News Stories

Yahoo! Connected TV with Widgets

1.10.2009

The connected home has been an emerging theme at this year’s CES.  Yahoo! is leading the way with their Connected TV initiative.

In previous blog posts you may have read about Yahoo! Widgets appearing in consumer electronics by five manufacturers – LG, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio.  All five are using the very same Yahoo! Widget engine to run Yahoo!’s clean and crisp widgets. Collectively there are 20 widgets being shown at CES, from MySpace to CBS, with many more in development.  Yahoo! says that any developer can write a widget app and have it appear on one of the five manufacturers’ devices.

widgets_yahoo

Yahoo!’s open platform approach should be hailed as a step in the right direction.  The widgets go far beyond simple traffic reports, RSS feeds, and photos.  With widgets by CBS, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Showtime and many others, digital content can be streamed directly to your TV – giving the consumer even more flexibility in the way they receive their content.

But we must be cautiously optimistic. Yahoo! has given OEM manufacturers a minimum requirement so that their devices can run the widgets.  It is up to the manufacturer to decide how much flexibility & capability they give their devices (for example, if the widget uses Flash video, the device must be able to play Flash).

Lastly, the OEM manufacturers have the last say on which widgets make it to their devices.  Yahoo! will put widgets in their gallery and from there they are sent to the OEM for approval.  If the widget conflicts with company contracts or policy then the widget may not appear.  Exclusive widgets may allow for differentiation among the brands, but too much isolation and restriction may be a ‘turn off’ for consumers.

Where to see it:

  • Renaissance 26, South 4

Slacker Radio is no Slouch

1.10.2009

Most attempts at subscription music have failed miserably, and pundits have assumed that’s because consumers aren’t interested in subscription audio.  A little company called Slacker may be proving that assumption wrong – it’s all about the consumer experience, and what consumers don’t like is lame consumer experience.

We’ve had the new Slacker G2 in our lab for a couple of months, and it’s very compelling.  This week at CES, Slacker announced a FREE (to consumers – ad supported) version of Slacker radio that works on BlackBerry phones.

slacker

Songs are streamed or cached on your phone for playing offline.  We’ve been using the private beta, and the BlackBerry app, though a little rough around the edges is great.  It also helps you see a potential for similar services in video, which is why we’re watching it closely.

In addition to the news regarding Slacker Mobile for the BlackBerry, FlyCast announced a client for the Android/T-Mobile G1 and desktop players for Windows PCs and Mac.

Where to see it:

  • BlackBerry: South 4 36206

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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