Now this is getting rather frustrating for Nintendo Wii U owners, as we were supposed to be on the receiving end of the TVii service when the Wii U first rolled out in the US last November. Sure, let us give the House of Mario a chance as they might have suffered from some release hiccups, but when the TVii service rolled out last month, TiVo and Netflix features were unavailable, having got stuck in some of Mario’s pipes somewhere, we presume.
Nintendo then claimed that TiVo will first hit the market sometime in January 2013, and we are already racing towards February with less than two full days on the calendar left, only to have Nintendo inform the masses that the January release date is not looking too good, and has shifted the release to sometime in “early 2013.”
As for Google Maps and Street View that were specially configured to run on the Wii U’s tablet-centric GamePad, it has also missed the January 2013 release dateline, and is now targeted for a “first quarter of 2013″ rollout. Are you bummed out by all this?
Welcome to Wednesday evening everyone. Today was RIM’s big day, as it rebranded itself as BlackBerry and launched the latest version of its mobile OS, BlackBerry 10. We were there at the launch event to take it all in and get some hands-on time with the new handsets the company has introduced, and you can catch all of the news from the show in our BlackBerry 10 event wrap-up. Be sure to read through the hands-on posts, because it seems that BlackBerry is doing some interesting things with its new phone.
Of course, there were plenty of other headlines to cover throughout the day, with Dropbox announcing a new feature called Documents Preview. Speaking of Dropbox, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer had some not-so-nice things to say about the service today. Zynga’s chief game designer has left the company after four years, while Twitter has improved photo and video viewing in its website interface. Nintendo slashed its Wii U sales predictions today, and the white Nexus 4 took some time to pose for the camera once again.
A trio of Galaxy Tab user agent profile worked their way into the spotlight today, and Toyota has recalled 1.1 million vehicles. Rovio was spotted teasing its new “Escape from Hoth” update to Angry Birds Star Wars, and Netflix is planning at least five new shows a year to compete with HBO. A giant asteroid will be zooming past the Earth on February 15, while Apple has secured a trademark for the layout and design of its stores.
Nintendo’s Wii U was supposed to get TVii when the console launched back in late November. That did not happen. Then, when it did launch in late December, two key features were missing: TiVo and Netflix. Despite insistence that the former would arrive in January 2013, Nintendo tells us that both are delayed beyond January to an unknown point in “early 2013.” The company specifically notes that said integration is planned for the United States.
Google Maps and Street View, custom-tailored for the Wii U’s tablet-like GamePad, were also given a January 2013 launch window when we first heard back in early December that they were headed to the Wii U. As it turns out, those are also delayed, albeit to a more precise “first quarter of 2013.” This news comes on the heels of below expectation Wii U console sales, and word of not one, but two console updates coming later this year aimed at optimizing the hardware — an issue we struggled with during our review of the console last year.
Netflix has some pretty ambitious goals ahead of them. They’re constantly adding new content to their back catalog, and are always on the lookout for more. Plus, they have their first original series, House of Cards, premiering soon, with another original series, Arrested Development, coming later. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, says that they want to launch at least five new original shows a year in order to compete with HBO.
GQ posted up a profile of the company, where they talked with Sarandos about the future of Netflix and where its headed. Sarandos has $300 million in his budget that’s set aside for original content, which has already brought in three new original projects: House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and Arrested Development.
What’s perhaps the most interesting thing that Sarandos said during the interview, was that the goal of Netflix “is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.” Sarandos says that Netflix is able to pump out original content in a more timely manner since they commit to a full season of a new show, rather than create a pilot and see where it goes from there, a concept that’s rare in the television business.
Netflix’s hefty goal of beating out HBO means that we should be seeing a lot of great stuff from the streaming service this year and beyond, and all that really remains is to see if Netflix customers buy into the new original content, but as long as Netflix doesn’t pull another Quikster, we think they’ll be fine.
We’ve long know that Netflix is ambitious, striving to make its own originalcontent when it can. But now the company had made its intentions clear: it isn’t just keeping up with the big boy cable networks—it plans to beat them at their own game. More »
Because Netflix spends so much time tweaking, working and twerking its recommendation engine to spit out more personalized results for you, sometimes the suggestions can get a little bit eerie. Just because I watched a movie about twin brothers doesn’t mean I like incest movies! UCB Comedy poked fun at Netflix’s ridiculously specific movie suggestions by showing how it could ruin date night. More »
There’s a football game this week, in case you hadn’t heard — but that’s not all. Netflix is debuting the series that it claims will change internet TV, and there’s also a few other new options to keep an eye out for. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
The Americans Add another basic cable series to your watchlist this week, as FX debuts The Americans. Based in 1981, it focuses on a family of Soviet spies living in the US during the Cold War. The show already has a two year commitment to air in the UK, so it’s unlikely to face a quick hook — feel free to settle in. (FX, January 30th, 10PM)
Super Bowl XLVII It’s the Super Bowl. All other Sunday night programing has been pushed aside, so you’ll either be huddled around the flatscreen watching 49ers/Ravens or… we’re not sure what. (CBS, February 3rd, 6:30PM)
House of Cards Netflix’s next venture into the world of original programming begins Friday morning, when it will make the entire first season of its series House of Cards available for streaming. Starring Kevin Spacey, it has all the trademarks of a well produced cable series, it’s just not on cable — it’s on the internet. (Netflix, February 1st)
Already saddled with a 56-day premiere delay, your Instant Queue isn’t getting any younger—assuming you can even find something to watch. Here’s how to make up for lost time and keep your queue packed with Netflix’s (relatively) newest and best offerings. More »
It’s already clear that most of us prefer watching Netflix on TV rather than on our PCs or tablets, but it appears the subscription video pioneer isn’t content with just direct streaming. As we learned at CES 2013, Netflix is currently in cahoots with YouTube to build out a multiscreen initiative called DIAL (which stands for “discovery and launch”) that could provide real competition for Apple’s AirPlay. It works in essentially the same way — DIAL lets you play streaming video on compatible TVs without having to launch the app first — but there are a few key differences. Unlike AirPlay, DIAL lets you launch apps, even web apps, on the TV — if it’s a Smart TV, you’ll even be redirected to download an appropriate app from its app store. However, it can’t send URLs to the TV and mirror displays like AirPlay can, supposedly to avoid protocol conflicts as it builds its network of partnerships.
And that’s where DIAL’s growing momentum comes in. According to GigaOm, DIAL is an open protocol, which gives it massive dev and OEM appeal. All Google TV boxes already have it, while Sony, Samsung and LG are reportedly very interested. Scott Mirer, director of product management at Netflix, said the latter two have already incorporated it in some 2012 TVs, with more coming in the future. More important is the support from app devs and content providers — BBC, Hulu, Pandora and Flingo have already signed up to take part in the effort, with Chrome purportedly working on DIAL compatibility for browser-to-TV page-flinging. On the whole, it’s a promising path for not just Netflix and YouTube, which have previously only released relatively limitedremote control applications, but the second screen movement in general.
Apple pleased its shareholders today and announced its financial results for Q4. During the announcement, Netflix emphasized one thing – Internet TV is growing and is becoming more important in people’s lives. The popular video streaming service announced today that it gained nearly 10 million global streaming members in the year 2012, with over 6 million members in Q4 alone. Netflix’s global streaming members also grew to over 33 million last year, generating huge profits for the company. Domestically, Netflix added 2 million members in Q4 alone last year, bringing the total number of domestic members to 27 million. (more…)
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Now this is getting rather frustrating for Nintendo Wii U owners, as we were supposed to be on the receiving end of the TVii service when the Wii U first rolled out in the US last November. Sure, let us give the House of Mario a chance as they might have suffered from some release hiccups, but when the TVii service rolled out last month, TiVo and Netflix features were unavailable, having got stuck in some of Mario’s pipes somewhere, we presume.
Apple pleased its shareholders today and announced its financial results for Q4. During the announcement, Netflix emphasized one thing – Internet TV is growing and is becoming more important in people’s lives. The popular video streaming service announced today that it gained nearly 10 million global streaming members in the year 2012, with over 6 million members in Q4 alone. Netflix’s global streaming members also grew to over 33 million last year, generating huge profits for the company. Domestically, Netflix added 2 million members in Q4 alone last year, bringing the total number of domestic members to 27 million. 
