Showyou is updating its iPad and iPhone apps to make the consumption of videos shared on social networks easier. In particular, Showyou gets “watch later” capability, as well as its own website and a bookmarklet for video sharing. Next up for Showyou: an Android app. Read more »
Turn on the TV at any given time, and you’re likely going to see tons of tickers scrolling across the screen on news networks, sports shows and even entertainment programming. Synchronize.tv wants to get rid of that and instead bring relevant information to the second screen. Read more »
Microsoft’s mixed history in the digital living room has many thinking the company could botch its deal with Skype where smart TVs are concerned. But leveraging Skype’s social capabilities and integrating the service with key Microsoft products might just prove otherwise. Read more »
Today at Google I/O, the company gave its first look at a new user interface developed to highlight apps and search on its Google TV OS. And we got some screenshots to share the new look and feel for Google TV devices. Read more »
BuddyTV has always been about helping viewers to navigate what’s happening on TV. Next month, BuddyTV will launch a series of iOS and Android apps designed to improve content discovery by learning what viewers watch and offering up personalized recommendations. Read more »
Google launched a movie rental store for Android devices today, making thousands of movies available for streaming and download. The store is already available on the web, and a dedicated Android app for handsets will be available within a few weeks. Read more »
Google I/O sold out in just 59 minutes, meaning only the most rabid fans and developers will be in attendance this year. But for those who can’t make it, Google will be supplying a live stream as well as archived videos of sessions that aren’t streamed. Read more »
Maybe it isn’t just a tablet OS after all: The next version of Google TV will be based on Honeycomb, the Android version that currently only powers a few select Android slates. Google also aims to improve its TV platform with apps and cheaper hardware. Read more »
Logitech’s Google TV sales tanked in the first three months of this year: The company missed its previous forecast on Google TV sales by more than 70 percent. Logitech now hopes that the next generation of the Google TV platform will turn things around. Read more »
Yahoo scooped up social TV startup IntoNow for more than $20 million today. The deal doesn’t just give Yahoo one of the hottest new entrants to the TV check-in game; it also offers access to technology that could help Yahoo with its Connected TV platform. 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 introduced Final Cut Pro X, the latest version of its professional video editing software, at the NAB conference Tuesday night. This new version replaces Final Cut Pro 7, and will be available for download via the Mac App Store for $299 beginning in June. Read more »
Sony online video venture Crackle is rolling out a new, free, ad-supported movie service to a connected TV or Blu-ray player near you. There’s just one catch — that TV or Blu-ray player will probably have to be made by Sony. Read more »
CNN is stepping up the coolness factor of its online video service, making it available in HD on a number of mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad, as well as Google TVs. The only problem? The new features will only be available to cable subscribers. Read more »
The barrier to media unbundling is figuring out how to make money if you do unbundle. The first step towards real “unbundling” is to put the viewer at the center of audience building — not channels, shows, or their massive and massively inefficient audience-seeking promotional campaigns. 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 »
Samsung is rumored to be considering creating Google TV products based on chips from ARM rather than Intel. A move to ARM could not only boost distribution of the Google TV platform, but could also help lower the cost of products running the connected device OS. Read more »
Today on the Net: Amazon wants to ramp up its video offerings but it has to play catch-up with Netflix, Samsung quietly launched two Google TV devices and Orb Networks turns any Blu-ray player into a media streamer. Read more »
MIPS is announcing its new Android-powered SmartCE platform at CES today, showing off set-top boxes running Froyo, Skype video chat and a home media center solution. Platforms like these could one day also run on your cable box. But what does that mean for Google TV? Read more »
Vizio could give Google TV a lifeline, with a new line of HD televisions that run the operating system combining live TV with Internet apps. But will Vizio’s market heft and integration with new mobile devices be enough to save the Google TV platform? Read more »
2010 was a year of shifts and experiments as the power of streaming content began to truly change the business of entertainment. And 2011′s undoubtedly only going to be more crazy in that regard. But what’s going to be the source of those changes? Read more »
Google is taking it on the chin, thanks to reported delays with Google TV software. While clearly an issue, it’s part of a much larger problem for the company as it diversifies from its search and advertising core businesses to more consumer-centric applications. Read more »
Google TV is postponing its coming out party at CES, according to the New York Times, with manufacturers from Sharp to Toshiba holding of on device unveilings. Google reportedly wants to spend more time on improving the product – and we go some unsolicited advice. Read more »
Mobile devices will become the next generation of TV remote controls, as pay TV providers and consumer electronics companies turn to mobile apps as a way to improve search and navigation. And why not? After all, viewers are using those devices while watching TV already. Read more »
Today on the Net: Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said he doesn’t necessarily need to renew the company’s deal with Starz, CBS Interactive head Neil Ashe is stepping down and CBS head Leslie Moonves said Google TV would have to pay up for access to its content. Read more »
Google’s acquisition of Widevine isn’t just about DRM. It’s about helping to make nice with Hollywood, widening distribution of YouTube content on connected devices, getting Google TV embedded with more CE manufacturers and making mobile video on Android devices a lot less painful to watch. Read more »
Today on the Net: A new bounty challenges hackers to open up Google TV, a new study says that cord cutting doesn’t exist and a new argument could help people accused of downloading pornography from P2P networks. Read more »
Google TV is scheduled to have access to the Android marketplace starting in early 2011. At that point, we can expect a flood of apps coming to the TV platform — but which one will emerge as the killer app, capable of making the platform itself successful? Read more »
Google TV-powered devices might be held back somewhat by price premiums related to the cost of materials required for the system to run. But a possible partnership with ARM Holdings could help Google’s CE partners to offer lower-cost products based on ARM chips. Read more »
Want to watch The Daily Show, The Colbert Report or Drawn Together on Google TV? Then don’t be discouraged by the fact that Comedy Central’s corporate parent just started blocking Google TV devices, as regaining access to these videos only takes a minute. Read more »
Today on the Net: Google TV Ads will now be available on 50 channels on Verizon FiOS, cable distributors and programmers appeared before a senate subcommittee meeting on retrans fights and Yahoo Connected TV is rolling out Paid Widgets beginning next year. Read more »
I keep praying for fewer buttons on my TV remote, yet we keep going in the opposite direction. Thankfully, AT&T seems to understand my pain. The carrier showed off some concepts today for adding voice control and cloud-based natural language processing to the TV remote. Read more »
Broadcasters have shown early resistance to the Google TV operating system, but CEO Eric Schmidt said in front of an audience today that the company is merely guilty of “making a dumb TV smart,” something he believes will eventually create more value for broadcast video content. Read more »
Wanna watch Glee on your Boxee Box? Then better hurry up: Fox.com currently doesn’t block the device from accessing its online videos, and neither do the other three big broadcasters. However, this could change soon. In fact, Boxee Box access to Hulu.com is alreay blocked. Read more »
Not even the San Francisco fire department can stop us: NewTeeVee Live 2010 started off with a mandatory building evacuation, but ended up to be a fast-paced event highlighting Hulu’s success, Google TV’s vision, the challenges of designing TV-compatible interfaces and the power of conversations. Read more »
Want to watch Glee, Bones or House on your Google TV device? Then better hurry up, because Fox.com is trying to block access to its content. There’s currently a loophole available, but that might change soon. Of couse, the cat and mouse game continues nonetheless. Read more »
TV apps will soon be “everywhere,” according to attendees of a recent GigaOM Bunker event examining the future of the TV market. But how that market will develop, and which TV platforms will win out, is yet to be ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Fox.com became the latest and final broadcast network to block its online video streams from appearing on Google TV-powered devices. The news comes after ABC, CBS and NBC had all previously blocked their shows on devices from TVs and Blu-ray players from Sony and Logitech set-top boxes. Read more »
It’s a good thing that the Logitech Revue set-top box isn’t an ideal cord cutting device, since Google TV product lead Rishi Chandra said he doesn’t believe cord cutting is actually happening. Chandra also said that Google TV isn’t meant to replace cable anyway. Read more »
