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Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV (update: event video)
Google just kicked its Google Fiber efforts into overdrive. The company's Kansas City effort is getting a full launch and now includes Google Fiber TV -- a "real" TV service with recognizable channels and its own, fully searchable interface that mixes DVR results with Netflix and YouTube. As many as 500 shows can be stored in full 1080p HD, and several TVs within the home can tune in at the same time.. Not surprisingly, there's also a major mobile component taking advantage of that 1Gbps fiber link, as users will have the option of browsing, sharing and eventually watching live TV directly from tablet apps. The company is also promising an ever-evolving service that includes Google+ video hangouts. For hardware, Google has its own dedicated Network Box with a four-port gigabit Ethernet router and 802.11n WiFi, a TV Box with live viewing and a WiFi access point as well as a Storage Box DVR with 2TB of data and the ability to record eight shows at once. Your remote control? A free, bundled Nexus 7 tablet, naturally. The overall service will come with 1TB of Google Drive space, although it's expensive to get started: there's a $300 "construction fee" (currently being waived) to wire a home for the fiber optics. Three packages will be on offer, starting with a Gigabit + TV package that includes the essentials, all major channels and "hundreds" of fiber channels (plus on-demand content) for $120 a month. Skip traditional TV and it costs $70 a month -- and if you're a local resident willing to pony up the construction free, you can get 5Mbps internet access for free for "at least" seven years. Key institutions are getting the full gigabit access for free, as well. Only small slices of Kansas City in both Missouri and Kansas state should have access at first, but Google is conducting a six-week "rally" where the most people paying a $10 pre-registration fee dictate where Google Fiber goes next. Now if only other cities would go the same route. Update: The full event replay is available for your inspection after the break. %Gallery-161174%
Aereo avoids a preliminary injunction, keeps its antenna to internet TV service on the air for now
While the battle between Aereo, a service that brings OTA TV broadcasts to the internet, and the broadcasters that began suing it before it even launched continues, a judge ruled today against a request for a preliminary injunction to shut it down. Reuters reports that the basis for the decision is that while the broadcasters demonstrated they faced "irreparable harm", Aereo too faced harm from a potential shutdown, and the balance did not tip heavily enough in the broadcasters favor. So, for now the subscription feeds from those microantennas to NYC residents shelling out $12 a month will continue -- we'll wait see if the upstart streamer's streak continues.
Youview TV platform and set-top box coming to UK stores this month (update: priced at £299)
The BBC's iPlayer has become too successful. It either needs to calm down or be put on a more level playing field with on demand services from the other big UK broadcasters -- and it's going to be the latter. Youview -- which has nothing whatsoever in common with YouTube except its name and the fact that it also does video -- is a PVR set-top box that uses both an aerial and a web connection to allow catch-up viewing, and we've just heard it'll arrive in UK stores towards the end of this month. It'll bring together programs from the BBC (which also contributed £10 million of license fee cash), ITV, Channel 4, Five, and Sky, using infrastructure from BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva, and it'll target millions of British viewers who want a "seamless" mix of live and archived telly without being tied to a subscription -- and who don't yet depend on a Smart TV, games console or other converged device. Update: Youview front man Lord Alan Sugar told us that the box is Humax-built and will cost £299. He also added that there'll be adverts within commercial programs, but not plastered over the EPG or interface itself.
Time Warner Cable starts rolling out lightly refreshed guide with new color scheme, cloud VOD search
While it's definitely good news that Time Warner Cable is revisiting its Navigator guide again, the bad news is that at least in terms of appearance, very little has changed. The screenshots above show the old guide (left) next to the new one (right) and as you can see, other than a color scheme adjustment to match its new apps, things are almost entirely the same. In terms of functional adjustments, names have changed for some of the menus, and now the A button on the remote pulls up channels listed by category, the B button searches by title and the select button lets you know if features like Start Over, Look Back or VOD are available. According to CED Magazine, the guide's (slight) facelift also goes hand in hand with a new cloud-based video on-demand portal that includes with richer graphics and metadata, as a prelude to more cloud-provided navigation and IPTV set-top boxes. So far we're seeing notes that the new guide is being delivered in Syracuse and Charlotte, if you haven't received it yet Time Warner Cable says it will be running newspaper ads ahead of the change in each area -- people still read newspapers, right? Update: We're told that another new feature of the update is the ability to filter out any channels you want from the guide. Check one box on the Ben-o-vision form.
Intel's TV service aims at Nielsen, big cable, might not get here
Reuters is reporting that Intel's mooted virtual television network has hit the buffers because it can't beat its cable rivals spending. The company is eyeing up the $100 million TV business with a set-top-box and over-the-top service that would offer smaller, cheaper bundles of channels rather than the hundreds that come with a basic cable subscription. It would leverage its facial recognition technology in the system both by offering precise ratings data to networks and by showing targeted adverts to whoever it can see is watching. The former will surely annoy Nielsen, a player with plenty of its own influence in the industry. Despite hiring a quartet of industry heavyweights to help negotiations, studios are refusing to offer discounts to a new and untried entrant, meaning we may not see the service arriving by that planned November launch date.
Google Fiber GFHD100 'IP set-top box' breezes through the FCC, doesn't say where it's headed
The future of Google as a hardware manufacturer (beyond its purchase of Motorola) continues to be shrouded in rumor and mystery, but the GFHD100 box that just popped up in the FCC's database is very much a fact. As seen in the pictures, it's sporting a Google Fiber label which suggests it's a part of rolling out video services to the Kansas Cities, and also reveals it's being built for Google by Humax. The MAC address shown in the picture is registered to Google directly, while the test report calls it an IP-set top box, equipped with WiFi, IR, USB, Ethernet, HDMI input and output and an Ethernet / coax (we assume MoCA?) bridge, which sounds similar to the boxes favored by Verizon's FiOS. Unfortunately our only view of the device itself is from underneath so there's not much else to glean about its abilities or possible relation to the hardware Google has reportedly been testing around the country, but you can hit the source link below to dig through the documents yourself or check a close up of the label (we tried the QR code, it appears to be for registration but it didn't work) after the break.
Tim Cook: 2.7 million Apple TVs sold already this year, TV is 'area of intense interest'
Still pontificating onstage at D10, Apple CEO Tim Cook was inevitably queried by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg about the ongoing Apple TV rumors, though for now he only referred to the company's existing set-top box. He revealed that Apple sold 2.8 million of the hockey pucks last year and has already moved 2.7 million in 2012. As Steve Jobs did repeatedly before him, he mentioned that TV is something "many people would say that this is an area of their life that they aren't pleased with" and explained Apple's key questions: Can we control the key technology? Can we make a significant contribution beyond what others have done in this area? Will this product be one that we want? Walt pressed for more info and even dug into the Apple TV's limited content offerings, but Cook quickly shut things down (to knowing laughs from the audience) without revealing any plans for a TV set, IPTV service or anything else. He did however say that he doesn't think Apple "has to own a content business", as Netflix, Amazon and Google are developing, indicating that it hasn't had an issue (for the most part) getting content. Check out our liveblog for the minute by minute quotes here.
NBC lays out 2012 London Olympics broadcast plan on TV, internet, apps and in 3D (video)
Love it or hate it, we're stuck with NBC as our Olympics broadcaster in the US, and the company recently laid out its full plans for the 2012 Olympics in London this summer. The good news first: NBCOlympics.com will live stream every single event (they'll even be on YouTube, and in the UK the BBC has its own plans) for the first time ever including streams of each of its channels, encompassing 3,500 total hours and the awarding of all 302 medals. The bad news is that if you're not a cable subscriber, many of those hours will not be available to you, and even if you are, you're looking at a (likely convoluted) authentication sign-in process. That's a little bit of pain, sure, but it should mean what we've been asking for -- the ability to watch all Olympics events as they happen, not tape delayed for prime time after viewing grainy bootleg streams over the internet. Also new for the internet are multiple streams for the same event, so for example, viewers can select a particular gymnastics apparatus or track and field event at will. On mobile devices, NBC also has plans for two different apps on phones and tablets, with one that brings live video streams and another with highlight clips. It didn't specify what platforms they would be available for, but we'd assume the usual suspects (iOS, Android) will be first up. On pay-TV cable, satellite and telco providers it's also providing dedicated channels for basketball and soccer, although it's up to your provider to pick them up. The same goes for the 242 planned hours of 3D coverage it's producing in partnership with Panasonic, which will unfortunately air on 24 hour tape delay, just like the HD broadcast was back in 2004 (we've got chips.... and salsa!). For the full breakdown of all 5,535 hours of coverage across NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo and everything else check out the press release after the break, plus an Olympics preview trailer. While there are some limits for cord cutters, sports fans with pay-TV should be ready to experience the best Olympics coverage ever with the ability to watch what we want, instead just what's on the TV schedule.
Roku players add Dish international TV channels, become that much more exotic
Roku has already been turning its players into TV hubs, but it's been focused on US programming -- not so hot if you're an immigrant hoping to catch up on affairs back in the homeland. Dish is aiming to remedy that by offering its Dishworld service as an avenue for the media hub: owners can subscribe to over 50 channels without having to spring for a satellite package. The focus is heaviest on south Asia, with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan getting the most service -- including a few cricket channels for good measure. Arab channels like Al Jazeera and Brazilian channels like TV Globo Internacional join the fray as well. Roku 2 and Roku LT viewers living in the US can already subscribe to Dish's service in tiers that start at $20 a month, though Roku HD owners will have to sit tight until the summer to practice their Hindi.
Comcast fires back over Xfinity TV on Xbox 360, says no way, no how it's violating net neutrality
Complaints by Netflix's Reed Hastings and a handful of politicians must have rankled Comcast CTO Tony Werner, as he just posted a particularly detailed explanation of why Comcast believes the Xfinity TV app on the Xbox 360 isn't violating net neutrality. We'd previously heard the argument that the Xfinity app's traffic is simply being routed through Comcast's internal network and isn't the same as the Internet data of Netflix, but Werner now contends that the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) tags that some think are breaking FCC rules by favoring Xfinity video are really just necessary switches. They're not prioritizing traffic, they're setting it aside, the claim goes. Of course, Hastings and others believe that setting Xfinity video aside is prioritizing, and Comcast's point of view sidesteps the practical reality that watching Netflix, Amazon Instant Video or iTunes will lead you closer to that ever-present 250GB cap while Xfinity doesn't. The FCC during its rulemaking warned against special private services being used as end-runs around neutrality concerns; it's up to the agency to decide whether or not that's true here, or whether Comcast is just offering its usual service in a new way.
AT&T stops offering Xbox 360 U-verse bundle until it can deliver an updated version
In a relatively strange fashion, AT&T's quietly pulled the plug on its U-verse kit for the Xbox 360 -- at least for the time being. According to a note on its own site, the company's taking some time to focus on "improving and enhancing" its U-verse bundle. This is probably a reference to the updated app (that would also require XBL Gold) AT&T promised for the new dashboard with Kinect support and a new UI, but has yet to deliver. As Multichannel points out, earlier last week Netflix had filed a complaint with the FCC, claiming that AT&T's U-verse on Xbox violated network neutrality regulations -- though, it's unclear whether this had anything to do with the outfit's decision to suspend the service. AT&T has said the set-top kit won't "be available until the new enhancements and functionality are added," so we'd recommend not holding your breath for too long.
Sony exec confirms IPTV aspirations, says they're on hold due to bandwidth caps
CES came and went without an update on the status of an alleged cable TV alternative the Wall Street Journal claimed Sony was building to push ahead its four screen strategy, but now Sony Network Entertainment VP Michael Aragon has given the rumor new life. Variety reports that during its Entertainment & Technology Summit Monday Aragon confirmed the company is considering offering TV services over the internet, but is waiting to see what happens with ISP bandwidth caps. Specifically referring to the Comcast 250GB limit that has recently come under fire from Netflix and others now that its Xfinity TV app on Xbox 360 skirts the cap entirely, Aragon noted cable companies have the pipe and the bandwidth and can restrict competing services. We've heard Netflix has been trying to negotiate its own path around such restrictions even as Redbox partners with Verizon on a video service, and rumors have periodically popped up linking Apple, Microsoft and any other tech giant you could name to similar plans. What does all this mean for the future? No one can say for sure yet, but unless some of the key players start to partner up instead of go to war we may need the FCC to step in before anything significant changes.
Time Warner Cable is preparing for TWC TV IPTV streaming on Roku boxes
Time Warner Cable's TWC TV streaming TV service has already arrived on iOS and Android 4.0, so what's next? According to information we've received, the next stop should be connected TV platforms, starting with the popular Roku media streaming boxes. We already got a glimpse of TWC TV on an HDTV during CES 2012 when it was being demonstrated at the Panasonic and Samsung booths, and were told at the time that it could launch on "multiple platforms" later this year. While company personnel are currently being briefed on compatibility with Roku the launch could still be some time off, as previous preparations for rollouts like streaming to PCs came months ahead. We contacted reps for the company about the plan and received a "no comment" in response, so there's nothing in the way of official word just yet. Either way, if all you want to do is ditch the bulky cable box for a diminutive hockey puck, it seems like 2012 could finally be the year. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Intel plans branded IPTV service, could launch by end of 2012
In a shift that would see its familiar brand move from the inside out, Intel's reportedly in talks to create an IPTV service that could rival current subscription offerings from cable and satellite. According to the Wall Street Journal, the venture would deliver programming via household internet connections and has the personal backing of CEO Paul Otellini, signaling a consumer-facing shift for the typically behind-the-scenes company. The proposed service, which would bear the Intel brand, is still far from a concrete reality, but the chipmaker has held several talks with content companies to secure carriage deals, as well as demo its proprietary set-top box and navigation UI. So far no programmers have signed on for the "virtual cable operator," putting the outfit's tentative end-of-year 2012 date into question.
Time Warner Cable's TWC TV launches for PC, brings live TV streaming to the desktop
After expanding its live TV streaming from iPads to iPhones, Time Warner Cable is going in the other direction and offering the service on PCs. The PC version of TWC TV launched today in beta -- still no word on streaming to Android devices or HDTVs yet -- but the Silverlight player will work on Windows and OS X, in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome. According to the official blog it has more than just streaming, with remote control over compatible set-top boxes and DVR scheduling also included. Of course, the same restrictions still apply here as they have on tablets and phones, with playback only while connected to your home network. If you're a Time Warner customer, hit the link below to sign in and try it out, or hit the blog for more details on what works where.
AT&T U-Verse iPad app combines DVR control and companion features
It's been over a year since we saw AT&T first demo a U-verse connected tablet app with second screen companion features it called "ComplemenTV" and last week it officially launched for the iPad. AT&T U-verse for iPad can act as a remote control for any the company's DVRs in the home, as well as pull in extra info about the content that's playing. If you're away from home, it can still pull up guide data, program the DVR, or play a selection of VOD shows just like the U-verse's other mobile apps. what it doesn't have however, unlike many other pay-TV tablet apps out there, is live TV streaming of any kind. Of course, it is a free add-on, so check after the break for a quick video demo or hit iTunes to download it yourself.
Sky will launch an internet based TV service in the UK in the first half of 2012
UK pay TV service Sky has just announced its quarterly results, and despite adding 100,000 subscribers as well as notching its "highest ever first-half adjusted operating profit" it will launch a new internet TV service, available to anyone in the country with a broadband connection. Sky describes the new over the top (OTT) service as being aimed at the 13 million UK households who don't currently subscribe to pay TV, with access available via "PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, games console or connected TV." Initially, it will offer Sky Movies on demand joined by sports and entertainment options later, with access based on either monthly unlimited subscription or "pay-as-you-go" pricing. As far as the company's basic services, it will continue to develop its existing Sky Go product for standard pay-TV subscribers and zeebox iPad companion app, although this seems to initially be a worth competitor for things like Lovefilm and recent UK entrant Netflix. We have plenty of questions about what it will offer cord-cutters and cord-nevers in the UK when it launches in the first half of this year, we should find out more on the earnings call shortly. Until then, hit the PDF link for more detailed financial breakdowns, or check out the IPTV service press release after the break.Update: Still waiting for Sky Go on Android? The company mentioned during its presentation that the app will finally arrive on Google's platform in February, starting with Samsung Galaxy and HTC handsets. It will also have new channels, including Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts, plus, of course, the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel. The company is also expanding its broadband reach, with plans to cover a million more homes by June 2013, and add a Sky Broadband Unlimited Fibre option. For 20 a month, it offers 40 megabit download speed with no usage caps based on BT Fibre.
Reuters: Microsoft's TV subscription plans 'on hold'
After years of hearing about Microsoft's poorly hidden plans for offering streaming TV subscriptions through the Xbox 360 (among other devices), Reuters is reporting that those very plans are currently stuck in a holding pattern. According to "people familiar with the discussions," Microsoft built out an infrastructure for delivering television, but upon finding out how much it would cost to deliver currently broadcast-exclusive content, walked away from talks. "They built Microsoft TV, they demoed it for us, they asked for rate cards but then said 'ooh ah, that's expensive,'" the piece quotes one "senior media executive" as saying with regards to the negotiations. That doesn't mean that the plans are a total wash, just that they're currently not progressing. Still, some avenues for live television are currently available and coming soon to Microsoft's Xbox 360, including a limited selection from several cable providers, as well as the just announced partnership with Newscorp which will bring Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and more to the console. Update: Microsoft has issued this statement regarding the Reuters report, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation. Microsoft is committed to working with the world's leading TV and entertainment providers to bring their offerings to Xbox and transform the TV experience with the power of Kinect. We are continuing to launch the more than 40 new entertainment partners we have already announced, including a wide range of live and on-demand TV on Xbox. Moving forward, you can expect to see more of the world's leading entertainment providers coming to Xbox."
Panasonic HDTVs show off Time Warner Cable IPTV app with live streaming channels, DVR access
Time Warner launched the TWCable TV live streaming app for iPad last year (Android streaming coming soon), and now at CES Panasonic is showing off a version for TVs. While it's still streaming TV channels from the internet just like the tablet version, the one Panasonic is demonstrating also has DLNA streaming access to anything stored in DVRs on the same home network. We're told the app should work on 2012 and 2011 Panasonic HDTVs, and while there was no word of a release date, the app appeared pretty polished. It's not clear if the cable company is making the jump fully to IPTV yet (or anytime soon), but if it's going to straddle the midpoint then Panasonic's sets are ready for a set-top boxless future. From what we hear, this could launch on multiple platforms later this year. Check out a few more screenshots in the gallery below, we'll let you know about any more details as they become available.
Sony may be preparing an internet-based cable TV alternative
We've officially entered the silly season of pre-CES rumors, so take this with a grain of salt, but the Wall Street Journal reports Sony has approached "several big media companies" about distributing their channels over the internet. This comes on the heels of its report on comments by CEO Howard Stringer about significant R&D efforts going into a "different kind of TV", and the four screen strategy Sony would like to implement. According to the report, Sony's idea is to offer small bundles of channels over the internet to its TVs, Blu-ray players, and the PS3. Still, cutting deals with companies like CBS, that doesn't want to jeopardize its cable and satellite TV-based revenue, could be difficult. As for the competition, similar rumors about Microsoft turned into an effort that mostly works with partners like Comcast, U-verse, and FiOS, while Google is also pursuing a route of adding to, but not necessarily replacing, cable TV. Sony has positioned itself well, adding IPTV services including sports to the PS3 and live TV tuning capability, and its tested the waters of going over the top before, but so far whether it will actually pursue this new plan is unknown.
