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Blockbuster has finally got into the game of online movie delivery direct to the TV with the MediaPoint set top box, made by 2Wire. It’s clearly an attempt to claw back some market share from Netflix, which will let you stream movies to your Mac, PC, Xbox 360 or TiVo and, most importantly, the Roku box.

Rather than just copy Netflix, though, Blockbuster has an interesting take on the service. First, the box is "free". You buy 25 movie rentals for $100 and Blockbuster gives you yet another box to perch on the tower atop your television. Second, there’s no subscription fee — movies will start $2 a pop, and you’ll have 30 days to watch them. Once you start watching, you have to finish up within 24 hours. This is similar to the model Apple uses for iTunes movie rentals.

What about the hardware? The MediaPoint has Wi-Fi (b and g), ethernet, HDMI out along with composite and optical and it will work with Hi-Def movies.

Of course, Blockbuster’s online offering is much smaller than that of Netflix, but as Ars Technica points out, the movies it does have are truly outstanding. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, anyone?

Still, the unit is essentially free, so why not grab one? Those who really don’t want any more living room clutter should hold out a little longer. Blockbuster is planning on another Netflix-a-like move soon: The company wants to get this service inside Blu-ray players, the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

Blockbuster takes on Netflix with new set-top box [Reuters]

Blockbuster releases set-top box with à la carte rentals [Ars]

Judging by the significant drop in price of TVs across the country, it appears the faltering economy is forcing retailers to start their Black Friday deals early.

Sony, Samsung, LG and other manufacturers have started bringing down the price of their TVs in the last couple of weeks by as much as $600 per set.

According to HDGuru, some of the biggest drops are coming to formats that are already being set aside by newer technologies. For example, the non-thin rear-projection (15-inch depth) DLP TVs are being cut down across the board so much that starting this upcoming Sunday (Nov. 24th), you’ll be able to pick up a 67-inch Samsung DLP for only $1700 (see list below).

Other manufacturers are cutting their 2008 LCD models by $200 to $300 at most, with further cuts expected on the actual Thanksgiving weekend. The LG 32LG30, the larger brother of the 26LG30 TV that we gave a score of 7 (out of 10) in the Fall TEST issue of the Magazine, is down to $550 at Best Buy, with 30%+ discount. That’s one excellent deal for a top TV.

And here’s a useful tip: If you have the money to spend on a TV in the next week, you can also use the thirty-day price protection that some manufacturers offer. If they do, you can buy a TV now and then keep a close look until the prices come tumbling down even more with the rest of the economy (when you’ll start seeing sings like the ones at the right). Then, you can go back to the retailer with your receipt and get back the difference.

Check out some of the deals available now and coming up in the next few days. Stats courtesy of HD Guru and This Week in Consumer Electronics.

If you hear of any more deals, please send them to us and we’ll keep updating this list through the holidays.

Photos: Bekathwia/Flickr, Hilmartj/Flickr

Apple has issued an update to the “hobby” that is the Apple TV. It’s a software update but adds a couple of interesting hardware features, one of which should have been in there all along.

Apple seems to have finally realized that the little white remote control which which used to ship with most Macs is junk. While it’s just fine for skipping a track or adjusting volume, it has trouble with anything more complex. Like, say, the Apple TV. The 2.3 update will let you use any remote control, learning what light they spit out and reme,bering it. You can still use your tiny white pocket-remote, too. And of course, if you have an iPhone there is the excellent Apple-provided Remote app.

The other new feature is AirTunes, which lets you stream music wirelessly from the Apple TV to any Airport Express hooked up to speakers. Frankly, we’re amazed that this wasn’t in there already. We think that Apple must make this “AirTunes” from some very rare element indeed, given the scarcity of the feature in its devices. Come on, Apple, where’s my iPod Touch streaming already?

Two footnotes: Playlists now work properly, and if they contain non-music content they will show up. And, somewhat cryptically, there is now Music Volume Control which offers “Support for volume control in Music”.

Release notes [Apple]

In the hotly contested battle for the use of white spaces, the unused portions of the television broadcast spectrum, technology companies have scored a big win.

The Federal Communications Commission today approved the use of new unlicensed wireless devices in the spectrum to provide broadband connectivity.

The decision comes as no surprise since field tests last month showed test devices offered little interference, refuting what some opponents had alleged.

The issue over the use of white spaces by new devices pitted companies such as Google, Motorola and Dell against wireless audio equipment manufacturers and celebrities such as Dolly Parton and pastor Joel Osteen.

Broadcasters and live stage performers feared that opening up white
spaces to new unlicensed devices would interfere with the ability to use wireless
microphones without any interruptions.

Tech companies are cheering FCC’s decision."In many areas in the United States television channels lie fallow because broadcasters only occupy a certain number of channels in every television market," said Motorola in a statement. "By allowing the use of white spaces the FCC is advancing access to broadband
services, especially in rural areas where broadband is more limited."

The FCC’s approval will allow for both fixed and portable unlicensed devices. The devices must include a geolocation capability and should be able to access over the Internet a database of the current services such as "full power and low power TV stations and cable system headends."

It should also have spectrum-sensing technology, says the FCC. The database will tell the white space device what spectrum can be used at that location.

Also see:
Dolly Parton Vs. Google
Google Founder Lobbies FCC to Free Spectrum
Google Wireless Plan Angers Audio-Equipment Makers
Google Sets Sight on WhiteSpaces Spectrum
FCC To Test WhiteSpace Devices

Photo: (fudj/Flickr)

pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/16la5qg-1.jpg” align=”left” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ style=”display:block;” /Several months ago, a variety of legitimate publications a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5016279/sonys-splittable-playstation-3-controller-sounds-very-wiimote+like”got word/a of a PS3 Wiimote-like device that could split in two. We dubbed it the “DualMotion.” Today the patent for the DualMotion has been uncovered and while it uses accelerometers and LED-based tracking (similar to the Wiimote), the DualMotion also deploys ultrasonic frequencies to determine absolute xyz position (based upon controller distance from other controllers and your television). Oh, and two DualMotions can assemble to make one big DualMotion. Just check it out in what we believe is the craziest patent diagram ever:/p pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/ajuyqs.jpg” class=”center” style=”display:block;” /What’s so unique about the DualMotion doesn’t appear to be that it splits, but that it emjoins/em. In the leaked shots of the patent app, we see two different joined configurations. One puts them side by side, like a dual-wielded pistol, and the other attaches them butt to butt, like a dog bone or emRequiem for a Dream/em.br img src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/346kcv8.jpg” width=”558″ height=”471″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /br img src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/14bqhk6.jpg” width=”633″ height=”361″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /[a href="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340526"NeoGAF/a via a href="http://www.ps3fanboy.com/2008/10/30/break-apart-controller-patent-discovered/"PS3Fanboy/a]/p br style=”clear: both;”/
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Filed under: Robots

Sure, it looks like a friendly robot strapped to a mobile toilet, but this robo-maid developed by Tokyo University’s Information and Robot Technology (IRT) center won’t be assisting with the after birth of your Turducken dinner. Assistant Robot is domestic enough to do the laundry, sweep, and clean up the kitchen… but there are limits what its 3D sensors will respond to. Its creators claim that it can recognize when there’s more laundry to do and won’t be distracted from completing its task by the roar of the crowd from the television. That gives men about 10 - 20 years to get their act together before this robot could conceivably go production. Hot domestic cleaning action in the video posted after the break.

Continue reading The Assistant Robot cleans almost all that you soil

The Assistant Robot cleans almost all that you soil originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/10/zviewer.png” align=”left” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ width=”494″ height=”255″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /Windows only: Free application Zviewer is a one-stop shop for all your web video needs, integrating everything from Hulu and YouTube to Netflix Watch Instantly in a full-screen interface. The app lets you browse listings from different on-demand video sites and launch any video instantly. Apart from aggregating all this on-demand video, the cool thing about Zviewer is that it supports most Windows remote controls, so if you already have a Media Center PC, you can control the app from across the room. Unfortunately Zviewer is a little less of a full-service solution than we’d like, since playing a video simply launches a customized version of Firefox instead of handling the video itself. The company that develops Zviewer also sells an a href=”http://www.zeevee.com/store”outrageously priced set-top box/a that does works similarly to the standalone app while adding more computer-to-TV functionality, but if your computer is already hooked up to your TV, Zviewer does the trick. Zviewer is a free download, Windows only./p div class=”related”a href=”http://www.zeevee.com/products/zviewer”Zviewer/a [via a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/zviewer-offers-an-almost-useful-full-screen-browser-for-web-vide/"Download Squad/a]/div br style=”clear: both;”/
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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/10/netflix-update.png” width=”305″ height=”250″ align=”right” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ align=”right” /Netflix has officially (and finally) added support for Macsmdash;well, Intel Macs at least. The update is rolling out to a small group of users at first, but the company promises support for the all Mac users soon. The unusual part of the announcment: Netflix is using Microsoft’s Flash alternative a href=”http://silverlight.net/”Silverlight/a to handle the streaming and DRM on the Mac instead of Flashmdash;despite the fact that Flash is what Netflix uses to stream movies to the Windows platform. No word yet on whether or not there will be browser limitations on the Mac. Unfortunately my account isn’t one of the lucky few that are already seeing support, so if yours is, let’s hear how it’s working for you in the comments. div class=”related”[via a href="http://gizmodo.com/5069026/netflix-streaming-video-finally-on-macs"Gizmodo/a]/div/p br style=”clear: both;”/
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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/lifehacker/2008/10/wikipediasearch.png” align=”left” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ width=”494″ height=”300″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /br Developer Chirag Mehta wanted a better way to search Wikipedia, so he put together a fast, dynamic as-you-type search box that loads results in a sidebar and the best match in the main panel. You can also use the search engine’s address mdash; codehttp://chir.ag/wiki/something//code mdash; to go directly to search results for “something” (like using a Firefox keyword search). Here are the results for a href=”http://chir.ag/wiki/lifehacker”a search for “Lifehacker”/a. A few Wikipedia-specific search interfaces have popped up over the years to compensate for the suckiness that is the built-in search box, and this is one of the better ones./p div class=”related”a href=”http://chir.ag/wiki/”Ajax Wiki Search/a [Chirag Mehta : chir.ag]/div br style=”clear: both;”/
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