allows me to search the Web, pull content from just about everywhere, and enjoy some of the apps that I currently use on my smartphone. It’s simply a full-featured product that I’m looking forward to using.

But that doesn’t mean that the Logitech Revue, which was detailed earlier this week and will launch at the end of the month, is necessarily worth its $299 price tag. The set-top box looks nice and I would say without hesitation that it appeals to me more than the Apple TV. But I still won’t buy it.

Google TV is a software platform that would work best as a feature baked into an HDTV. That’s why I’m happy to hear Sony is working on a Google TV-equipped device. It’s also why I hope more HDTV vendors will follow suit in the coming years as the entertainment service takes off.

See, consumers don’t want every device they can think of connected to their televisions. They actually want to have all the content they really care about just a few clicks away without worrying about switching from one device to another to access it.

That’s why Google TV is so compelling. It offers opportunities to consumers that weren’t available in the living room until now. That said, the device it’s running on should provide consumers with similarly unique opportunities that aren’t available to them right now.

Realizing that, I don’t want to throw my support behind a product that doesn’t see what consumers are really looking for. I want to support products that push the industry forward, not keep it put.

I see a future where the number of HDMI ports on an HDTV won’t matter. I see a future where every living room will have an HDTV sitting on a stand and few (if any) devices connected to it. And perhaps most importantly, I see a future where consumers see value in reducing their reliance on multiple devices and demand integrated functionality.

The Logitech Revue doesn’t fit into that view of the future. But a Google TV-equipped HDTV does. And that is the product that will not only deliver the most viable experience, but will also win out when it’s all said and done.

There’s also an accompanying smartphone remote control app, which can turn your iPhone or Android smartphone into another remote for the whole system.  It’ll also work on the iPod touch and iPad.  Thanks to user-programmable macros, you can have complex routines automated with a single tap: pressing “Watch Google TV” turns on your TV, cable/satellite box, and A/V receiver, for instance.

Since the underlying OS is Android, the Logitech Revue will also have access to the Android Market to download apps for the STB from early 2011.  The headline apps include Netflix, Pandora, the Logitech Media Player, Napster and Logitech Vid HD, the latter being a video conferencing system.  There’ll also be a Twitter app and CNBC app.  More on the Google TV apps here.

The Logitech Revue Google TV box is up for preorder now, priced at $299; it’ll apparently be on shelves in 2-3 weeks time.  More on the official accessories here.

[via Android Community]

The testing was done on the Apple TV firmware available through the Cupertino company’s public distribution servers, since the hardware units themselves are still winging their way through the courier system.  What was found is that SHAtter can be used to decrypt the main file system keys, opening up possibilities of custom app stores and other modifications for Apple’s new set-top box.

Since SHAtter is a boot level exploit, Apple will need to change the hardware rather than just put out a new version of iOS for the Apple TV.  That’s something they’ve demonstrated they’re not unwilling to do – in fact they revised the iPhone 3GS to address a boot level exploit for the smartphone – so would-be Apple TV owners keen on having a jailbreakable system are advised to buy sooner rather than later.

[via Redmond Pie]

Whatever the eventual device and OS, it would be intended to bridge the gap between internet-based content – presumably such as YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand – and users’ big-screen TVs, with Dell hoping it helps bring their product line out of the office and into the living room.  Various prototypes are under consideration, Camilletti says, from traditional STB manufacturers and ODMs.

The new Apple TV is just a quarter of the size of its predecessor, and now relies on cloud storage and streaming rather than downloads and local content.  Ports are limited to HDMI, optical digital audio and ethernet, and it’s priced at just $99.

For some first-impressions of the Apple TV, check out our hands-on.  Anybody else place a preorder and now getting a payment notification?  Let us know in the comments.

[Thanks Russell!]

Other capabilities include being able to access photo sharing and social networking sites directly on TVs. The STB will use an animated user interface that is easy to use. The interface will offer access to catch up TV service, movie rental services, youtube, BBC iPlayer, and various podcasts.

The device is DLNA compliant for home networking devices and has a remote control that allows users to search the web. Other features include a media player with support for HTML and Flash content and the STB uses adaptive bit rate streaming for uninterrupted streaming during peak usage times. Inside the device is the latest dual-core STB chipset from Broadcom. The device should be in stores in October for under £90.