Aereo unveils free trial and new prices for its NYC-based internet TV service (video)

Aereo

Broadcast-streaming startup Aereo is busting out tweaked price plans and a free trial for New Yorkers to try the service gratis for an hour a day. $8 per month will buy you unlimited access, live pause, rewind and 20 hours online DVR, while $12 a month doubles your storage allocation to 40 hours. Annual customers can pay $80 (plus tax, naturally) to get a deep discount off the monthly price, but for the commitment-phobic viewer, 24-hours access can be purchased for a dollar, or you can try the service for an hour each and every day without need of a sign up. Unfortunately, due to legal wrangling, it's only available within the boundaries of New York City on any iOS, OS X, AppleTV or Roku devices. There's PR and Video after the jump if you're yet to be convinced -- but think, now you catch all of Good Morning America as you walk down Broadway.

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Aereo unveils free trial and new prices for its NYC-based internet TV service (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV (update: event video)

Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV

Google just kicked its Google Fiber efforts into overdrive. The company's Kansas City effort is getting a full launch and now includes Google Fiber TV -- a "real" TV service with recognizable channels and its own, fully searchable interface that mixes DVR results with Netflix and YouTube. As many as 500 shows can be stored in full 1080p HD, and several TVs within the home can tune in at the same time.. Not surprisingly, there's also a major mobile component taking advantage of that 1Gbps fiber link, as users will have the option of browsing, sharing and eventually watching live TV directly from tablet apps. The company is also promising an ever-evolving service that includes Google+ video hangouts. For hardware, Google has its own dedicated Network Box with a four-port gigabit Ethernet router and 802.11n WiFi, a TV Box with live viewing and a WiFi access point as well as a Storage Box DVR with 2TB of data and the ability to record eight shows at once. Your remote control? A free, bundled Nexus 7 tablet, naturally.

The overall service will come with 1TB of Google Drive space, although it's expensive to get started: there's a $300 "construction fee" (currently being waived) to wire a home for the fiber optics. Three packages will be on offer, starting with a Gigabit + TV package that includes the essentials, all major channels and "hundreds" of fiber channels (plus on-demand content) for $120 a month. Skip traditional TV and it costs $70 a month -- and if you're a local resident willing to pony up the construction free, you can get 5Mbps internet access for free for "at least" seven years. Key institutions are getting the full gigabit access for free, as well. Only small slices of Kansas City in both Missouri and Kansas state should have access at first, but Google is conducting a six-week "rally" where the most people paying a $10 pre-registration fee dictate where Google Fiber goes next. Now if only other cities would go the same route.

Update: The full event replay is available for your inspection after the break.

Continue reading Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV (update: event video)

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Google Fiber gets formal launch, adds Google Fiber TV (update: event video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now TV launches in the UK, brings pay-as-you-go streaming to Mac, PC and Android

Now TV launches, brings payasyougo internet video to Mac, PC and Android

Sky is going online and ditching the contracts... sort of. The UK TV provider is launching a new service called Now TV that will take on more established properties like Lovefilm and Netflix. The streaming video service will initially be available on OS X, Windows and Android with iOS to follow shortly. By the end of the year it will also be available on Xbox, PS3, Roku and Youview. Initially Sky Movies will form the backbone of the service, with titles costing anywhere from £0.99 to £3.49 for playback, or you can purchase unlimited monthly access for £15. Eventually Now TV will expand to include Sky Sports, Sky 1 and plenty of other BSkyB owned properties. For more, check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Now TV launches in the UK, brings pay-as-you-go streaming to Mac, PC and Android

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Now TV launches in the UK, brings pay-as-you-go streaming to Mac, PC and Android originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Youview TV platform and set-top box coming to UK stores this month (update: priced at £299)

YouView streaming platform and settop box coming to UK xxx

The BBC's iPlayer has become too successful. It either needs to calm down or be put on a more level playing field with on demand services from the other big UK broadcasters -- and it's going to be the latter. Youview -- which has nothing whatsoever in common with YouTube except its name and the fact that it also does video -- is a PVR set-top box that uses both an aerial and a web connection to allow catch-up viewing, and we've just heard it'll arrive in UK stores towards the end of this month. It'll bring together programs from the BBC (which also contributed £10 million of license fee cash), ITV, Channel 4, Five, and Sky, using infrastructure from BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva, and it'll target millions of British viewers who want a "seamless" mix of live and archived telly without being tied to a subscription -- and who don't yet depend on a Smart TV, games console or other converged device.

Update: Youview front man Lord Alan Sugar told us that the box is Humax-built and will cost £299. He also added that there'll be adverts within commercial programs, but not plastered over the EPG or interface itself.

Youview TV platform and set-top box coming to UK stores this month (update: priced at £299) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 04:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBC ‘Live Restart’ brings pause, rewind and ‘start from beginning’ to iPlayer live streams

BBC 'Live Restart' bring pause, rewind and 'start from beginning' to iPlayer live streams

On demand TV is great and all, but what if the program you're wanting is on right now? Previously -- in the UK at least -- you'd have to either catch the whole thing later, or accept you'd missed a bit, and watch the rest live. Starting today, however, iPlayer will let you rewind, pause, and even start live shows from the beginning. In fact with the "Live Restart" update, you'll be able to go back over the last two hours of scheduled TV, should you wish. The new features come as a result of the BBC switching to "HTTP chunked" streaming instead of RTMP, which breaks up the H.264 video feed into blocks, delivering them like regular web packets -- apparently improving scalability, adaptive bitrate playback and cost effectiveness, compared to Content Delivery Networks. All we want to know is will you be able to skip the ads? Oh wait.

BBC 'Live Restart' brings pause, rewind and 'start from beginning' to iPlayer live streams originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LookeeTV HD Desktop Internet TV And Radio Player

LookeeTV HD Desktop Internet TV And Radio Player

The LookeeTV HD desktop internet TV and radio player enables you to stream and enjoy over 2,000 internet TV channels and 30,000 radio stations from 90 countries in over 65 different languages. You can also share, sync and integrate LookeeTV with up to five other devices in the same WiFi network. It is compatible with iOS, Windows, Android, or Linux operating systems. The LookeeTV HD retails for $199. [LookeeTV]

Sony exec confirms IPTV aspirations, says they’re on hold due to bandwidth caps

Sony exec reportedly confirms IPTV aspirations, says they're on hold due to bandwidth caps

CES came and went without an update on the status of an alleged cable TV alternative the Wall Street Journal claimed Sony was building to push ahead its four screen strategy, but now Sony Network Entertainment VP Michael Aragon has given the rumor new life. Variety reports that during its Entertainment & Technology Summit Monday Aragon confirmed the company is considering offering TV services over the internet, but is waiting to see what happen with ISP bandwidth caps. Specifically referring to the Comcast 250GB limit that has recently come under fire from Netflix and others now that its Xfinity TV app on Xbox 360 skirts the cap entirely, Aragon noted cable companies have the pipe and the bandwidth and can restrict competing services. We've heard Netflix has been trying to negotiate its own path around such restrictions even as Redbox partners with Verizon on a video service, and rumors have periodically popped up linking Apple, Microsoft and any other tech giant you could name to similar plans. What does all this mean for the future? No one can say for sure yet, but unless some of the key players start to partner up instead of go to war we may need the FCC to step in before anything significant changes.

Sony exec confirms IPTV aspirations, says they're on hold due to bandwidth caps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time Warner Cable is preparing for TWC TV IPTV streaming on Roku boxes

Time Warner Cable may bring TWC TV IPTV streaming to Roku boxes soon

Time Warner Cable's TWC TV streaming TV service has already arrived on iOS and Android 4.0, so what's next? According to information we've received, the next stop should be connected TV platforms, starting with the popular Roku media streaming boxes. We already got a glimpse of TWC TV on an HDTV during CES 2012 when it was being demonstrated at the Panasonic and Samsung booths, and were told at the time that it could launch on "multiple platforms" later this year. While company personnel are currently being briefed on compatibility with Roku the launch could still be some time off, as previous preparations for rollouts like streaming to PCs came months ahead. We contacted reps for the company about the plan and received a "no comment" in response, so there's nothing in the way of official word just yet. Either way, if all you want to do is ditch the bulky cable box for a diminutive hockey puck, it seems like 2012 could finally be the year.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Time Warner Cable is preparing for TWC TV IPTV streaming on Roku boxes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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