Video streaming company Vevo, used by both Sony and Universal to showcase their artist’s videos on YouTube, was caught red-faced recently when guests noticed they were illegally streaming an NFL playoff game at their recent Sundance party. Sony and Universal have been loud voices in the fight against piracy. So what’s up with the blatant hypocrisy? On the VEVO blog, its CEO Rio Caraeff offered these words:

“A guest of our lounge asked for an NFL game to be aired. We said no. There was a laptop hooked up to VEVO.com that fed into the large TV screens around the bar. Unfortunately, the laptop was easily accessible to the public.”

It is really that surprising that they are pointing the finger at some mystery guest, rather than at themselves for leaving their computer in a vulnerable spot where anyone could mess with it? What if it had been porn rather than an NFL game that got streamed? Really irresponsible on Vevo’s part!

The Roku set-top box has officially begun shipping for those in the UK market. And nicely done, they will arrive with the BBC iPlayer channel. More specifically, the Roku players will arrive with more than 40 streaming channels including a few that are region specific. Some of the others that will join the BBC iPlayer channel include Netflix, Crackle, Ultimate Fighting Championship, MLB.TV and FoxNews.com. Plus, who can forget about Angry Birds. Otherwise, in terms of the players, there will be two available — the Roku LT and the Roku 2 XS (pictured above) and they will be selling for £49.99 and £99.99 respectively.

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

Roku Increases Selection of Entertainment Content; Begins Shipping Roku Players to Customers in the UK

Roku Players Feature More than 40 Streaming Channels Including Region-Specific Programmes

Saratoga, Calif. and LONDON – Feb. 10, 2012 – Roku ®, the leading streaming platform in the U.S., today announced the addition of BBC iPlayer to its growing selection of video, music and games in the UK. Joining Netflix, FoxNews.com and others, the new channel will allow Roku’s UK customers to catch up on recent BBC programming on their television sets without the need for a PC.

“Roku recognizes the importance of region-specific programmes so today we are excited to announce the addition of BBC iPlayer to our platform,” said Clive Hudson, vice president and general manager for Europe at Roku. “This is among the first of many significant content partnerships for Roku in Europe and we look forward to making additional announcements in the coming weeks.”

Roku streaming players are known for their low prices, simplicity and quality of content. Two models of Roku players – Roku LT and Roku 2 XS – are available in the UK and the Republic of Ireland for suggested retail prices of £49.99 and £99.99 respectively (customers can visit www.roku.co.uk to find retailers). Both models feature more than 40 channels of streaming entertainment including on-demand films and programmes from Netflix and Crackle (Crackle is available in the UK only); live and on-demand sports from MLB.TV and Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation; music from Classical TV and TuneIn; photos and videos from Facebook and Flickr; news and entertainment from WSJ Live from the Wall Street Journal, FoxNews.com and others from around the world – plus casual games like Angry Birds.

It doesn’t seem as if Disney’s restrictions will be as harsh as Warner Bros. Warner Bros. wants rental services to wait 56 days before renting movies for customers. Of course, no company is obligated to abide by Warner Bros.’ wishes, but they won’t get bundles of movies at discounted prices if they refuse to play ball.

Via [New York Times]

After Monday’s Redbox and Verizon announcement, the streaming video landscape is getting very interesting.

Via [Reuters]

It may be the day after the Super Bowl, however shifting gears just a little bit — it is also February 6th and that means the Netflix original series ‘Lilyhammer’ has come available for streaming. The series will be available using Watch Instantly streaming and includes all eight episodes of Season 1. The episodes all measure in at either 44 or 45 minutes and are available in HD format. As for the show, here is the description from the folks at Netflix;

“After he testifies against a Mafia boss, ex-gangster Frank Tagliano enters the witness protection program and asks to be sent to Norway. Despite the peaceful surroundings, it’s not long before Frank strays from the straight and narrow.”

Via [Netflix] and [The Next Web]

If you are sporting the LG Spectrum smartphone and have been having issues with Netflix — you may want to download and install the latest over-the-air update. The update comes as software version VS920ZV4, measures in at 10.09MB in size and offers just one thing — a fix for Netflix streaming. More specifically, according to the changelog posted by Verizon Wireless, this update includes;

Fixes & Enhancements:

• Netflix playback issue corrected

Via [Verizon Wireless] and [Android Central]

Amazon already has a steady flow of streaming video customers, but it may be preparing to offer another service that may give Netflix a lot more competition. Currently, Amazon Prime subscribers can get access to Amazon’s library of streaming video content at no extra cost. In the future, Amazon may create a standalone streaming video service that anyone can subscribe to.

Content executives told the New York Post Amazon isn’t quite sure how much it will charge for its new video service. Netflix however has an idea on how Amazon’s new service is going to set customers back. In a letter to shareholders, Netflix noted Amazon may try to undercut them.

“We expect Amazon to continue to offer their video service as a free extra with Prime domestically but also to brand their video subscription offering as a standalone service at a price less than ours,” the letter reads.

Netflix defended itself against Amazon and Hulu Plus by praising its much larger, commercial-free library of content.

Read [New York Post] Also Read [Netflix Shareholder Letter]

For those of you who planning to get the LG Cinema 3D Smart TV, here’s something that might excite you some more and finally get the said home entertainment device. Nuance, has just announced that its new Dragon TV platform is now powering the voice recognition feature of the LG Magic Remote which is used for the Smart TV. With Nuance Dragon voice recognition, you can now simply speak to the LG Magic Remote to find, discover and access movies, music and games. The new feature of LG Remote via Nuance Dragon TV platform will initially support  US English, American Spanish, Canadian French and Korean. Additionally, the LG Magic Remote will also let you search for web content by keywords or phrase, or access social media content on Facebook or YouTube. The LG Magic Remote will be available this quarter while Dragon TV is now available for TV manufacturers and subscription TV operators. It supports Linux, Android and iOS platforms.

Via [Nuance]

This decision leaves customers with fewer options to get their hands on new releases. Warner Bros. wants to sell more DVDs and figures a 56-day waiting period will convince more people to head into a retail store instead of renting movies. AllThingsD reports Warner Bros. will sell its discs to companies such as Netflix at a discount in exchange for holding off on rental options for nearly two months.

Somehow I think this will all just lead to more piracy.

Via [AllThingsD]

Comcast customers don’t have to worry about finding a new place to watch their favorite Disney-owned content for the next 10 years. Today, Comcast and The Walt Disney Company announced the signing of a new distribution agreement between the two companies. In addition to being able to watch a slew of ESPN, Disney and ABC channels, some authenticated content will also become available to watch on tablets and smartphones.

70 different services will come along with this deal including a new 24-hour channel called Disney Junior. Xfinity TV customers can expect to gain access to the following content:

• ABC On Demand
• ABC Family On Demand
• Disney On Demand (various brands)
• Disney Channel subscription VOD service (free)
• Disney Family Movies
• WatchESPN (multiple platforms)
• WatchDisneyChannel (multiple platforms)
• WatchDisneyXD (multiple platforms)
• WatchDisneyJunior (multiple platforms)

Read [AllThingsD]