Both have been promised as coming soon in recent weeks, and now Boxee has confirmed that two fairly big new rollouts are underway. The first is the Boxee Box Live TV dongle, which is now shipping and will let you augment your Boxee Box with some OTA TV channels for $50. You can get a closer look at it in our hands-on from CES earlier this month. Alongside it, Boxee is also rolling out its Boxee 1.5 software update, which boasts a new UI and a number of other refinements including better search, new library screens and filtering options, browser pop-up management, and the addition of Rotten Tomatoes listings. Boxee says it's staggering the release over the next 72 hours, but those eager to check it out can find instructions for a manual update at the support link below.
Microsoft acknowledges Xbox 360 color space problem in last update, is working on a fix.
Engadget
While we found a lot of things to like in the last Xbox 360 dashboard upgrade, not everyone was happy after it finally rolled out in early December. We've received word from multiple owners who saw and reported color output problems since the beta began, and today Director of Programming Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson tweeted that the company is "aware of the color space issue w/ some Xbox video apps & are working on a fix". While that should take care of some issues, more recent reports also indicate problems with the HDMI output having HDCP authentication problems with certain TVs or receivers that blocks video output, as well as reports confirmed by Eurogamer that 1080p output appears to be downscaled to 720p internally.
We are pleased to offer this firmware update for the best possible performance of your AV Receiver.
TX-NR1009
(Version 1111-1099-0211-1105)
Improves sound quality during playback with DTS-HD Master Audio on particular Blu-ray discs.
To check if your firmware is the latest version, go in to Setup -> Hardware Setup -> Firmware Update and check the 16 digit number (XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). If any of the numbers differ from the latest version available, please update your unit.
Update methods
To update the firmware of the AV receiver, you can choose from the following two methods. Choose the one that best suits your environment.
Update via network
You need a wired Internet connection to update the firmware.
Update via USB storage
Please prepare a USB storage device such as a USB flash memory stick. You need at least 32 MB of available space to update the firmware.
We hope you enjoy the improved functionality this update provides to your AV Receiver.
Precautions for your Firmware Update
Please enter [NET] mode before starting the update.
The firmware update may fail if an external HDMI control signal is input during the update procedure. Please be sure to turn off the HDMI control function (RIHD) on your A/V receiver before starting the update.
How to turn off RIHD:
In the Main menu select "Hardware Setup", then "HDMI".
Set " HDMI Control " to OFF
- The firmware update should take 15 to 40 minutes (depending on receiver model). Once the update begins, don't turn off the power supply to the A/V receiver until it is time to restart it.
- Depending on the conditions of the network, a firmware update via a network may take more than one hour or even fail to finish. If the update is not completed within two hours, turn off the power supply by pushing the ON/STANDBY button and then try updating again from the beginning.
- Updating the firmware and adjusting the settings will be done automatically, but may take some time to complete. Please follow the procedures as instructed when you update. Note that the update may fail, or cause problems for your A/V receiver, if you do any of the following:
Pull out the A/V receiver’s power cord;
Interrupt the power supply to the A/V receiver (e.g. if the breaker is tripped or if there is an electrical outage);
Insert or remove the LAN cable from a device in your network when updating over a network;
Insert or remove a USB memory device from the A/V receiver when updating via USB;
Operate components connected to the A/V receiver via HDMI, such as a TV or a recording device.
If your A/V receiver is damaged for any of the reasons above, an Onkyo service center will repair the unit for a fee.
If you see "No Update" on the front panel immediately after you have started the firmware update process, you have the latest firmware. In this case it is not necessary to do this update.
Please note: if there will be an error message or a interruption during the update over Internet, please contact our service partner in your country.
The display will read "Completed!" when the firmware has been installed successfully. Press the power button on the front face of the receiver to turn it off. Turn in back on using the remote and the restart is finished.
DirecTV finally launched its new TiVo HD DVR, but customers with standard set-top boxes are getting a visual refresh as the company rolls out its new HD user interface. The upgrade has been trickling out since November, but DBSTalk forum member RobertE posted a schedule that shows the interface going live in New York City and parts of California, Washington, and Ohio just this past week, with additional markets across the country scheduled for a January 2012 rollout. The update includes a new 14-day program guide, a personalized recommendations system dubbed "My DirecTV," and a streamlined interface, all delivered in native 16 x 9 1080p.
Engadget HD
Customers with iPads are also getting a holiday surprise, with the company adding 12 new channels to its streaming app for the iPad. AMC, HD Net Movies, and Fuel TV are amongst the new additions, bringing the total number of available channels to 49 — assuming you subscribe to them all with DirecTV first, of course.
DirecTV finally launched its new TiVo HD DVR, but customers with standard set-top boxes are getting a visual refresh as the company rolls out its new HD user interface. The upgrade has been trickling out since November, but DBSTalk forum member RobertE posted a schedule that shows the interface going live in New York City and parts of California, Washington, and Ohio just this past week, with additional markets across the country scheduled for a January 2012 rollout. The update includes a new 14-day program guide, a personalized recommendations system dubbed "My DirecTV," and a streamlined interface, all delivered in native 16 x 9 1080p. Customers with iPads are also getting a holiday surprise, with the company adding 12 new channels to its streaming app for the iPad. AMC, HD Net Movies, and Fuel TV are amongst the new additions, bringing the total number of available channels to 49 — assuming you subscribe to them all with DirecTV first, of course.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® announced today that the 2012 International CES® is the largest in the show's 44 year history, with 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space. The previous record was 1.857 million net square feet of space at the 2008 International CES. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2012 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, runs through Friday, January 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In other show news, a keynote address by Ericsson's Hans Vestberg, the Innovation Power Panel with leaders from Ford, Verizon and Xerox, a Brand keynote from executives from AT&T, Walmart, Facebook and GE, an LIT keynote from eBay's John Donohue and a keynote from YouTube's Robert Kyncl were mid-week highlights of the 2012 International CES®.
The Innovation Power Panel on Wednesday morning featured Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally, Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns and Verizon Enterprise Solutions President John Stratton. The panelists discussed how innovation must be a strategy for their respective companies and for the United States. The conversation centered on how to stimulate innovation through investment and employment.
In his 2012 CES keynote, Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, discussed "The Networked Society" connecting everyone and everything through mobility. "We have a responsibility to build networks that can carry innovation," said Vestberg. Ericsson predicts there will be 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020.
The CES Brand keynote panel featured the marketing minds of the world's top brands. The retail and branding effects of social media, healthcare-related technologies, connectivity and the explosion of wireless were all discussed during the session. The panelists agreed that people are becoming more connected to their devices, and because of this, to each other. “Our core belief is that the entire web is being rebuilt around people,” said Facebook's Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions Carolyn Everson.
In an afternoon SuperSession with CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski stressed the importance of broadband, particularly wireless, in the future of consumer electronics. "The demand for spectrum has grown because people love these products," said Genachowski, stressing the need for Congress to pass incentive spectrum auction legislation. "We need to get it done now." After touring the show floor, Genachowski noted the "endless rows of innovative new products," addressing fitness, education and healthcare, among other purposes. The session also covered net neutrality, antitrust issues and Genachowski's broadband-driven agenda at the FCC.
Wednesday's SuperSession with Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy, and CEA's Shapiro talked about hot selling products this holiday season and the retailer's strategy. "We'll have more doors and less square footage," Dunn told Shapiro in a question and answer session. "Stores have an important place in the ecosystem." When it comes to product trends, Dunn expects tablets and smartphones to stay hot while he opined that it was the "best time in the history of man to buy a TV."
Bringing the digital lifestyle safely into the car was the main topic at Wednesday SuperSession, “Connect2Car: Connecting Automotive and Consumer Electronics Lifestyles.” Several main trends were discussed including, driving green, driving connected, driving safe and driving cool. The panel agreed that collaboration is the key, when integrating apps and other technology into the car.
The Verge's Joshua Topolsky moderated an “Argue the Future” SuperSession on Wednesday that featured Drew Bamford of HTC, Ryan Bidan of Samsung, Nilay Patel of The Verge and Aaron Woodman of Microsoft. The participants debated the challenges of differentiation versus commodization, the goal of launching less phones but more consumer choice, perhaps by offering hardware customization options, and the best ways to curate and deliver personal content to the cloud.
On Wednesday evening, John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay, delivered the keynote address at the Leaders in Technology (LIT) dinner. Donahoe discussed how the intersection of technology and retail is having a profound impact on consumers' shopping experience and predicted that the next three years of "shopping and paying" will see more profound change then what we've seen over the past 10-15 years.
Thursday morning featured a keynote from Robert Kyncl, Vice President of Global Content Partnerships, YouTube. Kyncl described how content, distribution and marketing of video have come together to make it a transformative and accessible viewing option around the world. According to Kyncl, by 2020, 75 percent of all channels will be transmitted or born on the Internet, due to closed systems that have no opened up.
In other 2012 International CES news, Lytro won the Last Gadget Standing SuperSession competition, beating nine other finalists, including the Playstation Vita, Autom Robot, Cotton Candy, WIMM, Origami, Svivl, Basis Body Band, Lenovo Yoga and Samsung Note. More, the LG 55EM9800 55-inch OLED TV was named CNET's Best of CES winner, with Razer's Project Fiona winning the People's Choice online voting award.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 4:02PM 
Engadget
