Items tagged with Streaming
Technological change is rarely smooth. It's often riddled with hurdles, and plenty of trial-and-error. When it comes to shifting the way we watch television, from the conventional pay-TV package to online-based IPTV offerings, it's an ongoing challenge. That said, Sony has become something of a pioneer in trying to...
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Apparently what the mobile world needs is another video sharing application similar to Vine and Instagram and all the others that allow you to shoot short clips to share with friends and family. Or maybe it doesn't. Either way, we'll soon find out now that Ocho has graduated out of beta status. What is Ocho? At...
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Google's little HDMI Chromecast dongle has been on the market for just over a year now, and as much as we liked it when it first came out, it's even better today. That's thanks to a constant stream up of updates. Hundres of apps have been added, such as HBO Go and Pandora, to name just two of many, and with the most...
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Which do you despise more, advertisements or paying for a service when you've grown accustomed to it being free? Don't feel obligated to answer now, though you should put some thought into the question in case YouTube decides to charge a subscription fee for ad-free access to its streaming video collection. While nothing is yet imminent, there's...
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Following up on the launch of its Fire TV set top box seven months ago, Amazon today introduced its little brother, the Fire TV Stick. Similar (but more powerfully equipped) to Google's Chromecast device, the Fire TV stick is a dongle that plugs into an HDMI port on your HDTV to offer instant access to movies, TV...
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Apple took the world by surprise when the company bought the Beats brand for $3 billion earlier this year, which remains the Cupertino outfit's largest acquisition to date. Now the big question is, what will Apple do with the Beats Music portion of that acquisition? We've heard a few different rumors, the most recent...
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Don't look now, but we might be on the verge of a price war in the streaming music space. Music labels probably won't let that happen to the degree that we'd like, though if Apple is successful in relaunching its Beats Music subscription service at $5 per month as it reportedly wants to do, labels and music artists...
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Online services are slowing coming around to the idea that not all of its customers are single users who never learned how to share. The latest to experience this epiphany is Spotify, which is rolling out a discounted family plan for multiple member households. With Spotify Family, up to four members can share a...
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We recognize that perplexed look on your face -- it's the exact same one we had after hearing about there being a Twitter Audio Card. However, it's not what you think. Twitter isn't taking on Creative Labs in the sound card space, but it is introducing the ability for you to be able to listen to audio directly in your...
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The transition from Full HD 1080 to 4K Ultra HD is taking place faster than anyone could have anticipated, though it comes at a cost. In addition to purchasing new hardware capable of displaying 4K visuals, on the content side, Netflix decided now was a good time to get customers used to idea of paying extra for Ultra...
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Short and to the point, Apple says that reports claiming the company plans to shutter its streaming Beats Music service are "not true." Beyond that succinct statement, Apple had nothing else to say on the matter, so we'll have to draw our own conclusions on what's going on, one of those being that the Beats Music...
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Could it be that a TV service provider finally 'gets it'? If you're like most people who subscribe to cable or satellite television, you have dozens if not hundreds of channels that you'll never watch, yet you pay for that tier of service because it's the only way to get the handful of channels you're interested in...
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Last month, we covered a new research project from Microsoft, dubbed Project DeLorean, that seeks to dramatically improve the subjective experience of cloud gaming by cutting perceived latency between the player and the server. Today, in a potentially related announcement, comes news that Microsoft is also working on...
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The streaming music landscape isn't getting any less competitive -- just the opposite -- so in order to remain relevant in what's become a fast growing market, Rdio reportedly will join some of its more popular competitors by launching a free, ad-supported radio service. Rdio's transition to a freemium model will kick...
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Back in May, rumors surfaced that Google might purchase video game broadcasting service Twitch for $1 billion. Then, in July, Venturebeat claimed that its sources had confirmed that the deal between had been sealed. However, that confirmation may not have been accurate. It appears that Amazon is looking to snatch...
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Google's reasonably priced ($35) Chromecast dongle has been a surprising success in the streaming market, in part because of its low price tag. There's not a ton of competition in the streaming dongle space either, though it appears Microsoft will soon throw its weight around with a Miracast dongle that appears in the...
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As much as Netflix is loath to pay Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for uninterrupted access into homes of each provider's customers, the streaming service continues to ink peering deals so that its own subscribers can enjoy high quality videos and less buffering. One of the newest deals involves a reported agreement...
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It's long been rumored that Google would offer some kind of streaming music service through its YouTube division, but with the release of Google Play Music All Access, it seemed as though YouTube was destined to remain a video sharing site. Perhaps not. We're now hearing that YouTube will launch a service called...
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The finger-pointing between Netflix and broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs) over which side is at fault for poor quality video streams continues. Things are especially contentious between Netflix and Verizon, the latter of which is accused of intentionally throttling Netflix traffic over the streaming...
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Valve's Steam digital distribution platform is the go-to place for games, and there's even been an effort to flesh it out with creativity and productivity software. Now there's evidence to suggest that Valve may take things a step further by adding new types of content, including film, TV series, videos, music, and...
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Has it been a year already? Time flies when you're streaming fun, and apparently Google's low cost Chromecast dongle is celebrating its first birthday. As parents are apt to do about their little ones, Google used the occasion to brag about its streaming stick by pointing out that people have hit the cast button more...
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Disputes with ISPs over the quality of streaming traffic hasn't slowed Netflix down when it comes to adding subscribers. According to the company's most recent financial report, Netflix is now home to over 50 million total members for its streaming service, three-quarters of which are located in the United States...
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