From Free To Paid

There is more television and movie content to watch for free on the Web now than ever before. Hulu in the States, BBC iPlayer in the U.K., and YouTube and all the rest worldwide, the Internet is now awash with programming.

Interestingly enough, both Hulu and the iPlayer are thought to be looking at paid options in the future. But this is, if anything, a sign that the business is getting serious and offering an alternative to the traditional cable and television networks.

Monthly iTunes Subscription

According to Media Memo, Apple is now eyeing a monthly subscription plan which would see a variety of television programming available for people willing to pay $30 per month for the privilege.

$30 a month is not a cheap option but compared to the cable subscriptions in the States of almost $100 per month it can be considered an absolute bargain.

iTunes Buffet

Apple currently offers individual downloads of television episodes. Pilots and premieres are often free but new seasons of successful shows can cost upwards of $35, with episodes delivered as they air on television.

This new plan, if it actually happens, would offer a kind of buffet of iTunes offerings for a set price. Rather than downloading and owning digital copies of the shows, users would be streaming them to watch on demand when they want to.

Cable Catastrophe?

The key for Apple is getting content providers on board. Disney is being mentioned as the first network likely to sign up but one network isn’t going to be enough to tempt people to pay the asking price.

Also, any venture such as this would be sure to harm cable providers and they are unlikely to take kindly to the networks giving up their content in this way.

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Epix

When Epix was first announced back in June, I described it as a ‘Hulu for movies’ and an indication that Hollywood and the movie industry was finally waking up to the need for free or cheap, easily-accessible Web destinations to consume content legally.

After all, the music industry failed to do this for years and it lead to the situation we are in now where despite Apple iTunes and a wealth of other places to stream or buy music (my favorite being Spotify), piracy is still a huge problem.

Half-Baked

While piracy is also obviously also a problem for Hollywood, I don’t feel it’s too late for the movie studios to stop the rot. And ventures like EpixHD are the way to go about this.

However, a TechCrunch article by MG Siegler got me thinking. He argues that while EpixHD is looking great, it’s still just another half-baked service offering a small sampling of the thousands of movies available.

Integrated Online Movie Store

What Hollywood really needs is an integrated online movie store with content from all the major studios and a range of the smaller or independent ones.

Even if it cost slightly more to consume the content, a one-stop shop coupled with a user-friendly interface could make it a winning strategy.

Options Galore

As Siegler makes clear, most of us have at least one option for streaming movies already in our houses, be it a computer, a games console, or a set-top box such as Apple TV or Roku. But the problem is they all offer a segmented service, with some studios aligned to some, some aligned to others.

For as long as I can remember, we’ve been able to rent a new movie on the day of release from a Blockbuster or other video store. But online it’s a different story, with the movie studios putting restrictions in place to prevent that level of user-friendliness.

Promoting Piracy

Hollywood is scared of piracy and scared of a wholehearted move to the Internet for fear of curtailing its other revenue streams. But taking this path is only going to have one effect – make piracy the big winner. And with piracy, the studios don’t see a cent of revenue.

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Still Emerging From The Gloom

For what is still considered an emerging market which isn’t likely to reach its full potential for many years to come online video is certainly offering consumers a range of options. The number of ways of watching video and television content over the Internet is numerous and growing all the time.

While online video sites on the Web are a niche unto themselves (although just as crowded), there are also a number of options for people who want to consumer video and television in their living rooms using an Broadband connection and either a set-top box or other Internet-enabled device.

ZillionTV Revealed

ZillionTV first came to everyone’s attention back in March of this year. A big write-up in The L.A. Times ended with the newspaper describing it as “the next generation of video on demand.”

ZillionTV was heralded as a new set-top box service with some high-profile backers and a industry veteran in charge in the shape of Mitch Berman.

Something Different?

What differentiated ZillionTV from the rest was a more measured approach to the marketplace.

This came from deals with ISPs that will see bandwidth set aside for the service and a novel approach to revenue with a basic free, ad-supported service, limited time rentals, or purchases giving permanent streaming options.

Delayed & Changing

Now, although the plan to launch with ISPs and have multiple options for viewing options is still in place, The L.A. Times reports that the launch has been delayed. What’s more, ZillionTV will be available directly to consumers in areas where no ISP deals have been secured.

The full service now won’t be available until the second half of 2010, although trials are said to be happening in thousands of homes already.

Conclusions

I had high hopes for ZillionTV on first hearing about it. But a huge delay, possibly amounting to a year or more, and the loss of at least some of what made the service different from the rest, has me starting to doubt whether ZillionTV will be able to fare any better than the many other competitors already vying for control of the sector.

The iPod Touch got a serious hardware upgrade, as Apple looks to be drooling over the mobile gaming pie.

The Touch is now faster and supports OpenGL|ES, which should improve game performance.

Two new features are voice-controlled music playback and voice memos; the earphones have been updated with a microphone.

There is no video camera for the iPod Touch, perhaps because this would create competition with the iPhone.

Overview of Features

• Control music playback with spoken commands.
• Audio recorder
• Genius Mixes
• Buy or rent movies and TV shows
• App Store
• Shop on iTunes
• Safari Web Browser, Mail, Maps and YouTube
• Nike+ support

Hands-on with Features & Specs of New iPod

What Others are Saying

CrunchGear speculates on the lack of video camera, wondering if hardware changes were just to difficult to incorporate for this model. They’re really excited about some of the new games coming out for the Touch, including Assassin’s Creed, Riddim Ribbon Nova and Madden.

Speculation about the Touch’s camera might be supported by iFixit’s teardown of the hardware:

It appears that Apple left in room for a camera in the top of the device. There is a 6mm x 6mm x 3mm space between the Broadcom chip and the wireless antenna. There isn’t enough depth for an iPhone-style autofocus still camera, but just enough room for the camera that Apple used in the 5th generation iPod nano.

The Touch sells at 8GB for $199, 16GB for $229, 32GB for $299, and the brand new 64GB for $399.

iPod Nano 5th Gen Marketplace – Prices, Deals & Discounts

On Amazon:
Buy a 3rd Gen iPod Touch from Amazon

On eBay:

You may also be interested in:

• The New 5th Gen iPod Nano Review
• More about Apple on WebTVWire
• Searching for more Portable Video/Music Players on eBay

New product announcements from Apple highlight the addition of a video camera to the iPod Nano.

The new camera is capable of shooting VGA (640×480) quality footage at 30fps, which is fine for YouTube, but does not measure up to the specifications of newer portable HD video cameras like the Flip Mino HD.

The iPod Nano now sports a microphone and built-in speaker. Software updates include Cover Flow, Genius Mix, and Voice Over, which allows you to read out the names of songs as they’re played. The Nano also has a built-in pedometer and FM player.

Overview of all features

• Better design with aluminum finish and a larger display screen
• Genius mixes
• FM tuner with Live Pause and iTunes Tagging
• VoiceOver reads the names of songs and artists, so you can navigate your music without looking at the screen.
• Pedometer and Nike+ integration
• Voice Memos with new built-in mic
• Video camera with audio and special effects

The iPod Nano Unboxed

What Others are Saying

Crunchgear have been relatively positive about the Nano’s new features being particularly impressed with the new FM radio player. As gizmodo pointed out Apple has been putting off adding a radio player for some time, most likely due to Apple wanting users to stick to iTunes.

Apple Insider did spotlight a rare flaw in the design. The position of the camera tends to be where your fingers would get in the way, further adding to the fact that the iPod Nano camera is really just for fun, and not for making any serious decent quality videos.

Overall the 5th Gen iPod Nano delivers what you’d expect from Apple and magically packs a host of features into a tiny player. If you like iTunes and want a small portable mp3 player packed with features then the new Nano is a good choice.

However, if you are just looking for a tiny device to store and play your music then the iPod Nano is too overloaded with features and a bit on the expensive side. Gizmodo sums it up:

“Should you buy the Nano? Yes, if you want an easy-to-use, slick, full-featured and small PMP. No, if you just want an 8GB vessel for your MP3s.”

The Nanos come in red, pink, orange, silver, black, purple, blue, green, and yellow. They will retail at $179 for 16GB and $149 for the 8GB.

iPod Nano 5th Gen Marketplace – Prices, Deals & Discounts

On Amazon:
Buy a 5th Gen iPod Nano from Amazon

On eBay:

You may also be interested in:

• More about Apple on WebTVWire
• Portable Rechargeable Speakers for 5th Gen Nano
• Searching for more 5th Generation iPods on eBay

Is this correct or is the Microsoft executive who also launched the BBC iPlayer merely showing his anti-Apple bias?

Ashley Highfield

Ashley Highfield is a man who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to consumer technology and online video. He formerly oversaw the launch of the BBC iPlayer service, initially only on Windows, and was the CEO of Project Kangaroo, the joint venture between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4.

He is now the UK Managing Director of Microsoft (Consumer & Online) and looks after Windows, Bing, Messenger, Hotmail, and more besides. He also oversaw the launch of the MSN Video Player recently, which brings archive television shows to the Web.

TV Industry Ventures Online

The TV industry has been slow in adopting the Internet as a legitimate place to sell its wares. This is partly down to a desire to keep the status quo going and partly because there just isn’t enough revenue on the Web at present. Advertising rates are increasing but not fast enough for execs to take note.

But does this mean the television industry is going the same route as the music industry did? Which, for those who don’t know, let the situation escalate until piracy got out of hand and whose failure to embrace the Internet meant Apple became the be all and end all with its iTunes service.

Highfield Speaks

Highfield believes this is a danger, telling The Guardian of his fears that the TV industry is facing an “iTunes moment” similar to the one faced by the music industry a few years ago.

He suggests that unless the TV industry “aggressively move its content online” and builds “a critical mass of content that the traditional buyers of airtime will understand and buy into,” that the time to act may come and go, leaving Apple in prime position to pick up the pieces.

He said:

“So realistically I think the industry has about two to three years to adapt or face its iTunes moment. And it will take at least that long for media brands to build credible, truly digital brands. But, importantly, I do believe TV does have a small two to three year window in which to respond.”

Conclusions

I agree with Highfield that the TV industry needs to act sooner rather than later so as not to miss this opportunity to embrace the Web and shape how people legally consumer television content online.

However, I don’t see Apple as the big, bad wolf that Highfield does. I think that’s more borne out of the Microsoft line which sees everything Apple does as bad. And that’s really not the case.

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Netflix Watch Instantly

Netflix’s business is built on delivering rented movies to people’s doors and charging them a monthly fee for doing so. And it’s a pretty damn successful business. However, Netflix knows that the days of physical media are coming to an end, with streaming music and video, as well as software and games delivered via the Internet becoming standard.

Therefore, it offers its subscribers the chance to stream video via its ‘Watch Instantly’ service. Those paying the monthly fees required to rent DVDs get access to over 12,000 movies and episodes of popular television series. Not just available on a computer, Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ has been added to a number of devices, from set-top-boxes to the Xbox 360.

ABC Shows Now Available

Netflix has today announced the inclusion of several high profile ABC shows on ‘Watch Instantly’. Viewers will now be able to catch up on the first five seasons of Lost, and previous seasons of Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Legend of the Seeker. This is another indication of ABC’s intentions to open up its content to online video offerings, with shows already on Hulu.

These kinds of drama serials are the perfect fodder for online video services such as Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ offerings. Episodic and addictive, people can now catch up with previous seasons before getting hooked on the current ones playing on mainstream television. Everyone’s a winner, except maybe Apple where iTunes sales are concerned.

Netflix iPhone App

This comes on the back of speculation that a Netflix iPhone app could be on its way to iTunes. That is if Apple allows it, because it is bound to further harm sales of downloads. Regardless, Multichannel claims Netflix will soon be coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as the Nintendo Wii games console.

There are already iPhone apps that allow Netflix customers to manage their content but the one now being developed would allow them to actually watch content on the mobile devices. AT&T wouldn’t be happy with the bandwidth requirements for this over the Internet so it will probably be restricted to local networks via Wi-Fi just like the SlingPlayer iPhone app.

Conclusions

Netflix has a very strong and aggressive strategy for its ‘Watch Instantly’ service, getting it on as many devices as possible. However, to truly reach a wider audience it needs to introduce a streaming-only subscription rather than require people to pay for the DVD deliveries. Luckily, the company has already suggested this is a possibility.

If and when that happens, Netflix could then try to break out of the U.S. and launch its service in Europe and beyond. I’d certainly be interested because I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.

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IPhone 3GS Video

The recently-released iPhone 3GS includes some fantastic video features. The device includes a 3 megapixel camera which is capable of recording video at near-HD quality with full audio and at 30 frames-per-second. What’s more, there is some excellent basic editing software included as standard which also allows captured clips to be uploaded to YouTube and the like with ease.

This inclusion of a good quality video camera in the iPhone is a worry for video camera manufacturers, because if this sort of device is available in a smartphone, where is the need to buy a product which costs more and is only capable of doing that one job? However, the iPhone is still a costly prospect for most people thanks to the monthly contract required to use one.

IPod Touch Video

This isn’t the case for the iPod Touch, the product which has almost everything in common with the iPhone, apart of course from the phone part, with the Touch instead focused on being a multimedia device you can carry in your pocket. Imagine what would happen if Apple decided to put a video camera inside each and every iPod Touch, and possibly other flavors of iPod as well.

This is the latest rumor to have hit the InterWebs. TechCrunch claims a source in Asia is reporting that Apple has recently placed a massive order for the camera modules of the type used in the iPhone 3GS. The order is said to be so large it can only be intended for the next generation of iPods. MacRumors has added weight to this theory with the posting of alleged new designs for the new iPod Touch and iPod Nano, both of which have holes intended for camera lenses to poke out of.

Immediate Effects

If true, this would firstly have a huge impact on the video camera market because millions of iPods are sold every single month, and who would buy a more expensive video camera when they could just upgrade their iPod and get a whole bunch of other features thrown in for the price?

The other obvious impact would be on the amount of people suddenly able to flex their creative muscle and shoot reasonably good looking video on a mobile device. Video shot on a crappy cellphone camera is one thing, video shot on a smartphone or personal media player is quite another. Mobile uploads to YouTube would likely increase by a huge amount once again.

Conclusions

Apple could quite easily corner this particular market while killing another one off if it chooses to go down this route. And as there’s no real reason why the company wouldn’t, it seems likely the speculation will prove to be correct in the months to come. Mobile video is about to come of age, and as with so many other markets, Apple is at the forefront of making it mainstream.

iPod Touch Products on eBay

SlingPlayer

For those unaware of Sling Media, the Slingbox, or SlingPlayer Mobile, a quick explanation. The Slingbox is a device which once hooked up to your other equipment and your Broadband router allows you to watch TV anywhere in the world on your computer.

Not only this, but you can also control your TV, cable box, DVR, or whatever from afar. It’s an essential piece of equipment for those people who spend long stretches of time away from home but don’t want to get back to their house with a plethora of television content to catch up on.

Smartphone Mobile App

The Slingbox seems made for interaction with the new breed of smartphones. Combining the two pieces of technology would be a dream for people who want to be able to watch television on the move. Sling Media agrees, and has spent the last few months developing and releasing SlingPlayer Mobile for as many platforms as possible.

The SlingPlayer Mobile App is now available for BlackBerry, Windows Smartphone and Pocket PC, and Palm amongst others, The mobile app means Slingbox owners can now do everything they previously needed a laptop to do using just their compatible smartphone.

Blackberry and iPhone

The Blackberry version has now come out of beta after finally being released in December after a long wait. Sling Media is offering a free 30-day trial of SlingPlayer Mobile for Blackberry which you can get your hands on by visiting http://mobile.slingmedia.com on your Blackberry. The full version costs $29.99, which may seem hefty but is quite a bargain when you consider the amount you get for your money.

Even more exciting is the news that SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone looks like finally being on its way. The app has been rumored and anticipated ever since Apple released the iPhone. It was first seen in public at Macworld 2009, and CNET takes a first look at how it works in the video below.

Finally On Way

Sling Media has now announced that it has submitted SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone to the iTunes App Store. The last stage before it finally appears is for Apple to approve it. This is highly likely but Apple has a history of wanting to over-control its business and could still put a spanner in the works.

Update: Slingplayer iPhone App is Here

Apple did approve the app and it is available to download here.

BlackBerry Smartphone on eBay

Offline HD

In the offline world, HD is all the rage. A large percentage of the population now own Full-HD or HD-Ready televisions, and despite a slow launch, where it had to battle against HD DVD to become the format of choice, there is evidence that Blu-ray is also gaining a sizable market share.

There are also more content providers than ever offering their wares in high-definition, with Sky HD and BBC HD two of the leading proponents.

Online HD

Online has so far been a different story. Hindered by bandwidth and Broadband speed limitations, many Web companies have lagged behind their offline counterparts in offering a range of HD services. But no more.

YouTube took the plunge last year, offering HD streaming of selected videos. In a move coupled with a default widescreen player, December finally saw high-definition video come to the world’s most popular online video site.

Facebook quickly followed suit, so it seemed the streaming market was making headway into the world of HD. However, the ISPs are still likely to complain about high-def video becoming standard, which is why FilmOn developed HDi technology, which it claims eliminates the pesky bandwidth and speed problems by cleverly using compression.

Apple iTunes

Apple has been offering HD downloads of TV shows since last September, and all of the major networks were on board by October. And now it’s also offering HD movie downloads as well. The initial offering is small, with Quantum of Solace and Twilight the big movies instantly available, but the library is sure to grow over time.

Apple iTunes HD movie rentals are priced at $4.99 while downloads will cost $19.99 for newly-released movies. This seems steep although when compared to the $25 – $30 being asked for a new movie release on Blu-ray, it may actually not be so bad.

Amazon Video on Demand

Amazon has been growing its online video business for some time now, and there is growing evidence that it too will shortly be selling HD versions of television shows. According to Ars Technica, multiple Web sites have independently found evidence of the move. The fact that this evidence has turned up over the course of a few days suggests it’s more than just pure speculation.

The evidence suggests that Amazon will go toe-to-toe with Apple, matching the $2.99-per-episode price of HDTV content. Amazon has responded to the claims, telling Tech Flash:

“We said many months ago that we intend to bring HD titles to our catalogue in 2009 but we have no further details to announce at this time.”

The Winner: Consumers

The start of an online HD video war is good news for the consumer. It should mean prices will come down as both sides battle to provide the lowest-priced service. It could also mean advances are made in the delivery methods, as neither side wants to be labeled with having the worst-looking high-definition content on the Web.

HD is finally finding its feet on the Internet. It’s now up to the companies involved to push its adoption.

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Amazon Video on Demand