Last month, we reported that Macrovision changed its name to Rovi , and now Samsung has made a deal to use the company's electronic programming guide in its future products. According to Video Business, it's a multiyear contract, and Rovi has previously stated it doesn't expect its guide to hit the marketplace until early 2010.
We could see Rovi's EPG being useful in several types of home theater products, but the most logical place would be Samsung's HDTVs. While many already have EPG functionality through an attached cable or satellite box, Rovi's guide could be useful for those relying on over-the-air DTV signals or even Tru2way compatible TVs.
Rovi has also previously stated its intention to include streaming media services such as YouTube, Slacker, and CinemaNow in its interface, so it will be interesting to see how these services will mesh with the existing Yahoo widgets already available on Samsung HDTVs.
Rovi's Liquid media guide will provide access to broadcast TV, broadband Internet content, and personal media.
(Credit: Rovi)Macrovision, best known for its digital rights management software, officially changed its name today to Rovi. To celebrate, the company announced a new media guide, code named "Liquid." According to the press release, Liquid will merge television, Internet, and personal multimedia content into a single, sleek graphical interface. Rovi plans on releasing the guide to consumer electronics manufacturers in early 2010.
The media guide is broken up into three basic areas. First off is a FiOS-like interactive guide to broadcast TV, which appears to offer extensive information and playback options. The second major component will offer broadband services like Slacker Radio, Roxio CinemaNow, and YouTube XL, the large-screen-friendly version of the popular video streaming site. Rovi also announced that it is working with Blockbuster to integrate its OnDemand service for access to full-length movie rentals. Finally, the guide will be able to access and share personal media, such as a digital photo collection (although it's not clear how exactly you'll incorporate or share your own media). Liquid will also personalize your experience with recommendations from social networks like Flixster and by learning your preferences and tastes and incorporating them into user profiles.
In terms of design, the guide looks very impressive, but there is a visible error in the TV guide, as one Engadget commenter points out. In the featured image, 48 Hours Mystery, a CBS program, is also mistakenly listed under ABC. (Crave is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.) If this isn't a mock-up image, then Liquid is probably using preset data instead of pulling real guide data. It remains to be seen what the guide will actually look like in action.
Rovi is also rather vague about what exactly Liquid will be able to offer beyond the few announced features. For example, the press release says that the guide will provide access to "full length television and movie content for both free and paid services, as well as additional content including Internet video, popular music, social networking, and other Internet destinations." While the announced content certainly fits under that description, so does an extensive list of other destinations on the Internet, so we'll have to wait and see what else Liquid will support.
As of now, Rovi hasn't announced which companies or models will support Liquid, so we don't really know yet when (or even if) the guide will actually see the light of your TV.
If you've been dying to give your Windows XP machine a Windows Vista makeover without the pain of upgrading, WindowBlinds' latest offering will probably seem like a gift from the interface fashion gods. Or, if you're into pain and you'd like to cover up that snazzy Vista interface with an XP look, you can do that, too.
Heck, you can even add a flaming-spewing, animated dragon if your desktop skin is crying out for some orc-love.
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Where's my cover flow?
(Credit: MacRumors.com)MacRumors.com recently posted (and subsequently removed) some convincing clips of a possible sixth-generation iPod interface. DapReview.net was able to collect some of the yanked clips together into a YouTube video (visible below, hopefully). Could this be a taste of what the future holds for the next iPod? If so, I'll be somewhat disappointed. After the iPhone teased us with Cover Flow navigation and widescreen video, it'll be hard for Apple to put that genie back in the bottle. What do you guys think? Real or fake? Anyone else spot Boards of Canada on the Artist list?
(via DAP Review)
Denon's new graphical user interface for the AVS-4308?
(Credit: Area DVD)Back in February we blogged some possible leaked specs of Denon's upcoming 2008 AV receiver line, including the fact that Denon was including a new graphical user interface (GUI) on two high-end models, the AVR-3808CI and AVR-4308CI. Thanks to a thread on AVS Forum, we were able to turn up what look to be pictures of the new Denon GUI from Area DVD's coverage of the High End 2007 show in Munich, Germany. While Denon's 2008 AV receivers are still officially unannounced, the images of the AVR-4308 and the new GUI from the High End 2007 show are a good indication that these models and features are on their way.
Speaker configuration on Denon's new GUI
(Credit: Area DVD)If these pictures do turn out to be the new GUI for Denon's high-end receivers, that would be a pretty significant feature to us--and could give Denon an edge over Onkyo's new line of receivers. Stylish GUIs are an upcoming trend for AV receivers, and we raved about the Sony STR-DA5200ES's GUI last December, which was the first receiver we've seen to feature slick graphics in place of the usual blocky white text. As more and more complex duties (such as video upconversion) are being handled by AV receivers, being able to easily set up receivers with helpful onscreen graphics is more important than it's ever been. Hopefully Denon releases the full details on these new receivers sooner rather than later.
For some additional images of high-end Denon gear--including an AV receiver with 6 HDMI inputs and XLR pre-outs--check out this English translation of Area DVD's coverage, thanks to Google.
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