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.

Games Consoles

I’ve been banging on for a while now about the importance of video games consoles in getting online video into the living room. That’s because I firmly believe these Internet-connected devices are key to getting quality streaming content onto people’s televisions rather than only on computers as it generally is at the moment.

We’ve already seen a fair few advances in this area. Both the Wii and PS3 are able to provide users with access to Web-based television services such as the BBC iPlayer, Joost, and Hulu. While the Xbox 360, which has no Web browser capability, has Netflix and now the Sky Player providing both downloadable and live streaming video.

Microsoft At E3 2009

At E3 2009, this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo held in Los Angeles, Microsoft unveiled even bigger and more ambitious plans for online video on the Xbox 360, which are detailed below. What’s clear is that Microsoft realizes the potential for online video and has also realized that in the Xbox 360 it has a ready-made delivery system installed in millions of homes around the world.

The Xbox 360 video service will be rebranded as the Zune video marketplace. Streaming content will now be available in 18 countries up from 8, including the U.S., Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and Australia. TV shows and movie will now be available instantly rather than the current system of queue and view.

Full HD On Xbox 360

Xbox 360 video is already available in 720p high-definition but this is being pushed to 1080p full high-definition. Video playback will begin at low bitrates in order to allow for instant viewing but will soon ramp up to 1080p with 5.1 audio. Microsoft claims this new method of video delivery will be as close to the “disc in the drive” experience as is possible over the Internet.

Microsoft’s hook-up with BSkyB to bring the Sky Player to the Xbox 360 in the UK and Ireland was confirmed. And the feature mentioned alongside that which allows for social viewing of sports is to be rolled-out for other content in other territories as well. So a bunch of Xbox 360 friends will be able to watch a movie together using a virtual theater.

Conclusions

These are exciting times for console owners because they are getting treated as the innovators and early-adopters of online video coming to the living room. Microsoft, for once, is actually leading the charge rather than following in other’s footsteps. Whether Sony and Nintendo can now keep up remains to be seen.

Internet Search Options

The Internet search market is dominated by one company – Google. The company boasts an almost two-thirds share of the market, managing 64.2 percent of all searches compared to the 20.4 percent managed by Yahoo! and just 8.2 percent by Microsoft. No wonder then that Microsoft is currently rebranding and re-energizing its search engine.

The result is Bing, which launched over the weekend. It’s very much like Google, sharing many of the same features and elements as the market leader, including results for online video. But Microsoft is also trying to redefine the power of search, which it’s managing to do already, just not in the way it intended. The name just makes me think of Chandler Bing from Friends (pictured above) but there’s worse to come.

Live Video Thumbnails

They say no publicity is bad publicity, and if that’s true then the immediate aftermath of the launch of Bing will do wonders for getting the search engine known around the Internet. The Video section is at the center of a couple of interesting news stories surrounding Bing. One centers on porn, the other on whether live video thumbnails pulled from other sites is fair use or not.

All video results on Bing are delivered via a page of live video thumbnails. Scrolling your mouse over one of them sets the video playing while clicking the link opens up another Bing page where the video is embedded and available to play. It takes another click to actually visit the video source, which would seem overkill.

Bing Bong – Controversy Calling

As Beet.tv points out, this obviously raises questions around fair use. It’s entirely possible to watch videos in their entirety from within the Bing Video search results page. You may never visit the source and consequently never provide any revenue by way of advertising to the original host of the video. I’m no expert when it comes to fair use but I’d at least guess some of the video hosts would have a problem with the way Bing operates.

Another fallout of the decision to use live video thumbnails is that porn instantly becomes accessible to anyone capable of overriding the search filter, which is everyone as it only require two clicks of your mouse. As discovered by TechCrunch, once turned off you may be turned on by the site of hardcore porn video previews right there in your search results.

While the same results may come up on Google or Yahoo!, they require more effort to turn off the filter and then a visit to the source in order to view the clip. Instead, Microsoft is effectively becoming the front counter for a store full of pornography. Which is likely to displease parents and advertisers alike.

Games consoles are ready-made set-top boxes just waiting for online video content to be added to them. All three of the current-gen home consoles, the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, can be hooked up to the Internet and that feature can easily be used for streaming video as well as the intended use of online gaming.

Console Content

Each of the three consoles has seen some movement of late on video content being added. The PS3 is probably in the best position because its built-in Web browser means the Sony console is able to access Hulu, the BBC iPlayer, Joost, and any other streaming video service available on the Web. Xbox 360 owners instead have to rely on applications being added to their console’s dashboard.

It has secured quite a lot of content though. Xbox 360 owners in the U.S. have access to Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ playlist, although they’re not alone. It’s rarer these days for a set-top box or Internet-enabled device NOT to have Netfix integration. Thus proving the company’s commitment to video on-demand.

Xbox Sky Player

Now, it’s been announced that Sky Player is coming to the Xbox 360 in the UK. PS3 owners can already access Sky Player online through their Web browsers but this is a new, specially developed version just for the Microsoft console.

A rough release date of Autumn has been given but there are no details on pricing yet. The Web-based Sky Player service sees existing subscribers with multi-room given access to the channels they subscribe to; non-multi-room subscribers having to pay a fee for a Sky Player account; non-subscribers having to pay the same fee they would to have the full Sky service in their homes. I can’t see it being much different on the Xbox 360.

Xbox Sky Player viewers will have access to sports, movies, and other programming, all of which will be streamed live or on-demand. A 1Mb Broadband connection is required and all programming will be delivered in SD DVD quality. The service will be integrated into the Xbox 360 dashboard and will have Xbox 360-specific features such as the use of avatars and the ability to talk to other viewers in real-time.

Conclusions

The Sky Player service, on the Xbox 360 or otherwise, is only available to people resident in the UK and Ireland. But there is speculation that this deal could be followed by similar ones in the States with content-providers other than Sky, possibly to be announced as early as E3 2009 next week.

This is just yet another example of how games consoles are becoming an important element in the evolution of online video and digital streaming. They are already sat next next to your TV, hooked up to the Internet, and powerful enough to stream good-quality content. So it makes sense to use them to their full potential.

[Via BBC News and TechRadar]

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The New Xbox Experience is an overhaul of the existing Xbox Live online service available to all Xbox 360 owners with an Internet connection. And Web video is now part of the deal.

Xbox 360 owners can now stream any of 12,000 movies and television episodes through their console direct to their TV. And it’s all free for existing Netflix subscribers and Xbox Live Gold members.

Netflix On Xbox 360

The deal between Microsoft and Netflix was announced back in July at the E3 Media and Business Summit. But the service was delayed until the New Xbox Experience was launched on Nov. 19.

This deal is just one of a number made by Netflix in recent months which is seeing its library of streaming content becoming available on a huge range of products.

Netflix Growing In Stature

Netflix is rapidly becoming one of the most important player in the streaming video business, and has existing deals already in place with Roku and LG. The Xbox 360 is now the third TV-connected living room device with the ability to stream Netflix content.

High Definition Video

Netflix is also now offering high-definition movies as part of its online service, following in the footsteps of VUDU. There are initially only 300 HD choices available but the range will increase massively over time.

Sony Show Bitterness

There is one omission to content available on Xbox 360 however, with Sony decided to make any movies from Sony Pictures Entertainment unplayable on the Playstation 3’s rival console.

The Sony movies will still be watchable on PCs, Macs, and other Netfix enabled set-top boxes but Sony seems to have taken a rather obvious and snide decision to prevent the competition from benefiting from its intellectual property.

Bigger Issues

There also seems to be some problems with getting the Netflix ‘Watch Now’ feature to work on the Xbox 360, but that’s probably just teething problems that will be fixed sooner rather than later.

One issue that is here to stay is the ever-present one of territorial rights control. With DVDs and TV shows region locked, so is Netflix, so any Xbox 360 owner outside of the U.S. is out of luck. So for me in the U.K., the New Xbox Experience just means new reasons to be disappointed.

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