“Captain Marvel” isn’t a bad movie, exactly. It seems, at this point, that Marvel’s moviemaking machinery is incapable of producing a genuinely terrible film. There’s no “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” or “Suicide Squad” in the Marvel filmography, just “Thor: The Dark World,” “Ant-Man” and “Doctor Strange” — movies that are fine but forgettable. Still, I […]
View More ‘Captain Marvel’ never quite takes flightCategory: Media
Disney’s forthcoming streaming service will kill the Disney Vault
It looks like the Disney Vault is dead. For years, Disney relied on limited time releases of its films on DVD and Blu-ray to encourage sales. The strategy worked. Consumers snapped up the titles to build out their home video collections. But in more recent years, DVDs have given way to streaming. For Disney, that’s […]
View More Disney’s forthcoming streaming service will kill the Disney VaultDigital publisher Serial Box raises $4.5M
Serial Box, a startup bringing back the tradition of serialized fiction, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding. The company actually disclosed the funding last week, when announcing a partnership to produce stories about Marvel characters, but it’s sharing more details about the round — namely, the fact that it was led by Boat Rocker […]
View More Digital publisher Serial Box raises $4.5MElton John’s farewell tour marks the beginning for an audio augmenting wearable
It’s not a great time to be a live venue. Once the only game in town, clubs, arenas and other live event spaces now have to compete with the seemingly endless on-demand entertainment options. Competing with the convenience of 4K Netflix on a 50-inch screen is a big ask, even for the biggest stars. It’s […]
View More Elton John’s farewell tour marks the beginning for an audio augmenting wearableInstagram prototypes video co-watching
The next phase of social media is about hanging out together while apart. Rather than performing on a live stream or engaging with a video chat, Instagram may allow you to chill and watch videos together with a friend. Facebook already has Watch Party for group co-viewing and in November we broke the news that […]
View More Instagram prototypes video co-watchingWellSaid aims to make natural-sounding synthetic speech a credible alternative to real humans
Many things are better said than read, but the best voice tech out there seems to be reserved for virtual assistants, not screen readers or automatically generated audiobooks. WellSaid wants to enable any creator to use quality synthetic speech instead of a human voice — perhaps even a synthetic version of themselves.
View More WellSaid aims to make natural-sounding synthetic speech a credible alternative to real humansPodcasts, smart speakers soar as social media stalls, based on new survey
The 2019 edition of a popular annual survey shows usage of social media by Americans is stalling while ownership of smart speakers and tablets has soared over the last year, as has consumer engagement with podcasts. The results are promising for Amazon and Spotify in particular. Earlier today, Edison Research and Triton Digital presented their […]
View More Podcasts, smart speakers soar as social media stalls, based on new surveyAlexa’s new Song ID feature can announce what music is playing next
Amazon today is launching a new feature called “Song ID” that aims to help users discover music they like, using Alexa. When enabled, Alexa will announce the title and the artist name before playing each song while you’re listening to a radio station, playlist or new release on Amazon Music over your smart speaker. The […]
View More Alexa’s new Song ID feature can announce what music is playing nextBarstool Sports founder reportedly blames company ‘idiots’ for copyright controversy
In a recent Twitter thread, comedian Miel Bredouw recounted some shady behavior by Barstool Sports’ legal team. In fact, even Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy isn’t trying to defend it, and instead reportedly described it as “moronic,” admitting it, “makes us look like assholes.” According to Bredouw (who backed up her account with screenshots of […]
View More Barstool Sports founder reportedly blames company ‘idiots’ for copyright controversySoundCloud finally introduces discounted student pricing
SoundCloud wants to make its streaming music service more affordable to a key demographic: younger users who generally spend more time listening to music, compared with their older counterparts. This morning, the company announced the launch of discounted student accounts, offering a 50 percent discount off its top-tier SoundCloud Go+ subscription. That brings the cost […]
View More SoundCloud finally introduces discounted student pricingYou can now ask Alexa to control your Roku devices
Roku this morning announced its devices will now be compatible with Amazon’s Alexa. Through a new Roku skill for Alexa, Roku owners will be able to control their devices in order to do things like launch a channel, play or pause a show, search for entertainment options, and more. Roku TV owners will additionally be […]
View More You can now ask Alexa to control your Roku devicesNetflix defends its impact on the movie business ahead of Oscars debate
Netflix did pretty well at this year’s Academy Awards, but it’s also facing pushback from some big names in the movie business. “Roma” took home more high-profile Oscars (Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography) than any Netflix or streaming original before it. But it lost out to “Green Book” for Best Picture, a […]
View More Netflix defends its impact on the movie business ahead of Oscars debate