March 23, 2009
DVD on demand model will grow
Warner Bros launches made-to-order DVD service | Technology | Internet | Reuters
Warner Bros on Monday became the first studio to open its film vault to "made-to-order" DVDs, as it sought new revenues in a slumping DVD market by making it possible for fans to buy decades-old films.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 19, 2009
Cable threatened by Internet TV services
Contentinople - Steve Donohue - Time Warner Cable COO Rips 'Over-the-Top' Services
NEW YORK -- Content providers should be leery of working with over-the-top Internet video services that threaten advertising and subscription revenue streams, Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) chief operating officer Landel Hobbs said Wednesday.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Cable MSO Market
Comcast Easily Top Op In Top 40 Markets: Kagan - 2009-03-19 16:35:11 - Multichannel News
Comcast continues to dominate the MSO landscape, with 20.1 million subs in the top 40 markets, almost three times the total of the second-largest cable operator, Time Warner, which counts 7.8 million in those DMAs.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 17, 2009
TV goes app server
Verizon heads toward iPhone model
Verizon is preparing to enable downloadable applications on set-tops in the same way downloadable apps are now available with Apple’s iPhone.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 25, 2009
Discovery ad revenue
paidContent.org - Earnings: Discovery Revenues Flat, Ad Revenues Up 6 Percent - washingtonpost.com
In another sign that cable advertising is holding up better than broadcast advertising, fourth-quarter revenues at Discovery (NSDQ: DISAB) Networks were flat versus the same period 2007, at $904 million, while ad revenues were up 6 percent. The results were boosted by growth at the U.S. networks, but weighed down by declines from its international networks.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 10, 2009
Gallop News Sources Pol
Cable, Internet News Sources Growing in Popularity
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Amid announcements from the Tribune Company, National Public Radio, and Newsweek last week of cutbacks to deal with extreme economic pressures, Gallup's update on Americans' go-to news sources reveals little encouragement for these media. Among daily news sources, only cable and Internet news have shown significant gains in popularity since 2006, while all other media are stable or declining.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 04, 2009
HD at NAB
With the NAB Show a couple of months away, broadcasters and vendors alike are deep into the planning stages for their participation in the show.Technology is always a major focus of the show, and in the next two months “HD Technology Update” will on occasion speak with various broadcasters and vendors about what they expect for this year’s NAB as relates to HD.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
HD use stats
Gap remains large in U.S. between HDTV ownership, HD program use
In the United States, 17 million households with HDTVs installed do not watch HD programming, according to a new study from research organization In-Stat.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Live Nation / Ticketmaster merger?
Live Nation, Ticketmaster Close to Merging : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily
Live Nation, Ticketmaster Close to Merging
2/4/09, 9:09 am EST
Are new competitors Live Nation and Ticketmaster already looking to merge? That’s the story according to the Wall Street Journal, which is reporting that the two concert giants are already deep in talks to consolidate into one company that would easily be the world’s biggest concert promoter, ticketing service and artist-management company.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
FCC DTV Pages
FCC Strategic Goals: Media - Digital Television (DTV)
Digital Television (DTV)
Regulatory Information
DTV is a new type of broadcasting technology that will transform television as we now know it. DTV technology will allow broadcasters to offer television with movie-quality picture and CD-quality sound, along with a variety of other enhancements. DTV technology can also be used to transmit large amounts of other data into the home, which may be accessible by using your computer or television set.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Significant Changes in DTV Coverage
In-Stat - Covering the Full Spectrum of Advanced Communications Market ResearchDTV Map Book For Full-Power Digital Television Stations Having Significant Changes in Coverage
The FCC has issued a report showing the coverage maps for all full-service TV facilities, including 1,749 stations that have both an analog and DTV facility and 69 stations having only DTV facilities. The maps show each station's digital TV coverage as compared to its analog TV coverage (except for the 69 DTV-only stations) within each Nielsen Designated Market Area. This second report contains maps and other information for the 319 stations where more than two percent of the population covered by their analog service will not be covered by their digital service.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DTV Coverage Maps
Map Book of All Full-Power Digital Television Stations Authorized by the FCC
Map Book of All Full-Power Digital Television Stations Authorized by the FCC
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Industry Research
In-Stat - Covering the Full Spectrum of Advanced Communications Market Research
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
HD use stats
Gap remains large in U.S. between HDTV ownership, HD program use
In the United States, 17 million households with HDTVs installed do not watch HD programming, according to a new study from research organization In-Stat.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Discovery streamlines worldwide media file distribution with Signiant
Discovery streamlines worldwide media file distribution with Signiant
Discovery Communications has selected Signiant’s Content Distribution Management software to orchestrate collaboration between its origination and post-production facilities and to accelerate and manage file transfer workflow worldwide.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 02, 2009
Music Sales - no mention of games/DVDs
Music Sales Fell in 2008 but Continued to Climb on the Web - NYTimes.com
Sales of recorded music fell sharply in 2008, as consumers continued to migrate away from the CD format, large retailers reduced floor space for music and the recession dampened consumer spending during the critical year-end holiday shopping period.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
December 10, 2008
Standards
Standards Are Dead! Long Live Standards!, by John Footen
Computer science professor and author Andres S. Tannenbaum said, "The nicest thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from."
You don't have to be steeped in IT technology knowledge to know how true that is. Even in a relatively focused space like professional media production, we have seen a plethora of standards developed. It may seem blindingly obvious that these standards have value. They enable us to develop products and interchange data.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
December 07, 2008
VIdeo search
Novelties - Zeroing In on Your Favorite Video Clips - NYTimes.com
Published: December 5, 2008
WATCHING videos on the Web is fast becoming a national pastime. More and more people are turning on their computers to view clips of shows they missed on television or to watch the increasing number of full-length TV programs and movies now available online.
To help sift through all the choices, companies including VideoSurf and Digitalsmiths have developed search tools. They allow viewers to find quickly a favorite scene from “Entourage,” for example, or a particular video clip of Barack Obama they’ve always wanted to see. They can even locate an exact segment they want to view without having to click “play” and watch the entire video.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 27, 2008
Internet Radio Royalties
Even if Royalties for Web Radio Fall, Revenue Remains Elusive - NYTimes.com
After a 19-month battle over Internet radio royalties, a truce between record labels and webcasters is finally in sight that would allow Internet radio start-ups to eke out an existence for at least a little while longer.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
August 17, 2008
Prompting & Captioning
Few things in our industry have changed as much as prompting. Until the 1970s, prompting was a mechanical, not electronic, process. Sometimes text was laid up on menu boards — which some readers have likely never seen — by hand, one letter at a time.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Closed Captioning
SPECIAL REPORT: The many methods of closed captioning
Overview and methods
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Digital Video tutorials
Test & Measurement | Broadcast Engineering Magazine
You are here:
Home Page »
Test & Measurement
Lots of tutorials and references around digital video.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 09, 2008
Future of Networks?
The Media Equation - Golden Age for TV? Yes, on Cable - NYTimes.com
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 23, 2008
Cinegy Workflow for BBC
Siemens selects Cinegy for BBC’s Digital Media Initiative
Siemens IT Solutions and Services has selected the Cinegy workflow suite of products as an essential technology component of the BBC’s Digital Media Initiative (DMI). Cinegy has a long-running global partnership with Siemens and will be expanding this to make the technologies and know-how involved in delivering DMI available to other broadcasters who are considering tackling a similar technical challenge.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 10, 2008
AP News production consolidation project
The Associated Press consolidates its D.C. operation
The Associated Press (AP) is one of the world's oldest and largest news organizations, with major offices in London, New York and Washington, D.C., as well as regional offices around the world. The Washington, D.C., operation had two separate K Street locations — just two blocks apart. One was for AP's Washington News Bureau and the other for the Broadcast News Center. In December 2007, AP consolidated the two by moving to a new downtown facility. The layout of the new building, at the corner of 13th Street and L Street, maximizes the editorial, production and administrative synergies for the more than 460 people working there.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 03, 2008
Reinventing Captioning and Other Aspects of Accesible Media
Welcome, visitors from Captioning Sucks!
Who we are and what we’re doing
We’re an independent research research project in Toronto. We have one big goal – to research, write, test, and publish a set of standards for four fields of accessible media:
* Captioning (of course)
* Audio description (for blind and visually-impaired people)
* Subtitling
* Dubbing
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 02, 2008
More detail on HD compression
What Comcast's Crunched HD Looks Like - Todd Spangler - Blog on Multichannel News
In the black art of video compression, the trick is to fool the human visual system into seeing things that aren't there.
All digital video is compressed. The technology that does this removes a lot of data, stripping out visual information in clever ways so it can be packed down, sent over a wire or satellite, then unpacked on the viewing end to a TV set.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Network Compression
Comcast’s Blurry High Definition Picture - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog
Not only has Comcast been slowing down Internet users exchanging files with the BitTorrent protocol, it has been quietly reducing the quality of some high definition television networks it carries as well.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 30, 2008
OTA Antenna and HD ATSC Broadcast Information
TiVo Superstore | High Capacity TiVo DVRs, Upgrades, Remotes, Parts & Repairs
Many people are interested in Over-The-Air (OTA) antennas and signals, especially with the rise of high definition (HD) television screens. There are presently three types of OTA signals: analog standard-definition signals; digital standard-definition signals; and digital high-definition signals. Following is an explanation of what each is, why you'd want them, and how to find out if you can get them. All, of course, in relation to TiVo.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 11, 2008
Hulu - A River Ran Through It
Testing Over, Hulu.com to Open Its TV and Film Offerings This Week - New York Times
SAN FRANCISCO — Hulu.com, the long-gestating Internet joint venture between NBC Universal and Fox, emerges from limited testing on Wednesday to make its catalog of TV shows and video clips available to anyone on the Web.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 10, 2008
Cable Advertising Takes Aim
Cable Firms Join Forces to Attract Focused Ads - New York Times
In an effort to slow Google’s siphoning of advertising dollars away from television, the nation’s six largest cable companies are making plans for a jointly owned company that would allow national advertisers to buy customized ads and interactive ads across the companies’ systems.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
TV Without TVs
Serving Up Television Without the TV Set - New York Times
The “stupid computer” is a repeated target of the dimwitted office manager Michael Scott on “The Office.” But the show itself may be motivating viewers to put down their remote controls and pick up their laptops.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 07, 2008
Configuring Servers for Streaming - Pt 2
Streamingmedia.com: Configuring Servers for Streaming - Part Two
Contrary to popular wisdom, adding more memory to a server does not necessarily enhance performance. Look at the performance attributes of the entire server prior to assuming that more memory will speed things up. Also, RAM should be in proportion to the speed of the processor. The faster the processor, the more data it can process. It’s important to have as much data in memory as the processor can handle.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Streaming Server Configuration
Streamingmedia.com: Configuring Servers For Streaming - Part One
Streaming media is 80 percent technique and 20 percent luck. The following tips won’t bring you luck, but they may prove helpful for setting up a new streaming server or getting the most out of the ones you have. Some are common sense techniques. Others are workarounds that solve the symptoms of a particular problem until technology, or good reason, offers a better alternative. And a few come from the hard-won experience of Andy Herron with the Advanced Systems Technology Group in the Computing and Communications Department of the University of Washington. The University of Washington provides streaming services for ResearchChannel, KEXP Radio (joint venture between Paul Allen's Experience Music Project and the UW), and UWTV.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 06, 2008
Content Delivery Networks
Cutcaster Blog: Choices for your CDN provider and their APIs
Choices for your CDN provider and their APIs
We decided to take a look at the different content delivery networks out there and provide some of the information to our readers.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 29, 2008
Sun's Streaming System
Sun Streaming System - Overview
Personalized television has entered a new world. Sun just lowered the cost of high-capacity video streaming over IP to less than $50 per stream, roughly half the traditional cost. The new Sun Streaming System brings game changing economics while providing you integrated video caching, streaming, and optical transport--all in one high-density, integrated streaming system over IP.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 24, 2008
BPM Server from OpenText - Podcast
Podcast Centre - Display Podcast Channel
Livelink ECM - BPM Server - Managing Your Business Processes Efficiently and Effectively (including presentation slides)
Presented by Roland Jaeger, Product Manager, Open Text Corporation
PopularityPopularityPopularityPopularityPopularity
2007-06-26
BPM Server is a highly effective process management tool because of its adaptability to change as your business processes change and the ease of implementation across any of your Livelink ECM repositories, be it Livelink Enterprise Server, Livelink ECM - eDOCS DM, or PDMS. During this webinar, we will discuss how BPM Server enables organizations to manage the most extensive, complex processes, comprising millions of transactions and thousands of users across multiple applications. We will demonstrate how BPM works, what it can do for your organization, the latest features and functionalities, and how it all comes together. Plus, we will get your feedback on what information you would like us to cover on BPM Server in the future.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Video DAM Use Case
Scripps Networks Builds Video Library : Case Studies : Web Video Report
Situation: Scripps Networks interactive division, rich in how-to video, pulls in more sales than the company's DIY and Fine Living cable channels. Scripps launched its first network Web site in May 1996 with HGTV.com and since then has built up content steadily, creating an online business that has been profitable since 2003.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 21, 2008
VOD Presentation Series
Advancing Your Media in a Non-linear World - great overview of the industry, players and examples of VOD.
The host page also has many other valuable presentations on VOD, mobile and distribution in general.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 19, 2008
Library of Congress and Crowdsourced Tagging
Library of Congress uses Flickr to crowdsource tagging and organizing its photo archive
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 03, 2008
Getty Video Services
Streamingmedia.com: Case Study: Simplifying Digital Asset Management
Getty Images creates and distributes the world’s broadest image collection, making stock images available to customers for use in news, sports, entertainment, and archiving. Getty was founded in 1995 with the goal of modernizing the stock photography industry, and was the first company to license imagery via the web. Today, gettyimages.com serves an average of 4 million unique users in addition to an average of 175 million page views each month, delivering nearly 100% of the company’s visual content digitally.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 02, 2008
Northplains at Hachette
New York and Toronto - Hachette Book Group USA (HBG), one of the largest trade publishers in the U.S., has announced that it will upgrade its digital asset management (DAM) system with a solution powered by North Plains Systems Corp., a leading provider of digital asset management software.
The company plans to use the system called TeleScope Enterprise to manage rich media assets, such as Quark and Adobe InDesign files, for its base publishing business, and to integrate other content, such as audio and video, over time.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
December 11, 2007
Google phones home
Google will change this industry forever | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
Now that Google has officially announced that it will bid on the 700MHz spectrum, most of us are speculating about the possibilities. And while I have my own beliefs about where Google will go with the spectrum, I'm sure many of you have your own.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
December 04, 2007
FCC Spectrum Auction Notes
PC World - A Primer on the FCC's 700MHz Auction
Why Is This Auction Important?
The 700MHz auctions represent the last large chunk of spectrum available for the FCC to auction in the foreseeable future. In addition, the spectrum, now used to carry over-the-air television signals, can be used to carry long-range wireless broadband traffic. Many people, including FCC Chairman Kevin Martin have said the auction represents a golden opportunity to create a nationwide broadband network in competition with the providers of cable modem and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and fiber-based services.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
December 02, 2007
Online TV Trends
Lots of Little Screens: TV Is Changing Shape - New York Times
INEXPENSIVE broadband access has done far more for online video than enable the success of services like YouTube and iTunes. By unchaining video watchers from their TV sets, it has opened the floodgates to a generation of TV producers for whom the Internet is their native medium.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
November 30, 2007
Google Spectrum
Really, truly official: Google to bid on 700MHz spectrum
Google's interest in the 700MHz spectrum auction has not been a secret. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said back in August that the company would "probably" bid in the auction, and Google announced several weeks ago that it was preparing all the necessary materials to make a bid. Now, at last, Google is making it officially official.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
November 27, 2007
TIVA and Ad Stats
NBC to Use TiVo's TV Viewership Data - WSJ.com
The agreement, announced today, reflects rising demand in the TV industry for detailed audience viewing information. TiVo, a provider of digital video recorders, about a year ago started offering advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on the viewing habits of its subscribers, as well as other services. Earlier this month, the Alviso, Calif., company added demographic data about the viewers themselves, such as age, income, marital status and ethnicity.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Changes at Warner
Warner’s Production Chief to Also Oversee Distribution - New York Times
Mr. Horn credited Mr. Robinov with having shaped the studio’s “event-film strategy” and said he would be charged among other things with improving communication and wringing new efficiencies out of the studio. Mr. Robinov did not venture to say where those efficiencies might be found. “I’m just trying to get to January,” he said.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
November 26, 2007
New Network on Conversations Networks
"Media Conversations is our newest channel, featuring Future Talks, a new series available in both audio and vide formats. Future Talks is an interview-style program with futurists Glen Hiemstra and Gerd Leonhard. Look for more audio and video programs about traditional and new media on Media Conversations."
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
BE strategies in Social Media
Social Media Programs in a Professional Services World
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 22, 2007
Engineering Book
A Broadcast Engineering Tutorial For Non-engineers : Graham Jones
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 21, 2007
Frame Accuracy and Broadcast Networks
Transcoding compressed audio and video, also sometimes referred to as format conversion, for multichannel delivery can be divided into two broad classes: real-time, on-the-fly (such as a simulcast to the Web) or delayed redistribution, where content is converted, stored and distributed. Before addressing real-time transcoding for multichannel distribution, there must be an understanding of networks and the factors that influence their performance.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 19, 2007
Tapeless News Production
KMOV-TV transitions to file-based workflow
KMOV-TV, the Belo-owned CBS affiliate in St. Louis, transitioned from a linear tape-based workflow to an IT file-based approach in August, leaving behind the six tape machines and heart-pounding chaos ENG control had to deal with on a daily basis.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
FOX Bus Net on HD
News Corp. launches FOX Business Network in HD
News Corp. christened FOX Business Network (FBN) Oct. 15 in 720p HD after a 180-day marathon to integrate major new systems, including digital newsroom, storage, HD graphics and new studios, for the launch.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 18, 2007
Digital Libraries
Library of Congress Advances 2 Digital Projects Abroad - New York Times
PARIS, Oct. 17 — The Library of Congress announced an ambitious plan on Wednesday to digitize a collection of the world’s rare cultural materials — artifacts ranging from a photo collection of a 19th-century Brazilian empress to a crackly recording of the 101-year-old grandson of a slave.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 15, 2007
Discovery buys HowStuffWorks
Discovery Communications Acquires HowStuffWorks -- Discovery Channel -- InformationWeek
HSW's CEO Jeff Arnold will continue in his position as HSW becomes a subsidiary of Discovery Communications. He said the combination of HSW's articles and Discovery's video library of 100,000 hours of video programming will constitute a sort of "video Wikipedia" in which users can experience a multimedia experience in answer to their questions.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 09, 2007
Mobile TV platforms
Rapid TV News, Chris Forrester Editor, Telecoms, DTT, Mobile, Interactive Industry News
Mobibase launches mobile TV platform
Pascale Paoli Lebailly
In a move to offer an alternative to the platforms from historical operators like Orange or SFR, French content aggregator Mobibase says it will launch a ‘made for mobile’ bouquet composed of 20 ad-funded channels.
Mobibase currently manages the mobile rights from 540 content producers based into 45 countries, and works with 360 clients, either operators or mobile services editors, from 60 countries. Its 2006 turnover amounted to €3.38m.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 01, 2007
Anevia IPTV at the BBC deployed by Siemens
Anevia powers BBC IPTV service
IPTV products from telecom equipment supplier, Anevia, have been deployed by Siemens Business Services to introduce an IPTV service for the BBC.
Siemens has installed Anevia solutions in BBC head offices in the UK, offering BBC staff contact with BBC and other channels output at their desktop and through IP set-top boxes.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 27, 2007
Next-gen terrestrial DTV spec to air next year
Next-gen terrestrial DTV spec to air next year
The Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) Group, which forged terrestrial, satellite and cable DTV broadcast standards, expects to launch its next-generation terrestrial DTV broadcast specification early next year.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 25, 2007
master-control automation software (MCAS)
Automating the Digital Future - 4/2/2007 - Broadcasting & Cable
To put it bluntly, station automation controls a station's cash register. So it needs to work correctly.
A key premise behind broadcasters' adoption of information-technology (IT) hardware and file-based workflows is that jobs previously performed by human operators can now be handled by software. That improves efficiency—and, frankly, by eliminating employees, it lowers operating expenses.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 21, 2007
Solution Beacon and Oracle Team to Create a Highly Differentiated Solution for the Media and Entertainment Industry
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DTV conference at Columbia, Nov 2
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Digital TV: What You Want, When and Where You Want It
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Columbia Business School
November 2, 2007
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
digital video broadcasting-handheld
Use digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) in wireless and mobile networks
digital video broadcasting-handheld
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
iTunes movie rentals?
ATV's News Archive September 10th - September 14th
Apple is said to be talking with major Hollywood studios about adding 30-day rentals to its iTunes online media store. Apple is believed to be working towards starting the new service some time in the fall which would offer a 30-day rental for $2.99. A deal would allow iPod users to watch movies during the rental period without purchasing the entire film. Rights management software would allow the movies to be viewed on an iPod or iPhone, but would prevent them from being copied.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
ABC video free via AOL
ABC shows to be available free on AOL Video - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:
Full episodes of ABC programs are available today at AOL Video, and beginning next week ABC's new fall lineup will also be made available the day after their broadcast, according to a release. Generally, four episodes per series will be available at any given time, according to a release.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 20, 2007
Sun's Music Search effort
Search Inside The Music Overview
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Microsoft Media Rights Manager Architecture
Microsoft Windows Media - Architecture of Windows Media Rights Manager
Architecture of Windows Media Rights Manager.
When a consumer acquires an encrypted digital media file from a Web site, he or she must also acquire a license that contains a key to unlock the file before the content can be played. Content owners can easily set these licenses and keys in motion by protecting their content files with Microsoft® Windows Media® Rights Manager and then distributing the content to consumers.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DRM Scorecard vs hackers
DRM Scorecard: Hackers Batting 1000, Industry Zero - Wolfe's Den Blog - InformationWeek
Forget the moral questions: Whether the millions of kids who load up their iPods from LimeWire are thieves, or whether there's something incongruous about Sheryl Crow, a millionaire many times over, railing against piracy. When you look at the technology, there's no getting around the fact that DRM is an abject failure. I put together a scorecard, which shows that every single significant attempt at consumer-music DRM has been cracked. Here it is:
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 19, 2007
Disk Array Market Share
Techworld.com - Sun loses out in external disk array market
External drive array revenues only grew 3.3 percent year on year, from the second calendar quarter in 2006 (Q2 06) to Q2 07 at $3.7 billion, according to Gartner. There were surprises in the ranking of vendors on their market revenues and share:-
Advertisement
1. EMC with a 25.2 percent revenue market share at $933.3 million, up 1.2 percent on Q2 06. It grew.
2. IBM with a 14.8 percent share at $549 million, up 0.1 percent on Q2 06. It held its own.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
WGBH MAM solution article
Techworld.com - From tapes to bits
When terrorists demolished the twin towers on September 11, 2001, producers of the PBS documentary program Frontline needed to quickly create shows about al-Qaeda. They had footage of Osama bin Laden from previous broadcasts, but it was on videotapes and CDs stored in cardboard boxes on library shelves. As a result, archivists spent 625 hours over a period of two months fielding producers' requests for material, finding it and then reshelving it.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 10, 2007
Watermarking and Music
DRM Watch: Music Industry Accelerating Watermarking Adoption
Music Industry Accelerating Watermarking Adoption
August 16, 2007
By Bill Rosenblatt
Two developments during the past week point to increased interest in digital watermarking among the music industry. Universal Music Group (UMG) will embed watermarks in the DRM-free files that they will distribute starting this month, and Activated Content announced a joint effort with Microsoft to offer watermarking technology to creators of user-generated music.
Posted by beme-scribe | permalink | Comments (0)
September 07, 2007
A&E Television Networks Launches Mobile Video Channels for A&E(R) Network and The History Channel(R)
Posted by beme-scribe | permalink | Comments (0)
September 06, 2007
TVN ENTERTAINMENT TAKES VIDEO ON DEMAND OUT OF THE BOX WITH “VOD COMPLETE”
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
TVN ENTERTAINMENT LANDS COX COMMUNICATIONS BARKER CHANNEL
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
ScheduALL and SintecMedia Partner to Provide Comprehensive Scheduling Within Streamlined Broadcast Workflow
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
September 05, 2007
Artesia integrated with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
iPoint-media for User Generated Content lifecycle management
iPoint-media launches converged media broadcast platform - Computer Business Review
iPoint-media
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Service innovation in the TV marketplace
Service innovation is crucial in the competitive TV marketplace - Computer Business Review
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Report: European and US digital TV, 2006 - 2012
European and US digital TV, 2006 - 2012 (Review Report) - Computer Business Review
Introduction
This Review Report addresses the digital TV marketplace in the US and Western Europe. As analogue switch off looms and new entrants make strong moves into the sector, it is essential for players across the value chain to have an understanding of market trends, dynamics and industry developments. This report addresses the evolving market place and provides forecasts split by region and platform.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
thePlatform at BBC
BBC Global News selects thePlatform for YouTube syndication - Computer Business Review
By Staff Writer
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 10, 2007
Sun's Streaming System
Sun has introduced what they call a complete streaming system, an IP video delivery platform that enables telco and cable operators to deliver next-generation services for half the cost of comparable offerings.
Check out the spec sheets, and podcast interview with Sun's Director of Engineering, Systems Group, Henk Goosen and Bob Sokol, media architect in Global Sales and Services.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
July 20, 2006
Metadata-Broadcast
Metadata: The keys to the kingdom
To be able to assemble program elements for broadcast you have to be able to find them. In a tapeless environment there are no labels on the spines of tapes. Clips and graphic elements reside on a disk. A simple hierarchical directory structure may suffice in the short term, but how do you find a clip or graphics element from last year?
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 15, 2006
SONY Music Changes
2 Executives at Sony Music Step Down Amid a Shake-Up - New York Times
Sony BMG Music Entertainment yesterday announced the resignations of the top two executives at its Sony Music Label Group, less than four months after the company's owners appointed a new chief executive in a bid to resolve management discord.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 14, 2006
Embracing Digital Era, PBS Hires John Boland of KQED to Fill New Post
Embracing Digital Era, PBS Hires John Boland of KQED to Fill New Post - New York Times
Staking its future in the digital media world, the Public Broadcasting Service has created a new post of chief content officer and named a public broadcasting executive with extensive digital experience to fill the job.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
iTunes vs CD sales revenue
Interesting article around Weid Al's statement that he gets far more from CD sales than digital downloads. They go on to analyze the two scenarios. Not sure quite how accurate it all is, but it does make a good read and starts to get at the components of each transaction.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DRM
Coral Consotium - the EE Times reports that the group, which aims to create standards for digital rights management (DRM) interoperability, has announced the release of a new white paper which describes a web-based service that would let users share paid-for content across different DRM systems. The article reports that the new system, called Ecosystem-A, follows the group's existing interoperability framework, but it does not yet define key compliance procedures or how to distribute royalties. According to the article, the system would enable users to retain digital rights beyond the life of any one single device or online content store.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DRM
Digital rights management (DRM) market developments - Red Herring provides figures from a report published by iSuppli which forecasts that worldwide sales of DRM and conditional access (CA) technologies will increase from $1.5bn in 2005 to $4.7bn in 2010. However, iSuppli warns that conflicting interests between content owners, content distributors and DRM providers could curtail the growth of the online and mobile content markets, thereby slowing the adoption of DRM and CA technologies.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 20, 2006
DAM in Broadcast
Five things you should know about DAM
The process that creates a centralized repository for digital files containing non-textual content, such as video recordings, still pictures, audio clips and graphical images, has several names — digital asset management (DAM), media asset management (MAM), digital asset warehousing and content management.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 21, 2006
DRM and Fair Use- whitepaper
Digital Rights Management and the Process of Fair Use
Tim Armstrong writes: "Abstract: Producers of digital media works increasingly employ technological protection measures, commonly referred to as digital rights management (or DRM) technologies, that prevent the works from being accessed or used except upon conditions the producers themselves specify. These technologies have come under criticism for interfering with the rights users enjoy under copyright law, including the right to engage in fair uses of the DRM-protected works. Most DRM mechanisms are not engineered to include exceptions for fair use, and user circumvention of the DRM may violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act even if the use for which the circumvention occurs is itself noninfringing. ¶ The academic literature on fair use in digital media has suggested several possible ways to resolve the tension between fair use on the one hand and DRM on the other. Among the more provocative possibilities is that DRM technologies themselves may evolve to incorporate greater built-in protections for end-user rights. This article examines several such proposals and finds that they are not likely to provide users with the same measure of protections for fair use of copyrighted works that exists in the offline world. The failure of these proposals, however, does not suggest that the broader goal of protecting fair use rights in digital media is unattainable. It is possible to advance much more closely towards that goal by altering the design philosophy of DRM technologies to focus more on the processes by which fair uses occur and less on attempting to replicate the substantive law of fair use in machine-administrable form. The article concludes by outlining one possible system engineered to protect the process of fair use. ..." Link: Social Science Research Network. Thanks to The Berkman Center for Internet & Society. --Dennis
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 17, 2006
New Warner Digital Media Head
Kenny To Head Warner Digital Media Distribution
Simon Kenny, executive VP, Europe, for Warner Bros. International
Television Distribution, has been named to the newly created post of
president, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, part of Warner Bros.
Entertainment.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 07, 2006
FCC Report on competition in Video Programming
FCC Annual Report to Congress on Video Competition 2
In a post of the same
name on February 12, I linked to an FCC news release and reprinted the
specific findings of its 12th annual video competition report.
The full report,
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 26, 2006
TouchTunes jukeboxes downloaded and played one billion songs
AXcessNews.com - Digital Music Sales Triple to $1.1 Billion in 2005
(AXcess News) Reno, NV - Yesterday, AXcess News reported that Apple Computer Co. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes online music store passed the 1 billion download mark. Today we learned that iTunes isn't alone in that distinction when Lake Zurich, Illinois-based digital-downloading jukebox pioneer TouchTunes Music Corporation has announced that its jukeboxes have downloaded and played more than one billion songs since the first units went online in 1998.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Licensing Long Form Music Videos
Digital Music News: Insider Blogs
Since MTV style short-form music videos are now widely available on multiple platforms, digital and mobile providers perceive concert footage as a key to setting their services apart.
If a concert or music-based documentary producer is producing for a network, PBS, or a cable service, they should also be thinking of digital platforms as secondary windows in addition, or instead, of DVD. Furthermore, revenue streams from concert footage can be multiplied across multiple platforms. For instance, Network Live is an online venture consisting of AOL Music, the promoter AEG Live and XM Satellite Radio. Led by CEO Kevin Wall, executive producer of the Live 8 concerts, Network Live produces live programming from various AEG-owned venues and provides the footage to its partners AOL Music and XM Satellite Radio.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
Sun Article on OCAP, etc.
Tuned-In: Network-based TV Services
Tuned-In: Network-based TV Services
For years, Sun Labs quietly nurtured the key technologies for a new era of network-based TV services. Today, Sun finds itself at the center of an exploding global market.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Clear Channel Just says Yes!
EFF says Clear Channel patent doesn't sound right
Clear Channel claims that it and only it has the right to burn CDs of a
just-completed live concert. That can't be true... can it?
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
RIAA Just says no!
RIAA et al. says CD ripping, backups not fair use
The RIAA and other industry representatives have argued that making backups of CDs and DVDs is not fair use, and that even ripping CDs is infringement.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
XM changes
Director at XM Resigns as Costs Skyrocket
XM Satellite Radio posted losses it blamed on extra spending to lure subscribers in response to Sirius Satellite Radio signing Howard Stern.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
Industry News
Vonage Files for IPO, Names CEO
Vonage filed for an IPO that seeks to raise up to $250 million for the fast-growing, but unprofitable Internet phone provider. It also named Mike Snyder, formerly president of ADT, as its new CEO. (Read the filing)
Posted by | permalink | Comments (0)
Media Audio Books
Downloading audio books from the Internet.
Our guest today is Jeff Dittus who is the CEO of MediaBay. Jeff's company sells audio books and classic radio programs as digital download over the Internet.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 06, 2006
Blog for Media, Wireless and New Technologies in the Communications Industry
Posted by | permalink | Comments (0)
TESTING
Just a trial...
Posted by | permalink | Comments (0)
January 31, 2006
A technical (and non-technical) guide to DSM-CC
Digital TV, DVB and ATSC Tutorials - The Interactive TV Web
Many people in the DTV industry have only a basic understanding of DSM-CC, and sometimes not even that. For MHP and OCAP developers, it's a technology that you need to know something about. It's not necessary to know all of the details, but a general idea of what goes on and why is essential to building applications that work well and load quickly.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DSM-CC and service information
Digital TV, DVB and ATSC Tutorials - The Interactive TV Web
It's not enough to simply broadcast DSM-CC carousels or streams as part of your service - a receiver needs to know what that data is, and how it can find it. To this end, DSM-CC has defined a number of additions to service information that are used to describe the data that is being broadcast.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
TWC OCAP, SARA, etc.
Communications Engineering�&�Design: October, 2005 - Breaking away
"...Time Warner Cable’s decision to migrate to in-house navigation products, and to eventually phase out Passport and Scientific-Atlanta’s SARA platform..."
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
Open DRM
Media and Rights Management
Leonardo Chiariglione – CEDEO.net
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 26, 2006
OCAP Primer
CTAM and CableLabs created this OpenCable Primer, written by veteran cable writers Leslie Ellis and Craig Leddy, to provide answers — in plain English — to key OCAP questions. Through the primer you’ll learn how OCAP is being used to:
* establish a national (and perhaps international) platform to easily deploy new interactive TV content and features;
* ensure that a programming network’s interactive content will run on different cable systems, set-top boxes and consumer electronics devices;
* give content developers a standard, cost-effective way to “write once, run anywhere;”
* extend copyright-protected content and network brands across more digital devices;
* support a retail market for digital TVs, set-top boxes and new gadgets;
* and open new revenue streams for interactive advertising, subscriptions, transactions and other business opportunities.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
SPECS newsletter from CableLabs
SPECS News & Technology from CableLabs� is a newsletter for member companies that is of general interest to the cable industry and lay audiences. The newsletter contains articles about on-going research and emerging technologies, and describes their relevance to cable operators. It also summarizes industry-related and corporate events.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Cable Navigation Systems
Avoiding analysis paralysis - 6/1/2005 - CED - CA603787
Because of the growing number of linear video channels, video-on-demand titles, and application choices becoming available to cable consumers, it's fair to say that industry would do well to heed the warnings presented in Barry Schwartz's book, The Paradox of Choice.
For cable, the problem with current navigation technology will only become more apparent as choices creep higher and higher. But emerging interactive program guide (IPG) features, as well as entirely new navigation systems, are on the way to help viewers find that needle in the haystack or that diamond in the rough.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 23, 2006
Digital Radio
Move Over, HD-TV. Now There's HD Radio, Too.
The radio industry, like broadcast television before it, is switching to digital technology.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 18, 2006
Open Cable and OCAP
The OpenCableTM initiative, managed by the Advanced Platforms and Services group at CableLabs, was begun in 1997 with a goal of helping the cable industry deploy interactive services over cable.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Verizon Says Google, Microsoft Should Pay For Internet Apps
"When we offered 800 numbers, our network got flooded and we responded by choking the network," Seidenberg said, adding that the company then negotiated with 800-service providers to help pay for their usage in a manner that made sense for both parties.
Continue reading "Verizon Says Google, Microsoft Should Pay For Internet Apps"
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Internet Freeloaders
Internet Freeloaders - Should Google have to pay for the bandwidth it consumes? By Adam L. Penenberg
If the telcos and cable companies get their way, we'll have a Balkanized Web. Content providers who can afford to pay for premium service will market superior products to consumers with fast connections. Everyone else will make do with second-class companies at second-class speeds.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 11, 2006
Korn Sells a Stake in Itself
The band's new deal with the nation's biggest concert promoter redefines how the revenue pie is split in the music business.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
Interview with Lee Abrams of XM
Another great interview I produced for the show The Future of The Music Business with Steve Gordon. Steve interviewed Lee Abrams a while back, but with the launch of thier new portable player, I thought it would be great if my listeners got an inside look at XM Radio with a podcast of the show.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
October 14, 2005
From Record Label to Music Entertainment Company
Digital Music News: Insider Blogs
Mark today as a turning point in music business history. It marks the day when the largest major label in the world, Universal Music Group, publicly announced their intention to become a....music entertainment company. Essentially they're confirming their strategy of vertically dis-integrating and horiontally integrating, which I think is a good thing. I admit, getting signed to a music entertainment company doesn't quite roll off the tongue like getting signed to a label. But, notwithstanding Rafat's misgivings, I think it's the right move. Indeed it has to be done.
Check out the investor presentation where they say:
Podcasting - An important new media distribution channel
•Talk / Spoken-word currently dominates podcasts
•No legal mechanism to access major music catalogs
•UMG working to establish a licensing structure for podcasting•A potential competitor to broadcast radio and new revenue stream for UMG
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
August 30, 2005
SUN's DRM announce
Jonanthan Schwartz' blog entry putting DReaM in context.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 13, 2005
Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World
In January, the Berkman Center's Digital Media Project released a new report assessing how the digitization of music and movies has transformed not only businesses but copyright law and the idea of intellectual property. The report -- Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World -- updates a foundational whitepaper, released originally in 2003, to reflect major areas of change. In addition to new lawsuits and proposed legislation, one of the major developments since 2003 lies in international policy changes. The White Paper includes an International Supplement that offers an overview of the most fundamental shifts.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 08, 2005
A little about Jack radio format
The Big Picture: You Don't Know Jack (or, Radio Tries the Shuffle Button)
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 07, 2005
Ring...ring
EMarketer: good #s on ringtones etc
EMarketer is always a great source for some cool stats. 
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 06, 2005
Future Music Value Chain
The paper illustrates the approach adopted by the Digital Media Project (DMP) to enable a full digital media experience with advantages for all users of the media value-chains, including creators and end-users. The approach is based on a standard for interoperable Digital Rights Management (DRM) that accommodates Traditional Rights and Usages (TRU).
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 03, 2005
Tom Waits Sues Warner over download royalties
Warner Music Faces Big Download Royalty Challenge
Warner Music Group has been hit with a big lawsuit over download revenues, with the case potentially carrying major implications for the industry. According to federal court p...
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Symphonic Downloads
BBC - Radio 3 - Beethoven Experience - downloads
Download all nine of Beethoven's symphonies here the day after they are
broadcast. All the symphonies are performed by BBC Philharmonic,
conducted by Gianandrea Noseda.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 02, 2005
MMOG
The Big Picture: Massively Multiplayer Online Games Explosive Growth
Not coincidentally, around the same time as MMOG playing took off, CD sales began to falter.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Time & Space Shifting Media
Universal media access lets viewers see anything, anywhere, anytime
"This year the buzzword is 'place-shifting' and Orb and Sling Media make the content portable," said analyst Barrett, referring to two Bay Area companies providing on-demand products.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
June 01, 2005
From: The Big Picture blog
MPAA does the heavy lifting RIAA refused to do
I have complained
for years that the RIAA took the lazy, showboat route in dealing with piracy. Instead of focusing on the vast network of CD counterfeiters, they engaged in ineffective litigation against P2P loving college
students.
Bad strategy.
As the RIAA lazily hired lawyers, the worldwide counterfeit business boomed. A 2004 industry report noted that 35% of All CDs sold worldwide were illegal copies.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
BMG Columbia House Music Books
Bertelsmann to Merge BMG Direct with Columbia House
The Journal's take on Bertelsmann's intent to acquire Columbia House - reportedly for $400M - and merge the record and DVD club with its own BMG Direct. It says:
Book and record clubs have an anachronistic feel in the digital age. Well, sort of. One might ask, isn't a record club a logical migration path to a digital music subscription? You know Jupiter loves the music
subscription business. Well, not really. The customers that subscribe to music clubs are mostly CD purists. But still, you'd like to see a company that knows the subscription music and DVD business experiment a little more with online cataloging, at least. Actually BMG Direct has a very interesting online project. Yourmusic is very low-key, but it's a
great way to buy bargain CDs with a subscription rather than the old "we'll mail it to you first" plan.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 20, 2005
MusicAlly
One of the many digital music newsletters, but perhaps an interesting read...
Sign up for a free month of access and read through their archives.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Subs & Label Agreements
This Business Week piece runs
down the usual background about subscription vs. a-la-carte music services. Interestingly, the article reveals a couple
of basic details about the economics of providing music subscriptions. These companies must pay the labels about six
dollars per subscriber per month. In the cases of Rhapsody, Napster, and Yahoo! Music Unlimited, that provision fee
furnishes unlimited music streaming and downloading to the desktop to the customer. For portable downloads transferred
to a player, the labels charge providers eight dollars per month per subscriber. This is why Rhapsody and Napster both
offer a second, higher subscription tier for portable downloads.
Yahoo!’s refusal to adhere to this artificial value structure is a blow to labels on behalf of consumers. Why should there be a surcharge on portability? Such an extra charge is unprecedented in music retailing. I have been pounding this message since the launch of Napster To Go, and I’m happy to see Yahoo! implicitly agreeing by offering one subscription rate whether or not the user carries the music around. the labels are still getting their money, of course, but are not happy with Yahoo!’s devaluation of music on the consumer’s behalf. And Yahoo! might not stay happy with the non-profit revenue level. I hope that if YMU eventually raises its price, it will continue to refuse the surcharge model.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 17, 2005
Wiki Success
Factors That Make Online Collaborative Projects Successful: The Wikipedia Experience
Wikipedia, the Web-based, free-content encyclopedia, which is written collaboratively by volunteers, has been, and continues to be, a phenomenal success. Founded in January 2001, today, it is one of the most popular reference sites on the Web, receiving around 50......
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Group Blogging
Group And Multi-User Blog Platforms Compared
Multi-user and group blogs are a new, rapidly emerging reality, representing one of the most interesting aspects of the strong market adoption and diversification process that the new generation of online publishing tools is giving life to. Photo credit: Alexander......
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 13, 2005
Media Trends Study
A new survey by BURST! Media finds that Internet users say they are spending more time online — and less with other media.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Creationism vs Distributionism
The Most Prescient Grokster Brief (pPod)
This is a first in a series of posts focused on the previously discussed concept of the "pPod", or Policy Pod -- a massively converged, multi-purpose device that, at the very least, symbolically represents where both technology and policy are headed in coming years.Iphone_2
It's becoming increasingly apparent to the wireless carriers that they will soon be major players in the business of distributing entertainment content. The early, shocking revenues garnered from ringtones clearly accelerated this thinking.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 12, 2005
IODA
ioda: Independent Online Distribution Alliance
IODA is the industry-leading digital distribution company for the global independent music community. Run by an experienced team of digital music experts with a passion for independent music, IODA distributes thousands of releases from independent labels to digital music outlets around the world.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 11, 2005
DRM Conference NYC
DRM Strategies Conference & Expo, New York - July 27-28, 2005
Jupitermedia's DRM Strategies Conference will be held July 27-28 at the Puck Building in New York City. This will be the most comprehensive event on digital rights management business and technology issues ever held - a must-attend for those involved in content security in both consumer media distribution and information security for businesses.
The conference program has been posted. Please visit http://www.jupiterevents.com/drm/fall05/glance.html
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 06, 2005
Broadcast Flag lowered by Courts
Entertainment: Industry Article | Reuters.com
A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a Federal Communications Commission rule designed to limit people from sending copies of digital television programs over the Internet.
"We can find nothing in the statute, its legislative history, the applicable case law, or agency practice indicating that Congress meant to provide the sweeping authority the FCC now claims over receiver apparatus," the three-judge appeals court panel said in its opinion.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DMP Background article
DRM Watch: Digital Media Project Releases Spec for Interoperable DRM
The Digital Media Project (DMP) has released its first major set of
specifications,
which were approved at the DMP General Assembly in San Diego on April 15.
At the heart of this set of documents is a specification called IDP-1
(Interoperable DRM Platform, Phase 1) for portable audio and video devices.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 05, 2005
Fanning the P2P Flames
EMI signs up for 'authorized' online music sharing
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's third-largest music company, EMI Group Plc EMI.L, has signed a deal with Snocap, a technology firm that is working to create a legal peer-to-peer music-sharing network.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
International Conferences on Music Information Retrieval
Has an overflowing page of papers produced for these conferences. Including this one on Managing Metadata
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution
If you haven't read this book, it's a very interesting view into a future model that makes as much sense as it makes waves, and as easy as it is to write off as "crazy" from an industry point of view, it is very stimulating.
Chapter 1 is now online.
This fortnight we feature an excerpt from the book "The Future of Music:
Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution", the first chapter if this
riveting read.
By David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard http://www.futureofmusicbook.com
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
May 04, 2005
DMP Call for Contributions
This document is a Call for Contributions issued by the Digital Media Project (DMP). It addresses the problem of how Traditional Rights and Usages (TRU), that Users of media have traditionally exercised in the analogue space, can be carried over to the digital space, noting that this should be done having in mind the need, on the one hand, to safeguard the Rights of those who have created Work and produced valuable Content and, on the other, to offer Users, and particularly End-Users, the possibility to fully exploit the benefits of digital technologies. A companion document “Issues in mapping Traditional Rights and Usages (TRU) to the digital space” (dmp0410) provides specific information about this Call.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
The Digital Media Project update
The 6th DMP General Assembly has approved the set of Phase I Technical Specifications and References (Approved Documents) designed to support the implementation of Value Chain centred around Portable Audio and Video Devices, i.e. Devices without network access...
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 29, 2005
Red Herring's 10 Digital tech Startups
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 28, 2005
Digital Music
Business Week Special on Digital Music
Business Week has put its entire suite of cover stories about digital music online. Taken as a whole, the body of
articles provides good background on new revenue models, with a strong focus on mobile, wireless music. Following are
the important components:
Ringtones — the risks and rewards of the
rocketing ringtone business.
Samsung and it audacious MP3-player
ambitions.
Cell phones as iPod’s looming
competition—a slideshow.
Background article on phones as
iPod-slayers, with lots of information about current and mobile music services.
Graphic illustrating current mobile music
services.
Chart illustrating how cell phones will
eclipse MP3 players over the next three years.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 22, 2005
SUN Entertainment Services
Sun Announces Vertical Group to Target Hollywood Demands
Sun Microsystems, Inc. has announced a new vertical group that will
create technology solutions to meet Hollywood's demand for reliable,
fast, and open technology. Sun is already delivering the Digital Asset
Management Reference Architecture, video management, and storage
products to companies like Home Box Office (HBO), WGBH and Major League
Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM).
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Digital Radio
NPR's "Tomorrow Radio" To Bring Multicasting to Digital Radio
Leading
the U.S. radio industry in technical innovation and programming, NPR
has ensured that multicasting will be a part of public radio's digital
future. Multicasting is a feature of HD Radio™ technology that creates
multiple broadcast channels from what is presently one analog radio
signal.
This summer, NPR will begin
offering five programmed music formats to multicasting stations:
classical, jazz, electronica, triple-A and folk. Other program
offerings NPR is developing for stations with new channels include a
news and information service and formats that would serve culturally
diverse audiences. [more on NPR’s tomorrow radio]
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Transparent DRM
An international forum aimed at standardizing digital media and copy protection technologies is set to achieve a major milestone in its drive toward creating interoperable Digital Rights Management. This month, the International Digital Media Project (DMP)—which brings together more than 25 member companies across the digital content and device industries including Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Telecom Italia, and the BBC—is expected to release the industry's first DRM technology specifications for Portable Audio and Video devices (PAVs).
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 15, 2005
Forester Sights Podcasting Futures
Forrester Calls Podcasting "The Future of Digital Audio"
Forrester Research has released a new report, The Future Of Digital Audio, that focuses on podcasting and satellite radio. According to the report, 20.1 million U.S. households will listen to satellite radio and 12.3 million U.S. households will use their MP3 players to listen to audio podcasts by the end of the decade.
"Consumers want to listen to what they want, when they want, on the device of their choosing. New formats like online radio and podcasting, where downloadable content is sent directly to an MP3 player, give consumers more programming and ultimate flexibility," says Forrester Research Vice President Ted Schadler. "If radio and music executives can successfully shift their thinking to embrace new audio delivery methods, both industries will benefit from new revenue streams and increased consumer loyalty over the next several years."
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 14, 2005
Sony BMG goes to school
Sony BMG Funds College Music Systems
It’s no news that colleges are experimenting with music subscription services on behalf of their students. But it is news that at least one major label, Sony BMG, is underwriting the expense to schools. The label figures it is cultivating a new youth market that has grown up with the Internet and cheap, or free, content.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 11, 2005
XM & AOL = Web Radio
AOL, XM Satellite to Start Web Radio Service
NEW YORK (Reuters) - America Online on Monday announced plans to launch a Web-based radio service with XM Satellite Radio XMSR.O in a move that may help XM win customers from AOL's 24 million subscribers, driving XM shares higher.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 08, 2005
IP Law
A History of the Patent Law of the United States
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
P2P for Indie Distribution
ABC News: File-Sharing Case Worries Indie Artists
LOS ANGELES Mar 24, 2005 — Recording
industry executive Andy Gershon sees opportunity in the online
file-sharing networks that most of his rivals decry as havens for music
pirates. As president of V2 Records, home to such established acts as
The White Stripes and Moby, Gershon mines such Internet distribution
channels for new fans and revenues.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Legislating Download Compatibilty
A Law Mandating Music File Compatibility?
WASHINGTON -- Congress is toying with the idea of mandating one standard for all online music platforms. [Internet News]
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
MTV To Go
Television Article | Reuters.com
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - MTV on Wednesday unveiled plans for MTV
Overdrive, a Web channel through www.mtv.com offering more advanced
viewing and video-on-demand capabilities for an audience accustomed to
instantaneous content.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Satellite Starts Influencing
Satellite Radio Takes Off, Altering the Airwaves
Satellite radio, one of the fastest-growing technologies ever, is pushing commercial radio to change its sound.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Sharing background
File-Sharing Is the Latest Battleground in the Clash of Technology and Copyright
The Supreme Court case between MGM Studios and Grokster is just the
latest installment of a longstanding battle between technology
companies and copyright holders.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
April 01, 2005
Movie Downloads
some facts on downloading movies
From PaidContent.org: (a great resource, btw), here are some interesting facts
-- StarzTicket, the Starz-RNWK
joint venture: "On average, our subscribers are downloading about 10
movies per month," said Bob Greene, senior VP. "That's [about $1.30]
per movie [for $13 per month]."
-- Movielink: about 1,000 movie
titles available for download, and about 100,000 downloads
per month...
-- CinemaNow: a collection of
about 7,000 licensed movies, which it expects to increase to about
10,000 by the end of the year. About 3,000 are available for download"
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 31, 2005
Digital Music: Problems and Possibilities
Posted by | permalink | Comments (0)
Microsoft Portable Video Service
REDMOND, Wash. -- Television addicts rejoice: Now you can take more
shows on the road. Microsoft Corp. has launched a $19.95-a-year ...
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 30, 2005
CSM article on the Future of Copyright
Creative work makes for slippery private property online
As the Supreme Court weighs the legality of file-sharing on the Web,
some are calling for a new kind of copyright. By Gregory M. Lamb |
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor. You might have to go
back ...
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
On-Demand Promo Network from TV Guide
On-Demand Promo Network from TV Guide
Oddly, I think this might catch on. It's certainly the first sign of life from Gemstar-TV Guide in quite some time.
Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (NASDAQ NMS: GMST) today announced plans to launch TV GUIDE SPOT, a new on-demand network designed to entertain consumers while helping them navigate their ever-expanding programming choices. TV GUIDE SPOT will launch to cable, tvguide.com, and TiVo customers in the 2nd quarter of 2005. The service will feature short-form, originally-produced entertainment programs that guide consumers to the most compelling fare on TV each week.
It will be a channel on Comcast and Time Warner Cable, fill Showcase spots on TiVo, and also be available online. The key will be promotion. Will Gemstar buy or barter on-air spots? integrate promotions into TV Guide Channel programming? promote heavily on the EPG? All of the above, I hope.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Slate on allofmp3.com
Slate Blows "Legal" Downloading Coverage
I never thought I'd say this, but Slate's journalism standards appear to have declined since its ownership migrated away from Microsoft to the Washington Post. At least if this article is any example.
Under the headline Barely Legal, "law student and writer" Dana Mulhauser says that Russion site allofmp3.com is
the trendy, angst-free way to download copyrighted music. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments tomorrow about the legality of Grokster, Aimster, and other file-sharing services, downloaders have been looking hopefully to Allofmp3.com as their only legitimate way to get 50 Cent for less than face value.
The article goes on to ask:
Could a scheme like Allofmp3.com be legal? Probably. Is it legal, in fact? Probably not. Will you get sued for using it? Not likely, or at least, far less likely than you would be for using Grokster or any of the other peer-to-peer networks.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 29, 2005
P2P in Supreme Court Sessions today
MGM Studios v. Grokster - Wikipedia
The Wikipedia entry has good cross-reference links concerning this case and related issues.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 28, 2005
P2P at the Supreme Court
Entertainment: Industry Article | Reuters.com
Three men will stand before the U.S. Supreme Court March 29, arguing one of the most important copyright cases in history.
One will speak for most of the entertainment industry. The second will argue for two companies that provide peer-to-peer file-sharing software, and the third will represent the U.S. government.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Video Games for Artists
"Over the last few years we saw how new artists were being broken in video games, [where] traditionally radio was the way to break artists," says Shahid Khan, Managing Director of Media and Entertainment for the business-consulting firm BearingPoint, Inc. "My belief is that the expansion is going to be around soundtracks, and that’s also going to become a significant revenue stream for music companies."
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
P2P to the Supreme
Supreme Showdown for P2P's Future: The entertainment industry goes head-to-head against file-sharing services at the Supreme Court this week. Some fear the Grokster case could have a devastating effect on development of new technologies.Wired News
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
DMCRA
Thanks to Signal-to-Noise for this item, which escaped my attention last week. It’s an important piece of the legislatice struggle over copyright and free markets currently transpiring in Washington. Congressman Rick Boucher has reintroduced a bill he floasted last term, the Digital Media Consumers Rights Act (DMCRA), which revises portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998—one of the most onctroversial and troublemse media-related laws of the past 10 years. Here is the bill itself (Web format, not PDF).
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Indie Bit Torrent Releases
Decembrists Release Video Via Bit Torrent
Wired points out that rock band the Decembrists have circumvented the MTV bottleneck by releasing a full-length video, shot for 6,000 dollars at a high school, on Bit Torrent. Some of their fans got the ball rolling by hosting the Torrent tracker. Traffic must be pretty good: my download of the 73MB file shot to over 360kB in seconds. That’s the beauty of Bit Torrent, as opposed to client-server interactions; the more traffic, the faster the transaction. The video is called Sixteen Military Wives, and the download page is here. It’s a lightweight condemnation of U.S. foreign policy.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
Pew Internet Study on File Sharing
About 36 million Americans-or 27% of internet users-say they download either music or video files and about half of them have found ways outside of traditional peer-to-peer networks or paid online services to swap their files.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 24, 2005
Tivo Win
TiVo Wins Deal with Comcast, Stock Rises
NEW YORK (Reuters) - TiVo Inc. TIVO.O on Tuesday won a contract to supply its digital video recording system to No. 1 cable television operator Comcast Corp.CMCSA.O, in a deal that could dramatically boost TiVo's distribution.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Copyright Wrangling
Great paper by Michael A. Einhorn and Bill Rosenblatt
Michael A. Einhorn is the author of Media, Technology, and Copyright: Integrating Law and Economics(2004) and senior adviser to an international consulting firm. Bill Rosenblatt is president of GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies, managing editor of the newsletter DRM Watch and author of Digital Rights Management: Business and Technology (2001).
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Another Forecast for Music
Wired: P2P: Music's Death Knell or Boon?
as usual... great coverage by Wired. Nice quote by Ted Cohen:
"We're at an inflection point here where we have a real chance to
change the way the music business works," said Ted Cohen, senior VP of
digital development and distribution for EMI Music. "We're interested
in making sure everyone survives. I think this will be an interesting
year and a turning point."
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
CD Sales
Only 2.8 CDs per year / per person... (US)??
From the FRUKT newletter: "BPI figures show that people in the UK buy on average 3.2 CDs each
every year. The other top countries are;
Some pretty relevant numbers, imho. Clearly, CDs are not getting a whole lot of people excited anymore. If we could get 90% of people in the 'rich nations' to spend a very low flat fee on music, every year, that would be a huge sea change. Is this where Napster To Go is heading?
More on the above stats here
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
BitTorent for Indie Distribution
How bands use bitTorrent for videos
From the Future of Music, Media & Entertainment blog...
in wired
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Telcos Go After Video
Video in the Telco Triple Play
Video in the Telco Triple Play
As mature as it is, the broadcast TV market is set to undergo yet another cycle of innovation, some of which may prove more disruptive than sustaining, with competition likely to reign-in from telecoms behemoths, new video on demand entrants, and end users themselves.
Across the globe, numerous telcos are involved in broadcasting TV and video across xDSL or fiber. As cable operators send video across proprietary networks, telcos are exploring various ways to meet their customers’ media demands, from push TV to pull video on demand (VoD), to proprietary set-top-boxes (STBs) and PCs.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 21, 2005
Terrestrial Radio vs Satellite
Terrestrial Broadcasters Band Together
Interesting story relates the idea that terrestrial broadcasters might use the new
high-definition (HD) digital broadcasting format to create national channels that could be rolled out by consortiums of stations. HD radios are in scant demand as pricing has kept them from mass appeal. But prices will drop this year.
Posted by roymond | permalink
3G Cellular Radio
Yet Another Form of Digital Radio: 3G Cellular
Orbitcast alerts us to the Next Next (Next) Big Thing: Radio over third-generation cellular (3G) data networks.
Virgin Radio is “broadcasting” two stations for free that
anyone with the right cellular phone can listen to by downloading a small application. The capable audience is nearly
15 million.
This is just the beginning, too, as hybrid cell phones that handle 3G and Wi-Fi will allow opportunistic networking in which if you’re streaming radio—or audio or video or downloading a file—a handset will switch from cellular to a cheaper or better or faster signal as it’s available.
3G is a worldwide phenomenon, although a little muted in the U.S. where a scarcity of spectrum has led to late deployments and initially high pricing. In South Korea, Japan, and parts of Europe, 3G is widely available, fast, and not terribly expensive. (In Europe, Wi-Fi is incredibly expensive, so 3G is a cost-effective alternative in many cases.)
Posted by roymond | permalink
Interview with Napster CEO
The Engadget Interview: Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster
Posted by | permalink
Entertainment Value Chain?
Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis
This book is as hardcore as it gets -- real gold for the inquisitive mind. Highly recommended!!
"The entertainment industry is one of the largest sectors of the United
States economy and fast becoming one of the most prominent globally as
well. In this newly revised book, Harold L. Vogel examines the business
economics of the major entertainment enterprises: movies, television
and cable programming, music, broadcasting, casino wagering and
gambling, sports, publishing, performing arts, theme parks, and toys.
This edition incorporates a full chapter on the Internet, covering the
web's operational features, revenue sources, and the net's role as an
agent of change. Other expanded features include sections on industrial
structure, asset valuation methods, and comparative price trends. The
result is a comprehensive, up-to-date reference guide on the economics,
financing, production, and marketing of entertainment in the US and
overseas. Investors, business executives, accountants, lawyers, arts
administrators, and general readers will find that the book offers an
invaluable guide to how entertainment industries operate"
Posted by | permalink
Ongoing discussion on Online Music Services
Renting versus owning music - take 3
The debate on Napster To Go versus ITunes goes on and on, with many people wondering if a RENTING music model (a la Netflix for movies) will prevail, or a Buy Per Track model (ITunes). The debates are useful but not quite getting down to the bottom of things yet. A quick 2 points on this:
1) It's not either or (never is). Rather, I think users will rent for a cheap monthly fee that has them covered (see music like water), PLUS they will download individual tracks, and still buy CDs and DVDs. However, the difference is that with a SUBSCRIPTION model I can get a lot more people into buying music, at all - rather than 40% of people leaving the stores without buying, how about covering 80% of all consumers with a cheap flat-rate music subscription. This is where Napster wants to go, I'd say.
2) Guess what: you don't really OWN your tracks on ITunes, either -- there IS DRM on these tracks, and your rights to 'own' CAN be revoked --- it just feels like you own it since most people won't get near the limits that Apple's DRM (Fairplay) imposes on them. Fact is, though - we are just renting here, as well. Why else would people try to crack it?
Posted by | permalink
HD Radio in Detroit and the U.S.
HD Radio in Detroit and the U.S.
Posted by | permalink
March 16, 2005
Digital Media Project
Home page of the Digital Media Project, of which BE is a member. There's a wealth of information about the digital media space here.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 04, 2005
NARIP - Record Distribution in the Digital Age
I attended this session put on by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals last November, and while I don't agree with their views all the time, there's some interesting stuff being said.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
Media Companies Map of NYC
A curious little map showing locations of prominent media companies in NYC.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
March 02, 2005
Music Biz year-end review in MusicDish
Alston goes off on this article in the MusicDish Industry e-Journal, bringing clarity, context and business implications to all.
Continue reading "Music Biz year-end review in MusicDish"
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 26, 2005
PodCasting @ Learning the Lessons of Nixon
Lisa Williams uses the Dewey Decimal System to categorize her site. Brilliant! This link takes you to her PodCasting category (under generalities...interesting). She had a call out for authors to contribute stories for her podcast called "Reading to Rowan" (her son). Here's The Night Before Xmas and The Three Little Bears. Does Audible need an automated work flow and system to bring authors and readers together to create free-flowing down-to-earth "books on tape" without James Earl Jones?
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 25, 2005
For a Start-Up, Visions of Profit in Podcasting
The primarily amateur Internet audio medium known as podcasting will take a small, hopeful step on Friday toward becoming the commercial Web's next big thing. [NY Times]
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
February 24, 2005
Indie Music Sites
Here are a variety of Indie Music sources. Each of these sites offer songs that are freely available to download and crank up.
Somesongs.com - Original songs from indie songwriters are graded by peers. Check out the "Top Rated" link on the right.
OddioOverplay.com - a huge index of indie net-labels. Intellegently selected and beautifully presented.
Magnatune - A net label who has assembled a fine roster of artists offering sampling of high-res audio (the whole album, no less) and a pricing model that teases the senses (pay what you like starting at $5 an album).
WebJay.org - public playlist manager, representing a huge variety of music and sounds.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
January 06, 2005
Content and Containers
Read/Write Web ties together many aspects of how media and content are being transformed by open standards and Tivo-like appliances.
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
November 04, 2004
3 Music Companies Will Use Online File-Sharing Service
Three major recording companies have agreed to make their music available to be shared and sold over a new online file-swapping service that aims to lure music fans away from services where most of the trading is illegal. [NY Times}
Posted by roymond | permalink | Comments (0)
