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Review: Samsung BD-P2550 packs Blu-ray, Netflix, Pandora in one box

When Panasonic released the DMP-BD35, it was the first Blu-ray player to include all the major features we look for and cost significantly less than the PlayStation 3. At that point, a lot of us at CNET were wondering, what's next for Blu-ray, other than falling prices? The Samsung BD-P2250 does a good job of answering that question, taking a solid Blu-ray playback and adding additional streaming media options such as Netflix and Pandora streaming to the package. Its Blu-ray credentials are mostly solid, too. It has excellent Blu-ray and DVD performance, thanks to HQV processing, and support for … Read more

Peer inside the box

Musical curiosity is no dangerous thing with Pandora's iPhone app for music discovery, except that you'll soon be hooked. Take the Web radio engine's original concept of suggesting music by comparing the rhythms of a song you might like with one you already do and add to it a sleek interface, ratings icons, and quick links to bookmark the song or artist, or buy the track from iTunes. Add an explanation of why the bots picked your song to the ability to view the song progress, create a new station from a song or artist, and send … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 837: Barkeep, bring me my anticancer beer!

Comcast offers faster Internet speeds, but doesn't raise its data transfer caps; studies show that gamers aren't that nerdy (ruining future punch lines for generations of comedians); Microsoft goes outside the lines to issue a critical security patch (yikes!); and Samsung tries to entice you to Blu-Ray by offering Netflix streams. Eh? Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 837

Comcast broadens reach of DOCSIS 3.0, 50Mbps connections http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4BqkB8tlV.s http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081022-comcast-broadens-reach-of-docsis-3-0-50mbps-connections.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10073404-2.html

Broadband users reach … Read more

Netflix, Samsung partner on video streaming

Samsung is adding the ability to stream Netflix videos and Pandora's online music service to its latest Blu-ray players. Starting today, a free firmware update will add both services to the BD-P2550. (The nearly identical BD-P2500 will get Netflix support, but not Pandora.) The Samsung players join the LG BD300 Blu-ray player, the Roku Netflix Player, and (once a forthcoming firmware update goes live in November) the Xbox 360 as the only devices to date--outside of a PC--that can access Netflix's online viewing service.

Both Samsung players have been available at retail for several weeks. In addition to … Read more

More layoffs: Pandora cuts 20 employees

Pandora founder Tim Westergren announced on the company's blog Thursday that he is reducing the workforce by 20 employees. The layoffs will shrink Pandora's staff of 140 employees to 120.

"This is a very sad day for Pandora, and for me personally," Westergren explained. "Today we reduced our staff from 140 to 120 employees. Like virtually every company, Pandora is not immune to the challenges presented by the current economic turmoil. We are trying to react quickly and responsibly to the new environment.

Westergren did point out that there is a silver lining for his … Read more

MP3 Insider 119: Mobile music mishmash

Donald and Jasmine tease the iPod Nano vs. Microsoft Zune Prizefight and discuss a variety of portable audio accouterments, including a pair of headphones, a portable iPhone-compatible speaker, and the best MP3 players for audiobooks.

Also, hear some gab on the new Zune software, and find out who won last week's contest.

Listen now: Download today's podcast… Read more

Hands-on with Pandora for Chumby

For the past eight months, my latte-colored Chumby has been at my bedside, waking me up with an '80s music mix from Shoutcast and feeding my insomnia with RSS tech news. Today, however, I ceremoniously relocated my Chumby from my nightstand to my living room stereo--right between my Zune and my turntable.

The sudden relocation was caused by invisible Chumby fairies silently upgrading my Chumby's firmware yesterday (Hooray for free upgrades!), adding Pandora Internet radio to an already impressive list of streaming music options. The Chumby is meant to be a very flexible, multipurpose gadget, so the fact that … Read more

Chumby gets chummy with new music features

Owners of the lovable (well, lovable-looking at least) multimedia device Chumby, are getting new ways to listen to music, watch music videos, and get music news.

Chumby announced on Tuesday that its leather-encased Internet clock radio of the same name would now allow users to tune into personalized radio stations using their Pandora accounts. When users indicate a song or artist that they enjoy, Pandora responds by playing selections that are musically similar.

If you like waking up to music, but prefer waking up to music videos, you'll be happy to hear that Chumbys will now be able to … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 821: Cloud hippies

On today's show, a big, fat present for long-time listeners (and Veronica Belmont fans): Veronica Belmont joins us! In the news, Real's pre-emptive lawsuit fails to stop the studios from suing over RealDVD, Apple threatens to close iTunes, Dell offers you Iron Man along with its computers, and Starz on Netflix! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 821

Pandora, Webcasting see victory in Senate http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10055055-93.html

Studios Sue to Bar a DVD Copying Program http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/technology/01film.html

Would Apple really shutter iTunes? Unlikely http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10055021-93.html… Read more