Here are some audio and video trends picks for the year 2017:
It seems that 3D craze is over. So long, 3DTV – we won’t miss you – BBC News reports that at this year’s CES trade show, there was barely a whimper of 3D TV, compared to just two years ago when it was being heralded as the next big thing. In the cinema, 3D was milked for all it was worth, and even James Cameron, who directed Avatar, is fed up with 3D. There are currently no major manufacturers making 3DTVs as Samsung, LG and Sony have now stopped making 3D-enabled televisions. According to CNet’s report, TV makers are instead focusing on newer technologies such as HDR.
360 degree virtual reality video is hot how. Movie studios are pouring resources into virtual reality story-telling. 360-Degree Video Playback Coming to VLC, VR Headset Support Planned for 2017 article tells that VLC media player previews 360° video and photo support for its desktop apps, says the feature will come to mobile soon; dedicated VLC apps for VR headsets due in 2017.
4K and 8K video resolutions are hot. Test broadcasting of 8K started in August 2016 in Japan and full service is scheduled for 2018. According to Socionext Introduces 8K HEVC Real-Time Encoder Solution press release the virtual reality technology, which is seeing rapid growth in the global market, requires an 8K resolution as the current 4K resolution cannot support a full 360-degree wraparound view with adequate resolution.
Fake News Is About to Get Even Scarier than You Ever Dreamed article tells that advancements in audio and video technology are becoming so sophisticated that they will be able to replicate real news—real TV broadcasts, for instance, or radio interviews—in unprecedented, and truly indecipherable, ways. Adobe showed off a new product that has been nicknamed “Photoshop for audio” that allows type words that are expressed in that exact voice of someone you have recording on. Technologists can also record video of someone talking and then change their facial expressions in real time. Digital avatars can be almost indecipherable from real people – on the latest Star Wars movie it is hard to tell which actors are real and which are computer-generated.
Antique audio formats seem to be making come-back. By now, it isn’t news that vinyl albums continue to sell. It is interesting that UK vinyl sales reach 25-year high to point that Vinyl Records Outsold Digital Downloads In the UK at least for one week.
I would not have quessed that Cassettes Are Back, and Booming. But a new report says that sales of music on cassette are up 140 percent. The antiquated format is being embraced by everyone from indie musicians to Eminem and Justin Bieber. For some strange reason it turns out there’s a place for archaic physical media of questionable audio fidelity—even in the Spotify era.
Enhance! RAISR Sharp Images with Machine Learning. Google RAISR Intelligently Makes Low-Res Images High Quality article tells that with Google’s RAISR machine learning-driven image enhancement technique, images can be up to 75% smaller without losing their detail.
Improving Multiscreen Services article tells that operators have discovered challenges as they try to meet subscribers’ requirements for any content on any device. Operators must choose from a variety of options for preparing and delivering video on multiple screens. And unlike the purpose-built video networks of the past, in multiscreen OTT distribution there are no well-defined quality standards such as IPTV’s SCTE-168.
2017: Digital Advertising to overtake TV Advertising in US this year article tells that according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, “Ad Spend” on digital advertising will surpass TV ads for the first time in 2017.For all these years, television gave a really tough fight to internet with respect to Ad spend, but online advertising to decisively take over the market in 2017. For details check How TV ad spending stacks up against digital ad spending in 4 charts.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
The Scape Hall by Finnkino in Helsinki’s Tennis Palace was rewarded as the best cinema in Europe
The Scape Hall of Finnkino Tennis Palace was rewarded at the CineEurope conference in Barcelona at the Screen of the Year gala. The Helsinki Theater won the ICTA’s Best European Film Award in the Classic category.
In addition to the presentation technology, the Scape concept includes wide benches and a light room of the salon made with LEDs. The second Scape cinema hall in Finland was opened in Espoo.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/06/19/suomi-osaa-elokuvasalien-tekniikan-voitto-tuli/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Netflix tests interactive episodes for kids which allow different storylines to be chosen, available on select smart TVs, Roku, and iOS devices — Can ‘choose your own adventure’ work on TV? — Netflix’s first interactive episode arrives on the service today, giving viewers a chance …
Netflix’s interactive shows arrive to put you in charge of the story
Can ‘choose your own adventure’ work on TV?
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/20/15834858/netflix-interactive-shows-puss-in-boots-buddy-thunderstruck
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:
In a first for broadcasters, Fox to adopt six-second ads that are created internally and billed by viewable impressions — Short format will air first on-demand, later on linear — Fox Networks Group said it will adopt the six-second ad format introduced by YouTube.
Fox Joins YouTube in Endorsing Six-Second Ads
Short format will air first on-demand, later on linear
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/fox-joins-youtube-endorsing-six-second-ads/166632
Fox Networks Group said it will adopt the six-second ad format introduced by YouTube.
The non-skippable six-second commercials will first appear in programming on Fox’s digital and on-demand properties. Eventually they will also appear on linear television, the company said, marking the first time a broadcaster has endorsed the very short ad format.
Fox announced its plans to air the tiny spots during a joint appearance with YouTube at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Discovery Sets Streaming Strategy As VOD Future Beckons
Over-the-top products could go direct-to-consumer
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/discovery-sets-streaming-strategy-vod-future-beckons/166432
As the TV world turns less linear and more on-demand, Discovery Communications is experimenting with ways to make its content more accessible to more consumers.
The international nonfiction content company is now considering whether to convert two over-the-top products now being distributed through Amazon Prime into direct-to-consumer services.
And in Europe, it has increased the number of subscribers to its sports programming by packaging individual sports and individual events.
“Right now, the smart content companies like Discovery want to put our content everywhere consumers want to consume it,” chief commercial officer Paul Guyardo said.
But in addition to upgrading its cable-network content, Discovery is giving pay TV subscribers more access to content through the Go apps it has created for each of its U.S. networks. Those streaming apps have proved particularly popular with the young viewers cable networks are finding increasingly elusive in a digital era.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Decoding NRSC-5 with SDR to Get In Your Car
http://hackaday.com/2017/06/21/receiving-nrsc-5-with-sdr/
NRSC-5 is a high-definition radio standard, used primarily in the United States. It allows for digital and analog transmissions to share the original FM bandwidth allocations. Theori are a cybersecurity research startup in the US, and have set out to build a receiver that can capture and decode these signals for research purposes, and documented it online.
Their research began on the NRSC website, where the NRSC-5 standard is documented, however the team notes that the audio compression details are conspicuously missing
Receiving NRSC-5
http://theori.io/research/nrsc-5-c
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple seeks to reduce the 58% share of revenue labels get on Apple Music; labels may agree if subscriptions expand and other criteria are met — Labels’ deals with Apple expire in the next couple weeks — Apple Inc. is seeking to reduce record labels’ share of revenue from streaming …
Apple Said to Seek Lower Rate in New Deals With Record Labels
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/apple-said-to-seek-lower-rate-in-new-deals-with-record-labels
Apple Inc. is seeking to reduce record labels’ share of revenue from streaming, part of negotiations to revise the iPhone maker’s overall relationship with the music industry, according to people familiar with the matter.
The talks cover Apple’s agreements for Apple Music, the two-year-old streaming service offering millions of songs on demand, and iTunes, the store where people can buy individual songs or albums. The record labels’ deals with Apple expire at the end of June, though they are likely to be extended if the parties can’t agree on new terms by then, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Susan Wojcicki / YouTube Blog:
At VidCon, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announces 1.5B logged-in viewers visit YouTube each month, says YouTube TV will expand to 10 markets, and more
Updates from VidCon: more users, more products, more shows and much more
http://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/06/updates-from-vidcon-more-users-more.html#gpluscomments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Google announces new VR180 video standard, showing half a 360-degree view, and partners with Yi, Lenovo, and LG for new cameras — Google is launching a new, more limited cinematic VR format that it hopes will be almost as accessible as regular YouTube videos.
Google is launching a new line of cameras for 180-degree VR video
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/22/15854308/google-youtube-vr180-video-camera-lenovo
Google is launching a new, more limited cinematic VR format that it hopes will be almost as accessible as regular YouTube videos. It’s called VR180, a collaboration between YouTube and Google’s Daydream VR division. And it’ll be produced with a new line of cameras from Yi, Lenovo, and LG, as well as other partners who meet VR180 certification standards.
As the name suggests, VR180 videos don’t stretch all the way around a viewer in VR. They’re supposed to be immersive if you’re facing forward, but you can’t turn and glance behind you. Outside VR, they’ll appear as traditional flat videos, but you can watch them in 3D virtual reality through the YouTube app with a Google Cardboard, Daydream, or PlayStation VR headset.
Creators can shoot the videos using any camera with a VR180 certification.
YouTube videographers are supposed to be able to shoot the way they would with any other camera, and will “soon” be able to edit the videos with Adobe Premiere Pro and other standard software. Based on the timeline above, it’ll be some time before you can buy a camera, but Google says creators can apply to loan one from one of its YouTube Spaces, which are found in nine major cities worldwide.
Moving toward 180-degree instead of full 360-degree video has a few big advantages. It doesn’t need the same time-consuming (and often expensive) stitching as videos made with, say, Google’s 360-degree Jump system. You can put a person behind the camera without them appearing in the shot — in full 360-degree videos, filmmakers often literally hide behind objects during a scene. And it could push down file sizes
A decent amount of VR film is already being shot with a 180-degree field of view — including sports videos from NextVR
it lets filmmakers hedge their bets with something that’s easier to translate onto a flat screen. This doesn’t mean VR is in trouble
https://vr.google.com/vr180/
VR180 brings immersiveness to all kinds of videos, from vlogs to makeup tutorials, to music videos and everyday moments you just want to share.
Daydream is partnering with Lenovo, LG, and YI Technology on VR180 cameras so you can shoot your own VR180 videos. Coming this winter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News:
Sling TV expands access of its cloud DVR service to iOS and Windows 10 devices, priced at $5 per month for 50 hours of storage — AirTV also receives updates for the Sling TV user interface … Sling TV confirmed that it has expanded access of its Cloud DVR service to iOS devices, the new Dish AirTV Player, and on Windows 10.
Sling TV’s Cloud DVR Does Windows 10, Reaches AirTV, iOS Devices
AirTV also receives updates for the Sling TV user interface
http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/sling-tv-s-cloud-dvr-reaches-ios/413628
ling TV confirmed that it has expanded access of its Cloud DVR service to iOS devices, the new Dish AirTV Player, and on Windows 10.
The AirTV Player, a product targeted to cord-cutters that integrates over-the-air TV with over-the-top content, also received several updates for its integrated Sling TV interface
Sling TV is currently selling a Cloud DVR service to customers via its “First Look” for $5 per month for 50 hours of storage. Customers who jumped on the original beta Cloud DVR service that Sling TV introduced late last year are getting 100 hours of storage for no additional charge.
Sling TV also supports its Cloud DVR service on Xbox One consoles, Amazon Fire TV boxes and Fire tablets, Android mobile devices, Android TV-powered devices, Apple TV boxes, Roku players and integrated Roku TVs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Susan Wojcicki / YouTube Blog:
YouTube CEO says 1.5B logged-in viewers visit per month, and users spend 1 hour+ per day watching video on mobile devices — I just got off stage after a great conversation with Rhett and Link at VidCon, where we announced a number of exciting new updates
Updates from VidCon: more users, more products, more shows and much more
https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/06/updates-from-vidcon-more-users-more.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Sources: Tesla talking to music labels about creating its own streaming service to be bundled with its cars, starting with a Pandora-like offering
Tesla is talking to the music labels about creating its own streaming service
Why not work directly with Spotify, Apple and others? Good question.
https://www.recode.net/2017/6/22/15855346/tesla-elon-musk-streaming-music-service
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG’s latest ridiculous OLED screen is transparent, flexible, and taller than Tom Cruise
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/6/22/15851994/lg-flexible-transparent-oled-display
How’s this for an incredibly specific record: LG announced today that it’s created the world’s first flexible, transparent 77-inch OLED display. That’s one huge display
Some more stats: the screen has a UHD resolution of 3840 x 2160, offers up to 40 percent transparency, and can be fixed with a curvature of up to 80 degrees.
Don’t expect LG to be making curved, transparent TVs or monitors anytime soon. This sort of display tech will be used for signage and the like initially. However, it’s another illustration of how far OLED screens have come in recent years. Panasonic has been showing off its own transparent OLED displays recently, and Samsung’s most recent prototypes can also stretch and bend. Step by step, we’re getting closer to a world of consumer electronics with flexible screens.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NSA Malware Used to Infect Windows PCs with Cryptocurrency Miner
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nsa-malware-used-to-infect-windows-pcs-with-cryptocurrency-miner/
Malware authors are using an NSA hacking tool to infect Windows computers with a new cryptocurrency miner. Detected under the generic name of Trojan.BtcMine.1259, this trojan was first spotted last week by Russian antivirus vendor Dr.Web.
The trojan uses an NSA implant called DOUBLEPULSAR to infect computers that run unsecured SMB services. This implant (NSA term for malware) is a simple backdoor that allows attackers to execute code on the infected machines.
The miscreants behind these attacks use DOUBLEPULSAR to download a generic malware loader on user’s devices. The purpose of this “malware loader” is to check the user’s PC for a minimum amount of kernel threads.
If the infected computer has enough CPU resources, the generic malware loader will download the final payload, the cryptocurrency miner itself.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fireball Browser Hijack Impact Revised After Microsoft Analysis
https://it.slashdot.org/story/17/06/22/200240/fireball-browser-hijack-impact-revised-after-microsoft-analysis?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
A browser hijacking operation initially reported to have 250 million victims by security firm Check Point isn’t quite that large, according to a new analysis by Microsoft. On June 1, security firm Check Point reported that a browser hijacking operation called “Fireball” had already claimed 250 million victims. According to a Microsoft analysis published June 22, Check Point’s estimate of the number of victims was “overblown” and the attack is not nearly as widespread as initially reported.
Fireball Browser Hijack Impact Revised After Microsoft Analysis
http://www.eweek.com/security/fireball-browser-hijack-impact-revised-after-microsoft-analysis
A browser hijacking operation initially reported to have 250 million victims by security firm Check Point isn’t quite that large, according to a new analysis by Microsoft.
On June 1, security firm Check Point reported that a browser hijacking operation called “Fireball” had already claimed 250 million victims. According to a Microsoft analysis published June 22, Check Point’s estimate of the number of victims was “overblown” and the attack is not nearly as widespread as initially reported.
“We tried to reassess the number of infections, and from recent data we know for sure that numbers are at least 40 million, but could be much more.”
Microsoft claimed in its analysis that it has been aware of the Fireball issue since 2015. In particular, Microsoft’s analysis has found that the most prevalent malware used by Fireball are BrowserModifier:Win32/SupTab and BrowserModifier:Win32/Sasquor. According to Microsoft, its Windows users are protected from those threats by Windows Defender Antivirus and the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT).
“Check Point used a simple formula to come up with an estimate that was based on incorrect assumptions which provided an overblown number,” a Microsoft spokesperson told eWEEK. “This was confirmed in the follow-up discussions.”
Microsoft’s analysis reports that approximately 11,084,744 Fireball-related infections were detected and removed by Microsoft’s Defender and MSRT security technologies.
Additionally, Microsoft claimed that Microsoft Edge browser users are not impacted at all by Fireball.
Edge is the successor to IE and has benefited from multiple security innovations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Geoff Weiss / Tubefilter:
Facebook Is Launching A Standalone App Exclusively For Video Creators — Facebook is set to launch a standalone app for video creators later this year, the company’s product director, Daniel Danker, announced during a presentation entitled The Future of Facebook Video this morning at VidCon.
Facebook Is Launching A Standalone App Exclusively For Video Creators
http://www.tubefilter.com/2017/06/23/facebook-launching-standalone-app-video-creators/
Facebook is set to launch a standalone app for video creators later this year, the company’s product director, Daniel Danker, announced during a presentation entitled The Future of Facebook Video this morning at VidCon.
The app, which features a new suite of tools that Facebook is referring to as its Live Creative Kit, will aim to help creators make their streams look more professional. The app will feature a seamless interface for fan interaction across Facebook properties like Instagram and Messenger, as well as an analytics tab to help creators track engagement and improve content strategy based on age and geographic data.
Any creators that are a part of Facebook’s Mentions program — which helps actors, athletes, journalists, and other public figures connect with their fans — will automatically be eligible to use the new app.
The Live Creative Kit will also enable broadcasters to add custom video intros and outros to broadcasts, as well as offer viewers custom stickers. Creators can also add frames around a broadcast in order to create a thematic experience that’s consistent with their personal brand.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Sony A9 inches the mirrorless camera market forward
https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/24/the-sony-a9-inches-the-mirrorless-camera-market-forward/
Mirrorless cameras. On paper, some of them seem perfect. They’re quick and powerful with lightweight bodies, but their main drawback has been equally light lens catalogs.
Having a variety of prime, telephoto, macro, sport and the like, all with distinctive shooting characteristics is what give lenses their charm.
However, Sony just took Nikon’s spot as number two in the full-frame camera industry — Canon holds pole position. Currently, only 24 full-frame E-mount lenses exist compared to the dozens that Canon has in each category. Still, it’s inching forward.
The Sony Alpha A9 is the first new mirrorless camera since taking their new perch.
Five things really stand out about the A9: its no-blackout 20fps shutter, the 693 autofocus points, its port versatility and its 5-axis, 4K video stabilization. The A9 is an absolute beast, in both raw tech and styling.
The 20fps shutter speed and lack of blackout in the electronic viewfinder is the ultimate iteration of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Not having blackout means your view of the scene is never interrupted by the shutter in the continuous shooting modes.
if you are shooting a short film and I am not, you can always super-sample 1080p videos by shooting them in 4K
The port selection on the A9 includes an Ethernet port. While it sounds crazy at first, it’s for those organizations who have to network hundreds of images at high speed. Things look normal when you look at the audio-out/mic-in ports, micro-HDMI and micro USB, as well as the dedicated port for RAW recordings.
I think the most gratifying point of the Sony A9: it’s hard for it to take a bad photo. Okay, it’s possible if you’re the person that buys a camera and leaves it on auto mode — shame on you — but that aside, the sensor seems to make the best of every scenario.
Battery life is improved over the A7 and A7II, but the A9 won’t last you longer than 400 stills, or an evaporated battery when shooting 4K video. Buy a few (authentic) spare batteries; you’ll need them.
For nearly $6,700 you can be at the edge of the camera industry
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yvette Tan / Mashable:
The Chinese government orders Weibo, iFeng, and ACFUN to cease all video and audio streaming services, says they don’t meet national audiovisual regulations
China just banned livestreaming because it’s too hard to censor
http://mashable.com/2017/06/23/china-bans-livestreaming/#0Mz3pfheKqqq
Chinese authorities have sent shockwaves through the social media sphere, with a blanket ban on livestreaming across three major online platforms.
On Thursday, the government ordered Weibo, iFeng and ACFUN to stop all its video and audio streaming services, according to an FT report.
Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, and one of its largest social networks, acknowledged that it received the directive from the government
Some of the country’s most famous online celebrities rely on live-streaming sessions to earn virtual gifts, which can be cashed in. The live streaming industry was worth some $9 billion in 2016, according to online tracker Statista.
https://www.ft.com/content/8a06dd5e-5752-11e7-9fed-c19e2700005f
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optical mapping 3D display takes the eye fatigue out of virtual reality
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2017/06/optical-mapping-3d-display-takes-the-eye-fatigue-out-of-virtual-reality.html?cmpid=enl_lfw_lfwenewsletter_2017-06-27
An optical mapping display creates a 3D image. An OLED screen is divided into four subpanels that each create a 2D picture. The spatial-multiplexing unit (SMU) shifts each of these images to different depths while aligning the centers of all of them with the viewing axis. Through the eyepiece, each image appears to be at a different depth.
Virtual-reality (VR) headsets display a computer-simulated world, while augmented-reality (AR) glasses overlay computer-generated elements with the real world; although AR and VR devices are starting to hit the market, they remain mostly a novelty because eye fatigue makes them uncomfortable to use for extended periods.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Switched IP Video Technology Frees up to 80% of Bandwidth for DOCSIS Expansion
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2017/06/switched-ip-video-technology-frees-up-to-80-of-bandwidth-for-docsis-expansion.html
High-speed internet is now an operator’s most important service and, with so many streaming video services, keeping up with competitive internet speeds and capacities can be challenging. This task is particularly challenging when the RF spectrum is nearly full, occupied mostly by lower-profit video services that can easily consume upwards of 80% or more of the operator’s precious RF bandwidth.
Switched IP video (SIPV), unlike all other technologies such as MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 conversions, HFC plant upgrades, and DTA deployments employed for DOCSIS expansion, enables operators to quickly and inexpensively free as many as 50 or more video QAM (or EIA) channels, making them available in as little as 90 days for DOCSIS 3.0, 3.1 and Full Duplex expansion
What is SIPV?
SIPV delivers tremendous bandwidth efficiency by making programs available within a network service group only in response to subscriber channel requests. In addition, using only 12-24 QAMs or fewer, SIPV delivers an unlimited video channel offering of SD, HD and UHD/4K programming.
SIPV derives from proven, widely deployed switched digital video (SDV) technology.
It is also important to note that, like SDV, SIPV leverages multicast, so it does not “blow up” like unicast internet streaming does when everyone tunes in to watch the Super Bowl, for example.
How SIPV Works
SIPV deployment begins with dividing the digital video network from a single large service group into smaller service groups, typically between 500 and 1000 STBs each (Figure 2). These service groups can coincide with those already being used for VOD (if deployed). Each service group typically contains 4 to 8 nodes, depending upon node size and digital video penetration.
Next, a portion of the RF/QAM frequencies (typically 8 to 24, for example) currently used to broadcast all linear channels to all subscribers in all corners of the network are repurposed as “SIPV RF/QAM frequencies” (Figure 3) Physical universal edge-QAMs are separately deployed for each frequency in each service group. Each of the 8 to 24 SIPV QAM frequencies represents independent bandwidth for each service group; this permits the SIPV control system to nail up or tear down linear channels dynamically in response to at least one or more STBs in that specific service group being tuned to that channel.
The linear video programming itself remains in multicast format but, if not already, it is encapsulated into Internet Protocol (IP) format. Further, the programming is converted from its typical multi-program transport stream (MPTS) format into single program transport stream (SPTS) format so that the SIPV system can access individual program streams and can nail up and tear down these individual streams, as required, on specific edge-QAMs and frequencies in each service group.
For efficiency and performance, bitrate bandwidth predictability of the individual program streams is desirable. This way, when a program stream is nailed up on a particular edge-QAM frequency, the control system knows the maximum bandwidth on a QAM that program stream will consume and, more importantly, how much of that QAM’s bandwidth remains available for another program stream. So, if the IP, SPTS program streams are not already Constant Bitrate (CBR), some program streams are “intelligently clamped” or transrated to enable bandwidth predictability without compromising video quality.
When required, encryption that is identical to that of the broadcast video source is added using a network-attached bulk encryptor. The linear programming is now ready to be delivered, upon request by a STB, through the IP network to distant or nearby towns or hubs where edge-QAMs modulate the program for transmission over HFC or FTTH.
The resultant SIPV channel change experience is as fast or faster than the broadcast scenario. The SIPV session is built in only milliseconds, significantly less than the 2 to 3 seconds that it takes the STB tuner to switch from one program frequency to another.
Since all of these STB channel changes are recorded by the SIPV control system, this valuable viewership data for every video source in the network is mined and summarized to provide real-time and historical viewership analytics to operators
SIPV system typically manages 8 to 24 QAMs (at roughly 38 Mbps per QAM) as a single block of aggregate bandwidth independently for each service group
These factors are not only different for every service group, but they can and do change and trend differently for each service group. If this variability is not managed appropriately, the aggregate bandwidth could become fully consumed and a request for a new (currently unwatched/recorded) program in a specific service group would be denied with a message like “Channel temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”
For SDV, the above risk is always present, typically managed by overdesigning the system for the worst case scenario and, therefore, significantly overspending.
However, SIPV’s automated bandwidth manager monitors the aggregate SIPV QAM bandwidth use in real time for as many as thousands of service groups simultaneously
Tomi Engdahl says:
Capitalizing on Cord Cutting
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2017/06/capitalizing-on-cord-cutting.html
While the cord cutting phenomenon creates headaches for some parts of the video industry, it presents opportunities for others. Over-the-top (OTT) video providers are the most obvious beneficiaries, but some consumer electronics manufacturers are looking to get a piece of the pie as well.
TV antennas, a la the old “rabbit ears” of days gone by, are enjoying a bit of a resurgence of late, starting when over-the-air (OTA) broadcast signals transitioned from analog to digital a few years ago, and more recently to serve consumers who don’t subscribe to pay TV.
TV antenna vendor Channel Master is looking to capitalize on this trend.
At the other end of the tech spectrum are Internet-connected smart TVs, which can directly access streaming video from online sources such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, et. al. Coupling a smart TV with an OTA antenna makes for a convenient setup for such viewing.
“Consumers are actively looking for ways to make cutting the cord easier.”
Granted, most research to date indicates that very few people fully cut the cord – “cord shaving,” dropping to a cheaper pay TV tier rather than dropping out altogether, is far more common. But as pay TV gets more expensive and satisfaction with it dwindles, cord cutting can be expected to grow. For some businesses, cord cutters will make a dandy little market niche
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google releases object detection API for TensorFlow open-source software library
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2017/06/google-releases-object-detection-api-for-tensorflow-open-source-software-library.html?cmpid=enl_vsd_vsdnewsletter_2017-06-26
Google has announced the release of the TensorFlow Object Detection API, which is an open-source framework built on top of the TensorFlow open-source software library for machine learning that makes it easy to construct, train and deploy object detection models, according to the company.
https://github.com/tensorflow/models/tree/master/object_detection
Tomi Engdahl says:
Research & Development: Lund University develops 5 trillion fps film camera
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/print/volume-22/issue-6/departments/technology-trends/research-development-lund-university-develops-5-trillion-fps-film-camera.html?cmpid=enl_vsd_vsdnewsletter_2017-06-26
A research group at Lund University (Lund, Sweden) has developed a camera that can film at a rate equivalent to five trillion images per second (frames per second or fps), or events as short as 0.2 trillionths of a second-faster than has been previously possible. The new super-fast film camera can then capture incredibly rapid processes in chemistry, physics, biology and biomedicine, that so far have not been caught on film.
Called FRAME (Frequency Recognition Algorithm for Multiplex Exposures), the FRAME camera operates differently than a standard camera. A regular camera with a flash uses regular light, but in this case the researchers use “coded” light flashes, as a form of encryption. Every time a coded light flash hits the object-for example, a chemical reaction in a burning flame-the object emits an image signal (response) with the exact same coding. The following light flashes all have different codes, and the image signals are captured in one single photograph. These coded image signals are subsequently separated using an encryption key on the computer.
Currently, high-speed cameras capture images one by one in a sequence. The new technology is based on an innovative algorithm, and instead captures several coded images in one picture. It then sorts them into a video sequence afterwards.
The film camera is initially intended to be used by researchers who literally want to gain better insight into many of the extremely rapid processes that occur in nature. Many take place on a picosecond and femtosecond scale. “This does not apply to all processes in nature, but quite a few, for example, explosions, plasma flashes, turbulent combustion, brain activity in animals and chemical reactions. We are now able to film such extremely short processes,” says Elias Kristensson.
The world’s fastest film camera: when light practically stands still
http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/the-worlds-fastest-film-camera-when-light-practically-stands-still
Forget high-speed cameras capturing 100 000 images per second. A research group at Lund University in Sweden has developed a camera that can film at a rate equivalent to five trillion images per second, or events as short as 0.2 trillionths of a second. This is faster than has previously been possible.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jump City Records
A self-sustaining, generative record label.
http://luisquer.al/projects/jump-city-records/
Jump City Records is an open-source, python-based, generative audio project built in the Fall of 2014. The goal was to create a completely self-sustainable record label that automatically publishes its work online.
Under the hood Jump City Records is powered by a variety of scripts performing all of the functions needed to create an “album”. This includes: album art generation, selecting source material, mixing the selected samples, lossless outputting, track and album naming, and a readme.txt. At its core, the sounds are sourced from a large sample library of field and electro-acoustic/musique concrète recordings.
These tracks are best described as sound collages.
They are sourced from a massive sample bank of field recordings, avant-garde music libraries, and other oddities that I’ve been collecting for the past few years. The script creates tracks by selecting random pieces from this archive, producing them with some panning ajustments and outputs them with a name and album art.
This is not a “smart” system by any means.
You’ll notice that the album art is a bit more formulaic than the audio output of Jump City Records.
The logic consists of picking a background color, generating two quadrilaterals, assigning them two random colors, and rotating them a randomly generated number of degrees. A timestamp is placed at the bottom to indicate time and date of creation
While this project is for the most part complete, the idea of create a “smarter” automatic record label is fascinating to me.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The software-defined-everything age reaches professional AV
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/print/volume-25/issue-6/features/installation/the-software-defined-everything-age-reaches-professional-av.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cimdatacenternewsletter_2017-07-03
The SDx (software-defined-whatever) era is reaching professional audio-visual (AV) networks. In January the SDVoE (Software-Defined Video over Ethernet) Alliance announced its formation with a stated mission “to standardize the adoption of Ethernet to transport AV signals in professional AV environments, and to create an ecosystem around SDVoE technology that allows software to define AV applications.”
The alliance’s founding members are AptoVision, Aquantia, Christie Digital, Netgear, Sony, and ZeeVee. The alliance contended these founding organizations “bring different perspectives to the SDVoE initiative, spanning the entire ecosystem with expertise in chipsets (AptoVision, Aquantia), switches and storage (Netgear), and AV endpoints (Christie Digital, Sony, ZeeVee). The alliance’s president, Justin Kennington – a director with AptoVision – commented, “For years we have lived with the idea that AV/IT convergence is coming. The SDVoE Alliance and its technology finally provide the platform that is necessary to enable it. Using 10-Gbit Ethernet hardware to move video with flawless quality and zero latency is only the beginning. The creation of a software platform enables the development of whole new classes of applications not yet conceived.”
The alliance further explained that the use of Ethernet switches will enable more-cost-effective architectures for AV signal distribution, and Ethernet-based AV networks will provide a reliable and more-versatile alternative to point-to-point extension and circuit switches. Furthermore, the alliance said, it seeks to facilitate AV/IT convergence such that high-quality AV networks and data networks can simultaneously share a single infrastructure platform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A perspective on digital ANC solutions in a low latency dominated world
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4458544/A-perspective-on-digital-ANC-solutions-in-a-low-latency-dominated-world
Active noise cancelling (ANC) technology was used typically in pricey headsets to attenuate the engine noise of an aircraft. The technique to attenuate the unwanted ambient noise is rather old and was invented in the last century. Meanwhile, the headset industry noticed the advantages of ANC with its enhanced listening experience to differentiate from commodity headsets. Since ANC was a niche market to the semiconductor industry, the typical technical implementations used to be discrete with stand-alone headphone amplifiers, operational amplifiers, and microphone pre-amplifiers
Tomi Engdahl says:
AES67, AVB and Audinate’s Dante: An Audio Networking Update After Infocomm 2017
http://controlgeek.net/blog/2017/6/29/aes-67-avb-and-audinates-dante-an-audio-networking-update-after-infocomm-2017
This year, it seems, there’s not a whole lot to write, since there was more of the same, with some exciting directions for the future which I’ll get to in a bit. It was interesting that the AVNU Alliance didn’t have a booth as they did in previous years. From what I can see, as I’ve been detailing here over the years, AVB/TSN has been accepted by some manufacturers in the live sound industry (Meyer, Avid, etc), and it’s holding strong there. But the number of Dante products seems to keep expanding, both in the live sound and install markets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Single-photon 3D imaging reaches 10 km range
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-53/issue-06/newsbreaks/single-photon-3d-imaging-reaches-10-km-range.html?cmpid=enl_lfw_lfwdetectorsandimagingnewsletter_2017-06-28
As the need for more compact, lightweight, covert imaging methods expands for airborne and other portable platforms, single-photon-based time-of-flight (TOF) or light detection and ranging (lidar) imaging systems are gaining in popularity because their high sensitivity allows the use of smaller, lower-power laser systems. Rather than using several-tens-of-milliwatt visible laser sources, silicon single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detectors, and pixel-by-pixel readout (pixel-wise) image-processing algorithms
Single-photon depth system images targets 1 km away
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2013/04/single-photon-tof-depth-imaging-1km.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finns rejected Digital Cameras
The smartphone has replaced digital cameras and maps in the Finnish holiday.
97 per cent of Finns who responded to Huawe’s survey report that they have taken photos on their smartphone while on vacation. An old family standard device, that is, a digital camera, is usually left home.
pan-European survey by Huawei’s research institute Ipsos.
On holiday, Finns use the smart phone most clearly in photography. Almost every respondent (93%) said they had pictures with their smartphone during their stay. The quality of a smartphone camera is adequate for most needs, as more than half of the respondents (56%) said they would leave the standard camera home for the duration of their stay. In addition to photos, smartphones also record videos (61% of respondents).
Although recently reformed legislation removed roaming charges in the EU, the cost of roaming and spending on online content is still high
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/6540-suomalaiset-hylkasivat-digikamerat
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wall Street Journal:
On top of its troubles with ESPN, Disney’s broader cable TV business is suffering, with Disney Channel and Freeform losing 4M subs each over last three years
Disney’s Channels: Children Are Tuning Out
Ratings have fallen sharply at the company’s youth-oriented networks amid the shift to digital viewing and a lack of hits
https://www.wsj.com/articles/disneys-channels-kids-are-tuning-out-1499166003
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reuters:
New regulations in China require at least two “auditors” to vet all audiovisual content posted online to ensure it adheres to “core socialist values”
China’s bloggers, filmmakers feel chill of internet crackdown
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-internet-content-idUSKBN19O21X
China’s latest maneuvre in a sweeping crackdown on internet content has sent a chill through a diverse community of filmmakers, bloggers, media and educators who fear their sites could be shut down as Beijing tightens control.
Over the last month, Chinese regulators have closed celebrity gossip websites, restricted what video people can post and suspended online streaming, all on grounds of inappropriate content.
On Friday, an industry association circulated new regulations that at least two “auditors” will, with immediate effect, be required to check all audiovisual content posted online – from films to “micro” movies, documentaries, sports, educational material and animation – to ensure they adhere to “core socialist values”.
People flocked online at the weekend to criticize the move, with most saying it was a step backwards that would hamper creativity. Some noted it could be near impossible to enforce.
While censorship of creative content in China is nothing new, the internet has generally been a more permissive arena because of the gray areas around regulation.
The atmosphere has become more tense since Xi called for stricter regulation last year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Snapchat finally lets users attach links to all Snaps and adds voice filters and backdrop editing tool — Snapchat is breaking its long-standing ‘no links’ rule today while also providing some novel new creative tools to keep it one step ahead of Instagram.
Snapchat lets you add links, voice filters, and backdrops to Snaps
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/05/snapchat-links-backdrops-voice-filters/
Snapchat is breaking its long-standing ‘no links’ rule today while also providing some novel new creative tools to keep it one step ahead of Instagram. The new features are rolling out globally on iOS and Android thanks to an update today
Paperclip lets you attach a website to a Snap that friends can swipe up to open in Snapchat’s internal browser. Previously only ad campaigns and Discover content could include links.
Backdrops lets you cut out an object from your Snap and put colorful or artsy pattern behind it to make it stick out. First tap the Scissors in the Vertical Toolkit and then the Backdrop icon. Trace around the object, select one of the Backdrop designs that rotate daily, and you’ll be able give a certain part of your snap the spotlight. The ability to insert a layer of imagery between objects and the real background gives people a creative way to augment the world behind them, not just their faces.
Voice Filters let you remix the sound of voices in your Snaps. Previously voice filters were only part of visual augmented reality lenses, like one that made you look and sound like a bumble bee.
Now the question is how long until Instagram copies these too.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quite a photo hacker:
This Guy Photographed the Moon and Jupiter with a Game Boy Camera
https://petapixel.com/2017/07/05/guy-photographed-moon-jupiter-game-boy-camera/
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Do Engineers Listen to While They Work?
A new survey delves into the music preferences and listening habits of software engineers at work.
https://www.designnews.com/design-hardware-software/what-do-engineers-listen-while-they-work/174225722257024?cid=nl.x.dn14.edt.aud.dn.20170705.tst004t
If you’re a software engineer today, chances are you work in an open-format office. That means you’re under constant assault from interruptions, distractions, ambient noise, and all of the other things that come with sharing a space with dozens of other people. It also means a good pair of headphones and a playlist of your favorite music can be essential to your productivity. Even Mythbuster’s own Jaime Hyneman has said music is a vital part of his work process.
To gain some insight into the listening habits of software engineers, Qualtrics, a research software and experience management firm, conducted a survey of 400 professional adult software engineers.
The results showed that 96% of software engineers reported listening to music at least some of the time and 78% prefer music over anything else while coding. The next highest preference was total silence, but it was only preferred by 6% of respondents (to be fair to that 6%, it’s hard to prefer something that is unubtainable in your work environment).
The stereotype when you think of coders and music is to imagine Bertram Gilfoyle from the show Silicon Valley listening to electronic music or heavy metal. But Qualtrics found the artists with the most consensus were U2, Taylor Swift,The Beatles, Maroon 5, Linkin Park, and Katy Perry. Does that mean engineers prefer top 40 Pop music just as much as everyone else? Accoding to the survey Pop is by far the most popular genre for software engineers to listen to (28%). Electronic music came in a distant second at 12%, and another 11% listed classical as their top choice. Reggae was music of choice for only 2% of respondents (Sorry, Bob Marley).
Engineers also prefer to use streaming services to get their music. Pandora is the most popular choice, preferred by 29% of respondents, with YouTube and Spotify coming in at 23% and 19%
Tomi Engdahl says:
Camera Slide Pans and Tilts Camera Mechanically
http://hackaday.com/2017/07/05/camera-slide-pans-and-tilts-camera-mechanically/
A camera slider is a popular and simple project — just a linear slide, a stepper, and some sort of controller. Adding tilt and pan axes ups the complexity until you’ve got three motors, a controller, and probably a pretty beefy battery pack to run everything. Why not simplify with an entirely mechanical pan-tilt camera slider and leave all that heavy stuff at home?
There’s more than one way to program motion control, and [Enza3D]’s design uses adjustable rails to move the gimballed pan-tilt head through two axes of motion. One rail adjusts vertically to control tilt, while the other adjusts in and out relative to the slider to control pan.
Fully Mechanical Pan Tilt Slider
https://pinshape.com/items/36915-3d-printed-fully-mechanical-pan-tilt-slider
Tomi Engdahl says:
Photographer: Jonathan Nicholson/NurPhoto via Getty Images
SoundCloud Cuts 40% of Staff in Push for Profitability
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-06/soundcloud-cuts-40-percent-of-staff-in-bid-to-remain-independent
SoundCloud Ltd. is cutting about 40 percent of its staff in a cost-cutting move the digital music service says will give it a better financial footing to compete against larger rivals Spotify Ltd. and Apple Inc.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tamara Chuang / Denver Post:
After burying elimination of free plan in ToS update, Photobucket starts demanding $400/year for hosted images, kills client links on Amazon, eBay, other sites
Photobucket addresses complaints over new policy that charges heavy users $400
Denver photo-sharing site says it needs to find “sustainable business”
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/06/photobucket-complaints-over-charging/
Denver-based Photobucket on Thursday said that a side business discovered by customers long ago is not sustainable. The company stuck to its new policy to charge up to $400 a year to people using Photobucket to host a large number of images.
“This path to a more sustainable business model allows us to develop an even more robust product to meet our customers’ needs,” Photobucket chief executive John Corpus said in a statement.
But 75 percent of Photobucket’s costs originated from “non-paying users leveraging 3rd party hosting,” Corpus added. And it resulted in “zero revenue.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cory Doctorow / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
After controversial vote, W3C announces it will publish Encrypted Media Extensions, a type of DRM for web video, without protection for security researchers — Early today, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards body publicly announced its intention to publish Encrypted Media Extensions …
Amid Unprecedented Controversy, W3C Greenlights DRM for the Web
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/amid-unprecedented-controversy-w3c-greenlights-drm-web
Today, the W3C announced that it would publish its DRM standard with no protections and no compromises at all.
Early today, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards body publicly announced its intention to publish Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)—a DRM standard for web video—with no safeguards whatsoever for accessibility, security research or competition, despite an unprecedented internal controversy among its staff and members over this issue.
EME is a standardized way for web video platforms to control users’ browsers, so that we can only watch the videos under rules they set. This kind of technology, commonly called Digital Rights Management (DRM), is backed up by laws like the United States DMCA Section 1201 (most other countries also have laws like this).
EFF objects to DRM: it’s a bad idea to make technology that treats the owner of a computer as an adversary to be controlled, and DRM wrecks the fairness of the copyright bargain by preventing you from exercising the rights the law gives you when you lawfully acquire a copyrighted work (like the rights to make fair uses like remix or repair, or to resell or lend your copy).
Today, the W3C announced that it would publish its DRM standard with no protections and no compromises at all, stating that W3C Director Tim Berners-Lee had concluded that the objections raised “had already been addressed” or that they were “overruled.”
Even by the W3C’s own measures, EME represents no improvement upon a non-standards approach, and in some important ways, the W3C’s DRM is worse than an ad-hoc, industry approach.
At root is the way that DRM interacts with the law.
EME only solves part of the video-transmission standard: for a browser to support EME, it must also license a “Content Decryption Module” (CDM). Without a CDM, video just doesn’t work.
All the big incumbents advocating for DRM have licenses for CDMs, but new entrants to the market will struggle to get these CDMs
The W3C says that none of this makes DRM any worse than what was there before the standards effort, but they’re dead wrong. DRM is covered by a mess of criss
Disposition of Comments for Encrypted Media Extensions and Director’s decision
https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html-media/2017Jul/0000.html
On March 16, the W3C solicited a review from its Advisory Committee of
the Encrypted Media Extensions on its advancement to Recommendation:
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Streaming Problem: How Spammers, Superstars, and Tech Giants Gamed the Music Industry
http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/streaming-music-cheat-codes.html
On a website with more than 100 million active daily users, there are plenty of ways to game the system, be it for attention, or, if the streams pile up enough, profit. And the frauds cashing in on the latest hot single are hardly alone. A bevy of unknown artists have found ways to juice their streaming totals, whether it’s covering songs from artists who don’t allow their songs on Spotify, or uploading an album of silent tracks, each precisely long enough to generate a fraction of a cent for the artist.
Gaming Spotify does not rely strictly on deception. Some artists, a term used very loosely here, are providing people exactly what they want. It just so happens that what they want is ephemeral nonsense. Take, for example, the artist Happy Birthday Library, whose Spotify catalogue consists of hundreds of personalized versions of “Happy Birthday” streamed more than a million times.
Streaming’s impact on the way artists make music goes all the way to the top. Take Chris Brown, whose upcoming album Heartbreak on Full Moon has 40 tracks, and not because he has so much to say. The famously unscrupulous pop star has found a way to boost his streaming numbers, which in turn inflate sale figures, and will, he hopes, send his album shooting up the charts quicker than it otherwise would.
Even Spotify is reportedly gaming the system by paying producers to produce songs that are then placed on the service’s massively popular playlists under the names of unknown, nonexistent artists. This upfront payment saves the company from writing fat streaming checks that come with that plum playlist placement
Never before has a song title or artist name been more important than the actual songs themselves. There are no consequences for deception, either.
Never before have so many songs existed just so an album can have a 20th, 30th, or 40th track. Now, major artists hoping for quick success on the charts can perfect ten songs, or they can just churn out three dozen. The streaming numbers could be the same either way.
The big loser here is the listener. He’s increasingly having to dodge spammers and imposters to find his favorite artists, and then slogging through endless albums once he does. But maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. Listeners have long been the primary beneficiaries of free or dirt-cheap streaming services.
Writing songs about everything
Before Spotify, before iTunes, and before the democratization of the music industry, Matt Farley was writing songs about, well, everything. The Massachusetts man has used dozens of pseudonyms to write more than 18,500 songs, many with titles designed for people dicking around on Spotify and searching for, say, the name of their home town.
“I think there should be songs about everything,” Farley told me.
Digging through Farley’s catalogue, one thing immediately becomes clear: He knows the value of personalized songs. He has bands that do nothing but personalize wedding proposals (the Wedding Proposal Music Song Band), declarations of sexiness (the Smokin’ Hot Babe Lovers), and entire songs (the Guy Who Sings Your Name Over and Over).
Releasing a lot of albums with the same songs
With 65 albums, most with more than 50 tracks, Sir Juan Mutant appears at first glance to be among the most prolific artists on Spotify. But dig a little deeper and it quickly becomes clear that something fishy is going on. Several of the albums use the same artwork, while others have many of the same songs. Take, as a representation of his catalogue, the album Cash the System, which has 50 tracks and clocks in at over 11 hours.
This is classic keyword spam. By flooding Spotify with song titles, Sir Juan Mutant is increasing his odds that someone will accidentally listen to one. And each time someone does, his bank account grows by a fraction of a cent.
someone called Sleepy Zee, an artist who rerecords popular songs under different names to prey on the uninformed
Seeding Spotify playlists with fake artists
For Spotify, playlists are king. The prepackaged, human-curated collections, built around artists (“This Is: Pitbull”), genres (“Country Gold”), moods (“Forever Alone”), and activities (“Powerwalk!”), are being listened to by half of the service’s users at any one time. And Spotify is not shy about promoting the playlists
That means that songs on playlists generally get a ton of plays. It’s why there are countless articles providing tips on how a band can get their music on a playlist. It’s also why Spotify is allegedly paying producers to create fake artists whose music can rack up plays without costing the company any more than what they paid up front.
Plenty of other imposters are clogging up Spotify with inferior versions of hits and disappointing people who are looking for the real thing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Nielsen Music Mid-Year Report: on-demand audio streams in the US up 62.4% year-over-year to 184.3B in the first half of 2017
Nielsen: on-demand audio streaming hits record high, is up 62.4% over last year
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/07/nielsen-on-demand-audio-streaming-hits-record-high-is-up-62-4-over-last-year/
A new report from Nielsen out this week paints a picture of the booming on-demand audio streaming business, pointing to a significant increase in consumers’ use of streaming services and record numbers of streams being served. According to the mid-year report, which focuses only on the U.S. market, on-demand audio streams surpassed the 7 billion figure for the first time ever during March of this year.
That’s audio streams, to be clear – not just music.
That is, the term “audio” also includes non-music streams like spoken word recordings and podcasts – the latter of which has also seen rapid growth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
People Would Pay A Hell Of A Lot More If DRM Were Gone
from the paying-for-value dept
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170710/16293537759/people-would-pay-hell-lot-more-if-drm-were-gone.shtml
An argument that we’ve made for years is that for all the whining about how the legacy entertainment industry insists it needs DRM, adding DRM takes away value. It limits the content/games/software/etc. that people purchase a license to and therefore limits the value. You don’t need an economics degree to recognize that providing less value decreases how much people are willing to pay (and how many people are willing to pay). Thus, there’s at least some economic force when using DRM that decreases the potential market for DRM’d offerings. Supporters of DRM will likely counter with some version of the argument that this decrease in value/addressable market is okay, because it’s less than the expected decrease in the potential market that happens when “OMG I CAN GET A PIRATED VERSION FOR FREE!?!?!?!??” enters the market. I’m not entirely convinced that’s true
But, one thing that hasn’t really ever been made clear is just how much DRM depresses markets. Until now. Some researchers at the University of Glasgow have just released some preliminary research (found via Cory Doctorow and EFF) specifically looking at the market for DVD players — and how things work when they come with built in DRM and without it. The findings are pretty spectacular. People are much more willing to spend more money to be able to avoid DRM.
New Research Estimates Value of Removing DRM Lock
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/new-research-estimates-value-removing-drm-locks
Main findings
Overall we find that interoperability has a significant positive effect on the price that consumers are willing to pay for DVD players. The average price that they are willing to pay increases by $19 USD for players with any interoperability features present. The average price increases by $30 USD for players with the specific ability to play content in open file formats like Xvid. This feature has the strongest impact on price in our study. The lack of region locks also has a moderately significant effect on price. Backwards compatibility with legacy formats live VCD had no significant impact on price in any of our models
How big is the market for DRM-Free?
http://boingboing.net/2017/07/09/dont-rock-the-boat.html
The paper was written by a team from the University of Glasgow, led by Kristofer Erickson: they scraped Amazon DVD-player pricing data, and compared the sale-prices of players with (grey market) DRM-breaking features with the ones that obeyed all the rules that DVD players are supposed to obey.
They reached a shocking conclusion: DVD players with even minimal circumvention features sell for about 50% more than similarly reviewed DVD players of similar vintage — that means that in a commodity electronics category where the normal profit would be 2% or less, manufacturers that sell a model with just slightly different software (a choice that adds virtually nothing to the manufacturing costs) pocket 25 times the profits.
In one way, this is unsurprising. People want DVD players, but they don’t want DRM.
But laws that protect DRM are indiscriminate, overbroad, and thus an invitation to mischief. Laws like Section 1201 of the US DMCA (or EU implementations of Article 6 of the EUCD, etc) make it a crime to bypass DRM, even when you’re doing so for a legal reason. Ripping your DVDs isn’t illegal. Buying a DVD in one country and watching it on a DVD player from another country isn’t illegal. But breaking DRM is illegal, and since you can’t do these activities without breaking the DRM, these activities become illegal, too.
That means that anyone who makes a product with some software in it can force you to use it only in ways that they prefer, and make it a felony to use it any other way.
This all only hangs together because the US Trade Representative has pressured virtually every country in the world into passing DRM laws that mirror America’s version
How Much Do Consumers Value Interoperability? Evidence from the Price of DVD Players
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2998767
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
Google Play Movies adds HDR playback on 4K movies on Chromecast Ultra
https://9to5google.com/2017/07/12/google-play-movies-4k-hdr/
Google has been a bit slow to fully adopt 4K into Google Play Movies, but things are finally starting to pick up steam. Following the introduction of 4K content into its library earlier this year, Google is now expanding that to HDR as well.
We haven’t seen a tremendous amount of 4K releases on Google Play so far, but the majority of those movies are also now available in HDR. To get access to the enhanced version, you’ll need the 4K version, but you won’t have to repurchase if you already have it. Google will automatically play content in HDR if the connected streaming devices and TV have the ability to do so.
Currently, the best way to get 4K HDR content from Play Movies to your TV is through the Chromecast Ultra, but Google isn’t stopping other supported platforms from accessing the same functionality. At the moment, however, Android TV devices do not support HDR playback. Of course, you’ll need to also have a compatible TV in order to view the content in HDR.
If you want to know exactly which movies support 4K HDR playback, simply head to the Google Play Store and search “HDR.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Sources: morale at SoundCloud sinks after layoffs, with those fired wondering why there was no warning; the firm says it’s “fully funded into Q4”
SoundCloud sinks as leaks say layoffs buy little time
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/12/soundshroud/
A tense scene unfolded yesterday as user-generated, music-streaming service SoundCloud held an all-hands meeting to explain to employees why it suddenly had to lay off 40 percent of its staff last week.
When asked about morale of the remaining team, one employee who asked to remain anonymous told TechCrunch “it’s pretty shitty. Pretty somber. I know people who didn’t get the axe are actually quitting. The people saved from this are jumping ship. The morale is really low.”
SoundCloud holds one of the most differentiated products in streaming music thanks to its repository of user-created songs uploaded by amateur and semi-professional musicians. That content, including unofficial remixes and hour-plus DJ sets, is missing from the top streaming competitors like Spotify and Apple. At the same time, this content comes with copyright problems and SoundCloud has had trouble monetizing it.
Despite the startup’s financial troubles, Ljung told those in attendance at the all-hands meeting he was adamant about SoundCloud staying independent and there’s no intention to sell the company. That hesitation may have cost a lot of people’s jobs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cory Doctorow / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
EFF appeals W3C director Tim Berners-Lee’s EME decision, calls for sandbox auditing, auto-generated accessibility metadata, protection for new market entrants
Notice to the W3C of EFF’s appeal of the Director’s decision on EME
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/notice-w3c-effs-appeal-directors-decision-eme
On behalf of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, I would like to formally submit our request for an appeal of the Director’s decision to publish Encrypted Media Extensions as a W3C Recommendation, announced on 6 July 2017.
The grounds for this appeal are that the question of a covenant to protect the activities that made DRM standardization a fit area for W3C activities was never put to the W3C membership. In the absence of a call for consensus on a covenant, it was improper for the Director to overrule the widespread members’ objections and declare EME fit to be published as a W3C Recommendation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Streaming device manufacturer Roku now has 15M active monthly accounts, up from 13M in January and up 43% YoY
Roku Boasts 15 Million Monthly Active Accounts
http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/roku-15-million-monthly-active-accounts-1202493321/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rich Woods / Neowin:
Amazon updates Fire TVs and Fire Sticks allowing users to control them via Alexa-enabled devices such as Echo or Echo Dot
You can now use Alexa devices to control your Fire TV
https://www.neowin.net/news/you-can-now-use-alexa-devices-to-control-your-fire-tv
Amazon is rolling out a software update for its family of Fire TV set-top boxes and sticks, which allows users to control them via an Alexa-enabled device, such as an Echo or Echo Dot. The version number will either be Fire OS 5.2.4.1 or 5.2.4.2, depending on which device you’re using.
According to the changelog, you can use it for playback commands such as play, pause, rewind, etc., but you can also use it to open apps and search Amazon’s library of movies and TV shows. You’ll first need to pair the two devices through the Alexa app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Full HD LCD Video Processors Ensure Rearview Camera Reliability in Automobile Displays
http://www.intersil.com/en/products/end-market-specific/automotive-ics/display-processors/TW8844.html
The TW8844 video processor with MIPI-CSI2 output and TW8845 video processor with BT.656 output exceed the requirements of the FMVSS-111 law, displaying live video with graphics overlay in less than 0.5 seconds after vehicle ignition. The TW884x provides a robust rear-camera architecture to overcome the fast boot reliability issues inherent with today’s more complex center-stack systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Google Play Music’s New Release Radio, previously an exclusive for Samsung users, now available to all; station is based on users’ listening history
Google Play Music’s New Release Radio is available for all users
It looks like this new feature is definitively not a Samsung exclusive.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/13/google-play-music-new-release-radio-available-for-all/
Google has officially announced New Release Radio, a station on Google Play Music that provides users with a daily selection of new songs they may like based on their listening history. The feature has actually been out in the wild for almost a month now, but originally it was positioned as an exclusive for Samsung users (though neither Google nor Samsung made an official announcement).
Now, Google is saying that it was “gathering feedback” from Samsung users before officially rolling it out to everyone — but the screenshots we saw from users on Reddit last month clearly called it a “Samsung exclusive” feature.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
AT&T announces its streaming service DirecTV Now will get cloud DVR, parental controls, and other features starting this fall
AT&T’s streaming service DirecTV Now is getting cloud DVR, parental controls, and other features
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/13/atts-streaming-service-directv-now-is-getting-cloud-dvr-parental-controls-and-other-features/
AT&T’s streaming TV service for cord cutters, DirecTV Now, is finally getting a cloud DVR, among other features, the company announced today. The addition is part of a larger platform upgrade for AT&T’s TV applications, which includes both the streaming service DirecTV Now and the app for current DirecTV pay TV subscribers.
The cloud DVR is among the most anticipated, given that the streaming service launched without this now-common feature. No longer considered a “nice to have” add-on, the major live TV streaming services today – including Sling TV, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, and Hulu Live TV – make the ability to save shows and movies for later viewing a part of their service’s offering, either for an additional fee, or as part of their core experience.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scott Moritz / Bloomberg:
Sources: ahead of Time Warner buy, AT&T plans to create telecom and media arms with separate CEOs, overseen by Randall Stephenson, who will become exec chairman — Co-chiefs to run separate communications and media businesses — Stephenson sheds CEO title, will oversee company as chairman
AT&T Is Said to Plan Major Organizational Changes After Deal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-14/at-t-is-said-to-plan-to-elevate-stephenson-wall-off-time-warner
AT&T Inc. is planning major organizational changes to follow the $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc., including a redefined role for Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, as the telecommunications giant morphs into a media company.
The separation of AT&T’s new divisions will be both geographical and cultural. The plan calls for AT&T to consolidate more of its service operations, like wireless, in its Dallas headquarters, where Donovan will be located. Glenn Lurie, who heads the wireless business, will be among the executives relocating to Dallas from Atlanta.
Stankey, who has led nearly every major unit at AT&T in his three-decade career, will run the media division from his California office. The business, comprised mostly of Time Warner, will stay intact with operations in New York and Los Angeles.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maureen Farrell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Roku has hired IPO underwriters, and one source says it may file confidentially in the next few weeks, seeking a valuation of ~$1B
Roku Expects to Launch IPO Before Year-End
Streaming media player maker said to be seeking a valuation of roughly $1 billion
https://www.wsj.com/articles/roku-expects-to-launch-ipo-before-year-end-1499976409