Tag: Streaming

Video entertainment was the one that got away from Apple, but recent moves reveal the company is taking a second stab at the category, and that streaming video will play a major role.

The addition of video cameras to Apples latest iPhone and iPod Nano were just the first hints of the companys new personal-media strategy. The company is also building a 500,000 square-foot data center in North Carolina, which could provide the massive bandwidth required for ubiquitous streaming video. And Apples recent acquisition of Lala suggests its interested in rebooting iTunes into a streaming service, according to Wall Street Journal. That means music, in Lalas case, but the same infrastructure could be shared with streaming video.

Unless Apple decides to make Apple TV as irresistible as its made the iPod and iPhone, its still anybodys game when it comes to the streaming media device that could capture the living rooms (and the HDTVs installed within) of the masses. There are cheap streamers, slightly less cheap streamers with wireless connections, Blu-ray players with streaming capabilities, and hard drive-based solutions. Lost in the madness of Black Friday was news of the latest contender: an upgraded version of LaCies LaCinema HD unit.

The ability to stream instant movies from a Blu-ray player, once relegated to higher-end models, is moving to the masses with two new Insignia-brand Netflix enabled Blu-ray players from Best Buy.

The two models with Netflix access are the Insignia NS-WBRDVD player, sale priced at $200, and the $180 NS-BRDVD3. Both are currently available at stores and on BestBuy.com. The key differentiating feature is that the higher-priced model has built-in Wi-Fi, so you can wirelessly access a home network to connect to the Internet.

The growth of file-sharing traffic has tailed off, but streaming video continues to expand.

Peer-to-peer traffic is shrinking at a dramatic rate, according to a report on Internet traffic trends released this week. At the same time, streaming video and direct downloads are exploding in popularity. The figures suggest that the entertainment industry's battle against illegal file trading has taken a toll, but some experts say that users may simply be turning to more user-friendly methods of obtaining media content.