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SynchedUpShow uploaded a new video
(6 months ago)
In this episode of The 5, we take a look at simple set top boxes that harness the power of the internet to deliver the goods to your big screen.
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In this episode of The 5, we take a look at simple set top boxes that harness the power of the internet to deliver the goods to your big screen.
http://techvi.com/shows/the-5/2009/08...
BLOCKBUSTER ONCE COMMANDED THE RENTAL MARKET...
BUT IT'S ONDEMAND PLAYER ARRIVED ON THE SCENE A BIT TOO LATE.
THE COMPANY TEAMED UP WITH MEDIAPOINT TO OFFER A DIGITAL SET TOP BOX THAT WORKS ON BOTH STANDARD AND HIGH DEF TV'S.
THE SIMPLE PLAYER HOOKS UP TO YOUR NETWORK USING A WIRED OR WIFI CONNECTION.
MOVIES ARE PROGRESSIVELY DOWNLOADED AND PLAYED SO VIDEO IS CONSISTENT AND DVD QUALITY.
THERE ARE NO MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION COSTS - YOU PAY 99 BUCKS FOR THE PLAYER AND THAT INCLUDES 25 MOVIE RENTALS.
AFTER THAT, RENTALS START AT 2 DOLLARS.
THE WESTERN DIGITAL TV HD MEDIA PLAYER LETS YOU PLAY JUST ABOUT ANY POPULAR MOVIE FILE ON YOUR BIG SCREEN.
THE WD TV HD MEDIA PLAYER DOESN'T DIRECTLY CONNECT TO THE WEB, BUT DOES LETS YOU PLAY THE AUDIO, VIDEO OR PICTURES YOU'VE DOWNLOADED TO YOUR COMPUTER.
THE DEVICE CONNECTS TO YOUR TV AND ADDS NOT ONE BUT 2 USB PORTS SO YOU CAN CONNECT A HARD DRIVE OR PRETTY MUCH ANY STORAGE DEVICE WITH A USB CONNECTION.
THE WD TV HD HANDLES VIDEO UP TO FULL 1080P AND PLAYS POPULAR FORMATS INCLUDING MPEG, H-264, QUICKTIME, AVI AND MORE.
IT WON'T PLAY PROTECTED FILES LIKE THE ONES YOU GET FROM ITUNES OR AMAZON UNBOX.
BOXEE SOFTWARE IS THE MOST FLEXIBLE AND EXPANDABLE WAY TO WATCH JUST ABOUT ANY TYPE OF MEDIA ON YOUR TV SCREEN.
THE FREE, OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE TAKES A BIT OF TECH-KNOW HOW TO GET UP AND RUNNING - THAT'S BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO INSTALL IT ON AN APPLE TV OR COMPUTER CONNECTED TO YOUR TV SET.
ONCE YOU GET OVER THAT HURDLE, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID.
THE SOFTWARE PULLS TOGETHER MEDIA FROM YOUR HOME NETWORK, CONTENT FROM THE WEB AND TOSSES IN A LITTLE SOCIAL NETWORKING.
THAT'S RIGHT - IT'LL TWEET OUT THE NAME OF THE MOVIE YOU'RE WATCHING - IF YOU WANT IT TO.
IF THE CONTENT IS ON THE WEB, CHANCES ARE YOU CAN WATCH IT WITH BOXEE.
THE SOFTWARE IS SLEEK AND SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE - IT WAS DESIGNED TO BE USED WITH A REMOTE CONTROL.
WITH ALL OF IT'S EXCELLENT QUALITIES, IT'S A SURPRISE THE COMPANY IS STRUGGLING TO GAIN A FOOTHOLD IN THE SET TOP SPACE.
THE DEVICE HAS A HUGE HD MOVIE LIBRARY, NO SUBSCRIPTION FEE AND THE ABILITY TO STREAM IN 1080 P.
THE REMOTE CONTROL DESIGN RIVALS THE FORM AND FUNCTION OF TIVO'S FAMOUSLY HAND-FRIENDLY REMOTE.
STILL, THE COMPANY HAD SOME EARLY STUMBLES, INCLUDING OVERLY EXPENSIVE HARDWARE AND MOVIE PRICES AND NO BUILT IN WI-FI.
PURCHASED MOVIES STILL WON'T PLAY ANYWHERE ELSE.
VUDU'S CLAIM TO FAME IS IT'S ABILITY TO INSTANTLY STREAM MOVIES IN HD - BUT YOU'LL NEED A FAT NET CONNECTION TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE.
THE ROKU DIGITAL VIDEO PLAYER IS COMPACT, CHEAP AND IT'S STREAMING ABILITIES ARE ENDLESS.
FOR STARTERS, THE DEVICE STREAMS CONTENT FROM TWO MAJOR PLAYERS - NETFLIX AND AMAZON - BUT SERVICE CHOICES ARE EXPANDING FAST.
THE BOX IS SUPER SIMPLE TO SET UP AND WORKS WITH STANDARD OR HIGH-DEF TVS.
BUILT IN WI-FI MEANS YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HAVING A NET CONNECTION NEAR YOUR TV.
THIS IS THE PLAYER YOU'D BE COMFORTABLE GIVING YOUR GRANDMA TO USE - IT'S THAT SIMPLE.
YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM THOUSANDS OF NETFLIX INSTANT STREAMING SELECTIONS OR FROM AMAZON'S VIDEO ON DEMAND LIBRARY.
THE SECRET HERE IS IN THE STREAMING - VIDEO QUALITY IS AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTED TO SUIT YOUR INTERNET'S SPEED - IT CAN EVEN HANDLE HD.
THE DOWNSIDE OF NETFLIX'S INSTANT STREAMING LIBRARY IS THAT MANY TITLES ARE OLDER - YOU ALSO AREN'T GUARANTEED HD.
APPLE TV IS BASCIALLY A GIANT IPOD FOR YOUR HDTV - IN FACT, IT'S ONLY MEANT TO CONNECT TO WIDESCREENS.
APPLE HAS DEALS WITH ALL OF THE MAJOR STUDIOS, AND MOST MOVIES ARE AVAILABLE TO RENT WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THEIR DVD RELEASE.
IF YOU CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD TO OWN.
THE INTERFACE IS SLICK, AND THE DEVICE ALSO HANDLES TV SHOWS, PODCASTS, MUSIC, PHOTOS AND YOUTUBE.
THE NEAT THING HERE - MOVIES YOU BUY ON APPLE TV CAN ALSO BE PLAYED ON YOUR COMPUTER OR IPOD OR IPHONE.
YOU CAN ALSO LOAD YOUR OWN MOVIES ONTO THE BOX, BUT COMPATIBLE FORMATS ARE LIMITED -
THERE'S ALSO NO EXPANDABLE HARD DRIVE.
STILL, APPLE TV IS A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO FUMBLING WITH DVD'S.
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SynchedUpShow uploaded a new video
(6 months ago)
The internet has made searching for and booking travel easier than ever. There are hundreds of sites to search, but nobody has time to sift throug...
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The internet has made searching for and booking travel easier than ever. There are hundreds of sites to search, but nobody has time to sift through all of them. In this episode of The 5, Rich DeMuro takes a look at sites for finding a flight. Learn how these sites can do the heavy lifting for you by searching multiple airline and travel websites simultaneously, they can uncover the best travel options and deals.
http://techvi.com/shows/the-5/2009/08...
SHOW SCRIPT:
HEY THERE I'M RICH DEMURO AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION OF THE 5!
THIS TIME AROUND, WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT 5 SITES FOR FINDING A FLIGHT.
EXPEDIA AND TRAVELOCITY WILL GET THE JOB DONE, BUT THESE SITES GO A STEP FURTHER.
SEARCH 'EM AND YOU'LL HAVE MORE AIRFARE INFO AT YOUR FINGERTIPS FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY - CAN I HAVE AN UPGRADE!
((NUMBER 1))
FIRST UP ON OUR LIST - A SITE THAT BILLS ITSELF AS THE WORLD'S MOST COMPREHENSIVE TRAVEL SEARCH ENGINE.
MOBISSIMO SEARCHES MORE INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS AND SITES THAN THE COMPETITION.
THE SITE WITH THE FUNNY NAME SEARCHES 157 DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD TO FIND YOU A FLIGHT...
THAT MEANS BETTER CHANCES OF FINDING A GREAT DEAL TO AN INTERNATIONAL CITY.
MOBISSIMO ALSO PRIDES ITSELF ON REAL-TIME PRICING INFORMATION - MEANING WHEN YOU SEARCH ON THE SITE IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME RESULTS YOU'D GET ON A DIRECT WEBSITE.
WE DID A TEST FLIGHT SEARCH FROM LAX TO JFK - IT CAME IN AT $289.20 ON AMERICAN.
((NUMBER 2))
NEXT UP - A SITE THAT LETS YOU TAKE A MORE RANDOM APPROACH TO FINDING YOUR NEXT DESTINATION.
ON SKYSCANNER - YOUR SEARCH CAN BE AS WIDE-OPEN AS THE WORLD.
THAT'S BECAUSE THE SITE LETS YOU SEARCH IN FLEXIBLE TERMS.
YOU CAN START WITH THE DATES YOU'D LIKE TO TRAVEL, OR JUST THE AIRPORT YOU WANT TO TAKE-OFF FROM.
SKYSCANNER DOES THE REST - LETTING YOU NARROW DOWN YOUR CHOICES BY DESTINATION, PRICE OR DATES.
OF COURSE YOU CAN DO A STANDARD SEARCH TOO - OUR TEST SEARCH TURNED UP A DELTA FLIGHT FOR $319 INCLUDING TAX.
((WORTH MENTION))
WORTH A MENTION IN OUR LOOK AT 5 SITES FOR FINDING A FLIGHT...
CFARES.
IT'S A WEBSITE THAT SAYS IT WILL FIND LOWER AIRFARES THAN OTHER SITES 95 PERCENT OF THE TIME!
CFARES OFFERS A PLATINUM MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM.
FOR 50 BUCKS A YEAR, YOU'LL GET A CASH BACK REBATE ON CERTAIN FLIGHTS.
OUR TEST FLIGHT NETTED A $319 FLIGHT ON VIRGIN AMERICA...
$306 AFTER REBATE.
((NUMBER 3))
THIRD STOP ON OUR LIST...
THE SITE THAT HELPS YOU TO GO IN STYLE!
FLY.COM MAKES SURE YOU DON'T MISS ANY FARES THAT COULD GET YOU A GREAT DEAL ON A PREMIUM SEAT.
FLY.COM IS FROM THE SAME PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT US TRAVELZOO - THE WEEKLY TOP 20 DEAL LIST.
IT'S ONE OF THE FEW TRAVEL SEARCH SITES THAT DISPLAYS PREMIUM FARES RIGHT ALONGSIDE YOUR STANDARD ECONOMY PRICES.
THAT WAY YOU NEVER MISS A GOOD UPGRADE DEAL.
THE SITE ALSO FEATURES A "WHY ME" INFO BOX WITH TIDBITS ON IN-FLIGHT AMENITIES.
OUR SEARCH REVEALED A $289 AMERICAN FLIGHT...2209 FOR A PREMIUM SEAT.
((NUMBER 4))
UP NEXT ON OUR LIST IS A SITE THAT TRACKS OVER A BILLION AIRFARES DAILY TO PREDICT WHEN PRICES MIGHT GO UP OR DOWN.
BING TRAVEL AIMS TO LET YOU WHEN TO BUY, AND WHEN TO WAIT.
THE SITE STARTED OUT AS FARECAST, THEN MICROSOFT BOUGHT AND RE-BRANDED IT WITH THE LIVE SEARCH AND NOW BING NAME.
THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE SITE HAS STAYED THE SAME.
NOT ONLY CAN YOU GET A LIST OF THE BEST AIRLINE TICKET DEALS FROM YOUR HOME AIRPORT...
AN ARROW NEXT TO YOUR SEARCH RESULTS LETS YOU KNOW IF IT'S THE RIGHT TIME TO BUY.
THAT $289 AMERICAN FLIGHT SHOWED UP AGAIN IN OUR TEST SEARCH...
BUT SO DID AN ARROW URGING US TO WAIT...
THE 7-DAY PRICE PREDICTOR WAS 79 PERCENT CONFIDENT FARES WOULD DROP OR HOLD STEADY.
((NUMBER 5))
FINALLY ON OUR LIST OF 5 SITES FOR FINDING A FLIGHT...
AN ENGINE THAT SHARES ITS NAME WITH A LIGHTWEIGHT CANOE.
KAYAK WAS STARTED BY FOUNDERS OF SOME BIG NAME TRAVEL SITES IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE PROCESS BETTER.
KAYAK SEARCHES HUNDREDS OF TRAVEL WEBSITES ALL AT ONCE - DELIVERING RESULTS THAT ARE SIMPLE TO SLICE AND DICE.
YOU CAN NARROW BY AIRLINE ALLIANCES,
FLIGHT QUALITY, AIRCRAFT TYPE, LAYOVER TIME AND EVEN GET A PEEK AT THE SITES KAYAK SEARCHED.
AN ESPECIALLY HANDY FEATURE WILL CALCULATE AND ADD IN ANY BAGGAGE FEES.
OUR CHEAPEST $289 AMERICAN TEST SEARCH FLIGHT BECAME A MORE REALISTIC $319 WHEN WE ADDED A CHECKED BAG.
KAYAK RECENTLY PURCHASED COMPETITOR SIDESTEP.
THERE YOU HAVE IT...
5 SITES FOR FINDING A FLIGHT...
FUN PLACES TO GO WHEN YOU WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE.
I'M RICH DEMURO...
SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON THE 5.
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SynchedUpShow favorited a video
(7 months ago)
Filmmaker Stuart Kershaw rebels against the notion of being contactable 24hrs a day by going cold turkey from his insidious Blackberry. Stuart want...
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Filmmaker Stuart Kershaw rebels against the notion of being contactable 24hrs a day by going cold turkey from his insidious Blackberry. Stuart wants to prove that he can exist without technology for 7 full days to his beleagured girlfriend, his family and ultimately to himself.
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SynchedUpShow uploaded a new video
(7 months ago)
The prepaid wireless market is hot so hot that Sprint decided it wasnt enough to just lease its wireless network to Virgin Mobile, it went ahead an...
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The prepaid wireless market is hot so hot that Sprint decided it wasnt enough to just lease its wireless network to Virgin Mobile, it went ahead and bought the entire company. Prepaid offers some advantages over contract plans, most notably in the fact that you dont have a contract. Youre free to come and go as you please and can better budget your spending. While prepaid phones have come a long way in form and function, theyre generally not the slickest handsets out there. Still, you can find some gems in this episode of The 5, Rich DeMuro takes a look at five mobile phones that dont look prepaid.
http://techvi.com/shows/the-5/2009/07...
***
HEY THERE I'M RICH DEMURO AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION OF THE 5!
IN THIS EPISODE WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT PHONES THAT DON'T LOOK PREPAID.
OVERALL, PREPAID WIRELESS MINUTES ARE MORE EXPENSIVE...
BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A CONTRACT.
JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GO MONTH-TO-MONTH DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO CARRY AROUND A BARE-BONES FLIP.
THESE PHONES HAVE SOME POPULAR FEATURES.
KEEP IN MIND - EVEN THOUGH MANY OF THEM FEATURE A FULL KEYBOARD - THEY'RE NOT EXACTLY SMARTPHONES.
((NUMBER 1))
FIRST UP ON OUR LIST...
THE MOTOROLA CLUTCH I-465 FROM BOOST MOBILE.
THIS PHONE COMBINES THE BLEEP BLEEP YOU DEPEND ON WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF A FULL KEYBOARD.
YOU DEFINITELY DON'T HAVE TO BE A MATH GENIUS TO OWN THIS PHONE...
BOOST MOBILE GIVES YOU UNLIMITED VOICE, WEB, WALKIE-TALKIE, MESSAGING AND MORE FOR JUST 50 BUCKS A MONTH.
THE CLUTCH FEATURES A FULL QWERTY KEYBOARD, BLUETOOTH AND GPS...
HOWEVER THE THIRD OF A MEGAPIXEL CAMERA WILL LEAVE YOU WITH PRETTY PATHETIC PICTURES.
((NUMBER 2))
NEXT ON OUR LIST OF PHONES THAT DON'T LOOK PREPAID...
THE SAMSUNG FINESSE FROM METRO PCS.
IT FEATURES A FULL FACED TOUCH SCREEN.
THE PHONE RUNS SAMSUNG'S PROPRIETARY TOUCH-WIZ INTERFACE.
THERE'S AN HTML BROWSER, 2 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA, GPS AND EMAIL.
METRO PCS UNLIMITED SERVICE IS LIMITED TO CERTAIN MARKETS AND IS BEST IF YOU DON'T TRAVEL MUCH.
((WORTH MENTION))
WORTH A MENTION IN OUR LIST OF PHONES THAT DON'T LOOK PREPAID...
THE VERIZON BLITZ...
IT'S DIRT CHEAP...
BUT STILL PACKS SOME GREAT FEATURES.
THE BEST ONE BEING THE VERIZON WIRELESS NETWORK.
LET'S FACE IT...
WITH A LOT OF PREPAID PHONES, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
BLITZ WILL GET YOU ON THE SAME HIGH-QUALITY NETWORK AS A PLAN WITH A 2 YEAR CONTRACT.
BLITZ SPORTS A SLIDE OUT QWERTY KEYBOARD, BLUETOOTH, EMAIL, CAMERA AND EVEN RUNS VZ NAVIGATOR.
((NUMBER 3))
NUMBER 3 IN OUR LIST OF 5 PHONES THAT DON'T LOOK PREPAID...
A PHONE FROM AT&T THAT GIVES YOU ALL THE BIG LEAGUE FEATURES - WITHOUT THE EXPENSIVE MONTHLY BILL.
THE SAMSUNG A-177 IS A MESSAGING PHONE WITHOUT THE FUSS.
NOTHING GROUNDBREAKING ABOUT THIS GO PHONE...
BUT IT'S PACKED WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KEEP IN TOUCH.
THERE'S A FULL KEYBOARD TO TEXT, EMAIL AND IM.
THERE'S ALSO A CAMERA, AND MOBILE BROWSER.
SINCE IT'S AT&T, YOU GET COVERAGE ANYWHERE YOU GO - IN THE U-S OR ABROAD.
((NUMBER 4))
VIRGIN MOBILE SHOOK UP THE PREPAID WIRELESS MARKET WITH THEIR NO-NONSENSE PLANS AND PHONES TARGETED TOWARDS TEXT-HEAVY TEENS.
SPRINT RECENTLY ACQUIRED THE COMPANY...
SO CHANGES MIGHT BE IN STORE.
THE X-TC BY KYOCERA HAS A FUNNY NAME BUT YOU'LL APPRECIATE IT'S FEATURES.
THE FRONT OF THE PHONE HAS A BIG, BRIGHT SCREEN...
A QUICK ROTATION REVEALS A SLIDE OUT KEYBOARD.
ALL YOUR BASICS ARE COVERED - BLUETOOTH, BROWSER, EMAIL AND IM.
THROW IN GAMES AND AN MP3 PLAYER AND YOU'LL BE SAYING TOP ME UP IN NO TIME!
UNLIKE OTHER PREPAIDS,
VIRGIN MOBILE KEEPS YOUR NUMBER ACTIVE FOR A YEAR EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOAD MINUTES FOR A WHILE.
((NUMBER 5))
FINALLY ON OUR LIST OF PHONES THAT DON'T LOOK PREPAID...
A PHONE THAT HAS BECOME THE ENVY OF THUMBS EVERYWHERE.
THE BLACKBERRY IS ALL BUSINESS...
BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT YOUR PRE-PAID PLEASURE THANKS TO T-MOBILE.
WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?
THE BLACKBERRY PEARL YOU KNOW AND LOVE IN ALL IT'S PRE-PAID GLORY.
SURE YOU'LL PAY A BIT MORE FOR THE PHONE UPFRONT...
BUT SOON YOU'LL BE SURFING AND HUDDLED OVER IN THE BLACKBERRY PRAYER POSITION.
THE TINY KEYPAD WILL TAKE SOME GETTING USED TO.
AS A BONUS, THIS VERSION OF THE PEARL FEATURES WI-FI FOR SUPERFAST SURFING.
THERE YOU HAVE IT...
5 PHONES THAT DON'T LOOK PREPAID.
IN CASE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT A PREPAID IPHONE...
AT&T SAYS THE 3G-S ISN'T APPROVED FOR USE WITH GOPHONE PLANS.
IF ALL OF THESE PHONE ARE TOO FANCY FOR YOU -
THERE'S ALWAYS TRACPHONE.
I'M RICH DEMURO, SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON THE 5.
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