What happens when video gets democratized?

Today, TV might be where people go to be entertained. But make no mistake about it: New entrants are building ever-larger audiences without being burdened by the cost structure of the traditional TV ecosystem, making them more nimble and a potential threat to some of the big media players.

We’ve seen this movie before: In the newspaper and magazine industry, the wide availability of self-publishing tools like WordPress and Blogger allowed anyone to instantly create his or her own media empire. Suddenly digital publishers could reach huge audiences over the Internet, with very little cost involved.

That’s allowed new media companies like Gawker Media, AOL and yes, even GigaOM! to go up against the old guard of print publishers, which has had a devastating effect on the industry. Unable to compete with the relevance and immediacy of online news and information, and burdened by an unsustainable cost structure, local newspapers and weekly news magazines have struggled to stay alive.

So what happens when the video industry is democratized? It’s already happening, as the cost of high-quality video cameras, production and editing equipment has fallen dramatically. Furthermore, platforms like YouTube are making it easier than ever for anyone to build an audience and monetize those videos.

The key takeaway is that the video industry is ripe for disruption. New content creators, emboldened by cheap production and editing tools and the ease of reaching a huge number of people online, are emerging as real competition for the traditional TV marketplace. In my latest piece for GigaOM Pro, (subscription required) I explore who wins and who loses in this brave new world.

Just as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have held fairly strong in the face of online competition, it’s unlikely that the big broadcasters will see audiences flee en masse. But smaller networks, especially those in niche categories like food or lifestyle, could see serious audience erosion as viewers find Internet-delivered video channels that are more relevant to them. A vegan cooking show, for instance, might not last long at a cable network, but it could be a goldmine online.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/video-democratization/

How to watch DVD movie with Roku 2 XS

As an ultra-small but powerful Wi-Fi streaming –media box, Roku 2 XS offers various Internet video and audio services include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, etc. And connect with HD TV, you can enjoy the movies up to 1080P. But this media box do not support to stream media from networked PC. If you have a great movie on computer or on your DVD disc, you can’t playback on HD TV via Roku 2 XS. HoweveAs an ultra-small but powerful Wi-Fi streaming –media box, Roku 2 XS offers various Internet video and audio services include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, etc. And connect with HD TV, you can enjoy the movies up to 1080P.

But this media box do not support to stream media from networked PC. If you have a great movie on computer or on your DVD disc, you can’t playback on HD TV via Roku 2 XS. However, this type of Roku contains USB port and it can read the video from external hard disk. And the video format is only for MP4 video format. So, if you want to watch DVD with Roku 2 XS, you need a DVD to MP4 Converter at first. You can try to use this free DVD to MP4 Video Converter. I always use it to rip my favorite DVD movie to MP4 video and enjoy with my iPad. Here we get our tutorial start!

Step 1: Add source DVD videos
Click “Load DVD” button to add your DVD content into this program.

Step 2: Set output profile
Click “Profile” and search “MP4”, just choose one type from the search result.

Step3: Start Conversion
Click the bottom right convert button to start to convert DVD to Roku 2 XS video.

After you get the MP4 video from your DVD disc, you can use a U-disk or external hard disk to stock your video, and then connect with Roku 2 XS through the USB port.

New DirecTV TiVo HD DVR finally arrives

After years of waiting and hoping, DirecTV has finally released a new HD DVR powered by TiVo. The new HD DirecTiVo is model THR22 as has been rumored. What it offers, however, might not be what DirecTV subscribers that are TiVo fans were really hoping for.

To start with, DirecTV has soft launched the THR22 in only 10 cities initially, and subscribers in those 10 cities can order the THR22 starting today. Subscribers in other cities will have to wait till sometime after the first of the year. DirecTV has not been specific on their full launch plan for the THR22 beyond saying, “The TiVo HD DVR from DirecTV will be available nationwide in early 2012,” which could mean just about anything with all of the delays that the release of the THR22 has encountered.

As for the THR22 itself, it is a TiVo and it runs the TiVo OS, but not a version of the latest release. Instead, it uses something that looks and acts very close to a slightly enhanced version of the TiVo interface that we saw in the last version of the older standard definition TiVo models in the 2.xx family. The receiver itself is built upon the DirecTV HR22 platform, but from our understanding these are new boxes, not recycled or used units with the TiVo software loaded on them. This news has already thrown a red flag up for some.

In addition, it lacks a number of the features found in the latest generation of DirecTV HD DVR offerings. For example, it lacks 3D support, DirecTV on-demand streaming, multi-room support, You Tube streaming, and those are just the major differences. It does not offer the additional services and streaming offerings found in the latest generation of TiVo.

The THR22 comes with only a 500GB hard drive, which is pretty much standard for DirecTV DVR models. It can support the add-on AM21 terrestrial HD tuner and can record from it. It supports recording of all DirecTV MPEG 4 encoded satellite streams. It offers two-tuner support with the ability to record two shows while watching a third show. It comes with the TiVo peanut remote, but it is DirecTV remote compatible only, so you can’t use the high-end TiVo slider remote with keyboard with it.

Despite all of this, if you still want the THR22 it is going to cost you $199 plus shipping and you have to agree to a 2-year commitment for it. In addition, as with DirecTV receivers the THR22 is leased, which makes the possibility of upgrading it tricky at best. The unit is subject to a TiVo/DVR fee, of course, as well as the monthly receiver fee.

Given all of this, there will still be many that want it and will gladly upgrade to it; while others believe that it is a release with a very short life span. as its feature set simply isn’t as good as what is offered by the latest DirecTV DVR units. Still, with the ability to upgrade the unit, should it become more popular than expected it is possible development and upgrades could be headed the THR22’s way, but it will have to become popular and DirecTV will have to move a lot of units before they will choose to do more with the TiVo platform. In its current release state, however, it may just be far too little and far too late.

Source is
http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/25153-new-directv-tivo-hd-dvr-finally-arrives

RapidShare nixes plans for movie download store

RapidShare has abandoned plans to launch a download store for movies and TV shows, a company spokesperson told us via email. The Switzerland-based file host service had planed to open a platform called RapidMovies that would sell digital downloads to its customers, and a former CEO once proposed that users looking for illegal copies of Hollywood blockbusters could be redirected to the licensed download offering instead.

RapidShare soft-launched an experimental RapidMovies site at the end of 2009. Back then, the site only offered free-to-view movie trailers, but the launch was nonetheless remarkable because the service was able to win Warner Bros. as a partner. At the time, RapidShare hoped the Hollywood studio would also remain on board for its commercial launch.

However, two years later, it looks like that initial cooperation never went further. RapidShare’s spokesperson told me there are currently no further plans to work on RapidMovies. The company wants to concentrate instead on further developing its core hosting services.

Oddly enough, it looks like RapidShare’s competitor MegaUpload is now trying to fill the gap. Megamedia Limited, the company behind such ventures as MegaUpload and MegaVideo, plans to launch a site dubbed MegaMovies before the end of the year. From its site:

“Megamovie is coming in 2011. It’s our marketplace for Movies and TV series streamed in the highest quality for the lowest price. Megamovie will be available to all content creators and licensees, from Hollywood studios to independent film makers to TV production companies.”

Megamedia didn’t reply to a request for comment, but it looks like this would simply be a self-serve digital video store, meaning anyone could sell access to downloads — and given MegaUpload’s contentious history with rights holders, I’d bet none of the Hollywood heavyweights would come on board.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/rapidshare-rapidmovies-megaupload-megamovie/

Western Digital WD TV Live media streaming device

The WD TV Live is the latest model in Western Digital's range of media players, designed to stream video, photos and audio from any computer on your home network to a TV.

It also connects to the Internet, allowing the TV to screen services such as Facebook and Youtube.

It is about half the size of a paperback book and controlled by a TV-style remote control. There are two USB ports into which can be plugged a camera, a USB memory key, or hard disk, which is then made accessible by any computer on the network. There's an optical sound output for connecting to amplifier or speakers, and a network socket for a wired link to the household router, though it also supports wireless network connections. It can be connected by HDMI or composite cable to the TV, though the former is much better.

New to this model, which confusingly has the same name as its predecessors, is support for the £10-a-month Spotify online jukebox service which plays virtually any music track you are likely to want (the ad-sponsored free version is not supported).

The WDTV Live is also worth considering as a cheaper and more versatile alternative to an internet radio, as it can use the Tunein online service to receive stations. A big TV screen is a better way to navigate stations than the tiny screens on most internet radios.

The interface has been revamped: its response was crisp and the control screens well designed but they cannot alter the fact that a remote control and TV screen, viewed from across a room, are not the easiest way navigate the thousands of music and image files many people have on their hard disks. Nor are people likely to be able to post long messages to Facebook using the awkward on-screen keyboard or the remote-control keypad.

It can be controlled using a computer but only through an on-screen rendering of the remote control which means users cannot use their PC keyboards to enter login details for the various services, or messages, which is a missed opportunity.

Nevertheless, the new WD TV Live is a good media streamer.

Source is
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/review/2122726/western-digital-wd-tv-live-media-streaming-device

Fanhattan adds Crackle, PBS and Lifetime

Fanhattan is trying to make it easier for users to discover content available on mobile, and soon connected TV devices. With that in mind, Fanhattan announced Friday it has added videos from new content sources, including Crackle, PBS and Lifetime.

The company has built an app for iOS devices that allows users to search for and discover videos from multiple content providers, rather than having to look in individual apps themselves. So a Modern Family fan, for instance, would be able to see which episodes might be available on ABC’s app as well as Hulu Plus all in one place.

Until now, though, Fanhattan’s video discovery app has been somewhat limited in its content sources, indexing videos from iTunes, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu and ABC. The addition of videos from Crackle, PBS and Lifetime will help diversify that selection, with a wider range of new movies and some exclusive TV content.

Crackle is Sony’s online distribution engine, which includes content from its movie and TV divisions. While it has spent some time making web originals over the last few years, the main thrust of Crackle lately is creating an ad-supported distribution engine for some of its movies and TV shows. As a result, Fanhattan viewers will now have access to movies like Donnie Brasco or A Few Good Men, and TV shows like Seinfeld, Sanford and Son and All in the Family.

Lifetime adds another unique content source, as it brings titles like competitive reality show Project Accessory to the video discovery app, as well as some syndicated content like How I Met Your Mother or The New Adventures of Old Christine that Lifetime distributes through its iOS apps. And public broadcaster PBS has a wealth of exclusive programming available as well, including favorites like Antiques Roadshow and The American Experience.

Video discovery on apps is a big problem, which Fanhattan is hoping to solve. For it, the addition of new content sources makes it even more valuable to users, as they seek to browse and navigate videos available on their devices. And for its partners, being part of Fanhattan’s index makes it more likely that viewers can find their content, as users might not have known those shows or movies were available.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/fanhattan-crackle-pbs-lifetime/

Will usage-based pricing kill the streaming video star?

Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are attracting more eyeballs every month, stealing attention away from traditional TV. But cable providers could soon fight back, by basing their pricing on how much a given user streams every month.

comScore reported earlier this week that viewers watched a record-high 42.6 billion videos online in October, with YouTube leading the way. Viewers watched an average of 21 hours of online video a piece during the month, which is a far cry from the four or five hours a day that they watch of broadcast TV. But its a 50 percent increase from the 14.5 hours of video that online viewers averaged in December 2010.
Pay TV services finally on the decline?

As online viewership has increased, there’s evidence that it’s finally causing some viewers to avoid paying for cable. Credit Suisse analyst Stefan Anninger forecast in a research note this week that the multichannel video industry will lose 200,000 subscribers in 2012, which is a big about-face from the 250,000 new subscribers that he previously estimated cable, satellite and IPTV providers would gain next year. The reason? Economically driven “cord avoiders” who can’t afford cable or satellite TV, as well as “cord nevers” — young people who get their first homes but choose not to pay for TV, choosing to stream video over broadband instead.

That’s led to a new round of concerns about the future of the pay TV industry — and what cable companies might due to combat potential threats from streaming competitors. And it’s prompted more speculation that an increased focus on broadband could lead cable companies to institute usage-based pricing that links the amount of bandwidth users consume with the amount that they pay. The latest comes from Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett, who said in an interview with Bloomberg that at least one cable provider will institute that type of pricing model over the next year.
The specter of usage-based pricing

For years, usage-based pricing has loomed as a threat to the mostly unlimited broadband Internet plans that users subscribe to today. While cable companies like Comcast have long instituted caps to limit the amount of data some of its users consume, they’ve stopped short of charging more based upon customer usage. But now more than ever, it seems like operators are finally ready to pull the trigger on usage-based pricing.

One big reason is the ever-growing amount of video traffic popping up on their networks. Earlier this year, Sandvine reported that Netflix users, on average, stream about 40 GB a month, and that the streaming provider makes up about a third of all peak downstream Internet traffic.
Killing two birds with one pricing model

Not only do services like Netflix clog their pipes, but they’re also competing with traditional TV services. For that reason, usage-based pricing is being promoted as a way to kill two birds with one stone: By effectively raising rates that customers pay to access streaming services, the effect could be less competition with their video services, while also possibly decreasing the amount of traffic that goes over their pipes.

Services like Netflix and Hulu Plus are attractive in part because they’re cheap: At $7.99, both services are significantly less expensive than the $70 on average that cable subscribers pay. But if more streaming means higher broadband prices, those services don’t look as cheap.

There are other reasons for cable companies to pitch broadband services, of course. They have better margins than traditional video services, and that profitability isn’t threatened by content costs that continue to rise. It’s also a key differentiator from satellite competitors who can’t bundle their own Internet services with TV packages. But as streaming video continues to gain consumer adoption, carriers will be looking to slow that growth and make competing online options less attractive.

Source is
http://gigaom.com/video/will-usage-based-pricing-kill-the-streaming-video-star/