Netflix hire reveals "Internet TV" division: downloads coming to ...

We're still not so sure how this newfangled "internets" thing is going to work out, but Netflix seems enamored with the technology, and has set up a whole Internet TV division to push movies and TV shows over that series of tubes. Today Netflix appointed ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood to the VP position of the group, whose "invented the DVR, founded Roku" and "good written and verbal communication" resume items make him a natural choice for freeing those media downloads from PC shackles to make the trek into the living room and onto your television. "The company has taken the first step - and an innovative one - in offering online video to its members," said Mr. Wood, "and I'm here to work with a range of partners to get that video to the television, where consumers watch most of their movies." We knew Netflix had a good bit of this stuff in the works, but it's nice to see 'em come clean and take a proactive stance on this, especially since this war for PC-to-living room supremacy is sure to be a bloody one.[Via Zatz Not Funny].

Gear up for an audio escape

Unless you live alone in a house in the woods, you can't crank up the volume on your favorite computer game without annoying someone. But what good is a game with a super surround-sound audio track if you have to tone it down and squeeze it through little desktop speakers? New Ear Force HPA2 headphones from Turtle Beach can put you in the action without putting you in the doghouse. These aren't any ordinary headphones -- they can deliver full-spectrum audio, including front, rear, center and subwoofer channels.The setup comes with a tiny amplifier built into the headphone cable with dials for fine-tuning each channel. You can
plug in a detachable microphone for trash talking during online games, and you get a set of splitter plugs so your sound card can feed both the headphones and an external audio system.

Now that's remote control

Over the past few years, Tellywood has certainly been giving couch potatoes more reason to watch the boob tube, while hardware makers have been beavering away to make sure we don't miss much. For its part, Sling Media is taking the couch and your giant screen out of the equation with its Slingbox, which allows you to control and watch your own TV from anywhere in the world, or from the next room. Originally released in 2005, the unit is now in its second generation, and allows you to control such devices as a DVD player, a personal video recorder or even a camcorder. The newer models have also been given video chips with a higher octane content.

Tags: digital tv on pc, direct tv satellite system, watch tv on pc, mobile satellite tv