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Sling TV gains Showtime add-on as AT&T bundles HBO with unlimited data plans

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Sling TV announced today that it will be begin offering Showtime as an add-on channel for subscribers. The monthly rate when bundled with Sling TV’s live video streaming service is competitive to Showtime’s standalone option. While Sling TV is expanding its channel lineup, AT&T is using free access to HBO to promote its new unlimited data plans.


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Twitter launches its ‘Project Lightning’ curated news & events feature called Moments

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Just a day after Jack Dorsey was named permanent CEO of Twitter, the social network is launching a big new feature in its app called Moments. What started as Project Lightning showcases for a lot of users the best part of Twitter: keeping caught up with in-the-moment news that you care about. The new Moments feature can be found behind the lightning bolt icon through Twitter’s mobile apps and on the web in the US.
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60Hz TV tracker updated to version 4.0 with overhauled UI, smart queue, and much more

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60Hz, the TV tracking app we’ve previously covered, has received a massive update to version 4.0 today, introducing a completely redesigned interface and many new features to help you find new shows and keep track of your current library.

While version 3 maintained much of the same functionality as version 2 with a fresh coat of paint on top, the newest release has rethought the entire application completely with great results.


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HBO NOW standalone streaming service debuts on Apple TV, iPhone & iPad with 1-month free trial

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Apple TV HBO Now

HBO’s new standalone streaming service called HBO NOW has officially launched on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. HBO NOW allows subscribers to watch the premium network’s movies and TV shows online. The service is similar to Netflix as it’s delivered over a high-speed Internet connection rather than cable or satellite and doesn’t require long-term committments through contracts. Here’s how to get HBO NOW works:
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Opinion: My cable subscription woes and the appeal of an ‘Apple Cable’ service

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Apple TV HBO Now

My cable provider is pretty terrible. I don’t need to name any names because this likely applies to your cable provider as well. They are all horrible. I often experience drops on popular channels, get bonus filler channels that no one wants, and see indiscriminate additional subscription fees and charges without any real reason. This Onion article, though it is satire, doesn’t stray too far from the truth.

For a very casual TV watcher, it’s not a great experience – to put it mildly.

So the prospect of an Apple web TV service with a price tag of around $40, as the WSJ and others reported last night, is highly appealing to me if it means I can catch the few shows I watch now without the hassle of my cable subscription. I’ll still be tied to the monopolies for Internet service which isn’t terrific, but the theoretical ‘Apple Cable’ service has the potential to fix a number of problems for me.

Apple started off its March event with the announcement that HBO Now, the premium network’s new $15/month web service, will be available with 3-month exclusivity on the App Store and Apple TV at launch next month. While we’ve heard for quite some time that Apple is developing a web TV service, and the upcoming HBO Now channel seems to be the best taste of what that could offer. I’m hopeful that the potential ‘Apple Cable’ can solve my cable subscription woes. Here’s how:


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First Hollywood film edited with Final Cut Pro X hits theaters this week

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Final Cut Pro X Focus Directors

It’s no secret that Final Cut Pro X, the overhauled follow up to Apple’s widely used video editing software, wasn’t exactly a hit with its users when the app was first released in 2011.

A comprehensive change in the way the software functioned and a lack of legacy features from the prior version gave the app a reputation for being “iMovie Pro” rather than a true professional desktop video editor. Soon after its launch, Apple addressed the flood of criticism with an FAQ site and a promise that more features would slowly become available in the new version.

Nearly four years later, the first Hollywood film edited in Final Cut Pro X is set to be released. To showcase the movie debut and FCPX’s role in the film, Apple has launched a microsite detailing the production.
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VLC for iOS back in the App Store for some/upgraders, should be available to all shortly

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The VLC for iOS app–a favorite media player for many–has returned to the App Store in some countries and is expected to be available for all shortly. Some existing US users (us included!) are also reporting on Reddit being able to update to the latest version (2.4.1) if they have the previous version from before it was removed.

The app has something of a checkered history in the App Store, first removed from the store way back in 2011 after a licensing dispute; the original open-source developers claiming that the App Store terms were incompatible with the GNU Public License for the code. The app finally returned in 2013 before disappearing once more last September … 
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Working prototype explores new Apple TV interface with touchscreen gestures via remote

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNuUCoHH9Bc]

Product designer Radu Dutzan posted the video above showing off a working prototype that explores touchscreen style gestures via a conceptual remote for Apple TV alongside an updated interface.

Wouldn’t it be great if instead of trying to imitate clicks, Remote allowed you to scroll lists on the screen, directly responding to the position of your finger on the tracking surface? Wouldn’t selection in a complex button layout — such as the keyboard — be much more usable if you could make the cursor move in any direction instantly? Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Apple TV remote control was a smooth clickable trackpad, like the one on the MacBook, that allowed for these behaviors without having to look at a second screen?

The prototype utilizes an iPhone and AirPlay, and would essentially be a next-generation version of Apple’s Remote app for Apple TV, but the designer also designed it with a new remote in mind, as pictured below on the right next to the current Apple TV remote:
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Apple TV adds revamped YouTube app (with ads), new channels from DailyMotion, UFC and more

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Apple TV is receiving a flurry of new channels today. Most prominently is a brand new YouTube app, to bring the client up-to-date with some of the other platforms. The new app reflects the design of other set-top box clients, with easier access to subscriptions and search functions. For the security conscious, the YouTube app now uses OAuth to login rather than naive password entry (by visiting youtube.com/activate)

Unfortunately, this YouTube update also means that Apple TV users will start seeing ads for the first time on the platform. Naturally, some users will be disappointed by this addition — it is not possible to opt out of the update.

Aside from YouTube, Apple TV is also getting four entirely new channels from various providers. Rolling out today are channels for Conde Nast’s ‘The Scene’, ‘Fusion’, Dailymotion (a video upload site from France) and UFC for premium subscription fighting and martial arts content.


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Netflix updated for iOS 8, adds 1080p video playback for iPhone 6 Plus

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Netflix for iPhone 6

Netflix updated its iPhone and iPad app to version 7.0 today adding optimization for the larger displays on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus introduced in September. The updated version of Netflix shows more content like titles and genres as well as previews of movies and TV shows when browsing for something to watch. In addition to optimizing the Netflix app for iPhone 6 users, Netflix says the new version of its app will now offer video playback in 1080p, full HD, for users with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.
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Southwest partners with Apple to bring Beats Music streaming to in-flight entertainment service

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Southwest Airlines has just announced that it’s launching a new in-flight entertainment service that will offer users the ability to listen to Apple’s Beats Music streaming service free via onboard Wi-Fi.
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Netflix updates its Apple TV and iOS apps with design refresh

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Last night Apple TV users started seeing a new channel icon for Netflix as the company recently updated its logo, and today both the iPhone and iPad versions of the Netflix apps were updated to version 6.0 which includes the new design.

The updates to both Apple TV and the iPhone and iPad apps don’t bring much else aside from the new logo and slight design tweaks, but the iOS apps do include bug fixes and faster video playback according to Netflix.

The Netflix channel update on Apple TV should be available without any software updates, and the latest version of Netflix for iPhone and iPad is available today on the App Store
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Sonos releases redesigned iPhone & iPad apps w/ universal search & more

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First launched a couple months back as a beta for Android users, Sonos today announced that its redesigned mobile app for iPhone and iPad users is now available. On top of a streamlined interface with a darker color palette (pictured above), the app also introduces a new universal search feature and much more:
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Vote for American Idol with your iPhone or iPad through Google Search

Planning to watch American Idol tonight and vote on your favorite performers? Google is making voting through its Search apps possible through a partnership with FOX. As the live finalist performance shows debut, American Idol is allowing viewers to vote through Google.com and Google’s iOS and Android Search apps.

Voting through Google allows you to cast up to 50 votes for each contestant as the new voting system is piloted. Simply search american idol or idol during voting hours and cast your votes!

Google Search for iOS is available for free from the App Store.

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VLC for iOS redesigned for iOS 7, now features Google Drive & Dropbox streaming, more

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VLC released an update to its iOS app today introducing an iOS 7-friendly user interface as well as several handy features.

Users will welcome support for streaming media from both Dropbox and Google Drive; previously, VLC required content to be downloaded locally in its entirety before it could be viewed. This will greatly speed up media viewing. The update also features a list of other improvements including new gestures and more.

VLC for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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Keep your kids amused while you can with unofficial cartoon streaming app

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We don’t expect Cartoon HD to last on the App Store for long, but at the moment you can grab this free iOS app that says it offers streaming access to 2000 cartoons.

– Larva Movie – Multi chapter
– Mr Bean Cartoon
– Pixar sort film (updating)
– Donald Duck
– Nu, pogodi! You Just Wait!
– Tom & Jerry
– Scooby Doo
– The Smurfs
– Pink Panther
– Mother Goose Club
– Yo Gabba Gabba!
– Merrie Melodies
– Looney Tunes
– The Simpson (updating)
– Johnny Test (updating)
– Chowder (updating)
– Ben 10 (updating)
– Ed, Edd & Eddy (updating)
– Naruto (updating)
– Superpuff girls X (updating)
– Doraemon (updating)

There’s also a paid ‘Pro’ version which claims to allow downloading, but from the reviews it sounds like you shouldn’t waste your money.

TeeVee 2 for iPhone, TV show tracking with a modern look [Review]

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In a world where Netflix releases entire seasons of TV shows at a time, like House of Cards and the new season of Arrested Development, personally, I find it increasingly difficult to schedule myself around when HBO wants to air a show or even when it has already aired something.

So when I shared a screenshot on Twitter a few months ago of Episodes, an app that allows you to follow and manage TV shows, a handful of people asked me which app this was I was using. Managing and tracking TV show scheduling is clearly something many people need a solution for.

TeeVee 2 is similar in that it allows you to follow your favorite shows on television without having to manually input any information aside for the name of the series.
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YouTube app for iOS updated with suggestions for what to watch next

Simultaneous with Instagram’s video-focused update, Google’s YouTube video service has updated its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch application with a couple of neat new features. For those interested in receiving suggestions for which video to watch next, the YouTube iOS app can now provide overlaid suggestions. Additionally, closed-captioning support is available for live-streamed video. Stability improvements, including fixes for app crashes, are also available in this free (version 1.4) update. 


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Hulu Plus for iOS updated with all new interface for iPad, content recommendations, more

Before/After (via Zach Kahn)

Before/After (via <a href="http://9to5mac.com/author/zkahn94/" target="_blank">Zach Kahn</a>)

Hulu Plus for iOS received a major update today including an overhauled user-interface on the iPad, editor’s choice collections of content to view, and the ability to watch previews of content inline without going full-screen.

The update is available for free on the App Store.
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Rhapsody releases completely redesigned iPhone app with new UI, full-screen player, much more

Rhapsody is rolling out an all new iPhone app today following some big updates to competitive music services earlier this week including Pandora and Rdio. Rhapsody is calling this app update “a completely new experience” for iOS and broke down on its blog a ton of changes its made to the UI on top of adding new features like customizable organization for your library and downloads, improved album and artist pages, and a new full-screen player.

         Personalized organization: The music you curate lives in the My Music section, which now has improved organization into two key categories:

o    Library: The central folder for your Rhapsody music when connected to the Internet. Music is sub-categorized by playlists, artists, albums, stations, queue and listening history

o    Downloads: All the music you can’t live without can be downloaded for easy offline playback

·         Upgraded Album and Artist pages: Read a review of an album, shuffle tracks from an artist, and much more

·         Full-screen player: Showcase gorgeous artist and album imagery that takes advantage of iPhone’s full screen real estate

·         Pop-up menus: Easily add tracks to “My Music,” download, add to a queue or favorite by tapping the + image

DirecTV iPhone app adds ‘Voice Search’ feature, displays dialogue & results onscreen with TV Mode

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DirecTV-voice-modeDirecTV has updated its iPhone app that allows users to access live and on demand programming, as well as manage their DIRECTV DVR, with new voice recognition features today. Accessible from a new tab called “Voice” within the app, the Voice Search feature allows users to “speak to the app just as you would to a person” in order to find and play specific programs.

As you can see from the screenshot to the right, DirecTV has created a UI similar to Siri and other voice-based apps that allows users to see their dialogue as they speak. The app will also let users switch to a TV mode in order to view dialogue and results from Voice Search on their TV instead of the iPhone’s display.

With Voice Search, DirecTV said users will be able to “search for programs by mentioning title, channel, keyword, actor, time frame, genre and more,” and also “change the channel, record, and play content” at home. The new TV Mode also offers a view of personalized recommendations on the big screen.

The update has not yet hit the iPad app and the TV Mode will require users to have an Internet-connected HR24 DVR model or above.


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Disney’s ABC to livestream all programming to iOS devices starting this week

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Big news from the New York Times this evening. ABC, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company,  will begin streaming live content to iOS devices later this week in Philadelphia and New York City using a new button on their app called ‘live’. Users will be able to live stream all the programming from ABC’s local stations there, ‘the first time that any major broadcaster has turned on such a technology.’

For the first six weeks the service will be free to anyone with an iOS device according to GigaOM. Before you go grabbing the scissors to cut that cable cord, be warned that the live stream will eventually be available only to paying subscribers of cable and satellite providers, even though the stations’ signals are available free over the public airwaves.

ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, said the live stream would be available in the other six cities where it owns stations sometime this summer. It is also in talks with the companies that own ABC’s more than 200 affiliates to make the “live” button work in their markets.

Also, not all shows have beencleared for streaming so there might be some discrepancies between the live feeds and the stream. The news comes as a service called Aereo (which we’ve reviewed) is place shifting broadcast signals to the internet, making live channels available to portable device owners.
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