Technology360

Online Compares Favorably to Other Media Across Generations, According to New Online Publishers Association Report

The Online Publishers Association (OPA) announced today the results of its Generational Media Study, the fourth installment in a series of research reports designed to provide a detailed view of the 18 to 34 year-old media consumer. The study, conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, examines how the Internet, television, radio, newspapers and magazines compare across the generations on a range of attitudinal measures. ...¶... The study also found that the Internet and television are the top two media choices among 18 to 54 year-olds, with 45.6% of respondents citing the Internet as their top pick, followed by 34.6% who choose television. The next closest medium is books at 7.5%, followed by radio (3.2%), newspapers (3.2%), videos/DVDs (2.8%) video/computer games (2.1%) and magazines (.9%). The Internet is more likely to be the top media choice for 18-24 year-olds, with 50.5% choosing the Internet, compared to 28.5% who chose television. ... Online Publishers Association: Press Releases

USDTV Surpasses 10,000 Subscriber Milestone

U.S. Digital Television, Inc. (USDTV), ..., today announced that it has surpassed 10,000 subscribers. Since its launch in March, the company has introduced its low-priced alternative to cable in Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and Las Vegas, with plans for additional market rollouts this year. ...¶... The Company said that more than half of its customers are those that subscribe to neither cable or satellite, but continue to utilize regular VHF/UHF antennas for their television service. Its research indicates subscribers are attracted to the high-quality content, DVD/HD picture and low-cost that the service provides. ... USDTV press release

Senate panel votes against digital-TV deadline

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday decided against setting a hard deadline for television broadcasters to air only digital signals, but the panel did provide for some aid to help consumers see the new digital broadcasts. ... CNET News.com link

The End of Television as We Know It

On Emmy Sunday, former TV academy chairman Bryce Zabel peers into the future of his industry--and finds a technological blur. ¶ Most nights in our house, I'd like to think that everyone in the family—two parents and three kids—is present and accounted for, but that would require a room-to-room search. It was so much easier keeping track of people in the nuclear family of my childhood. Eight o'clock meant prime time. Everyone huddled around our hot new color TV watching the same episode of "Mannix" or whatever was on. The last time that family group thing happened in my house was, well, I can't remember—not even on an Emmy Sunday like tonight. ¶ It's not technically "television" we're watching these days, and we're not "watching" it so much as interacting with it. The prime-time "network" programs weren't scheduled in offices in Burbank or Los Angeles, but here at our house, by us. ... LA Times link

Consumers in 39 Million U.S. Households Cannot Receive Complete Network Digital Service

[From a press release offered by an organization supported by satellite operators, et al. Note that the maps mentioned are for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC only. Observers on the opendtv listserv noted that, for Arizona and Illinois at least, the coverage appears to assume operation at full authorization, whereas many stations are operating at something less than full power. My observation about Washington State is the same. These observers are also noting other inaccuracies, some of which overstate white areas. As with most interest group "information" on the DTV transition, take these maps with a grain of salt." --Dennis]
The Digital Transition Coalition ... said that, contrary to the claims of the National Association of Broadcasters ..., the DTV transition has a long distance to traverse before it becomes a reality. Tens of millions of Americans are still unable to receive one or more of their local network stations in digital mode. The coalition released state-by-state maps, using Federal Communications Commission data, which clearly illustrate the current (as of July 2004) coverage of digital signals across the nation. The maps were filed with the FCC as part of the coalition's response to a filing by the NAB. ...¶... The DTC analysis found that, nationwide: -- 36.1% of households (over 39 million) cannot receive digital service from at least one of the network broadcasters. More specifically:
- 19.0% of households (over 20 million) are receiving digital service from only 3 digital network broadcasters
- 5.8% of households (over 6 million) are receiving digital service from only 2 digital network broadcasters
- 6.2% of households (over 6 million) are receiving digital service from only 1 digital network broadcaster
- 5.1% of households (over 5 million) cannot receive digital service from any network broadcaster at all
...¶... In an effort to inform the public about the status of digital television, the DTC will make all these maps available on its website -- www.iwantmyhdtv.com. ... DTC link

Handy ways to listen to online radio

Imagine a service where you could select your favourite radio programming from around the world, have it recorded for you, and then provided in a format you can load onto a portable player for you to listen to when you want. Wouldn't that guarantee more fresh and exciting listening than you get even with 10,000 pre-selected songs in your pocket? That is the direction that the AudioFeast service is heading. ... DJ Alchemi link

The BBC's digital direction

David Jennings: "Based on interviews in the last fortnight with the BBC's Director General (Mark Thompson), Chief Technology Officer (John Varney), and Director of New Media & Technology (Ashley Highfield), you might hope to be able to discern, by process of triangulation, a clear corporate position and direction. But what you get is a much more postmodern mix of perspectives that only rarely hint at connections. ¶ Given the scale and complexity of the issues, combined with the uncertain organisational context with the impending renewal of the Charter, you can forgive the interviewees sounding a bit tentative in some areas. Here's a summary of the points I found interesting. ..." DJ Alchemi link Via paidcontent.org.

Meet Mr Rights

This October, the BBC is overseeing the launch of a new copyright licence. It is a small but necessary step towards realising one of the most visionary projects that the corporation has announced in decades - the Creative Archive. Although it may not seem obvious at first mention, the copyright licence, and the man behind it, show just how groundbreaking the archive promises to be. ¶ The Creative Archive will upload thousands of hours of archive BBC footage on to the internet to be watched again and reused by the public. As well as catering to curiosity-seekers eager to watch old footage from the 60s to the present day, the archive will provide students, teachers and amateur film-makers with a large body of material to reuse in non-commercial projects. ...¶... When the BBC decided to release the Creative Archive for the British public to freely remix and reuse, therefore, it was presented with a significant legal challenge. Enter Lawrence Lessig, the Stanford law professor who last year asked the US supreme court to declare current copyright legislation unconstitutional. ¶ Lessig helped the corporation meet its legal challenge. It is his Creative Commons licence that the BBC has refashioned to get the archive off the ground. The history of this licence is embedded in a wider struggle against the current copyright system, and is Lessig's attempt to design some flexibility back into a system he believes will choke internet-enabled innovation. "It is incredible that at a time when we have an unprecedented power to distribute ideas around the world, we have a growing body of restrictive intellectual property law that forbids us to do so," he says. ... MediaGuardian.co.uk | Media | Meet Mr Rights

TV aims for prime time in digital home

A new standard aims to let people control audio-visual devices through a TV screen, a development that could help keep televisions central to home entertainment. ¶ The Consumer Electronics Association ... on Monday said it is publishing a user interface standard that uses Web browser-based communications to provide access to and control of networked components--such as a personal computer or digital video recorder--through the main TV screen from a single remote control. ... CNET News.com link

MP3 Devices Broadcast to Radio

Consumers have more choices than ever these days when it comes to listening to music and other forms of audio entertainment on the go. iPods, MP3 players and satellite radio all represent the latest in audio technology and ironically they can all end up on the FM band! A host of new “Part 15” FM transmitter devices are available which make it possible for listeners to listen to audio from the latest recording devices: ... National Association of Broadcasters link [pdf]