YouTube’s most popular programmer, Maker Studios, is restructuring its network of genre-ranging channels in an effort to better reach consumers and advertisers. Its more than 55,000 channels will be organized into four units: men, women, family, and entertainment programming. At the Variety Entertainment & Tech Summit on Monday, Maker Studios chairman Ynon Kreiz also unveiled Maker Max, which allows content creators to more easily manage their videos. Continue reading Popular YouTube Programmer to More Closely Resemble Cable

As movies are released in higher-definition formats that require more data to play on various devices, the film and CE industries must build a “digital bridge.” So said Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment President Mike Dunn at a keynote Monday at the CEA Industry Forum in Century City. The new 4K Ultra HD format has sharper imagery and sound, but is not yet cost-effective. New Blu-ray players are being developed to address that, while cloud storage will also play a role. Continue reading Hollywood and Electronics Industry Must Build Digital Bridge

DreamWorks Animation is using new technology to make animation significantly easier and more cost effective. At a CIO conference in San Francisco Thursday, chief technology officer Lincoln Wallen introduced new software he developed that uses DreamWorks’ private cloud of high-performance computers and parallel processing to speed up the complex process of computer animation. It allows animators to use a touch screen to make real-time changes — a significant development. Continue reading New DreamWorks Animation Software Taps into Private Cloud

Vince Gilligan, the creator of the Emmy-winning series “Breaking Bad,” told BBC in a recent interview that he attributed the show’s following in part to illegal downloads. The dramatic final episode was downloaded illegally more than 500,000 times in just 12 hours — the show’s most pirated episode, according to Variety. But Gilligan also says those downloads negatively affected the people who worked on the show and earned them less money as a result. Continue reading ‘Breaking Bad’ Creator Credits Illegal Downloads for Popularity

Music downloads are on the decline, and many music executives agree that streaming services like Pandora and Spotify are likely a major cause. So far, 2013 has seen 1.01 billion track downloads in the U.S. — four percent less than this time last year. Album downloads are up two percent, however, bringing the total downfall to one percent. Streaming services, meanwhile, have seen a revenue increase of 59 percent since last year. Continue reading Music Downloads on the Decline Thanks to Streaming Services

Sony’s newest cameras, the Alpha 7 and 7R, are what the company calls “the world’s smallest full-frame interchangeable lens models” — and they’re threatening the bulky DSLRs that have been standard for years. The full-frame sensored cameras weigh only about a pound each, yet they record images that are equal in detail and sharpness to those from larger models like the D800 and the Canon 5D Mark III. The new Sony cameras will be on the market in December. Continue reading Sony’s Newest Pro-Quality Cameras Threaten Bulky DSLRs