IAC-owned video site Vimeo is going mobile in a big way, with the release of apps for Android, the Kindle Fire and Windows Phone marketplaces. Those new apps are designed to let users upload, share and view videos on their mobile devices. Read more »
The latest version of Dropcam’s home surveillance cameras is a big step forward in both form and functionality. The camera records 720p video and provides two-way audio functionality, but the real selling point is a cloud-based DVR system and iOS and Android mobile apps. Read more »
VYou is coming out of beta with the launch of a redesigned site. The update puts even more focus on conversational video between its users, adding key features, such as the ability to comment on videos and to provide open questions to the site’s general audience. Read more »
Akamai is rolling out new capabilities to its HD Network for video distribution that will make it even easier for content owners to securely distribute content to nearly any device. Targeting new UltraViolet services, Akamai hopes to simplify distribution while adding more security features for customers. Read more »
A lot has been made of Warner Bros. and its new eight-week window for DVD rental firms. But the new window is unlikely to change much for companies like Netflix, Redbox or Blockbuster. While Netflix users will wait longer, Blockbuster and Redbox users likely won’t. Read more »
Dijit’s new iPad app expands on mobile features that were already available by taking advantage of the tablet’s larger screen. Viewers can access local TV listings, get recommendations from their Facebook friends, and gather more information about the cast and crew of the shows they’re watching. Read more »
Those in the consumer electronics industry sometimes cite TV replacement cycles in the range of anywhere from six to eight years. But rapid adoption over the last five years suggests that low prices and new features are spurring consumers to replace their HDTV sets more often. Read more »
Lithium Technologies has raised a $53.4 million funding round led by New Enterprise Associates and SAP Ventures. The round includes existing investors Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Emergence Capital, Greenspring Associates, Shasta Ventures and Tenaya Capital, and brings total funding to more than $100 million. Read more »
While cable operators and networks continue to downplay the effect of cord cutting, in Deloitte’s State of the Media Democracy survey, the firm reports that 9 percent of respondents have already canceled their cable subscriptions, with another 11 percent saying they are considering doing so. Read more »
Comcast struck a new agreement with Disney that gives it access to a wide range of content from ABC, Disney and ESPN networks across a number of screens and platforms. The 10-year deal also stipulates that the companies will collaborate on developing applications for new devices. Read more »
Netflix announced that members watched more than 2 billion hours of video on its streaming video service in the fourth quarter. That comes out to about 83 hours of video per account during the quarter, or an average of 54 minutes of Netflix video each day. Read more »
Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu thinks Apple needs to get into the content game to make the iTV a winner when it launches. But the bigger opportunity might be where Apple plays best — in allowing content creators to develop their own apps on its iOS platform. Read more »
Netflix had a rough year ever since it announced a major price hike and an ill-advised plan to spin off its DVD-by-mail service. That’s led to a massive decline in customer satisfaction, as the once high-flying company saw its rating drop to its lowest ratings ever. Read more »
While Hulu has mostly built its audience by featuring popular new programming, it’s also building a recommendations system to introduce viewers to new content. It’s leveraging those recommendations with a new set of ads aimed at getting users hooked on shows they didn’t known about. Read more »
Video recommendations provider Taboola is offering a new product to its customers that will allow them to boost viewership with paid placement in its video widgets. The company has also found success internationally, as it is being used for recommendations in Brazil, Israel, Mexico and Poland. Read more »
A couple of new videos from Verizon show that wireless technology will eventually replace coaxial cable for video distribution within the home. That’ll mean more TV content available on more devices, as well as huge potential cost savings for pay TV operators. Read more »
There will be millions of new Kindle Fire owners unwrapping the tablets over the holidays. Amazon wants users to buy movies and TV shows on the Kindle Fire, but those who want to transfer their own videos to the device can now do so with Miro. Read more »
Today, TV might be where people go to be entertained. But make no mistake about it: New entrants are building audiences without being burdened by the cost structure of the traditional TV ecosystem, making them more nimble and a potential threat to bigger media players. Read more »
Video discovery startup SetJam just got acquired by Motorola Mobility, according to CEO Ryan Janssen. The company will provide some personalization and recommendations technology which can be integrated into Moto set-top boxes, as its cable and IPTV customers seek to provide more IP- and cloud-based services. Read more »
Rebecca Black and Nyan Cat aside, YouTube is no longer about Internet memes and viral videos… And that’s a good thing. Take a look at the top 10 videos from 2011 and you realize it’s not for creating one-hit wonders but for building sustainable businesses. Read more »
When it comes to live events, fewer are bigger than the Super Bowl on TV. But what about online? The Super Bowl, along with the Pro Bowl and other postseason games, will be live streamed for the first time, thanks to the NFL and NBC. Read more »
TV viewership is still on the rise, with the typical American watching five hours a day now, according to research by Nielsen. That hasn’t slowed the growth of online video: In fact, the amount of content streamed is accelerating, too. While it hasn’t yet made a ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Charter Communications picked up one of the hardest-working men in the cable business when it named Tom Rutledge as its CEO. And it couldn’t have come at a more critical time, as Charter faces consumer demand for TV Everywhere and increasing competition from streaming services. Read more »
A full 80 percent of videos are encoded in H.264, according to new data from MeFeedia. The latest figures show just how far the industry has come in adopting the H.264 video format as the de facto standard for video encoding. Read more »
What’s one way to maximize the potential success of your startup while minimizing risk? Make sure that your business and application are ready by testing on users before you make a big marketing push, says Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup. Read more »
Almost two years after HBO launched its on-demand streaming service HBO Go, the premium cable network has finally gotten the last two major holdouts to agree to offer it to their subscribers. The service will soon be available to 98 percent of all HBO subscribers. Read more »
VidScale wants to make more efficient use of existing infrastructure, by introducing content delivery network and transparent caching technology into their networks. It’s been chosen by Avail-TVN, which is helping network operators to roll out TV Everywhere services and offer more streaming content to users. Read more »
What’s the latest battle in the mobile app space? It’s probably going to be around automatically editing videos on mobile devices, as apps from cloud-based video editing services like Animoto and Magisto begin to emerge on the iPhone and other mobile devices. Read more »
Squrl has updated its iPad app, shifting its primary focus from video bookmarking to video discovery. The app, which was just launched, will allow users to easily find and watch the newest content from all of their favorite video publishers. Read more »
Get ready for yet another video-sharing app. But this one has a twist: unlike like Socialcam or others, Givit, which is available on the web and now on the iPhone, is designed to limit the number of viewers who can watch the videos you upload. Read more »
Netflix is giving subscribers in Latin America new ways to access its streaming library, by expanding availability of its app on iOS products in the region. Subscribers in its newest international markets can download apps and stream video to the iPad, iPhone and even Apple TV. Read more »
Miso is rolling out the latest update to its second-screen app platform, letting users create second-screen experiences that go along with shows they’re watching. The new product adds a crowdsourced aspect to the types of companion content that viewers see when they launch the Miso application. Read more »
The latest update from Justin.tv live streamed gaming site TwitchTV is in, and it shows pretty impressive growth. In six months since launch, TwitchTV has grown to more than 12 million uniques per month, with visits increasing about 15 percent each month. Read more »
The media world is changing, due to new devices from which viewers can access content and the ease of finding content on-demand. As a result, big media companies can no longer rely solely on the strength of their content to win out against alternative viewing options. Read more »
Social video ad firm Jun Group has raised a small bit of funding, a full six years after being founded. The New York City-based company, which specializes in serving video ads into social environments like casual games, has raised $2.5 million from Western Technology Investment. Read more »
When he released his latest special straight to consumers and without DRM protection, Louis C.K. asked fans not to torrent the file. That didn’t exactly work as planned, and the special is already on The Pirate Bay. But does that mean his distribution experiment failed? Read more »
When the 2011 Video Game Awards go live this weekend, Spike TV hopes to build buzz by live streaming the show online and with a number of initiatives aimed at harnessing conversation happening on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and GetGlue. Read more »
Updated. Now we know why Ustream has been raising new funding, and possibly why former CEO John Ham recently stepped down. The startup collected less than half of the $75 million funding round from Japanese mobile and Internet behemoth Softbank that it announced in early 2010. Read more »
Virtual MSOs might start appearing as soon as next year, according to BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield. But any streaming offering that emerges is unlikely to be priced less than $50, which means even if they do launch, the potential market is likely to be limited. Read more »
Which applications are best for scaling a business from a tiny startup to an enterprise powerhouse? And how do you get your employees to use them? For most companies, success will come from adopting those which are easiest to use, and which employees are already using. Read more »
