Yahoo has launched a third major update to its IntoNow second-screen TV app, which now allows users to tag and identify a song that’s playing during a TV show.
The company says the music sync function works with live performances, featured songs, or even background music. For users interested in a particular song, the app can direct them to iTunes or YouTube.
The new release “takes a step back from earlier versions, which were focused on TV discovery and sharing metadata with users,” notes TechCrunch. “It found that users were getting little actual utility out of those features, and they weren’t coming back for more… So the team set about re-imagining ways it could promote more interaction with the app.”
A new feature called CapIt allows users to automatically grab an image from a show and then caption it, with an option to share with friends via Facebook, Twitter or IntoNow.
Another new feature is the ability to create group chats around a particular TV show or event, including an option to set up recurring chats that take place throughout a given season.
IntoNow has been downloaded more than 3 million times. according to Yahoo. The latest update is currently only available for its iOS version.
Viggle, the company that rewards viewers for checking into TV shows from their smart devices, now has one million registered viewers.
Since the mobile app’s launch six months ago, Viggle users have checked in more than 63 million times.
“In exchange for being a couch potato, users receive points that are redeemable for movie tickets and gift cards from places like Best Buy, Amazon, Fandango, iTunes, and Hulu Plus,” explains VentureBeat. “Users can also earn rewards by participating in real-time voting and game features while they watch.”
The New York-based company has released the Viggle Platform Developer Kit (VPDK) for third-party use, that it hopes will enable networks and producers to create social TV experiences that would reside within Viggle’s mobile apps.
Viggle sees potential for complementary and interactive features such as video playlists, news headlines, slideshows, games, polls, prediction cards, “mood-o-meters,” trivia questions and quizzes.
The VPDK is available for free. Developers can work with common Web standards including HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.
To demonstrate the kit’s capabilities, Viggle recently launched “MyGuy,” a real-time fantasy sports game in which users earn points based on how well their selected players perform in a given game.
With a software update for the Apple TV set-top box released this week comes a new app for Hulu.
“Apple TV owners have been waiting forever for Hulu service to land on the device,” notes VentureBeat. “Previously, rumors indicated that a Hulu Plus app existed but hadn’t been approved by Apple. Some speculated that this was because a Hulu service would threaten Apple’s TV show sales via iTunes. And with OS X Mountain Lion’s new Mac Airplay feature, there’s really no reason not to put Hulu on the Apple TV.”
The new app will require users to subscribe to the Hulu Plus service ($7.99 monthly fee), which users can sign up for directly using the Apple TV.
“It’s likely that Apple takes a cut of every subscription that’s paid for through a person’s iTunes account, but we don’t know the exact percentage of that commission fee,” the post suggests. “This detail is probably why it took so long for Apple to bring Hulu Plus to the Apple TV.”
“If you take into account the possible loss from TV show purchases on iTunes as well as a dismal commission fee from bringing on new subscribers, it makes sense that Apple hesitated in bringing Hulu to its set-top box,” concludes the post. “If true, it could explain why Apple isn’t in any rush to bring additional streaming video services to the Apple TV.”
In a bold experiment that began eight months ago, Google invested $150 million to fund new video channels to “upgrade its content from simple user-generated videos and to lure more viewers and advertising,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
Following its success, the Internet giant has upped the ante, investing another $200 million in the project, which will help marketing efforts and expansion into Europe.
Already, YouTube launched almost 100 new channels this year and has reportedly secured commitments for ads amounting to over $150 million.
“In contrast with TV, YouTube’s fast production process and the lower costs of online video means producers can make near-instant changes to their programs in response to viewer feedback,” the article states. “As a result, YouTube channel producers say the rapid evolution of their content will eventually allow them to find the best way to attract large audiences for the long term.”
According to YouTube, user growth continues to rise, with four billion hours of video viewed on the site each month (up from three billion at the start of this year). The company claims that the number of channel subscribers has doubled since last year.
Google is taking a step toward a full-fledged ad management platform with its purchase of Wildfire Interactive, a social media marketing start-up that has been working closely with Facebook.
“The Google party line is that the company wants to own (and eventually integrate) the online marketing experience, full stop,” reports VentureBeat. “It wants to have a single destination where a brand marketing manager can go to create and control all online campaigns, from search marketing to Twitter CRM to Facebook campaigns, the whole shebang.”
The acquisition also likely provides some insight into Facebook’s marketing platform, which beats Google in its total share of display advertising.
Wildfire will continue business as usual for now — although the company’s largest focus may no longer be Facebook.
However, if Google really is looking to redesign online marketing, the start-up may help create such a platform in the next six to twelve months, the post suggests.
According to the official Google blog: “With Wildfire, we’re looking forward to creating new opportunities for our clients to engage with people across all social services. We believe that better content and more seamless solutions will help unlock the full potential of the Web for people and businesses.”
Fujifilm Australia is looking beyond the concept of digital photo printing with kiosks that enable customers to create special trinkets.
The CE company is developing a consumer 3D printing service intended for shoppers interested in creating their own DIY projects.
“Utilizing the in-store ‘kiosk’ model successfully implemented by Fujifilm for its digital photographs, a range of physical objects will be available for personalization,” reports PSFK.com.
“The catalog of available objects will be rotated to provide variety, but while some retailers may end up with a 3D printer in store, initially these objects are unlikely to be created before the customers’ eyes,” notes the post. “To start, a majority of items will be produced off-site and the customers would need to return to the store to collect their orders.”
The goal is to provide consumers with the opportunity to create a far-reaching range of items through 3D printing technology previously available primarily for professionals (think MakerBot in kiosk form).
“In a retail environment, a customer could use a kiosk to create their customized 3D product from a range of customizable designs or even a photograph, place their order with the retailer and then return to the store at a later time to pick up the product,” explains Michael Mostyn, a key account manager in the commercial division of Fujifilm.
“The prototype consumer kiosk for 3D printing is here,” adds ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld. “Once the consumer behavior catches on, it’s just a matter of swapping out the printers as the range of materials, colors, and options expand for a whole new industry to be born.”
Researcher/hacker Charlie Miller works for security firm Accuvant and his research has been funded in part by DARPA. He spoke at last week’s Black Hat security conference regarding potential pitfalls of NFC technology.
Miller learned “that he could simply flash a near-field-communications (NFC) tag containing a chip next to an Android Nexus S phone to load a malicious URL in the phone’s browser through a feature that Google calls Android Beam,” according to Forbes.
NFC allows smartphone users to pay bills wirelessly and sync with nearby computers, among other things, but it could also be putting users in danger of viruses and/or data theft.
“The whole idea of Android Beam is that if you both have Android phones, you can share a game you’re playing or a Web page or something on Maps,” explains Miller. “But the scary thing is that with just an NFC tag I can make your browser open a Web page and completely own your phone.”
The vulnerabilities Miller showcased have been addressed in Android’s 4.01 version of its Android Beam, but up to 90 percent of users haven’t updated to that version, according to the article.
Miller highlighted similar security risks with some Nokia and Android phones, focusing on what happens when certain applications run NFC-enabled software.
“Once you realize NFC opens the gateway to the browser and other big attacks surfaces, I thought, why waste time exploiting these NFC bugs,” he says. “As an attacker I wouldn’t look for NFC bugs but instead focus on other applications that you can get to run using NFC.”
Jeff B. Cohen, partner and co-founder of the Beverly Hills-based law firm Cohen Gardner LLP, writes in a guest blog for CNBC about the current direction of movie finance, production, distribution and marketing in a digital era.
Cohen references Ben Silverman, chairman of Electus, who recently spoke at an industry summit in Los Angeles: “Ben noted that 100 years ago in order to make a film you needed 50 acres of land in the San Fernando Valley, an army of various craftsmen, sprawling soundstages, expensive specialized cameras, film labs and more.”
“He went on to say that in order to produce a film today you could likely do it with five dedicated artists, $30,000 worth of equipment and an office in Santa Monica with a green screen,” adds Cohen.
The changes underway in our evolving digital world make Cohen ask the question: “Are motion picture studios becoming irrelevant and what does the future hold for the business of filmed entertainment?”
Cohen cites how Netflix, Amazon and YouTube are financing original content to compete with traditional fare — and notes how crowdfunding is putting pressure on the studios’ role as financier. He also addresses the “democratization of distribution” enabled by Internet technologies and the impact of social media on traditional marketing practices.
“Technology is empowering a new generation of content creators to produce quality projects with little capital and even less permission. It will be fascinating to see how this democratization of financing, production and distribution impacts the art of filmed entertainment,” writes Cohen. “Will these factors fundamentally disrupt the economic and power dynamic of the traditionally studio dominated entertainment industry? It already has.”
“This article echoes what was written 10+ years ago about the music industry, and what became the reality of the music industry much faster than the labels could adapt to,” notes ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld.
“Dolby Laboratories has acquired rival digital cinema sound technology company IMM Sound, a privately owned Barcelona-based business, in a move that Dolby believes will help to speed adoption of its new immersive Atmos sound format,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As previously reported on ETCentric, a number of companies have been actively working on the next generation of digital cinema sound, the most high-profile of which has been Dolby’s recent launch of Atmos.
“IMM Sound was the company that had something similar to what Dolby was doing,” notes Doug Darrow, senior vice president cinema at Dolby. “We thought if we combine forces, it could allow for more rapid adoption.”
“In the broad sense, both systems involve immersing the audience in an aural experience by placing speakers around the perimeter of an auditorium, as well as on the ceiling,” notes THR. “And both offer tools for sound facilities that would enable more sophisticated sound mixes with the notion of placing ‘objects’ versus ‘channels.'”
Although similar, the technologies developed by the two companies are considered complementary, according to Darrow. The acquisition will lead to a discontinuation of the IMM Sound brand, while IMM technologies would be used for additional Atmos development.
Atmos launched last month in the newly named Dolby Theatre in Hollywood (former Kodak Theatre) when it was used for the premiere of Disney/Pixar’s “Brave.” There are currently about 20 theaters announced as Atmos facilities.
“We’d like to see about 1,000 [Atmos] screens next year, worldwide,” Darrow said, anticipating that Atmos may emerge as a de facto standard. “In order to achieve that and to make the industry more unified we thought this [acquisition] was the right thing to do.”
File-sharing service BitTorrent is on a mission to “help artists monetize the BitTorrent ecosystem” — a system of 150 million users that most often download free songs and episodes without consideration for how it affects the content creator.
“BitTorrent Inc. hopes to change this with a new revenue model that supports collaborating artists while keeping content at its desired price (free),” reports Slate.
Last week, BitTorrent began offering a free download bundle that “pairs exclusive music and photos from hip-hop producer DJ Shadow with a free, optional install of RealPlayer,” according to the article.
This is part of a plan that BitTorrent hopes will “be a new way of distributing content, one that allows artists to profit without asking downloaders to pay up. Each bundle will come with software — like a media player or anti-virus program — and that’s where the money comes in.”
If the user decides to install the program, the software vendor will pay an advertising fee to be shared between BitTorrent and the featured artist.
However, Slate poses some legitimate questions: “Will BitTorrent’s experiment pan out? Even if ad revenue is enough to satisfy everyone’s piggy banks, its success relies on users actually downloading the sponsored software. And how many of your friends do you see using RealPlayer?”
Boulder, Colorado-based Flixmaster wants to make online video more interactive by providing simple tools for embedding hands-on features.
The company recently announced the availability of its online video platform at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen.
“The start-up’s CEO and co-founder, Erika Trautman, says its technology can be used by anyone, from fifth graders to cable companies,” reports Fortune. “The editing software developed by the firm is Web-based, with a drag-and-drop interface that lets users recreate videos by plugging in video segments and more interactive scenes.”
“Flixmaster makes videos participatory, immersive and deeply interactive,” claims Trautman.
The failure of online video is that viewers quit watching after a short duration, suggests the CEO. But when USA Network tapped Flixmaster to create an interactive online series, viewing time increased.
“The show, called ‘Sights Unseen: A Covert Affairs Prequel,’ launched earlier this month. It lets viewers choose what the characters do at key moments in the plot, and then watch the scenes they select (sort of like the video version of the once-popular ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ book series),” notes the article. “Flixmaster says viewing time for the show was up 400 percent as a result of the embedded interactive features.”
The post includes a 6-minute video of FlixMaster’s presentation in Aspen.
In its first four days of availability, Apple’s new OS X Mountain Lion operating system is setting new download records.
“The operating system has topped three million App Store downloads since last week’s launch,” reports VentureBeat. “This makes it the most successful OS for the Cupertino, California Mac maker’s history. The news comes days after hearing that Mountain Lion represented 3 percent of all Mac Internet traffic.”
“Just a year after the incredibly successful introduction of Lion, customers have downloaded Mountain Lion over three million times in just four days, making it the most successful release ever,” notes Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller.
As previously reported on ETCentric, features of OS X 10.8 include the new Messages app, Notification Center, tighter iOS integration, system-wide Sharing, iCoud integration, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center. Facebook integration is expected in an upcoming update, according to Apple.
“Today’s announcement only confirms what others were saying after the $20 Mountain Lion upgrade became available: the new OS is on track to be the best version of OS X, bringing Apple $38 million and climbing in new revenue,” notes VentureBeat.
Apple has purchased AuthenTec Inc. for a reported $356 million, in a move that could make iPhones and iPads more secure for mobile payments.
AuthenTec, maker of fingerprint sensors and security solutions, “owns many of the foundational technology patents from the fingerprint biometric industry, and today has a broad IP and patent portfolio consisting of nearly 200 issued and filed U.S. patents, as well as additional foreign patent derivatives,” according to the company.
“Apple is paying $8 a share for the Melbourne, Florida-based company, according to an SEC filing,” reports Forbes. “AuthenTec, founded in 1998, says it has shipped more than 100 million fingerprint sensors for use in PCs and other electronic gadgets, including more than 15 million mobile phones. Apple’s Mac computers currently don’t have a fingerprint pad for security purposes, though other PCs do.”
Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets suggests we’ll see Apple devices with fingerprint access, as well as “a mobile commerce system built using the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology he predicts will be included in the new iPhone 5,” notes the article.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has already announced that this fall’s release of iOS 6 would include Passbook, a new feature for consolidating tickets, boarding passes and discount cards. “Turning it into a digital wallet seems likely a next step,” suggests Forbes.
“With Passbook, you can scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, and redeem a coupon,” according to Apple. “You can also see when your coupons expire, where your concert seats are, and the balance left on that all-important coffee bar card.”
NBC provided 171 hours of programming for the Atlanta games 16 years ago, and this year will offer about 5,535 hours via online streaming, TV and cable. Yet the network has received some criticism for its decisions to delay coverage of events and require a cable subscription for those wanting to stream events live online.
“At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, broadband wasn’t widely available. In Athens in 2004, the smartphone was in its infancy. In Beijing four years ago, social networks had not yet exploded,” notes Wired. “Today, all three have dovetailed in a crush of information.”
That perfect storm has left NBC is a tough position. It wants viewers to tune into its primetime broadcasts each night, and so is delaying some of its coverage, but many people don’t watch TV that way anymore. It’s too easy (and almost unavoidable) to learn results prior to primetime.
“CBS gets it,” notes Forbes in a related article. “Their telecast of the Grammy’s earlier this year grabbed the largest audience since 1984, mainly because of the vast back-channel conversation blasting through Twitter and Facebook. It was snarky, it was goofy, it was great fun — but you had to watch live to participate.”
However, the Grammy coverage involves a single event that doesn’t face the same challenges in covering multiple daily events from another country that lasts weeks. The Wall Street Journal noted in its review that the approach is “forcing Olympics lovers to consider the unthinkable — staying off the Internet for much of the games’ 17-day span to avoid spoilers.”
As Forbes notes, Olympic-themed tweets may be trending on Twitter in real time, but users are likely unable to watch those events until much later, making it difficult for users to engage socially — a significant component of modern TV viewing.
“I don’t pretend that everything will be perfect,” said Mark Lazarus, head of NBC Sports Group. But the number of people tuning in “is a great early sign that our strategy of driving people to watch NBC in primetime is working.”
This is historic for NBC, marking the first time the network is streaming all of the Olympic events. “On Sunday, 11.4 million videos were watched on NBCOlympics.com, and about half of them were watched live,” notes WSJ. “That is almost triple the number from Beijing on its first Sunday of competition.”
Social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs provides a breakdown of social interaction amongst viewers during the London Olympics Opening Ceremony.
According to the report, 94.2 percent of all social TV comments during Friday night’s primetime slot were about the festivities. There were 5 million social media comments with 4.86 million on Twitter and 140,000 public Facebook comments.
The Olympics Opening Ceremony is now the #3 special event of all time in social TV, behind the 2012 Grammy Awards (13 million social media comments) and the 2012 BET Awards (8 million comments).
NBC’s primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony was also a huge success, with a rating of 40.7 million, according to Nielsen, making it the most-watched kickoff in Summer Games history.
The program was the most popular on British television in 14 years. “The average audience was also the highest for any British telecast since 23.8 million viewed the soccer game that saw England fall to Argentina in the 1998 World Cup,” notes Variety.
These high numbers are impressive in a day and age when other, non-traditional viewing options are available. “NBC’s two-day primetime average of 35.6 million viewers is the best start to any Summer Olympics, more than two million more than Atlanta (33.3 million), and more than 6 million more viewers than Beijing (29.5 million),” explains the article.
