Items tagged with Content
The future of television may not rest in the hands of typical content creators. Or, perhaps not directly in the hands of the same distribution channels that we're used to. While ISPs have typically been the ultimate gatekeepers for content, smaller firms like Amazon and Netflix are quietly paving the way for a new type of distribution that...
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Intel is getting into the TV business, that much we already knew. But how soon? That's a question that's seemingly close to being answered. According to a new Bloomberg report, Intel -- the chip-making giant -- is "making progress in talks with Time Warner, NBC Universal and Viacom to obtain TV shows and films for a...
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For AT&T U-verse TV subscribers, life just got a little better. If you're wondering why those monthly fees are so high, no doubt a solid chunk of 'em are headed to ESPN. But now, AT&T is joining the WatchESPN fray, giving U-verse TV patrons the ability to stream live ESPN channels on the go via the Web, mobile, or app. Oh, and through...
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Slowly but surely, the television is becoming just another place to watch content. Increasingly, savvy users are choosing to engage with content on mobile devices, and even notebooks. Now, Time Warner Cable is allowing its pay-TV subscribers to access a wealth of on-demand content from twctv.com, so long as you're surfing with a PC or Mac....
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Intel being in the set-top business isn't news. The company has been producing SoCs that are ideal for boxes that hum along 24/7 handling media-related tasks, and while these chips aren't nearly as well-known as the Xeons and Pentiums of the world, they're being shipped in a large amount of products. But what if we told you those shipments...
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Cord cutting is still pretty painful. You can get some content through Hulu Plus, a bit through Roku, and a lot via Netflix or Amazon. But live sporting events and certain dramas are still locked away in the pay-TV word, far away from those using the Internet to get their content fix. But YouTube is moving in a...
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These days, retail companies are moving in all sorts of interesting new directions in a bid to remain interesting. Just look at Toys R Us, which is not only offering a tablet this holiday season, but will also be launching a new family-friendly digital entertainment service. The program is called Toys R Us Movies...
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Sad days for Blockbuster. The once mighty video rental chain has fallen on hard times in a world where Netflix, VUDU and other video streaming services are proving more affordable and convenient. There was, however, a glimmer of hope. Charlie Ergen had planned to have Dish Network acquire Blockbuster from bankruptcy in April of 2011, and then...
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In America, you can't have your cake and eat it to, but in Scandinavia, you can. Allow us to explain. Throngs of HBO content lovers have requested that HBO allow its HBO Go services to be paid for on a per-user basis, but in America, HBO forces you to have a pay-TV subscription to HBO before it's ever an option. It's...
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Can you believe it's been a year since Spotify launched in the US? Since then, the music streaming outlet has enjoyed tremendous growth. In the past year, Americans have played more than 13 billion tracks on the service. Sharing is even more popular, with 27,834,742 being shared. A little over half of that sharing...
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Strangely, it feels like DRM is getting a second wind. When Apple announced that the iTunes Music Store would go DRM-free, the world took notice. A few years later, DRM is creeping back, and we suspect this wave will be harder to stop. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group...
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There's something pretty interesting happening in the world of online programming: original content. While Hulu and Netflix were used to simply acting as an online pipe to funnel other programming through, recently they have both decided to start investing in making their own content. In other words, creating programming that can only be seen...
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Glasses-free 3D -- it's the wave of the future, man. Actually, the jury is still out on 3D as a whole, but that won't stop a flood of companies from trying to hop on the bandwagon at CES next year. Stream TV Networks is preparing to launch a new 3D-without-glasses product line at the convention, using a proprietary Ultra-D technology. Stream...
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Netflix may have taken some seriously flack earlier in the month for the spin-off of their DVD rental business, but it looks like it's back to good news today. Well, sort of. The company just landed a deal with DreamWorks Animation -- a multi-year premium pay-TV window agreement that stands solely in the U.S. for now...
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Does physical media really have a future? The world seems to be rapidly moving away from discs and DVDs, and streaming media is swooping in to take their place. Orb Networks has just launched a service that can provide free streaming of premium online TV shows, sports, movies, and more. The new offering...
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Netflix took a beating this week as they raised prices without actually providing a fundamental improvement in their offerings, but at least there's some bright news in the Netflix camp to focus on. Netflix streaming is now available on one of the most popular handheld gaming consoles out there: Nintendo's 3DS. Starting now, 3DS owners in...
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There's a lot of talk these days surrounding 3D. It's obviously the hottest topic around in the cinema business, but it's also getting a lot of attention in the consumer universe. Sales of 3DTVs has analysts and companies alike buzzing, and while many suggest that the adoption has been relatively slow and lackluster...
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Are you a Comcast subscriber? Judging by their massive customer base, there's a pretty good chance you are, or at least that someone you know is. And if so, you've probably ventured out to try the new Xfinity TV app, which aims to extend the Pay-TV universe into the world of the iPad and iPhone. For Comcast subscribers, this is the easiest...
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The title pretty much says it all here. Hulu has just made available an update (v2.3) for Hulu Plus on iOS, which brings new search results that are organized into tabs, amongst other things. There's also a new dedicated button on the Movies menu for our popular and growing Criterion movie collection. The company's also making "a number of...
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It's not unusual for Hulu to block access on mobile devices, and it's not even expected if the device doesn't support Flash. But when RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook launched earlier in the month, a pretty nice Easter Egg was found: Hulu support! But that didn't last too long. Around a day after launching, the PlayBook suddenly stopped loading Hulu,...
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VUDU has remained one of the only movie streaming services that deliver true 1080p material. The vast majority of them peak at 720p, but VUDU XL is 1080p. And proud of it. But even VUDU knows that the web is the future, and if you aren't streaming through a browser, you're missing out on a major chunk of the market. The company has this week...
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There's no question that Internet TV has changed the entire entertainment landscape. Pay-TV providers don't have the assurances they once had, and now they're branching out and providing all sorts of extra services in an effort to entice consumers to stay who might otherwise ditch cable / satellite and rely solely on Hulu / Netflix for their...
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