The Apple TV sold 1.4 million units during the holiday quarter, about half of what Apple sold in the entire year prior. While it’s far from a mass-market device, its sales numbers show that even in a relatively small market, Apple dominates the competition. Read More »
President Obama’s State of the Union address will be carried on all the major broadcast networks, as well as on all the cable news channels. But if you’re unable to watch on TV, the speech will be available online and on multiple mobile and connected platforms. Read More »
Boxee’s new Live TV dongle combines free over-the-air HD TV with social sharing and an electronic programming guide. The device is specifically being marketed to cord cutters and people interested in ditching their pay TV subscription – but is it worth $50? Check out our review. Read More »
A year after launch, Encoding.com has decided to bring its Vid.ly universal URL service in-house. The cloud encoding vendor will make Vid.ly, which was originally rolled out as a standalone service, part of its offering to enterprise customers, which will bolster its overall product offering. Read More »
Vimeo has redesigned its website, with a much larger player and multiple features aimed at improving navigation and discovery. Built with its user base in mind, the new Vimeo has less clutter and is a lot faster when it comes to loading pages and finding … Read More »
Publishers are pushing HTML5 video, despite a lack of real standards around the display and rendering of supported players. thePlatform is addressing that problem with a new offering that enables customers to create one video player that can be delivered through any device or browser. Read More »
YouTube’s announced new viewership milestone today, with more than 4 billion video views daily. That’s impressive, and more importantly, shows how YouTube could serve as a blueprint for other technology companies that wish to create an alternative to the existing media industry. Read More »
In case you missed it: Feared entertainment journalist Nikki Finke is now using YouTube to personally lambaste Hollywood, Star Wars Uncut gets an official director’s cut, and the guys behind White Collar Brawler find a way to get paid to drink tequila on camera. Read More »
After a tumultuous year for Netflix, long-time Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Kilgore will be stepping down from her role with the company. In her place, Netflix has named Jessie Becker as its interim Chief Marketing Officer and appointed Jonathan Friedland as the company’s Chief Communications Officer. Read More »
MegaUpload, the file-sharing community, has had its physical offices raided by the FBI and its site shut down because the U.S. government says it has violated copyright. I asked a few companies that track web traffic to see how it affected the Internet. Read More »
Google SVP of ads Susan Wojcicki said on the company’s earnings call that 60 percent of all video ads that appear on YouTube are TrueView ads, meaning that viewers can skip it and move on to the video if it’s not relevant or interesting. Read More »
Big media companies are pushing SOPA and PIPA to limit piracy. But it’s not Google’s fault people are seeking out films and watching pirated streams or downloads — it’s the studios’ fault for not making it easier for consumers to find and pay for that content … Read More »
More Must Reads
U.K. Netflix clone Lovefilm just announced an app for LG’s smart TV’s, and the company is also getting ready to launch on Roku’s media streamer once the device becomes available to Britons. Details on the Roku app are scarce, but it could launch in early February. Read More »
YouTube’s addition of over 100 premium original channels is well underway. The latest group of channels to join comes from the action sports vertical, which will finally give skateboarding, surfing and other extreme sports fans a place to catch up on moves in the industry. Read More »
Snapstream is making its TV monitoring capabilities available to Mac users, with a Web-based video player and client that will let its customers search, view and clip live and recorded TV feeds. That could increase help its potential customer base, while making its existing base happier. Read More »
Chill.com has all but abandoned its Turntable.fm-like group chat rooms and is now focusing squarely on social video discovery. The startup’s founder Brian Norgard likened the new approach to the way people interact with content in media-focused social networks like Instagram and Path. Read More »
China’s online video service PPTV struck a strategic partnership deal with local cable TV provider WASU last week that could hold the key to finally bring online video to the living room in China. Android TVs and set-top boxes could also play a big role. Read More »
Online video chat provider Yowie is boosting its social presence, with a Facebook app that will let individual users talk to one another while sharing interesting videos. The app differentiates itself by ranking users based on videos they share and their behavior in chat rooms. Read More »
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how consumers will soon be buying more TVs, and upgrading them ever faster. After seeing the best that CE manufacturers had in store at CES, I’m even more convinced. But not for the reasons you might think. Read More »
Hulu is launching its first original scripted show just days before Netflix will unveil its first stab at an original TV show. Both companies are part of a bigger movement toward original online programming that includes new ways of funding as well as distribution. Read More »
Lonelygirl15 writer and ARG creator Jan Libby is currently seeking Kickstarter funds for a new alternate reality game experience called Snow Town, but the underlying technology could become a secret weapon for creating transmedia experiences. Read More »
No, it’s not Apple’s long-rumored TV set or one of the countless other app platforms from Samsung to Roku: Google TV’s biggest competitor, capable even of derailing the company’s entrance into the market for pay-TV set-top boxes, may just be Android itself. Read More »
A week ago, it seemed like Google TV was back on track after announcing new partners. But if Google finally is gaining the trust and support of the consumer electronics industry, there was little evidence of it at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Read More »
Numerous cricket fans that have streamed matches from pirate sites in the past are receiving a very interesting sales pitch from online cricked specialist Willow.tv these days. The offer: Become a paying Willow.tv subscriber – or open yourself up to a potential lawsuit for copyright infringement. Read More »
Hulu made $420 million in 2011, and is expected to pay $500 million to rights holders this year alone. The service now has 1.5 million paying subscribers, and Hulu CEO Jason Kilar projects that Plus will account for more than half of Hulu’s revenue this year. Read More »
Verizon is working to increase the number of connected devices that can be used to access its live and on-demand streaming channels, with plans to finally bring its live iPad app — and possibly an app for LG TVs — to market later in 2012. Read More »
Michael Mathieu, former CEO of video ad network YuMe, has taken the chief executive role at Affine Systems. He’ll take over for Co-Founder Mike Sullivan, who will stay on at the startup in an executive role. The management change comes as Affine just raised $5 million. Read More »
Time Warner Cable is developing an app for Panasonic’s Viera Cast Smart TV platform to access its on demand video library. This makes the company the first cable operator to develop an app for Panasonic’s platform. The app is supposed to launch some time this year. Read More »
One DVR to rule them all? In addition to bringing Comcast’s new cloud-based user interface to subscriber homes, the Xcalibur set-top box includes DLNA Premium Video, which will allow users to access live and recorded TV from tablets, PCs, connected TVs and other devices. Read More »
GetGlue announced a new $12 million round of funding Wednesday, and the company has big plans for the money: It plans to launch a new version of its iPad app in Q1 of this year that will be a personalized take on the TV Guide. Read More »
Netflix dominates the business of streaming movies and television into consumers’ homes, but a new business model developed by big data firm Opera Solutions could help give cable companies the inside track. The model is combination of peer-to-peer networking via set-top boxes and big data algortihms. Read More »
Hollywood’s UltraViolet initiative might not have gotten off to a great start. But things are looking up, as it’s added Amazon as a partner, and Samsung Blu-ray players will now let consumers add DVDs they’ve already purchased to their UltraViolet digital rights lockers. Read More »
The latest evidence that the set-top box will soon be dead comes from Samsung and DirecTV, which have partnered. Set-top boxless viewing will enable operators to provide the same user interface on the TV without the need for another piece of hardware. Read More »
Netgear is trying to compete with Roku, Apple TV and Boxee with its own streaming media player. The NeoTV has a few hundred apps, including Vudu, Netflix and YouTube, but lacks local playback capability and Hulu Plus. Should you buy it? Check out our review. Read More »
Just about a month after going live with its iPhone app, Givit has dramatically increased the number of mobile devices that support its private video sharing service, with the rollout of an application for Android. Users can now upload, manage and view videos from Android phones. Read More »
Roku is starting to sell its Roku LT and Roku 2 XS players in the U.K. and Ireland. The company is hoping to cash in on the launch of Netflix in both countries earlier this week, and possibly make up for weaker-than-expected sales last year. Read More »
Comcast is finally making live TV available on the iPad. But unlike other operators, it’s not just making those streams available directly through an app: Customers who wish to take advantage of the live offering will need an extra set of equipment to make it work. Read More »
Cisco’s new Videoscape products announced at the 2012 CES will provide more functionality both for managing assets in the cloud, as well as new client-based technology for a wider range of connected devices. That will add new immersive features for pay TV subscribers. Read More »
Samsung is putting some effort behind its smart TV lineup, with plans to add new functionality for consumers to interact with their TV screens. Its next-gen smart TVs will include voice, gesture and facial recognition features that will enable even smarter TV applications. Read More »
Affine Systems, which makes software to scan and sort the content in online video, has raised nearly $5 million in a new funding round, according to a regulatory filing. Affine’s software gives advertisers the tools to analyze online video in a way that’s similar to television. Read More »
Dish first announced its Blockbuster subscription streaming service three months ago. In that time, it’s been quietly ramping up the amount of content its subscribers can access through the service, boosting the number of choices from just 4,000 streaming titles at launch to more than 25,000 … Read More »
Although devices that shoot high-definition video are cheaper and more ubiquitous than ever, amateur videos themselves have not gotten any better to watch. That’s where a new iPhone app called Magisto comes in: It turns any simple iPhone video into a fully edited movie in minutes. … Read More »
Want to catch all the action at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but didn’t make it out to Las Vegas? Don’t worry: Many of the keynotes and press conferences are streamed live online, and numerous outlets have set up their own show floor live feeds. Read More »
Dish is betting big on the DVR to help it win over more customers and fight off competition. The satellite TV provider is coming out with new and improved recording devices that can be taken advantage of from up to four TVs throughout the home. Read More »
One of the more interesting devices to come out of CES will be Simple.TV, combining some of the best capabilities of TiVo DVRs and Sling streaming set-top boxes. The box, which will be released in Spring 2012, will cost $149 and be aimed at cord cutters. Read More »
Most Commented
Popular Now
