TV

Google tests 'white space' database for FCC certification

Google has begun testing a new database that would allow unlicensed TV broadcast spectrum to be used for wireless broadband and shared among many users.

The new database will keep track of the TV broadcast frequencies in use so that wireless broadband devices can take advantage of the unlicensed space on the spectrum, also called "white space."

Google is one of several companies that has built such a database, and it is the latest one to enter into the Federal Communications Commission's 45-day testing phase. Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia completed their trials, and there are another 10 … Read more

Get a Logitech 2.1-channel speaker system for $24.99

This is an update of a deal I wrote about last year. Hopefully it won't sell out as quickly this time!

Looking to add a decent sound system to your laptop, or even an HDTV? When you're doing an end run around tiny, tinny built-in speakers, there's nowhere to go but up.

Today only, and while supplies last, Overrunz.com has the refurbished Logitech Z313 2.1-channel speaker system for $24.99, plus $5 for shipping. It sells elsewhere for at least $40, and new for $50.

This 25-watt system includes two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. … Read more

Apple's iWatch may be unveiled this year, Bloomberg says

Apple's rumored iWatch may get its unveiling sooner than later.

The company is seeking to introduce the device as soon as this year, according to Bloomberg. The wire service previously reported that Apple had roughly 100 people working on the project.

CNET contacted Apple for comment, and we'll update the story when the company responds.

The iWatch may end up being more profitable than Apple's other rumored new business, the television. While the television business is saddled with low margins, a long replacement cycle, and high costs, the watch business boasts higher margins and growth.

The popularity … Read more

The guilty truth: There's too much content

It all started when I was at a bar and accosted by three women: a Stanford Hospital resident, a UX designer, and a wine distributor.

With faces more appalled than John Boehner's when he has to meet the president, they simply couldn't believe I'd never watched "Downton Abbey."

"But you have an English accent," the wine distributor offered, as the UX designer ordered a sixth beer.

"I have a bald head, but that doesn't mean my house is full of Patrick Stewart posters," was the best I could counter.

The … Read more

Pair your YouTube app with an Xbox 360

Want to toss YouTube videos from your phone to your TV? You got it. It's called "Send to TV," and it's a feature of Google's YouTube app that Android users have had for some time.

But now that Google has rolled the feature out to Apple's iOS devotees, and expanded support for more streaming devices, the feature is seeing a second wind.

But how do you do make it all work? Well, I gave it a shot with an iPhone 5 and the YouTube App for Xbox, but it could just as well have … Read more

Google adds 'send to TV' option to YouTube for iOS

Google today pushed out a new update to its YouTube app for iOS that lets users push videos to game consoles, certain TV sets, and other set-top boxes.

A new "send to TV" feature lets users pair the mobile app with a compatible set-top box or TV set. Those videos then show up on the TV, and the controls and other information are displayed on the mobile device as a remote of sorts.

Google introduced the feature for Android and its Google TV devices last November. iOS users with the YouTube app (iTunes), and other video applications have … Read more

Conan bares the naked truth about the iPad

Conan O'Brien wants to be the most technologically savvy of all talk-show hosts.

He doesn't miss any opportunity to connect with the connected audience -- whether it's to mock Google Glass or to review something he can barely bear, like a video game.

His latest object of connection with you, the cool people, is the iPad.

Last night, he insisted that he'd got hold of a more honest -- and allegedly recently released -- spot in Apple's latest ad campaign.

You know the one, with vaguely jazzy music, subliminal words, and Apple cultists chanting.

Conan … Read more

Apple gives iTunes-in-the-cloud features to more of Europe

Nearly a dozen European countries now have access to a key iTunes feature that lets users re-download purchased video content.

iTunes users in 11 countries, including France, Sweden, and Belgium, can now view and re-download movies they bought from Apple. Previously, users in those countries would have needed to back up that file in the event that the device it was on was damaged or stolen.

The full list of countries in this latest batch (per The Next Web) includes Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. France was reportedly the only one to … Read more

Buy your ticket for the new Titanic (no iPads, thanks)

Tempting fate is a very human pastime. We know it will all end badly sooner or later, so why not see whether we can skirt the edge of disaster and experience how it feels?

Such an impulse will surely drive many to book an early ticket on Titanic II.

No, this is not another Donald Trump project. It is, instead, the idea of Clive Palmer, an Australian mining tycoon known for his dreamy qualities.… Read more

Get a Ceton InfiniTV 4 tuner for $169.99 shipped

This is an update of a deal I posted about a year ago.

Much as I love my TiVo, I despise the monthly subscription fees that go along with it. It can literally cost you a couple hundred bucks per year. As Dr. Smith would say, "Oh, the pain!" (Don't get the reference? Ask your parents. If they watched cheesy 60s sci-fi, that is.)

A much cheaper option over the long haul: Ceton's InfiniTV 4 products, which can turn a Windows PC into a pretty sweet DVR.

For a limited time, Newegg has Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB for $169.99 shipped. … Read more