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Kodi box piracy case comes to anticlimactic end
A man arrested for selling "fully-loaded" Kodi boxes has suddenly backed down from fighting his case. Brian "Tomo" Thompson pleaded guilty to two charges under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act earlier today. The charges are for advertising and selling devices — in this case, custom Kodi hardware — built for the purpose of streaming content illegally. It's a sharp U-turn from January when Thompson attended a hearing at Teeside Crown Court and plead not guilty to both offences.
BBC is putting hundreds of classic TV programmes on iPlayer
Over the years, the BBC has amassed an impressive trove of classic TV and radio programming. Accessing it all can be tricky, however, because iPlayer has always been positioned as more of a catchup service. Some series are available permanently, but most, especially older shows, are not. You normally have to buy them digitally, on DVD or Blu-ray, or hope they're accessible somewhere on the BBC website. Not anymore. The BBC is launching a section on iPlayer called 'From the Archive,' which, as the name implies, will be a home for BBC classics. Roughly 450 programmes are available at launch, with more being added "in the coming years."
EE TV gets voice controls thanks to Amazon’s Alexa
While Vodafone has long abandoned its dreams of a TV service, rival network EE is pressing on with its strange Freeview-bundled-with-some-on-demand-apps box. The hardware now supports Alexa, Amazon's voice-enabled assistant, through an Echo or Echo Dot-equipped speaker. So you can ask, "Alexa, ask EE TV what's on tonight" and hear some suggestions from the Freeview-powered guide. The new Alexa "skill" also supports queries for specific channels and, more importantly, will let you set up recordings, regardless of whether the set-top box is on or in standby mode.
Cartoon Network beams 'Powerpuff Girls' to your TV with Chromecast
Cartoon Network is about to make some people very happy. The TV channel has updated its Android and iOS apps with support for Chromecast streaming, which it says was a highly requested feature by fans. In case you're not familiar with how Google's $35 dongle works, Cartoon Network's apps will now let users push episode streams from their mobile device to a nearby Chromecast-connected TV, all with a simple tap of the "Cast" button.
Vevo's Apple TV app takes cues from Spotify
Music lovers with Apple TVs, it's time to get moderately excited -- because the tvOS Vevo app is getting a hefty overhaul. From tomorrow, Vevo will let owners of fourth generation Apple TVs experience an endless wave of curated music videos like it's 1999 all over again.
YouTube is bringing 360-degree videos to your TV
Google's I/O 2017 developer conference isn't just about its search engine getting smarter. The company has also announced that YouTube's 360-degree videos are coming soon to TVs, expanding beyond smartphones and web browsers for the first time. "It's not just about the size of the screen," YouTube product manager Sarah Ali said before demoing a 360-degree video from Coachella. "It's about giving you an experience that [traditional] TV just can't match."
Amazon's latest Prime incentive is exclusive music concerts
Not content with merely streaming music, Amazon is preparing to put on its own live shows. Prime Live Events will be ticketed and exclusive to Prime members, adding an extra incentive to its "all-in" subscription. The initiative starts on May 23rd with a Blondie performance at the Round Chapel in Hackney. Alison Moyet will then take the stage on June 12th, followed by a Texas set at Porchester Hall four days later. Finally, Katie Melua will be throwing a concert at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea on July 25th and 26th. Amazon says more shows will be announced in due course.
YouTubers will need at least 10,000 views to make ad money
YouTube has been busy tweaking its service and community lately. It just rolled out a live TV-streaming feature, and recently moved to better identify offensive content to prevent ads from being displayed on those videos. The latest update to its Partner Program slaps a 10,000 channel view minimum requirement on creators before it will allow ads to be displayed on those sources' videos. In a few weeks, the company will roll out a review process to evaluate new applicants for the partner program. These steps are designed to weed out illegitimate channels and prevent them from earning ad money off the service.
Amazon's Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote hits the UK for £40
At long last, Amazon is selling its new Fire TV Stick in the UK. The cheap media streamer, which comes with an Alexa-enabled voice remote, first debuted in the US last October. As you would expect, the hardware lets you search for movies and TV shows, launch apps and control playback. Like the Echo, however, Alexa can also be used for a number of "skills," such as asking for the weather or dimming your smart lights. The stick itself has also been upgraded with a new processor, making it 30 percent faster than the previous model, and supports the speedy 802.11ac WiFi protocol.
Netflix's overly simplified thumb ratings are here
The rumors are true: Netflix is dropping its star-based rating system in favor of "Thumbs," a new way for you to vote up (like) or down (don't like) on movies and TV shows that show up on your feed. As Variety reported earlier this month, the streaming service began testing this feature in 2016, but only with a small number of subscribers. Starting today though, Netflix will start rolling it out to all users on its site, mobile apps, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Facebook Live makes the overdue jump to desktop
Facebook users have been able to broadcast live videos for over a year now. It's been mobile-exclusive since it was introduced, but Facebook has been working on bringing the feature to other platforms. Last year, the company revealed that it was rolling out live video to select desktop users. Now, starting today, all computer-bound Facebook users have access to the feature, the company said in a blog post.
BBC and ITV's 'BritBox' streaming service arrives in the US
The BBC and ITV have banded together to launch their own subscription streaming service in the US. They've teased "BritBox" before, but now it's actually here, for $6.99 per month on the web, Apple TV and Android (Roku, Chromecast and iOS apps are in the works.) If you've wanted a Netflix equivalent for Top Gear, Doctor Who and The Great British Bake Off, however, you'll be sorely disappointed. At launch, the service is being propped up by older classics such as Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes (the one starring Jeremy Brett, not the Benedict Cumberbatch reboot.)
California bill doesn't want Netflix to be taxed like a utility
Proposed legislation in California aims to prohibit video-streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, from being taxed as utilities by local municipalities. The AB 252 bill, called the Streaming Tax Relief of Entertainment And Movies (STREAM) Act of 2017, was introduced by assembly member Sebastian Ridley-Thomas to "safeguard high tech innovation" in his state. This comes after the city of Pasadena had previously worked to introduce a nine percent Utility User Tax for streaming services, although those plans from 2008 didn't pan out.
'Orange is the New Black' season five premieres on June 9th
House of Cards isn't the only show Netflix is soon bringing back for a new season. The streaming service revealed today that another one of its hit originals, Orange is the New Black, will be premiering its fifth season on June 9th. Last year, Netflix said the series created by Jenji Kohan would be around for quite a while, after announcing it had been renewed for three more seasons (five, six and seven).
Netflix wants its own TV merchandise empire
As the lineup of Netflix originals swells, it's no surprise to hear that the company wants to push into merchandising. As Bloomberg reports, the video streaming provider has posted a job opening for a "licensing, merchandising and promotion" senior manager, tasked with "pursuing consumer products" that will "drive meaningful show awareness." The move makes perfect sense, given the popularity of shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. T-shirts, caps and mugs seem obvious; it will be interesting to see how, if at all, the company experiments.
'House of Cards' returns for its fifth season on May 30th
Netflix couldn't have found a more ideal moment to tease season five of House of Cards. In the midst of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th president of the US, the streaming service announced that its hit show is returning on May 30th. The slogan for the new episodes appears to be "We make the terror," which could signal that the Underwood family is still up to no good. No surprise there.
Nintendo's Switch won't have video streaming apps at launch
We've been up close with the Nintendo Switch, tried some of its games and heard the company's pitch for the system. But still, questions remain. Thankfully, the folks at Kotaku have managed to prise some new information out of the house of Mario. Namely that the system does support multiple users -- up to eight accounts can be registered on a single system -- and that Nintendo's colorful Miis will be making a return. "There is a Mii Maker on Nintendo Switch," a spokesperson confirmed. "Mii characters can be used to represent a user profile, but are not required. [They] can still be used in games if developers choose to include them."
Apple is looking to make its own Netflix-beating TV shows
Apple is planning on investing in original TV shows, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. With iPhone sales on the decline, people close to the company have revealed that it will attempt to gain Apple Music subscribers by adding original video content to the service. While this move has been rumoured since the relaunch of Apple TV, the company has apparently now started reaching out to Hollywood producers, planning to offer original video content by the end of 2017.
Apple reportedly working to rent new movies early on iTunes
According to Bloomberg, Apple is in talks with major movie studios to offer early rentals on iTunes. The report, which cites sources familiar with the ongoing discussions, suggests 21st Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., are trying to find a partner to help them rent films "as early as two weeks" after they first hit theaters. That said, Bloomberg does note that the Hollywood overlords may "end up choosing another technology platform" instead of iTunes, although no specifics were given.
All 4 is getting a new look with improved recommendations
Channel 4 killed off 4oD and replaced it with the new, All 4 on-demand service early last year. Since then, All 4 has made its way onto several important TV-connected devices and brought live streaming to mobiles and tablets. Next up: A visual upgrade. Not too much will change when the new UI comes to big screens like smart TVs, set-top boxes and consoles within the next few weeks, before hitting iOS, Android and the web in due course. A new dark background and slightly rearranged card-like UI are among the changes, but Channel 4 is making a point of talking up the new home screen, which'll blend data-driven recommendations with hand-picked content from human curators.
