How to stream Spotify to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and digital radios

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Spotify may have launched its iPhone and Android apps, but how about streaming the Spotify sounds to other devices in the home, such as games consoles and digital radios? After all, many of us have expensive speaker systems connected to the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, while the speakers found on the average laptop give even Barry White the nasally whine of the Bee Gees.

Although the Spotify software itself doesn’t support streaming to other devices, it’s perfectly possible to do so with the third-party software, Jamcast. What’s more, the Jamcast software is completely free of charge and (unlike the iPhone/Android software) you don’t need a premium Spotify account to take advantage.

(more…)

iPhone: a return to the golden age of gaming?

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

When I were a lad, a new computer game didn’t cost the same as a tank of petrol. I remember eagerly scanning the shelves of my local WH Smith, hoping to find a new release among the stacks of Commodore 64 tapes priced at £2.99. If I hadn’t given my mum too much lip that week, I might even have been able to persuade her to part with £3.99 for one of the premium titles, such as The Way of the Exploding Fist.

The era of the low-budget game pretty much died with the Commodore 64, Spectrum and Amstrad era. Before long the Amiga and the Atari ST had raised the budget bar to £9.99 – not so much an impulse purchase, as a couple of weeks pocket money at the very least.

Yet, that was nothing compared to the inflation of the console era. New PlayStation titles routinely cost £30. Today, a brand new Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 title can set you back £50. I sympathise with the parents I see dragging their disappointed offspring away from the game aisles in Tesco, explaining they simply can’t afford the latest releases. For my mum it was a couple quid on top of her copy of the Daily Mail and Woman’s Weekly; for today’s mums it’s almost as much as the weekly shopping bill.

(more…)

Will Microsoft’s Project Natal prove a joy for business too?

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

At first glance, the “demonstrated, ready to ship but really just not yet” Microsoft Project Natal looks fascinating. Finally a push forward on the otherwise tired Xbox 360 platform which, despite being a strong games console, has yet to really integrate into the house.

I know it can do media streaming and all those other goodness things. But in terms of actually delivering notable benefits, this has been a second-class citizen compared to a Media Center computer once you move outside of the games market.

But perhaps this is changing. Certainly, the announcement that Sky will be streaming video to it is interesting, albeit only for those on large bandwidth connections and with the approval of their ISPs. (more…)

New BBC iPlayer: good news for PC and Xbox 360 owners

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

The BBC has once again overhauled the iPlayer, with the new service far outrstripping the derisory first effort that was launched back in September 2007. The big additions are a new desktop download client and HD streaming/downloads – we’ll be bringing you a full review later in the week. However, a new feature that’s slipped under the radar is potentially the most useful for PC owners: direct WMV downloads.

If you go to any show on the iPlayer menu, you’ll now find an option called More Downloads, under which there’s an option called Windows Media Player. This basically bypasses the new Adobe AIR-based desktop client and downloads the programme directly as a .WMV file.

(more…)

How to watch the BBC iPlayer on the Xbox 360

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Ever since the BBC announced that its iPlayer works perfectly happily with a couple of Media Center Extenders (NetGear’s EVA8000 and the Linksys DMA2200), I’ve been determined to get the service working on my Xbox 360. After all, if the iPlayer works on third-party MCE devices, why the hell shouldn’t it work on Microsoft’s own?

The BBC’s Where To Get iPlayer page suggests getting the service to run on any MCE (or Home Media Hub as the Beeb calls them) should be a piece of cake. Simply download the programmes as normal on your PC, open Windows Media Center and add the iPlayer downloads folder to your Media Center library, then jump on to your MCE device and simply play back the relevant files from the comfort of your TV. Robert is your dad’s brother.

Except it doesn’t work on the Xbox 360. Well, at least not my Xbox 360, nor those of a couple of colleagues I’ve spoken to. Although judging by numerous internet forums, it seems to work flawlessly for some people. When I click on downloaded programmes using the Xbox 360’s MCE, however, I’m presented with a blue screen displaying the message:

“Video Error. Files needed to display video are not installed or not working correctly.”

(more…)