Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this year Starz pulled its online content library back from Netflix and now it’s relaunching the old Starz Play branded websites and apps (iOS and WiFi only for now, 3G and Android coming soon) for authenticated streaming, similar to HBO Go and Showtime Anytime. There’s also an Encore Play site, and it plans to launch one for its Movieplex channel in the future. Currently, the services only support logins from Cox cable subscribers, but if you’re not on that pay-TV provider you may not be missing out after all.

Starz has already licensed its content to providers like Comcast for streaming through its Xfinity website and apps, deals which it tells The Hollywood Reporter cover about 70 percent of its customers. Like HBO and Showtime, this probably is not a prelude to offering its service beyond the tethers of cable and satellite, but as exec Ed Huguez puts it, “it is an expression of (Starz’) brand and user interface.” That likely only applies domestically however, as Starz also announced it’s licensing its content to the cable-free HBO Nordic service, and one can see how building up its technology means it could serve up its own streams internationally some day. Even if you get Starz, if your provider is large enough to handle its own business when it comes to online services this probably won’t affect you. However, for customers on smaller cable companies or in the future when deals get renegotiated, you may have another app to add to your drawer for TV Everywhere-style viewing.

Continue reading New Starz Play website and apps stream only to Cox customers, but you might not need them

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

New Starz Play website and apps stream only to Cox customers, but you might not need them originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 10:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No matter what’s going on with Flash, Adobe is still pushing other technologies, and one of them is the one that powered NBC’s Olympics apps this summer, Adobe Pass. The company counted more than 88 million authenticated streams during the games, and its tech is behind apps for other networks like ESPN and Cartoon Network. Now it says it can make things better for cable companies and their customers to get viewing on mobiles with Adobe Pass 2.0, which includes technology like automatic authentication, which was tested on Comcast and Cablevision customers during he Olympics. We tried it then and it couldn’t have been easier, logging in while connected to your home network flips the switch based on IP address or MAC address, and then it worked at home or on the go, no password necessary.

Another feature rolling out is “Free Preview” which lets viewers watch before they’re finished logging in, while a Server Side API on the way should open up access to more apps on more devices. We’re not sure if that’s enough to stem the tide of cable cutting, but if it means more and easier to use viewing even when we’re not in front of the HDTV, then we’re for it. This is all a part of Adobe’s “Project Primetime” which it expects to roll out in full across iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS and other platforms later this year, check the blog post linked below and video after the break for more details.

Continue reading Adobe pushes TV Everywhere forward with Adobe Pass 2.0, promises easier logins on more devices

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Adobe pushes TV Everywhere forward with Adobe Pass 2.0, promises easier logins on more devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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