Roku has been continuously adding content, or what it terms channels. This refers to, in some cases, actual channels, while in others it is a service, like YouTube and more. Now the little set-top box company has partnered up with one more network to deliver content to its customers.

Showtime Anytime is the new addition, as reported by Roku's Ed Lee. "Users can now watch current and past seasons of award-winning Showtime original series including Homeland, Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, House of Lies, Dexter, Nurse Jackie and more on available on all current-generation Roku devices in the US".

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Smart TVs have become all the rage, bringing the world of apps into the living room. But other devices, like Blu-ray players and set-top boxes, can do the same thing. Now TiVo, a pioneer in the DVR field, is partnering with Opera to bring its app store to customers.

This isn’t for all TiVo users, only for those on US cable service RCN. Opera, largely known as a Norwegian browser maker, is one of the biggest forces in the smart TV business, maintaining an app store it licenses to device makers.

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The battle of the streaming video services continues, which is good news for cord-cutters, and those who are potentially considering taking that route. Amazon today scores a new deal with a content provider, allowing for additional material to become available to all subscribers.

The online retailer has teamed with MGM in a deal that will bring viewers such movies as The Terminator, Silence of the Lambs, Raging Bull, and Thelma and Louise. In addition, TV shows like MTV's Teen Wolf are arriving on Prime.

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The Seattle Seahawks overwhelming victory in this year's Super Bowl may now be a memory, but the ads certainly live on. Those that debuted during the big game continue to run during our daily TV shows, and Google's video service has been polling viewers to get a feel for what really came out on top that Sunday.

While everyone likely had a personal favorite, there was a consensus amongst the masses, and the company has unveiled its top five from the NFL championship.

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The world of VoIP services is one packed with various names bustling for attention. One of the biggest names in the game is Viber, which started small but grew impressively as it spread across platforms -- now it has grown to the point that it is deemed worthy of handing over $900 million. At least that is the view of Rakuten, the Japanese firm behind Play.com and the Kobo eReader that agreed to part with this not insubstantial sum of money for an outright purchase of Viber Media Ltd.

With around 280 million registered users, Viber could be quite a money-maker for Rakuten who explained that the service has a "rapidly growing numbers of users, especially in emerging countries". With its fingers already in various online pies -- ebooks, shopping and streaming media through Wuaki.tv -- Viber represents yet another string to Rakuten's bow as the company "aims to be the global number one internet services" provider.

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Plex, if you aren't familiar with it, comes in two parts. There's a server that you install on a, preferably, always-on computer. Then there are the end-user apps, which are available for multiple mobile devices and set-top boxes. The server is free, but the apps will set you back $5 (OK, $4.99 if you want to be technical).

However, now through tomorrow, Valentine's Day, the service is offering a discount to its potential customers. "Until Valentine’s Day, we’re offering all our mobile apps for 50% off: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 8. Not enough sale for you? We’re also offering 3 bonus months on a yearly Plex Pass bought with PayPal (that’s 15 months for the price of 12)", the company announces.

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The sad state of affairs with the status of today's cord-cutting is that most channel apps and websites still include the requirement that demands the customer to verify a TV service provider. It's not the best solution, but for now it seems we must deal with it.

Now set-top box maker Roku has added several new channels for the folks who happen to call DirecTV home. The satellite provider has come on board with three of its offerings.

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Netflix, Amazon, Redbox and Hulu -- it's become increasingly hard to keep track of the content you wish to watch. All of these services are working on announcing new agreements, hoping to bring the latest and greatest to the viewing audience. Of course, not every one gets each and every deal, and now Hulu is the company with something to announce.

Today the streaming service announces a new partnership with a major US TV network, or really more of an expanded agreement between the two entities. "Now, with the expansion of our partnership with CBS, new generations can watch this iconic show, and come to understand the epic saga between Jan and her sister 'Marcia, Marcia, Marcia'", state Hulu's Mike Hopkins. Yes, the Brady Bunch will be part of the deal.

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The struggling musician is an almost iconic figure in today's culture. For every one that makes it, thousands sadly fail. Having talent is obviously the biggest key to success, but even that sometimes isn't enough. It needs to be combined with a bit of luck to get noticed.

Pandora wants to try and help open doors for these folks by getting their music out into the world and into the ears of potential fans. Today the streaming service unveils its new Open Music Submission Process. "Our goal is to enable every talented artist to reach the audience they deserve, without regard to the style of their music or their popularity", says Pandora founder Tim Westegren.

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HBO GO for Roku set-top boxes launched back in late 2011, but, like many streaming networks, users are required to prove they subscribe to the channel through a participating cable or satellite provider. It's a frustrating problem that hopefully will slowly go away -- the Super Bowl was just streamed by Fox Sports without this restriction.

One major provider that wasn’t part of the Roku family was DirecTV, but that is now changing. The device maker and TV service have reached an agreement to make HBO GO available to those who enter DirecTV as their television service.

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There was once a time when the popularity of a webpage was measured by the hit counter that was featured prominently on it. Thankfully these days are long gone, but there is a new type of counter.

There are few sites that don’t try to take full advantage of social networks, and many online articles -- including here at BetaNews -- include links to share content on the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It's easy for all to see how many times something has been shared, but this reveals little about the number of actual views this has translated into. But there is one place where the hit counter lives on: YouTube.

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Today, Google launches the developer preview of Google Cast SDK, allowing for the development of apps for the company's plug-in-and-forget-about-it streaming unit. In a post on the Chromium Blog, Engineering Manager John Affaki, explains that developers will find it easy to make existing mobile and web apps ready for use with Chromecast as the SDK allows for easy integration. In addition to the Chrome extension, the SDK is also available for Android and iOS.

The lack of new and exciting apps that offer Chromecast support has partly contributed to the fact that Google's streaming device has not really caused the explosion of excitement that it should have done. Google will be hoping that by making the SDK available, developers will start to integrate the API into existing apps that are suitable for taking advantage of second screen casting.

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YouTube, like many other websites, undergoes changes, and it has taken on a number of guises over the years. Some looks have lasted for a long time, while others have been shorter lived. There are also experimental looks, not all of which end up being released, but even when a redesign is rolled out, it can take a while to make its way around the world. Currently in the experimental stage is a center-aligned layout which includes a cleaned up interface a new menu and a few other tweaks.

In the new design, a top navigation bar is now locked to the top of the screen, remaining in place while the rest of the page scrolls. There is a customizable carousel and a new Upload button encourages visitors into sharing. It's not yet clear quite when this new interface will be officially released to a waiting world, but it's something you can enable now; all it takes is a quick cookie tweak.

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Like the internet itself, Spotify is a fantastic resource, but it is one which remains somewhat unexplored. There are darker reaches that are yet to be visited by anyone, and who knows what sort of gems might be lurking there waiting to be discovered? You could spend endless hours trawling the length and breadth of what's available online in the hope of stumbling across something new and exciting. You could do that, or you could get someone else to do the hard work for you.

With Forgotify, the idea is simple. It's a streaming music site, but not quite like the others you may have tried. Any music you find through Forgotify is guaranteed not to have been listened to by anyone else on Spotify. Spend a little time playing random tracks and you could find something truly amazing -- of course, you will undoubtedly have to endure a load of absolute drivel, but there will be some utterly delightful tracks in every genre as well.

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GoPro, if you aren't familiar, is a little video camera that can be mounted on a dashboard, handlebars or helmet. It is designed to bring the viewer into the action, letting you experience what it feels like to plunge down that steep hill on a mountain bike, or ski jump off that ramp.

Now the durable little cameras are set to get their own channels on the Xbox platform. These will arrive for customers of both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, though it won't be coming until this summer.

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