PC Tech World: content

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Chinese government orders Apple to remove 'obscene content' from its App Store

As a part of a sweep that cited some 198 websites, China government officials directed Apple to remove obscene content listed in its App Store in the country. Apple recently faced criticism about, and eventually apologized for, its warranty policy in China. The Financial Times reported an app was pulled earlier this month for providing access to banned books, just days after the warranty issue surface. A report by Bloomberg suggests Apple includes a quote from research firm owner Mark Tanner suggesting Apple needs to do more to enhance its relations with the government to curry favor with consumers. Whatever the case, the listing on state-run news agent Xinhua does not specify the banned content, although it's probably still available on App Stores in other regions.

Source: Bloomberg, Xinhua News Agency

More Coverage: FT

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Google TV's PrimeTime app update welcomes Amazon Prime content

An update to the PrimeTime Android app for Google TV has been released, bringing with it some bug fixes, as well as a "subscription selector" which means Netflix, HBO Go and Amazon Prime content now shows up as free if you're paying for any of those services. Wait, Amazon Prime content, you say? Well yes, we did, as the Amazon Prime Instant Video catalogue has been worked into the new version of the guide and recommendation app. Yet more ways to make sure we're up to date with The Good Wife? Sounds fine to us.

Source: Google Play store

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Plex for iOS 3.1 brings a mobile media server, deep content filters

Plex just last month gave its Android app a big overhaul that turned it into a full-fledged media hub; it's now the iOS app's turn. A Plex for iOS 3.1 update adds the same Mobile Media Server that we saw earlier, letting an iDevice dish out both its photo albums and synced content to any other Plex client, whether it's a PC or a Roku box. It also introduces the extra-refined library filtering you see above, push notifications for social interactions and the rough version of a unified transcoder that can handle more recent codecs. There are many, many other tweaks and fixes under the hood -- suffice it to say that you'll want to swing by the App Store for an upgrade if Plex is a cornerstone of your home theater.

Via: Plex

Source: App Store

Saturday, March 2, 2013

DirecTV scores a batch of 4K TV trademarks, content remains a pie in the sky

DirecTV trademarks 4K TV channel names, but content is still a pie in the sky

Despite the flood of 4K TVs that are emerging this year, there won't be a lot of content to play on them in the near future short of space galleries and the World Cup. The team at DirecTV can't provide an immediate solution, but it's at least getting ahead of the curve with a spate of new trademarks. The satellite giant now owns trademarks for the terms 4K, 4KN, 4KNET, 4K Network and 4KNetwork, the lot of which would cover broadcasts, streaming and VOD -- all hinting that the company is at least toying with the prospect of a 4K-only channel or service. Don't get your hopes up, however. DirecTV has declined comment, and there's a big difference between securing a trademark and having the resources to do something with it. We'll have to wait for sufficient capacity on TV networks -- and in our wallets -- before 4K TV channels exist as more than names.

Source: FierceCable

Source

By: Unknown On 11:03 PM

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Amazon to spice up Lovefilm with BBC and original content, serve it to Bravias in HD

Amazon to spice Lovefilm with BBC, original content, land on Sony Bravias

Amazon just announced a trio of Lovefilm deals, including new programming from BBC Worldwide, TV pilots from its own Amazon Studios and Lovefilm Instant HD on Sony Bravia Smart TVs. While the streaming service is already entangled with the Beeb, the deal announced today will include new shows like The Office (UK version), potboiler Jonathan Creek, sci-fi drama Primeval and others. Eleven comedy and kids pilot shows recently announced by Amazon Studios will also come to Instant Video, with execs even saying that viewer response on the platform will determine which shows stay. Finally, Lovefilm announced that it'll come to internet-connected Sony Bravia TVs in 720P (it's been in standard def on the platform since 2010), joining the likes of Xbox 360 and other Smart TVs in HD. You should see the extra pixels on your Bravia imminently, but there's no word on exact arrival dates for BBC or Amazon Studios programming. Check the PR below the fold for a full breakdown.

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AMAZON'S LOVEFiLM BOOSTS BBC WORLDWIDE TV DEAL FOR 2013

Monday February 11, 2013 -- LOVEFiLM, an Amazon company, will bring even more celebrated content from BBC Worldwide's impressive catalogue of shows to its members in 2013 after announcing it is rebooting its content deal with the global distributor today.

The ongoing partnership between LOVEFiLM and BBC Worldwide will increase the range of exciting TV content already available on LOVEFiLM Instant.

The new-for-2013 content comprises of highly acclaimed shows including the first series of multi award-winning Luther – giving fans the chance to catch up before the next series is broadcast – cult favourite and Golden Globe winner The Office (UK version), critically-acclaimed sitcom Extras, sci-fi drama Primeval, crime-drama Jonathan Creek, plus a range of popular factual shows synonymous with the BBC including the most widely watched factual programme in the world, Top Gear (Guinness Book of World Records 2013).

These new additions bolster an already extensive library of British TV classics on the service, encompassing shows such as the much loved Doctor Who, the critically acclaimed Ashes to Ashes, spy drama Spooks, highly-acclaimed mini-series Whitechapel, as well as must-see documentaries like Planet Earth.

Jim Buckle, Managing Director at LOVEFiLM, said:
"The evolution of our TV offering has been unstoppable over the past year. We kicked off 2012 by announcing a new deal with BBC Worldwide and it is great to see-in 2013 by adding to that agreement. We've got some of the best British TV content ever made, and we're first choice for TV fans who want good quality shows, instantly."

Lisa Rousseau, Head of UK, Ireland and Pan European Television Sales for BBC Worldwide, added: "Our content partnership with LOVEFiLM continues to evolve year on year. This new deal will see more gripping award-winning dramas and landmark documentaries added to the service bringing some of the very best in UK television to LOVEFiLM'S subscribers."

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AMAZON'S LOVEFiLM INTRODUCES HD TO SONY BRAVIA

February 11, 2013 -- LOVEFiLM, an Amazon company, today announced the launch of its high-definition (HD) streaming service on HD ready Internet-connected BRAVIA TVs and Blu-Ray Players from Sony in both the UK and Germany.

Members watching TV series and films through LOVEFiLM Instant on enabled Sony Home Entertainment devices will be able to enjoy crystal clear 720P HD video at no extra cost. The LOVEFiLM app first launched on BRAVIA TVs from Sony in the UK in March 2010 and in Germany in June 2011.

LOVEFiLM Instant is now available on a complete range of living room devices including Amazon's Kindle Fire and Fire HD, iPad®, PlayStation®3, Xbox 360, Wii and Wii U, plus a growing number of Blu-ray Players and Internet-connected TVs. Unlimited streaming packages start from just £4.99 a month.

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AMAZON'S LOVEFiLM TO HOST ORIGINAL PILOT TELEVISION PROGRAMMES FROM AMAZON STUDIOS

• Amazon Studios announces production of five children's and six comedy test pilots
• Pilot episodes will be available to stream for free via LOVEFiLM in the UK and Germany
• Viewer response will help determine which series go into full-season production

LONDON, FEBRUARY 4, 2013 – LOVEFiLM, an Amazon company, has today announced that it will host 11 original TV series test pilots for members to stream for free.

The never-seen-before children's and comedy content is being produced by Amazon Studios – the original film and series production arm of Amazon.com. LOVEFiLM members in the UK and Germany will be able to watch the content and viewer response will then help determine which series Amazon Studios take into full-season production.

The move follows the announcement of Amazon Studios' first pilot production commitment last December (Prime Instant Video Greenlights Six Original Series Pilots for Production) which gave six original comedy shows the green light. It brings the total number of Amazon Studios pilots currently in production to 11.

Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios added:
"Production is already underway for the first set of comedy pilots we announced in December, and now we are excited to add even more pilots to the list – five amazing preschool children's series. Our children's series come from industry luminaries with credits such as Blue's Clues, Rugrats and Dino Dan. We think parents – and our very youngest customers – are going to love the magical combination of entertainment and learning that they'll discover in these children's series."

Jim Buckle, Managing Director at LOVEFiLM said:
"To be able to host original pilot content, developed by Amazon Studios, and offer our members the opportunity to directly influence which of those series go into production is a major, and really exciting, development."

Source

By: Unknown On 10:17 PM

Ted Sarandos, Mitch Hurwitz and Will Arnett wax poetic about creating content for the internet

Look, Will Arnett is hilarious. His gravely tones are also just as romantic in person as they are on television. And he took the stage here at D:Dive Into Media 2013 alongside Mitch Hurwitz (creator of Arrested Development) and Ted Sarandos (Chief Content Officer & VP of Content at Netflix) in order to talk about the changing world of original content production. Outside of making jokes about premiums paid for getting props back in order to create a new generation of Arrested Development (seriously, they sold the Aztec Tomb "immediately," per Arnett), Hurwitz and Arnett both agreed that it's a completely different dynamic in creating television for the internet.

When producing a show for a cable or network channel, Hurwitz confessed that you have to make "flat" programming -- stuff that'll satisfy a huge, huge demographic. As in, the whole of America. With the next generation of Arrested Development, however, Netflix only needs to appeal to the demographic that digs Netflix. Sarandos affirmed that Netflix is paying all of the parties involved "network-level money," and both he and Hurwitz stated that these next episodes will truly be written by fans of the show. In other words, you can expect the quality to be exceptionally high, as there are far fewer stipulations behind the scenes.

When host Walt Mossberg asked Sarandos if Netflix was "in this for real," he stated that "in success, we'll do more." Of course, he also announced that House of Cards is now the company's "most watched program in every market that Netflix has service in, both in number of hours and in number of people." He also said that while few Netflix viewers "binge watch" and consumed every single House of Cards episode at once, a meaningful chunk of them watch at least two or three in a row. Hurwitz chimed in, noting that Netflix is "staying nimble," and doesn't have to produce a certain amount of shows each year in order to meet network demands. Sarandos also noted that since Fox owns the property, even the next episodes will eventually make their way out on DVD, onto iTunes, etc., but only after a window lapses once it's all out on Netflix.

Sarandos stopped short of telling Mossberg that Netflix is indeed going to consider itself a production company, but it's clear that the company is enjoying the experiment. And, given the restrictions that are removed when you're able to produce material for a specific and highly mobile audience, we're personally jazzed to see what kind of creativity is allowed to flourish in such a brave, new world.

We'll be reporting live from D:Dive Into Media as it continues on February 11-12. You can follow our coverage by using the "dmedia2013" tag.

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By: Unknown On 2:17 PM

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Microsoft talks plans for premium content production, details Xbox 360's transition to an 'entertainment console'

Xbox Execs Talk Momentum and the Future of TV
Feb. 11, 2013
At the D: Dive into Media conference, Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi and Nancy Tellem discuss Xbox entertainment growth and strategy.

REDMOND, Wash. – Feb. 11, 2013 - Living room entertainment is in its largest evolutionary period since the transitions of black-and-white to color, and from standard definition to high definition. The Xbox 360, alongside Microsoft's entertainment industry partners, is at the forefront of that evolution as one of the only devices that brings all forms of entertainment together in one device, while making access to content easy and providing new ways to interact with existing programming. In 2012, the amount of TV and other entertainment offerings on Xbox almost tripled, now surpassing 100 custom, voice-controlled TV and entertainment apps on Xbox LIVE.

Snapshot of Xbox Momentum
February 11, 2013
New data illustrates how entertainment usage on the Xbox has exploded during its living room transformation.
Download: Web
"Yes, we started with video games, but we have been on a journey to make Xbox the center of every household's entertainment," says Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.

Today Mehdi, along with Nancy Tellem, president of entertainment and digital media at Microsoft, participated in a D: Dive into Media session, facilitated by Peter Kafka, to discuss that journey and the opportunities that lie ahead. Mehdi revealed some new data that illustrates how entertainment usage on the Xbox has exploded during its living room transformation, and Tellem shared more about her newly created Los Angeles-based Xbox Entertainment Studios.

Today, there are more than 76 million Xbox 360 consoles around the world. That's three times the number of original Xbox consoles sold. And a Kinect sensor now sits next to roughly one third of those Xbox 360 consoles; the company has sold 24 million Kinect sensors since launch.

Social has been an important part of Xbox from the beginning, and that's true today more than ever. The Xbox LIVE community has grown to 46 million members, a 15 percent growth since last year.

2012 also marked the Xbox's biggest year for entertainment and games usage. Users enjoyed more than 18 billion hours of entertainment in 2012, with entertainment app usage growing 57 percent year over year globally. Last year in the United States, Xbox LIVE Gold members averaged 87 hours per month on Xbox, an increase of 10 percent year over year.

Yusuf Mehdi
February 11, 2013
Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business.
Download: Web | Print
Those numbers strongly indicate that consumers enjoy all kinds of entertainment via Xbox, and Mehdi believes the future of entertainment is even brighter, as Microsoft plans to keep the momentum rolling.

"We believe that Xbox is being used by more people in the household, during more hours in the day and for more forms of entertainment," he says. "People are using Xbox in the morning to work out with the Kinect Nike+ Fitness program, kids are watching cartoons, families are enjoying movies, and of course people are playing blockbuster games like 'Halo 4.'"

The Future of TV Is Interactive and More Engaging

According to Mehdi, Xbox has something in the living room no one else has – a large installed base of devices already in the home, connected to TVs, and over half of those are already linked together, delivering amazing personalized and social entertainment experiences via the Xbox LIVE network.

Microsoft believes that the future of TV and entertainment is one where the TV becomes interactive and more engaging, Mehdi and Tellem explain. Microsoft sees that viewers want to do more with their TV shows, movies, sports and other forms of entertainment.

"We believe that we are at the start of the next wave of truly interactive entertainment," Tellem says.

Tellem is spearheading a new L.A.-based studio called Xbox Entertainment Studios, where the mission is to create true interactive content for Xbox and other devices that will change the way entertainment content is experienced and delivered. Tellem also now oversees live event programming for Xbox LIVE. Xbox has had success with live events such as the Elections 2012 Hub on Xbox LIVE, which aired the presidential debates with an added interactive polling capability. Viewers submitted 3 million answers to on-screen questions during the live telecast of one of the debates. More recently, Xbox aired an interactive red carpet experience for this year's Grammy Awards and will be doing the same for the 85th Academy Awards.

Nancy Tellem
February 11, 2013
Nancy Tellem, former president of CBS Network Television Entertainment Group, has joined Microsoft as Entertainment & Digital Media president.
"When I worked in traditional TV, we would find ourselves saying things like 'Wouldn't it be cool if we could add an interactive aspect directly into the show and engage directly with the viewers?'" says Tellem. "With Xbox, that is possible today."

Xbox already offers content such Kinect Sesame Street TV, which blurs the lines between traditional linear TV show and interactive experience, where a kid can jump into their beloved Sesame Street and throw coconuts at Grover.

But it's not just about new types of entertainment; it's also about new business models and new engagement opportunities for advertisers. Mehdi called the launch of NUads – a new ad format that harnesses Kinect and natural user interface – an important moment for TV advertising. NUads deliver what is most scarce to advertisers today: consumer engagement. NUads enable natural interactivity using the simplicity of a spoken word or the wave of a hand. The first wave of NUads, which launched last fall with interactive polling, saw a record level of consumer engagement with 37 percent of people responding. With this model, passive TV advertising is transformed into engaging and actionable experiences.

Pioneering the Future of TV

In addition to Xbox Entertainment Studios creating content that will highlight what's possible and demonstrate the capability of the Xbox platform, Microsoft will continue to partner with content creators, networks, aggregators and advertisers to "pioneer the future of TV," says Tellem.

During 2013, Microsoft is planning to launch more than 40 new voice-controlled, customized TV and entertainment apps on Xbox.

"We want to partner with the industry to bring entertainment into a new era," she says. "It's an era when interactive entertainment becomes the greatest form of all entertainment – and we couldn't be more excited to play a part in it."

Source

By: Unknown On 9:14 AM

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Editorial: Nintendo's digital content problem and how the Wii U is making things worse

The Wii U's launch was a bit rocky, to say the least. Missing features, promised TV services and slow-loading, day-one firmware updates left Nintendo fans frustrated and disappointed. The company is still cleaning up the mess too, announcing that it will push two additional software updates to fix the console's slogging load times. A quicker console will certainly be welcome, but the Wii U spring updates are missing an opportunity to close a rift that divides Nintendo from its loving customer base: how it handles digital content ownership.

Ever buy an Xbox Live game? You probably know that purchase is tied to your Xbox Live account, and will be available on any subsequent Xbox you purchase. Not in Nintendo's world; Kyoto's digital sales are tied to the gaming hardware, not the user's account. It's been a sore spot for Nintendo gamers for some time now, and the Wii U was the company's chance to make amends -- except it didn't. Like its predecessors, the new console locks content to the device it was originally purchased on, imprisoning digital purchases in a physical cage. The Wii U takes content confinement a step further with its support for legacy software, providing a near-perfect example of the folly of Nintendo's content ownership philosophy: the isolated sandbox of its backwards-compatible Wii Menu.

Editorial Nintendo's digital content problem and how the Wii U is making things worse

The functionality of the Wii U's backwards-compatible mode is undeniable -- it's a near-perfect replication of the original hardware's system menu. Too perfect. Despite offering a fully functional emulation of Nintendo's previous-generation hardware, the Wii U's legacy support is riddled with muted consequences, perplexing limitations and lost potential. The sandbox itself, for instance, is built on the Wii U's expansive beach of internal storage (8GB to 32GB, depending on the model), but limits itself to the paltry 512MB of virtual storage within its personal playpen. This corresponds with the original Wii's available storage, but stands as an example of how the Wii U fails to deliver a superior Wii experience over the original hardware, presenting an adequate facsimile instead.

Sandboxing the Wii U's backwards compatibility affords Nintendo some degree of protection, isolating the security flaws of the previous generation from the new hardware's operating system. That security comes at a price: isolating one device-based ownership model within another owned device. That is to say, your Wii U content is tied to your Wii U console, but your Wii content can now be tied to a virtual Wii within your Wii U console without giving ownership of its content to its parent Wii U console. Confusing? Absolutely. By isolating Wii content from its new console's core system, Nintendo has fragmented its own ecosystem. Kyoto's failure to integrate this content leaves users to juggle two digital stores on one console. The 3DS adds yet another eShop to the pile, making content management as a Nintendo fan needlessly complicated.

Nintendo has fragmented its own ecosystem.

Unfortunately, Nintendo doesn't see the problem. NOA told us that it feels the "tailored approach" of maintaining three separate storefronts is "the right one," further explaining that the sandboxed Wii menu was designed to "protect the investment that consumers had already made in Wii software." A nice sentiment, but not a very reassuring one: a lost, stolen or damaged Wii U could blip multiple generations of purchases out of existence. Damaged consoles can be repaired for a modest fee, of course, but hardware replacements are at Nintendo's discretion. If you manage to convince the company to move your Wii U Basic content to a Deluxe, you'll need to send both units to its support department to make the transfer. If anything, the company protects content from its users. Makes Nintendo's digital sales push a little harder to swallow, doesn't it?

DNP Editorial Nintendos digital content problem and how the Wii U is making things worse

Worse still, the new console's most important innovation is still shackled by the bonds of device ownership: the Nintendo Network ID. This personal account finally associates living, breathing humans with a centralized Nintendo account, but cripples itself by refusing to work with any device besides its console of origin. The Nintendo Network ID could have been the unified account gamers have been asking Nintendo for, but instead it's little more than a retooled friend code and local user login. That isn't to say Nintendo isn't trying; the Wii U is the company's most sophisticated online device to date, packing a manageable friends system, an improved shopping experience and even its own quirky social network -- but that alone isn't enough.

Frankly, Mario needs to get with the times.

If Nintendo wants the gaming masses to be comfortable diving into its new digital frontier, it's going to have to make a few changes, none of them minor. First of all, the Wii U's legacy sub-menu needs to go. It stands for everything the company is doing wrong: segregation, stagnation and fragmentation. Cleaning up the Wii U's cross-generational mess and integrating the Wii Shop channel with the Wii U eShop will give users a wealth of content in a single location, instantly expanding the fledgling console's meager digital software library while creating a streamlined shopping experience. The Nintendo Network needs to be freed from its bonds too, registering ownership of purchased content and acting as a unified user account and ensuring customers that their digital purchases are protected against console failure, theft or a fanboy's urge to upgrade to Deluxe hardware. Finally, Nintendo needs to update the 3DS for the newly christened Nintendo Network, allowing users to link their entire Nintendo arsenal under one flag. Truth be told, it's a huge and possibly terrifying task -- but frankly, Mario needs to get with the times.

It's strange to think of Nintendo as afraid of change. This is the company that built a touchscreen handheld with two displays, shook up the industry with motion control and even took the 3D fad for a spin 15 years early, so why is it so behind the curve when it comes to content management and delivery? Whatever its reservations are, the company is trying to catch up -- Wii U documentation promises that the Nintendo Network ID will work with "future" consoles, and a recently announced merger of the company's handheld and console gaming units promises to integrate the architecture of Nintendo's next generation. Admirable goals, to be sure, but we're not certain Nintendo can afford to wait. After all, its competition's next generation is right around the corner.

Source

By: Unknown On 8:25 PM

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Australian High Court rescues Google, says it isn't responsible for the content of ads

No one can doubt the stamina of Australia's consumer watchdog, the ACCC. For six long years it hauled Google from hearing to hearing, court to court, in the belief that the internet giant should be held responsible for any "misleading" advertisements displayed as search results. But now the ACCC must accept defeat. Five judges of Australia's High Court have unanimously overturned an earlier ruling from a lower court that would have required Google to set up a compliance program to vet ads. The upshot is that Mountain View can't be blamed if one of those ads turns out to be deceptive. The specific example that triggered the lawsuit -- that if someone had searched Google in 2006 for the words "Honda Australia," they'd have been shown a sponsored link from one of Honda's rivals -- may already seem like an outdated objection. As a result of this final ruling, that's exactly what it is.

Source: Reuters

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Vimeo introduces content ratings for videos, keeps its platform in check

Vimeo's certainly made its presence felt inside multiple media-delivery mezzanines, but the video service isn't forgetting all about the basics: its own platform. As such, Vimeo today announced some more changes to its website, which will see the introduction of a content rating system for published videos. The most recent alterations, as seen in the picture above, add an assessed rating badge to a user's video, making it a requirement to brand any uploads as "All Audiences," "Mature," or "Not Yet Rated." According to Vimeo, these content ratings are "the first step along a path that will make Vimeo more accessible to more audiences," adding that sometimes it's a a good idea to let folks know "if a face is going to explode or if someone is going to take their jean shorts off."

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

YouTube sparks another round of content investment

YouTube will again invest in more original content this year

Last October, YouTube invested $100 million (UK £62.9, AUD$95.9) in 100 new channels as it hoped to expand the exclusive and original content it provided viewers.

The plan included new channels from celebrities like Madonna and Jay-Z, as well as outlets like the Wall Street Journal and The Onion.

Just over a year later, YouTube is again looking to bolster its original content by offering a second round of investments to a select number of those previous channels.

Not all of the 100 channels created during the $100 million investment ended up building big enough audiences to warrant more investing.

YouTube spent time researching what worked and what didn't, and will end up providing more funding to 30-40 percent of the original 100 channels.

The top 25 new channels garner more than 1,000,000 views per week, with the top 33 having earned some 100,000 subscribers.

That kind of return viewership will be a key factor in whether or not a given channel will receive more of YouTube's investment money.

"We looked at viewership they've been able to achieve, the cost of the content, and from that we are able to determine the channels that are delivering the best return on our investment," YouTube's Global Head of Content Strategy Jamie Byrne told Ad Age.

According to YouTube's deal with the channels it invested in, the funded money must be paid back before any ad revenue can be generated by the partners.

For example, if a channel received a $1 million (UK£630,000, AUD$959,000) investment, the product would have to garner 50 million views at $20 (around UK£12, AUD$19) CPM (cost per 1,000 views).

Ad Age reported many of the programmers involved don't know if those funds had been recouped, as YouTube hasn't been forthcoming with that information.

Considering some of the channels earned anywhere between $1 million and $5 million for a year's worth of exclusive content during the first round of investments, the odds of those funds being returned for channels outside the top 25 aren't very good.

That said, given another year of funding to better grow an audience, these channels may find greater success.

YouTube's monthly viewership is now near 4 hours per month, which is up 60 percent from 2011.

Though viewers still spend more time watching TV in a day (4 hours, 38 minutes) than they do YouTube in a month, that kind of growth could lead to YouTube being a premiere destination for more premium, exclusive content in the future, and thus more ad dollars down the line.

Via SlashGear, Ad Age

Louis CK to offer HBO show as DRM-free download, chip away at cable content deals

By Jon Fingas

posted Nov 13th 2012 1:31AM Louis CK to offer HBO show as DRMfree download, chip away at cable exclusivity

With certain exceptions, HBO has developed a reputation for being protective of where and how its content goes digital. That makes Louis CK's plans for a 2013 comedy special a slight jolt to the system, even though it's not his first digital release linked to the channel. While HBO will get a first crack at airing the show, which will be recorded during Louis' ongoing tour, the comedian now plans to post the production online a few months afterwards using the same successful formula that has become his calling card: $5, no DRM and no region restrictions. The offering doesn't overhaul the industry, but it undoubtedly wrests control from the network as soon as the download link goes live. Think of Louis as making a small crack in cable TV's content wall.

Sourse

By: Dilusha On 3:47 PM

Mozilla launches Popcorn Maker, video editing crackling with web content

Content license holders will surely enjoy (taking down) your video remixes

Mozilla has launched a new dynamic video editing tool for the web called Popcorn Maker.

Mozilla's Maker sets out to provide a browser-based video editing tool that takes advantage of web content to enhance videos.

"Until now, video on the web has been stuck inside a little black box," said Brett Gaylor, Mozilla director of popcorn.

"Popcorn Maker changes that, making video work like the rest of the web: hackable, linkable, remixable and connected to the world around it."

Popcorn Maker uses a drag-and-drop interface that allow users to enhance and post their videos with content such as article or Wikipedia links, Google Maps and even live feeds of Flickr keywords or Twitter hashtags.

For example, a newscaster-style video could be edited to include embedded source articles or real-time weather updates.

Users can also embed a real-time Google Map in a video, or reverse it so that a small video window is overlaid on a larger Google Map, which users can zoom and scroll in real-time while the video continues to play.

Mozilla built Popcorn Maker entirely from web technologies, such as HTML, CSS and Javascript, making it compatible with all web browsers.

It's been available to developers for nearly a year through the Popcorn.js Javascript library, but now Mozilla has released the public version to enable any user to create Popcorn Maker videos.

Popcorn Maker can import any Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud or HTML5 video file, which can then be enhanced with web content events or limited editing such as looping, skipping, or pausing particular sections of the video.

A completed Popcorn Maker video can then be shared as a direct link or through embed code.

While embedding links to articles is nothing new to web video, the ability to embed a scrollable pop-up of the article itself is a unique twist that Popcorn Maker provides.

There's a lot of potential in Popcorn Maker, both as a valuable video enhancement tool and as a detrimental way to distract users by presenting too much content at once.

As the tool is still new, there are likely to be plenty of examples of both as web creators experiment with how, or even if, Popcorn Maker is the right fit for their video content.