Apple releases iTunes 11.3, including all-new iTunes Extras for HD movies for Mac and Apple TV

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 10, 2014

Apple has just released a brand new iTunes 11.3 update which enables iTunes Extras for HD movies on Mac computers. Moreover, iTunes 11.3 finally brings back iTunes Extras to the $99 Apple TV media-streaming box after Apple killed support for this useful content-enhancing feature back in 2010.

As if that wasn’t enough, the company confirmed that these interactive menus with featurettes, behind-the-scenes videos, director’s commentary and other interactive assets will be coming to iOS 8 in Fall… Read More

 

Disney iTunes sales briefly halted in Japan over licensing dispute

By Cody Lee on Jul 9, 2014

Folks in Japan may have noticed that newer Disney movies like Frozen and Thor: The Dark World have been unavailable for purchase in iTunes over the past few days. You could rent the titles, but the option to buy them had been removed.

Good news this morning though, as it looks like Disney has resumed iTunes sales in the country. Variety is reporting that the temporary halt was due to difficulties in negotiations over the renewal of the old contract between the two firms… Read More

 

‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ now available in the App Store

By Cody Lee on Jun 19, 2014

With the movie Transformers: Age of Extinction slated to hit theaters next week, Hasbro and developer partner DeNA have released their tie-in game of the same name. The title is now available in the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad.

The game, which falls into the ’3D combat runner’ genre, sees players thrown into a cinematic universe where they must recruit and customize a team to help them take down Decepticon enemies in a series of fast-paced missions. Autobots, roll out… Read More

 

Apple announces filmmaking and storytelling focused Summer 2014 Workshops for kids

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 17, 2014

Apple Retail is kicking off its annual free summer camps for kids eight to twelve years old. This time around, three-day workshops will center around filmmaking and interactive storytelling with apps like iMovie and iBooks Author on Macs and iPads.

Apple wants to educate youngsters on the basics of making movies and creating interactive books, complete with their own illustrations and sound effects. Each workshop, according to the firm, ends with the Apple Camp Showcase “so campers can share their finished projects”… Read More

 

$14.99 iTunes movie collections: The Dark Knight, LOTR, Matrix, Lethal Weapon and Ocean’s

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 10, 2014

I’m a big spender on digital warez sold on Apple’s content stores. Typically, I would pick up various digital books and iOS/Mac apps on a regular basis – music not so much, that’s what Spotify is for.

I’d also rent TV shows and buy movie downloads from time to time. You couldn’t go as far as to say that I’d buy anything because I’m very particular and as such purchase only items that have really piqued my curiosity. The problem is, my interests are very diverse and my wallet can only bear so much.

But if you’re a movie buff and don’t mind having your movies tied to Apple devices (hello, FairPlay DRM!), you must have spotted Apple’s movie bundles before, some of which are sold at a deep discount.

In this not-to-be-missed opportunity the California firm is currently offering several memorable movie trilogies in high-definition, including The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings and more, priced at $14.99 each… Read More

 

Apple’s design guru Jony Ive and U2′s Bono to talk (RED) charity partnership at Cannes Lions festival

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 5, 2014

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity said today that Jonathan Ive, Apple’s SVP of Design, will be in attendance of the Cannes Lions festival, due later this month in Cannes, France.

In addition, the rock band U2′s lead singer Bono will be honored with his first ever LionHeart Award. The two men are scheduled to sit down for an interesting 45-minute chat to talk working together on (RED) campaigns that raise funds to help fight AIDS.

Apple recently donated a cool $500,000 to a San Francisco anti-poverty charity. Besides, a charitable auction for a lunch with CEO Tim Cook has raised over $330,000… Read More

 

How to stream movies from your iTunes library on iPhone or iPad

By Joe Rossignol on Jun 1, 2014

I don’t know if this applies to everyone, but I rarely ever go right to sleep after crawling into bed. I usually spend a good few hours on my iPhone, until I literally cannot keep my eyes open any longer. In that time, I like to catch up on YouTube videos from users that I am subscribed to, or challenge myself to watch an entire movie without falling asleep. Netflix is a great option for streaming movies on an iPhone, but the selection is not the greatest in Canada and sometimes I have to seek alternative methods to catch up on the latest films. Enter iTunes.

iTunes has faced its fair share of criticism over the years for being rather cluttered and cumbersome, but the media player has a useful option called Home Sharing that our own Jeff Benjamin briefly covered in his ultimate iOS 7 music app guide. Home Sharing allows you to stream or transfer music, movies, TV shows, apps and more over Wi-Fi between up to five authorized devices in a household. If you like watching movies on your iPhone like me, it is a convenient feature. Read ahead for step-by-step instructions on how to stream movies on iPhone from iTunes…  Read More

 

TeeVee 3 premiers: native iPad UI, iCloud/Trakt.tv sync, fullscreen iOS 7 layout and more

By Christian Zibreg on May 23, 2014

Last summer I covered TeeVee, an elegant TV show-tracking app by Tomas Perzl of the Czech Republic and Slovakia-based CrazyApps Team.

I was sufficiently impressed with its clean and unobtrusive user interface and a robust set of capabilities designed to make it dead simple to retrieve useful information about your favorite TV shows, track the ones you’re watching on a regular basis and what not.

A year in the making, the new TeeVee 3 is now available in exchange for $2.99 (free to existing users). The app is now finally optimized for the iPad and refreshed with a brand new iOS 7-styled interface. It sports iCloud/Trakt.tv integration, delights with its beautifully done fullscreen browser that uses edge-to-edge poster images and much more.

Hit the jump for the full reveal… Read More

 

Facebook launches new audio recognition feature

By Christian Zibreg on May 21, 2014

The social networking behemoth, Facebook, has launched a brand new feature today which can identify TV shows, movies and music playing in the background.

Resembling content-matching services like Shazam and Sound Hound, this new capability is a staggered release via an updated App Store app on iPhone and a Google Play app on Android, according to multiple reports and Facebook itself.

Read on for the full reveal… Read More

 

Google+ Stories combines your media into beautiful digital travelogues

By Christian Zibreg on May 20, 2014

Google today announced new photography and video features for its Google+ social thing.

Available later this week on Android and the web and coming soon to iOS, Google+ Stories and Google+ Movies offer digital travelogues and movies created automatically from your Google+ photos and videos and location data.

The feature is basically on auto-pilot.

Google is constantly analyzing the photos and videos you upload to Google+, along with the places you’ve visited. It then automatically uses your best and most popular media to create full-screen presentations… Read More

 

Steve Jobs biographer: Apple’s supposed Beats buy about video, not headphones and music

By Christian Zibreg on May 20, 2014

By now, everyone has already chimed in with their two cents on what Apple’s rumored Beats buy might mean for Apple’s reputation in music – even our own Cody Lee has summarized the more popular theories floating around out there.

It’s commonly accepted that Beats Electronic, LCC. co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will be taking on senior roles at Apple after Beats buyout, with their grand introductions as Apple executives apparently set to take place at WWDC.

Bloomberg thinks Apple will keep Beats as a separate brand and improve its headphones design and another source speculated that the deal could lead to high-resolution music on iTunes.

But according to Steve Jobs’s biographer Walter Isaacson, none of this is true as the deal is actually about video, not about headphones or streaming music… Read More

 

‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ coming to iOS this summer

By Cody Lee on May 13, 2014

DeNA and Hasbro announced the official tie-in game for the upcoming Transformers sequel this morning. It’s called ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ and it will be arriving on iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms this summer.

The game will be a 3D combat runner, where the players’ mission is to take down new enemies featured in the movie as they run, dash and change forms through fast-paced missions. Keep reading for more details and hi-res screenshots… Read More

 

Netflix confirms US price increase by $1 to $8.99

By Christian Zibreg on May 9, 2014

Last month, Netflix announced plans to raise prices for new subscribers later this quarter. The video streaming giant has officially detailed the price hike, going into effect today.

In the United States, new Netflix customers will be paying a dollar more, raising the subscription fee from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. Similar price hikes will be put in effect in Netflix’s key markets in Europe. Existing customers will be exempt from paying extra for 24 months.

Read on for the full details… Read More

 

Warner Bros releases Godzilla: Strike Zone for iOS

By Christian Zibreg on May 6, 2014

Warner Bros has unleashed its Godzilla movie tie-in unto the App Store. Titled Godzilla: Strike Zone, this iOS game invites you to join a squadron of military heroes who must face the mighty Godzilla, a kaiju-class monster that has become something of an international pop culture icon starring in nearly three dozen feature films.

The game implements a few memorable scenes from the upcoming movie that premiers in theaters on May 16, like a high-altitude sky jump where you air-drop into a devastated San Francisco.

The iPhone and iPad title is available free of charge in the App Store, no in-app purchases required whatsoever… Read More

 

Apple expands iTunes in the Cloud support in Germany to movies and TV shows

By Cody Lee on May 1, 2014

Good news for iOS users in Germany today, as Apple has expanded iTunes in the Cloud in the country. The cloud-based sync-and-storage service now supports the streaming of movies and television shows.

What this means is that German users will now be able to access previously-purchased movie and television content on any Apple device, including the Apple TV, by accessing the ‘Purchased’ tab in iTunes… Read More

 

Hulu to launch redesigned iPhone app with free mobile viewing this summer

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 30, 2014

It’s easy to forget about Hulu amid the heated battle between Amazon and Netflix for the digital distribution of premium entertainment and original content.

As you know, for quite some time this service has been offering on-demand streaming video of TV shows and Hollywood movies, free of charge with some ads. However, on desktops only.

This is about to change as Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins announced at a press event in New York this morning that beginning this summer non-subscribers will be able to stream ad-supported content on mobile devices, marking a major shift in strategy for this over-the-top video service.

They’ll also issue a redesigned iPhone app around the same time this summer… Read More

 

The Beverly Hills Cop trilogy is on sale on iTunes for only $9.99

By Sébastien Page on Apr 28, 2014

There are two kinds of people in this world: people who love the Beverly Hills Cop, and those who’ve never seen it. Whether you’re the former or the latter, this is your opportunity to own the complete trilogy for only $9.99.

Admittedly, the first one is actually the best of the series, but at this price, it doesn’t even make sense to just get it separately as it is more expensive than the whole trilogy bundle.

You can download the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy on iTunes for $9.99 here. Read More

 

IMDb app gains US showtimes, Amazon Prime availability info and more

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2014

Hot on the heels of announcing a landmark online-only streaming deal with HBO for old TV shows, Amazon has updated its nicely done IMDb iOS app with several notable enhancements, including U.S. showtimes, media links to its Instant Video streaming service, new page design on the iPhone, bug fixes and more.

The update is now live in the App Store. The app was refreshed with iOS 7 friendly styling last December.

Amazon should be credited for adding new features to the IMDb app on a more or less regular basis. This just exemplifies how the online retailer is able to leverage various services and apps to lure customers into its vast entertainment empire… Read More

 

Cable-cutters, rejoice: HBO shows arriving to Fire TV and Amazon Prime on May 21

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2014

No one can touch Amazon when it comes to the breadth and size of its content library and today’s announcement just reinforces the notion. The online retail giant has cut a landmark and unheard-of deal with Home Box Office Inc. (HBO), an American premium cable and satellite television network that in my opinion has the best original TV shows anywhere.

Under the terms of the exclusive multi-year agreement, both Amazon Prime members and owners of the recently introduced $99 Fire TV set-top box will soon be able to stream HBO’s old shows three years after they’ve aired and at no additional charge. Catch 22: HBO is reserving new shows for existing subscribers and you’ll need to subscribe to Amazon’s $99 per year Prime Instant Video service.

Still, this is huge. Firstly, you won’t need an HBO cable TV subscription at all to stream the shows. And secondly, online-only subscriptions to HBO were previously non-existent. Now, Apple TV owners are able to access HBO content via the HBO GO app on their Home screen, but this requires a subscription with a cable or satellite provider and therefore doesn’t appeal to cable-cutters… Read More

 

Aaron Sorkin talks Jobs movie at Tribeca Film Festival

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2014

Aaron Sorkin took a moment yesterday to speak about his upcoming Steve Jobs movie. The Academy Award-winning screenwriter was answering questions at New York City’s School of Visual Arts for the Tribeca Film Festival last night when the subject of the Sony-backed Jobs film came up.

Sorkin of course avoided talking about the drama that surfaced yesterday surrounding the picture’s director and cast, but he did offer up a few details about his script. Some of it we’ve heard before—such as his goal to do something other than a ‘Jobs biography’—but there were a few new tidbits… Read More

 
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