streaming

Apple executives have spoken to the top four recording companies about plans to offer a streaming music service free of charge to consumers, multiple music industry sources told CNET.

Apple's managers haven't revealed many details about their plans but did discuss offering iTunes users a means to store copies of their music libraries on Apple's servers. The benefits to an iTunes user would include the ability to back up music and access songs off the Web from any Internet-connected device and conceivably from anywhere in the world.

Apple's song downloads apparently aren't affected. Apple has … Read more

The never-ending quest to ditch your cable box may become a more realistic endeavor as rumors are beginning to surface regarding ESPN showing up on Xbox Live. The New York Times first broke the story on Monday, after word got out that the Walt Disney Company and Microsoft had taken meetings regarding the subject. There hasn't been anything officially announced as of yet, but the idea seems to be similar to what ESPN 360 currently offers--the ability to stream live sports events through a fast Internet connection.

Regardless of the content, it's definitely a huge first step toward … Read more

On my way back from Vegas and the remains of CES 2010, I put my faith in JetBlue. As one of the few airlines with a nearly complete collection of TV networks viewable in midair, I knew back when I booked my flights months ago that, in the unlikely event of a Jets playoff game, a seat-back TV would be my only recourse in case the game fell on a Saturday. Of course, the impossible happened and I ended up watching the Jets-Bengals showdown on my miniature seat-mounted screen.

It was a great experience, especially with a flight full of cheering Jets fans (and a few disgruntled Giants/Bengals fans), but I wouldn't have been so lucky on Virgin America. Their spotty in-flight TV service had channels like MSNBC, but no NBC, and in-flight Wi-Fi would have been useless, since the NFL doesn't properly support Internet game-viewing.

At CES, when I saw Flo TV demonstrate its upcoming and very exciting collaboration with Mophie to bring live TV programming to the iPhone via a slip-on case, the representatives tried to entice me with promises of live sports. I knew better: the NBA, NHL, MLB, PGA, and NCAA football were all represented in some fashion, but not the NFL. No, not America's most popular sport: it's been locked up for years, and it doesn't make any sense.… Read more

WireTap Anywhere is a professional audio-capture utility that can take input from any source and redirect it to any audio-recording application. That means you can take audio from your entire system, a hardware input, or an app like Skype, and then take that directly into GarageBand, Peak, or any other recording app.

You manage WireTap Anywhere through your System Preferences, and you can create and save any number of "virtual microphones," which show up almost as if they were hardware. There are other apps (including open-source ones) that can help you with this kind of redirection, but WireTap … Read more

The Nintendo Wii is finally getting Netflix's streaming service, which is already available on competing game consoles.

Streaming from the online movie-rental service will go live on Nintendo's console this spring, according to a joint announcement on Wednesday. As with the competing consoles, the service will be available at no additional cost for Netflix subscribers with unlimited plans, which start at $8.99 per month.

Like with the Sony PlayStation 3, which added Netflix streaming last fall, Nintendo Wii owners will need a free, instant-streaming disc from Netflix to access content. Using the disc may be annoying to … Read more

When Boxee announced its first hardware product in December 2009, details were pretty scarce. But the company is using the Consumer Electronics Show to provide a more complete picture of the Boxee Box.

To recap what we already know: the funky Box is a media player that can play a wide variety of local media files, as well as a large and growing array of online content. Local files can be accessed via the SD slot or USB ports, and the list of compatible files is comprehensive: … Read more

Boxee.tv has upgraded its much-discussed software to public beta, and it can be downloaded now for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The Boxee software, which requires a physical cable connection from your computer to your television, allows users to access local and streaming media using their TV and its remote control.

Boxee uses a combination of apps, RSS feeds, and an in-program browser to make most--but not all--streaming media available to its users. In addition, the program supports content that you've stored on your hard drive, including photos, music, and videos. Boxee works with most major file formats, including … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's quickly becoming clear that one of the trends at CES 2010 is the prevalence of all-in-one media players and networked streamers. While we already got a taste of the Iomega ScreenPlay TV Link back in 2008, the company is debuting three new products that launch the device in a more ambitious direction. All of the products still get content to your TV screen, but now offer much more useful ways of doing so.

The first, the ScreenPlay Director HD Media Player, is directed at consumers who want the ability to get their content via a home network, … Read more

Freez FLV to MP3 Converter offers to converter a Flash video file to an audio file. With a simple layout, but little direction, this program still manages to be helpful.

We were not impressed by the program's bland, gray interface. However, it was hardly impossible to understand, though it did take a little experimentation since there's no Help file. Freez isn't revolutionary in its functionality, but it managed to win us over by its ease of use. We simply selected our FLV file and tinkered with a few options like stereo channels and bit rate, and Freez … Read more