Roku May Join the Streaming Wars With Original TV Shows and Movies pcmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pcmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Twitch has selected a new image to replace its iconic PogChamp emote: a Komodo dragon.
As The Verge reports, Twitch removed the original emote on Jan. 6. That day, pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, and Ryan Gootecks Gutierrez who inspired the PogChamp emote made inflammatory comments about the attack on Twitter.
“We’ve made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the face of the emote encouraging further violence after what took place in the Capitol today,” Twitch said at the time. “We want the sentiment and use of Pog to live on its meaning is much bigger than the person depicted or image itself and it has a big place in Twitch culture. However, we can’t in good conscience continue to enable use of the image.”
(Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It seems Twitch has a problem with anyone accessing the streaming service while connected to a VPN and is quietly taking action against them.
As Win.gg reports, a growing number of Twitch users are reporting that their chat messages aren t appearing for other users to read. They can see their own messages in the chat window, but nobody else can. It s proving to be quite confusing with many users assuming they are simply being ignored for some reason. It s not until they view the same stream from another device not connected to a VPN that it becomes clear the messages are simply not being shared.
(Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
If you routinely fall asleep to the sounds of your favorite Netflix series, you might be concerned about using too much bandwidth. Or maybe you want to stop using so much energy or battery power. That s where Netflix s latest feature could come in handy.
The Verge reports that Netflix just launched a global test for Android users that lets you set a timer for your streaming sessions. That means your phone or tablet will automatically shut off after the time period of your choosing.
You can opt for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or the end of an episode or movie. When time is up, Netflix will shut down. You can sleep soundly knowing you aren t using precious data or running down your battery life. Plus, you won t wake up in the middle of the night to a Are You Still Watching? screen, or an episode you haven t seen yet, ruining potential plot details.
(Photo Illustration by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
If you re a regular viewer of Netflix using an Android device, prepare for an audio upgrade and what the streaming service refers to as an optimal listening experience.
As Engadget reports, Netflix just switched to streaming audio using Extended HE-AAC with MPEG-D DRC, better known as xHE-AAC, on compatible Android devices. Compatibility simply means any device running Android 9.0 or newer, which should account for the majority of devices being used today to watch streaming video content.
Phill Williams and Vijay Gondi, Senior Software Engineers on Audio Algorithms at Netflix, go into great detail about the audio upgrade on the Netflix Tech Blog. The switch to xHE-AAC brings with it the capability to improve intelligibility in noisy environments, adapt to variable cellular connections, and scale to studio-quality. It allows loudness management and dynamic range control (DRC) to work together to provide an optim