Vimeo is officially launching a new default HTML 5 player that’s 50 percent faster than the the flash module that came before. In fact, you may have already been using it for months as the service has been slowly rolling it out to users. Sneaky, sneaky! Pretty much the only way you’ll use the oldness is on Facebook soon. Did you notice that your videos were loading faster when you press play?
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It’s undeniable one of the most popular premium cable channels to offer an online streaming video service is HBO with its HBO Go service. HBO Go allows you to not only watch recently aired shows, sometimes, being able to watch them online minutes after they’ve aired, but also catch up on complete seasons of older shows, movies and specials. Unfortunately, the only way to view HBO Go is if you’re an HBO subscriber, but that may soon change.
According to Reuters, chief executive at HBO Richard Plepler recently made some interesting comments regarding the evolution of the company’s HBO Go service at a recent premier for Game of Thrones’ third season. ”Right now we have the right model,” Plepler told Reuters. “Maybe HBO GO, with our broadband partners, could evolve.” This, of course, means the company has heard our cries for a streaming-only option for HBO Go as paying a full subscription to be able to use the service seems a little redundant. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: YouTube Serves One Billion Users Monthly, Google Fiber Expanded To A New City For The First Time, 
Thanks to a rapid pace of one country per day Netflix has made light work of its Nordic roll out. The internet movie service is launching its final Scandinavian flag today in Finland after starting Monday in Sweden, then notching Denmark and Norway (pictured above) in between. As with the others there’s extensive device and app support from the start, and although the content selection may vary Netflix is the exclusive streaming home of Iron Sky, for all your Nazis-on-the-moon viewing needs. Not enough? Hey, there’s always HBO Nordic, and you don’t even need cable or satellite to get it.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Netflix Watch Instantly is live in Finland, completes Nordic sweep with Norway, Denmark and Sweden originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Like Amazon, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble before it, Toys R Us is following the path of being a retailer distributing its own branded hardware (Tabeo, Nabi) with an accompanying app store, and then supplementing those offerings with a digital media service. ToysrusMovies.com is a Rovi-powered digital storefront currently available to PCs, Macs and other Flash compatible devices, with an app planned for the Tabeo soon, as well as Blu-ray players, HDTVs and other mobile devices including iOS and Android. The content consists of “more than 4,000” titles from big names like Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal and more, available for 24-hour rental starting at $2.99, and $5.99 for download or streaming. Right out of the gate its scored an early release of Madagascar 3 two weeks before the disc release, currently a $16 purchase with “unlimited” streaming to activated devices, with downloads to up to 5 devices. Now of course, all it needs is some compatible devices, but building an ecosystem is a process, and may be key to separating Toys R Us’ offerings from the competition. Check out more details in the press release after the break or at the site.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD
Toys R Us launches family-friendly internet movie service, plans Tabeo access, HD video and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Online video — helped along by the rise of tablets, better broadband and a flood of content from YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and many others — has seen a huge rise in usage in the last few years; and while PCs remain the most common way to consume it, thanks to consoles like the Xbox, even TV screens are becoming popular for online video consumption.
According to a new study out from NPD surveying 14,000 consumers across 14 countries, some 18% of users are accessing online video on TVs on a daily basis, with some 25% accessing it several times a week, with movies driving much of that growth.
Similarly, it noted that tablets and smartphones are also continuing to see more usage for online video. The fact that overall PCs have a higher penetration than tablets may be the reason why PCs — both laptop and desktop — still prove more popular than tablets and smartphones as a place to watch online video. But as we have seen before, when people do have tablets, some are actually spending more time watching video on them than they are PCs, by as much as 30% more.
China — urban China, that is — is coming out as the most online-video-friendly country at the moment. As you can see in the table below, which measures online video consumption in different countries by device, China’s urban users beat every other country surveyed, across every device. This may be down to simple user behavior, but it’s also, NPD says, because Chinese users can access a lot more video content online than they can from domestic broadcasters and pay-TV providers.
Going back to the bigger picture, the rise in online video watching on TV is not exclusively because people are buying fancier televisions with internet built into them; also playing a role are the consoles that they are attaching to their existing sets. Products like the Xbox or set-top boxes from pay-TV providers that link up with broadband-enabled on-demand services have propelled TV into a strong category for online video, especially in particular markets.
In Mexico, some 30% of users watch online video on TVs. Among urban parts of China the number is nearly 40%. Neither still reaches the number of people watching on PCs — 52% on laptops and 73% on desktop PCs, respectively — but it is getting close.
“Online content is mostly viewed on computers or mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones, but TVs are increasingly becoming devices of choice for consumers, particularly since an increasing numbers of sets have either built-in connectivity or can be connected to the internet via a peripheral device such as a connected Blu-ray player or set top box, among others,” noted NPD DisplaySearch research director Riddhi Patel in a statement.
NPD says films are the most popular online video on TVs, overtaking TV content.
But, lest you think the whole world is getting connected, think again. NPD says that 44% of viewers have “no interest” in content on TVs; a further 30% said they do not own the equipment to watch online video.
And even if they were given the tools to watch online video on TV, only one-third of those without the possibility to do so now say they would want to. Within individual countries, India ranked the highest among those with “no” online video viewing options, at 67%. But it’s not just an emerging market story: Japan was the second-highest market in the no-online-video game, at 42%.
Beloved UK supermarket Sainsbury’s is making a big push into digital media, after snapping up e-book retailer Anobii and music company Global Media Vault, it’s now partnering with Rovi for a digital video service. Launching later in the year, it’ll offer video-on-demand and downloadable copies of “major” film and TV titles, available the same time the discs are available in store. It’ll initially be limited to computers, before rolling out to Smart TVs, connected Blu-Ray players, smartphones and consoles. The only question we have is if we’ll be able to collect Nectar Points on our purchases — if so, we’re sold.
Continue reading Sainsbury’s pairs up with Rovi for video service, stays ahead of the techie curve
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Sainsbury’s pairs up with Rovi for video service, stays ahead of the techie curve originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The co-founders of the late Flip Video portable shooters have created an internet-based platform for both students and teachers alike, in which they hope to help by offering over 7,000 online lessons — with said number expected to grow over time, naturally. For starters, the crowdsourced project, dubbed Knowmia, has video tidbits from all kinds of subjects, such as history, algebra, and, of course, grammar and writing skills. Meanwhile, teachers can register themselves on the site at no cost, after which they can easily create their own lessons and put up for the world to see and learn from them. All in all, there’s no doubt Knowmia’s looking like a promising hub for scholars, lecturers and even the curios folk, so here’s to hoping it becomes a go-to place for those looking to soak up some additional wisdom.
Filed under: Internet, Software
From the folks who brought you Flip Video: Knowmia, an online vid platform for students and teachers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 04:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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