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Viodi View Menu<\/strong><\/p>\n Current Issue<\/a><\/p>\n TIA Advocates Franchise Reform (pdf)<\/a><\/p>\n To Franchise or Not?<\/a><\/p>\n HD-OnDemand<\/a><\/p>\n Previous Issue<\/a> <\/p>\n Viodi View Subscribe<\/a> <\/p>\n Viodi Forums<\/strong> Club Viodi<\/a> Open Forum <\/a> <\/p>\n Multimedia Search <\/a> <\/p>\n Viodi Workshops<\/strong> Local Content<\/a> Telco Video 101<\/a> IPTV Training<\/a> Industry<\/strong> Industry Calendar<\/a> Viodi Links<\/a> Weissberger’s Wireless World & More<\/a> <\/p>\n About Viodi<\/a> Contact<\/a> Biographies<\/a> <\/p>\n Some Videos<\/a><\/p>\n Interested in Sponsoring the Viodi View? Send an email to: sponsor@viodi.com<\/strong><\/p>\n Please forward<\/strong> this free publication to anyone you know who is involved in some way with independent telephone companies. <\/p>\n Mission of the Viodi View:<\/strong><\/p>\n In this on-line publication, we share our analysis, opinions and direction on the interactive television news and views that we believe will be of interest and use to our friends associated directly or indirectly with independent telephone companies. For more information as to the various ways Viodi works with independent telephone companies, please go to http:\/\/www.viodi.com\/alliance\/<\/a><\/p>\n Disclaimer:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Viodi View [Viodi, LLC] and its associates used their best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, the Viodi View [Viodi, LLC] does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.<\/p>\n All displayed trademarks, logos and service marks are the property of their respective owners. \u00a9 2005Viodi, LLC<\/a>. All Rights Reserved. Viodi View Newsletter – September 20th, 2006<\/strong> <\/p>\n By Ken Pyle, ken.pyle@viodi.com, Managing Editor, Viodi View<\/p>\n D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again. It seems appropriate to be thinking of Yogi Berra\u2019s<\/strong> famous saying given that baseball is in the midst of several hot pennant races. And just like any other season since they moved to San Francisco, it appears as if my beloved Giants\u2019 envelope is about to fold once again. In some ways, it seems like nothing is really new. Yet, there is the spark of excitement, caused by a sophomore slugger named Ryan Howard<\/strong> of the Philadelphia Phillies<\/strong>, suggesting that baseball may be entering into a new era scrubbed clean of recent scandals. <\/p>\n Similarly, with all of the excitement and buzz over video over the Internet, are we really just partying again like it was 1999? The Current TV<\/strong> people certainly think that some of the video over Internet sites, like YouTube are a lot of content with no business model. In an article in the Multichannel News<\/a><\/strong>, Joel Hyatt of Current TV likened these upstarts to free web hosts, like Angelfire, that were able to generate lots of eyeballs, but little revenue [note, Current TV just announced a distribution deal<\/a><\/strong> with Yahoo!]. Still, with all of the announcements from upstart video over the Internet sites, there is certainly something that is different this time.<\/p>\n Technology of Local Content Speakers Announced<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n I am thrilled that Mary Wilder<\/strong>, General Manager of HBC Productions<\/strong> and Tim Mahoney<\/strong>, founder of Mahoney Media<\/strong>, will be speaking at the Technology of Local Content. Mary and her crew bring a real world perspective on the steps independent telcos need to take to produce local content. Tim Mahoney will bring the viewpoint of a producer who has produced commercials and documentaries that have aired all over the world. We have extended the early bird pricing until Friday, so be sure to register for this event which is a perfect complement to OPASTCO\u2019s Tech Symposium<\/strong>.<\/p>\n One of the things I am looking forward to at this workshop is learning how to create animations like Roger Bindl<\/strong>. Check out the promotional video he put together for the workshop. <\/p>\n ViodiTV DVD Included with Registration a $99 Value<\/strong><\/p>\n AT&T\/MobiTV \u2013 A New Direction<\/strong><\/p>\n One big \u201cover the top\u201d announcement was AT&T\u2019s deal with MobiTV<\/a><\/strong>, whereby AT&T is redistributing a version of MobiTV\u2019s video product to broadband subscribers. For $19.99 per month<\/strong>, one gets a mix of brand name and new channels. It is available on any broadband connection (although some of the channels can be seen only exclusively on AT&T Broadband \u2013 hmmm, is that a net neutrality issue?). Is this \u201cover the top\u201d approach a sign of AT&T\u2019s video direction, especially if their current IPTV approach has schedule delays? One thing missing from this service, at least for now, is a franchise fee; more on that in a bit.<\/p>\n TIA Advocates Video Franchise Legislation Reform (pdf)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Alan J. Weissberger<\/strong> attended a TIA press briefing last week, where reform of the video franchise process was center stage. The TIA, represented by executives from Anda Networks<\/strong>, Corning<\/strong> and Tellabs<\/strong>, argued that U.S. competitiveness is in jeopardy if franchise reform is not undertaken this year. The FTTH Council<\/strong>, another organization with a strong vendor influence, made a similar plea before Congressional staffers earlier this week. <\/strong>Click here<\/strong><\/a> to read what the TIA had to say about franchising, as well their comments about how wireless can be used to fill in the broadband gaps. <\/p>\n To Franchise or Not to Franchise?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n A streamlined franchise process may be a good thing, but I doubt it will be the panacea<\/strong> these vendors hope it will. I was reminded that telcos and others have had franchise alternatives for a number of years (e.g., in the form of Open Video Systems) when I listened to a presentation from Howard Shapiro<\/strong>, a lawyer with Washington D.C.-based Bennet & Bennet<\/strong>. This was a presentation he gave at the Viodi co-produced IP Video @ Telecom03 conference. He makes an interesting case that it may be possible for a telecom provider to offer video services without a franchise, much like AT&T has started to offer. You too can listen and view this informative and classic presentation by clicking here<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n Who Isn\u2019t Doing “Over the Top Videos”?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Actually, <\/strong>the Who<\/strong> are providing streaming video as part of their, \u201cvirtual ticket membership<\/strong>.\u201d Membership gives access to chat boards as well as video that features vintage and current Who<\/strong><\/a> concert footage. This sort of affinity marketing of video will probably become more of the rule as it becomes easier for anyone to distribute video. The video announcements by Amazon<\/strong> and Apple<\/strong> are more evidence of the continuing fragmentation of the content distribution business. Their well-established brands and large customer bases should put them in a good position to sell enough to justify their foray into the movie download business. <\/p>\n Not that Amazon and Apple have it right yet, as pointed out by Mike Langberg<\/strong> in the San Jose Mercury<\/strong><\/a>. Langberg has a good summary of the limitations of these services; and there are still significant limitations. Ironically, while he was testing those services, I was revisiting Movielink<\/strong> and Comcast\u2019s<\/strong> VOD offerings. What attracted me to Movielink\u2019s offering was the 50 free emusic downloads (as an aside, emusic seems to be a much better deal than iTunes). What attracted me to Comcast was I could rent a movie with an Oscar-award winning actress and not have to pay a dime extra. Combining the ease of navigation and the sharpness of promotion of Movielink with the couch-potato friendliness of Comcast\u2019s VOD would result in a winning product. <\/p>\n HD-OnDemand<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Moviebeam<\/strong> provides an interesting high definition, on-demand alternative<\/strong> that has great navigation together that interfaces to a standard television. I had a chance to catch up with Mark Langford of Moviebeam a few months ago. What is amazing is this service will be offering day and date release with DVD of certain high definition titles from major studios. You can check out this video interview with him by clicking on this video that is hosted on revver.com. Watch the videos<\/a><\/strong> all the way through the end and click on the advertisement<\/strong> and they will actually pay Viodi a small sum. \u00a0 <\/p>\n Overwhelming Over the Top<\/strong><\/p>\n That Revver<\/a><\/strong> pays their producers makes them somewhat unique (eefoof.com<\/a><\/strong> and http:\/\/www.addictingclips.com\/<\/a><\/strong> are a couple of other examples of sites that pay for play). Revver just converted to Adobe Flash 8 from Quicktime, which is significant as most of these over the top video services seem to be using Flash. Based on their beta site, even Microsoft\u2019s new \u201cSoapbox\u201d service uses Flash8 instead of its own Windows Media product. <\/p>\n Video Over the Internet Killed the Cable Stars?<\/strong><\/p>\n The YouTube<\/strong> announcement with Warner<\/strong> is amazing because it offers the potential to allow users to legitimately create their own music videos using songs from their favorite artists. I am sure this won\u2019t be a cake walk, as getting the necessary agreements could be a challenge since some artists (John Fogerty<\/strong> comes to mind) will not want their music associated with advertising. I suspect it will be a revenue generator for artists with loyal fan bases. It offers an entirely new future for the MTV generation. <\/p>\n Networking & Conference Opportunities:<\/strong><\/p>\n Summer is definitely over and the fall conference season is in full bloom. Here are some upcoming conferences that may be of interest:<\/p>\n Local Content Workshop Alumni<\/strong><\/p>\n Watch your email inbox over the next few days for some special announcements.<\/p>\n The Korner – We\u2019re the Young Generation\u2026..<\/strong><\/p>\n Given the large amount of press about video over the internet, it is easy to start to look at all announcements as part of some self-fulfilling, Kool Aid dispensing, hype machine<\/strong>. We certainly don\u2019t want to be fooled again. As such, I skipped the articles regarding the Warner-YouTube deal, figuring it was more of the same. After seeing the headline for probably the fourth time, it hit me that I had seen this a long time ago, when cable was but a pebble in the pop culture landscape.<\/p>\n It was a picture in a trade magazine that I recall from so many years ago. It is that picture that made me realize that cable television could be a fun business. The picture was of Mike Nesmith<\/strong> shaking hands with an executive from Warner-Amex.<\/strong> The caption indicated some sort of agreement between Warner-Amex and Nesmith. Now, many of you may remember Nesmith as the son of the single mother who, in the 1950s, invented Liquid Paper<\/strong>. What many of you may not know is that he was a Monkee<\/strong> \u2013 the tall one with a beanie and the one with a big independent and creative streak.<\/p>\n After the Monkee\u2019s dissolved, Nesmith became a solo artist. During that phase of his career, he pioneered the music video<\/strong> as an art form. I first saw his music videos in the late 1970s on a San Francisco-based, UHF television show, Videowest<\/strong>. Videowest featured an eclectic mix of alternative news, views and a new form of entertainment; the music video. It was a version of MTV before there was MTV and the music videos featured bands like Devo, Lena Lovich<\/strong> and Mike Nesmith.<\/p>\n As it turned out, Nesmith and the record company he owned, Pacific Arts, came up with the original concept for MTV<\/strong> around that same time and sold it to Warner-Amex. While MTV came to dominate youth pop culture for the next 25 years, Videowest went the way of the bouffant hairstyle. So, as I look at the YouTube deal, I wonder if Chad Hurley<\/strong> of YouTube <\/strong>will be the Michael Nesmith of his day. I also wonder which of today\u2019s services and companies will follow the path of Videowest. <\/p>\n One last note, Michael Nesmith is alive and still producing good stuff<\/strong>. His latest CD sounds like it has some good tunes for listening to while working or relaxing. It can be found at:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.nezrays.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Back to Top<\/a><\/p>\n Next Article<\/a> <\/p>\n Previous Issue<\/a><\/p>\n Viodi View Subscribe<\/strong><\/p>\n Salutation<\/p>\n Mr. Ms. M. Mrs. Miss Dr. <\/p>\n First Name <\/p>\n Last Name<\/p>\n Email<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n Privacy Policy<\/a> <\/p>\n Order before September 18th, 2006 & Get an Extra Issue at No Charge<\/p>\n \n \u00a0<\/p>\n &<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/p>\n The Video Business Case for Independent Telcos \u2013 The Report<\/strong> <\/p>\n Viodi\u2019s report, Video Business Case provides results to a survey of independent telcos and their business case for video. Most of the telcos that responded to the survey have figured out a way to deploy video services. This survey provides insight from the independent telcos as well as several of their Engineering firms. <\/p>\n \n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 Viodi View Menu Current Issue TIA Advocates Franchise Reform (pdf) To Franchise or Not? HD-OnDemand Previous Issue Viodi View Subscribe Viodi Forums Club Viodi Open Forum Multimedia Search Viodi Workshops Local Content Telco Video 101 IPTV Training Industry Industry Calendar Viodi Links Weissberger’s Wireless World & More About Viodi Contact Biographies Some Videos Interested […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions\/987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viodi.com\/classic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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