Online Entertainment

Sony Poised to Fire Next Shot in Next-Gen Console Wars
February 01, 2013

Sony issued an invite Thursday to an event on Feb. 20 that could give gamers their first glimpse at the PlayStation 4, the company's next-generation console to go head-to-head against Nintendo's Wii U and whatever Microsoft unveils later this year. Sony had previously hinted that it would provide PS4 details in advance of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles in June.

Online Warm-ups: Super Bowl Advertisers' New Game Plan
February 01, 2013

As the U.S. prepares for kick-off of Sunday's Super Bowl, advertisers already have their plays in motion. Many of the commercials are already viewable online, and ads get support from online components. Over the past few years, the brands who buy air time for the Super Bowl have begun posting their commercials online in advance.

YouTube May Begin Nickel-and-Diming Viewers
January 31, 2013

Google may be getting ready to launch paid subscription channels on YouTube. The new offering would be part of Google's larger plan to keep viewers tuned in to its popular video service as long as possible, while developing new revenue streams including premium ad dollars.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Music and Video Apps
January 30, 2013

Welcome to All Things Appy. We scour the app stores and bring you the definitive top five available free apps in a particular genre for a particular platform. Here's TechNewsWorld's selection of the best music and video apps for Windows 8. One thing worth mentioning is that Windows Media Center is no longer included in base versions of Windows.

WTO Green-Lights Antigua's Controversial Download Site
January 29, 2013

Looks like Antigua's gamble paid off. The World Trade Organization OK'd Antigua's request to suspend U.S. copyrights, which will allow the country to move forward with a government-run download portal that offers *copyrighted* movies, music, TV shows and software. Antigua, an island located in the Caribbean, was granted preliminary approval for suspension of U.S. copyrights in 2007.

Elder Scrolls Beta Testers Will Time Travel to 2nd Era
January 22, 2013

Publisher Bethesda Softworks and game development studio ZeniMax Online Studios on Tuesday announced that beta signups were open for The Elder Scrolls Online. The long-running video game franchise will take players back in time -- a thousand years before the time period of the 2011 hit title The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Disney Takes Video Games to 'Infinity' - and Beyond?
January 15, 2013

Disney caught the attention of the console video gaming universe on Tuesday with the launch of "Disney Infinity." The new initiative combines collectible real-world action figures with onscreen gaming, following the lead of Activision's cross-platform "Skylanders" franchise.

The UK's Tangled Antipiracy Web
January 12, 2013

In the battle against online piracy, industry and government officials tend to cast a wide net in blocking suspected piracy-enabling websites. Sometimes this process results in the removal of sites that have nothing to do with piracy. Last April, the UK ordered Internet service providers to block file-sharing site The Pirate Bay.

AT&T Makes Video-Streaming Splash
January 07, 2013

AT&T has announced a new service to compete with such video-on-demand offerings as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. The service is aimed at its U-verse customers, offering unlimited access to AT&T's library of some 1,500 movies from a TV, computer or wireless device. It will cost $5 a month, a price that is competitive with, if not undercutting, its rivals.

Hulu Honcho to Hit the Road
January 07, 2013

Hulu CEO Jason Kilar bid a fond adieu to the company's employees, announcing in a blog post Friday that he and CTO Rich Tom will be leaving at some point during Q1 2013. Kilar made no mention of the reasons for their departures, other than to say, "Rich and I have been fortunate to build and innovate alongside each other these past 5+ years and our plan is to do more of that on the road ahead."

Amazon Primes Programming Pump With 6 Original Pilots
December 28, 2012

One of the features of Amazon Prime, in addition to free two-day shipping, is access to free video content. To sweeten the deal, Amazon is using its Amazon Studios division to produce original content: The company has ordered six pilots for original series, which will become available on Prime Instant Video. Amazon plans to crowdsource some of the executive decisions.

Google's Cloud Is Alive With the Sound of Free Music
December 18, 2012

Google announced Tuesday that it is extending its Scan and Match feature for its online locker service to the U.S. Users with Google Play accounts will get a message asking if they would like Google to scan their hard drives for music. If it finds a match in its own library, Google will add the song to the user's online music collection.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Entertainment Apps
December 14, 2012

Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system, has its own app library. In many cases, these apps can replace now-aging bookmarks or favorites, and the software that we used to install from floppies, CDs or downloads. Windows 8 apps are often usable on both desktop or laptop PCs, as well as tablets.

YouTube Wants to Be Your Must-See TV
December 08, 2012

Google has restyled its YouTube page to make it easier for viewers to keep up with channel subscriptions. The redesign builds on last year's introduction of a Guide on the home page. Google is now displaying the YouTube Guide across all devices. The changes underscore the benefits of subscribing to the various channels.

Next Issue Looks Gorgeous but Lacks Personality
December 07, 2012

Unlimited, on-demand content for a fixed monthly fee? Where have we heard that before? The answer is that we've heard it from Spotify for music and from Netflix for movies. Now, from a consortium of Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corp., and Time Inc., we have Next Issue, a similar concept for delivering magazines in Android tablet app form.

Pandora Slides Toward Fiscal Cliff
December 05, 2012

Speculation about Pandora's future is running high again with the company's release of its Q3 earnings and, more importantly, guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013. For the third quarter of fiscal 2013, Pandora posted total revenue of $120 million, a 60 percent year-over-year increase. Advertising revenue was $106.3 million, a 61 percent year-over-year increase.

Zynga Plays TV Everywhere Platform With Synacor Deal
December 05, 2012

Zynga signed a deal with TV Everywhere provider Synacor that gives Zynga currency in pay-TV and high-speed Internet consumer bundles. The move puts Zynga games seamlessly on all screens for more stickiness potential. Synacor works with multichannel video programming distributors, including cable and tecom companies, to package multi-platform options.

The End of the Printing Press?
November 28, 2012

Electronic communications are reshaping personal life, and may right now be causing the rapid demise of print. Media academics know well the theories of Marshall McLuhan. He came up with the phrase "the medium is the message," and the term "global village," among other juicy contributions to our comprehension of media.

AC/DC Finally Brings Its Dirty Deeds to iTunes
November 20, 2012

Legendary Australian rock band AC/DC, which had long been queasy about digital formats, has released its music on Apple's iTunes store. AC/DC previously asserted that it wouldn't make individual songs available digitally because each song was part of an album. And the band didn't want to break its art into pieces -- or something.

Slippery Statistics Suggest Online Piracy Is on the Wane
November 08, 2012

Sandvine has released a new report on global Internet traffic that points to the growth of online data consumption and implies that the increasing use of legitimate content services such as Netflix may be softening the impact of illegal P2P file-sharing. At face value, that seems difficult to believe. "Online piracy is booming by any measure," said industry analyst Jeff Kagan.