Television

Bloomberg: Time Warner Cable channels coming to Apple TV ‘in a few months’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Hot on the heels of releasing the Apple TV 5.3 software which enabled access to Disney's WatchESPN and HBO Go through the $99 set-top box, Bloomberg now reports that the iPhone maker is on the cusp of announcing a major agreement with Time Warner Cable.

The gist of the story: the deal would give subscribers of the cable television service access to channels via the Apple TV. HBO, of course, is owned by Time Warner, under the operating subsidiary Home Box Office Inc.

But it gets even better: Apple is apparently hiring away Hulu executive Pete Distad to help Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of Internet Software and Services, in negotiations with media and cable companies. An agreement will be reportedly announced "in a few months". Tuesday news doesn't get any bigger than this...

Apple TV hack enables Russian video service, no jailbreak required

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 25, 2013

Remember a recent hack which cleverly tricks Apple TV's stock Trailers app into streaming video from the popular Plex media player, no jailbreak required? Apparently, the same trickery can be exploited in order to enable access to certain online video services. A Russian blog today spread word of a very similar hack that lets owners of the second and third-generation Apple TV stream content from Russia's UnliMovie digital TV service, directly through the set-top box's Trailers app...

Comcast demos next-gen X2 TV platform

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2013

While Apple CEO Tim Cook continues teasing the public with respect to a rumored standalone television set with the shiny Apple logo on it, market incumbents are beginning to take notice of the buzz.

Not content with sitting on the sidelines and watch Apple potentially make deeper inroads into the living room, the cable giant Comcast, the nation's top pay TV provider, today took the wraps off its next generation, cloud-enabled X1 Platform from Xfinity.

They are calling it the X2, it's coming this Fall, has a sleek new user interface, is social, can talk to you and run apps and integrates with Facebook, Instagram, Pandora, Rotten Tomatoes and more. I've included more details and a promo video after the jump...

Apple manufacturer Foxconn looks past iPhone, anticipates iTV orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 7, 2013

Hon Hai Precision Industry - better known in the Western world as Foxconn - is the world's top manufacturer of consumer electronics. And with Apple products - the iPhone in particular - accounting for at least 40 percent of its revenue, the contract manufacturer's fortunes are tied to Apple's.

Needles to say, the company's leadership never complained about relying on Apple so much as long as sales were growing substantially. But with Apple's growth cooling off amid a broader sales lull affecting pricey high-end smartphones like the iPhone, Foxconn is now looking to lessen its exposure on the Apple smartphone and is apparently gearing up for a mass-scale production of an Apple-branded television set, the rumored iTV...

HBO Go, now with AirPlay multitasking and Games of Thrones interactive enhancements

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2013

HBO's free iOS streaming software is a nice companion app provided you're already subscribed to the service.

And if you believe the continuing ramblings, the Time Warner-owned premium cable network is considering offering additional subscription options in the not-so-distant future, potentially allowing cable-cutters to subscribe to HBO for online-only access.

In the meantime, HBO has updated its Go app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch with two new useful features. The first will appeal to the fans of HBO's Game of Thrones series as they can now enjoy enhancements related to the show's interactive experience. The other improvement includes AirPlay multitasking capability. What's that, you ask?

Analyst sees Apple television with ‘iRing’ motion controller and ‘mini iTV’ secondary screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 3, 2013

A rumored standalone television set from Apple dubbed iTV continues to be the subject of tremendous speculation, with one analyst recently citing supply chain checks allegedly pointing to a 4K Ultra HD set being built by Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn and slated for an early-2014 launch.

Another analyst now joins the conversation with some pretty wild predictions, also based on - you guessed right - checks with Apple's suppliers. Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets told one publication Wednesday that after meeting with Apple's Asian suppliers he now sees some pretty wild stuff in the pipeline.

Specifically, Cupertino will be launching an Apple-branded television set later this year, White says, along with a motion controller of sorts called iRing and a secondary display...

Rumor: iTV has Foxconn-made display, ships in early-2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Earlier in the week, the somewhat reliable DigiTimes reported that Apple's rumored standalone TV set could ship later this year with a 4K Ultra HD screen. Another report out from Asia has it that Apple's contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, will supply high-resolution panels for the product.

Sources estimate Apple won't start shipping its television set until next year at the earliest...

Supply chain chatter claims Apple is building 4K ‘Ultra HD’ TV set

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

It's been a while since we've heard any new information regarding Apple's rumored TV project. It seems 'iTV' speculation has been replaced by talk of Apple's secret plans for the smartwatch space, and its expected entry into the budget handset market.

But that changed this evening with a new report out of China, claiming that Apple has been in discussions with Foxconn over the production schedule of a TV set. And the 4K 'Ultra HD' television will finally land in either late 2013, or early next year...

Cable-free access to HBO Go app is ostensibly under consideration

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2013

Not sure about you, but cable operators sure bother the hell out of me by not letting me watch shows on iDevices unless I subscribe to their terrestrial television offering. Why do these companies presume everyone owns a TV? While the App Store hosts a bunch of apps from the likes of ABC, HBO or CBS, you must be a paying TV subscriber to stream shows (you already paid for) to your devices.

I like Time Warner-owned HBO's shows and am subscribed to them through my cable TV provider and now we're hearing that the company is considering reversing its stance and reportedly offer online subscriptions to cable-cutters in the not-so-distant future...

Potentially disruptive live-streaming app from ABC in the works

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 19, 2013

After CBS last week unveiled its free iOS app that gives you access to the network’s popular shows 24 hours or more after they air, we learn now that ABC is working on its own app for tablets and smartphones, one potentially making ABC the first of the American broadcasters to provide a live Internet stream of national and local programming, potentially very disruptive given the incumbent's existing business models. Of course, you won't get to stream premium ABC programming free of charge as a paid cable or satellite subscription will be required to use the app.

Nevertheless, the ability to watch such ABC shows as 'Good Morning America' and 'Nashville' on your iPhone or iPad as they broadcast could finally blur the artificial line between mobile devices and the traditional venues through which content providers distribute their linear programming...

CBS releases free iOS streaming app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Eager to watch episodes of CSI or Survivor on your iPhone, iPod or iPad? Now you can, as CBC this morning released a major new streaming software which gives Apple's iOS devices free access to the network's popular shows like The Late Show with David Letterman, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Survivor, Catch NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, The Young and the Restless and Elementary. Some of the shows will stream via the app 24 hours after they air, but most of the shows are being offered eight days following their initial broadcast...

Here’s an iTV concept Jony Ive would approve of

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Resident Apple mockup artist Martin Hajek is on a roll lately. Just a day following his publication of the traditional iWatch concept which adorns the April 2013 cover of the MacUser magazine, he's back at it with a new Apple television mockup that has Jony Ive written all over it. The beautiful renderings are based on the familiar iMac look and sport the sinister black design, with details reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Go past the fold for the full awesomeness...