Media

Blockbuster To Acquire Movielink

movielink.jpgAccording to the Wall Street Journal (via non-subscription sites), Blockbuster is in “advanced talks” to pick up Movlielink for under $50 million. Movielink, of course, is an online movie download service (using Microsoft’s video format and content protection, like rival CinemaNow). They were a pioneer in this space (long before iTunes and Netflix showed up) and were actually created by the studios, which most folks either don’t know or seem to have forgotten:

Movielink is owned by a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros.

The purchase strikes me as a positive move for both companies… assuming they can pull it off. Movielink gets an audience (they’re pretty much unknown outside my geeky circle) and Blockbuster gets an immediate online download presence to compete with Netflix.

Read more

Media Extender Day, Part 4: TiVo

We can’t have a media extender conversation here at ZNF without mentioning existing TiVo boxes. Though, at this point, it’s really a tale of two cities: Series2 and Series3 units. Networked Series2 units offer multi-room viewing (MRV), allowing the transfer and playback of recorded shows from one TiVo to another within the house. While we’ve … Read more

Media Extender Day, Part 3: SlingCatcher

Apple and Sony aren’t the only ones with media extenders launching in the $200 – $300 range later this year. My employer (Sling Media) will release the SlingCatcher in the second half of 2007. Our initial features will be the ability receive a Slingbox video feed on a television (without any sort of computer in … Read more

Media Extender Day, Part 2: Sony IVL

This summer, Sony intends to release a $300 “Internet Video Link” accessory for most of their new Bravia sets (which seems limiting). They promise a variety of content (including HD) from their own audio and video properties, as well as AOL and Yahoo. Though, no word yet on media pricing. In addition to commercial content, … Read more

Media Extender Day, Part 1: Apple TV

Perhaps you heard: Apple TV has been delayed until at least mid-March. Frankly, I don’t find this very newsworthy… So why bother posting? Because CNN, USA Today, and other mainstream news outlets disagree. In my industry (I love that I can say that now) these sort of setbacks are routine. However, Apple preannouncing products and … Read more

BitTorrent Gets Legit (Yawn)

It’s déjà vu… all over again! Following in the footsteps of Napster, BitTorrent has a new business model: selling (non-pirated) media. Originally announced nearly a year ago, the legit video site launches in a few hours. There’s not really much new or compelling here (regardless of what P2P technology may or may not be running … Read more

Red-Eye Be Gone!

Here’s one you might have missed. FotoNation has announced the “world’s first” red-eye correction technology for camera phones. It’s an embedded solution that can automatically detect red-eye and correct it.fotonation.jpg The company claims a detection rate of 70-80% with a visible false positive rate of 1-2%. (Note: The photo caption to the right is my own.)

Since my camera phone doesn’t take very high-quality shots, I’m not sure this is something I’d care about. But as camera phones get better (and high-end ones certainly already have), this technology seems like a no-brainer. Back at DEMOfall last September, there were at least a couple of image-correcting companies on site. The one I remember is Photobot, which installs an application on your desktop that scans and corrects (red-eye, brightness, color) any uploaded photos. Just as folks like Thomas Hawk are getting excited about more technology for sophisticated photo-snapping, mere amateurs like myself are getting to take advantage of more automated tools that might just make our photos print-worthy.

Read more