Miss our liveblog of Sony’s Gamescom press conference yesterday, or the wealth of news we’ve covered on all things PlayStation? Well, we forgive you. After all, there’s a whole lot to digest. Now, chances are they’ll be more Sony tidbits appearing as the German gaming event runs its course, but for now we’ve collected, compiled and condensed everything we’ve learned in one handy place: right after the break.
So, you want an Xbox One? Do you really want one though… like, really? How do you know? Maybe the interface is terrible. That’s something you’ll just have to ponder until you play one. Well, that’s only partly true, we sat down with Microsoft today at Gamescom for a bit of a tour. The bad news? Microsoft wasn’t quite confident enough to let us show you the interface with photos or video, due to its pre-release nature. The good news? We’re going to paint you a word picture instead! The results await after the break.
Orb has long kept busy making its media streaming solutions compatible with everything from Android to the Wii, but now the business as we know it is trotting off into the sunset. Joe Costello, founder and CEO of Orb Networks, quietly announced on the firm’s website that the team and technology have been acquired by one of its “large strategic partners who completely shared the Orb vision for building a standard platform for media solutions and beyond.” Costello didn’t divulge the buyer’s identity, but noted that their new owners had been “investing aggressively in this technology,” and Orb will lead their streaming media charge.
Although the company stopped selling its products in May, it will continue to honor the one year replacement warranty for Orb Music and TV. The hardware and Orb BR should continue to work, but changes made by streaming services could throw a spanner in the works, as bug fixes and updates are off the table. Orb Live apps, on the other hand, rely on the firm’s cloud servers that are slated to shut down by the end of the year. Mycast, the outfit’s free service, is expected to work through August, but won’t see life past 2013. Hit the source links below for Orb’s parting words.
[Thanks, Tom]
Filed under: HD
Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service in the US started with the same queue-based experience users were familiar with from its disc-by-mail rentals for bookmarking titles to watch later. But, internationally, the option has never existed. Now the experience is changing everywhere, as Netflix replaces the old queues with “My List.” Outside the US subscribers will notice the biggest change, as they’re able to curate their own viewing lists instead of relying solely on search or the service’s automatically generated genre lists. Otherwise the selection process is mostly the same as we’ve come to expect, with a “+ My List” button single click adding it to the list of up to 500 items in each user’s profile. My List should pop up on individual accounts over the next couple of weeks, check after the break for a breakdown of all the incoming changes and a quick video preview.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Netflix Blog
Between the PlayStation 4’s November 15th launch at retail and December 31st, Sony claims 33 games will be available. That includes heavy hitters like Knack, Watch Dogs, Minecraft and Battlefield 4, as well as smaller properties like N++ and Contrast. We’ve dropped the full list just after the break for your perusal / approval. Now all we need to know is when Rime is coming out!
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Sony
Source: Sony (PDF)
Internet music video provider Vevo launched its linear channel on mobile devices, Xbox 360 and Roku back in March, and according to the Wall Street Journal, it may arrive on the PS3, Apple TV (directly, AirPlay support came last week) and Samsung’s Smart TV soon. After a rumor earlier this month from AdAge, the new report indicates deals with both Samsung and Apple are signed with a launch on the latter possible this week. That most of the people watching the streaming channel do so on TV-connected devices which, along with the desire to sell higher-priced TV ads is apparently behind the new push. The next moves for Vevo? Rolling out new channels that focus on specific genres or live music, renegotiating licenses for content, and off in the distance, perhaps a cable TV channel. For now, we’ll just pencil in a shift to reality TV shows, dramas and other non-music programming for 2019 or so.
Filed under: HD
Source: Wall Street Journal
In the least surprising news of the week, as DirecTV’s rights to the vaunted NFL Sunday Ticket package come close to their 2014 expiration date, rumors of who else may bid for them are starting and Google is right at the top. According to AllThingsD, league officials met with the internet giant today and among many topics, the package of rights to air all of the league’s games to out of market viewers came up. As suggested, the folks in Mountain View (and several other companies we can all think of) can certainly afford the reported $1 billion DirecTV has been paying — and YouTube has already shelled out to stream sports in the US and around the world — but whether or not the NFL would actually sell to them is still in question.
As we mused on this week’s Engadget HD Podcast, what’s kept the NFL from selling the package in a different way — explained by league officials as “really in the consumer’s best interest” — so far is a fear that other networks like CBS and Fox would want to pay less to broadcast those games. With billions at stake we’d be extremely surprised to see the status quo actually change, so while anything is possible your best bet without satellite is probably still a copy of Madden NFL 25 Anniversary Edition.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google
Source: AllThingsD
2016 is shaping up to be huge for Netflix. That’s when the streaming juggernaut’s Disney deal starts bearing fruit and it also marks the start of a multi-year pay-TV exclusivity agreement with The Weinstein Company (TWC). This means the first stop for TWC’s flicks after home video will no longer be Showtime, but (almost) everybody’s favorite place to watch movies instantly instead. While the studio has a pretty impressive back catalog — Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, The Road and … Scary Movie 5 — it isn’t in the class of, say, Universal or Fox in terms of sheer blockbusters. With the rate ‘flix is signing contracts though, who knows what could happen within the next three years.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Many soundbars are designed for small or mid-sized TV sets, where price and space are top priorities. Samsung is bucking that trend with its newly unveiled AirTrack HW-F850: its follow-up to the vacuum tube-based F750 is built expressly for 60-inch and larger screens. As Samsung can afford a considerably larger bar, the F850 boosts the total power to 350W, up 40W from the F750. The company promises deeper bass from the subwoofer, too. As you’d expect, both Bluetooth audio and NFC pairing carry over from the F850’s tinier counterparts. Samsung expects to ship the extra-large soundbar to Europe in September; the company hasn’t mentioned pricing, although the F850 will likely command a premium over smaller AirTrack models.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung
Source: Korea Newswire (translated)
There isn’t much we don’t know about the PlayStation 4 at this point. Sony has let the details slip out in drips and drabs, dragging out the mystery as long as possible. But now, the last remaining blank spot in our dossier — the release date — has been filled. At today’s Gamescom 2013 press event, the electronics giant revealed that the PS4 will hit shelves on November 15th in the US. On that day you’ll be able to run out and grab one for $399 and immediately start waving your yellow tentacles in Octodad or slaughter rooms full of people in Hotline Miami. Europe will follow shortly afterwards (with a €399 or £349 price point) on November 29th. In total Sony expects to launch the PS4 in 32 countries before the end of the holiday season. That’s pretty ambitious, but with 1,000,000 preorders already in the bank, we’d say the company has plenty of reason to be optimistic. Microsoft is already losing the pricing war… now we just have to wait and see if it can get the Xbox One out the door before Sony gets a head start with early adopters.
Update: Our colleagues over at Engadget Spanish have found that Latin America will see the console on November 29th as well.
Update 2: If you’re looking for a few more details about where exactly the PS4 will be launching, Sony has announces that the next-gen console will debut in Canada on November 15th alongside the US. On the 29th, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru will join the party. We’ve added the complete PR after the break.
Via: Engadget Spanish
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