Samsung Blu-ray Home Theater Up-converts

Samsung's Blu-ray Home Theater System also up-converts regular DVDs. In addition, the HT-BD1250 plays music via iPod dock and streams Netflix and Pandora. WiFi ready, you can view pictures or listen to tunes from any connected PC.

Via Samsung Home Theaters

Sonic Resurrected After 16 Years

After 16 years, Sega has finally designed a sequel to one of its most beloved game characters. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will be available for Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It will have 2D graphics with 3D visuals. In an interview with GameSpot, Sega brand manager Ken Balough said that the game will be available this summer by download.

Via GameSpot

Netflix is Coming to Wii

Sometime this spring, Netflix will become accessible on Wii. Those with the game console and a broadband connection can receive the service at the regular $8.99 fee. This is not an embedding as an application disc is needed to access content. If you want to be a future customer, sign up at the Netflix site.

Via Netflix

Netflix to Comes to PS3

Netflix will soon be accessible to PlayStation 3 owners. Xbox 360 users, Roku owners and some Internet connected TVs already have the capability. The streaming service will be free to PS3 users who have a subscription starting at $8.99, as opposed to Xbox 360 owners, who must pay $50.00 a year and join the Xbox Live "Gold" club.

Recent word hits us that Wii will also have the capability. Users need a Netflix Instant Streaming Disc at a price of $9.99. In both cases, a broadband connection is needed.

Via USA Today

Actiontec MegaPlug Kits for Home Networking

Actiontec has a entire line of MegaPlug kits guaranteed to make your home networking easier. Their
AV Powerline Networking Kit is a simple solution and uses home electrical lines to create a 200Mbps network. The
AV Powerline Gaming Kit does the same for your Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or Nintendo Wii. The
85 Mbps Ethernet Adapter Twin-Pack can link your computers, install a networked printer or be used as a connection for another device to your network. Finally, who couldn't use some extra ports? Their
85 Mbps 4-Port Hub is an inexpensive way to connect DSL modems, gateways, or broadband routers with a single Ethernet port.

Via Actiontec MegaPlugs

Wiideo Center Adds Another Option For Media Streaming With Your Wii

Well it looks like there is another option in the Wii media streaming space that you might want to consider. Wiideo Center 0.3 has been released and it looks to be your one stop shop for streaming your media to your Wii. The Wii seems to have been left behind the other consoles when it comes to media streaming as there are only a handful of apps out there to help you do this. The Wiideo Center is a Windows only application that allows you to select media from your PC and have it made available to your Wii for viewing.

The main application runs on your Windows machine and has the ability to transcode and stream your videos. It seems like a pretty straight forward application and if we could actually get our hands on a Wii this holiday season we would love to try it out, but as usually they are near impossible to find. We just hope that Nintendo releases a lot more consoles for the holidays so we can actually have a shot at getting one.

As a side note the code is available to be downloaded in case anyone out there is interested in tinkering with it. We are just glad someone else has released another way to view media on the Wii, can't let the Xbox and PS3 have all the fun!

via nintendo-scene

X-OOM Software Brings Media Streaming To The Wii

We have been reporting a lot lately about the Xbox and PS3's media streaming abilities, but we have basically left the Wii out in the cold in our reviews. Well it looks like the Wii just got some more loving in the media streaming department. X-OOM has software that will aid in getting your media content streamed via the Wii.

X-OOM's software supports streaming the following formats:

• Xvid
• DivX
• MPEG-2
• MPEG-4
• MP3
• OGG

Granted you have to buy this software, but for close to $60 it isn't that bad a deal. If you didn't already have a streaming solution and you owned a Wii then you could be saving yourself a bunch of money not having to buy a new device.

We aren't sure how it will work and how good the Wii will be as a streamer, but it is good to know that people are thinking of ways to utilize this cool little piece of technology to bring the digital connected home to more people. If anyone buys this and tried it out we would love to hear from you. Post in the comments your experience.

via Trusted Reviews

Stream Music via your Wii

We found a cool article over at Ben's Blog that talks about streaming media from a PC to your stereo via your Wii. The first thing you will need is one of our favorite Windows based media players, the venerable WinAmp.

To accomplish this fun task you'll need to first sign up for a Winamp Remote account. The easiest way to get Winamp Remote is to open up the Media Library window in the Winamp client. From there you need to configure it with the location of the media you want to stream.

Now from your Wii browser just go to http://www.orb.com/winamp and use your login information and you will be able to access all your music. Ben has some good notes on his site letting us know what are the limitations of this solution:

The video streaming didn't seem to work and photos are a small, but audio was fine
The fonts are all a little small - I don't know if the interface can be skinned
It would be nice to stream the audio over the local network without going through orb.com for better performance. If anyone knows a freeware way to do this then let us know in the comments
You can control winamp on your PC remotely through the Wii browser with the nice free winamp plugin axajamp

Looks like all the new consoles will allow you to stream your media. Another win for people that like choices.