The Price Of Netflix Subscription Plans Are Going Up

 Expect to pay extra if you're a Netflix subscriber. On its website, the streaming juggernaut has revised its price. The basic plan will cost $10 per month from $9, the standard plan will cost $15.49 per month from $13.99, and the premium plan will cost $19.99 from $17.99 per month. 

Prices are effective immediately for new members and will progressively increase for all current members. Unless they modify their plan, current members will get an email notification 30 days before their pricing increases.

Nvidia GeForce Now Streaming Service Is Now Available, Exits Beta

Nvidia has announced its video game streaming service, GeForce Now, is exiting beta and has a free tier for all users, with some caveats of course.

For those who are unaware, GeForce Now is streaming service that allows users to stream PC games to laptops, Macs, Nvidia Shields, and other Android devices. Over 1,000 games are already on the service, including Fortnite, Borderlands 3 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Users can also migrate their pre-existing purchases over to Nvidia’s service – meaning if you bought a game Steam, Origin and Epic Games Store.

Users can stream with GeForce Now starting today for free, but free users will only be able to play for 1 hour before having to log off and start a new session. You can start as many sessions a day as you like, but you have to log off and log back in after an hour. Nvidia says this is necessary for providing the best service for paid users.

GeForce Now’s premium service will cost you $5 dollars a month, which offers priority access to Nvidia’s servers and allows for extended sessions of up to 6 hours. GeForce Now beta members have also had their beta accounts automatically converted to this plan for free for the first few months.

As someone who’s used GeForce Now, I can say that it’s a pretty cool service. That is of course if you have decent connection. I did experience some visual artifacting and lag when playing PUBG, but I could look past it. Thoughts ?

Netflix Raises Its Prices Once Again

Netflix has announced that they are raising their prices on all plans once again. The price goes into effect today for new customers and in the coming months for existing ones. The $8 plan is going up to $9, the middle-tier, which is the most common plan according to Netflix, goes from $11 to $13 and the premium plan which allows 4K and UHD streaming jumps from $14 to $16.

Hulu Is Now Available On The Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch has received its first video streaming application and its Hulu. The app is now live on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Hopefully more video streaming or music apps will come to the system in the near future.

It’s a free download, as you’d expect, and there’s also a free trial available for users new to the service, but then it’ll require a paid subscription as it does on other platforms.

Microsoft Testing USB Cameras For Streaming On Xbox One

Microsoft have announced that they are testing the use of USB cameras for Microsoft apps like Mixer and Skype. The new webcam testing (available to Alpha Ring insider members) should allow Xbox One owners to take a USB camera and plug them into the Xbox One for the same function on a PC. This is big news for streamers who don’t want to use or invest in a Kinect purely for  streams. Thoughts ?

YouTube TV Adds AMC, BBC America And More

YouTube TV (YouTube's streaming TV service) launched over a month ago and its limited 39-channel range was a clear drawback for consumers compared to its competitors. But now the company is following up on its promises to add channels, including 7 more cable networks, such as AMC, BBC America and Telemundo to its basic $35 per-month package. Rounding out the new channels are Universo, Sundance TV, We TV and IFC, bringing the total 46 cable channels. Do you use YouTube TV ? Thoughts ?

Twitch To Start Selling Games Directly To Viewers This Spring

Streaming platform Twitch has announced that it will enable direct game and in-game content sales from streamers' pages this spring. Developers will get 70% of the revenue, while partnered streamers get 5%. Companies such as Doublefine and Telltale have already signed up. Games bought on Twitch can be played through the Twitch Launcher or through developers/publishers' existing services such as Ubisoft's Uplay. Those who buy games from Twitch will also get a free Twitch Crate containing a randomized assortment of Twitch emotes, chat badges, and Bits for Cheering.

Twitch has always been the best place to watch, share, and play games. Soon, it will be the best place to buy games! https://t.co/UOfAqGnz1d pic.twitter.com/8JWzVGxHP2

— Twitch (@Twitch) February 27, 2017

Twitch Is Giving YouTube A Run For Its Money

Twitch has announced improvements to its manual upload feature, including increased tag character limits, new language settings and, most importantly, much wider support for common video file formats. In addition to the existing .MP4 support, Twitch users can now upload H.264-encoded videos in MOV, AVI and FLV formats. Twitch is leading the charge in supporting video formats as that's still half as many as YouTube supports. Twitch's upload tools have also been updated to include a default language setting and longer tags, up to 100 characters per individual tags and 500 for all tags total. Thoughts ?

Twitter Introduces App For Live Streaming Video

Twitter has launched a free Twitter app that will allow owners of an Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV or Xbox One to “consume the best of Twitter.” The free apps will feature all live streaming video available on Twitter (including live streams of 10 NFL Thursday Night Football games, as well as content from MLB Advanced Media, NBA, Pac 12 Networks, Campus Insiders, Cheddar and Bloomberg News), and other Twitter content such as top Tweets and top global Vines and Periscopes.  Anyone with these devices, regardless of whether they have a Twitter account or a pay TV subscription, can enjoy this experience. 

Hulu Ending It’s Free Streaming Service

Hulu is getting rid of its ad-supported free streaming service which it has offered for almost a decade. Hulu will be teaming up with Yahoo with a special distribution deal that's forming Yahoo View, a new TV streaming service with a small selection of what Hulu previously offered free viewers. Yahoo View will feature the five most recent episodes of shows selected from ABC, NBC and Fox eight days after their original air date. Additional series and a sampling of clips, anime and Korean drama will be made available as well. Hulu going forward will continue to offer the same 2 subscription plans: $7.99 a month with commercials and $11.99 a month without ad-supported viewing. 

Twitch Now Has Multi-Language Filters For Streams

Twitch has just launched a Multi-Language Filters that will allow you to access on the Live Channels list of every game directory page in a particular languages. Now for example, when you visit, the Hearthstone  portal, you'll find a pull-down menu on the right-hand side. It lists various languages broadcasters use, including Español, for instance, will show only Spanish streams without having to change the whole website's settings. What do you think of Twitch dong this ? It’s great to see and hear that people will be able to watch a streamer in there native language. 

Twitch Adds Social Eating To Its Site

Twitch has introduced a new ruleset that allows streamers to eat on camera and it has its own dedicated category titled Social Eating. So if you want you can watch people eat now now Twitch. Why you would want to do so I have no idea, but you want to you can. 

YouTube Is Joining The Live Streaming Party

YouTube will soon be rolling out live video streaming from its mobile app. A handful of content creatures have gained access to the feature and support will open up further in the near future, according to YouTube. You cam launch a stream by hitting the Capture button. Broadcasters must then snap or select a thumbnail photo, and toggle various options like target audience, push notifications, and the chat will be enabled. The stream looks very similar to Twitter's Periscope, with overlaid viewer comments and options like flipping the camera. Real time statistics show the number of likes and active viewers. Can Youtube compete with other companies like Facebook and Twitter in the live streaming market ? Or should YouTube just stick to online video ? 

Hulu And Youtube Planning TV Streaming Services

Hulu has announced that it will soon begin offering subscribers the ability to stream live broadcast and cable brands in 2017. That'll include live sports, news, and more. Hulu's subscribers won't be required to have a traditional cable TV subscription in order to watch. Fox, ABC, ESPN, FX, and the Disney Channel were all involved in negotiations. According to Bloomberg, YouTube is working on a paid subscription service called Unplugged that would offer customers a bundle of cable TV channels streamed over the Internet, people familiar with the plan in 2017. YouTube executives have discussed these plans with most major media companies, including Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, Viacom Inc., Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. and CBS Corp. No rights have yet been secured at this time. More and more cord cutting services are coming available now more then ever. Is the death of cord TV upon us ? What do you think ? 

Livestreaming To YouTube & Twitch For Free With Forge

The free PC gaming capture app, Forge, has announced livestreaming support with YouTube and Twitch. The app already allows you to capture gaming footage on your PC and share it to Twitter or Facebook. Forge is available for free at forge.gg. 

YouTube Music Is Now Available

Today we see the arrive of YouTube Music on iOS and Android, and it promises to make it easier discover new music on YouTube. For those wondering, YouTube Music doesn’t replace Google Play Music or the new YouTube Red service, it works alongside them to provide music fans with a new type of experience  that takes advantage of the billions of music videos hosted by YouTube.Not only will YouTube Music show you original music videos, but also remixes, covers, lyric videos, and concert footage. You can watch these as videos, or listen to the audio only, so you no longer have to have your phone out while listening to music. You can just put it in your pocket and enjoy the tunes. YouTube Music will also recommend tracks for you, create personalized stations based on your tastes, and allow you to save songs locally for offline listening. Some of YouTube Music’s features are free and have ad-support, but you can remove those ads with a YouTube Red membership, which also includes access to Play Music. But before you sign up, you can enjoy a 14-day free trial to get you started. With so many music services these days it hard to pick one. I’m old school and just enjoy having all my music on iTunes. What do you think of YouTube Music ? Do you think it’ll be the new way people listen to music ?

Twitch App Coming to PS4, PS3 & PS Vita This Fall

During the TwitchCon keynote, CEO Emmett Shear announced that a dedicated Twitch app is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita this fall. Playstation gamers will now be able to watch any stream on there device with complete chat support and emoticon support. The app will also highlight PS4 broadcasts, similar to Live From PlayStation. It’ll be nice to watch not just Playstation 4 streams as thats the way it current is on the PS4. What do you think ? 

Amazon Now Offering Offline TV Shows And Movies Streaming

If you're signed up for Prime Video or have an Amazon Prime account, you can now store shows and movies on almost any mobile device. It's supported in both the iOS and Android app. What do you think of Amazon taking this big step ahead of Netflix and Hulu ?

YouTube Gaming Is Finally Here

Google has finally unveiled YouTube Gaming.The service can be accessed on the Web or through an iOS or

Android app. It’s currently available in the US and UK. Other countries are promised to be coming soon. Here’s what you can do with the YouTube Gaming service according to a blog post by YouTube:

• YouTube Gaming is your go-to destination for anything and everything gaming because it automatically pulls in all gaming related videos and live streams from YouTube.
• Viewers get personalized gaming recommendations based on the games and channels they collect. With over 25,000 game pages and even more gaming channels, it’s never been easier to connect with your gaming community.
• We’ve also made it easier to create a live stream, check out the beta version of our new way to go live atyoutube.com/stream today.

It should be interesting to see if YouTube Gaming will be the next big thing. Who will win in the battle of Twitch vs YouTube Gaming ? What do you think ? 

Youtube Gaming Coming To The US And UK Tomorrow

YouTube has announced that it will be bringing its game streaming service to those in the United States and UK tomorrow. YouTube’s service will support 60 frames per second streaming and automatic conversion of live streams into archived, on demand videos. Are you excited for Youtube Gaming ? Is Youtube Gaming Going to be a Twitch killer ?