April 4, 2011
Volume XXXIV, Issue 8
Gearing Up for NAB
Excerpted from Broadcasting & Cable Report by George Winslow
An improved advertising market and some notable technological trends promise to both boost attendance and open up some wallets at this year's National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas between April 9th and 14th.
In the run-up to the show, four broadcast networks and four major cable channel groups sat down with B&C to discuss some of the technology trends - such as cloud-based solutions - they will be looking at in Las Vegas.
Disney/ABC: Staying Nimble. At the Disney/ABC Television Group, much of the focus at NAB will be on technologies that "will allow us to stay nimble and agile in how we put our infrastructure together" so their channels can better respond to consumer demand for more content on more devices, says Vince Roberts, the division's Executive VP of Global Operations and Chief Technology Officer.
In general, it's about finding solutions that help improve Disney/ABC's file-based work flows and simplifying multiplatform delivery to whatever device consumers want. "It's why we are pushing the file-based environment as far as we can," Roberts says. As part of that effort, Disney/ ABC will be looking at cloud-based solutions and better tools for managing and distributing assets.
At the ABC broadcast network, "cameras will be a big issue," as will technologies "that help us transform how ABC News works," Roberts says. One aspect of that will be exploring mobile newsgathering tools, including technologies for the use of 4G (fourth-generation) cellular networks.
On the cable side, Roberts notes that the group is preparing for the upcoming launch of Disney Jr., and will be looking at a number of possibilities for that launch and others, including "channel-in-a-box" solutions.
CBS: The Next Generation. One of the key issues for news organizations, news networks, and broadcast stations at this year's NAB will be the use of 4G cellular networks for newsgathering. CBS has already deployed newsgathering tools using 3G networks at CBS Newspath, and networks and stations will be looking closely at 4G tools in Las Vegas.
"You are still going to need ENG and SNG trucks for some locations that don't have cell service, but having a wide variety of options may mean you don't need quite so many trucks, and it will help you provide a better quality of service at lower cost," notes Bob Seidel, Vice President of Engineering and Technology at CBS Television Network.
CBS will also be looking at a number of other issues, including automation, file-based work flows and lower-cost cameras for primetime TV production, Seidel says.
"It used to be that you were talking $100,000 or more with lenses for high-end production in Hollywood, but now you are seeing a $16,000 camera with the ability to capture really high quality HD video" for primetime, Seidel notes. "We want to take a close look at some of those new entrants."
Telemundo: Improving The HD Experience. After investing heavily in its high-definition, file-based infrastructure over the last two years, Telemundo is focusing on technologies that will help the Hispanic broadcaster "get the most out of the investments we've made," reports Ken Wilkey, Senior Vice President, Broadcast Operations and Engineering at Telemundo Network and TV stations.
At NAB, that will mean looking at whatever enhancements and upgrades Telemundo's existing vendors - Avid, Miranda, Ross, Sony and others - might be offering to improve their operations, or the viewer experience.
"Is there some special effect or some touch screen technology that might really set our sports or news department apart?" Wilkey says. Well over half of Telemundo's programming is already in high-definition, and in June or July this year, the broadcaster plans to go high-def with its nightly news program.
For that upgrade, as well as for the news and sports programming that has already gone HD, Wilkey notes his team will be looking closely at virtual sets, touch screen technologies, and screen technologies that would make it easier for Telemundo to show emails, tweets and other communication from their viewers.
ESPN: Exploring and Expanding. For ESPN, NAB will be an opportunity to explore technologies both for its current operations - such as graphics, file conversion, audio consoles and stream splicing - as well as next-generation technologies for 3D, high-definition, routers, and other issues, notes Chuck Pagano, Executive Vice President of Technology at ESPN.
In terms of immediate needs, ESPN is seeking "file-based standards conversion on the fly," Pagano says, because the network is such a major user of file-based clips; and for "stream splicing technology" as it ramps up such streaming products as ESPN 3.
ESPN has already built its Los Angeles facility to support 1080p at 60 frames per second, the highest resolution of the current HD standard.
At NAB, it will be looking for even higher resolution technologies. "We want to try to get a handle on where the next generation of HD is going," Pagano says.
Pagano's team will also be exploring the next generation of routers for IP delivery of content inside their facilities, the potential of cloud-based solutions, and a new content management system that would allow them to manage all their content for channels, print, radio, online and mobile platforms.
"We would like to get a consistent backbone framework for all our content," Pagano says.
Scripps: Codes and Quality Control. Scripps Networks Interactive will be hitting the NAB floor with a shopping list including technologies to expand their file-based work flows, new 3D production equipment and services, green technologies, and interactive applications for their channels, notes Mark Hale, Executive VP of Operations and Chief Technology Officer.
"Our programming folks are very interested in how we can enable interactive applications in the traditional broadcast signal to provide a better experience for consumers of our media," Hale notes.
Scripps has already deployed file-based work flows deep into its operations but is looking to expand that with the development of a master file format or formats, adds Bryan Fails, VP/Digital Asset Management and Media Logistics. The company will be exploring codecs at NAB and is planning to do some trials this year.
As the company delivers more content to more devices, Scripps execs will also be looking for software to automate quality control monitoring, Fails says. Hale adds that they will be reviewing technologies for an integrated ad sales and planning software and exploring the possibility of expanding their use of cloud-based services.
PBS: HD Future Is Now. With some networks already exploring next-generation HD technologies, PBS had been planning to partner with NHK to deliver a test of the Japanese public broadcaster's Super Hi-Vision technology. PBS planned to deliver content from a live source in Washington, DC, over a 1 gigabit fiber connection to NHK's booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), where it would be displayed on a 4320 by 7680 screen, which supplies 16 times the resolution of the highest current HD standard, reports John McCoskey, PBS Chief Technology Officer.
At press-time, it was uncertain whether NHK would still attend NAB given the tragic events in Japan. But PBS' technology team will still be exploring a number of different developments at NAB and during the PBS Technology Conference, which will take place in Las Vegas April 6th-8th.
One item on PBS' shopping list will be the replacement of its satellite distribution and the move to a more advanced codec, possibly MPEG-4, McCoskey says. PBS is also working to improve its systems for metadata and file management in order to deliver more content to more devices.
"The average piece of TV content that comes into PBS today gets transcoded and published to 19 different places," McCoskey notes. To help with that multiplatform delivery, PBS is also looking for automated systems for monitoring the quality of those files.
On the station side, McCoskey notes that PBS continues to work on its Next Generation Interconnection System, which will provide file-based delivery of content to its stations.
About 30 stations have deployed the system, and PBS is looking to roll it out in stages to the entire group. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is also providing grants for mobile digital TV, which is encouraging a number of stations to launch the service.
"We see it as a real opportunity for stations, particularly for kids' services and public safety," McCoskey adds.
Turner: Making TV More Accessible. With the passage last October of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, this NAB will be an important one for networks and stations looking for solutions to comply with the Act and to better deliver content to Americans with hearing or visual impairments, notes Clyde Smith, Senior VP, Global Broadcast Technology and Standards at Turner Broadcasting, who has been actively working on the technological side of the issue for some time.
The Act, which has a number of complex provisions, requires the Federal Communications Commission to come up with regulations and a timetable for making closed captioning available for longer-form online and broadband video that was broadcast with captions.
This raises a number of technical challenges that networks and stations will want to discuss with vendors in Las Vegas, Smith notes. "This NAB will be an important time to talk to them about your needs so that next year, when you need to buy something, they will be available and able to support your requirements," he says.
Ultimately, the solutions could make programming more accessible to more than 36 million Americans with hearing or visual impairments. "If you think about what we go through to gain a few ratings points, it's important to remember that here is an underserved audience that is available if you can just serve their needs and allow them the same access as everyone else," Smith says.
Discovery: Better, Faster, Cheaper 3D. This year's NAB is the first to take place since 3D channels launched, and Discovery Communications will be one of the major producers of 3D content arriving at the show with hopes of finding equipment and software that will make stereoscopic production easier, faster and much less expensive.
Those technologies are particularly important for 3net, the stereoscopic channel launched earlier this year by Discovery, Sony and Imax. Unlike theatrical movie producers with huge budgets, or sports channels shooting inside arenas with fixed camera positions, 3net is heavily programmed with documentary and reality fare that requires lighter equipment.
"It would help us scale up our 3D production if we had lighter, more flexible, more portable cameras that would allow us to go into situations for our types of documentary and very real, engaged type of production," says Glenn Oakley, Executive VP of Media, Technology, Production and Operations at Discovery.
Discovery is also looking for better 3D technologies for editing and postproduction, which remains a difficult process, adds Josh Derby, Director of Technology and Standards. "We are missing a middle ground in the tool set between some very high-end tools, digital finishing tools and tools for the normal 2D production, and we're hoping that manufacturers will address that."
Lighter cameras and better editing and post-production tools might also help reduce the cost of 3D production, adds Derby. "Because the equipment is more cumbersome we are finding it takes longer to set up a shoot, and we don't get as many shots off as we used to," he says.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 We hope to see you personally next week at the 2011 NAB Show, where the DCIA will proudly present the CONTENT IN THE CLOUD Conference in the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) on Monday April 11th.
We are especially pleased to announce our newest keynote speaker for this event, Mike West, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Genos Corporation, who will address Benefits of Cloud-Delivered Content for Consumers: Ubiquity, Cost, Portability Improvements.
Mike is also the Co-Founder of Genos Corporation, which has developed both the Cyclops remote control, which premiered at CES, and the IPTV-based GenosTV multi-channel video provider (MVPD) offering.
He is a graduate of The University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, holding Masters and Bachelors Degrees in Electrical and Natural Sciences. He has 25 US patents issued with several more in process, plus numerous other inventions and publications.
Mike is a subject matter expert in consumer electronics, including multimedia, videogames, digital TV, mobile media, mobile games, and digital camera platforms. He held a broad range of technical leadership positions in engineering, architecture, R&D, strategy, business development and client consulting during 28 years at IBM, both in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Mike was a pioneer in the IBM initiative that led to custom IBM processors in every major videogame console available today. He has directed multi-disciplined development and client-facing technical teams in international and multi-national environments.
Prior to Genos Corporation, Mike had his own high-tech consulting practice while also serving as the CTO and Director of Innovation at SMARTtv and SMART Holding USA.
"Benefits of Cloud-Delivered Content for Consumers: Ubiquity, Cost, Portability Improvements" will cover cloud-computing solutions that offer consumers a number of clear advantages over older methods of online content distribution. Attendees will hear a thorough vetting of these attributes in this important address.
Just as important as these benefits are the challenges this form of distribution poses to content rights-holders and technology providers to ensure the quality and the security of television channels and individual programs. Mike will raise those points as well.
DCINFO readers, who haven't yet signed-up for the NAB Show are encouraged to register today with code TF26 and save $100 on SMART Pass or Conference Flex Pass. Plan now to attend so that you'll be able to explore this rapidly emerging technology that promises to expand the possibilities for realizing the full potential of digital post-production and distribution.
If IPTV or online delivery is in your current or future operating plans, you won't want to miss these eight keynotes and four panel discussions focused on cloud-delivered content and its impact on consumers, television manufacturers, telecom industries, and the media.
Anne-Carole Nourisson, VP of Licensing, Vivendi Mobile Entertainment (VME), will offer our opening keynote address, "Vision for Content in the Cloud."
Jostein Svendsen, CEO, Creaza will present our second keynote, "Cloud Vision vs. Technical Reality."
Our first panel discussion, "The Impact on Consumers of Implementing Cloud Computing for Media Delivery" will feature Stefan Bewley, Director, Altman Vilandrie & Company; Kshitij Kumar, SVP, Mobile Video, Concurrent; Steve Masur, Managing Director, MasurLaw; Tom Mulally, Principal Analyst, Numagic; Guillermo Chialvo, Gerente de Tecnologia, Radio Mitre; Bill Kallman, President & CEO, Scayl; Jonathan Sasse, SVP of Sales & Marketing, Slacker; and Stuart Elby, CTO, Verizon Digital Media Services.
GenosTV's Mike West will present our third keynote as outlined above.
Our fourth keynote, "Drawbacks of Cloud-Delivered Content for Consumers: Privacy, Reliability, Security Issues," will be presented by Jim Burger, Member, Dow Lohnes.
Our second panel discussion, "The Impact of Cloud Computing on the Consumer Electronics and Telecommunications Industries," will feature Dan Holden, Chief Scientist, Comcast Media Center; Sean Barger, CEO, Equilibrium; Dan Schnapp, Chair, New Media, Ent. & Tech., Hughes Hubbard; Grant Kirkwood, CTO, Packet Exchange; Devon Ferreira, Co-Founder, Patriot Digital; Mark Vrieling, CEO, ScreenPlay; Kathleen Sullivan, CMO, Verizon Digital Media Services; and Sean Jennings, VP, Solutions Architecture, Virtustream.
Our fifth keynote, "Benefits of Cloud-Delivered Content to the Consumer Electronics and Telecommunications Industries: Advanced Capabilities, New Features, Cost Advantages," will be offered by Jonathan King, SVP, Business Development, Joyent.
Our sixth keynote, "Drawbacks of Cloud-Delivered Content for Consumer Electronics and Telecommunications Industries: Infrastructure, Disruption, Accountability Issues," will be presented by James Capps, VP, Systems Engineering & Integrated Technology, Comcast.
Our third panel, "The Impact on Broadcasters of Cloud Computing Deployment," will feature Scott Ryan, CEO, Asankya; Alexander Marquez, Director, Intel Capital; Devon Copley, Managing Director, Kaltura; Peter Forman, CEO, Kulabyte; Alex Castro, VP & GM, Video Platform Solutions, Limelight Networks; Guy de Beer, CEO, Playcast; David Dudas, VP of Video Solutions, Sorenson Media; and AJ McGowan, CTO, Unicorn Media.
Our seventh keynote, "Benefits of Cloud-Delivered Content to Broadcasters: Efficiency, Control, Flexibility Improvements," will be offered by John Griffin, Director of Connected Electronics, Dolby Laboratories.
Our eighth keynote, "Drawbacks of Cloud-Delivered Content to Broadcasters: Interoperability, Data Security, Quality of Service (QoS)," will be presented by Scott Brown, GM US, VP Strategic Relations, Octoshape.
Our closing panel discussion, "The Years Ahead for Cloud Computing Deployment in the Television and Motion Picture Industries," will feature Chuck Stormon, CEO, Attend; Christopher Levy, CEO, BuyDRM; Les Ottolenghi, CEO & Founder, Fuzebox; Geng Lin, CTO, IBM - Cisco Systems Alliance; Randy Simpson, Director, Institute for Defense Analyses; Ramki Sankaranarayanan, CEO, Prime Focus Technologies; Ian Donahue, Co-Founder, RedThorne Media; and Kurt Smith, VP, Sales, Verizon Digital Media Services;
Finally, the DCIA is also very pleased that Kulabyte will be sponsoring this first-ever CONTENT IN THE CLOUD Conference at NAB. Kulabyte's newest offering, Hyperstream, will debut at NAB as the world's first live cloud-based video transcoding service, capable of transforming a single live video origin stream into all of the many formats and data rates required to distribute video via the Internet to every screen regardless of device, player, screen format, or last mile bandwidth. Kulabyte will be exhibiting in SL10211 at the show.
If you haven't already done so, please register now for the NAB Show so you'll be able to attend CONTENT IN THE CLOUD. Share wisely, and take care.
Cloud Computing Moves into New Growth Phase
Excerpted from Investor's Business Daily Report by J. Bonasia
Web-based cloud computing is transforming how tech resources are bought and used. Cloud-based software makers should grow three to five times faster than traditional firms over the next several years, analysts say.
Channel checks show demand is ramping up for cloud-based software players, including leaders such as Salesforce.com.
"Cloud vendors are growing organically a lot faster than traditional software companies," said Brian Schwartz, a ThinkEquity analyst.
Giants like Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP rethinking how and what they sell, are unveiling their own cloud products. But "the cloud model is very cannibalistic to the business models of legacy software," Schwartz said.
Last year's "bubbly optimism" has translated into real demand for cloud computing in 2011, says Brian White, a Ticonderoga Securities analyst. After the recent Cloud Connect event, he wrote, "Our checks at the show highlight an acceleration in growth."
Global cloud-based software applications sales should grow 15.8% a year, to $16.5 billion in 2014 from 2010's $9.2 billion, says market tracker Gartner. It sees on-premise software rising 5.3% a year, to $110.1 billion in 2014.
Overall cloud services, including hosted data centers and backup storage, should grow 16.6% annually to $148.8 billion by 2014.
Traditional software firms have long sold licenses that turned into future revenue for maintenance and upgrades. That helped lock in customers who made costly software and hardware investments.
Clouds offer flexible resources that clients can scale up or down as needed. Users get programs over the Web from hosted data centers on a subscription basis, paying only for what they use.
The switch to the cloud and the mobile Internet marks a "tectonic shift" to a "technology supercycle," said Mark Murphy, a Piper Jaffray analyst. He sees the cloud software market growing 23.9% annually over five years vs. 4.7% for the broader software sector.
He says Facebook and Amazon Web Services (AWS) prove that cloud computing can perform robustly on a massive global scale.
In a March 3rd note, he calls Salesforce his top cloud software pick.
Other leading cloud software firms include Kenexa, Ultimate Software, Netsuite, and RightNow Technologies.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff calls this the start of the "Cloud 2" era. Lower costs and faster deployments fueled the first wave, he says. Cloud 2 focuses on more social, mobile and open features.
Salesforce launched its Chatter service last year, with user profiles and online forums for content-sharing. Colleagues can use it to team up on sales leads and marketing plans.
SAP released Sales OnDemand this month. It takes a "people-centric" approach to sales collaboration, says Vice President William Hou. He said the launch has caused "humongous cultural and operational changes for SAP."
Rather than cannibalize its existing business, SAP expects to sell more on-premise software as a result. Global clients need installed software as a trusted backbone to manage complex finances and operations, Hou says. OnDemand, he says, extends this to mobile workers and branch offices.
SAP has made "several false starts" into the cloud market, says Jeff Kaplan of ThinkStrategies, a consultant who works with SAP and Salesforce.
"SAP is getting closer to meeting expectations, but the stakes continue to rise," he said. "Legacy vendors have to change their go-to-market strategies, or they're going to lose customers entirely."
Microsoft and Oracle also offer hosted cloud apps for sales management. But Benioff says they haven't kept pace with the rush into social media, mobility and open Web software languages.
Cloud Computing Dominates Data Center Agenda
Excerpted from ZDNet Report by Larry Dignan
Cloud computing adoption among data center managers has snowballed in the last year with more than 70% of respondents who have implemented the technology or seriously considering it, according to a survey by AFCOM, a data center association.
AFCOM surveyed 358 data center managers and found a cloud computing sea change. In 2010, 14.9% of data center managers implemented cloud computing in their facilities. For AFCOM's 2011 survey, 36.6% of respondents implemented cloud computing and another 35.1% were seriously considering it.
The takeaway: 80 to 90% of data centers will have some form of cloud computing in the next five years, said AFCOM.
Meanwhile, 86.8% of respondents said there was an increase in Web applications compared to 3 years ago.
Among the key findings: More than 15% of data center managers said there was no plan for data backup and recovery and 50% have no plan to replace damaged equipment in a disaster. Data centers are expanding in size with 44.2% of respondents saying their facilities have more floor space than three years ago. Another 49.4% are expanding or plan to. 59.7% of respondents have security policies written for online and mobile apps and 43.1% have social networking policies. 3.9% of respondents have implemented solar power at their data centers.
Why Cloud Computing Is So Hot Right Now
Excerpted from Business Insider Report by Matt Rosoff
Cloud computing is hot these days, with nearly every enterprise vendor using the term. In some cases, companies even use it to describe products they've sold for years. Oracle's Larry Ellison tried to resist - a couple of years ago, he famously called the hype about cloud computing "complete gibberish" - but now even Oracle has gotten on board.
So what is cloud computing and why are businesses embracing it?
At its simplest, cloud computing means that users are connecting to applications that run on a set of shared or pooled servers, rather than running on a single dedicated server.
This is a subtle but important change from the client-server computing that has dominated IT for the past 20 years, where each application was "assigned" to a particular piece of hardware in a data center. If that hardware was down, the user either had to connect to a backup (which had to be standing by and ready) or would suffer an interruption in service.
In the earliest instances, these shared resources were physically located away from the company's premises, and users would connect to them over the public Internet. For instance, a user would connect to Salesforce.com or Rackspace to run business management apps or email, or a developer would tap into Amazon's Web servers for storage and computing power.
So the "cloud" in cloud computing was the Internet, which is often represented with a physical cloud on software design and networking charts.
But in the last two or three years, vendors like Microsoft and IBM have been pushing the idea of "private clouds." These are sets of servers run by large companies or government agencies for the exclusive use of their employees, who usually connect to them over a private area network.
In addition to public and private clouds, several types of services are often lumped together under the term.
Software as a Service (SaaS). These are end-user applications, like productivity or business management software, that run on a set of pooled hardware resources and are accessed over a network. Pioneers here include Salesforce.com's CRM and business management services and Google Apps, as well as startups like Zoho, but other companies have recently gotten into the act -- particularly Microsoft, with its Office 365 services. SaaS is usually contrasted with products like Microsoft Office, which run on a user's PC.
Platform as a Service (PaaS). Here, service providers offer a set of application "components" which developers can put together into applications -- a bit like building with Legos. Examples here include Salesforce.com's Force.com platform and Microsoft's Windows Azure platform.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Sometimes called "utility computing," in this case a developer builds an application from scratch -- no building blocks are provided. But when it comes time to run the app, they run it in a virtual machine (software that imitates a dedicated server) rather than on a dedicated physical machine. That means that as more users need the application, the provider can quickly easily serve them by spinning up new virtual machines. Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, and Xerox (through Affiliated Computer Services) are among the players who offer this kind of cloud computing.
So why are so many businesses embracing cloud computing?
Efficiency: lower hardware and IT costs. Instead of companies filling their own data centers with servers that need to be powered, cooled, and managed by IT staffers, companies effectively outsource their hardware needs to providers who already run huge data centers and know how to configure them for maximum efficiency, like Microsoft, Amazon, and Rackspace. In the case of private clouds, having virtualized applications run on pooled resources makes much more efficient use of hardware, requiring fewer servers to be purchased -- and fewer IT staffers to maintain them.
Agility: add capacity fast. Five years ago, if a Web startup got featured on CNN, the resulting traffic load would almost certainly crash its servers. But today, a company can simply buy more capacity from a cloud computing provider. But agility is also important for bigger companies. For instance, a certain accounting application might get particularly heavy usage around tax time. Before cloud computing, companies would have to devote hardware to this app, and have it sit idle through most of the year. Now, they can simply add and remove resources at will.
Flexibility: pay for what you need. Most SaaS services are billed per user per month, and platform and infrastructure services are billed based on the capacity actually being used. In the old world, businesses had to estimate how many software licenses they would need for the coming year. If they overbought, they were stuck with those licenses.
Cloud computing isn't a perfect panacea -- with public clouds, companies still have reason to worry about data security and support, and proprietary lock-in to a particular cloud vendor's solution is a concern with both public and private clouds.
But overall, the trend is clear -- cloud computing is here to stay.
Netflix Model Holds, Shares Rise
Excerpted from Media Daily News Report by David Goetzl
A Goldman Sachs analyst still believes Netflix's market position leaves it in good stead. Showtime and Starz said they would restrict programming Netflix can make available through online streaming, a sign that Netflix may face uphill battles in acquiring content.
Ingrid Chung wrote that programmers are expected to increasingly "flex their muscles" vis-a-vis Netflix, and "make it incrementally harder" for the service to get content rights. But unless another option emerges that is willing to pay programmers more for their content, Netflix still offers a critical revenue stream.
Barring "a worthy competitor ... to either bid away or bid up the price of content, we believe that content owners will still gain and grow the overall revenue pie for themselves by selling their catalog content to Netflix," Chung wrote.
Despite the setbacks, Netflix shares continued to rise last week, closing at about $230.
Showtime said this summer it would not allow Netflix to stream any episodes of its currently running series, while Starz said episodes of its original series, such as the coming "Camelot," will not be made available for 90 days after air.
The Showtime matter may be more onerous than the Starz challenge. Chung wrote that consumers don't come to Netflix for speedily released content -- something Netflix has said itself.
On Starz, Chung said Netflix has a deal with Epix, where its content has a 90-day delay and "has gone unnoticed by consumers."
Chung also wrote: "Both Showtime and Starz are contemplating streaming their first-run content on their respective 'TV Everywhere' channels. We believe that content owners are leaving money on the table if they stream exclusively through authentication."
How Good Is the EyeTV One for Live TV?
Excerpted from GigaOM Report by Ryan Lawler
There are many ways to catch up on broadcast TV shows through network TV sites or services like Hulu Plus online. But what if you want to watch broadcast TV live?
In this week's episode of "Cord Cutters," Janko Roettgers takes a look at the EyeTV One, a TV tuner and DVR option that plugs into your USB port and allows you to watch and record live, over-the-air HD video streams.
Check out the episode here.
Show notes for this episode: The EyeTV One is essentially a TV tuner that plugs into your USB port and lets you watch live over-the-air television programming on your PC. You can also use the device as a DVR, which lets you pause and rewind live TV shows that you're watching, as well as record programming from the program guide. While recording uncompressed over-the-air video gives you HD quality, the saved recordings take up a lot of hard drive space.
The EyeTV One retails for about $90 and is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh PCs. Accessing the program guide through the device is free for the first year, but costs $20 a year after that.
Have you tried out the EyeTV One or a similar device?
Experts Tackle the Definitions of Cloud Computing
Excerpted from SiteProNews Report By Sandra Tiffany
Cloud computing has many definitions and can be confusion. The following is a list of some of the definitions and will help to clarify its meaning.
Cloud computing refers to the providing of computing resources on-demand through a network. This ability can be compared to the supply of a utility. Utility services are available to the users in a simple way without the users needing to know the details of how the services are provided.
Another simple explanation for cloud computing is "Internet centric software."
It is a broad array of web-based computing services that allow users to obtain a wide range of computing functions on a "pay-as-you-go" basis that previously required tremendous hardware/software investments and an IT department to manage.
Cloud computing is the accessing of resources and services needed to perform computing functions that require dynamically changing needs.
Cloud computing means: outsourced, pay-as-you-go, on-demand, somewhere in the Internet.
As you can see there are as many definitions of cloud computing as there are IT experts.
The concept of cloud computing dates back to the 1960's with John McCarthy, a full professor at Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab. He was the first to suggest that computing time-sharing technology might lead to a future in which computing power and even specific application could be sold like a utility business model. This notion faded in the 1970's because the hardware, software and communications were not ready for his concept. Now, his computing model has re-surfaced in the form of "cloud computing".
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If Cloud Is Secure Enough for Pentagon, Why Not You?
Excerpted from Forbes Report by Rik Fairlie
I don't typically read the Army Times, but a few days ago I ended up there while searching for info on the US federal government's adoption of cloud computing.
The page I landed on was all but astonishing. Army General Keith Alexander, Commander of US Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency, was explaining why cloud computing is secure enough for the Department of Defense (DOD). Alexander was answering questions before a House Armed Services subcommittee about the $159 million 2012 budget request for the Cyber Command, a DOD agency charged with protecting the digital infrastructure that keeps military weapons and surveillance systems up and running.
Speaking before the House, Alexander said cloud computing provides the best way to secure DOD networks. Interestingly, he did not stress cloud computing's ability to cut costs; rather, he emphasized its security benefits:
"This cloud architecture would seem at first glance to be vulnerable to insider threats-indeed, no system that human beings use can be made immune to abuse-but we are convinced the controls and tools that will be built into the cloud will ensure that people cannot see any data beyond what they need for their jobs and will be swiftly identified if they make unauthorized attempts to access data."
This, surely, represents a tipping point.
If leaders of the US military believe cloud computing is secure, then it might be time for civilian CIOs who have questioned the security capabilities of the cloud to reconsider.
After all, Alexander is not a technology vendor, nor is he a technology consultant, or even a politician. He is the director of the National Security Agency, responsible for ensuring that the backbone of the military defense system is reliable and secure. He has undoubtedly been better briefed on security concerns with cloud computing than have you and I.
His statements may be surprising, but they echo an ongoing transition in public-sector thinking about cloud computing. In the past year, the federal government has become increasingly supportive of the cloud, and has adopted cloud models for key agencies.
In early December, the General Services Administration selected Gmail for its 15,000 employees. Just a week later, the U.S. Department of Agriculture selected Microsoft's cloud solution for communications and collaboration for its 120,000 users. In an even larger move, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to adopt cloud-based e-mail for 600,000 employees.
This acceptance of cloud computing is a natural outgrowth of the Obama administration's "cloud-first" policy that requires federal agencies to identify services that can be migrated to the cloud.
Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, speaking at a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) event last May, said security, data portability and interoperability are key to the future success of cloud computing. But these goals won't be achieved without adoption of standards. He called for standards that will address issues around security and interoperability and "make sure that data portability allowing the customer to choose when to move from vendor A to vendor B is preserved."
Momentum is building for cloud computing standards, and that's a great thing because a lack of standards and interoperability can be a barrier for CIOs and IT departments. It's safe to assume that the Pentagon fully investigated cloud architectures-standards and security-before entrusting the nation's defense to a new technology.
And if cloud security is good enough for the DOD, it should be more than adequate for you and me.
A New Episode in the Intergalactic Battle of The Cloud
Excerpted from Marketing Daily Report by Thom Forbes
Amazon announced its Cloud Drive service yesterday - a "locker" in the ether that will permit users to store and retrieve 5 gigabytes of digital media such as music and videos for free. More storage is available for a fee, or after you purchase an "album" from Amazon.com.
Consumers can upload the media on their personal drives to Amazon's servers. It will be played back on the Amazon Cloud Player in any Web browser or through an app in smart-phones using the Android OS. The service is not compatible with Apple's operating systems, although it will play back songs purchased in iTunes.
Lots of bytes are being written on the looming battle for this place in space among Amazon, Apple and Google. The latter two are said to be working furiously on competitive products. Both, of course, already have their heads in the cumuli - Apple with MobileMe; Google with its Docs and other software with collaborative capabilities.
The Wall St. Journal, in fact, makes the near future sound like it might make for an epic battle-for-the-future-of-the-cosmos movie: "Technology titans are racing to deliver music and other digital files from online storehouses, with Amazon.com Inc. grabbing the inside track ...."
Scott Briscoe, who writes a digital marketing blog, wonders "how this will impact the many startups in the space, namely the likes of mSpot , MP3Tunes , Maestro.fm, Orb, MiMedia and eSnips (not to mention the yet-to-launch Beyond Oblivion, which has raised close to $90 million from News Corp and others)." Not well, he understandably concludes.
It reminds me of what Tim Wu tells us in his book, The Master Switch. We would like to believe that the Internet has changed everything we know about how information is disseminated, that "ours is a time without precedent, outside history" because information "zips around the nation and around the globe with the speed of light, more or less at the will of anyone who would send it."
For free, of course. And that has been, by and large, the case.
But, Wu warns, "history show a typical progression of information technologies from somebody's hobby to somebody's industry; from jury-rigged contraptions [I think he means jerry-rigged, although I'm guessing some juries have indeed been bought here and there] to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel - from open to closed system."
In other words, as sure as there will be another Transformers, there will be titans duking it out for dominance of our wetwear. And, of course, looking to get paid for their efforts. One need look no further than the erection of the New York Times' long-anticipated pay wall this week. Several Times reporters, smelling a viable pension in their own digital futures, tweeted this story that ran in The Onion: "NYTimes.com's Plan To Charge People Money For Consuming Goods, Services Called Bold Business Move."
The piece facetiously quotes a media analyst as saying, "To ask NYTimes.com's 33 million unique monthly visitors to switch to a cash-for-manufactured-goods-based model from the standard everything-online-should-be-free-for-reasons-nobody-can-really-explain-based model is pretty fearless. It's almost as if the New York Times is equating itself with a business trying to function in a capitalistic society."
One of the questions raised about the Amazon service is how and whether content creators, and their corporate curators, will be paid. Amazon has decided that it does not need to cut licensing deals with the record labels, a move that Sony, for one, says that it is "disappointed" about. One would guess that this question will keep a phalanx of attorneys in their Guccis for the foreseeable future.
But I do wonder how all this will shake out on the consumer side, regarding both the content itself and the technology. Fogies like me have our affinity for certain information brands. As frustrating as the Times may sometimes be - and you've no idea how frustrating it can be to this commentator - I believe it's the best newsgathering operation we have and will pay whatever it takes for access to it.
But younger fogies who have grown up expecting that the sum of the parts - which is accomplished by a Google or Bing or Yahoo search - is greater than the whole of any of them individually may not be nearly as attached to particular source. Information brands that remove themselves from the search-engine cosmos, or who make their pay walls unduly onerous in terms of fees or access have, I suspect, suicidal tendencies.
As far as the technology goes, whoever makes uploading and retrieving the information seamless, idiot-proof and cheap will win. No one, including Apple, has come close.
I've paid for Apple's MobileMe for years thinking it must be more robust, capable and intuitive than it actually is. And I've been trying to restore my email In Box, which mysteriously vaporized under the weight of 30,000 or so items, since Saturday. It's backed up on a hard drive through Apple's Time Machine, and in the cloud through Mozy. Pure anguish using both. Overnight, Time Machine restored all of 65 files. And have you ever tried to view a show using TiVo transfer, or attempted to make a DVD out of a show you've digitally recorded?
It's almost enough to make you want to crawl in a corner and read a newspaper.
BitTorrent Releases First Novel: "Captive"
BitTorrent a leading innovator creating advanced technologies to efficiently move large files across the Internet, today announced the availability to its community of a new novel, "Captive," by author Megan Lisa Jones.
The BitTorrent release consists of a free "Captive" app which includes the full downloadable novel, in both .pdf and .epub formats, plus a video introduction providing an overview of the author, story line and writing process. "Captive" will also be promoted to users during installation of the popular BitTorrent Mainline and uTorrent software and on banners on BitTorrent.com and uTorrent.com.
"Captive" is a classic psychological thriller, with a timely storyline of political intrigue amidst terrorism and captivity. The novel follows the interaction between a terrorist and his interrogator. Littered throughout the tightly wrought storyline are flashes of violent or risque interactions, as the characters are challenged to overcome the consequences of past decisions and their own weaknesses. Religions don't kill; people kill.
"Captive" is BitTorrent's first book release and addresses rapidly growing demand for quality books within the BitTorrent community. This book release also comes on the tail of numerous successful music, film, and episodic content releases driven by BitTorrent's Artist Spotlight program.
"The message belongs to the street, not the elite," said Jones. "I'm very excited to be partnering with BitTorrent to reach an audience that's both active and engaged with content creators and publishers. Hopefully we can demonstrate a new media model that benefits all."
"Proliferation of tablets, smart-phones and e-book readers is dramatically increasing demand for quality content. This includes books in addition to music, film and TV," said Shahi Ghanem, Chief Strategist at BitTorrent. "We're very pleased to be working with Ms. Jones to explore this medium. Our joint efforts will provide an enjoyable book to over 100 million users around the world. Plus the results of our ongoing Artist Spotlight pilot program are providing valuable insight into new - and viable - media distribution models."
The promotion will last for two weeks and active feedback from readers (and users) is encouraged. "This is the new model for media, focusing on the community's desired experience and how best to provide it," said Jones. "I want feedback on how to perfect the reader experience."
While the novel is free, viewers are encouraged to sign-up for information on the sequel at www.meganlisajones.com, write reviews on www.amazon.com and engage with the author via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and the author's blogs. Direct feedback to the author is welcome at: meganlisajones1@gmail.com.
Coming Events of Interest
NAB Show - April 9th-14th in Las Vegas, NV. For more than 85 years, the NAB Show has been the essential destination for "broader-casting" professionals who share a passion for bringing content to life on any platform - even if they have to invent it. From creation to consumption, this is the place where possibilities become realities.
CONTENT IN THE CLOUD at NAB - April 11th in Las Vegas, NV. What are the latest cloud computing offerings that will have the greatest impact on the broadcasting industry? How is cloud computing being harnessed to benefit the digital distribution of television programs, movies, music, and games?
1st International Conference on Cloud Computing - May 7th-9th in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands. This first-ever event focuses on the emerging area of cloud computing, inspired by some latest advances that concern the infrastructure, operations, and available services through the global network.
Cloud Computing Asia - May 30th - June 2nd in Singapore. Cloud services are gaining popularity among information IT users, allowing them to access applications, platforms, storage and whole segments of infrastructure over a public or private network.CCA showcases cloud-computing products and services. Learn from top industry analysts, successful cloud customers, and cloud computing experts.
Cloud Expo 2011 - June 6th-9th in New York, NY. Cloud Expo is returning to New York with more than 7,000 delegates and over 200 sponsors and exhibitors. "Cloud" has become synonymous with "computing" and "software" in two short years. Cloud Expo is the new PC Expo, Comdex, and InternetWorld of our decade.
CIO Cloud Summit - June 14th-16th in Scottsdale, AZ. The summit will bring together CIOs from Fortune 1000 organizations, leading IT analysts, and innovative solution providers to network and discuss the latest cloud computing topics and trends in a relaxed, yet focused business setting.
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