Taking it to the home turf: YouTube adds AirPlay competitor to its iOS app
iPad users can now beam YouTube videos straight to their Google TV device, thanks to a new AirPlay-like feature added to the latest app update. Read more »
Koozoo launches its crowd-sourced mobile webcam network
Koozoo wants you to turn your iPhone into a webcam, and help to build a crowd-sourced live ambient video layer of the world. Read more »
Google starts using HTML5 and WebM for premium content
Some Chromebook owners are getting their Google Play video rentals in WebM, thanks to new HTML5 video security. And Google is already working hard on a next-generation video codec. Read more »
Roku is getting AirPlay-like wireless video mirroring with Miracast
photo: Broadcom
Roku is adding wireless mirroring to its hardware: Broadcom’s Miracast technology could be part of Roku’s streaming stick, as well as the next-generation Roku boxes. Read more »
Cablevision sues Viacom to break up the bundle — or get a better deal
photo: Nyghtowl
Cablevision has sued Viacom over requirements to carry channels no one watches. The lawsuit could be a serious challenge to the cable bundle. That’s why it will likely be settled out of court. Read more at paidContent »
Social Studios turns your Facebook feed into a TV show
Does your Facebook news feed deserve its own TV show? Social Studios thinks so – and has teamed up with an actress to make it happen. Read more »
Mobile phones and tablets now make up 8 percent of video viewing
photo: Tom Krazit
Tablet video viewing grew 110 percent in 2012 – but mobile video hours still just account for little more than eight percent of all time spent viewing online video, according to Ooyala. Read more »
What LG’s webOS buy means for Google TV
LG is buying webOS from HP to tun it into a Smart TV operating system. The question is: Where does that leave Google TV? Read more »
Gracenote opens up its APIs and SDKs for developers
Music tech hackers just got another resource to play with: Gracenote is opening up its 130 million-song database as part of its developer program. Read more »
BitTorrent’s new SoShare app lets you share files of up to 1TB for free
Watch out, Yousendit: BitTorrent now offers person-to-person file sharing of files of up to 1 TB for free. The company’s new SoShare app specifically targets musicians, filmmakers and photographers. Read more »
WD is getting ready to develop its own Google TV products
WD’s streaming boxes are up for a refresh this year, and a job ad suggests that the company is going to migrate to Google TV. Read more »
Intel TV service already being tested by hundreds of users
Intel has been super-secretive about its TV service until this week, but the service is already been tested in hundreds of homes. Read more »
Hardware partners plot future of Google TV in closed-door meeting
photo: SLR Jester
20 companies invested in Google TV came together in Seoul last week to talk about the future of the platform. Some hardware partners have already begun to work on the next version of Google TV. Read more »
For House of Cards and Arrested Development, Netflix favors big data over big ratings
Netflix doesn’t release any ratings for its original content – but it’s keeping a very close watch on who is viewing what in order to greenlight and promote shows. Read more »
HBO Go adds AirPlay support, but still no Apple TV app – and definitely no online-only offering
HBO is bringing its HBO Go service to more screens by adding AirPlay support – but it’s not ready to offer an online-only subscription any time soon. Read more »
Sony Entertainment CEO: DVRs and Netflix have made TV better
The rise of long-form TV dramas is often attributed to networks like HBO and Showtime, but Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton believes it’s a direct result of Netflix and digital video recorders. Read more »
Erik Huggers: Intel will launch its own TV service this year
Intel’s TV service is real, and will launch later this year. The service will include live and catch-up TV, but also cable-like bundles. Read more »
Sonos, its new Playbar, and the future of home entertainment: Can the good guys win?
A Sonos speaker – for your television: That’s the idea behind the Playbar, the company’s first soundbar. It’s a big step for a company like Sonos, which is about to get a whole lot more competition. Read more »
Cord Cutters: A first look at the WD TV Play
The new WD TV Play comes with a simple UI, a focus on the key apps you need and a competitive $70 price tag. Check out our review to see if that’s money well spent. Read more »
Dish’s Charlie Ergen: “I think people are cutting the cord”
Pay TV providers tend to argue that cord cutting doesn’t exist. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen doesn’t agree. Read more »
Microsoft plans to launch its own interactive TV shows before the end of the year
Microsoft’s Los Angeles studios is working on interactive TV content for the Xbox Live platform. First shows are set to launch before the end of the year. Read more »
Hulu premieres movie before its theatrical release… in Japan
What if you could watch a movie before its theatrical release on Hulu? Subscribers of Hulu’s Japanese service will have the chance to do just that next week — but only if they’re quick. Read more at paidContent »
Monster cries foul as Beats gets ready to launch music service
Beats is getting ready to launch its own music subscription service, and former business partner Monster thought that this was a perfect time to tell its side of the story. Read more at paidContent »
Rabbit’s group video chat launches private beta test
Group video chat startup Rabbit wants to compete with Skype and Google+ Hangouts. But is it compelling enough to get users to install yet another app? Read more »
GetGlue updates iPhone app, gets ready to integrate Hulu and other web content
GetGlue’s new iPhone app takes conversations about TV shows to facebook. Next up for the company is to add online-exclusive content from Hulu and elsewhere. Read more at paidContent »
Amara starts offering crowdsourced subtitles for all of your YouTube videos
Adding subtitles to YouTube videos just got easier: Amara now allows YouTube users to crowdsource captioning of their videos, which could help YouTube producers to grow their audience. Read more »
Sorry internet: The Super Bowl still happens elsewhere
The Super Bowl drove millions to their TV screens – and away from the computer. Internet traffic was down 15 percent Sunday night, despite the availability of a live stream of the event. Read more »
Dijit buys Miso’s assets as social TV space consolidates
Next up for NextGuide is… some soup? Dijit, the company behind the NextGuide app, is acquiring the assets of social TV check-in startup Miso. Read more »
New numbers show: Microsoft moves more media than you might think
photo: Corbis
Sure, consumers still buy a whole lot of DVDs – but they’re also starting to spend money on movie rentals on their Xboxes and Windows 8 devices. Read more at paidContent »
Where to watch the 2013 Super Bowl live online
Super Bowl XLVII is once again getting the live streaming treatment, complete with multiple camera angles and the entire half-time show. Check out our ultimate guide for more information. Read more »
Cord Cutters: A first look at Netflix’s House Of Cards
photo: Netflix
Netflix is about to launch the first season of its original drama House Of Cards. It’s like a premium cable drama – but available to cord cutters. Read more »
YouTube shuts down its YouTube Create program for partner apps
photo: lorraine santana
YouTube is getting rid of a promotional platform that was meant to offer easy access to third-party video editing apps – and that step irks at least one of YouTube’s partners. Read more »
The next Apple TV is still a box, just smaller
Still waiting for Apple to announce a big-screen TV? Then you might have to wait a bit longer: The next Apple TV device will be even smaller than the currently-selling version. Read more »
It may well be the most important document ever to come out of the Valley.
— Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about Netflix's famous "company culture" deck.
German rights holders sue YouTube in escalating royalty fight
photo: Nyghtowl
Germany’s music rights group GEMA asked YouTube to block videos containing some of its music – and is now upset about the way YouTube is handling those restrictions. Read more at paidContent »
Beachfront automates app building for Roku, Google TV, Samsung and LG
Beachfront Media just added the ability to build templated apps for Roku boxes, Google TVs and other connected devices. One of the first to take advantage of this seems to be College Humor. Read more »
Soundrop turns Facebook pages into an interactive, collaborative MTV
photo: Humbert15
Artist pages on Facebook just got a whole lot more interesting: Social music startup Soundrop launched collaborative listening rooms for Facebook pages Monday. Read more »
Exclusive: Silver Lake eyes digital media, makes Ex-NDS CEO Dave Habiger senior advisor
Silver Lake is doubling down on digital media by bringing on Dave Habiger as a Senior Advisor. Habiger most recently served as the CEO of NDS and before that led the digital movie download provider Sonic Solutions. Read more at paidContent »
BitTorrent is working on a personal file syncing app to compete with Dropbox
photo: . VJ Fungo.
BitTorrent’s upcoming Sync app promises identical copies of any of your files on all of your computers. The company is now looking for first alpha-testers. Read more »
Global TV platform Viki widens its reach with Amazon Instant partnership
Global TV platform Viki banks on content arbitrage – and now syndicates some of its content to Amazon’s Prime Instant subscribers. Read more at paidContent »
