Audio and video

With the Stop Online Piracy Act on hold in the U.S. Congress, one might expect the international music industry to lay low for a bit. Think again.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry--the overseas equivalent of the Recording Industry Association of America--released this week a far-reaching report on the state of the digital music industry. In the report (PDF), the IFPI sounds off on piracy, asserting that 28 percent of all Internet users access "unauthorized services on a monthly basis" to download content.

"You cannot play down the significance of piracy," Universal Music Global … Read more

There's no slowing YouTube down.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview published today, YouTube announced that people around the globe now watch 4 billion videos on the site each day. In May, YouTube announced 3 billion daily video views. In 2006, that figure stood at 100 million daily videos.

But the eye-popping statistics go beyond daily video views. According to Reuters, 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube each minute, jumping from the 48 hours of video uploaded in May. And although most of the site's videos don't generate a dime for Google, YouTube revealed to … Read more

Streaming high-definition video wirelessly throughout your home will be a major benefit of Wi-Fi 802.11ac in the next few years, says NPD In-Stat.

Expected to receive final approval by the IEEE toward the end of this year, 802.11ac will boast several improvements over 802.11n. The new wireless flavor will offer speeds surpassing 1 gigabit per second, almost three times that of 802.11n. It also promises to provide better coverage throughout an entire home with fewer dead spots.

From a technical standpoint, the new standard will use such technologies as beamforming and higher amplitude modulation to send … Read more

Netflix ended an exceedingly difficult 2011 by announcing a big number.

The company said earlier today that during the fourth quarter of 2011, more than 2 billion hours of television shows and movies were streamed by users across 45 countries.

Unknown, however, is how that compares to prior quarters. "We haven't made that comparison but suffice it to say 2 billion hours is a big number and a high mark," a company spokesman said.

In October, Sandvine reported that Netflix accounted for nearly one-third of peak downstream traffic in the U.S., making it a bigger bandwidth … Read more

Rhapsody has capped off a big year by going bald.

The streaming-music company announced today that it now has over 1 million paid subscribers. Its growth has pushed the average number of songs played per day to 10 million, the company added.

To celebrate the achievement, Rhapsody President Jon Irwin shaved his head to make good on his promise to employees if the company hit 1 million paid subscribers.

"We've accomplished quite a bit over the past decade, so it's no small statement to say that 2011 was probably our biggest year yet," Irwin said in … Read more

Travelers stuck at the airport during the holidays will find at least one free gift, courtesy of Skype.

The IP-based calling service is offering free Wi-Fi at more than 50 airports across the U.S. from December 21 though December 27. People traveling through any of the select airports will be able to log on to a Skype Wi-Fi connection via their PC, Mac, or Apple iOS device to make a video or voice call.

The gift package includes airports in some of the country's major hubs, such as Atlanta; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Miami; Chicago; San Francisco; and … Read more

Netflix has signed an important deal as it readies its streaming service for customers in the U.K. and Ireland.

When Netflix launches there early next year, the company will offer access to a wide range of BBC programs, including "Torchwood," "Spooks," "Little Britain," and "Fawlty Towers." Although the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the BBC content will be offered to Netflix users the day the streaming service launches overseas, the companies said.

Netflix has been signing a host of deals with content providers over the past several weeks, … Read more

Time Warner Cable customers just received their holiday gift early: after a long wait, they'll soon have access to HBO Go and Max Go.

HBO launched HBO Go last year. The offering allows HBO subscribers on certain cable services to stream movies, television shows, documentaries, and other content over the Web and on mobile devices, like Apple's iPad. HBO Go comes with 1,400 available titles, while Max Go includes access to over 400 Cinemax videos.

HBO Go launched with support for customers on DirecTV, Verizon, and several other cable and satellite services. However, HBO owner Time Warner surprised many industry observers … Read more

People are increasingly using their game consoles for more than just playing games.

Thanks to the greater availability of Netflix, Hulu, and similar services, streaming videos via a game console has grown in popularity over last year, according to a study from Nielsen released yesterday.

Surveying more than 3,000 people in the U.S. in October, Nielsen found that video streaming now accounts for 14 percent of all time spent on Microsoft's Xbox 360, 15 percent of time spent on the Sony PlayStation 3, and 33 percent spent on the Nintendo Wii.

As a whole, time spent on … Read more