Louis Vuiton Video Bag

A new trend: designer video bags. [via TrendHunter]

"Designing for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs walked down the catwalk with the new LCD screen mini trunk playing Sponge Bob Square pants.

Wi-Fi remote controle

Spotted on Gadgetll a remote controle with Wi-Fi.

You can browse the web while watching TV on it’s 2.2-inch cell phone-like LCD screen.

Emmys. Showtime to give Academy members access to episodes online

Showtime is pairing with Internet-TV company Brightcove to give members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences access to 82 original episodes of series including Weeds and Dexter online, rather than sending out the some 20 DVDs it has in the past.

The network will mail out just three DVDs along with a brochure this year instead, saving tens of thousands of dollars, executives said.

... Starting Feb. 15, voting members of the Academy will get personal access codes to see current full seasons of Showtime’s Weeds, Dexter, Brotherhood, Californication and The L Word, as well as yet-to-premiere shows including Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union and season two of The Tudors.

[via Broadcating & Cable]

Watching TV online while singing in the rain

Watching TV online while singing in the rain will soon be possible thanks to scientists at Tokyo's Keio University who are working on a prototype umbrella that connects to the web via a wireless connection, and then projects images from the internet onto the underside of the canopy.

Known as Pileus, the umbrella allows you to watch videos from online video sites as you walk.

[via the BBC]

TV Links is very much alive and kicking – down under

According to Excalibur Online, TV Links is very much alive and kicking – down under.

"TV Links which offered new and old shows on demand for viewers around the world. But it's growing popularity brought it to the attention of legal departments everywhere.

In October 2007, David Rock, the site’s owner, was arrested and TV Links was shut down. Rock, a 26-year-old from Cheltenham, England, was eventually released with no charges.

Rock had been arrested under the section for trademark infringement in Britain’s Trade Marks Act 1994. This contradicted the claim by police that the arrest was due to copyright infringement. The tactic worked, however, and TV Links was all but forgotten. Until now.

One of the Internet’s well-kept secrets is that TV Links is very much alive and kicking – down under. The website is now hosted through the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory, at www.tv-links.cc.

While there are slight modifications to the earlier TV Links code, it is clearly meant to be as close as reasonably possible. It is unknown whether or not the site is also the creation of David Rock.

There was, however, a dramatic offshoot of the TV Links debacle: an explosion of similar sites offering the same service. TV Links’ return may, in fact, be unnecessary. Much like how Napster’s death spawned a slew of similar P2P sites, most of which now run uncontrolled, online TV shows are all the rage. A new form of viewership has been born."

YouBama: The Citizen Generated Campaign

TechCrunch reports on a new site called YoubBama launched a few days ago, designed by two Stanford grad students Christopher Pedregal and Eric Park, to drum up grass-roots support for Obama.

The site lets supporters upload videos explaining why they are going to vote for the candidate. The videos can then be voted up or down Digg-style. According to Pedregal:

The idea was to make it personal and individual. Everyone says this will be the YouTube elections. This can democratize the campaign process. It is an experiment. We don’t know if voters have a lot to say.

Obama's Bush Rebuttal Breaks Another YouTube Record

As The Nation reported on Monday, Barack Obama was the only presidential candidate to Btape a rebuttal to President Bush's State of the Union for YouTube. It's paying off.

By Tuesday afternoon, "Barack Obama's response to Bush's final State of the Union" drew over 300,000 views in under 20 hours.

The public has shown overwhelming and sustained interest in hearing from Obama directly. This is the third Obama video to shoot into YouTube's top three in the past 10 days -- past clips of naked celebrities and Scientology rants -- and the first video that was shot specifically for web viewers, rather than broadcasting documentary footage of a speech.

[via The Huffington Post]

Continental to Add Wi-Fi, Satellite TV to Some Planes

Continental Airlines Inc. said it will offer in-flight satellite television and Wi-Fi Internet access beginning in January 2009 through an agreement with LiveTV LLC, a unit of JetBlue Airways Corp. The WSJ reports.

"The Houston-based airline said the programming will be available on U.S. flights at every seat on next-generation aircraft. Satellite television will be free in first-class, and will be available to economy-class customers for a $6 fee.

In addition, Continental said LiveTV is testing Wi-Fi connectivity services that will allow access to email and instant messaging. LiveTV's Wi-Fi service would give customers the ability to use Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, BlackBerrys and laptops.

Unlike the satellite television service, Internet access will be free for all passengers, said Continental public-relations director Julie King."

TV screen for laptops

From favoritsaker.se, a TV test pattern screen for laptops.

Survey: 25% of users multitask

According to the latest Simultaneous Media Survey from BIGresearch 35% of users are multitasking now. During a television commercial break, users are chatting on the phone or online. While reading the paper, users are listening to radio or surfing the Internet for more information on a topic. BizReport reports.

"What does all this mean for advertisers? That the same old 30 second commercial isn't going to accomplish the same thing it did 30 years ago.

Gary Drenik, President of BIGresearch said, “New media options are impacting how consumers use traditional media. TV’s influence on consumers. . .declined, whereas new media options such as web radio, satellite radio, instant messaging and blogging all increased."

Let's look at television. 41% of users admitted to channel surfing during commercial breaks, 33% said they talk (via phone or room-to-room) during commercials and 30% say they simply tune commercials out."

Norwegian broadcaster puts popular show online as no-DRM torrent

NRK, the Norwegian state broadcaster, just made one of their most popular TV shows, “Nordkalotten 365", available for free through bittorrent, without any DRM or restrictions. boingboing reports.

So far the experiment has been a huge success. After one day roughly 8000 people have downloaded the torrent file.

NRK will keep on with experiments like these and try to make more content available through this technology in addition to the more traditional channels of streaming, podcasts and DVD sales."

Sweden to charge Pirate Bay in copyright case

According to Reuters, "Sweden plans this week to charge the people running Pirate Bay, one of the world's most visited Web sites, with being accessories in breaking copyright law.

Pirate Bay helps Web surfers share copyrighted music and film files, which is illegal in many countries, including Sweden.

The charges will be filed in a district court on January 31.

The Motion Picture Association of America and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) are among those who have called for action to shut down the site."

The Super Bowl Blitz Expands in Online Arena

The Super Bowl is still the ultimate traditional television event, but companies are exploring new ways to bring their ads online.

Marketers are going deeper into everything from Web video to profiles on social-networking sites. For companies forking over as much as $2.7 million for 30 seconds of television ad time during the game, the goal of the online push is to try to make that steep investment go further.

... Not that long ago, all Super Bowl advertising centered on game day, with the TV network that bought the broadcast rights to the game reaping all the ad revenue. But now it has turned into a weeks-long frenzy, with an increasing number of participants trying to profit from the action."

[via The Wall Street Journal. And a good link Superbowl-Ads.com]

TV for the Visually Impaired

Using a new algorithm, researchers are trying to enhance picture quality so that those with macular degeneration can enjoy television. MIT Technology Review reports.

"Enjoying a favorite TV show can be difficult for someone with macular degeneration. Like many kinds of visual impairment, macular degeneration makes the images on the screen seem blurred and distorted.

The finer details are often lost. Now researchers at the Schepens Eye Research Institute have developed software that lets users manipulate the contrast to create specially enhanced images for those with macular degeneration.

... The new software is running on a computer in their lab, but they're expecting to receive a prototype system built by Analog Devices in April 2008."

The buzz on 'Gossip Girl'

Gossip Girls is the most downloaded television program on iTunes. But despite the program's online popularity, the network hasn't been able to translate the Web buzz into substantial TV ratings. LA Times reports.

"Even after a marketing push, just 2.6 million viewers on average tuned in to watch the show's first 13 episodes -- about 500,000 of them teens, its target demographic.

"It's sort of become the first show that has managed to achieve some level of cultural permeation and success in the new world order where ratings don't really seem to apply," said executive producer Josh Schwartz.

That the CW is still trying to boost interest in a program originally regarded as one of the hottest new entrants of the season speaks to the difficulty in gauging how new media are reshaping television watching.

"The disconnect seems to be with teens who love to speculate and comment online but rarely turn it into direct viewing," added Cole, who advises networks and advertisers on the changing landscape. "Teens, while still interested in television, are less interested in television than any generation that has come before them."

... One of the major hurdles the show faced was its Wednesday night competition: two of the most anticipated new shows of the new season, ABC's "Private Practice" and NBC's "Bionic Woman," along with CBS' highly rated "Criminal Minds"."

Back to Agrestic soon. Yay!

According to Time Blog, The Writers Guild has announced an interim side deal, this time with Lionsgate Studio, which produces MadMen as well as Weeds. They're free to go back into production. Yay!

[TV Tattle]

Jérome Kerviel, latest video and Internet star

According to The Telegraph, Jérome Kerviel, the man behind the biggest alleged fraud in banking history has achieved cult status on the Internet.

His friends may have deserted his facebook page, but hundreds of new friends are creating dedicated groups and fake profiles attracting hundreds of members.

On YouTube, where members of the public can post videos, yesterday's press conference from Société Générale , and clips of news broadcasts on the story are joined by one man outlining his conspiracy theory from the comfort of his living room. And satire videos can be found on French Dailymotion.

And according to the TSR , several domain names have been registered as well: jeromekerviel.com, jeromekerviel.net and jerome.kerviel.com.

YouTube Korea Disapoints

According to Digital Chosunilbo, YouTube's new Korean platform got off to a bad start on its first day on Thursday, when users where found the service falling short of their expectations.

"YouTube is the world's largest video sharing website, with about 70 million video clips and 10 hours of new clips being uploaded every second - but the dominant language on the site is English.

Koreans have long enjoyed video sharing websites and thus have highly-developed tastes. Most Koreans in their teens and 20s, who are the primary users of the Internet, have a hard time communicating in English. Others say that the video quality is poorer than that of domestic sites."

Broadcast TV's Demise - More Fiction Than Fact

Dan Ryburn for Seeking Alpha explains why he's not following the popular thinking today, that TV is all but dead. In his opinion TV is anything but obsolete.

Online video is having a huge impact on the way content is created, marketed and consumed, but distributing video online is not replacing traditional broadcast programming. I know some are under the impression that one day your computer will become your TV, but that's not going to happen and we all know the Internet can't even support those kind of numbers when it comes to viewers all watching a show at the same time.

For all the talk of the writers strike and some of the data that has been put out saying that more people have gone online for videos, that does not change the fact that most of the content on TV is not available on the Internet.

... The TV is not going anywhere and way too often in our society people want to talk about one thing replacing another, instead of being a compliment to it. The TV did not replace the radio. Internet video is not going to replace the TV. P2P delivery is not going to replace all CDN delivery. These things are all compliments to one another. We should see the TV for what it is, just another way to get different kinds of content for various viewing experiences.

« Live from Davos on my phone »

Robert Scoble is blogging « live from Davos on my phone » from the WEF. So interesting. More great coverage in both writing and video on Jeff Jarvis' buzzmachine.

Interesting post today on Swiss Television's blog (TSRBlog) also present at Davos, pointing out that the WEF's rules and regulations are somewhat out-dated. TV crews and cameramen are only allowed in the sessions one by one so as not to create a disturbance, while dozens of participants are videoblogging the conferences live - like Scoble.

MySpace signs deal to screen BBC Shows

According to News.com.au, social networking website MySpace has signed a landmark deal with the BBC in a move that will bring it into direct competition with YouTube.

BBC Worldwide has launched a video channel on MySpace TV that features short clips from selected shows including Doctor Who, The Catherine Tate Show and Parkinson.

"This is the first global content deal that any social network has done," said Rebekah Horne, vice president of Fox Interactive Media and MySpace in Australia and New Zealand.

The BBC's clips will be up to eight minutes in length and will include archival footage."

Related article in today's FT .

Dunkin' Donuts starts YouTube channel

Coffee and baked goods chain Dunkin' Donuts has launched its own channel on YouTube and is asking the public to craft their own videos that answer the question, "How do you keep America running?

The top 50 creators of the best coffee- or donut-related videos will win a year's supply of coffee, according to the Canton, Mass.,-based company.

[via Business First]

UK homes to get super-fast fibre

UK homes in certain towns will benefit from 100Mbps broadband, delivered via the sewers. The BBC reports.

"Fibre firm H2O provides super-fast broadband via the sewers and either Bournemouth, Northampton or Dundee will be offered the service first.

It will compete with more established companies, such as Virgin Media, which is speeding up its cable network.

... For consumers, super-fast net connections could create a range of new applications including on-demand high definition (HD) TV, DVD quality film downloads in minutes, online video messaging, CCTV home surveillance and HD gaming services."

Streaming Ads Driving Users Away From Content

The New York Times reports on a survey from interactive marketer services company BurstMedia :

Ads are disruptive:

In an online survey of 2,600 respondents, more than three-quarters (78.4 percent) of respondents said in-stream ads are intrusive and fully one-half (50.4 percent) say these ads disrupt their use of the internet.

In-stream ads are a turn-off:

-- When it comes to streaming ads, half (50.7 percent) of the respondents said they stop watching an online video once they see an in-stream advertisement.

-- Two-out-of-five (43.2 percent) do stay on to watch the rest of the online video.

-- While only a small percentage - 15.3 percent - said they immediately leave the site once they encounter an in-stream ad

-- About half (49.7 percent) said the such ads’ presence alone makes them less likely to view other online videos.

It gets worse:

-- 33 percent of respondents said they pay less attention to in-stream ads than they do to other commercial spots on the same page.

Red Herring:

If the numbers in Burst’s survey really do reflect the poor reception of streaming video ads, marketers and publishers are going to have to make some choices.

David Cooperstein, Burst’s CMO, offers some free advice:

For starters, marketers should try shorter spots - go to 5-10 seconds, rather than 15-30 seconds. Secondly, try to advertise on videos that relate in some way to the content. Finally, ad overlays, as YouTube and others have found recently, seem to offer the most promise, as viewers still get to watch their video uninterrupted and advertisers still get to reach their audience.

Bill Clinton has a Dream

Bill Clinton has a dream - on YouTube.

[via Metro]

Brazil's singing culture minister gets YouTube channel

Gilberto Gil, Brazil's best-known musician and culture minister, has become the first Brazilian artist to get a dedicated YouTube channel he and the site's owner, Google, said Tuesday.

"I want to give a boost to this trend," the guitar-strumming, Internet-savvy politician said on the site.

[via Inquirer.net]

Beijing Olympics on Buzz TV

Buzz Technologies Inc. announces the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be featured on over 500 channels, in more than 100 languages, broadcast on Buzz TV.

Viewers can download and purchase Buzz TV at www.12buzz.com.

[via Press release]

China. Kissing couple to sue metro over video

A couple videotaped kissing and hugging at a metro station is to sue the Shanghai Metro Co for allowing the video to be broadcast on the Internet, China Daily reported today.

The three-minute video of the couple in their 20s was shot in September and uploaded to YouTube and Ku6.com last week. Within two days, it received more than 15,000 hits, the newspaper said.

A "mocking" voice can be heard in the background of the video. It has "extremely embarrassed" the couple, the newspaper report said.

The man recently resigned from his job after receiving calls from relatives and friends. "Now, every time I walk into a metro station, I feel very uncomfortable," he said.

"We think employees of the metro station taped us illegally and made negative comments."

The couple has decided to sue and a lawyer has been engaged. "This has to do with the protection of the legal rights of all passengers traveling on metro trains in Shanghai, and not simply our own interests and damage it has done to us," the man said.

In Europe, Apple Faces Hurdles to iTunes Movie Rentals

After introducing an online film rental business for American consumers last week, the chief executive of Apple, Steve Jobs, said he expected that the service would be expanded into international markets later this year. The New York Times reports.

"But trying to establish a European version of the iTunes movie rental service, which allows users to stream films or television shows to their computers or televisions, will not be easy.

Apple will have to confront legal and regulatory hurdles, copyright challenges, scheduling conflicts and technological issues, reminders that the European media landscape remains a patchwork of individual countries, rather than the single market that the European Commission envisions."

Reuters to Offer Videos to Web Publishers

According to Beet.tv, Reuters is set to offer thousands of video clips to publishers.

Some 13,000 clips Reuters-produced videos, with 125 new clips added daily, will be available to Web publishers who license the videos for 30-day use. The videos will be both edited pieces and unedited, natural sound segments.

The scope of the content is breaking news, human interest, sports and entertainment news with reporting from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

Details of this program are expected to be released later today."