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Free Stuff: Watch Dogs 2, Sunstone, and Peacock

Read More Weekend Gamer Wow, Epic Games is giving away some great free games. Last week, they offered Grand Theft Auto V and this week it’s Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. Normally these are $60 games, but free, I’m definitely signing up and doing two-factor, anything you guys want. …

Read more Weekend Gamer

WATCH DOGS 2
ubisoft.com

The idea behind the Watch Dogs 2 giveaway was you were required to watch the game maker’s livestream called Ubisoft Forward. Unfortunately, people who watched it didn’t receive their free copy. One of the problems was that you were required to have your Twitch and Ubisoft account linked or you had to use their Uplay client. People couldn’t log in, people didn’t link their accounts, people just got really mad at Ubisoft.

To make good at their failed experiment, Ubisoft has decided to just give away the game to anyone that registered with their account over at register.ubisoft.com.

You’ll receive an email saying that you’ve received Watch Dogs 2 and various in-game content in your account.

Anyway, I never bought the first Watch Dogs… but now having Watch Dogs 2, I might go back to the first game if I like the second (especially if there is a sale).

Ubisoft’s upcoming Watch Dogs Legion will arrive in stores on October 29, 2020.

SUNSTONE
imagecomics.com

Artist/writer Stjepan Šejić recently offered fans all six volumes of his adult comic book Sunstone for free on digital... adding, “If you prefer them in print, they are available in bookstores like Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Book Depository, Amazon and some comic stores.”

I love the idea that digital comics should be free (or at least very low-costing), since I feel that digital version costs almost as much (if not sometime more), than their print version. That doesn’t make any sense to me, considering that with digital, you don’t have to pay for ink, paper, distribution, comic store shelves, mail, storage, etc.

Anyway, after working on his Black Label comic Harleen, Šejić expressed his dissatisfaction with working with DC Comics. Even though his work may have had a wider reach, it doesn’t make up the point that Šejić won’t own his Harleen creation. Instead, it is the property of DC Comics… and if they choose to in the future, they can hire someone else to write another Harleen series - much like how they dishonor Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ work on Watchmen by releasing Before Watchmen comics.

Anyway, before you download Sunstone, be aware that the book is geared towards adults… so lots of weird sex/bondage stuff. Download at dropbox.com

PEACOCK
peacocktv.com

Look, I hate NBC’s name for their streaming service Peacock. I mean, how can they get away with the words pea and cock in the same word ? Also, just the idea of a Peacock doesn’t exactly conjure up images of a streaming service.

I actually had no interest in yet another streaming service. The space is just too crowded. You have Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, CBS, Roku, Apple TV, and recently HBO Max and Disney+. How can Peacock compete with these other services? Well, their answer is that it’s FREE.

Well, you’ll still have advertisements, but considering that you still get ads with CBS and Hulu, despite paying for their services… a free with ads for Peacock is appealing. There is a non-ad version they are calling “Peacock Premium” (also includes additional contents not available in the free version), which is about $5 a month. However, before I pay, I really need to see what contents I am getting…

Peacock will go live this Wednesday, July 15, 2020. I’ll check it out and may update this page.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Nvidia Shield

NVIDIA Shield 2017 Read More The Mi Box That left me with my only choice: The Mi Box. If you aren't familiar with the Mi Box, it's a $69 Android TV box sold by Chinese company Xiaomi. When you get the Mi Box ... Roku I recently purchased the third generation Roku 2 at the end of July. I've been keeping an eye on the Roku for a long time, but have finally decided to get one based on the fact that they now support DLNA. ... Apple TV Apple TV is the only one that supports iTunes purchased movies and "Air Play", but if you don't live in the Apple Universe, a workaround is with UltraViolet (via Flixster or Vudu). You can read more about UltraViolet here. ...

It’s been about three years since I purchased The Mi Box and it was just time I needed to upgrade the device.

I know the trend right now are Micro PCs, but I don’t think it’s an elegant solution, since Windows 10’s fonts are tiny, sitting 10 feet away - and not to mention that you still have to use a mouse and keyboard to navigate.

Android TV (which includes Amazon’s limited version called Fire TV), Roku, and Apple TV, are basically the main three competitors in this streaming box market. I have own all three types and I love and hate them all. Many of you already have one of these boxes, and they’re fine for most of you. I just find that Roku and Apple are very limited in what you can actually do with their boxes.

I wanted the best of the best Android TV, and eventually just bought the Nvidia Shield when they had a sale. I was holding out for a new model of this device (since the internal hardware had not been changed since its launch in 2015), but I eventually gave in.

The new smaller 2017 version (with new redesigned controller) is the model I bought, and to be perfectly honest, it’s still a very good streaming box, thanks to the Tegra X1 chip (with 3GB of RAM). It’s fast enough to run any Android software and seems to handle 4k content better than most TV devices of its kind.

Overall, I’m still very happy with the Nvidia Shield and it’s the only device that I use regularly on my TV.

Pros:

The best, fastest, most updated Android TV on the market

4k/HDR/Dolby Atmos 7.1 support

Voice Control and Google Assistant

NVIDIA GeForce Now (currently FREE)

The only Android TV device that can officially run Amazon Prime Videos (Amazon and Google

Game controller is the best I’ve used on any streaming box

Ability to control Shield with Google Home Hub

Can run Dolphin Emulator (other devices on the market are not fast enough to run this software)

Official Google Play store apps, like Kodi, MAME4droid, Snes9x EX+

Supports Google Music and Amazon Music!

Ability to sideload any APK applications, such as Morpheus TV, StopAds, Adblocker

Shield exclusive games, like Doom 3, Tomb Raider, Half-Life 2

Cons:

The most expensive Android TV on the market

No Micro SD reader (found in the original 2015 model, but not in the latest model)

Small storage (only 16GB)

Short battery life on the game controller

Remote controller does not have volume control

Remote controller is flimsy

Remote controller’s batteries are not rechargeable

Needs a special base to stand the Shield upright

The Shield will unwantedly turn on (or off) the TV

I actually hated the remote controller that came with the Shield … so I’m using the game controller for everything and may be the reason why I’m complaining about the controller’s battery life. I find myself recharging it every other day, and it’s a little annoying.

The small storage and lack of SD card reader isn’t really a deal breaker, because you can address this with a rather large USB stick or USB Harddrive. For most people looking to just stream their content, 16GB will be fine for them.

As for the Shield turning on and off the TV, you can disable this “feature” under CEC power management, so it’s not a big deal.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

The Mi Box

Mi Box Specification Output resolution Up to 4K 60fps Processor Quad-core Cortex-A53 2.0GHz GPU Mali 450 750MHz RAM 2GB DDR3 Storage 8GB of on-board storage Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Dual-band Wi-Fi 2.4GHz/5GHz Bluetooth 4.0/3.0 Video VP9 Profile-2 up to 4K x 2K @ 60fps H.265 HEVC MP-10 at L5.1, up to 4K x 2K at 60fps H.264 AVC HPat L5.1, up to 4K x 2K at 30fps H.264 MVC, up to 1080P at 60fps Supports HDR10/HLG HDR processing (software upgrade required) Sound DTS 2.0+ Digital Out, Dolby Digital Plus Up to 7.1 pass through Ports HDMI: HDMI 2.0a x 1 port (HDCP 2.2) USB: USB 2.0 x 1 port AV: SPDIF Out / 3.5mm audio output x 1 port Power: 1 port Software Android TV 6.0 Dimensions and weight 101 x 101 x 19.5mm 176.5g Color Black Read More Roku So, I previously poo-poo the Roku because it did not support YouTube. You know, the most popular video service in the world and Roku just didn't work with it? It's sad and lame, in my opinion. ....

I recently upgraded my television to a Samsung 4k (UHD). It's only 40-inch, but it's big enough for me (especially for the sale price). My current first-gen PS4 isn't powerful enough for 4k (or wasn't really design to output at that resolution), and, at of this writing, only the Xbox One S and the new PS4 Pro offers 4k support. Unfortunately, I'm not going to re-buy a PS4 and I'm patiently waiting for the Xbox One Scorpio... so I can't just buy the current Xbox (although I really want to get it it now).

The 4k problem is actually the lack of content. Streaming 4k is not a great option, because my internet cannot handle streaming it. Downloading it takes forever... and not to mention the sheer takes up too much valuable disc space on my harddrive. 4k discs are being sold, but are limited to certain popular titles and at an extra cost. Discs are priced at usually at $30, which is $10+ more than Bluray discs. Plus, unless you got an Xbox One S, 4k disc players is an added $150 or more extra cost.

Basically, it's a chicken and egg problem, but eventually 4k is the future. For collectors, the steelbooks and special packaging are only available on Bluray, so they're not migrating any time soon.

So why would you want a 4k TV? Let me break it down to you: the image quality is much better than a standard 1080 screen. It's not just my imagination, because the pixels look smoother/sharper because the image is upscale on the same display size. The smaller the dots, the better it looks... but only if you have really good 20/20 vision (or look closely at the display).

The other cool thing about my Samsung set is that it comes with apps, so if you're watching TV, you can click on the extra icon to see the latest weather or play minesweeper, etc. Although you can install apps directly on the TV, the Samsung App store is severely limited.

My only 4k streaming box options right now are: Roku 4, Chromecast Ultra, Nvidia Shield, or the Mi Box. Having own the Roku 2, I was not impressed with its inability to turn off or that it does not support multiple audio or even something simple as subtitle support.

As for the Chromecast, you basically need an Android Phone (which I currently don't own), and the Nvidia Shield is just too expensive ($200 for the base model and the remote is an extra $50, and the stand is $30)..... so that left me with my only choice: The Mi Box. If you aren't familiar with the Mi Box, it's a $69 Android TV box sold by Chinese company Xiaomi.

When you get the Mi Box, I suggest getting the Kodi app (formerly known as XBMC) so you can stream your local DNLA or add streaming video playlists. Kodi is really just the best app, I've used it on various platform. It will play everything, and it does multiple audio and multiple subtitles. It's really the only video player you need.

Some things I do not like about the Mi Box:

Power cord is not very long and seemingly exclusive to Mi Box (meaning you can’t just swap it out for another longer cable).

Limited to only Android TV selections (this is a Google limitation)

Voice search is not very good (again, this is a Google limitation)

Chromecast did not really work for me on some applications I tried.

No Apple Mirror (this is an Apple restriction/DRM issue)

One USB, no SD card reader

Some things I love about the Mi Box:

Has all the Apps I like: Haystack, Pluto TV, Kodi, etc.

Game option with the Mi Controller (may buy one if I find it in stores)

Cheap! $69

Small and compact design.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Roku 2 (Third Generation)

Read More Roku So, I previously poo-poo the Roku because it did not support YouTube. You know, the most popular video service in the world and Roku just didn't work with it? It's sad and lame, in my opinion. ....

I recently purchased the third generation Roku 2 at the end of July. I've been keeping an eye on the Roku for a long time, but have finally decided to get one based on the fact that they now support DLNA.

The new Roku 2 is basically the same as the Roku 3, but minus the gaming function, the motion controller (with built-in audio), and voice search. That's okay to me, I don't think I want to game on this thing and I would rather save $30.

Pros:

The Ethernet port is back (which was missing in previous revisions)

USB support. This is important if you watch digital films via USB sticks or portable USB harddrives. It has enough power to power up the portable drives (unlike the Raspberry Pi 2, which probably need an upgraded power source?).

It's fast and it's very simple to use

YouTube has fewer ads than PS3 or PS4

Cons:

No OFF button! You have to always keep it on. I have to physically unplug the device.

You will need a credit card to activate the Roku. I couldn't find a way to skip this process - even though I read that you could.

Media Player does not support multiple audio or subtitles.

I have a Raspberry Pi 2 and an OUYA for comparison (see how they stack up on the image). The OUYA is the worst of the three products, it's big and the gaming controller is clunky and poorly designed. Its WiFi chip simply does not work if you move it into another room. I've read solution that people had to buy WiFi bridge to plug into the Ethernet port to get it to work.

All three devices will play your local USB media, access DLNA, play your local MP3s, etc.... but using the Roku is the easiest because of their simple remote controller. If you use Netflix, Amazon video, RDIO, or Sling - they have dedicated buttons for those apps!

The Raspberry Pi 2 is the superior media streaming device, however it's not always normal people friendly. You have to nerd around with it, downloading O/S and keeping it updated. Plus, it's bare-bones... meaning that the $35 CPU board is the start. Your final cost is probably closer to $100 or more. However, if you get it going, it does it all: multiple audio tracks, multiple subtitles (exterior or softcode!).... basically everything a tiny Linux computer can do, the RP2 can do it too.

If you're looking for options, I recommend the RP2... if you just want an easy to use media box, the new Roku 2 has a lot to offer.

Compare	RP2	Roku 2	OUYA
Price	$35 - $100	$69	$99
HDMI	YES	YES	YES
Ethernet	YES	YES	YES
USB	YES (4)	YES (1)	YES (1)
Remote	Keyboard (addon)	Remote Control	Controller
Wireless	WiFi dongle (addon)	WiFi (dualband)	WiFi (barely works)

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ itunes.apple.com

Gaming Report: Might & Magic X, Marvel Heroes, and Roku 3

Happy post-Chinese New Year! It's the year of the Horse, of course.

Here's your latest gaming update.

Might & Magic X: Legacy Ubisoft Read More Games The Banner Saga, a game by Stoic, released on Tuesday, January 14th, is one of the best games I've ever played. The graphics is hand drawn and reminds me of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings…

MIGHT & MAGIC X
might-and-magic.ubi.com

Ubisoft recently released Might & Magic X: Legacy on Steam last week (January 23rd, 2014). The latest Might and Magic game was developed by Limbic Entertainment and it is a throwback to the classic turn-based style that I've come to know and love.

I've been playing RPG for a long time, it all started with Bard's Tale II and that lead to Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra, followed by the double game The World of Xeen (Might and Magic IV and V). Anyway, I've basically purchased every iteration of the M&M series. When New Worlds Computing (the company that made M&M) went bankrupted in 2003, I thought that was the end of that series.

Imagine my surprise when Might & Magic X: Legacy came out of nowhere!

Might & Magic X: Legacy (Original Game Soundtrack) Ubisoft Music

Might & Magic X: Legacy is available now on Steam for $24.99. A deluxe edition is only $29.99, which will get you Might & Magic VI (who doesn't have a copy?), some DLC (which is not available at this moment), and the digital soundtrack by acclaimed duo of composers, Roc Chen and Jason Graves. For an extra $5, it's totally worth it, considering that the soundtrack alone sells for $7.99.

Anyway, what I've always liked about M&M series is you build your characters from the ground up. Not just one character, but a team of four adventurers. I try and build a balance crew: one tank, one archer, one healer, and one magician. I'm only at level 7 right now, give or take. I may restart the game since I mostly fool around on my first game.

Exploring is part of the fun... although I found myself sometime going into an area with enemies far too much for me to handle. But that's just fine, I'll learn from my mistakes. Games like Oblivion aren't challenging because the baddies scales to your ability!

Anyway, despite fans saying the graphics and play style is a step back, I think they are missing the point. M&M has never been about great graphics and the gameplay is just perfect as turn-based. If you grew up playing these type of RPG games, you'll absolutely love the latest installment of Might & Magic.

Marvel Heroes Gazillion‎ Read More Comic Books FallCon 2013 just took place on Saturday, October 5th. The turnout to this 25-year-old comic book convention was impressive, despite that FallCon for this year, was the smaller of the two cons…

MARVEL HEROES
marvelheroes.com

Marvel Heroes is an free-to-play MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game). What that means is that the base game is free for you, providing that you are always online.

I'm currently playing Hawkeye and it is pretty fun. The gameplay is very similar to Diablo, with lots of clicking and character building. I should stress that I'm fairly early in, so I have not really explore the game in full. Right now, what I've seen, I like, however since I can't switch characters (on the free version), I couldn't tell you how varied or different the other characters play. Hawkeye plays like the rogue character in Diablo.

The good news is that the entire game is free. You can play from beginning to end without having to spend any money.

The bad news is that almost everything extra thing costs money. Granted, most of these things are cosmetic, but you can get ahead much faster if you shell out cash for some unique and powerful weapons. If you don't spend the money, you'll just have to struggle and grind your way up. In some ways, having money, at least to me, is like cheating.

I guess, you can't really complain, it's free. People who can afford it, will buy extra costumes, etc. Which brings me to this: items are expensive. For example, to get just one Scarlet Witch Costume costs $10! To me, the costume should be like $1!

If you have unlimited internet and have a computer requirement, you should check out Marvel Heroes.

YouTube on Roku 3 photo credit: roku.com Read More Roku As you know, I'm always looking for 'the next thing' when it comes to watching my video content on the big screen at home. I was rather disappointed in Sony Media Streaming for $50. After Sony updated their software, it now supports H.264 …

ROKU
roku.com

Not exactly gaming, unless you could Angry Bird on the Roku...

So, I previously poo-poo the Roku because it did not support YouTube. You know, the most popular video service in the world and Roku just didn't work with it? It's sad and lame, in my opinion.

However, all that's changed last month (December 2013), when Roku announced that Roku 3 will now support YouTube. This is perfect.

You might think that's awesome, unfortunately every Roku pre-version 3 are quite upset about the news. They bring up some valid points, it's YouTube, even a low-powered first generation iPod Touch can run YouTube - what gives? Vice President, Content Acquisition of Roku Ed Lee responded, "We'd like to stress that it is a priority for us to make YouTube available on more Roku devices next year — including Roku 2, Roku 1 and Roku LT players. It will not be available for the oldest models (introduced prior to 2011)."

NOTE: Roku still DOES NOT SUPPORT DLNA or UPnP.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

Roku vs WD TV Play vs Apple TV: FIGHT!

As you know, I'm always looking for 'the next thing' when it comes to watching my video content on the big screen at home. I was rather disappointed in Sony Media Streaming for $50. After Sony updated their software, it now supports H.264 streaming - but it's very slow. The box often delay playing by pre-downloading content via DLNA and can take up to 3 minutes to play back a 720p file.

With these streaming media boxes, you can listen to Pandora, MOG, Spotify, or local music (via DLNA or AirPlay).

Anyway, Western Digital just entered into the market for streaming media box, which is a natural evolution from their already-established WD TV player (Play now supports YouTube and Vudu, etc). So how does it stack up against their competitors? I've put together a checklist of things I'm interested in (Amazon Prime, DLNA support, YouTube…), everything else I don't really care about.

NOTE: Flixster (Ultraviolet) is compatible with VUDU if you link your two accounts together. What that means is movies you own on UV can be accessed on Vudu - unless there are rights issues (some movies are exclusive to Vudu or vice-versa). For the most part, I'm lumping Flixster and Vudu together as one item.

Product:	Roku 2 XS	WD TV Play	Apple TV
Price:	$99.99 (on sale $84.87)	$69.99	$99.99
WiFi:	YES	YES	YES
Ethernet:	YES	YES	YES
DLNA:	NO	YES	NO
Bluetooth:	YES (limited to Roku remote only)	NO	YES (limited to Apple Wireless Keyboard only)
Video Outputs:	Up to 1080p	Up to 1080p	Up to 1080p
AVI:	NO	YES	YES
MP4/Mpeg:	YES	YES	YES
MKV:	NO	YES	NO
Subtitles:	NO	YES (SRT, ASS, SSA, SUB, SMI, MKV)	NO
HDMI	YES	YES	YES
Composite	YES	YES	NO
Expansion:	USB 2.0, microSD card	USB 2.0	NO
Netflix:	YES	YES	YES
Hulu Plus:	YES	YES	YES
YouTube:	NO (Roku 3: YES)	YES	YES
Amazon Instant Video:	YES	NO	NO
Crackle:	YES	YES	NO
Vudu/Flixster:	YES (both)	YES (Vudu)	NO
Spotify:	NO	YES	NO
Pandora:	YES	YES	NO
MOG:	YES	YES	NO
Total:	15	19	10

So here's the breakdown: WD TV is the only one that supports DLNA. Apple TV is the only one that supports iTunes purchased movies and "Air Play", but if you don't live in the Apple Universe, a workaround is with UltraViolet (via Flixster or Vudu). You can read more about UltraViolet here.

Note: Roku 2 is the only box that works with Amazon Prime, but I'm sure Amazon will eventually make their way to WD. Roku 2 also doesn't really play local content (it doesn't even support AVI) and what kind of box doesn't support YouTube???

Based on the $70 retail price and its functionality, at least to me, it seems like my next streaming box that I will purchase. The LEAST attractive box is the Apple TV… but it does support their iTunes ecosystem, and for some people, that's really all that matters. I believe, looking at the trends, that Apple TV will introduce a new product that will ultimately support "apps" based on their iPad iOS apps.

Currently, the only media box that does it all is my PS3, which I'm quite happy with - but there is a huge $300 price to entry that is off putting to most people. PS3 is the only machine that plays Blu-Ray, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, Hulu Plus… and because the hardware was built for games - it's so much smoother and faster than any stand-alone box I've played around with. If you are thinking about getting an Xbox instead: don't bother. Nothing will work unless you pay Microsoft an extra $80 a year for their so-called "Gold" service. Imagine paying extra to access YouTube, you fanboys love it.

PS, this is a cross-post on movies.weheartmusic.com.

UPDATE 02/01/2014: As of mid-December 2013, Roku now supports YouTube. Note that only Roku 3 will have YouTube at this time.

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic