Cable subscriptions average $60-$80 a month compared with streaming services that typically cost around $10 a month. ITworld writer Brian Proffitt walks his readers through the steps to determine if cord cutting is right for them, acknowledging that streaming services are, in fact, not for everyone.
First, he recommends that viewers identify their habits — for example, what they watch most (movies, sports or primetime television). According to the post, most online services now have good movie offerings, so movie-watchers should be able to make an easy switch.
Services like Hulu Plus offer a great selection of television. For frequent TV viewers, Proffitt suggests first listing the shows that are watched (even guilty pleasures) and identifying what streaming sites provide them in a timely fashion.
For sports fans, cutting cords can be much more difficult. Many sports have subscription-based seasonal passes, but they are likely subject to blackout rules.
Once a viewer has a good idea of what content is most frequently watched and which services offer them quickly (very important — some TV shows are delayed months on some streaming services), Proffitt recommends a good connection to the Internet without severe data limits. If you are always going over your data allotments, you may find the money you save by cutting cable subscriptions is quickly redirected.
Additional considerations include the cost of the Internet TV device (for example: Boxee, Apple TV or Roku), ensuring high definition and quality sound, and the ability to play other content like home movies on the TV.
Top broadcasters including NBC and Fox are jumping into the wireless world with the soon-expected launch of Dyle.
“Dyle is a service run by Mobile Content Venture, a consortium of broadcasters that are building a network to deliver local and live TV channels to mobile devices,” explains CNET.
Mobile Content Venture (MCV) has agreements with various companies including ABC, CBS, Samsung, LG, Belkin and others.
Using the app on a new phone or in conjunction with a dongle for tablets, users can tune in to live sports, breaking news and other live programming over broadcasting airwaves without overtaxing the cellular network.
“The wireless industry, MCV argues, can benefit from a second network that runs parallel to the cellular one,” notes the article. “Consumers who watch television through Dyle don’t consume data from their plans, an increasingly big concern with more restrictions on data use. In its own way, MCV believes it can alleviate the growing traffic congestion on the mobile highways.”
While CNET writer Roger Cheng expresses skepticism about demand — “history has shown that consumers haven’t exactly clamored for live TV on their mobile devices” — a new study from Research Now (commissioned by Dyle) may suggest otherwise.
“The 510-person survey found that 61 percent of consumers would be somewhat or very likely to switch cell phone providers to get access to mobile TV. Even more — 68 percent — said they would watch more live TV if it were available on their mobile device. The study found that consumers wanted to get their local news and weather from mobile TV even if the content is readily available online,” reports CNET.
The project does, however, face a dilemma: without critical mass, big manufacturers and mobile carriers won’t join up, but Dyle may struggle to gain traction without their support.
In response to NBC’s inability to provide live Olympics coverage online for non-cable subscribers, some U.S. viewers have taken up VPN services to access BBC footage with a UK IP address.
StrongVPN.com is one such VPN service provider that has had a jump in UK VPN sales recently, according to its president, Phil Blancett. He, however, holds no responsibility for what users do with their edited IP addresses.
“It’s not the responsibility of the VPN provider how people use our connections,” says Blancett. “We provide a VPN account and a secure connection, not what happens on those connections.”
“He compares the role of a VPN provider to that of an ISP, which should not be monitoring how you are using your Internet connection,” TechCrunch reports. “Another issue [is] that these companies are making money elsewhere and have other concerns with getting their Olympics coverage right.”
“I really don’t think the BBC or NBC really care,” Blancett says. “They’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
These VPN services are frequently used in countries like China that “geo-block a number of sites like Facebook and Twitter for political reasons,” the article explains.
“But as the amount of content — and specifically video content — has continued to grow online, so has the desire among consumers to get it where they want it, and when they want it,” concludes TechCrunch. “And just as torrent sites arose out of a time when getting content elsewhere simply wasn’t there, so has the market for VPNs and what they are getting used for, too.”
Tapping into coverage of the London Olympics could be a good way to spark 3D adoption. This year, NBC and Panasonic have devoted 30 ENG cameras, 20 rigs and three Olympic Broadcasting Services trucks to cover the games in a whole new way.
“NBC is working with Panasonic, the official sponsor of the 2012 Games, to pump more than 300 hours of 3D coverage into homes and bars worldwide,” Mashable reports. “According to the companies, about 80 percent of U.S. households have access to the programming — you just need a 3D-enabled TV to watch it.”
After tests during the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics, the project is now going full force, providing 12 hours of 3D programming each day.
In general, 3D has issues gaining traction despite the 10 million 3D TVs expected to ship to the U.S. this year. Some blame the lack of 3D-worthy content; others point fingers at the resistance to wearing 3D glasses.
While glasses-free 3D TVs aren’t expected to proliferate any time soon, Panasonic Chief Technology Officer Eisuke Tsuyuzaki remains optimistic about the current technology.
“So far, the response has been great,” Tsuyuzaki told Mashable. “We know people love 3D movies and seek them out, so it’s not a surprise that viewers love this too. We just need to give them more programming events in the future, so they keep coming back to watch more in 3D.”
Originally scheduled to ship in July, the $299 Nexus Q will be delayed while Google makes improvements after hearing “initial feedback from users that they want Nexus Q to do even more than it does today,” the company wrote in an email to those who pre-ordered the device.
“The Nexus Q, a black orb that looks somewhat like a Magic 8-ball, was internally designed and manufactured in the U.S., a departure from recent industry norms in consumer electronics,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“It was designed to stream music and videos from Google’s YouTube video service and its Play service and is seen as competing against devices such as Apple Inc.’s Apple TV and Sonos Inc.’s home-audio system,” explains the article.
The duration of the postponement has yet to be announced, but it’s not completely bad news for early adopters. According to the Google email message: “To thank you for your early interest, we’d like to extend the Nexus Q preview to our pre-order customers and send you a free device.”
The Android-based media steaming device has received some criticism for its price point and lack of features, especially when compared to its competitors.
“Currently, the Nexus Q can only play back content from Android devices, and lacks its own user interface,” notes The Verge in a related post. “If we had to guess, we’d say that Google will address that issue before it commits to a re-release.”
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.”
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.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and possibly even Microsoft are looking to incorporate gesture-recognition technology into cars. However, automotive tech supplier Harman may have a jump on the competition.
The company presented a concept vehicle aimed at reducing distractions in the car by using nods, winks and hand movements for various functions.
To make a call, make the universal pinky-and-thumb “on-the-phone” gesture and say a contact in your phone’s address book. To turn your radio on or off, just wink. If you want to change the volume, tilt your head. You can even skip songs or stations by tapping the steering wheel and adjust the temperature by lowering your hand above the gear-shift knob.
“A dashboard-mounted infrared sensor watches for predefined expressions and gestures from the driver, and the data is parsed by an onboard processor that activates the appropriate features,” explains Wired. “Harman claims that the system can recognize the difference between intentional gestures and accidental ones.”
Harman says the technology won’t go into production for at least two or three more years.
As the new chief executive at Yahoo, one of Marissa Mayer’s top priorities is hiring promising managers and product people at a time when, “Yahoo’s talent pool has been reduced to puddles, as the best techies have gone elsewhere and promising newcomers have come down with colorblindness when it comes to purple,” suggests Wired.
While some remain skeptical that Mayer can attract new talent, Wired reveals her “secret weapon.” Since the early 2000s, Mayer worked to recruit the best of the best for Google’s Associate Product Manager program — and she still keeps in close touch with the 300 people that have passed through.
“Don’t be fooled by the modest title, prefixed by that timid word ‘associate.’ The most coveted entry post at Google is spelled APM,” notes the article. “This is an incubation system for tech rock stars.”
“The APM program is one of our core values — I’d like to think of one of them as the eventual CEO of the company,” Google’s executive chair Eric Schmidt once said.
Reportedly, the APMs continue to meet periodically with Mayer for check-ins and advice.
“The program has a been massive success, with APMs filling key roles in dozens of key Google products, ranging from apps to search to ads,” the article states, adding “it would be not be surprising if some of these baccalaureate APMs wind up at Yahoo. In addition, former APMs all have their own networks, and can tip off Mayer to promising hires.”
Following her move, Mayer sent out an email to the APM network as an update and a promise to keep in touch… and possibly as a welcome to the Yahoo family.
Hardware has always played an important role in the gaming sphere, often dictating capabilities and prominence. All that may change, suggests Fortune, as cloud computing enters the scene.
“So-called cloud gaming involves a kind of apostasy,” the article states. “The more technical wizardry inside the , the more fantastic the graphics displayed on-screen. (And the higher the price.) In contrast, cloud games are rendered by remote servers that beam images to screens over the Internet.”
Cloud computing has the potential to make gaming operate like streaming video services. But not without obstacles to overcome such as high quality graphics overwhelming data lines and delays or glitches from network lags, Fortune points out.
Despite challenges, companies like OnLive and Otoy have made a name for themselves with their successful cloud rendering platforms. Also, Sony recently purchased Gaikai, which streams high-quality games via Java, in a move that validates the cloud gaming business.
David Dennis, the senior group manager for Xbox, is not sold, however. “A model where someone is playing a AAA blockbuster game where there could be latency issues — and by the way, while they’re playing, they’re running up the meter on their broadband, adding huge, incremental costs on top of their standard broadband bill — is not an infrastructure or model that scales on a consistent global level.”
For now, Microsoft plans to promote online features like saving game data, distributing digital games and streaming content — i.e., features that don’t require high-speed fiber connections.
Even so, cloud companies like OnLive threaten to overthrow the current gaming market by making expensive hardware obsolete. This could mean pricey acquisitions in the near future, especially as physical content sales continue to decline.
Tech spending is up $114 billion from last year and is expected to hit $2.1 trillion in 2012, reports Gartner Research.
Mobile services, mobile phones and entertainment services are the most significant segments of the consumer tech market.
This year, mobile services are expected to account for 37 percent of the total consumer tech spending at $800 billion, while mobile phones will take up 10 percent with $222 billion. According to Gartner, those numbers will increase to $1 trillion and $300 billion respectively by 2016.
The study shows mobile app stores and e-text content will see impressive growth by 2016.
Entertainment sits at $210 billion spent for 2012, somewhat eclipsed by mobile.
“While consumers are willing to pay for content they view as ‘worth it,’ they will approve of ad-supported services only if those services come with free functions, such as cloud storage, VoIP, or email,” VentureBeat writes. “Another finding is that some segments of the tech market are spurring growth in others.”
Companies in different sectors should collaborate on a better ecosystem for tech consumers, says Gartner, because “the advent of all-you-can eat or umbrella data plans that cover all devices will increase hardware sales.”
When it comes to social media marketing, it’s not enough to use someone who is influential. The person must also have a network of influential friends, not just susceptible followers, says a new study from Sinan Aral and Dylan Walker of New York University.
“The biggest takeaway for marketers and others trying to spread messages through social media may be that influential Facebook users are less susceptible to influence than non-influential ones, and influencers tend to cluster in the network,” notes ReadWriteWeb.
Also, people are most influential on others within their own age group, and “the older a person is, the more influential and less susceptible he or she is on Facebook.”
“For now, the best marketing strategy is to target influencers who have already adopted a product, the researchers said,” according to the post. “Individuals who already use a product can be given incentives to influence their peers, as opposed to giving individuals with susceptible peers incentives to adopt a product.”
The study had some other interesting findings: “younger users are more susceptible to influence than older users”; “men are more influential than woman”; “women influence men more than they influence other women”; and, “married people are the least susceptible to influence in the decision to adopt products.”
For marketers, this means advertising specifically women-oriented may be ineffective. And more importantly, “the key is finding the clusters of influential users within a social network to get a message disseminated as quickly as possible.”
Google wants to reinvent the way we watch television so “you don’t have to settle for old-time television anymore,” according to executives.
Its new Fiber TV, the DVR/cable box service announced this week, enables users to record 500 hours of TV and record up to eight shows at once using Google’s new, ultra-fast Internet network.
For $120/month and a $300 construction fee (waived for those who sign a two year contract), customers can get the Fiber TV service and select various plans, similar to cable boxes.
Customers who buy the TV package will also get a free Google Nexus 7, pre-installed with the Fiber TV app. The app, also available on iOS and Android, allows users to search programs and control live TV and DVR.
“‘Fiber TV will integrate with all popular social networks, making live TV more relevant than ever,’ Google execs said during the presentation. You’ll also be able to watch different shows, on different TVs and devices, in the same house all at the same time,” reports The Verge. “There will be ‘tens of thousands’ of movies and shows on demand, all of which you’ll be able to watch on multiple devices.”
