AMC embraces the power of Tumblr to debut its new series ‘Halt and Catch Fire’
A new television series chronicling tech and social media narratives pops up on the regular these days and AMC’s upcoming “Halt and Catch Fire” is the latest entry into that sub-genre. In order to cultivate buzz for the series’ debut in a couple weeks, the network is relying on shares and reblogs from its Tumblr page to get the word out. Between now and May 31st, eager viewers can snag an early look at the pilot on the aforementioned page. The show follows a former IBM executive’s scheme to reverse engineer the IBM PC, and thus thrusting his current company into the personal computing fray for the 80s. According to TechCrunch, AMC has a number of advanced screenings planned at Apple, Twitter, Google and more as part of the pre-air promo effort amongst the tech community. If you’re in need of a brief introduction, the trailer awaits on the other side of the break.
Filed under: Internet
Via: TechCrunch
Source: AMC (Tumblr)
AT&T buys DirecTV for $48.5 billion
AT&T clearly isn’t taking Comcast’s recent acquisition efforts lying down; it just announced plans to buy DirecTV in a deal worth about $48.5 billion. The communications giant sees a takeover as an opportunity to expand how it delivers video beyond just the bundles it has today. If officials approve the merger, AT&T could send conventional and internet-based video to virtually any place you happen to be, whether it’s on your phone or in mid-flight. This also represents a content grab — DirecTV has the exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket and other premium programming, so there’s a chance that much of its content could reach U-verse and other AT&T services.
The telecom is making a lot of promises to assuage regulators that will no doubt look at the proposed mega-buyout very closely — AT&T clearly wants to avoid a repeat of its failed attempt to buy T-Mobile in 2011. It hopes to bring high-speed internet access to 15 million additional customers, primarily in rural areas where a mix of fixed wireless and fiber-to-the-home could get people online. It’s also guaranteeing internet-only service plans fast enough for online video for the next three years, and it would honor the FCC’s 2010 net neutrality rules for that same period of time. DirecTV’s stand-alone service packages would be available at consistent prices nationwide during this stretch, too.
Developing…
[Image credit: Associated Press]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, AT&T
Source: AT&T
‘Halo 5: Guardians’ and live-action Halo TV show set for fall 2015 launch
We’ve known for a while that there’s new Halo game coming to Xbox One and that it could possibly make its debut this year. Today, Microsoft and 343 Industries provided some additional details on the project, most notably that the next instalment in the franchise will be called Halo 5: Guardians and that it will be pushed back to a fall 2015 launch. So what can we expect? Game specifics are scarce but we know that, like Titanfall, Guardians run on dedicated servers. However, unlike its mech-smashing counterpart, it will run at a glorious 60 frames-per-second.
“Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than Halo 4,” says 343 general manager Bonnie Ross. “That applies to content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine.” Ross also confirmed that the live-action Halo TV series, which sees 343 Industries team up with Steven Spielberg to bring Master Chief to life, may also debut around the same time as Guardians. While you’ll have to wait until next year to enjoy both the game and the TV series in their full form, Ross suggests Microsoft and 343 will have more to reveal in the coming months, starting with the Xbox 2014 Media Briefing at E3 on June 9th.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Xbox Wire
Upcoming Xbox history show will let you ‘play TV’
Microsoft has been teasing a level of interactivity within its slate of original Xbox video programming, but what kind of control will you actually get? The company isn’t revealing everything right now, but it just gave Deadline Hollywood a few small clues. TV producer Stephen David is creating a documentary/drama hybrid for Xbox Entertainment Studios that he says will be “like playing television.” In the inaugural 13 Days of Blood episode, which shows Roman history through the eyes of emperor Commodus (seen in marble here), there will be “new, interactive technology” that should “bring fight scenes to life,” according to Microsoft.
This sounds tantalizing, but it’s clear that the company is keeping its cards close to the vest. While the interaction could involve a full-fledged game component, it could equally be a simple matter of choosing camera angles as you watch gladiators and retiarii slug it out. The docudrama also isn’t due until 2015, so the odds aren’t great that you’ll hear much more about it this year. Nonetheless, these early tidbits give us a better idea of what to expect from Microsoft’s first experiments with self-branded shows.
[Image credit: Cmgramse, Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD, Microsoft
Source: Deadline Hollywood
Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire get GTA trilogy, Twitch, and more
Amazon and Rockstar Games today announced that the Grand Theft Auto trilogy is now available on Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire. Customers can now download and play Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on both the set-top box or the tablet.
As if this wasn’t cool enough, Amazon is offering a deal which see them giving back $20 worth of virtual currency. Indeed, if you purchase Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you will receive 2000 Amazon Coins back. These can then be used on other games or content. In essence, you can buy all three for the price of one right now. The limited-time promotion lasts until June 11 so be sure to take advantage of the deal!
Also available today is Twitch, the online video platform for millions of gamers. What’s more, Amazon is now offering The Walking Dead: Season 2 from Telltale Games, Magika from Paradox Interactive, and Zombie Tycoon from Frima.
The post Amazon Fire TV, Kindle Fire get GTA trilogy, Twitch, and more appeared first on AndroidGuys.
49″ 4K Android powered Mi TV 2 also announced by Xiaomi
We are playing a little bit of catch up today. Earlier we let you guys know about the new Xiaomi MiPad with the NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, now we get to see a new Android powered 49″ 4k TV that Xiaomi has also announced. While it isn’t powered by the Tegra K1, it still new Mi TV 2 will have a MStar quad-core 1.45 GHz processor, Mali450-MP4 GPu, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage with an SD card slot. It will offer up a MIUI TV skin interface that doesn’t look to terrible from the images, minus the lack of English of course.
I am totally game to have one of those sitting in my house. It gets even better though. The price tag for this is CN¥3,999, just over $600 USD. Anyone want to take a trip to China to load up with us?
Source: Xiaomi Via AndroidPolice
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Xiaomi’s 49-inch Android TV boasts 4K for just $640
The Mi Pad wasn’t Xiaomi’s only announcement today. Following the Chinese company’s first smart TV from last September, today it has unveiled a slightly larger model with a nice surprise: 4K for just CN¥3,999 or about $640! Like its affordable predecessor, this 49-inch TV comes with built-in Android (with MIUI TV skin), though you can easily side-load other TV apps. On the hardware side, you’ll find a 4K 3D panel made by either LG or CSOT within a 6.2mm aluminum bezel, and underneath that lies a MediaTek MStar 6A918 chip (1.45GHz quad-core CPU, Mali-450 MP4 GPU) plus 2GB of RAM to drive all those pixels. On top of the built-in 8GB space, you also get to add up to 64GB of storage via microSD.
The MI TV 2 comes with a few nice goodies. Most notably, it has a Bluetooth LE remote instead of the old infrared version, and should you lose it in your room, you can even tap the bottom of the TV to make the remote beep. Alternatively, you can also install the remote app on your phone, with which you can use gestures and voice to control the TV, as well as read up related info — some of which comes from IMDB — about the show you’re watching.
Another nice feature here is the audio part. CEO Lei Jun said that in order to keep the TV’s thickness at 15.5mm, his team decided to store the speakers in separate parts: a wired audio bar with the mid-range and treble drivers, and a Bluetooth subwoofer with the 8-inch driver. Better yet, you can also use this kit with your mobile devices via Bluetooth.
As for availability, Lei admitted that his company didn’t do so well with the production rate of the original MI TV, but this time he said this should no longer be a problem, partly because he’s teamed up with Wistron and Pegatron. Folks in China will be able to order one on May 27th, but for the rest of us, chances are we’ll never see one outside China any time soon.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Sony reportedly puts its OLED TV efforts on hold
There were hints that Sony’s OLED TV plans were in trouble when the company’s collaboration with Panasonic went south last year, and it now looks like those efforts have stalled out completely. Nikkei reports that Sony has put development of OLED sets “on ice,” shifting those involved to other projects. The electronics firm just doesn’t see the faster, higher-contrast displays catching on in the near future, according to the Japanese newspaper — it’s far more interested in pushing its 4K LCDs, which are selling like gangbusters compared to equivalent screens from rivals like Samsung.
The company hasn’t put out an official statement so far, and we’ve reached out to learn what’s happening. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sony gave OLED TVs the chop. The firm has been shedding businesses that aren’t profitable, including its PC line. When there’s a chance that Sony’s TV group could be profitable for the first time in more than a decade, it might make sense to cut any projects that are likely to bleed cash — no matter how eye-catching they may be.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Via: OLED-Display.net
Source: Nikkei
Virgin Media bundles mobile, landline, TV and broadband into new ‘quad-play’ packages
Virgin Media has operated as a virtual mobile operator for some time now, but had never combined smartphone plans into the cost of its TV, phone and broadband deals. That’s all about to change, however, after the company confirmed today it will launch a new range of bundles that will form the first true ‘quad-play’ packages in the UK. The packages will start at £35 with a mobile SIM (also excluding line rental) and are marketed under names like Big Kahuna and Big Bang. You’ll get unlimited calls and texts but not data — that’s only applicable to VIP Tariffs, which do not come as part of the new bundles. Before today, it looked like BT was going to become the first provider to go all in, after it signed a deal with EE to provide connectivity for its own-brand 4G network. While the telecommunications giant is expected to roll out consumer packages later this year (returning to the mobile industry after it sold Cellnet back in 2001), it will now come to market some time after one of its major rivals. It could even be pipped to the post by Sky, which is rumoured to be exploring a deal with Vodafone. Virgin’s quad-play packages are now available to existing customers and will roll out to the rest of the UK in June.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Source: Virgin Media
John Lewis’ own-brand smart TVs with webOS launching today from £1,399
The TV section of John Lewis stores, where customers and voyeurs alike come to gawk at the latest sets, will be joined by three new models today that also happen to bear the retailer’s name. Its first own-brand TVs, known as the JL9000 series, have been made by LG especially, and thus run the manufacturer’s webOS smart TV platform. Self-branded products tend to be at the lower-end of their category, but trust John Lewis to deck out its TVs with 1080p LED IPS panels, integrated 2.2-channel soundbars with extra subwoofers, passive 3D and 8-megapixel webcams. Those bells and whistles come at a cost, of course, so the 49-, 55- and 60-inch models will set you back £1,399, £1,699 and £2,199, respectively (still, a little cheaper than when the range was first teased). In typical John Lewis style, each one comes with a five-year guarantee, meaning you can chase the store directly if something goes wrong — not that you’d be happy about it when laying down that kind of dosh.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, LG
Source: John Lewis
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