internet@tv

The Boxee Box is finally shipping--and it's doing so with an updated user interface and some important new features.

The company held a launch party in Manhattan tonight, celebrating the availability of the long-awaited streaming media box and--finally--confirming the online content services that it will support. The two big ones: Netflix will be supported "by the end of the year," and Hulu Plus integration is also on deck. Those premium subscription apps will join Vudu's pay-per-view movie service, which had been announced previously, as well as MUBI, OpenFilm, IndieMoviesOnline, and EZTakes. Boxee also supports MLB TV, … Read more

Don't look now, but PlayOn is starting to emerge as a major player in the TV-streaming world. It's not only one of the cheapest alternatives to a cable-TV subscription, but also a provider of more content than just about any other service.

A one-year subscription normally runs $39.99, but through November 15, you can get a one-year PlayOn subscription for just $19.99.

Each year after that will run you another $19.99, or you can nab a lifetime subscription for the sale price of $54.99 (normally $79.99).

How does the service work? PlayOn slings … Read more

Americans, little by little, are cutting the proverbial cord on cable television. But that doesn't mean they're breaking up with their cable companies.

In addition to controlling most of the paid TV market in the U.S., cable companies are also poised to dominate the broadband market. This means that even when people drop their pricey cable TV packages, they're still likely to pay the cable company for access to the Internet, which is used to deliver the video streams to their TVs. For cable operators, it's a "heads we win; tails we win" … Read more

Add Vudu to Boxee's list of streaming video tricks.

The Wal-Mart-owned Web video service will be offered as a native app on Boxee's hardware and software platforms starting in November. On the D-Link Boxee Box (due November 10), the full library of Vudu movies--including titles in 1080p HDX video and 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus surround sound--will be available. On the Mac and Windows software version of Boxee, the same content will be available, but video output will be limited to standard-definition playback.

The $200 Boxee Box is the fourth and final major Internet TV device to hit … Read more

Logitech was first across the Google TV finish line with its big Revue unveiling, but now it's Sony's turn.

The Japanese electronics giant will be pulling back the curtain on the Sony Internet TV. Unlike the Logitech add-on box, Sony's unit includes built-in Google TV functionality. The product was first announced at the Google I/O conference in May, and subsequently demoed at the IFA show in Germany earlier this month (see photos below).

The press conference will be in New York City at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. PDT). CNET will be … Read more

Google TV products from Sony and Logitech pack a potent brew of software and hardware that could animate even the most inveterate couch potatoes. But will they sit up and take notice?

TVs are quickly on the way to becoming hybrids that can switch freely between passive TV and PC-like interactive modes, according to Intel. Will consumers finally begin to lean forward more and lean back less? After all, this has been tried before.

"The reason we feel very confident this time around is it's less of a leap now because consumers are used to consuming Internet content," Wilfred Martis, general manager of Intel's Retail Consumer Electronics business, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Intel is a key player in the Sony Internet TV and Logitech Revue set-top box, which was introduced yesterday, because it supplies the Atom CE4100 processor that powers the interactive side of the Google TV platform. And this is no ordinary Atom. It squeezes a lot of processing into a tiny system-on-a-chip.

"The CE 4100 combines dual 1080p video decoders, dual audio DSPs (digital signal processors), 3D graphics, display processing, and security infrastructure," said Martis. "That allows you to consume broadcast or Blu-ray content as well as all the content and applications on the Internet."

All very convincing on paper but some consumers, at least, may have beaten Google TV to the punch.… Read more

The convergence of TVs and computers has been promised for decades, but remains largely unknown for most people outside of the tech world. Fortunately, Google aims to change all that with its Internet-connected Google TV Platform.

Google TV promises to let viewers watch video from a variety of sources--so far YouTube, Vevo, HBO, TBS and even our own CNET TV will have apps available. The big broadcast networks like ABC, CBS and NBC are taking a wait-and-see approach. But Google TV promises you even more, with the ability to search and browse the Web, record your favorite TV programs, and even control the whole experience from your cell phone.

Logitech is holding a news conference today for its own Google TV product, the Logitech Revue, and CNET is at there covering all the news as it happens. Check back again next week when Sony launches its own Google-TV powered box on October 12.

Next up on today's show we're calling BS on an image of a public Twitter booth that recently popped up on Russian Livejournal, aka the premiere site for tech news coverage.

America has its own share of Internet kiosks, but we have a hard time imagining the kind of tweet that would require you to drop everything and pay money to send it out...from a park. We could be wrong, though, so send us a photo if you spot a Twitter kiosk in the wild.

This is the second-to-the-last reminder you're going to get about our official Fall 404 Meetup tomorrow, October 7 at the Frying Pan Bar in New York City.

Join us tomorrow from 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., and an early thanks to the Pan for hooking it up with $15 wristbands good for open beer, well drinks, and wine for the duration of the Meetup!

We'd like to give them an idea of who's coming, so head over to The 404 Meetup page and RSVP for the event (Meetup.com registration required). We'll see you there!

Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component below. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with commentary and questions from our readers. For those of you who just want the basic updates, we've included them in regular text here. To get the key points from today's announcement, you can check out our summary post here.

Transcript of live blog starts here:

2:48 p.m.: (Tom Krazit) Hi everybody! I'm out here in … Read more

The great Internet TV battle royale of 2010 is officially underway, with new boxes from Roku and Apple TV leading the charge. On paper, it's a very even-handed match-up: both are miniscule $99 streaming-media boxes that promise to offer an expanded slate of TV shows, movies, and music for consumers. Other matching features: both offer Netflix streaming, dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking, and HDMI output. So, which is worth your hard-earned Benjamin Franklin?

Unfortunately, it's not a cut-and-dry situation. Both units scored an identical 3.5 stars on our CNET rating scale. But if you look at the sub-ratings (design, features, performance), you'll see that each box has a relative strength and weakness. Right now, it shakes out as follows:… Read more