Hasta La Gadget!

Coming nearly on the anniversary of its US launch, the UltraViolet digital locker system is getting a boost in the UK from BBC Worldwide. The BBC’s commercial wing is releasing four Blu-ray / DVD titles that are UltraViolet-enabled and is partnering with Warner-owned Flixster to allow users to redeem their copies. The digital versions are available via streaming and downloading for viewing on or offline, and the first four titles queued up consist of Doctor Who Series 7 Part One, Rollercoaster, a new Top Gear special and Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild. UltraViolet was already live in the UK, and recently announced it’s spreading to cover Canada, Ireland and Australia. We’ll see how users like the signup process with its multiple logins, but a quick check of previous Blu-ray releases didn’t show any iTunes or Windows Media digital copies at all so at least they’ll appreciate the option.

Continue reading BBC Worldwide announces first four Blu-ray / DVDs with UltraViolet digital copies

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

BBC Worldwide announces first four Blu-ray / DVDs with UltraViolet digital copies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BBC has launched a new app dedicated to streaming radio, with the new iPlayer Radio app able to wake you up for your favorite show, play back on-demand content, all with an intuitive interface. Navigated through a virtual “dial” on the touchscreen of an iOS or, eventually, Android device, or via mouse on the PC version, the iPlayer Radio app supports alarms for live broadcasts.

If your show of choice has already aired, however, you can access it from individual BBC station pages as a catch-up instead. Program reminders are supported, as well as social networking integration to let you know what friends are listening to.

Although audio is the priority, the app will also feature video content and other downloads, though for the moment it’s not possible to grab a track for offline playback. The BBC says that functionality is in the pipeline for a future version, however.

Also incoming is more customized content by individual DJs and radio personalities, which the BBC says should be added over the coming months. You’ll need to be in the UK – or have a UK iTunes account – to actually access the app, however.

BBC iPlayer Radio app launched for phones, tablets and PCs is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

BBC has done very well with it streaming video player called iPlayer. Hordes of computer and mobile device users who enjoy BBC television programs use iPlayer to catch up on their favorite shows on the go. Reports are coming in that BBC is eyeing the launch of a new music streaming service.

According to the reports, the BBC music streaming service will be called Playlister. Reports indicate that the music streaming service will be a pay offering and will provide access to hundreds of thousands of audio tracks without any additional fees. The reports aren’t exactly clear on how the music streaming service would work.

It seems unclear exactly which route BBC will take for the rumored music streaming service with two different possibilities mentioned. One of the possibilities is that BBC is designing a service to make its own archive of music recordings available to subscribers. The other indication is that BBC may work with Spotify, Deezer, or iTunes to get around having to set up its own licensing deals.

BBC has also reportedly hinted at a third possibility. BBC commented, “The BBC is regularly in conversation with digital music providers about how we strengthen radio’s position as the number one place for discovering music in the UK.” That sounds a lot like something that would tie into BBC’s radio station efforts. The BBC has a press conference set for October 8 where we hope more details will be offered.

BBC rumored to have Playlister music streaming service in the works is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Welcome to Tuesday evening, everyone. The afternoon brought us a number of interesting stories, including brand new shots of what appears to be the long-rumored iPad Mini. Speaking of devices with the word “Mini” in their name, some are thinking that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S III Mini next week after German press invitations suggested something along those lines. iOS 6 adoption has hit 60% of Apple’s user base, and we found out today that Motorola has dropped its ITC lawsuit against Apple, but we don’t why just yet.

After announcing its new 4G LTE service last month, EE made headlines a few times today. First, the company put a handful of 4G LTE capable devices up for sale, then brushed aside negative comments from its LTE rivals, and finally, we got to take the iPhone 5 through an EE 4G LTE speed test. One analyst is saying that the problems with Apple Maps aren’t having an effect on iPhone 5 demand, while we learned that most of Microsoft’s temporary retail stores will be opening on October 26. We heard today that Samsung Galaxy S III sales took a jump around the time the verdict in its case against Apple was delivered, as well as when the iPhone 5 was announced, which is interesting to say the least.

The BBC is working on its own music streaming player, and Barnes and Noble has updated its NOOK apps for iOS and Android. AT&T and Time Warner are saying they want the same Kansas City benefits Google received when it launched its fiber network there, while Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was spotted telling both Apple and Android fans to calm down. Microsoft is rumored to be working on a Windows Phone 8 device of its own, and in the wake of the HTC One X+ announcement, we compare HTC’s new flagship side-by-side with the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Lenovo announced today that it will soon be building a plant here in the US, while we got a funny story about Steve Jobs and the opening of new Apple stores today as well. HTC said that the One X and One S will both be getting Jelly Bean updates later this month, while Valve announced that not only has the Left 4 Dead franchise reached 12 million sales, but also that non-game software is now available to purchase from Steam. Finally tonight, Chris Burns has a new interview Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed shows such as the Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory, while Chris Davies examines if HTC is about to make a big comeback. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 2, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The BBC is home to a massive archive of highly desirable music that, sadly, due to licensing reasons, remains gathering dust in is enormous vaults. The Telegraph is reporting that the corporation’s music head, Tim Davie, is trying to put some or all of that material online for users to enjoy without additional charges. He’s said to be in talks with Spotify, Deezer and Apple to help build a service called Playlister, using the trio’s bulk-deals with the record labels to get around the long-winded wrangling that would otherwise be required. If successful, it’ll launch in 2013 free to license-fee paying Brits in a similar fashion to the wildly successful iPlayer — although we’d pay a little extra if Fearne Cotton was excluded from the catalog.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, HD

BBC in talks to build Playlister, a streaming music service for its own music archive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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