Steam's Big Picture Mode -- a TV- and controller-friendly version of Valve's widely used digital gaming service -- is the first volley in Valve's big living room push.
So when I faced the TV and held the controller directly in front me, the controller screen displayed the same straight-ahead point of view as the TV.
Other uses (which appear a little more conceptual) see Woven as a workout companion, TV remote, Wii controller, social network alerter or simply a fashion accessory.
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And, of course, being able to pump those graphics to either the controller or the TV is a nice touch.
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Should Junior want to catch up on his favorite flick while you're on a Breaking Bad marathon, the reverse will also work: the video can play on the controller while the TV is at most used to show what's playing, and more likely switched over to your DVR.
Using a simple, bundled remote controller, the Logitech TV Cam HD lets you call anyone using Skype on any platform, whether they are on their smartphone, tablet, HDTV or computer.
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The Wii U has a touch-screen tablet controller called GamePad and a TV-watching feature called TVii.
It's a full-featured Android tablet, a full-featured gaming console with a controller when docked on the TV and it's a smart TV device.
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Each game in the Wii U Virtual Console library has been developed to include off-TV play on the Wii U GamePad controller, customizable controls, Miiverse community support and the ability to instantly save game progress.
"Google TV is an ideal platform for cloud gaming and we have tacked the obstacles to achieving low latency streaming game experience with multi gaming controller devices support on Google TV, " said Wesley Kuo, CEO of Ubitus.
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The Wii controller's resemblance to a TV remote sure hasn't been lost on us -- hence the affectionate "Wiimote" moniker that most people have assigned to the unique little controller -- but it doesn't look like it's been lost on Nintendo either.
With it, the console's touch-screen GamePad controller becomes a remote control for your TV and set-top box.
Customers can control the volume or mute with a regular TV remote or with one of the free Sonos Controller apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac or PC.
In the click of a button, I had both straight-ahead point of view (on the TV) and a rear view mirror (on the controller).
Nintendo's Wii U tablet controller thankfully streamlines that process in a small, but tremendously meaningful way: during initial console setup, you're prompted to sync your television and the tablet controller, allowing the tablet itself to control the TV's power, volume, channels, and input directly.
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Looks like Nintendo didn't want to wait for its proper E3 press conference to spill some Wii U details early -- it just used its preview event to show the finished version of the Wii U controller, called the Gamepad, as well as a TV remote app.
ENGADGET: Nintendo shows final Wii U Gamepad, TV remote app (update: video)
For remote controls and game controllers, this enables the MotionEngine to run on the controller, on a USB dongle, or directly on a TV or set-top box system-on-a-chip (SoC).
Essentially, if the TV was the driver of the vehicle, looking straight ahead, the controller was a passenger, free to pan and tilt their head to look in absolutely any direction.
By using a controller device called the WACI NX you could turn on the TV, turn on the XBOX, switch to the correct input on the TV, and send the PLAY command to XBMC all in 1 button press on your PSP.
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PrimeSense, the Israel-based company that provided some of the technology behind Kinect, has partnered with ASUS and is demoing the WAVI Xtion, a pair of boxes that wirelessly link your PC and TV together, and allow you to access content on both through the controller-free PrimeSense 3D system.
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Because it was born to play games, has the hands-free Kinect controller and sports a hefty hard drive, the Xbox is the strongest player in interactive TV.
Magic Remote, Dual Play and the controller app for smartphones demonstrate our commitment to bringing a better gaming experience to CINEMA 3D Smart TV owners.
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Members using the Wii U GamePad controller benefit from an improved user experience, including the ability to view video content on both the TV and GamePad, or access details of films or TV shows (such as casting or episode lists) when browsing the LOVEFiLM Instant library.
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