iPhone and iPod Touch TV -- the Skinny on i.TV's TV and Movie Guide

i.TV helps you to discover entertainment options by providing up-to-date information on television shows and movies. You can also see the feedback and information provided by other i.TV users who utilize i.TV’s community-focused features, such as writing reviews and giving star ratings.




In addition, i.TV allows you to directly access entertainment such as television previews and movie trailers through your iPhone or iPod touch.

Here are the details, point by point:

1. i.TV is a free download from the iTunes App Store.
2. There is no subscription fee.
3. You can sort and filter by location, media type, genre, TV provider, channel, ratings,
reviews and friend recommendations.
4. You can not watch TV, as the i.TV iPhone application does not currently support streaming television.
5. You can not watch watch trailers and previews.
6. Currently, i.TV is only for iPhone and iPod touch.
7. They have plans to provide i.TV functionality on their website too, at: www.i.tv.
8. Other people can see reviews you write if you make them publicly shared.
9. You can select the level of ratings, like TV14 or PG-13. i.TV has additional filters to hide anything you don't want to show or watch.

I had no trouble downloading and synching it to my iPhone. Now I just need time to write reviews…

The Revolution Is Being Downloaded

For proof that the we, the viewers, want to be in charge, look no further than the Summer Olympics. Not only did the opening ceremony in Beijing have a gigantic DVR audience of 3.25 million viewers, but NBC said 40% of its online viewers used the Web to view events they had first seen on TV.

In today’s media environment, consumers have come to expect getting online content whenever they want, from TVs and personal computers to iPods and mobile devices. We, as brand and content owners have two options for packaging and delivering online content for viewer consumption:

1. LIVE STREAMING

Streaming fits well with our PC-centric viewing habits. Streaming is ideal for watching instant clips and user-generated content, like YouTube videos, on a computer. With a broadband connection, streaming is capable of delivering smooth playback, giving us that immediate, “I can get it now” effect.

While watching Michael Phelps repeat his gold medal wins from the comfort of a living room has inherent value for both consumers and advertisers, the real explosion in online media will take place when content becomes available anytime, anywhere. This is the “always on” future, and the enormous popularity of the iPhone is a huge step forward in making it a reality. However, today’s infrastructure cannot handle the streaming demands - at least not for portable content. A recent report by Canaccord Adams concluded that AT&T’s network is reaching capacity due to heavy data traffic usage from the iPhone; in some urban areas, subscribers are having problems making a simple phone call. So, until infrastructure improves, publishers need to provide alternatives to satisfy consumers’ demand for portable content.

This brings us to the second option, downloadable media, which picks up where streaming doesn’t deliver. While not as immediate as streaming, downloadable media gives consumers the flexibility and control they’ve come to expect.

2. DOWNLOADABLE MEDIA

From the DVR to the iPod, viewers prefer downloading their content because it’s more convenient. Downloading gives you the ability to time-shift and place-shift your programs — not just short clips — and watch them on your device of choice, when you want and with no Internet connection required.

This is why downloadable media offers the greatest potential for content owners. The question, as always, is finding a viable business model to support it.

As a publisher, you might assume that downloading is akin to giving away the farm. It looks like untethered media — free from the restraints of distribution channels, time and space — is (maybe) paid for once. A consumer who uses iTunes or LimeWire to download your content disappears into the content jungle, never to be seen again. No tracking opportunities, no way to garner additional revenue.

However, revenue possibilities are actually far richer with downloadable media. Just look at podcasting. Podcasting may not get the attention it used to, but that’s only because it’s become an everyday activity. eMarketer estimates that 65 million Americans will be using it as a distribution channel by 2012. Video and audio podcasts are simply RSS-enabled downloads that afford two big advantages:

A) For viewers, it’s an easy way to get fresh content automatically.

B) For publishers, it offers a built-in syndication platform that reaches audiences across the increasingly fragmented Web and device landscape.

New technology is also making it possible to extend our revenue stream by inserting ads into, say, our podcast programming. Aside from gaining an additional revenue stream, we can receive comprehensive metrics to track results and price future ads more appropriately.

With downloading, barriers to participation are low — even with embedded ads. Consumers have signaled they are agreeable to short ads in return for free premium content, like an MSNBC program.

Podcasting is just the beginning. Once we can track and measure direct, untethered downloads, the media industry may finally be able to unlock all of that great content on the Internet and everywhere else.

3M Launches First Pocket Projector

Once only a fantasy in the minds of technophiles like me (I admit), a pocket-size projector has been the Holy Grail of gadgets for many years. Now it’s arrived. 3M recently sent samples of their MPro110 mini projector to electronic industry writers, and it immediately made an impact.





“I plugged it into a DVD player and watched Blackhawk Down on my desk — literally, on it, as I aimed it at my white desktop. It also worked on the wall, on a piece of 8.5-by-11-inch printer paper and on the back of my colleague, Doug,” one critic said.

Images are discernable up to about 11 inches across, even under bright fluorescent office lights. But they are definitely faded. In a dark room, you can project a big enough image to be the ultimate inexpensive home theater!

The projector will sell for a mere $359 (US).

NOTE #1: it doesn’t have a speaker, so you have to get that separately.
NOTE #2: A VGA input lets you plug in a laptop; and the composite video jack will take output from a digital camera, PSP, iPod, iPhone, or most any handheld device. COOL!!!

Cybercast credit: YouTube

Minority Report Holo-display Is Now the Real Thing

Here is an anything but obscure demonstration of Obscura Digital’s new display technology, dubbed a “multi-touch hologram:”





The demo shows the presenter interacting with holographic images projected before him, moving them around and resizing them, much as you would on Apple’s iPhone multi-touch screen or Microsoft's Surface.

Unlike Apple’s and Microsoft's pet products, all the images are projected in the air, bringing you fond memories of Minority Report.

"We call it VisionAire. Get it, 'vision' and 'air' with a little European flair," says the company on its blog, with understandable excitement.

"Basically, we were looking for a new way to allow a presenter to interface with visual data. This uses our standard multi-touch framework and integrates it with the Musion system we have in house. The result is a truly interactive way to give presentations."

But before you start debating how waving your hands in the air could actually be multi-touch the company quickly goes on to add: "Alright, alright, it is not really 'multi-touch', because you really don't touch anything. The system just senses where the presenter's hands are and allow him to interact. Multiple people could be doing this too."

So I guess it's a multi-personal touch?

3D holographic display technology seems to be advancing rapidly - I recently had a post about Musion Eyeliner, the high-definition video holographic projection system used by VisionAire to project spectacular freeform 3D holographic effects into the air, using “Peppers Ghost” technology. And there are rampart rumors about floating 3D ninjas (the Chinese version, I guess), whales, and who knows what, showing off Chinese mastery of this type of technology at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Cybercast credit: YouTube

HBO Shows for Your iPod or iPhone

Summer is here. Enjoy.

The Wire





HBO's Season 2 of this gritty drama series focuses on the vagaries of crime and law enforcement in Baltimore, MD. Setting up in the wake of the first season's joint homicide/narcotics detail that exposed a major drug operation - the second season expands to include not only the familiar drug dealers, but a group of longshoremen and organized crime members.

Sounds like they're muscling in on Soprano territory... a HOT summer in the making?

Weeds

...Be gone??? I guess not.





In Season 3, popping up just next to Agrestic is a new, sprawling mega-church neighborhood called Magestic. This takes a heavy toll on the Agrestic residents, including our heroine Nancy, who begins to embrace her chosen occupation and, can also, finally, stop hiding.

Wanted: Your Video Masterpiece by LoftCity

Sign up with this shiny new web studio; set-up shop; produce your next masterpiece, or upload what you have; and they promise to distribute it for 50% of the take. It doesn't get easier than that, especially if they live up to their claims of being able to get it on mobile carriers like Verizon and AT&T, major media sites, your iPod or iPhone, etc., etc....

Plus the distribution is non-exclusive, which is definitely a heart-warmer!




Though the site is VERY new, it is - by first looks - crisply designed, functional, and easy to navigate. A number of people have already occupied a loft, although they seem to be bare to the bone, like mine;) Here is one from Alexia Anastasio, who at least has her picture hanging on the pixie wall.

I will report back about my experience as I dive deeper and deeper into this pool of bits, bytes, artistic creativity, and show biz. My first act will be to make my loft look semi-lived-in, then submit some of our current videos. How? Read the Open Call for Distribution on LoftCity or below:

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For Distribution

This Call is for submission of original and creative films to be distributed by LoftCity to web destination sites and mobile service providers.

If you have a film, a series, a video clip or a video art of any genre (the "film") and you wish to distribute it, submit it today to LoftCity and we will distribute it for you in the web and to mobile service providers.

LoftCity will distribute your film and will share with you the revenue it will generate.

Information about our distribution partners will be provided on an ongoing basis.

Using LoftCity's distribution services is subject to signing our Submission Agreement.

Brief & Guidelines:

· The film can be of any genre and in any format.
· You must have all the legal rights in the film for usage and distribution via LoftCity.
· The film can be anywhere between 30 seconds and 60 minutes in length.
· The film should be in English or with English subtitles.
· The film should not include any pornography, racism or offensive content.

Click here to learn more about LoftCity’s Submission Agreement and revenue share terms. Please read carefully sections 1 and 3 which refer to "Submitting a Film for Distribution".

Key dates

This is an open Call to which you can submit your film throughout the year. However, the sooner you submit your film the more you increase your chances for higher revenues.

Who can participate?

This Call is for all LoftCity beta participants.

We highly recommend that participants: upload their showreel and any other relevant materials (video, audio, photos and writings), detail their professional experience and create a profile using the "About me" section of the Loft.

How does it work?

There are two ways to submit your film.

Using LoftCity's Projects:

1. Open a project. Use the “Cast & Crew” tool to invite team members to participate in the project.
2. Produce your film.
3. The final film should be marked as “Final” in the "Editing Notes" tool.
4. Submit your film using the "Release" tool by selecting "Submit your film to: Distribution Only". The film will be submitted to the LoftCity team and will be published to the “Screening Room” under the "Distribution Only" category.

Using the Materials folder:
1. If you’ve already uploaded your film to your Materials folder, click on the film name and select the "Submit to" action.
2. Select "Distribution Only" from the drop down list. Accept our Distribution Agreement and click “Submit” at the bottom of the page.
3. The film will be submitted to the LoftCity team and will be published to the “Screening Room” under the "Distribution Only" category.

Technical requirements

The films should be up to a maximum of 500 MB.
We accept the following formats: MPG, MPEG, MOV, AVI, ASF, WMV, DIVX, 3GP and FLV.
More technical details can be found in the "Upload Files" section of our Help Center.

Legal

Your participation in this Call is subject to the LoftCity’s Submission Agreement. Please make sure you have all the legal rights to the film for usage and distribution via LoftCity.

The Project Manager is fully responsible for compensating his/her team members according to agreements set between them and for attaining all necessary rights to the submitted film.

We recommend you visit our Help Center, Terms of Use and Legal Tips sections to learn more

Further information: For further queries, please Contact Us.

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So sign up now and look for KingsleyVision (that's me) if you have a project in mind!

BTW, how do you like the motto "LoftCity, the first online film studio?" MyFlik from Mind's Eye Media has been online for more than a year, 60Frames for about the same time. And that's just what I know about. First? No. Better than the rest? That would be great!

EyeTV Tuner - The Third Generation

If you're tuned into Macs more than Windows and have been using Elgato's EyeTVhardware and/or software, the new 3.0 version expands your options in a big way, enabling you to:

1. Watch, pause, fast-forward and rewind live television on your Mac, at your desk or in the comfort of your living room.
2. Search the Program Guide using any criteria.
3. Record hours of television.
4. Create subscriptions to TV series and topics of your choice.
5. Manage saved episodes, and organize them in Smart Playlists.
6. Edit unwanted content from your recordings
7. Put them into iTunes in one easy step.
8. Export for current media types and playback devices or burn to DVD.
9. Share EyeTV recordings with other Macs on a local network
10. Play back using Wi-Fi Access on an iPhone and iPod touch and selected smartphones.

Here is what Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief of iLounge says:

"What's great about EyeTV is the incredible scope and generally smart, intuitive functionality of the software: what you get here is now officially leagues beyond what TiVo and its many lesser competitors offer in today's digital video recorders.

Take.tv Does Take Your Videos and TV Shows with You

Just came through a new gizmo called TakeTV (TM).



Do you want to watch the shows, videos, what-have-you on your computer on a TV set, without investing in another layer of software or hardware like Apple TV or Microsoft's Media Center? You can, if your files are in MPEG-4 and DivX formats, with TakeTV,a nifty combination an USB flash drive and video player. It’s from Sandisk, a solid state memory (think USB drives, iPod and iPhone media storage,PC memory modules) supplier. You get, straight out of the box, a small gizmo that contains:

- A PC to TV video converter/player
- Remote control
- TV cradle
- Power adapter

All you do is plug it into a USB port on your computer, copy files onto it, take it with you to any TV set, connect the cradle, plug it in, and hit the Play button. It's like the video iPod for the "rest of us!"

BlogTV Goes Facebook

BlogTV, a popular video streaming company in Israel, has launched an application on Facebook , like most any other software developer (over 6,000 by now). Big deal, you say? It also plans to enter the U.S. market with a mobile phone version already used in Israel for two years. Now, THAT could be a big deal, in my humble opinion, along with the embeddable LIVE SHOW, like the one below (if it's live now), that you get to create free. Another cool feature is the built-In live chat, letting your fans express themselves just as visually, as long as their vocabulary is up to the task….



I'm tempted to put our ever fledging Love Show by June video blog on it, specifically for cell phones … especially for the iPhone. Anyone has a solution to stretch 24 hours a few hours more?

Cybercast credit: BlogTV