Articles about Video

Live-streaming of video is continually gaining in popularity, but it isn't just for gaming. While platforms like the Amazon-owned Twitch were designed for video games, they have evolved to the streaming of almost anything. Popular YouTuber Barnacules has a daily Twitch show where he drinks coffee with fans, for instance. With that said, gaming is definitely still the bread and butter.

In an effort to compete with Twitch, Microsoft bought the Beam platform in August 2016. Today, the Windows-maker announces that it is giving the platform a rebrand -- it is now called "Mixer." It is not merely a name-change, however, as Microsoft is also adding some new features. Not to mention, Mixer will get a dedicated page on the Xbox One Dashboard.

Continue reading →

Security researchers from Check Point have discovered a major vulnerability in popular media players, like VLC, Kodi and Popcorn Time, which leaves users vulnerable to hacker attacks via malicious subtitles. The security firm estimates that the number of potential victims is around 200 million.

Media players give users the option to load subtitles from repositories, which can be tricked by attackers to rank their altered subtitles higher. This leads to those malicious subtitles being recommended to the user. If they are loaded, attackers can gain control over "any device running them." Check Point notes that the "potential damage the attacker can inflict is endless, ranging anywhere from stealing sensitive information, installing ransomware, mass Denial of Service attacks, and much more."

Continue reading →

Live-linear streaming over-the-top video (OTT) will surpass traditional broadcast TV within five years, a new report by Level 3 Communications, Streaming Media and Unisphere Research says.

It’s based on a poll that says 70 percent of respondents agree with the claim. The report, entitled OTT Video Services Study, polled almost 500 media industry professionals.

Continue reading →

If you're someone who enjoys watching YouTube at night -- perhaps on your phone in bed -- you'll be all too aware that the site's light color palette can be rather harsh on the eyes. With a little tinkering, you can unlock a hidden Dark Mode which will save your delicate peepers and make nocturnal viewing all the more enjoyable.

At the moment the hack only works in Chrome, but it's likely that Google will bring it to everyone when word spreads. Here's what you need to do.

Continue reading →

SATA Solid state drives are pretty much all the same nowadays from a speed standpoint. They are as fast as they are going to be, as the SATA interface is saturated and maxed out. With that said, there are ways to improve on these SSDs, such as the type of memory used, the controller, and durability of materials.

Today, Sony unveils the G Series Professional SATA SSD. Designed for video content creators, it comes in two capacities -- 960GB (SV-GS96) and 480GB (SV-GS48). It is meant to be connected directly to certain video cameras, and then connected to a PC. The company claims the drives can last for an impressive 10 years of regular use, and for added durability, the SATA connectors are rated for 3000 insertions and removals. This is apparently six time stronger than the typical SATA connector, which can be rather delicate, actually -- I have cracked a few in my experience.

Continue reading →

It has been a while since Google announced its plans for YouTube Go, a streamlined version of its mobile app with a focus on sharing and minimizing data usage. Now the company has released the first beta on Google Play.

Designed for use in countries with less-than-reliable internet connection, such as India, YouTube Go also allows for the downloading of videos for offline viewing without buffering. The app includes a number of options to help you "maximize your fun without burning up your data," including the ability to preview videos and see the amount of data required to download different quality versions of the same file.

Continue reading →

Streaming services like Netflix are proving increasingly popular as fans of television and movies cut the cord and look for on-demand options that better suit their needs. Having previously made it possible for iOS and Android users to download content for offline viewing -- complete with optimized codecs -- Netflix is now doing the same for Windows 10 users.

The idea is pretty simple. Netflix acknowledges the fact that subscribers may well want to be able to access their favorite shows when they do not have an Internet connection, and is therefore providing the perfect solution: Download & Go.

Continue reading →

TeamViewer is looking for a piece of Amazon Chime's pie as it introduces a competitor, Blizz by TeamViewer. It is a dedicated web conferencing and collaboration solution, aimed at the needs of small and medium sized businesses and mid enterprise organizations.

The product is available right now, and comes in three plans with different functionalities.

Continue reading →

A new survey reveals that education could have a big impact on piracy, cutting the numbers who illegally share video content.

The study by digital platform security specialist Irdeto of more than 25,000 adults across 30 countries finds that despite the high number of consumers around the world watching pirated video content (52 percent), almost half (48 percent) would stop or watch less illegal content after learning the damage that piracy causes to the media industry.

Continue reading →

If you need a webcam, there is one company that you should look to first -- Logitech. No, they aren't the only maker of these cameras, but the company has a long track record of producing quality offerings. Best of all, Logitech webcams usually work brilliantly regardless of operating system -- Windows, Mac, and Linux-based.

The problem with buying webcams, however, is that they are already integrated into most laptops nowadays, making them seem like an unnecessary purchase. Yeah, I get that -- why buy a webcam when your computer already has one? The answer is simple -- quality. Many computers come with webcams that aren't even 720p. Apple infamously put a 480p webcam on its svelte MacBook... including the refreshed model in 2016! With that said, Logitech has created a webcam with an amazing 4K capability. Called the BRIO 4K Pro Webcam, I have been using it for a few weeks on both Windows 10 and macOS and I am absolutely in love.

Continue reading →

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of television. As soon as I got home from school, I parked my butt on the couch and enjoyed my favorite cartoons and other such programs. Truth be told, I often kept watching until I went to bed. Yeah, I arguably wasted a lot of hours of my life this way.

If you think television watching is wasteful, wait until you get a load of this -- people are watching a combined 1 billion hours of YouTube videos every day. Yes, that is every single day. Sure, some of those videos are educational, but a lot of it is millennials watching people like PewDiePie play video games.

Continue reading →

Ads -- be they on TV, on the web or in apps -- can be deeply annoying, hence the prevalence of ad-blocking software. But there are some ads that you can't always avoid, such as those tacked onto the beginning of YouTube videos; not all ad-blocking software is made equal, after all.

If this is a bugbear of yours, there's good news on the horizon. While YouTube is not ditching ads altogether, the 30-second monstrosities which cannot be skipped are being dropped.

Continue reading →

Video gamers are very spoiled nowadays, as there are so many great games and consoles to buy. Both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are great, for example, and Nintendo will be launching a new console called Switch on March 3. Let's not forget PC gamers -- they have lots of powerful hardware and quality games available too.

One game that has many gamers excited is Halo Wars 2. It will be launching very soon, on February 21. If you ordered the "Ultimate" edition, however, you get to play it a few days earlier on the 17th. Don't have an Xbox One? Don't panic. To celebrate the release of Halo Wars 2, Microsoft is giving away an Xbox One S Halo Wars 2 Ultimate Edition Bundle! In addition, the Windows-maker will be giving away other cool prizes too.

Continue reading →

While YouTube is probably the biggest destination for online video, more and more people are sharing videos on Facebook nowadays too. In fact, with the introduction of Facebook Live, many users have also streamed themselves live on the social network. For example, "Chewbacca Mom" went viral with her Facebook video last year.

Today, Facebook announces that it is enhancing the video-watching experience on its platform, thanks to several new features. The social network is improving the way vertical videos look on mobile, but that is no excuse to shoot them this way, folks -- landscape is still the best way to record! Facebook is even enabling a special picture-in-picture mode so you can simultaneously watch a video while scrolling through your feed. Amazingly, that is not all.

Continue reading →

Google is adding a new social component to YouTube, rolling out in-app messaging and direct video sharing on Android and iOS. The new features are available only in Canada at the time of writing this article, but Google says that they will be (eventually) released worldwide.

Why is Google introducing those features? Simple. In today's landscape, it is no longer enough to let users watch videos and reply back and forth in the comments section. If you look at Facebook, it is also super easy for users to connect after having a conversation, which then lets them privately share content, among other things. The result? They spend more time using the service.

Continue reading →