Technology360

Another Addition to "What Is Attention?"

Michael H. Goldhaber writes:

I have added yet one more draft installment to Chapter 3 of my book, covering many topics having to do with how attention works, how we pay attention to things that emanate from more than one mind or from no mind, along with how attention relates to reputation, recognition, information, time, style, etc.

Can Brightcove Solve Net Video for Pros, Big Media?

Mark Glaser writes:

While YouTube has been the darling of video-sharing sites online — letting anyone become a video star — Cambridge, Mass.-based startup Brightcove has quietly been working in the background to become the go-to video services company for professional content owners and media companies such as Dow Jones, Newsweek and The New York Times. Rather than creating a big hub for the world’s quirkiest video moments, Brightcove has focused on the technology that will let content owners show video on their own site; sell or rent video downloads; or place advertising on their videos. ...

Link:  MediaShift.

BBC iPlayer plans receive cautious approval from Ofcom

Informitv reports:

... In concluding its public value test, following a three-month period of industry consultation, the United Kingdom communications regulator makes a number of recommendations to the BBC Trust which will ultimately be responsible for any approval of the proposed service.  ¶  Ofcom observes that the demand for services delivered over broadband is developing rapidly. It suggests that over the next five years linear television viewing may fall by 20-30%, to be replaced largely by the increased use of on-demand services. A similar pattern is anticipated for audio programming.  ¶   The regulator says it is important that the BBC should take a proactive and forward-looking approach to reflect likely changes in audience behaviour and expectations. ...

Link:  Informitv.

Bridge Ratings reduces HD Radio estimates

Based on an awareness study made during December and the first week of January, Bridge Ratings has reduced its "original projections for full year 2007 HD radio sales from 2.1 million total HD radio units sold to 1.5 million."  Thanks to Mike Janssen at Current.  --Dennis

HD as the first step beyond TV

The always-thoughtful Doc Searls writes about HD television:

... Compared to SD, HD is pure deliverance. More than one friend has called the difference "life-changing". Some forms of programming — notably sports, music videos and nature footage — are so good, relatively speaking, that they're hard not to watch. ...

Link:  Linux Journal.

1080p Does Matter...

... writes Carlton Bale:

... I want to set the record straight once and for all: if you are serious about properly setting up your viewing room, you will definitely benefit from 1080p (and even 1440p.) Why? Because the 1080p resolution is the first to deliver enough detail to your eyeball when you are seated at the proper distance from the screen.  But don't just take my word for it: read on for the proof. ...

Link: CarltonBale.com.

Also see his Commentary on the CNet "1080p Isn't Important" Article.  Link: CarltonBale.com.

Why Joost Is Good for TV

Spencer Reiss has an article on Joost (née The Venice Project) that does a particularly good job explaining its architecture.  Be sure to click on the thumbnails (or buy the  Feb. 2007 print version).  Link.  Wired.  --Dennis

Will Digital Radio Boom in U.S.?

Dave Demerjian compares digital radio in the UK versus the US.  Link:  Wired.  --Dennis

Sony adds RSS to televisions

Of the many web-to-TV implementations shown this year at CES, this may be the most progressive (if perhaps not as user-friendly as HP's):

... Sony's latest HDTVs will support an optional component capable of streaming Internet video and downloading content defined using RSS syndication. The BRAVIA Internet Video Link is a small optional module attached to the back of your HDTV and connected to your home broadband network over Ethernet. Price and availability are still unannounced, but the first televisions supporting the new module will be available this Spring. ...

Link:  Niall Kennedy's Weblog.  But why make it an optional add-on?  --Dennis

The Local Web

Terry Heaton has posted another of his great essays.  Here's his description:

This paper examines two important assumptions about doing local business on the web — that the evolution of the local web is very much about the evolution of local advertising, and that the local web functions, in some important ways, very differently than the global web. Opportunities within the local web depend on our ability to define and nurture it, and that is wide open at this point.  ¶  If the real growth in online advertising is trending towards local (it is), then local media companies should be at the forefront in actively pursuing and enabling this, instead of sitting back and waiting for it to come to us.  ¶  I promise you, this is the goal of the internet pure plays who are pursuing local advertising with vigor.

Link:  Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog.  --Dennis