View full post on Geek.com » Apple

Super Bowl weekend is upon us, and this year, the big game is going to be streamed live online for the very first time. Who wants to see the game between the Giants and the Patriots on a tiny laptop screen, you might ask? Cord cutters and other folks without cable or even a TV set for one, but the live stream also comes with some extra perks that the TV broadcast won’t offer: Viewers will be able to select from different camera angles, pause the game and other fun stuff.

Are you one of those people who just watch the game to catch a glimpse of the ads? No worries, you’ll find all of those online as well. There is also a bunch of second-screen action going on this year to deliver tweets and other extra content to your cell phone or iPad while you watch TV. And speaking of mobile: You’ll even be able to watch the entire game on your handset. You know, in case that laptop screen is to big, or you happen to be away from both Internet and TV.

Here’s our growing list of online resources for Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday 02/05:

• NBCSports.com will show the entire game online starting with some of the pregame action at 2pm ET (11am PT). The kickoff is at 6:30pm ET (3:30pm PT), and the game will feature HD-quality streams from multiple camera angles, DVR-like functionality to pause and replay the action and a number of social features.
• Verizon subscribers will also be able to stream the game on their phones through the NFL Mobile app, which is available for both iOS and Android. More info on the app here.
• Viewers in Canada will be able to watch the game via Bell’s mobile apps.
• Twitter has aggregated all the relevant accounts and hash tags to follow in this blog post.
• Hulu has once again aggregated Super Bowl ads in its Adzone.
• YouTube has Super Bowl ads, recipes and more in its AdBlitz channel.
• At least five of the ads shown during the game will use Shazam to offer free downloads, sweepstakes and other stuff meant to entice you to join the second-screen action. More about this on Shazam’s blog.

We’re gonna update this list with additional links in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content
• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• Report: A Mobile Video Market Overview

src='http://ads.gigaom.com/show/rss/'
alt=''
border='0'
/>

View full post on Video

View full post on MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – Front Page

Video discovery startup Taboola has been growing fast, adding top publishing partners like BusinessWeek and The Washington Post, as well as expanding into the live streaming video vertical. Those new partners have helped drive growth for Taboola, which now reaches more than 100 million uniques a month.

According to data from Quantcast, Taboola has reach of more than 110 million unique visitors a month. Of those viewers, more than 65 million are in the U.S. alone. As a result, Taboola generates more than 300 million recommendations every day, CEO and founder Adam Singolda told me by email.

While Taboola, which provides a widget for recommended videos, has traditionally been used by news publishers like the New York Times who are trying to expand their available video inventory and advertising revenues, it’s been tapped by two new partners in the live streaming vertical. Ustream and Major League Gaming now both make Taboola recommendations available to their viewers.

With the move to provide recommendations for live streaming viewers, Taboola has had to add capabilities beyond just the contextual targeting that it typically uses to match up video recommendations for users. Because videos are live, the recommendations engine doesn’t have as much data to go on. So Taboola is providing recommendations based on behavioral targeting while viewers are watching live streams.

Outside of the live video market, Taboola has also added new partners. Those include BusinessWeek, The Washington Post, Food Network, The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Caller, Ask Men and Gannett’s Navy Times. With some of those publishers, the Taboola video widget is on every page of their websites.

As publishers try to expand their use of video, they need ways to highlight the content that they’ve produced. Taboola can not only provide recommendations, but can also expand the amount of video available to viewers by recommending those from other publishers and sharing revenues between them.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Connected Consumer Q3: Netflix fumbles; Kindle Fire shines
• Connected Consumer Q2: Digital music meets the cloud; e-book growth explodes
• Connected Consumer Market Overview, Q2 2010

src='http://ads.gigaom.com/show/rss/'
alt=''
border='0'
/>

View full post on Video

View full post on GigaOM » Ryan Lawler Archives

Google is asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to test a mysterious Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled “entertainment device,” in employees homes in four U.S. cities. So inquiring minds want to know, what exactly is it? And why is Google filing for the experimental license? Does that mean the search giant is getting into manufacturing its own devices?

On the what is it category, it appears to be homebound, so it could perhaps be a set-top-box style device, or a new addendum to Google TV. Here’s what Google’s application, which was filed in December, offers in terms of information:

Google is developing an entertainment device that requires testing outside the laboratory environment. The device is in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing. … Users will connect their device to home WiFi networks and use Bluetooth to connect to other home electronics equipment. This line of testing will reveal real world engineering issues and reliability of networks. The device utilizes a standard WiFi/Bluetooth module, and the planned testing is not directed at evaluating the radio frequency characteristics of the module (which are known), but rather at the throughput and stability of the home WiFi networks that will support the device, as well as the basic functionality of the device. From this testing we hope to modify the design in order to maximize product robustness and user experience. Utilizing the requested number of units will allow testing of real world network performance and its impact on applications running on the device, so that any problems can be discovered and addressed promptly. (emphasis mine)

Google asked to test 252 devices between January 17 through July 17 in Mountain View,Calif.; New York, Cambridge, Mass. and Los Angeles. Its employees will have them, so maybe you can hit a Google employee’s home to watch the Super Bowl and then start sniffing around.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• CES 2012: a recap and analysis
• Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content
• Connected Consumer 2012: A year of consolidation and integration

src='http://ads.gigaom.com/show/rss/'
alt=''
border='0'
/>

View full post on Video

class="size-full wp-image-89332 alignright" title="ipad_3_dock_connector_1-500x356" src="http://www.technologytell.com/apple/files/2012/02/ipad_3_dock_connector_1-500x356.jpeg" alt="Rumored iPad 3 Dock Connector" width="500" height="356" />January 2011 featured many more patent lawsuits. In case you missed them, here’s a handy list of the most important new lawsuits and updates on old ones.

• This is a convoluted tale of insurance woes when Apple renovated a subway station near a new Apple store in Chicago. A woman was walking in the construction site, fell and broke her hip 19 days before the insurance coverage started. Apple, Pepper Construction Company, and the Chicago Transit Authority sued Colony Insurance Company since they were denied coverage after the woman sued them. Colony Insurance Company sued in return saying they didn’t have to pay and the Chicago Transit Authority wasn’t part of the insurance anyway. If you want the details, go to Apple Insider.
• Taiwanese site Apple.pro had a picture of what they said was going to be the new dock and ribbon connector cable for Apple’s iPad 3 tablet (see image above). Unfortunately, the supplier in charge of the part is suing the website according to this Google translated page.
• In Appletell’s lawsuit wrap-up for December 2011, we reported that Apple was fined $1.2 million in Italy for not letting their customers know about the EU-mandated two-year warranty. Apple has since updated the Italian Apple Store with a link to the court decision. Whether Apple will appeal the fine is unknown.
• Kodak has been suing many companies over patents lately in a desperate attempt to stay in business. Recently it sued Apple who has responded with claims that it owns the patents in question.
• Apple and Elan Microelectronics have been fighting over patents for a while. Even though the International Trade Commission sided with Apple last year, they reached an agreement where Apple pays Elan $5 million and they agree to share the patents.
• Apple, Google, and five other technology companies face a lawsuit for violating antitrust laws when they made an informal agreement to not poach each other’s employees. The judge in the case wants to see detailed information about the agreements made, and the resulting damages could be hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Apple has appealed after a judge decided they didn’t have the right to use the iPad name in China.
• Motorola is suing Apple again over some patents used on the iPhone 4S and iCloud related to wireless antennae, messaging, data filtering, and other software technologies.
• In October 2011, Apple won a patent “detailing the method of sliding an onscreen mark to unlock the iOS operating system on a mobile device,” and now they’re using it against Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus. However, this patent is a utility model registration which doesn’t come under the same level of scrutiny as a traditional patent application, and might not hold up in court.
• Apple is reported to have spent $100 million in its many battles against HTC.
• Samsung is under investigation by the European Commission to determine if their use of standard-essential FRAND patents as leverage in their ongoing lawsuit battle against Apple violates EU antitrust laws. This follows losses Samsung has suffered in Europe, including Germany upholding the ban of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and dismissing their second 3G patent lawsuit against Apple. However, they did win a victory in the Netherlands where a court has ruled that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t infringe on Apple’s designs.

View full post on AppleTell

Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this week explained that new Apple’s new Senior Vice President of Retail, John Browett, was hired not to “bring Dixons to Apple”, but instead “to bring Apple to an even higher level of customer service and satisfaction.” In the initial press release announcing the hire, Cook went even further, saying that “John shares that commitment [to customer service] like no one else we’ve met.”

Showcasing part of John Browett’s dedication to customer service, MacRumors reader Paul Harmer passed along this story of a run-in he had with Browett in the UK:

Just a quick note about John Browett –

About a year ago I was with a friend in our local branch of PC World (part of the Dixons group) looking at plasma TVs. We were assisted by a really charming and knowledgable assistant, who I must admit appeared slightly better-dressed and older than most in the store. He must have spent at least 30 minutes with us, explaining the pros and cons of LCD vs plasma, and the best deals available. An excellent impression.

Turns out it was John Browett making one of his regular store visits, but we had to prise this out of him.

Hope he does well, genuinely impressive bloke, and this ties in with your comment about his passion for customer service. He means it!

Paul

In another example of how Browett may be a better fit for Apple than previously realized, Mr. Harmer emailed Dixons Group to share the story of his experience and received an email back from CEO John Browett himself:

Dear Paul,

Thank you for your kind comments.

Hope the TV works out well.

Happy new year

John

When Steve Jobs was CEO, he was known to occasionally respond to customer emails directly. Since he became CEO, Tim Cook has been doing the same.

John Browett begins at Apple in April.

View full post on MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – Front Page

Palo Alto, Calif.–based video encoding startup EyeIO left stealth mode on Wednesday with the announcement that it has licensed its technology to one of the biggest players in the online video space. Netflix is using eyeIO’s encoding technology to cut down on the bandwidth of its streams, allowing the company to deliver HD video without busting subscribers’ bandwidth caps or overwhelming networks in emerging markets.

EyeIO has been operating stealthily since the end of 2010, and it was able to win Netflix as a customer last summer. Netflix hasn’t said where and in which capacity it is exactly using the technology it has been licensing from eyeIO, but the company’s VP of Product Development, Greg Peters, said in a press release that eyeIO is “an important part of the technology [Netflix uses] to improve video quality and overcome bandwidth challenges presented by Internet infrastructure.”

Standard-definition Netflix streams can consume up to 2.2 Mbps of bandwidth. Netflix’s 720p HD videos come in at roughly 3.8 Mbps, and 1080p videos go up to 4.8 Mbps. EyeIO CEO Rodolfo Vargas told me during a phone conversation on Tuesday that his company’s encoding technology can achieve better-looking results than most established encoders with 20 percent bandwidth savings and that eyeIO can still deliver similar quality to other encoders with up to 50 percent bandwidth savings. Content in 720p could be streamed using 1.8 Mbps, he explained. The company does this by optimizing the encoding process, which means that the results are regular, albeit smaller, H.264 files that can be played by end users without any need for additional plug-ins.

Bandwidth savings like these could be crucial to a company like Netflix both in wired as well as wireless networks. Netflix has been struggling with ISPs’ imposing bandwidth caps, and it is allowing its subscribers to voluntarily degrade their streaming quality to avoid hitting those caps. The company also started an aggressive international expansion last year, rolling out its service throughout Latin America, where average network speeds are often lower than in the U.S.. And finally, Netflix has also seen significant traction on mobile devices, where bandwidth caps are often much lower than on fixed networks.

EyeIO was founded by online video technology veterans; Vargas used to be the senior program manager for video at Microsoft, and one of his co-founders, Robert Hagerty, used to be the chairman and CEO of teleconferencing provider Polycom. The company is privately funded and currently has fewer than 10 full-time employees but is looking to expand over the coming months.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content
• Connected Consumer 2012: A year of consolidation and integration
• When video gets democratized, who wins and who loses?

src='http://ads.gigaom.com/show/rss/'
alt=''
border='0'
/>

View full post on Video

Dancing babies, cute kittens and . . . quantum physics? Science may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you are thinking about YouTube, but the video site has seen a boom of educational content. YouTube is expected to announce on Wednesday that views of educational videos have doubled on its site in 2011, with close to 80 percent of these views coming from outside the U.S.

A significant part of this has been driven by the smashing success of the Khan Academy. Salman Khan’s no-frills biology, calculus and physics lessons have clocked close to 120 million views on YouTube since he started uploading them in 2006. However, there is a growing movement toward more entertaining and visually appealing lessons that speak the language of the YouTube generation.

The most recent examples for this type of programming include some projects launched in January as part of YouTube’s new channel initiative: Crash Course, for example, combines lessons about biology and world history with smart humor, a YouTube-typical in-your-face style of narration and professionally animated graphics.

Crash Course is a co-production of Hank and John Green, of Vlogbrothers fame. The channel launched just days ago, and the duo have already managed to get around 275,000 views with little more than two lessons posted. John Green told me during a phone conversation this week that he has been very excited about this initial success: “It really stabs in the heart the lie that YouTube is about cat videos,” he said.

The Vlogbrothers are among dozens of content makers that have been receiving sizable advances from YouTube to professionally produce content. Reports put the total spent by Google for this kind of content north of $100 million. That money buys YouTube participation from stars like Rainn Wilson and Tony Hawk, but the initiative also includes around a dozen channels with news and educational content.

Many of these channels are part of YouTube for Schools, a program launched last month that offers educational institutions access to a controlled YouTube environment to ensure that students don’t goof off watching the latest music videos. Green told me that he has already received “dozens of emails” from students who were introduced to his new show by their teacher. “People are already watching Crash Course in classrooms,” he said.

But with great power comes great responsibility; in this case, there is a duty to get the facts right. Green has been using a real-life educator to make sure that he doesn’t get his history dates mixed up. Fact-checking is absolutely necessary for this kind of content, he told me, admitting, “I don’t trust myself.”

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Connected Consumer Market Overview, Q2 2010
• When video gets democratized, who wins and who loses?
• Managing infinite choice: the new era of TV user interfaces

src='http://ads.gigaom.com/show/rss/'
alt=''
border='0'
/>

View full post on Video