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Hands-on: SlingPlayer Mobile for Android
Owners of Android-based smartphones have been clamoring for a version of SlingPlayer for some time now, and last week the streaming software finally made its way to the platform.
Sling Media had promised various improvements in overall performance, and these speed tweaks are immediately noticeable compared with the experience on Windows Mobile or even an iPhone. We were impressed to see how quickly the software loads, and once we configured all the appropriate settings, we were able to get video less than two seconds after hitting the application icon.
We used SlingPlayer for Android with a Slingbox Solo and an older Slingbox AV model. Even though Sling says the AV model isn't designed to work with the Android player, we had no issues getting a clear picture from our AV box. The only drawback we could find using a Slingbox AV is that we weren't able to get a full-screen video playing with the AV as our source. On the other hand, the Solo had no problem streaming video that fit our HTC Evo's entire screen.… Read more
Western Digital ships new DVR Expander drive
Consumers who need to add more space to their digital video recorders now have another choice.
Western Digital announced Tuesday a new My Book AV DVR Expander that works with a large selection of DVRs. This is the upgrade to a device released by the company a year ago.
According to Western Digital, the new My Book AV DVR Expander is TiVo-verified and compatible with TiVo Series3, TiVo Premier, TiVo HD, and many other DVRs, including DirectTV R15, HR20, HR2, HR23, Dish Network VIP722K, and Time Warner Cable Scientific Atlanta 8300HD.
Essentially, the My Book DVR Expander is a 1TB … Read more
Immunet offers peace of mind
Common Windows security wisdom says it's a bad idea to run multiple antivirus apps simultaneously. Generally that's true, but Immunet 2.0 intends to play nice with your existing protection and bolster it with help from the cloud and the crowd. Immunet's latest update introduces new scanning tools, detection engines, and support in a bid to persuade users that the program is the spackle they need to plug the holes in their security wall.
Installation and setup The installation of Immunet 2.0 asks for registration, which you can skip to avoid sending your data up to … Read more
Crave giveaway of the week with Dolby Volume: Harman AVR 3600 AV receiver
In case you missed last week's giveaway, Dolby is sponsoring the Crave Giveaway of the Week, and serving up some sweet home theater prizes. Last week we had the Harman AVR 2600 AV receiver. This week, Dolby's doing you one better with the step-up Harman AVR 3600 with Dolby Volume.
Here's what Dolby has to say about the AVR 3600: "The 7.1-channel AVR 3600 includes a direct connection for charging and playback of iPhone and iPod devices. Advanced Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD decoding complement the built-in Dolby Volume signal processing and 80 watts-per-channel audio performance." (See full specs on Harman's Web site).
Normally, the AVR 3600 would cost about $960, but you have the chance to get it gratis.
So, how do you try to win this Harman AV receiver? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.
Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again. Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated. Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Harman AVR 3600 AV receiver. Approximate retail value is $960. If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Monday, June 14 at noon EDT.
Spam masquerading as Twitter e-mails lead to phishing, malware
E-mail inboxes are getting hit this week with spam campaigns that appear to be legitimate Twitter messages but which lead to malware and phishing sites, security firms warned on Wednesday.
Some e-mails masquerade as messages from Twitter's customer support team warning the recipient that the site has detected an attempt to steal the Twitter account password and prompting the recipient to click on a link to download a "secure module" to protect the account, according to Vietnamese antivirus firm Bkis and Trend Micro.
If the link is clicked on a Trojan horse designed to target Windows will … Read more
Amazon.com has the Cirago CTM1000 Digital AV Player for $49.46, after $10.53 savings, plus free shipping.
Crave giveaway of the week: Harman Kardon AVR 2600 AV receiver
So, we're excited to announce that for the next four weeks Dolby will be sponsoring the Crave Giveaway of the Week, serving up some sweet home-theater prizes, including this week's Harman Kardon AVR 2600 AV receiver.
Here's what Dolby has to say about the AVR 2600: "This sophisticated 7.1- channel AV receiver includes four HDMI inputs and seven 65-watt channels of 65 watts per channel Dolby Home Theater audio performance. In addition to Dolby Volume, the AVR 2600 includes advanced Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD decoding." (See full specs at Dolby's Web site).
Normally, the AVR 2600 would cost about $670, but you have the chance to get it gratis.
So, how do you try to win this Harman Kardon AV receiver? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.
Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again. Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated. Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified. The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Harman Kardon AVR 2600 AV receiver. Approximate retail value is $670. If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Monday, June 7 at noon EST.
Powerline technology to be standardized
A big shortcoming of powerline adapters is the fact that they tend not to interoperate across vendors. For example, the adapters made by Cisco are unlikely to work with products made by Netgear. This is because the powerline market has been fragmented and does not have a common standard. However, this is about to change.
The HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced Tuesday that an initial sponsor ballot was passed for the IEEE P1901, the working group that develops the global standard for high-speed powerline communications. This is an important step toward establishing a global standard for powerline (PLC) networking.
According to … Read more
Western Digital ships 2.5-inch media hard drives
Two weeks after the release of the My Passport AV, an external hard drive designed specifically for use with digital content players and recorders, Western Digital announced the internal version of the same hard drive, the 2.5-inch SATA WD AV-25.
The company claims the new AV-25 hard drive differs from other internal hard drive by providing greater reliability, with a mean time between failures of 1 million hours. It's engineered specifically for demanding, always-on multimedia-streaming applications, and runs cool and quiet.
Apart from that, WD says the AV-25 hard drive meets the requirements of the AV/DVR and surveillance markets by offering universal compatibility, low power consumption, and the capability to simultaneously record multiple audio and/or high-definition video streams.
Other features of the new AV-25 hard drive include:… Read more
