When we first heard about the Qube, we were hoping it would be the Google TV box that finally succeeded in making the serve simple and easy to use. Well, we still haven’t seen it in actual action—Asus’s demo model isn’t functional—but the remote is enough to give us a second of pause. More »
GigaOm has some shots of Netflix’s new personalized profiles, which break down preferences and watching habits by person, on the same account. So a dad won’t be inundated with Twilight movies, and so on. It looks more or less like you’d expect, with the profile pictures being fairly generic cartoon faces. Check out the rest of the images over at GigaOm. [GigaOm] More »
Add Netgear to the long list of tech companies joining up with Google TV—it just jumped onboard the train with its NeoTV PRIME streaming box. More »
Google’s Nexus Q was supposed to be the thing that legitimized Google TV, taking it from comical TV feature to a fluid addition to Google’s services. Instead, it flopped, then never even came out. So Asus decided to make its own streaming box. More »
If you’re looking to convert DVDs and BluRay discs to a digital format and want it to be easy, but not too easy, and definitely not free, Walmart has the service for you. They’re automating their Disc-to-Digital service so you can get UltraViolet versions of movies you’ve already bought. More »
This sleek, simple HP pebble is more powerful than it looks. The Pocket Playlist is a portable storage device which can store and record media from a host of sources, then stream it to five devices over Wi-Fi, no internet connection required. More »
Seagate’s Wireless Plus portable streaming hard drive isn’t the only device the company is pulling the wraps off of at CES. The outfit has also announced Central: a robust shared storage / consumer NAS solution for your home that allows streaming to DLNA compatible devices and Samsung Smart TVs as well as computers and mobile devices. The same Seagate Media app that sorts your files on-the-go is at work here on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire to push content to your living display or view while you’re on the road — and to multiple users, too. Central also allows for automatic and continuous backup of connected computers with 2TB, 3TB and 4TB options that range in price from $189 to $259. If you’re looking snag one for your casa, you’ll have to wait until March. But don’t fret, a closer look and a quick demo reside on the other side of the break.
Gallery: Seagate Central press images
Gallery: Seagate Central hands-on
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage
For those wanting even more TV shows to stream to their computer screens, Amazon has you covered. The company inked a deal with A&E, History, Lifetime, and Bio channels to bring “popular series” like Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, and Dance Moms to Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service. The deal comes after Netflix lost these networks a few months ago.
Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t say what all TV shows are coming to Prime Instant Video, but we’re guessing most of the popular selections from each network will make their appearance on the streaming video service. The content licensing deal comes only a few months after Neflix’s negotiations with A&E fell through, meaning that Amazon Prime Instant Video is the only place you can watch many of these shows.
Amazon says it plans to continue to beef up its Prime Instant Video service by adding more content in the future, and they note that they have more than doubled the content offering in just a year. Back in August, the service offered 22,000 TV show episodes and movies, but that figure has now risen to more than 33,000.
A&E and its sister channels already allow free access to their shows online, but that only includes current seasons of shows. With Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service, you’ll get served with over 33,000 TV shows episodes and movies, and are available for Prime subscribers to watch for free, assuming you already have the $79/year Prime subscription.
Amazon Prime Instant Video adds A&E, History, and Lifetime shows is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Following the lead of other studios like Fox with its Digital HD push, Disney has announced its first movie that customers will be able to buy on download and streaming services weeks before the disc is released. Wreck-It Ralph is a worldwide hit, bringing in $277 million and counting at the box office, but the first time you’ll be able to snag it (legally) for home viewing in the US is February 12th in HD and 3D on supported services. The four disc Blu-ray 3D combo set is priced at $39.99 and will ship nearly a month later on March 5th, along with the 2-disc Blu-ray ($31.99), DVD and standard def video on-demand versions. Disney hasn’t tipped its hat about any digital efforts itself to replace the Online streaming site it shut down in November, but clearly it’s preparing for a multi-format future — we’ll see if we hear any more interesting details during CES in the coming week.
Continue reading Disney announces Wreck-It Ralph will arrive for download before DVD, Blu-ray
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
We’re not sure how many Brits use Spotify to actually buy individual tracks, considering that the service is mainly known for streaming and “offline” playback, but the question has suddenly become academic. Anyone in the UK who tries to use the desktop app to buy new music will now be confronted with the message above. It offers little explanation of what’s going on but does at least link to a help page that reassures those who already possess unused download credits or gift cards. Spotify sent us the following statement, which is pretty abstract but makes it clear this is more than temporary:
We recently updated Spotify to further simplify the service and pave the way for new features announced at the end of last year. In-app purchases aren’t part of this update but we’re not ruling out their return. Credits/gift cards already purchased are still redeemable.
Update: We hear from a reader in Sweden that the same thing has happened in that country — so it probably applies internationally, wherever the download option was originally available. Spotify in the US was already streaming-only, so American users will likely notice no change.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Pocket-lint
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