YouTube has gone public with a redesign of its viewing page, a change that puts the focus back on the video being displayed, instead of a lot of ancillary crap. The re-do includes a dump of the useless 5-star rating system. Instead, it's thumbs-up, thumbs-down. Not many people like redesigns at first, but this one should be a crowd pleaser … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2010
Hulu’s days of freedom are numbered
Hulu may shift to a partial subscription model within six months, meaning the all-free party is almost over. The big-media online video site is working on a plan that would allow viewers to access the five most recent airings of hit TV series, but older episodes would require a subscription fee of something like $5, the Los Angeles Times said in … [Read more...]
ESPN team in talks for Xbox 360 video
.Microsoft reportedly has been having "in-depth talks" that would bring ESPN sporting events onto the Xbox Live platform. The Walt Disney Co.-Microsoft negotiations could lead to live streams that would be similar to ESPN 360, which offers major and minor events via some high-speed broadband providers, the New York Times reported … [Read more...]
Soderbergh’s ‘Che’: Rebel without a pause
In total, "Che" runs 4.5 hours. Too much for most moviegoers, but not for director Steven Soderbergh. He regrets not extending his guerrilla warfare chronicle to 10 hours -- "the miniseries route." In fact, Soderbergh regrets the whole thing. "I can't sit here and tell you it was worth it," the director says of "Che." "It made me wonder if … [Read more...]
Wii waves in Netflix streaming videos
Netflix now has a presence on all three major game consoles, with news that the rental giant's streaming video service is coming to the Nintendo Wii. The Watch Instantly programming begins this spring, the companies said. (The New York Times broke the story and gives the big picture.) As with the Sony PlayStation 3, Wii owners can't stream … [Read more...]