Items tagged with Streaming
In an effort to expand its footprint in emerging markets, Netflix is rolling out a $3 monthly subscription plan that is for mobile devices only. This may or may not be a permanent thing—as of right now, the ultra-cheap mobile plan is part of a wider test as Netflix looks to gain ground in the streaming space with cheaper packages. The $3 per month plan shouldn't come as a surprise, not after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently indicated plans to test cheaper packages. Netflix is testing a mobile-only subscription for around $3 per month in a handful of countries worldwide, including Malaysia...
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The cable/satellite industry is finally having to face the music: customers are getting tired of rising TV service prices and are looking for alternative solutions. According to a recent report, Americans are fleeing cable and satellite TV packages at an increasing rate as they flock to OTA local channel broadcasts paired with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Comcast is keenly aware of this new dynamic; the company lost 106,000 cable subscribers during its most recent quarter. To help keep customers in the fold, however, CNBC is reporting that the cable giant is working...
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Cable and satellite TV providers are losing customers, and it's not because any of the services are lacking in content. That is not the issue. Instead, an increasing number of customers are 'cutting the cord' and going with one or more streaming services. The primary reason for going that route is because streaming solutions are generally cheaper. This has been a threat to cable and satellite TV providers for a long time now. However, as services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and others add more content and options, the threat of losing customers to the cord-cutting movement gets bigger....
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China is a huge market for gaming, and likewise, Twitch is the largest streaming platform in the world. Unfortunately for Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, it will have to forge ahead without a presence in China, at least for now. China decided to block Twitch not longer after the streaming service experienced a surge in downloads in the area. Twitch is gone from Apple's App Store in China after recently rising to near the top of the chart, landing at No. 3 among free app downloads. The rise in downloads is attributable to the Asian Games, and state broadcaster CCTV deciding to now to air the esports...
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The first new product from Elgato since it was announced that Corsair was acquiring part of the company has now landed. The Stream Deck Mini slots into the line of Elgato streaming and video production tools for gamers. Stream Deck Mini is a smaller, cheaper and less complex version of the the Elgato Stream Deck for gamers that don't need all the bells and whistles of the original. Stream Deck Mini has six fully customizable LCD keys that allow content creators to switch scenes, launch media, control chat, configure unlimited actions, and more. "When Stream Deck launched just over a year ago,...
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If you purchased a new television recently, there's a better-than-good chance that it is a 4K Ultra HD set, as those have become the norm, and not the exception. One way to take advantage of the added resolution (over Full HD) is through select content on Netflix. Depending on the luck of the draw, however, you might be charged an added fee to have access to 4K streams. But wait, isn't that already the case? It sure is, but Netflix is reportedly testing a new tier that is pricier than the current Premium tier. Here is how things currently stand: Click to Enlarge Netflix currently offers three tiers—Basic...
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Microsoft Research and its cloud engineers are busy building a cloud network that promises to deliver console-quality game streaming on any device, the company's Phil Spencer said on stage at E3. While details are light at the moment, Microsoft did say that the upcoming service is rooted in its artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. To what extent remains to be seen, as does everything else about the new service. Spencer did not elaborate on when the service might launch or what pricing will look like. Still, it's an interesting path that Microsoft is embarking on, and not exactly...
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Spotify is headed towards a pivotal moment with an initial public offering (IPO) looming next month. As the world's largest music streaming service, there is a lot of buzz surrounding the company's IPO. Leading up to the big day, Spotify made an interesting revelation, saying that around two million music listeners have managed to skip listening to ads without being a paid subscriber by using unauthorized third-party apps designed to block ads. These apps can essentially be seen as ad blockers for Spotify. It's unfortunate for Spotify, which offers two main tiers to choose from—a free music...
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Hey, good news everyone, Google is going to be serving up more ads through YouTube in between music videos! Isn't that awesome? Wait, you're not stoked? Well then, that is unfortunate, because apparently the video streaming site will forge ahead with showing a greater number of ads to some users. It's part of an effort to get more people to subscribe to YouTube's music service. Lyor Cohen, YouTube's head of music, told Bloomberg that the ad campaign will primarily target people who mostly use YouTube as a music service. These are people who passively listen to music on YouTube for long periods...
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At some point most gamers have probably heard someone (normally a parent) say that you can't make a living playing video games. That most certainly isn't true anymore. You can make an incredible amount of money playing games, but it's challenging work and there is intense competition in this sort of profession. Perhaps the biggest money-making streamer on the planet is a dude name Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, and his game of choice is the incredibly popular Fortnite. Fortnite hasn't been without its controversies, most notably that it directly copied PUBG. Despite any ire between the two games, players...
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Gaming on-the-go for most people means an app on a tablet or smartphone, and there are of course the folks who will do their mobile gaming with a laptop. The catch is that gaming with high-end games requires some serious muscle of the sort that many laptops, tablets, and smartphones simply can’t muster. A new streaming gaming service is launching in California called Shadow, and it will come to more locations later (exactly when is unannounced at this time). Shadow is like a “powerful Windows 10 PC” that allows you to surf the web, play games, and use high-end software on tablets...
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It's not as hard as it once was to procure content that takes full advantage of the latest crop of beautiful 4K televisions (and monitors), but to some, 4K is just half of the equation. The other half, of course, is HDR (high-dynamic range). With HDR, colors gamut coverage is delivered over a much wider area (hence, "range"), and accurate. In effect, colors will pop and, to borrow an old cliche', make the picture "more lifelike" than ever before. Netflix has offered HDR on some platforms for a while now, but has just now rolled it out on the PC. If you've been on the hunt for 4K Netflix...
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There has been an explosion of set-top boxes, streaming sticks, and media casting dongles over the past few years. To keep up with the times (and an ever growing field of competitors), TiVo has gone and refreshed its product lineup with a couple new DVR products, the Bolt Vox and Mini Vox, and a new TiVo Vox Remote with baked-in voice search functionality for looking up live TV, DVR, video-on-demand, and online streaming programs. The TiVo Bolt Vox comes with the new remote control. It is the flagship DVR in TiVo's lineup and combines the company's most powerful DVR with the popular online streaming...
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Nintendo isn't the most tolerant of game companies when it comes to letting fans make derivative materials or post lots of videos of Nintendo games online. One prime example is when Nintendo killed off the browser-based Mario 64 remake back in 2015. More recently it forced the indie developer making Super Mario 64 an online multiplayer game to remove all his videos from YouTube. Nintendo has a Creators Program in place that allows people to make videos including Nintendo IP in them, but Nintendo gets paid all the advertising revenue for monetized videos. It then shares that video with the gamers...
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