Category: Online TV
BBC promises iPlayer revamp to compete with Netflix
BBC bosses have promised a total transformation of the iPlayer to compete with streaming giants. Director-general Lord Tony Hall believes the corporation can challenge the existing dominance of services like Netflix and Amazon. Quality content and curation will be at the heart of BBC plans for online platform, which will undergo the biggest revamp since…
YouTube killing support for older smart TVs and devices
Bad news if you access YouTube on a smart TV made before 2012 - Google is pulling the plug on YouTube apps for certain devices. Unfortunately we don't have a complete list of affected devices, but according to Google it will affect "Select devices manufactured in 2012 and earlier, including Sony TVs & Blu-ray Discs,…
Man tries to eat 8 quarter pounders in an hour on Periscope
The Meerkat/Periscope wars continue, and finally someone has discovered a purpose for the live streaming apps: Watching people make themselves sick. Harry Wallop, who writes for the Daily Telegraph, is for some reason trying to eat eight McDonalds Quarter Pounders in an hour. At the time of writing, he is currently five burgers in and…
REVIEW: Amazon Fire TV Stick
The Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon's alternative to Google's Chromecast, went on sale in the UK yesterday. James O'Malley gives his verdict The battle for the living room is currently underway, and over the last few years we've seen traditional under-the-tv players like Sky, Virgin Media, Playstation and Xbox forced to do battle with new…
Hurrah! Netflix is going to add audio description options for the blind
Great news for any visually impaired Daredevil fans hoping to catch the new series on Netflix. The company has announced plans to offer audio description on both its own Netflix origins and licensed shows, starting with the man in the mask. The Netflix blog says that AD will also be rolled out to House of…
A new Apple TV is probably coming soon – but it won’t support 4K
Disappointing news for AV nerds who want to be on the cutting edge. It appears that the long awaited, and much expected Apple TV revamp will not support 4K video. According to Buzzfeed, Apple is skipping support for 4K technology because it is still in its "infancy". In other words, the fairly reasonable point that…
Doctor Who appears (legally!) on BitTorrent
To celebrate ten years of Doctor Who being back on TV ("Rose" was broadcast ten years ago this week), the BBC has released a ten episode "box set" on to BitTorrent. That's right - BitTorrent, the pirates file sharing platform of choice. But this is all above board and legit - which is why you…
Twitter complicit in portrait video crimes as it launches “Periscope” live streaming app
Over the last few weeks, an app called Meerkat has been the hot new trend on Twitter. What it does is stream live video from your phone - and is fully integrated with Twitter so you can see who is watching, and receive alerts as soon as anyone you follow begins streaming. It has grown…
O2 customers to get access to some Channel 4 shows 48 hours before anyone else
O2 has today announced that it has thrown a tonne of cash at Channel 4 in exchange for the right to piss off anyone on other networks. The new "brand partnership" will see O2 Priority customers get the ability to watch a number of new Channel 4 shows before they're shown on the telly or…
Amazon Fire TV stick FINALLY comes to the UK – for just £35
Amazon has today announced that its answer to Google's Chromecast - the Fire TV Stick - is now available to order in the UK for only £35. The stick offers many of the features of Amazon's Fire TV box including a suite of streaming services including Amazon's own Instant Video, as well as Netflix and…
