Xbox LIVE Diamond

Microsoft is being heavily tipped to unveil a new Xbox LIVE television service at the E3 Expo next week. Named Xbox LIVE Diamond (codename Orapa), the TV service would add even more video content to the bestselling games console which is already bulging with video content.

According to WinRumors, Microsoft is busy getting the final partners in place before making the big announcement. Orapa would be a monthly subscription service which would cost money on top of what Xbox 360 owners are already paying for the privilege of going online using their consoles.

Console TV Service

It’s unclear at this point exactly what form Xbox LIVE Diamond will take because the service is shrouded in secrecy and its existence is only based on rumor and speculation. The Diamond name suggests an added layer of features above what is currently available, with the paid plan currently known as Xbox LIVE Gold. And everyone knows Diamond is better than Gold.

It could be that the service is intended purely as a Mediaroom client, giving cable subscribers another device capable of streaming programming, or it could be that the service will be much, much more than that and effectively turn Microsoft into a TV provider in its own right. Or anything in between these two extremes.

Conclusions

This rumor is so strong I can only assume it’s based in reality. There have actually been rumors of a similar nature for months, so all eyes will be on E3 2011 next week waiting for this announcement.

Microsoft claims 40 percent of activity undertaken on the Xbox 360 is non-gaming, which would suggest there will be a lot of demand for this type of service. Games consoles are increasingly becoming living room entertainment hubs, and this will be another step in that direction.

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Video Games Consoles

Games consoles are increasingly becoming a central hub for entertainment, way beyond gaming. Thanks to all three current-gen home consoles, the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, the PS3 from Sony, and the Wii from Nintendo, being able to connect to the Internet, a whole new world has opened up.

The three consoles offer different online TV services. All of them now carry Netflix, with the Wii being the most recent device to join the party. The Wii and PS3 also carry BBC iPlayer in the U.K., and the PS3 has VidZone, a free, ad-supported music video player.

Xbox Live TV

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft has held talks with Peter Chernin, former President of News Corp., about creating an online television channel on the Xbox 360.

The channel would be available exclusively to Xbox Live subscribers, and would offer a mixture of original programming and reruns of existing shows.

It looked for a time as though Conan O’Brien would be producing a show exclusively for Xbox 360 owners, but he eventually signed to TBS. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that O’Brien’s show would have been the headline act on this new channel. But it wasn’t to be.

To Pay Or Not To Pay?

An online TV channel exclusive to the Xbox 360 sounds great, obviously, but the funding for it has to come from somewhere. And this is where the controversial part of the plan comes into the equation.

Chernin is said to have suggested the subscription price of Xbox Live gets raised by $1- to $2-a-month. Xbox Live Gold subscribers currently pay $50-per-year for the privilege, so a $12/$24 charge on top of that would certainly be noticed.

If this were to happen, I’d suggest instead that the whole venture be funded by advertising, which is less likely to cause dissension amongst the ranks of Xbox 360 owners. Make them pay and they’ll likely resent the channel rather than embrace it.

Conclusions

I’d love to see this happen. It would further cement the role games consoles are filling as an important driver of online video, and would be another option alongside Netflix and the like for Xbox 360 owners’ consumption of online media.

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Online Video In The U.K.

Online video is veritably booming in the U.K.

The country already has the fantastic BBC iPlayer, my personal favorite 4oD from Channel 4, ITV Player, and Demand Five. And that’s just the catch-up services for the free-to-air terrestrial channels.

There is also Sky Player (for BSkyB subscribers), and the likes of YouTube, SeeSaw, and the MSN Video Player catering for people after older shows online. And Hulu is still endeavoring to kick-start its service in the U.K. as it breaks out of the U.S. and pushes into Europe.

MSN Video Player

Microsoft announced the MSN Video Player in July 2009. The beta version of the fledgling service then launched in August 2009 with an initial 300 hours of content, mostly from BBC Worldwide and All3Media.

Shows on offer from the start included Hustle, Mock the Week, Dead Ringers, That Mitchell and Webb Look, How to Look Good Naked, 10 Years Younger, and Peep Show. All of which were offered for free with advertising support.

Positive Changes

The MSN Video Player has now left beta and fully launched, and many improvements have been made since I reviewed the site over six months ago.

• The site has been redesigned, and is now much easier to navigate.
• As well as TV Shows, there are sections dedicated to TV Clips, Movie Trailers, and even the best Viral Video clips.
• There is a lot more content available now than during the beta. It’s still all archive content, but that was always going to be the case.
• Video quality has been vastly improved, with a shift away from Adobe Flash to Microsoft’s own Silverlight technology.
• The Video Player has a Dim Lights feature, as well as the option to share the clip on a number of social networking sites.

Conclusions

Microsoft has clearly used the extended beta period to improve the MSN Video Player considerably. And it has therefore moved several places up the league table. Although there’s no guarantee that there’ll be content on the service you’ll want to watch, the chances are high. And the user experience now makes watching that content more of a pleasure than a chore.

Online Video Viewer Stats

Online video is showing no signs of slowing down in growth. As the latest comScore statistics for December 2009 show.

178 million Internet users in the U.S. watched online video during the last month of the decade. Which equates to almost 87 percent market penetration.

Between them they watched over 33 billion videos in December, or the equivalent of 187 videos each. The average length of video now stands at 4.1 minutes, up from 3.5 minutes around the same time last year.

YouTube Leading

As always, YouTube is leading the pack by quite a margin. 13 billion (40 percent) of the 33 billion video total were watched on the Google-owned site. The 136 million people who used YouTube averaged 97 videos per user.

With viewer numbers and loyalty like that it’s really no wonder Google is trying to shape YouTube into a site which can turn a profit, be it from movie rentals, a TV subscription service, or better advertising options.

Hulu Growing

Hulu ranks second again, as it has done for a while now. However, it’s a long way behind YouTube, with a 3 percent market share. Not that Hulu is complaining though, as it has broken the one billion videos barrier for the first time in its history.

Hulu is almost certainly to launch paid options this year, but it’s viewer numbers such as this which will ensure a free option always remains. Hulu would be mad to put all its content behind a paywall and lose that momentum at a stroke.

Conclusions

I cannot see anyone ever catching YouTube. The site continues to go from strength to strength, picking up new viewers, serving more videos than ever, and innovating to stay ahead of the chasing pack.

Online video as a whole is continuing its long march upwards. And that’s unlikely to stall anytime soon. The emerging tablet computer sector, as led by the Apple iPad, is promising to change the way we access media content, and that can only be good for Web video.

Microsoft Returns

Microsoft is doing all it can to replenish its tarnished reputation. The release of Windows 7 is huge, and Bing is a search engine which may actually manage to provide competition for the ubiquitous Google.

Silverlight 3.0 is obviously proving popular with media companies seeking to stream video over the Internet but 2009 has also seen a few changes take place in terms of Microsoft’s approach to online video.

MSN Video>Soapbox

Microsoft killed its Soapbox video site off in June after realizing it stood no chance of competing with YouTube. Video sites focused on UGC are fine but stand little chance when going up against the ‘One billion page views a day‘ might of YouTube.

On the other hand, Microsoft launched the MSN Video Player in the U.K., which streams classic TV shows for free in a similar style to the BBC iPlayer and Hulu. Just with less style and options.

Bing Bong

Microsoft launched Bing back in June, and its video search differed from Google by the use of live video thumbnails. In essence, rather than needing to click on a video to watch it, you can gain a preview of the content simply by hovering over the thumbnail.

This had two effects: it meant porn was available to watch from right within Bing, without the need to visit any other sites; it raised questions over the fair use of playing copyrighted content from within a search engine.

MSN Video – Bing Video

Now, Microsoft is in the process of converting MSN Video into Bing Video, using the Bing brand to better show off video content. High quality videos from MSN, Hulu, YouTube, ABC and others are now all combined into the one site.

Bing Video looks classy and has a good range of video content, options, and features. And I must admit to having spent a while finding new video picks I hadn’t yet seen featured on WebTVHub.

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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 On Xbox 360

Xbox 360 owners gained access to Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ video-on-demand streaming service last November with the roll-out of the long-awaited New Xbox Experience. This gave Xbox Live subscribers access to the 12,000-plus movies and television episodes Netflix gives away to its subscribers.

This was just the latest step in the evolution of video games consoles from being meant just for games to becoming true multimedia devices designed as living room entertainment hubs.

Games Consoles = Entertainment Hubs

Since then, all three home games consoles, the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii have added video to their line-up of offerings.

The Xbox 360 has secured more television and movies on both sides of the Atlantic, with content from NBC Universal amongst other. 1080p HD Zune playback and a console version of the Sky Player are also on the way to the Microsoft console.

The PS3 has added a music video service called Vidzone to its line-up, which acts like an on-demand MTV. Thanks to its in-built Web browser, the likes of Hulu and the BBC iPlayer can also be viewed on the Sony console.

The Wii hasn’t faired quite as well, but its Web browser can also stream video in the same way the PS3 can. And with YouTube rolling out a version of the site intended purely for watching on television, Wii owners aren’t without options.

New Netflix Features

Today saw Microsoft unveil another update to its Xbox 360 dashboard. It includes several new features for Netflix playback. Party Watch is a social feature that enables Netflix users to watch content together on their Xbox 360 consoles.

While improved playback functionality, an improved search function, and more information regarding what your friends are watching all add to the usefulness of Netflix on the Xbox 360.

Netflix An Xbox 360 Exclusive?

Interestingly, the patch notes for the update also includes a section concerning the exclusivity of Netflix on games consoles:

“This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers, at no additional cost.”

This promise for the Xbox 360 to “be the only game console” featuring Netflix Watch Instantly flies in the face of rumors from April which suggested the service was also on its way to the PS3 and Wii.

Either Microsoft has secured a long-term exclusivity agreement with Netflix or it’s hedging its bets that Netflix will decide not to branch out and welcome rival consoles to the party. Either way, the Xbox 360 looks to have secured Netflix for the foreseeable future.

[Via NewTeeVee]

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Competition For BBC iPlayer

The online video streaming sector in the UK is suddenly exploding, perhaps fueled by the popularity of the BBC iPlayer or perhaps because online video has finally gone mainstream in a big way. The iPlayer continues to dominate but in the aftermath of the decision to quash Project Kangaroo, competition is increasing.

Arqiva has bought the technology behind Kangaroo and plans to use it to launch an online video streaming service within months. Then there is Hulu, the free premium video service in the States which has plans to move into other territories, with the UK being first on the agenda. Hulu UK is therefore likely to become a reality in a few months time.

MSN Video Player Launches

First out of the gates is the MSN Video Player, a new UK-only online video streaming service from Microsoft. The project is being overseen by Ashley Highfield, who took the wealth of knowledge he acquired from being in charge of the BBC iPlayer to Microsoft. The MSN Video Player launched at the beginning of this week in its experimental pilot form.

The MSN Video Player has initially launched with 300 hours of content from BBC Worldwide and All3Media. Shows on offer include Hustle, Mock the Week, Dead Ringers, That Mitchell and Webb Look, How to Look Good Naked, 10 Years Younger, and Peep Show. Which are all great shows but are limited to only being available at least 180 days after being originally aired.

MSN Video Player Review – First Impressions

So, it’s all older content but there is still a lot of shows available on the MSN Video Player that I’d like to watch. In the same way that Dave is one of the my favorite British television channels, new content isn’t the be all and end all. However, video quality is and in that department the MSN Video Player is severely lacking.

On first visit, the site looks nice, with images of some of the content available on the homepage. However, the design is also messy and confusing. the shows are divided into genres from Comedy to Documentary, some being better represented than others.

MSN Video Player Review – Viewer Experience

A lack of content and tatty design could be forgiven if the viewer experience was great. But the MSN Video Player doesn’t get that right either. The titles of each episode are too small to see in full, meaning you have to click on it to actually see what it is. Doing so starts the video on the same page, which is fine. But the poor video quality immediately shows.

Even in its default small size the video is pixelated, but switch to fullscreen and it becomes virtually unwatchable. The quality is much worse than the BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV Player, and only just compares to YouTube SD. At the moment, MSN Video Player delivers video in Adobe Flash rather than Microsoft’s own Silverlight. But I suspect that will change before long. At least I hope so.

The adverts were inevitable for a free service such as this, and they’re as well implemented as they were ever going to be. But that doesn’t make it any more palatable to have a BBC show which was originally broadcast without any adverts be segmented by regular commercial breaks.

Conclusions

The MSN Video Player has promise as being an online repository for classic shows. It is almost like an online version of Dave. However, to really take off, it needs more varied content, a more user-friendly layout, and above all better video quality. If that doesn’t happen then I’ll stick with the BBC iPlayer and 4oD until Arqiva and Hulu UK turn up.

The BBC iPlayer And…

The BBC iPlayer is a brilliant service, and one which I have used on a weekly basis since it first launched at the end of 2007. But, as good as it is, it is obviously limited to new episodes of BBC shows. And competition is always good.

That’s the view the Competition Commission took when it ordered Project Kangaroo, a joint project between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, to be shut down before it had even got started. And the decision left British viewers with little choice in the online video market.

Hulu U.K.

That was until Hulu, the hugely popular U.S.-only online TV platform, signaled its intentions to launch a U.K. version of the site. A senior vice president of international operations was hired in March. While May saw newspaper reports that Hulu was in negotiations with several British broadcasters.

The beginning of July saw the stakes upped even higher, with Hulu spelling out its international roll-out plans. The company sees the U.K. as its number one priority and a British-based Hulu could be launched as early as September.

Arqiva (Formerly Kangaroo)

Then yesterday saw the sale of the Project Kangaroo technology lock, stock, and barrel to Arqiva, a U.K.-based broadcasting operator. The company plans to use the Kangaroo hardware, software, and branding to launch a video-on-demand television service within a matter of months.

MSN Video Player

Microsoft has now also entered the fray, launching a pilot version of its MSN Video Player. A trial version will launch within a week, and include over 300 hours of content from the BBC and All3Media.

The service will be available free to all Broadband Internet users in the U.K., with advertising covering the costs. This will be a combination of pre-roll advertising and commercial breaks in the middle of longer-running shows.

Old Content

Series on offer initially will include Hustle, Mock the Week, Dead Ringers, That Mitchell and Webb Look, How to Look Good Naked, 10 Years Younger, and Peep Show. These are all older shows as Microsoft will only be airing episodes at least 180 days after they have aired on television. Which differentiates the MSN Video Player to the BBC iPlayer.

Flash Not Silverlight

The six-month pilot will use Adobe Flash rather than Microsoft’s own Silverlight technology. But should the trial prove successful, I suspect this will change before a full launch takes place. The MSN Video Player is being overseen by Ashley Highfield, who in his role as ex-BBC technology chief oversaw the iPlayer and the start of Kangaroo.

Conclusions

The online video sector in the U.K. is suddenly hotting up. The popularity of the BBC iPlayer has clearly persuaded others that it’s a market worth venturing in to. Whether Microsoft can get a foothold before Hulu U.K. arrives depends on whether viewers want to watch old content and are willing to sit through adverts in order to do so.

[Via Times Online]

No To YouTube, Yes To Soapbox

Before Google spent $1.65 billion acquiring YouTube in 2006, Microsoft was thought to be interested in buying the site itself. When Google got there first, Microsoft issued a statement saying that while it had “evaluated acquiring this type of technology several months ago” it had decided against it. Instead it was going to build its own video-sharing Web site as this was “a more cost-effective way to compete in this new space.”

That service was named Soapbox and was launched in a private beta by the end of that same year. It launched fully in 2007, and was clearly a YouTube clone. The only real difference being its approach to copyrighted material. While YouTube leaves the discovery of this content to the copyright holder, Microsoft took the task on itself.

Taking A Dive

Soapbox was (and still is at the time of writing) a place for anyone with a Windows Live ID to upload user-generated content. But now, due to the tough economic times we are experiencing, Microsoft is killing off the site in its current form. Online video isn’t the only area to fall to Microsoft’s penny-pinching, with other products such as Microsoft Money also being culled.

Microsoft Vice President Erik Jorgensen told CNET that Soapbox is now going to be turned into a specialized video site for bloggers and citizen journalists to post content in categories such as entertainment, lifestyle, and finance. These are all areas in which the MSN portal already focuses.

YouTube’s Dominance

The problem for Microsoft is that YouTube is just too dominant, with around a 40 percent share of the total online video market. How can anyone, even a company as huge and cash rich as Microsoft, compete? The answer is no one can, with Microsoft boasting of under two percent of the market. So it’s no wonder Soapbox is getting killed off.

YouTube has become synonymous with online video. In the same way you now Google something rather than search for it, or eBay a used item rather than sell online, YouTube IS online video, both in terms of uploading videos to the Web, and watching them as well.

Conclusions

If you see a video on any other video site on the Web, the chances are you can then go to YouTube and see it on there instead within a few hours. YouTube now boasts 20 hours of video content uploaded every minute. Compare that to Soapbox, which Paid Content claims only had 22 videos uploaded over the course of an hour.

Ultimately though, as huge and dominating as YouTube is, it’s cost Google a fortune already and is still on course to lose money this year, although there is some debate over how much. Microsoft may be shuttering Soapbox but will the company really regret letting YouTube slip through its fingers when it has so far turned out to be a money pit.