LOVEFiLM Player for iPad Now Available

Andrew Edney
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0
LOVEFiLM Player for iPad Now Available

LOVEFILM have release the LOVEFILM Player for the Apple iPad.

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The official LOVEFiLM Player iPad app. Requires iOS 4.3 or above to watch instantly.
Watch films instantly as part of your LOVEFiLM membership, and browse the UK’s largest selection of DVDs and Blu-rays.

Features

– Stream films instantly (wifi and iOS 4.3+ only)
– Watch trailers
– Rate movies
– Read user reviews
– Add, remove and prioritise DVD rental titles
– Browse the UK’s widest selection of DVDs & Blu-rays
– Browse by genre, new releases, most popular and coming soon
– Customise your search results to return only the formats you’re interested in

DVBLogic Release DVBLink v4 Suite RC2

Andrew Edney
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1
DVBLogic Release DVBLink v4 Suite RC2

DVBLogic have just released DVBLink v4 Suite RC2.

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Here is what DVBLogic say RC2:

What is new and fixed since RC1:

General
– Fixed: DVBLink sources/Connect server cannot be uninstalled if DVBLink server was uninstalled before them
– Fixed: Incorrect handling of <previously-shown> and <premiere> flags in xmltv
– Added: Categories to xmltv channels based on xmltv file name
DVBLink Connect Server
– Fixed: DVBLink server crash when playback of non-DVBLink channel is started from the DVBLink client
– Fixed: PlayReady error on DVBLink MediaCenter client when client is woken up from standby
– Fixed: DLNA server hangs on DVBLink server stop (server will stop correctly although DLNA server will not function)
– Fixed: IPhone/IPad cannot play HD channels
– Fixed: Incorrect video aspect ratio on Android client
– Fixed: Starting channel playback on Android hangs DVBLink server
– Added: Possibility to play channels via http url
– Fixed: Empty channel list in XBMC when connected do DVBLink DLNA server
– Added: Support for DVBLink Boxee client

DVBLink TVSource
– Fixed: Stuttering playback of RTL4 (HD), TV2 Nyhetskanalen and TV4 Sport channels
– Fixed: Weak signal tuner message in MediaCenter when DVBLink configuration page is opened or playback is started on another tuner
– Fixed: High CPU load (compared to v3) on some encrypted and HD channels
– Fixed: DVBLink server crashes in tvsource.dll or tvsource_info.dll when system has more than 8 tuners

Notes:
– Access to DVBLink configuration web-page is protected with a password. The defaults are: login: user, password: admin
– all 8 DVBLink Tuners must be configured during TV Setup phase in MediaCenter (even if you have only one physical tuner/source)
– If you see incorrect/corrupt things in DVBLink configuration – do refresh of a browser page
– DVBLink Configuration web page is compatible with the following Browsers: IE9, Mozilla, Chrome, Opera. Please note that IE8 is not (and will not be) supported.
– DVBLink Connect! Server does not have Web interface for live TV / EPG management. It will be included in v 4.1.
– DVBLink Connect! Server includes support for Android, WinPhone and IPhone/IPad apps. Availability of apps is different for each platform. more information is available in a separate topic: viewtopic.php?f=52&t=14263
– Versions of all binaries should be 4.0.0.3

How to install
There is no update possible for those who have installed beta1, beta2 or RC1. You must uninstall everything and install new version from the scratch. Please do backup of your configuration before uninstalling so that you can restore it later. Also think about the contents of your plugins and xmltv folders.
There is no need to delete Mediacenter database. Just re-do TV Setup after DVBLink installation.

For additional information please refer to the release notes of beta1, beta2 and RC1:
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=13822
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=13660
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=14262

DVBLink v4 RC2 products can be downloaded here:
DVBLink TVSource: http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … ce_rc2.zip
DVBLink Connect! Server: http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … er_rc2.zip
DVBLink for IPTV: http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … tv_rc2.zip
DVBLink for Dreambox: http://www.dvblogic.com/download/Trunk/ … ox_rc2.zip

Twonky Release TwonkyServer 6.0.367

Andrew Edney
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0
Twonky Release TwonkyServer 6.0.367

This week saw Twonky release an update to its TwonkyServer software, bringing it up to version 6.0.37.

What is TwonkyServer?

Here is how Twonky describe it:

Is your Playstation® 3 connected to your home network? Do you have a digital photo frame with a wireless Internet connection, or what about an Internet radio? Provide your favorite devices with that missing link to your computer’s music, video and photo collections. Download the popular, powerful TwonkyServer and truly experience the connected home.
TwonkyServer makes it possible for your devices to retrieve your media files from wherever they’re stored. Using your device’s remote and menu system, view your computer’s media library, or an online media feed, and just press play.

TwonkyServer is available for Windows®, Mac® and Linux, so it will work for any connected home.
If you have Windows Home Server, you can still use TwonkyServer. View this install guide to see if it’s the right option for you.

We even offer a mobile version of our server. Currently available free in the Android™ app store, TwonkyServer Mobile lets you serve music, photos or video from your phone to devices all around the home.

TwonkyServer is part of our TwonkyManager, so if you have a Windows PC and want many amazing features beyond what we offer in TwonkyServer, please see TwonkyManager.

You can choose your platform and download the updates from the Twonky website.

Here is what is included in the update:

Fixes serveral sync-related issues

The Digital Lifestyle Show #322 – Time Traveling Home Servers

Andrew Edney
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0
The Digital Lifestyle Show #322 – Time Traveling Home Servers

This weeks Digital Lifestyle Show has just been released – its show 322.

DLS Show

Here’s what Ian says about this week show:

We are back for another show and this week Andrew joins me to talk Windows 8, Acer’s time traveling home server, DVBLink updates, Windows Phone, My Movies update and Amazon tablets. We almost get through a full show without Andrew getting on a Windows Home Server rant.

You can listen to or download the show from here.

StableBit DrivePool Moves to Beta M3 Build 3955

Andrew Edney
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0
StableBit DrivePool Moves to Beta M3 Build 3955

There has been another beta build from CoveCube! StableBit development marches on – now is build 3955.

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Here is how CoveCube describes this application:

  • Combine all your hard drives into one big storage pool (except the system drive with the OS).
  • Add and remove drives from the pool at any time without re-partitioning or manually moving folders.
  • Create duplicated folders on the storage drive pool that are protected against single drive failure. If a drive fails on which a duplicated file was stored, the contents of that file will remain readable even without the drive.
  • All your data is stored in standard NTFS files. You can always access your files even if the Windows Home Server completely crashes or this add-in can’t be used.

This version’s change log:

1.0.0.3955 ———-

* [D] Fixed Fast I/O issue that was causing system crashes. (As reported: uTorrent, iTunes on Mac, etc…)

* [D] Update current file position after successful Fast I/O call.

Get More Information About the Beta Here Download Stablebit Drivepool build 3955 here

Drive Bender RC1 To Land Tuesday 4 October

Jim McCarthy
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3
Drive Bender RC1 To Land Tuesday 4 October

The good team at Division-M Tweeted the news tonight.  Read on for screen shots.

DB

First, some background on Drive Bender:

What is it?

Drive Bender is state of the art, single point storage pool technology for Microsoft Windows. Drive Bender presents multiple hard drives as a single pool of data storage, either as one or more drive letters, or a network shared drive. Drive Bender is able to do this with any drive recognised by Windows, including external drive such as USB, Firewire etc.

Expandability

Drive Bender also provides the user with the ability to seamless expand their storage pool by simply adding a new drive. Adding a new drive expands the pool by the size of the new drive. Existing data within the pool is redistributed to the new drive to ensure the pool remain balanced.

Drive merging and converting

Drive Bender also offers a merge capability, allowing users to take a drive that contains data, and merge that drive (and data) into the pool. In addition there is also a drive conversion feature. This can take and existing drive letter (mounted against a physical drive) and convert this into a pooled drive. Once completed, new hard drives can be added to expand the once fixed drive.

Data redundancy

To further ensure data safety, Drive Bender can automatically duplicate any file added to a Drive Bender pool. File duplication is determined at the folder level and occurs on the fly as data is being written to the pool. More importantly, files are only duplicated across physical drives ensuring maximum safety and data redundancy.

Non-destructive

One of the key Drive Bender features is its non-destructive file system technology. In short, this means that all drives within a Drive Bender pool are utilizing standard NTFS format and file structures. This is to such an extent that a drive can be pulled from the pool and read on any machine capable of reading an NTFS formatted drive. More over, drives attached to the pool are not modified in anyway. If a drive is added (not merged) that contains existing data, that data will remain untouched.

Ease to try

Because of our non-destructive file system, taking Drive Bender for a test drive is easy. Simply specify the drives to be included in the pool, and you are ready go. The drives are not formatted, the only change made is the addition of a folder that holds the contents of the pool.

The technology

Drive Bender employs existing, proven kernel mode file system technology. Having spent many years developing kernel mode drivers, we are able to use this experience to great extent. The end result is a product whose performance will closely match that of the underlying drive.

The story

Early in 2010 we prototyped a Drive Extender style application with the view of releasing a product that would work with all versions of Microsoft Windows. However soon thereafter, Microsoft announced Vail (a new version of Windows Home Server) and a small business server product, codename Aurora, both of which contain their Drive Extender technology. Give this, and the possibility that Drive Extend may well make its way to other Microsoft platforms, we shelved the project.

In late 2010 Microsoft announced that they would be dropping Drive Extender from all their products (including WHS 2011), leaving the door open for Division-M to resurrect the Drive Bender project!

Now, the tweet:

Some exciting news… release candidate 1 (v1.2.0.0) is in final internal testing. Come rain hail or shine, it will land on Tue, October 4.

Now for some screen shots!

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I look forward to the RC being released so I can test it out.  This looks like a great application!

Amazon Announces New Browser Technology for Fire Tablet

Jim McCarthy
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0
Amazon Announces New Browser Technology for Fire Tablet

Amazon’s newly-announced tablet, the Fire, uses a new browsing technology to enhance performance.  Read on for details.

Amazon introduced new browsing technology called Silk to leverage the power of the Amazon cloud to speed up searches and browsing.  Here is what they said:

Accelerated Web Browser, Available Exclusively on Kindle Fire

Amazon’s cloud computing infrastructure and eight years of cloud computing expertise come together in new web browser for Kindle Fire—Amazon’s new Kindle for movies, music, books, magazines, apps, games, and web browsing

SEATTLE, Sep 28, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — (NASDAQ: AMZN)–Amazon Silk introduces a radical new paradigm – a “split browser” architecture that accelerates the power of the mobile device hardware by using the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services cloud (AWS). The Silk browser software resides both on Kindle Fire and on the massive server fleet that comprises the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). With each page request, Silk dynamically determines a division of labor between the mobile hardware and Amazon EC2 (i.e. which browser sub-components run where) that takes into consideration factors like network conditions, page complexity and the location of any cached content. The result is a faster web browsing experience, and it’s available exclusively on Kindle Fire, Amazon’s new Kindle for movies, music, books, magazines, apps, games, and web browsing.

“Kindle Fire introduces a revolutionary new web browser called Amazon Silk,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “We refactored and rebuilt the browser software stack and now push pieces of the computation into the AWS cloud. When you use Silk – without thinking about it or doing anything explicit – you’re calling on the raw computational horsepower of Amazon EC2 to accelerate your web browsing.”

Modern websites have become complex. For example, on a recent day, constructing the CNN.com home page required 161 files served from 25 unique domains. This degree of complexity is common. In fact, a typical web page requires 80 files served from 13 different domains. Latency over wireless connections is high – on the order of 100 milliseconds round trip. Serving a web page requires hundreds of such round trips, only some of which can be done in parallel. In aggregate, this adds seconds to page load times.

Conversely, Amazon EC2 is always connected to the backbone of the internet where round-trip latency is 5 milliseconds or less to most web sites rather than the 100 milliseconds seen over wireless connections. In addition, EC2 servers have massive computational power. On EC2, available CPU, storage, and available memory can be orders of magnitudes larger than on mobile devices. Silk uses the power and speed of the EC2 server fleet to retrieve all of the components of a website and deliver them to Kindle Fire in a single, fast stream.

Amazon Announces Expanded Kindle Line

Jim McCarthy
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1
Amazon Announces Expanded Kindle Line

Amazon announced a new tablet based on Android and an update to the Kindle line of e-readers today.  Read on for details.

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Amazon announced some new products today:

Introducing the All-New Kindle Family: Four New Kindles, Four Amazing Price Points

New latest generation Kindle – world’s bestselling e-reader now lighter, faster, and more affordable than ever – only $79
New “Kindle Touch” with easy-to-use touch screen – only $99
New “Kindle Touch 3G” with free 3G – the top of the line Kindle e-reader – only $149
New “Kindle Fire” – the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, and web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser, vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core processor – all for only $199

SEATTLE, Sep 28, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — (NASDAQ: AMZN)–Millions of people are already reading on Kindles and Kindle is the bestselling e-reader in the world for four years running. Today, Amazon is excited to introduce an all-new Kindle family: three all-new Kindle e-readers that are smaller, lighter, and more affordable than ever before, and Kindle Fire – a new class of Kindle that brings the same ease-of-use and deep integration of content that helped Kindle re-invent reading – to movies, TV shows, music, magazines, apps, books, games, and more.

“We’ve now reached the magical two-digit price point for Kindle – twice: the new Kindle and Kindle Touch are only $79 and $99. Kindle Touch 3G is the new top of the line e-reader with free 3G – no monthly fees or annual contracts – and is only $149,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “Kindle Fire brings together all of the things we’ve been working on at Amazon for over 15 years into a single, fully-integrated service for customers. With Kindle Fire, you have instant access to all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, the convenience of Amazon Whispersync, our revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser, the speed and power of a state-of-the-art dual-core processor, a vibrant touch display with 16 million colors in high resolution, and a light 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand – all for only $199. We’re offering premium products, and we’re doing it at non-premium prices.”

New Latest Generation Kindle–Fits In Your Pocket–Only $79

The new latest generation Kindle is for readers who want the lightest, most compact Kindle at an incredible price. The latest generation Kindle features a new design that is 30 percent lighter at just 5.98 ounces, 18 percent smaller, and turns pages 10 percent faster. Kindle is now small and light enough to fit easily in your pocket and carry with you everywhere, yet it still features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight.

The new latest generation Kindle is only $79. Kindle is available starting today at http://www.amazon.com/kindle.

New Addition to the Kindle Family–“Kindle Touch”–Only $99

Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch is also lighter, smaller, eliminates battery anxiety with extra-long battery life and holds thousands of books.

New “X-Ray” Feature

Amazon invented X-Ray, a new feature that lets customers explore the “bones of the book.” With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers. Amazon built X-Ray using its expertise in language processing and machine learning, access to significant storage and computing resources with Amazon S3 and EC2, and a deep library of book and character information. The vision is to have every important phrase in every book.

The new Kindle Touch is only $99. Kindle Touch is available to customers in the U.S. for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/kindletouch and ships November 21.

New Top of the Line Kindle e-reader–“Kindle Touch 3G” –Only $149

Kindle Touch 3G is a new addition to the Kindle family for readers who want the top of the line e-reader. Kindle Touch 3G offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch – small and light, easy-to-use touch screen, storage for thousands of books, and extra-long battery life – with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle’s free 3G connection means you never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot – you simply download and read books anytime, anywhere in over 100 countries around the world. Amazon pays for the 3G connection so there’s no monthly fee or annual contract.

The new top of the line Kindle Touch 3G is only $149. Kindle Touch 3G is available to customers in the U.S. for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/kindletouch3G and ships November 21.

All Kindles have instant access to the Kindle Store with the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read. Millions of free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read on Kindle devices, and Kindle customers can now borrow Kindle books from their public library. Kindle books are “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” – on Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PCs, Mac, Android phones and tablets, BlackBerry, Windows phones, and web browsers with Kindle Cloud Reader.

All three new Kindle e-readers also come with special offers and sponsored screensavers that appear when you’re not reading. Customers enjoy special money-saving offers delivered wirelessly sponsored by AT&T, the Dove beauty brand and Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card by Chase. Kindle e-reader customers will also receive special offers in their own backyards from AmazonLocal, Amazon’s local deals marketplace with discounts on local services, products, and experiences. Customers can also choose to purchase a Kindle without special offers and sponsored screensavers.

Media Center Master Updated to Version 1.33.27011.777

Andrew Edney
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0
Media Center Master Updated to Version 1.33.27011.777

Peter Souza IV has released version 1.33.27011.777 of his excellent Media Center Master software.

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What is Media Center Master?

Here is how Peter describes Media Center Master for those of you who don’t know what it is:

Smooth, powerful interface to organize your media collection.
Support for the built-in Windows Media Center Video Library strip (dvdid.xml) as well as MediaBrowser extension (mymovies.xml).
Movies, television, and adult title search from a variety of configurable meta data sources.
Built-in, fully-automated episode torrenting from multiple sources. Keep your T.V. series updated through the internet for free.
Full meta-data editor with tools to automate movie and T.V. episode renaming.
Theatrical trailer downloader with options for automatic re-encoding.
Extendable fetcher system allows other programmers to write fetchers — sample source code included in the forums.
Configurable to download actor/actress thumbnails and movie/T.V. posters, fan art, backdrops, and banners.
Flexible post-processing allows command-line operations after a movie title has been fetched — works great with Stark Covers.
…and a whole lot more…

What’s Included in this update?

Lots — Usenet support (NZBMatrix.com and any news hosting provider) is live, by far the biggest improvement. Also a new feature to download back episodes of a season or an entire show was added. Lots of bug fixes (see the Issue Tracker for details).

Download the latest version of Media Center Master from here

Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” Starts Rolling Out

Andrew Edney
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1
Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” Starts Rolling Out

Today Microsoft have started rolling out Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”. Have you got yours yet?

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This is what Microsoft just posted on their blog:

It’s underway!

This morning, at roughly 10 a.m. Pacific time, we began rolling out the Mango update to phones around the world. I’m sure you’re as excited as we are: Windows Phone 7.5 (aka Mango) is our largest and most feature-packed software refresh to date.

I do want to emphasize that today is just the start. Our plan, as I’ll explain in a moment, is to ramp up delivery gradually—but make the update available to most existing customers within 4 weeks.

I’m sure you have lots of questions about the update process and especially when you’ll be able to install Windows Phone 7.5. Here’s our plan.

Who’s first?

Today we’re starting the roll out of Windows Phone 7.5 to more than 98 percent of existing Windows Phone customers. This is a simultaneous, coordinated, global update that cuts across carriers, phone models, and countries. This time, almost everybody is going first.

Check Where’s My Phone Update? for the latest global status info.

When will I get it?

While today’s rollout includes most of our carriers and handsets, we’re not making Mango available to everyone at once. So it could be a few weeks before an update message for Windows Phone 7.5 appears on your phone.

Why don’t we just blast it out?

It’s a fair question. Delivering Windows Phone 7.5 simultaneously to so many phone models and carriers requires the right engineering balance. Speed is a priority—but so is quality. We’re not just delivering our new operating system but also new software supplied by individual handset makers. This “firmware” is necessary so your phone—and apps—work with all the features of Windows Phone 7.5. But it essentially means that we’re supplying not just one update, but many different ones, given the variety of Windows Phones and carriers out there to choose from.

If a problem comes to light, it’s critical that we can isolate and fix it quickly. So we’re deliberately starting out slow. This week, we’ll be making the update available to 10 percent of customers. If everything looks good, we’ll open up the spigot a bit more—to around 25 percent. We’ll hold there for one or two weeks, then quickly ramp up to 100 percent—monitoring quality the entire way. That’s how we ensure Mango arrives both quickly and in tip-top shape.

If we hit unexpected snags, we might have to temporarily slow or halt the update rollout. Starting this week, I’ll resume posting here regularly to let you know where things stand.

How do I install it?

One day a message pops up on your phone saying an update is available. Great! But now what?

Depending on what kind of computer you have, you’ll need to install either the latest version of the Zune Software for PC or Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac. Then visit Update Central, our one-stop how-to resource for Windows Phone updates.

Once you’re done, you might want to poke around the Windows Phone website, which was refreshed today with new how-to articles, videos, and tips for getting the most from Windows Phone 7.5 (including a big list of new feature highlights). Finally, don’t forget to check out our new online Marketplace for apps and games!

More soon.

Eric Hautala, General Manager, Customer Experience Engineering

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