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What's Up With Verizon Wireless Throttling Its Heaviest Users?
Verizon's well-orchestrated buzz-building campaign for its iPhone launch yesterday hit a speed bump as stories began to circulate that even though it was promoting an unlimited data plan as a differentiator, it would actually
throttle its heaviest users. Verizon's official policy is that "if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high-quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand."
Topics: iPhone, Verizon Wireless
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Comcast's iPad Streaming is a Milestone for Pay-TV
This week Comcast began streaming certain shows to their Xfinity TV iPad app. I've watched a few shows already and played around a bit. My reaction is mostly positive; the app is fast (though there's a slight blank screen delay before playback begins) and browsing is straightforward. The biggest issue, as others have noted this week, is minimal content selection. True, when compared to Netflix, for example, Xfinity TV still looks thin, despite the 3,000+ hours Comcast says is there.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices
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blinkx Launches API For Connected Devices
Accessing a broad range of online video choices on connected devices is going to become a lot easier thanks to a new API that video search engine blinkx is
announcing this morning. The API is available for standalone connected devices, TVs, game consoles and app developers. Suranga Chandratillake, blinkx's founder and CEO explained to me that that approximately two-thirds of the 35 million hours of online video in blinkx's index should be optimized for connected devices. The API is initially free, but as usage scales a formal revenue share kicks in. This is the same model blinkx uses with its web and mobile APIs. Categories: Devices, Video Search
Topics: Blinkx
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Samsung Sells 2 Million Galaxy Tab Tablets
When it comes to tablets, yes, it seems there is life beyond the iPad. Samsung reported this week that globally it sold 2 million of its 7-inch Galaxy Tab tablets. Granted Apple sold 7.3 million iPads in the same period, but the iPad's also been
on the market for 6 months longer. Regardless, the Tab's early performance is good more news for mobile video. And since the Tab runs Android, which supports Flash, that means access to all the video available online, a huge difference compared to the iPad.
Categories: Devices, Mobile Video
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TiVo Links Up With Charter
TiVo scored a big deal this week, as Charter Communications, the fourth-largest U.S. cable operator, announced that it would be offering TiVo's interface and its
latest Premiere boxes to its subscribers. Because TiVo has integrations with lots of online video sources (including Netflix, Amazon, etc.), the deal is significant because it blends the traditional cable experience with the new over-the-top competitors. The deal also suggests what I pointed out in my review of Cisco's "Videoscape " - that beyond the very largest pay-TV operators, partnerships are going to be the way to go for them to deliver competitive experiences. For TiVo, the Charter win follows recent deals with both DirecTV and Cox. No doubt more will follow. Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices
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Vid.ly Makes Sharing Videos To Mobile Devices a Snap
If you've ever sent one of your "must see" video clips around to friends or family, only to have them exasperatingly tell you "It didn't play for me!" when they tried accessing it on their mobile device, then a clever new service called Vid.ly is going to make you smile. Vid.ly's mission is to radically simplify the video transcoding and playback process so that virtually all mobile devices or browsers can play any video - regardless of their original format. Given the confusing proliferation of formats - Flash, WebM, HTML5, etc. and devices (iOS, Android, Blackberry, game consoles, etc.) that is a significant value proposition.
Vid.ly's special appeal to consumers is that it puts a familiar URL-shortening, social media-friendly front-end on Encoding.com's cloud-based transcoding capability, which has been battle tested by 1,000+ content providers to date. But whereas URL shorteners like Bit.ly primarily focus on making very long URLs shorter and therefore more manageable for social media use, Vid.ly actually addresses the underlying playability of the video and also provides a short URL.
Categories: Devices, Encoding, Mobile Video
Topics: Encoding.com, Vid.ly
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Jivox Launches Cross-Platform Video Ad Capability
(Friday update #2) Brands and agencies looking to use the same video ad across various platforms got a boost yesterday from Jivox, a video ad technology provider. As Jivox's CEO Diaz Nesamoney explained to me, brands/agencies can now either submit video to Jivox or they can use the company's tools in order to prepare the ad properly for multi-platform use. When an ad is to be delivered, Jivox detects the user's platform/device and sends a properly formatted and encoded ad in real-time. Importantly, Jivox's analytics provide insight into usage by platform/device, so brands/agencies can detect where the ad is working best. I view this as the first of many efforts by technology providers to simply the ad delivery process as platforms/devices proliferate.Categories: Advertising, Devices
Topics: Jivox
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WealthTV-Roku Deal Isn't a Predictor Of An A La Carte Future
(Friday update #3) The was a flutter of excitement this week by some who interpreted a new deal by WealthTV to make its 24/7 linear feed available to Roku users as evidence of an a la carte future. But that hope would be misplaced; WealthTV, a network with minimal pay-TV carriage (though a litany of regulatory appeals), bears no resemblance to widely distributed cable networks like USA, MTV and Discovery whose lifeblood is monthly pay-TV carriage fees.
Even though WealthTV's proposed $2.99/mo subscription fee is more than any of these networks receive, WealthTV's retail model means its subscriber penetration will be a tiny fraction of these cable nets, and that's after necessarily heavy marketing and promotion. Don't get me wrong, Roku and other connected devices are doing a fabulous job of bringing online content to TVs. But getting top-notch, current cable programs is nowhere on the horizon. This is doubly true given that this week's FCC approval of Comcast-NBCU was an explicit blessing of the cable model.
Categories: Cable Networks, Devices
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Samsung Notches 2 Million App Downloads
(Friday update #4) Samsung has now gained 2 million app downloads through its connected TVs and devices, with apps from YouTube, Hulu Plus, ESPN Next Level, AccuWeather, Google Maps and Texas Holdem leading the way. Samsung said there are 380 total apps available for download of which 259 are free. The 2 million milestone comes less than 2 months since Samsung announced its 1 millionth download. Some analysts, like my colleague Colin Dixon at The Diffusion Group, have criticized these new "SmartTVs" as actually being quite dumb, but Samsung's experience appears to show that the app model on TVs is beginning to catch on.
Categories: Devices
Topics: Samsung
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mDialog Powering Video Ads in Shaw Media's Global TV iPad App
Mobile video ad platform mDialog has been selected by Shaw Media of Canada to power video ads in its Global TV iPad app. The app was released on December 4th and quickly rose to the top of the free chart of the Canadian version of App Store. The app allows full episode viewing of various TV programs.
With mDialog, Shaw will be able to insert targeted, real-time, non-skippable ads into its programs. Given the iPad's superior touch-screen engagement, more interactive ad executions will no doubt follow. The mDialog platform also provides real-time reporting and analytics.
Categories: Devices, International, Mobile Video
Topics: iPad, mDialog, Shaw Media
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #84 - Jan. 14, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 84th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for January 14, 2011.
In today's podcast, Daisy and I discuss the 4 key CES 2011 takeaways that I've been writing about this week (all listed below). And as a reminder, next Wednesday, January 19th, I'll be participating on a complimentary webinar, "Demystifying CES 2011" in which we'll dive further into understanding the show's highlights. Enjoy!
Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 26 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
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CES Takeaway #4: Welcome to the Golden Age of Video Innovation and Consumer Confusion
(Note: Each day this week I've been writing about one key takeaway from last week's CES 2011. Today is the final installment. For those who want to learn more about key CES highlights, next Wednesday, January 19th, I'll participate in a complimentary webinar, "Demystifying CES 2011" with The Diffusion Group and ActiveVideo Networks.)
It's hard not to step back from CES 2011 and be genuinely impressed with the incredible level of technical ingenuity being brought to bear on the video industry. In a very real sense, we are on the front end of a "golden age" of video innovation, which is already producing tangible, positive changes in how we engage with video content of all types. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that all of this innovation is also creating a golden age of consumer confusion and frustration, in which formerly mundane decisions can entail a mind-numbing level of complexity.
First the good news. This year's CES showcased how networking (technical, not social) - the same underlying characteristic that has driven the Internet - is now coming to video. Networking is enormously important because it dissolves the traditional constraints of content access, devices/containers and location. For example, whereas 50 years ago those with expensive encyclopedias or easy access to local libraries (the containers) had a decisive information edge, today all the world's information is available to anyone with an Internet connection. The idea of a fixed set of books, in a fixed location, accessible only to a privileged few, now seems quaint.
Categories: Devices
Topics: CES
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CES Takeaway #2: Don't Count Out the Pay-TV Operators
(Note: Each day this week I'll be writing about one key takeaway from CES 2011.)
If you've been thinking that pay-TV operators were imminent roadkill due to burgeoning "over-the-top" consumption and imminent cord-cutting mania, then important news from CES 2011 should cause you to reassess your assumptions. Instead of new technology undermining pay-TV businesses (which is too often how media characterizes things), the largest operators are starting to show how technology can be used to create compelling new value for their subscribers and enhance their competitiveness even as they relinquish a little control.
At CES, pay-TV announcements focused primarily on 2 areas: extending viewing to tablet computers and eliminating the set-top box by delivering full channel line-ups over broadband to connected TVs. Comcast, the largest U.S. pay-TV operator, made announcements spanning both: live, in-home access on iPads, with on-demand access outside the home, plus Xfinity TV access on certain Samsung connected TVs and on its new Galaxy Tab tablet. Time Warner Cable announced deals with both Samsung and Sony to deliver its line-up to certain connected TVs as well. Dish Network also unveiled its "Remote Access" service for Android tablets, allowing both live and on-demand viewing using the Sling Adapter (it had announced this for iPads in December). Last fall, Dish was also the first pay-TV operator to integrate with Google TV.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices, Satellite, Telcos
Topics: AT&T, Comcast, Netflix, Samsung, Sony, Time Warner Cable, Verizon
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CES Takeaway #1: Broadcast TV Networks Were Missing In Action
(Note: Each day this week I'll be writing about one key takeaway from CES 2011.)
Broadcast TV networks were conspicuously absent from the buzz of last week's CES 2011, even through one of the main themes of the show was enhanced video viewing through connected devices. Aside from a deal giving boxee the right to sell CBS episodes, and an expected, forward-looking announcement that Hulu Plus would soon be available on Android-powered devices, broadcast TV networks didn't participate in any of the excitement around new connected and mobile devices.
Their absence was both a missed opportunity, and also a clear illustration of how backward-looking their posture toward connected devices is. At a time when the entire CE industry sees the big prize of untethering video viewing from the living room, while creating boundless opportunities for new interactivity and higher engagement, the broadcast TV networks and Hulu have taken exactly the opposite approach, choosing to block access to their programs by connected devices, even though these programs are already available online.
I've previously written about the folly of broadcasters trying to force an artificial distinction between computer and TV screens (here and here with respect to Google TV), noting that their motivation for doing so is the pot of gold they see in retransmission consent payments from pay-TV distributors. But while those payments are a bonanza, they shouldn't come at the price of non-participation with connected devices. Indeed, three key things broadcasters risk by shunning connected devices emerged at CES last week.
Categories: Broadcasters, Devices
Topics: Boxee, CBS, CES, Hulu, Netflix, Orb BR, SnapStick
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10 Online/Mobile Video Items from CES Worth Noting
Happy Friday. Below are 10 interesting CES news items related to online and mobile video that hit my radar this week, but that I didn't have an opportunity to write about. There were many more cool things coming out of Las Vegas, and on so on Wed, January 19th TDG's Colin Dixon and I will present our next complimentary webinar, "Demystifying CES 2011" to review everything more fully. Mark your calendars, registration will be open shortly.
Intel "Insider" Movie Service unveiled - Intel unexpectedly launched its own online movie service as part of its "Sandy Bridge" chip announcement. The world probably doesn't need another service, but when Intel soon enabled is "WiDi" wireless display to project content to HDTVs, Insider will get more attention.
EchoStar acquires Move Networks assets - an inglorious ending for early leader in adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming. As CDN prices plummeted and ABR competition emerged, Move's service was over-priced and marginalized.
Funai integrates ActiveVideo Networks into connected devices - The first integration of AVN's "CloudTV" into connected CE devices allows interactive streaming content to be delivered in standard MPEG format.
Orb BR launches - Orb Networks launches "Orb BR," a disc that inserted into connected Blu-ray players or PS3 that allows viewers to access content from the full Internet. Cost? $19.95. Waiting to try one out, this could be a winner.
Comcast and Time Warner Cable service coming directly to Sony and Samsung TVs - Hate that cable set top box? Soon Comcast subscribers will be able to buy a connected Samsung TV and access the full Xfinity TV channel lineup. Similarly, Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to buy Sony connected TV buyers and see the full cable channel lineup. Who would have thought?
Skype plans to acquire Qik mobile video service - Moving to bulk up its involvement with video, Skype plans to acquire Qik, which allows users to record and share video via mobile devices.
Motorola and AT&T unveil Atrix 4G - Have a look at this video to see what the future of mobile devices look like - the power of a full computer in your pocket. Two very clever docks mean that users can easily view video on bigger screens as well as work with a full keyboard and mouse.
Vudu to offer 3D movies - a first for online delivery, aggregator Vudu announced that it is currently offering 3D movies to certain Samsung connected devices, and will soon offer it to PS3, Vizio, LG, Mitsubishi, Toshiba and boxee.
Boxee gains access to CBS programs - Boxee broke some new ground by gaining access to CBS programs, something that neither Apple TV, Roku or Google TV currently have. No word on pricing yet.
Yahoo adds feature to its Connected TV platform - Yahoo, one of the early entrants in the connected TV area, launches a feature call "broadcast interactivity" which allows further engagement with TV program content.
Categories: Devices
Topics: ActiveVideo Networks, Comcast, EchoStar, Funai, Intel, Motorol, Move Networks, Orb, Qik, Samsung, Skype, Sony, Time Warner Cable
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Rovi Media Cloud Aims to Turbocharge Connected Devices
Rovi is announcing its "Rovi Media Cloud" for consumer electronics companies and service providers to fully capitalize on the proliferation of connected
devices. The rollout, following Rovi's recent move to acquire Sonic Solutions, underscores Rovi's march to become the premier provider of "under the hood" services that will transform connected devices from clever gadgets into a full-blown video and services platform.
Categories: Devices, Technology
Topics: Rovi
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Comcast To Offer Live, VOD Access on Tablets
Comcast is announcing this morning that it will allow subscribers to stream live programs to their iPads or Android tablets later this year (no definite time disclosed). While the caveat is that only in-home usage will only be permitted, the benefits are still meaningful. For instance, subscribers who were paying for (or considering paying for) additional outlets in 2nd and 3rd rooms, which are only casually used, could now save money by not taking service in those rooms and using their iPads instead.
Further, subscribers can now watch in rooms that possibly didn't even have a TV. I'm familiar with this example, as I've used my iPad to watch Netflix content in various areas of my house that don't have TVs or cable service. Presumably the roadmap calls for out-of-home viewing as well, giving it full Sling-like benefits (at no additional cost). That would provide even more value to tablet owners.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices, Mobile Video, Video On Demand
Topics: Android, Comcast, iPad, Xfinity
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Roku Hits 1 Billion Streams; Viewing Time Is 31% As Much As Traditional TV
Connected device maker Roku has announced that it has delivered a cumulative 1 billion video streams to its installed base of media players. Even more interesting though is that the company disclosed that in December
2010, its players were used for an average of 11+ hours of play time per week. Since Nielsen reported that in Q2 '10 that the average American watched about 143.5 hours per month, this would mean that Roku owners on average are watching 31% (i.e. 45/143.5) as much through these devices as they do traditional TV.
Categories: Devices
Topics: comScore, Nielsen, Roku
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With New Netflix Button, Mutual Love Affair With CE Industry Continues
The mutual love affair between the consumer electronics industry and Netflix continues on, with today's announcement that 11 different CE companies will create a dedicated Netflix button on their remote controls for certain
connected TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes. The unusual move is the latest sign of how interdependent the success of CE companies' connected devices and Netflix's burgeoning popularity have become.
The love affair was born out of CE companies' recognition of the old adage that compelling content and applications are critical to inducing consumers to buy the next snazzy gadget. Case in point: Blu-ray disc player sales were stagnating until connectivity was added, enabling access to Netflix and other streaming content. As a result, in the first 9 months of 2010, around 2.4 million players were sold in the U.S., up 96% from the prior year's period, according to NPD Group.
Categories: Aggregators, Devices
Topics: and Toshiba. Sharp, Dynex, Haier, Memorex, Netflix, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Sony, Toshiba
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Online/Mobile Video's Top 10 of 2010
2010 was another spectacular year of growth and innovation in online and mobile video, so it's no easy feat to choose the 10 most significant things that happened during the year. However, I've taken my best shot below, and offered explanations. No doubt I've forgotten a few things, but I think it's a pretty solid list. As much as happened in 2010 though, I expect even more next year, with plenty of surprises.
My top 10 are as follows:
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Broadband ISPs, Broadcasters, Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Deals & Financings, Devices, Mobile Video, Regulation, Satellite, Technology, Telcos
Topics: 4G, Android, Apple, Google TV, iPad, Net Neutrality, Netflix, YouTube
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