Hasta La Gadget!

If you believe past rumors, Apple has sometimes had difficulty getting the media industry to agree with its vision of the future. Its solution may be to hire from the industry itself — Bloomberg claims that Apple has recruited Hulu’s Senior VP of Marketing and Distribution, Pete Distad, to negotiate future media deals. Neither company is commenting on the rumor, although the executive may not be immediately necessary: Bloomberg also believes that Apple is near an agreement that would bring Time Warner Cable subscribers and services to Apple TV boxes within “a few months.” Whether or not that deal happens, we suspect that Distad could at least help realize Tim Cook’s grand vision for TV.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Apple

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Source: Bloomberg

It’s no real secret that TV giants like Time Warner Cable have formal agreements which prevent video from going online — like it or not, that’s the nature of content exclusives and windowing. However, the anti-internet strategy may be considerably murkier. Bloomberg hears from sources that TWC and its peers offer “incentives” to keep video content offline, whether they’re sweeter deals or threats of losing existing programming arrangements. While the assertions aren’t surprising given a protectionist industry, they’re still quite serious — they suggest that operators unfairly prevent content producers from treating online services as equals to old-fashioned TV. TWC isn’t accepting any of the accusations, as you’d imagine. The provider doesn’t directly acknowledge Bloomberg‘s claims in a statement to Engadget; instead, it argues that exclusives of all kinds are virtually necessary for competition. That’s a tricky position to hold when many viewers don’t like exclusives in the first place, but you can judge its legitimacy for yourself by reading the full statement after the break.

[Image credit: TWC Untangled]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Bloomberg

As commonplace as Time Warner Cable’s TWC TV app might be, it’s surprisingly tricky to find on actual TVs — Roku boxes don’t quite count. The provider is addressing that gap today by releasing a version for Samsung’s Smart TVs. The new app (not yet pictured here) offers authentication-based access to about 5,000 on-demand shows without any extra hardware. This isn’t a true replacement for a cable box, however — along with the usual subscription requirement, there’s no mention of the live TV that we’ve seen elsewhere. Those who aren’t deterred by the restrictions can load TWC TV on their 2012-era Smart TVs today, and 2013 sets in the near future.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung

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Source: Time Warner Cable, TWC Untangled

Just as promised, Time Warner Cable has delivered a new version of its TWC TV app for Android users that includes access to live TV streams of certain channels while away from home. That new feature is accompanied by several other tweaks, including TV mini guide filtering and expanded device support for devices running Android 2.2 and higher. Out of home streaming is still more limited than that provided by solutions like Slingbox or Cablevision’s Optimum, and streaming over cellular connections are restricted to Verizon only (for now.) Despite the restrictions, the app is out now and will hopefully see them loosened in the future, subscribers can grab it now at the link below.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

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Source: Google Play

As we revealed a few days ago and Time Warner Cable announced yesterday, its iOS app has been updated with the ability to stream video even when away from subscriber’s home networks. There’s video on-demand available from 10 networks, and ten live TV channels ready for streaming. While the company’s blog post only referred to access over WiFi, its about page confirms our initial information that 3G / 4G access is limited to Verizon Wireless customers. Our tipster indicted this exclusive would run out later this year, and the feature is also coming soon to the company’s Android app and web portal for PC / Mac users. Today’s update on iOS also tweaks the app’s guide, with a new ability to filter by category, as well as sort alphabetically by network or show title. Subscribers can grab it at the link below — let us know how well it works and if you’ve run into any unexpected restrictions.

Update: Time Warner Cable has also published a few videos to go along with the launch, check after the break to see SVP and GM of programming Mike Angus discuss the latest update.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Mobile, Apple, Verizon

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Source: iTunes, Time Warner Cable, TW Cable Untangled