To paraphrase Sufjan Stevens, it’s almost Christmas! Don’t feel sad! But it has to be said: Netflix Instant is really lacking when it comes to seasonal fare to enjoy over the next couple of days when the Yule Log gets a little too repetitive. Sure, they’ve got clips of the movies you’d really want to be watching and everyone’s favorite …
Home Entertainment
YouTube Plays Santa To 500 Filmmakers
Google is putting $500,000 where its mouth is, giving YouTube content partners early Christmas presents to enable them to buy new video equipment. The company is offering 500 of its favorite content providers $1000 each in credit to B&H Photo – the favorite camera equipment store of Google co-founder Sergey Brin – as a thank you for …
Viacom Sued Twice By Former Rock Band Owners
Viacom just can’t catch a break legally. Not only are they embroiled in an ongoing legal battle over whether YouTube is infringing on their copyright, but now they’re being sued themselves by the former owners of Rock Band over hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of royalties – twice. Even as a lawsuit over money owed to former …
Level 3 Goes To FCC Over Fight With Comcast
The argument between Netflix partner Level 3 and Comcast over carriage fees looks set to get a lot uglier with the news that Level 3 has asked the FCC to step in and put conditions on Comcast’s merger with NBC Universal. The company is asking the FCC to enforce on Comcast a five year period where interconnection agreements would be made …
FilmOn Boss Takes Legal Battle With CBS Viral
There’s almost something inspirational about the determination of FilmOn.com founder Aiki David and his determination not to give up in the face of either the law or common sense when it comes to defending his company. Having been blocked from streaming content from ABC, NBC, CBS or Fox by a temporary restraining order last month, …
Hulu Decides Not To Go Public, Wonders How To Raise Cash
Whither the financial future of Hulu? With the idea of issuing an IPO being said to be off the table at least for now, the video-on-demand company co-owned by News Corp., NBC Universal and Walt Disney Co. is having to consider other ways of raising the money it needs to expand. The problem with going public, apparently, was that Hulu …
Studios vs. Theaters: When Can We Watch Movies On TV?
Movie studios and theater owners are said to be gearing up for a fight – but it’s not over the cost of movies or how many will require larger screens or special glasses. Instead, the battle is about the window between theater releases for movies and their video on demand debut. Studios are looking to shortening the window between theater …
Reverse Cord-Cutting May Be Real
“Cord-cutting” – That is, dropping cable television services for internet – may be more myth than reality, but new research from Turner Broadcasting suggests that audiences’ appetites are changing, if not in the ways that people might expect. A new study commissioned by the company has found out that while consumers may not be abandoning …
YouTube Offers Free TVs To Get People Excited About Google TV
What will it take to get people onboard the Google TV train? Well, if a software update to fix early bugs and annoying habits isn’t enough, what about a free television? Google-owned YouTube has launched what it’s calling the “I Want My Google TV! contest,” in which users have until December 22nd to submit videos demonstrating how …
Google TV Updated with Better Netflix App, Android Remote
Google is in the midst of pushing out the first major software update for its Google TV service.
Along with some bug fixes, Google TV users now have access to an updated Netflix app that allows direct streaming of any available movie or show, along with the ability to add disc-based movies directly to your queue if you subscribe to …
Meet The Psycho-Acoustic Beatles
The era of psycho-acoustic simulation is over. I know, I know; you weren’t even aware that it had begun.
The term referred to the legal defense offered by a website called BlueBeat.com, which claimed that it was able to sell Beatles tracks online (for just 25 cents) because it was actually selling “simulations” of the original songs, …
Comcast Testing ‘Xcalibur’ Web Connected Cable Boxes
Comcast has apparently started testing its own web-connected cable boxes in an Augusta, Georgia pilot program, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project is referred to as “Xcalibur” internally, though participating customers reportedly know of it as “Spectrum.”
This project is not new. Job postings for it sprung up over a year …
