Skip to Content

Massively looks at the best free to play games
AOL Tech

video-on-demand posts

Yahoo Japan fires up video delivery service for Sharp AQUOS TVs

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2009 at 10:59AM


With Akihabara, mobile TV that works and games like this, does Japan really need another nicety to remind us of how awesome it is? Starting this week, Yahoo Japan has started to deliver free video services to loads of Sharp AQUOS HDTVs. The so-called Douga Channel currently offers some 3,000 videos gratis, and absolutely no member registration is required to tap in. At least initially, the service will target Sharp's AQUOS DS6 family of products, which are equipped with a revised Sharp GUI and an 'Ex System' for handling the video processing. Better still, the material coming through can be viewed in SD or HD, which has to make local cable companies cringe. At any rate, the company is still trying to hammer out a business model before delving into pay-TV, and it's hoping to service at least one million TV sets in the not-too-distant future. So... any news for North America?

More proof that Amazon is about to sell high-def TV shows

by Darren Murph posted Mar 23rd 2009 at 6:02AM


We've seen sprinkles of hope that have led us to cautiously believe that Amazon was gearing up to start selling high-definition TV shows, and now our hearts are dead set on believing. Here recently, Amazon's Video On Demand service has been expanding onto just about every media playing console / box / etc. out there, but now that Apple has stepped up the game by offering HD movies for sale, it seems that Amazon's about to pop out some new functionality of its own. Long story short, the noodling crew over at NewTeeVee managed to poke around and find some pretty hard evidence that Amazon will soon be selling HD TV shows for $2.99 apiece, and while none of the links they stumbled upon were live, we reckon it's only a matter of time at this point.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

TiVo inks VOD-related deals with SeaChange and Alticast

by Darren Murph posted Mar 2nd 2009 at 6:05PM


While many are still eagerly awaiting their tuning adapter for utilizing tru2way on their existing TiVo box, said company has announced two partnerships today that look to solve issues with cable carriers that don't currently have an OCAP / tru2way deployment plan. The tie-up with SeaChange will enable those lagging carriers to bring cable VOD services to the TiVo HD DVR experience, giving them the option to highlight offerings on a TiVo guide, for instance. The second partnership involves Alticast, and while details are a tad fuzzier here, we get the impression that TiVo's looking to possibly push its heralded interface out onto other devices, such as embedded within a Blu-ray deck or other set-top-box. Or as Joshua Danovitz, Vice President and GM of International at TiVo puts it: "[We need to make] the TiVo experience available on a broad range of platforms, both in the United States and around the world." Hit the read links for more on each, and don't be surprised if you dig the vibes you get.\

[Via Yahoo! / PC World]

Read - Alticast partnership
Read - SeaChange partnership

Roku takes Amazon Video On Demand into private beta

by Darren Murph posted Feb 6th 2009 at 4:07AM


We knew good and well that Roku's movie set-top-box would be supporting Amazon Video On Demand in the not-too-terribly-distant future, and apparently the private beta has begun. Over at the Roku forums, an official has made clear that demand was exceptional and the pool of private beta testers has now been chosen. Sadly, there's no mention of when Roku plans on sharing the love with the public at large, but Dave Zatz has appropriately pointed out that YouTube could be following close behind. Still, we have to concur that the most pressing question has yet to be answered: will this Amazon VOD be offered up in glorious high-def? Pretty please?

[Via ZatzNotFunny]

Digital distribution not expected to rule packaged media anytime soon

by Darren Murph posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 12:43AM


Whoa, vaquero -- calm your jets. This is just a projection, which may or may not prove to be indicative of reality. That said, there's still quite a lot here to discuss, particularly since we've been hearing so much hubbub over the supposed explosion of digital distribution. Media Control GfK International has forecast that sales of Blu-ray Discs will increase some 150 percent to $2.9 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2008. For those keeping count, digital distribution only generated $1.5 billion last year, and that's including every penny made from VOD and broadband services. In-Stat analyst Michael Paxton was quoted as saying that the "bandwidth required to stream any type of HD video is way beyond what most households have," and he continued by noting that the "convenience factor is still not there for streaming media." You owe it to yourself to hit up the read link for the full report before blasting your opinion in comments below, but we suppose we can't stop you either way.

A&E brings 'The Beast' to DISH Network's 1080p IP-VOD service

by Darren Murph posted Jan 19th 2009 at 12:33AM


DISH Network's 1080p video-on-demand service may be impressive, but up until now, it hasn't been utilized in any fanciful ways to get outsiders to pay attention. Thanks to a new push from A&E Networks, however, that's all about to change. Said channel's new drama, The Beast, is now available to DISH subscribers with an MPEG-4 HD box via the 1080p IP-VOD platform. Users simply plug in their broadband connection, fire up their set-top-box and surf over to the DishONLINE feature within the 'DVR' menu. Episodes will be made available the day after they air live, and the content is said to be "comparable to Blu-ray Disc." We've got to say, we're totally digging this initiative -- now, if only it were simple to get every other network to follow suit with their own hit shows.

ITV programming made available to Virgin Media subscribers

by Darren Murph posted Jan 16th 2009 at 5:08AM

While BT Vision is currently cooking up a way to bring major UK programming to one place via IPTV, Virgin Media is already taking things one step further by bringing thousands of hours of ITV on-demand content to subscribers. The agreement will, in essence, give ITV its largest ever potential on-demand audience -- you know, now that Virgin's 3.5 million customers can view hours upon hours of ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 material at their leisure. We're told that hit shows like Coronation Street and Emmerdale will be "made available for seven days after being broadcast as part of Virgin Media's free Catch up TV service," and there will even be a small subset of HD VOD programming to choose from. Not a raw deal at all for existing / to-be VM subs.

CBS and Verizon land retransmission agreement for VOD content

by Darren Murph posted Jan 13th 2009 at 3:19PM


FiOS TV lovers who enjoy dipping into CBS' stash of on-demand content are sure to love this. The aforesaid network and Verizon have just signed long-term retransmission-consent and program-carriage agreements that will give the operator VOD access to hit shows such as CSI and Survivor along with mobile access to select programs via V CAST. The so-called "broadened and extended" rights do not appear to include Showtime content, but they do include rights for high-definition versions of the material that the deal encompasses. And really, that's all you care about, right?

NTT America talks up IPv6-based Hikari-TV IPTV at CES

by Darren Murph posted Jan 6th 2009 at 11:05PM


It has been awhile since we've heard the term IPv6 thrown around over here, but NTT America is looking to put it back on everyone's radar in Vegas. The outfit is all set to discuss Hikari-TV, the first large scale, commercially successful IPTV over IPv6 service, at CES, and we can't wait to give it a listen. For those out of the loop, the Hikari-TV service -- which is operated by NTT Plala -- comprises 76 channels including a number of HD stations, over 10,000 video-on-demand titles and over 13,000 titles in its "karaoke" section. Worldwide, IPTV still has quite a ways to go before it becomes even half as pervasive as traditional coax, but Gartner estimates that worldwide subscriptions to IPTV should be close to 20 million already.

Cox Communications talks up new On Demand platform

by Darren Murph posted Jan 6th 2009 at 2:29AM


We've yet to see this for ourselves, but tipster Adam has informed us that Cox Communications is talking up a new On Demand platform via commercials. In fact, the spots have also led us to believe that a new software update will soon be available for the carrier's set-top-boxes, presumably one based on the Aptiv platform. Pictured above is a quick snap of what the future VOD system will look like, though we're sadly unaware of whether this rollout will be hitting everyone or just a select few. Couldn't hurt to ping your local office and ask, though.

[Thanks, Adam]

FCC chairman "doesn't support" Hollywood's request for selectable output

by Darren Murph posted Dec 31st 2008 at 8:39PM


In December of 2007, we candidly wondered if 2008 would be the year for selectable output control. We reckon we should re-pose the question with "2008" replacing "2007." Broadcasting and Cable is reporting that Kevin Martin doesn't support Hollywood's request for selectable outputs, noting that the final decision would have to wait for the next chairman. It's widely expected that Martin will step down just days before Obama is sworn in, but in the January 15th meeting on the topic, he'll likely stifle the MPAA's plans. For those unaware, SOC would enable content to hit HD VOD outlets before DVD, but in exchange, it would only be allowed out of the set-top-box via encrypted digital outputs. Obviously, those with older TV sets wouldn't be able to take advantage, thus the chairman's hesitation to allow it. Maybe next year, Big Content.

[Via LA Times, image courtesy of DansData]

DISH Network adds The Dark Knight to 1080p on-demand movie lineup

by Darren Murph posted Dec 31st 2008 at 1:49PM


Here's an indication of just how important The Dark Knight is to the movie / content industry. DISH Network has just pushed out a bona fide press release solely to announce that the aforementioned film is now available via its 1080p on-demand service. Customers of the satcaster who skipped out on the Blu-ray version and would rather just rent can spend their New Year's Eve trying to figure out if Batman's voice can possibly go any deeper without exploding for just $6.99.

HDi streaming technology could open up "virtual cable television"

by Darren Murph posted Dec 25th 2008 at 2:31PM

FilmOn.com may not have the name recognition in America as does YouTube and Hulu, but its creator could be making a name for himself with the online video portal's underlying technology. Alki David founded FilmOn some three years back, and has since developed an advanced streaming protocol dubbed HDi (no, not that HDi). The technology could eventually be used to deliver high-definition cable TV programming and other video-on-demand options around the globe without any lag or stutter; we're even told that Britons could catch the local news in Iowa if the ideal scenario comes to fruition. So far, David has inked deals with a number of content providers, though only Turner Network Television was specifically named. FilmOn is expected to showcase its "virtual cable television" tech to BT next month, which could certainly accelerate the expansion of HDTV by enabling it to flow over existing internet delivery pipes. Consider our interest markedly piqued, especially for HD-deprived souls overseas.

Internet-based / HDTV content to hit hotels big in 2009

by Darren Murph posted Dec 21st 2008 at 8:12AM


Or, at least that's the impression given off by Acentic's Top Five 2009 Trends for Hotel Television Technology. For those paying attention (and traveling often), lodging venues across the nation have been adding in high-def material at a rapid pace, and that's expected to continue into the new year. Additionally, research asserts that internet-derived material, more WiFi access, additional video-on-demand content and connection pods to link up guest sources will all be part of the shift. With the price of hotels these days, we can safely say we hope all of these changes come at a minimal cost -- and who knows, maybe we'll finally learn in 2009 why an Econo Lodge provides free internet access and a boutique hotel in the middle of everything has the nerve to charge extra.

Economy, HD adoption to blame for higher stay-at-home entertainment numbers

by Darren Murph posted Dec 19th 2008 at 6:50AM


We've already waded through a number of research reports that found individuals more likely to stay at home and get their entertainment during rough economic times, but an insightful piece from Parks Associates takes a more deliberate approach to analyzing what's really going on. When looking at just how many people are viewing video-on-demand content now versus two years ago (it's way up, by the way), it's easy to attribute that -- along with the downturn at the box office -- to a flagging economy. However, the report also notes that HD adoption in general has boomed over the past two years, giving citizens access to more high-quality at-home entertainment than ever before. As Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks, so satisfactorily put it: "As we're seeing high-definition TV penetration reach 50% of households and home theater penetration well over 20%, we're seeing consumers want to enjoy those investments as much as possible." Nice thinking outside of the box there, Kurt.

[Via VideoBusiness]




AOL News

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

Joystiq
Download Squad
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
BloggingStocks
Joystiq Xbox
Autoblog
Big Download
Fanhouse NFL Blog