Posts Tagged ‘Streaming’

Amazon Signs Streaming Deal With NBCUniversal

Lately, Amazon has been beefing up its movie and television offerings, likely in anticipation of the release of its rumored tablet.

First, Amazon signed a deal with CBS to offer Amazon Prime subscribers shows like Star Trek and Cheers, and as of last Thursday, Amazon also has an agreement with NBCUniversal.

The deal with NBCUniversal brings plenty of new content to subscribers, such as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Being John Malkovich.

Amazon’s tablet is expected to provide customers with access to the Amazon Unbox, Amazon MP3, Kindle, Cloud Music, and Cloud Drive services. These are all services that are similar to what Apple currently offers or plans to offer with the release of iOS 5 this September.

Apple has a robust TV and movie catalog that users can access to download content onto their iPads, either through purchases or through rentals. Amazon has a similar system, where TV episodes can be purchased for two dollars, and movies can be rented or purchased. Amazon also offers instant videos for its Amazon Prime subscribers, and these new movies will be available for instant watching at no extra cost. Apple does not have a movie membership available.

For an Amazon tablet to be competitive with the iPad, Amazon will need to offer a similar selection of content. Other tablet makers have not been able to provide the content that the iPad has available, and that has been a contributing factor in the iPad’s dominance over the competition.

With these new acquisitions, and the lack of a subscription program for unlimited movies via iTunes, the Amazon tablet could very well be the iPad’s first true competitor.

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Enjoy Live Video Streaming with New Ustream iPad App

Whether you’re itching to watch your favorite radio shows while listening to them, or you’re the star of your own show, Ustream is the right app for you. Recently updated to include iPad functionality, the app should now allow users to join the conversation in huge crowds watching the same streams.

Finding a video stream is easy as pie, and if you don’t know quite what you’re looking for there’s always the option to search feeds by category. One of my personal favorites has been one of the several Shark Week feeds, live from the Georgia Aquarium.

Streaming video is becoming increasingly popular as time goes on and Ustream has been one of the services at the forefront. One of the most beneficial parts of watching a feed via Ustream is the “crowd” feature. You will know how many users are also tuned in and have the abiltiy to converse with them. Most of the time, the person hosting the video will also join the conversation!

Sharing is also possible via Facebook and Twitter from within the app itself, allowing for uninterrupted viewing of your favorite stream. If you see a video that hasn’t aired yet, there is an option to be notified when it starts which only requires creating a Ustream account.

In my personal experience, Ustream has been valuable in giving relatives the ability to watch sports games. College athletes that dont play Division I football rarely have the ability to allow their families to watch them play their sport via the Internet, but Ustream has and will continue to enhance that ability.

Hosting a video is as easy as watching one. Users simply need to tap the video camera icon in the top right corner and begin either streaming or recording video for a later broadcast.

What I liked: Searching for feeds by category was exceedingly helpful when I didn’t have a specific feed in mind. Despite some harsh reviews in the App Store commenting on the functionality of the app, I had no problems after hours of use.

What I didn’t like: There is no back button, so when a feed is entered users have to go back through the method of finding the previous feed all over again.

To buy or not to buy: The app is free, so if you have a stream you’re dedicated to watching, you’ll now be able to take it on the go. If you haven’t found your favorite stream yet, its never too late as new ones are added all the time!

• App Name: Ustream
• Version Reviewed: 2.1
• Category: Entertainment
• Developer: Ustream.tv, Inc.
• Price: Free
• Score:

» Related posts:

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Walmart Launches Streaming Video Service, Not Available on iOS

Thousands of VUDU movie titles, from new releases, to older, $.99 movies are now available to be streamed directly to your computer from Walmart’s own website, thanks to a collaboration between Walmart and VUDU.

If you haven’t heard of it, VUDU is an online video-on-demand streaming service that’s known for delivering blu-ray quality 1080p high definition video. It possesses a large collection of movies that can be streamed to media players, TVs, home-theater components, and computers.

Now VUDU’s entire collection is fully integrated and available on Walmart.com. Movies from VUDU can be purchased and rented directly on website. Movies rented on the Walmart website can then be streamed directly from Walmart.com, VUDU.com, or one of 300 VUDU-enabled devices, such as HDTVs, blu-ray disc players, and the PlayStation 3.

Notably absent here is support for mobile devices. While there is a VUDU mobile app for iOS, it’s only for purchasing movies to be watched on computers and TVs, not for streaming movies directly on the device.

VUDU may be encroaching on Netflix territory with newer releases, but they’re still far behind in the mobile arena. Check out VUDU’s offerings on Walmart.com by visiting the website.

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CNN Unveils 24-Hour Live Streaming News on iOS Devices

Earlier today, CNN became the first news network to stream 24 hour news video both online and on mobile phones. CNN and HLN will now be accessible live 24 hours a day on CNN.com and on the CNN app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

With this new live streaming launch, CNN has also revealed its new video experience, which will seamlessly integrate live network TV into a higher quality video player, making it capable of playing HD quality video.

According to Jim Walton, President of CNN Worldwide, “A principal goal for CNN is to make more of our content available to more people on more platforms, and CNN’s participation in the TV Everywhere initiative is another step forward in that direction. We have long believed that our growth depends on keeping CNN essential and relevant to consumers wherever they are.”

Of course, to access this live streaming video on your iPad or other iDevice, you will apparently need to be lucky enough to be a subscriber to a participating Internet provider. Those include Cox, Comcast, AT&T U-verse, Dish, and Suddenlink. If you have access to apps like TWCable and Cablevision, these will already stream CNN live, and may be the reason Time Warner isn’t available as an option in the CNN app.

Without a participating provider, you can’t watch the CNN or HLN channels live, but you can still watch “Live Events,” which is currently showing “White House Updates Debt Debate.”

Videos start out with an advertisement, but other than that, seem to play uninterrupted without stuttering problems and in high definition. There are basic video controls, like pausing and full screen mode, and some extras, like rewind and fast forward.

To access CNN and HLN on your iDevice, you’ll need to download the free app in the App Store, or update your existing CNN app. From there, just tap live TV at the top and sign in, when prompted, with your cable provider using your name and password.

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• Motorola Introduces Live Streaming Device for iPad and Other Gadgets
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Netflix Offers Different Streaming Options

More and more Internet companies have started to implement data caps, similar to the caps in place for those of you who have a non-grandfathered data plan for your iPhone or iPad. Streaming video can eat up a lot of that data, and a new video quality selection option from Netflix may help you save some of those precious megabytes.

Recently, in a quiet update, Netflix implemented a change that lets Netflix users in the United States turn down the quality of streaming videos to lower bandwidth and avoid hitting caps. This is an option that has long been available in Canada.

U.S. Netflix users can now choose from three different quality settings. Just head to the website and click on “Your Account,” and check out the Manage Video Quality link.

“Good quality” will use up to 0.3 GB per hour, “Better quality uses up to 0.7 GB per hour, and “Best quality” will burn though 1 GB per hour for standard definition an 2.3 GB per hour for high definition. With the lowest quality setting, you may be able to watch a movie or two on your iPad without hitting the highest data cap.

Lower quality video may not look as crisp, but it’s certainly going to help you stay within your bandwidth limits while allowing you to enjoy streaming movies and TV. Additionally, lower bandwidth settings also mean that iPad users have access to a better streaming experience on their 3G connections.

The new settings are a great option for iPad users who want to take advantage of Netflix when away from a Wi-Fi connection for a few hours. These video quality settings may be geared towards DSL/Cable bandwidth caps, but mobile device users can also get a lot of use out of Netflix’s new lower bandwidth streaming options.

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Motorola Introduces Live Streaming Device for iPad and Other Gadgets

Motorola just announced a home device that could eventually help the so called “cord cutters” to detach from their set-top boxes, kind of, and watch what they want to watch whenever they want to.

The new device, called Motorola Televation, will let users stream live TV to IP-enabled devices. That’s correct, if you have an iPad, a connected TV or any other gadget around your home, you will be able to stream TV content to your devices via your home network.

To use the Motorola Televation all you have to do is plug in the device into your cable coax and your own Wi-Fi router, and the device will automatically allow you to stream TV content to your connected devices around your house.

The Televation uses a 1GHz digital tuner and CableCard to access broadcast TV channels directly from a coax outlet. Motorola has implemented a high-performance transcoder into the device that translates programming in real-time from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, and also changes the resolution and bit rate to match the capabilities of your viewing device while maintaining the picture quality.

As shown on the picture below, the device has an Ethernet jack to plug directly into your home Wi-Fi router so that TV shows can be wirelessly streamed over IP to any of your connected devices in your home network.

Here at PadGadget we’ve covered some of the previous content streaming rights issues between Time Warner, Cablevision and the content providers. To avoid this situation, Motorola claims the Televation device utilizes Motorola’s SecureMedia IPRM-HN technology, which will keep the programming secure while it is being streamed allowing the content providers to preserve their digital rights associated with each program.

Comcast, Time Warner, Cablevision and Verizon have already launched iPad applications. Many other service providers will follow. However, these iPad apps still run video streams over your Internet provider’s network. Motorola’s Televation has been designed to offload the video traffic from your Internet provider’s broadband network and push it to your Wi-Fi network instead. This will certainly help service providers cope with the evolution of the digital home since a device like the Televation can be used to give consumers a more portable TV experience inside the house.

If you have an iPad, the Televation should allow you to access live video over your Wi-Fi network from anywhere within your home. But, here is the catch. The Motorola Televation won’t be available directly to consumers. Motorola plans to sell the device to service providers, which will then package it to consumers eventually. Motorola will also include a software development kit (SDK) that allows service providers to develop their own applications.

[via Motorola's Media Center]

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iOS Devices Are Streaming 80% of Mobile Video

While most video viewing still occurs over wired connections, there is no question that there is a large number of consumers streaming video to their mobile, wireless devices. FreeWheel, a monetization start-up, has released a report for the first quarter of 2011 that explores the delivery of digital content.

Their report indicated that the delivery of mobile video was made overwhelmingly to Apple iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPod and iPad. This majority, currently sitting at 80% may be due in large part to the number of these devices in the hands of consumers, but it is still a very interesting result. For developers it means tailoring and optimizing content to be viewed on these devices being seen as a priority.

With 20 million iPads in the global market, they still number far fewer than the iPhone and iPod devices currently being used, but yet they account for 20% of wireless video requests. This is significant because it shows that iPad devices are being used overwhelmingly for digital video viewing.

What I found most interesting about this report is that it clearly indicated that digital video viewing was not in direct competition with more traditional linear video viewing. People were watching video on their wireless devices in addition to their regular television habits. What was not surprising, is that digital video viewing spiked on days when linear viewing tended to wane. Digital video consumption also appeared to spike in the wake of live events such as the recent earthquakes, tsunamis and championship sports tournaments.

All of this information is very important for those looking to generate ad revenue from these streams. It may make us cringe to consider more advertising infringing on our digital content, but we should also be aware that advertising dollars make the costs of providing and streaming these things possible.

FreeWheel was responsible for delivering 5 billion video ads, while contributing to the decisions on over 10 billion video views in the first quarter of 2011, making them an authoritative source of information on how revenue is generated from the online, professional video content.

[via FreeWheel]

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Seagate Reveals “GoFlex Satellite” for Cable-Free iOS Streaming

An interesting FCC filing has revealed Seagate’s plans to build a hard drive that would bring us built-in WiFi capability and will also feature its own battery to operate cable-free for several hours.

The Seagate GoFlex Satellite is a portable hard drive that will allow you to stream music, videos and other content directly to your iOS devices by leveraging a companion app called GoFlex Media.

According to the FCC filing, the new hard drive supports 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and it also features a 3.7V battery. In addition, Seagate has also included a USB 3.0 port, which allows you to charge the device and also connect it with wires whenever needed. Seagate also plans to release a “GoFlex Media” iOS application that will let you enjoy and stream your content from the new portable hard drive without using cables.

Sure, Amazon and Google have released their respective cloud based “media locker” services. However, each service has its pros and cons.

Amazon’s cloud service allows you to store a minimum of 5GB of files on the web for free, but most likely your media content will exhaust the free storage and will force you to upgrade to tiered plans for 50GB, 100GB, 200GB, 500GB and 1TB, which will set you back $1 per year for every gigabyte of storage.

Google’s Music service, initially will be available in the United States only and strictly by invitation. The service will be offered free of charge but there is no word on storage limits or possible costs following the beta program. Accessing the system will also require a browser that supports Flash, which means iOS is left out without an option yet again.

Apple is expected to unveil their so called “iCloud” service during their WWDC event next month. Although it is not clear yet, many have speculated that Apple’s service could cost you around $20 per year.

Considering all options, perhaps, Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite may be an acceptable option for folks looking to stream their media content via a one-time payment solution that will not require too much space around the house or inside their bags.

[via Engadget]

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American Airlines to Offer In-Flight Video Streaming Service

We’ve talked about how the love affair between airlines and the iPad has gained a lot of ground in 2011. Earlier this year, Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines announced they were already testing the iPad for in-flight use by their pilots. In addition, Australian airline Jetstar gave the “green light” to the iPad as a in-flight entertainment device for A320 flights in Australia and Asia.

Enter American Airlines, which has announced its testing of “in-flight” streaming video for its WiFi service. This new service should allow you to purchase and stream movies and TV shows to your favorite WiFi-enabled devices during flight.

The new campaign is designed to make sure you stay productive during your flight, and also gives you the option to entertain yourself with a collection of movies and TV shows.

In case you’re not familiar with American Airlines’ WiFi service, the company partners with Aircell, which is a private company that develops broadband for both private and commercial aviation. Today, the WiFi service on several American Airlines flights uses Aircell’s air-to-ground technology to transmit data. However, given the amount of video content that many of us would like to stream, the new video streaming service will probably be supported by a server located on each plane to ensure a fast connection for all passengers.

“If all you’re interested in is watching a movie, this is a better choice,” said Doug Backelin, American Airlines’ manager of in-flight communications and technology.

The new service plans to introduce a selection of movies already released on the DVD market, and recently aired TV shows. Of course, Aircell needs to negotiate all this content with studios, but we expect the company to reach some deals rather quickly since you will be paying to consume this content.

According to USA Today, American thinks the streaming service will carry a price somewhat similar to what you already pay for “pay-per-view” movies at home. The prices could range anywhere from $3 to $5 for a movie, and $1 to $3 for a recently aired TV episode.

American Airlines is certainly trying to stay on the leading edge of technology. We expect other airlines to follow suit. After all, there are many iPad and iPhone users flying the friendly skies, as well as Android and notebook users out there.

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Netflix to Introduce Family Streaming Plans in 2011?

Netflix is a fantastic service, offering the ability to stream movies and television shows wirelessly through many of your devices (including your iPad and iPhone) instantly. To date, Netflix is a subscription based service on a per-household basis –but it has recently been suggested to investors that this relationship evolve to be on a per-individual basis.

This shift makes sense on a number of levels. Because streaming is available on a number of personal devices, features such as managing your queue of upcoming movies would be increasingly more useful and accurate if based only on a single user.

Add to this the well publicized upcoming integration with Facebook, allowing individuals to share what they are watching with their friends and family and the frequently alluded-to social features that will be added and it only makes sense for accounts to be more personalized.

Also consider that Netflix needs to find a way to increase subscriber rates and market share and the recipe seems to include this key ingredient. Shifts like this are increasingly important given the rising competition from services that use pay-per-view and ad-supported models that already lend themselves well to individual instead of household accounts.

In this same statement to investors, Netflix acknowledges that there are a few challenges to overcome, such as encouraging multiple subscription costs among family members. Value added services such as multiple concurrent streams across multiple devices at once (increasing the current limit from a single stream) and increased accuracy and meaning to the recommendation engine (based on your previous selections) may go a long way toward this goal.

Personally, I would be thrilled to see this feature come to light if for no other reason than I won’t have to wonder whether my husband has been watching Mad Men without me, and if I can resume the current episode without jumping ahead!

What do you think? Will you sign up for your own personal plan?

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