PlayStation Vue: Sony’s streaming service comes to Android TV; PC and Mac web support to follow

By tech2 News Staff /  28 Oct 2016 , 16:15

Sony’s streaming service – the Playstation Vue – has launched on Android TV. It will be available on dedicated streaming boxes as well as smart TVs that have Android TV support built in. Web support for PC and Mac will be coming soon said Sony.

PlayStation Vue is Sony’s answer to replacing your cable TV in the US. Subscribers can access from 55 to 100 channels and the prices for the same range from $29.99 (approx Rs 2,000) to $74.99 (approx Rs 5,010) per month. Most of the plans are quite US-specific. You can get the complete list here.

“If you already have a PS Vue account, you can begin streaming your favorite TV content starting today by downloading the PS Vue app on Android TVs running Android OS 4.4 or higher,” said Sony.

New users can sign in to PS Vue for a seven-day free trial through the PS Vue website and then link your account to your Android TV.

The PS Vue is expected to come to PC and Mac web browsers soon and will come with a feature such as ‘mini-player’. This will basically let you shrink the player to the corner of your browser and continue browsing PS Vue.

Xiaomi launches the Mi Box Android TV set-top box for $69

By tech2 News Staff /  04 Oct 2016 , 10:03

Earlier this year we saw Xiaomi partnering with Google to make a standalone device which could convert your TV into an Android TV. The Mi Box seemed to have potential however it never saw a release date, until now. The Chinese giant has finally made Mi Box official which will be heading first to the US with a price of just $69.

This is Xiaomi’s first ever product for the US which first made its appearance earlier this year. While Android TV hasn’t picked up as much as Google’s own Chromecast, it is still quite an intuitive platform. And for those who are concerned, Google Cast as well as Voice Search has been integrated into the Mi Box.

So you can sit back on a comfy couch and cast almost anything from your smartphone to your TV via the Mi Box. You can also do a quick voice search by speaking into the bundled remote, to get results from TV, movies, games and more. Of course you get recommendations and a variety of content including access to the Google Play Store and the plethora of apps.

According to Xiaomi, the Mi Box is powered by a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU and Mali 450 GPU along with 2GB DDR3 RAM and 8GB eMMC flash. It supports 4K and HDR (High Dynamic Range) with support for 60 frames per second and Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Surround Sound, making it a pretty capable set top box in its range.

Currently India only has Sony selling Android TV based television sets which start at about Rs 50,000, which is quite a price. We are assuming that Xiaomi will take its time if it ever plans to bring the Mi Box to India considering the fact that Android TV not very popular here.