Last month, Apple upset tens of thousands of Breaking Bad fans when it posted on iTunes that those who had already purchased what they thought to be the entire final season of the popular series would have to pay again for the final 8 episodes.
It was the TV network's fault— it was AMC's decision to split the fifth (final) season into two parts. But iTunes user Noam Lazebnik, of Ohio, feels that Apple deserves some of the blame too, and he's filed a class-action lawsuit against the company...
The struggling Internet giant - once synonymous for anything remotely dealing with online content - on Monday issued a brand new app called Yahoo Screen.
The company is billing the app as a remote control for web video of sorts. More appropriately, Yahoo Screen is your one-stop shop for both Yahoo's original and licensed video content.
You can instantly stream news, sports, food, and entertainment videos from MLB, UFC, The Onion, Martha Stewart and lots more, free of charge (no strings attached). But that's just scratching the surface as Yahoo's licensed video library includes such TV shows as Saturday Night Live, along with Yahoo Originals featuring Jack Black, Ed Helms, Zachary Levi, Cheryl Hines, Rachael Harris and more...
Netflix today announced a new feature to make saving your favorite movies and televisions shows easier than ever. Aptly named My List, it lets you add any movie or TV show title to your own row or gallery on Netflix. You can easily rearrange the list, add or remove titles, with Netflix automatically sorting your entries.
It's based on the existing Instant Queue feature which however lacks automated sorting and its own Netflix row.
My List is a staggered roll-out that's launching worldwide in the next two weeks across multiple platforms, including iOS...
AMC's hit TV show Breaking Bad, starring Bryan Cranston, returned last night for the highly anticipated second half of its final season (5). I wasn't able to find specific numbers, but it's believed that the premier could have broken several ratings records.
But while cable viewers turned out in droves, many iTunes users were met with disappointment when they logged in to view the episode. As it turns out, folks who purchased a Season Pass for the first half of the season don't get access to the second half...
Following a long period of initial hesitance, major US television networks and content providers have finally relented and are now falling over each other to release software that lets Apple device owners stream television shows, with or without cable subscription. The latest entrant: NBC Universal-owned USA Network, commonly referred to as USA.
Their new USA Anywhere Plus app gives you access to TV shows the day after they air on television, including back episodes for some shows...
As I tend to repeatedly mention here, I'm a big fan of movies and television shows (wanted to be an actor when I was a kid). Now, most of my premium entertainment is consumed digitally these days so I'm big on apps that help me manage and discover great TV shows and movies.
For the latter, I use Limelight which lets me organize and manage my movie library in style.
I'm also a heavy user of ToDo Movies to track upcoming releases and its eye-popping Motion Posters feature has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. You could imagine my excitement discovering TeeVee 2, an elegant and sophisticated iPhone application by Tomas Perzl which helps me keep track of next episodes of my favorite TV shows, when they are airing, the days remaining, the episode title/synopsis and lots more...
Netflix today announced that PlayStation 3 users can take advantage of its new feature, a goofy recommendation engine dubbed Max.
Kinda a crossover between iTunes Genius and Siri, Max is designed to help you find something great to watch in a fun, conversational way (Netflix rather confusingly calls it "the child of Siri and HAL 9000").
Tapping Netflix's extensive database of tags and your viewing history, the engine recommends movies and television shows it thinks you might be interested in watching. And when it doesn't feel confident enough about its predictions, Max may ask you a question or challenge you to play a "ratings game"...
Good news for those how prefer to get their entertainment from Amazon instead iTunes. In a newest update to its Instant Video streaming iOS app, the online retail giant has enabled personalized recommendations for movies and television shows based on your past viewing habits, while enhancing the experience with a handy new navigation bar.
Of course, in order to take advantage of the app you'll need to be subscribed to Amazon's Prime, a $79 a year membership which gives you unlimited access to thousands of titles and over 140,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store, with support for Watchlists, offline viewing and more...
Google's Fiber, a broadband network infrastructure using fiber-optic communication, has gone live in Kansas City which became the first U.S. community where the Internet giant deployed this promising technology.
Just a quick recap: the most obvious benefit of Google Fiber is the hundred times faster data rates, in both downlink and uplink, compared to the traditional broadband services.
Following last month's release of the Fiber TV app for Android devices, the search monster today issued a build for Apple's iPad tablet. Should you happen to live in select areas of Kansas City, go download the Fiber TV iPad app and start browsing, buying and watching television shows and movies that are airing live, right on your iPad...
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?
Why does digital content in Australia cost more than elsewhere? It's not our fault, one Apple executive told a government panel investigating the pricing disparity.
The company (rightfully) blamed "old-fashioned notions" held by content owners for markups as high as 61 percent on music and other digital media sold in the region.
Apple's Australian Vice President Tony King told the panel the company would prefer to offer music, movies, TV shows, along with hardware at lower prices, hinting that movie studios, record labels and other content owners are forcing the company's hand...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc82e7GGHl8#!
Netflix, the popular provider of on-demand Hollywood movies and television shows, Wednesday showed off a slew of new features aimed at making the experience more social and engaging. After being available internationally for well over a year, Netflix customers in the United States can now finally connect their Netflix account with Facebook.
This enables you to check out what your friends are watching and optionally share your favorite shows with them. Interestingly enough, there's a new Do Not Share button to mark those kinky videos you don't want your parents to know about. More Social Settings are available in Your Account on Netflix.com, where you can turn on additional sharing to Facebook or stop sharing altogether...