Amazon Kindle Arrives!

I’m not sure why I’m so excited by the Kindle, especially given Sony’s eBook snorefest. Perhaps, I’ve just been a fan of Amazon since the early days and I enjoy seeing them push into digital media (Unbox, DRM-free MP3s, S3). Or maybe it’s rooting for the little guy with no hardware experience. However, I’m pretty … Read more

ZML: AllofMP3 for Movies

You may have heard of the extremely popular, but thorn-in-the-side of the music industry AllofMP3.com. Well after selling non-DRM’d MP3’s to the masses for dirt cheap (they didn’t pay royalties), the Russians are at it again – this time offering movie downloads for $1.99. After AllofMP3 was shut down, it was re-branded & re-launched as … Read more

Writers Strike Blog

I haven’t payed close attention to the Hollywood writers’ strike, but given that the heart of the issue is digital media distribution, I probably should. Multichannel News notes that the Writers Guild of America is penning a strike blog, and from today’s posts comes a succinct video on media moguls discussing the riches to be … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: The Motorola CableCARD Q&A: Connected Home 2 Go DivX Thrives, DVD Continues To Die: Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection Netflix Watch Now Download Hack Surveillance: Brent Evans Geek Tonic FiOS TV Gets HD: Connected Home 2 Go Sage 6.3.1 Beta Released, HD Extender Support: Brent Evanas … Read more

Apple iTunes Set For Movie Rentals?

Thus far, Amazon Unbox and Netflix Watch Instantly have been the online movie rental leaders. Well, according to Evan DiBiase, the latest version of iTunes hides a little surprise. iTunes 7.5 contains strings (rental-content, rental-bag, source-rental-info, dest-rental-info, etc) related to video on demand rental functionality! This would be a great addition by Apple and would … Read more

DivX on Xbox 360 About To Become A Reality?

DivX followed their earnings report with a JP Morgan conference presentation. Having just undergone their quarterly confessional, I didn’t expect to hear any new information.

Luckily, I was rewarded midway through the Q&A session. JP Morgan analyst Paul Coster coyly probed Kevin Hell regarding DivX support on the Xbox 360. The question seemed to catch Hell off guard and, while his initial reaction was enthusiasm, there was something in his tone suggesting that Coster was on target.

Below is the exchange verbatim. However, to fully appreciate the awkwardness of the exchange, I suggest listening in at the 24 minute mark and determine for yourself if you hear a sense of urgency in Hell’s response.

Just a minor point here, but there was a recent Microsoft conference where I believe their media extender now incorporates the DivX codec on it, is that correct? Can you confirm that and does that mean we’re soon going to see Xboxes with DivX on them?

Yes! that, uh, we’re in discussions with Microsoft on that at this point in time, so I can’t go into any great detail on that. Um that is not a certified, that is not a certified or licensed product at this time.

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Pandora Adds Interactivity and Community Features

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Last night I heard from (free) online music provider Pandora founder Tim Westergren that his service is beginning to roll out supplemental features. “Pandora Extras” intend to compliment music with additional content, interactivity, and community features. A summary of the initial batch of Extras launched today:

  • Real time song and artist info with recommendations for similar content and listeners
  • Pandora buddy lists
  • 100 finely tuned genre stations
  • “Pandora Presents” series of original audio and video programming

When I get home from NYC and have some time, I’ll give them a spin… The editorial content and pre-programmed stations look appealing, though I have no need for more online social networking. (In fact, I’d appreciate it if LinkedIn and Facebook would merge.)

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ESPN Content Lands on Xbox

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ESPN and Microsoft have announced Xbox LIVE downloads:

Effective immediately, fans of all ages can access a growing catalog of marquee sporting events and timely programming, including full-length NCAA college football and basketball games, Summer X Games 13, “World Series of Poker,” “The Contender,” “Madden Nation” and much more on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the leading high-definition video download service.

I obviously support additional partners and digital downloads, but I wonder how many will pay for a game 48 hours after broadcast? As a college football fan, I know the outcomes of all the meaningful games and have no interest in watching old sports programming… for a fee. Especially, since the first batch of games (above) are SD only. However, what I might pay for is something like DirecTV’s Superfan “Short Cuts” — an entire game condensed into 30 minutes or less. Get creative, people!

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