We have a really, really hard time imagining that Sony would ever bring any sort of streaming video service to the PS3, let alone one that it owns. That would never happen, not in the console war! Never ever!
OK, we’ll save the remaining sarcasm for a rainy day. Yes, Sony is firing another shot in the online video wars, and that shot is opening up Crackle to more platforms.
Have you ever said “Gee, it’s nice that my camera can take pictures, but I really wish it was a high resolution webcam that would allow me to put anything I wanted on the Internet, no matter how insane it was!” If so, congratulations, we never want to go anywhere near your YouTube channel. Also, you might be interested in the Teradek Cube.
Roughly the size of a deck of cards, the Cube slots into your camera’s hot shoe and connects to Livestream.com, a subscription to which comes in the asking price, via its antenna, ethernet cable, or, if you’ve got the Pantech UML290 USB modem from Verizon, over 4G. Connect your camera to the box using the HDMI port and…that’s it. Yep, you heard us. No software, no laptop to hook the beast up to, just get this thing set up and you’re streaming like a professional. Why, yes, it does encode H.264 on the fly.
There are six models to choose from, all, of course, with varying options, WiFi and USB ports sadly being considered optional, which is strange in a world where a disposable camera comes with WiFi and six USB ports, but whatever. It starts at $1495, so we hope whatever you’re streaming is profitable.
I gotta be honest, when I first heard about Amazon’s Prime service, I let out one of the biggest, loudest meeehhhhhssss of all time. Actually “meh” would indicate indifference, so I guess my sentiment was more like a “WTTTTFFF???” A $79-a-year two-day shipping subscription? Count me out. Way out.
But now Amazon has added something more tempting to the pot: free video streaming (or, more accurately, $79-per-year video streaming). Prime customers will now get access to 5,000 movies and TV shows. So instead of paying for an incentive to buy more junk from Amazon, you actually get something tangible…er….streamible in return.
The service is currently available to paid and free-trial Prime subscribers in the U.S. [via Engadget]
Imagine being able to slide your cell phone or media player into your wallet. Or being able to roll it up like a piece of paper and fit it into the smallest compartment of your backpack. Yes, that day is in the future, but a new AMOLED shown by Samsung shows that the future is coming.
The prototype screen is 4.5-inches and measures a scant .3 mm in depth–so thin that you can barely see it when staring at the edge straight on. It packs WVGA resolution, and according to reports, it can roll up into a cylinder with about a centimeter radius. Samsung already has a working media player prototype with the display and plans to use it in cell phones and tablets once mass production gets underway.
Every time I look at Netflix, I can’t help but be impressed. They revolutionized the process of getting video with their mail service, stayed at the head of the curve in movie streaming and are constantly working to add content to their offerings. It just seems like they’re always at the front of the pack, if not one step ahead.
Samsung appears to have a New Year’s resolution that revolves around giving Apple some competition. The Galaxy Tab is popularly considered the iPad’s first real rival. Samsung is the power behind Android’s next top-dog smartphone. And now Samsung appears ready to compete against another popular Apple product: the iPod Touch.
Technology can be quite tragic. Back in the spring when Google first announced Google TV, I and thousands/millions/billions of others were quite intrigued. Was this finally it? Television and Internet together in a functional, intuitive way? Finally? It certainly looked like Google had a shot what with applying its unparalleled search prowess to television and instituting features like dual view.
But then, when it finally came out, it was rather lackluster. Too expensive for a set-top box, not included on top-end TVs and falling short on both the content and interface sides. It wasn’t quite the end-all of Internet TV that we’d hoped. In fact, dollar for dollar, it was less intriguing than a Roku box.
After launching Google TV two months ago, Google is rolling out its first software update. The update will add a few new features to Google’s first TV product including an improved Netflix app that lets you search the entire Netflix catalog of shows and movies, customization options for Dual View that allow you to resize and move the windows around, Google TV Remote App for Android, which includes voice-based controls, and improved movie searches.
Got a huge Blu-ray collection taking up way too much of your entertainment-center shelving or drawers? How about slimming that excess down with the new Kaleidoscape 100-disc server, dubbed the industry’s first Blu-ray movie server. The server allows you to load, rip and stream Blu-ray movies around your house.
