Bleeding Edge TV 319: Apple TV 3.0 walkthrough

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Podcasts, Software, Videocasts, Videos

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Yesterday, Apple released Apple TV 3.0, the first “major” release for the device in about two years. The company has often referred to the Apple TV as a hobby, as opposed to a real business. That said, there are a few nice additions that can be found in the Apple TV 3.0 update, so we give you a full walkthrough of the device, giving you a sampling of some of the new hotness.

Some of the standout features are the obviously redesigned home screen. Instead of the centered grid, you get a full screen menu that makes it easier to navigate right to the content that you want. I mean, it’s nice, but it seems to be the biggest visual upgrade to the device, which we think is in need of a hardware refresh. You also score Genius DJ playlist abilities, nice for parties and such, but I rock a Sonos system, so it doesn’t really appeal to me personally. Same goes for Internet radio, but it is there as a feature, and it’s nice. The one we like is the addition of iTunes Extras and iTunes LP content. We are fans of the iTunes LP, so being able to see it on an HDTV, which is where we think it shines, is also “nice.”

If you are picking up on a trend, you win. This whole 3.0 business is, in a word, “nice.” It isn’t anything more than that. It brings the Apple TV in line with other Apple products, allowing it to do things that other devices can do, and it gets a UI refresh, and the Helvetica font. All well and good, but let’s hope that next time around we get some decent new hardware. In any event, hit the play button for the full tour.

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Bleeding Edge TV 313: Sonos Controller 200 CR200

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Features, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi

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Tom Cullen of Sonos stopped by to give us a first-hand look at the new Sonos Controller 200 CR200 remote control. A marked improvement over the original Sonos Controller 100, the CR200 is a full touchscreen device that allows you to interact with music from a vast amount of sources and services, both on your network and from the Internet, with relative ease. We give you a look at how it all comes together in this episode.

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Bleeding Edge TV 303: Beats by Dr. Dre definitive look

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Design, Features, Music, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts, Videos

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We’ve been seeing a bunch of interest in our coverage of the Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones, and rightfully so, we think. It’s the headphone we rock when we travel somewhere, and we even recommend them if you are looking for a new pair of over-ears. In this episode, we wanted to give you a look at some of the other super-rare and limited edition versions of the Beats Studio headphones. We’ve got a pair of the standard black set, but in this video we give you a look at the white Ron Herman Beats, the red LeBron James Beats, and the ultra-rare pink Charles Hamilton Beats. Definitely not anything you should plan on getting your hands on, but nice to see that the Beats are being positioned as a collectors item in a way. If you are into music videos, you’ll likely have seem them in over a dozen different ones over the past few months.

Look out for more exclusive versions in the future, we can’t imagine that this is the end of it.

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Bleeding Edge TV 300: White Ron Herman Beats by Dr. Dre headphones

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Design, Features, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts, Videos

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Remember those limited edition white Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones we told you about? Well, we got a pair in our studios and decided to do up a video showing them off. In this episode, we compare the white Ron Herman Beats by Dr. Dre to the standard glossy black Beats, and give you a close-up look at all the major and subtle differences between the two. Of course, the internals are exactly the same, so these $700 white Beats are all about style and high fashion. But hey, they are definitely fun to look at.

Hat tip goes to Colorware, who Monster tells me worked really hard on developing a custom finish that would stand up to bending and everything else people do with headphones. They look fantastic.

Also, in case you missed them, we’ve also got galleries up of the pink Charles Hamilton Beats, and the red LeBron James Beats. Or, you prefer the original, we’ve got the standard Beats by Dr. Dre gallery as well.

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Bleeding Edge TV 299: Zune Holiday 2008 Hardware & Accessory lineup

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Features, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Music, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts, Videos

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We’ve made it clear a few times that we feel that the Zune platform has progressed nicely since it’s inception, especially with the introduction of the Zune Pass, which we feel is the best deal in music today. Definitely something we recommend this holiday season. So much so, in fact, that we have put together a video showing off every Zune device that is currently available, as well as some of the cooler accessories available for the device set. We show off the Zune 80, Zune 120, Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune, the flash Zunes, and even a Zune Originals piece.

On the accessories side, we give you a look at the Kicker stereo for Zune, a few cases, armbands, car accessories, and the Home A/V Kit. See? Told you we brought the goods to this one. Check out the video for the scoop on everything, and let us know if you end up picking any of it up.

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Bleeding Edge TV 295: Sonos iPhone app, Sonos 2.7 features

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi

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So this morning we gave you the scoop on the new Sonos 2.7 features, along with the news of the new (and free) Sonos Controller for iPhone and iPod touch, but we figured you’d be interested in seeing how all this worked. Luckily, Sonos CEO John MacFarlane was able to stop by to give us a first look at all the announcements. In this episode, John walks us through all the new hotness that Sonos announced this morning. That includes a walkthrough of the new iPhone app, which incorporates and supports all those slick new Sonos 2.7 features that we’ve been raving about so early in the morning over here. If you are a music fan, you owe it to yourself to look into Sonos, if you haven’t already.

Oh, and be sure to check our Sonos for iPhone gallery if you wanna see some screenshots of the app in high resolution.

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Bleeding Edge TV 289: Rock Band 2 preview video

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: High Score, Short Bytes, Features, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Software, Video Games, Videocasts, Videos

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We are right around the corner from the release of Rock Band 2, so we figured we would bring you this extensive preview of the game, starring the makers of the game themselves, Harmonix. We bring you a 15-minute primer, focusing on all the new hotness in the next iteration of Rock Band, including the tracks, features, and instruments. We also go in to a little of the history behind the Rock band franchise and the reason it came about (other than seeing that Guitar Hero was a raging success, we mean.) We end it with a demo of the game, with a couple of people teaming up to form bands on the fly. If you are into Rock band, this is definitely one to watch.

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Bleeding Edge TV 270: Computex 2008 - A look at the Promise SmartStor NAS Media Server

Posted by Nate True Categories: Gizmatic, Announcements, Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies, Music, PC / Laptop, Storage, Videocasts, Videos

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Drobo is meeting some fierce competition from Promise this year.  The SmartStor is an all-in-one RAID5 controller with hot-swappable drives just like the Drobo, but it also includes a built-in NAS to share files over the network, and a BitTorrent client to boot.  It’s compatible with dlna, UPnP, and AMD Live! systems so sharing media is a breeze as well.

We talk with Alex Ling from Promise at Computex 2008 and he walks us through the SmartStor’s many features.

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Bleeding Edge TV 257: Monster Cable whirlwind tour

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Accessories, Apple, CES, CES 2008, Features, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Videocasts

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In this video, we bring you a whirlwind tour of the Monster Cable booth at the 2008 CES event. We are accompanied by Seth Combs and DJ Irie.

Monster Cable CEO Noel Lee made a slew of announcements at his 2008 CES press conference. Some of the new products on the way include five different speed-rated HDMI cables, also Outlets to Go 3, a power strip that includes a USB port for recharging electronics. iSoniTalk is an adapter for the iPhone that allows any headphone to be used with the ever-popular iPhone, while the iCarPlay Wireless 250 is billed as the “World’s Most Advanced iPod FM Transmitter”.

The big announcement was made in person by renowned rap and music producer Dr. Dre and music impresario Jimmy Iovine, CEO of Interscope Records. Together they introduced “Beats by Dr. Dre”, headphones designed for the iPod generation—and to specifically replace the earbuds that come with the iPod. Dre said he has been asked to put his name on many headphones in the past. But he endorses “Beats” because they have the newest technology, for a listening experience this is low-bass friendly with high-quality clarity. Because as Dre put it, “...music should be heard the way it’s intended”. When asked what he liked most about the headphones, Dre simply replied, “the sound.” ‘Nuff said! Look for the state-of-the-art headphones in June, for $400 USD.

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Bleeding Edge TV 252: Etymotic Research and EDGE Technology Earbuds and Bluetooth Headset

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Accessories, CES, CES 2008, Features, Music, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts

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Etymotic is out with some new earphones this time around at CES.  Developed specifically for gamers, the EDGE (an acronym for Enhanced Definition Gaming Earphones) Acoustics line of earphones has been created to give gamers an edge (har har) by using spatial cues to make them more aware of what’s going on around them within a game.  The earphones have a microphone and send switch, so they eliminate the need for separate microphones on the desk and are also compatible with most standard VOIP hardware.

Etymotic’s HF2 earphones are based on their ER4 model, but feature a microphone with a mic and a send switch plus a 4 barrel plug making it fully compatible with the iPhone.  Retailing at $179, these earphones look to be a great value and will be available soon.

Last on the list from Etymotic is a Bluetooth headset with a detachable boom.  Because the boom extends almost all the way to the wearer’s mouth, it broadcasts 28 to 30 decibels - still within the safe range of volume but a lot easier to hear for the person on the other end of the line.  The headset will be available soon for an MSRP of $129.

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