If Bravo’s Start-Ups: Silicon Valley makes you gag and, in turn, makes your gags want to gag, you could be in luck. HBO has bought the pilot for a very different Silicon Valley that might serve as an effective antidote to that reality TV schlock. More »
While waiting for season three of Game of Thrones to start airing March 31st, fans of HBO’s series will be able to snag the second season on Blu-ray February 19th. Even if you’ve already seen it (whether on TV, via a borrowed HBO login or…other sources) there should be some new elements with Blu-ray exclusive “HBO Select” features including an interactive “War of the 5 Kings” guide to keep track of who is doing what / where / when, animated histories, in-episode guides with more information on characters (like the iPad companion app did) as they appear and “dragon egg” surprises. Check the press release after the break for a full account of features, or hit Amazon to preorder the 7-disc set (w/ digital copies) for $55.99.
Continue reading Game of Thrones Season Two Blu-ray set arrives February 19th
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Amazon, Game of Thrones (Facebook)
You use HBO Go to watch Game of Thrones and you love it and you totally can’t live without but… do you really pay for it? Or do you use a login from a friend of a cousin of an in-law of a completely random girl? Watch this video where CollegeHumor reveals the hilarious truth about everybody’s HBO Go’s subscription. More »
With certain exceptions, HBO has developed a reputation for being protective of where and how its content goes digital. That makes Louis CK’s plans for a 2013 comedy special a slight jolt to the system, even though it’s not his first digital release linked to the channel. While HBO will get a first crack at airing the show, which will be recorded during Louis’ ongoing tour, the comedian now plans to post the production online a few months afterwards using the same successful formula that has become his calling card: $5, no DRM and no region restrictions. The offering doesn’t overhaul the industry, but it undoubtedly wrests control from the network as soon as the download link goes live. Think of Louis as making a small crack in cable TV’s content wall.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Louis CK to offer HBO show as DRM-free download, chip away at cable content deals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Comedian Louis C.K. has announced via his Twitter account that he plans to sell his upcoming HBO special for $5 after it debuts, but it won’t be available until after a few months from its air date. Louis C.K. also notes that the standup special will be available worldwide and will also be DRM-free.
The $5 special will be available for purchase on C.K.’s website, louisck.com within a few months after the special airs on HBO. The air date isn’t confirmed, but it will air sometime in 2013. This also isn’t the first time that Louis C.K. has sold his standup specials on his website for $5. He did it for the first time last year and it was a huge success.
Other comedians have since joined in on selling their own DRM-free $5 standup specials, including Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari, who is selling his “Dangerously Delicious” standup special on his website for only $5. Louis C.K.’s HBO special will be a homecoming for the comedian, who wrote for “The Chris Rock Show” on HBO and starred in his own comedy series, “Lucky Louie,” for one season.
It’s rare to see HBO relinquish control of its content and allow it to be offered digitally with few viewing restrictions, but hopefully this is just one step forward out of many steps that will be taken for content providers. Seeing DRM-free content at a low price is a rare thing in and of itself, but seeing premium cable content providers allowing it is a huge plus for consumers.
Image via Flickr
Louis C.K. will sell upcoming HBO special for $5 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We’ve seen web portals that let you search for TV and movies on the internet across different services, but a new update for Roku is bringing that capability directly to its set-top boxes. Whether you’re searching by movie, TV show, actor or director it will sniff out related content across some of the higher profile services it offers, including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Vudu and HBO Go. The new Roku Search function is front and center (once your second gen HD or higher player has been updated to the latest version) and in our tests worked quickly, pulling up content wherever it was available and mentioning if it was available in HD. The only downside is navigating the onscreen keyboard via remote, although you can always sub in your mobile device thanks to those recently upgraded remote apps for iOS and Android. All in all Roku says it can reach its tendrils across around 130,000 titles and almost 100,000 actors and directors. Check after the break for a couple of screenshots and a quick demo video, hit the official blog for more info or force an update on your hockey puck to check it out yourself.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Roku update adds cross-provider search over Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Vudu and Crackle originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Earlier this year Starz pulled its online content library back from Netflix and now it’s relaunching the old Starz Play branded websites and apps (iOS and WiFi only for now, 3G and Android coming soon) for authenticated streaming, similar to HBO Go and Showtime Anytime. There’s also an Encore Play site, and it plans to launch one for its Movieplex channel in the future. Currently, the services only support logins from Cox cable subscribers, but if you’re not on that pay-TV provider you may not be missing out after all.
Starz has already licensed its content to providers like Comcast for streaming through its Xfinity website and apps, deals which it tells The Hollywood Reporter cover about 70 percent of its customers. Like HBO and Showtime, this probably is not a prelude to offering its service beyond the tethers of cable and satellite, but as exec Ed Huguez puts it, “it is an expression of (Starz’) brand and user interface.” That likely only applies domestically however, as Starz also announced it’s licensing its content to the cable-free HBO Nordic service, and one can see how building up its technology means it could serve up its own streams internationally some day. Even if you get Starz, if your provider is large enough to handle its own business when it comes to online services this probably won’t affect you. However, for customers on smaller cable companies or in the future when deals get renegotiated, you may have another app to add to your drawer for TV Everywhere-style viewing.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
New Starz Play website and apps stream only to Cox customers, but you might not need them originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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While it seems like every network is rolling out its own personal second screen app for tablets and / or phones, over in the UK zeebox has been trying to corner the experience across channels and providers with its app. Available as an app for iOS and Android and also on the web, it brings a customized TV guide, live chat, social network sharing and remote control features to the TV experience, and now it’s come to the US. Other than the typical second screen experience, its main hook is an “OpenBox” API and tags that allow content providers to customize the experience for their viewers… and then sell them stuff like video on-demand or related merchandise.
On this side of the Atlantic zeebox has secured backing from Comcast / NBC Universal, giving it financial and promotional support as well as covering more than 30 networks right away. It also means it can eventually act as a remote control for Comcast users, which may be an advantage over competition like Miso, GetGlue and IntoNow, and can flex its muscles paired with hundreds of shows like The Voice, Notre Dame football and HBO content like True Blood. Out of the box, the app’s social ties and careful metering may be a programmer’s dream as it monitors who is watching what live, but we’ll have to see more of the second screen content come to life if it’s going to catch on socially. A customizable guide (yes, you can hide or reorder channels at will) is a nice touch and so is being able to see what your friends are viewing with Facebook Open Graph and Twitter hooks — but only if they’re actually using it. If you want to check it out, the free apps are linked below and the full press release follows after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Software, HD
Zeebox second screen TV companion app crosses over to the US, with a boost from Comcast and HBO originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A few of those popular video streaming apps we all use on our mobile devices have just received a nice little update today. If Netflix isn’t cutting it and you’ve resorted to Hulu Plus, HBO GO, or Max GO then we have good news. They’ve all been updated this week for Android (and iOS) with support for full closed captions.
Back in June Netflix had a lawsuit tossed against them regarding not offering CC, which ended in their favor, although this has nothing to do with that but they could be avoiding it. Earlier this week all three of the apps mentioned, Hulu Plus, HBO GO, and Max Go received updates for iOS which brought closed caption support, and today Android is getting the same.
Those moments where you don’t have headphones, or are in public and would rather have the volume down and use CC this will really come in handy. It isn’t a major improvement, but something I’ve been waiting to come to HBO GO for months and months — well that and tablet support on Android.
Hulu specifically mentions that a few languages are available other than English, but the others make no mention of that, nor did we find the option in settings. Hulu also added Facebook integration where users can share what their viewing (links, not the content) and a few other new features but sadly no rewind capability like iOS received. Obviously to truly enjoy any of these options on Android or iOS you’ll need a subscription to each individual service, but we welcome any and all new features. Get ready to enjoy Boardwalk Empire and more with CC. Personally I’m a Dexter fan.
[via AndroidCommunity]
Hulu Plus, HBO GO, and Max GO get closed captions on mobile is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Sound familiar? Just days after the mobile apps for HBO, Cinemax and Hulu added closed captions support on iOS, a similar slew of upgrades have come to their apps on Android. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any change in the number of supported devices for any of them at this time. Hulu’s upgrade also adds on the option to share videos via Twitter, Facebook and other services, although the 10 second rewind button added on iOS does not appear to have made the cut. As usual you should see the new versions rolling around in the app store, hit the source links for more info.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Mobile
Hulu Plus, HBO Go and Max Go apps for Android updated with support for closed captions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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