TV

At this point in time there are many user interfaces for searching, browsing, and watching videos on YouTube. Apple's got custom interfaces on both the iPhone and iPod touch, along with the Apple TV, while YouTube's got its own mobile frontend that works pretty well, but lacks some of the polish of Apple's efforts. One of the newer companies trying to improve on YouTube's offerings is 3rd Eye Solutions which has an app called iDesktop.tv (formerly known as "YouTube Desktop"), that lets you browse, view, and search YouTube videos in a similar style … Read more

Christmas is coming and that means colored TVs and other electrical goods. We saw this pink Sony Bravia coming from a mile away, and we don't just mean because it's brightly colored--each year parents seem to give their children increasingly extravagant gifts in increasingly ludicrous colors.

When we were nippers, we used to get awesome presents, but they were generally small and cost a little bit less than today's child-pleasers. For example, we'd get an Optimus Prime toy, or if our parents weren't pacifists, maybe a Megatron. We also didn't have TVs in our … Read more

This has been quite a year for Apple, but Steve Jobs' magic wand doesn't always work.

In March, Apple unveiled Apple TV, the company's attempt at tackling a question that has eluded the PC industry for years: how can we get people to watch content delivered over the Internet in their living rooms on their big-screen TVs? When he announced the product last September, Jobs said that Apple TV "completes the story" of Apple's bid to reinvent the way people watch movies and television shows.

Now, as we head into the holiday shopping season, it … Read more

There's an abundance of waterproof TVs on the market, for both outdoor and indoor use. But there are suprisingly few handheld entertainment devices that can resist the rain, considering that they're actually supposed to get wet.

Sanyo has the right idea, though, with a waterproof portable TV that has a 4-inch LCD and a six-hour battery, according to Gizmodiva. That, of course, is tiny compared with other weather-resistant models we've seen. Then again, not everyone needs one for an entire life in the bathroom.

Everyone knows about LCDs and plasmas, but another fight over TV materials is looming over another commodity: trees.

Apparently trying to cash in on the green trend, some manufacturers have been designing flat-panel frames made of wood and other natural sustainable substances. That's setting up a battle between some leading Asian electronics companies and an early innovator from Sweden, of all places.

But even though it's hardly a household name, Swedx isn't about to give in. In fact, according to Pocket-lint, it's about to start distributing some of its newest models through the U.K. retail … Read more

A new TV download service is trying to one-up iTunes.

Though it has far less content than Apple's service, SyncTV offers themed channels of TV content available for subscription or purchase over the Web. Each channel will run about $2 each per month, and currently there are four subscription channels available.

In most cases, if you subscribe to a channel, you also get access to every episode of the shows on that channel, SyncTV CEO John Gildred says. So far, the biggest content name that has signed on is Showtime. That's not the most compelling for the average … Read more

WorldTV is one of the companies making its debut at today's NewTeeVee Conference here in San Francisco. The site is hyper-focused, letting users create custom channels containing videos taken from Google's videos properties, along with AOL and Yahoo's. Once you've added the videos either by URL or built-in search, you can simply pass along the permalinked URL to friends to have them watch your collection in a full-screen player.

Channels can be branded with a text logo that sits to the right of the player, although advanced users can go in and upload an image instead. … Read more