Hasta La Gadget!

Sony’s reportedly made some headway on a solution that may well convince a number of subscribers to cut their cable cords once and for all. According to The Wall Street Journal‘s usual gang of anonymous sources, the electronics giant is in talks with several high profile media organizations to help populate an internet-based service that will stream channels and offer up on-demand content. The offering, which Sony is apparently looking to launch by the end of the year, would be the realization of some long time aspirations. Viacom is apparently at top of the list of potential partners, as the home of channels like MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. That deal is said to be in the preliminary agreement stage, news that comes a few weeks after Viacom inked a deal with Twitter. According to the WSJ, Sony’s also been holding meetings with a number of other content providers like Disney, Time Warner and CBS. All parties involved have, naturally, refused to comment.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

Hulu may have put the kibosh on auctioning itself off wholesale, but it looks like some money may still be changing hands. Citing three people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reports that Time Warner Cable is still participating in talks to purchase a stake in the streaming firm. According to the same trio of sources, TWC was previously interested in nabbing a 25 percent claim in the outfit, and an agreement could be reached within two weeks. Hulu could soon have extra cash in its coffers from the cable giant, in addition to the $750 million its owners just vowed to pour into it, but it’s entirely possible this deal could fizzle out too.

Filed under: Internet, HD

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Source: Bloomberg

For Time Warner Cable subscribers, sly on-the-job TV-watching is about to get easier (don’t lie, we know you do it). Starting today, the browser version of TWC TV will offer on-demand and live content from any internet connection, in a move that mirrors the company’s mobile app upgrade back in April. Previously, Time Warner Cable customers were restricted to using TWCTV.com inside their homes, but the shackles are now somewhat looser. There are still a few limits: only 26 networks with on-demand programming will be accessible outside the subscriber’s home, with up to 11 live channels offering streaming content. It’s fairly modest compared to in-home use, which includes as many as 4,000 on-demand titles and 300 live TV channels. But if the restrictions don’t bother you and you desperately need to catch up on The Voice during your lunch break, you can register your account at the link below.

Filed under: Internet, HD

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Source: Time Warner Cable, TWC TV

You can’t always be camped out in front of your TV for the big soccer (or “footie”) match. Thankfully, beIN Sport is hopping on the streaming bandwagon and, starting today, will offer 24/7 access on both PCs and mobile phones though Play. Of course, like many of these properties making the leap from TV to the web, beIN Sport Play requires that you have an active subscription through a cable or satellite provider. At first only Time Warner and Bright House subscribers will have access, though other networks will come online over the next few months. Play will also offer unique features such as email alerts 30 minutes before the beginning of an event and the ability to watch alternative streams and un-broadcast matches. Now, if only beIN could convince Americans to care about soccer in the first place…

Filed under: HD

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While some of us try to avoid mainstream media and the accompanying Things You Should Be Afraid Of Today reporting, sometimes we need a place to go for 24/7 coverage of a disabled cruise ship, and CNN is always there. Now it’s there on Android too, after launching live streaming of both CNN and HLN on iOS back in 2011 a new update for its Android phone app has brought the feature (and the classic “This is CNN” greeting by James Earl Jones) to the platform. You’ll still need to be a subscriber to a participating cable TV service to actually watch the feed, but getting your dose of Anderson Cooper on the go is as simple as inputting your account details, and then you’re set. Feature parity — who doesn’t love it? (Android tablet owners, Windows 8 users, Symbian…)

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

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Source: Google Play