YouTube is firing up support for videos shot in high-dynamic-range, a picture quality growing more popular among TV makers. High-dynamic range accentuates color and amps up the contrast between the brightest whites and darkest blacks, improving overall image quality. The announcement by Google’s YouTube coincides with the rollout this month of the Chromecast Ultra streaming …

Vevo added a tool to its site Monday that lets users make shareable animated GIFs out of five seconds of many of its music videos. It’s Vevo’s latest lure to hook music video lovers, hoping it can entice them to watch more of its videos on its own site rather than YouTube. Vevo is a bedrock for music videos on …

YouTube is giving its creators new weapons to battle the trolls. Comments on YouTube have always been an important way for its stars to build a fan base. The direct connection viewers feel through comments and social media have been crucial to the rise of the “YouTuber” celebrity. But freedom of comments on YouTube, as well as on services like …

Sprint is bringing on a new DJ. The nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier is adding Napster, formerly Rhapsody, as a music-streaming partner. The move follows Sprint’s partnership with rival service Spotify in April 2014. It doesn’t offer Sprint customers a special deal or preload Napster’s app on their phones, but it combines billing onto the phone owner’s mobile plan. The alliance …

In a less-than-shocking turn, Hulu will include channels from joint owners 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney in a virtual live-TV service coming next year. Disney networks that will be on the new service include its sports powerhouse, ESPN, as well as broadcast network ABC, among others. Fox channels include its broadcast network of the same name, plus Fox News, …

The next time you “direct message” a company on Twitter, the reply could be so instantaneous it doesn’t even seem human. Maybe, that’s because it’s not. On Tuesday, Twitter said it was rolling out the ability for companies to set up automated customer service messages in DMs, like welcome greetings and replies meant to direct you to a quick solution. …

Spotify mounted a defense of its free tier Tuesday, saying music with no upfront cost is good for both artists and fans. Troy Carter, an executive who acts as Spotify’s liaison with the music industry, compared paid and free listening to how musicians sell high-priced front-row tickets as well as cheap nose-bleed seats to their concerts. “I don’t think we’re …

One thing is certain: if AT&T takes over Time Warner, there won’t be any “Time Warner” companies to confuse anymore. Telecom giant AT&T on Saturday signed a deal to buy entertainment giant Time Warner. It’s a big deal, in both meanings of the phrase. Valued at $85.4 billion in cash and stock, the acquisition would rank among the biggest takeovers …

Pandora will unveil its answer to Spotify and Apple Music later this year, rolling out a paid, on-demand service after more than a decade of digital radio that crimped skips and song choice. The new service will be presented on December 6 at an event in New York and will roll out to consumers in the first three months of …

Dish debuted the YouTube app on its Hopper 3 DVR late Thursday, becoming the first major pay-TV company in the US to enable videos from the massive site to play through its set-top box alongside traditional TV. Practically speaking, this means Dish customers can search, browse and play YouTube videos without switching inputs and devices. But symbolically, the move puts …