Western Digital's WD TV media player family just got a little bit better with the addition of streaming movie service Vudu. That's in addition to several new sports and entertainment services WD rolled out to the WD TB Live and WD TV Live Hub media players, both of which are already content rich with support for Netflix, Hulu Plus, Blockbuster, CinimaNow, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Facebook, and a bunch of others.
Football fans will have plenty of ways to tune into the Super Bowl and watch Tom Brady and Co. decimate the opponent (this editor might be a tad bit biased) in 2012. That's because for the first time ever, NBC and the NFL will stream the Super Bowl online at NBCSports.com and NFL.com through SNF Extra, giving viewers access to special features like DVR controls, various camera angles, in-game highlights, and other interactive bits, all in HD.
Netflix shareholders haven't been thrilled with Netflix's direction the past few months. After announcing a spin-off of its DVD-by-mail rental business and higher prices for streaming and DVD services combined, subscribers raged until Netflix reversed course on severing its DVD arm, but the company didn't relent on recent price hikes. It's been paying a price in subscriber losses ever since. Enter unhappy investors, though talk of Verizon taking over the streaming service has them smiling once again.
The sky is falling for movie lovers! The post office recently announced that it was closing down nearly half of its processing centers starting in early in 2012, which could eliminate next-day delivery services – and add an extra day of processing to Netflix deliveries. No worries, you can just shift the slack to streaming, right? (Possibly) wrong – as we recently reported, ISPs are considering implementing tiered data pricing to squeeze more cash out of heavy media streamers. So is all lost? Could your ABC Family Movies addiction be in danger of extinction? Not if you’re a Comcast customer. The company apparently has no plans of switching to tiered data pricing.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told attendees at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York that streaming video will grow to replace cable as the viewing option of choice within 3-5 years. In reality, streaming video could leapfrog ahead of cable even sooner than that, but as Netflix gets ready to renew contracts with Hollywood studios, he might want to keep his cards closer to his chest.
YouTube's daddy (Google) shoved a fistful of cash into the streaming video service's pocket and told it to get a haircut. But why stop there? Google's bank account is plenty big enough to fund a full makeover, and that's exactly what YouTube got. The new look starts with a brand new homepage, and continues with a Channel. design and fresh coat of digital paint.
If you're a Sonos user, go grab your dancing shoes and air guitar, because the Sonos System Software 3.6 update gives you more ways to rock out. One of the big additions is Android tablet support via the Sonos Controller for Android app. With Android smartphones already supported, users are now able to wirelessly control Sonos from any Android 2.2 (or above) device with this update, including the Kindle Fire.
Just a Holiday heads up for you all. Starting today, Google has added a raft of Disney movies to is YouTube-based movie rental service. Classics like Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh are available, but new titles like Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean are there too. It appears that Apple’s super-close relationship with Disney wasn’t enough to keep this content from Google.
Amid all the doom and gloom around Spotify’s profitability for artists, the service has been doing quite well by the numbers. Without disclosing the breakdown by nationality, Spotify has announced that it has 2.5 million paying members. It appears that the expansion into the US market has afforded the music streamer solid growth.
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