The Queen announces Internet disconnection bill

The Queen opened the UK parliamentary session yesterday and announced that an Internet disconnection bill would be coming soon. But will it actually be legal? arstechnica reports.

My Government will introduce a Bill to ensure the communications infrastructure is fit for the digital age, supports future economic growth, delivers competitive communications and enhances public service broadcasting," said Her Majesty, an innocuous description of the about-to-be-introduced Digital Economy bill.

"That bill will likely attempt to reduce Internet copyright infringement, as measured by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom, by 70 percent from its current levels over the next two years. It's also widely expected that the bill will give the Secretary of State certain abilities to expand the enforcement regime and to introduce new sanctions, regardless of what happens on the piracy front."

Read full article.

Google to Caption YouTube Videos

In the first major step toward making millions of videos on YouTube accessible to deaf and hearing-impaired people, Google unveiled new technologies on Thursday that will automatically bring text captions to many videos on the site. The New York Times reports.

While the technology can only insert captions on English language speech, Google is giving users the choice to use its automatic translation system to read the captions in 51 languages.

Read full article.

Nielsen: Facebook Now the No. 3 Video Site

According to Nielsen’s latest VideoCensus numbers, Facebook jumped to No. 3 behind established video powerhouses YouTube and Hulu in terms of total streams. That’s up from No. 10 just last month.

[via NewTeeVee]

Hulu lands first music label deal

Hulu, the Web's No. 2 video service attracting viewers by offering full-length films and TV shows, now wants to become a video jukebox. CNet reports.

EMI Music, one of the four largest recording companies, struck a deal to offer its artists' select concert footage and music videos on Hulu.

Music videos have appeared at Hulu before but this is the site's first wide-ranging agreement with a major label, EMI said in a statement. Exclusive material from singer Norah Jones will help kick off the deal and Hulu has opened a Nora Jones exclusive channel.

McCann responds to Mad Men: “Welcome, Sterling Cooper.”

A real-life ad agency featured among the fictional ones on “Mad Men” is having a bit of fun with its central role in the final episode of season three. The New York Times Media Decoder Blog reports.

McCann Erickson bought ads that appear in the Nov. 16 issues of the trade publications Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek, which carry the headline “Welcome, Sterling Cooper.”

The ads are signed, “Your friends at McCann Erickson” and include the address of a Web site, which is the site of the flagship New York office of McCann, part of the McCann Worldgroup division of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

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End of an Era: Pirate Bay Tracker Shuts Down

Do you know how BitTorrent works? I mean, really know the technology behind it? Even if you’re not all too familiar with it, you probably know that it requires a tracker – a computer that coordinates the distribution of a file within the network.

But the trick is, it doesn’t – not anymore. Two technologies called DHT and PEX enable trackerless BitTorrent; in the simplest of terms, the BitTorrent technology has evolved to the point where trackers are no longer necessary for operation. Thus, the folks over at The Pirate Bay have decided to permanently shut down the Pirate Bay tracker.

Read full article in Mashable.

YouTube launches channel for citizen journalists

YouTube has just launched YouTube Direct, whereby TV and online news editors can obtain video from so-called "citizen journalists" -- and even request such video be shot by amateurs seeking attention. [via Reuters]

News outlets seeking footage can announce it in a variety of ways, including via call-out videos posted at YouTube. When a YouTube user has video they think will interest the mainstream media, it can make it easy for editors, producers and journalists to contact them.

Testing the service now are Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle and a couple of Boston TV stations.

Orange strikes Twitter TV deal

According to The Guardian, European Twitter users will soon be able to tweet to each other via their TV sets while watching entertainment and sports shows, after Orange struck a deal to integrate the service into its mobile and television offerings.

Under the deal, Orange is aiming to integrate Twitter into football coverage, news, entertainment shows and films.

Orange said that Twitter services would be rolled out in the UK first, to be followed by France, Spain and Poland later this year. The service will be rolled out in other European markets next year.

Read full article.

Harry Potter iPhone app

There are many Harry Potter apps, but Warner Bros. has just launched the first official Harry Potter app available in the US Apple store. VentureBeat reports.

Harry Potter Spells is a magic game that lets players cast spells at their opponents by using their phones as wands. With more than 100,000 apps on the iPhone, it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. One way to do so is to launch an app with a familiar brand name. But only the highest-quality branded apps are standing out these days.

The game has 14 spells for wizards-in training. Players can conjure their magic alone or duel each other by casting spells from one device. See the trailer here.

YouTube to begin streaming in 1080p

YouTube has announced it will begin upgrading HD streams to 1080p from the current 720p, offering support for video playback in Full HD.

[via afterdawn]

Online ads work wonders, research finds

You might think all those online ads you thought you never noticed are never noticed but new research is forcing even the experts to think again, writes the Sydney Morning Herald.

According to a study of 100,000 Australians by Nielsen Online, a surprisingly high number of users can recall online ads and admit they are more inclined to buy those products.

But, in a strange twist, people who were unable to recall an ad, despite Nielsen knowing they had seen it using its online tracking technology, are equally influenced with their buying patterns.

"That's a real positive," said Nielsen Online's research director for the Asia-Pacific, Tony Marlow. "It means you can get your message through to people without being intrusive or annoying."

The figures from Nielsen show a third of online users who have seen an ad are able to recall it when asked, a result other researchers say is surprisingly strong.

Read full article.

YouTube’s Skippable Ads Could Command a Premium

Google launched a “small test of skippable pre-roll” video advertisements on YouTube that asks users to “opt in” to advertisements by not opting out using a skip button in the upper right corner of the viewing area, potentially making them more valuable to advertisers.

[via Wired]

Online Video Ads are Booming

News Web sites are starting to look a lot less like newspapers and a lot more like television, writes The New York Times.

... At a time when other categories of advertising dollars are shrinking, video ads are booming. News sites are adding more video inventory to keep pace with the demands of advertisers, and benefiting from the higher cost-per-thousands, or C.P.M.’s, that ads on those videos command.

Read full article.

Universal Announces Blu-ray iPhone App

On the heels of a similar announcement by Fox, Universal has announced two new iPhone and social network applications that will be featured on upcoming Blu-ray releases. Blue-Ray.com reports.

Pocket Blu, which is available as a free download on iTunes, gives viewers access to a remote control, keyboard, Video Timeline, and exclusive Mobile-To-Go content right on their iPhone.

Using the viewer's iPhone and WiFi network, the app connects to any networked Blu-ray Disc player to deliver exclusive bonus content. Similar to other Blu-ray iPhone apps, they can also be used on an iPod Touch.

Social Blu, the second application announced today, allows users to integrate Twitter and Facebook into their Blu-ray experience. Viewer's will be able to update their profile status, rate movies, and send messages to friends all through their Blu-ray Disc players.

The first title to use Pocket Blu will be the upcoming Blu-ray release of 'Bruno', which is currently scheduled to hit store shelves on November 17th.

Sky TV launches iPhone app

Sky has launched its mobile television app for UK viewers, allowing them to stream live sport and news channels to their iPhone. PC Pro reports.

The Sky Mobile TV app offers access to Sky Sports channels, ESPN and Sky News over a Wi-Fi connection. The application is free to download, though it will require a £6 ($9) per month subscription.

Predictably, no link to the app in iTunes from Switzerland.

Futuristic TV, online ads 'know what you're watching'

A futuristic new form of TV and online advertising is driven directly by what is happening on the screen in real time, not booked weeks in advance by a media buyer. The Australian reports.

The world-first technology driving the system was developed in Australia by a group of visionary sports fans.

The concept has been under development for the past three years, undergoing extensive trials in China before its official launch in the US this week.

Justice Denied Video: Voices from Guantanamo

The ACLU produced this video about men who were held at Guantánamo for years without charge then, after being tasered, suffocated, raped, punched, blinded, and spat upon, were released without charge. (Via boingboing and The Agitator)

South Korean Cabbies Watch TV While Driving

Switched has reported on a crazy BBC story about a South Korean judge who ruled in favor of a taxi driver watching TV in his cab.

I remember an even more horrifying story that came out last year, about French truck drivers who apparently beat the boredom of their long-haul trips by putting their feet up on the dashboard and watching videos or playing computer games. To take their eyes off the road, they devised, get this, a technique for "driving by ear".

Online Video Embeds: It's All About YouTube

Interesting insight from ReadWriteWeb on how bloggers engage with online video.

A new report from social media analytics firm Sysomos offers detailed data about the videos being embedded in blogs and which bloggers are using these videos.

Some of the findings:

-- Bloggers who embed YouTube links tend to be male and young.

-- The most active group of YouTube users is between 25 and 35 years old.

-- The most active video embed users live in the US, followed by Brazil, Spain, the UK and Canada.

-- In the US, most of these YouTube users live in California, followed by New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Florida.

And odd:

-- The most popular day for embedding videos is Tuesday.

Read full article.

Women Who Have their Babies on the Internet

Lynsee., a Minneapolis mom-to-be is due to give birth on November 11 and she plans to share live video footage of her delivery on the Internet at momslikeme.com. The San Francisco Chornicle reports.

Lynsee won't be the first woman to share video footage of her delivery with the public. Type "childbirth delivery" into the YouTube search and over 300 results appear. Simply type "childbirth" and you'll get over 4,000 results.

On YouTube moms are sharing videos of their real-life experiences with giving birth under hypnosis, to Caesarean sections, to births in bathtubs. One remarkable video of a home birth has been viewed more than 2 million times. (The majority of YouTube videos depict home births because many hospitals restrict the use of video cameras due to liability issues.)

Best Buy plans movie download service built into devices sold at its stores

According to Yahoo! Tech, Best Buy Co Inc plans to start an online service that allows consumers to buy, rent and download movies and television shows, the electronics retailer said on Tuesday.

The system, based on Sonic Solutions' Roxio CinemaNow service, would be built into devices sold at its stores, including television sets, portable media players, computers, mobile phones and other devices from a variety of manufacturers.

Read full article.

Too much TV 'turns toddlers into bullies'

According to new research, three year-olds who watch more television than average are more likely to become bullies, reports News.scotsman.

A study of more than three thousand mothers found those whose children were most aggressive tended to be those that saw the most programmes – aimed both directly at them or adults.

A contradictory study:

-- TV not to blame for violence, study says

Studies related to toddlers watching TV:

-- Toddlers learn little from TV

-- U.S. babies watching TV, despite warnings

Above Image from the University of Michigan

Apple Could Launch iTunes Version of TV Everywhere

Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee on Apple's plan to recruit TV networks to go in on an iTunes TV subscription offering. For $30 per month starting “early next year,” users would be able to watch episodes via iTunes.

A TV subscription product actually sounds promising given that iTunes already has an established business of selling digital content delivered over the Internet — TV episodes, even!

But on the other hand, iTunes today sells downloads, and only downloads. Few people seem to care about owning TV episodes, unless you’re talking multi-season boxed and special-featured DVD sets.

Read full article.

Offshore tax dodgers are being warned by UK taxman

The (UK) taxman is making his first appearance on YouTube today in an attempt to increase pressure on savers who have not declared their offshore accounts.

According to the Times Online, this is the first time that HMRC has used social media to communicate with the public. Previously it has run television campaigns to encourage people to file their tax returns on time and to collect their tax credits.

Google seeks to turn a profit from YouTube copyright clashes

Google is is working to persuade music and video companies to cash in rather than clamp down when their content is uploaded on YouTube. The Guardian reports.

... First developed two years ago, the ContentID system is attracting record labels, TV producers and sports rights owners keen to make more money from the web.

Google's computers compare all the material uploaded to YouTube – around 20 hours every minute – against "ID files" from a 100,000-hour library of reference material from the rights holders. The system creates reports of what is viewed where and how often.

Read full article.

Average US viewer watched 154 videos in September

According to a study by comScore Video Metrix, more than 168 million U.S. Internet users watched nearly 26 billion videos online during September 2009 -- an average of 154 videos per viewer.

Read full press release. [via SearchEngine Watch]