Tag Archives: hd streaming

Canal Plus chief: Amazon, Netflix will bring video-on-demand to France early next year

Posted on by

DNP Canal Plus chief Amazon will bring videoondemand to France

Amazon might be continuing its European HD streaming video invasion by arriving in France next March, according to Canal Plus' president, Bertrand Meheu. The executive is well-placed to have that info, as he says his company will be supplying Amazon with content for the service's launch on the Kindle Fire. If true, it's not known yet if it would be in the form of Lovefilm, which launched in Germany and the UK recently, or if it would be available on PCs, Macs, Xbox 360 consoles or Smart TVs as it is elsewhere. Canal Plus has been fighting to keep such competitors out of the notoriously protectionist country, but it was recently blocked by a state watchdog from hoarding VOD rights exclusively for its own networks. The company also said that Netflix would arrive in France by "early 2013" -- another credible claim, considering the huge amount of content it produces that the US streaming service would surely need.

Filed under: , , ,

Canal Plus chief: Amazon, Netflix will bring video-on-demand to France early next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Hollywood Reporter  |  sourceBFMTV France (translated)  | Email this | Comments

Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction

Posted on by

Editorial Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction

This week I bought a Roku. Late to the party? Yes, but not as late as you might suppose. Roku has sold about 2.5 million streaming media boxes since the product launched in 2008. Approximately 1.5 million of those units moved in 2011, indicating an acceleration of demand. Coincidentally, those numbers roughly represent the cord-cutting movement: Reportedly, 2.65 million cable subscribers ditched their service between 2008 and 2011, with about 1.5 million of those defections happening in 2011.

While cable cord-cutting is a trend, the movement is occurring in the context of customer inertia. About 100 million customers subscribe to cable, satellite, and other pay-TV providers (e.g. AT&T's U-Verse). The problematic value proposition of cutting the cord will probably keep massive inaction in place for the short term, but cannot, I believe, withstand long-term marketplace demands.

Continue reading Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction

Filed under:

Editorial: Cutting the cable cord is a young trend going in the right direction originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Infinitec updates Pocket TV to 1GB RAM, settles on final design and reaffirms October shipments

Posted on by

Infinitec updates Pocket TV to 1GB RAM, settles on final design and reaffirms October shipments

It's another wondrous success story from within the walls of Kickstarter, but honestly, meeting its funding goal was just the start for Infinitec. The outfit's second product, the Pocket TV, is well on its way to becoming a commercialized reality, but backers will be pleased to know that a few changes are being made in order to address some of the most frequently voiced concerns. For starters, the company's doubling the included RAM from 512MB to 1GB. We asked its founders why it'd make such a change, and were told that the boost in memory would enable "snappier performance" throughout, and ensure that it'll handle "the next versions of Android" when updates become available. Wise move. Contrary to the belief of many, such a decision requires more than a simple tweak on a purchase order; Infinitec will be redesigning the final product to look like the item pictured above, and it's bringing on staff in order to adhere to its original shipment month of October. Hungry for even more? There's a minty fresh hands-on video just after the break.

Continue reading Infinitec updates Pocket TV to 1GB RAM, settles on final design and reaffirms October shipments

Infinitec updates Pocket TV to 1GB RAM, settles on final design and reaffirms October shipments originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKickstarter  | Email this | Comments

Netflix introduces its own CDN, Open Connect Network, to give ISPs more control

Posted on by

Netflix introduces its own CDN, Open Connect Network, to give ISPs more throughput controlIt's not often that we touch on subjects surrounding content infrastructure -- lectures revolving around AWS, Level 3 and Limelight give most of us the creeps -- but that stuff is absolutely vital to keep petabytes of content flowing to our retinas. As the company's business shifts from by-mail to instant gratification, there are also decisions that need to be made about delivery. Despite signing a three-year deal with Limelight and Level 3 right around eighteen months ago, Netflix is clearly keeping an eye on the future with the introduction of the Open Connect content delivery network (CDN). Netflix is informing ISPs that they can choose to have Open Connect Appliances within their datacenters, or to peer with the Open Connect network at common Internet Exchanges; Netflix will provide either form of access at no cost to the ISP. We've heard about Netflix's efforts to team up with ISPs on bandwidth management before, it will be interesting to see if higher quality streaming or bundled packages become part of the deal. The official announcement is pretty light on details, but a piece at Streaming Media (linked below) highlights some of the more important strategic changes. No doubt, the outfit is expected to save small amounts per megabyte delivered, but when you're serving video on a massive scale, even pennies count.

Netflix introduces its own CDN, Open Connect Network, to give ISPs more control originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 18:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Streaming Media, TechCrunch  |  sourceNetflix (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Lovefilm introduces HD streaming in the UK and Germany, adds another nail in mail rental coffin

Posted on by

LoveFilm introduces HD streaming in the UK and Germany, adds another nail in mail rental coffin

Lovefilm certainly seems to be on the charm offensive to secure those movie viewing eyes. Yesterday it was the announcement of an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal, and today it's HD streaming for its "Instant" service. Subscribers in the UK and Germany can suck up full 1080p content when viewing on a Mac or PC, and 720p when watching via Xbox 360 or Smart TV (UK only) at no extra cost. The HD library is rolling out now, and currently includes only a selection of films and TV shows, but is set to expand over the coming months. So if you're a paid up member, you can start browsing the library today, and hunt out those HD badges.

Continue reading Lovefilm introduces HD streaming in the UK and Germany, adds another nail in mail rental coffin

Lovefilm introduces HD streaming in the UK and Germany, adds another nail in mail rental coffin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Infinitec returns with Android 4.0-based HDMI dongle, Kickstarts the Pocket TV

Posted on by

Infinitec Pocket TV

Remember Infinitec? Tricky question, no? The company came to us at CES 2010 with a product that had big -- nay, huge -- aspirations. It was a simple USB stick that promised to enable ad hoc streaming, claiming to bring "infinite storage" to PC users. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly seamless in operation, and the company's been radio silent ever since. Until today. The Dubai-based outfit is officially getting back in the consumer technology game starting right now, and as it seems that all the cool kids are doing these days, it's going the Kickstarter route in lieu of more conventional capital raising.

The new product is an Android-based HDMI dongle -- not entirely unlike a few others we've seen -- which is being dubbed Pocket TV. Just as Tim Cook stated last night at D10, the TV industry is an interesting one, and it's obvious that people want something different than they have today. Plug this guy into your television, and you'll be able to Skype from the big screen, show PowerPoint presentations without a laptop connection and tap into files you've got hosted on Dropbox (or any other cloud-based Android app). Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is onboard, and it'll ship with a gyro-equipped keyboard remote that allows control via one's hand motions. Thinking of giving these guys another shot? Hit that source link below and put your money ($99 or more) where your mouse is.

Gallery: Infinitec Pocket TV Android 4.0-based HDMI dongle

Infinitec returns with Android 4.0-based HDMI dongle, Kickstarts the Pocket TV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceKickstarter  | Email this | Comments

Hauppauge announces StreamEez to broadcast live HD video

Posted on by

Image

Hauppauge, not satisfied with only bringing DVR-like functions to the Broadway this week -- has unleashed a new box called the StreamEez that links your HD video camera to your computer for live broadcasts. HDMI or component video hook it up on the cam side, USB on the computer side. It uses H.264 video compression and is compatible with sites like USTREAM that require the RTMP protocol. The box plus Windows software starts at $299. Everything but the price probably sounds pretty familiar since the incredibly similar Livestream Broadcaster is also just about on the scene, though, it'll run you about $195 more. Take a gander at the PR after the break.

Continue reading Hauppauge announces StreamEez to broadcast live HD video

Hauppauge announces StreamEez to broadcast live HD video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePR Newswire  | Email this | Comments