Google on Tuesday announced that videos on YouTube were collectively played more than 1 trillion times this past year. In its look back on the year in YouTube videos, Google revealed that it served more playbacks than ever before in 2011. To quantify the massive figure, the company noted in a blog post that a trillion playbacks represents about 140 views for each person on earth, or more than twice the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Hit the break for a quick countdown of the 10 most popular YouTube videos of 2011 hosted by none other than Rebecca Black.

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Up until now, Roku devices have only been available online, but that changes today. Roku has just announced nationwide availability of their Roku XD model at all Best Buy locations. This is a pretty large move for the company, and with the success Roku has had online, there’s no question it will translate into retail sales. Press release after the break.

Roku Enters Retail with Nationwide Availability at Best Buy

Roku XD model featuring 1080p playback and 802.11n WiFi now available for purchase at your local Best Buy Store.

Saratoga, Calif. – March 30, 2011 – Roku, Inc., maker of the best-selling and award-winning Roku streaming player, announced today that its Roku XD player is available for purchase at Best Buy stores nationwide and at BestBuy.com. With up to 1080p HD streaming support, integrated 802.11n WiFi and Instant Replay the Roku XD offers unlimited entertainment choices and incredible value to customers. The Roku XD has a list price of $79.99 and is available at Best Buy stores and at BestBuy.com for purchase today. Roku players can also be found at other leading retail stores including BJ’s Wholesale Club, Fry’s Electronics and RadioShack.

“Having sold over 1 million Roku players through online sales only up until now, we are incredibly excited to announce our entrance into brick and mortar retail with nationwide availability from the preeminent consumer electronics retailer,” said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, Inc. “Customers can now grab a Roku off the shelf at Best Buy, take it home and be up and running, enjoying their favorite TV show, movie, music or sports team in just a matter of minutes.”

All Roku players continue to deliver the largest collection of streaming entertainment available for the TV, including over 100,000 movies and TV shows from Netflix, (NASDAQ: NFLX) Amazon Instant Video (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Hulu Plus; live and on-demand sports from NBA Game Time and NHL GameCenter Live; music from Pandora, MP3tunes, MOG and Rdio; photo and video sharing from Flickr and Facebook; plus news and entertainment from thousands of sources around the world.

First introduced in May 2008, the Roku player provides an easy, affordable, and reliable way for over 1 million customers to watch movies and TV shows instantly on their TV. Since the launch of the Roku Channel Store, all Roku customers now have access to over 150 channels from 85 unique content services, with more added all the time.

Pricing and Availability

The Roku XD is available for $79.99 and can be purchased at any Best Buy in the United States and at BestBuy.com. In addition to being available at Best Buy, select Roku players are available at BJ’s Wholesale Club, Fry’s Electronics and RadioShack. A full list of retailers and which Roku models are available at each one can be found at

Have you been a fan of Qik, yet kind of depressed its live streaming iPhone app has fallen by the way side? Qik has just announced that it has a brand new app for the iPhone and iPod touch, and it’s called Qik Video Connect. Qik Video Connect streams live video like you’re used to, directly to your Qik.com user page, but it takes things one step further by offering live video calling (over 3G as well as Wi-Fi), video messaging and video sharing. If your friends aren’t around for a live video chat, just shoot them a video message, or even post it up automatically on Facebook or Twitter. Qik also has a premiun version of Video Connect that’s available for $2.99 if you want to access enhanced features like real-time video effects, the capability to edit your videos prior to upload, and HD video quality uploads. We have been messing witih Qik Video Connect for a little while, and well, we really love having Qik live streaming back on our iPhones. The new app is clean, easy to use, and the video sharing features are really intriguing. Both versions will be available in the App Store later on today. The full press release can be found after the break.

MARCH XX, 2011 –LUXEMBOURG – Today at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW) in Austin, TX, Qik, mobile video software recently acquired by Skype, launched a new iPhone app called Qik Video Connect. The new app enables individuals to stay connected with friends and family through video calling, video messaging, and video sharing.

With Qik Video Connect, users can instantly share what is happening around them with friends and family through a live video call. If they aren’t able to connect live, then users can still share all the rich details of the moment by sending a video mail. They can even post a live video link to Facebook and Twitter so friends can watch the moment as it is being recorded. The new social video feed makes it easy to follow what friends are doing by receiving alerts when new videos are shared and watching those videos right from the phone.

Whether it’s capturing a greeting for your loved ones, recording a video of your child as they score the winning goal, or having a video chat while you’re away from your friends and family – Qik makes it simple to record, share and stay connected through video.
There are two versions of the application available to consumers – Qik Video Connect and Qik Video Connect Plus. The latter is available for $2.99 and offers additional features such as:

• Real-time effects: Customize and enhance video chat and live video streaming with seven effects and filters.
• Video editing: Use simple video editing tools directly from your device to share the best moments.
• HD quality: Upload and share true HD quality videos captured on your phone.

“In a world of fast and readily available 3G, 4G and WiFi connections, video allows you to transcend the current world of text and photo messages to share special and everyday moments in a more meaningful way,” said Rick Osterloh, head of consumer products for Skype. “Qik Video Connect makes the concept of ‘see what I see’ a full reality.”

Both the Qik Video Connect and Connect Plus apps enable live video chat over 3G, 4G* or WiFi between iPhones, iPod Touches with built-in cameras. Qik is integrated with your phone’s contact list so you can easily see when your friends and family are available for a live video chat. In addition, you can also send a private video mail through email or SMS if your friends and family aren’t able to talk live, no matter what device or phone network they are on.

Both apps are available for download today through the Apple App store for iPhone and 4th generation iPod Touch models with iOS 4 or later. For additional information, visit: qik.com

Yup, we’ll definitely be ordering one of these the moment they become available. The two man company that is Satarii is working on an accessory designed to put the camcorder on your mobile phone, iPod touch, and small Flip-style camcorder on a swivel, literally. The Star accessory is a glorified tripod with a motorized base that can rotate 360-degrees — following a specially designed marker placed on your person — automatically tracking your movements in real-time. Clip the marker to your clothing or stick it in your pocket and watch as the base pivots left and right to shadow your every move. While it is difficult of verbally explain, it is amazing to see in action. Hit the jump, a video demo of the product is waiting for you.

[Via Reddit]

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Both Zach and I have bought no fewer than five Roku XDS units as holiday gifts this season. So it comes as no surprise to us that Amazon has slashed $20 off of the device’s price now that our Rokus are all wrapped, mailed, and committed. The online retail giant has quietly reduced the price of the 1080p streaming media player from $99.99 down to $79.99. The Roku XDS offers full Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus compatibility, as well as a host of other streaming options thanks to an online channel-store available to all users. Procrastination literally just paid you $20. The XDS is currently listed as “temporarily out of stock,” but if time is not of the essence, you can still go ahead and order yourself Roku’s high-end offering at the new, low price.

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This guy really likes Google… He made a rap song about it and even a video. Shouts to Chad D.

Things have been fairly quiet in Google TV-land since the service launched back in October, that is until today. Google has announced an automatic, over-the-air update being pushed out to GTV owners. The update includes: an updated Netflix app with more streaming titles and the ability to add DVDs to your mailing queue, an enhanced “dual view” that will allow a movable, re-sizable picture-in-picture window to be displayed, a voice-actions enabled remote control application for Android smartphones, and more movie sources. The company reports that users should begin seeing this update roll out to their devices “throughout the week,” and that the Google TV Remote app is “available today” but “all features may not work until your device has received the update.” Hit the jump to see a quick video demo of the mobile app.

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Sorry, Stevie… it looks like your plan to keep Flash off iOS devices just hit another speed bump. We know Apple claims performance issues are the reason Flash is nowhere to be found on iOS devices — and we can’t say we disagree with the company’s assessment, in some cases — but we also know tons of Web video content still uses Adobe’s Flash platform and, well, we want the option to view it on our iPhones, iPads and iPods. There are several options for viewing Flash videos on your iDevice, but most methods involve a jailbreaking. Skyfire is a good non-jailbreak option of course, but it has a tendency to be a bit slow at times. Luckily, a group of developers has a new free method that doesn’t involve a jailbreak — in fact, you don’t even have to install an app. A simple bookmarklet is all you need to stream Flash videos right to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Hit the jump for a quick guide that will bring a plethora of embedded Flash video content to your iOS device of choice.

1. Navigate to http://iosflashvideo.fw.hu/ in Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
2. Hit the + button (replaced by the box/arrow icon on some iOS builds), select Add Bookmark and tap Save
3. Open your bookmarks and tap Edit
4. Choose the new iOSFlashVideo bookmark
5. Delete everything before “javascript:” and tap Done

Now you’re ready to rock.

Simply navigate to a page with an embedded video from Blip.tv, Flickr, Dailymotion, Break, MegaVideo or Vimeo. As usual, you’ll see an empty white space or instructions to download Flash Player where the video should be. Just open your bookmarks and tap the iOSFlashVideo entry, and a new thumbnail will appear where the empty space used to be. Tap the thumbnail and the video will begin streaming immediately via QuickTime.

Roku has just announced a firmware update — version 2.9 b1509 — for its popular line of streaming media players. The new code packs various bug fixes, playback optimizations, and, most notably, 1080p video playback for the Roku XR player. If your device hasn’t yet automatically retrieved the update, you can manually grab the firmware by navigating to: Settings > Player Info > Check For Updates.

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The New York Post is reporting that DVD rental giant Netflix has been in talks with television studios as they try to acquire the rights to in-season TV episodes. The Post cites “a person familiar with the matter” and writes that Netflix is willing to offer content owners between $70,000 and $100,000 per episode for more current media. The in-season episodes would bolster Netflix’s somewhat dusty streaming content lineup. The report goes on to note that a current hiccup in the negotiations is between studios and broadcast networks. Studios are claiming to own the streaming rights to content produced for television networks while TV network executives are also laying claim to the same rights.

As of late, Netflix has turned its focus to streaming media services; recently the company announced the addition of a streaming-only monthly subscription plan in the U.S., something it has never offered before. Netflix declined to comment on the report when asked by the New York Post.

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If you’re looking to jump into the connected TV market, and aren’t quiet ready to go with Google TV, Roku is a great option. The company has just pinged us to let us know it is offering a sale on its widely popular Roku XD player starting tonight at 12:00PM PT. Roku will be offering its XD model player — which is capable of 1080p playback — at an additional 20% off. That brings the price of the already affordable box down to $64. The sale runs through Monday, November 29th. Happy shopping.

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It’s starting to look like VLC’s days in the iOS app store are numbered. Videolan developer, Rémi Denis-Courmont, has confirmed that the company has sent Apple papers citing copyright infringement. The VLC media player is currently distributed under a General Public License (GPL), and this has come into direct conflict with Apple’s DRM-based app store distribution model. The conflict of licenses were known to both parties prior to the app’s publication, and Videolan is stressing they are not at fault, since the app was ported to the app store via a third party developer — Applidium. The popular multi-format video player made its debut on the iPhone only a week ago, and its future looks bleak. We highly recommend snagging your free copy before Apple possibly shuts the book on this case.

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We knew it was coming, but that doesn’t make the arrival of Applidium’s VLC Media Player universal binary any less exciting. That’s right kids, your favorite multi-format video player for the iPad is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch as well. VLC Media Player lets users sync video content to a device via iTunes in a variety of formats not formally supported by iOS. In other words, users can break free of the multimedia chains that bind their iGear. It should be noted that the new VLC Media Player build is only available for the iPad, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and the two most recent iPod touch generations. Obviously, older hardware can’t hang with this multimedia powerhouse.

Thanks, Hadi!

[Via Applidium]

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TechCrunch noticed a FaceTime app icon in the dock of the demo machine being used to demo the new iLife ’11 features, and well… it looks as if FaceTime will really come to desktop computers — so awesome! Apple has since gone on to confirm the news, stating that FaceTime for Mac will be available as a public beta today.

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Today, internet calling giant Skype announced that the new version of its Windows client — Skype 5.0 — is now available to the general public. The new code brings with it a cleaner, redesigned interface, automatic call recovery, Facebook integration, and group video chat. The new software is available as we type at skype.com; there is a short video walk-through of the new features waiting for you after the break.

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