tv

If you would have told me a month ago that I'd be ga-ga for the Zune, I would have had you institutionalized. "Zune-lover? Are you high?" But here I am, smitten with the Zune 80, spending my entire weekend exploring every little feature while my trusty iPod languishes in my messenger bag.

I'll be updating the MP3 Insider blog this week with some personal insights on why the Zune is currently rocking my world. I invite all the Apple fanboys and girls to sound off in the comments section to try and snap me out of … Read more

Sure, you could pay iTunes two bucks for every episode of The Office you download to your PC. Or you could add a TV tuner and record unlimited shows--in high def!--free of charge. eCost has the Viore Portable HDTV Tuner for just $55, a steal at twice the price.

Just plug this USB tuner into your desktop or notebook, then connect an analog cable feed or the included ATSC antenna. The latter lets you pull down HD channels right outta thin air (provided you live in a metropolitan area).

To record shows for later viewing, you'll need Windows … Read more

I've really enjoyed seeing the lifecasting movement take off. I can't say I feel the need to visit these sites on a regular basis, but like a roller coaster built for children, they provide enjoyable moments mixed in with some less-than-incredible build-up. One of the newest entrants to the space is Mod My Life, which shares a lot in common with its other lifecasting brethren by mixing up live Webcam footage with user chat. The twist is that the person with the Webcam is an actor or comedian, and the audience gets to control what he or she is doing.

All the user-created actions are created and voted on by users, and they show up in an upcoming section that lets the group weed out the good ideas from the bad. The four most popular get dropped into a voting pool where users can vote on the item as many times as they like until the time runs out. The "Modstars," which are the people with the cameras strapped to their heads, then has to go do what people have told them to do.

While watching last night I was treated to several awkward moments of Modstar Jason Wilder Evans bothering people around the greater New York area before managing to somehow walk into what looked like an attempted robbery with a baseball bat. The robbery had just been broken up by the convenience store's security guard. We never really found out what happened, but the damage had been done, and I sat quietly in awe along with the rest of the viewers as Jason called the police and recounted what had happened with other witnesses.

The rest of the show wasn't nearly as gripping as that bit, but like the creators have told me, a lot of it depends on the Modstar, and other variables like location, time of day, and what ideas the community has got cooking. In many ways it's a lot like Justin.TV when they first started out. Far from what Justin Kan and company have expanded to now with their platform and live channel selection, Mod My Life is treading a slightly different path and trying to pack as much as they can into just an hour or less instead of going for daylong marathons. For that, I think viewers who are willing to base their watching around the "time slot" will be getting more bang for their buck (note: the site is free).

… Read more

While some 12,000 TV and film screenwriters go on strike this week, people are filling the void by turning to other forms of media, such as DVDs and the Internet. Ironically, these outlets are exactly what the members of the Writers Guild want more of the profit of (and don't want people to support). They're hoping to come to an agreement soon, although the last walk out like this (in 1988) lasted for five months. Ouch.

We'll miss The Office, Desperate Housewives and Conan O'brien, but it's not the end of the world, right? … Read more

There are a number of TVs on the market that are waterproof and others that have mirrored screens, but now we have one that combines both. The "Luxurite Wireless Waterproof TV" is a high-definition set that comes in 17 or 19 inches with an optional mirrored finish that appears when it's turned off. The U.K.-made TV can be used outdoors as well as indoors, Trendir says, and its remote is waterproof as well--but you'll pay the price for that durability, to the tune of $4,161. Even though it would be perfect by the … Read more

As nifty as the concept might be, video watches have yet to catch fire on the mass consumer market, despite a few models with rapidly falling prices. Some manufacturers have tried to dress them up a bit, which is a definite improvement over the Soviet-looking standard issues of the first generation, but maybe they're trying too hard.

Why not, for example, just make it look like an old TV set? Vestal Watch's "Emery" is actually inspired by '60s-era radios and stereos, but console TV sets didn't look a whole lot different from them anyway in … Read more

Disney has long had the reputation of being the ultimate control freak when it comes to its brand, which is no mean feat considering the endless stream of its products worldwide. In TVs alone this year, for instance, the Magic Kingdom has released themed models for everything from Pirates of the Caribbean to High School Musical.

But if branding is so important, then why not go straight to the source? That's what the company has done in Japan with the release of a 20-inch HDTV that features The Mouse himself, complete with a pair of his trademark four-fingered gloves … Read more

Grant McCracken has a great post about the Audi A4 commercial that pokes fun at Lexus' new car that parks itself. You may have seen the ad on TV - the camera is holding still on an empty parking spot on a quiet leafy street with lawn sprinklers puffing in the background. An Audi A4 comes zooming up and does a 180 to land perfectly in the spot (between two Lexuses by the look of it!).

Grant comments that Audi has turned its perceived disadvantage (lack of a tech whizzy feature) into an advantage:

With all due respect to the individuality of plasmas and LCDs, they pretty much all look the same from afar. There's just only so much one can do with a flat screen.

But Japanese TV maker Eizo has come up with a design that breaks the mold, especially if it's turned slightly to the side to reveal its unusual profile. The "FORIS HD" line of LCDs is the television equivalent of a stealth bomber.

Akihabara News says it comes in white too, making it far less menacing. And if its 24- and 27-inch screens end up … Read more