Netlix, Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar and others sign self-regulatory code to avoid censorship by Indian govt

Get ready for uncensored content on Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+Hotstar to change soon as a self-regulation code has been drafted and signed by 15 of India’s largest streaming companies. This code has not been imposed by the Indian government but rather is more self-regulation by these companies as they would rather not face the wrath of the government and preemptively ‘self-regulate’ content. Companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, Zee5, Viacom18’s Voot, ALTBalaji, Eros Now, MX Player, Discovery Plus, Jio Cinema, HoiChoi, Arre, Flickstree, Hungama and Shemaroo have all signed the ‘Universal Self-Regulation Code’which was drafted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India. You can read the entire thing here. 

First reported by Variety, the code was introduced in 2018. This code essentially came about as the Indian government did not want to impose restrictions on streaming companies and would rather these companies do it themselves. The Universal Self-Regulation Code includes frameworks for age classification, content descriptions as well as the introduction of a ‘grievance reporting mechanism’. This system essentially allows viewers to report non-compliant content. Each company will also set up a consumer complaints department along with an advisory panel to deal with the various grievances and issues that viewers might have with the content on their platforms. According to Variety, “the advisory panel will have at least three members including an independent external advisor and two senior executives from the streamer.”. The code is effective immediately on all the above mentioned streaming sites.  Who knows how this will affect content on streaming platforms in the coming months but if history is anything to go by, we’ll could soon be getting censored content on streaming services, just like we are on television. 

In a statement to the media, a representative from the Internet and Mobile Association of India said, “The goal of this industry-wide effort is to empower consumers with information and tools to assist them in making an informed choice with regard to viewing decisions for them and their families, while at the same time, nurturing creativity and providing creators the freedom to tell the finest stories.”

In other news, Netflix has cancelled its cyberpunk show Altered Carbon, but we’ve got a bunch of shows to help you fill that void. Check it out here. You can also watch select Netflix originals for free, without a subscription, and you can find out how to do that, right here. And finally, Netflix is also testing a shuffle button to help you decide what to watch next. You can read more about that here. 

 

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World of Warcraft Comes to Life in a Czech Forest

Czech World of Warcraft fans donned costumes on Saturday to bring the massively popular online game to life, pushing ahead with a scaled-back festival after the coronavirus pandemic postponed the annual event earlier this year

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Fortnite Creator Epic Games Asks Court to Prevent What It Describes as Apple's 'Retaliation'

Epic Games said late on Friday that it has asked a court to stop what it saw as Apple Inc's retaliation against the "Fortnite" creator after the iPhone maker terminated Epic Games' account on its App Store.

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Airtel is now converting existing broadband plans to offer unlimited data caps: Report

If you’re an Airtel broadband customer, then we’ve got some good news for you. The company has started shifting all existing broadband plans towards unlimited data. This move essentially comes after Reliance Jio Broadband announced truly unlimited internet on a no-condition 30-day Free Trial. This is great news for Airtel Broadband users looking for an upgrade to their broadband connections. 

Airtel upgrades existing broadband plans to offer unlimited downloads

Broadband plans like Basic, Entertainment, Premium and even VIP have all been converted to offer unlimited data caps which in reality will be about 3300GB. Do note that this only affects existing customers. As reported by OnlyTech, Airtel has also removed the Rs 299 pack from its website. It’s clear that this move was taken to prevent existing customers from shifting to a JioFiber connection.  The company has separately also removed the Prime Video subscription that came with Airtel Xstream Fiber broadband plan users. And if that was not enough, Airtel has also removed ZEE5 benefits for Airtel Thanks Platinum customers.

In other Airtel news, the company’s free data coupon offer is now valid for Rs 289, Rs 448 and Rs 599 tariff plans as well. You can read more about that here. Also, just a few days ago, we reported that Airtel customers could soon witness a tariff price hike as hinted by Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal. You can read more about that story here. 

 

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PUBG Mobile taken down from Google Play Store and Apple Store, but you can still play a match

The most popular mobile game in India, PUBG Mobile, has now been officially taken down from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, in line with the ban imposed on the Tencent-developed game (along with 117 other apps) by the Indian Government. At the time of publishing this article, the game is working if it was already installed in a device, but we are not sure just how long it will continue to function.

Tencent did issue a statement on Friday that it will be engaging with the government to get PUBG Mobile back on mobile platforms in India. Meanwhile, users who already have the game installed, can still play a match or two. The game can also be downloaded and installed from other third-party app stores as of now.

PUBG Mobile garnered over 50 million daily active users in India, and grew even more during the pandemic, with the game becoming a place for friends to come together and enjoy during the lockdown. PUBG Mobile also was a favourite e-sports game in India, with official tournaments and other third-party leagues becoming quite popular and capturing a large segment of the smartphone gaming market. Tencent would be announcing a new version of the game with improved graphics, revamped maps and gameplay, but it's unlikely that players in India will get to experience it.

 

A new era of PUBG Mobile is coming, featuring an overhaul of the Erangel map and a bold new look. Check out the exclusive sneak peek on the @AppStore here: https://t.co/yfjzSQI0Xm pic.twitter.com/qDBFaZ1YyJ

— PUBG MOBILE (@PUBGMOBILE) August 28, 2020

 

However, the Government in its memo claimed PUBG Mobile and the 117 Chinese apps that it banned are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity’ of the country and that it received “many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user’s data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India.”

While PUBG Mobile has disappeared from mobile app stores, the PC, PS4 and Xbox One version of the game is still available to play. There’s also PUBG PC Lite which seems to be new haunt of PUBG Mobile players, according to chatter on social media. The PC and console version of PUBG is developed by South Korea-based Bluehole.

Within just a day of the ban, though, the vaccuum has already been attempted to be filled by local Indian game developers. There’s already a battle-royale game with barebones graphics called PABJE, and now Bengaluru-based game studio nCore Games, which has industry veteran Vishal Gondal as an investor, announced it’s working on a similar game (with a similar name) called FAU-G, under the mentorship of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. FAU-G may sound similar to PUBG, but the studio explained it means Fearless and United-Guards. During the announcement, the studio said it will donate 20 percent of the game’s revenue to the government’s fund-raising initiative Bharat Ke Veer. There are also alternatives like Call of Duty: Mobile, Garena Free Fire and Fortnite that might feel close to the experience of playing PUBG Mobile, if not better.

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The Witcher 3 is getting visual and technical enhancements for the PS5 and Xbox Series X

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is by far one of the best open-world games this console generation has seen. It has a deep complex story where your choices affect the outcome, engaging combat and a vast open world. The developer behind the game, CD Projekt Red has announced that the game will receive an upgrade for the next generation consoles. 

The developer says, “We’re working on the next-generation edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt! Developed to take advantage of the most powerful gaming hardware, the next-gen edition of the game will feature a range of visual and technical improvements — including ray tracing and faster loading times — across the base game, both expansions, and all extra content. The next-generation edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will release as a standalone purchase for PC, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, as well as a free update for everyone who already owns the game on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.”

 

The Witcher 3 is coming to the next generation! A visually and technically enhanced version of the game will be available for purchase for PC and next-gen consoles & as a free update for owners of the game on PC, @Xbox One and @PlayStation 4. More: https://t.co/JclubxpJim pic.twitter.com/gWCJzST3vr

— The Witcher (@witchergame) September 4, 2020

 

The cherry on the cake is that you don't need to purchase the game once again on the next-gen consoles to take advantage of the new features. If you own the game on your current-gen console, then the upgrade for next-gen is free for you. 

The Witcher 3 isn’t the only game that will receive a free next-gen upgrade from CD Projekt Red. The developers upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077 which is slated to hit the PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 19, 2020, will also see a free next-gen upgrade. There is no launch date revealed for the next-gen version of the Witcher or Cyberpunk 2077.  

The fact that CD Projekt Red is offering a free next-gen version for its upcoming and existing game is starkly different from what some of the other publishers in the world of gaming are doing. Remedy Entertainment’s Control (review), for example, is a game where players will have to purchase Control Ultimate Edition to be able to get a free next-gen upgrade. 

While games for the next-gen consoles have been announced the one thing we don't know is the price and release date of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. You can check out the speculated prices and release date of the next-gen consoles here.

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Xiaomi Mi TV Horizon editions specifications leaked ahead of September 7 launch

Xiaomi is all set to launch its Mi TV Horizon Edition in India on September 7 and key specifications of the TV have leaked online. The information comes from known leakster Ishan Agarwal who has shared the information about the upcoming TV. According to the leak, we will see a 43-inch FHD TV running on the Android TV platform with Xiaomi’s PatchWall UI. Let’s take a look at the leaked specifications in detail. 

Xiaomi Mi TV Horizon Edition leaked specifications

As per the leaks, we will see a 43-inch FHD TV launch on September 7. The TV will run on the Android TV 9 OS with Xiaomi’s PatchWall UI. Xiaomi has introduced a data saver feature in its TVs in the past and the feature is expected to return here as well. Since the TV runs on Android we can expect the standard slew of features like built-in Chromecast, access to the Google Play Store and popular streaming services. 

It is possible that we could see some new additions to PatchWall as Xiaomi has steadily added new features to its UI, but that’s something we will only know on September 7. The Mi TV Horizon Edition is expected to have 20W of sound output and under the hood, the TV will have a Cortex A53 processor, 1GB RAM along with 8GB storage. For connectivity options, the TV is expected to have 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, Ethernet port, and 3.5mm port. 

While the features and specifications of the MI TV aren’t revolutionary, we do think this could be the time Xiaomi decides to revamp its TV lineup. Every year Xiaomi has steadily increased its portfolio of TVs offering TVs from 32-inches to 65-inches. They have a lineup of 4K and HDR TVs as well. But the thing is, the competition is catching up. We have seen TVs from brands like Kodak and Thomson get onto the Android TV bandwagon with support for 4K and HDR with higher peak brightness than the Mi TV. We’ve also seen the recent introduction of Hisense and Compaq bring TVs to India. It’s safe to say that the TV space is getting quite competitive.

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