Video

Vine adds front-facing camera functionality

Twitter said today that it has updated its stand-alone Vine mobile app to allow users to shoot video with both their front- and rear-facing cameras.

In a blog post, Twitter also said that Vine users now can tag someone in a post, meaning that people can, for example, shoot a video with a friend and add that person's name, or Twitter handle, in the post.

With the old version, users could only use the rear-facing cameras on their iPhones. Also, while it was possible to enter someone's name or Twitter ID in the associated text of a Vine … Read more

Yahoo's bid for Dailymotion reportedly axed by French pol

Yahoo's bid to take a controlling stake in French video-sharing site Dailymotion has reportedly been killed by the French government.

Dailymotion, which is owned by France-Telecom, was in talks to sell a 75 percent stake to Yahoo, according to a report last month by The Wall Street Journal. The deal was expected to give Yahoo a much-needed boost in the overseas video-sharing space, which is mainly dominated by services like Google's YouTube.

While Marissa Mayer purchased a recommendations startup late last year to fortify Yahoo's presence on mobile, Dailymotion would be her first big acquisition since she … Read more

MLB brings live game streaming to YouTube, but not in U.S.

Major League Baseball is about to begin live streaming America's pastime to fans on YouTube for free, but there is a catch: The arrangement will pass over fans in the U.S. and a handful of other countries where the sport is already dug in.

YouTube announced on Monday that fans in countries other than the U.S., Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan will be able to view two live games per day during the regular season on the video-sharing site. Fans in all countries will be able to view game highlights "about a day or two&… Read more

Amazon to release set-top box for Internet video, report says

Amazon plans to release a set-top box this fall that streams Internet-based video into consumers' homes, Bloomberg reported, making the e-commerce giant the latest company to target the TV market.

The device will plug into TVs and will give users access to Amazon's video catalog, including its Video on Demand store and Instant Video service, Bloomberg said, citing sources. Amazon's Lab126 division, based in Cupertino, Calif., is developing the product, the news service said, with Malachy Moynihan running the project. Moynihan is a former vice president of emerging products at Cisco as well as a former Apple employee. … Read more

Always On: Season 3 Bloopers

Whether our bountiful screw-ups come by way of gibberish, bubble baths, or fart jokes (yes, we're very mature), they seem to snowball as the months of filming pile up. While these moments of humiliation have collected dust as the season flew by, we're shamefully happy to dedicate a full episode to our blooper-ridden endeavors. Sure, we've done blooper segments in the past, but nothing quite like this.

We've got a plethora of outtakes to show you the true blood, sweat, and tears we put into the show each week. Sometimes, just putting your face in front … Read more

Psy's 'Gentleman' tops YouTube charts with 38M views in one day

With the same searing beat, ridiculous lyrics, and tongue-in-cheek antics, South Korea's Internet phenomenon Psy is breaking charts again with his new single "Gentleman."

YouTube announced Monday that "Gentleman" is giving "Gangnam Style" a run for its money by setting the record for getting the most views in one day ever. On April 14, "Gentleman" hit more than 38 million views. And, after only being up for about a week, the video has a total of nearly 204 million views.

"From a stats perspective, it's one of the biggest … Read more

Netflix doubling down on exclusive content

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wasn't specific in terms of numbers about the financial impact of the simultaneous, exclusive release of 13 "House of Cards" episodes last quarter, but he is doubling down on original content.

"We are focused on moving toward more and more exclusive content," Hastings said Monday during Netflix's first-quarter earnings call. "If the content is not exclusive and it's on cable and on other services, it might be pleasant to watch on Netflix, but it's not really reinforcing customers to stay with Netflix."

Competitors, including Amazon and … Read more

Netflix plans to change up its family streaming service

Netflix is taking a closer look at how to cater its video-streaming service to families.

In a letter to shareholders (PDF) on Monday, the company said it plans to introduce a family streaming plan in the U.S. that would let up to four people stream at the same time. However, this also means that Netflix may be looking for a way to minimize several people sharing one account.

The plan would cost $11.99 per month and let subscribers stream as many as four devices simultaneously. Netflix's current plan, which costs $8 a month, allows two streams at … Read more

Intel loses key TV business engineer

Intel's fledgling TV business has lost one of its lead engineers, the company confirmed, potentially dealing a blow to its efforts to get the business off the ground.

Jim Baldwin, who served as vice president and general manager of engineering for Intel Media, has left the company to pursue other opportunities, an Intel spokesman said. Baldwin's LinkedIn profile, meanwhile, said he has retired from the company.

Baldwin couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The Intel spokesman said that the company has "a deep engineering leadership bench" and has taken steps internally to address the transition. &… Read more