Author Archive

Veoh now includes content from Hulu

veoh huluThe video Website Veoh is adding — albeit unofficially — more videos from traditional TV networks, with the content this time coming from Hulu, the NBC-Fox joint venture.

Veoh and Hulu have no official partnership. As NewTeeVee notes, Veoh “is basically pulling an OpenHulu — taking the embeds of shows like “30 Rock” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” straight from Hulu and plunking them down onto its own site.” The streams do include the original advertising on Hulu.

NewTeeVee quotes Dmitry Shapiro, Veoh founder and chief innovation officer, saying, “Look, people want access to all kinds of content. We are striving to provide access.”

NewTeeVee questions Veoh’s move, contending that it “cheapens” the Veoh brand because it comes off as though “they couldn’t get a straight-up deal with Hulu, so they did a workaround instead.”

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Motorola to introduce the DH01! (It's a mobile TV device)

motorola tv deviceI agree with Henry Blodget over at Silicon Alley Insider. Motorola is launching a portable TV with a really, really bad name: Motorola TV DVBH compatible DH01 device.”

Now that will capture the imagination of consumers, conveying to them what a fun, on-the-go, game-changing device the DVBH is. Or is that the DH01? And this from the same company that brought us the fashion-forward, interestingly-named RAZR and MOTOKRZR cell phones.

Of course, that was years ago and Motorola has since dropped the cell phone ball, sinking to the No. 3 worldwide handset manufacturer. To expand its reach in portable consumer electronics, Motorola is introducing a mobile device for playing live television, which will also play on-demand video clips and programs saved on digital video recorders. (via Reuters.)

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Netflix partners with LG to deliver movies directly to TV

netflix mailboxI’m putting on my fantasy hat. Imagine: All of the Netflix movies, television shows, and other content streamed into my living room whenever I want. No more waiting for the post office to deliver the next disk. No more red envelopes to deal with.

Netflix, the DVD-by-mail company with more than seven million subscribers, is partnering with Korean manufacturer LG Electronics to stream movies, TV shows, and other content to LG high-definition televisions or set-top boxes by the second half of 2008.

Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, said he hopes to strike similar deals with other device manufacturers, potentially creating the Netflix movie channel and seriously challenging other companies attempting to capture the digital-entertainment-in-the-living-room opportunity.

“We want to be integrated on every Internet-connected device, game system, high-definition DVD player and dedicated Internet set-top box,” Hastings said. “Eventually, as TVs have wireless connectivity built into them, we’ll integrate right into the television.”

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New year brings good, and bad, news from music industry

warner zeppelinComing out of a holiday stupor, I see there’s some good news and bad news about the music industry in recent days.

The good news is that the Warner Music Group is offering its complete catalog DRM-free through Amazon’s MP3 store. Some of Warner’s artists include Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin, and Sean Paul. (last100 music year in review.)

The good news is that Warner is now the third of the Big Four record labels to sell music DRM-free. EMI and Universal Music Group offer their catalogs to Amazon MP3, but only EMI also sells on Apple’s iTunes. The lone holdout among the majors is Sony BMG.

The bad news, at least for Apple, is that Warner has not said anything about offering its music DRM-free through other digital stores as iTunes. And now there are two labels out there — the other being Universal — that’s attempting to make life tough for Apple, seen by many to have too much power over the digital music industry.

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Mobile: the Year of Wireless hasn't arrived — yet

apple google year end smNeither 2007 nor 2008 are the Years of Wireless. They’re the transition years.

The significant events that shaped the U.S. wireless industry in 2007 will carry over to 2008 and most likely 2009 before the industry receives a long-time-in-coming, much-needed makeover that — hopefully — will benefit all the players: the carriers, the infrastructure providers, the handset manufacturers, the developers and, best of all, you, the consumer.

Looking  back at last100’s coverage of the U.S. wireless industry, three significant themes emerged that, taken singularly, could have qualified 2007 as the Year of Wireless: Life Remotes (the introduction of the iPhone), Disruption (Google’s game-changing involvement in an industry outside its own), and Mobile Lifestyle (mobile apps).

Yet each of these are far from complete, or even fully developed, so to say 2007 is the Year of Wireless is premature. We examine some of the events of 2007 and look forward into what promises to be an active, topsy-turvy 2008.

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Report: Apple to offer Fox new releases for rental via iTunes

apple showtimeIt’s been almost two months since we reported that Apple is opening up iTunes for movie rentals. Today, if reports are true, we finally have good news that Apple and News Corp. have signed a deal that will allow consumers to rent the latest 20th Century Fox DVD releases by downloading a copy from iTunes.

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Hey handset guys! Look around: Consumers want smartphones

blackberry pearlI’ve noticed this for a while, written about it, talked about it, and yet many handset manufacturers seem to be ignoring the obvious: Consumers want “smart”phones.

Case in point: Yesterday I spent time at a satellite R&D office of one of the largest handset manufactures in the world. A few of us were getting on an elevator as our escort talked about one of the company’s Windows Mobile smartphones.

“It’s for the business user,” he said.

“Maybe,” I answered, “but haven’t you noticed the number of average people out there carrying (RIM) BlackBerries, (Samsung) Blackjacks, and (Motorola) Q’s? These aren’t business people. They’re soccer moms and young adults.

“They’re not using smartphones to get their email from a corporate Exchange server. They’re not conducting traditional business. They’re conducting life’s business.”

In one ear, out the other.

And yet the latest numbers from Research in Motion, the ones behind the BlackBerry, bear me out and substantiate the trend.

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Despite recent interest, eBook readers have a long way to go

kindle and book smWith the introduction of the Amazon Kindle, alternative ways to read books is back in the public eye. Problem is, where are they going? And will they ever be accepted after years of promise?

As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a lengthy Newsweek cover story when the Kindle electronic book reader was released, “Books are the last bastion of analog.”

Indeed. Most people, particularly authors, publishers, and book lovers, passionately believe that the book is perfect and will never be improved, even in an era of digital upheaval.

Books do not have storage memory, displays, or power sources. They’re bound paper with words and images, sturdy, reliable, always-on, with a fabulous user interface. They feel great in our hands, smell good, and when we’re done reading we shelve them like trophies.

kindleAnd yet it’s inevitable that the book will ultimately succumb to digital technology, which has already consumed music, film, video, photography, and communications and is turning those industries inside-out and changing society.

There’s no reason not to believe that digital technology will do the same to books. Unfortunately, alternative book reading remains an unfulfilled promise, hampered by poorly designed hardware, cumbersome user interfaces, scant content, competing formats, digital rights management (DRM), and a misplaced business model.

For now, consumers have no compelling reason to stop reading printed books. In this post, we examine the state of alternative book reading, what choices people have, what works, what doesn’t, and what resources are available.

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Verizon to broadcast 24 college bowl games on V Cast

verizon vcastJust in case you are a graduate of, say, Southern Missouri, Boise State, or South Florida, and can’t make it to your beloved team’s bowl game, don’t despair. Verizon Wireless has you covered.

If you subscribe to Verizon Wireless.

And if you have a V Cast enabled phone.

If you do, and you’re out Christmas shopping and not in front of the big-screen TV with chips and beer, then you can watch your team on a really tiny screen. But, hey, something is better than nothing when it comes to bowl season, right?

ESPN Mobile TV, CBS Mobile TV, and Fox Mobile will be bringing complete NCAA bowl games to Verizon Wireless V CAST TV this month — but only 24 of the “lesser” bowls, not the biggies like the Capitol One Bowl (Michigan vs. Florida), the Rose Bowl (USC vs. Illinois), and the BCS Championship game on Jan.7 between Ohio State and LSU.

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NBA teams up with Joost to provide "classic" content, highlights from current season

joost nbaThe National Basketball Association has joined Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League on Joost, the broadcast-quality Internet television service.

The NBA and Joost announced today the launch of the NBA Channel, which will provide fans around the world with access to “Instant Classic” games and video highlight packages for the remainder of the 2007-2008 season. Content also includes a variety of “Top 10” lists from the NBA Video Vault.

“By making games, highlights and shows available on Joost, the NBA is ensuring that its fans can enjoy the action where they want, when they want, while simultaneously interacting with other fans around the world,” said Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, Joost executive vice president for content strategy and acquisition

The NBA deal comes months after a similar partnership was negotiated between Joost and Major League Baseball. Joost also offers a channel for the NHL.

The addition of the NBA on Joost is another example of a major U.S. professional sports league evolving its Internet and new media strategies to reach beyond its Website to provide its content and brand to as many distribution channels as possible.