Items tagged with Streaming
We aren't sure the world needs another streaming service, but that isn't stopping WarnerMedia from launching one. The new streaming service will be called HBO Max, and it is a direct-to-consumer service that will include original programming along with old classic series and content from a variety of other sources. HBO Max does include HBO content as well, including its slate of originals. Netflix subscribers who are fans of the classic comedy "Friends" have wondered why it was leaving Netflix. HBO Max has announced that it will be the exclusive streaming location for all 236 episodes of the show. HBO Max also has the rights to all episodes of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "Pretty Little...
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Buying a television can be a daunting experience with so many different models and options available. Sure, size matters, but so does a host of other factors, such as the type of screen, resolution and HDR support, and the implementation of smart features. As it mostly pertains to that latter point, Netflix has come out with its annual list of recommended TVs. Netflix's list is geared towards getting the most from its streaming service, and supposedly it has a "rigorous" testing program in place. The exact testing criteria is not laid out, though Netflix does offer some high-level details. To bear the "Netflix Recommended TV" badge, a qualifying smart TV must meet at least 5 of 7 criteria. They...
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As far as Google is concerned, "the future of gaming is not a box, it's a place," that place being the cloud. Google is of course talking about Stadia, its upcoming cloud gaming platform that it hopes will revolutionize the industry and, though Google has not come right out and said it plainly, render dedicated game consoles obsolete. There is a lot of distance to cover before Stadia gets to that point (if it ever does), and it will depend in large part on what games are available, how they are distributed (will users own or simply rent them?), and what the actual gameplay will be like. Google is planning to answer some of those questions during its Stadia Connect event ahead of E3 in a couple...
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If you've ever questioned your financial worth or how much you're making at your current job, you might want to stop reading at this point. A new report is detailing just how much the world's top streamers can earn for a few hours of streaming, and it is a staggering amount. The report from the Wall Street Journal claims that some of the top game publishers like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard and Take-Two are paying streamers upwards of $50,000 to stream. And no, we're not talking about $50,000 for a week's or even day's worth or work. Instead, these companies are paying $50,000 per hour. Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins These publishers are counting on the huge followings...
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A company that was voted the worst in America in a poll (twice, actually) is ceding control of Hulu, the streaming giant that is on a mission to let the world know it has live sports (I can't watch an NBA playoff game without that message being repeatedly hammered home), so that it can join the happiest place on earth. Or put another way, Disney is assuming full operational control of Hulu in a streaming deal reached with Comcast. The move is effective immediately, the company's involved announced today. As part of the deal Comcast is entering in a "put/call" agreement regarding NBCUniversal's 33 percent ownership interest in Hulu, paving the way for Disney to purchase the shares five years from...
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Back in January, Netflix announced that it would be raising prices across the board in an effort to help fund its original programming and other content costs. At the time, Netflix revealed that new subscribers to the service would see the price increases immediately, while existing customers would see their rates increase over the next few months. Well, that time has come, and starting with the May billing cycle, long-time Netflix customers will see an increase to their monthly bills. As previously reported, the basic streaming plan is increasing from $8/month to $9/month, while the HD streaming plan support up to two connections sees the biggest increase, going from $11/month to $13...
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Good news, music lovers—Spotify is testing a streaming music subscription plan for couples, roommates, best friends, and any other package of two that you can think of (so long as they share the same address). The discounted plan essentially means that a couple does not have to choose between sharing a single plan or shelling out for a family plan, which allows up to five people under the same roof to have their own account. That's the good news. The bad news is, the new Premium Duo tier is only being tested in select areas at the moment, and specifically Chili, Columbia, Denmark, Ireland, and Poland. If you happen to live in one of those areas, though, the Premium Duo subscription runs...
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Later today, Google will hold a keynote at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) where the sultan of search is expected to unveil a new game streaming service. You can check it out right here, starting at 10 am PT (1 pm ET), as we have embedded the livestream below. Alternately, you can hit the link in the Via field below. Either way, it should be an interesting keynote. There have been numerous leaks and rumors of what Google is about to announce. The prevailing theory being is that this will be a subscription-based streaming service, one that could possibly be distributed through a Chromecast device or even a console made directly by Google. While a dedicated console is up in the air, it seems...
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It wasn't too long ago that the world seemed to have gone crazy mining for cryptocurrency. Crypto miners were gobbling up all the GPUs to the point where gamers were unable to get their hands on a graphics card unless they paid insanely prices for them. All of that time and money went into optimizing crypto mining machines, but now that the crypto craze has faded, many systems sit idle. What to do with those mothballed crypto mining machines? Vectordash has a fantastic idea that is quite the turnaround for gamers. Vectordash is a streaming game service that charges $28 per month and has the goal of letting you play any game you want on any computer you own with unused crypto mining...
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Microsoft has given an early glimpse of its Project xCloud service, showing it running Forza Horizon 4, a racing simulation, on an Android smartphone. It had an Xbox One controller connected to it through the wonders of Bluetooth. The takeaway from the live demonstration is that Project xCloud will enable seamless streaming to mobile devices with performance that is on par with game consoles. To be clear though, Microsoft is not pitching Project xCloud as a replacement to a dedicated game console like the Xbox One. Kareem Choudhry, corporate vice president of gaming cloud at Microsoft, offered up an excellent analogy of how our music listening habits are the same regardless of when or where we...
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We've been hearing for quite some time that Apple is working on a streaming TV service that will serve as a counter to existing hit offerings like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. Today, Apple confirmed that impending arrival of the service with invites that were sent out to the press. The invite doesn't really give much away with respect to what will be unveiled, but the "It's show time" moniker doesn't leave much to the imagination. On top of that, the invite also includes the requisite film countdown sequence which is no doubt a reference to the streaming video service. Although Apple is expected to announce its streaming TV service at the event, reports indicate that it might...
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It's no secret at this point that Apple is working on a new streaming service that is meant to rival Netflix and Amazon. Whether or not it will be a true competitor to either established streaming service remains to be seen as Apple has very different plans than either of the other major players in the industry. Apple specifically wants the content on its streaming service to be family friendly; that means no sex or violence on the network, and no shows in the realm of Netflix's canceled Marvel series "The Punisher" or Amazon's show "Man in the High Castle." Apple is off to a rough start and is at odds with the content creators in Hollywood that it has hired to make shows for its streaming service...
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If one thing is for sure, recent home TV and movies services market changes have been seismic. Over the years we have gone through Beta, VHS, laser discs, DVDs, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, but nothing has reshaped the home entertainment landscape like streaming video. Each time a new form factor for delivering movies in the home launches, the old form factors have eventually gone extinct and it appears that Blu-ray may be the next format to die off. Samsung has announced that it is not going to produce any new Blu-ray players for the U.S. market. Samsung announced that no new 1080p or 4K Blu-ray players would be produced for the U.S. and the new announcement gives more detail than an earlier statement by...
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Seemingly out of nowhere, Apex Legends has taking the gaming scene by storm and is shaping up to be a formidable rival to Fortnite in the battle royale space. Since launching on February 4, Apex Legends has generated some impressive numbers, not the least of which is the total number of hours it has amassed on Twitch. At the time of this writing, Apex Legends is enjoying over 215,000 viewers on Twitch, compared to Fortnite's more than 68,000 viewers. It is the top game on Twitch right now, with League of Legends in a somewhat distant second with 140,515 viewers at this moment in time. Apex Legend has topped the charts on Twitch since it came out. In total, it has generated 11 million more total...
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