PlayOn wants to make sure you can get your daily dose of Barackrolls and Airwolf episodes beyond the desktop, while Hulu might not have a slick streaming set-top box of its own, this media server software turns flash video RSS streams into easily browsed folders for your DLNA-compliant hardware. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and HP MediaSmart HDTVs being at the top of that list (with Nintendo Wii support planned by year-end) owners can grab the beta release of the software and stream low-res episodes of Psych, or any assortment of YouTube video they please. With Netflix support "just down the road" this could provide an end around for PS3 owners looking for streaming love, or Xbox 360 owners without Xbox Live Gold (we know you're out there.) Bad news is the beta only lasts 60 days and there's a $30 pricetag waiting at the end of the free lunch highway. Our experience was good, with no stutters in a Psych episode streamed via Wi-Fi to the PS3 (albeit with no choice of HD clips), but we'd wait for confirmation on the whole Netflix bit before dropping any dough.

Update: Getting 69-C00D36C4 / folder could not be accessed errors on your PS3 or Xbox 360, or waiting for 64-bit Vista support to dive in? PlayOn CTO David Karlton updated the official blog to let users know fixes and additional support is in the works, so keep an eye out for more news shortly if things aren't working just yet.

Gallery: PlayOn Media Server

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Take this as a compliment, Popcorn Hour. Your product has gained so much recognition and acclaim that a Chinese outfit dubbed CMI has shamelessly knocked it off. To be fair, the design isn't exactly the same, but it's close enough for us to understand where the SYVIO-200 got its inspiration. The HD media streamer pretty much mimics the A-100 in every meaningful way, though it does include the very beneficial HDMI 1.3 specification. You'll find oodles of media streaming capabilities as well as NAS / BitTorrent support, though your guess is as good as ours as to whether it'll ever find a US distributor. For the record, we're guessing "no."

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

If you've been putting off that purchase of Popcorn Hour's evolutionary A-110 HD media streamer or all new B-110 motherboard, here's a decent compilation of facts and opinions to help you make up your mind once and for all. The cats over at DigitalReviews took the time to not only detail, test out and report back on the newest duo from the company, but it also revisited the original (and heralded) A-100 in order to give a better comparison. Overall, critics did tend to prefer the A-110 over its predecessor, but the minor list of changes made it a hard sell for folks teetering on upgrading. The B-110 was seen as an even tougher sell, with only the hardcore DIY crowd likely to even find it worth investigating. Nevertheless, we won't spoil the rest for you -- head on down to have a look for yourself.

[Thanks, Anton]

Crazy, right? But let's think about it -- the market for standalone HTPCs is clearly narrowing, while Media Center Extenders are still far too pricey for many (and far too complicated for some) to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, just about everyone can find a reason to own a notebook, and the newer rigs are tossing in gratuitous amounts of RAM and CPU power alongside Blu-ray drives, HDMI sockets and enough wireless protocols to warrant a tin-foil hat. Granted, there are some limitations, but if someone were to pump out an AV dock (of sorts) to house a few OTA TV tuners and a digital audio output, one could essentially dock their laptop, step back and have a full-fledged HTPC. Chances are your gears are already turning, so tune into Ross Rubin's writeup in the read link for even more food for thought.

Details around the wireless edition of Sony's Bravia Internet Link kit -- most notably peeped during CES -- are coming into focus. Using that WHDI tech the kids are so into these days, this system is for Sony's Digital Media Extender-equipped HDTVs, and according to Sony Insider will debut for a price between $350 and $500 at the IFA conference in Berlin. Unfortunately, SI's info suggests we may only be spec'd for 1080i streaming of up to 5 feet, a bit less than the 200 foot range originally expected -- for only the fraction of the price of Monster Cables. Punch the read link for the rest of the details on the DMX-WL1T, while the rest of us hope Sony can turn the distance up enough to make it worthwhile.

Here lately, we've seen a number of questions flow in regarding TV tuners, so it makes sense that folks taking the plunge and building their own HTPC would want to know what flavor of software to mix in with it.

"I recently pieced together a pretty simple HTPC with an OTA TV tuner and I'm looking for the best PVR software to pair up with it. I'm currently running Windows XP MCE, but I could make the swap to Vista or Linux if the applications are good enough for either of those two. What would readers recommend for each operating system? Which one gives the least amount of hassle and works smoothly the majority of the time? Thanks!"

A pretty open-ended request, you see, but a valid one nonetheless. What's your favorite PVR software? Does Beyond TV have your heart? MythTV / SageTV the one(s) for you? Feel free to list the pros and cons of applications you've tried -- wouldn't want anyone to miss anything!

[Image courtesy of Parker1]

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

SlingPlayer 2.0 was announced way back at CES 2007 (and, uh, re-announced this year) and it looks you'll finally be able to get a taste, public beta style -- but only a taste, since it's missing its most hyped feature, Clip+Sling. If you'll recall, C+S was supposed to let you nab up to 5 minutes of content and share it online with your friends, but it looks like only the local DVR features have made the cut, so while we're still excited about the new 60-minute buffer and EPG, it's not all we've been promised. On the bright side, the holdup isn't technical, it's legal, so once all the appropriate networked partnerships and contracts have been signed, you'll be clipping and slinging like there's no tomorrow. Other minor changes include a tweaked UI (skin support has been dropped) and (finally!) the death of Slingbox Finder IDs in favor of user accounts. Windows-only for now, with a video demo after the break -- let us know how you're doing in comments!

Read - Slingcommunity announcement
Read - Dave Zatz's take

If our gallery of hands-on pictures from this morning were all you needed to pull the trigger on ZeeVee's ZvBox, well, we'd surmise that you have more money than sense. Regardless, if you've done your homework and feel confident that the localcasting box will make your life remarkably better, you can rest assured that units are shipping out now. Better still, those uncomfortable with Amazon for whatever reason can now secure the box from Best Buy, J&R, NewEgg, TigerDirect, and ZeeVee's own storefront. Unfortunately, the $499 price tag hasn't gotten any easier to swallow.

It has been a few months since a little Massachusetts-based startup caught our eyes with the ZvBox, and while ZeeVee's localcaster has been spotted a time or two in the run-up to its official release, we finally managed to secure a retail version of our own. We'll be testing this thing out here shortly, but we wanted to give you a closer look at what to expect should you decide to plunk down $499 for one of your own. We have to say, the packaging here is quite nice, and the box itself seems sexy enough considering how little you're likely to see it. Enough chatter, give the gallery below a look to see what we mean.

Who knows if Popcorn Hour really is still working on a couple more HD media streamers, but its latest one is definitely up for pre-order. First whispered about a few months back, the $215 A-110 is a revamped A-100 that adds 2.5- / 3.5-inch SATA HDD and USB Slave functionality, HDMI 1.3a support (for full HD audio pass-through) and an optical S/PDIF to replace the coaxial S/PDIF socket. For those of you looking for even more flexibility, you can take a look at the outfit's new B-110 Baseline. This "Home Theater Motherboard" arrives with the media enthusiast in mind, boasting support for HDMI 1.3a, optical / coaxial S/PDIF connectors, four USB 2.0 ports and a mini-ITX form factor. Both pieces should ship out within two to four weeks, but considering just how sticky things were when the A-100 launched, we'd tack on a few weeks to that estimation just in case.

[Thanks, Stephen and Jeff]

Before you get all excited, we must remember that more often than not, Apple patent applications never amount to anything. That being said, this one is certainly within the realm of feasibility. A recent app dug up over at MacNN details an iTunes TV broadcast service that would theoretically beam out content to your iPod or iPhone via an adapter. The somewhat vague verbiage also mentions a "tagging" system of sorts, possibly one that could fetch content based on what you enjoy. In all honesty, we can't say we'd be champing at the bit to have some gaudy dongle hanging from our dock connector just to catch up on TV -- after all, there are far superior TV-friendly products out there than those from Cupertino -- but we can't deny that it would probably be a hit. Stay tuned, this one could get interesting.

Forget about waiting for Niveus to open up its slick Movie Library to the public, now that the Open Media Library is available. The GPL v3-licensed project just rolled out the 0.1 beta version, designed for users to access their entire movie library and associated metadata (actors, summary, etc.) no matter the format, through extenders like the Xbox 360 or HP MediaSmart Connect. Turning Media Center Extenders into DVD streamers has been done before, but this should streamline things even further, with the added bonus of playing back Blu-ray and HD DVD rips. If you've got Vista Media Center, check it out and give some feedback for future editions.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

Read - Release Announcement
Read - Feature List

Brando's SATA HDD Stage Rack doesn't stay the same for very long, as it seems a new iteration keeps popping up every month or so. The latest (and greatest, might we add) is the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock, which enables users to slap in any ole 2.5- / 3.5-inch SATA hard drive and access it via USB. That's not all, though. This one also provides an SD card slot, S-Video / composite / component outputs and a bundled remote -- what for, you ask? So you can play back MPEG1/2/4, XviD and DivX (among others) files, of course. This takes multifaceted to an entirely different platform, huh?

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

Meridian's multi-thousand dollar F80 has long since been just a pipe dream for those looking for a tabletop audio system, but one of the biggest gripes about the spectacular device was the inexplicable omission of an iPod dock. Now, Meridian is out to remedy that problem by introducing the i80 Universal Dock for iPod. Able to play nice with dock-connecting iPods and iPhones, this dock integrates "nicely" into the aforesaid F80 and will be available with clip-on red / yellow trims for those with vivid tastes. Wash that $399 away this August, or go for broke by dropping $3,395 on the i80 / F80 kit.

[Via Trendy Gadget]

Surely you remember Boxee, right? After launching in June on the Mac with the promise of a Linux distro (and Windows, too) not far behind, this open-source media streaming application has finally gone live on Ubuntu 7.10 and 8.04. The creators reckoned that by covering Gutsy Gibbon and Hardy Heron users, most everyone interested would be covered, and we have to say we agree with that assessment. It should be noted that said software still has potential kinks, and there are currently a number of alpha testers toying with it in order to send in feedback and get things ironed out. More intriguing here, however, is the possibility for this version to slide into set-top-boxes or standalone players that are built on Linux-based platforms, but for now, why not hit the read link and give it a go on your very own machine. Let us know how it turns out, alright?