Articles about Digital Media

Recently streaming music service Rdio was purchased by Pandora which plans to merge it into its own offering. That process is about to become complete in the next few days, but there is good news for Rdio users, or at least as much as they can expect.

The streaming service will cease operations on December 22nd. The good news, if there is any in this, is that users will be able to save their music.

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Amazon continues to expand its footprint in the set-top box market, a place that has really become a three horse race. Both Amazon, Roku and Apple are all in it to win, but choice really comes down to the customer.

Now the retailer is launching a bunch of new channels to satisfy customer viewing needs. And this update isn't just video, it's also games.

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Just when you thought Amazon Prime couldn't offer much more, the retail giant goes and tries to do just that. The company is unveiling new streaming partners that will bring even more content and it comes from major players in the market.

The service is announcing a streaming partners program that will bring this additional content. This is a Prime only option, so you'll need to sign up for an account.

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As the year winds down it becomes time for retrospective thoughts. There will be a lot to look back on 2015, some of it pleasant, some sad, some just plain scary. Moments are sometimes defined by music -- you remember what was popular when you were in high school, for instance.

Now Spotify would like to provide you with some reminders of the year that's almost gone. This is your year in music and it's tailored to each individual user.

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TuneIn Radio has made some news recently, most notably with its inclusion of radio broadcasts for all NFL games. Granted, this requires the customer to pony up $7.99 per month for a premium subscription and there is no video, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than NFL Sunday Ticket and radio broadcasts are pretty descriptive about plays.

Now the service is arriving on Windows 10, the latest operating system from Microsoft. This is a Universal App and brings the full content of the service to the platform.

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There's always news happening somewhere in the world and recently there have been some big stories like the Paris and San Bernardino shootings and explosives. Many of us have likely been glued to the TV and watching in horror as these events unfolded.

Now the CNNgo channel is launching on Roku and will bring you all of the latest stories from around the world. Users will be able to browse hundreds of news clips, but this isn't live TV, just highlights -- unless you have a pay TV subscription.

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It's that time of year with the weather turning cold, shopping lists in mind and a general feeling of...well, it depends on the person. However, many folks like a bit of spirit for the season and holiday music purveys that, frequently bringing back memories of youth with the likes of Bing Crosby and Burl Ives.

Now WebRadio, a BRS Media company, is trying to bring you the best of the holidays with a long list of channels to choose from.

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If you haven't been to the Smithsonian in Washington DC then you're missing out on a great time. The institution operates a number of museums situated along the mall, bracketing such famous sites as the Washington Monument and memorials to war veterans and past presidents.

Take the Smithsonian and roll in a bit of the BBCs famous Planet Earth documentary and you get the Smithsonian Earth channel.

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Pandora and Rdio are two of the major forces in the streaming music industry. It's a growing market now that CDs have become part of the past. Yes, sales of them still exist, just not what they once were.

Now Pandora is planning to acquire Rdio and consolidate the two services. It's an interesting proposition and will certainly have implications. Pandora and Rdio are different in certain ways. Pandora simply lets you create stations based on taste and does an excellent job of it. Rdio allows for streaming individual songs.

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For those who didn't know, the BBC has launched a 24 hour news channel to compete with such entities as CNN and Al Jazeera. Now the issue is making the network available for as many viewers as possible in this crowded market that is today's news cycle.

One of the largest markets is India and the channel is now there, announcing it has signed on to provide its network to YuppTV, the world's largest provider of OTT TV, at least for Indian content. The service provides more than 200 channels and 5,000 movies to viewers.

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Music services are an ever increasing market, with new ones popping up all the time. There are a few that have distanced themselves from the pack, though. One of those is Pandora which takes a song and analyzes it in an effort to create a station with similar music. You can argue if this works, but it does in most cases, at least based in my experience,

Now Tim Westergren's little hobby is launch an enhanced discover service in an effort to make it even easier to find music.

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This American Life has become a bit of an icon on US radio. Few people haven't at least heard of the show or its host Ira Glass. While episodes vary from humorous to hard-hitting news and rather harrowing true stories, the show has been a success.

Now the producers have added another show, titled Serial, and it takes the approach a step further. This show carries on one story throughout the season, continued from one episode to the next. Season one covered a murder investigation in Baltimore.

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If you have a lot of stored media, such as music, photos and DVDs, and would like to get access to it through your home theater, then you need a bridge. That means a media server and an end-solution, and there is perhaps no better choice than Plex for this. The server is free and it can run on almost any computer platform. Then all you have to do is spare a bit of money for the app, which is also platform agnostic.

Now Plex is announcing that its software is arriving on the new Apple TV. That's good news for those who have shelled out the money for the set-top box out of Cupertino. This is the first time Plex is on Apple TV, as it wasn't available on the previous versions. At least not directly -- there were tricks for getting it running on the box, though they were not easy to pull off.

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If you want to watch media in your living room or bedroom, there are many options nowadays. The easiest, of course, is to buy a box like Roku, Amazon Fire TV or the popular AppleTV. Some "smart" televisions even have this capability built in.

The more hands-on alternative, however, is to build a HTPC (home theater PC). The problem with that? Windows 10 no longer supports Media Center. While this is a huge pain-point for the HTPC community, the good news is that Linux is -- once again -- here to save the day. Whether you choose to build a computer, or buy a compatible device like the low-cost Raspberry Pi, the mature OpenELEC Linux distribution will give you an amazing media experience.

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We're starting to see companies experiment with modern release methods for media. For instance we've seen movies debut on DVD the same day as they hit theaters and TV shows be available online before airing on networks. We can now add one more to the list.

National Geographic Channel and GE are teaming up to bring the "highly anticipated" new science show Breakthrough to viewers before it airs.

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