Mobile DTV has a significant presence at this week’s NAB show in Las Vegas (April 14-19).
In addition to vendor booths touting mobile DTV solutions, demos are taking place at the Mobile DTV Pavilion (sponsored by the Open Mobile Video Coalition) and the ATSC Tech Zone, run by the Advanced Television Systems Committee.
“With more than 120 stations now on the air with mobile DTV signals and two new business groups ramping up for launch, now is the time to see the new products and services that will make mobile DTV an indispensable service,” said Vince Sadusky, president of the OMVC and CEO of LIN Media.
The Mobile Content Venture and the Mobile500 Alliance are the two groups referenced by Sadusky.
The first is “a joint-venture of 12 major broadcast groups” that has “announced alliances with consumer electronics manufacturers to bring new mobile DTV-capable devices to market and to develop external devices that will allow existing iPads and smartphones to receive live broadcast signals,” reports Broadcasting & Cable. The Mobile500 is comprised of “50 member companies that hold licenses to 437 TV stations.” At NAB, the alliance is showcasing “its solution that offers live TV, DVR type functionality for recording live TV, on demand programming, social media integration, closed captioning and interactive advertising.”
“A new range of Mobile DTV receivers will be bringing mobile viewing innovations to viewers across the country, making local news, weather, sports, entertainment and emergency alerts immediately available to people no matter where they are located,” added Sadusky.
Oracle and Google are meeting in a San Francisco federal court this week to begin an intellectual property case that could have wide-ranging implications for software development.
“At issue is Java, the software platform Oracle became owner of when it acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010,” reports AllThingsD. “And the witness list will be interesting: Both Google CEO Larry Page and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison are expected to take the witness stand during the trial; as will former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz and Andy Rubin, the Google senior vice president who runs its Android and mobile operations.”
Oracle claims that Google illegally used elements of the Java programming code to build the Android OS.
Google claims the lines of code cannot be copyrighted because it would be the same as copyrighting a technique used to perform a task.
“This is a new and controversial legal argument that has software developers watching the trial closely,” suggests AllThingsD. “Google has argued that APIs shouldn’t be subject to copyright protection, because they’re more akin to tools and techniques that programmers use to build software.”
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings lashed out against cable provider Comcast via his Facebook page on Sunday. The subject: Net neutrality and data caps.
Hastings accused Comcast of offering preferential treatment to its own content with its Xbox 360 Xfinity app.
“As he explained on his Facebook page, his complaint is that when Comcast subscribers watch Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Go on their Xbox consoles, it counts against their monthly data limits,” reports CNET. “However, subscribers who use Xfinity don’t have their limits dinged, suggesting that Comcast is giving its service preferential treatment to keep subscribers on the service rather than straying over to Netflix.”
Hastings claims that Comcast’s policy of exempting the app from data caps while enforcing the policy for rival providers violates the spirit of Net neutrality.
“Comcast no longer following Net neutrality principles. Comcast should apply caps equally, or not at all,” he wrote via Facebook. “The same device, the same IP address, the same Wi-Fi, the same Internet connection, but totally different cap treatment. In what way is this neutral?”
D-Link has launched its new $48 MovieNite video streaming player. The streaming-only player is designed for aspiring cord-cutters, as an affordable alternative to Roku set-top boxes.
MovieNite is being offered exclusively through Walmart with a $5.99 free movie credit from VUDU.
The player features 1080p video and access to services including VUDU, Netflix, Pandora and YouTube. D-Link has also released iPhone and Android apps for controlling the player.
“The closest match to video playback specs in Roku’s lineup of products is the $79.99 Roku 2 XD, but Roku players offer access to wider variety of services such as Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, HBO GO and several sports subscriptions packages,” reports Digital Trends.
Since Walmart owns VUDU, it seems unlikely that the player will expand its offerings to include competitors such as Amazon Instant Video.
“If the user also owns mydlink-enabled network cameras, the feeds from those cameras can be viewed through the MovieNite player as well,” adds the post. “For instance, a user could pause a movie playing on Netflix to launch the mydlink application and view an outdoor camera feed when someone knocks on the front door.”
Dolby and Philips are proposing a new 3D HD format dubbed “Dolby 3D,” which will be demoed this week at NAB in Las Vegas.
The format is “aimed at delivering full HD 3D content to enabled devices, including glasses-free displays,” writes Carolyn Giardina for The Hollywood Reporter.
“We believe that Dolby 3D can help drive the adoption of 3D — creating a comfortable, customizable, truly enjoyable glasses-free 3D viewing experience while enhancing 3D display performance,” said Dolby’s Ramzi Haidamus, executive vice president, sales and marketing.
“The Dolby 3D format would effectively be used for encoding/decoding, transmission and rendering to 3D-ready displays and mobile devices. Dolby and Philips have started to engage standards bodies and have an eye toward licensing the technology,” writes Giardina.
Last week, ETCentric reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was pursuing Apple and five publishers on charges of e-book price fixing.
Apple is denying any wrong-doing, as are three of the publishers.
“Apple says that it did not collude to fix the price of e-books — it simply helped break Amazon’s ‘monopolistic’ stranglehold on the publishing industry, while also offering a superior product to consumers,” reports Digital Trends.
Publishers Macmillan and Penguin are opting to fight the suit in court, while the remaining three (Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster) have agreed to settle out of court.
“The DOJ’s accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true,” said Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr. “The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. Since then customers have benefited from e-books that are more interactive and engaging. Just as we’ve allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore.”
“It’s worth noting that Apple’s pricing policy with books and apps differs from the setup it has with the music industry,” adds AllThingsD in a related report. “In that relationship, Apple pays the music labels a wholesale price for their digital assets, and then sets the retail price itself.”
According to Leichtman Research Group, 38 percent of U.S. households have at least one television set connected to the Internet via a game console, Blu-ray player, set-top box or other device.
Last year, 30 percent of households had Internet-connected TVs, while the figure was 24 percent two years ago.
Netflix subscribers represent more than one-third of that base, streaming videos through a connected device at least once a week, suggests the survey.
“Leichtman Research drilled down further into Netflix’s role in the media landscape. The firm found that half of Netflix subscribers are ‘satisfied’ with the online streaming service,” reports MediaPost. “There is some countervailing evidence that Netflix contributes to cord-cutting, as just 7 percent are ‘likely’ to switch from their multichannel provider in the next six months versus 12 percent of non-Netflix homes.”
The RIAA, National Music Publishers Association and Digital Media Association have reached an agreement regarding royalty rates for digital music services and emerging media.
“Some of the new rates address music bundled with other goods, such as Internet-service plans, cellphones and vinyl records, which are sometimes sold with codes that allow downloading of MP3 versions of the music,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
The proposal would call for the creation of new guidelines for five new types of services, including online locker offerings such as Amazon’s Cloud Drive and Apple’s iTune Match.
Rates were previously established for three types of delivery: physical sales, digital downloads, and on-demand music services.
Expanding the number of categories “reflects our mission to make it easier for digital music services to launch cutting-edge business models and streamline the licensing process,” said Cary Sherman, who heads the RIAA.
Internet pioneer and current Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf is asking people how we should define the Internet and its future.
He distributed an email on April 9 as a call to initiate a new dialogue on the subject. An accompanying Google page suggests: “Let’s start something” and features links to participate via Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
“It’s time to start a new chapter in our Internet conversation — one in which we come up with positive and proactive plans to drive constructive Internet legislation in countries around the globe,” Cerf wrote in the email.
“Instead of reacting only to legislation that is harmful to the Internet’s utility, we should be promoting policies that improve the Internet’s usefulness while making it a safer and more secure environment for everyone,” he suggests.
“At first glance, this whole campaign seems quite odd, and we’ve asked Google to clarify a few things about it,” reports Digital Trends. “But from what we can gather, this is an attempt to launch a proactive campaign to influence federal legislation on the Internet. (At least, that’s our interpretation of it.) It’s an interesting idea, considering nearly all of the online activism we’ve seen so far (think SOPA/PIPA blackout) has been reactive, meaning Washington drafts some dangerous bill, and then the Internet community pushes back against it.”
The TriggerHappy camera remote is yet another Kickstarter success story.
TriggerHappy, from engineer Kevin Harrington and his development team, provides digital SLR control via its iPhone or Android app.
As of April 6, the Kickstarter campaign had 27 days remaining, yet the TriggerHappy team had already raised $125,000 (their initial funding goal was $25,000).
Digital Trends interviewed the young software engineer about his concept and his team’s experience with Kickstarter.
According to Harrington: “Kickstarter is a great place to bootstrap a business. That’s what we wanted. We don’t see TriggerHappy as a project, but instead we see it as a business with an ever-improving product. Starting a business requires capital. Kickstarter is a great place to raise that capital without giving away company equity to investors. Crowdfunding is how we wanted to raise capital, and Kickstarter is the premium crowdfunding service.”
The post features a 4-minute video describing the TriggerHappy project.
Nearly 90 percent of tablet owners watched TV and used their devices simultaneously at least once a month in Q4 2011, according to a new report from Nielsen.
The data suggests that 45 percent used tablets while watching TV on a daily basis, and 26 percent did so several times a day.
Smartphone use is also on the rise while watching television. “Only 14 percent of U.S. smartphone owners never used their phone while watching TV, while 41 percent had their smartphone in hand while viewing TV,” reports Broadcasting & Cable. “About 86 percent used their smartphone and TV at the same time at least one a month.”
“The numbers provide new support for efforts by broadcasters, cable channels and multichannel providers to provide second screen apps or synch apps that can enhance the viewing experience of live TV,” suggests the article.
This month’s NAB Show (April 14-19, Las Vegas) promises to feature the latest in 3D technology products and trends, according to Chris Brown, NAB’s executive VP, conventions and business operations.
James Cameron and Vince Pace, for example, will share their insights in a session entitled “The Secrets of Making 3D Profitable.”
“Cameron and Pace will reveal the strategy behind 5D productions, including the ESPN Winter X Games where 35 rigs were used to accomplish the largest 5D production in history. Attendees will see how the 5D methodology enables broadcasters to increase revenue by integrating 3D into their existing 2D business model,” writes Brown in Post Magazine.
“Independent voices will be heard in 3D filmmaking,” adds Brown. “As previously out-of-reach equipment and techniques permeate the marketplace, watch for up and coming creators to push beyond the expected and into new territory.”
Among the planned 3D offerings at this year’s show: a number of glasses-free 3D HDTVs (including 4K models) will be on display; the first U.S. demo of a 200-inch, glasses-free projection system will be featured at the show’s International Research Park; an April 15 session on “Higher Frame Rate 3D,” which promises a cinema-like experience; and discussions of the tech requirements for over-the-air broadcast 3D (one component of the half-day engineering conference).
Screenvision is hoping that the new Screenfanz mobile app will draw movie viewers to the theater early for 20 minutes of ads and interactive games.
The pre-show, called The Limelight, will feature commercials, trivia and prizes.
With the app, movie fans “can watch trailers, search for showtimes, check in at the theater and earn points toward free movie tickets and concession snacks,” reports The New York Times. “They can also use the app to play interactive games during the Limelight preshow.”
Screenvision ran a pilot test of 640 viewers featuring ads from FedEx, Nestlé, Allstate and Purina. The company reported that more than 75 percent of the viewers indicated they would “definitely” or “likely” arrive at the theater early for the pre-show and use the app.
“In today’s fragmented, short-attention-span media universe, commercial-friendly environments are an endangered species,” says Travis Reid, chief executive of Screenvision. “Our new pre-show brings together the immersive power of advertising on the silver screen with rich mobile interactivity, a marriage that will transform consumer engagement in the theater environment.”
YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen have been working on a new magazine app through their parent company, AVOS. The duo quietly launched a landing page for “Zeen” just before the weekend.
According to Zeen’s new Facebook page: “Hello world! You’ll soon be able to discover and create beautiful magazines with us. Secure your username now at http://zeen.com/.”
“Zeen will be a service allowing users to upload third-party content onto personalized ‘magazines,'” reports Digital Trends. “We’d like to think of it as a cross between Paper.li and Pinterest.”
Digital Trends draws its speculation from information discovered on Zeen’s Privacy Policy page: “First, there is a policy that explicitly informs users of adding content onto the site including ‘links, images, videos, text, sound, comments, notes or tags,’ which will be publicly viewable by users. Second, the policy hints at its intent to use third-party content uploaded on the platform for monetization purposes, possibly like the advertising model current search engines use today.”
“Of course we’re just speculating what is to come, but The Next Web intends to question Chad Hurley when he speaks at The Next Web Conference later this month,” explains the post. “Knowing this, and that Zeen has talked to Martin Bryant on Twitter, we can bet that the official announcement of Zeen’s existence will come at the conference, so stay tuned.”
Microsoft teamed with Nokia in 2011 to challenge Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system. The companies are hoping that the Lumia 900, which launched yesterday in the U.S., will be the first major step toward their goal.
“But the hundreds of thousands of apps that run on Apple and Android devices will not work on phones like the Lumia 900 that use Microsoft’s Windows Phone software,” reports The New York Times. “And many developers are reluctant to funnel time and money into an app for what is still a small and unproved market. So Microsoft has come up with incentives, like plying developers with free phones and the promise of prime spots in its app store and in Windows Phone advertising.”
Microsoft is even financing the development of Windows Phone versions of successful apps. “The tactic underscores the strong positions of Google and Apple, neither of which have to pay developers to make apps,” explains the article.
Foursquare, for example, is having its Windows Phone app development paid for by Microsoft.
Microsoft currently has 70,000 apps available, including Netflix, YouTube, the Weather Channel and Amazon Kindle. However, Apple has more than 600,000 and Android close to 400,000. “Analysts say that Microsoft does not need a million apps to appeal to phone buyers — just the ones that are so popular and mainstream that they feel like features of the phone itself,” NYT reports.
