set-top boxes

Motorola says that the new set-top box it is developing for Japanese carrier KDDI will not use Google's Android operating system.

Last week, CNET News referenced a report from the Web site Android Guys that said Motorola is building a TV set-top box for Japanese telephone and broadband service provider KDDI.

The Web site reported that Masataka Miura, chairman of Open Embedded Software Foundation (OESF), had said Motorola was making the Android powered set-top box for KDDI. The OESF is a group that consists of several Japanese companies that plan to use Android in embedded devices. ARM, KDDI, Japan … Read more

From the PC to the TV, Adobe Systems wants to bring rich Web animation and video into consumers' living rooms.

The company will on Monday announce its latest version of its Flash multimedia platform that will essentially put its technology in Internet connected TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and other digital home devices. The main purpose of the TV and consumer electronics optimized Flash is to allow viewers to see high-definition video, interactive applications and new user interfaces right on their TVs.

As part of the announcement, the company revealed a number of partners that plan to use the technology, … Read more

Editors' note: The original story incorrectly stated that Motorola is planning to build an Android set-top box for KDDI in Japan, based on reports from the Web site Android Guys. To avoid confusion, the story has been removed. Please click here to see the appropriate information regarding Motorola's set-top box.

More than 800 digital-media enthusiasts in New York RSVP'd for a Tuesday night "meet-up" held by Boxee, the TV browser software company that's ambitiously (and controversially) aimed to make it possible to have a full Web content experience in your living room.

Right now, Boxee sources content from outlets such as Comedy Central, Netflix, CBS (which publishes CNET News), and Web video content hubs such as Blip.tv and Next New Networks.

In conjunction with the get-together, Boxee (still available only for Mac and Linux) made a few notable announcements: First of all, it's overhauled … Read more

Media-center start-up Boxee, which aggregates Web video for television set-top boxes, has launched a new version that restores access to video hub Hulu. The NBC Universal-News Corp. joint venture had pulled its content from Boxee after content partners took issue with it.

But it's not really the same: Boxee has brought back Hulu by extending its support for RSS feeds, and is pulling the video content in that way.

"Like IE, Firefox, or Google Reader, the RSS reader supports Google Video, Yahoo, YouTube and feeds from many other websites," a post on the Boxee blog by CEO … Read more

Boxee was approached by several hardware makers at CES earlier this month about embedding the Web content streaming software directly into a dedicated set-top box, the company said Thursday on its official blog. And it's actually considering it.

The blog post was written by CEO Avner Ronen to solicit feedback from users as to whether this is an attractive option and how much they'd be willing to pay for it. (If you want to chime in, head over to blogg.boxee.tv.)

Boxee is software that works on any Mac/Linux/Windows computer and can stream content online (… Read more

2Wire has unveiled the MediaPoint, a thin-client set-top box that's designed to deliver HD video via broadband. The MediaPoint box will have a small footprint (just 7 inches square) and a good array of features, including HDMI output, wired and wireless network connectivity, USB expansion options, and UPnP and DLNA compatibility for streaming media from sources on the home network. The catch? MediaPoint won't be available to consumers--at least, not directly.

That's because 2Wire is effectively acting as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer). 2Wire's customers--broadband service providers--can customize the MediaPoint box to their specific needs, and … Read more

Awhile back, I wondered aloud when we'd finally see a "Hulu box" that could stream on-demand video from that increasingly popular online video destination directly to your TV. And a couple of weeks ago, we got our hands on the first potential candidate in the form of the ZvBox. The PC accessory converts your computer's video output and makes it accessible on your home HDTV (multiple TVs, in fact, if your home is cable-ready). It also includes an RF remote with wireless-mouse functionality, so you can navigate your PC screen from afar, and pull up any computer-based media content on the TV screen--including Hulu, iTunes, BitTorrent, or whatever other Web- or PC-based video strikes your fancy.

Unfortunately, we found the ZvBox had too many caveats.… Read more

Only 16 months ago, Vudu, the maker of a movie-playing set-top box, was generating splashy headlines in publications like The New York Times.

Now the company, which bills itself as a video store in a box, is at the center of speculation about layoffs and executive upheaval.

Last week, CE Pro reported that the company had reduced staff by nearly 20 percent, or about 16 to 18 employees out of 100.

A Vudu representative confirmed via e-mail that the company had reduced staffing but declined to discuss figures. Vudu "had to restructure a bit from each department" the … Read more