The Apple television is the latest, hottest subject of the rumor mill that surrounds the company. On Thursday, a new report revealed many more tantalizing details about why Apple might be a creating a television and what will set it apart from the competition. Read more »
Reports about the Apple television set supposedly in the works are coming fast and furious following a quote from the Steve Jobs biography. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the project is spearheaded by Apple VP Jeff Robbin, who is the lead software designer for iTunes. Read more »
Last week, an advance quote from the Steve Jobs biography seemed to suggest that an Apple television set could be on the way, and a new investor note Monday from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, citing supply chain sources, lends more credence to that possibility. Read more »
Happy birthday to us: It’s been a year since we published the very first episode of Cord Cutters. In that time, we’ve not only released 35 additional episodes but also learned a whole lot about the future of TV, and the people who reinvent it. Read more »
For all the talk, there’s little evidence that cord cutting, to whatever extent it is actually happening, has loosened the grip of the networks or cable operators on the TV business. If anything, they’ve tightened their hold, as evidence from this last quarter shows. Read more »
How’s that for a deal: Roku’s new entry-level set-top box is selling for just $49. That’s half the price of an Apple TV – but the company insists it’s still making money on every unit sold. Roku also announced the launch of an HBO Go app. Read more »
One of the big upgrades in the new Apple iPhone 4S is its new 1080p HD camera. That’s a big boost over the current iPhone 4′s 720p camera, but the upgrade may not be apparent if users try to watch those videos on an Apple TV. Read more »
Roku just announced a significant new retail parter: Target will sell the company’s media streaming boxes in its stores nationwide. The partnership follows similar deals with Best Buy and Walmart, and could help Roku sell three million boxes by the end of the year. Read more »
Sezmi has hit the deadpool from a consumer perspective. The company will stop offering its combination over-the-air broadcast and streaming service to consumers, focusing on selling its hardware to operators instead. The decision comes after finding little customer adoption, despite raising some $71 million. Read more »
A recent survey by HBO seeks to find out how likely Netflix users are to cancel after its recent price hike. HBO also wants to know if cable subscribers will stick around thanks to HBO Go, and which devices they want to access the service on. Read more »
A big part of Netflix’s growth has been its embrace of connected and mobile devices, which now contribute 80 percent of all Netflix traffic. With the company expanding to Latin America, one has to wonder: How many of these devices are available in countries like Brazil? Read more »
Despite its role as a major selling point of the revamped Apple TV last fall, Apple confirmed Friday that it has done away with TV show rentals for iTunes and Apple TV. The company said the decision was based on lack of interest from customers. Read more »
Podcasts have become a good way for cord cutters to get up to date info in lieu of broadcast news or TV shows. Thanks to the Apple TV, bringing them into the living room is a piece of cake. Here are two ways to do it. Read more »
Apple’s share of the online video sales market is on the rise again after a falling considerably due to new competition, a new study reveals. The market share growth is small, but it also brings increased revenue and a roadmap toward more growth in the future. Read more »
Discerning TV viewers take note: Apple just turned on HD availability for many HBO television shows in the iTunes Store. Customers in the U.S. and Canada can now purchase HD episodes and seasons of many HBO series, including Eastbound & Down, Rome, Entourage and Big Love. Read more »
As evidenced by the news this week of the new HTML5-based Kindle Cloud Reader, much of the news about HTML5’s rapid ascent has centered on mobile devices. But the fast-growing technology won’t just be a one-screen phenomenon. In fact, HTML5 is set to completely invade the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Canceling cable won’t just save you money, it could also help to save the planet: Apple TV, Roku & Co. use significantly less electricity than your cable box. However, not all Netflix boxes are created equal. We tested five popular brands to find the greenest device. Read more »
One thing that iTunes has over Spotify’s online music service is its wireless connectivity to the Apple TV. But it is actually possible to get the same kind of connectivity with Spotify, and use it from any room in your house. Here’s how. Read more »
Apple rolled out an update to its Apple TV software Monday that introduces new features. The update is available now and allows you to stream TV shows you purchase through iTunes, along with providing access to Internet video site Vimeo. Read more »
The second quarter of 2011 was a fast-paced one for the connected consumer segment, with every sector of the digital media landscape — music, e-books, online video and gaming — experiencing significant events and changes. Media consumption, purchase and management continued its shift towards the cloud, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Microsoft just released its Q2 results, and it’s clear the 360 has gone from being a drag on financials to contributing in a positive way. But one surefire way to expand the market further is by making the 360 available at the $99 price point. Read more »
Apple’s got a lot of money to throw around, to the tune of $76.2 billion. Is it interested in spending a chunk of that on Hulu? According to Bloomberg, Apple could make a bid for the online video service. Read more »
Apple put away $10.4 billion in cash during the most recent quarter, bringing its total cash and securities to $76.2 billion. Apple is extremely conservative about what it does with its money, which has become a little controversial. Here’s what people are saying. Read more »
Tablets are taking our entertainment experience in a new direction, and in the next two-to-five years, the tablet could serve as your secondary video screen or universal remote control. All of which means that the future of the digital home is already here. Read more »
Pictures and details of the next generation of Roku set-top boxes have been revealed, thanks to a filing with the FCC. So should you get ready to buy one? It probably depends on if you already own a Roku — and how much you like Angry Birds. Read more »
With Griffin Technology’s Beacon IR controller, video viewers will be able to navigate live TV, video on demand and multiple streaming video services all from a single application. The Dijit app provides the ability to search and navigate all your devices, while also incorporating social features. Read more »
The NBA’s effort to increase the amount of video available to fans in the latest season, with the league reporting more website visitors and video streams watched over the course of the 2010/2011 season and postseason than ever before. Read more »
Since the second-generation Apple TV was released, people have been wondering if and when apps would arrive on the device. But Apple hasn’t opened up the Apple TV to third-party developers; or it hadn’t before it unveiled iOS 5 this past Monday. Read more »
It may have taken consumers a while to warm up to Blu-ray, but now they’re buying both players and discs. Lower prices may be part of the reason for that trend, but many consumers cite Netflix as the primary reason to buy a Blu-ray player. Read more »
Fanhattan just released an iPad app and is working its way onto connected devices. But instead of launching as a channel on someone else’s device, Fanhattan might try to build a device of its own, which would put it up against Roku, Boxee and Apple TV. Read more »
Apple’s back to school promotion has run the last several years, from the last week in May to the first week in September. However, as the growth of iPod sales has slowed and other products have the spotlight, it might be time to rethink the promotion. Read more »
For Apple TV owners that also subscribe to MobileMe, Gallery is an underrated feature. MobileMe Gallery and the Apple TV just work for photo and video sharing, at least most of the time. If you’re having trouble with the video part of that equation, try this. Read more »
Want to play a DivX or an MKV file on your iPad, iPhone or Apple TV? Then check out this Cord Cutters quick tip, where we show and explain how to easily convert any kind of video file to make it playable on iOS devices. Read more »
After a year in which over-the-top video services grabbed most of the media’s attention, some of the online video headlines shifted back to traditional pay-TV providers in the first quarter of 2011. Device manufacturers rolled out new offerings, while cable-TV providers moved to expand their in-home footprint beyond the TV itself. But over-the-top continued to encroach, with Roku adding its first linear channels to the Roku store and Netflix acquiring exclusive rights to high-profile original series House of Cards. Finally, traditional web powers like Google, Yahoo and Apple made moves to reassert their presence in the living room after their early stumbles. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Comcast, Cablevision, Viacom and VUDU. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Countless apps on the iPad and iPhone use ads for monetization. However, if you bring those apps to the TV, these overlay ads might appear up on top of traditional broadcast content, which is a plan that some broadcasters really don’t like at all. Read more »
Apple is once again rumored to be creating an HDTV, which could launch by the end of this year. But to be successful, Apple will need industry buy-in to ensure that the new product provides more value than TVs already out on the market. Read more »
Last year, Apple introduced a sleeper agent that, while better than its predecessor, still wasn’t fully active. That agent was the Apple TV, and it wasn’t until the recent release of iOS 4.3 and the expanded availability of AirPlay that its true potential became apparent. Read more »
Apple could be ready to upend the living room market in a truly revolutionary way. Analyst Peter Misek thinks Apple is just about ready to launch a new cloud-based video streaming service that could go well beyond what Apple TV already offers. Read more »
Apple is considering offering AirPlay video streaming to third-party device manufacturers via licensing, Bloomberg reports. It’s an idea that could provide a lot more presence for Apple in the living room, but also potentially cost the Apple TV its tentative foothold there. Read more »
According to NPD, Netflix now dominates digital video downloads in the U.S. Apple has only a measly 4 percent of the overall market, placing it about on par with cable and satellite providers. What does this mean for the future of Apple’s video business? Read more »
