Zatz Not Funny! » Media

Let the March Madness Begin Again

Mari Silbey — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:51:51 +0000

TiVo, blah blah, TiVo, blah blah blah. Let’s move on to something important, like March Madness.

With the best month in college basketball kicking into gear, I thought I’d take a look at my options for following all of the NCAA action. First up is the official March Madness On Demand Player from CBS Sports. The powers that be keep adding features to the MMOD player, and no wonder. CBS brings in tens of millions in revenue, and last year streamed roughly 6.5 million hours of March Madness video. New this year, CBS Sports is adding a picture-in-picture feature and real-time overlay stats. As before, you can choose between Silverlight and Flash players (Silverlight for higher quality video), listen to Westwood One radio broadcasts, and access game highlights and archives.

Speaking of archives, the NCAA has also launched its own site, the NCAA Vault, with a library of archived tournament games from the last decade. Need to get in the mood for a big game, or engage in a little trash talking? You can use the site to find clips of your favorite teams and players of yesteryear, and the Vault includes integration with Facebook and Twitter so you can post links to specific time codes and share your favorite blocks, dunks, and fast breaks. (Kudos to Thought Equity Motion, which powers the service.)

Of course if you’re in front of your TV at home, not only can you watch this year’s games live, but you can also see March Madness highlights via numerous VOD sources. Last year the major cable and telco providers got into the game with VOD offerings, and presumably this year will be no different.

Which brings us to mobile. CBS debuted a March Madness iPhone app last year for viewing live games. It only works over Wi-Fi, which has its drawbacks, but at least it’s something. So far, however, there doesn’t appear to be an Android complement. I’ve found a couple Android apps for tracking scores (NCAA Basketball Scoreboards, and the free College Basketball Live), and a company call Pure Concepts just launched a PocketBracket app for the iPhone (an updated version) and Android devices (new) today. Unfortunately, live Android streaming looks like a no-go. What, me worried? Nah, I’ll make do with my TV and netbook. Bring on the Madness!

20 Minutes with the Nook

Dave Zatz — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:32:39 +0000

2010 is shaping up to be the year that media consumption tablets go mainstream. In fact, according to Amazon, the Kindle already has. Obviously, most of our current attention is focused on the iPad… and Macmillan jacking eBook prices by 50%. (Which is probably unsustainable, despite their hopes.) But a co-worker received a Nook ($259) for Christmas, and I asked her to bring it in so I could examine it outside the confines of a tradeshow floor or Barnes & Noble, proper.

First off, as you can clearly see, the Nook is far more physically attractive than the Kindle ($259). Beyond the 6″ E Ink display, it also quite cleverly integrates a color capacitive touchscreen to handle interaction. However, as many have noted (including our resident e-book expert) the initial software is way too slow. I can overlook the blinky E Ink page refreshes, but the boot times and tap-to-wait is a killer. Which makes me appreciate the simple competence of the Kindle even more. The hardware nav buttons on the Nook require more pressure than Kindle’s, and maybe more than I’d like. But it probably results in fewer inadvertent page turns. Of course, Barnes & Noble’s not-so-secret weapon is digital book lending… should the publishers universally (or mostly) get on board with it. But if/once they do, you can bet Amazon will likewise implement similar functionality.

Regardless, single function devices like the Kindle and Nook will need to come in lower given Apple’s aggressive iPad pricing. (Better yet, follow in Audible’s footsteps to give away units in exchange for a book subscription plan.) And support richer, more complex content… As newspaper and periodical presentation and interaction could be greatly enhanced. If either of these guys drop to $199 and provide an RSS reader (say 10 subs on the house, without additional download fees) or introduce a $99 – $129 non-cellular model, I’d buy a pair. And a few as gifts. Otherwise, I’m staying on the sidelines until the path forward is a bit more clear.

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Kindle Apps, But No Kindle 3

Dave Zatz — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:02:28 +0000

I’m actually a bit relieved Amazon did not release a Kindle 3 today. Because I would have blown a juicy scoop. Over the weekend, Twitter follower A. Scott Falk wondered why Amazon is running a “Kindle 3″ Google Adwords campaign against various Kindle searches. And we didn’t know if it heralded a new device, or was merely compelling ad copy. Given the news today and measured against Apple’s imminent announcement of something, it’s safe to say a Kindle 3 isn’t in the cards this month.

However, Amazon’s app store announcement is noteworthy… and probably inevitable. Next month, a Kindle Development Kit will be made available (in beta) allowing folks to start cranking out Kindle Store applications. Unlike iPhone app, Kindle developers and owners will obviously be constrained by a black & white screen of distracting, blinky page refreshes. More significant, and a major differentiation against say the iPhone, is that developers will be footing the bill for wireless delivery. So we’ll probably see fewer networked apps, and of greater expense.

Wielding a smartphone (or two), I have no interest in a Kindle Zagat guide. (I’m loving the new iPhone Yelp check-ins.) And I’m no fan of Kindle’s blog subscriptions. Instead of $2 a pop, how about I pay $7.99/month for an Amazon-provided RSS reader that I populate how I please? As a publisher, instead of making very little money on Kindle subscriptions, let me pick up the tab and give ZNF away to anyone interested. Hm, maybe that’ll be my personal app project.

Dazzboard Has a New Android App Manager

Mari Silbey — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:21:16 +0000

Dazzboard is a newborn Finnish company that’s been getting decent press for the last six months as a media manager for the stuff on all your devices – photos, music, and video. Now the company is adding an Android App Manager to its list of features. The Dazzboard 2.0 software is a browser extension that you can access from your computer. Instead of shopping, adding, and deleting apps from your smartphone on the smartphone itself, you can do the heavy lifting on a larger PC screen, and just enjoy the apps themselves from your phone. It’s all drag and drop, and at least from the demo I saw tonight, looks dead simple to use. I’ll be trying this one out soon on my own Android device.

Other new features in Dazzboard 2.0 include:

iTunes content connectivity – only non-iTunes-DRM stuff
OpenID compatibility
Enhanced media management including cloud storage and support for social media networks
YouTube browsing
Media bookmarks

Aluratek’s Cinepal – PMP, but No Broadband

Mari Silbey — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:31:12 +0000

Aluratek’s got an interesting mid-tier product on its hands. When I first read the specs of the Cinepal, I was less than impressed. It’s a portable media player without the broadband connection. However, seeing it in person and talking to one of the product guys, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart. The Cinepal has a beautiful screen, and it offers a significantly better movie-watching experience than an iPod Touch or a smartphone. According to Aluratek, the reason the Cinepal doesn’t come with broadband is purely price point. At $149-$179, it doesn’t have to compete with an Archos device, it just has to compete with old-style portable DVD players.

I don’t know how many folks will purchase a Cinepal given the other options available (netbooks, high-end PMPs, etc.), but for a family with young kids that likes to travel, I can see the appeal. The Cinepal should be in stores by February.

Seagate Licenses the Pogoplug Personal Cloud

Dave Zatz — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:48:26 +0000

Seagate has licensed the Pogoplug personal cloud experience, to power a line of networked hard drive docks – presumably for use in conjunction with Seagate’s external drives. Pogoplug, in its original $99 form, is a wall wart power adapter that also happens to contain a tiny Linux computer capable of sharing any USB storage, both locally and via the Internet. And I recently received a loaner – while I’m still formulating a Pogoplug opinion, check out my unboxing pics and their new streamlined social file sharing functionality. The Seagate Freeagent Dockstar lineup starts at $99.

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Mapping Television Online

Mari Silbey — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:46:24 +0000

The landscape of television online is changing so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up. Since the announcement of TV Everywhere trials by Comcast and Time Warner Cable, Verizon has jumped into the mix, and AT&T has started testing its own TV portal site. Comcast’s Stephen Burke has also announced that the initial Comcast trial will go national in the next 30 to 60 days – a far more optimistic timeline than those presented at the TV Everywhere breakfast in New York last month.

That’s all on the good side. On the bad side, there’s word over at Multichannel News that Hulu is considering a new subscription model. It’s not surprising, but we may soon be paying to watch free broadcast TV channels online. Given that ads still don’t bring in TV-level cash on the Net, a subscription model makes sense. Don’t be mad. As Mark Cuban (rightly) rants, subsidized TV is not a constitutional right. Better to focus on getting the pay-TV providers to roll out their TV Everywhere services faster, faster, faster. At least we’ve already written the check for that content.

Having trouble keeping up? Don’t worry. It’s only going to get more chaotic and confusing for a while. But if I can ultimately watch my shows anywhere I go, I can live with that.

The Comcast Video Wall Reloaded

Mari Silbey — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:30:14 +0000

A meeting at Comcast HQ this past week gave me the excuse to check out the latest updates to the video wall in the lobby. You may recall when Comcast installed the IMAX-like experience last summer. It’s quite a hoot to watch people react to a bunch of wood panels that suddenly become a gigantic movie screen. Well, the cable giant has moved on from solely pastoral video feeds of running water and the like to scenes of dancing girls. The girls, of some yesteryear, are clad in slinky outfits and choreographed in multi-tiered human sculptures. A bit surprising from Comcast, but certainly a showstopper. And if dancing girls aren’t your thing, there are still scenes of falling leaves and cosmic wonders. Plus an oh-so-clever snowy scribe outlining the Comcast Experience. Check out the gallery below.

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