What's Next After Spotify: Movies, TV Shows & Music Video Apps Most Wanted by Us
Music app Spotify, arrived in Singapore and Malaysia on April 2013, after Europe (2008) and US (mid-2011). There are however many other entertainment apps out there that have yet to reach us because of licensing or regulations. HardwareZone shows you a few we hope may someday make the cut for this part of the world.
The Power of Content Streaming Services
The next frontier isn't space my friends. It's the ability to stream on-demand.
With 3G (not to mention LTE) and Wi-Fi streaming technologies today, it isn't surprising to us that users with pervasive mobile devices like iOS devices, Android tablets, 5-inch AMOLED smartphones, and many others, are open to the idea of accessing their entertainment content (movies, music, games) directly from these devices in an on-demand manner. We saw how NVIDIA set the stage at E3 with Project Shield, which when launched, would allow gamers to stream games directly to their HDTVs and Shield gamepads. Wouldn't it be cool if you can do the same on your iOS, Android or Windows Phone device for TV shows, movies and music videos?
The current trend of archiving all your content in Blu-ray Discs or terabytes of storage (SSD, HDD, you name it), and then accessing them from a media center, or network attached storage, streamed via HDMI cables to your HDTV, is still widely practiced of course, but the number of users shifting their viewing habits from a bona fide couch potato to a lean-back device-using bedroom type lounger is a growing trend (not to mention the ones who take these devices to their bathrooms, or mount them at the back of their car seats to silence the kids).
Ask anyone using Spotify Premium for iOS or Android (the S$9.99-equivalent all-you-can-listen music streaming service for mobile devices) if they'll consider archiving their music CDs or MP3s ever again, they'll probably think twice. This is because the app itself allow them to select from a repertoire, no wait, a reservoir, of music, that to sift through what they did on cassette tapes, MiniDiscs, CDs, MP3s and FLAC files would be a chore. Not only that, Spotify allows users to collaborate on music playlists, listen to what their friends are listening to and even play them offline (if they're on a plane or remote location without internet access). Hey, we even did a complete guide on Spotify for HardwareZone readers.
Spotify was released in mid-April 2013 in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. It includes Spotify Premium, where subscribers pay a S$9.99-equivalent monthly fee in their local currency for an all-you-can-listen service for their mobile devices. The desktop version is free.
There are indeed many existing entertainment apps you can find that allow you to stream content to your mobile tablets and smartphones, even in our region today. But they are mainly fly-by-night apps with questionable quality and legality, rudimentary search and playlist functions, and most of them do not provide you with the supplementary information or packaged entertainment that you get from the established entertainment apps that our overseas peers have, such as HBO GO, HULU+, VEVO HD and NetFlix.
Which of course, then begs the question. If a fly-by-night entertainment app can exist in our ecosystem, why can't these other established, more profound entertainment apps make their way to our shores sooner?
There are many reasons. Off the top of our heads, we figured they might range from copyright protection, licensing, content and cultural restrictions, language, resources to studio and government regulations. It is also understandable that there are many partners involved when it comes to making a unique program such as a TV show, movie or music video accessible via their customer's personal mobile device. Most of these shows are same-day telecast, meaning they are made available on the app as soon as they are on broadcast television.
Thus, it is left to be seen if these apps will ever make it here at all. Spotify's entry into Singapore and Malaysia is indeed a good sign. Let's hope the rest will do the same sometime soon.
For this feature in particular, we'll delve a little deeper into the first three apps we mentioned - HBO GO, HULU+ and VEVO HD. All screenshots you see in this feature were taken from an iPad 2.
Commercial-Free Shows with HBO GO
The HBO GO iPad, iPhone and Android app is currently available only in the United States (and Hong Kong here). The app was launched as part of the mobile service to the HBO GO website for US subscribers on 29 April 2011. Within the first week of launch in the US, the app was downloaded more than one million times. Most of HBO GO's content include its original programming, movies, specials, documentaries, sports and late night shows. To date, HBO and Cinemax have 40 million subscribers in the US alone.
To subscribe to HBO GO, the user has to be an existing digital cable customer with a HBO subscription residing in the United States (or in the case of HBO GO Hong Kong, subscribers residing in Hong Kong). We do know that HBO GO is available through some streaming players like the Roku and Xbox 360, but there are similar restrictions, such as a HBO GO subscription, Xbox Live Gold subscription and so on.
For most of us in South-East Asia, with existing HBO subscriptions on cable, it is definitely a pity if we're unable to enjoy what our Hong Kong peers are getting. Imagine being able to watch Game of Thrones at the exact time that it's made available on the HBO channel on cable TV, without having to go home. It's definitely a change in lifestyle, and perhaps, how we treasure our digital mobile devices in comparison to how we relate to them in the past.
The HBO GO App main viewing screen lets you skip from Episode to Episode with a little window preview below, so that you do not need to jump back and forth between screens.
You can navigate through a popular TV series, like Game of Thrones, by filtering them via Season or Episodes.
Within the season itself, you can flip through different episodes in a panel navigation format. They come with short summaries so that you can follow the story, in the event that you've lost track after some time.
You can watch HBO documentaries and TV shows on 3G or Wi-Fi, but based on experience, viewing on 3G will normally see a drop in quality, so go Wi-Fi for quality.
Synopsis reading. We used to read them via subscription magazines, then teletext, to now, reading them off a cable/IPTV network pop-up screen. But in the forward-looking world of digital entertainment, it will all be integrated within a packaged interface like what you see here on HBO GO.
The one thing we love about the HBO GO app is the ability to check out Behind the Scenes videos of our favorite TV series. It's like watching an entire collector's edition DVD end-to-end: From reading the synopsis, watching the actual programming to behind the scenes footage for a complete viewing experience -- all on one device.
Parental Control is definitely a must on a HBO GO app.
Music Videos at Your Fingertips - VEVO HD
When it comes to music videos, the natural inclination is to get on your desktop and watch YouTube or something.
Most of us would subscribe to a music video subscription service like MTV or Channel V. Little do some of us realize that VEVO (a music video service owned by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media) has an app for the mobile platform (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Kindle Fire) and media centers (such as Google TV, Boxee, Roku and Xbox 360) called VEVO HD. The service itself already streams some pretty good quality music videos on YouTube, as part of a revenue share model between VEVO and Google, but not all of them are accessible in all countries.
The VEVO HD app is free to download AND free to view (that is, if you can find it on your home country platform stores). Chances are, you cannot find the app here in this region because it's limited to only the US, Canada, some parts of Europe, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (yes, South Africa). We hear your pain (unless of course, you live in those countries or you have a mobile platform account to those countries).
There are about 75,000 music videos from more than 21,000 artists on the VEVO service, so you can liken VEVO HD to a lethal combination of Spotify + music video of sorts.
VEVO HD is a mobile app that is restricted only to certain countries (no it isn't available here in South-East Asia). The interface works seamlessly, classifying music videos by videos, artists and shows in an extremely visual manner.
Navigating videos is easy on VEVO HD, where you can view by genres, like alternative, blues, classical, or by the most popular music videos, for the week or month. You can also hit "surprise me" under one of the pulldowns to see what comes up.
Of course, similar to choosing your fave karaoke artists to sing to, VEVO HD lets you pick your favorite artists, compile them into a playlist, and stream them away to your heart's content. This is great for parties, especially if you sync it to your TV (eg. via AirPlay on AppleTV or an HDMI adapter (for iPad)).
The actual playback screen for VEVO comes with relevant music videos that might appeal to you. Similar to the Related Artist segment of Spotify, this one helps keep you navigating deeper into the app.
Tap on the "i" icon and you get a quick synopsis of the music video currently being played. You can then choose to buy the track (if there's a link to Amazon or iTunes to buy the track) or share it with your social media friends on Facebook or Twitter.
Of Sitcoms, Talk Shows & Dramedies - Hulu Plus
Hulu Plus is a monthly subscription service launched sometime in 2010. It follows on the free and mobile version to Hulu, which is available on the desktop to subscribers based in the United States (and Japan). Hulu is of course, a joint venture among some of the biggest names in US broadcasting -- NBC Universal, Fox and Disney-ABC. The service makes its money from not just user subscriptions (US7.99 a month) but also streaming advertising videos. This model works the same on the mobile version that is Hulu Plus.
Hulu Plus is available on Apple TV, network-enabled Blu-ray players, TiVo DVR boxes, selected smart TVs, iOS, Android, Windows RT or Windows 8 devices, game consoles, including the Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Oh, it's also available on the Roku streaming player and WD TV Media Player (US versions). You can see the full list of supported devices here.
So unlike HBO GO, which is commercial-free and caters only to HBO and Cinemax programming, Hulu Plus covers a plethora of content from the three major television networks and other networks, such as SyFy, Bravo, FX, Style, Sundance, E!, G4, A&E and Onion News Network. Shows include talk shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to dramas like CSI, Revolution, Grey's Anatomy, to comedies like Modern Family, The Office, to a plethora of anime, documentaries and movies (My Sassy Girl and Pulp Fiction being two we noticed). We're not going to bore you with the extremely long list but you can browse them here. Similar to HBO GO, most of the shows are same day telecast, meaning the show hits the mobile editions on the same day as broadcast TV.
Hulu also produced some of its own original programs, and occasionally make them exclusive on either the free desktop version of Hulu.com or on the mobile version Hulu Plus, or both. Just a sidetrack, following in the footsteps of Hulu, NetFlix, another popular and competing US-based TV drama and movie viewing service and app, produced several great dramas recently, including House of Cards, which starred Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. So a point to note here is that there seems to be a movement by these services to create and produce their own original content exclusive only to these platforms and services.
Of course, the big difference between HBO GO and Hulu Plus is that the latter comes with forced, in-your-face 8-12 second full-screen commercials. Hey, somebody has to pay the bills (considering that US subscribers only pay US$7.99 a month for a plethora of content).
Hulu+, or Hulu Plus, is a standalone subscription based Internet streaming service, that allows users to view shows directly on their mobile devices. Problem is, the service is currently only available in the US and its overseas territories.
Sentimental movie buffs will love the fact that Hulu Plus comes with the entire Criterion Collection of movies. Yes, we mean The Seventh Seal, Solaris, Lord of the Flies, and so on. Hitchcock fans will probably love this.
Under the TV category of the main navigation, viewers can select programming based on categories like Anime, Kids, Videogames, Arts & Culture and so on.
When you navigate into a show profile, like in this example, it's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, you will see entire past episodes (updated on a daily basis since it's a daily show), clip highlights (to cut to the chase) and related shows (such as The Colbert Report, etc.). Tapping on an episode will bring up a summary, including guest names, air date, duration and so on. If you're too busy, you can add the episode to your Queue (or personal watchlist).
The full screen view is pretty straightforward but notice the split-screen button on the top right?
The Split Screen mode allows you to view your current show on the top left window while you navigate the rest of the app below. In this screenshot, you can see the commercial playing with the countdown message that the video will resume in 8 seconds.
The best part about Hulu Plus is when you next return to the app, you will get a prompt to resume your last watched show, without having to look for it or miss it. In this screenshot, you can see the Resume prompt when you access the Settings menu.
So there you have them. Three different mobile entertainment apps we sincerely hope would follow in the footsteps of Spotify and see the light of day on our shores. We're pretty certain that people would pay to watch these programs, especially on HBO GO and Hulu Plus. It's just a matter of getting the restrictions, regulations and licensing negotiated and resolved out of the way. Ultimately, besides games on the mobile platform, we believe that these entertainment apps demonstrate the full potential of what a mobile device can do. Not only do they entertain you on the move, they enhance your lifestyle and unshackle you from what's wired and four-walled.
The best part is that they save you storage space, both digitally and physically. Fingers crossed then, from all of us.
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