BBC launches tool silencing Wimbledon players' grunts

After being able to tune out the sound of he vuvuzelas during the broadcasting of last year's World Cup in South Africa, armchair tennis fans now have a device that turns down the grunts of players. The Telegraph reports.

The noise reduction programme, called Wimbledon Net MIx, allows people to fade out the sound of the players grunting on court, and turn up the volume of the commentators.

Available on the BBC radio player it has a sliding scale which the tennis fan can manually alter the contrast between the commentators and the sounds coming from the court.

Read full article.

Civilizing the 'Net: ISPs told to play copyright cop

A major Internet conference ended today in Paris with the publication of an official "Communiqué on Principles for Internet Policy-Making" (PDF). A key piece of these principles involves deputizing Internet providers to become Internet cops—cops that would act on the basis of "voluntary agreements" with content owners and other groups, not on national laws.

[via arstechnica]

Fring Launches Group Video-Chat App For The iPad

With Skype launching on the iPad this week and services like FaceTime already available, is mobile video chatting the next big thing?.

That's certainly the hope of London-based company Fring, which today launched an iPad group video-chat app. The service allows users to chat simultaneously with four friends, over Wi-Fi or 3G, and see friends on other devices including the iPhone and Android-based smartphones.

Read full article in FastCompany.

Film-makers seek injunction to block pirate site

In a UK legal first, the Motion Picture Association has applied for an injunction that would force BT to cut off customers' access to Newzbin.

The MPA, the industry body for a number of movie studios, said it was targeting BT first as the largest internet service provider in the UK.

BT confirmed it would be in court later but did not make any further comment.

Read full article in the BBC.

500M views in 5 years: How TEDTalks did it

With nearly 1,000 videos from various events posted to the site, TEDTalks has attracted a large — and growing — audience. In just five years, it has racked up more than 500 million views and counting. GigaOM reports.

TEDTalks videos are designed to make you think. Talks can run up to 18 minutes, which shows viewers are actually engaged with the videos they’re watching.

That hasn’t stopped the organization from reaching critical mass online.

... While no one single talk has attracted the type of view totals as, say, a Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber music video, the 500 million view milestone also shows the importance of the long tail. The most popular video on the site (below), Sir Ken Robinson’s “Schools kill creativity” talk from 2006, has less than 10 million views by itself. But with nearly 1,000 videos to choose from, TEDTalks ensures that there’s always something of interest for viewers looking for brain food.

Read more.

Video of Skype's iPad app

TUAW reports that Skype is finally releasing an official version for the iPad. The company hasn't announced a date for release yet, but the app is expected to be approved soon.

Skype posted this video of their official iPad client to their channel, then took it down. A Razorianfly viewer managed to grab a screen recording, you can view it above - no sound though.

Shazam to move into TV show tagging

Shazam’s plans on expanding beyond its original music focus to TV show and advertisement tagging. PSFK reports.

Shazam’s approach to these two separate entertainment markets is slightly different. For music, the company built its own database of songs – currently 11 million strong – to enable users of its app to identify tracks playing in the real world, and then buy them or access related content.

For TV, the company is not currently trying to build a comparable database of all shows, choosing instead to work with US television firms on a more cherry-picking basis. The app works in the same way: when a supported show is being watched, the viewer can tag it using Shazam’s app – not to find out what it is, but to access more content related to it.

Read full article.

Related: - IntoNow app recognizes TV shows - What sets IntoNow apart is its ability to automatically recognize shows. Users let the app listen to a show for a few seconds, and, in theory, it will determine the name of the program and the episode. Much like Shazam does for music.

DirecTV germ-free remote controls for hotel rooms

DirectTV, the world's largest pay-TV provider, is changing the way hotel guests experience their favorite movies, shows and news programs, thanks to germ-free remote controls.

[Press release via Ubergizmo]

Sony Films Leave Netflix

Movies distributed by Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment were removed (temporarily) from Netflix on-demand Internet service Friday. The removal of an unspecified number of movies stemmed from a contractual issue between Sony and Liberty Media Corp.'s Starz cable channel.

Read full article in The Wall Street Journal.

Students give YouTube assignment an A pass

Universities are turning to the digital world and YouTube in an effort to engage students increasingly uninterested in traditional teaching methods.

Waikato University senior economics lecturer Michael Cameron gave his first-year economics students the option of completing a YouTube video instead of the course's only written assignment, because he found the written work was of an increasingly poor standard or was not handed in at all.

[via stuff]

Expert: British law has allowed linking to pirated material

The TV-Links website was prosecuted in the UK shut down in 2007. As the name suggests, this site was effectively a directory that sourced programs uploaded to other video websites, such as YouTube. The Telegraph reports.

The users of the site would find a TV show they liked, and then place a link on TV-Links to other sites which were hosting episodes of that show. This is an uncannily similar modus operandi to the site attributed to O’Dwyer, TVShack.

In the TV Links case, His Honour Judge Ticehurst considered submissions and took the view it could not be subject to criminal sanction because of European legislation that allows a website to not be liable in conditions where it:

a) Did not initiate the transmission [of pirated material];

b) Did not select the receiver of the transmission; and

c) Did not select of modify the information contained in the transmission.

It would seem extremely likely that this defence would have been raised, had TV Shack been prosecuted in the UK.

Read full article.

Related:

-- TVShack Admin Fights Extradition To U.S. On Movie Piracy Charges (TorrentFreak): Three weeks ago the 23-year-old UK-based administrator of a TV show and movie links site was arrested by police.

-- UK student faces extradition to US over file-sharing site (Techradar): 23-year-old Richard O'Dwyer, of Sheffield Hallam University, ran the TVShack website, which offered links to illegal downloads of popular TV shows and movies, until November last year. However, the site did not host any files and under UK law he could be protected.

Susan Boyle's life set for stage show

The BBC reports that the life of Susan Boyle, who found fame on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, is to be made into a stage musical.

The singer surprised judges with her rendition of the Les Miserables song I Dreamed A Dream. Her performance went on to become a YouTube hit.

"I never thought my life story would end up on the stage," Boyle said.

Elaine C Smith will play the 50-year-old from Scotland, who has sold over 14 million albums worldwide.

Read full article.

Senate Committee Approves Bill to Make Illegal Streaming a Felony

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation Thursday that would make illegal online streaming of copyrighted content a felony. The Wrap reports.

It now goes to the full Senate for a vote.

Sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX), the legislation would eliminate the legal distinction between unauthorized streaming and downloading.

The entertainment industry contends that without upping the severity of the offense from a misdemeanor, websites will continue to offer unsanctioned copies of films and television shows, robbing studios of important revenues. The new streaming bill would apply in cases in which a website operator has willfully and knowingly violated a copyright and profited from it, and does not allow law enforcement to prosecute people who stream videos without intending to profit.

Read full article.

Warner Announces China's First Video on Demand Service, but Is It Legal?

Warner Bros. has signed what could be a historic deal to make its movies available to homes throughout China on Video on Demand... as long as it turns out to actually be legit. TIME Techland reports.

Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced a partnership with YOU On Demand Media to provide China's "first national Pay-Per-View and Video On Demand platform," to launch in the summer with movies including the last Harry Potter installment.

... The Hollywood Reporter points out that with the Chinese media market tightly controlled by government regulators - only 20 imported films are allowed for theatrical release each year - it's also uncertain whether or not the deal will even be approved by the authorities at this point.

Read full article.

Time Warner Chief Wants All Tv Online

Time Warner chief Jeffrey Bewkes has called for producers of television shows and the cable and broadcast networks that distribute them to make all of their content available online -- free. ContactMusic reports.

As reported by Multichannel News , Bewkes told the Cable Show 2011 in Chicago, "Put the TV on the Internet. ... Don't change the business model, don't charge people to use it, and present it in a way that people are accustomed to."

BUT appearing on the same panel with Bewkes, Viacom chief Philippe Dauman said that before such a plan could be implemented, "we need to have measurement systems in place so we can sell ads."

For a second there it sounded promising... Read full article.

Nielsen: Online Video Viewers Watch Less TV

Americans who watch the most video online tend to watch less TV, according to The Nielsen Co., a finding that overturns a longstanding belief that people are watching more programming over all devices. npr reports.

The ratings agency said Wednesday that starting last fall, it noticed a segment of consumers who were starting to make a trade-off between online video and regular TV. The activity was more pronounced among people ages 18-34.

The finding could be troubling to television networks that have been putting shows online in order to reach new audiences. The hope was they wouldn't diminish viewership on television, where they still make most of their advertising revenue.

Read full article.

CCTV website rebuked over YouTube clip

According to The Telegraph, a controversial website that allows members to monitor CCTV cameras has been ordered to make changes by privacy regulators after footage from a shop was uploaded to YouTube.

Security video streamed to amateur store detectives' computers by Internet Eyes was saved and posted online in violation of data protection legislation, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The regulator received a complaint after the clip, which included an identifiable image of an innocent shopper, was discovered on Google's video sharing website.

Read full article.

Related: - Citizens monitor CCTV footage for a reward

Comcast Bringing Skype Messaging, Video Calling to TVs

Comcast's is partnering with Microsoft-owned Skype to bring video calling to HDTVs everywhere. TIME Techland reports.

You'll need a high-def screen, a special Comcast set-top box, a "high quality" video camera (probably not a cheap one) and—maddeningly—a "specially designed" standalone remote, in case you want to tap out text dictums in lieu of jibber-jabbering face-to-face.

Read more.

Case Study: Using TV Star Tweets to Engage Viewers

George Schweitzer, president of the network's CBS Marketing Group, in an interview with eMarketer utlines several ways the network is working to build that two-way conversation.

Television networks and shows are using social media to enhance the viewing experience, encourage tune-in and foster conversation among viewers. With the rise of internet-connected TVs, growth in consumers’ use of smartphones and tablets while watching television, and new social media applications designed around television, the TV industry is at a turning point.

Read full article.

Matcha.tv wants to be your social TV guide online

NewTeeVee reports on Matcha.tv which means tobring users the best movie and TV recommendations across a number of online video services.

Matcha.tv has attempted to build up an “uber social discovery platform” that taps into all of your favorite online subscription services, like Netflix and Hulu Plus. It then matches your interests up against your social graph, ranking recommendations based on interests of your friends and friends of friends.

By doing so, Matcha.tv tries to have it both ways: On the one hand it automates recommendations, but on the other hand it leverages the trust from matching tastes of your friends.

Read full article.

More ads hit online TV as Web audiences grow

Now, as online audiences grow, networks see an opportunity to make more money. The AP reports.

A recent episode of "Hawaii Five-O" carried six and a half minutes of ads online. That's less than the 16 minutes on TV but double what an hour-long show carried on CBS.com a year ago.

CBS shows twice as many ads per show on its website as it did last year. The CW network shows four times as many. Dozens of shows from major cable networks now carry as many ads online as they do on TV. More shows will follow soon.

Read full article.

Nintendo eyes social TV with Wii U second screen

As the iPad rapidly becomes the second screen of choice for television, Nintendo has unveiled its own second screen for gaming (and potentially TV viewing) called the Wii U.

The controller features a 6.2 inch touchscreen, an accelerometer, a microphone and two built-in cameras, and it’s designed to extend games beyond the TV set. “It’s like having two different windows in the game world around you,” explains Nintendo’s JC Rodrigo.

Read full article in Lost Remote.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn's 'not guilty' plea lost to TV

Electronic media covering the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case in New York, one of the most reported stories of recent years, missed his "not guilty" plea.

His first words uttered in public since his arrest for sexual assault were not recorded because the sole camera permitted in court was not rolling.

The operator had not received permission to start filming, French journalists reported from the scene.

Read full article.

France's Odd Internet Laws Explained: Fairness Vs. Innovation

Interesting perspective from Fast Company on France's curious Internet bans.

The world stared in befuddled amusement as France banned the words "Twitter" and "Facebook" from TV.

Slammed throughout the media as regulatory lunacy and ridiculous, the decree has appeared to many as a Luddite goverment's ham-fisted attempt to control a new technology it doesn't fully understand.

From the French perspective, these measures are mere extensions of a deeply entrenched legal tradition of prioritizing fairness over competition, believing that the Internet's love affair with a marketplace of ideas can become little more than unregulated "anarchy."

Read full article.

The impact of Twitter on TV shows

For producers, posts on Facebook and Twitter are seen as indicators of success – but do they influence ratings? The Guardian reports.

While Twitter and Facebook are having an impact among those who make and commission programmes, social media is not thought to be changing the way that TV schedules are put together, at least not yet. But it is certainly true that within the world of entertainment programming tweeters and Facebook fans have found a new way to enrich their TV viewing.

Read full article.

French regulators ban the words Facebook and Twitter from TV and radio

In a seemingly strange move, French media regulators have banned the words “Facebook” and “Twitter” from appearing on TV and radio unless a program specifically talks about the services in a news story, according to This Much I Know, via VentureBeat.

The motivation behind the ban is that the regulators believe mentioning Facebook or Twitter unfairly promotes a commercial enterprise over other enterprises, according to French regulator CSA. Basically, Facebook and Twitter are getting an unfair advantage over smaller social networks with each mention.

Read full article.

TV is dead. Long live the internet

Viewing behaviour will change radically within the next few years thanks to the convergence of TV and the internet. But what of the legal issues? Caroline Davidson reports for The Guardian.

Internet TV isn't just the future, it's the present, and it's advancing at breakneck speed.

Irrespective of the devices on which they are hosted, there is no arguing that television and the internet are merging. Online video is increasingly the internet's preferred medium and web-based applications are being adapted for TV.

In the face of all this, regulation is struggling to keep pace. The video-on-demand industry may have seen the creation of the regulator Atvod, but how long will it be before TV and the internet are governed by the same territorial broadcasting restrictions?

Read full article.

Chinese teen sells kidney for iPad 2

A Chinese teenager has reportedly sold one of his kidneys for 20,000 yuan ($3778) so he could buy an iPad2.

"I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didn't have the money," the boy told Shenzhen TV. He also bought an iPhone and a laptop with the proceeds from the sale, his mother said.

[via The Sydney Morning Herald]

Mobile signals to interfere with digital TV

Interference from future mobile signals might make digital TV unwatchable for some Britons, Ofcom has said, reports the BBC.

About 3% of TV-watching Britons could suffer interference from fourth-generation (4G) mobile, said Ofcom. Signals from base stations handling 4G services might cause interference in set-top boxes and digital televisions in homes nearby.

Filters will solve the problem for some, said Ofcom, but others may have to use other ways to get TV signals.

Read full article.

Audition on YouTube for X-Factor

YouTube is accepting audtions for X-Factor.

Simon Cowell and his crew on are still on the hunt for talent and are expanding their search to YouTube.

So if you think you have that "it" or shall we say that "x" factor that the former American Idol judge is looking for, you can try out for the show by uploading a vocal performance video to Youtube right now. We'll have a link to the XFactor USA page in our info section below, so check it out and let us know if you plan to throw your name or your group's name into the ring.

Good luck!