Remote Potato is a nifty little PC server app that allows you to browse your Windows 7 Media Center electronic program guide (EPG), manage recordings, and stream video from your home PC for playback via a web browser. Below is a demo of Remote Potato showing off its latest Silverlight powered interface that’s capable of handling all tasks through a single web page. If you’re interested in taking Remote Potato for a spin, you can download it for FREE and, if you like, make a donation to the developer for his efforts. Note: you will need to setup a dynamic DNS service to access your home PC remotely – see: Support/FAQ. [via] MORE »

No definitive word if Google is developing an Android-based satellite set-top box with DISH Network, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has been testing software with a small group of employees since last year that allows them to search DISH Network’s TV programming, get related web content to their queries, and create a personalized lineup of shows. Of course, as you would expect, the software integrates Google’s on-screen ad placement technologies. WSJ further reports that Google has been “prodding” a range of TV service providers and hardware makers to make use of its Android-based technologies for some time now. However, as the WSJ points out, convincing cable and satellite companies who closely guard their set-top box software and their overall programming experience isn’t going to be easy. So are Android-based cable/satellite set-top boxes and networked HDTVs something we’ll be seeing in the future? It looks like there may be a good chance of that. Attached image above is ISB Corp’s Android STB prototype shown in May of 2009. MORE »

Own a TiVo? You may want to add a Windows Home Server from HP to the mix. HP has just introduced a new new add-in called HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo that allows TiVo owners to transfer shows to/from the HP MediaSmart Server, manage recordings, and watch stored recordings from any networked Mac or Windows PC in the home. The FREE HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo add-in can be accessed through the Windows Home Server Console of a HP MediaSmart Server EX90/EX495 or HP Data Vault. Supported TiVo DVRs include: Series2, Series3, Premiere, Premiere XL. MORE »

Joel Johnson over at Gizmodo has posted a glowing review of Air Video, a $3 iPhone and iPod touch compatible app that can stream videos from a server PC over a local area network via Wi-Fi or remotely over 3G. Besides the incredible price, Joel was impressed by how easy Air Video’s Mac OS X / Windows server application is to configure in order to share folders/files from the computer itself or from a NAS. He also liked the fact that H.264 files are streamed automatically while non-H.264 files (even massive 1080p Blu-ray movie rips, if you’re PC is up to the processing task) are transcoded on-the-fly for instant playback. There’s even an option to convert a video file to H.264 for future use. All in all, Air Video sounds like a must-have app for any digital home enthusiast who has a large collection of videos they want to tap into through their mobile device. MORE »

Quick update for Apple TV owners who heart Boxee. You can now update your Boxee Alpha release to the latest Boxee Beta via ATV’s Installer/Launcher, according to Boxee Blog today. However, if you’ve never installed Boxee using ATV USB Creator, download atvusb-creator from the project page and then follow these instructions to get Boxee up and running — just don’t tell Steve J. that you went AWOL from his walled garden, ’cause he might not like it.

Originally I was going to write up a post on Crestron’s Home Automation iPad App (supposedly one of the first for the device, according to CE Pro), but then I noticed from the rendering that it’s just the iPhone / iPod touch version scaled up by Apple’s iPad — though I could be wrong (no additional iPad app screenshots or demo video were available). I know people are excited for the retail launch of the iPad, but I think app developers need some new terminology for better transparency right from the get-go. For one, I would suggest calling any iPhone / iPod touch app that plays nice with the iPad as “iPad Compatible” and native apps as “Designed for iPad”. The reason I say this is because Apple has included some nifty UI features exclusive to the iPad that takes advantage of the larger screen size like drop-down / pop-over menus, sidebar controls, dual page views, etc. In fact, you can get a glimpse of what I’m talking about on Apple’s iPad feature page or just look at the iWork suite for iPad or NY Times’ iPad app. These apps were designed for the iPad, and leverage lots of the new functionality. So going forward app developers, reporters, and bloggers, please make the distinction clear. Thanks! (By the way, this is the same advice I would give to Android app developers targeting both handsets and the new crop of tablet devices.)

UPDATE: The Creston app is iPad “compatible”, according to Creston’s own Apple product page.  It states: “Both apps [Creston Mobile, Creston Mobile Pro] are compatible with the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPod touch and iPad.” [Demo]

Today Boxee is announcing the availability of a new internet content app powered by Redux, an online community where users promote the best photos, videos, and links found online and associate them to user-created niche channels. Some of the popular channels on Redux include: 110% Awesomeness, Best Music Videos Ever, Art, WTF?, Fail Moments, Top Gear videos. But what’s great about having a Redux application on Boxee, is that it allows Boxee users, especially those using Boxee on their TV, to discover and view/rate highly-rated, crowd-sourced content at the press of a button. In addition, the new Redux app offers up two viewing modes for your enjoyment: Standard and TV (fullscreen — shown below). MORE »

Yes, we’ve seen various ways to add a Boxee / Hulu Desktop launcher to Windows Media Center before — usually requiring the use of a menu editing tool. This time, however, we’ve got a script designed for Windows 7 Media Center that will do all the work for you and even make it so that when you exit Boxee or Hulu Desktop you’ll land back into Media Center. Just download and install the free/donation-ware Boxee / Hulu Desktop MSI files from Teknowebworks.com and you’re good to go. Enjoy! (UPDATE: XBMC launcher available)

A reader of Lifehacker submitted a tip to the site detailing how one can use a Zune Wireless Remote (two versions available: new, old - pictured above) or Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote with Windows 7 Media Center. The hack is simple enough to do, requiring a single digit in a command string to be changed (see quoted text below). In a nutshell, the edited string tells media center to scan all IR channels using 0 instead of 1 by default, So if you’ve got a Zune or Xbox 360 remote handy (both run on channel 8) and an IR receiver connected to your PC, you’re good to go. MORE »

I have a feeling Auto Rip n Compress is going to be everyone’s next “must-have” add-in for Windows Media Center. The add-in allows you to easily rip DVD or Blu-ray movies from your couch using only your remote. Of course, you’ll need to have some software pre-installed on your PC — like AnyDVD HD, Handbrake, ImgBurn, Haali Media Splitter, etc. — and a free account with Get Digital Data (aka GD3) to get the whole experience going. But after that, though, you’ll be in ripping nirvana making compressed or uncompressed movie copies complete with metadata and cover art. By the way, if you like Auto Rip n Compress, consider making a PayPal donation to the developer — it’s good karma. [via] MORE »