Today RealNetworks, Inc. announced RealPlayer Cloud is now available for international users. The app allows users to easily move, watch, and share videos with any user on any device, including Android, iOS, Windows 8 Modern UI, Kindle Fire, Roku and Chromecast.
Streaming TV is heating-up. Amazon looks set to launch its TV box in March, we’re expecting Apple to announce a new Apple TV box in April, and Google is reputed to be not far behind with a Nexus-branded box.
So-called cord-cutting – people who give up their cable TV subscriptions in favor of streaming content over the web – is growing in popularity. Mobile TV viewing on tablets is increasingly common.
All of which makes me wonder whether we’re witnessing the beginning of the end of live TV … ?
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Image: digitaltrends.com
Amazon’s TV box, which the company is believed to have been working on for around a year, is to be launched next month, according to unnamed content distribution sources cited by re/code. It had originally been expected to be launched in time for last year’s holiday sales.
People I’ve talked to who are partnering with Amazon believe the company is aiming for a March rollout […]
Sources tell me Amazon’s box will be powered by Google’s Android operating system, which is also not a surprise — Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets use a “forked” version of Android …
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Everyone loves a good surprise and that’s why we’re happy to see YouTube arrive on the Roku 3. The arrival happens simultaneously in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland. The surprise arrival of YouTube includes features like:
Well-known CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta is at it again, this time with a new app for Android that allows users to beam their local content to a variety of set-top streaming boxes, including the Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, PS4, and any other DLNA renderers (via Engadget). The app, entitled AllCast, is incredibly simple to operate. Once it is installed, simply go to a video that is local on your device and tap the cast button in the upper right corner and a menu will pop up, asking you where you would like to cast it. Within seconds of choosing a device, the video will begin playing on your TV.
The process works very much like the Chromecast and Apple TV, though with local videos as well. AllCast is huge for Apple TV users, as it was easy for them to cast videos from their Android device to the set-top box. Though, it’s worth noting that it only works with local videos, not videos from streaming services.
In order to download AllCast, first you must join the ClockworkMod Beta Testers Community, then sign up to be a beta tester for AllCast, and then install the actual app from the Play Store.
Check out a video demonstrating the app below:
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This morning we reported that Amazon had trademarked FireTube, and the trademark could serve as a name for the company’s long-rumored TV product. Now, the WSJ follows up by claiming said device is on Amazon’s roadmap for the holiday season. Here are some of the details on the device:
Of course, the device could be shelved at the last minute, but given the uptake in reports about an Amazon TV device, today’s trademark discovery, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s want to expand his company’s hardware portfolio, it seems likely that the device truly is in the imminent Amazon product pipeline.
The latest Roku for Android app allows video as well as audio and photos to be streamed to a Roku set-top box – but only for a limited number of devices.
Play your video from select Android devices to your Roku player. Supported models include: Samsung Galaxy SIII, Samsung Galaxy S4, Nexus 4, HTC One, and Nexus 7 (2012 model). Video playback requires Android 4.0 or later …
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Set-top box maker Roku -one of Google TV and Apple TV’s biggest competitors- unveiled a new iteration of its award-winning Smart TV solution today. However, this time, they shrunk it down to the size of a USB stick that allows you to plug it right into your TVs MHL-enabled HDMI port. The device, called the Roku Streaming Stick, packs in built-in Wi-Fi, a processor, and memory, and includes all of the features currently available in their current set-top box.
According to Roku’s press release, the new cable-free, smaller form factor is ideal for delivering smart TV capabilities to consumers who typically do not replace their TVs often. That model differs from both Apple and Google, especially with Apple expected to launch an HDTV and Google pushing the GoogleTV platform built-in to TVs from vendors like Sony:
Today’s Smart TVs become outdated in just a couple of years because as software evolves the hardware needs to be upgraded to keep pace. While short hardware product cycles are expected with mobile devices such as smart phones, consumers generally keep their TVs for six to eight years. By moving the streaming platform to a stick that’s easily replaceable, consumers no longer have to worry about their large-screen Smart TV becoming obsolete before its time.
Official pricing has not been announced, but CEO Anthony Wood told All Things D the device would be available in the second half of 2012 for between $50 and $100. Roku also plans to have TV vendors bundle the Roku Streaming Stick with new TVs.
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