There is some really good TV coming to Amazon Prime thanks to a new partnership between Amazon and NBCUniversal. Among the new shows you’ll be able to stream are Parks and Recreation, The Starter Wife, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and Friday Night Lights. Texas Forever. More »
We’ve already seen many companion apps on mobile, but now TV Guide is diving in wholeheartedly with the next generation of its app for iOS devices. While the previous versions of TV Guide Mobile on iOS and Android let users create watchlists and get reminders, version 3.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is completely redesigned to make TV watching simpler with filtering for HD-only and favorite channels, links to streaming videos from sources like Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Crackle and iTunes — Netflix and Amazon are not on the list, although additional video sources are promised in the coming weeks. Like any good companion app in 2012 it also brings social networking features with check-ins and Twitter / Facebook integration and a trending social hot list based on what other users search for.
The downside compared to many of the apps from cable providers like Comcast or Time Warner, hardware manufacturers like TiVo or even other third parties like Dijit is the inability to use it to directly change the channel, but perhaps that’s in the next version. There’s more details in the press release after the break, and screens in the gallery below, if you’re willing to give another contender a shot at assisting your TV watching habits, the free app is available in iTunes at the source link.
Gallery: TV Guide Mobile 3.0 for iOS
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablet PCs, Software
TV Guide Mobile relaunches for iOS with a new look, links to streaming video and social networks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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I barely have the patience to download a movie from a legal source like the Playstation Store, let alone torrent it. I cannot be the only one. More »
Hulu has a fresh new layout that’s rolling out to users today. Say goodbye to the streaming service’s old, cluttered design. Say hello to big, beautiful images and improved navigation. More »
While NBC News is no longer rocking the MS tag on its name, it’s still tight with the Redmond crew and just launched a new app on the Xbox 360. Its well hidden section on the Inside Xbox channel got a refresh just last year, but the new app should bring even more clips of breaking news, features and commentaries culled from its various shows. As you can see in the screenshot it brings the content in the now-familiar grid style of menus (or whatever Microsoft is calling it) with Kinect support and the like. You can find it on your console now, just in case you needed another place to love / hate Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews and all the rest.
Continue reading NBC News app for Xbox 360 brings streaming show clips to the console
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment
NBC News app for Xbox 360 brings streaming show clips to the console originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sometimes when we subscribe to something and it starts to suck, we choose to unsubscribe. Many of us did that with Netflix last summer after its price hike. But sometimes things change, and like that ex-girlfriend who promises everything will be different this time, you come crawling back. More »
This week I bought a Roku. Late to the party? Yes, but not as late as you might suppose. Roku has sold about 2.5 million streaming media boxes since the product launched in 2008. Approximately 1.5 million of those units moved in 2011, indicating an acceleration of demand. Coincidentally, those numbers roughly represent the cord-cutting movement: Reportedly, 2.65 million cable subscribers ditched their service between 2008 and 2011, with about 1.5 million of those defections happening in 2011.
While cable cord-cutting is a trend, the movement is occurring in the context of customer inertia. About 100 million customers subscribe to cable, satellite, and other pay-TV providers (e.g. AT&T’s U-Verse). The problematic value proposition of cutting the cord will probably keep massive inaction in place for the short term, but cannot, I believe, withstand long-term marketplace demands.
Continue reading Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft is getting brickbats from developers unenthused by its forthcoming operating system(s), and the BBC is the latest to join the chorus. When asked about bringing iPlayer to Windows Phone, the corporation’s on-demand honcho, Daniel Danker, responded by saying it’s not cost-or-time effective for the system — thanks to a lack of support for HTTP Live Streaming. Mr. Danker confirmed to us that HLS is not the proprietary format it’s believed to be, used on a wide variety of devices including Smart TVs and consoles — but is not included in Redmond’s mobile OS.
Live streaming is also impossible thanks to a “bug” in the software that can’t secure the session, breaking the corporation’s copy protection system which only affects mobile devices. Redmond’s known of the problem for some time, and is working on a solution, but has yet to make any official announcement otherwise. He told us that he’s optimistic that a solution might arrive, perhaps on October 26th, but until then, the corporation won’t even look at developing an app for any Windows-powered handset. After the break we’ve included the full text of the original email if you’d like to hear it from the source.
Continue reading BBC not bringing iPlayer or live streaming to Windows Phone, blames Microsoft
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment
BBC not bringing iPlayer or live streaming to Windows Phone, blames Microsoft originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It looks like Hulu could be in for some major changes. Variety has acquired a confidential memo regarding changes the streaming service is considering following the buyout of one of its owners in September. They’re just speculation for now, but they sound like a pain for viewers and bad, bad news for Hulu. More »
A wave of confusion surrounded OnLive over the weekend, with employees reportedly being let go from the company. Soon after it was announced that OnLive had been acquired by another company, with details now emerging that the company will trade using OnLive’s name, with all assets having been transferred over except shares and staff. Some employees will be hired back, but over half will be left without a job as a result of the transaction.
OnLive services will reportedly continue to work without any issues for users, but those employees who have been left without a job will be offered consulting roles with the company in exchange for options in the new company. When the company secures more funding, it plans to hire back more of its former employees. In a statement, the company says that “asset acquisition, although a heartbreaking transition for everyone involved with OnLive, allows the company’s core innovation and ongoing offerings to survive and continue to evolve.”
Employees aren’t the only ones affected by the changes: HTC estimates that it will lose out on its $40 million investment in the company that it made in February 2011. HTC cites the troubles that OnLive has been facing, saying in a note to investors that the company faced difficulties due to a “lack of operating cash and an inability to raise new capital.” It’s yet another blow for HTC, which has been seeing financial trouble itself in recent months.
The company recently had to pull out of South Korea and Brazil due to lack of sales in both markets, and posted a troubling second quarter financial results. Profits were down 57% compared to the same period in 2011, with HTC posting a net profit of ~$248 million overall. Revenues for July 2012 were also down 45% compared to the same time last year.
[via TechCrunch/PCWorld]
OnLive details restructure as HTC loses $40m investment is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
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