Last night at the World Wide Developer Conference, Apple went ahead and officially announced its long expected music streaming service, known as Apple Music, bringing some pretty heavy competition to Spotify's door. In an effort to stay competitive, Spotify has revealed that it will be matching one of Apple's subscription …
Read More »Apple formally announces streaming music service
Even though we've known its intentions for months, with rumours that the whole reason the Beats headphone brand was purchased was to pick up its fledgling streaming business, Apple has finally, officially, launched Apple Music. The new service will offer a combination of music streaming, downloads and internet radio and is …
Read More »Sony CEO says we we will see Apple Music at WWDC
We have been expecting an Apple Music streaming service announcement for some time now and even though negotiations with certain record labels slowed things down a bit, all signs still pointed towards a reveal at Apple's annual World Wide Developer Conference this month. Now, it seems that Sony's CEO has …
Read More »Samsung Wireless Streaming Hard Drive Review
While many users these days may have several terabytes of PC storage space, mobile storage is yet to catch up. Many phones come with just 16GB of internal storage, while 128GB is just about as good as it gets. This means most users simply cannot fit their media collections on …
Read More »Twitch doesn’t want you streaming Adult Only rated titles
Just days before the controversial isometric shooter, Hatred is due to release, Twitch has tightened up its rules on streaming Adult Only ESRB rated games, announcing its new policy over on its official blog. This means that if a game is rated AO by the ESRB in the US, it can't …
Read More »Netflix looking to hire peer to peer expert
Netflix could be looking to change its approach to streaming content, from its current model of handling the data transmission itself, to more of a crowd sourced model similar to that used by bit torrent and other peer to peer networking services. If it did move in that direction, it …
Read More »Apple Music streaming service to feature social network for artists
Apple's re-branded Beats Music streaming service is still expected to be revealed next month at the World Wide Developers Conference, despite difficulty during negotiations. As the reveal gets closer, we have been learning even more information, pointing towards new features Apple may have cooked up. According to 9to5Mac, which has …
Read More »1080p/60fps streaming is coming to the GRID public beta
Nvidia's cloud gaming service, GRID, is getting an upgrade today. Shield tablet owners taking part in the public beta for the streaming service will now be able to play the 50 title strong library of games at full 1080p and 60 frames per second. We tested the capabilities of GRID cloud gaming …
Read More »Apple having issues with last minute deals for Beats Music
It looks like Apple is having some issues with last minute deals for its Beats Music streaming service. If Apple can't get the last of its crucial deals signed in time, then we might not see the streaming service appear at the World Wide Developer Conference after all. Sources speaking …
Read More »Grooveshark could be forced to pay $700 million + in damages
Streaming music service Grooveshark has its future in the hands of a single ruling this week, where a New York based judge will determine whether it needs to pay damages on some of the thousands of copyright protected tracks that have appeared illegitimately on its platform over the past few …
Read More »Netflix has surpassed 60 million subscribers
Netflix managed to hit a new milestone recently, surpassing 60 million subscribers. The surge in newcomers is largely down to the service's international expansion, hitting new countries like Australia. Although, the majority of subscribers are still from the US. 40 million Netflix subscribers reside in the US, or are at …
Read More »Jay Z launches new Tidal streaming service with friends
Rapper Jay Z has (re)launched the Tidal streaming service with a new plan to make it a more profitable way for artists to share their music with the world. To commemorate the occasion, he, along with a number of other high profile artists all signed a “declaration,” at the service's …
Read More »PlayStation Now closed beta coming to the UK
PlayStation Now will start rolling out here in the UK this Spring, Sony has announced. It will start off in closed beta form, meaning you will need an invite to actually use the service. However, after a few months, things will likely open up, allowing more people to try out …
Read More »Twitch Plays is now taking on Halo
Twitch Plays is a pretty interesting idea, a game is set up and streamed, then the chat gets to control the entire game. Twitch viewers helped beat several Pokemon games and now Twitch Plays is taking on something a little more challenging, Halo Combat Evolved. Bungie's classic shooter is the …
Read More »Amazon spent $1.3 billion on streaming last year
If there was any indication that Amazon considers Netflix one of its biggest opponents in any industry, it's this. In 2014, the retail giant pumped over $1.3 billion (£860 million) into its streaming service, Amazon Prime Instant Video, helping to fund new programming like the award winning Transparent. This cash …
Read More »Tesco is giving up on Blinkbox
Over the last few months, Tesco has been winding down on its loss-making digital download service, Blinkbox. The movie watching side of the business was sold off to TalkTalk a few weeks ago but Tesco still owned Music and Books services, which are now either being sold off or shut …
Read More »Xbox One to PC streaming may be capable of 1080p 60fps
Microsoft revealed its new Xbox One to Windows 10 PC streaming functionality at a press event last night but since then more details have emerged. It turns out that the company is aiming to achieve 1080p and 60 frames per second streaming by the time the feature launches towards the …
Read More »The Interview to stream on Netflix too
The Interview has been a real success in many ways. Along with marking a stand – after a nudge from Mr Obama – against threats of violence, its digital release has shown that making a film available online for people to stream at home along with its cinema release, actually …
Read More »Steam officially adds game streaming
If you thought Valve was going to lie down and let Twitch dominate the broadcast/streaming landscape while it just provided the games, well you'd be wrong. Starting today, Steam users can broadcast and stream games among their friends, meaning you can watch your buddy while they're playing, or they can …
Read More »Microsoft gives YouTubers permission to monetize gameplay
Microsoft has updated its Game Content Usage Rules, giving YouTuber's and Twitch streamers permission to monetize gameplay footage on all of its titles, although Minecraft, which the company recently acquired for $2.5 billion, has a slightly different set of rules. The new policy states that users can create work based …
Read More »Golden Globes gives streaming shows stamp of approval
If there was any suggestion that the quality of shows produced by the likes of streaming platform holders, Amazon and Netflix, were anything less than that of more traditional network produced shows, the Golden Globes has shone a light on that fallacy. At this year's awards ceremony, both Netflix and …
Read More »Google Cast speaks to your speakers
Today Google announced a new feature called Cast, building upon its existing Chromecast technology. Where Chromecast is specifically for sending video between devices, Cast is going to be used for playing music to compatible speaker systems. It will be possible to send audio from Android, iPhone and iPad devices as well as from the …
Read More »Netflix is blocking VPNs and proxies
If you've been used to accessing Netflix's vast library of North American content while living outside of the continent, by using a proxy or VPN, you may be out of luck, as the streaming media company has now begun blocking methods of circumventing its geographical limiters. This is a real …
Read More »Isohunt’s founder believes bitcoin can kill piracy
No longer around in its original form, Isohunt was one of the world's most popular torrent sites in its day. The founder, Gary Fung, fought courts for years keeping the site open, but ultimately relented after a loss and shut the site down. While it may have reformed under a …
Read More »Netflix says that offline viewing is ‘never going to happen’
It looks like offline viewing is not on Netflix's radar and won't ever be a feature that comes to the service. Other online streaming sites, like Sky GO, BBC iPlayer and 4OD have offered downloads for offline viewing in the past and successfully put restrictions on files to prevent piracy but …
Read More »Amazon Prime Instant Video now offering 4K streaming
Amazon has just announced that its streaming service, Prime Instant Video, will now be offering 4K streams in the US, making the company one of the first few service providers to launch ultra HD content, alongside Netflix and YouTube. The content selection is limited, as you would probably expect but …
Read More »This is exactly why British people pirate
We often hear a lot about Australia and its woes with getting legitimate access to movies and TV shows from the US and elsewhere and how that has led to it becoming one of the biggest hotbeds of piracy in the world. In the UK things are a little better, …
Read More »YouTube debuts Music Key subscription platform beta
YouTube has been rumoured to have been working on a music streaming subscription service for some time now, with hints earlier this year that it would be called ‘Music Key.' It turns out that all of that is true, as owner Google has now unveiled the platform, announcing it as …
Read More »Twitch implements dress code for streamers
Do you like to do your game streaming topless? If so, you may need to find yourself another site to do it on other than Twitch, as the now-Amazon owned property has announced its own dress code. You don't have to wear anything in particular, but you do have to …
Read More »Apple to merge Beats Music with iTunes next year
Earlier this year, Apple acquired Beats Electronics for $3 billion and ever since then, onlookers have been left to wonder what Apple's plans for the company are. However, it looks like the company may finally put its acquisition to use by merging the Beats Music streaming service with iTunes. It …
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