Apple’s iPad can now stream video directly from an app to the Apple TV, thanks to an update to the AirPlay feature in iOS 4.3. However, most of the apps that people use to watch video on the iPad probably won’t support AirPlay anytime soon. Read more »
Will Facetime be the iPad’s new killer app? Apple added two cameras to the device, and it will support the ability to video chat with iPhone 4 and Mac OS X users out of the box. But is Facetime itself enough of a reason to upgrade? Read more »
OEM manufacturers are showing off a number of Android-powered set-top boxes at CeBIT this week. That could mean many of the cheaper media streaming devices available in U.S. stores could soon be based on Android — but it also signals a market shift toward Android. Read more »
Can you replace Netflix with Amazon Prime Instant Videos? And is it worth the money if you’re trying to get rid of pay TV? Check out this week’s episode of our weekly Cord Cutters web series for a closer look at the Amazon subscription service. Read more »
Sidereel has been scooped up by Rovi for an undisclosed amount, and Rovi is also launching a new consumer-facing website for media recommendations. However, the real end game seems to be bringing all of this web content to the next generation of connected devices. Read more »
Boxee is announcing $16.5 million in new funding Tuesday, and the company told us a little bit about how it intends to spend all that money: Those plans include improvements to its current product and new content deals, but also a very different Boxee Box 2.0. Read more »
BitTorrent is known as a way to quickly download gigabytes of data, ranging from TV show episodes to Hollywood blockbusters. The technology doesn’t work quite as well over dial-up. Pakistan-based researchers have found a way to change this by tweaking some of BitTorrent’s core design principles. Read more »
An auto-tuned mash-up featuring Harry Potter‘s Ron Weasley, Toy Story, The Social Network’sSean Parker and Twilight’s Edward, Jacob and Bella was the highlight of the 83rd Oscars. The video was produced by none other than the Gregory Brothers of Auto-Tune The News fame. Read more »
What’s it like to cut the cord from pay TV? What’s working, what’s missing, and what equipment does the best job replacing the cable box? This week’s featured cord cutter is J.T., who uses an elaborate setup including a Mac Mini and an EyeTV tuner. Read more »
Smooth move, Jon Heder: The actor best known for his role of Napoleon Dynamite is turning to Kickstarter to get funding for an animated short film he’s producing. That’s good news for Kickstarter, because Heder probably could have just called up a few Hollywood buddies instead. Read more »
Bong.tv allows its users to record shows from dozens of TV networks in the cloud with no pay TV subscription necessary. While TV networks are trying to stop Bong.tv in court, that didn’t stop Samsung from highlighting it as one winner of its TV app challenge. Read more »
Libya is blocking access to YouTube, and border guards have started to frisk people for camera phones. Still, plenty of clips from within the country show up online, offering us a glimpse at a country in turmoil that has been off limits to traditional journalists. Read more »
Michael Robertson’s new cloud service Dar.fm makes it possible to remotely record shows from hundreds of radio stations and then stream these recordings to mobile phones and other devices. Robertson is currently fighting with the music industry in court, and Dar.fm may also face some resistance. Read more »
Linear TV is back! That’s right; people like to tune in at a set time to watch their favorite shows, thanks to the Twitter global water cooler. And new numbers from the U.K. show that online catch-up services don’t exactly hurt ratings either. Read more »
No matter how long you’ve been thinking about cutting the cord, making the call to cancel cable or satellite TV can be scary. We’ve prepared a five step guide that will help you to get rid of that expensive monthly bill without giving up TV. Read more »
Are you living in a rural area, and an indoor HD TV antenna is just not working for you? Then take a look at these photos documenting one man’s quest to get 67 TV channels for free, despite living some 70 miles away from the closest transmitter. Read more »
Has Comcast been imposing extra peering fees on Level 3 to hurt Netflix, which is competing with its TV business? That’s what Netflix is alleging in its just-published annual report, without actually stating it that frankly. The warning is carefully worded, but Netflix is clearly concerned. Read more »
Thought people upload torrents to sites like The Pirate Bay out of the goodness of their heart? Well, think again: A good portion of the content comes from people with clear financial interests at heart, and some make as much as $3700 per day with piracy. Read more »
Want to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup that’s starting this week? Then don’t expect to find many live streams on the big streaming sites. Piracy of live sports has moved to smaller for-pay sites, according to the official ICC World Cup streaming partner Willow.tv. Read more »
Want to lure people away from pirate websites? Then be prepared to give them some free stuff. A new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers finds that most self-admitted pirates don’t mind ads, as long as they still get their content for free. VOD was much less popular. Read more »
Today on the Net: YouTube is using the power of the cloud to process videos faster, Netflix investors are having a really good day and LG partners with YouTube on 3D phone. Read more »
Anyone interested in following the continuing unrest in the Middle East should pay attention to Al-Jazeera English, whose reporting about Egypt’s revolution has been unrivaled. The network isn’t available through any major U.S. cable provider, but there are still plenty of ways to tune in. Read more »
The wait is over for Boxee Box owners, as the startup is finally making its Netflix app available today. The app comes as part of a new firmware update, which also features some added security measures. Boxee previously had to delay its Netflix rollout twice. Read more »
Ryan Flynn got himself a Roku XDS and a new antenna when he embarked on his cord cutting adventure. Now he’s getting HD TV that looks better than cable, and he is saving around $70 per month. But for Flynn, it wasn’t just about saving money. Read more »
Today on the Net: Al-Jazeera launches a Google TV-optimized website, Foursquare celebrates check-in records and citizens in Egypt document their victory via online video. Read more »
Licensing outlet MPEG LA has announced that it is forming a patent pool for VP8, the codec at the core of Google’s open source video format WebM. Google’s response? Bring it on. It’s time to “put up or shut up,” as one WebM supporter put it. Read more »
Today on the Net: Porn consumers get to enjoy a cloud-based experience that mainstream VOD is still missing, Bones fans can use an new iPad app to get context-relevant content and people send a whole lot of tweets during the Super Bowl. Read more »
Hollywood has set its sight on file hosters like Hotfile.com, which was sued this week by the MPAA’s member studios. Many of the legal arguments made against Hotfile could also easily be applied to RapidShare, Megaupload and even cloud-based backup and file synching services like Dropbox. Read more »
Today on the Net: The Super Bowl was the biggest TV event ever, Evan Stone is trying to singlehandedly stop P2P piracy and Microsoft tried hard to get Conan for its Xbox Live service. Read more »
Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week is starting this week, and Internet users are once again invited to follow the event with front row seating, thanks to multiple live streams. You’ll even be able to chat with Victoria’s Secret models and designer Tommy Hilfiger himself. Read more »
The Packers may have prevailed over the Steelers, but the real winner of the Super Bowl XLV was Twitter: Users of the service sent out more than three million tweets related to the game on Sunday and helped to generate record TV viewing audiences for Fox. Read more »
A few thousand consumers are pledging to never ever download any unlicensed movie via BitTorrent again, as long as Hollywood offers them a legal alternative that comes without DRM, local restrictions, release windows and premium pricing. Illusionary demands, or a necessary attempt to aim high? Read more »
The next Billy Graham or Joel Osteen may use Roku and other Internet set-top boxes to reach worshippers in the privacy of their living room. More and more churches have been embracing Roku in particular to compete with big mega-churches and their huge cable TV outlets. Read more »
Softbank has taken a 35 percent stake in the Chinese P2P video platform PPLive for $250 million. This deal is the single largest investment in a video company since Google’s acquisition of YouTube, and it goes to show that online video is huge in China. Read more »
Canada’s Netflix users can expect cough up some extra cash starting March 1, thanks to regulation forcing smaller ISPs to bandwidth caps and overage charges. Bandwidth caps will be as low as 25 GB — unless growing public pressure will make regulators change their mind. Read more »
The folks behind the comic book fan site iFanboy got together to discuss their different approaches towards cord cutting for this special guest episode of Cord Cutters. Turns out comic book aficionados are just as obsessed with Netflix and Hulu as everyone else. Read more »
The BBC wants to bring personal video recommendations to its iPlayer catch-up service, and it’s been testing a number of methods and algorithms as part of a multiyear research project. The broadcaster just finished a final field test, and its lessons learned are worth a look. Read more »
Did you watch the unrest in Egypt unfold via Al-Jazeera’s English-language live feed? You’re not alone: The Qatar-based news network has seen its traffic syrocket – and it now intends to use some of this momentum to finally gain a foothold in the U.S. cable market. Read more »
Today on the Net: Google won’t suggest its users uTorrent anymore, pirates can still find plenty of Oscars fare online and Democrats want tougher net neutrality regulations. Read more »
Al-Jazeera has been reporting live from the unrest in Egypt, attracting countless viewers from all around the world to it’s English-language 24/7 TV feed. The network’s strong online presence is a direct result of being ignored by all of the big U.S. cable networks. Read more »
