place-shifting

Stream DRM-protected content from PC to phone

Increasing memory capacity and reducing the footprint of mobile phones is akin to taking one step forward and one step back. The two sort of cancel each other out.

Instead of trying to do both, CMWare is introducing a service called myMobileMedia, a PC-based place-shifting technology that streams media content to MP3-enabled phones. Other companies, like Orb Networks and Avvenu, have the same idea, but myMobileMedia's hook is its ability to stream even DRM-protected content.

CMWare's proprietary technology allows all music files, including those purchased from Apple's iTunes Store, to be played without violating any DRM rules, … Read more

Motorola's place-shifting set-top: Follow Me TV

Motorola's Follow Me TV feature for its DVR set-top boxes lets users choose which TV to watch a recorded TV show on.

Instead of keeping content stored on only that TV, Follow Me TV lets users bring TV with them from room to room. Any recorded show is aggregated and made available on any TV on the network. In addition to TV programs, music and photos can also follow to any TV, and the content can also be sent to portable devices.

Or, as Motorola CEO Ed Zander demonstrated for the audience here at CES 2007, you can pause … Read more

TiVo and others tout all-in-one media devices

Writing about gadgets around the holidays can get pretty hectic--hello, PlayStation3!--but there are some pretty cool perks. Take Tuesday night, for example, when the DigitalLife folks (the ones who organized the big tech trade show last month) invited a host of NYC-area reporters to Manhattan's fashionable Nikki Midtown bar and lounge for a packed evening of consumer tech. The agenda included a press conference from TiVo featuring CEO Tom Rogers, as well as a showcase of some products that people may or may not be craving this holiday season. Oh, yeah, there was free food, too.

The general … Read more

So sorry, Sony: LocationFree hits a roadblock

Chalk up one point to Slingbox. The gadget gurus at Gizmodo are reporting that the LF-BOX1 LocationFree TV Box, part of Sony's place-shifting line, has had its release date pushed back. The big ouch: It was supposed to be released next week. No word yet on whether the LocationFree "base stations," also slated for a late-October release, have hit setbacks--the Washington Post story quoted by Gizmodo seems to indicate that it may just be the TV box.

Chin up, Sony. These things happen, as you well know from all those PS3 delays. And you're not alone; … Read more

Sony puts TV on Symbian too

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

Then Sling Media should be pink with pride today. The same day the Slingbox maker announced its video place-shifting technology would be available on mobile phones running Symbian OS, Sony announced that it too would make its LocationFree TV software available for download to a Symbian-based phone, the SonyEricsson P990 smart phone.

It's not immediately clear in what countries this will be available, or when the downloading can begin. A visit to the Sony support site says the software is "coming soon."

Click here for CNET Reviews' take on … Read more

Sling Media courts the Mac crowd

Commence drooling, Apple fanboys and girls.

In a matter of weeks, the SlingPlayer icon could be bouncing in a toolbar near you. SlingCommunity.com has a video demo of the original place-shifting technology on a white MacBook and an interview with SlingMedia's head of PR, Brian Jaquet, at last week's Digital Life Show in New York.

Jaquet said the SlingPlayer Mac will be available in public beta for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs at the end of October or early November. Sling Media told CNET News.com last month it would be ready in 30 to 45 days, … Read more

Slingbox headed for Symbian phones

Slingbox owners will soon be able to stream TV to their Symbian smart phones. Sling Media officially confirmed that it will be releasing a Slingplayer client for the Symbian OS before the end of the year in Europe and Asia, with U.S. distribution to follow soon after.

The announcement of Symbian support isn't a surprise--the Symbian logo is prominently displayed on the boxes of the second-generation Slingbox products which have been on store shelves since the end of September. As with the Windows Mobile version, the Symbian player will require broadband access via Wi-Fi or a 3G wireless … Read more