Jenny Levine: Digital Video

Tue, 04 Feb 2003 14:17:18 GMT

While I get myself back up to speed blogging, you should be checking in with Frank Field's Furdlog. He's posting a lot of the stuff I would have for the last week, including pointers to Big Champagne (a Nielsen-like rating service of the most popular songs being downloaded) and today's FoxTrot comic about Kazaa users and Disney.

As for me, I got around to doing a few things last week that I'd been putting off. I'm pretty much caught up on my print Entertainment Weeklys, and I noticed an ad in last week's that made me look twice. It's for Allegra allergy medicine, and it shows a woman using a laptop out on a patio. I'm pretty sure she's accessing the internet wirelessly, but I can't be sure. So now Wi-Fi has become background for ads!

I started playing with my Archos Multimedia Jukebox more. I took some video of Brent's basketball game, and I plugged the Archos directly into my ReplayTV to record the wonderful Danny Kaye-Louis Armstrong duet "When the Saints Go Marching In" from the movie The Five Pennies. Of course, it's only an MP3 file since Archos hasn't released the video recorder yet, but I still like having it. I'm thinking of testing RSS enclosures with it, because I'm starting to really like the idea of getting audio and video in my news aggregator.

I'll Definitely ReplayTV It on Sunday, Though!

Fri, 24 Jan 2003 15:40:26 GMT

MJ vs. MJ

"Coming up in this Sunday's Commercial Bowl, the ultimate basketball matchup. 'Super Bowl advertising is a high-tech art form unto itself. Witness the new spot pitting Michael Jordan at 23 against MJ at 39.' [SunSpot.net]" [Steven's Notebook]

I've been hearing and reading a lot about this commercial, so I earlier this week I went to Gatorade's site to see if there was a preview of it. Of course, there isn't. For another take on how they made the commercial, check out ESPN's article MJ's Ready for His Close-up.

Then the next day, I saw a very funny commercial for Compaq computers. A little boy asks a little girl how she got her shiny, new bike. She tells him that they have a swear jar in her house, and her dad has to contribute to it every time he swears at the computer. Then they show the father yelling at his laptop, and the girl says, "Cha-ching!" At the end, the girl refuses to let her father write a check for that day's contribution. I wanted to see it again and actually link to it here, but I couldn't find it on the Compaq site. I even tried Ads.com but they've already closed up shop.

Go figure - when I actually want to watch TV commercials, I can't!

We'll Probably Never See This in the U.S.

Wed, 22 Jan 2003 04:04:34 GMT

Sharp Unveils Well-Connected Home Server

"At its heart, the HG-01S is a hard drive-based video recorder with an additional photo album feature but what differentiates it from some of the other digital video recorders or home servers on the market is the inclusion of a Web server and networking functions that allow recorded video to be viewed from other computers across the Internet.

It has a 120GB hard drive and records in MPEG-2 at 720-pixel by 480-pixel resolution at either 8 megabits per second, 4 mbps, or 2 mbps. This translates to 30 hours of video in the highest quality mode, 60 hours at medium quality, and 115 hours at low quality. It can also transcode MPEG-2 video into MPEG-4, which is a newer and more efficient video compression system.

At home and in front of the television, accessing the device is much like any other hard drive-based video recorder. A graphical menu offers quick access to recorded TV programs.

Away from the living room, there are a number of options. Around the house, a built-in wireless LAN (802.11b) adapter offers access to any suitably equipped computer while the Internet can be used to access and view recorded programs and images when away from home--if the device is hooked up to a broadband connection via its Ethernet port.....

From a personal computer, it is possible to view recorded TV programs and it is here that the MPEG-4 transcoding function becomes handy.... The MPEG-4 data stream is much lighter. This can also be viewed on some PDAs.....

Another function of the device is its family photo album feature which collects and can display snapshots. These can be transferred to the server directly from a memory card via a PC Card slot on the front of the device. If the user wishes, some can also be published on the Internet for other people to view either from a personal computer of cellular telephone. Members of the family can also send images taken with camera-equipped cell phones back to the server which will store them in its memory.

The HG-01S will go on sale in Japan on February 15 and cost around $848. Plans for overseas sales of the device were not announced." [PC World]

Thu, 16 Jan 2003 05:59:09 GMT

I still haven't totally figured out the exact file format for my Archos Multimedia Jukebox, but I'm pretty sure that one of these DVD Ripper programs will let me convert my DVDs for use on the Archos! Suh-weet! Somebody pinch me!

Sat, 11 Jan 2003 05:28:24 GMT

RCA PVR Will Use Free Guide+ Program Guide

"RCA has announced (among other CES goodies) a PVR/DVD player for this year that uses the free GUIDE Plus+ program guide rather than requiring an oncoming program guide contract. Once we bring the price down (yes, I work there) I may break down and get one, as I don't like the program guide fee required on current PVRs. (This may be the first no-program guide-fee commercial PVR.)" [Slashdot]

Now this would be a big step forward into the mainstream for DVRs - no monthly fee!

I'm Not Just the Chairman... I'm a Member!

Sat, 11 Jan 2003 03:21:44 GMT

TiVo Is God's Machine

"FCC chairman Michael Powell discovered what everybody who owns a TiVo already knows, which is that it's God's machine. He received a TiVo for Christmas and seems to be a rapid convert. Hopefully FCC rulings will reflect how nice it is for consumers to be able to watch programs at a time of their own choosing." [rc3.org Daily]

Whoo-hoo! Excellent move on someone's part. Why haven't we thought of this before? Give every legislator a DVR and watch them fall over themselves to switch sides in the copyright debate! Brilliant!

From the article, since it's on Yahoo News and will disappear in a week:

" 'My favorite product that I got for Christmas is TiVo,' FCC chairman Michael Powell said during a question and answer session at the International Consumer Electronics Show. 'TiVo is God's machine....'

Powell said he intended to use the TiVo machine to record TV shows to play on other television sets in his home, and even suggested that he might share recordings with his sister if she were to miss a favorite show.

'I'd like to move it to other TVs,' he said of his digitally recorded programming. A number of products already allow that."

Either way, Satellite Video Is Coming to Your Car

Thu, 09 Jan 2003 05:36:59 GMT

Low Profile Satellite TV Antennas for Vehicles

"CNN is reporting a new antenna system that allows SUV's, minivans and cars to receive DirecTV video and audio programming on the road. Future plans call for internet access as well. This could be a nail in the coffin of Sirius and XM radio." [Slashdot]

Video Over Radio? Yes, They're Sirius

"Sirius Satellite Radio said it intends to offer limited digital video services some time in the future, in addition to its digital audio streams." [ExtremeTech]

Tue, 07 Jan 2003 05:12:48 GMT

Studios Using Digital Armor to Fight Piracy
"Lying dormant in virtually every digital cable box in America is technology that can prevent viewers from recording certain programs to watch them later. Soon, several Hollywood studios are planning to tell cable operators to flip the switch. People who have become accustomed to recording pay-per-view and video-on-demand shows will probably still be able to, the studios say — so long as they pay an extra fee." [New York Times]
Satellite TV Orbits Closer to Cable
"A percentage of customers leaving cable companies are turning to satellite TV providers, such as DirecTV, which grew at a "significantly higher (rate) than cable subscriber growth," the FCC said. The number of people subscribing to satellite TV companies increased from 19.3 million to 21.1 million, a 9 percent jump, during the first half of 2002, the report showed." [News.com]

1 definitely will not help stem 2, even though satellite TV users are not immune to this type of complete lockdown of content. Let's hope that everyone involved figures out that the people paying the bills are getting tired of all of this nonsense, especially in the absence of "a viable response to this problem."

Disney Pulls Products, Claims Losses Are Due to Piracy

Fri, 03 Jan 2003 04:08:55 GMT

What is the point of this? Why would any company deliberately take their popular products OFF the market? Who was the genius that thought this up? And who is the genius that thinks it's still a good idea? Does anybody really think they won't be available again, probably later this year? Some vault.

So they're going to make sure I can't legally purchase any of these movies? I guess I'll just have to download them.....

Addendum: The point I was trying to make but failed to do strongly is that this strategy will not work in the digital age. They're shooting themselves in the foot if they continue to do it.

Round-Up

Fri, 03 Jan 2003 03:41:00 GMT

As you can probably tell, I'm busy with home, holidays, and family, but here are a couple of interesting links from the current Lost Remote.

THE GROWING OUCH IN YOUR CABLE BILL
Yes cable penetration is up --but only slightly-- but the bill for that service is up and not just slightly. The latest from the FCC indicates that cable operators are increasing cost-to-user at a rate almost six times the current rate of inflation.
ONLINE NEWS DIET GROWS
A new Pew Internet study shows about 25% of the online population (and 43% of broadband users) go online for news on a DAILY basis. Interestingly, when online news users can't find a story they want, 34% head to cable TV and 30% pick up the newspaper. Here's the full study:
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=80
SATELLITE TV COMING TO CARS
KVH Industries early next year plans to introduce a kit to bring satellite TV to cars much the same way XM and Sirius have brought satellite radio to moving vehicles. Bonus: Broadband Internet comes with it. And you thought mobile phones and DVD players were distracting!
http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?1461
HBO BEATS NBC IN EARNINGS
The revitalized pay network will take home earnings somewhere "north of $800 million" this year, compared to NBC's take of around $500 million. Now Chairman Chris Albrecht says he's planning to aggressively expand the brand off HBO.

Sorry I don't have time for more commentary at the moment:

Yeah, I've watched both my cable and internet service bills go up this year, so why do I have to watch commercials?
RSS news aggregators will be a big next step in the evolution of online news;
I can't wait for the arrival of an affordable version of satellite television for cars. The kids don't understand why we don't have it already.
Hey, Kellner - HBO doesn't even show commercials!

PVRs Under Attack Again: Nothing New

Tue, 10 Dec 2002 04:19:42 GMT

PVRs are the topic of the day, with a posting at Slashdot and an article at Salon.

Cable Companies Despise PVRs covers the Broadband Plus show put on by the cable industry. While the various write-ups and links are interesting, what I find most fascinating is that the original post quotes Gary Lauder, "a venture capitalist who has funded many cable related companies" on his views on PVRs. He then wrote in to Slashdot to correct what he viewed as inaccuracies and misinterpretations of his speech. Here's the kicker, though - he himself proposes the following:

"I suggested that consumers pay 1 cent per commercial skipped (which is about the same as what advertisers pay). That would be equivalent to $10/thousand commercials skipped. I think that's reasonable. I also suggested that targeted advertising could be a win-win for all involved by delivering ads in areas that are of greater interest to the viewer so that there would be less incentive to skip and fewer ads would have to be delivered due to the higher prices paid for the targeted group. I also predicted that this dynamic combined with competition between satellite and cable would ultimately make both services free." [Slashdot]

Uh-huh. Does that mean that I don't have to pay for cable service anymore since I'm watching commercials now? Because I'm already paying to watch cable television, and my rates just went up yet again. Better yet, how about if they pay me 1 cent per commercial I do watch (retroactive, of course). Of course, Lauder confines this proposal to cable television. He doesn't advocate this price structure for every ad you skip over in magazines or newspapers, let alone flipping around radio stations in between songs or banner ads you ignore on web sites. Do you think he reads every ad in his morning paper? Do you think he skips commercials or channel surfs during breaks in a TV show? If he's got three ReplayTVs and his industry gets their way, I guess we'll find out, eh, Mr. Pot?

Salon, on the other hand, examines Microsoft's efforts to cut into the PVR market in Replay It Again, Sam.

"But thanks to Microsoft, the TV-show trade may now be poised to explode. In October, the company unveiled Windows XP Media Center Edition, a new version of its Windows operating system that is installed in only a handful of "media" PCs being manufactured by a half-dozen computer makers. XP Media Center is billed as an all-in-one home entertainment system. The PCs come with CD and DVD writers and lots of disk space and processor power, and the operating system has a large-format interface and remote control functionality to control all media applications. The system also has PVR capabilities; just as with TiVo and ReplayTV, users can select a lineup of television shows to record and watch later.

There's one big difference between the Windows PVR and stand-alone devices like ReplayTV: On a PC, you can do a lot more of the things Hollywood hates. Microsoft's PVR software records TV shows into a format that will soon be playable virtually anywhere....

Microsoft has inserted some content-protection methods into the Media Center, but very few -- or, perhaps, none -- of today's TV shows are broadcast in such a way as to render them protected. This means that at least for the foreseeable future, everything consumers record on XP Media Center will be tradable. Since it takes at least 600 MBs of hard drive space to store a half-hour show, it's unlikely the trade will be as widespread as that of MP3s.... All of which add up to this: The possible 'Napsterization' of TV is at hand....

Specifically, Microsoft now 'respects' a protection scheme called CGMS-A, which is essentially a code that can be inserted into a television broadcast -- much like closed captioning is now embedded -- that explains how that content can be used. If copy protection is turned on in a TV show, the Windows PVR would play back the show only on the computer on which it was recorded. Otherwise, the show could be transferred to any other device.

But here's the rub: 'We haven't seen any content that's actually protected,' Narayan says. 'There may be some instances where people protected maybe a particular pay-per-view show, but we haven't seen it -- though I would hardly say we've done any exhaustive research or testing.' The upshot for Microsoft, in choosing the CGMS-A, then, is that it gets to say Windows protects content without actually protecting much content.

Will media companies start protecting their content using CGMS-A? That's hard to say. (All of the companies suing Sonicblue over its PVR features, as well as their lawyers and the Motion Picture Association of America, an industry trade group, either declined to comment or did not respond to inquires regarding PVRs.)...

Craig Newmark keeps his ReplayTV's Commercial Advance feature turned on, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. 'The people in this country gave the networks radio spectrum,' he says, 'and they were to do something for the public good. Unfortunately, a lot of them have forgotten that....' "

So basically, the media companies are waiting for Congress to enact legislation protecting their business model rather than proactively protecting their content themselves using CGMS-A. And we're supposed to feel sorry for them that their customers are off using their content in new and innovative ways.

Of course, the problem with the Windows XP Media Center concept is that the Windows XP license states they can change that copyright protection on your PC at any time without even telling you, thereby locking down all of your existing and future content back to the state Microsoft originally proposed - signed, sealed, and not delivered.

I'll keep my ReplayTV, thank you very much.

Is Fair Use Fair?

Wed, 04 Dec 2002 05:05:19 GMT

New Tool Makes DVD Copying Easy

"Hollywood says that it's illegal to burn a backup copy of your Austin Powers Goldmember DVD, and it builds in copy protection to stop you. But a small firm denies any kinship to Dr. Evil just because it markets software that lets anyone with a burnable DVD drive make an exact copy of a commercial DVD.

Missouri-based 321 Studios has released DVD X Copy, a $99 program that is the first to let users create a mirror image of an entire DVD on a second blank DVD. The copy even includes menus, special features, and enhanced audio, the company says.

The movie industry trade association Motion Picture Association of America contends that such products violate the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That law, currently under review, outlaws providing information or tools to circumvent copy-control technology, including the Contents Scramble System (CSS) used on DVD media.

But Robert Moore, president and founder of 321 Studios, says consumers have a fair-use right to make backup copies of DVDs they purchase....

During a recent demonstration of DVD X Copy running on an 800-MHz Compaq notebook attached to a USB 2.0 external DVD+RW Viper Drive, it took us about an hour to make an exact copy of the DVD Black Hawk Down....

During the copying process, 321 Studios takes three extra steps to appease its Hollywood critics. DVD X Copy inserts electronic controls into copied DVDs to prevent them from being duplicated further. It embeds a digital watermark that can trace the source of any file transmitted over the Internet to the software's licensed owner. And it inserts a disclaimer at the beginning of the recorded DVD, telling viewers that the disc is a backup copy intended for personal use only....

Moore believes that anticircumvention laws like the DMCA are unconstitutional. He cites the so-called "Betamax defense," a response to the motion picture industry's efforts to ban Sony's Betamax VCRs because they could be used to make illegal copies of movies. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that, though some VCR uses do infringe on copyright, a banning the technology was not justified because it had sufficient noninfringing uses.

What's more, Moore says, DVD X Copy doesn't actually break the CSS on commercial DVDs.

Instead, 321 Studio intercepts the video and audio stream after a DVD player has decrypted the CSS code. Moore argues that all DVD players decrypt the CSS code when they plays a protected DVD. Because it intercepts the signal after decryption but before the video is rendered, the product does not run afoul of the DMCA, he says." [PC World]

So now we'll find out if the movie industry really believes in fair use or not. It looks to my non-lawyerly eye that they have taken measures to prevent widespread piracy and they've even included some DRM.

Hollywood, the ball is in your court. Are you with consumers, or against us?

Nielsen Takes on PVRs

Mon, 02 Dec 2002 18:28:19 GMT

Nielsen and Ucentric to Track PVR Usage

"Nielsen Media Research and Ucentric Systems today announced they have agreed to create television audience measurement software that will track usage of personal video recorders on multiple television sets.

Under the agreement, Nielsen software will be integrated into the Ucentric Multi-TV PVR applications that power many digital set-top boxes, enabling Nielsen to collect tuning, recording and playback information from every TV connected to the Ucentric system.
The company said the software would be used only by Nielsen Media Research to retrieve data from Nielsen sample households, and only with permission from the household. The software would be inactive in non-Nielsen homes.
Digital set-tops that run on Ucentric's Multi-TV PVR solution allow TV viewers to control individual video recordings from a single in-home recording library shared among multiple television sets." [allNetDevices Wireless News]

Of course, this doesn't say if they'll be tracking how many commercials a household watches, which is a big sticking point these days. But it's good that they're finally recognizing PVRs as a viable statistical audience. Imagine all of the niche shows that are going to begin appearing on weekly lists! I hope they maintain separate "Top 20" shows just for PVRs.

Blogging 101

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 04:22:20 GMT

"Saint Leo University is giving wireless-network-equipped laptops (with built-in video editing capability) to every residential student and faculty member." [DV for Teachers]

Imagine what could happen if they also gave each student blogspace and software. What a way to chronicle your college years, and you could come out of it with an incredible portfolio for job interviews.

Archos Still on Top

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 04:04:34 GMT

MP3NewsWire.net has a review of the Archos Multimedia Jukebox camera module. Within the bounds of the few days I had one that was working, I agree wholeheartedly with their conclusions. I don't expect to use it as my primary digital camera, but I do think I'll catch a lot more of life's fun little moments with the kids, especially videos. And it sure did catch people's eye when I took pictures with it.

It's a pretty sweet package that will blow away the competition when they release the direct feed video recorder module. Although, I can't help but eye the bigger video screen (four inches) on the Portable ReplayTV device that SonicBlue is looking to roll out next year. (I can't seem to find a picture of it online, although I did see one in a magazine.)

One Reason I Own ReplayTVs

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 19:18:05 GMT

If TiVo Thinks You Are Gay, Here's How to Set It Straight

"A phone call the machine makes to TiVo, Inc., in San Jose, Calif., once a day provides key information. As these men learned, when TiVo thinks it has you pegged, there's just one way to change its 'mind': outfox it.

Mr. Iwanyk, 32 years old, first suspected that his TiVo thought he was gay, since it inexplicably kept recording programs with gay themes. A film studio executive in Los Angeles and the self-described 'straightest guy on earth,' he tried to tame TiVo's gay fixation by recording war movies and other 'guy stuff.'

'The problem was, I overcompensated,' he says. 'It started giving me documentaries on Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Eichmann. It stopped thinking I was gay and decided I was a crazy guy reminiscing about the Third Reich.'

He mentioned his TiVo tussle to a friend, who told an executive at CBS's 'The King of Queens,' who then wrote an episode with a My-TiVo-thinks-I'm-gay subplot....

Many consumers appreciate having computers delve into their hearts and heads. But some say it gives them the willies, because the machines either know them too well or make cocksure assumptions about them that are way off base. That's why even TiVo lovers are tempted to hoodwink it -- a phenomenon that was also spoofed this year on another TV show, HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man...."

Mr. Everett-Church, a privacy consultant for businesses, predicts that as techno-profiling increases, more people will purposely muck up their profiles. They'll fear ordering books on mental illnesses or sexual preferences because they'll wonder if they'll somehow be publicly identified.

All techno-profiling companies contacted for this article said that information gleaned is for the customer's personal use only. Still, even Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos knows the potential mortification factor.

For a live demonstration before an audience of 500 people, Mr. Bezos once logged onto Amazon.com to show how it caters to his interests. The top recommendation it gave him? The DVD for 'Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity.' That popped up because he had previously ordered "Barbarella," starring Jane Fonda, a spokesman explains....

Virginia Heffernan, TV columnist for Slate.com, doesn't understand why some people are resistant to techno-profiling, or find it creepy. She didn't look for any deep meaning when her TiVo kept giving her TV shows in Polish. And after buying self-help books on Amazon.com, she accepted that every time she logged on, the site pitched products to make her a more self-fulfilled human being.

'I like the idea that someone cares,' she says. 'Even a machine.' " [Wall Street Journal, via MetaFilter]

Demanding Video

Mon, 25 Nov 2002 15:06:04 GMT

Video on Demand Is Finally Taking Hold

"After years of failed promises, unripe business plans and half-baked technology, the cable industry is finally beginning to deliver reliable and economical video-on-demand services.

Want to watch an episode of "Sex and the City" from last month? Punch a few buttons and sit back as the program begins when you want it to. Phone ringing? Hit pause on the remote, and the program will freeze. Miss a line? Press rewind. Bored? Choose from hundreds of other films, series and specials — none of which requires you to record it ahead of time.

Video on demand reached a significant milestone recently, when Time Warner Cable announced that by the end of the year the service would be available throughout the company's biggest market, New York City, where it has 1.2 million subscribers.

Besides Time Warner Cable, owned by AOL Time Warner, other big companies now offering video on demand around the nation include Comcast and Cablevision. The Yankee Group, a technology research firm, estimates that by the end of this year about seven million homes around the nation will have access to video on demand, up from only about three million at the end of 2001.

Despite the omnipotence that the label implies, video on demand does not allow users to watch any program or movie under the sun. No database is yet infinite. But in New York City, for instance, Time Warner Cable plans to have 1,300 hours of programming available at any one time — the equivalent of almost two months of TV watching." [New York Times]

This is another form of The Heavenly Jukebox, where the middleman is cut out of the process, the product never ships in a box, and the sale goes directly to the consumer. In this case, the middlemen are video rental/distribution channels like BlockBuster, Best Buy, and libraries. There is no mechanism here for a library to circulate a video over the Time Warner network (in part because there is no way for a library to logistically circulate a digital video file at this point in time).

More Praise for DVRs

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 05:45:23 GMT

Tivo: Revolution, Interrupted

"Three years after their introduction, the TiVo brand digital video recorder (DVR) and its rivals are in only about 1 percent of American homes, fewer than, a recent headline said, have outhouses...

Theories on what's taking so long will follow. But a hint comes from Syracuse's ever quotable Thompson: 'We're a society obsessed with new technology, but we're also a society that's completely unwilling to read an instruction book....'

I cannot imagine television life without one of these devices. People in the industry like to cite a survey in which users say they would rather give up their microwave ovens than their digital video recorders. I would throw in the toaster oven, both waffle makers and even, if pressed, my beloved surround-sound speaker system.

The essential attraction is that watching television becomes much more precise, much more efficient, much less inchoate. It's the end of channel surfing and its frustrations. With a DVR, you've got the things you think are good -- the latest 'Sopranos,' a 'Scrubs,' the steamy Animal Planet study of koala mating habits -- stored on the hard disk, ready to be summoned up. Give Bruce Springsteen a TiVo and his song about 57 channels becomes a celebration of them....

'The best summary of TiVo I've heard was from a young woman who said, `Oh, I really love it now, but it was in the box for most of the time' after being purchased,' says Thompson.

Then her boyfriend hooked it up.

'If TiVo in its current form is going to become the revolution, it's going to have to put a boyfriend in every box,' Thompson says....'

The second, and probably biggest, factor is price. Even if you can conjure up the benefits of better TV management, the cheapest early editions of the machines were $400 or $500 plus the monthly fee for the necessary listings service.

Now, Nikhil Balram, vice president of connected home products for SonicBlue, which makes ReplayTV, says hopefully, people say, ' 'OK, this is $249. I pay $9.95 monthly. What's the harm in trying it?' In the past, when it was $700, the consumer says, `I don't even want to like it because I can't afford it....' '

'The balance of power is shifting right now from networks and studio content providers and towards consumers. This probably does mean the most significant change in TV ever, and that can be both scary and inspiring.' " [Chicago Tribune (free registration required), via JD's New Media Musings]

As one of the DVR fanatics described in this article, I just want to note the price drops on ReplayTVs, augmented by a $50 rebate good for the two lower-end Replays if bought before January 1). The low end 40-hour version still needs to drop another $100 to gain some mainstream momentum, but it's currently at $300. The higher the model number, though, the bigger the price drop.

The 80-hour version is going for $400 (down from $550, plus you can get the $50 rebate bringing it to $500), the 160-hour version is at $600 (down from $1000), and in a pretty stunning freefall from earlier this year, the 320-hour version (with ethernet port and commercial skip) is just $999 (down from $1300 last month and down from $2000 when it was introduced a little over a year ago). And they are once again available through retail outlets like Best Buy. All of which would help if the economy was better.

Digital Video Recorders Still Greater Than Sliced Bread

Tue, 29 Oct 2002 06:00:47 GMT

Rounding out news emailed to me, Jennifer Choate notes a study her company did about users of Digital Video Recorders (DVRs, also called Personal Video Recorders or PVRs). Some interesting statistics culled from the report:

22% of PVR users (consistent across all three waves 877 interviews) claim they NEVER watch live television now.
News & Sports continue to be the top two types of programs watched live.
65% claim they watch more kinds of programs now.
55% claim they watch more channels.
20% claim they “DON”T KNOW” the change in channels, “the PVR records what they want.”
63% claim they watch more television with their children now, and 40% of their children know how to program the devices.
Top three channels watched with PVR by children and family: PBS, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network.
60% say they rent fewer movies than before and 39% believe they are saving money because of it, despite their expense with PVRs.
20% of the commercials are NEVER watched by PVR owners.
But, 80% claim they watch certain commercials deliberately for entertainment and product interest.
When testing new concepts in advertising, very interestingly 35% of these owners say they are “very likely” to “accept suggestions and visit a website for more information; and 23% are willing to accept “incentivized viewership” paving the way for truly interactive television.
43% of these owners own multiple devices.
74% of these households want one for every TV in the house.
60% of current users are more satisfied now with their cable or satellite provider.
What they value most: CONTROL – customization, personalization, TV is more meaningful, something always available to watch.

And some user comments:

“I watch less BAD TV.”
“I treat it like my Internet now, I seek and find what I want, when I want it.”
“I watch more shows, in less time, and on my schedule.”
“My children don’t understand when they see regular TV.”
“After owning one, you would never consider watching TV without it.”

I haven't read through the whole report yet, but all of these observations and statistics are certainly true at my house. The majority of programming on the 60-hour ReplayTV is for the kids, and next year we're hoping to get a third Replay for the upstairs. I expect that in another year or so, the kids will rarely watch live TV anymore. As I say in my presentations, if you don't have a DVR, you should. Like wireless and broadband internet, it changes how you view and interact with information and entertainment.

You can get a copy of the report by contacting Jennifer Choate at jenniferc@ccubedllc.com. (Note: it's unclear in the email I received if you have to pay for it.)

Kellner Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot (Again)

Thu, 17 Oct 2002 04:44:32 GMT

Turner CEO Lambasts Ad-Avoiding Technologies (Emphasis below is mine.)

" 'I've been a fragmentor,' Mr. Kellner told the audience at the Association of National of Advertisers's national conference in the Ritz-Carlton Naples ballroom this morning. 'I'm starting to get nervous we're too fragmented.... All things good for consumers are not necessarily good for the economy....'

'I'm not against PVRs,' he was quick to note. 'I've used it myself.' But, he warned, 'the business cannot exist as its current model is today unless consumers are willing to give time for you [marketers]. I believe advertising has driven this country. Without advertising, we will damage this country....'

Because most marketers have been slow to divert their media dollars from network TV to cable -- Mr. Kellner said 75% of media dollars are directed at broadcast networks, which control only 45% of viewers -- Turner funded a massive study of Generation X consumers and their younger Gen Y, or 'millennial,' counterparts to show they are far removed from the channel-surfing, ad-averse slackers conventional wisdom has long held them to be.
'We now know that isn't true,' said Dr. Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner, who divulged little detail but offered his e-mail address for marketers to request a full presentation when the study is complete.
Conducted by Copernicus Research, the study will be released by the end of November. It tracks the customer lifetime value of Gen X and millennial consumers across 12 product categories, along with attitudes about advertising....

'They [under-40 consumers] rival or exceed the baby boom generation [in size and spending], and every year will become more and more important,' he said. He then used his 30-year-old daughter's spending habits as an example." [AdAge.com, via MediaSavvy]

Now, more than ever, I want an answer to my question: does Kellner pay full attention to each and every commercial when he's watching TV? New question: does his 30-year old daughter?

And to which economy is Kellner referring? His company's?

IV = Instant Video

Thu, 10 Oct 2002 19:31:56 GMT

Last month, John Shoch responded to a message about Video on Demand (VOD) on Dave Farber's Interesting People mailing list. I found the thread interesting because I do use NetFlix rather than my cable company's pay-per-view VOD service, but John's post made me realize how quickly I *would* use it if they offered anything even remotely resembling his vision.

"VOD will clearly have a market for immediate viewing of feature films. Delayed access via PVRs and Netflix is clearly better than no access at all -- but if the choice is available, I'm sure the vast majority of consumers would prefer immediate access.

But VOD will be much broader -- let your imagination roam:

-- 'I just watched the Harrison Ford version of Sabrina; gee, how does it compare to the old Humphrey Bogart version -- let's watch that one now!'
-- 'West Wing is starting again tonight, but I want to watch the final episode from last year first.'
-- 'I missed my favorite team in the quarter-final match in the Australian Regional Rugby tournament, let's watch that.'
-- 'How is German TV covering the flap with George Bush?'
-- 'My doctor showed me a video on how to do a breast exam, but I sure would like to see that again.....'
-- 'I can't get this darn Weber BBQ put together! Is there a video that shows how to do it??' "

Wonderful examples of the type of service I would pony up money for yesterday. The entertainment industry just doesn't seem to grasp how much I do want to interact with their content, just on my timetable and in a place of my choosing. (Aside: It's interesting that where the media companies are choosing to alienate their customers, Microsoft at least realizes the folly of this strategy.)

For example, Ryan left me a great suggestion to plug my forthcoming Archos Multimedia Jukebox into my ReplayTV, record a couple of shows onto it, and watch them on my upcoming flights. I'm definitely going to give this a try, and I'm pretty sure I can get his second suggestion to hook the Archos up to the multimedia unit in the minivan to work, too!

Tangential anecdote: while riding in my car last week (not the minivan with the video player), eight-year old Kailee explained to her five-year old friend how she thinks that someday, the back of the seat will have a television display in it and you'll be able to watch anything. When you want to go on the internet, a keyboard will fold down and you'll be able to work as you would on a regular computer. This is what she is expecting to happen, and she would rather it happen now.

Cam Off World

Thu, 10 Oct 2002 05:27:28 GMT

RocketCam Launched on STS-112

When they launched the Space Shuttle on Monday, STS-112 had a new RocketCam mounted on the large external fuel tank pointed down at the shuttle. NASA has encoded and released the video of the launch from the RocketCam point of view. All I can say is "Wow! What a ride!" It's worth a look if you've got the time." [Mary Wehmeier's Blog Du Jour]

Wanted to make sure my Dad saw this one. This is incredibly cool. I was in a meeting, so I missed watching it live, although Will said the feeds were pretty broken up.

When do you suppose we'll have the first astronaut in space blogging?

Will Nielsen Ever Count Digital Video Recorder Viewers?

Thu, 10 Oct 2002 04:04:47 GMT

TiVo Viewers Like 'CSI: Miami,' 'Firefly'

"According to TiVo, the five most popular new shows, based on the number of users who have configured their recorder to automatically record every episode, are CBS's 'CSI: Miami,' Fox's 'Firefly' and 'John Doe,' ABC's 'Push, Nevada' and CBS's 'Without A Trace....'

In the regular television ratings, as measured by Nielsen Media Research, all those shows have performed well, with the exception of 'Push, Nevada,' which has been soundly beaten in most airings to date and is in danger of being canceled....

In addition to ranking the top new shows of the season, TiVo also released statistics on how often prime-time programs are recorded by its users and watched at times other than their original window.
Overall, the company said 80 percent of prime-time programming is recorded and watched later." [Chris Van Buskirk's ITV Weblog]

Emphasis above is mine, because if that's not some major shifting, then I don't know what is. Now if I could just take those recorded programs with me on, say, a plane ride, I'd be an even happier camper. Too bad the television industry won't see the goldmine in the above numbers.

Can Libraries Circulate Videos To PDAs Now?

Thu, 26 Sep 2002 05:10:35 GMT

"Despite the imbalanced nature of several panels, the conference was still well worth attending, with some terrifically sharp questions from the audience and some combative give and take on panels such as the State of the Industry roundtable, where Intertainer CEO Jonathan Taplin said his startup was willing to take on the Hollywood studios in court, after the studios had cut the number of movies available to his company from 1,500 titles to 15. The verbal shot across the bow, as it turned out, was accompanied by court papers, which were being filed the very same moment in federal court, alleging that the studios had violated antitrust laws by forming their own cartel, Movielink. (The San Jose Merc has the story today here.)" [JD's New Media Musings]

I'm posting this for the benefit of the nice lady from the Algonquin Area Public Library District who attended our panel presentation about PDAs at the Illinois Library Association conference today. She's thinking ahead (as AAPLD is wont to do), and she wants to know if there are any companies out there distributing digital videos that the Library could circulate.

Of course, my immediate answer is no, only because I don't think any of them will work with libraries at this point, but JD's post reminded me of Intertainer, and in my archives, you'll find a post about Pocket PC Films making movies available for download at airport kiosks. I've linked to another company in the past, but naturally I can't find the link at the moment. I'll post it when I do, though. Since I wasn't the only presenter today, I tried not to get up on too high a soapbox, and as a result, I didn't say everything I wanted to today.

I often end my own presentations by urging librarians to initiate discussions with their vendors about wireless and remote access to their content. If we don't start asking the questions now and pushing them to move forward, we won't be ready when the public begins asking us for these services.

I thought the quote of the day came from Tom Peters from CIC noted that in the future, being offline will be the choice, not being online.

For myself, I was thrilled to find out that Algonquin is considering an Audible purchase (Matt - give 'em a call!), and the Barrington Area Library just installed an 802.11b (we think it's b) wireless network.

TiVo Peer Pressure

Thu, 26 Sep 2002 04:36:35 GMT

"The second season of HBO's The Mind of the Married Man introduces a new character: his TiVo. In "The Cream of the Crop", the Married Man's TiVo thinks he's gay. So he spends some time trying to convince TiVo that he's not, by recording Manly Shows." [The Peanut Gallery]