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Sony's scheming a streaming music and video subscription service, too?
Perhaps you've heard that Apple's investing in digital video distribution at the moment? Perhaps you've read that Amazon's working on a subscription video network, too? Sony makes number three, as the Financial Times is reporting the electronics giant is looking to launch a multimedia platform of its own. Starting with the PlayStation 3 and PSP, and then later extending to internet-connected Sony TVs, Blu-ray players, Vaio computers and phones, the service will reportedly offer both music and video sometime next year in what's no doubt an attempt to work out deep-seated guilt at the death of Connect. You won't have to wait nearly that long, however, to find out what's what -- the publication says Sir Stringer intends to preempt Apple's six-string reveal by announcing the PlayStation Network-based service from IFA 2010 in Germany. Call us crazy, but this sounds like a perfect fit for the Sony's out-of-the-blue $130 Netbox. [Thanks, dedparrot]
Amazon planning subscription video service to challenge Netflix and Hulu?
Looks like one company's not ready to let Apple claim the spotlight with tomorrow's rumored $99 iOS-based Apple TV launch -- the Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon has a subscription-based streaming video service in the works. Reportedly focused on older content more easily pried from the iron fist of traditional media (similar to Netflix Watch Instantly and Hulu Plus), the service is aimed at the usual array of internet-connected devices -- the Xbox 360 was called out specifically -- and one anonymous source told the publication that Amazon intends to get the connected entertainment party started by Yuletide. Mind you, Amazon's not exactly new to the streaming video game. Remember Unbox? The day the company turned that service into Video on Demand it came with 40,000 programs -- a good 11,582 more than today's Hulu Plus. So, if the rumors are true, we imagine that over two years and many integrated systems later, Amazon might still have a decent leg up.
Apple survey hints at iTunes streaming video service coming soon?
At this point we're fairly certain we'll see updated iPods at Apple's event on Wednesday, but we're still in the dark when it comes to that updated iOS-based Apple TV -- we know it's in the works, but we don't know if it's coming this week. But if you're feeling optimistic, a new Apple iTunes customer survey seems to offer a tiny little hint -- it lists "Titles are available to watch instantly" as a reason you might totally love watching video on the iPad. Of course, you can't watch iTunes videos "instantly" right now -- the iPad requires the entire video file to download before playback begins, and the current Apple TV requires a fair bit of buffering -- so this could be a big hint that instant streaming is coming quite soon. On the flipside, this could just be a mistake or oversight and actually mean nothing at all, but honestly, where's the fun in that? [Thanks, PeteO]
Netgear announces NeoTV 550 & 350 HD Media Players plus other networking goodies
This week Netgear made a battery of new product announcements related to home entertainment and Powerline networking. On the media side, the NeoTV 550 & 350 HD players look a lot like last year's Digital Entertainer Elite, minus the 500GB of internal storage and access to VOD services like CinemaNow. Both are however capable of playing a robust list of codecs in full HD from a variety of attached sources like USB, eSATA (in the case of the 550) or SD storage, as well as streaming content from UPnP, DLNA or WMP11 networks. The 550 adds in support for external Blu-ray drives and BD-Live too, all for $219, which should appeal any of the poor souls with an unused standalone drive. Three new Powerline kits -- AV 200, AV 500, and AV+ 500 -- were also announced to help consumers avoid the pain of stringing Ethernet in every direction. The entry level AV 200 appears to improve on the previous HDXB101 kit by offering the same theoretical 200mbps in addition to push button security enhancements and greener power consumption. The AV 500 kit provides the same and ramps the networking speeds to up to -- you guessed it -- 500mbps, while the "+" version throws in a pass-through filtered AC socket to avoid sacrificing precious outlets. Priced all below $200, every kit will available be by mid November for all the fall home networking your heart could desire. Peep the galleries and PR below for further details. %Gallery-100540% %Gallery-100541%
MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it's freely distributed
The H.264 codec that makes a good deal of digital video possible has actually been free to use (under certain conditions) for many years, but following recent controversies over the future of web video, rightholders have agreed to extend that freedom in perpetuity. Whereas originally standards organization MPEG-LA had said it wouldn't collect royalties from those freely distributing AVC/H.264 video until 2016, the limitless new timeframe may mean that content providers banking on WebM and HTML5 video won't have an expensive surprise in the years to come. Then again, patent licensing is complicated stuff and we'd hate to get your hopes up -- just know that if you're an end-user uploading H.264 content you own and intend to freely share with the world, you shouldn't expect a collection agency to come knocking on your door. PR after the break.
Hulu Plus has 14 percent more content than Hulu, 2,840 percent more Family Guy
Hulu Plus is more than just extra content, it's an iOS, game console and TV-based app that streams in HD, but if programming is indeed your primary concern, you might be disappointed with what's included in your $10 monthly fee. Research firm One Touch Intelligence decided to catalog each and every episode on Hulu and Hulu Plus, and discovered the paid service had 28,418 full-length episodes -- only 14 percent more than regular Hulu's 24,854 -- during one week of testing in August. Looking at the sample chart immediately above, it's plain to see you're getting your money's worth if you're a Supernanny or Law & Order fan, but Hulu's got a content deal or three to make if it wants Hulu Plus to leapfrog its existing ad-supported service.
Twinbird's Link Zabady gets SD card reader, the love of TV addicts everywhere
Twinbird sure loves its little waterproof displays -- and you might too, if you spend a lot of time watching TV perilously close to water (that is, in the tub or doing dishes). Like its successors, the latest Link Zabady refresh comes with a 7-inch display, base station (with multiple A/V and S-video inputs), and remote. The device also boasts a new and improved waterproof body and an SD card reader for up to 16GB storage on the unit itself. MSRP is open, although Akihabara thinks you'll spend about ¥60,000 ($700) on one of these bad boys. Now, say "Twinbird Link Zabady" out loud five times fast.
Apple's Lala music team working on video streaming service for 2010 launch?
When Apple acquired Lala, the obvious use for all that local scanning and internet streaming technology would have been to serve up our hard-drive-based iTunes music libraries from the cloud. Here we are though, eight months later, and the only significant impact from the acquisition was the closure of the Lala music service. And it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon. According to an investigative piece by CNET, Apple is telling the big-four music execs that it won't be offering any significant cloud-based music offerings within the next few months. In fact, CNET's sources claim that Apple still hasn't obtained the licenses required to store and distribute music via a cloud-based service. So what's Apple doing with all that Lala talent then? According to CNET, the team has been working on an "undisclosed video feature" instead of music. Additional sources at the major film studios claim that Apple plans to create "digital shelves" this year letting iTunes users store movies and other media on Apple's servers. Hmm, does that sound like Keychest to you? Naturally, all of this makes sense in light of Apple's plan to open a 500,000 square foot data center (pictured above) in North Carolina later this year at a cost of $1 billion. What better facility to serve up 99 cent streaming TV rentals to a completely overhauled Apple TV in the home, and highly mobile iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone devices on the go. Anecdotally, it's not like Apple's showing too much concern with storage limits on its iOS devices -- the iPhone 4 just launched in the same 16GB and 32GB offerings as the 3GS instead of the typical doubling of flash storage we've come to expect from new iPhone iterations. So really, the question isn't if, it's just a matter of when. Original image courtesy of Cult of Mac
Netflix Watch Instantly title search flips on for all PS3 users
Being tied to a disc hasn't made for the easiest Netflix Watch Instantly experience on the PlayStation 3, but it has its benefits, and now that includes the ability for all users to search its library directly on the console. This feature's been available to some for months before it was even announced the Xbox 360 would get parity in a fall update, but we can confirm it's currently rolling out to all PS3 users. It should automatically update the next time you're watching, so just slide left from Instant Queue on the top bar to live the glorious life of title searching that you deserve. %Gallery-95206%
YouTube easter egg lets you play Snake while clips load (video)
No, not Metal Gear Solid's Snake. We're talking about the Snake that was popular before the smartphone was a twinkle in the industry's eye. Google has imbued YouTube videos with an engaging new easter egg that lets you play the apple-chasing game while your video stream buffers -- simply mash your keyboard's up and down arrow keys during most any clip to increase YouTube's time-wasting potential tenfold. What's that you say -- your internet connection is so ludicrously fast that videos play instantly? Ah, my lucky friend, let us introduce you to YouTube's 4K mode. Or, for a special treat, hijack the footage we've provided after the break to get your meta-giggles going. [Thanks, Alan]
Hulu Plus on PS3, hands-on (update: video)
Sure, we already told you what Hulu Plus looked like on iPhone, iPad and a Samsung TV, and not much has changed since that juncture, but we expect a number of you care quite a bit about how it will operate on PlayStation 3, especially considering you'll (presently) have to cough up an additional $50 annually for the privilege. The good news is it's absolutely nothing like the PS3's disc-based Netflix solution -- here, you're looking at a responsive experience through and through, and the interface is about as simple and full-featured as we'd hoped. After a 28MB download, we were invited to either log in with an email/password combination or link our console at Hulu's website, both of which launched the program nigh instantly from the hard drive. The interface afterwards is a dead-ringer for the Samsung TV version, except optimized for console control, with the analog stick and shoulder buttons smartly seeking through programs at high speed, or tapped to jump ahead in fifteen-second increments. You can similarly adjust video quality (and thus, bandwidth usage) with a press of the R1 button, watch picture-in-picture programs while you browse, and the search function admirably narrows down Hulu's content as quickly as you can type the letters in. It does have its bugs, like when we tried to watch High Fidelity and were asked if we wanted to subscribe to the show, and there was the time we got caught in an unending advertising loop for body wash, but that time we think the app was just trying to tell us something. Yeah, we'd better run out to the store, but don't go away -- hit the gallery below for a brief tour. Update: Our friends at Joystiq have a video walkthrough; check it after the break! %Gallery-97526%
PlayOn for iPhone brings a wealth of streaming video to iOS, we go hands-on (update)
It's ugly. It's buggy. It requires a Windows PC. But PlayOn for iPhone actually works, slinging Netflix, Hulu, CBS and more to your waiting Apple device over WiFi and (occasionally) 3G. Using the same PlayOn desktop client that presently redirects video-on-demand to your game console or a media streamer attached to your TV, subscribers can download an app on July 15th that transcodes content for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad as well, and is today the only way to get Netflix on your phone. We spent some quality couch time with the program over the last couple of days, and with a powerful PC, fast internet and WiFi connection, we found video quite watchable on our iPhone 4, and there's no knocking PlayOn's breadth of content available, with loads of TV, a good deal of anime and your entire Netflix streaming queue available on the phone. The interface is barely there, though, just a series of poorly-spaced nesting menus, and it can take quite a few touchscreen presses and a bit of thought to find what you want to watch. There are a few bugs too, like one that kept shooting us back to the main menu randomly upon a button press, and another that locked us into a particular piece of content until both app and desktop server were restarted. Some content could have looked better on the 3.5-inch Retina Display if only we'd had the option to press the HD button, but the only controls Media Mall provides are forward, backward and volume, and even with full bars we're afraid we couldn't get 3G playback to work reliably. Since the company still offers a free 14-day trial of the service, the software's definitely worth a try, but if you want Hulu or Netflix on the go (or even around the house), we imagine you'll eventually end up using their dedicated apps instead. Update: PlayOn's PR team tells us some of the exact bugs we found have already been fixed for tomorrow's launch, including crashes that return the user to the main menu, and system states that chain the user to a previously selected video. That's an impressive turnaround! Update 2: The same team just pinged us again, and it looks like they've hit a roadblock. Apparently the app is once more "in review" under Apple's watch, so only Cupertino knows when exactly it'll be released to the world. We'll let you know as soon as we hear more. %Gallery-97503%
Voddler video-on-demand service free to the people (of Sweden)
Voddler, the year old video-on-demand service that's wowing them in Western Europe (much like Sandra Kim did when she won Eurovision for Belgium in 1986) has just announced that as of today it is offering open enrollment to users in Sweden. The company is already boasting over 600,000 registered users (up until now, invitations were required), contracts with five of America's major movie studios, and Scandinavia's biggest assortment of free movies and TV shows. Sadly, if you're a displaced Norwegian living in the states, this will all do you no good at all: the service is not available in the US of A. We suppose this is all payback for Hulu's restrictions from international fans of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Either way, the situation is pretty "wackadoo." We've heard on the street that the service, which features a ten foot interface for living room friendly viewing and utilizes a P2PTV overlay network (similar to Vudu) for streaming should eventually hit the states, although there doesn't seem to be a timeline on that. PR after the break. [Thanks, Karl]
Netflix adds Relativity Media to its Instant queue, takes on HBO and Showtime
Ever wonder why premium movie channels (your HBOs and the like) get top-shelf Hollywood movies not long after their DVD release but yet you're still stuck streaming Mystery Science Theater 3000's greatest hits on Netflix? That situation could be changing thanks to a deal with Relativity Media, who you may not have heard of before but has had a hand in the production and distribution of big Hollywood flicks like 300 and A Serious Man. The deal with Netflix will bring some of the company's movies to Watch Instantly within months of their DVD release, avoiding the usual multi-year exclusivity window that pay networks usually require. Right now only a few movies are mentioned, including The Fighter, Skyline, Movie 43, and Season of the Witch, but this deal establishes Netflix as a player in this market, pitting itself against HBO and Showtime for first distribution of premium content to the small (but ever growing) screen. If things go well, your Instant queue could be getting a bit more plump over the next year or so.
Hulu Plus announced with support for iPad, iPhone, PS3, Xbox Live, and more (update)
We've just received word that the premium Hulu service we've heard chatter about for a while now has just become official. Dubbed Hulu Plus, the $10 / month service will feature entire seasons of shows that are available in limited quantities on the free service, as well as other programming not available via Hulu on the web. There will be iPod and iPad apps available (streaming with WiFi or 3G), along with support for Samsung connected TVs and Blu-ray (via Samsung Apps). Also in the works is support for TVs and Blu-ray players from both Vizio and Sony (fall 2010), PS3 (July) , and Xbox 360 (as part of a "custom experience" in Xbox Live Gold, early 2011). Hit up the source link to get in on the "invitation only" preview of the service, and to keep abreast of availability for your favorite hardware. Video after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] %Gallery-96577%
PlayOn adds ESPN3 streaming for your World Cup viewing pleasure
PlayOn's apparently been hard at work to make sure it's worthy of the new premium pricing, and now is ready to offer ESPN3 among the channels it shunts from PCs to connected TV devices including the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. That means if you have a provider who offers ESPN3 and a TV that doesn't have a cable box on it for some reason, but does have one of the supported devices, you can stream the game live or watch archived videos from the site whenever you please. Of course, ESPN3 and PlayOn's other notable service, Hulu have both been the subject of rumors indicating they'll be available directly on consoles. Any announcements are potentially due in a few days at E3 2010, but the 14-day trial period should give plenty of time to see if any new deals appear on the horizon -- or if your team doesn't make it past the initial group phase.
ABC's subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey?
At Engadget HQ, we take great care not to trumpet the claims of a web survey, as it's always difficult to tell who's actually doing the surveying -- and even if we could, consumer surveys are all about a "what if" that may never actually come to pass. That said, it looks like maybe ABC is conducting a study asking folks whether they'd be interested in a subscription to an ABC.com streaming video service, and maybe that service might have a wide variety ABC shows, past and present, fully on-demand. Sound familiar? Interestingly, the subscription would seem to be offered alongside the existing free service, and both paid and free would have advertising, though reduced by 20 percent for those coughing up the fee. You can find a list of potentially potential shows included in the gallery below, forwarded to us by an anonymous tipster; we tried to take the survey ourselves, but were promptly rejected for our love of FlashForward. %Gallery-93824%
Fox Mobile launches Bitbop beta, a Hulu for your phone
While Hulu might be missing out on the mobile space due to licensing issues, Fox Mobile-backed Bitbop is looking to step in and take the reins. The app, currently in beta and available only for select BlackBerry devices, has 25 content partners including Fox (of course), CBS, NBC, and Comedy Central. It's said to work over WiFi or even 3G data connections and is free so far, though a section in the FAQ intimates that Fox will also launch a premium plan with "unlimited, full-length, network TV shows with no commercial interruptions" for $10 a month, and mobile movie rentals are also apparently on the way. And never fear, Android and iPhone lovers -- mocoNews reports that apps for your smartphone of choice are coming, too. Let's hope Fox gets it working on Froyo, before Hulu kills that workaround.
How to get Hulu running on Android 2.2, for now
Android 2.2 and Flash 10.1. A perfect combination for combination for a little Hulu on the go, right? Not quite, as Hulu has decided to block videos (for legal reasons) when it detects a mobile device, but it turns out there is a surprisingly simple workaround. As Absolutely Android explains, all you have to do is make Hulu think you're using a desktop browser, which can be done simply by entering "about:debug" in the address bar and switching the UAString setting from Android to desktop. The only downside to the trick is that you'll now also get the full desktop version of the Hulu site (and any other site, until you switch it back), and there's a better than decent chance that Hulu will close this loophole before you can finish your first episode of Kojak.
Clicker.tv brings streaming internet video to your TV's browser; it has a web browser right?
When Clicker launched last fall it seemed like just another me-too streaming video aggregator, but we'll have to give it another look after it's followed up its Boxee integration by showing off the HTML5-built Clicker.tv site at Google I/O today. Designed as a "ten-foot" experience for TV screens it can be perused via mouse and keyboard or just a remote, bringing Clicker's index of video including network TV, webisodes and web-only content, plus premium sources like Amazon VOD and iTunes. It's currently in beta, but if leaning back and browsing from the couch is your thing -- or on the off chance someone launches a Google TV with Intel processor, support for all those streaming codecs we love and a QWERTY remote from Logitech tomorrow -- it could be worth bookmarking.
