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Share & send web pages from a Windows PC to Google TV with Chrome to TV

Notebook computers are ubiquitous these days. It’s not uncommon to see someone typing away & navigating the web on a laptop in their living room, while comfortably lounging on the couch. Many of my friends do this on a daily basis, making their living room their personal base of operations.

If you’re a Google TV owner, you have probably wondered if it is possible to easily share & send links, websites & web pages to your Google TV from your Windows laptop. After all, if you’ve got a huge HDTV staring back at you from a living room wall, why watch that new YouTube video on the small screen? Well now you don’t have to!

Google TV has a very under-publicized feature aptly dubbed Chrome to TV, which allows you to send website URL’s to your Google TV from the Chrome browser, with just one click. If you’re familiar with the Chrome to Phone browser extension, then you’re halfway there, as Chrome to TV uses that same mechanism.

Enable Chrome to TV on your Google TV

From your Google TV device, press the home button, click All Apps, navigate down to the “Settings” app & click it, navigate down to “Input device” and click it. Navigate down to the “Chrome to TV” as shown below and click it.

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The entertainment industry & US Government want to censor the Internet

Today, numerous sites across the web, including Wikipedia and Craigslist are “blacking out” in opposition of the Stop Online Piracy Act (in the House) and the Protect IP Act (in the Senate).

These pieces of legislation are particularly insidious. Crafted by the entertainment industry in an attempt to combat piracy, what they would actually do if signed into law would be to give the Government and private corporations a channel to censor the Internet.

These putrid acts would also have many other unintended consequences if signed into law, such as stifling US technological innovations, instilling a state of fear in all websites across the web (who could easily be banned for “linking” to copyright infringing content), putting huge burdens (both technical and monetary) on ISP’s in order to comply with blacklisting, damaging the Domain Name System and much more. Watch the video below to learn more.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

We strongly oppose SOPA, PIPA and any other legislation that would give anyone the power to censor the Internet any way, shape or form. If you value the freedom of information and the current experience of the web, PLEASE contact both your Senators and your House Representative today and urge them to oppose these acts and any other similar legislation.

For maximum effect, we recommend that you call, email, fax and write a snail mail letter (yes all of those) to your representatives in Congress. The more contact they receive, the more likely they will be to side with their constituents. Ask all of your friends and family to join in and TAKE ACTION, as the fate of the free Internet is at stake.

Call your House rep
Email all your reps (both your House Rep & Senators) through EFF, Google or DownsizeDC
Find your representative to snail mail or fax a letter
Find your Senators to snail mail or fax a letter

Google TV gets an upgrade

In the run up to this year’s CES Expo, a new teaser video has been posted declaring Google TV to be all new for 2012.

If you remember, we were looking forward to Google TV’s release, but when it came it was underwhelming. The remote was unwieldy, and the menus were less than intuitive.

On top of those problems, content providers were blocking the devices so the promising features were damaged.

Here’s hoping Google learned from their mistakes, made a few new content-providing friends, and is finally releasing a product worth buying.

Are movies on disc dead?

During the Great Format Wars of 2007, some Outsiders kept their distance from the fray by declaring all physical media a lost cause. In spite of their valiant efforts, Blu-ray Disc sales have grown considerably, and the format is picking up the slack where DVD has left.

But the rag-tag bunch of insurgents would not give up, and now Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, iTunes, HBO Go and other mercenaries have kept their fight up and streaming video has become ubiquitous. Netflix instant-only subscribers far outnumber disc-only subscribers.

Given all that, nothing comes close to the director’s original intention of a cinematic experience like Blu-ray Disc does. Academy Award-winning director Ridley Scott even wrote an article for the Huffington Post arguing this point:

Blu-ray disc, of which I’ve been a supporter since its inception, is the closest we’ve come to replicating the best theatrical viewing experience I’ve ever seen. It allows us to present in a person’s living room films in their original form with proper colors, aspect ratio, sound quality, and, perhaps most importantly, startling clarity.

The problem with an argument like this is that it is directed at the geeks like me who care about quality over convenience. The people who have massive screens at home who can really make use of the higher definition video, and powerful speaker setups capable of delivering the audiophile-quality Blu-ray Disc provides.

The mass market consumer buys eggs at Walmart because it’s more convenient. They order clothes on Amazon without ever trying it on to avoid going to the store. And for years have complained about DVDs presented in their original theatrical aspect ratio, which lead to the horrific pan-and-scan copies that lopped off the sides of the picture.

Even more damning, the younger generation are watching more video on portable 3″ screens than on larger televisions or computer screens. At that size, high-definition really doesn’t matter.

Ridley Scott argues that, “Technology will need to make many more huge leaps before one can ever view films with the level of picture and sound quality many film lovers demand without having to slide a disc into a player, especially with the technical requirements of today’s 3D movies.” The important part of that sentence is “film lovers.” There are film lovers, and then there are casual film consumers. There is the guy who watched The Tree of Life four times in his local indie theater, and then the girl who stayed up all night to watch the latest Twilight regurgitation.

Personally, I spend more time streaming video from Netflix on my computer than I do in front of my TV with a Blu-ray Disc. This is borne out of practically though, as I can’t really blast my surround sound system while my kids are asleep. What I prefer is the high-definition quality and emotional impact of Blu-ray Disc, but what the reality I’ve come to is compromise happens where the rubber meets the road.

And in the end, I feel like going out to the Imax last weekend to see Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was the best compromise of all. Big screen. Big sound. Kids at home asleep.

8 days of free movies from Best Buy’s CinemaNow service

Best Buy has a pretty sweet deal for its CinemaNow digital download/streaming movie service that started yesterday. They’re offering up 8 free movie “purchases” (1 per day) for their Facebook fans. The deal started yesterday, so if you’re jumping in on it now, you’ll be able to get 7 free movies over the next 7 days if you so desire.

Yesterday I was easily able to redeem a coupon code for this promotion and I now “own” a digital copy of the film “Horrible Bosses”. Each day, you’ll be able to choose a free movie from a selection of approximately 8 films in their “showcase”, which will change daily.

Best Buy describes the promo by saying “Happy Holidays to you and your family from Best Buy & CinemaNow. There’s an advantage to being a Facebook fan – We are gifting our fans a complimentary movie each day for 8 days! Click here for today’s code to choose from 8 different titles for download.”

To get in on the free movie goodness, you’ll need to Like the Best Buy page on Facebook and then go to the “8 Days of Movies” app to get a new promo code each day, redeemable for one free movie in their showcase selection, while supplies last.

After you grab your promo code, head over to the CinemaNow offer page, select a movie, “Buy” it in SD, enter your promo code and enjoy your free flick!

Note: The free movie promo code for today (11/30) is not yet live as of the publishing of this post. Keep checking the Facebook page until it shows today’s free movie code.

Roku offers cheapest ever media player

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Roku is offering a limited edition “Purple box” for only $49.99. The Roku LT offers the same features as the Roku 2 HD, except without Bluetooth nor expandable memory slot.

With more than 300 streaming channels including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, EPIX, Crackle, Disney and HBO GO, Roku is considered one of the best choices for streaming video players. The Roku LT streams 720p high-definition video and features built-in wireless.



The Roku LT will be available from Roku.com, Amazon.com and in retail stores.

Blockbuster teams up with Dish Network

Earlier this month, Dish Network and Blockbuster released Blockbuster Movie Pass. This service allows for streaming movies and TV shows directly through the DishOnline.com. Additionally, DVDs and games will be delivered through the mail.

If you have Dish Network, Blockbuster Movie Pass will cost an additional $10 per month. This includes unlimited streaming, and one-disc-at-a-time delivery. The comparable Netflix service will cost $15.98. Upgrades with two and three discs at a time will be $15 and $20 respectively.

Blockbuster claims the available movies and TV shows are over 130,000, with 34,000 available for streaming. This is compared to Netflix with 31,700 streaming titles, and over 100,000 DVDs.

One advantage Blockbuster always had over Netflix was the ability to return movies to a Blockbuster store, where you pick up a new rental while your next by-mail delivery immediately ships. Blockbuster also rents games, which Netflix hasn’t gotten into yet.

Dish Network purchased Blockbuster out of bankruptcy earlier this year for $320 million.