Google is reportedly looking to sell the set-top box business it will inherit from Motorola Mobility before its acquisition of the company closes, The New York Post reported on Wednesday. CEO Larry Page previously claimed the manufacturer’s set-top division would help Google revolutionize the living room. Many people, however, view the clunky cable box as an obstacle to newer and more advanced technology that integrate TV and the Internet. According to Infonetics, a company that tracks the set-top box...

Vizio announced the company’s support for Google TV with two new set-top boxes at the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday. The Vizio VAP430 Stream Player picks right up where the Logitech Revue left off, and will turn any TV into a smart TV. Vizio’s second set-top box adds a Blu-ray player to the mix and looks to compete with Sony’s new Blu-ray Google TV device. The Vizio VBR430 is labeled as “one of the most advanced 3D Blu-ray players on the market,” with access to the web, ...

Amazon and Best Buy are both offering the Apple TV for $89.99, $10 lower than Apple’s standard retail price, which suggests that the Cupertino-based company could be brewing up a refresh for the popular home entertainment box. In addition, Amazon has added a “2010″ label next to the gadget, indicating that a 2011 model is on the way (or that it is simply distinguishing it from the earlier version). In May, a rumor surfaced that suggested Apple was building a new Apple TV that will support f...

There’s nothing like free gear to help greet one of the biggest consumer electronics shows of the year, and Logitech has just what the doctor ordered this year at CES 2011. The company is giving away 360 Logitech Revue units this week. The Revue is Logitech’s new set top box featuring Google TV, and it definitely is not in the midst of a production halt. It’s a great little box and for the low, low price of free-fifty, it can’t be beat. The first 50 units will be given away on January ...

According to an unconfirmed report in The Seattle Times, Microsoft is preparing to demonstrate a new home entertainment product set to combat Apple TV and Google TV. The rumored service will supposedly be demonstrated this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Said to be powered by a “stripped-down version of Windows tailored for set-top boxes and connected TVs,” a customized version of Windows Embedded is the likely candidate for this type of product. The devices are also said to f...

Following Netgear’s announcement Tuesday that it would offer a $90 set top box powered by Roku’s software, it looks as though Roku is playing with alternative models in an effort to stay competitive. Roku gained notoriety in 2008 by providing an easy solution for streaming Netflix Watch Instantly video content to television sets. The company has since expended its product through partnerships that brought additional content from the likes of Amazon Video On Demand, MLB.TV and Hulu. With a growing ...

The New York Times is reporting that Apple, Inc. is “working on an update to its television software” that runs on its Apple TV hardware, an update that “will offer a completely redesigned interface for it.” The Times’ source asked not to be identified, and Apple – unsurprisingly – declined to comment on the matter. The Times cited several additional anonymous sources that claimed the new Apple TV could: be a completely new hardware product, be a software update t...

One of our favorite set-top boxes, Roku, has just announced that it is launching the Roku Channel Store. The good news for you couch potatoes is that the first 10 channels are free. The open platform for sharing content on TV will allow you to share pictures and video, and listen to Internet radio and podcasts. New channels available to add right now are Pandora, Facebook Photos, Flickr and TWiT (This Week In Tech). Plus, since this is an open platform, developers can jump on the Roku bandwagon to add in gett...

Official word that VUDU jazzed up its service offering with the addition of Pandora came through this morning but now some less-than-official news is creeping out that may be even more interesting. As you can see in the leaked screen shot above, VUDU is currently working on a new feature called Home Movies. According to Zatz Not Funny!, Home Movies will provide a Slingcatcher-like PC to TV streaming experience. It will reportedly allow users to stream H.264 video from a PC to the VUDU box, plugging yet anothe...

Since the announcement of VUDU’s Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform, we’ve been waiting for some new big news to come down from the Santa Clara-based set top box-based movie distributor and this morning it looks like we’ve got it. Pandora, perhaps the most popular among a new wave of intelligent internet radio services, is now available via VUDU hardware. Pandora represents the first music application to hit the VUDU box and owners will have full access to just about all of PandoraR...

As is always the case, we can all expect plenty of home entertainment-related news to come this week as CES kicks off. New TVs, new Blu-ray players, new set top boxes and plenty of new technology will be showcased later this week and among the first to press release a big announcement is Intel. Alongside Adobe, Intel has announced plans to bring its new Media Processor CE 3100 to market along with a new optimized version of Adobe Flash. These efforts, according to Intel, will “provide consumers with ric...

How low can you go is the question on the minds of potential VUDU owners as the company today announced a new price point for its set top box offering. Regularly $299, VUDU had announced a special deal earlier this year that threw in $200 of free movie credits with a purchase. It is now halving the cost of admission however, as the new price on VUDU’s site was lowered today to $150 including $50 worth of movie credits. VUDU is calling it a Christmas special but we wouldn’t be surprised if we see $...

VUDU swings for the fences and connects! Big news from California-based set top box provider VUDU this morning, as the company announces a huge new addition to its arsenal — the VUDU RIA (Rich Internet Application) platform. Last time we covered VUDU, it was beefing up its 1080p offering and doling out generous $200 download credits for new customers (which is still available until the end of the year, by the way). This time around however, VUDU has something entirely new and different up its sleeve. It...

After making an announcement ages ago, Blockbuster has finally launched its movie rental service via set-top boxes. Since word got out about the box and service, the only other option was to have DVDs delivered to your home, Netflix style, or to download movies and TV shows online. Now, with Blockbuster’s set-top box, you can snag movies with its OnDemand service whenever you want. The box is free if you pre-pay for 25 movies at the cost of $99, and while that sounds expensive, you wouldn’t be get...