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Just as it did earlier this year, Microsoft has opened the preview program to let the most hardcore of Xbox 360 owners poke around the updated dashboard — presumably with access to all the 1080p instant-on streaming, Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm add-ons we’ve been expecting — ahead of its official release in order to shake out any remaining bugs. While worldwide console owners should scrape together console IDs, make & model of your TV, router and more in hopes of receiving an invite next week, a little more concrete news is in order for the UK, with the console launch of Sky TV nailed down for October 27. You’ll have to wait until then to find out exact pricing and channel line up availability, ’til then it’s a matter of finding out who on your friends list is most suited for the inevitable football viewing party.

[Via Joystiq & NeoGAF]

Read - Xbox Live update Preview Program
Read - Xbox.com - Set a date for Sky Player!

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV

Xbox 360 Dashboard Update… updates: Preview program reopened, Sky TV due Oct. 27 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live Sky TV viewing via Xbox 360 didn’t make it into the most recent dashboard update, readers report page 17 of the network’s most recent SkyMag indicates it will arrive around mid-October. Additional details flesh out what’s available, while all Xbox Live Gold members (in the appropriate areas) will get access to the Sky Player similar to the PC implementation, you will need a Sky subscription with the appropriate channels to view sports and movie content. Look out for more updates at the skyplayer.com/xbox360 site, while those of us beyond the network’s reach wonder whether we can expect other features like Twitter (you’re following us, right?) Facebook and 1080p instant-on movie streaming to arrive at roughly the same time.

[Thanks, David]

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Sky TV arriving on Xbox 360 in mid-October according to SkyMag; Twitter, Facebook & Zune to follow? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The U.S. has Netflix, the UK has Sky TV and now France is getting Canal+ added to the Xbox 360, in a similar deal to the one bringing live and on-demand Sky TV in England, the French will be free to party up and watch more than 3,000 movies and TV shows, catch-up TV, French Ligue 1 soccer games, and headbutt flopping, filthy-mouthed Italians in the chest. No word if sports hooliganism will be supported in this iteration, but judging from the screens the avatar support should also mirror its UK counterpart. This is likely not the end of tie-ups between the two either, with the partnership planned to eventually encompass other Canal Plus & Microsoft products. Check out one additional pic of the updated dashboard after the break.

[Via Reuters]

Continue reading Canal+ live & on-demand TV comes to French Xbox 360s

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Canal+ live & on-demand TV comes to French Xbox 360s originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tucked in between the “worst kept secret” PSP Go and motion control demos at its E3 press conference, Sony also revealed new content for the PlayStation Network video service, and the ability to download video directly to the PSP, no PS3 or PC intermediary needed. No word on when to expect the new content exactly, but it will include video from Showtime Networks, Starz, G4 & E!, Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, HDNet & Magnolia Pictures, Anime Network, Media Blasters, Right Stuf’s Nozomi Entertainment, Starz Media’s Manga Entertainment, Toei Animation, Viz Media, WEP, UFC, TNA and Video Action Sports. Looks like Sony will have easy on the go access to video store content up and running before Microsoft gets its Zune integration act together, but whether that compares to 1080p instant streaming promises remains to be seen (Hint: first one with direct Hulu access wins, we’re just saying, guys.) Check out Sony’s trailer embedded after the break.

Continue reading Sony adds PSP access to PlayStation Network video store, 16 new content partners

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Portable Video

Sony adds PSP access to PlayStation Network video store, 16 new content partners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In one of the more unexpected developments from NAB 2009, Qtv is pushing its streaming media player platform for consoles. Not an altogether radical idea we know, but what’s different here is a plan to launch first on the PlayStation 2 and move to newer hardware later. From the makers of the Qcast technology behind the GameShark Media Player, Qtv includes YouTube and access to streaming video from other sources, plus pictures, music and video (DivX, h.264, XviD & more) from USB devices or networked computers. The PS2 may not be the first HD set-top box we thought of, it does have the highest installed base. The Qtv player launches later this year and will be available on Mac and PC as well for “less than $50,” although thanks to the free 30-day trial the hardest part may be remembering where we left our PS2s.

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Qtv launches console IPTV platform on the PlayStation…. 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Using PCs to do what Nintendon’t, YouTube user renebarahona is running Wii games in HD resolutions through the Dolphin emulator. One peek at Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 720p is enough to make any of us wonder what a world where Nintendo didn’t hate HD (even yanking 480p capability from the Gamecube, we’re still not over that) would be like. These games aren’t merely upscaled like DVDs, they’re being rendered in a high resolution natively with extra anti-aliasing Xbox 360 BC-style, producing surprisingly crisp visuals. Check out the embedded videos after the break (remember to hit the HD button) for an example, including how to set this up on your own computer.

[Via Joystiq & 1Up]

Continue reading Emulator runs Wii games in 720p while we wonder what might have been

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV

Emulator runs Wii games in 720p while we wonder what might have been originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bad news first: there might be a bit more competition than you expected for that home theater giveaway. Good luck bringing down Netflix’s shooting star though, as if last week’s good news train wasn’t enough comes news that over a million Xbox Live Gold members have already downloaded and activated the Watch Instantly app since its NXE debut last November. That’s more than 10% of Netflix’s just announced 9.4 million subscribers who’ve already watched over 1.5 billion minutes of TV and movies through their consoles. They’re not the only ones happy, while streaming may be eating into DVD rentals, Xbox Live Marketplace rentals are up 174 percent year over year. The streaming library is up to 12,000 titles, with a “growing percentage” in high definition, for the rest of the celebratory details check the full PR after the break. Nothing left for us to say but congratulations and hey, if you get a minute, could you fix Nilay’s HD streaming on the Xbox? Thanks.

Continue reading Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Xbox Live tallies 1 million Netflix Watch Instantly activations, 1.5 billion minutes served originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notice something missing from your Xbox 360 ever since the NXE went live? Some HDMI-connected gamers lost all audio after the update, and a fix is finally on the way. According to Major Nelson, it’s due to arrive February 3 at 2:00 a.m. PST in a mandatory dashboard update that should address the issues experienced with some HDTVs. That problem with your idiot friend always triggering the witch while playing Left 4 Dead? Still unaddressed.

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Xbox 360 HDMI audio fix arrives tomorrow morning originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look for something to drive your new Samsung monitor or 120Hz 3D HDTV? Enter NVIDIA’s GeForce 3D Vision package, loaded up with powered 3D glasses (no red / blue silliness here, charged via USB) and an IR emitter to keep everything synced between the display and your glasses. Left 4 Dead, WoW: WotLK and several other games are already compatible with more expected to come soon. CES had a quick demo and didn’t notice any of the headaches sometimes associated with stereoscopic 3D, but at $399 for the display and $199 for this set when it’s available in the next few days, we’re not sure how close we want to get to those zombies, but WoW fans may see things differently.

Filed under: CES, Displays, Gaming, Home Entertainment

NVIDIA offers up GeForce 3D Vision, takes WoW players further down the rabbit hole originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We never got a satisfactory answer for why they disappeared in the first place, but it seems the majority of the Columbia Pictures’ movies on Netflix Instant Watch lists suddenly switched to “not available on Xbox 360″ are once again open for streaming to all devices. The Karate Kid series, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and others now stream to Microsoft’s box, however Columbia Pictures movies tagged with the “available through Starz Play” logo — including Bad Boys and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story — are still out. Hopefully the remaining relevant parties are contacted soon, as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett have work to do, but this is a great start.

[Thanks, Hunter!]

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Columbia Pictures flicks — mostly — back on for Xbox 360 Netflix streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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