Roku isn’t letting its early adopters out in the cold, instead the their players are now receiving and update that teh Roku 2 and Roku LT received last week. Earlier Roku players are now able to upgrade to version 3.1 which brings a few new features and improvements.

With the upgrade to version 3.1 early Roku players will now be able to use the Roku iPhone app which was released last week. So now you don’t need to upgrade your Roku to control it via your iOS device. Along with the new control option the update brings support for the new Amazon Instant Video channel. The new layout looks nicer, and is presumably a bit easier to use.

Other updates include improved MP4 playback which should make the video file play more smoothly over the web or from a USB drive. Perfect for that DRM-free Louis CK video. The grid layout has also been improved to fix some issues that were present in the previous version of the Roku software.

Finally, there’s a new option to buy new Roku players and accessories through the new Roku Channel Store, for when you’re finally ready to upgrade to the Roku 2. Not that there seems to be much of a rush. So far Roku is still supporting older devices, you just have to wait a week or so to see the new features and improvements. That’s not a bad deal at all.

Read [Roku blog]

Rogers Canada has granted one wish of our Canadian friends – to have a TV in every room of their houses. No, it doesn’t mean that you have to buy several TV sets. All you need is an iPad and the new iOS app called Rogers Live TV app. Still in beta, the Rogers Live TV app lets you stream live TV to your iPad. So you can bring your iPad in any room in your house and stream live TV programs coming from your TV set – presto! You have your TV in practically every room of your house. According to the official Rogers Blog, once the Rogers Live TV goes out, you’ll be able to stream 20 channels through your iPad. This is only during launch as more channels are promised to more channels soon. Also, the same app will be launched for the Android platform. Right now, the Rogers Live TV app is available via WiFi to Rogers digital television customers in Ontario. You need to subscribe to Rogers Hi-Speed Internet with a MyRogers account to enjoy using Rogers Live TV app. More information about the Rogers Live TV can be found by following the via link below.

Via [Red Board] and [Rogers Live TV]

Roku recently announced a software update for the Roku 2 and Roku LT set-top boxes. And well, it looks like they have returned with another announcement — an iPhone remote control app. Yup, Roku has offered up a remote app for the iPhone — and better yet, it comes as a free offering. The Roku Remote app for the iPhone has arrived as version 1.0.0 and with the requirement of needing iOS 4.2 or later. As for the features, they come as one would expect and include the following;

• Launch or rate any channel with a tap of your finger.
• Use a simple touch and swipe based remote control. Includes instant replay, back and options buttons.
• Easily browse hundreds of channels in the Roku Channel Store.
• Quickly add and remove channels to/from your Roku player.
• Control and switch between multiple Roku players.

Otherwise, the Roku Remote app for the iPhone will work with all Roku players and similar to other iPhone remote apps — your iPhone will need to be connected to the same network that your Roku is set up on.

Via [Roku Blog] and [iOS App Store]

If you’ve always wanted to own a Smart TV, meaning the one which streams movies, TV shows, music, videos, news clips and games from the Internet and from your storage devices, you can now have this without letting go of your old TV. Netgear has just released the new, NETGEAR NeoTV Streaming Player. This nifty device has one purpose for its existence, to turn your TV using its HDMI port into a smart TV that allows streaming of movies and other content. The device also comes with a free remote app that you can install on your Android phone or iPhone to control the NeoTV Player. Among the content providers supporting this device include Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, Pandora, Napster, Picasa, Revision3 and more.You can also stream news channels including the Economist, Engadget, TED and more. Even better is the fact that you can connect with your friends on Facebook and Twitter through this device. For connecting to the Internet, the NeoTV player has a built-in high-speed 300Mbps WiFi or and Ethernet port. It also has its own optical audio out (S/PDIF) that transmits high-quality surround sound. The NETGEAR NeoTV Streaming Player will be released this month in the US. It will set you back for $79.99.

Via [Engadget]

Snakebyte is known for creating gaming peripherals such as controllers and headsets for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. At E3 2011 next month, snakebyte will debut a new kind of HDMI cable that is infused with Darbee Visual Presence technology. This technology is said to convert 2D images into 3D images.

The new 3D images don’t require a new 3D TV or 3D glasses to view. Snakebyte’s press release makes sense of this technology in very fancy words. The HDMI cable “utilizes the neurological and biological principles that underlie human vision to add a three-dimensional component to two-dimensional images.”

That basically means the HDMI cable gives images more depth that what human eyes are accustomed to.

Snakebyte says the video resolution of the converted images will be 1080p HD at 60Hz. The cable can also be used with various devices such as game consoles, DVD players and computers.

No price or release date has been set for the snakebyte 3D HDMI cable. When it does release, snakebyte will make it available around the world.

Read [Darbee Visual Presence]

If you liked iMovie on the iPhone, you’ll love if on the iPad. The only problem: how to get your photos and video from the iPhone to the iPad. Why Apple didn’t homebrew a solution into the iPad is beyond us but thankfully, the developers behind the Transfer app did.

Apple expects you to transfer movies via iTunes. Here in the real world, most of us don’t sync regularly so that solution just isn’t attractive. Another route is the iPad camera connector; allowing you to have a wired connection between iPhone and iPad. In searching for a solution, I found that to be OK, but shelling out $40 just wasn’t attractive.

That’s when I found the Transfer app. For $2.99 I downloaded the app to both my devices (users only pay once) and was ready to transfer over WiFi. The app is intuitive, simple and does the job very well.

Within seconds of downloading, I was transferring my raw videos from the iPhone to the iPad with no issue. To do this, simply open the app on both devices, select the photos or video to transfer and boom: it’s transferring. An bar indicates transfer progress. Bottom line: the whole thing works flawlessly for me.

Pictures and video can be transferred via WiFi or you can use Bluetooth for just photos. Currently video is not support via Bluetooth. Images and video can also be shared to a computer browser.

Seriously, for the effort saved in iTunes syncing and/or carting around the camera adapter, I’d be willing to pay much more than the $2.99 asking price. If you’re in a similar boat and want to get files from your smartphone to the iPad, this is a great option. Check the video below.

Product page: [PhotoTransferApp]

TiVo Premier customers can now enjoy quality Hulu Plus content on their television that is hooked up to a TiVo Premier set top box. If you already have a subscription to Hulu Plus and own a TiVo Premier device, then you can begin streaming content from Hulu Plus through your TiVo Premier. However, if you plan on purchasing a TiVo Premier because it now supports Hulu Plus in addition to Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Blockbuster, and YouTube, or for another reason, you are eligible for a six months of free service. Lastly, Hulu Plus also offers a one week free trial to anyone interested in their service, so if you currently own a TiVo Premier, but not a Hulu Plus subscription, you may want to at least try out the free trial.

Via [Gizmodo]

Check out the full press release below:

ALVISO, Calif. – May 23, 2011 – TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in advanced television services, including digital video recorders (DVRs), for consumers, content distributors and consumer electronics manufacturers, announced that beginning today Hulu Plus T is available via subscription* to TiVo® subscribers with retail TiVo Premiere boxes.

In celebration of Hulu Plus on TiVo Premiere, TiVo and Hulu will give six months of free Hulu Plus service to newly purchased TiVo Premiere DVRs. A free trial of Hulu Plus is also available to current TiVo Premiere customers. Visit www.tivo.com/hulu to learn more.

With the recent addition of hit shows from Comedy Central, and MTV including The Colbert Report and The Daily Show alongside popular hit shows from ABC, FOX and NBC like Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, Family Guy, The Office and 30 Rock, TiVo further extends its lead as the only one-box solution that integrates in one easy-to-use user interface the full complement of programming made available to users through their existing cable or fiber optic provider alongside the ever-increasing choice of broadband and on-demand offerings.

“Hulu’s mission is to help people find and enjoy the world’s premium video content when, where and how they want it. To that end, we are thrilled that today we are opening up the Hulu Plus experience to TiVo Premiere users,” says Andy Forssell, SVP of Content Acquisition and Distribution for Hulu.

Hulu Plus joins other top broadband content providers such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, and BLOCKBUSTER to offer TiVo Premiere subscribers the ultimate choice in entertainment programming, all easily accessed by TiVo’s elegant user interface and iconic peanut remote control. Hulu Plus programs are easy to find by title or by browsing Hulu Plus’s network listings and genres.

TiVo’s SVP and General Manager of Content Services and Media Sales Tara Maitra added, “I’ve watched with great admiration as Hulu has built an impressive business by offering up some of the world’s greatest entertainment content on demand. As the world’s first smart DVR, TiVo Premiere brings the best entertainment from cable and the web together in one place, with one easy-to-use remote and simple search features for one truly Brilliant TV experience.”

According to recent figures from Santa Monica, Calif.-based research firm Interpret, the number of people who said they streamed a TV program increased to 41 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The number of TV programs streamed per respondent reached nearly nine episodes in the last three months of 2010, up 37 percent from 6.41 programs streamed in 2009.

In addition to the top hits of today, Hulu Plus offers one of the largest catalogs of television content on a streaming platform to subscribers in the U.S., including full series runs and numerous back seasons of dozens of classic shows like The X-Files, Law and Order: SVU, Arrested Development, Saturday Night Live, Miami Vice, Ugly Betty, Quantum Leap, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Roswell and Ally McBeal.

*Separate subscriptions to Hulu Plus and the TiVo Service are required to access Hulu Plus on TiVo Premiere DVRs. Broadband connection required to access Hulu Plus.

If you’re one of the few people out there who bought the Logitech Revue, be prepared for an update sometime between now and May 2. Logitech is sending out an OTA update to the Google TV box to fix a few issues.

The update will really only be fixing a few security issues, with no features being added or changed at all. The update should appear on screen, and ask if you want to apply it. If you do nothing for 30 minutes the update will simply apply itself. When the update applies it should change your build number to a number ending in “b51795,” which you can find in Settings>About.

Not exactly the most exciting update, but perhaps we’ll hear something about Google TV at Google I/O next month. Or those who have the device will just have to live with it as it is, either way.

Read [Logitech]

For those with a Roku set top box, there is a nice remote app available for the iOS. The app is universal so it will run equally well on the iPhone and iPod touch as well as the iPad. But the better news today — the app is currently on sale. The app is called DVPRemote and for an unspecified limited time, you can purchase it for $1.99. The app is decried as being a “better remote for your Roku Player” and truth be told — it is. It will allow you do do the things you expect and can already do with your current remote, however there is at least one addition that made it worthwhile for me — the virtual QWERTY keyboard. That feature alone made it worthy of a purchase, and also much easier when it comes time to search for movies.

Via [DVPRemote (App Store link)] and [HackingNetflix]

After teasing it at CES, Sony has finally announced a release and price for the Bloggie Duo HD. Well, it’s not so much an announced as it its putting the device up on the Sony webstore with an availability of tomorrow for $169.99.

The Bloggie Duo HD is just like the Bloggie HD, except it has two screens. There’s the expected 2.7-inch screen on the back, and another 2-inch screen on the front of the camcorder. That way bloggers can make sure they’re in the shot correctly, and those who like to take self-portrait photos won’t have a problem either. The Bloggie HD takes video in full 1080p, or 5MP still shots. The camcorder can hold up to 2 hours of HD video, which should be plenty of space for the bloggers Sony hopes to attract with the Bloggie Duo HD.

Worth noting is the fact that the Bloggie software now supports Mac OS X, which is another great idea to attract bloggers.

Read [Sony] via [Engadget]