HBO’s standalone streaming service will arrive in 2015
If you’ve been pining for HBO without having to splurge for a cable subscription, you may soon be in luck. At a Time Warner investor meeting today, HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler announced that the company would flip the switch on a web-based streaming service next year. The over-the-top option will leverage HBO’s current partners and offer access to its content without the need for a full cable package. During his remarks, Plepler mentioned that there are 10 million homes that only pay for internet rather than a bundle, and the figure is only expected to grow. Of course, there’s no word on pricing or any of the finer details right now, but we expect to hear much more in the months to come. If you’ll recall, reports indicate that ESPN is also working on an NBA streaming option, serving up a slate of live regular-season games to folks who don’t pay for cable service.
[Photo credit: AP Photo/HBO, Michele K. Short]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile
A new MHL adapter charges your phone while sending 4K video to a TV
Back in March, we took a look at the MHL 3.0 tech that wrangles 4K video from a micro-USB jack while keeping the device charged. Well, now there’s a handy adapter for linking those compatible gadgets with any TV that packs HDMI ports for viewing sessions. If you’re in need of a refresher, the MHL 3.0 standard sorts 4K video output from a micro-USB port while also keeping said smartphone (like Sony’s Xperia Z3, for example) or slate charged with up to 10W of power. The adapter also takes care of 7.1 Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD 7.1 surround sound to match the visuals. If you happen to be wielding a MHL-compatible device, JCE’s handy accessory is set to arrive before the month’s end with a $30 price tag.
Filed under: Peripherals
Resident Evil is getting its own TV series
If you love Zombies, but find The Walking Dead‘s narrative a little too serious, pay attention: a campier option is coming soon. Constantin Film, the production group behind the Resident Evil movies has announced that the franchise is being adapted for television. It’s part of a larger movement to put the company’s properties on the small screen: Mortal Instruments and Perfume are also being re-worked for television. It’s not clear if the Resident Evil series will be based on the movies or a new storyline derived from the video game source material, but you’ll get at least one more adventure in the current film’s universe before it debuts — Constantin Film says the TV show won’t launch until after it completes the 6th Resident Evil feature film.
[Image credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: Geek
Source: Variety
The iTunes Store is about to get a flatter look
Apple has flattened the design of just about every interface it makes, but the iTunes Store has remained largely impervious to those changes — reflections, drop shadows and extruded buttons abound. All that is likely to change soon, however. According to 9to5Mac, those trying out the iTunes 12 beta are now seeing a super-flat iTunes Store layout that mirrors what you’ve seen in iOS, OS X Yosemite and iTunes 12 itself. The carousel highlighting new content is no longer full of pseudo-3D effects, and most of the buttons have been reduced to simple wireframes. A few elements are reportedly missing as of this writing, but it won’t be surprising if the new-look storefront gets some stage time on October 16th.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD, Apple
Source: 9to5Mac
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The first trailer for PlayStation’s ‘Powers’ series doesn’t hold anything back
If you were worried that Sony’s transformation of Powers into a PlayStation Network show would lose the comics’ grittiness, you can (probably) relax. The first trailer for the original series is now available, and it’s pretty clear that the production maintains a dark, twisted world of superhero crime. Detective Christian Walker is foul-mouthed and not exactly sympathy-inducing, while the suspects he’s chasing are more warped than your typical comic book villains. You’ll probably have to wait until the series launch in December to see much more, but it’s already apparent that Sony is taking advantage of Powers‘ console-only release to push a few boundaries.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Sony
Via: Kotaku
Source: PlayStation Blog
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Point-and-click classic ‘Myst’ is getting a TV show and a new tie-in game
Need a shot of early-’90s nostalgia? The classic PC adventure game Myst is getting a TV adaptation. The game’s creators at Cyan Worlds have signed a deal with Legendary TV and Digital Media (a branch of the film production company) and the show will apparently bring a tie-in game to go along with it, according to Deadline. The companion game sounds very much like it’d be appearing on tablets, considering Legendary cites a statistic that 70 percent of slate owners use their device while watching TV “at least several times” per week, something Cyan sees as a way to expand its interactive narrative. Variety points out that Legendary has yet to decide whether the show will be a traditional broadcast program or if it’ll be a digital project (its movie based on the Dead Rising series is a Crackle exclusive).
This won’t be the production house’s first dalliance with gaming either: it’s been working on movies based on Mass Effect and Warcraft for awhile. It’s worth noting that neither of those have actually seen the light of day yet despite being in the works for what seems like forever — when the Myst project could actually surface is any Stranger’s guess.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD
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PlayStation Now game streaming reaches PS TV and Vita on October 14th
If you’re planning to snag a PlayStation TV with game streaming in mind, you’ll be glad to hear that it will be ready to go on day one. Sony has posted an FAQ confirming that the PlayStation Now beta will be available on the PS TV (and the PS VIta) in North America on October 14th, the same day that the mini console hits store shelves. As with the Now tests on bigger PlayStations, you’ll have the option of renting 150-plus PS3 games with multiplayer support and cloud-based saves. Whether or not you’re bent on using Now from the start, the FAQ is a handy primer for all the less-than-obvious things the PS TV can do — it’s worth a trip to the source link if you’re at all curious.
Via: Joystiq
Source: PlayStation Blog
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BBC iPlayer now gives you a month to catch up on programmes
Back in April, BBC Director General Tony Hall announced that as part of an iPlayer revamp, the default programme catch-up period would be extended from seven days to 30. It’s taken just over six months, but the BBC has now agreed the necessary terms with rights-holders and widened its playback window for TV and radio programmes. The extension complements its recent redesign and cross-device resumable playback features, but not all content will adhere to the BBC’s new availability rules: current affairs programmes like Match of the Day, Crimewatch and news reports will still be exempt, meaning you’ll have to get catch up on those long shots and mugshots before that weekly playback period expires.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: BBC Internet Blog
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ESPN deal reportedly lets you stream live NBA games without needing TV service
ESPN has made plenty of forays into streaming video, but services like WatchESPN typically require that you already have TV service. That partly defeats the point of viewing online, don’t you think? However, you might not face that limitation for much longer. According to sources for the Wall Street Journal, the NBA has signed a pact with Disney (ESPN’s parent) to launch a new streaming service that doesn’t demand a cable or satellite subscription — a big deal for ESPN, which still makes most of its money from paid TV. Just how it differs from the NBA’s own League Pass isn’t clear, although both are focused on live regular season games. In other words, you’ll still have to fire up an old-fashioned TV to watch the playoffs in real-time. Just when it arrives isn’t clear, although you may not have to wait long for an announcement. If the tipsters are accurate, the NBA will announce its partnership as early as Monday.
[Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Hulu Plus on iOS looks a lot flatter and cleaner now
The word “reimagining” can be a bit scary at times. At its worst you get stuff like Johnny Depp playing Willy Wonka, but on the other side of the coin is SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica. Hulu’s redesigned iOS app seems to fall on the latter portion of that spectrum. The application’s gotten an overhaul, with a keen eye toward making it cleaner and, above all, easier to use. First things first: the landing screen is now divided into three sections; Home, Shows You Watch and Navigation. Home is where content curated by Hulu resides, while Shows You Watch and Navigation are pretty self-explanatory. The kicker is that now when you swipe either left or right from anywhere within the app, you’ll pull up either of the latter, respectively.
The streaming outfit didn’t neglect the video player itself, either, tidying up its appearance and adding controls for captions and Chromecasting within the viewing window. It all resembles HBO Go and YouTube’s Android apps a bit, but compared to what Hulu on iOS looked like recently it’s hard to complain. When those on Google’s mobile OS will see a similar patch is up in the air for now.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Mobile, Apple
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