Cord Cutters: Our review of Plair, which promises to be AirPlay for the rest of us
Can a $99 HDMI stick turn any TV into a smart device capable of AirPlay-like streaming of web content? Check out our Plair review to find out. Read more »
After a radical transformation, Blip gets ready to take on cable
Blip used to be just another video hosting site trying to compete with YouTube. These days, it’s looking very different – and it’s getting ready to take on cable TV. Read more at paidContent »
Deutsche Telekom’s ‘anti-net-neutrality’ plans alarm German government
The country’s economics and technology minister has reportedly urged Telekom to watch its step, after the telco announced caps for fixed-line users. Thing is, usage of Telekom’s own entertainment services won’t count towards those caps. Read more »
The future of TV, according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings
TV is fundamentally changing from a linear delivery model to a world in which apps compete with each other, and Netflix is spending billions to be part of that future. Read more at paidContent »
Boxee launches its cloud DVR service in the San Francisco Bay Area
Boxee’s cloud DVR service is finally coming to the Bay Area: The company pushed out an update Wednesday that enables recording for its second-generation set-top boxes. Read more »
I want my Kindle TV: report confirms Amazon’s set-top box plans
Amazon’s secretive Lab126 unit is building a TV set-top box that will stream Amazon Instant videos straight to your living room, according to a Business Week report. Read more »
Aereo is coming to Boston in May
Aereo, a service that lets you watch live TV on your phone, is going live in Boston on May 15. Read more at paidContent »
New York Times lifts paywall for video, plans ‘franchises’
photo: New York Times
The New York Times is no longer restricting non-subscribers’ access to its video content. The move, which comes as the Times tightens other parts of its paywall, is part of the paper’s plans to expand its brand in the video space. Read more at paidContent »
Netflix CEO: password sharing is not a big deal
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings doesn’t really think that many people are sharing their accounts with extended family members. His remarks came in response to an estimate that 10 million people watch Netflix without paying for it. Read more »
The House of Cards effect: Netflix tops $1B in Q1 revenue, near 30M U.S. subscribers
photo: Netflix
Netflix made more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time in its corporate history last quarter. The company also used its Q1 results to announce a new $12 family plan. Read more at paidContent »
Vubooo’s take on the second screen: Less talk, more gooooooals
Forget badges, trivia and long-winded discussions: The soccer-centric second screen app Vubooo is all about a whole lot of virtual shouting. Read more »
Intel’s TV project loses key exec months before going to market
Intel Media is without a VP of Engineering after parting ways with a key executive that joined the company after playing a big role in Microsoft’s Mediaroom efforts. Read more »
Zombies vs. Lazarus: The digital resurrection of canceled television
It’s now common practice for canceled shows to find their way to fans via digital means, but there’s a big difference between uploading unaired episodes and truly coming back to life. Read more at paidContent »
Court sides with YouTube for second time in major Viacom copyright case
YouTube notched a major victory in its long-running copyright suit with Google. A New York judge emphatically rejected Viacom’s theory that YouTube had “red flag” knowledge that made it liable for content uploaded by its users. Read more at paidContent »
Next up for Google TV: An NBC app with full, free episodes?
NBC may be ready to rethink its stance towards Google TV, and make its content available for free on the platform through a native app. Read more »
Aereo CEO says free content might be on the way
Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia wants to disrupt TV pricing again, this time by rolling out movie and news packages at a fraction of the price of traditional ones. News, he said, might even be free. Read more at paidContent »
Broadcasters file Aereo appeal, warn of ‘havoc’ and ‘massive disruption’ to TV industry
Fox, PBS and other broadcasters filed for a New York appeals court to revisit a crucial ruling that permitted start-up Aereo to beam their signals. The appeal raises the stakes further in a battle for the future of TV. Read more at paidContent »
Like an MTV you’d actually enjoy: Shuffler.fm launches curated music video channels
ShufflerTV relies on some of the web’s leading voices in music to curate music video channels. The result looks as good as it sounds. Read more at paidContent »
Comcast confirms: Yes, we’re encrypting basic cable now
Comcast is getting ready to encrypt its basic cable channels. Consumers affected by the change need to get another box to keep watching. Read more »
How Syfy/Trion’s Defiance created a new Earth and a new approach to transmedia
“Watch the Show, Play the Game, Change the World” is how “Defiance” bills itself, but the combination of video game and television could be a game-changer in its own right. Read more at paidContent »
ReelSurfer targets media with newest take on video clipping
ReelSurfer set out to build a tool for people who don’t shoot their own videos. Then Reuters started using it. Read more at paidContent »
Netflix users watched more than four billion hours of video in Q1
photo: Netflix
Netflix streamed more than four billion hours of movies and TV shows to its members in the first quarter of this year. Read more at paidContent »
YouTube just got support for multiple admins per channel
Teamwork just got easier for YouTube creators: The site now allows up to 50 people to administer a YouTube channel together. Read more »
Really, Microsoft? Your vision for the future of TV is… an HDMI cable?
photo: digitpedia
Microsoft is reportedly looking to closely integrate its upcoming Xbox successor with live television – but it’s using a very cumbersome way to do so. Read more »
Verizon: Video accounts for 50% of mobile network traffic, and it’s only growing
photo: Verizon
Verizon is seeing video on its mobile network surge. Though it surely would like to encourage the trend, there’s only so much video Verizon’s customers can consume without going broke. Read more »
Google’s Wojcicki: Pepsi prank with Jeff Gordon is future of online ads
Google’s Susan Wojcicki says the viral success of a Pepsi prank video shows how online ad viewing is becoming a voluntary experience where marketers strive to produce content viewers want to watch. Read more at paidContent »
Roku sells five million players in the U.S.
Roku has sold five million players in the U.S. since unveiling the first Roku streaming player five years ago. A good chunk of its customers use their Roku more than traditional TV. Read more »
RemotePlay launches iOS app for cross-platform media sharing
photo: Tsahi Levent-Levi
Sharing documents, photos and videos between iOS and Android devices just got easier, thanks to the new iOS version of RemotePlay. Read more »
Drones on parade, and a few fun facts about 4K
I took a brief tour of the National Association of Broadcasters convention show floor today. Here’s what I saw and learned. Read more »
Why Qualcomm thinks LTE-broadcast will work where FLO TV failed
Qualcomm’s big MediaFLO flop hasn’t dissuaded it from pursuing mobile TV. It’s championing a new technology called LTE-broadcast that purportedly solves FLO’s many problems. Read more »
Boxee rebrands new device as Cloud DVR, tones down cord cutting rhetoric
Boxee TV is dead, long live Boxee Cloud DVR: Boxee’s recently-launched consumer electronics device has been rebranded, and the company introduced a free service tier. Read more »
Study sees takeoff in automated ad buying for video — but will prices hold up?
Programmatic buying for online video ads — which lets brands buy select audiences in real time — is growing rapidly. The spread of this buying technique may coincide with a drop in prices but the two phenomena are not necessarily connected. Read more at paidContent »
Microsoft hopes to sell its Mediaroom IPTV platform to Ericsson
The rumored deal will become a reality later this year, assuming there are no regulatory problems. It would give Ericsson a market share of over 25 percent in IPTV and multi-screen systems and services. Read more »
Where to watch the 2013 Masters Tournament live online
The Masters Tournament is the first big golf championship of the season – and key events are being streamed live online. Read more »
Takeaways from The Raven, and other online shorts that went Hollywood
Short films released online have become an increasingly common way for filmmakers to break into the studio system — the latest example being an upcoming action film produced by Mark Wahlberg. Read more at paidContent »
Intel inside & out: trademark filings point towards Intel Media plans
Intel registered a trademark for Intel inside and out last week, which seems to be connected to its TV plans – and which turns out to be virtually identical to another mark registered in secrecy last year. Read more »
Four years in the making, Vdio finally opens up to Rdio subscribers in the US and UK
Rdio launched its video service Vdio to the public Tuesday night, offering movies and TV shows for rent and for sale. It’s not a subscription service, but it’s closely tied to Rdio’s music subscriptions. Read more »
Angry Birds, fat pigs and the future of television
Rovio’s Angry Birds Toons may very well be the first-ever mobile video show that reaches an audience of millions – but that doesn’t mean that startups are having it any easier. Read more at paidContent »
Warner launches streaming service: like Netflix, without the new stuff
Would you pay $10 a month to rewatch Gilligan’s Island? Warner Bros. thinks some people will, and launched a video service to do so. Read more at paidContent »
Netflix job offers hint at further international expansion: are India, Europe or Korea next?
photo: kcp4911
Netflix won’t expand to another international market until the end of this or early next year, but the company is already looking for help to translate its site – giving us some interesting clues. Read more at paidContent »
