Year: 2016

CBS CEO says he is open for a DirecTV Now Deal

Dan Uff December 5, 2016 0

Speaking at a telecommunications and media conference, CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves hinted that DirecTV Now will be able to add his network's programming to the slate, eventually.

"I'm assuming we'll be able to make a deal with them," Moonves said at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference, regarding the AT&T-owned DirecTV Now service. "As they said in The Godfather, 'We are not unreasonable people here.'"

CBS remains the only broadcast network hold-out that has no programming on DirecTV Now.

"[DirecTV Now] is obviously something they're going to lose money on initially," said Moonves. "There's no way it can last a whole long time at $35 for 80 channels."

Moonves added that there were other considerations beyond "economic factors" involved in the negotiations. Additionally, citing $5 HBO and Cinemax prices, Moonves added that there was no possibility that the CBS-owned Showtime would be $5 a month.

According to The Verge, at the same conference Moonves said that CBS programming would likely be on the as-yet unannounced YouTube live television streaming service, and declined to comment on CBS All Access subscriber numbers.

Regular monthly pricing for the over-the-top DirecTV Now is split into four tiers: Live a Little with more than 60 channels for $35; Just Right with more than 80 channels for $50; Go Big with over 100 channels for $60; and Gotta Have it with more than 120 channels for $70. HBO and Cinemax are add-ons.

For a limited time, customers who pre-pay for three months get a 32GB fourth-generation Apple TV with Siri remote, which according to DirecTV will take 3-4 weeks to ship. Users wanting to pay only one month in advance are given an Amazon Fire TV stick.

Additionally, AT&T mobile customers can stream content without data charges through the DirecTV Now app. In a move copying T-Mobile's Binge On, AT&T will waive in-network data fees associated with DirecTV Now or the company's existing FreeVIEW and Fullscreen on-demand services —raising concerns about net neutrality violations with so-called "zero-rated" services.

The service's rollout was marred by apparent capacity problems, with many users suffering through multiple video stops for buffer underruns, or "Error 60," claiming they were watching too many streams simultaneously.

Via: AppleInsider.com

 TV

More GOOD NEWS for the New Apple TV

Dan Uff December 5, 2016 0

“As usual, Apple doesn’t comment much on Apple TV but I see things looking up for Apple’s stepchild hobby,” Tera Thomas O’Brien writes for Tera Talks.

“AT&T’s new DirecTV Now streaming television service is available on Apple TV as an application, and there’s a deal that gets you a free Apple TV is you pay a few months in advance,” O’Brien writes. “Apps now number a few thousand, and other than local news, there’s not much you get on cable TV that you won’t find something similar on Apple TV.”

“What’s new?” O’Brien writes. “Remember Turner Classic Movies? Yeah, it’s the black and white channel somewhat buried in your cable TV guide. TCM just launched FilmStruck, a new movie subscription service, available on Apple TV… How much? $6.99 a month. What you get is a library of movies you probably won’t find anywhere else, including hundreds of arthouse, foreign, indie, and cult movies.”

Read more in the full article here.

Editor's Note:
Look for a complete review of DirecTV Now from us coming soon!

 Pay

HSN announces the availability of Apple Pay

Dan Uff December 5, 2016 0

One of the world's leading electronic retailers, HSN, has announced that they now take Apple Pay during their check out process.

This marks the first time that a major electronic retailer is offering Apple Pay.

Find out what your web browser knows about you, and what it is telling web sites

Dan Uff December 4, 2016 0

We need web browsers to surf the web. But did you know that it is also broadcasting information about you to other web sites?

I did a little experiment. I went to a retail web site, and surfed the site for a few minutes. I then went back to my home page, and then on another web site. Within a few minutes, I started getting banner ads from the store that I was just at of products that were available at my local store. But how could this be? The answer is easier than you think.

Your web browser is to blame. Companies that make web browsers also send information about that web browser to web sites. The information that it sends can be as simple as the name of the browser that you're using, to the location of where you are.

Don't believe me? Read on.

There are two web sites that you can go on to prove my point. The first is called Click. This web site shows you the information that your browser is leaking about you and your computer, it also watches what you do.

To further prove my point, go to another web site called Webkay. This, too, can get information about you from your web browser.

This site is less playful than Click, but it presents the data that it gathers about you in a much clearer manner, going as far as explaining what is being collected, and also offering some advice to help you prevent some of the data leaks from happening in the first place.

If you're not used to maintaining your privacy while browsing the web, you might be surprised just how much information websites have access to. If you're already switched on in terms of privacy, bask in the glory of being able to tour around the web without leaving too many footprints.