For the past several months, intense rumors have surrounded the likelihood that Apple was looking to introduce a television set. However, over the past several weeks and days, reports are suggesting that Apple is negotiating with cable companies in order to introduce a new set top box with the capability of streaming live television. The new box will reportedly feature an interface similar to the iPad, likely a cross with OS X as well as social networking integration and DVR-like capabilities.

While this wouldn’t necessarily be Apple “television”, it would give users live channels and likely the ability to hook up the box to almost any projector or screen. It can perhaps even hook up to Apple’s own Cinema Display. In a report from The Wall Street Journal, Jessica E. Vascellaro And Shalini Ramachandran report on Apple’s new venture:

This could just be another in the long history of periodic feeling outs that Apple and Hollywood seem to feel compelled to engage in — a tug at the thread Apple CEO Tim Cook still feels is there.

According to the report, Apple is meeting with numerous cable operators to provide service for the device and is also approaching entertainment companies with a rough outline of the device’s features in order to draw them in. At this point, it is unclear what exactly Apple is planning, as they have also been reported to be testing television prototypes. Under the supervision of Steve Jobs, the company was looking to revolutionize the TV industry and create a more expansive version of it for the market.

Apple would likely achieve this in a very similar manner to the company’s introduction of iMessage to target carriers, albeit on a much larger and more risky scale. Although the current Apple TV sells quite well on the market, the Cupertino company has yet to introduce a device that can shake up the standard and make it much better than what the Apple TV is now, a set of apps that stream music, photos, and television shows. A set top box capable of streaming live television may be exactly that,

Would you buy a new set top box? Do you think this is better than an actual television set? Let us know in the comments below.

{via iMore — Image Credit: Wired}

Early Wednesday, Amazon released an iPad app for its Instant Video service, Amazon Prime Instant Video. The service allows subscribers to rent and buy movies and television shows for offline viewing and competes with other major streaming giants such as Netflix. Amazon’s streaming also gives users the option to stream Prime Instant Video titles when connected to the internet.

Currently, other services such as Netflix only allow users to stream on the internet and do not provide an offline option. Now, these services will be available on the iPad, allowing Amazon to not only keep many of the customers they have but lure in new customers with the offerings on Apple’s popular tablet. With content on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video now available on iPad, users can stop streaming on one device, and resume on numerous others such as TV’s, a Mac or PC, and Amazon’s own Kindle Fire.

With Amazon Instant Video, you can:

– Stream thousands of titles available from Prime Instant Video at no additional cost with a Prime membership, or watch over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store
– Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library
– Shop over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store by visiting Amazon
– Add videos to your Watchlist from a PC, Mac, or Kindle Fire for later viewing on your iPad
– Subscribe to a TV Season Pass by visiting Amazon and episodes will automatically be available on your iPad the day after they air
– Start watching on your iPad, and resume watching right where you left off on a Kindle Fire, PS3, PC, Mac, or hundreds of models of connected TVs and Blu-ray players with Amazon Whispersync.

With this new service, it seems that Amazon is trying to get a leg up on Netflix and build a similar service but is using its Kindle Fire device to grab market share. Amazon Prime is available for $79 a year and also offers its customers free two day shipping and discounted overnight shipping.

Overall, this comes out to be a much cheaper and more convenient option when considering Netflix’s $7 a month charge which adds up to be more money and does not offer discounts on other products.

Amazon Instant Video is currently free {Direct Link} in the App Store and requires a subscription for log in.

{via MacRumors}

Hulu Plus, the popular streaming television service was introduced a little more than two years ago, making primetime television shows from popular US channels available for streaming on a number of mobile devices, including game systems and Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

On Tuesday, the streaming giant brought their service over to the Apple TV, for users to stream on their HDTV. Hulu made an official announcement of the arrival of the service on the Apple TV on their Hulu Blog.

Keeping up with the latest episode of Family Guy, MasterChef and New Girl on Hulu Plus just got a little easier. And my living room just got a whole lot happier.

Hulu Plus arrives on Apple TV today.

Hulu Plus is available for $7.99 / month subscription and requires an account for use on the Apple TV. It has numerous categories for movies and TV shows such as popular, favorite, and recent which can be navigated with the physical Apple TV remote or the Apple Remote app.

For those of you who are new to the service, Hulu Plus is the only online premium video subscription that streams current and classic TV programming on demand from hundreds of content partners, including top broadcast networks ABC, NBC, FOX, The CW and Univision. Hulu Plus subscribers can watch on any enabled devices for $7.99/month with limited advertising. For many popular shows on our service, Hulu Plus offers every episode of the current season.

Hulu Plus on Apple TV is currently only available in the United States and is subscription based with limited ads.

{via iMore}

Apple Inc. (AAPL) has long been selling movies and television shows on its iTunes Store. Now, according to a Reuters report, the company is reportedly planning to bring EPIX movie streaming to the Apple TV, and likely the new rumored Apple television set. AAPL has been rumored to be in talks at this point, with no specific dates as to when the service will be available, if it ever does happen.

One of the sources told Reuters that any discussions would apply to its set-top box and also to upcoming devices that stream content. Apple is widely expected to unveil a full-fledged TV product later this year or in early 2013 to drive its next phase of growth and potentially revolutionize the industry.

Sources for the Reuters report suggest that negotiations between Apple and EPIX are still developing and that no deal should be expected in the near future. Bringing EPIX content to Apple TV and future Apple devices would allow the Cupertino company to develop and sell exclusive content, not available on a number of other devices.

Apple may also be waiting out a contract between EPIX and Netflix, which doesn’t end until later this September. Once this contract has ended, Apple will likely go ahead and secure a deal with EPIX.

{via MacRumors}

The changes the iPad will bring to mobile advertising are twofold; changes in content and changes in delivery. The content change reflects the iPad’s own multimedia capabilities. As we all know, Flash is a non-starter on the iPad. With its larger screen real estate and advanced graphics hardware, look for advertising on the iPad to move from static displays to more video and interactive content. It seems odd to suggest the iPad will drive a move to traditional video advertising but users seem more willing to let an ad run to get a free game or application than to get a free television show. With technologies like H.264 and HTML 5, getting that advanced content to the user is easy without having to even consider Flash.

The other change will be in delivery. Apple’s recent acquisition of Quattro demonstrates their desire to control the advertising media that appears on their devices. This gives Apple incredible control over what appears and how it appears on their device. The iPad compliments the Quattro acquisition because it gives Apple a supercharged platform for selling and displaying mobile advertising and the Quattro acquisition compliments the iPad because it gives Apple the control it desires. Once the iPad starts taking off, look for Apple to acquire more mobile advertising delivery channels, not only to control (and profit) from iPad advertising, but also to wrest market share away from Google.

Will the iPad become the advertisers dream device? Will it take the prevalent pay-for-play model to new heights? Leave us a comment and let us know.

By: Erin Peterson