Just a few days ahead of the scheduled public beta launch of media app Boxee on Monday, the excellent Clicker Internet video directory has been ported to the platform.
To review: Boxee is a media viewing app designed for living room use--that is, at a distance, with a remote control. It's a good interface for sources like YouTube, Netflix, CNN, and CBS (our publisher), as well as music, home movies, and photos. We've covered it a lot and quite like it.
Clicker, which we also like, is an extremely well-curated directory of streaming television shows. Clicker on Boxee is that directory on the Boxee platform, and also designed for control from a remote. It works very well. The Clicker service and Boxee appear made for each other.
Clicker on Boxee gives users a nice big interface for browsing shows.
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)Unfortunately, Clicker on Boxee doesn't have access to the entire Clicker database, which is a big disappointment. In particular, Hulu was removed as an official Boxee content partner earlier this year, so Clicker, which indexes Hulu just fine on its Web interface, won't display Hulu episodes when run on Boxee. Boxee itself has a workaround that shows Hulu content despite the licensing issues, but it's not the full, authorized interface that Boxee used to have, and Clicker doesn't have access to those shows. So if you're on Boxee and want to see a show that's on Hulu, you have to leave Clicker, fire up the Hulu Feeds module, and search for it there.
One of Boxee's other issues at the moment is that there are nearly 40 different content sources that it can view, and several have unique interfaces and search functions. Clicker may be able to find a lot of video content, but it can't find all of it, and if you use Boxee you might have to know which network or service a show is on to find it if it's not on Clicker. Hopefully the upcoming open beta of Boxee, which is said to feature a new interface, will address this issue. We'll have a report on the new version of the app, and how Clicker works inside it, when it launches.
The search function is also designed to be used with a remote control.
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)Sometimes ingenuity doesn't quite lead you to a comfortable place.
The enterprising folks at WPMI TV in Mobile, Ala., decided that they should reach out on a real-time basis to their viewers. They erected a billboard, adorned it with an image of three of its most photogenic anchors, and added a live Twitter feed.
The whole thing ran very smoothly, until a passing human took this photograph and sent it in to The Palmetto Scoop.
(Credit:
The Palmetto Scoop via Mashable)
Perhaps one's first reaction would be that this image might have enjoyed a little concoction.
However, Mashable has confirmed that not only is it real, but, citing the Lagniappe blog, it says WPMI-TV's general manager and news director have allegedly been suspended for a week because of this unfortunate conflagration.
This all seems just slightly odd. Television and radio has always been fond of slipping in a seven-second delay just in case untoward syllables slip through the mouths of guests or, indeed, hosts. It seems that no such delay was considered for this Twitter feed.
Yet who might have imagined such an unhappy coincidence might have occurred?
Google wants to know more about how TiVo owners are exposed to commercials.
(Credit: TiVo)
Google and TiVo know you accidentally watch a few ads while fast-forwarding through the commercial breaks of your recorded programs, and they'd like a little more data to back that up.
Google plans to add TiVo "television viewing data" to its existing Google TV Ads program, the two companies said in a press release Tuesday. Google TV Ads is the company's attempt to re-create its AdWords and AdSense model on the small screen through a partnership with Dish Network, and it wants to use TiVo data to help its advertising clients measure how and when their ads are viewed.
DVRs like TiVo are not the favorite tech product of the television advertising business, as they allow viewers to watch shows whenever they like and skip the commercials. But most DVR owners (except for a few masters of the remote control) catch glimpses of ads as they whiz by, or overshoot the end of the commercial period and hit the 30-second rewind button, exposing them to the last ad shown before the program resumes.
That kind of viewing shouldn't count as a full ad impression, since the advertiser knows the viewer didn't watch the full ad, but Google seems to feel that it can't be completely ignored, either. It plans to use "anonymous second-by-second DVR viewing data" to track how viewers see ads placed through Google TV Ads. It also gives Google more access to viewer behavior on sources outside of Dish Network, including cable, satellite, and over-the-air viewers.
That could presumably make Google TV Ads more attractive to potential advertisers, since Google will be able to assemble a wealth of data on the viewing habits of DVR owners. Google also has a deal with Nielsen for viewing data, although some feel the new TiVo partnership will put a lot of strain on that relationship.
In a somewhat related move, TiVo has also partnered with MillerCoors to expose football fans to Coors Light ads when they are fast-forwarding through recorded NFL games.
Boxee Box: More fun than kittens?
(Credit: daveyp.com)Even though Hulu Desktop and other software have stolen its thunder a little, we love Boxee. It was one of the first and best ways to browse streaming media from multiple outlets on a big screen, and we like its indie spirit, even though some content providers have given it a hard time.
Rumors of a Boxee Box--an actual piece of hardware to free the software from a PC--have been floating for a while, but it's becoming real very soon, according to the Boxee blog. Boxee's first hardware partner has been found, and we are already guessing as to what the Boxee Box will have inside. More importantly, how will it compare with Roku? Or, could it possibly be...
A launch event on December 7 in Brooklyn will give a lot more details including mock-ups, and CNET will be there. Look for more then. Until that day, enjoy the kittens.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--The month of September was jam-packed with the launch of more than 100 new start-ups and services at high-profile conferences like Demo Fall and TechCrunch50. In a much smaller gathering Tuesday night at Microsoft's Silicon Valley campus, just 10 companies--all in the seed stage--got to pitch as part of Vator.tv's Juice Pitcher event.
Some were new, while many were already launched and looking to pick up investments to get off the ground. These range from a new service that helps you rent out your car to strangers when you're not using it, to a mobile app that lets you haggle with local retailers on prices for goods and services. Here's a rundown of the presenters:
Viralogy (which actually launched back in May) calls itself an "Alexa for people." It lets you pit people and blogs against one another to determine who has the higher online social rank. Its "Vscore" system figures out those rankings using a mix of things like Google Pagerank, how much traffic your blog gets, how many people are linking to your blog, and your popularity on services like Twitter.
All these factors are rolled into a person or blog's Vscore, which can be compared with others and tracked over time.
In Viralogy's pitch, CEO Yu-kai Chou said that the Vscore system will eventually incorporate other social services like Facebook, YouTube, Digg, LinkedIn and FriendFeed.
IDNTITI is a social-rating tool that's trying to get rid of a standardized rating system in place of having users etch in the merits of a particular business or product using one of the rating systems it provides.
What's really odd about the system is that IDNTITI is not making these ratings a public affair. If you rate a business or product, others cannot see that you left that rating unless you decide to make it visible, either through a widget, or if a user goes out of their way to request to see who left that rating. That's a very different approach to something like Yelp, where a users' reviews define them.
RelayRides is a peer-to-peer car sharing network. Car owners can put their car up for rent so that they can make money when it's not in use. RelayRides then provides insurance and keeps a records that cars, and all the times it's rented out to others.
The company installs an unlocking and starting mechanism similar to something like ZipCar, so that the owner doesn't have to worry about being around to swap off the keys. Owners also get to pick how much they charge, where they're going, and when they're available. In turn, the company picks up a 15 percent transaction fee for each rental.
The service is launching in Baltimore in the next few months and plans to roll it out to other markets if successful.
TribeVibe lets users track how content is seen shared and linked around the Web, basically providing a dashboard to see all the places it goes once it's up. It measures its reach across the Web, then turns that into a "drumbeat." This number can then be stuck into any particular piece of content's to show users how popular it is--kind of like the retweet or Digg button but more passive.
(Credit:
CNET / Josh Lowensohn)
The company is currently in stealth mode and going into private beta later this month, and plans to go mainly after bloggers who want to know a little more about their audience. Along with its core analytics tools, TribeVibe will also have a way for users to plug the system into their own analytics tracking tools for $20 a month.
... Read more
The television season is about to arrive full force.
Soon, most of your favorite television shows, as well as new series, will be making their way into your home. But if you're unsure when your show will come back, you want to catch up, or you simply want to track the show as the season progresses, I have you covered with some great sites.
Let's check them out.
Tracking TV
Hulu...There are few better ways to track your favorite shows than to watch them on Hulu, which is backed by NBC Universal, ABC, and Fox.
Thanks to strategic partnerships that Hulu inked with networks, finding and watching your favorite shows is quick and easy. And since the site is ad-supported, you won't need to worry about doling out cash to watch your shows.
I spend considerable time on Hulu. I caught up with last season's of "Family Guy" on the site. The videos run well. The ads, while a necessary evil, aren't that bad. And the quality is outstanding. Even better, you can embed Hulu videos into your blog, making it a great platform to share your favorite shows with friends.
Hulu has outstanding video quality.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)MyTVRSS...When you first get to MyTVRSS, you'll probably be a little sickened by its design. A black background sitting behind pink type makes the site an extremely unattractive target for your attention. But once you realize you'll spend very little time there, you'll get past it.
MyTVRSS lists every television show currently in production. When you click on one of the links on that site, you'll find a show summary, information on the last episode that aired (assuming it isn't a new show), and the series premiere's date and time. Unfortunately, not all the show listings are as informative as I would have liked. For instance, the site's "The Office" page was great. But its "30 Rock" page didn't feature nearly as much information. Your mileage will vary.
As you sift through all the shows on the site, you can pick those series that you watch most often by checking the box next to their titles. At the bottom of the page is a "Create Feed" option. When you click that button, you'll receive a unique RSS feed that you can add to your reader. That feed will alert you when your shows air. For someone like me who easily forgets a favorite show is on, it's a nice service to have.
MyTVRSS is certainly an ugly site.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Five-year-old start-up SplashCast Media will be shutting down in the next few weeks. Co-founder and CEO Michael Berkley put out a company blog post earlier this week detailing the various directions the company had taken, going from an enterprise content management tool, all the way to a video player that was integrated with social networks like Facebook and MySpace--none of which were enough to keep it afloat.
"At each turn, we moved from what ultimately proved to be a declining market opportunity to a larger opportunity," Berkley said. "We have a lot to be proud of. In addition we have a lot of lessons learned to humbly take with us as we move on."
Berkley noted that one of the leading causes for the demise was publishers not wanting to pay to use its technology, which had previously been offered for free. He also said that the VC community was not willing to "bet" on the company, despite it picking up a $4 million Series A funding in late March last year.
SplashCast's Social TV player would let users watch TV shows and embed them on their social-networking pages.
(Credit: CNET)Between becoming a social TV service, and its start as a CMS for enterprise users, one of the company's most interesting products was its consumer publishing platform. This would let anyone grab all types of media and mash them up into a single player that could be syndicated in various channels--regardless of the content type. This meant you could mix videos, photos, audio clips, and even RSS feeds.
It was one of the few products at the time that would actually let you get away with such a hodgepodge in a single package. This later developed into a professional publishing platform the company was unable to charge for, which definitely serves as a good example for other companies who may one day expect to charge for services that are currently being offered free of charge.
Previous coverage:
SplashCast: Share everything in one place
SplashCast gets a little more social, bird-like
SplashCast and NPR do podcast player, Facebook app
SplashCast launching ultrasocial video player tomorrow
SplashCast launches MyPodcastNetwork
In preparation for the third season of its hit series "Mad Men," cable network AMC has put out a new marketing tool called "Mad Men Yourself." It lets fans of the show create themselves (or their friends) as early-1960s cartoon characters using a variety of costumes, props, and body parts that are loosely tied to the world within the show.
Set to rhythmic lounge lizard music, you can assemble your virtual self piece by piece. When done, you can then download and export your creation in sizes ready for Twitter, Facebook, and as desktop wallpapers.
It's not nearly as fun as the one Fox did for "The Simpsons Movie" back in mid-2007 (nor is there a 7-11 tie-in), but there are a wealth of options to make yourself look as similar, or "out there" as you wish.
The closest I could get was looking like Kevin Spacey with a mean five o'clock shadow. See if you can do better.
Put your virtual 1960s self together in style. Or just ditch the suit and grab a donut and an eye patch.
(Credit: CNET)
A YouTube manager demonstrates the new YouTube XL viewing page.
(Credit: Greg Sandoval/CNET Networks)Like everyone else, YouTube hopes to make its way from the PC to a more prime entertainment location--the TV set.
Google's video service is rolling out a new browser feature, called YouTube XL, designed to present YouTube videos on big screens, company managers said Tuesday.
During a demonstration before a handful of media, YouTube showed how XL is designed for people who have hooked up their TVs to their laptops or video game consoles, such as Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3.
How does it differ from YouTube's typical Web page?
It's a much more stripped down player. There are no scroll bars or viewer comments. There's little more than a search field and video thumbnails to help direct users. YouTube XL will work with any Web-connected device and on any browser.
The new feature is another sign that the battle in online video now is being waged in the living room.
One of the drawbacks is that you can't yet watch YouTube's modest library of movies or premium TV shows, as the company is working through licensing issues, managers said. I can see this being used by people who might want to throw in some user-generated fare into their TV-viewing mix.
YouTube XL brings along the same basic UI that came to game consoles, but it can be accessed on normal PCs.
(Credit: CNET)If scientists got the correlation models together, I wonder if they would find a blisteringly harmonious relationship between those who loathe reality TV and those who loathe Twitter.
Critics of the microblogging service declare that, like reality TV, tweets are just mindless ego-fodder being released on the masses by the second.
Well, now the two ego-fodder receptacles appear to be coming together for the further enlightenment of the world.
Variety reported Monday rather up-to-the-minute news of Brillstein Entertainment, a powerful artist management company, and Reveille Productions, the folks who used to be owned by NBC Entertainment's co-chairman, Ben Silverman, and have produced rather likable TV in "The Office" and "Ugly Betty."
These two significant players are about to make a reality series in cooperation with Twitter.
The creative possibilities for Twitter will surely never be over capacity.
(Credit: CC Mykl Roventine/Flickr)Perhaps you yourself have had a gestating idea for a reality TV series featuring Twitter and will feel miffed that someone has gotten there first.
All I can tell you is that according to the plans for the as-yet unnamed opus, the concept consists of "putting ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format."
Will real people compete to see who's the finest twittering paparazzi? Will they have to decipher cryptic tweets sent by Shaq and Demi Moore with clues to buried treasure? Who can possibly know?
All that is clear is that Variety quoted Brillstein's Jon Liebman as saying: "We've found a compelling way to bring the immediacy of Twitter to life on TV."
Strangely, the words 'Ashton' and 'Kutcher' have not immediately been associated with this project.
But it seems that soon "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol" may find a rival in realitweet TV.
