Yes, I am among the lucky folks who have an Apple TV box. This clip (rather lengthy, but informative, I think) shows you how the box sets up and what it looks like on the big screen.

It's cool. Very cool.

All of this talk about YouTube and its problems with illegal content made me wonder what creative folks could do with content provided legally by networks.

So, this is not exactly artestry, but it is a series of clips (none more than 10 seconds), some Garage Band samples and some special effects. DCMA take down? No way!

What’s there to say about CES—it’s exhausting, exhilarating, a pain in the ass and there’s a lot of waiting in lines. My feet hurt, but I saw the immediate future of the media-technology world. It’s a world going in opposite directions. We are looking to connect everything together and we’re looking as having the freedom to roam. We want portability but we want to have all our gadgets and gizmos connected to alow us to play anything, anytime, where.

This “clip” is long, but has lots of cool stuff inside. Enjoy.

In my line of work, I get to see (and sometimes trial) quite a few media-related products. I have to say, I am very impressed with the Sonos music system which offers music portability throughout the home. You can set up 32 different music listening posts if money is no object (and you have a home the size of the Grand Canyon). The setup was fairly straightforward (made easy if you have a home WiFi network). Within 30 minutes, I was playing Capital FM, a London-based radio station in my bedroom while playing Steely Dan in my office.

One of the cool things about the Sonos system is how it plays the Rhapsody music service even if your computer is turned off. So, I am waiting to be able to port our XM Radio service throughout the house...I imagine that’s coming soon.

As Siskel & Ebert would have said, two thumbs up!
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More news from the world of consumer video.

In today's installment, Mike and Allen trade shots over a curious new addition to Yahoo's stable of beta products, Yahoo Answers. What does it mean to extend to the online world the physical world experience of asking a general question to a group of people? We try to provide . . . an answer.

 

 

 

Mashups are the craze, so I was excited to see Eyespot emerge. Eyespot allows consumers to use their own clips and music as well as clips and music submitted by others in the community to create their own mashups. Given the right content, time and skill, the results could be quite interesting. (Unlike the one I created below).

My example is not very good, but it shows how simple it is to use. Hopefully, Paul Revere and the Raiders will forgive my use of about 10 seconds of one of their hits, "Kicks."

 

There is lots of talk about a number of new media players which will soon be entering the market to compete with the iPod. Hey, why not, it’s a free market. But, here are some issues that these hopeful entrants must consider:

1.    Any new player must support open MPEG-4, the lingua franca of the videoblogging world.
2.    Any new player must have open MP3 support to facilitate podcasters and listeners.
3.    Any new player company must have some tools to empower community sharing of content.
4.    Any new player company must have some capabilities to empower consumer creators, such as easy MPEG-4 editing tools for videobloggers (like iMovie) and for podcasters (like Garageband).

And that’s just for starters…

* Denotes First 'Cast using New Gear

In today's installment, Allen and Mike discuss Super Bowl 40 commericals.
This is the first 'case we've done using iChat and Garageband. While we've had an issue or two we'll discuss in subsequent 'casts (and a few "issues" with this one were the result of operator error), the creation/editing/posting work was relatively smooth.

According to published reports, Amazon plans on offering streamed downloads of movies. OK. Interesting plan as Amazon experimented with movies on its site a while back (independent feature-ettes that actually were quite cool). But this? Not sure what the plan is and how it will prevent people from capturing the streams (no brainier) and circulating them on the Web. I imagine there will be some sort of DRM scheme, but that remains to be seen.. When companies proclaim that by using streams consumers cannot download them, they are naive and shortsighted (and don’t spend much time at hackers sites).

Lots of pieces of this puzzle are missing, but the cognoscenti have been waiting for Amazon (and eBay as well) to enter the digital download fray. Does Apple have anything to worry about? Doubtful.

One of the interesting vendors I spoke to at the Town & Country Farmers Market was “Judy,” inventor of the pet hair picker-upper. Not only does it pick up pet hair, it takes lint and “pills” off of garments.

Go to www.pethairpickerupper.com for more information.

 

I am a big fan of Widgets. In fact, when Apple first showed me its Widget engine, I saw it as the ultimate ability for a user to bypass funky Web browsers and connect directly to content. After Yahoo! bought Konfabulator, it was only a matter of time before it launched a full-scale Widget service. Here it is

If you'd like to see our thoughts (Mike and mine) on Google's new video service, click here and you can read all about it on our company's Web site.

A few additional thoughts:

*At launch, it lacks the visual elegance of Apple iTunes.

*It's not easily discernable as to what videos can be downloaded to the iPod.

*There should be some promos or freebies to whet consumers' appetites.

 

The most interesting thing about the Starz announcement of its new download service is that it puts Microsoft back in the spotlight. Will 2006 be a battle between Apple and Microsoft focusing on devices and DRM technology? Apple has a large lead (understatement of the New Year) in the world of devices, but the word on the street is that Microsoft has done a lot to enhance its portable media software technology.

 

Stay tuned.

In this installment, Allen and Mike discuss commerce and community, two essential forces driving the evolution of podcasting. 

We address these issues through the lens of Podshow, the well-funded venture headed by Adam Curry and Ron Bloom. 

Mike is somewhat circumspect during this discussion as some parts of the Podshow story are still under wraps. 

A year ago, I started the project that has manifested itself in this Website, an odd assortment of media thoughts, rich media content (Podcasts and Videoblogs) and a bunch of other notions. This site has allowed me to grow in my knowledge of how things work and how they can be applied to new opportunities.

 

The next step in my growth has two components: 1) We (Mike McGuire and I) have to make our MADCasts sound better. I’ll match our content against any other technology Podcast on the Web, but the sound quality…well…is less than desirable (I am being polite). If we are able to up our production game, I think we could have more widespread recognition. 2) I want to create a few five-to-seven “TV programs.” Along those lines, we are fairly far along in turning our garage into a TV studio (it’s a little chilly out there, though) and I have my next video camera lined up. I have two workable ideas for programs and am close to “storyboarding” them. The year of shooting videoblog segments along with some previous experience in producing and hosting a cable TV program called “On Video” (circa 1987-1988) allows me the visualize my new “programs.”

 

I think the five-to-seven minute format will be the next great thing. It allows for two or three commercials (one pre roll, one at the end and maybe one on the middle) and tells a good story. It’s the right length to be viewed in real time, downloaded and enjoyed on an iPod or viewed in the workplace for someone wanting a quick break or diversion. As much I don’t believe in the mobile phone as a viewing medium, this length will also work in that venue.

 

I have no time frame for my first segment of my first program. I hope to have at least one done by the end of January. Stay tuned.

Being an early adopter sort, I felt compelled to try CNN Pipeline this morning. CNN Pipeline is CNN’s new pay news service delivered via the Web. Being a thrifty sort, I am on the 99 cent “for the day” trial.

 

Some early thoughts:

 

1. If you want the desktop player, it’s a funky download requiring some sort of Microsoft runtime to be installed. I am not a big fan of such things, but I figured the collateral damage would be slight.
2. The picture is the size of an index card which is pretty decent. I don’t see a full screen mode anywhere.
3. There are many viewing options including a mini mode that is relatively unobtrusive. I cannot figure how to get the player to persistently stay on the screen no matter what else I am doing (checking email, using Word,, etc..)
4. There is a cool feedback feature that populates an email to allow you to share your thoughts. Gotta figure there will be an AIM client soon (AOL and CNN are both in the TWX family)
5. There are four pipes (channels) running at the same time on varying themes. Right now, there is an international story, something on the White House, weather forecasts and a general news feed. The anchor appears to be dedicated to the Pipeline as opposed to a rebroadcast of an existing feed.
6. There are no commercials
7. There are lots of on-demand feeds and segments on such topics as sports, entertainment, business, etc..

 

On a 0-10, it gets a solid 7.5 so far. There’s nothing better than watching a live feed of  heavy snow falling in Virginia when it’s sunny and 65 at your home.

As Mike and I mentioned on our most recent MADCast, we are crazy about Yahoo!’s new RSS feed reader which is baked into the Beta client of the new Yahoo! Mail (hopefully coming soon to a PC near you).

 

Today, if you go to Inform, you can create your own customized RSS feeds (and, of course loading them into your Yahoo! mail client). You need to do a search at which point you can follow a few steps and generate an RSS feed. You cut and paste the feed script into your reader of choice, and away you go. It’s especially useful for topics that don’t have a natural RSS feed. Worth a try.

Maybe I am prejudiced as a former newspaper reporter, columnist and digital media exec, but I say you can never count the print guys out. Yeah, yeah.. I know I am cheerleading, but take a look at the new TV-video effort from The Virginian-Pilot (a Landmark Communications company). It’s cool and light years ahead of others in their sector. Keep in mind, though, Landmark was way ahead of the pack back in the early ‘90s in the world of newspaper voice and then Internet services. From an innovation standpoint, this effort then is no big surprise.

Wow, it was nice to get a mention in USA Today. For the record, I have been shooting video with my trusty MPEG-4 camera since March of this year…mostly sports, local events and other oddities that piqué my curiosity. I have a few that I am very proud of (dock dogs, surreycam, Greg Luzinski, the ones I have done with Mike…) and the whole thing has become a fun diversion and a great way for me to further my research (for my day job).

 

I am exploring doing more with this medium; I am toying with the idea of actually buying a new Sony ® Hi Def camera and producing a seven-minute show..or maybe a few and allowing them to be commercially sponsored. I have produced and hosted TV programs on cable TV (in another lifetime) and am excited about what’s ahead for new TV distribution channels.

 

Stay tuned.

The folks at Tivo are wise for stepping up here, but I’d move quickly. A few thoughts, however. For one, Guba, with a graphical interface to Usenet, already has the mechanism to download videos directly to the iPod. The conversion to the MPEG-4 format is done in the background. In addition, Veoh now has the ability for folks to put videos on their iPod. What’s cool about Veoh is that you can set an RSS feed (manually) in your iTunes to grab the videos as they come into your Veoh player. Very smooth.

 

In the interim, while Tivo works on its plan, others in addition to Veoh—probably Blinkx, for one—will come up with the method to put its video feeds on the iPod. Stay tuned.

 

BTW, all of the sudden MPEG-4 is hot. Maybe, just maybe, this will force all of the companies that produce video editing software to support MEPG-4.

Thanks to Red Herring, I read about a site called Judy’s Book, a “yellow pages” that is based on user recommendations. It’s very well organized, and part of the Web 2.0 (I hate that name) phenomenon where individuals add their voice to the Web to make it more personal.

 

Simply put, the winners will be those who get the most traction. My favorite site in this realm, Tripadvisor, has saved me from many bad travel experiences. I like Tripadvisor’s approach which essentially has people send in reviews. That’s it. No fancy bookmarking, no log-ins, not downloads, etc.. There is beauty in simplicity

A few new things about Revver--1) The site now takes MPEG4 uploads; in fact, three or four clips featured here are on Revver (awaiting legions of loyal fans) 2) A lot has been made about AOL's new ad-supported TV over the Web model. AOL is not alone; Revver also is working on an ad-supported model.

 

I haven't mentioned any cool companies for a while, but Video Egg is cool. Very cool. The company offers a platform/system that allows those with videos to add easily add clips to blogs, Websites, etc... Currently, the company's goal is power other services such as Typepad, a blogging ecosystem. The future? Who knows.

Check it out.

I had the privilege of participating today in the opening keynote of the Gartner Symposium in Orlando. Of course, I spoke on issues such as citizen journalism and consumers as networks. I actually shot video while I walked on stage to emphasize the power of videoblogging. You need to go to the Gartner home page to see it. I’ll put it up here in a few days.

What was once a small market of dreamers now is getting serious? I saw a post to the Videobloggers group on Yahoo! pointing me to CNET’s download.com where they are now accepting and showcasing videos, including consumer created content. Today, the site will stream content, but it says soon it will be hosting content. Are we witnessing the return of Richard Hart and CNET TV? (Just kidding)

Today's 'cast is a condensed version of conversations Allen and Mike have. Conversations that typically start something like, "Dude, I just saw the coolest thing . . . "

Clipmarks, FilmLoop and others crop up in the conversation.

Word's out -- I mean even the WSJ had a story today -- that the latest version of iTunes, 5.0, is letting consumers post video podcasts that, in most cases, can be viewed from the little window in which iTunes typically displays the cover art of the CD/album containing whatever song is currently playing in iTunes. Modesty might prevent Allen from saying so, but I'm happy to point out that Allen and some other podcasters discovered  iTunes "secret videopodcast" capabilities in the previous version, 4.9, about a month ago. 

One can subscribe but you cannot view all the videocasts in the window within iTunes where album art or music videos display. This probably has something to do with the way the videopodcaster is creating their XML feeds. For those that don't launch within iTunes, for one can view them in Quicktime by calling them up from the iTunes folder. (I had to do this to view the videopodcast cited in the WSJ story.)

Given the frenzied rush by the media industry and technology companies to find some advantage in the burgeoning ecology of consumer-generated content, this move is another interesting play by Apple. Can Apple do for videopodcasts what they did for podcasts? How will they handle the inevitable posting of some copyrighted content?

Stay tuned...

 

 

 

Will UK's digital creators come out of the woodwork for this? It's going to be interesting to watch to see how UK digital media fans flock -- or don't -- to the BBC's Creative Archive license. 

Couldn't think of a better way to kick it off than announcing a contest for the best music video using the archive's video stock.

 

Unless my memory is shot, I remember Mike and I doing a MADCast on the topic of buying content from vending machines...or was it newspaper kiosks? Same idea, but it looks like it's in play in Ireland.

 

Allen and Mike discuss the differences between social networking and social search. And there are differences. 

Social-search is the emergence of how consumers find and rate everything from Vietnamese restautrants to political coverage etc. More to the point, out of social-search comes an important requirement -- and an opportunity for creating ranking systems that help establish an individual's credbility. 

What madness is this?

Allen and Mike present and then challenge the notion of Google offering a mobile phone of their own.  Whether or not you agree with the notion, we think the assumptions that go into our respective opinions are food for thought.