Items tagged with video
Netflix went out and scored itself a multi-year licensing agreement that will make it the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run live-action and animated feature films from The Walt Disney Studios, the streaming company announced this week. "Disney and Netflix have shared a long and mutually beneficial relationship and this deal will bring to our subscribers, in the first pay TV window, some of the highest-quality, most imaginative family films being made today," said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix. "It's a bold leap forward for Internet television and we are incredibly pleased and proud this iconic family brand is teaming with Netflix to make it happen."...
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Technology moves quickly in the era that we're fortunate enough to live in, but unfortunately, that means that some services just can't last forever. Of course, it's up for debate whether or not the masses even wanted Verizon's mobile video service to survive, but it probably wouldn't be shut down if the user numbers were huge. As smartphones have evolved and mobile video has splintered, Verizon's Vcast Video service has become unnecessary. It was launched in 2005, and less than a decade later, it'll be shut down. December 15th is the last day it'll be on the air, so to speak, but NFL Mobile lovers will still be able to see gamers using the NFL Mobile app for $5/month. “Verizon Wireless...
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Ultra HD? It's shaping up to be a major story at CES 2013, with 4K HDTVs finally to a point where affluent consumers start to buy these sets. But then, of course, there's the chicken-and-egg issue: will anyone buy a 4K HDTV without 4K content to enjoy, and on the other hand, will anyone produce 4K content without major 4K HDTV adoption? Turns out, this one's a little easier to solve than most. 4K cameras have been used to shoot events, motion pictures and TV shows for years now, with RED's line of EPIC cameras amongst the most popular. So already, there's plenty of 4K content -- it just needs to be put on a medium where consumers can ingest it. Sony, a huge player in 4K and a major proponent...
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These days, tech-savvy folks may be more inclined to stream a movie than going out for a Redbox rental. Your options are pretty plentiful, actually. There's Netflix, VUDU, Amazon, Hulu -- and that's just naming a few. Recently, Amazon has gone into the business of rivaling Netflix, but they're giving away tons of it for free to Amazon Prime members. Now, according to Netflix CEO Reed Hasting, Amazon is losing between $500 million and $1 billion per year in streaming. His guesses have some pretty good factual backing. He's basing the figures on the value of content deals that Amazon scored when his company went head-to-head in bidding. Netflix itself spends over $2 billion per year on content,...
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Love it or hate it, Rovio's Angry Birds is one of the most popular games of any mobile platform. What happens when you mash it together with Star Wars, one of the most popular movie franchises of all time? You end up with Angry Birds Star Wars, which brings a fresh new look and new gameplay to Rovio's cash cow. To give fans a glimpse of the finished product, Rovio has released a new trailer featuring the red bird as Luke and the pink bird as Princess Leia. It's the first gameplay footage of the upcoming title, complete with lightsabers, lasers, and the upbeat Cantina bar tune that's familiar to any Star Wars fan. Gameplay mechanics are what you're used to from any of the standard Angry Birds...
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Netflix is expanding, and in a major way. The company's home turf may still be the USA, but it's absolutely vital to expand that reach to foreign lands before similar companies like Lovefilm do likewise and grab the early lead in market share. With digital streaming clearly taking the place of by-mail DVDs, it's -- in a way -- easier than ever for Netflix to reach new places. Just ink an agreement, and let the Internet tubes do the rest. But, of course, that's easier said than done. Still, Netflix is following up on its expansion into Latin America with another big push overseas. This time, it's headed to Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland before the end of 2012. That's streaming only, of course,...
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Logitech and Skype announced the new Logitech TV Cam HD. This high-definition camera is designed to be connected to any HDTV using an HDMI connection. The camera offers built-in Skype functionality, making it easy for you to connect with friends and family directly from your living room. The TV Cam HD connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi or Ethernet connectivity. A remote control is included with the TV Cam HD. You can use the Logitech TV Cam HD to make Skype video calls or to call landline or mobile numbers using your Skype Credit or calling subscription. The camera features Logitech Fluid Crystal Technology, four microphones, and Carl Zeiss optics for clear audio and video calling. The Logitech...
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The ESA has released its yearly report on the state of gaming in 2012 and it shows significantly different trends than what we saw in years past. For this year's report, the ESA updated its questionnaire to reflect the growth of tablets and smartphones as gaming devices, rather than screening respondents based on their possession of a handheld, console, or dedicated PC. Thanks to these changes, the number of citizens 18 and under classified as gamers skyrocketed. The average gamer age also fell, from 37 in 2011 to 30 in 2012. One of the heartwarming changes over the last seven years are the number of parents who say they play games with their children because it's fun for everyone. 66% was a...
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NVIDIA is a pretty huge company, and it's becoming more monumental by the day. Having its support can make or break a product, and so it's probably causing a lot of smiles in the wireless streaming arena now that NVIDIA is tossing its weight behind Miracast. If you haven't heard that term before, fret not. The Wi-Fi Alliance is expected to launch the Miracast wireless display certification program in the coming months, and Miracast has the kind of early steam that really see it grow as a true rival to AirPlay and WiDi. The idea is to enable mobile devices to stream video and audio to HDTVs without the need for cables, or even an existing wireless network -- in other words, great for hotel room...
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One of the few (legal) ways you can stream Game of Thrones to your living television set is to subscribe to HBO through your satellite or cable TV provider and login into HBO Go. You can also buy episodes to stream on Amazon Prime, but if it were up to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, you'd also be able to stream HBO content via Netflix. As much as he (and scores of Netflix subscribers) would like for that to happen, HBO doesn't seem all that interested in partnering up. HBO spokesman Jeff Cusson recently reiterated that his company has "no plans to work with Netflix," nor are any discussions between the two companies taking place. Cusson was essentially stomping out speculation to the contrary when...
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Hello, competition! A decade ago, who could've thought that Apple, Amazon and Hulu (who?) would've been battling it out for the living room? Here we are, though, and it's happening. Amazon has taken a major step in the direction of domination by acquiring exclusive rights to bring Fringe and The West Wing to Prime Instant Video viewers. Yes, those are both big shows with rather large followings, but the real importance here is the "exclusive" nature. If companies like Amazon start landing these deals, we're going to see a kind of fragmentation that we haven't had to worry about before; soon, you may need to have Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and iTunes in order to truly see all shows from all studios....
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There's no denying Netflix's popularity, but many people probably don’t realize how much content is streamed each month. In June, Netflix subscribers watched more than 1 billion hours of online video, which marks a milestone for the company. With a post to his Facebook page, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings congratulated his team on reaching the viewing milestone. The post reads, "Congrats to Ted Sarandos, and his amazing content licensing team. Netflix monthly viewing exceeded 1 billion hours for the first time ever in June. When House of Cards and Arrested Development debut, we'll blow these records away. Keep going, Ted, we need even more!" According to the Associated Press, 1 billion hours...
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Futuremark today released a sexy 3DMark tech demo, giving viewers a glimpse of the upcoming 3DMark benchmark that has yet to receive a formal name (perhaps 3DMark 12? "New" 3DMark? 3DMark for Windows 8?) The trailer provides a preview of the DirectX test and "is a work-in-progress," Futuremark says, and as such it doesn't represent the final quality of the benchmark. "Our 3DMark DirectX 11 tech demo brings this scene to life with intelligent tessellation and advanced volumetric lighting using real-time light scattering," Futuremark explains. "The visible particles and clouds of smoke in the scene react to other objects using fluid dynamics simulation. Post processing, ambient occlusion and various...
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Another video chatting tool? Yep. As if Skype, Facetime and the other alternatives weren't enough, now one of the guys that had a hand in Facebook's development is launching a new video chatting platform that taps right into that network. Airtime is the project of Napster creator Shawn Fanning and tech overlord Sean Parker. On a simple level, the site launches a web-based video chat, which then taps into your Facebook friends in order to find folks to chat with. It's a little like Chatroulette, or it can be. You can load up your friend list and then select people from there to video / voice chat with, but if you're feeling crazy, you can just select a friend from a broader network and anonymously...
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DSLRs aren't just for taking photos any longer. The past few years, more and more movie makers have been switching to DSLRs to shoot video, and Canon has gained tons of business because of this shift. But instead of letting folks repurpose their existing shooters, the company is catering specifically to the needs of filmmakers. Hence, the introduction of the newest addition in the Cinema EOS product line. The EOS-1D C DSLR provides video recording at 4K (4096 x 2160-pixel) or Full HD (1920 x 1080-pixel) resolution to support high-end motion picture, television production and other advanced imaging applications. Equipped with an 18.1-megapixel full-frame 24mm x 36mm Canon CMOS sensor, the camera...
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The times, they are a-changing. It's an old saying, but it's still proving true. ComScore's latest figures are the crux of that in the tech world, with the 2012 U.S. Digital Future in Focus report showing a monumental shift in e-mail usage amongst the youth in the U.S. This annual report examines how the prevailing trends in social media, search, online video, digital advertising, mobile and e-commerce are defining the current marketplace and what these trends mean for the year ahead. Some of the key insights? Let's dive in. Social Networking accounted for 16.6 percent of all online minutes at the end of 2011 and is on track to surpass Portals as the most engaging online activity in 2012. Facebook...
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Video sharing site Vimeo, in a bubbly and whimsical blog post, outlined a slew of new changes to the site, many of which it says were inspired by user requests. The video page received a facelift, and now it features a wider video player, a cleaner interface, and a reorganization of various shortcuts and tools. Browsing is improved, as is the site’s search functionality and uploading experience--for example, uploading multiple files simultaneously is easier to do. Users also have more privacy controls, such as the ability to block other users or hide stats and activity streams, and there is now a Recently Viewed section for user accounts that let you easily trace the videos you want to...
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Polycom is working to spread its RealPresence video collaboration platform far and wide, and it now has Lenovo as a compatriot. Lenovo will soon be offering Polycom’s RealPresence HD Video and HD Voice on some of its laptops and tablets. Polycom’s RealPresence products deliver HD video and voice collaboration tools to the enterprise. The company has already been expanding the reach of its RealPresence products with products such as RealPresence Mobile for tablets, and partnering to offer Polycom-ready products will certainly maintain that trajectory. Look for RealPresence on some laptops in Lenovo’s ThinkPad T, X, L, and W Series as well as the ThinkPad tablet early this year;...
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The Walmart-owned VUDU movie rental service is making big strides in the home entertainment realm, as they've just launched on Xbox 360. That's a super major platform to launch on, no doubt. Xbox LIVE customers can now shop VUDU's library using new, interactive features such as voice search, voice control and Kinect gesture commands to rent or own the latest Hollywood hits, TV shows, cinema classics and independent gems in standard or high definition. To encourage customers to try VUDU on Xbox, VUDU is offering a $4.99 credit toward their first rental or purchase. Also, through today only (11:30 p.m. PST) at Walmart.com, customers can get free shipping to home on Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles,...
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Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is six years old. The Nintendo Wii is five years old, and so is the Sony PlayStation 3. All three are due for an overhaul (can you imagine gaming on a PC that's half a decade old, or more?), and while they're still popular gaming platforms, consoles are really starting to shine as streaming media centers. According to market research firm Nielsen, streaming video on game consoles is up over last year. Xbox 360 owners now use their consoles to stream video 14 percent of the time, which is almost as much as PS3 users (15 percent). But it's the Wii that sees the most time as a streaming device, with Wii owners using their consoles to stream video a third of the time....
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What if there were a way for Siri to do more than it does? What if it could control everything? We're getting there. Siri has been tweaked to enable voice controls of third-party applications. It's a proxy setup that catches instructions, converts them, and eventually sends the final dictations to the app. FastPdfKit is the first app to have this support, and while it's tough to explain in words, there's a video here that showcases it well. The real question is this: how prevalent will this become, and will Apple introduce wider support of this in the next major build of iOS?...
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You could say that we're already living in the future. Cars that are powered by batteries. Wi-Fi on planes. Smartphones that have more power than some small notebooks. But Microsoft thinks that we aren't quite there yet. The company recently published an interesting take on what the world of technology may look like a few years from now. It's called a concept video, designed to show how Microsoft thinks that tech will unfold, and how it'll impact out lives in the years ahead. Here's Microsoft's take: "The video shows our vision for a future where technology extends and highlights our productive capabilities; it helps us manage our time better, focus our attention on the most important things,...
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