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.
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.”
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.”
While Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey invested in Instagram before its acquisition by Facebook, his company is now playing hardball with the popular social network.
“Twitter has blocked Instagram from using its API to find new friends to follow on the photo-sharing service,” reports Business Insider. “The news comes after Instagram announced on its blog that it hit 80 million users.”
The move marks the second time Twitter has blocked API access to a social network, after it recently ended its two-and-a-half-year partnership with LinkedIn by no longer allowing users to publish tweets to their LinkedIn profiles.
The “Find Your Friends” feature on Twitter has been removed, a helpful feature that enabled users to follow the same people they follow on Twitter via Instagram. However, the “Tweet Photo” feature is still available.
“We’ve learned that the feature is missing due to API restrictions from Twitter’s end, restrictions that possibly came about over concerns about Instagram’s scale and its strain on data pulls,” notes TechCrunch in a related post. “Many social apps like The Fancy and Foursquare still have access to this part of the Twitter API — it seems very likely that Instagram was the largest developer using the Twitter Friend Graph.”
“Twitter’s agenda here isn’t at all clear, but one possibility is that it wants to control the photos experience on its platform (and preclude Facebook from doing the same),” notes TechCrunch. “Selectively limiting API access by company is definitely strange behavior in an ecosystem that thrives on API symbiosis. Imagine if Google just decided to shut off Google Maps access to apps randomly?”
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.”
Twitter is reportedly teaming up with Hollywood producers to create original video series for the social platform and, according to inside sources, the new endeavor could be coming as soon as this fall.
“Per sources, the show could live on a standalone Twitter page similar to the events page that Twitter launched in partnership with NASCAR in June, although the series’ page would more closely resemble a microsite in order to feature an expanded video player,” reports AdWeek.
“Another possibility is that the series would be distributed within tweets — promoted, organic or pinned to a brand’s Twitter page — with users clicking to expand the tweet into a full-fledged video player.”
The project is intended to enable real-time viewer participation. Moreover, tweets could even influence the show as it airs.
Twitter stands to gain more advertising revenue from the series, with product integration and promotions within the feed. Its core ad units like Promoted Tweets are frequently sold out, notes AdWeek.
Sources suggest that the move goes beyond launching a Web show to “changing the way people consume and discover media,” the article states. “Twitter wouldn’t be developing the content, but would instead serve as a distribution vehicle and advertising middleman.”
The latest version of Apple OS X, Mountain Lion, just hit the App Store for $19.99.
“Of course, this round is download-only, so if you want to get your grubby paws on the desktop version of AirPlay Monitoring, Messages, Share Sheets and the rest of those 200+ features, this is the only way to do it,” comments Engadget.
Notable new features include: full iCloud integration, an all new Messages app (replacing iChat), the Notification Center, Facebook integration, Gatekeeper (for safer downloading), system updater Power Nap, and a faster Safari browser.
“People are going to love the new features in Mountain Lion and how easy it is to download and install from the Mac App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of Worldwide Marketing. “With iCloud integration, Mountain Lion is even easier to set up, and your important information stays up to date across all your devices so you can keep editing documents, taking notes, creating reminders, and continue conversations whether you started on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.”
“Does Mountain Lion justify its $20 price tag? Yes. Of course it does. If you’re an OS X user with a reasonably new piece of hardware, stop what you’re doing and upgrade now. There are 200 features here — odds are you’re going to discover a couple you like,” notes Engadget in its extensive review.
“In our time with the new operating system, we experienced no major issues; just rare hiccups that can are likely to be fixed in a system update. Heck, even the installation went smoothly. Apple devotees will find a lot to like amid the long list of tweaks and new features.”
Last week, ETCentric reported on the Ptch mobile app from DreamWorks Animation that enables users to create multimedia compositions and share them through social networks. This week we have a similar tool that leverages multiple “producers” based on their proximity to each other.
Vyclone is a new “social video creation, collaboration, and sharing app for the iPhone and iPod touch,” reports Mashable.
The free app enables multiple users within physical proximity of each other to create a collaborative video with multiple angles. Vyclone can even be used by others shooting iPhone videos who do not know each other or may not be aware the other people are recording video.
“Vyclone uses the GPS in your iPhone to determine your location,” notes the post. “If you’re recording a video with the app at the same time and place as another person, then the app will automatically edit together your two videos into one ultimate video mix. Bring four people together in the same spot and Vycone will combine all four video streams into a single synchronized mix.”
Completed videos can be shared with just the people you’ve linked to on Vyclone or everyone. They can also be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
The Vyclone site features sample videos created by early users.
DirecTV and Viacom reached a new long-term carriage agreement on Friday to restore Viacom-owned channels to subscribers of the satellite TV provider.
As previously reported, the channels (including MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Nickelodeon) had been unavailable to DirecTV’s 20 million customers since July 10.
“Financial and other terms weren’t disclosed, but sources said the deal will run for seven years,” notes The Hollywood Reporter. “DirecTV will carry all 26 Viacom channels, or 17 when excluding HD feeds, but said it is not required to carry Epix, the premium TV joint venture of Viacom, Lionsgate and MGM.”
“In addition to the channels’ return, DirecTV customers will also gain the ability to see Viacom programming on tablets, laptops, handhelds and other personal devices via the DirecTV Everywhere platform,” according to the satellite TV company.
“The attention surrounding this unnecessary and ill-advised blackout by Viacom has accomplished one key thing: It serves notice to all media companies that bullying TV providers and their customers with blackouts won’t get them a better deal,” said Derek Chang, executive vp of content strategy and development for DirecTV. “It’s high time programmers ended these anti-consumer blackouts once and for all and prove our industry is about enabling people to connect to their favorite programs rather than denying them access.”
Samsung’s 75-inch ES9000 LED Smart TV was recently unveiled for the Korean market and will be making its way to the U.S. in August.
For those with $9,999 to spend on a television, this 3D-capable, LED-backlit set is reportedly one to behold. It is currently on display in New York City as part of the Samsung-sponsored SpaceFest at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
“The 75-incher’s bezel measures just 0.31 inches, and the frame sports a rose-gold finish,” reports Engadget. “There’s also a built-in Web camera that retracts when not in use, and the TV comes with four pairs of 3D glasses.”
“The ES9000 includes the complete suite of Samsung Smart TV features — Smart Interaction, Smart Content and Smart Evolution — that were introduced earlier this year,” notes the press release.
“Smart Interaction enables users to control and interact with their TVs in a more intuitive way through voice, gesture and face recognition controls,” according to the company. “Smart Content makes available a broad range of premium and signature content that can be shared across multiple devices.”
Additional features include Sound Share for wirelessly connecting audio via Bluetooth, a dual-core processor that provides speed for accessing apps or browsing the Web, and the highest contrast ratio on a Samsung Smart TV to date.
Microsoft has unveiled an overhaul of its popular Office software and a new version of its cloud-based suite, Office 365. Users will now have the option of performing work through a browser, rather than installing software on their PCs.
Many of the features are tied to online collaboration and integration with touchscreen-friendly Windows 8.
“Your modern Office thinks cloud first. That’s what it means to have Office as a service,” explained CEO Steve Ballmer at a Microsoft event in San Francisco this week.
The company explains that Office will automatically save and store files on its online storage service SkyDrive, enabling users to synch across multiple mobile devices and PCs.
Initial SkyDrive storage will range from 7-20 gigabytes, depending on whether users opt for the subscription service (7 comes standard for new customers, 20 available with sub). Customers can use Office on up to five PCs or mobile devices.
“The launch is the latest sign of a cultural shift at Microsoft, as Web-based software and mobile devices undermine the strategic importance of PCs and programs installed on them,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Rival Google Inc., in particular, has increased pressure on the company with free, Web-based offerings such as Google Docs and Gmail. Apple Inc.’s iPad is also drawing more consumers away from PCs.”
Purchase or subscription pricing has not been announced. The trial version of Office 2013 is available starting Monday.
Global Industry Analysts has published a comprehensive research report titled “3D TVs: A Global Strategic Business Report” that suggests 3D TV is experiencing a healthy worldwide upswing.
“The global market for 3D TVs is projected to exceed 200 million units by 2018, primarily driven by increased consumer interest, falling prices of 3D TVs, and the introduction of 3D standards,” according to the press release.
“Other growth drivers include soaring demand for digital media entertainment, growing penetration of high-bandwidth broadband services among households, and rapid proliferation of Internet enabled devices such as smart TVs, smartphones and tablet PCs.”
The press release also cites enhancements such as direct-lit LED backlights and ultra-slim form factors, more user-friendly 3D glasses, and a wider range of television size selections as factors that will continue to generate consumer interest.
“Improvement in Quality of Service, reduction of deployment times, introduction of innovative service packages and competitive pricing will be critical for 3D TV to gain mass market adoption,” notes the release.
