Few key things happened around the Ad Tech & Media Tech world this week.
xCloud streaming service to be launched by Microsoft
Microsoft is planning to launch its game streaming service, presently known as Project xCloud, free to its paying Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in September. The xCloud service will allow Xbox players to play games on mobile and start a game on their consoles and continue it on their phone or tablet. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines Xbox Live access, an Xbox Game Pass subscription, and, starting in September, xCloud game streaming into a single $14.99 quarterly subscription. Microsoft is promising that an additional 100 Xbox Game Pass titles will be playable on a phone or tablet when the streaming service launches. Microsoft isn’t detailing which countries will be supported at launch just yet, nonetheless. The company has been constructing out its Azure data centers across the US and in the corridor of Europe with Xbox One S blades to stream Xbox games through xCloud. Microsoft will upgrade these to Xbox Series X in 2021. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be the only way to enter xCloud streaming at launch, but it won’t always be limited to Microsoft’s top subscription classification.
Gizmeon’s strong partnership with Microsoft Corporation enables us to provide a full spectrum of IT solutions & services ranging from consulting, architecture, implementation, and maintenance. We focus on building a customized and comprehensive solution to our customer’s requirements and simplify the complexity of their IT environment by leveraging multiple Microsoft Products.
Peacock streaming service launched by NBC
NBCUniversal‘s Peacock, one of the final entrants in the streaming wars, is ultimately launching after months of biding. It comes with a large library of film and Box classics, so I wouldn’t condemn you if you wanted to start watching as soon as possible. The library of shows and movies includes the likes of 30 Rock, The Office, Law& Order, Downton Abbey, the Fast& Furious series, the Matrix movies, and Alfred Hitchcock. What sets Peacock apart from its compatriots is it offers a free plan — ad-supported, yes, but free. Every account starts as a free plan, and you can upgrade to one of the Premium plans at any time. For the record, there’s Premium and Premium Plus, and only the latest is ad-free. That said, not all of its content is available on the free plan. For the time being, you can only watch the original Law& Order with a Premium plan. To start, visit the Peacock point and click “ Get Started. ”. You’ll have to do the usual routine of entering your account and create a watchlist. You know the drill by now.
Twitch streaming tech for live streams allowed to be used by businesses
Amazon Web Services has advertised their latest product that will provide companies an easy way to combine video live streams into their website and apps. They have named it the Amazon Interactive Video Service (IVS), and it will enable brands and businesses to present a more personalized experience for their viewers compared to YouTube or Twitch. IVS uses the very technology that powers Twitch. Martin Beeby who is working as the Amazon Principal Developer Advocate has written in a blog post that he was impressed by how easy the team has made it to blend interactive, low latency, live video into an application. AWS clients can start the process by building a channel and then using any streaming software to stream videos to it. They can personalize their streams to display additional information or display a buy button when specific merchandise appears on the screen. IVS will make sure the video will be watchable by anybody around the world. The service gives you access to a player SDK which will makes integrating videos into websites and apps eaasy.
