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Get a Ceton InfiniTV 4 tuner for $199

Don't get me wrong, I like TiVo. What I don't like is the $19.99/month subscription fee that goes along with it. That's $240 per year, folks.

A much cheaper option over the long haul: Ceton's InfiniTV 4 products, which can turn a Windows 7 PC into one of the best DVRs on the planet.

The original InfiniTV 4 was a PCI card that sold for $399. Now, however, you can get the Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCI or InfiniTV 4 USB for $199 shipped.

That's not a sale price; it's a permanent reduction. … Read more

Time Warner Cable now streams to your desktop

Time Warner Cable, which last year unveiled its first iPad app, has just launched a beta version of the software for computer streaming.

The new app lets cable (and data) subscribers stream live TV to their Mac or Windows PC while in the home.

The app's features include "Live TV" of a limited number of channels, a seven-day program guide, control of the set-top box (to watch on the TV screen) and the PC (to watch on the computer screen), DVR management, and a search function.

"Ever since launching the TWC TV app for the iPad, … Read more

Bright idea: Charging cables light up as current flows

I have "a friend" (who is no way whatsoever me, no sir, mm-mm) who recently got so excited about her new smartphone case she couldn't stop looking at it for days. Point being that accessories can hugely boost one's enthusiasm for gadgets, even the most humdrum ones.

Take these Dexim Visible Green illuminated charging cables that use electroluminescent (EL) technology to display the current flow from the power socket to your device. They function like any other charging cable, but they do it with such pizzazz that you (and by "you," I mean "me") can't help but feel energized watching them. Suddenly, charging a smartphone feels like going to a rave. … Read more

Will Qmadix biodegradable cables untangle the future?

You probably find yourself more often needing an extra cable than having too many, but in case you worry about what to do with your extra cables when you're done with them, Qmadix has one answer: just toss 'em.

The mobile-accessory company today announced its Ecoustic biodegradable cables. These are regular cables like those you have at home, such as USB cables, HDMI cables, auxiliary audio cables, and of course iOS-based 30-pin cables for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. The difference is their coating, "a resin mixture made from biodegradable, plant-based by-products and other natural properties" that quickly degrades naturally, rather than staying in a landfill for hundreds of years. … Read more

Get a one-year PlayOn subscription for $19.99

Looking to cut the cable-TV cord? PlayOn is one of the services that can help ease the transition.

It slings shows from your Windows PC to various devices, including tablets, smartphones, game consoles, media center boxes, and the like. It's akin to Roku, with your PC filling the role of "the box."

Through the end of January, you can get a one-year PlayOn subscription for $19.99, a savings of 50 percent. And the service costs $19.99 per year thereafter.

Of course, you'll probably want to take it for a test-drive first, which you can … Read more

Sen. Leahy bows to pressure, pledges to amend Protect IP bill

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the sponsor of a controversial Hollywood-backed copyright bill, has bowed to public pressure and will yank the most controversial sections from the legislation.

The Vermont Democrat, a longtime ally of large copyright holders, said today he would delete portions of his Protect IP Act that mandate Domain Name System (DNS) blocking and redirecting.

"I'm going to set aside these domain name provisions," Leahy told Vermont Public Radio. "That we'll hold back on, because I've listened to some of the concerns on those. I think there [are] easy answers to it, but … Read more

Samsung Smart Interaction TVs get cable box control

LAS VEGAS--The highest-end plasma and LED TVs Samsung announced at CES yesterday offer a feature called Smart Interaction, which among other functions allows volume and channel changes at a word or gesture. Most TV watchers, however, use a cable box and not their TVs to change channels.

The solution is an IR blaster, a device designed to send infrared signals (just like a remote control) to operate the box. The little device pictured above handles that duty for Samsung's 2012 Smart Interaction models, namely the UNES7500, UNES8000, and PNE8000 series.

The TVs communicate with the blaster via Bluetooth, as … Read more

Peel app updates to make TV social

A popular TV show and movie discovery app just got a major update during CES that adds social components to its already full-featured cable listing arsenal.

Peel Personal TV Show Guide (free) is an app that changes the way you watch TV by gathering your personal preferences and giving you recommendations on your iPhone based on the data.

The polished interface of Peel asks you a few questions upon launch so it can deliver the type of shows you'll want to watch and tell you when they will show in your area. On first setup, the app has you choose your cable service, and then lists out several categories like Drama, Comedy, and Kids, and asks you to reorder the list by your personal preference with your favorites at the top. You'll then reorder a list of sports in the same fashion. When you're finished, you'll see the main interface of the app, with recommended shows that are currently playing in your area based on your preferences.

What we really like about Peel is how it lays out movies and shows by category so you can browse based on your mood at the moment.… Read more

Thunderbolt headed to iOS devices? Patent pitch says so

The cable for charging and transferring data from iPhones, iPods and iPads could soon undergo another major shift, switching to technology that could speed up both tasks.

In a freshly published patent application, picked up by Patently Apple this morning, Apple details a new type of cable that blends together increased power and faster data transfer technologies, including Thunderbolt.

While not going so far as to call out the technology by name, the patent application notes that the proposed cable could support DisplayPort and PCI Express--the two technologies that are bundled together in Thunderbolt's architecture.

Along with the faster … Read more