Netflix for Android gets an update

The newly released app V.1.7 update adds Facebook sharing for international (non US) users, bug fixes and a new software controlled volume slider for tablets. Resolution and AV sync improvements to hepefully get rid of screen flicker and that completes the update

The hoped for high-def streaming support for tablets is still not enabled, but still a worthwile update that can be downloaded from the Android Market.

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The competition from Amazon will most likely come in ‘mid-2012′, and while the main feature will be its size, other smaller elements of the original Kindle Fire will likely be tweaked or updated as a means of justifying a purchase, though the now-symbolic low prices of Amazon’s own-brand will be a factor that the Seattle (USA)-based online retailer will hope can continue to win support on its own.

The deliberately-underpriced Kindle Fire was one of the stand-out market successes of 2011, with Amazon reporting that on the USA version of its own website, the product was ranked as #1 on the site’s best-selling list for 11 weeks in a row, having claimed to have sold ‘millions of units’.

Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley has noted that the new product will naturally help overall sales of the Kindle Fire, as he wrote to subscribers: “We are raising our 2012 sales forecasts [of the Kindle Fire] to 14.9 million from 12.7 million. But we believe there is an upward bias, particularly from the new seven-inch and nine-inch models, which we expect to launch in mid-2012.”

While a physically larger and higher-spec product will not be as cheap as its original version (with a revised 7-inch version set for international release in the near future), the 9-inch Kindle Fire is still likely to be the cheapest tablet of its size available. Meanwhile, the company have also been hinted at releasing a Kindle-brand smartphone for Q3 or Q4 of 2012, as they look to gain a bigger range of electronic devices and brand recognition, an aspect which they are certainly succeeding in at the moment.

Below, you can see a video recently made by Amazon highlighting the much lower price of the Kindle Fire, with the advert claiming that users can purchase two Kindle Fires and a Kindle e-book reader for the price of one iPad, a direct dig at the company they are trying to catch. Could the Kindle Fire become a genuine challenger to Apple’s juggernaut?

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Get your fill of car videos on Youtube

The channels promise regular new content as opposed to the same video forever looping. The channels come as YouTube competes with broadcasting companies and traditional TV by offering premium, original content on the Google owned website.

Google will be launching over 100 new channels during the next few months, said to be costing them in the region of $100 million. Already launched is the Reuters news channel. The channels will offer new and exclusive content on a regular basis and Google hope they will get mass appeal and drive advertising dollars to the web.

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A personal file on Jobs, allegedly made by the FBI at some point in the early 1990′s when he was being considered for a role working for then-US President Geroge Bush Sr., including interviews with his friends and family suggesting that he was a former ‘drug user’, uncaring towards members of his family, and a ‘suspect moral character’, amongst other notes.

A segment of the official report stated: “Several individuals commented concerning past drug use on the part of Mr Jobs. They also commented that, in the past, Mr Jobs was not supportive of… [the mother of his child born out of wedlock] and their daughter; however, recently has become more supportive.”

The FBI also questioned his honesty, describing Jobs as: “…a deceptive individual who is not completely forthright and honest. Several individuals questioned Mr Jobs’ honesty, stating that Mr Jobs will twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals.”

It also noted that he failed to show up on time to a meeting with investigators, with a further segment adding: “Mr Jobs’ secretary informed SA (special agent)… that Mr Jobs was unavailable for an interview for three weeks. Mr Jobs could not even see SA… for one hour.”

While the report did highlight some perhaps previously unseen aspects of his personality, it still contained mostly positive reviews, being described as a ‘very complex individual’, that was ‘basically honest and trustworthy’, and displayed ‘indefatigable energy and vision’, as well as being ‘strong-willed, stubborn, hard-working and driven’.

While Apple may soon have to deal with the issue of defending their former CEO’s honour on some of the more controversial points of the FBI’s report, their recent sales problems in Germany might soon be behind them, although not at a cost, as a previous offer to Motorola (over selected technology patents) has been negotiated towards the latter now demanding that Apple give them 2.25% of every sale made in the country as a royalty payment. Will Motorola end up receiving what some experts are describing as an ‘excessive’ share of Apple’s German spoils?

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Lilyhammer, was it a success? We may never know

He said in a statement, “Some members have loved the show so much that they’ve already watched the entire eight-episode first season; we put all the episodes up at once for that reason.”

So unlike traditional TV, there is no way to tell how many people have watched the show due to the non-linear nature of streaming. As viewers can dip in and out of the show, watch anytime they want  or even view the whole season in one sitting, how do you give accurate ratings?

Ted continued, “We have over 23 million streaming members and they’ll have the opportunity to discover Lilyhammer not just yesterday, today or this week, but over the course of several years,” Sarandos said.

The show which has had all eight episodes made available stars Steven Van Zandt as mobster Frank “the fixer”, who as part of the witness protection plan ends up in Lillehammer, Norway.

The show marks the start of a number of original streaming shows that Netflix are set to launch during 2012. Coming soon is a revival of Emmy award winning comedy, “Arrested Development” and also the eagerly awaited David Fincher poliitical drama, “House of Cards” starring Kevin Spacey.

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The licensing arrangement with Viacom now allows Amazon to stream selected content from a number of networks broadcast on Viacom platforms, including MTV, Spike TV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, TV Land, and CMT, amongst others. The move brings the number of accessible videos to Amazon Prime members up to 15,000, as the Seattle (USA)-based retailer look to compete with online streaming rivals such as Netflix.

The integration of the content will most likely also apply to the company’s own-brand tablet computer Amazon Kindle Fire, for owners of the product with a Prime subscription.

Shows being offered are said to encompass all age groups, with Jersey Shore, The Hills (MTV), SpongeBob SquarePants, iCarly, and Dora the Explorer (Nickelodeon) amongst the best-known names featured. Not included in the agreement are films from Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures (who are exclusive to Netflix), and select series from Comedy Central.

Amazon ‘director of video content acquisition’ Brad Beale said of the arrangement: “We are constantly working to improve the service by adding the shows that our customers enjoy the most. This deal with Viacom brings Prime customers and Kindle Fire users thousands of comedies, kids’ shows, reality TV and much more from some of the best cable networks available.”

The announcement of the Amazon-Viacom content deal comes just days after Redbox revealed their plans for a new video streaming service with telecommunications company Verizon, a further indication that the pressure from rivals is hotting up towards online streaming’s market force of Netflix. Will Amazon Prime be the one to put a further dent in Netflix’s dominance?

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Smart TV eats up too much bandwidth say KT Corp

South Korea has a 96% hook up to high-speed broadband and two of the world’s biggest Smart TV makers in Samsung and LG Electronics.

The TV manufacturers are pinning high hopes on internet connected TVs which let viewers to access streaming video, social networking, online games and music. Unfortunately Smart TV viewing eats up a lot of bandwidth useage.

Kim Hyo-sil  the vice president of KT’s smart network policy task force was quoted as saying “KT Corps decision was to protect a majority of Internet users and also prevent smart TVs from distorting the market system.”

Smart TV watchers who are using KT’s high-end Internet cannot use the Internet via their TV’s Web browser as well as services like video on demand and games starting Friday.

Another official said “Compared to conventional PCs, smart TVs, equipped with high-definition 3D viewing quality, cause heavy data traffic. If the fast adoption of smart TVs continues, there is also possibility of network blackout.”

KT Corp said ” if smart TVs dominate the network, the data speed of other Internet users could get 265 times slower to the extent that Web surfing is almost impossible.”

In a report published last year, KT predicted that the number of smart TVs could more than triple by 2013 while the nation’s data traffic could increase about four times overall. Currently, the sales of smart TVs are estimated at about 1 million units in Korea. Of them, some 100,000 TV sets are believed to have offered smart TV features.

Koreas telecom companies KT, SK Broadband and LG Uplus have continued related discussions with TV makers, including Samsung, LG, Sony and Apple, over the past year. The electronics companies showed little interest.

Another KT official said “In order to solve the fundamental issues, TV makers should pay proper costs for their network use like other Internet-based telephony operators and IPTV providers.”

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Virgin on-demand hits a billion

Subscribers watched around 490 million hours of TV-on-demand shows during the year which means the expanding company will be adding 620 jobs to its workforce to cope with the expected future demand. Fourth quarter results, saw Virgin’s revenue soar to 3.0% (approx £4.0bn for the year), this is up 2.0% (£1.0bn) for the quarter.

The company also saw a net income of £76m for the year. The strong demand for the TiVo and superfast broadband has also help to boost the profits. Virgin’s TiVo customer base has doubled in the fourth quarter, 273,000 additions boosted the total to 435,000 TiVo customers at the end of 2011,  thats 12% of its total TV customers.

Neil Burkett from Virgin was quoted ” I believe the company’s resilience reflects its strong business model. Virgin Media is the only quadruple play media company in the UK, offering television, internet, mobile phone and fixed-line telephone services.”

He also stated “Our strategy of focusing on customers who want more from the digital world is paying off. With the number of TiVo customers doubling in the final quarter of the year, our new TiVo service is attracting both new and existing customers. Since its commercial launch mid-way through the year, the number of TiVo subscribers has grown to almost half a million with a large and growing proportion now using its next generation functionality on a regular basis.”

Virgin confirmed that Demand for better broadband also continues to grow fast, with around half of new customers choosing superfast speeds. The combination of the best TV experience and the best broadband, has enabled us to acquire more new customers.

Virgin Mobile contract customers are also up 26% (1.5m), with a 101,000 contract additions into cable homes in the quarter.

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While Fox’s effort last year of a 111m viewer average during Super Bowl XLV was an impressive record, NBC have edged past it, with preliminary figures from Nielsen showing an average of 111.3m.

These numbers are said to have equated to almost half of the Nielsen ratings for people that saw the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots (21-17), with a national average audience share of 47.0. The highest ratings in this department could naturally be found in the markets directly relating to the game, as Boston (home city of the Patriots) (56.7), New York (49.7), and Super Bowl XLVI host city Indianapolis (56.9) proved.

Other statistics included notes that over 177m people in the USA saw ‘at least six minutes’ of the event on NBC, while the broadcast’s average peak was over 117m during the game’s pivotal fourth quarter, in which the Giants scored a winning touchdown with 57 seconds remaining. The famed Super Bowl half-time show saw above-average figures, as Madonna’s headline performance saw around 114m viewers (the Black Eyed Peas’ version last year saw around 4m less, recorded as under the broadcast’s average).

TV viewership was not the only audience measurement being taken on Sunday, though, as the event also marked the largest-ever online audience for a live sporting event, with NBC’s landmark official stream pulling in 2.1m web users on desktop and mobile services. A notable innovation in the coverage was users being able to customise their broadcast experience, including selecting and de-selecting camera feeds, an option which was taken up by 1.8m of the viewers. It is currently unknown how many logged onto the heavily-hunted ’unofficial streams’.

With such high figures all-round, it is a little easier to wonder how advertisers (which this year included notable efforts for Doritos, Pepsi, Honda, and Chrysler) paid around $4m for a 30-second ad slot during the game. Super Bowl XLVII will be aired live from New Orleans (state of Louisiana, USA) on CBS, will it set yet another high?

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The augmented reality glasses, which Google seem to claim they have a finished prototype of, would most likely operate in a similar manner to a smartphone (as it has been claimed the device would run on the Android operating system), featuring a number of apps (including Google Maps), Internet connectivity, and audio & video displays, alongside the ‘real-time information’ features that will make the product stand out.

It was first noted in December that Google were planning to create a piece of ’wearable technology’, and it seems as though, glasses, the option that most would have predicted, is the one that they are working on. Not missing an extra opportunity on the naming front, Google are looking likely to name their product by the fairly obvious (but very fitting) title of ‘Google Goggles’.

The data from the apps, ‘cloud’, and real-time augmented information (a process that could be similar to Samsung’s ‘dream tablet’) will be presented to the user in the form of literally appearing before their eyes (apparently over one eye instead of two to prevent ‘disorientation’), probably in some form of 3D depth effect.

Controlling the glasses is reportedly set to be done by either voice control, buttons on the side of the glasses, or the user tilting their head to simulate ‘scrolling’ and ‘clicking’, though the potential complications in the latter method might encourage producers to include a hand-held remote as an easier option.

Other features are thought to include a small camera between the eyes for filming, photography, and collecting data for sourcing relevant information (e.g. seeing and translating a sign into a foreign language). On the technical side, the product is said to be maintaining ‘equivalent CPU, RAM and storage’ of an ‘older generation’ Android smartphone.

The glasses are thought to still be in development at Google’s research headquarters, so are not yet close to commercial release, while it is rumoured that Apple and Motorola are planning similar products of their own. It is an ambtious project by the search engine giant, but with a number of high-profile features straight out of science fiction will ‘Google Goggles’ end up being too expensive for its potential customers?

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Ready to be launched in the second half of 2012, the deal will see online movies provided via a joint platform under Verizon’s website (most likely with Redbox branding), which will also be available in ‘mobile’ format.

Prices of the combination service will reportedly begin at $6 a month for Verzion-hosted streaming options alongside the ability to take-out one DVD rental at a time from Redbox.

This will be cheaper than the option provided by high-profile streamer Netflix, who’s cheapest offering is $7.99 for streaming or mail-based single DVD rental (combination deals starting at $15.98).

For Verzion, it will be their first move into video streaming aside from the FiOS TV offering that complements their TV networks. Head of FiOS Bob Mudge was keen to start on the new project, though, stating: “We’re in negotiations right now and finalizing. I feel very confident we’ll have a wide set of digital distribution content.”

The venture will be mainly Verizon’s, as industry experts estimate that they will contribute a total of $26m in start-up funds to the service, in addition to Coinstar-owned Redbox’s confirmed contribution of $14m (a total of $40m start-up cash). The Verizon start-up sums were generated by confirmation that the business will be owned 65-35 in the telecommunications company’s favour, while a five-strong board of directors will continue the theme by featuring a rounded-up ratio of 3:2 for Verizon.

Steve Clement, an analyst at Pacific Crest, was sceptical of the joint-venture’s potential, saying: “We don’t know what kind of content they’ll have available, what they’ll pay for that content and what they’ll charge for it. There’s way more questions than answers at this point.”

It is a unique combination of two fairly different companies, but will this Verizon-Redbox project make a strong initial impact in the American online streaming market?

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With a regular system update planned for Wednesday 7 February, the online gaming service known as PlayStation Network (PSN) will now be referred to as ‘Sony Entertainment Network’ (SEN), a process that will also cover the upcoming non-Japanese release of handheld console PlayStation Vita (but not previous incarnation PlayStation Portable). PS Vita users in Japan (where the product was released in December 2011) will experience the update in the same manner as PS3 users worldwide.

The move (which was originally just thought to be a renaming of the term ‘PSN accounts’ to ‘SEN accounts’) is planned by Sony to create a ‘clearer and easier’ experience for users, by giving them a singular log-in (data kept as it was pre-update), for the new collaboration of SEN services, including the PSN, Video Unlimited, and Music Unlimited.

Aside from the change of branding, only ’minor’ alterations in service terms will be made, and Sony have stressed that this will not have a significant impact on its users, as their username details will not be changed during the update.

Sony announced the move to its subscribers via e-mail, writing: “This transition is based on Sony’s goal to enhance its unique digital entertainment offering. As a series of these activities Sony started last September, PlayStation Network will be aligned with Sony Entertainment Network. This helps us get closer to our goal of establishing a global comprehensive network platform of services across games, movies, music and more, all accessible from one convenient account.”

It could be argued that Sony planned the changes as forming a new regime for their incoming corporate changes, with former PlayStation boss Kazuo Hirai last week announced as the incoming president of the company, replacing Sir Howard Stringer in the role (Stringer will fill the role of board chairman in place of retiring ).

Hirai said of his appointment, and the work of his predecessor: “[Were it] not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position. The path we must [now] take is clear – to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses – primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains.”

With small changes prepared for both behind-the-scenes and with their flagship services, will a more integrated ‘online entertainment’ structure help Sony achieve their goals of reaching a broader audience?

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The ban was originally imposed at the suggestion of rival American technology company Motorola, who held various patents in Germany, of which Apple were in violation of. However, the appeals court have temporarily suspended the lock-out of Apple, as they made Motorola a ‘new’ offer at a licencing payment (to become authorised to use the ‘Motorola-registered’ patents in their product) which the latter refused.

Meanwhile, German users of Apple’s products might still lose out on the use of the iCloud online storage system (that allows files and downloads to be shared across a user’s Apple products), as Motorola claimed a current victory in a separate German patent case relating to the format.

An official Apple statement issued the news of the listed suspension on Friday evening, reading: “All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple’s online store in Germany shortly. Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.”

The Motorola camp are not going to bow down so easily, though, and state that the decision is merely a minor setback in their overall case against Apple. Motorola’s statement read: “We are pleased that the Mannheim court has recognised the importance of our intellectual property and granted an enforceable injunction in Germany against Apple Sales International. Although the enforcement of the injunction has been temporarily suspended, Motorola Mobility will continue to pursue its claims against Apple.”

German courts seem to have become something of a hotbed for high-profile technology patent cases in recent times, as late last year saw Apple file against Motorola, while Motorola are juggling their situations with Apple alongside a similar dispute with Microsoft. Will there ever be a clear dominant force of American companies in Germany, and just how long will these particular disputes carry on for?

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Can EyeIO answer Netflix bandwidth problems?

In a bid to resolve this issue, Netflix who are the biggest pay streaming company in the world, have teamed up with video encoding company, EyeIO to try and solve the bandwidth meltdown. The company use their expertise to reduce the bandwidth of streaming.

EyeIO co-founder, Rodolfo Vargas said, ”eyeIO provides a straightforward solution for accommodating the rapidly growing demand for video delivery around the world by alleviating the overwhelming bandwidth currently required to stream video.”

Speaking for Netflix, Greg Peters, Vice President, Product Development said, ”Delivering a high quality video experience is top priority for Netflix. EyeIO technology is an important part of the technology we use to improve video quality and overcome bandwidth challenges presented by Internet infrastructure.”

The eyeIO video encoding details are not fully known, but the method of encoding is said to be fully compliant to stream on all devices without custom players.

The only problem with this story and any kind of compression, is that it will result in a loss of quality. There is no way to transfer all that HD quality imagery without the size. Using lower bandwidth mwill result in lower video quality, unless EyeIO know something we dont?

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Google TV has confirmed that this update is in the pipeline through their Google TV Twitter account.

They are promising to have the new firmware ready “this week.” this update will only apply to Sony Internet TV’s from about a year ago, and that 3D part only applies to a small amount of Sony Blu-ray players that has Google TV as well.

It will not include Logitech Revue which was abandoned due to poor sales. Google TV are hoping that a major comeback in 2012 will happen, as support has finally been confirmed from some of the other highend TV manufacturers.

But the question stays as whether consumers will see any value in having a computer built into their TV sets, that still is a largely passive consumer electronic device. The main thing it lacks is a collection of apps and content that can add to the TV experience.

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The federal authorities in the Immigration & Customs Enforcement seized 16 ’unauthorised sports broadcasting’ websites during a recent investigation (9 of which were owned by the same person), although their warning against video piracy did not come before the methods were given a seal of approval by one of the NFL’s finest players.

Hours before the crackdown on Thursday (which was part of a mission called ‘Operation Fake Sweep’), New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady has casually mentioned in an interview (in the build-up to his team taking on the New York Giants on Sunday) to reporters in Indianapolis (USA) that he viewed Super Bowl XLV (last year’s event) via an illegal site.

34-year-old Brady (who will be playing his fifth Super Bowl on Sunday) explained the activity, seemingly giving it a ringing endorsement: “Last year I was rehabbing my foot in Costa Rica, watching the game on an illegal Super Bowl website. And now I’m actually playing in the game. So, it’s pretty cool.”

One of the key offenders discovered in the Fake Sweep investigation was Comstock Park (USA)-based site operator Yonjo Quiroa, who on Wednesday faced criminal charges of copyright infringement, with prosecutors claiming that his 9 websites in the state of Michigan covered unauthorised distribution of events in the NFL (american football), NHL (ice hockey), WWE (wrestling), and NBA (basketball) matches.

Court papers claim that Quiroa had registered his nine domain names between 2010 -2011, going on to operate the websites as streaming platforms, having collected ‘at least’ $13,000 in profits from online advertisers.

Meanwhile, Bharara issued a press release urging sports fans to refrain from using such websites, stating the perhaps unconvincing reason that it costs the leagues and broadcasters ‘millions of dollars’ (fairly small change for the NFL, who last year temporarily shut down over internal money disputes), while a fact closer to home claimed that losing that money resulted in the leagues increasing their prices for tickets and merchandise. In the meantime, Tom Brady will most likely not face any problems for his admission, having been viewing from a foreign country.

In related news, authorities in Indianapolis have announced that around $4.8m worth of fake NFL merchandise has been seized ahead of the Super Bowl (along with $1.6m from America’s other major sports leagues), as a further part of Operation Fake Sweep. While the mission is unlikely to be seen as a  direct relation to the SOPA bill, will those that are either for or against it use this case as a reason in their respective causes?

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Crackle comes to Xbox360

The kinect voice and motion activated controls allows Crackle viewers a vocal way to find the content they want. The Crackle cwebsite content is all available which includes over 200 movies from studios including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics and more, is now available to watch.

Movies include, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The International, Donnie Brasco, European Gigolo,Jackie Chan Adventures,Groundhog Day, Year One, Defendor, The Messengers, The Mothman Prophecies, Bewitched, Samurai X, Blood +, Blue Exorcist, Why It Crackles, Urban Wolf, The Bannen Way

For TV show fans, the app also offers over 1,500 TV show episodes Download the Crackle app from the Xbox Live marketplace for free now in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

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The website which has become a major online news network in it’s own right and currently has UK, Canadian and French editions, wants to enter the live streaming video space, and plan on offering around 12 hours of content and original programming daily.

The HuffPost Streaming Network was announced in a blog post and will mix news with social media and be available, “live on every platform, computer, smartphone, tablet, Over-the-Top TV – with the goal of creating the most social video experience anywhere.”

The Huffington Post launched in 2006 and was brought by AOL in 2011 for a reported $315 million. Huffington have said that during the last year, monthly visitors to the website have grown by 47% to 36.2 million. Plannedf versions for Spanish and Italian versions are also in the works.

Huffington said about the new network, that, “People aren’t interested in being talked at anymore — they want to be part of the conversation.”

The announcement comes shortly after Reuters launched a Youtube news channel.

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First revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (USA) last month, the ‘Victorinox Solid State Drive (SSD)’ and ‘Slim USB 3.0′ models have been produced for both military and consumer use, with plans to ‘redefine portable secure storage’ by giving consumers the chance to add the detachable USB drive to their pocket-sized survival kit.

With sizes ranging from 16GB up to 1TB, Victorinox made claims at the CES that the device is ready to ’withstand a range of environmental and daily use factors’, all whilst maintaining ’the Swiss Army legacy of flawlessly designed products that endure’.

While the company has incorporated a memory stick into their products before, this is thought to be the first serious application of this combination, and while the design was probably built with military use, safety, and personal well-being in mind (such as files that would help to communicate with people via a foreign computer when lost) rather than storing videos, it is a purpose that could quite feasibly fit into the device’s make-up.

Victorinox ‘head of electronics’ Andrea Huder said of the company’s ‘SSD’: “The Victorinox Swiss Army brand is synonymous with everyday ‘survival’ tools and we continue to evolve our product offerings in the electronics division to provide solutions for living in a technology-focused world. The addition of the Victorinox SSD and Slim 3.0 to the flash USB line provides consumers with a quick and reliable way to store, transport and protect their personal and professional documents.”

The SSD will feature what they describe as the world’s smallest ‘high-capacity’ drive of its kind (with available sizes of 16GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 1TB), and is built seamlessly into the version of the Swiss Army knife alongside its more traditional tools, such as knifes, [nail] files, screwdrivers, and scissors. With a detachability option for the USB segment, Victorinox has also put travelling with the drive in mind, with the ability to switch the SSD to a USB-only ‘body’ that provides a more flight-friendly outlook than numerous blades and sharp tools.

The new products launched by Victorinox will also provide a good way of protecting the USB drive, as untrained people attempting to reach the computer plug-in would most likely risk getting cut several times before picking out the function they were after, possibly giving a new meaning to the word ‘tera-bite‘. But will this weapon/storage tool pack a multi-functional punch in the market?

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Sky IPTV service due before July

The new streaming station will contain a collection of Sky’s existing popular channels that can be streamed to a selection of devices.

Chennels that will make the move should include popular movies and sports channels. Sky’s move will have been motivated by the arrival of US movie streamer Netflix to the UK and the price and content fight with local rival the Amazon-owned Lovefilm.

Both those streaming services are limited in the range of material they offer to viewers. Sky is fortunate that it has plenty of content and since it already has the rights to stream much of that material to its customers, it’s in a good position to extend those rights deals to pay-as-you-view customers that are not subscribers.

Costs and other financial drtails are still unclear. Sky already streams much of its content available to satellite subscribers using the Sky Go service.

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The carriage deal will make the selected films from Miramax (which could include Pulp Fiction, The English Patient, Kill Bill, and There Will Be Blood, amongst others) accessiable to BT Vision Unlimited users, who are charged a monthly subscription of £12.50 to access channels and catch-up TV packages through an internet-connected set-top box.

Miramax’s CEO Mike Lang said of the move, and what they will add to the service: “Partnering with BT Vision – an exciting company with a strong digital model and reach – is another important step for Miramax as digital channels continue to open up around the world. We remain laser-focused on finding new ways to make the unmatched mix of Miramax films easily accessible – and for BT Vision subscribers, we have for the first time jointly developed a special Miramax branded environment that will make finding and viewing Miramax films as easy as possible.”

The deal is likely to expand on the popularity of films with BT Vision customers, who according to the company view a collective total of over two million on-demand movies per month. The plans are also likely to be seen as BT Vision trying to compete with rival streaming services Netflix and Lovefilm, by offering a selection of new films as an incentive for customers to stay with them.

They might not be so secure in their position in the online TV specialist market come the end of the year, though, as there is an expected launch of YouView (a connected set-top-box service that will be run between a number of networks and companies, including BBC, ITV, and BT themselves) in the first half of 2012, while satellite TV juggernaut Sky have suggested that they will be launching a separate internet TV service (with initial focus on movies) marketed towards UK viewers that have no affiliation to a pay TV package (thought to be a current market of around 13million people).

In the meantime, Sky are planning to expand on their current offering of satellite TV catch-up content by adding the online-based BBC iPlayer and ITV Player to their Sky Anytime service. With numerous developments occuring in the UK’s online TV and streaming markets, will new names manage to fight their way to the top, or will it be the more established names that continue leading the way?

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Sky Go app coming to some Android sets

The new Sky Go app for Android will let customers of the Sky satellite service stream a selection of sports, movies and news on Android mobile devices.

The news is not all good though, as not all Android mobiles will get the app. The app will work on popular models from Samsung and HTC. The app will work on:-

• Samsung Galaxy S
• Samsung Galaxy S2
• HTC Desire
• HTC Desire S
• HTC Desire HD
• HTC Incredible S
• HTC Sensation

The reason for the mishmash of working models is due to hardware differences which also befell the Netflix Android app. That problem was eventually sorted out and Netflix runs on most models now.

Sky have said that they will, “tailor the Sky Go app for each model of smartphone which takes considerable time.”

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It had been rumoured that Microsoft were planning a release of two separate consoles (the gaming-centric Xbox 720 and home entertainment/Kinect-based Xbox Loop), with a slim possibility of a late 2012 release. However, Cedrik Delmas of Microsoft France is of the belief that no new hardware will be released on the games console front this year from his company.

Delmas said of the prospects: “We’re in an industry that talks a lot, that likes telling stories. I am not convinced that things will happen this year. The Xbox 360′s cycle is not over at all. The proof is that we haven’t price cut this year. Afterward, what will happen at E3 [annual video gaming convention similar to the CES], it’s still too early to say. What’s certain is that there will be nothing new in 2012. If we wanted to counter Nintendo, we would have to be in a position to release something immediately, and that is not at all the case. We’re not here to counter Nintendo and they’re not here to fight the other manufacturers. Nintendo has put itself in a different cycle, it’s going forward to its own rhythm, with success as we have seen with the Wii, and now it’s their turn to present their innovation.”

Recent developments have suggested that when the Xbox 720 does get released, it will be up to 6 times more powerful than the 360, and will be compatible with Blu-ray discs like the 360′s current biggest rival Sony PlayStation 3. While their dual-console plans are most likely still intact (unlike the proposed Microsoft Online TV service), how long will Xbox fans have to wait before finding out the latest developments from Microsoft?

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Sky Internet TV service coming

The service will be an enhanced version of the Sky Go online service and is for customers who do not want to subscribe to to satellite and who do not want a Sky dish plonked on the side of their house. The streaming content can be viewed on laptop, PC, Mac, tablet, console, connected TV and smartphone.

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Later this year BBC’s iPlayer will become accessible to Sky customers on their home TV sets. Using BBC’s iPlayer, viewers can catch-up on BBC programmes in the familiar iPlayer experience that they may have missed.

To access the BBC catch-up TV service, users will need a broadband connection and access to the AnyTime Plus internet TV service. Viewers will also be able to use the ITV vod service, ITV Player from today.

The BBC’s goal is to reach all viewers it can, so with Sky’s plan to bring its Anytime+ to customers regardless of who their internet provider is, is a major development in helping to bring BBC iPlayer to around 5 million new homes in 2012 and at no extra charge.

This deal builds on seeing the BBC’s iPlayer on platforms like Virgin Media, BT Vision, FreeSat, Freeview, PlayStation, Wii, along with mobile phones, tablets, and Internet connected TV’s. Launching on Sky Anytime+ rounds off the picture in which BBC’s iPlayer is available on pretty much all major UK TV platforms.

The BBC Director General Mark Thompson said “Having the BBC and Sky work together to further build on the BBC iPlayer success story can only be fantastic news for audiences. Making BBC iPlayer available on all platforms is key to our commitment to universal access and this agreement takes us one step further towards that goal. I’m delighted to take this first step on a story of innovation for both organisations.”

Sky’s Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch, added “Sky Anytime+ will go from strength to strength in 2012 and we are delighted that the addition of BBC iPlayer will allow Sky customers to enjoy the best of the BBC whenever they want.”

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