Tag Archives: streaming video

YouTube Red brings ad-free streaming experience to the masses

Can you remember back to the days when YouTube wasn’t muddled with pre-roll advertisements? Yeah, I know, it’s straining. Well, Google is looking to finally alleviate the pain that comes packaged with having to sit through tediously boring commercials. The new initiative is called YouTube Red, and yes, like all magic it comes with a price. For $9.99/month you can stream YouTube videos completely ad-free. Oh, and thankfully there’s more to it. With a YouTube Red membership, you can also save videos for offline playback and background playback is enabled (the latter meaning playback continues even if you’re bouncing around other apps or if you’re mobile device falls asleep). Another perk? A Google Play Music subscription is part of it, too. Of course, Red benefits do not apply to those YouTube videos that require you to pay to view such as film rentals and the like. The rest, praise be, indeed go ad-free.

In time, YouTube Red will also offer exclusive content such as YouTube Music (a new way to curate and listen to music coming next year) and YouTube Red Original Series produced by some of the sites biggest stars like PewDiePie and Joey Graceffa. Preview ten of the new series coming in 2016 over here.

As of October 28, YouTube Red has gone live and you can live the ad-free experience by signing up today. YouTube’s offering a free one-month trial for you to find out if the $10 barrier to entry is worth it to you. If you happen to be a proud owner of a YouTube channel, do note that if you are ever looking to support your videos with ads, you will be forced to pay up for a Red membership. With that slightly sour but understandable point out of the way, go give YouTube Red a test drive and see if the reality lives up to the hype of living in an ad-free YouTube world.

[Via YouTube 1, 2]

Hulu Plus brings TV & movie content to Apple devices, Xbox 360, PS3, TVs & Blu-ray players

The rumor mill just couldn’t handle it anymore so Hulu decided to make things official: Hulu is expanding its video streaming services to an electronic device near you.  The new subscription-based service does not replace Hulu.com, mind you; it gives TV addicts the option to pay $10/month to access full libraries of TV shows on their computers and many other devices.  So you know how many of your favorite TV shows you watch on Hulu.com are limited to streaming only five episodes at a time?  Hulu Plus subscribers will gain access to every episode of every season “for almost all of the current broadcast shows” Hulu offers.  In addition to having access to modern hit shows like House and Modern Family, Hulu Plus subscribers will be able to watch  “back seasons or full runs” of some classic TV shows.  These include The X-Files, Arrested Development, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hulu calls it “a treasure chest in the cloud for TV lovers.”  I concur.  And here’s the kicker: all native HD content will stream in 720p high definition.

If you’re a Hulu Price subscriber you can take all your Hulu content into your living room and on the go.  I’ll list out the devices.  Samsung Internet-connected and Samsung App-enabled TVs & Blu-ray players (available today); Sony & VIZIO Internet-connected TVs & Blu-ray players (support coming Fall 2010); Microsoft Xbox 360 (coming early 2011); Sony PlayStation 3 (coming soon).  Got an Apple device?  There’s a Hulu Plus app available in the App Store; it runs on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3G (all running iOS4), and iPad.  And it will stream content over 3G and WiFi.  Score!  You can download the app today for free and watch some free content to test it out for yourself.  It’s pretty incredible, the ability to watch all your favorite (network) TV shows in HD away from the computer.  Sure you have to cough up $10 a month but if you’re a TV junkie like me, a price like that might just have you consider cutting the cable cord and opting for Hulu all the way.  Unless, of course, True Blood and Mad Men mean too much to you.  Decisions, decisions..

Currently Hulu is handing out invitations for Hulu Plus.  If you want to be considered for the first wave of subscribers, click here.  Hulu says, “We’ll be sending out as many invitations as we can each week, and as soon as we’re ready, we’ll remove the need for an invitation and start bringing in new subscribers without delay.”  Look after the break for an informative video about Hulu Plus.

[Via HuluBlog] Continue reading Hulu Plus brings TV & movie content to Apple devices, Xbox 360, PS3, TVs & Blu-ray players