“Sesame Street” has been on the air for 42 seasons — and the brand remains relevant as its creative forces come up with new ways to entertain and educate.
“Sesame Workshop has teamed up with Microsoft to create ‘Kinect Sesame Street TV’ — one of the most innovative children’s video games we’ve seen in a while,” reports Mashable. “With the help of the Microsoft Kinect sensor, it puts kids (and adults) into the game, letting them engage and interact with their favorite characters.”
Included are eight interactive games that take kids through activities and competitions, while interacting with favorite characters.
The focus will be on both physical activity and cognitive learning. “The characters introduce words; concepts like over and under, numbers, letters, and free play. But this play gets kids up and off the couch,” details the post.
“Kinect Sesame Street TV” is currently available on Xbox 360. The post includes a video demo.
Entertainment veteran Michael Green started The Collective in 2005, a media company that represents YouTube talent.
“The company aims to capitalize on the shifting landscape in the entertainment business, in part, says Green, by partnering with artists… who he believes are well positioned to take advantage of the continued decentralization of media consumption,” writes Businessweek.
Noticing the trend, YouTube executives have gone out to recruit established brands to set up content channels. Media companies like the Onion, Pitchfork and Vice are producing content that competes with YouTube’s homegrown talent.
In order to compete and stay relevant, many of these self-funded artists and entertainers are signing on with agencies like The Collective.
“Green says that partnering with The Collective frees up artists to focus on creative challenges while his team concentrates on the business side,” notes the article. “In general, The Collective tries to retain ownership rights to their client’s material while maximizing licensing deals with third parties.”
This is a growing area of entertainment business, notes Businessweek: “Brand spending in the digital video world has ballooned in recent years, growing from $324 million in 2007 to $1.8 billion in 2011, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.”
Passwords for online banking, social networks and email could soon be replaced by the wave of a hand if Intel’s prototype technology comes to fruition.
The technology aims “to do away with the need to remember passwords for growing numbers of online services,” reports Reuters. “Intel researchers have put together a tablet with new software and a biometric sensor that recognizes the unique patterns of veins on a person’s palm.”
“The problem with passwords — we use too many of them, their rules are complex, and they differ for different websites,” notes Sridhar Iyengar, director of security research at Intel Labs. “There is a way out of it, and biometrics is an option.”
“Making laptops, tablets and smartphones responsible for identifying users would take that requirement away from individual websites and do away with the need to individually enter passwords into each of them, Iyengar said.”
To answer security issue questions, Reuters explains that “a device using the technology would use built-in accelerometers to detect when a user puts it down, and would then log its owner off to keep unauthorized people from getting in.”
According to Intel CTO Justin Rattner, the palm-reading technology will require software and sensors built into devices, but not the development of new chips.
President Obama is taking to the video game world to campaign for re-election in swing states.
The Obama campaign has begun running ads within Electronic Arts games, including the very popular “Madden NFL 13,” in key states like Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire and Virginia.
“The ads are aimed at encouraging the gaming demographic to take advantage of early voting in these states,” reports Adweek. The campaign is also running “get out the vote” virtual ads within some popular Web games.
“It was made clear in the last election that reaching consumers through video games makes a significant impact, so it’s no surprise to see this tactic used once again in such a competitive election,” notes Dave Madden, EA’s SVP of global media solutions.
“Video games actively and emotionally engaged consumers in a way that no other medium really can and that translates into a big opportunity for political candidates,” he adds.
20th Century Fox has begun a big marketing push to promote its new Digital HD initiative. It’s first goal: to lure in sports fans.
The new initiative “will make future Fox films available for download about two weeks before their homevid release; there are also 600 library titles,” reports Variety.
The focus on sports fans and ESPN in particular reflects Fox’s interest in the young male audience, “an enthusiastic demo for digital downloads, especially via gaming consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox,” notes the article.
ESPN fans can expect to see digital download promos splashed across the site’s homepage, on its tablet homepage and on its mobile app.
Fox will also promote via major gaming and music sites.
The promotion behind Digital HD marks a new direction for Hollywood, which has been tentative regarding digital distribution. “The Digital HD campaign is in keeping with Fox chairman Jim Gianopulos’ leadership on technology, anti-piracy and digital strategies,” explains Variety. “Last year, Fox was the first studio to make Oscar screeners available via free digital download on iTunes.”
Hollywood is becoming a hotspot for start-ups. “Incubators and accelerators are popping up everywhere. Venture capitalists are becoming frequent fliers at LAX. Celebrities are stamping their names on new companies. And TV industry executives are quitting their jobs to become entrepreneurs,” according to Business Insider.
Many successful entrepreneurs are investing in the Los Angeles start-up ecosystem. Investor Gary Vaynerchuk believes L.A. will eventually surpass both New York and San Francisco as the ultimate start-up location.
“I’ve seen more and more founders coming from outside L.A. and moving here; there’s a bigger talent pool now,” notes investor Paige Craig. “I was really impressed at LA Startup Weekend. I hadn’t met half the founders before. And the schools are finally getting their kids to stay.”
And Los Angeles is home to the TV and film industries, both of which are “ripe for disruption.”
“With the massive growth of YouTube and Hulu and start-ups providing alternative solutions, the TV industry is really changing and it creates opportunity,” explains Greycroft partner Dana Settle. “L.A. has always had a ton of creative business people but tech has always been trumped by Hollywood. Now Hollywood is realizing it needs to be smarter in tech. Hollywood is finally crossing over and it’s really going to charge L.A. to be the next tech center. We’re at the very tip of the iceberg.”
Celebrities are also playing a role in the start-up growth by funding various ventures. “Ryan Seacrest, Ellen DeGeneres, Christina Applegate, Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake are just a few A-listers who have lent their names to support entrepreneurs,” writes Business Insider.
“Hollywood is discovering there’s life after the DVD,” reports Businessweek.
Netflix, Amazon, Verizon Communications and Redbox are bidding for the rights to stream movies on mobile devices like Kindles, iPads and TVs, adding life to the home entertainment industry.
“These days digital outlets such as Netflix and Amazon vie with Time Warner’s HBO and CBS’s Showtime for movies at the so-called premium cable window, a lucrative stop that comes after films have run in theaters, been sold as DVDs, and appeared on pay-per-view,” according to the article.
“That’s given Hollywood the chance to play the services against each other and replace some of the revenue lost with the drop in DVD sales and the decline of rental outlets such as Blockbuster,” notes Businessweek.
Earlier this month, Epix signed a multiyear deal with Amazon to provide films for the Prime Instant Video service. The studio-backed pay TV channel “ended its exclusive deal with Netflix and is expected to make as much as $80 million more a year selling the same content to the two streaming rivals and a third venture financed by Verizon and Coinstar’s Redbox, BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield says.”
Home video sales have taken a significant dive in recent years, falling 16 percent from 2011. “And pay TV outlets are scrambling to find ways to retain viewers now that almost 90 percent of America’s 115 million TV households have the capacity to access a broad catalog of films via the Web,” adds the article.
But if these expensive deals with major studios don’t cause significant upticks in subscriber numbers for streaming services, it’s likely that those services will lean more on original programming.
Google should be worried about Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HD, suggests Business Insider: “Amazon’s Fire software is built using Google’s Android, but it cuts out Google search, which is how Google makes money.”
Most Android devices have a Google search bar on the device’s home screen, allowing the company to make money when people search for things to buy.
However, Android is an open system and can be altered. Amazon decided to eliminate the Google search bar on the Kindle Fire HD, opting instead to put in its own version of search that points customers directly to the Amazon store.
“Amazon now has a tablet that is cheaper than the Nexus 7 (the $159 Kindle Fire), as well as a tablet that is slightly more expensive than the Nexus 7, but appears to deliver more bang for the buck (the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD for $299),” notes BI. “Both are powered by Amazon’s variation of Android, which can easily just point directly to Amazon as a first option for any search query.”
“Amazon represents a two-fold problem for Google,” explains the article. “It’s eating up the most lucrative part of Google’s search business, while at the same time building a new rival operating system using Android, which Google invests heavily in.”
According to a newly published patent application, Microsoft could very well be planning to take console gaming to the next level, adding a “peripheral image” around the room while users play, providing a 360-degree view of the game.
The application for an “immersive display experience” was “published by the U.S. Patent Office last week after being filed back in early 2011,” writes Ars Technica. “It describes a standard video game system with a connected ‘environmental display’ capable of projecting a panoramic image that ‘appears to surround the user.'”
It would not replace the TV, but would instead enhance the experience by adding to its periphery.
“The depth-sensing camera described in the patent application aids the environmental projector by sensing the layout and topography of the room,” Ars Technica explains. “This allows the projector to provide color and distortion correction, so the projected images look correct even when cast against different walls and pieces of furniture.”
This could be revolutionary for interactive gaming whether this specific design comes to life or not, notes the article. It could open the door for innovation, leading to gaming that doesn’t require users to face a singular screen.
Nintendo is set to release its next-generation console in the U.S. on November 18. The Wii U proves that Nintendo has more than just videogames in mind for its future.
“It has always been our goal to maximize consumer value with what we include in the hardware purchase,” says Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America. “It’s not just a high-definition console that will change the way people play. Wii U is the only game console with a seamlessly connected, fully integrated second screen.”
The Wii U will include the Nintendo TVii service, which is “akin to Microsoft’s efforts in program discoverability on the Xbox 360” in that users will be able to stream programming from Netflix, Hulu and other services to their TV, including live streaming with a cable subscription, explains Variety.
“The service will be the most useful for those who continue to pay for cable or satellite TV, along with other on-demand services, making it very comparable what Microsoft’s Xbox provides today,” explains AllThingsD in a related report.
All of this will be managed through the Wii U tablet-like controller, which functions as a second screen online device once programming has started.
The Wii U’s GamePad can be used as a second screen device. “Additionally, short video segments, or thumbnails, can be viewed from the device, which can be shared with friends via Twitter, Facebook or the Wii U’s social network called Miiverse,” writes AllThingsD.
Nintendo will launch two version of the system. The Basic will cost $300 and the Deluxe will cost $350.
Apple’s new iPhone 5 features an 8-megapixel camera that also shoots 1080p HD video. The camera touts an LED flash, face detection and can take wide panoramic shots.
According to Businessweek, this makes the iPhone camera equal to many available point-and-shoot cameras.
But it goes beyond that, offering “the things people care about — sharing photos, using filters, and having a device by their side at all times,” which “trump most of the features and settings camera makers offer with their standalone products,” suggests the article.
In other words, the point-and-shoot industry may be in even more trouble than before.
“The introduction of a stronger camera in the iPhone 5 and the new iPod touch — which comes with a very camera-like wrist strap, just to drive home the point Apple is making about how they think people will use that device — is just another step on the point-and-shoot’s accelerating journey to obsolescence,” writes Businessweek.
As DVD sales continue to slump, Hollywood looks for ways to monetize digital movies. A new product called M-Go is the latest hope.
M-Go, set to launch later in the fall, is a “cloud/locker app/service backed by DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor, that will be part digital storefront, part digital discovery service,” reports AllThingsD.
Last week, the company announced distribution deals with Sony, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox. The app is pre-installed on a number of Samsung and Vizio products, along with Intel Ultrabook computers, and will work on most Internet-connected devices.
“Consumers will be able to use M-Go to purchase movies (and eventually TV shows, and perhaps, one day, music) and watch them wherever they’d like — on connected TVs, PCs and mobile phones,” explains the article.
M-Go will be compatible with UltraViolet, another of Hollywood’s hopefuls trying to solve the same problem. It’s worth noting that Disney is currently not a part of M-Go or UltraViolet, and is pursuing its own Keystone technology to address the issue.
UltraViolet may have found what it needs to set itself apart from competitors: Dolby Digital Plus audio encoding, which will be a staple feature of its Common File Format.
“A newly ready development kit lets producers feed the multichannel sound to hardware and apps that can recognize it, including Web-based avenues like Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming, Microsoft’s Smooth Streaming and MPEG’s DASH,” explains Engadget.
Dolby is taking care to ensure that the “audio codec’s implementation truly spans platforms,” notes the post.
“A new era in entertainment has begun with UltraViolet, and Dolby is working closely with the content community to ensure that consumers of UltraViolet content can enjoy optimized sound no matter what content, service, or device they choose,” said Ron Geller, vice president of worldwide content relations at Dolby.
“We don’t know how soon movies will take advantage of the upgrade, but the Dolby addition lends weight to a fledgling format that might have as fierce a battle in home theaters as it does on PCs and tablets,” concludes Engadget.
DirecTV has expanded the distribution of its Audience Network to the iPad, “allowing subscribers to access the channel both inside and outside their homes,” writes FierceCable.
The top satellite TV provider also “pushed cable programmers to give it rights to allow subscribers to access live programming on mobile devices,” according to the article.
It already allows live programming from 60 networks from within customers’ homes on TVs and sometimes on mobile devices within the home, but rarely if ever outside the home.
“While DirecTV faces challenges obtaining out-of-home rights to programming, the company is already developing products such as the Nomad place-shifting set-top that could be used to deliver programming to subscribers wherever they are,” reports FierceCable. “And it filed a trademark application for the brand Grab & Go for use in mobile video and DVR products on August 30.”
DirecTV plans to expand its live video distribution of Audience Network to the iPhone in October and to Android devices by the end of the year.
At the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a search function for Facebook, leaving attendees with the “impression that Facebook thinks it has a bigger role to play in how we seek out information online,” writes Wired.
Zuckerberg said he believes there’s a significant market out there for people to use Facebook as a search tool.
“Search engines are really evolving toward giving you a set of answers,” he said. “It’s not just like ‘I’ll type in something and show me some relevant stuff.’ It’s, ‘I have a specific question, answer this question for me.’”
“Facebook is pretty uniquely positioned to answer the questions people have: ‘What sushi restaurants have my friends gone to in New York in the past six months and liked?’ ‘Which of my friends and friends of friends work at this company I’m interested in… so I can talk to them about what it’s like to work there?’” explains Zuckerberg.
“Zuckerberg also made clear he sees another big opportunity in mobile,” reports Wired. “He said Facebook believes it can make more money on mobile than it does on the desktop, and that mobile users are more likely to be active every day than desktop users.”
