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  • Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe

    Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe

    Posted on May 18, 2010 | No Comments
    International PlayStation 3 owners have long since enjoyed spoils unavailable to North American consumers (PlayTV, anyone?), but one area where they're lagging is the availability of on-demand films. Thanks to a couple of serendipitously timed announcements, PS3 owners in Australia, New Zealand and far-flung corners of Europe will soon have a couple of new options for bringing digital movies to their television via their favorite Sony-branded game console. For starters, Sony itself will be launching the hotly-anticipated Australian on-demand movie rental / purchase service on Thursday, which will offer up (initially, anyway) 600 titles, though the breakdown of HD vs. SD isn't given. We're told that around 50 new movies will be added each month, and after paying the rental fee, you'll have a scant 48 hours to ingest it as many times as you so desire. In related news, MUBI will also be bringing a similar service to a smattering of overseas nations. So far as we can tell, this is what a child would look like if parented by Facebook and Vudu, and the concept is admittedly intriguing. Unfortunately, HD streams won't be available at launch, but hopefully it'll get with the program in short order. Speaking of the program, hit those source links for more details on both.

    Continue reading Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe

    Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 18 May 2010 21:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig sync up for 60GHz WiFi

    Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig sync up for 60GHz WiFi

    Posted on May 10, 2010 | No Comments
    We already heard that Hitachi, Panasonic and Toshiba would be delivering 60GHz wireless products in the latter half of this year, but it looks like a whole heap of other companies will be as well after this bombshell drops. The Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig (which just nailed down a final spec in December) have finally got their respective ducks in a row, and thanks to a new partnership announced today, 60GHz WiFi products are now possible. For those unaware, 60GHz airwaves are typically reserved for high-bandwidth applications -- think streaming a Blu-ray flick from a player to an HDTV sans any cabling. The two will be working in unison in order to create a next-generation certification program for products operating in the 60GHz band, and best of all, a "significant portion, if not all, of these devices are expected to also support traditional WiFi networking in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands." There's no mention of when exactly the first 60GHz WiFi wares will begin to ship, but we can certainly say we're eager to update this here tutorial when tri-band becomes reality.

    Continue reading Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig sync up for 60GHz WiFi

    Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig sync up for 60GHz WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video

    Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video

    Posted on May 7, 2010 | No Comments
    To call Mark Cuban eccentric would be akin to describing the ocean as wet, but what's not so often acknowledged about the Dallas Mavericks owner is the sharp mind and commercial nous that have gotten him to the position of hiring and firing millionaire ball players. One of Mark's recent blog posts, entitled "The future of TV ... is TV," got the attention of NewTeeVee, who sought to debunk his contention that VOD (video on demand) services from cable operators would become the primary means by which we consume digital media in the future. They cite the growing success story of Netflix's digital distribution model, as well as the 12 million hours of March Madness video consumed via CBS' web portal, in arguing that web streaming is indeed the great new hotness.

    Mark's response tackles Netflix head on, and points out that the company's rapid growth is about to start working against it, with movie studios and other content providers likely to jack up prices and demand further concessions from the streaming service as it turns into a real competitor to cable companies. According to him, Netflix is presently getting its content at prices that are unsustainable, and his prognostication is that content owners seeking bigger levies -- together with the expansion of VOD choice, which he sees as foolproof compared to the overwhelming complexity that web streaming entails -- will lead to Netflix passing costs on to the consumers and losing out to cable operators. Irrespective of whether you agree with him, the whole exchange is well worth a read. Use the links below to get filled in.

    Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Hulu blocks boxee browser entirely, gloves get ripped halfway off

    Hulu blocks boxee browser entirely, gloves get ripped halfway off

    Posted on March 6, 2009 | No Comments

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    As a wise man once said: "Damn, that's just cold, son." Merely hours after boxee announced its latest alpha build along with RSS feed support for Hulu, said video portal has now blocked off boxee's browser entirely from accessing its content. If you'll recall, boxee saw a huge increase in interest when it first added easy access to Hulu, and once Hulu demanded that it be removed, boxee sadly complied. The latest move just seems "cold blooded," as now boxee users who attempt to surf over via a Hulu RSS feed link will be greeted with an infinite amount of nothing. boxee is quick to point out that its browser doesn't access Hulu content "any differently" than IE, Firefox, Opera or any other browser, which does a good job of explaining just how deliberate this move is. Needless to say, we get the feeling this bout is just getting started.

    [Image courtesy of ZatzNotFunny]

    Update: boxee now says things are working. For the moment, anyway. Feel free to join us as we throw our hands in the air and give up on understanding this mess.

    Hulu blocks boxee browser entirely, gloves get ripped halfway off originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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