The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences held its 64th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards last week in Hollywood.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) both received Engineering Emmys.
“A first for the 92-year-old ASC, its Emmy was awarded for its ‘ASC Color Decision List,’ a development of the society’s technology committee that is used to communicate consistent color information from a shoot through postproduction — enabling cinematographers to create and maintain an artistic look,” writes Carolyn Giardina for The Hollywood Reporter.
“AMPAS was recognized for the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), a standards-based color management architecture designed for the production, mastering and long-term archiving of motion picture and television (non-live broadcast) content.”
Additionally, Kodak was honored with the Philo T. Farnsworth Award for the company’s contributions to the television industry. Richard Green, founder and former president and CEO of Cable Television Laboratories, was given the Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award.
“During the ceremony, the participants also paid tribute to last year’s Charles F. Jenkins Award winner, industry visionary Bob Lambert, who passed away last month,” writes Giardina. “Lambert had been unable to attend the 2011 ceremony, and a clip from his recorded acceptance was played in his memory.”
More than 250,000 customers have pre-ordered Nintendo’s Wii U at GameStop, and have shown preference for the more expensive Wii U Deluxe set, reports Polygon. The Wii U Deluxe set sells for $349.99 and the regular version retails for $299.99.
While Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is excited about the high pre-sale numbers, he cautions that Nintendo will lose money on the sale of Wii U hardware. The company hopes to profit from the sale of software.
“In addition to the yen’s continuous appreciation, the Wii U hardware will have a negative impact on Nintendo’s profits early after the launch because rather than determining a price based on its manufacturing cost, we selected one that consumers would consider to be reasonable,” explains Iwata.
“In this first half of the term before the launch of the Wii U, we were not able to make a profit on software for the system we we had to book a loss on the hardware, which is currently in production and will be sold below cost price.”
Customer demand for Wii U has outpaced production efforts. “As production only started this summer, it has now become more likely that it is our production capacity, rather than consumer demand, that will place limits on our Wii U prospects for this calendar year,” says Iwata.
“But we will make every effort to supply as many units as possible, and we will strive to continue to ship Wii U hardware without any interruptions in each regions even after its launch.”
Free for existing users, the new Final Cut Pro X update comes with dual viewers to compare shots, MXF plug-in support, Compound Clip creation for reusing clips and much more.
The software will cost $299.99 for new customers and requires OS X 10.6.8 or later.
New audio tools allow users to edit audio channels directly within the timeline and to combine audio from multiple angles with Multicam Clip.
Users can transfer media from both file-based cameras and files and folders with the new unified import window; the update also includes XML 1.2 featuring metadata import and export.
The “Share” interface now enables users to export their projects to one or more destinations.
“The Final Cut Pro X update also includes RED camera support with native REDCODE Raw editing, as well as optional background transcode to Apple ProRes,” reports Apple Insider.
Additional features: “Option to add chapter markers in the timeline for export to video files, DVD, and Blu-ray disc… Range selection now preserves start and end points in the Event Browser and allows you to create multiple range selections on a single clip… Paste attributes window lets you choose specific effects to copy between clips… Flexible Clip Connections allow you to keep Connected Clips in place when slipping, sliding or moving clips in the Primary Storyline.”
Following the landmark patent suit with Samsung, Apple has lessened its reliance on its rival for iPhone parts — and now Samsung is pushing back.
“We are unable to supply our flat-screens to Apple with huge price discounts. Samsung has already cut our portion of shipments to Apple and next year we will stop shipping displays,” a senior Samsung source told The Korea Times Monday on the condition of anonymity.
“Samsung has been the top supplier of liquid crystal displays to Apple, selling more than 15 million displays in the first half of 2012 to Apple,” GigaOM explains. “But according to the same unnamed source, Samsung has sold only 3 million to Apple since then. Apple has been cutting its reliance on Samsung Display and buying similar products from other sources, such as LG and Sharp.”
“Samsung has also seen its chip orders from Apple cut,” notes the article. “Reuters reported earlier that Apple planned to rely less on Samsung for the iPhone 5′s memory chips. Then perhaps to add a little insult to injury, Apple also recently snaked a top chip designer away from Samsung. In this context, the severed panel business relationship seems like an inevitable next step.”
Samsung is likely to simply substitute Apple’s business with its own, producing displays for its own line of tablets. Amazon could also be a potential new customer for the company with its expansion of tablet offerings.
Facebook and Twitter users today are simply out to get followers, no longer focused on sharing good content. There is just too much noise created by high volume of poor-quality content.
At least that’s what the new social network Pheed is arguing as it places emphasis on providing high-quality content.
“It’s pretty simple, if you allow influencers to charge for content, high quality content will be produced,” Forbes writes. “Pheed enables users to share all forms of digital content, including text, photo, audio, video, and live broadcasts. ‘Pheeders’ then have the option to share for free or at a premium, either by applying a monthly subscription fee to their channel or setting up a pay-per-view live broadcast event.”
Just days after launching the site, Pheed has already seen 350,000 unique visitors. The company says 200 celebs and “taste-makers” have signed up for the service.
“Users can charge anywhere from $1.99 to $34.99 per view, or $1.99 to $34.99 per month. In both cases, the user selects their own pricing and owns all of the content,” explains the article. “Pheed makes money by taking half of the revenue, which covers bandwidth and storage, payment processing, and of course, Pheed’s profits.”
Pheed faces one, potentially large, obstacle: Will people actually pay to view content or subscribe to celeb content?
“Time will tell,” Forbes concludes. “Pheed has a good opportunity to succeed if it stays focused and doesn’t try to become a jack-of-all-trades. For now, it’s safe to say Pheed is a site we should all keep an eye on — its Twitter-with-a-business-model approach stands to seriously impact the social media game.”
Amazon is positioned to make up to $1 billion in advertising over the next year, according to Baird Equity Research.
While Facebook “knows who your friends are” and Google “knows what you’re interested in finding on the Internet,” Amazon has the unique advantage of purchase history. This is an immensely valuable item to offer advertisers who want to target people who will actually buy their products.
Amazon can use its user purchase history data to help create targeted advertising on its ad-supported Kindles. Amazon can also use the data for a per-click advertising model on Amazon.com as well as Amazon-owned sites such as Zappos, IMDb, and Diapers.com, reports Wired.
Lisa Utzschneider, VP of global sales for Amazon, explains that Amazon’s advertising could help customers. “If we think about Amazon in two worlds, one world is an Amazon with ads and lower prices. Another world is an Amazon with no ads and higher prices,” she notes. “Which one would we choose?”
Amazon is the sixth most visited site in the U.S. every month, according to comScore. The top five sites all rely on advertising for revenue, but Amazon does not. It has already been successful without advertising, but if the company combines its substantial traffic with its precise user data, it could add much more value.
Additionally, the company’s demand-side platform (DSP) enables tracking of people who made purchases on Amazon, data that can be used to advertise on different sites.
“The winner in the media game is the one who can best identify a user and match that user up with an affiliation that an advertiser cares about,” suggests Jay Habegger, CEO of Boston advertising firm OwnerIQ.
Netflix rolled out second screen features for the PS3 a few weeks back that provide users with game console controls from their Android or iOS handset. The company is now looking to expand this offering to other devices, enabling users to control their TV apps and connected devices with mobile handsets.
“Our overall strategy around second screen control is that Netflix on TV devices is a great viewing experience, but Netflix on mobile devices makes activities like browsing, searching, rating and social easier,” explains a Netflix spokesperson. “We see our users doing this naturally today and are trying to support and optimize for that behavior.”
“It makes a lot of sense for the company to use phones and tablets as remote controls for the TV screen,” GigaOM writes. “Netflix’s catalog now consists of roughly 50,000 titles, which is hard to navigate and search on a TV or connected device. Tablets on the other hand in particular make for great programming guides, and the ability to beam a video with one click to the big screen could be a great addition to the company’s apps.”
In order to take advantage of the second screen controls, Netflix viewers “need to be logged into the Netflix application on both devices with the same Netflix account, and also have their mobile phone connect to the same Wi-Fi network as the game console,” the post explains.
Google TV could be the next platform to get second screen support. The company has been working on its own second screen experience for Google TV apps.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) issued a warning against malware on Android devices last week.
“The IC3 has been made aware of various malware attacking Android operating systems for mobile devices,” it notes. “Some of the latest known versions of this type of malware are Loozfon and FinFisher.”
Loozfon is information-stealing malware, used by criminals to steal address books and phone numbers. FinFisher is “a spyware capable of taking over the components of a mobile device. When installed the mobile device can be remotely controlled and monitored no matter where the Target is located,” explains Fortune.
IC3 offers suggestions for consumers to protect themselves:
“When purchasing a smartphone, know the features of the device, including the default settings. Turn off features of the device not needed to minimize the attack surface of the device.”
“With the growth of the application market for mobile devices, users should look at the reviews of the developer/company who published the application.”
“Passcode protect your mobile device. This is the first layer of physical security to protect the contents of the device. In conjunction with the passcode, enable the screen lock feature after a few minutes of inactivity.”
Video startup Tvinci “has built a platform that enables cable and other pay TV operators to quickly deploy over-the-top video services for their subscribers,” writes TechCrunch.
Tvinci raised $4.5 million in funding from investors such as Kaedan Capital and Zohar Gilon, along with new investor Trellas Enterprises.
“With more and more consumption of long-form video happening online and on mobile and other connected devices, it’s become necessary for cable and IPTV companies to build applications for those screens,” explains the post. “But rather than having each build their own DIY backend, Tvinci lets them connect with its system and more quickly roll out new services.”
Tvinci’s OTT 2.0 platform allows for the creation of mobile and connected TV apps as well, which its pay TV operator clients can use to deliver video across multiple screens.
“Tvinci’s revenue has tripled over the past year, and it has doubled headcount to meet demand from clients,” notes TechCrunch. “It’s signed up seven TV operators recently, including Liberty Global and Finnish pay TV company Elisa, to help get their content delivered across more screens.”
Samsung has signed a deal with Spotify that will allow direct music streaming from Samsung TVs for consumers with premium subscription memberships.
“The deal will give Samsung a new way to promote its televisions; Spotify, meanwhile, hopes the arrangement offers a new incentive for consumers to pay for its subscription service rather than use its advertising-backed, free-of-charge offering,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
The partnership comes as numerous tech companies are entering the growing music-streaming market.
“Digital-music sales, including both streaming and downloads, are expected to soon overtake sales of physical CDs as the main source of revenue for music labels and publishers,” explains WSJ.
Transitioning customers to pay for the subscription service may become more important to Spotify since its ad sales growth is reportedly slowing.
Samsung E-series sets will include a software application that enables streaming via Spotify. The application will first be available to owners of Samsung TVs in the UK, France, Germany and Scandinavia. The company plans to expand the service to its Blu-ray players and home theater systems by the end of 2012.
“Last year Samsung launched its own music service, called Samsung Music Hub, but analysts say the deal with Spotify may signal that Samsung may now realizes how hard it is to ink music streaming deals with record labels,” notes the article.
Camera review website Digital Photography Review has launched a new platform called Connect which is “dedicated to the fast growing world of mobile photography,” reports Wired.
DPReview promises to provide detailed reviews of cell phone cameras that focus not only on resolution, but on the “sensors, lenses and software that all contribute to the look and quality of the images,” explains the post.
Connect “will be combining DPReview’s qualitative assessment of performance and image quality with technical testing,” through its partnership with DXO Labs.
Editor Barney Britton says a new studio will help create objectivity for the nine to ten page cell phone camera reviews.
“We’ll be able to test cameras and phones using a common scene which greatly improves on our current setup,” he says. “This means we can shoot from a reasonable distance away on cellphones, avoiding issues with distortion and sharpness that plague attempts to shoot smaller scenes with fixed wide-angle lenses/cameras.”
As reports indicate that the iPhone 4 is the most used-camera in America, DPReview will fill a much needed void of analyzing which cell phone cameras are best. The detailed, respected reviews could incentivize cell phone companies to improve their cameras, speculates Wired.
Cloud-based movie locker system UltraViolet has yet to significantly gain traction with consumers.
“The reasons are varied: UV-compatible movies have trickled out; the number of UV-compatible sites and devices are few,” reports CNET.
“A much-heralded relationship between UV and Walmart, which agreed to store movies in customers’ UV lockers provided they haul their DVD or Blu-ray discs and pay as much as $5 a disc, was a non-starter for many,” adds the post.
However, early adopters are now ramping up initiatives involving UV-enabled films.
Paramount Pictures, Barnes & Noble and 20th Century Fox have expanded their UV libraries through rights deals and service launches to target consumers looking for low-cost alternatives to DVDs and early access to new releases.
Paramount has signed a deal with Flixster, B&N launched Nook Video, and last month Fox announced it will offer Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” online three weeks before it’s available via disc or VOD.
“Let’s hope the other studios follow Fox’s lead,” comments CNET. “Consumers want earlier access to new releases, they want lower prices, and they don’t want them tied to DVDs.”
Somrat Niyogi, CEO of Miso, writes via TechCrunch that “Twitter currently dominates live TV because it enables these ‘come-in come-out’ experiences that are light, delightful and informative. But ultimately, Twitter is also dominating because of the mistakes we are making in the social TV industry.”
Niyogi believes the fundamental issue is in the industry’s approach to consumers. “Right now, second screen apps are saying, ‘Here are other ways you can use your smartphone while you watch TV!’ But is anybody really asking, ‘What do people really want to do when they watch TV?'”
“Companies should pick a single value prop and deliver it really well. This is why Instagram has 100 million users and no second screen app has climbed to 1 million users organically,” writes Niyogi.
“Let me emphasize this again: the key is to do one thing and do it right. As Matt Cohler wrote recently, there are winners in the mobile space and patterns are emerging: ‘Great mobile apps act like push-button remote controls for real life,’” he writes.
Niyogi highlights successful ‘single purpose apps’ like Instagram, Yelp and Pulse.
He ends his article with this question: “Now, I encourage everyone to ask themselves: is there a habitual, single thought experience that people want to use everyday that I can deliver in a magical, simple way?”
His answer? “I believe there is. But, only time will tell and there is more work that needs to be done. Most of all, I believe that TV and the experiences around it will only continue to get better and better… as long as we get on the right track.”
Starting this week, Google Play will be more tightly integrated into the Google TV experience. Google Play movies, TV shows and music will be available on Google TV in the next few weeks.
“You’ll be able to buy or rent content directly through the Google Play Store on Google TV, and purchases you’ve made on other devices will also be automatically available on Google TV,” according to the Official Google TV Blog.
“Google Play titles will also be discoverable through our TV & Movies app, which brings recommendations for shows and movies available on live TV and apps like Netflix, Amazon, and now Google Play,” notes the blog.
Additionally, purchases made on other devices will be available on Google TV.
“For developers, this update also enables many other Google Play features including auto-updates, subscription billing, and smart app updates,” explains Google.
Last year, 3.4 million ultraslim PCs were shipped worldwide. Despite the slow adoption, NPD DisplaySearch predicts that number to dramatically increase to 65 million by 2015 (one-quarter of all mobile PC shipments).
The expected growth of devices including ultrabooks, Apple’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with retina display will be sparked by reduced prices and the devices’ similar feel to tablets.
NPD DisplaySearch also predicts that tablet shipments will exceed notebooks by 2016.
“Tablet PCs have offered consumers what they have been requesting from the notebook market for years, instant-on activation, long battery life, and sleeker designs,” notes Richard Shim, senior analyst with NPD DisplaySearch. “These attributes are the basis for enabling greater and easier accessibility to content and services.”
“Ultraslim PCs are the notebook market’s response to tablets and aim to balance performance and convenience,” he says.
