Streaming media players

What's New

The Home Theater PC: A Source to End All Sources

Building a do-it-all entertainment hub. Again.
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted August 7, 2011
- 16
I’m writing this from my sofa. In my lap is a keyboard. MS Word is part of a 50-inch tall image that also includes Netflix playing an episode of Sports Night, and Steam downloading Portal 2.
That, and much more, is the promise of a home theater PC. But in this age of ultra-cheap everything, is the complexity of an HTPC worth it? Well, I'm about to find out. Again.

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Bang & Olufsen's BeoSound 5 Encore Digital Music System

Most of the features of the BeoSound 5, at a somewhat more affordable price point
- By Michael Berk
- Posted July 25, 2011
- 2
Bang & Olufsen have announced the BeoSound 5 Encore, the baby brother of their BeoSound 5 music system.

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Review: Sonos Play:3

Is this all-in-one streamer the music system of the future?
- By Brent Butterworth
- Posted July 25, 2011
- 5
The CD is dying. iPod sales are declining. More and more, people are getting their music from … well, everywhere: MP3s stored on a hard drive, Internet radio and music services like MOG, Pandora and the recently hyped Spotify.

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The Sonos Play:3 makes its debut

Sonos gives its line a makeover with a new naming scheme -- and a smaller, multipurpose player
- By Michael Berk
- Posted July 20, 2011
Always looking for new ways to make good on their promise to let users stream all the music on earth in any room, Sonos today announces a new player — the Play:3 — and a new naming scheme for their product line.

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Hands on with the Roku 2: Less is More

A slimmed-down, beefed-up revamp from the streaming vets. With Angry Birds and motion control, of course.
- By Michael Berk
- Posted July 20, 2011
- 1
The cat's been out of the bag for a month or two now, but today Roku officially announces an entirely redesigned line of streaming media players, featuring a smaller form factor, a few new content channels, Angry Birds — and, on the top-of-the-line XS, a motion-control remote. The new units should hit stores by the end of the month.

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Streaming Deathmatch: Spotify Premium vs. MOG

The reigning champ takes on the greatest thing since Wasa bread
- By Al Griffin
- Posted July 19, 2011
- 5
Sometimes the mere fact of something being inaccessible can enhance its value — a lot. Take Spotify, for example. For years we’ve wondered when music labels would finally allow the European online music service to make its supposed 15 million-track library available here. That day has finally arrived.

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Review: LG BD670 Blu-ray Disc Player

You could spend more — but why?
- By Al Griffin
- Posted July 13, 2011
Blu-ray players are becoming less a means to play discs than a gateway to online services — and to any media stored on computers, smartphones, and iDevices lying around your home. Take LG’s BD670. You might pick up this modest-looking machine thinking you’d use it to play Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D discs, along with DVDs and CDs.

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Review: Sonos S5 ZonePlayer and 3.4 System Update

AirPlay support and an Android app keep the wireless pioneer current
- By Michael Berk
- Posted May 23, 2011
- 1
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Digital Media Receiver Roundup

Four inexpensive boxes vie for your streaming dollar
- By Geoffrey Morrison
- Posted May 9, 2011
DEFINING A NEW PRODUCT CATEGORY
I'm struggling with this: What do you call these things? Digital Media Streamers? Digital Media Receivers? How about media extenders, media streamers, or digital media adapters? Maybe Internet Streaming Devices? If you abbreviate that last one, it sounds a bit sinister. "Dude, I got an ISD." Annnnnnnd, you're on a list somewhere.

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Review: Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Your last-ever disc player?
- By Al Griffin
- Posted March 23, 2011
- 1
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