YouTube dodgy VHS 'tape' mode honours VCR, is nostalgic
SoftwareAlways up for tinkering with its own products with no warning, Google has added a nostalgia-riddled 'tape' mode to certain YouTube clips.
The new filter, which can be triggered by clicking the tiny tape icon on some clips -- including the goat-filled ad for Facebook Home -- adds old-school VHS effects to a clip. Continue reading...
New Arrested Development hits Netflix on 26 May
Home CinemaWaggish American comedy Arrested Development starring Jason Bateman is all set to whimsy its way onto Netflix on 26 May, the show's makers have announced on its Facebook page.
The new series contains 15 episodes, all of which will be available at once on the streaming service from 12.01am PT, or 8am here in Blighty -- which should make for a delightful Bank holiday Sunday morning in bed. Continue reading...
Vdio film and TV rental service is expensive, well designed
Home CinemaVdio, a classy new film and TV streaming service from the people who brought you the similarly vowel-mangling Rdio, wants you to spend less time wondering what to watch, and more time watching.
Like Netflix and Lovefilm it has all the social recommendation dooberries so you can see what your friends like -- ie, it can connect to your Facebook account -- but it lets you build 'Sets' of TV shows and movies, like playlists. Continue reading...
Tesco's free Clubcard TV service has some right old tosh
Home CinemaTesco's new Clubcard TV gives members of its loyalty card scheme a Netflix-style streaming TV service for absolutely free. Unfortunately, instead of the sexy, cerebral delights of House of Cards, you'll be watching ancient repeats of Two Pints of Lager and Alistair McGowan's Big Impression.
Tesco Value Clubcard TV boasts "hours of BBC Worldwide content" -- hours! -- such as the one-joke Goodness Gracious Me, grim children's borefests Stig of the Dump and The Secret Garden, and a bunch of cooking shows featuring angry middle-aged men. Continue reading...
House of Cards comes to Blu-ray and DVD on 10 June in UK
Home Cinema
Netflix' home-made high-class political thriller isn't staying online-only for long -- you can buy the full first season of House of Cards on DVD and Blu-ray from 10 June (or 11 June in the US), according to Amazon UK.
The David Fincher-helmed potboiler is available to pre-order now for £21.50 on DVD or £28 on Blu-ray. Both come with an UltraViolet digital copy you can stream from the cloud -- handy if you don't want to carry on paying Netflix £6 a month. Continue reading...
Game of Thrones piracy a 'compliment', doesn't hurt sales
Home CinemaThe night is dark and full of terrors -- but not for HBO, which says its hit sword-em-up Game of Thrones isn't having its success dampened by digital piracy.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, HBO programming boss Michael Lombardo is quoted as saying that illegal downloads of 'Thrones are "a compliment of sorts". Continue reading...
Facebook custom Android OS launching on HTC phone next week?
Home CinemaThe Facebook phone rumours have popped into our news feed again, but this time with a little more meat to them. According to the New York Times, the social network is about to unveil a custom-made version of Google's Android mobile operating system.
The friend-friendly software will make its debut on a handset made by HTC, according to whispers from a mystery Facebook employee and someone else privy to these matters. Continue reading...
Netflix signs The Matrix creators to follow House of Cards
Home CinemaAfter building a House of Cards, Netflix is planning to make sense. The streaming service has announced Sense8, a new sci-fi series from the creators of The Matrix and Babylon 5.
The new series, to be financed by Netflix and exclusively screened online, is the brainchild of Andy and Lana Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski. There'll be 10 episodes and it'll be streamed online in 2014. Continue reading...
Should I see GI Joe: Retaliation in 3D?
Home CinemaYo Joe! GI Joe: Retaliation hits cinemas today in 3D -- but can an action movie starring The Rock and Bruce Willis as 1980s toys stretch to two dimensions, let alone three?
The film is presented in 3D, and, frankly, I was dead excited about it. Sure, it's all very well banging on about valid storytelling reasons for 3D and all that, but all I really want to see are tank battles and stuff 'sploding and ninjas kicking each others' livers off all in overblown three dimensions. Sue me. Continue reading...
BBC Two HD launches today, Freeview HD reaches 3.5 million
Home CinemaBBC Two HD launched today, bringing high-definition versions of Auntie's second-best programmes to millions of high-def homes.
BBC 2 shows to be broadcast in extra-crisp detail include The Great British Bake Off, Later... with Jools Holland, and, of course, Top Gear. Continue reading...
Iron Man 3 looks good, and you can too with Become Iron Man
Home CinemaRobert Downey Jr is back in the armour in Iron Man 3 -- and this time you can get a turn as ol' shell-head too. An interactive game accompanies the release of Marvel's latest film, and I checked out a preview as new challenges and villains test Tony Stark's metal.
The last time we saw the ferrous philanthropist, he was learning to be a team player alongside Earth's -- well, Marvel's -- greatest heroes in Avengers Assemble. Now he's under threat from fresh villains, played by Guy Pierce and Ben Kingsley, but he also has a new trick up his metallic sleeve: the new Type 42 Iron Man suit, the sections of which he can remotely control to armour up anywhere -- and anyone. Continue reading...
New Wolverine film gets slashy six-second Vine teaser trailer
Home CinemaThe new Wolverine movie has been given a six-second airing, in what could be the briefest teaser trailer ever witnessed.
The lightning-pace clip, embedded below, shows the adamantium-clawed X-bloke slashing, grimacing and shouting his way through several seconds of action.
The trailer was posted to Vine, an app that lets you post six-second videos to Twitter or Facebook. Normally the app (which is only available on iOS) employs a smart phone camera to make the clips, so 20th Century Fox must have done some behind-the-scenes wrangling to get the trailer onto the service. Continue reading...
Peter Kay's new sitcom to appear on iPlayer before TV
Home CinemaiPlayer is getting its first exclusive program, starring none other than comedy leg end Peter Kay. Kay is behind Car Share, a new sitcom that you can watch on your phone, tablet or computer before it arrives on your television.
Kay has directed the six half-hour episodes of the new series, his first for the BBC after success with Channel 4 shows such as Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. The world record-breaking comic plays a supermarket worker forced into a car-share scheme with a colleague. Continue reading...
BBC vows to make six iPlayer-only films in next two years
SoftwareThe BBC has vowed to make six online-only short films over the next two years, that will live on the corporation's online service rather than being broadcast on TV.
The films themselves will be drama-based, and will be streamed exclusively over the Beeb's popular iPlayer catch-up service, viewable on all manner of gadgets from tablets, smart phones, smart tellies and laptops. Continue reading...
Sky Sports now on Now TV for £10 per day, with no contract
Home CinemaYou can now watch live Premier League games and a range of sporting action as it happens right on your smart phone or tablet, as Sky Sports comes to Now TV for a tenner a day.
Now TV is Sky's online catch-up and on-demand service for those of who have don't want to fork out for a dish. Sporting highlights set for Now TV include Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches, Formula 1 Grand Prix races, the Lions tour of Australia, Ashes Test cricket, golf, including the Masters, and ATP tennis. Continue reading...
Doctor Who faces greatest evil yet: Wi-Fi
Mobile PhonesHaving ruled out the stetson and the fez, the Doctor's new headware is set to be a tin-foil hat. Doctor Who returns in less than two weeks' time with a new companion, new monsters -- and a Wi-Fi warning.
Matt Smith is back as everybody's favourite Time Lord, joined by Jenna-Louise Coleman as mysterious companion Clara Oswald. And in the first episode, The Bells of Saint John, an ancient evil attempts to take over the world through Wi-Fi signals. For a show that's so big on gadgets, Doctor Who sure is worried about technology... Continue reading...
4oD hits Sky on demand and Sky Go, tying up terrestrial roster
SoftwareSky has finally squeezed Channel 4's 4oD onto its catch-up service, completing the company's roster of terrestrial broadcasters.
4oD follows the BBC's iPlayer, ITV Player and Channel 5's Demand 5 onto Sky's On Demand service. From Monday, Sky subscribers will be able to find 4oD by pressing the red button from the Sky TV menu, then scrolling over to the tab called 'catch up' and selecting 4oD. Continue reading...
Star Trek Into Darkness beams down to UK a week before US
Home CinemaStar Trek Into Darkness is beaming down to British cinemas a week before the US release. The release date for the enterprising sequel has been brought forward to give UK Trekkies a full week of Brit baddie Benedict Cumberbatch all to ourselves.
The film, directed once again by JJ Abrams, has been brought forward to Thursday 9 May. It debuts in US cinemas 8 days later, although IMAX screenings will start slightly earlier. Continue reading...
PS4 can handle 4K output, but not for games
Games and GearSony's PlayStation 4 console will be capable of chewing through 4K video, but won't use the super-high definition technology when it comes to gaming.
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida told IGN, "The PS4 supports 4K output, but only for photos and videos -- not games." That will pour water on hopes that Sony's new console would be the first to natively handle the ultra high-resolution format. Continue reading...
You're wasting your money on Sky and Virgin, Freeview says
Home CinemaYou're wasting your money paying for telly -- because the best shows are free. That's according to Freeview, the free TV service, which I caught up with to talk about YouView, 4G breaking your telly, and why you're paying £200 a year too much for Sky and Virgin Media.
As technology fans, we're usually concerned with the early adopters, the cutting edge, the latest thing. HD, 3D and 4K; smart TVs, online streaming and second-screen iPad apps. But Freeview isn't interested in all that: Freeview is for the majority of viewers who just plain old-fashioned watch telly. Continue reading...
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