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.
Twitter is suing five different Web tools and providers that allegedly help spammers flood their network.
The suits are clearly aimed to send a message that spamming via Twitter will not be tolerated as it is clearly stated in The Twitter Rules.
Defendants in the suit include TweetAttacks, TweetAdder, TweetBuddy, James Lucero of justinlover.info and Garland Harris of troption.com.
“Twitter now has more than 140 million active users, and we continue to grow at a record pace,” Twitter said in a statement. “As our reach expands, we become a more attractive target for spammers. Even though spam is a small fraction of the content you can find on Twitter, we know just how distracting it can be.”
“Taking legal action sends a clear message to all would-be spammers that there are serious and costly consequences to violating our Rules with their annoying and potentially malicious activity,” explains the statement.
Twitter is not the first social network to take legal action against spammers. Facebook and Google have filed similar suits in recent years.
A group of Reddit users have formed a political action committee called TestPAC to campaign against Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), an author of the Stop Online Piracy Act. Thus far, they have raised $10,000 towards a $25,000 goal.
“I would say that our biggest concern is removing Lamar Smith from Congress, due to the fact that he has made it clear he would rather listen to corporate entertainment rather than his constituents,” explains Jerome Whalen, TestPAC chair. “We want to make TestPAC a campaign for national awareness for the rights of Americans in the digital age.”
In related news, former chief technology policy officer for the MPAA, Paul Brigner is now head of the North America sector of the non-profit Internet Society, an entity against the SOPA legislation.
Brigner has changed camps on the controversial piracy proposal, saying, “I firmly believe that we should not be legislating technological mandates to protect copyright — including SOPA and Protect IP.”
In a statement posted to CNET, Brigner added: “The more I became educated on the realities of these issues, the more I came to the realization that a mandated technical solution just isn’t mutually compatible with the health of the Internet.”
Hollywood is far from giving up on the bills, according to MPAA chief Christopher Dodd who feels confident that President Obama will advance the measure using his strong relationships with both Hollywood and Silicon Valley. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another SOPA ally, said it will also remain dedicated to working with Congress on the issue.
For those looking for a mid-range solution to photo editing — one that falls somewhere between a basic free option and the $699-999 Photoshop — PhotoDirector 3 is worth a look.
Digital Trends offers a hands-on evaluation of the recently released $120 software that addresses features, the interface, and comparisons to other software.
“Navigating the software is quite simple — you have a mere five categories under which lie all of your tools,” explains the review. “You’ll spend most of your editing time existing within ‘Adjustments’ and ‘Edits.’ The client isn’t text heavy, but it doesn’t rely on icons like Photoshop does.”
Digital Trends praises the filters and effects available with PhotoDirector, but misses the layering capabilities of Photoshop. However, the review suggests that PhotoDirector’s UI is far superior to any of the currently available free software options.
According to the post: “…reliant on shape warping or insert text? Then this isn’t for you. Simply want good exposure control, levels, and content aware masking? Then you may have found your $120 match.”
Google has begun testing its augmented reality glasses in public, calling it ProjectGlass.
Much to the disappointment of Engadget, the glasses are actually very subtle by design and won’t make the user stand out too much in a crowd by looking like Robocop.
“The software giant let it be known that, while it hasn’t quite got a sale date on the wearables, it’s ready to test ProjectGlass amongst the non-augmented public,” according to the post. “The company is also looking for feedback on the project, writing in a post, ‘we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input.'”
“The prototype version Google showed off on Wednesday looked like a very polished and well-designed pair of wrap-around glasses with a clear display that sits above the eye,” adds The New York Times in a related article. “The glasses can stream information to the lenses and allow the wearer to send and receive messages through voice commands. There is also a built-in camera to record video and take pictures.”
Google has provided a video detailing the project’s vision by showcasing how the glasses will work in daily life.
Google’s YouTube will now convert all 1080p video to 3D and allow playback to those wearing 3D glasses.
YouTube launched the 3D beta feature in September 2011. The update also eliminated the 15-minute time limit set earlier to lessen the upload of pirated movies.
“Google processes the original 2D video and creates a ‘depth map,’ looking for a combination of video characteristics such as color, spatial layout, and motion that it has ‘learned’ from other, dedicated 3D videos uploaded to the site,” reports PCMag. “The creation of the depth map adds the second image that’s needed for the 3D video.”
According to the YouTube blog: “With this broader knowledge of 3D conversion, we then apply cloud computing scalability to make conversion possible across even more videos on YouTube. Breaking up a video into tiny chunks of data and processing them in parallel on Google’s cloud infrastructure lets us process these videos, while still producing the quality you expect.”
Take a look at the linked video to see the 3D effect. You’ll need to click on the gear icon and then the 3D selection.
Stuart Green, Rutgers Law School professor and author of the upcoming “13 Ways to Steal a Bicycle: Theft Law in the Information Age,” addresses emerging trends regarding copyright infringement and intellectual property in a recent New York Times op-ed.
In doing so, Green provides a compelling examination of the concept (and evolution) of “theft” in the digital age.
“For starters, we should stop trying to shoehorn the 21st-century problem of illegal downloading into a moral and legal regime that was developed with a pre- or mid-20th-century economy in mind,” writes Green. “Second, we should recognize that the criminal law is least effective — and least legitimate — when it is at odds with widely held moral intuitions.”
“But framing illegal downloading as a form of stealing doesn’t, and probably never will, work,” he adds. “We would do better to consider a range of legal concepts that fit the problem more appropriately: concepts like unauthorized use, trespass, conversion and misappropriation.”
“Treating different forms of property deprivation as different crimes may seem untidy, but that is the nature of criminal law,” suggests Green.