Dish announces live streaming television with Sling TV
Cable television is at the crossroads of its inevitable evolution. Out of all the major entertainment delivery methods, cable and satellite companies seem to be the slowest to adopt streaming models. TV and Internet are defined as different ways to deliver content. They can be bundled by providers, but distinctly they are different avenues in which content is presented. Dish is looking to buck that trend, it seems, by offering what they are calling a companion to their satellite TV service. Sling TV is an “Over-the-Top” service that will give consumers live streaming TV over the internet. For $20 a month Sling TV customers will be able to watch ESPN, ESPN2, Cartoon Network, and the Disney Channel (among others).
What’s great about this service is that it is scheduled to support a slew of Android powered devices at launch. Amazon’s Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Google’s Nexus Player, and Android in general are on the supported list from Dish. Also eligible for Sling TV support are the Roku, Microsoft’s Xbox One, iOS devices, Mac OSX, and PC powered machines. Just download the app and you’re ready to go.
Dish is targeting millennials with this service. Not everyone wants to be pinched into what services they can or cannot have. Add on packs for things like children’s programming and sports start at just $5 a month. No contracts or credit cards are required, and this service can be stopped and started at any time. The drawbacks so far seem to be the lack of DVR or cloud offerings. Dish is trying to combat this be offering an On-Demandish 3-Day replay feature. That is, anything aired in the last 3 days should be viewable. Let the cord cutting begin. What do you think? Are you in the target demo for Sling TV?
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Accessory of the Day: Mini HDMI 60″ LED projector, $43.38
Interested in a small, inexpensive, and portable projector to spice up your parties, get togethers, and movie nights? The UC28 PRO HDMI Mini HD Home LED Projector 60″ isn’t going to replace that 55″ plasma, but at just $43.38 (Prime eligible) it will make a great companion to any smartphone or tablet. Introduce a Chromecast and you’re in for hours of entertainment!
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Netflix clamps down on attempts to dodge its regional restrictions (updated)
Netflix can only stream the videos that studios make available in a given country, which has led to a booming business in workarounds (such as proxies and virtual private networks) that let you see the company’s catalogs in other nations. Heck, one New Zealand internet provider practically built a service around it. However, you might not get to count on that unofficial solution for much longer. VPN operators claim to TorrentFreak that Netflix recently started blocking some users who use these technological loopholes to watch videos that would normally be verboten. The effort isn’t widespread and mostly appears to focus on connections with many simultaneous Netflix sign-ins (that is, they’re obviously being used for circumvention), but it’s a surprise to viewers who were used to having unfettered access.
We’ve reached out to Netflix to verify what it’s doing, and whether or not you expect these blocks to persist or expand in the future. However, the online media firm might not have much of a choice. As TorrentFreak notes, movie and TV producers want Netflix to stop “VPN-pirates” who they believe are depriving them of a livelihood. The company may have to prove that it’s at least trying to prevent you from watching out-of-region content in order to maintain deals with nervous media giants, even if those restrictions aren’t really effective. We’d argue that the best solution would be to offer that content worldwide (imagine that!), but you probably shouldn’t expect that to happen any time soon.
Update: Netflix tells us that there’s been “no change” in the way it handles VPNs, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the company getting tough any time soon. With that said, these blocking errors started showing up in the past few weeks, so it’s not clear what would have prompted them.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: TorrentFreak
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is shipping (but only if you’ve already ordered)
Did you plunk down $39 for Amazon’s Fire TV Stick as soon as you heard about its promise of low-cost, full-featured streaming? If so, we have good news: as promised, Amazon has started shipping its Chromecast rival to people who ordered early. Unfortunately, those are the only people who can expect to get a Fire TV Stick in the near future… or any time this year, for that matter. Amazon is telling new customers that their orders won’t ship until at least January 15th, 2015, or well after everyone has unwrapped their holiday presents. Unless your gift recipients are cool with IOUs, you’ll have to snag a Chromecast, a Roku Streaming Stick or another “close enough” alternative.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon (1), (2)
Xbox One update arrives with customization and Twitter tie-ins
Have you been eager to customize your Xbox One profile, or share your gaming escapades on Twitter? Now’s your chance. Microsoft has started rolling out its promised November update for its latest console, and it includes a ton of updates that let you both personalize your system and keep tabs on tweets. You can now customize your background with colors or achievement images, and post a bio that includes your location. If you’re a social sort, you can also tweet your favorite game videos and follow the Twitter buzz surrounding live TV shows. You can finally snap Internet Explorer to a smaller view, too. Fire up your system if you’ve been waiting weeks for any of these perks.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Major Nelson
EE TV now available for free to existing mobile and broadband customers
EE is ready to take on the living room. The UK’s largest mobile network is now offering its first TV set-top box, EE TV, for free to existing mobile customers with an EE Broadband plan. The black box is currently only available in EE stores and supports over 70 Freeview channels, as well as video streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, YouTube and Wuaki.tv. Up to four different devices (including your TV) can use the service simultaneously, letting other family members with a smartphone or tablet watch whatever they like in another room.
The EE TV set-top box is equipped with a 1TB hard drive and capable of recording up to 600 hours in standard definition. Four channels can be recorded simultaneously, although a neat ‘Replay’ feature means you can store everything from six channels over a 24-hour block. You will, however, need to sign-up for EE Broadband at £9.95 per month (plus £15.75 for line rental) to get your hands on the new set-top box. In short, EE wants you to subscribe to both its mobile and broadband packages, and is happy to give away EE TV to boost sign-ups. To sweeten the deal, the company will raise your EE mobile 4G data allowance to 10GB or 20GB (depending on your current contract) if you take up their offer. Not quite sold on the idea? Let us help. We’ll be putting EE TV through its paces in our upcoming review.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Household, Internet
Source: EE
Bringing an app to Android TV is pretty simple, Google shows how
There is a lot riding on Android TV considering how Google TV flopped and drifted away. To ensure its success, Google wants to make it as simple as possible for developers to take their apps and games and bring them over to Android TV. Its Nexus Player is on the market, so consumers are going to expect content for consumption.
These are the steps necessary to distribute your app or game with Android TV:
- Understand guidelines and requirements
- Develop a great app for TV
- Test for TV App Quality
- Opt-in to Android TV and publish
- Track your review and approval
As always, Google wants developers to follow the recommended guidelines because everything should be familiar for an Android TV user. Tailoring an app or game for a television is vital because that is the platform’s go-to display. Scaling has to be just right. Then, the developer must aligns what it is publishing with Google’s TV App Quality test. From there, the developer has to submit the app or game and wait to see if Google approves upon review.
Source: Android Developers
Come comment on this article: Bringing an app to Android TV is pretty simple, Google shows how
Hulu adds old episodes from Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more
If you’re like me, you regularly enjoy catching up on favorites from Comedy Central via Hulu. But what about the older stuff? Well, after extending its partnership with Viacom, the streaming service is adding a lot more content for your viewing pleasure. Shows from Nickelodeon will be available for the first time — including popular items like Hey Arnold! and The Ren & Stimpy Show. The library of previous seasons will benefit as well, with a backlog of Key & Peele, Tosh.0, Mob Wives and more being added “over the next few weeks.” Of course, current episodes will continue to be a few clicks away, keeping you up to date on The Daily Show and others.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Hulu
LG nails the coffin down on plasma TVs
It won’t be long before you won’t need to auction a lung off in order to buy a 4K OLED TV, which means there’s even less reason to buy a plasma than ever before. That’s why LG has finally joined Samsung and Panasonic in taking the outdated business out back, shotgun in hand. According to Reuters, the company has quietly told local regulators that the plasma TV lines will cease production towards the end of November, leaving China’s Changhong Electric Co. as the last manufacturer in town. Still, we’d certainly expect the price of plasmas to slip downward as the technology heads towards the exit door, so perhaps this holiday season is the ideal time to pick up a bargain.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG
Source: Reuters
Roku wants to grow its media hub empire with a public stock filing
Roku frequently comes across as the little media player company that could: its streaming box business is growing in spite of much larger competition. As healthy as it is, though, this upstart now appears eager to join the big leagues. Tipsters for both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times claim that Roku is planning to file an initial public stock offering (IPO) that could net as much as $150 million, roughly doubling what it raised through private investments. The details of just how and when this would happen are still murky, but the company said earlier this month that it’s near turning a profit. It may wait until it’s in the black and can put its best foot forward. If the IPO does happen, though, you should expect Roku to grow quickly. It’s already striking deals with TV makers and has the support of major broadcasters — the extra cash could both put more big-name services on your existing Roku box and improve the range of devices you can buy at the store.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Wall Street Journal, New York Times
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