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The Boxee box or Google TV?

You should be familiar with both Boxee Box and Google TV by now. If you are not, click both links and inform yourself.

Basically, they both offer a single graphical user interface (GUI) to search the internet for streaming video content. They both have additional features, and some that do not overlap, but that is the driving feature for both. They are both priced under $200.

The Boxee Box is built by D-Link, and comes with the Boxee freeware installed. It was supposed to be available now, but the release has been moved back to November. Boxee is unique as it also integrates social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Buzz.




Google TV doesn’t have a whole lot of information available yet, but there will be both set-top boxes and integrated TVs. Logitech will have the first Google TV box, and they will announce its availability this fall. It is built on an Android platform, so it also includes Android apps – though I wouldn’t necessarily blame certain manufacturers from disabling this feature. The killer feature Google TV provides is the ability to connect a cable or satellite DVR so the GUI will also index television programs. The first partner is Dish Network; this would connect to the DVR and allow Google searches for live programs, and programs stored on the DVR.




There are, of course, competing boxes on the market – and one could also convert any PC into a Boxee Box at will – but these two seem to be the most promising solutions coming down the pipe.

It seems at $200, the Boxee could conceivably replace your existing cable DVR, and you would be saving money on cable service in under 2 months. On the other hand, there is still live programming and certain television serials unavailable on the internet still, so the Google TV would be a great compliment to Dish Network.

My question for you is, which box would you like in your home entertainment system?

How to use THX Optimizer video tests

Without a doubt, the first thing you want to do when you bring your new HDTV home from the store is setup the picture for optimal viewing. But the majority of people do not ever adjust the picture, and many don’t even know you can.

Fact: The default picture setting on HDTVs are set by the TV manufacturers to draw the consumer’s eye on the showroom floor. This means the picture is incredibly bright, and tinted blue. The reason they do this is because showrooms have bright overhead florescent lighting. But when you get the TV home, this setting is just too bright, and the colors are too blown out.



Fortunately, this is correctable through careful adjustments. Some manufacturers are now offering picture settings which are incredibly close to accurate. These are usually called something like “cinema,” “movie,” or “THX.” Start with one of these settings, and then use THX Optimizer to make picture adjustments.

For a list of movies which include the THX Optimizer, click this link. To view a video demonstration of THX video optimization, view the embedded video below.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is confused about 480p & HD

Hot on the heels of our post on Apple iTunes Movie Trailers claim 480p is “HD”, we’ve found another infractor in the collection of companies who aren’t labeling resolutions properly.

This time, the company-that-should-know-better is Microsoft. A friend of ours sent in some photos from the Xbox 360 game console, where 480p resolution is labeled as “HD”. Screenshots below.

In the photo above, notice that 480p is in the list on the left and on the right it says “select a high definition output”.

Again, we’ll point out that 480p resolution does not qualify as high definition. 480p is the resolution utilized by DVD’s and is classified as “enhanced definition”, while anything 720p and up can be labeled as HD.

To give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt in the second photo, perhaps they are only referring to the component cables as an HD capable transport method, but either way, their resolution selection screens could definitely be labeled a bit better, as they’ve caused some users to question whether 480p is indeed high definition, or not.

Have you seen 480p incorrectly labeled as HD or high definition? If so, we’d love to hear about it, so please let us know.

Thanks to Oliver for sending this in.

Netflix thinks you’re a pirate if you cancel

A friend of mine recently canceled his Netflix subscription because he didn’t use it much. While going through the motions to cancel his account, he was prompted with a customer exit survey, which is no surprise as Netflix is known for doing lots of surveys.

The most interesting part of the survey was the question on what the customer would now use as their primary source for TV episodes and Movies, after canceling Netflix. The top option presented to the survey participants is peer-to-peer and Bit Torrent sites! Screenshot below (red box outline added by me for highlighting).

With Bit Torrent being the number 1 option in their survey question, this leads me to wonder: Does Netflix suspect that the people canceling their subscriptions are pirates? It’s possible, or I could just be scrutinizing the survey question & answers a bit too much.

Either way, it’s nice to see that Netflix is not scared to ask the tough questions and evaluate their business properly. On the other hand, if people really are canceling their Netflix subscriptions in favor of obtaining content through piracy, I wonder if they’d answer the survey question truthfully anyway…

Thanks to Ben for sending this in.

Compare telecom services like cell phones, 4g internet and more
The hot cell phones these days are smartphones, devices that are more akin to computers rather than traditional “telephones”. In fact, more and more consumers are spending the majority of time using their phones for other uses other than talking. They surf the web, they use apps, they social network with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and many other services.

So what’s the next hot thing in cell phones smartphones? 4G service. The majority of the newer phones on the market currently support 3G (3rd Generation) data speeds, but 4G is coming to the masses in the near future. Sprint launched the first ever 4G phone with the HTC EVO smartphone running Google Android, but the 4G service is limited to a select number of cities (and my hometown of Phoenix is not on that list, or even in the plans for future Sprint 4G rollouts).

Personally, I’m highly looking forward to Verizon’s roll-out of LTE 4G services, which are rumored to be launching nationwide in 2011. Until then, I’ll continue salivating over the lightning fast data speeds promised by 4G technology. Compare Cell Phones.

Disclosure: This article was a sponsored, paid post.

Roku Facebook Photos channel broken again
I finally got around to testing out the “Facebook Photos” channel on my Roku HD player, but it doesn’t work.

The process starts by visiting Roku.com/Facebook, which redirects you to a Facebook page that allows you to click a “Generate” button that creates a one-time use code. This code allows you to link your Roku player with your Facebook account. I input my code on my Roku HD player and linked my player to my Facebook account with no issues.

Once the Facebook Photos Roku channel loads, there are options for Photo Feed, My Photos and Friends’ Photos. At first glance, everything looked good, I could see a thumbnail photo for “My Photos” and when I went into my Friend’s Photos, I could see a thumbnail for each of my friends.

The problem started when I clicked on My Photos to view the albums and photos inside of it. After clicking on my thumbnail for My Photos or a friend’s thumbnail to try to view their photos, the Roku Facebook Photos channel displays the error message “No photos found”.

I then clicked on the “Photo Feed” option and the Facebook Photos channel notified me that I needed to enable “extended permissions” for the Roku Facebook app. I went back to Facebook, enabled the “extended permissions” and checked to see if there were any other permissions available for the Roku app on Facebook. I had all permissions enabled.

After enabling these extended permissions, my photo feed started working. Eureka! I could now see a stream of all the latest Facebook photos from my friends on my HDTV via my Roku HD player. This is cool, but I’d also like to be able to browse my own albums and my friends albums specifically, instead of just a random stream of the latest photos, like the Photo Feed displays. Perhaps the extended permissions fixed the My Photos and the Friends Photos sections too? Nope. I still get the same error message “No photos found”.

I’ve tried many things to resolve the issue, with no luck so far. I’ve deleted the Facebook Photos channel and readded it to my Roku (to ensure that I have the latest version). I’ve checked my Facebook privacy and application settings. I’ve checked the options for “My photos”, “My videos” and “Photos and videos I’m tagged in” on the Facebook settings section: Choose Your Privacy Settings -> Applications, Games and Websites -> Info accessible through your friends. The issue still recurs.

After searching the interwebz, I found that this problem had occurred before. On March 4th 2010, numerous customers reported on the Roku forums that they could no longer view photos and were getting a “No photos found” message on the Facebook Photos Roku channel. On March 6th, Roku support resolved the issue by releasing a new version of the Facebook Photos channel (it is developed by Roku).

I’m guessing that Roku needs to update their Facebook Photos channel yet again to fix the problem. But if not, they need to at least give us detailed instructions on what settings we need to enable in our Facebook accounts in order to get it working. And no, the default Facebook privacy settings are not acceptable. What say you Roku?

UPDATE: A Fix for the Facebook Photos Roku channel is now available

An independent developer has provided a fix for the Facebook Photos Roku channel permissions issue.

I Have a Defective Sony TV

Many people own Sony rear-projection HDTVs (RPTV) and remain blissfully unaware that their television is defective. Maybe they think discoloration is a normal part of TV wear – their old tube TV probably changed shades, and may have even introduced green and purple ghosts. But there is something they need to know: Every Sony high-definition RPTV ever made is defective! This includes LCoS (SXRD), LCD, and 3LCD technologies manufactured between 2002 and 2007.

There seems to be a variety of issues, but the main problem is the optical block. Symptoms of a defective TV include blue blobs or haze, green blobs or haze, yellow stains, purple dots, lines similar to an Etch-A-Sketch, and other various problems. Some TVs have even partially melted. Needless to say, if your TV is not bright, crisp, and natural-looking, you probably need to consider looking for a repair, or satisfaction of some sort.



For many of us, the original warranty for the TVs have expired. Sony did extend the warranty due to the pending optical block class action lawsuits, however as of this article, most of the models’ extended warranties have also expired.

I have a Sony RPTV from 2006, and it has developed yellow staining at the top portion of the picture. I can’t share the details of anything Sony offers me, but I will write a follow up detailing my experience with Sony.

What do I do about my defective Sony TV?

First, visit the unofficial Sony LCD Rear Projection TV Problems website, which has in depth information on Sony, the projection technologies, the problems, remedies, and legal actions being taken. This is an indispensable source of information.

If you are experiencing any problems, you can join the I Have a Defective Sony TV Facebook page. Sony monitors this page, and can provide you with information (and even send you a customer identification number).

Finally, call Sony at 800-554-6908 to discuss your situation. They are available Monday through Friday 9:00am to 8:00pm EST. I recommend talking with Scott Fuentes; he is incredibly helpful, and can let you know your options.