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MLB.TV app coming to PS4, Xbox One this spring
Major League Baseball's streaming app, MLB.TV, will arrive this spring, coming to PS4 and Xbox One in addition to the myriad of other platforms it calls home plate. The professional baseball streaming service is now available for purchase at two price tiers: The standard MLB.TV subscription for $109.99 per year and the Premium subscription for $129.99 per year. Though no details on the next-gen console versions of the baseball app have been provided, MLB Advanced Media tells Joystiq the features found on the Xbox 360 (seen above) and PS3 versions are a "good indicator" of what's to come on Xbox One and PS4. The Xbox 360 version included a split-screen mode for baseball fans to watch two games at once. The Premium tier grants viewers the ability to watch on connected devices like the aforementioned game consoles, so those looking to stream through their PS4 or Xbox One consoles will need to pony up the extra $20. Premium subscriptions also include access to the mobile app, MLB At Bat 14, viewable on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire and Windows Phone 8 devices. Subscriptions for the 2014 baseball season kicks in with spring training game broadcasts, which begin on February 26. [Image: MLBAM]
Twitter tool tells journalists what's BREAKING!
We've known for sometime that Twitter is looking to make a move in the news game, but what that would look like was still unclear. Today, the blue bird's intentions are starting to look a bit more concrete, with the announcement of Dataminr for News, a tool that pinpoints and alerts journalists of breaking news before every Joe with a dot com is tweeting about it. The tool, created in partnership with NY startup Dataminr, uses machine-learning algorithms to identify big and reliable stories and alert journalists via email, mobile alerts and other means. It will also provide detailed information about the origins and sources behind the information. According to The Verge, CNN has used Dataminr tools for months and is already seeing some payoff: It claims to produce at least two stories a day sourced from the service. The new initiative feeds into the "me first" media culture that has seen hoaxes rise to the top of Twitter as quickly as real breaking news stories. However, Dataminr claims that its algorithms cut through the bull shit by looking beyond the first tweet to find "corroborating sources on the ground" among other factors. According to TechCrunch, Dataminr CEO Ted Bailey said Dataminr for News will become available to all journalists for an undisclosed price later this year.
Sony discussing MP3, CD playback in PS4 after surprising fan feedback
When Sony outlined the PS4's hardware features in October, some potential customers were so shocked that the console wouldn't support MP3 files or CDs that they vowed to cancel their pre-orders. President of Sony Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida was surprised by such a heated response. "The biggest surprise for us all internally at Sony was there are so many people who passionately reacted to our announcement that there's no MP3 support or CD support on day one," Yoshida said on Giant Bomb's Interview Dumptruck, caught by Eurogamer. "It's not like we actively decided, 'Let's not do this feature so people will have to subscribe to Music Unlimited. The focus has been more on the game features. Some of the features we wanted but we couldn't get in on day one." The PS4 team in Japan is figuring out the best way to implement the missing media features, Yoshida said: "We didn't really think about MP3 or CD. We thought, 'We're going to do that eventually ....' It caught us off-guard. People don't really talk about these features, right? Some people get really mad and [say,] 'I'll cancel my pre-order!' So as we speak, people in Japan – the system guys – are discussing when we can put these features in." People certainly started talking about media features after Sony's announcement – we asked you (yes, you!) if musical freedom was important in a console, with poll results and your comments compiled here.
Xbox One will play audio 'compact discs' (ask your parents)
The Xbox One will play audio CDs and is DLNA compatible, allowing users to stream media from their compatible home networks, Microsoft told Penny Arcade Report. This follows Sony's FAQ for the PS4, which revealed the console won't be able to read CDs, won't support DLNA and won't read .mp3 files at launch. Xbox One won't read .mp3 files directly, but it works with Microsoft's Play To service, which streams from any device with Windows 7 and up, including PCs and Windows Phone. What timing, Microsoft.
Switched On: Casting light on the Chromecast
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Sold out for weeks after its launch, everyone seems to be in love with the Chromecast -- the ultra-cheap, ultra-small, interface-free, HDMI-toting TV appendage that stole the show from the new Nexus 7. Building beyond the DIAL device-discovery protocol that Netflix and YouTube have supported, Chromecast is a client of Google Cast, which enables the kind of second-screen control for volume and other features implemented by the device. Google has gotten the jump on similar products such as the Plair TV dongle by natively supporting three of the most popular services to use on televisions -- Netflix, YouTube and Pandora. Furthermore, it has also enabled a backdoor to many other services by building in support for displaying Chrome tabs on a Chromecast-connected TV. In doing so, it treats the TV as an extension of the browser just as Apple's forthcoming OS X Mavericks can treat an Apple TV-connected set as another Macintosh screen.
Vietnam decree prevents social media posts from linking to outside news reports
Unfortunately, decrees such as the one just approved in Vietnam are seemingly becoming more common, not less. Similar outcries were voiced after both Iran and Belarus laid down draconian laws about how their citizens were to interact with the internet, and now Vietnam is being shelled by residents and outsiders alike for a new decree that essentially bars the sharing of outside news. The specific verbiage states that "personal electronic sites" (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) "are only allowed to put [sic] news owned by that person." In other words, sharing of information from "press organizations or government websites" is now outlawed, as is the act of providing "general information" on profiles and blogs. Exact punishments are apparently still being drafted, but whatever arises, you can bet that the Vietnamese government is going to take a huge amount of flack for crossing this line.
Jeff Bezos buys 'The Washington Post' for $250 million in cash
Some big (and surprising) news in the media industry today: The Washington Post has just confirmed that it and its affiliated publications have been acquired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for $250 million in cash. The paper notes that Amazon itself "will have no role in the purchase," and that Bezos "will buy the news organization and become its sole owner when the sale is completed, probably within 60 days." It also goes on to explain that the existing Washington Post Company, which owns a number of other businesses (including Slate), "will change to a new, still-undecided name and continue as a publicly traded company without The Post thereafter." In an interview with the paper, the Post Co.'s chief executive, Donald Graham, says that "The Post could have survived under the company's ownership and been profitable for the foreseeable future. But we wanted to do more than survive," adding, "I'm not saying this guarantees success but it gives us a much greater chance of success." In a letter to Post employees, Bezos, who was apparently one of several suitors considered by the company, says that he "won't be leading The Washington Post day-to-day," but that "there will of course be change at The Post over the coming years," and that "we will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment."
Raspberry Pi gets its own media center kit: £46 for easy XBMC and controller (hands-on)
Behold, a ready-made answer for those who own a Linux-powered fruit machine but who are still looking for new ways to use it. It's a simple media center starter kit, fresh out and shipping today, which makes it easy to hook your Raspberry Pi up to an HDMI display and use it to play video or music from the internet or your home network through the wonders of XBMC. Known simply as "XBMC Solution," it consists of the Raspbmc software on a bootable SD card (this is an all-in-one install that combines XBMC with a lightweight Linux distro), a rechargeable RF controller with a small keyboard and touchpad to aid navigation (it's generic, unbranded, and even has a "Win" key, but it works fine), plus Ethernet and HDMI cables in case you don't have any going spare. Read on for more.%Gallery-191240%
The Soapbox: How to run a successful Kickstarter campaign
The past few years have seen an absolute revolution in the games industry, with an explosion of studios securing funding through crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter. In a time when banks worldwide are tightening their belts, Kickstarter represents a lifeline for indie developers and a way for the bigger studios to work on their own projects free from the need for outside investors or publishers. But with the growing number of projects seeking funding each year, developers are facing stiff competition and the rising challenge of running a successful campaign. Most developers don't release all of their stats or write up advice and insights following a successful crowdfunding campaign, and those who do are often lost on obscure blogs that don't appear when you Google for advice. But I'm in the unusual position of both being a games journalist and having successfully Kickstarted a small game project (unrelated to MMOs and my work on Massively). Six months ago, I ran a campaign for my new sci-fi 4X game Predestination, and in the process I learned some valuable lessons on what works and doesn't work on Kickstarter. We've since published the campaign stats and gone on to help a few other campaigns hit their goals. In this article, I run down the lessons I learned the hard way during the Predestination Kickstarter campaign and give some advice for developers hoping to get funded.
Ask Massively: The irony of media and betas
It's a running joke on Massively that some readers believe our lives are glamorous and that we sleep in beds made out of free video game swag. The truth is that video game bloggers are working in this field because they love the job. At least that's how it is around here. Or maybe writing in our pajamas is too posh to pass up. But people still believe we are loaded with perks just because we get to wear fancy hats that say "PRESS." Just kidding. There are no hats. Here's a recent example from a reader named Will6: Lucky you, getting to test drive the game. Everyone knows the press get instant invites because they are a free way [for studios] to advertise their game and get the word out. It's time for "everyone" to be disabused of that notion.
TechCrunch: Microsoft offering $1 billion to buy Nook Media
Microsoft has put forward an offer to buy complete control of Nook Media LLC, according to internal documents seen by TechCrunch. Redmond's joint venture with Barnes & Noble was set up last year to handle the Nook e-reader, tablet and college bookstore business. If the documents are accurate, Microsoft will dump the academic retail chain while retaining the digital arm of the partnership for $1 billion. The evidence also suggests that Nook Media will axe its Android tablets by the end of the 2014 financial year, concentrating instead on pushing the Nook store onto third-party devices including Windows 8 and/or Surface hardware. Simple Touch owners shouldn't be too worried, however, as the leaked documents state that Nook Media's e-reader division won't be killed off, as the technology is facing its own "natural decline." We've reached out to Barnes & Noble for something more official, and we're waiting to hear back.
BitTorrent launches 'Bundle' media format with Ultra Music partnership
The folks at BitTorrent have been busy little bees since the beginning of 2013. Between Sync, SoShare, Live and Surf you'd think the company already had enough projects to work on. Now it's adding a new file format called Bundle to its lineup of experimental alphas and betas. The technical details are a bit thin at the moment, but we do know that it's a torrent-based media format with tools added on top that allow for donation or email collection, among other things. The first release is part of a partnership with Ultra Music (home of artists such as David Guetta, Tiesto and deadmau5): a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Kaskade's 2012 tour. When you download the Bundle, which is basically a teaser for an upcoming tour documentary, you're also granted free access to the Dada Life remix of Dynasty. The rest of the content inside the file is essentially a self contained record store, with additional media you can unlock by submitting your email address. After the break you'll find a quick video overview of the format, which sounds like it has plenty of potential. Now let's hope BitTorrent isn't stretching itself too thin with this latest project.
New York Times to refine subscription model in wake of sliding ad revenue
If you're an avid reader of The New York Times, you're probably already familiar with its complex subscription model that ranges in price between $15 and $35 per month. Yes, it's sometimes costly to stay in the loop, but on the upside of the paywall, company CEO Mark Thompson says that readers will soon find a wider array of content packages, including less expensive options. The move may be necessary, and according to Bloomberg, the CEO painted it as "the single most important thing we're doing in the company." Today, The New York Times released its earnings for the quarter, which came in slightly below expectations and revealed a decrease in advertising revenue. Recognizing the shift, Thompson will work to make the organization less reliant on ad revenue and more focused on digital subscriptions. As for its growth strategy, it's said that we can expect lower pricing tiers that offer access to specific content such as politics, technology and the arts, along with premium tiers that provide feature content and access to events. Curiously, videos and even games will be in the mix, but it's currently unclear where that'll fit into the tiered strategy. The New York Times currently serves 708,000 subscribers, which represents a 45 percent increase from the first quarter of 2012. It's said that we can expect the refined subscription model to arrive sometime in late 2013 or early 2014, and it'll be very interesting to see just how complex the outlet can go with its pricing. [Image credit: Adam Kinney / Flickr]
iTunes Store update lets you buy media today, download it tomorrow
While we like the convenience of shopping the iTunes Store from any device, that doesn't mean we want the download wherever we happen to be -- just ask anyone trying to buy the Beatles Box Set using a flaky coffee shop hotspot. As of a quiet update noticed by Macworld, customers won't have to risk a long wait for some of their impulse purchases. Buy from iTunes on any device and you now have the option to defer very large downloads, whether they're music box sets, movies or TV shows. Shoppers have to live in an area where iTunes in the Cloud is up and running for downloads elsewhere, but that's about the only major catch. Swing by the source link for Apple's explanation of how its delayed gratification works for each format.
Angry Birds Toons premiering this weekend in Angry Birds apps
Rovio has long been threatening to bring Angry Birds into other media, and this weekend they're finally doing it -- kind of. Angry Birds Toons is a brand new cartoon series featuring none other than the frustrated fowl that iOS gamers have known and loved for so long. But you won't find it on a TV station or in a movie theater: Instead, the cartoon is premiering inside the Angry Birds apps, so if you have any of them installed, you can jump in and you'll be able to watch the series starting this weekend. Why are the birds so angry? Why do the pigs love the eggs so much? Rovio promises this series will answer all of those pressing questions fans of this game may or may not have. We have one of our own, however: Will iOS players ever get tired of tossing birds into badly-built structures? We may need more than a cartoon series to get an answer to that one.
Dish's Charlie Ergen on wireless dreams, ad skipping, à la carte programming and more
Charlie Ergen, chairman and co-founder of Dish Network, was the keynote speaker on the first night of the D:Dive Into Media conference in Dana Point, California., and without question, he's going to be a tough act to follow. The hour-long conversation touched on everything from Ergen's expertise at the blackjack table to his belief that there are just two kinds of people in the world -- "those who get results, and those who make excuses" -- but host Peter Kafka dove right into the major issue at hand: the Hopper. Head on past the break for a rundown of the interview.
Samsung details Innovation Centers in San Francisco and New York, focusing hard on software + hardware marriage
David Eun, presently serving as EVP at Samsung's Open Innovation Center after stints at AOL, Google, Time Warner and NBC Entertainment, just took the stage here in Dana Point, California during the opening night of D:Dive Into Media 2013. Given the media / content focus of the event, the conversation between Eun and host Kara Swisher revolved almost entirely around Samsung's role in the world of content, production, connectedness and distribution. Starting things off with a bang, he affirmed that Samsung is opening two new Innovation Centers that'll act as idea accelerators. In a way, this is Samsung getting into the funding game, which certainly adds a new twist to an industry that has largely been dominated by angels that aren't necessarily a part of a major corporation. Initially, one will be opening up in the Bay Area, while the other gets planted at an undisclosed location in New York City. Eun noted that in the past, Samsung was "focused on manufacturing hardware," but it realized some time ago that you "have to get both hardware and software right." He stated that the company as a whole has been "investing quite significantly over the past few years on software," and turning to how it impacts content, he explained an internal company process that aims to gather insight about consumers. Not necessarily in the creepy, privacy-invading kind of insight, but in the way of discovering what consumers want, but don't yet have in the marketplace.
BlackBerry World storefront goes live with music, TV shows and movies
Heads up, content lovers: you can now get your fix over at BlackBerry World, which has been updated with music, movies and TV shows for your perusal. As expected, prices are in line with industry norms, ranging from $8 to $12 for albums, and between $0.99 and $1.49 for individual tracks. Meanwhile, television episodes can be had for $1.99 a pop -- perfect if you happened to miss the awkward season premiere of Archer -- and there's variable pricing for movies, depending on whether you rent or buy. You'll find previews of all music tracks, but movies are limited to the trailers and TV shows lack free samples. Nonetheless, if you're feeling bold and live within one of the supported regions, take a moment to check out the overhauled BlackBerry World. It's certainly a nice appetizer of what's to come.
BlackBerry World music and video offerings detailed, next day downloads for TV
We're just a few short days away from the official debut of BlackBerry 10 -- RIM's effort to remain relevant in a market it helped pioneer. With the move to a next-gen platform, it also became clear that media would need to be added to marketplace offerings. When it launches, the revamped BlackBerry World will feature DRM-free music, as well as TV shows and movies available for purchase or rent. While prices aren't set in stone, you can expect them to to fall in line with industry norms. Best of all, most movies should be available the same day as their DVD release and TV shows the day after airing. And, lest you think RIM was going to half-ass the content part of the equation with nothing more than a few CTV and Japandroids offerings (we'd get tired of watching Degrassi: TNG eventually), the slew of partners is pretty impressive. Record labels signed on include 4AD, Matador, Warner and Sony and will be available in 18 countries at launch, while the BBC, Fox, CBC, ABC, CBS, NBC and Warner Bros. are among those offering TV shows in the US, UK and Canada. For a complete list of partners and countries check out the PR after the break.
Netflix, YouTube to take on Apple's AirPlay
Apple's AirPlay may have some competition in the future thanks to DIAL, an open-source, second-screen protocol being developed by Netflix and YouTube. The AirPlay alternative was first discovered back in December and now GigaOM has a detailed look at the project. DIAL, short for "discovery and launch," lets second-screen app developers discover and launch apps on smart TVs and other connected devices. It's meant to work seamlessly, so apps can easily find compatible devices on the same network and launch their apps with little user intervention. The project has the backing of key tech companies like Samsung, Sony, Hulu, Pandora and the BBC. Some Google TV devices and select 2012 TVs from Samsung and LG already have DIAL functionality built in. Scott Mirer, director of product management at Netflix, told GigaOM that other vendors are working on DIAL products that should debut in the coming months. You can read more about DIAL and how it compares to AirPlay in the GigaOM report.
