Vu Digital has developed new technology that breaks down video content frame-by-frame in order to translate elements into structured data and help customers analyze online videos. The company’s Video-to-Data product “identifies the objects in each frame, and then creates a chronological transcript identifying things like music, dialogue, faces, logos, text and graphics,” reports TechCrunch. The resulting data could prove valuable to content creators, marketers and publishers interested in “search engine optimization, personalization, ad targeting, and determining the ‘brand value’ of a video.”

Beginning next quarter, JetBlue passengers on select aircraft will be able to stream movies, TV shows and music on seat-back display screens and personal devices through their Amazon Prime accounts at no additional charge. According to JetBlue, passengers who are not Prime members will have the option of registering inflight for a 30-day free trial to watch videos immediately. Passengers will also be able to rent or purchase content. The new service will be transmitted via JetBlue’s Fly-Fi inflight broadband. Continue reading JetBlue to Offer More Inflight Entertainment via Amazon Prime

During the Disrupt NY conference this week, Nucleus Scientific unveiled technology it claims can recharge a smartphone in mere minutes. “The company says its suite of battery technologies, called Intelligent Energy System, can change the way energy is stored and transferred while also extending the life of the battery, and is ready to be applied to batteries in the next generation of devices,” reports TechCrunch. The company’s tech features “custom batteries, sensors, feedback control systems and algorithms” that allow for “unheard of charge times.” Nucleus Scientific is looking to license its technology for existing and future products.

Last week’s Digital Hollywood Spring event at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey featured a new track: a three-day Virtual & Augmented Reality Summit. Panels and sessions covered a wide range of topics — including cameras, software solutions, sound design, workflow, file management, and more — and demonstrated just how rapidly this new art form is evolving. GoPro’s acquisition of multi-GoPro spherical stitching software company Kolor was the big news. At the same time, VR producers say they are looking for better camera and stitching solutions. Continue reading Virtual & Augmented Reality Summit Comes to Digital Hollywood

According to a recent survey conducted by Nielsen, Twitter users not only like to chat about movies on social media, but they attend more screenings than average American consumers. “Twitter users said they plan to see a median of five movies this summer — 25 percent more than the average moviegoer surveyed,” reports Variety. “In addition, they are 87 percent more likely than non-users to go see a movie within the first 10 days of its opening and 340 percent more likely than non-users to have seen more than 12 movies in theaters over the last six months.” Twitter users are also more aware of upcoming films than non-users (58 percent were aware of 19 upcoming summer films).

Facebook is working with Nokia’s HERE mapping division to power its mobile maps. The social network is using HERE maps and geocoding for its mobile version, while conducting tests for apps such as Instagram and Messenger. According to TechCrunch: “Businesses use Facebook as part of their advertising and marketing operations and offering ads based on specific locations, or other location-based services, gives Facebook more ways to build up their relationships (and revenues) with these businesses.” The Finnish company has confirmed it is considering a sale of HERE, which has an estimated value of $2 billion. Potential buyers include Apple, Baidu, Alibaba, Samsung, and Uber, among others.

According to TechCrunch, Uber is quietly prepping a new program that would offer online shoppers same-day delivery service via UberRUSH couriers and Uber drivers. Sources indicate that Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus and Tiffany’s are among the retailers in talks with the Uber Merchant Delivery program. More than 400 merchants are reportedly in discussions with Uber or have already been testing the service. “Experimenting and finding new, creative ways for the Uber app to provide even greater value to our riders and driver partners is a way of life at Uber,” said a company spokesperson. “We have been piloting UberRUSH with multiple retailers for the last year.”

Flywheel is trying to save taxicab businesses with Uber-like apps, including a new way for passengers to pay for rides with their smartphones. “After getting into a cab, passengers merely open the Flywheel app to automatically link up with the driver’s app,” reports Fortune. “After the ride ends, the passenger can pay directly through the app.” Flywheel is currently available in five cities, where it is helping cab companies fend off popular services such as Uber and Lyft. DeSoto Cab in San Francisco even rebranded its entire fleet into Flywheel cars. Flywheel collects a 10 percent cut from fares and charges passengers $1 per ride.

During its NewFront presentation in New York this week, Disney-owned Maker Studios announced Maker Select, which will allow advertisers to buy ad space on Maker’s 55,000 YouTube channels in addition to all other YouTube channels. Maker Select will incorporate Maker’s audience data with data from YouTube, Nielsen, social networks and additional sources. Advertisers can target ads based on content type, brand compatibility and audience makeup. The new offering comes from a partnership with Web video analytics firm OpenSlate. Continue reading Maker Select Enables the Purchasing of Ad Space on YouTube

BuzzFeed is sharing details about a new tech it calls Pound (Process for Optimizing and Understanding Network Diffusion), intended to enhance Web and social media analytics by tracking how a story progresses from one user to another. At this week’s NewFronts, BuzzFeed Publisher Dao Nguyen said the company is seeking beta partners to help transform Pound into a useful product. “She also talked about data that BuzzFeed gathers to categorize videos based on whether they offer information, emotion or appeal to a viewer’s identity,” reports TechCrunch, adding “that informational videos do better on YouTube, while identity-driven videos do better on Facebook.”

Amazon, Google, the National Association of Broadcasters, and Pandora Radio are among the launch members of the MIC Coalition (Music, Innovation, Consumers). The group plans to advocate for music policies that are “balanced among all participants rather than just those of the major record labels and publishers,” according to Broadcasting & Cable. Other members include CEA, Cox Media Group, iHeartMedia, and National Public Radio. “American music is the most successful in the world, aided in part by intellectual property laws that do not tilt in favor of record labels over the millions of daily listeners who consume music,” said NAB President Gordon Smith.

As part of its Media Management in the Cloud at NAB, the ETC held a panel discussion on cloud security, which continues to be a leading concern of M&E firms considering greater adoption of cloud technologies. The panel was composed of leading experts in cloud security from different parts of the M&E and cloud industries. Among the questions discussed: How can cloud infrastructure better ensure security? What are the most common security concerns of cloud tenants? What is the next level of emerging security standards? How is security best balanced with ease of use? Continue reading ETC Panel Discusses Cloud Security: Today, Tomorrow, Beyond

Shortly after becoming the first pay TV provider to provide access to HBO Now, Cablevision plans to offer Hulu Plus to its broadband customers. This will mark the first such deal between Hulu and a traditional pay TV provider. “Cablevision also last week debuted a pair of ‘cord cutter’ Internet packages, which include the option to bundle in HBO Now,” reports TechCrunch. “Hulu Plus, like HBO Now, will be offered to Cablevision’s Optimum Online customers who pay for high-speed Internet access through the telecommunications provider.” At the Digital NewFronts this week, Hulu announced SVOD rights to 180 “Seinfeld” episodes and a new multiyear agreement with AMC.

During a conference call with analysts yesterday, HBO chief exec Richard Plepler suggested that the new HBO Now streaming service could possibly include non-HBO TV and film programming in the future. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Plepler said “Warner and Turner could be involved.” When asked about plans for expanding, Plepler explained that additional deals are expected by the end of the year, while HBO and Amazon are “in discussions about the size and scope of our relationship.” Regarding HBO Now’s performance, the CEO is “clearly thrilled at early returns and also argues that it vindicates the position that having a streaming service takes nothing away from viewers watching HBO in more-traditional ways,” notes THR.

On April 15, at ETC’s Media Management in the Cloud conference held at the NAB Show, John McCoskey, EVP & CTO of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Jim Reavis, executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance, delivered the MPAA keynote updating the audience on the MPAA’s first cloud security standards, which are continuing to progress and may be launched later this year. They encouraged media industry professionals interested in cloud security to implement the CSA’s Cloud Controls Matrix. Continue reading Development of MPAA Cloud Security Standards Moves Forward