At International CES in January, Netflix revealed that it was going to begin evaluating web-connected TV sets to determine which ones were the best for accessing Netflix’s videos. Today, the company unveiled its first slate TVs that will carry its “Recommended” badge of distinction. [More]
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Report: New Streaming TV Services Trying To Sidestep Net Neutrality Rule
By 3.20.15
A segment of consumers has for many years been begging for an unbundled, à la carte option for programming. That future is now taking its first shambling steps into our homes — only, it’s happening through the magic of the internet, and not in pay-TV subscriptions. But right now, we are in a particularly turbulent time for sorting out the rules of what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to giving preferential treatment to certain services. While the virtual ink is still drying on the brand-new, not-yet-implemented open internet rule, new players in the field of over-the-top internet TV are already trying to see just how far that rule bends. [More]
6 Things To Think About Before Paying $50-$70/Month For PlayStation Vue
By 3.18.15
After months of limited testing without a price tag, Sony’s PlayStation Vue live TV streaming service launched today in only a few markets with packages ranging from $50/month to $70/month. Since I live in Philadelphia, one of the launch cities, I was able to get my hands on Vue to determine how it stacks up against basic cable and Dish’s recently debuted Sling TV service. [More]
Sony Unveils Pricing For PlayStation Vue Streaming Service, Confirming It’s Not Very Cheap
By 3.18.15
For months now Sony has left the pricing details of its PlayStation Vue streaming television service up to our wandering imaginations. Now the company has all but confirmed previous reports that the service would cost a pretty penny, while announcing its availability in certain areas of the country starting today. [More]
Sling TV Adding More Channels To Base Package, Now Works On Xbox One
By 3.17.15
Dish’s standalone streaming Sling TV service continues to add more value to its $20/month subscription price, with the announcement today that Sling is now accessible through Xbox One consoles and that four channels are being added to the standard Sling lineup. [More]
PlayStation Network Users Report Hacked Accounts, Terrible Options From Sony
By 3.12.15
If you use PlayStation Network, Sony’s online platform for buying games and downloadable content for games, consider not keeping payment information on file and changing your password. It’s bad enough that stories of hacked accounts have surfaced in recent days, but these users report that Sony has given them no good options: they can eat hundreds of dollars’ worth of purchases, or lose access to their PSN accounts…forever. [More]
Comcast Not Afraid Of Streaming Services; Won’t Commit To Playing Nice With Them
By 3.5.15
Earlier this week, a Dish executive claimed that Comcast was afraid of so-called over-the-top streaming services like Dish’s Sling TV and that the cable giant could use its size and influence to prevent broadcasters from signing onto Sling and others. Now Comcast is saying it has nothing to fear from these new services, but won’t commit to avoiding deals that make it difficult for them to compete. [More]
Dish: Comcast Could Still Use Its Size To Block Streaming Content
By 3.3.15
The FCC’s recently approved net neutrality rules will prohibit all Internet service providers from blocking any legal content from being sent or received by their users. But when an ISP also controls the nation’s largest pay-TV audience, perhaps it could use that leverage to prevent certain content from ever going online in the first place. [More]
Dish Says Sony’s Streaming Service Will Be Real Substitute For Cable
By 2.24.15
Just a few weeks ago, Dish launched its Sling TV streaming service which some hailed as a cord-cutter’s dream, but which is honestly more targeted at people who want only the most basic cable TV access without having to deal with cable companies. Dish’s founder (and soon-to-return CEO) recognizes Sling’s limits and says that Sony’s forthcoming streaming service is likely to be the real marketplace disruptor. [More]
Sony Isn’t Sure People Want To Pay $160 For A Quieter Memory Card, Is Going To Sell’em Anyway
By 2.19.15
Don’t you just hate all that noise your memory cards make? No? Then you probably aren’t going to want to buy Sony’s new $160 memory cards, which the company brags offers “Premium Sound” that generates less electrical noise when reading data. [More]
Sony Realizes There’s Money To Be Made In Sharing Spider-Man With Rest Of Marvel Universe
By 2.10.15
While Disney-owned Marvel Studios has Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Avengers to play with, one marquee Marvel character, Spider-Man, is controlled by Sony, which hasn’t been eager to share its lucrative toy with others. But Sony is apparently in a more generous mood after seeing a string of Marvel movies make boffo box-office returns and is willing to let their web-slinging superhero play with his pals. [More]
Report: Russians (Not Just North Korea) Behind Sony Data Hack, Are Still Doing It Right Now
By 2.5.15
The hack into Sony Pictures was big news late last year, but that was last year. They figured out who did it, fixed the problem, and moved on, right? Wrong, says one analyst firm: not only did Sony finger the wrong bad guys, but the hack is still going on to this day. [More]
Sony Ditches Its Streaming Music Service, Teams With Spotify For Playstation Music
By 1.28.15
If at first you don’t succeed, try again using someone else’s system: Sony is pulling the plug on its current streaming music offering, Music Unlimited, and hitching its wagon to Spotify’s star with a new partnership for PlayStation. [More]
Are Any Of The New 4K TVs Worth Blowing Your Paycheck On?
By 1.6.15
Make no bones about it — 4K TVs are going to become the standard for new televisions very quickly. But is there enough content to justify making the leap now? [More]
Speaker-Lamps, 4K Action Cams, The Next-Gen Walkman & Other Highlights Of Sony’s New Product Line
By 1.5.15
It wasn’t all just super-skinny TV sets at the Sony press conference that has been closing out Press Day at International CES for years. The company makes a lot of stuff, and it highlighted a wide range of new products for the coming year and beyond. [More]
Just How Thin Is Sony’s New Crazy-Skinny TV?
By 1.5.15
I remember when I bought my first widescreen HDTV in 2001. It cost about a month’s pay was deeper than it was wide and weighed about 200 pounds. And it was only a 38″ screen. Thirteen years later, I’m at International CES staring at a much wider TV that is skinnier than a smartphone. [More]
Sony’s PlayStation Now Netflix-Style Game Streaming Rental Subscription Service To Launch Jan. 13
By 1.5.15
It’s been a full year since Sony announced their Playstation Now streaming game service at last year’s CES. The streaming, cloud-based, Netflix-style solution to keeping old video games available on newer hardware seemed like a great idea, but details (and access) were slow to materialize. [More]
Sony Offers Membership Extension, 10% Store Discount In Wake Of PlayStation Network Outage
By 1.2.15
A week after gamers on Sony’s PlayStation Network were stuck battling connectivity issues for days, the company is now trying to make peace for by offering a five-day extension for PlayStation Plus members, as well as a 10% off discount code for all PSN members as a “thank you.” [More]
