After the Curtain Falls, the Web Gets Into the Act

Theater is the ephemeral art -- except, that is, when it's bootlegged on YouTube. The Washington Post reports.

You can't actually watch Broadway's "Jersey Boys" online, and you can't balm the sorrow of missing out on "The Lion King" by downloading its majestic parades and anthems. Theater isn't the movies, and digital piracy isn't the kind of billion-dollar threat that has plagued Hollywood for years.

Still, Broadway is hardly turning a blind eye to what is being dubbed, for contract purposes, "new media."

Veoh Copyright Case Dismissed

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that video-sharing service Veoh Networks Inc. isn't liable for copyright infringement for material that was uploaded to its Web site, dismissing a 2006 case filed against it by Io Group Inc., an adult-entertainment production company.

[The Wall Street Journal]

Sony unveils world's thinnest LCD HDTV - 9.9mm KDL-40ZX1

Sony has come out with the thinnest LCD HDTV. At just 9.9mm thick the KDL-40ZX1 nearly halves the depth of Hitachi's former champ.

[via engadget]

A rap on particle physics is a YouTube hit

A rap video of the European Organization for Nuclear Research's (CERN's) Large Hadron Collider is a hit on YouTube, reports USA Today">USA Today.

The unlikely hit on YouTube (over 400,000 views so far) is the brainchild of Kate McAlpine, 23, who used to work in the press office of CERN, where they are about to power up the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on Sept. 10.

The rap should dispel some misconceptions - "Nobody wears lab coats." - and make LHC's mission and method more accessible to the masses through music."

'Entourage' pairs with Virgin Airlines

This is wild, to promote the fifth season of Entourage, airing September 7, a JFK to Vegas flight will be renamed after the HBO show. Variety reports.

"HBO has paired with Virgin America to rebrand the airline's flight from New York's John F. Kennedy Intl. Airport to Las Vegas as "Entourage Air" throughout September.

Effort promotes the fifth season of "Entourage". At the same time, HBO programming becomes available on all Virgin America planes as part of a licensing deal that runs through October 2009."

New Dexter

Readying the launch of it’s promotional push for the premiere of Dexter’s third season on September 28th, Showtime has concocted their own mock cover of The New Yorker, replacing the usual masthead to trumpet “New Dexter,” accompanied by a wonderful cartoon likeness of the smiley slayer portrayed by Michael C. Hall.

[via Josh Spear]

YouTube screens 'No End' docu

Filmmaker Charles Ferguson is bringing his documentary No End in Sight to YouTube. [The Hollywood Reporter]

"An Oscar nominee for best feature-length documentary and winner of a special jury prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, "No End" casts a critical eye on the decisions made during the early months of the war in Iraq.

Between Sept. 1 and Nov. 4, the film will screen in its entirety on YouTube, becoming the first widely released feature film to play in full on the site."

Flight attendants on in-flight porn usage

According to CrunchGear, as in-flight internet becomes more widespread, watching porn has become a popular choice on those long and lonely flights.

"A few airlines have taken the issue upon themselves to lock down certain themed sites but that doesn’t rule out already downloaded material. Then other airlines, such as American Airlines, are offering unfiltered service and thus leaving the discretion up to the user — and flight attendants."

[via CrunchGear. Image from Airliners.net]

YouTube Video Booth Lets Voters "Geek Out"

A YouTube video station has been set up in the Pepsi Center at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver by Google for voters to make their own video about why they are nominating Barack Obama.

The videos have already started pouring in .

[via Geeksugar ]

Livestation releases online TV Mac player

Online TV company, Livestation, on Tuesday released a Mac player for its Internet service. MacWorld reports.

"Livestation enables users to watch free online TV. Partner broadcasters include Al Jazeera, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television, EuroNews (English, French, Italian and now Spanish), France 24, i>Tele, Russia Today and BBC World Service.

Users can also add their own Web streams to the player or choose one of the channels added by other viewers."

Preferring the Web Over Watching TV

For children ages 10 to 14 who use the Internet, the computer is a bigger draw than the TV set, according to a study recently released by DoubleClick Performics, a search marketing company.

The study found that 83 percent of Internet users in that age bracket spent an hour or more online a day, but only 68 percent devoted that much time to television.

[via The New York Times]

Ads' 30 seconds of fame under threat

The traditional 30-second television advertisement is under threat as viewers use new technology to skip ads and companies increasingly turn to product placement to spruik their brands. The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"Australia is the world's third-largest paid product-placement market after the US and Brazil and advertisers are expected to spend almost $280 million on product placement in Australian television programming this year, custom media research firm PQ Media says.

... "It's getting harder and harder to connect with people," said Todd Sampson, a panellist on The Gruen Transfer and chief executive of ad agency Leo Burnett.

Weaving a product into the entertainment - as opposed to breaking up the entertainment, which is what ads tend to do - is a smart strategy."

... Shows such as Desperate Housewives reap millions of dollars from product-placement deals. Buick paid $1 million for its vehicle to be prominently featured as part of a story in which Eva Longoria Parker's character promoted the car in a shopping centre.

In Weeds Mary-Louise Parker's character trades her Range Rover for a Prius to be "environmentally responsible" despite her son deriding the car as being "crappy and small".

Companies are increasingly aware that a 30-second ad break is no longer the effective tool it once was, particularly with the young who are technologically savvy enough to dodge ads.

Samsung provided periscope-like personal TVs for Olympic fans

Samsung gave Olympic fans an alternative way to see the games in Beijing: with their very own monitor, enclosed in a periscope-like apparatus.

Spotted on DVICE.

NBC Didn't Cash In on Olympics Video

NBC's decision to limit the amount of Olympics footage on its Web site has ticked off sports fans, reports the The Wall Street Journal. But that decision could also dog the network in another way: NBCOlympics.com will generate just $5.75 million in video-ad revenue from the Games, according to estimates from research firm eMarketer Inc.

"At a time when video ads are starting to catch on, analysts say NBC had an opportunity to make a lot more money had it offered more online content during the Games.

CBS Sports, by contrast, streamed all of the NCAA's March Madness basketball-tournament games live earlier this year and made $23 million in ad revenue, the CBS Corp. network says. (The basketball tournament lasted three weeks, while the Olympics runs over two weeks.)

NBC limited its potential for ad revenue in a number of ways, industry analysts say. To provide a measure of exclusivity for its TV advertisers, it chose not to make available live video for some of the Games' highest-profile events. The network failed to distribute its videos widely on other sites, which would have boosted its audience."

AT&T offers tech support for home theater, PC, TV

AT&T on Thursday announced the launch of ConnecTech, a tech support program that attempts to cover a broader base of in-home needs.

Services such as home theater or TV equipment installation, PC or home network set-up, and a broad range of repair services are now offered, even for non-AT&T customers. Support can be obtained over the phone or in home, AT&T claims next day installation seven days a week.

[via electronista]

TV stars say they don't watch TV ... are they lying?

In interviews, actors often claim not watching much TV. Then why did they want to get into TV in the first place? Asks TV Squard.

"... TV actors argue that hey're far too busy now to watch television, since shooting schedules make for such long days. However, with lots of time in make-up or sitting around in trailers, with DVRs and streaming online, it sounds like a lousy excuse these days. "

The only argument that makes some sense is that once you get into a particular field, you find yourself less inclined to participate as a fan of that same field."

By my books, TV is no longer a lesser art compared to movies, just the opposite. The quality TV series have better writing, a faster pace, more character development (over time, rather than just over a couple of hours). They have the opportunity for much more acting and benefit from better story lines with less reliance on special effects.

For YouTube videos, a 'fair use' boost

A judge's ruling requires media companies to take a good look at videos before alleging a copyright foul. Will this make it tougher to send the dreaded takedown notices? News.com reports.

"Victor Rook, an indy filmmaker who was once wrongly accused by Viacom of copyright violations, is happy a judge has reminded media companies to think twice before calling someone a pirate.

In February 2007, Viacom demanded that YouTube remove Rook's documentary about a professional wrestler, accusing him of using some of the company's copyright material. The conglomerate was mistaken. None of the video or music Rook included in his film belonged to Viacom. Executives at the company apologized but the filmmaker still had to wait three weeks before the clip was reposted to YouTube, which he says hurt his efforts to market the film.

Copyright owners, such as NBC Universal, Warner Bros., and Viacom, were put on notice Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled that they must not order video be removed from Web sites indiscriminately. Before taking action against a clip, copyright owners, must form a "good-faith belief " that a video is infringing, according to Corynne McSherry, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation."

Intel, Yahoo Target Web Services on TV

Intel Corp. and Yahoo Inc. unveiled an ambitious effort Wednesday to marry the TV with the Internet, a goal that has eluded technology and media companies for more than a decade. [The Wall Street Journal]

"The pair outlined software tools, based on Yahoo technology, to help companies deliver Web content alongside TV programming. The software complements a new chip from Intel designed to enable interactive features on TVs, set-top boxes and other gadgets, though it can work with devices that use other chips."

Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy may be banned in Italy

According to TV Squad, a leading doctor's group in Italy is so upset by the inaccuracies in American medical shows such as Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy, ER and House, that they believe Italian broadcasters should refrain from airing these shows at all, lest they prompt people to take medicine into their own hands.

"Annalisa Silvestro, president of the NFMC says that "These programs are teaching viewers inaccurate views on medicine," and that "They are spreading misinformation."

However there's no word so far as to whether or not Italian broadcasters are actually taking this seriously."

Watching TV in your store

Catching a glimpse of a TV set in the back of a store, while walking through Sikakap, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia.

Watching TV Series Online - The price to pay

Watching TV series online on video sharing websites is not as smooth going as one might think. Some streams are agonizingly slow, stutter or the worst, cut off the last few minutes of an episode. Most of these sites advertise too, in different manners. Plain banner ads on the same page are the best you can hope for, but most are animated and distracting while you watch. Pop up ads are prevalent too, with a mandatory click through before being able to press "play".

But this one is a first, a pop up that locks down the video until you complete a survey.

Lance Armstrong Launches Video Contest on YouTube

Lance Armstrong is daring you to share your personal life-changing story. The Inquisitr reports.

"livestrong.com, Armstrong’s online destination for health, fitness, and lifestyle, announced the launch of “Dare to Share Your Story” contest on YouTube".

Contestants must upload an original video describing how they dared to make a healthy or positive change in their life or the life of someone else and post it as a video response to Lance Armstrong’s call out video on YouTube."

On vacation until August 19

Off to Indonesia. Back August 19.