As Web television offerings grow, both free and paid-for, cable providers are finding customers canceling their subscriptions in order to save some much-needed money. Hulu is looking to offer a paid subscription service and now Apple may be looking for similar with a monthly iTunes offering.

From Free To Paid

There is more television and movie content to watch for free on the Web now than ever before. Hulu in the States, BBC iPlayer in the U.K., and YouTube and all the rest worldwide, the Internet is now awash with programming.

Interestingly enough, both Hulu and the iPlayer are thought to be looking at paid options in the future. But this is, if anything, a sign that the business is getting serious and offering an alternative to the traditional cable and television networks.

Continue Reading…

Epix has upped its commitment to online content by promising 3,000 movies available to subscribers through its Epix Megaplex and EpixHD option. But while this is cause for celebration, is it enough to deter piracy?

Epix

When Epix was first announced back in June, I described it as a ‘Hulu for movies’ and an indication that Hollywood and the movie industry was finally waking up to the need for free or cheap, easily-accessible Web destinations to consume content legally.

After all, the music industry failed to do this for years and it lead to the situation we are in now where despite Apple iTunes and a wealth of other places to stream or buy music (my favorite being Spotify), piracy is still a huge problem.

Continue Reading…

The set-top box and over-the-top online video sector is already a very crowded one. There is Apple TV, the Roku box, Vudu, Netflix, and Amazon already competing in the space to name but a few. And ZillionTV hopes to achieve the unthinkable and make space for itself.

Still Emerging From The Gloom

For what is still considered an emerging market which isn’t likely to reach its full potential for many years to come online video is certainly offering consumers a range of options. The number of ways of watching video and television content over the Internet is numerous and growing all the time.

While online video sites on the Web are a niche unto themselves (although just as crowded), there are also a number of options for people who want to consumer video and television in their living rooms using an Broadband connection and either a set-top box or other Internet-enabled device.

Continue Reading…

The iPod Touch got a serious hardware upgrade, as Apple looks to be drooling over the mobile gaming pie.

The Touch is now faster and supports OpenGL|ES, which should improve game performance.

Two new features are voice-controlled music playback and voice memos; the earphones have been updated with a microphone.

There is no video camera for the iPod Touch, perhaps because this would create competition with the iPhone.

Overview of Features

• Control music playback with spoken commands.
• Audio recorder
• Genius Mixes
• Buy or rent movies and TV shows
• App Store
• Shop on iTunes
• Safari Web Browser, Mail, Maps and YouTube
• Nike+ support

Continue Reading…

New product announcements from Apple highlight the addition of a video camera to the iPod Nano.

The new camera is capable of shooting VGA (640×480) quality footage at 30fps, which is fine for YouTube, but does not measure up to the specifications of newer portable HD video cameras like the Flip Mino HD.

The iPod Nano now sports a microphone and built-in speaker. Software updates include Cover Flow, Genius Mix, and Voice Over, which allows you to read out the names of songs as they’re played. The Nano also has a built-in pedometer and FM player.

Continue Reading…

Ashley Highfield claims the television industry has three years to act before it faces an “iTunes moment” with Apple running the online video show.

Is this correct or is the Microsoft executive who also launched the BBC iPlayer merely showing his anti-Apple bias?

Ashley Highfield

Ashley Highfield is a man who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to consumer technology and online video. He formerly oversaw the launch of the BBC iPlayer service, initially only on Windows, and was the CEO of Project Kangaroo, the joint venture between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4.

He is now the UK Managing Director of Microsoft (Consumer & Online) and looks after Windows, Bing, Messenger, Hotmail, and more besides. He also oversaw the launch of the MSN Video Player recently, which brings archive television shows to the Web.

Continue Reading…

Netflix is a movie rental company first and foremost but it’s also developing a very strong online video streaming strategy, with its Watch Instantly video-on-demand a huge hit. It has now added ABC shows to its line-up and could soon be available as an iPhone app.

Netflix Watch Instantly

Netflix’s business is built on delivering rented movies to people’s doors and charging them a monthly fee for doing so. And it’s a pretty damn successful business. However, Netflix knows that the days of physical media are coming to an end, with streaming music and video, as well as software and games delivered via the Internet becoming standard.

Therefore, it offers its subscribers the chance to stream video via its ‘Watch Instantly’ service. Those paying the monthly fees required to rent DVDs get access to over 12,000 movies and episodes of popular television series. Not just available on a computer, Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ has been added to a number of devices, from set-top-boxes to the Xbox 360.

Continue Reading…