Let me start by saying every device should offer some sort of wireless connectivity, preferably built-in. Research indicates folks are going to connect a limited quantity of devices to their televisions, so it behooves companies to reduce barriers to entry. As to why wireless isn’t integrated into everything: Another chip raises the BOM. And more than the additional hardware cost is the price associated with supporting wireless configuration and performance. While I understand the rationale, I don’t buy it. If you want mainstream penetration, you need to offer WiFi.

Having said that, I’m actually (pleasantly) surprised to see Vudu provide a wireless option – especially since they stream at pretty high bitrates. I’d have assumed they’d play it safe with no remote networking option or, perhaps, Powerline. However, it seems to me that they’re mitigating support costs by selling a pair of wireless bridges to simplify configuration. In fact, at $79 I doubt they’re making any money on these.

Coincidentally, I happen to have a compact ASUS wireless bridge which looks remarkably similar to what Vudu is selling. Setup was extremely efficient and performance (Vudu, Slingbox SOLO) has been rock solid – much more so than the two Buffalo wireless bridges I recently ebayed. And what I find most clever is that it doesn’t require a power adapter (though one is provided) – it’s able to get enough juice off a USB connection, thereby reducing my clutter quotient. I wonder if there’s a way to decouple the Asus Vudu wireless bridge pair… If so, that $79 becomes an excellent value for adding WiFi to two devices (Vudu, Xbox, Slingbox, TiVo, etc).

Jeremy Toeman received an extremely thought-provoking YouTube non-takedown notice regarding his January 2007 video upload containing a U2 soundtrack. Here’s the excerpt:

UMG has claimed some or all audio content in your video Pussycat Dolls @ Microsoft CES Party – basic Muvee w/U2. This claim was made as part of the YouTube Content Identification program. Your video is still live because UMG has authorized the use of this content on YouTube. As long as UMG has a claim on your video, they will receive public statistics about your video, such as number of views. Viewers may also see advertising on your video’s page.

I experienced the same reaction sequence as Jeremy: Outrage initially, followed by acceptance. All in all it seems like an entirely reasonable compromise – Universal Music Group has vetted the content and asserted their rights (to possibly make a few bucks) while leaving Jeremy’s creative content available. Our initial agitation could probably have been reduced if YouTube had presented the info somewhat differently… Perhaps prefacing the note by thanking Jeremy for his contributions the community and then giving him a choice of resubmitting or removing the video as alternatives to UMG’s eminent domain claim.

Apple’s now offering movies via iTunes in the UK and in Canada. But that doesn’t interest me so much – it wasn’t a question of if, it was a question of when. The real news here is that they’ve obviously worked a deal with the studios to permit a 48 hour viewing period. A current pain point for many (real or perceived) is the 24 hour limit to complete watching a rental. I’ve thought 36 hours should be sufficient to allow ‘film interrupted’ folks to resume viewing their flick on a consecutive evening. While Vudu has taken things into their own hands (and probably at their own cost) to offer 24 hours of extended viewing (48 total) for an additional $2, perhaps the tide is turning and we’ll hear something (other than iPhone 2.0) out of WWDC next week…

Earlier than I had anticipated, the first Netflix set-top box has hit the market. Many of us complain of “box fatigue”, but we’ll probably make an exception for the compact Roku Netflix Player listed an attractive $100 with unlimited video streaming (for Unlimited Plan subscribers). Though, Roku obviously overlooked physical design to get this unit out quick and at a reasonable price point. Having said that, they didn’t skimp on network connectivity by kindly integrating wireless along with the typical wired Ethernet option. The fanless media streamer currently maxes out at 480p, but the HDMI-equipped unit is capable of higher definition once Netflix provides HD content. (Higher tier plan?) The UI is limited to browsing your pre-existing Watch Now Queue – meaning, you won’t be searching or adding movies on the fly.

Now the interesting thing about Roku is the founder and CEO… About a year ago Anthony Wood (also a founder of ReplayTV) left Roku to head up Netflix’s Internet TV Group. In January, he returned to Roku and here we are. I assume this is the smaller Netlifx partner which I got wrong (suggesting a D-Link or Netgear). Perhaps, I would have voted differently had I kept tabs on Wood.

Early Reviews:

• Gizmodo
• CrunchGear
• Crave
• PC Magazine
• Wired

In Episode 49 of the net@night podcast, Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte interviewed the co-founder of animoto, Brad Jefferson. animoto is a web service that generates professional quality, customized videos from your images and music. FYI, here’s Leo’s video.

I decided to give it a whirl. I am impressed. So far I’ve ‘produced’ three videos including this one of my 2002 trip to Thailand (turn on your speakers for this).

The images in this video were taken from these Thai locations in this order: Bangkok (including the backpacker Mecca of Khao San Road), Ko Samui,Ko Tao, Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Rai Leh, Ao Nang Krabi, Kanchanaburi (Bridge Over River Kwai), Phang-Nga then back to Ko Samui

Except for the uploading and processing time, assuming your pictures are generally ordered on your computer or hosted web service in the order you want them in your video, the process takes only about 10 minutes of your time.

Animoto ‘How To’ Summary

• Select Images: Upload your pictures to animoto (one picture per second or two of music worked well for me). Alternatively, you can select pictures from your flickr, facebook, smugmug, picasa or photobucket account
• Arrange Images: Arrange the photos in the order you wish. You can tell animoto which pictures to highlight in the video
• Select Music: Select one of their canned tracks or upload an MP3 file from your computer
• Payment: Pay either U.S. $3.00 per video, or $30 for a year long unlimited all-access pass, with Paypal or Google Checkout (unfortunately no credit cards yet). Note: See the referral program info below to get $5 off the all-access pass
• Processing: animoto will churn away for an hour or two analyzing your pictures and chosen music and then create a customized video. animoto will email you a link to the finished product when done

Below I describe what you can do with the resulting video and provide a step by step guide, showing how I made the Thailand video.

Read the rest of this entry at The Daleisphere »

Mac TV software ‘The Tube’ has been updated to include an interesting new feature:

The new 2.7 release now supports “placeshifting.” Using iChat, you can drag a The Tube icon onto an active video chat to stream video on your TubeStick to friends using iChat Theater. Attendees can also record video clips of the show being shared.

It just so happens that I have an older (NTSC) Miglia TVMicroExpress USB stick review unit here… which includes a license for The Tube. While I’ve verified the iChat television sharing feature does exist (above), I haven’t actually tested this new way of socializing around television content. (Busy prepping for a work trip this afternoon… I’ll recruit Tofel to fire up iChat when I’m back home next week.) TubeToGo (below) is another notable new feature (introduced in March, v2.5), facilitating web archiving (and streaming) of television content. Something I’ll also need to check out more thoroughly when I return.

I’ve been meaning to follow up on Dave’s Sezmi post. I’ll start by saying that I love the idea of Sezmi, the former Building-B, but I simply can’t imagine how the enterprise will succeed.

As everyone has discovered, video services are entirely dependent on the quality of the transmission systems they use. Sezmi is relying on two transport methods, over-the-air transmission and fixed-line broadband networks. Both Cynthia Brumfield and Glen Dickson pointed out that leasing over-the-air capacity is not as easy as Sezmi has made it out to be. According to Dickson, Sezmi is unlikely to get more than 60 Mbps of capacity in any market, which probably can’t support more than ten HD channels at most even using MPEG-4 compression at very low data rates. Given that folks are complaining about the lack of HD channels with FiOS, how can Sezmi compete with only ten?

On the wired side of the equation there’s even more of a bandwidth issue. Sezmi plans to sell its service through broadband partners (ISPs, telcos without TV service, and some retailers), but if it’s truly successful, the broadband portion is going to place a tremendous strain on the Internet delivery mechanisms (likely not fiber to the home) of those partners. I can just hear cable’s new Slowsky commercials now.

Of course, all of that’s not even taking into account the issue of the content deals Sezmi is negotiating. Video deals are notoriously difficult to arrange, and certainly if cablecos and telcos ever truly sees Sezmi as a threat, no doubt those operators will bring every bit of leverage they have to bear to make sure the content Sezmi gets is not as good or wide-ranging as theirs.

Sezmi is attempting to do two things that consumers are anxious for: provide a cheaper option to cable TV, and create an effective interface that combines broadcast video with Internet video. On the first point, I think it will be blocked at every turn. On the second point, I think the company may show others a way forward, but it’s a problem that all the big guys are already working on, and will bring out their own solutions for when they’re good and ready.

Best of luck to Sezmi. These guys have been really innovative, and deserve huge kudos for trying something new. I wish the obstacles in front of them weren’t quite so daunting.