Facebook is working on ways to give brands and media companies a better look at conversations happening on the social media service about TV, movies and media. Facebook recently launched new APIs allowing certain companies to read what people are saying about them online. The goal, of course, is to allow those companies to better engage with target audiences. But for now, the program is limited just to media brands and content producers. Continue reading Facebook Helps Companies Gauge Social Chatter About Media

AllThingsD editors Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher are leaving News Corp. at the end of the year, and have reportedly completed a deal with NBCUniversal for a news and conference business. Mossberg and Swisher will have majority control over the company while NBCUniversal and another unnamed investor will share one-third of the business, according to an unidentified source. Most of the current AllThingsD staff is expected to join the new holding company. Continue reading Mossberg and Swisher Leaving News Corp. for NBCUniversal

A team from Disney Research Zürich led by Wojciech Jarosz has developed a new rendering technique that is expected to save animators significant time in the editing process of feature films. The new computational algorithm, which is being presented at this week’s ACM SIGGRAPH Asia conference in Hong Kong, can reduce rendering times for scenes that are affected by light — like those with water and smoke — by a factor of up to 1,000. Continue reading New Animation Technology to Save Production Time and Cost

Entertainment Matters at CES, sponsored by Variety, is returning to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. The program helps entertainment professionals navigate CES through exhibits, conference sessions and events specifically geared for the Hollywood community. CEA is offering ETC members complimentary CES registration as well as a 25 percent discount off the Entertainment Matters Conference Pass. Please use priority code EMETC when registering to receive these discounts. Continue reading Announcement: Entertainment Matters at the 2014 CES

At the Business Insider’s Ignition conference in New York this week, Facebook revealed more of its plans to develop social TV advertising products. Justin Osofsky, Facebook vice president of media partnerships, discussed deals with broadcast networks, which were initially announced along with hashtags and verified accounts back in September. The social platform is trying to prove it is just as valuable as Twitter in real-time TV discussions, if not more so. Continue reading Facebook Plans to Compete with Twitter for TV Ad Business

The BroadbandTVCon broadband TV and multi-screen summit took place at Hollywood & Highland on November 5-6. Executives from a range of companies including AOL, AT&T, CBS, Dijit Media, Omelet, Ooyala, Unicorn Media, Watchwith and Yahoo! gathered to offer their impressions regarding the direction of second screen apps, the impact of mobile devices, the growing influence of millennials and the subsequent changes to content and advertising. Continue reading Exclusive: Execs Discuss Second Screens at BroadbandTVCon

During a recent live-streamed conference, Google announced new Google+ photo features, including Action, Eraser and an iMovie Trailers-like Auto Awesome Movie tool. The company announced that the Google+ Hangouts app for Android now offers location sharing, animated GIF support and SMS integration. There have also been changes to Google+ Hangouts On Air, including a new Control Room menu. There are currently 540 million monthly active Google+ users. Continue reading Google Unveils New Google+ “Auto Awesome” Photo Features

Samsung made some significant announcements at its Developers Conference earlier this week that indicate it is making a play for greater control over Android. Among the announcements, the company plans to release five new SDKs for phones, tablets, TVs and more. The developer kits include support for apps and features involving pen and gesture controls in addition to media playback from mobile devices. Samsung now sells more Android devices than any of its competitors. Continue reading Samsung Edges Out the Competition for Android Development

Industry leaders gathered at Loews Hollywood Hotel for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ annual conference this week. Executives from Samsung, Sony, NPD DisplaySearch and HDMI Licensing discussed the progress and future of 4K television during the “4K/UHD TV – Will it be a hit with consumers?” panel. Topics included quality, pricing, content availability, upconversion, replacement cycles, lessons learned from 3D TV, and the need for consistent terminology. Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: SMPTE Asks if 4K Will Be a Hit with Consumers

During a panel discussion at the SMPTE conference, execs from Sony, Samsung, HDMI Licensing and NPD DisplaySearch addressed the challenges ahead for what was described as an “exciting” time for “immersive” Ultra HDTV. The panel discussed topics including the current lack of available content and the need to shape a clear message for consumers. While the industry seems divided on a 4K transition, proponents at the conference suggested there would ultimately be consumer demand. Continue reading SMPTE: Industry Executives Discuss the Future of Ultra HDTV

Bran Ferren, creative consultant to the Envision Symposium taking place September 19-21 in Monterey, sat with ETC for an exclusive look at the issues and context that inspired and provided the guiding principle for this first of its kind gathering of leaders and visionaries in the fields of storytelling, performance, cinema, television and games. This is the second and concluding part of our interview with the legendary designer and technologist. Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Bran Ferren Q&A Part 2 — We’re Just Getting Started

ETC@USC Executive Director and CEO Ken Williams addressed the topic of advanced media technology for the home when he spoke at the NAB Futures Conference last Fall. As part of ETCentric‘s member exclusive features, we are pleased to present the perspectives Ken articulated to broadcasting leaders and technology innovators at the invitation-only event where attendees openly discussed the future of broadcasting and explored how businesses will thrive in this era of digital disruption. (Statistics cited reflect the timeframe in which the talk was given.) Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: Ken Williams on Advanced Media Tech for the Home

The Envision Symposium, a first of its kind event presented by Live Design and curated by the legendary designer/technologist Bran Ferren with designer Bob Bonniol, convenes “the brightest minds and disruptive thinkers from the worlds of entertainment, gaming and technology” next Thursday through Saturday, September 19-21 in Monterey, California to explore the future of creative entertainment and storytelling. Continue reading Visionaries To Explore the Future of Creative Entertainment

Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel recently announced that the company’s messaging app is processing more than 350 million snaps a day, which is an increase from 200 million in June. The popularity of the app stems from the fact that one can send pictures that are instantly deleted after being opened. Facebook’s Poke app may have been a potential threat to Snapchat, but while the Poke app has lost popularity, Snapchat is number 12 among Apple’s free apps. Continue reading Snapchat Boasts 350 Million Snaps Per Day, Looks to Expand

During the Gamescom conference in Germany this week, Sony announced that the Twitch videogame broadcasting community will be integrated into its PlayStation 4 game console when it launches this fall. In June, Microsoft announced that the live streaming venture for gamers would be available on its Xbox One, leading many to speculate that Twitch would not end up on the PS4. Twitch allows gamers to live stream, share and chat about their playing experiences. Continue reading Gamescom 2013: Twitch Live Streaming on Xbox One and PS4