Western Digital Adds New Services for WD TV Live Media Players

In an effort to provided more content accessibility and operational convenience to its WD TV Live and Live Hub Network Media Players, Western Digital has added a host of new services, as well as an iOS remote control app.

The new content services added include the VUDU pay-per-view movie streaming service, SnagFilms, which features a library of free documentaries and independent films, XOS College Sports, SEC Digital Network, Comedy Time, featuring a collection of short comedy films, and Watch Mojo, which features professionally-produced videos on a variety of topics, ranging from education, fashion, food, politics, technology, and more.

For complete details on these new additions, read the Official Announcement from Western Digital

In addition, be sure to read our reviews of both the WD TV Live and WD Live Hub Network Media Players.

Source is
http://hometheater.about.com/b/2011/12/20/western-digital-adds-new-services-for-wd-tv-live-media-players.htm

Charter Launches TiVo Premiere in Texas

Charter Communications launched its whole-home solution powered by TiVo Premiere to its customers in Texas. The initial launch will be followed by deployment of TiVo Premiere across its footprint in the first half of 2012.

TiVo Premiere from Charter blends traditional television channels with Internet-delivered video and interactive applications from Charter On Demand as well as Pandora, YouTube and more, all packaged in TiVo’s user interface. In addition to the entertainment library, customers can enjoy the whole-home video solution allowing them to begin a recording in one room, pause and pick it up from a TiVo Premiere device in another room.

Other Charter TiVo Premiere features include:

1. Integrated search: Quickly scan across the TV lineup, Charter On Demand and Web content to find programs to watch, regardless of where they originate.
2. Remote scheduling: Search and schedule recordings from the Web or from a mobile device.
3. TiVoToGo transfers: Transfer some programs from the TiVo Premiere to a laptop, media device, or smart phone for viewing outside the home.
4. Control live TV: Pause, rewind, slow-motion, and instantly replay live TV.
5. iPad and iPhone: Free app enables search, browse, explore and sharing of favorite entertainment without interrupting what’s playing on TV. An Android app is expected to be launched in early January 2012.
6. Personalized ratings: By hitting the “thumbs-up” and “thumbs-down” ratings buttons on the TiVo remote, TiVo tracks personal likes and dislikes, providing relevant programming suggestions and automatic recordings.
7. Content storage: Record up to 45 hours of high-definition (HD) programming or up to 400 hours of standard-definition programming – equivalent to more than 16 days of content.
8. Full HD support: Offers full support for 1080p and 1080i HD formats.

Source is

http://www.cable360.net/ct/news/thewire/Charter-Launches-TiVo-Premiere-in-Texas_49446.html

Apple rumor: iTV sizes to range from 32 to 55 inches

Apple's rumored iTV will come in three sizes, ranging from 32 to 55 inches, according to supply chain sources in Japan.

As expected, the Apple iTV rumors are continuing to trickle out from all over the globe. Today’s rumor comes courtesy of Australian tech site Smarthouse, which claims to have a scoop on the details of the supposedly upcoming Apple iTV, which the site says will come in three sizes, starting at 32-inches and going up to 55-inch, according to “Sources at a major Japanese company who are involved in manufacturing the TV.” The middle size? Well, there’s no word on that, but we’d guess it’ll be around 42-inches, a common increment for high-definition televisions.

In addition to the size specifications, the sources tell Smarthouse that iTV will come loaded with a new, faster processor, which will also power the (also rumored) iPad 3. This has commonly been referred to as the “A6″ CPU. Apple’s iTV — or whatever it may be called — will also include Siri, the voice-controlled artificial intelligence software that is currently exclusive to the iPhone 4S, the publication reports. The Siri rumor is something we’ve been hearing for some time, and gained steam due to a section of Walter Isaacson’s biography of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs,  in which Jobs claimed the iTV would have “the simplest user interface you could imagine.”

In terms of release date, Pipper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has long held the reigns on this rumor wagon, saying that Apple will release the iTV in mid-2012. Other’s claim release won’t come until early in 2013.

All of this is solidly in the realm of speculation, remember, so make sure to have your salt shakers handy anytime you read anything about the iTV. Still, the Jobs biography does lend some credence to rumors that Apple is, at least, considering the release of such a product.

Source is
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/apple-rumor-itv-sizes-to-range-from-32-inches-to-55-inches/

Cox is latest to bring live TV to the iPad

Cox Communications is making live TV available on the iPad, with the release of a new app that lets subscribers watch shows and movies while in their homes. The Cox TV Connect app makes it the latest in a series of pay TV operators to extend their services to new devices.

Previously, operators like Cablevision and Time Warner Cable have launched iPad apps that bring live TV to the tablet, as long as users are logged in and are connecting from their home networks. Other apps — like one from Comcast — let users authenticate an watch on demand content. Cox is taking the former approach with its app, bringing live TV to the app in user homes.

For cable operators like Cox, the end goal is to make as much content available on as many places as possible. Thanks to the availability of streaming video on new mobile and connected devices, consumers are increasingly demanding access to their favorite TV shows and networks regardless of the devices. “A screen is a screen is a screen,” Cox VP of Video Strategy Steve Necessary told us in a phone interview.

While the Cox app is a step in the right direction, the selection of live channels in somewhat limited today: The app has about 35 channels available for live viewing, out of hundreds of channels available to subscribers. Compare that, for instance, with Cablevision, which introduced its iPad app with all of its channels available at launch.

Necessary said that’s because the company needs to negotiate rights with TV networks before putting them online. Cox also needs to ensure that local broadcast content, or content that is subject to certain blackouts, doesn’t appear in the app. Cox has operations in 18 different states throughout the country, so local content can vary by market.

This isn’t the first app for Cox; it previously launched an application that lets users browse content and program their DVR from mobile devices. Necessary said that at some point the functionality from both apps will likely be blended together into a single application that handles both sets of functionality.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/cox-live-ipad-app/

YouTube reinvents itself with massive relaunch

YouTube is rolling out one of its most ambitious redesigns since its launch in 2006 this Thursday afternoon, putting channels front and center in an attempt to become the Internet’s answer to cable TV. The new design features a completely revamped home page that focuses on a user’s video subscriptions and pulls in video recommendations from social networks like Facebook and Google+.


The pages of video publishers are also getting a significant face lift, emphasizing the notion of subscribing to channels and focusing more on filtering and curation. “Curators are going to be be really great for organizing this massive amount of content that YouTube has,” said the site’s channels product manager A.J Crane.

This focus on channels is part of YouTube’s attempt to evolve from a site that is on average frequented for 15 minutes a day to a destination that invites users to watch for hours. It also ties in with its recently announced professional content initiative that will bring around 100 new channels from celebrities like Madonna and Tony Hawk as well as prominent YouTube stars like The Young Turk’s Cenk Uygur to the site in the coming months.

Some of the highlights of the new design include:

• The overall design is closely aligned with the visual changes on other Google properties, including Google+ and GMail.
• The home page features a kind of activity stream that includes video uploads, likes and favorites, comments as well as announcements for upcoming live events.
• Users can pin up to ten of their favorite channels on YouTube’s homepage, giving them easier access to uploads and video recommendations posted on those channels.
• A new Favicon in the form of a play button replaces the stacked YouTube logo.
• Registered users will be able to choose from four default templates for their own channel pages, with individual templates appealing to the needs of avid YouTube networkers, creators who simply want to showcase their best work through playlists or video bloggers with a lot of output that will be arranged in reverse chronological order.
• Video pages now feature a grey background that is supposed to be less distracting that the site’s previous use of bright white.

These changes are expected to go live to all users at 2pm PT, and YouTube is offering a detailed look at all of the new features here.

The focus on channels and the homepage is also YouTube’s answer to the rise of third-party curation through platforms like Facebook and Twitter. YouTube has been clocking around 200 million visitors to its old home page every day, but the site recently announced that it is seeing 3.5 billion video views every single day. That means that most of YouTube’s traffic isn’t coming through YouTube’s homepage, which entails the danger that people quickly jump off after watching a single clip.

YouTube VP of Product Development Shishir Mehrotra emphasized on Thursday that this was just a first wave of changes across YouTube’s properties. “We are just geting started,” he said. Up next are changes to YouTube’s mobile apps and sites as well as efforts to bring this channel-centric approach to connected devices. YouTube representatives also hinted at further personalization options for channel content, which would presumably work in conjunction with Google+, as well as the ability to view private and unlisted videos shared with you within your homepage’s activity stream.

One of the platforms that will see some of the new channel-centric approach next is the Xbox, where the launch of a new UI for YouTube is imminent. “Any of the channels on YouTube may be a great channel on TV,” said YouTube Group Product Manager Shiva Rajaraman, and Mehrotra went on to predict that distinctions between traditional TV channels and YouTube content channels would eventually become irrelevant. “This term of online video is about to disappear,” he said.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/youtube-relaunch/

Spotify Announces New App Platform

At Spotify’s first U.S. press conference in New York City, the streaming music service announced its new app platform.

The new version of Spotify will include access to applications built by third parties that take advantage of the Spotify library and community. Spotify Platform launch partners including Rolling Stone, Last.fm, Pitchfork and Billboard.

Apps take advantage of Spotify’s vast music library, as well as its deeper social integration with Facebook.

The apps are built in HTML5, which conceivably means they will be easy to access in Spotify apps across platforms. Spotify says that the apps are available first and foremost for the desktop, but if it is a success, apps will come to other platforms. They’ll be available in the Spotify desktop app and to premium and free users.

Spotify says it is open to all developers, but will still manually approve apps before listing them in the Spotify player. A preview version of the Spotify desktop app is now available for users that want to try out the apps early. A consumer release will be issued in December.

Check out this video the Spotify team put together showing off the new platform:

Source is:
http://mashable.com/2011/11/30/spotify-app-platform/

Virgin adds Spotify to Tivo services

Virgin Media has released the Spotify Tivo application for its users and is rolling it out from today.

The service adds on-demand music streaming to on-demand television services, and presumably is much in demand amongst those with a desire for both.

From now, and once it gets around to all of Virgin Media's customers, Virgin Media Tivo users will be able to access their Spotify Premium accounts and the tracks and playlists therein. Virgin Media said that content will appear in the Apps and Games section of the Tivo menu setup.

You know by now, probably, what Spotify is, but Virgin Media told us that its service is perfect for quiet listening on the sofa, whatever that means, or for playing a "digital DJ for the ultimate house party". We presume the company means the ultimate house party that centres around a television.

"The world of digital entertainment is continually changing and we're always looking at ways we can bring our customers the best entertainment for their whole families," said Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media.

"Our goal to deliver a truly unique experience for our customers and we're really excited about bringing Spotify to our Tivo service as part of our ongoing initiatives to develop the platform further with new features, applications and content."

What to Expect From Spotify’s ‘New Direction’ Event

As Spotify gears up for its first-ever U.S. press conference in New York City on Wednesday, speculation is heating up about exactly what the streaming music service will announce.

All Things Digital is reporting that the company is likely to announce that third-party developers can make Spotify’s music library available to their own users. These users would then in turn have to pay Spotify for privileges. However, Spotify declined to comment on whether the event will include news about the company expanding its application programming interface (API).

It’s also rumored that an iPad app and a new music store where members can purchase songs directly from the service could also arrive. The latter is a more likely guess since it’s already possible for European Spotify members to buy songs from the streaming service.

Spotify – which arrived on U.S. shores just four months ago – sent out press invitations last week announcing that it has “exciting news” to share about a “new direction” the company is taking. The event called “What’s next for Spotify?” will stream online and should feature a special guest or two, along with CEO Daniel Ek.

Spotify has been under pressure recently from competitors such as Google Music, the recently-unveiled free service that allows users to upload, share and browse songs, and then listen to them on the go via cloud storage on Android devices.

There has also been an increase in concern among music partners about the impact of streaming on their business. More than 200 labels and publishers pulled out of various streaming services, from Spotify to Napster and Rdio, after a study claimed streaming music was hurting record sales.

Since this will be the company’s first time addressing the press in this manner – it didn’t even hold a press conference for its U.S. launch – buzz surrounding the event has been big.

Some experts believe that if Spotify opens up its platform to third-party developers, the music industry would be more open to a “music everywhere” concept, similar to how the TV industry gave cable customers access to watch TV programming online and via iPad apps, according to All Things Digital. The move could also entice more Spotify users to sign up for paid accounts instead of using its basic free model.

Spotify’s business is growing fast, helped along by its expansion onto Facebook. In addition, the company recently announced that its premium subscription growth doubled in the last year to 2.5 million, making it the largest music subscription service on the Internet. But with the addition of third-party developers having access to the site’s catalog, the growth could be much larger.

“What’s next for Spotify?” will kick off at 11:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday and Mashable will be there live blogging the event.

Source is
http://mashable.com/2011/11/29/spotify-event-rumors-new-direction/

3D television and projector sales are on the rise

While many studios are still struggling to produce quality 3D entertainment in the form of movies and television shows, consumers within the United States seem to be embracing upgrading 3D hardware.

According to new data from NPD DisplayResearch released last week, shipments of 3D high definition televisions rose to 6.6 million units by the end of September 2011. This constitutes a 27 percent increase over the previous year. The research firm also expects that shipments will shoot up another 30 percent in the fourth quarter and 3D LCD TV market penetration will hit 10 percent of the U.S. market by the end of 2011. That will bring the total number of 3D televisions in U.S. homes to 21.5 million. NPD also predicts that regular high definition television sales will make up less than 80 percent of the market by the end of 2012.

Television manufacturers are also producing fewer 2D models and attempting to drive the price down on 3D panels.

Sales of 3D-capable projectors shot up by 121 percent in the third quarter and now account for more than 16 percent of the home theater projector install base in the United States according to a report from Quixel Research. The company also expects that over half of all projectors released in the United States will be 3D-capable by the end of the next year. While 3D projector sales have grown consistently over the first nine months of 2011, 2D projector sales have fallen by approximately 20 percent.

While people are apparently purchasing 3D televisions and projectors, the amount of 3D content available to consumers is still limited to a handful of channels on most cable and satellite providers. According to a Retrevo study conducted earlier this month, 40 percent of respondents were concerned about the amount of movies and television shows available in 3D. Over half of the group wasn’t interested in paying more money for a #D-capable television and the average cost of upgrading to 3D was around $400 during the last two months. In addition, only a third of the group had made plans to purchase a 3DTV during 2012.

Source is
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/3d-television-and-projector-sales-are-on-the-rise/

Apple taps Sharp to develop iTV: rumor

Apple is allegedly working with Sharp to build the mythical iTV, which could arrive as early as next year, according to market analyst Peter Misek.

Its relationship with Samsung in tatters, Apple is reportedly working with Sharp to develop the rumored iTV, reports Mashable, citing claims by Jefferies analyst peter Misek.

According to Misek, Sharp is building TFT LCD panels for the so-called iTV, a device that still remains mostly a mystery — in fact, there has so far been no evidence that Apple has plans to release a full-blown television anytime soon. But Misek says that the iTV could be ready for production as soon as February, which would put release at sometime in the middle of 2012.

Apple has long used Samsung as one of its primary component suppliers. For instance, about 25 percent of the parts in Apple’s iPhone 4 come courtesy of Samsung. But with the two companies going at each other’s throats in court rooms around the world over patent infringement claims, Sharp has apparently swooped in to pick up the slack.

Rumors of an iTV have been floating around for years. The chatter picked up steam last month, however, after the release of Walter Isaacson’s official biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who is quoted in the book as saying that he’d “finally cracked” the mystery of how to make a TV worthy of the Apple brand.

The solution, according to trusted New York Times technology reporter Nick Bilton, is the integration of Siri, Apple’s voice-controlled artificial intelligence engine, which is currently available in the iPhone 4S. Bilton says that Apple has been developing the iTV since 2007, and that it will arrive late next year, or early in 2013.

We are taking this news well salted, as many an analyst has started many an Apple rumor, which later proved false, or far from the original information. Still, it would seem that Apple is at least looking into the possibility of releasing an iTV (or whatever it may be called). But even if that’s true, there’s still no guarantee that it will ever be released.

Western Digital WD TV Live Streaming Media Player - Review

There are an increasing number of TVs and Blu-ray Disc players that have the ability to access internet-based audio and video content, such as Netflix. However, what do you do if your current TV or Blu-ray Disc player doesn't have that capability? The solution may just be the compact WD TV Streaming Media Player from Western Digital.


The WD TV Live incorporates WiFi connectivity to provide convenient access to a number of popular internet streaming services, including HuluPlus, Netflix, Spotify, Blockbuster On Demand, CinemaNow, and Pandora, as well as being able to access digital media content stored on PCs and media servers, for viewing on your TV or listening on your home theater system. In addition, the WD TV Live also features 1080p video output resolution via HDMI connection.

Netflix on Wii just got kids-friendly

Netflix officially rolled out its Just for Kids section on the Wii Tuesday morning, making the kids-friendly previously available only in South America accessible to U.S. customers as well. The roll-out marks the beginning of a wider expansion of a more kids-appropriate interface to connected devices. The company’s director of product innovation David Watson announced the changes on Netflix’s blog:

    When you launch the Netflix app on Wii, you can choose the Just for Kids section, letting the kids browse without worrying if they will come across content not intended for young viewers.

We first reported in July that Netflix was working on a kids-centric UI, and the company rolled it out to all its users on the web a month later. Netflix made the new Wii UI available to its subscribers in South America earlier this month, and a spokesperson told me at the time it would bring a kids-specific section to the PS3 soon after.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-wii-kids-ui/

After four years of declines, TiVo adds new customers

TiVo has spent the last several years losing subscribers, dropping to mid-2000s customer levels in the second quarter of this year. But the DVR marker might finally be showing some positive momentum, reporting 117,000 net new customers in its third quarter earnings report.

Those new customers are the result of growth in TiVo’s partnerships with pay-Tv operators, spurred by the addition of partners like Virgin Media and RCN. And that strategy — based around getting cable companies to offer TiVo DVRs to their customers rather than the set-top boxes they’ve been using — could help the company grow even more over the next few quarters. In addition to its existing partnerships, TiVo will see some promotion from DirecTV soon, and Comcast is integrating its video-on-demand service to work with TiVo DVRs that consumers can buy themselves. The company says its partnerships give it a potential footprint of 10 million homes between them, compared to the 2 million subscribers it currently has now.

TiVo is getting traction by promoting its DVRs as a way for cable and satellite companies to provide additional value to their subscribers. Its devices integrate linear TV services with VOD and broadband streaming video offerings, and TiVo boxes can provide more personalization than traditional set-top boxes. It also offers a better search and navigation interface that includes the ability to browse movies and TV shows based on cast and crew information, along with other features. Offering TiVo boxes is one way that those cable and satellite operators can avoid investing in their own pricey custom user interfaces.

The company reported service and technology revenues of $51.8 million, which were up 25 percent year-over-year and above its guidance of $49 million to $51 million. That said, its net loss widened to $24.5 million, which is up from a loss of $20.6 million in the year-ago period but lower than its forecast of a $27 million to $29 million loss.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/tivo-3q-2011/

Matcha.tv launches to become your DVR in the cloud

After a few months in private beta, social video recommendations site Matcha.tv has publicly launched with new features, including the ability to help users organize and keep track of the TV shows and movies they love. And it’s not just for online-only distributors like Netflix or Hulu Plus: The company also recently partnered with Comcast to recommend online episodes available to its Xfinity TV customers as well.

Matcha.tv entered its private beta primarily as a site for recommending TV shows and movies. With the latest update, however, the startup has redesigned its site to give users the ability to create queues and help people follow TV shows. The goal, CEO Guy Piekarz told us in an interview last week, is to become a sort of “DVR in the cloud.” Rather than recording their favorite programs on a DVR set-top box, they’ll be able to catch up on new episodes as they become available online.

While introducing a queue for keeping track of online programming, Matcha.tv has also added new content from Comcast’s XfinityTV.com. That integration works just like Matcha’s existing connections with Netflix and Hulu Plus, and will let Comcast subscribers keep track of authenticated, TV Everywhere programming from cable networks like HBO or Showtime. It also adds broadcast content to Matcha’s library from CBS, which has a distribution partnership with Comcast for new shows that aren’t available through Hulu.

For Matcha.tv, getting a major distributor like Comcast on board shows its willingness to go beyond just serving up videos from online-only sources. And it speaks to the future of content distribution, as the lines are being blurred between what’s recorded on a physical DVR, stored on a network DVR in the cloud, or viewed on-demand, either through traditional VOD or online VOD services.

While Matcha.tv is browser-based today, the startup is working on an iPad app that will be built in HTML5 with a native iOS wrapper around it. That will allow Matcha.tv to repurpose the code for other devices, including Android tablets and mobile devices, as well as (potentially) connected TVs or Blu-ray players. The company is also working on second-screen applications that could connect mobile devices with PCs and other screens in the home.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/matchatv-dvr-in-the-cloud/

Netflix bringing back Arrested Development

Netflix has scored a big coup in bringing back one of the most critically acclaimed (but little-watched) TV comedies of the past decade. Variety reported that the streaming service finalized a deal with 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television to create new episodes of Arrested Development. Netflix later confirmed the deal on Twitter.

Details are scarce, but the parties are looking to introduce new episodes of the series in early 2013, Variety reports. How many episodes would be produced, and how many of the original cast members would be involved, remains unknown. Currently, Arrested Development stars Will Arnett and Portia de Rossi are both working on series at NBC.

Netflix has long been rumored to be in the bidding for a Arrested Development revival. It’s also been widely expected to at some point bring back one popular cancelled show or another, whether it be Arrested Development or maybe Friday Night Lights.

The company, which has about 24 million subscribers in the U.S., is increasingly seeking to differentiate itself with original and exclusive programming. Earlier this year, it announced a major deal to license two seasons of the David Fincher-Kevin Spacey project House of Cards, and is reportedly in talks for a new series from Weeds creator Jenji Kohan.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-arrested-development/

Chill brings live chat to Hulu’s catchup TV

Chill.com launched a major update to its site Tuesday that included new content from Hulu, bringing the latest episodes of popular shows like House, Castle and Dancing with the Stars to the social video chat site. Users can then watch these shows together in a synchronous fashion and chat in groups and also through one-to-one messaging.


Chill’s take on Hulu’s content comes with an interesting twist: Chill uses a so-called social appointment TV schedule to encourage as many people as possible to tune in at the same time. Episodes of individual shows are scheduled to repeat every three hours and can’t be viewed on Chill.com outside of that schedule. Shows are scheduled to be featured on Chill the day they debut on Hulu.

During a phone conversation Tuesday, Chill founder Brian Norgard told me the site will eventually add more ways to access archived content from Hulu as well, with the end goal being to have all of Hulu.com on the site — but for now, the focus is squarely on shows that are current and in season. “This is the true water cooler effect,” said Norgard.


The site also wants to make it easier for viewers to find new TV show episodes. Fans can subscribe to a particular show to get an email whenever a new episode pops up on Chill.

Chill has long been described as a sort of turntable.fm for video, and the site has certainly taken a few cues from Turntable’s crowdsourced real-time media curation approach. Chill users can still start their own rooms and watch YouTube clips and music videos together, and the site recently announced a partnership with Vevo. “We have had tremendous success with this product, but we didn’t want to be limited by it,” said Norgard.

A number of companies have experimented with real-time social interaction around video content before, including the kind of virtual viewing parties networks like Bravo have been doing as well as Google’s recent integration of YouTube into its Hangouts video chat. Norgard said Chill’s approach is a little different: It doesn’t just try to connect you with your social graph, but instead create social bonds with like-minded strangers.

He went on to say that Chill’s big bet was about a more interactive TV future, as opposed to one that brings online content to leanback platforms. “We are really building Chill for the lean-forward customer,” he told me.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/chill-chat-hulu-content/

Viewers tuning in to online video for longer periods of time

Long-form video viewing online might soon become mainstream. Nielsen reported Wednesday  that over the last three years, the number of online viewers has grown 26 percent, which is a pretty sizable shift. But the amount of time spent streaming has more than doubled in that time. Check out the graph below for a more granular look into how things have grown:

While the period between August 2008 and August 2009 showed the most dramatic increase in viewing activity, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. After all, Hulu was pretty new back then, as was Netflix’s streaming video service. As those services and others have grown in terms of content available and users tuning in, there was bound to be a sharp uptick in total number of streams.

But the real interesting growth curve is the number of minutes spent watching those streams, which is increasing even faster. Part of that growth is coming from streaming becoming more mainstream as a way to watch on-demand and even live videos. But part is also coming from the influx of connected and mobile devices that are giving people access to streaming video on the big screen and on the go.

At what point will streaming video start to cut into more traditional TV viewing? Internet-delivered video has been seen as mostly complementary to traditional TV. As stats from Nielsen and others have shown, despite the increased adoption of streaming video, the amount of time people spend watching TV continues to grow. But at some point that might change — there are only so many hours in the day, after all.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/nielsen-online-video-viewing-time/

Infographic: People really hate video buffering

Want people to watch your videos all the way to your end? Then let’s hope they don’t experience any buffering. The average viewing time of a long-form video without buffering is 25.4 minutes, according to new data from video optimization specialist Conviva. Videos that stall, on the other hand, are only watched 12.2 minutes on average.

Check out the infographic below for some more details around buffering:

Of course, it’s noteworthy that Conviva sells solutions to prevent buffering, so it has a vested interest in sharing this information. Conviva optimizes a billion video streams per month, it claims, and 56 percent of those streams get switched to a new bitrate mid-stream to prevent any unwelcome interruptions.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/buffering-videos-infographic/

Netflix Signs Deal With Lionsgate UK

Ahead of its launch in the UK and Ireland Netflix has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Lionsgate UK, the company has announced.

Netflix users in the UK and Ireland, where the streaming movie service will launch in “early 2012,” will be able to watch Lionsgate UK titles instantly on their TV sets, tablets, game consoles and smartphones, for a “low” monthly fee.

Available titles will include older movies such as Reservoir Dogs, Good Night and Good Luck and Blair Witch Project, as well as new hits such as the Expendables 2 and The Hunger Games.

Netflix’s European expansion has been rumored for many months, and the company finally officially announced it will first be coming to UK and Ireland back in October. There, it will compete with movie rental service Lovefilm, acquired by Amazon in January 2011.

With the move to UK and Ireland, Netflix hopes to look past its recent problems. After it separated its DVD service in the U.S. under the name Qwikster, Netflix experienced a huge backlash from users, which forced it to abandon the plan entirely and apologize to users. Its financial report for Q3 2011 was bleak: a loss of 805,000 subscribers resulted in a sharp stock price drop.

Source is
http://mashable.com/2011/11/14/netflix-lionsgate-uk/

Tech Giants Battle to Control Your Living Room Part one

The Battle between The Living-Room Devices

Apple and Google, the ultimate mobile-space rivals, are making slow but steady progress in their campaigns to penetrate consumers' living rooms, with set-top boxes to complement cable or satellite receivers. Google's initial effort, the Google TV-equipped Revue box, was a flop at $299--but this summer Logitech lowered the Revue's price to a more palatable $99.

And late last month, Google began pushing a free update to Google TV OS, which includes (at launch) some 30 new TV-optimized Android apps. The apps consist mainly of casual games and screensaver-like animations (a faux fireplace, for instance), but apps on your TV have the potential to become the channels of the future. For example, video content providers might launch a video app in the Android Market that offers you either free, advertising-supported content or subscription-based, advertising-free content. What the subscription price turns out to be is one of the biggest unknowns that may help determine whether this approach will stick.

So far, CNBC, CNN, Fox, and Wall Street Journal are on board with apps. Apps on your TV will help transform Google's set-top box OS into a casual gaming platform (eight simple games are currently available, including an Angry Birds clone).

Still, don't place your bets on Google TV until Apple has taken its shot. Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson reports that, at the end of his life, the Apple CEO was excited about a project to create an "integrated television set that is completely easy to use." The Apple set wouldn't need to include complex remotes or a bunch of set-top boxes, Jobs believed.

It's unclear whether Apple's approach will take the form of an integrated television or an inexpensive box--essentially an overhaul of the currently available Apple TV. The new Apple TV may ship as early as 2013, according to reports, and it could be based on Siri, the voice-enabled virtual assistant technology found on the iPhone 4S. A Siri-controlled TV would not be without difficulties, however, as my colleague Ian Paul notes. Siri needs a permanent Internet connection to work, so if your connection went down, you wouldn't be able to control the set, unless there's a backup pushbutton remote.

Who's going to prevail in the battle for your living room? It's too early to pick winners among the competing companies. But the winning approach will surely give you much more control over your entertainment options--allowing you to pay for only the content you're interested in and letting you watch that content when you want to.


Source is
http://www.pcworld.com/article/243360/tech_giants_battle_to_control_your_living_room.html

Warner Bros. turns to Twitter to promote #UltraViolet

The next step in Hollywood’s effort to educate consumers about its UltraViolet digital rights locker came from Warner Bros., which is taking to Twitter with a promoted trend aimed at getting Harry Potter fans excited about streaming the title to their computers and other devices.


The #UltraViolet Promoted Trend was launched to coincide with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which goes on sale on Friday. With the release of the final installment in the popular Harry Potter franchise, Warner Bros. is promoting the ability to own a digital copy for streaming to computers, tablets and smartphones.

The Twitter promotion is just one more effort by Hollywood studios to teach consumers about the benefits of UltraViolet, which in theory will allow consumers to purchase a movie once and watch it anywhere they want to. Then again, if you read the fine print, the deal isn’t as good as first promised: The UltraViolet stream is a standard-def version of the film only, and special features are not included. Finally, while the plan behind UltraViolet is to eventually enable consumers to watch movies that they’ve bought on a wide range of platforms, it also warns that the service is not available on all devices. So much for that.

Restrictions like those explain why some consumers aren’t fans of the digital copy scheme, at least in its initial rollout. UltraViolet has received scathing reviews from consumers who purchased The Green Lantern and Horrible Bosses: the first two titles to be released with the streaming copy attached.

Early reviews from the Harry Potter release aren’t much better. While the DVD has yet to go on sale, there are already a number of one-star reviews attached to the title on Amazon, most of which warn to stay away from the UltraViolet digital copy.
For now, the biggest complaint seems to be with the use of Warner Bros.’ Flixster application for accessing digital copies online and on mobile devices. When other applications and websites come online, consumers might have better user experiences to choose from, which could reduce some complaints. Until then, the studios are facing an uphill battle against consumers that aren’t satisfied with what UltraViolet has to offer.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/warner-bros-twitter-ultraviolet/

YouTube Launches Broad Entertainment Venture

YouTube is making a bold step into original programming in an entertainment venture with some 100 content creators, from Madonna to The Wall Street Journal.
The Google Inc.-owned video site said Friday that it's launching more than 100 new video channels. The partners include an array of Hollywood production companies, celebrities and new media groups that will produce mainly niche-oriented videos.

YouTube is shelling out $100 million to producers, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The money is an advance on advertising money the videos will bring in, and Google will recoup its portion first before splitting the proceeds. Advances are as high as $5 million per channel, said another person familiar with the arrangement, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

Neither person was authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
Google declined to offer financial details of the deals, but said the majority of revenue will go to partners.

Participants include Madonna, former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, comedian Amy Poehler, actor Ashton Kutcher, "Office" star Rainn Wilson, spiritual doctor Deepak Chopra and "Modern Family" actress Sofia Vergara. Most are creating channels through their production companies. Madonna is a partner with the dance channel DanceOn, while O'Neal plans the Comedy Shaq Network.

Lionsgate is presenting a fitness channel, and other channels will be launched by news satire the Onion, professional wrestling's WWE, online magazine Slate and news service Thomson Reuters.

The channels will roll out beginning this month, though most will premiere next year. YouTube says the channels will add 25 hours of new original content daily, with dozens of Web series debuting at scheduled times.

Ultimately, YouTube is aiming to create a new digital video platform that will rival television programming.

In a blog posting Friday night, YouTube said the channels are being developed "specifically for the digital age." The video site compared the expanded video offerings to the advent of cable television.

YouTube has tried to build a more advertiser-friendly product of professional-quality video, as opposed to simply user-created videos. Advertisers generally prefer to have their ads matched with known quantities. YouTube has also previously tried to urge viewers to stay longer with TV-like services like the YouTube Leanback, which continuously plays a personalized selection of videos.

Google is also looking to add professionally produced content to its huge roster of user-generated videos, to give users of its Google TV platform something to watch.
Major Hollywood networks such as News Corp.'s Fox and The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC have blocked their content from being shown on Google TV because the sides have been unable to come to a licensing deal that the networks believes pays them fairly. Networks also don't want to jeopardize their lucrative relationship with pay TV distributors like Comcast Corp. and DirecTV.

Google is a platform that has been adopted by set-top box maker Logitech, which makes a device called a Logitech Revue that sells for $100.

Source is
http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=021002KERQSU

Umami for iPad: The Ultimate TV Companion Knows What You’re Watching

Umami is a new iPad app that aims to bring an enhanced, second-screen experience to broadcast and cable TV programming.


Second screen apps are becoming standard fare for networks. Using audio fingerprinting technology, these apps can tell what you’re watching — and provide an updated, customized experience based on the show.

At the Mashable Media Summit last week, second screen experiences were highlighted as one of the major media trends of 2012. Until now, however, most of these experiences have been crafted specifically around one show or network.

This requires users to download individual apps for the shows or networks they frequently watch. Umami aims to work with a large cross-section of programs and networks, both broadcast and cable-based. The app offers quick access to cast and crew listings, descriptions of other recent episodes, quick links to official social media accounts and related tweets from across the web.

Video about how it works

Britain's Music Industry: ISP Should Block The Pirate Bay

Following a UK court's order for ISP BT to shut off access to Newzbin2 for its subscribers, Britain's music industry wasted no time to take advantage of this precedent by calling for the blocking of The Pirate Bay.

By allowing the blocking of Newzbin2, a website that calls itself the Google of usenet, and a website that merely linked to potentially infringing content, the court's ruling now opens the way for the blocking of other websites deemed unacceptable by the music and movie industries in the UK.

The BPI, the body representing music industry interests in the UK, has urged BT to block The Pirate Bay which the music industry lobby group calls "a huge scam".

"It defrauds musicians and other creators of their wages, and it destroys UK jobs," BPI's Chief Executive Geoff Taylor added, despite the industry's own report detailing revenue growth and salaries that are higher than many other industries.

Taylor continued his impassioned plea, or what the copyright lobby's critics may call "fear-mongering", by linking The Pirate Bay to the spread of malware and even hinted at some kind of link between the Torrent search website and child pornography. "(The Pirate Bay) exposes consumers to the risk of viruses, theft of personal information and inappropriate content," explained Taylor.

BT has yet to respond to the BPI's requests.

Source is
http://forum.digital-digest.com/f145/britains-music-industry-isp-should-block-pirate-bay-95338.html

Comcast’s XfinityTV.com gets an HTML5 facelift

Comcast has launched an all-new interface to its XfinityTV.com website, providing users quicker access to content and more tools to connect their online viewing with what they watch on TV and on its video-on-demand service. The updated user interface, which was built in HTML5, puts more emphasis on graphical elements, provides one-click viewing from the front page and allows users to add content to a queue to be watched later.

Taking cues from iPad app development

With the relaunch of its XfinityTV.com website, Comcast is actually using what it has learned from the release of on-demand videos on its iPad app, Matt Strauss, SVP and GM of Comcast Interactive Media, told us in an interview earlier this week. Due to the iPad’s touchscreen controls, it made sense to have a very interactive, visual interface on that app. But a lot of what makes navigating the iPad app a breeze could also be applied to the new website.
Comcast also worked a lot on improving content discovery. The website has more than 27,000 program choices available, which means it needs a robust search and discovery tools to make finding the content you want to watch easy. As a result, it has rolled out recommendations based on content that users have added to the queue to be watched.

Keeping a TV connection

Just as important, Comcast isn’t thinking just about highlighting that content on the XfinityTV portal, but showing users where and when they can access it on their TVs as well. The user queue aggregates linear TV and VOD listings, allowing users to set their DVRs to record shows directly from the website and to force tune their set-top boxes to start playing VOD titles on the big screen when available.
Integrating TV and DVR controls into its web and mobile applications isn’t a new thing for Comcast. The company’s iPad app, for instance, originally launched as a way to browse channel listings and control DVR functions before it added on-demand content from the company’s content partners. Even now, the thing people most use the iPad for isn’t on-demand video viewing, but the tools for navigating and controlling content on their TVs, Strauss said.

Blurring the lines

All this is meant to encourage new user behavior — after all, most people don’t think of using a website to control a TV — and to blur the lines between the different web, mobile and connected TV applications that Comcast is working on bringing to market. As users begin to use all these different devices, there’s the potential to carry over recommendations from the website to the iPad and potentially even to the next generation of set-top boxes that Comcast hopes to introduce.
Ultimately, Comcast hopes to use this interactivity to provide more value to its subscribers, wherever they are and on whichever device they wish to access its content from. Doing so can help set it apart from other operators and online video distributors.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/comcast-xfinitytv-redesign/

What Apple needs to provide users to make iTV successful

Apple’s television plans are the subject of plenty of recent speculation, and are raising a lot of questions in consumer minds, as I found out Thursday while guest-moderating a live Q&A at The Washington Post. Questions raised there, along with my own thoughts, led me to this list of things Apple needs to do to make a truly disruptive standalone TV:

1. Not just apps, but an app store. The current Apple TV has apps. They aren’t advertised as such, but the menu options that lead to MLB, NBA and NHL subscriptions, as well as the Vimeo and YouTube channels are basically apps. While doling out new apps in batches via software updates is appreciated, a real app store is the special sauce that will cause an Apple television to take off.

2. High quality live content. Live video could go a long way toward convincing users to switch ponies and abandon traditional cable or satellite providers for streaming video. Apple has done a good job of bringing sports to the current Apple TV, but it’ll have to deliver pay-per-view events, nationally broadcast live programming, and still more sports to sway users who demand to be kept in the loop and don’t like spoilers.

3. Break the bundle. The aspect of current cable and satellite TV packages that makes them most unpalatable is the bundle; If you’ve ever tried to order a speciality channel on its own, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Breaking up the bundle would probably be the most effective way to tempt users to buy its product, but it’s the part that Apple will probably also have the hardest time striking deals to achieve.

4. Games. A lot of the questions I’m seeing about an Apple television have to do with games. The reason? IOS did (and still does) an amazing job of generating high-quality gaming experiences at a fraction of the price of consoles. Suddenly, people who always thought picking up a controller was a waste of time and money are flinging things at other things like there’s no tomorrow. If Apple can translate its iOS gaming success to an integrated television, iOS gamers will flock to it.

5. Stand-out hardware. One question during today’s Q&A stuck out in particular: Why would Apple make a television set when it could just make a better box? The reason is another potential selling point; specifically, Apple could only justify making its own TV if it makes that TV really amazing. Apple definitely has the pedigree, since it produces industry-leading displays on its mobile devices, computers and computer monitors. Make a TV that dazzles and really looks great in a living room, and you’ve got a big buying incentive right there.

Siri integration and a unified content browsing and playback experience through iCloud and the iTunes media ecosystem are things that could make an Apple television interesting, but they won’t set an industry aflame. That’s what the five points outlined above could do, by reaching out to consumers and providing them with outstanding experiences in areas where a lot of current service offerings fall flat.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/apple/what-apple-needs-to-provide-users-to-make-itv-successful/

Plex app brings local media, Spotify to Google TV

Hot on the heels of this past weekend’s massive update of the core Plex software comes the announcement that the media center is now also available on Google TV.

The Plex team added compatibility with Google TV to the latest version of its Android app this morning, bringing local media sharing on steroids to devices that have already received the Google TV 2.0 update that is rolling out this week. From Plex’s Android blog:

    Now — we’ve heard Google TV maligned many times over the past couple weeks. We’ve heard it said that the new Google TV is not newsworthy. I admit I was a bit skeptical at first — but I’m here to tell you that we’ve been impressed with how Plex performs on our demo unit.

Google TV users will have to install the Plex media server on one of their computers to make full use of the client. Among other things, the app supports playback of media shared within the home network, as well as access to a number of Internet content channels. The most noteworthy one at this point might be Spotify, making it possible to access the music streaming service on Google TV devices before Spotify has launched an official app.

The Google TV implementation also comes with complete support for Plex’s new cloud service and its media-sharing capabilities, which means that Google TV users can now easily access their friends’ personal media libraries.


Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/plex-google-tv/

Is Redbox Dumber Than Netflix?

Renting a DVD from one of the shiny disc-spewing kiosks will set you back $1.20 a night starting this week, up from the round $1 price point that Redbox parent Coinstar (CSTR) has been promoting for years.

Hiking its DVD rental rates by 20% is a gutsy call. It comes on the heels of Netflix (NFLX) facing 800,000 net domestic cancellations in its latest quarter after a poorly received move to begin charging subscribers on its unlimited DVD plans for streaming -- and that's despite lowering the price of its stand-alone DVD plans. Brick-and-mortar rival Blockbuster has been embracing lower price points on its rentals.

It's the wrong move at the wrong time, and the sad clincher is that it's not even necessary.

Seeing Red over Redbox

"This marks the first price increase for a Redbox standard-definition DVD rental in eight years," Coinstar CEO Paul Davis explained last week. "The change is primarily due to the increase in operating expenses, including the recent increase in debit card interchange fees as a result of the Durbin Amendment."

Consumers know all about the debit card interchange fees that recently went into effect. It's what inspired the notorious $5 monthly fees at Bank of America (BAC) for debit card holders who use the plastic for purchases. It may seem like a case of double dipping -- getting hit at both the bank level and merchant level -- but the bigger question here is why Coinstar isn't limiting the 20% increase to debit card users.

Coinstar points out that this is just one of the new cost components it's passing on to end users. However, its financials tell an entirely different story. Coinstar's revenue and earnings from continuing operations climbed 23% and 73% respectively in its latest quarter. Anyone who sees profitability growing three times as fast as actual sales would question why customers are being hit with an increase at a time of widening margins.

Is Coinstar hoping that Redflix customers can't interpret an income statement, or are costs about to ramp up substantially?

Four Weeks at a Time

Movie studios have always hated the way that Redbox, with its cheap rentals, and Netflix, with its video buffet model, devalue their product.

Warner Bros. parent Time Warner (TWX) came up with a solution last year. Realizing that 75% of its DVD sales take place during a movie's first four weeks on the retail market, it struck deals with Netflix and Redbox. If they would agree to hold off on making their new releases available for 28 days, Warner Bros. would provide the two companies with more DVDs at lower price points. It was a win-win for the parties. Time Warner would get the bulk of its DVD sales before the cheap renters began stocking the releases. Netflix and Redbox would get even cheaper DVDs. Couch potatoes were the ones who got mugged here, but you didn't see Redbox lowering its prices just because its costs got cheaper.

Why should prices go higher now? The Warner Bros. deals expire this year, and Time Warner is reportedly aiming for an even longer release window. There doesn't seem to be any conceivable way that Redbox goes through with a price hike in November when some of its discs are about to get even cheaper next year, unless Redbox doesn't think that its celluloid buffs know how to read distribution contracts either.

Blockbuster Gets Busy

Dish Network's (DISH) Blockbuster has been playing up the 28-day delays for many new releases at Netflix and Redbox since last year. Now it's armed with new ammo.

"First Netflix raises prices, now Redbox has you seeing red again," rival Blockbuster shrewdly Tweeted shortly after Redbox's 20% hike last week.

It's not a fair knock to Netflix, since the cost of its unlimited DVD plans fell by $2 a month when it began charging for streaming. Blockbuster doesn't offer unlimited streams with the exception of the new $10 a month Blockbuster Movie Pass, but that's only available to existing Dish satellite television subscribers.

Then again, Blockbuster can probably get away with a few mistruths while Netflix is in the doghouse.

Bucking the Trend

Redbox had a good thing going with its optical rentals at a round price. There's nothing magnetic about $1.20. Just ask McDonald's (MCD).

Mickey D's isn't the world's largest restaurant chain by accident. It has mastered the art of fast food at compelling price points. One of its biggest winners is its Dollar Menu. When franchisees began complaining of the hit that they were taking offering double cheeseburgers for a buck, the McDonald's solution was to introduce the McDouble in 2008. Offering two meat patties but a single slice of cheese would save operators a few pennies per burger, while also allowing them to charge a little more for the double cheeseburger itself.

Redbox could learn a thing or two about McDonald's -- a company that was actually an initial investor in Redbox.

Why didn't Coinstar work with more studios to be able to afford its buck rentals? Why didn't it stick to its old price, but offer brand-new releases at a slightly higher price? Redbox, after all, already offers Blu-ray discs and video games at higher price points.

This is just the wrong time to introduce an across-the-board hike. Two dimes may not seem like much, but the consumer perception of an insensitive -- and by most accounts unnecessary -- move can prove to be more costly.

Source is
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/11/01/is-redbox-dumber-than-netflix/

Channels and Celebrities: Say Hello to the New YouTube

YouTube is partnering with Ashton Kutcher, Amy Poehler, Shaq, IGN, The Wall Street Journal and dozens of others to launch a slew of premium video channels.

The channels, which have been in the works for months, is a big and risky play to get premium content onto its servers. Google (YouTube’s owner) is reportedly spending $100 million to secure the deals for its original channels.

“The first of these new original channels will appear on YouTube starting next month and will continue over the next year,” YouTube Global Head of Content Partnerships Robert Kyncl said in a blog post. “They’ll be available to you on any internet-connected device, anywhere in the world, with all the interactivity and social features of YouTube built right in.”

The channels will be anchored by a celebrity lineup that includes Madonna (DanceOn), Shaq (The Comedy Shaq Network), Rainn Wilson (SoulPancake), Ashton Kutcher (Katalyst Thrash Lab) and Deepak Chopra (Generate The Chopra Well). YouTube’s partnerships run deeper than celebrities though: WWE, WSJ, The Onion, SB Nation, Demand Media, CafeMom, TED, IGN, Slate, Bleacher Report, InStyle Magazine and Lionsgate are all partners that will seed the content for the new YouTube channels.

YouTube has also launched a preview site for the new channels.

It’s no secret that Google has been wanting to move more into premium video. It’s far more monetizable than cat videos, and it sets up YouTube to be the cable channel of the future. It acquired Next New Networks to help it produce more premium content, and it isn’t sparing any expense to land big-name celebrities for its channels. It won’t be long until we see whether those deals were worth the price.

Source is
http://mashable.com/2011/10/29/new-youtube-channels/

myPlex makes streaming your media simple, gives you one queue to rule them all

Plex is one of the more popular solutions to the problem of how to get all that (legally downloaded, of course) media sitting on your home PC to your various devices for consumption. But, like many of its competitors, getting the whole shebang set up isn't always the easiest task. The company's new myPlex platform aims to solve this conundrum, and adds a few welcome features along the way. Now, setting up a server or a client is as simple as logging in to your Plex account -- no matter how many of either part of the media-streaming equation you may have. As an added bonus, your account is also now home to a queue that is shared across all devices. Stopped watching a movie half way through on your commute home? You can pick up right where you left off on your Roku. You can even add web clips from sources like YouTube to the list. Check out the source link for a few more details.

Source is
www.engadget.com/2011/10/29/myplex-makes-streaming-your-media-simple-gives-you-one-queue-to/

YouTube’s top channels rival cable audiences

Thought online video would never match the audience numbers of traditional TV? Think again: The top five channels on YouTube get the same number of average daily viewers as the top five U.S. cable channels, I was told by a YouTube spokesperson this week.

That revelation comes at the same time as a whole bunch of new data from traffic management company Sandvine that shows how YouTube is continuing to be a major contributor to bandwidth usage in North America. Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena report shows that YouTube is especially making a big dent in mobile, where it is now responsible for 20 percent of all downstream traffic during peak times.

YouTube videos also make up close to 10 percent of all aggregate fixed-line traffic in North America.

The Sandvine report contains another data nugget that explains some of YouTube’s success: The majority of all real-time entertainment traffic in North America is now consumed on devices that aren’t your traditional desktop or laptop PC. “Game consoles, set-top boxes, smart TVs, tablets, and mobile devices being used within the home combine to receive 55% of all Real-Time Entertainment traffic,” the report states.

YouTube has been working hard on getting users to watch its videos on TV. For example, the site has been bringing its YouTube on TV interface, which was formerly known as YouTube Leanback, to an increasing number of connected devices, knowing that users watch twice as much YouTube content per day when using YouTube on TV as when accessing the site using the traditional desktop experience.

Also worth noting: Sandvine’s real-time entertainment traffic number only include traffic that originated from fixed-line Internet accounts, but that also covers anything you watch on your iPad or mobile phone via Wi-Fi. And mobile has become increasingly important for YouTube: The site recently revealed that mobile devices make up 10 percent of all of the site’s video views.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/youtube-vs-cable-stats/

Kodak licenses some patents to IMAX

Kodak has confirmed today that the company has licensed some of its vast patent portfolio to IMAX, in an effort to stave off bankruptcy and stay viable.
IMAX will license 100 patents related to laser-projection technology used in giant-screen movie theaters.

The deal is not huge, however, with only $50 million in upfront fees and royalties into the future.

Says IMAX (via NYT):

This Kodak intellectual property is truly cutting edge, and will be used by IMAX?s esteemed technology group to enhance the cinematic experience for consumers, enable the application of digital technology in our larger and institutional theatres, and make being in business with IMAX even easier and more profitable.

Kodak hopes to sell 1100 patents, and soon, as the company struggles despite sitting on a patent portfolio worth over $2 billion. Kodak has not posted one profitable quarter since 2004.

Source is
www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2011/10/17/kodak_licenses_some_patents_to_imax

How Can I Play Blu-Ray Discs on My Computer?

The Default Method: Blu-ray Software

The only officially supported way to play Blu-rays on Windows is to, as you say, use a commercial program like CyberLink PowerDVD. Usually this retails for around $50. However, if your computer came with a Blu-ray drive, you should already have some sort of Blu-ray-capable software on your computer. Very few manufacturers will ship a computer with a Blu-ray drive without including compatible software. Check to see if a software Blu-ray player came pre-installed on your system that you just didn't know about. If you've reinstalled a clean copy of Windows, you'll either have to reinstall it from your computer's recovery DVDs, or use one of the methods below.

If your computer didn't come with a Blu-ray drive and you added it yourself, the drive should have come with a CD that includes something like PowerDVD on it. I always, always recommend keeping the CDs that come with your computers and hardware just in case they contain important things you need later. If you threw it away by accident, you'll either have to buy the software anew or use one of the more complicated methods below.

The Easy Method: Watch Your Movie in 30 Minutes using VLC

The easiest way to watch Blu-rays without commercial software is to use a program called MakeMKV to rip the movie, and then watch it using VLC. To do this:

1. Install MakeMKV as described in our original Blu-ray how-to.
2. Insert your Blu-ray disc. Make sure you have enough space on your drive (depending on the disc, this could be up to 50 GB).
3. Fire up MakeMKV and head to File > Open Disc and choose your Blu-ray drive. MakeMKV will open the disc, and then present you with the titles on the disc. Hit the MakeMKV button and your movie should start ripping.
4. When it's done, just double click on the resulting file and it will play in VLC.

This is definitely the easiest way to watch your Blu-ray movies, but you'll have to wait for the movie to rip. It shouldn't take long, so as long as you plan ahead at least a half hour, this is definitely the method to go with.

The Complicated Method: Watch Your Movie Now with XBMC

Alternatively, the XBMC media center software has a Blu-ray plugin that works similarly to the above. You'll still need MakeMKV, but it's pretty easy to set up:

1. Install MakeMKV as described in our original Blu-ray how-to.
2. Install the Blu-ray plugin as described in our feature on plugins in XBMC 10.
3. Insert your Blu-ray disc. Make sure you have enough space on your drive (depending on the disc, this could be up to 50 GB).
4. Open up XBMC and go to Videos > Video Add-Ons > BluRay Player with MakeMKV. From there you should be able to play the main movie on the disc. It might take a few moments to buffer, but I've found that it works pretty well.

That's it! Whenever you want to watch a Blu-ray movie, you should be able to just open up XBMC and fire up the Blu-ray plugin to watch your movie. It should stream pretty nicely, but note that streaming is an experimental feature of MakeMKV, so you might have a buffering issue once in a while. In my experience I've found it to work quite well, though.

Note that if you'd prefer not to use XBMC, you can also stream Blu-rays from MakeMKV to VLC as described here. I chose to feature the XBMC method since it only requires manual work the first time you do it, after which it becomes easy, while the VLC method requires you to manually set up the stream every time.

Source is
http://lifehacker.com/5806252/how-can-i-play-blu+ray-discs-on-my-computer

Netflix DVD profits will fund international expansion

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said on Monday’s earnings call that the company will rely on profits from its DVD business to fund expansion into new territories over the coming years.

The DVD-by-mail service may have taken a backseat to streaming, but it’s an incredibly profitable part of the business. In its fourth-quarter forecast, Netflix estimates domestic DVDs will produce $177 million to $192 million in contribution profit to Netflix, on revenues of $354 million to $368 million. Compare that to the company’s domestic streaming business, which is expected to contribute $30 million to $42 million in profit on $462 million to $477 million in revenue.

Those profits will be needed as Netflix bets on international expansion, both in Latin America over the next few quarters and — beginning early next year — in the U.K. and Ireland. In the fourth quarter, Netflix expects to lose between $60 million and $70 million in its new international markets, on $25 million to $30 million in revenue.

Netflix has seen a number of DVD subscribers leave through two waves of cancellations — one when the new pricing was first announced and another when it actually went into effect in September. But the company expects subscriber numbers to stabilize in the fourth quarter, as it’s already seen weekly cancellations slowing.

Once it reaches more of an equilibrium point, Netflix believes it can keep DVD-by-mail profitable and use its proceeds for other investments. In that sense, Hastings likened the DVD operations to AOL’s dialup business over the last decade: While it’s steadily declining, there are no real fixed costs associated with keeping it going.

On the call with analysts, Hastings also responded to some criticism about its decision to separate its DVD operations and introduce a new brand for the service. “In hindsight it’s hard to justify (the Qwikster decision),” Hastings told investors. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have worked, he maintained. “Having separate brands representing the different audiences can in theory make sense,” Hastings said on the call. However, “Qwikster became a symbol of Netflix not listening” to its subscribers. And as a result, rather than continue to fuel customer dissatisfaction, Netflix took a big step back.

That said, Hastings made clear that DVD won’t be a huge focus going forward, and that the bulk of its marketing spend and future investment will be on growing its streaming business, both in terms of the content available and the number of subscribers it hopes to attract. But having a profitable cash cow like DVD is a pretty favorable situation to be in.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-dvd-profits/

Netflix signs new streaming deals with Warner, CBS

Netflix has signed new streaming distribution deals with Warner Bros. and CBS today, allowing subscribers to watch shows from The CW.
The deal is good for four years and includes access to the station's most popular programs like "The Vampire Diaries," "Gossip Girl," "One Tree Hill," and "Nikita," "Supernatural," "Ringer," "Hart of Dixie," and "The Secret Circle."

Episodes of previous seasons will be available on October 15th with the exception of Supernatural and 90210 which will start in January.

The deal is worth $1 billion over its life.

Says CBS CEO Les Moonves:

    This is a forward-thinking agreement for a network whose programming occupies a unique space in the content marketplace. It is a model that opens a new door for The CW programming to expand its audience reach through the terrific Netflix service, and creates a brand-new window for CBS and Warner Bros. to be paid for the content we supply the network. It also further illustrates how new distribution systems are providing premium content suppliers with additive revenue streams while still preserving traditional monetization windows.

Source is
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2011/10/13/netflix_signs_new_streaming_deals_with_warner_cbs

DXG-5F9V makes home video memories a 1080p HD affair, 3D glasses not required

Who said all the 3D perks had to be reserved for Hollywood? DXG's making the home video fun a virtual en vivo experience with the release of its 3D and 2D camcorder, set to hit the company's online store today. For $299, you're getting a 5 megapixel still camera and glasses-free, 1080p HD video recording at 30fps, viewable on either the handheld's autostereoscopic 3.2-inch LCD display or the flatscreen of your choosing via an included HDMI cable. The DXG-5F9V only ships with 128MB of storage inbuilt, so if you're aiming to immortalize your Jackass-worthy shenanigans, you'll want to secure a 32GB SD card for additional capacity. With the holidays fast approaching, this might be your best bet to relive those looks of disappointment on Christmas morning. Official presser after the break.

Source is
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/20/dxg-5f9v-makes-home-video-memories-a-1080p-hd-affair-3d-glasses/

Netflix adds Android app support for Honeycomb tablets

Netflix is releasing a new version of its Android app that will add support for Honeycomb tablets and expand availability beyond the U.S. With version 1.5 of the Netflix app, which is now available as a free download on the Android Market, Netflix expands the number of devices that its subscribers will be able to access its streaming video service on.

Netflix has been ramping up availability on Android devices over the past several months. Back in May, Netflix made its first appearance on the Android Market, but the app could only be used on a limited number of devices at first. But in September it updated the app to support Android Versions 2.2 and 2.3, which expanded its availability to about 80 percent of current Android phones.

The new version of the app increases that reach even further, by adding support for tablets running Android Version 3.x, otherwise known as Honeycomb. That could boost actual viewership on the Android platform, as users are more likely to watch video on a 7- or 10-inch screen than on the typical 4-inch screen many smartphones use.

In addition to Android tablet support, the updated app will also expand its reach beyond the U.S. For the first time, Netflix users in its international markets — Canada and Latin America — will be able to stream to their Android devices as well. As Netflix makes more of a push in international markets, it will hope to replicate its domestic success, which was driven in part by its availability on connected devices.

Netflix claims availability on some 700 devices, which include mobile phones and tablets, game consoles, connected TVs and Blu-ray players and streaming media players. But not all of those devices are available in those different geographies. Growing the device count and becoming ubiquitous internationally will be important to increasing its subscriber numbers in those markets.


Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-honeycomb-tablets/