Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren spoke before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, arguing that Internet radio is subjected to unfair royalty fees.
When Westergren spoke before the committee last year, he explained that Pandora feeds 50 percent of revenues back to artists in performance fees, while Sirius Satellite Radio only pays 7 percent.
Westergren describes this as an unfair playing field and notes that Congress should “approach radio royalties in a technology neutral manner.”
“According to the account that Westergren gave me, the criteria for setting royalty rates in broadcast, satellite, and Internet radio were all determined at different times,” reports TechCrunch. “So when Pandora is making the case for lower loyalty rates, even the arguments that it can use are limited. For example, he says even though Pandora is ‘a massive driver of sales’ for iTunes and Amazon… it’s not allowed to offer that data as evidence. Satellite radio companies, on the other hand, can.”
Westergren does not expect immediate results, but does note that since most “members on the Hill use Pandora or some form of Internet radio” he remains optimistic about their desire to protect the brand in the future.
Online video ad services provider BrightRoll conducts an annual survey of advertisers to gauge interest, trends, and budget planning regarding online video for the upcoming 12 months.
Recent results indicate 64 percent of those surveyed “said they believe that online video advertising is equally or more effective than the ads that show up on TV,” reports TechCrunch.
They likely think so, BrightRoll explains, because numbers indicate that 70 percent of Internet users watch online video, “meaning that there’s no longer a question of scale when it comes to buying online.”
Even so, many advertisers still want clearer results in order to justify increased ad spending for online video (70 percent of those surveyed said they needed to see clearer success metrics).
“It’s got some advertisers thinking that they should start measuring online streams in the same way they measure TV, with these things called gross ratings points,” notes the post. “About 18 percent are interested in more research on using GRPs for online video, even though only 5 percent say it’s the most important metric today.”
Charlie Ergen, Dish Network CEO, says the new Auto Hop feature that allows viewers to skip past commercials is “competitively necessary” due to the wide availability of cheap and free Internet video.
Broadcasters are making their programming available on the Internet through their own websites and other services like Hulu. This wide availability threatens the pay TV ecosystem.
Ergen would like to force the networks to develop “more meaningful” ads that people would want to see.
With his professional gambler background, Ergen sees his business as a big card game implying that he is well versed in bluffing with the networks to win his hand.
“If the ad is skipped, the consumer likes it, but it’s not necessarily good for me and it’s not necessarily good for the broadcaster because I’m in the same ecosystem as him,” Ergen said. “So we have to figure out how the broadcaster benefits, we benefit and the consumer continues to feel like he gets a fair deal. So maybe [the consumer] pays a little bit less for ‘retrans,’ his bill doesn’t go up by double digits every year… That’s an interesting conversation to have.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a series of focus groups that suggest Americans are playing video games more than watching movies and TV shows on game consoles, computers and smartphones.
“In a study called ‘The Evolution of Video Gaming and Content Consumption,’ survey respondents indicated they play video games on a console for 3.7 hours a week, play on a computer 3.2 hours, on a smartphone 2.7 hours and on a tablet 1 hour,” details The Hollywood Reporter.
Those same survey respondents stream movies and TV shows on a computer for 2.3 hours a week, on a console 2.2 hours a week and on a smartphone and/or tablet for just 0.6 hours a week.
According to the study, 70 percent of those who play video games on consoles like the PlayStation or Xbox use their console for nongaming activities for at least one hour a week and for up to seven hours a week.
For some, the console is a replacement for cable. “I got rid of cable a few years ago,” one respondent said. “I had Netflix with just the disc, and then I switched over to only streaming. Between that and Hulu, it’s like there’s more than enough TV that I want to watch on it and it’s $15 a month for both of those, compared to $70 or something for cable.”
Mozilla launched a new version of Firefox on Tuesday that features a number of speed improvements and layout upgrades.
Firefox 13 includes new shortcut icons that offer direct access to downloads, add-ons, bookmarks and history, syncing across devices, and more.
Additionally, the “Restore Previous Session” icon opens previous tabs used the last time Firefox was open.
“Similar to Google Chrome, Mozilla plans to use the Start Page as a gateway to enter the Apps Market in order to help users find new extensions to install. The Start Page can be pinned as an App Tab in order to allow users quick access to the shortcuts,” reports Digital Trends. “Also similar to Google Chrome, Mozilla has added support for nine thumbnails that display recently viewed sites when opening up a new tab.”
Those interested in downloading the new version can do so via the Mozilla site “or simply wait until the browser updates the software automatically over the next week,” notes the post.
Broadcast service provider NHK recently demonstrated a 33-megapixel Super Hi-Vision-format camera at the NHK Open House event in Tokyo.
The company claims the camera can shoot 7580 x 4320 video at 120 frames per second (that’s about four billion pixels per second).
NHK opted to boost the frame rate from 60 to 120fps once it was determined that moving objects appeared too blurry on Super Hi-Vision wall-size displays. The company also created a new analog-to-digital converter to address the video’s higher bitrate.
“The craziest thing is that this camera uses a 1.5-inch CMOS sensor that’s actually smaller than what’s found on conventional Ultra-High Definition sensors,” reports PCWorld. “It sounds like an impressive piece of tech, if a little gratuitous at this stage, given current HDTVs top out at 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution.”
“This 1.5-inch CMOS sensor is smaller and uses less power when compared to conventional Ultra High Definition sensors, and it is also the world’s first to support the full specifications of the Ultra High Definition standard,” notes DigInfo in its video report included in the post.
At the E3 Expo in Los Angeles this week, Nintendo unveiled its new Wii U console and Wii U Gamepad. According to Nintendo: “at its core, Wii U changes gaming, how you interact with your gaming friends, and it changes the way you enjoy your TV.”
Nintendo’s Reggie Fils Aime announced during the keynote that new partners will provide content to the Wii U, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and YouTube.
The Gamepad features a pressure-sensitive touchscreen and directional pad. It will also include an NFC reader/writer and a gyroscope/accelerometer, as noted earlier by ETCentric. The new controller enables viewing of multiple screens — on the TV and the Wii U Gamepad.
This two-screen group play gaming experience could be the prototype for a new in-theater gaming and socializing experience. It could also create a new category of “third location” places in competition with Starbucks and other coffee shops.
“The company is also introducing MiiVerse, which Nintendo refers to as a Main Street for gamers,” reports TechCrunch. “Each of your friends will be displayed there in avatar form, and you’ll be able to share screen images, send text messages, and display your recent scores within the bubble hovering above your Mii.”
The Wii U is expected for a holiday release. No pricing information was provided.
HBO continues to add more devices and platforms that support its HBO GO service. The latest to get the app is the Amazon Kindle Fire.
Now owners of the Fire who pay for the traditional HBO cable service also have access to the content digitally. The free HBO GO app allows users to access all of the network’s original programming, along with licensed movies.
“For HBO, the latest app release is just part of a larger strategy of getting on as many devices as possible, enabling subscribers HBO GO from tablets and mobile devices, as well as on streaming boxes and connected TVs, and last but not least, on PCs through their Web browsers,” reports TechCrunch.
“By doing so, HBO hopes to give viewers a reason to keep paying for the cable network on top of their basic cable subscriptions.”
Boxee has launched Cloudee, its new cloud storage solution. The company is currently offering the service as a free beta app for the iPhone.
Cloudee allows users to privately share videos without posting them on YouTube or other sites.
“For a while now, it’s been painful to get our personal videos to the TV screen — our Road Trips, Boxee Meetups, family videos with our kids,” explains Avner Ronen, founder and CEO of Boxee. “Some of these videos were on our phones, others on our laptop or network storage, and the ones we really wanted to see were always taken by our friends.”
“Already a de facto leader in the cloud computing space, Apple offers a similar service through its iCloud photostream service, which the company is expected to relaunch shortly,” reports MediaPost. “As with Apple customers, however, Cloudee is not insisting that its users sync their devices to gain access across multiple platforms.”
Boxee plans to launch a future paid version of its cloud service featuring unlimited video storage. Subscribers will have access to their video content via a Boxee Box or any browser.
Just two months following the release of its new Excite tablets, Toshiba has unveiled its summer lineup of ultrabooks, featuring three new devices.
Expected to hit shelves by June/July for under $1,000 is the updated Portege Z935 and the new low-cost Satellite U845. However, it’s Toshiba’s super widescreen Satellite U845W drawing the initial buzz.
Set for a July 15 release at $1,000 and up, the U845W runs the latest Intel Core processors and touts a 500GB hard drive, up to 8GB of RAM, a 1792 x 768 display, and a 32GB or 256GB solid-state drive.
“Instead of a standard widescreen, Toshiba has built this guy with an extremely widescreen, with a full 21:9 aspect ratio; the world’s first laptop with a screen wide enough to fully display a fully widescreen film,” reports Digital Trends. “We found watching movie trailers and other video to be quite enjoyable on the 14.4-inch super widescreen, which has large speakers on either side, which provide louder sound than I’ve ever heard from a laptop.”
The Satellite U845W includes an Ethernet port, SD card slot, HDMI port and three USB 3.0 ports.
“Toshiba is also positioning this as a multitasker’s dream laptop,” notes the post. “New software lets you easily create Window layouts and snap windows into new formations and grids. We’re not sure why Windows doesn’t already have these features, but we like them.”
At the Society for Information Display’s Display Week show in Boston this week, Corning unveiled Willow Glass — a strong and flexible glass that the company plans to use for OLED and LCD displays in smartphones and other wireless devices.
Corning claims the new technology will enable devices that are lighter, thinner and possibly less expensive to manufacture.
“Corning expects Willow Glass will eventually lead substrates to be manufactured ‘roll-to-roll’ instead of ‘sheet-to-sheet’ — similar to how newspapers are printed,” explains Engadget.
The cousin to Corning’s Gorilla Glass, the new ultra-thin glass can withstand heat up to 930 degrees Fahrenheit, and could potentially lead to the production of curved displays that could be wrapped around a device or structure.
“Corning Willow Glass is formulated to perform exceptionally well for electronic components such as touch sensors, as well as leveraging glass’s natural hermetic properties as a seal for OLED displays and other moisture and oxygen-sensitive technologies,” notes the press release.
In addition to CE devices such as smartphones and tablets, the technology may be used for other applications including solar cells and lighting.
The Engadget post includes the Corning press release and a brief video demo.
The International Telecommunications Union has agreed to a new draft recommendation on tech details for Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV).
Interestingly, the ITU has agreed on a draft recommendation for two resolutions — 3840 x 2160 and 7680 x 4320.
“The resolutions will be called 4K and 8K,” reports SlashGear. “The 4K standard will have a resolution of 8-megapixels with the 8K version getting 32-megapixels.”
There is no timetable for the commercial release of UHDTV, but the post suggests it may not take too long, considering the recent decline of global TV sales and slow adoption of 3D TV.
“However, it could take much longer for broadcasters to adopt higher-resolution programming,” notes SlashGear. “The first place to see higher-resolution images would likely be from movies on Blu-ray or other formats.”
According to a recent press release from the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the organization has “announced the approval of the ATSC NRT (Non-Real-Time) Content Delivery standard, a backwards-compatible enhancement to digital TV broadcasting that provides a framework for the delivery of a broad range of exciting new services. The new ATSC NRT standard is designated as A/103.”
Delivery of non-real-time services via A/103 will “allow broadcasters to deliver file-based content, including programs and clips, information for emergency alerts and even commercial applications such as digital signage.”
The new broadcast standard will support terrestrial transmission and mobile DTV receivers.
“ATSC’s new NRT standard gives broadcasters the capability to deliver all types of file-based content to consumers,” explains ATSC President Mark Richer. “Using broadcast television, programmers will be able to send content that a viewer may watch at their convenience.”
The release cites several anticipated applications for NRT services including: “Push Video-On-Demand (content ranging from short-form video clips to feature length movies); news, information and weather services; personalized TV channels; music distribution; [and] reference information on a wide range of topics.”
“This will make broadcast more competitive with satellite, cable and Internet services,” notes ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld.
Early reviews for Microsoft’s Windows 8 are trickling in, and Business Insider notes they are so far “extremely negative.” Will Windows 8 become the next Vista?
“In my time with Windows 8, I’ve felt almost totally at sea — confused, paralyzed, angry, and ultimately resigned to the pain of having to alter the way I do most of my work,” writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate.
“Windows 8 looks to me to be an unmitigated disaster that could decidedly hurt the company and its future… The real problem is that it is both unusable and annoying,” notes John Dvorak for Marketwatch.
“I still think it’s needlessly confusing and hard to use… I’ve spoken to other people who have been testing Windows 8 for months,” adds analyst Matt Rosoff. “A lot of them found it puzzling like I did, and it’s getting worse, not better, with each beta update.”
If consumers agree with these evaluations, they may just put off upgrading their systems or switch to a Mac or iPad. The article notes that this could be disastrous for Microsoft and possibly mark the beginning of the end for Windows dominance.
“It’s dangerous to predict the decline of Windows. People have been doing it for years and it’s amounted to nothing. Microsoft is a powerful, resilient company,” comments Business Insider. “However, if ever there was a time when it was ready to fall, that time is now. Apple is at the top of its game. And, if the critics are even half-right, Microsoft is at the bottom of its game.”
By 2016, Cisco estimates that annual global IP traffic will grow from 369 exabytes in 2011 to 1.3 zettabytes (equal to a trillion gigabytes).
Similarly, the number of devices will grow from 10.3 billion in 2011 to 18.9 billion in 2016. This amounts to some 2.5 connections for each person on earth!
There will be 3.4 billion Internet users in 2016 amounting to 45 percent of the world’s population. Broadband speeds will increase from 9mbps to 34mbps.
Average global IP traffic is estimated to reach 150 petabytes/hour. Cisco says this is equivalent to 278 million people streaming an HD movie.
Consumer video is a major growth driver with Internet video users almost doubling to 1.5 billion by 2016. The amount of video will increase to 1.2 million video minutes over the Internet every second.
While PCs accounted for 94 percent of consumer Internet traffic in 2011, this will fall to 81 percent with the increased use of tablets, smartphones and TVs.
Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren spoke before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, arguing that Internet radio is subjected to unfair royalty fees.
