Amazon on Wednesday launched its long-awaited set-top box. Called Fire TV, the new device boasts more powerful hardware than its current competition, includes Amazon features like X-Ray and FreeTime, and supports Bluetooth game controllers, turning it into a powerful Android game console.
Netflix is doing everything it can to attract new subscribers to its more cost-effective streaming-only service, and so it is currently testing a new cheaper entry-level service tier. The $6.99 single-stream-only plan knocks a dollar off of the previous two-stream price, but it’s currently only available for new subscribers.
Google’s Chromecast just picked up a great new app. Plex, the excellent home media server and client software, is now available on Google’s tiny and affordable streaming device, although you have to be a PlexPass member to check it out right away.
Valve has opened registration for closed beta testing of the company’s new Steam In-Home Streaming feature, which lets users stream games between devices on a local network. Interested gamers need only to register with the In-Home Streaming Community for a chance to become a tester.
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After months of speculation that Apple would soon launch a Pandora-like streaming music service, it now appears that Google will beat Apple to the market by launching its own streaming service, although the Mountain View company’s effort will be more akin to on-demand Spotify than it will be to a radio-like Pandora. Music industry sources speaking with The Verge this week indicated that Google would unveil the service at its I/O event today in San Francisco. The company reportedly has
As a growing number of consumers view content online, one of the biggest challenges facing the television industry is finding a reliable and universal method to measure this digital viewership. According to The Wall Street Journal, ratings giant Nielsen thinks it has the solution. The firm is expected to announce Tuesday that it is testing a new tool to measure online video streaming with help from several major networks, including NBC, FOX, ABC, Univision, Discovery, and A&E. The tool, called
Video service Netflix posted positive results Monday for its first calendar quarter of 2013 and the company is now moving to expand its appeal to an even broader customer base. As expected, Netflix announced a new family plan to accommodate heavier users of its streaming service. As part of the company’s $7.99 streaming-only package, users are limited to two simultaneous video streams. As online streaming becomes more popular each year, and as the Netflix video library grows, more subscribers are