philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

11Jun/13Off

Hollywood and OpenStack (USC ETC project)

The advent of all-digital, film projects has required huge amount of infrastructure adaptations ranging from compute (effects, post-production, transcoding), storage (“hot”, “warm”, and “cold” storage), and networking (to move data across locations and 3rd party partners). This changes are further compounded by any work being done in remote locations. The net result can be staggering infrastructure costs.

By moving to a cloud model, the (infrastructure) costs, associated with both big and small-budget films, can be significantly reduced. This is realized through those compute, storage and networking applications, which, by leveraging the advantages of the cloud can now be provisioned on-demand, in an elastic manner, without requiring any up-front capital expenditure or an extensive IT staff.

The “Production in the Cloud” project will explore the best use of cloud and an assurance of consistency for the film industry.

See the full story here: http://blogs.evault.com/cloud-connected-recovery/hollywood-and-openstack/

8Jun/13Off

Video gaga: How technology is transforming live concert bootlegging

LiveConcerts-645x250A big turning point for me came back in 2010 when The Pixies played at The Brixton Academy in London. On my way in, I noticed a stall that offered live audio recordings of the gig for around £15 ($20). I assumed I would pay up front and receive a disc in the post a week or two later but, alas, I was wrong.

I did pay on the spot, but the CD was available within about 20 minutes of the show ending, meaning that by the time I’d suffered the painfully long queue to regain my jacket, a brand-spanking new, professionally recorded live album – including cover art – was in my hands. For someone who went to maybe 20-30 gigs a year, this was the first time I’d ever seen this, and it was a revelation. Sure, it was audio-only, but it made me realize how much better a professional recording is – it brings actual value to the experience....

There’s already the software to easily stitch together such content too. Vyclone (previous coverage) for example, lets users sync and edit multi-angle videos directly from their mobile phones. It only works with footage captured simultaneously which is perfect for gigs, and it uses the longest audio track from the available videos as the source, before normalizing the rest of the audio to create a sense of cohesion. ...

Lively Audio Manager is its artist-focused product that pretty much lets any live performer offer their fans live (audio) recordings during the gig. After Apple and Google take their 30% in-app purchase fees, any remaining profits are split between the artist and Lively, 70% and 30% respectively. The only investment a performer needs to make is in an Apogee Duet audio interface and an iPad, which integrate with Lively’s iOS app.

It really is a fantastic set-up, one that automates most of the process.

There’s a legitimate business to be had through actively seeking fans who are willing to participate in filming a gig. They commit through an online platform, registering the kind of handset they own, and what we then have is a crowdsourced, fan-filmed concert. Heck, the audience could even be paid for their efforts, depending on how many fans subsequently buy the recording. This also removes any risk from bands and promoters who are reluctant to commit resources to filming something with no guarantee of making money.

One Irish startup is already offering a similar service. Dublin-based 45sound connects fan-recorded videos with sound captured directly from the mixing desk, while throwing in some background ‘crowd’ audio to make it sound authentic. ...

See the full story, with many videos, here: http://thenextweb.com/media/2013/06/08/how-technology-is-transforming-concert-bootlegging/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheNextWeb+(The+Next+Web+All+Stories)&curator=MediaREDEF

5Jun/13Off

Wibbitz – Text to voice and video


Wibbitz is an Israel-based startup that converts web text stories to voice, images, and videos by doing real time contextual search.

See the original post here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qG3inpdg5E

5Jun/13Off

DOG TV


DOG TV is an Israel-based start-up.  They are already a subscription service ($4.99/month) in a number of cable markets.

See the original video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLrAoEpyiP4

4Jun/13Off

Disney Eliminating ‘Digital Copy’

Disney_Oz_Great_Powerful-1024x415The Disney Digital Copy Plus website intends to streamline digital delivery for consumers by eliminating the cumbersome “digital copy” process. The site will debut on the same day that the studio’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” is released on disc.

“Instead of accessing the digital copy from a disc in the ‘superset’ combo pack, a digital copy of the film can now be accessed directly from the website by consumers who purchase any disc configuration of the film,”...

“The other big studios are behind ‘UltraViolet,’ a digital rights management system that lets consumers buy a disc once and then access the content, through the cloud, at any time, on any device,”...

Read the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-eliminating-digital-copy-562021

4Jun/13Off

Cine Gear: ‘After Earth’ in 4K Draws Crowd; Why iTunes Will Go Ultra HD Before TV Nets

after_earth-1“But during Cine Gear, THR spoke with Sony Electronics president Alec Shapiro, who projected that since ’90 percent of homes in the U.S. get their programming through cable, satellite or fiber, [4K] is a challenge that these and the Internet [content providers] will overcome in the next two years.’”

Yesterday, we reported that Sony is launching a 4K media player for its Ultra HD TVs this summer that includes 10 Blu-ray movies mastered in 4K.

See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/cine-gear-earth-4k-draws-561643

3Jun/13Off

Support Grows to Let Cybertheft Victims ‘Hack Back’

In coming weeks, an influential panel of the American Bar Association is expected to release a report that will explore gray areas that might leave companies legal room to engage in "active defense." The report also will explore possible changes in the current law.

"This is not about shooting back, this is about investigating back," said Stewart Baker, former assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security.

Read the full story here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324682204578517374103394466.html

 

3Jun/13Off

SONY LAUNCHES 4K BRAVIA TVS, OTHER BRANDS EXPECTED SOON

Since the debut of Ultra HD 4K TVs at CES in January, Sony has become the first to offer 4K televisions to consumers with its new line of screens available through its Bravia brand. The first 4K Bravia sets are 55- and 65-inch models priced in the $7,000 range, while an 84-inch unit costs as much as $25,000. As an incentive, Sony is including a set of 10 4K mastered Blu-ray movies, and plans to launch a digital download service with more content.

Manufacturers such as LG, Sharp, Panasonic and Samsung will have 4K units available through retailers soon. LG, which also launched an 84-inch Ultra HD TV, is taking pre-orders in Korea for its 55 and 65-inch 4K models, expected for July availability.

See the full story here: http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/executech-sonys-4k-bravia-tvs-sonos-playbar-iron-man-smartphone-case-more-1200490171/

3Jun/13Off

FishAlerts Taps Esri Technology For Fishing App

Philip Lelyveld comment: ESRI breaks out of big business and enables consumer app developers. This is a good sign for the father of GIS, Jack Dangermond. If only they were publicly traded.

See the story here: http://tinyurl.com/kyrmyaf

3Jun/13Off

This Pentagon Project Makes Cyberwar as Easy as Angry Birds

But you can’t expect the average officer to be able to understand the logical topology of a global network-of-networks. You can’t expect him to know whether its better to hook a rootkit into a machine’s kernel or its firmware. If cyberwar is going to be routine, Darpa believes, the digital battlefield has to be as easy to navigate as an iPhone. The attacks have to be as easy to launch as an Angry Bird.

“Say you’re playing World of Warcraft, and you’ve got this type of sword, +5 or whatever. You don’t necessarily know what spells were used to create that sword, right? You just know it has these attributes and it helps you in this way. It’s the same type of concept. You don’t need the technical details,” says Dan Roelker, the cybersecurity specialist who helped develop some of the world’s most widely-used intrusion detection software, came up with the idea for Plan X, and joined Darpa to make it happen.

See the full story here: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/05/pentagon-cyberwar-angry-birds/all/