Technology360

Sirius, EchoStar in distribution deal

Sirius, EchoStar in distribution deal. Sirius Satellite Radio will announce an agreement Thursday with satellite television broadcaster EchoStar Communications that will make Sirius' music programming available to 9.7 million EchoStar subscribers. [snip] ¶ Under the deal, subscribers to EchoStar's Dish Network's premium packages - "America's Top 120," "America's Top 180" and "America's Everything Pak" -now will receive all Sirius' music channels at no extra charge. Other Dish Network subscribers will be able to upgrade service to include Sirius. [CBS MarketWatch]

Sony Connect to Offer Video Downloads

Sony Connect to Offer Video Downloads. Howard Stringer, vice chairman and chief operating officer of Sony, at a Tokyo news conference told reporters "Sony Connect, our music download service, has just been launched at beta-testing level and video downloading will follow later this year." The announcement is a surprise because Sony Connect is positioned as a music download service, but the announcement can be an indicator of where other music download services might be headed. [eHomeUpgrade]

Doubts raised over digital switch

Doubts raised over digital switch. The proposed switch-over to digital television worldwide is unlikely to occur before 2010, a report has said. ¶ The report - published by the Informa Media Group - said digital services are expected to reach 365 million global households by the end of the decade. ¶ However, even if 91% of households switched - the figure predicted in the US - governments would be unlikely to switch off old analogue transmitters. [BBC News] See also story below.

Media Multitasking...And How Much People Really Use The Media

The first issue of the International Digital Media & Arts Association Journal is out and is entitled "Middletown Media Studies." I've not yet read it all the way through, but it looks very interesting. --Dennis
Abstract
Three studies of use of a variety of traditional and digital media in 'Middletown” are reported: a telephone survey, a diary study, and an observation study.
The studies reveal people spend more than double (129.7 percent) the time with the media than they think they do—11.7 hours a day in total—and while the discrepancies between perceived use and actual use are often huge, they’re also inconsistent across and even within media. Because of media
multitasking, total time in media usage is less than the sum of its parts. Summing all media use by medium results in a staggering 15.4 hours per day.
The least media-active person we observed spent five and a quarter hours with the media; the most active person spent over 17 hours—essentially every waking moment—with the media.
Diary tabulations of media use documented more usage than did the telephone survey, but it was still 12.9 percent below observed use. Diary data collection reported an average 9.5 hours a day of media use—or 10.8 hours by summing individual media.
Observation revealed that during almost a quarter of the media day (23.7 percent), people use at least two media at the same time. At 12.4 percent, diaries failed to pick up almost half the simultaneous multiple media usage that observation recorded.

In the Era of Cheap DVD's, Anyone Can Be a Producer

In the Era of Cheap DVD's, Anyone Can Be a Producer IN the fall, on the Monday after each University of Texas football game, the university's athletic department produces a bulk mailing for the post office: DVD's containing a complete video of the game, interviews with the coaches and other features. ¶ There may be more college football on television than ever before, but even so, schools like Texas with prominent football teams can't count on reaching a national audience every Saturday. So the university offers DVD's of its 12 games as a $300 package; so far about 300 fans around the country are subscribers. [New York Times]

FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV

FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV. Key members of the House Commerce Committee have asked the Federal Communications Commission for a detailed study on the feasibility of cable and satellite companies offering their subscribers the ability to pay for the individual channels they want. ¶ Most satellite and cable companies require their customers to subscribe to packages of channels, arguing the system allows them to maintain robust lineups at affordable rates. But a la carte pricing, which would allow subscribers to pick and choose the channels they want, has been gaining momentum among some lawmakers and consumer groups as costs have risen and concerns have grown over televised indecency. Several parents groups have complained that consumers should not have to pay for channels that air content they find offensive. [Washington Post]

TV talks aim to set date for switch to digital

TV talks aim to set date for switch to digital The government took a step closer to setting a date for the switch to digital television yesterday by inviting broadcasters to talks aimed at agreeing on a timetable. [snip] According to Ms Jowell, more than half of all households currently received digital TV services, and "in view of the progress to date, switch-over between 2006 and 2010 remains attainable". [Financial Times (UK)]

Report reveals TV digital apathy

Report reveals TV digital apathy. The rate of switchover from analogue to digital televisions in UK homes will have slipped behind other countries by 2010, a report by the Informa Media Group has revealed. ¶ [snip] Simon Murray, author of the report, said: "The U.S. will have the highest digital TV penetration by 2010 – at 91%. [MediaWeek (UK)]

Powell: Wireless As Third 'Wire'

Powell: Wireless As Third 'Wire' Wireless could be the "Holy Grail" for U.S. broadband policy, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said today at an agency-hosted gathering of the wireless broadband industry. ¶ Wireless broadband, Powell told attendees at the FCC's day-long Wireless Broadband Forum, could be the third "wire" into homes next to cable and wireline telephone. The "third wire" is the fuse that ultimately will spark real competition for consumers, he said. The FCC is working aggressively toward implementing new spectrum policy and fostering new technology that will drive broadband access home to consumers, he added. [Wireless Week]

Six Questions for Iran (multimedia)

The Gray Lady, of all newspapers, has begun presenting very impressive multimedia journalism. Six Questions for Iran, featuring the audio commentary of Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas D. Kristof and the photo, audio and video work of Naka Nathaniel, is a compelling example of using the web as a unique medium. Remarkably, it has the quality of a conversation with an interesting observer rather than the presentation quality one gets from print and broadcast journalism. It takes several minutes, but I recommend viewing it all the way through the end where he leads you to other resources. [New York Times; thanks to Steve Outing of the Poynter Institute for the tip] --Dennis