Excellence... Arizona Heart Association

CVMD.org - The Cardiovascular Multi-Media Information Network brought to you by Arizona Heart

In Arizona, heart patients are getting iPods filled with videos to increase their retention of vital guidance, and to reduce risks of non-compliance. Patient education has long been a burden within the medical system. Read about it.

Amateur Video Sharing Grows Online

Amateur Video Sharing Grows Online - Yahoo! News

I couldn't resist the juxtaposition of this story with the previous. The amateur railroad footage noted in the article is fascinating. Video sharing services mentioned: Clipshack, uTube, Vimeo, Revver, Sharkle and Google Video.

HD adoption: 2005

This tracking report illuminates the move to higher definition electronic capture and presentation. Follow the link for the full report (with detail on which cameras were used for major motion picture and TV projects last year).

Fletcher Chicago's
2005 High Definition: A Year in Review

Compiled by Thomas Fletcher

January
ESPN launched its second High Definition network, ESPN2HD. Link

Apple’s Steve Jobs declares 2005 as "The Year of HD Video Editing.” High Definition editing reaches all the way down to the consumer with released of iMovie HD supporting the HDV 720p and 1080i formats. Link

For the first time in the history of the Sundance Film Festival more films are projected using digital projection than conventional 35mm. One film, "Rize", was delivered via the internet. Link

February
FOX's Super Bowl broadcast sees a 150% increase in the number of HD finished commercials over the previous year (up from 10 HD spots to 25). 87% of viewers said that watching commercials in HD increased their enjoyment of the spot. Link

HD Super Bowl spots that originated electronically included Heineken's "Beer Run" directed by David Fincher using a Viper, and General Motors/Cadillac "Elope" directed by Antony Hoffman mixing VariCam and Sony HDV. Link

"Superman Returns" beings production in Australia. It is the first feature film to use Panavision's new single, imager HD digital cinematography camera Genesis. Director Bryan Singer mixes Sony's HDW-F950 for underwater cinematography. Link

Canadians are purchasing HDTV sets faster the Americans. 16% of Canadian households compared with 10% of their American counterparts. Link

The BBC starts principal photography of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, its first period drama shot on HD. Throughout the 22-week shoot, DP Kieran McGuigan utilizes two modified HDW-750P cameras via ARRI Media. Link

March
"Collateral" is the first digital feature film (approx. 80% shot with Viper and F900) to be honored for Outstanding Cinematography. Wins British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Cinematography and was also nominated by American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). Link

CBS triples the number of March Madness basketball games to be broadcast in HDTV Link

Ireland announces intention to be first country to go all-digital in theaters. Link

April
Canon's anamorphic converter makes its debut with Spain's production company MediaPro shooting the feature "Salvador". Link

"Sin City" opens. Shot using Sony's F950/HDCAM SR/Fujinon E-Series, director Robert Rodriquez's utilizes his local Austin, Texas post house, 501 Post, to conform and color correct via Quantel's eQ 4:4:4. Link

NAB HD Product Launches
- Pace Advantage 4:4:4 Camera with the style, form, fit and feel of a film body. Link
- Sony introduces 1080/60p cameras. Link
- Quantel launches "Pay as you Go HD" to ease transition to HD finishing. Link
- Panasonic introduces HVX-200 P2 Camera (Ships Dec 29, 2005) Link
- Venom Flash Pack - Small Portable 4:4:4 Recorder Link
- Arri & Kodak Infrared-Based dust & scratch removal system for ARRISCAN Link

Mark Cuban's HDNet signed Steven Soderbergh to direct six films using high definition which will be released "day and date" in theaters, on HDTV (HDNET) and in DVDs all on the same day. This is the first series of films with simultaneous releases in movie history. Link

May
Star Wars III "Revenge of the Sith" Episode III opens. The film was shot using Sony's F950/HDCAM SR/Fujinon E-Series lenses via Plus 8 Digital and posted on Quantel iQ. Link

Advances in film stocks and post production processes spark increase in Super 16mm for High Definition television show production. Link

Dalsa opens Digital Cinema Center in Los Angeles to showcase their 4K Origin camera to Hollywood production community. Link

Scripps Networks announces HGTV and Food Networks will begin broadcast in HDTV in January 2006. Scripps will double the hours of HD production it originally planned, with more than 1,000 hours scheduled for 2006. Link

June
At Cine Gear Expo in Los Angeles, ASC Digital Master class conducts a side-by-side comparison of the Arri 435 film camera, Dalsa Origin, Panavision Genesis and the Arri D20. The event was organized by Bill Bennett ASC and lit by Russell Carpenter ASC with digital engineering provided by Marinder Snie. Link

Michael Mann begins principal photography on "Miami Vice". Over the course of June to December in locations throughout Florida, South American and the Dominican Republic, the feature mixes Viper, F900, F950 and 35mm film cameras. Link

Soho Images, the London based film and Digital Intermediate lab takes delivery the first ARRISCAN now capable of scanning a 6K image from a 35mm negative. Link

July
The Digital Signage Business, which involves sending out content to HD displays located in shopping malls and other public areas, is growing 40% annually with revenues at $1.4 billion. July featured two big deals. Thomson purchases Premiere Retail Networks for $284 million; during the same week, 3M purchases Mercury Online Solutions. Falling HD display prices are enabling retailers like Wal-Mart and Kroger to add multiple plasma and LCD displays at their 23,000 and 2,500 stores, respectively. Link

Consumer HDV Cameras arrive. Sony releases a sub $2000 consumer HDV 1080i camera - HDR-HC1. This is pretty impressive when you consider the price of Sony's previous five generations of HD camera systems. Link

Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) announces final overall system requirements and specifications. Agreement gives manufacturers of digital projectors and theater equipment one universal standard to create the next generation of cinemas. Link

August
"The Late Show with David Letterman" goes on the air in HDTV August 29. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" has been available in HD since 1999 and "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" joined the HD club last spring. Link

European broadcaster Sky reveals HDTV launch lineup which is scheduled to begin April 2006 will feature Sky Sports, Sky Box Office, two Sky movie channels and simulcast HD versions of Sky One and Artsworld. MTV, Discovery, History Channel and National Geographic's networks are also added later in 2005. Link

DVD format war inevitable. The peace talks broke off between to the two rivals High Definition DVDs format HD-DVD and Blu-ray. The two technology camps have held weeks of negotiations in an attempt to unify their formats, but negotiations fell through as neither side yielded. Link

Fox Networks Group announced plans to offer a high-definition feed National Geographic Channel. NGC HD will launch in January 2006. For the past year, Nat Geo has been producing its original series in high definition in anticipation of the rollout. Link

In response to the growing number of networks launching HD channels, HD EXPO, known for its VariCamp Workshops, announces a HD Broadcast Workshop covering news, magazine, and sports - ENG and EFP camera workshop. Link

September
With the HD transition finally beginning in earnest in Europe, this year's International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) hosted a number of HD focused events. Keynote speaker, David Hill, chairman of Fox Sports Inc. and president of the DirecTV Entertainment Group, ends HD address by commenting that "the future... is 3D". Link

IBC HD Product Highlights
- Thomson's Infinity 2/3" camcorder records to Iomega disks & CompactFlash Link
- Sony XDCAM HD 1/2" camcorder switchable between 18, 25 and 35 Mbps Link
- Quantel Pablo Color Correction - faster than real time HD, 2K & 4K workflow. Link
- Reference-grade, color-calibrated, full HD resolution LCD monitors from Cine-tal and e-Cinema. Link

MTV announces MHD to begin broadcasts in January 2006. The channel will showcase content from various MTV Networks channels. Expected shows include "MTV Unplugged" and "VH-1 Storytellers." MHD will also have some original content including HD music videos. Sees HD concerts as the next big thing. Link

Bob Primes ASC and Rick Maguire, ASC are first DP's to utilize Panavision's Genesis next generation HD camera system for a prime-time drama - "NightStalker". Link

October
"Saturday Night Live" goes HD and letterboxes standard definition broadcast. Link

Curtis Clark ASC, working with director Eric Steinman on "Sing It", for LG Electronics, becomes the first DP to use the ARRIFLEX D-20 on a commercial. Clark comments “the camera doesn’t come from a video lineage. It’s designed as a digital motion-picture camera.” Link

Sony announces it is restructuring 75% of product to be High Definition by March 2008 - up from 35% in 2005. The HD focus is to be an overarching strategy bringing Sony's 4K digital cinema projectors to consumers, mating them with Blu-ray disks, with the Playstation 3, and with specialized content from Sony Pictures Entertainment. Link

World Series in HDTV with 28 cameras! While that is not necessarily noteworthy in of itself in 2005. What is newsworthy, according to FOX Sports Vice President of Field Operations Jerry Steinberg is HDTV has come of age. "What was a science project has become television.” Link

Paramount, which was among the earliest studios to announce HD-DVD support, said it now intends to release films in both formats, making it the first movie studio to do so. Link

November
Disney and REAL D launch new digital 3D projection system in 85 theaters with release of "Chicken Little". System uses a single projector displaying 144 frames per second alternating left and right eye images. Results reported in December: 3D screens generated nearly 3 times the revenue of the average 2D screen. Link

The HDTV launch of "Good Morning America" marks the first time ever that regularly scheduled commercial network news program will be air in HD. Link

The BBC announces trial HD broadcasts set for 2006. "From colour and widescreen to digital radio and television, the BBC has always been at the forefront of innovations in broadcasting," said director of television, Jana Bennett. "Our promise to our license payers is to give them the highest quality television, so the time is right for the BBC to get involved in high definition. Link

HDTV-3D that does not require glasses introduced. Link

Video games HDTV compatible. Microsoft's Xbox 360 beats Sony to market. Link

December
One of the missing tools for HDTV sports production (especially golf) has been a practical wireless HD camera system. ABC Sports successfully uses the LinkHD and Thomson LDK6000 on Monday Night Football. Link

History Channel announces HD service coming in 2006 Link

Panasonic ships the first HVX-200 P2 camera December 29th. This was one of the most eagerly awaited HD products of the year since it records the full DVCPRO 100 format at a cost of under $6,000. It combines multiple HD and SD formats, recording modes and variable frames rates, and the vast benefits of P2 solid state memory recording in a rugged, compact design. Link

Digital Cinema Announcements in December
- Technicolor partners with major studios to install digital projectors into theaters, charging the studios what they would ordinarily have to pay for a film print (a "virtual print fee") until the projectors are paid off. In December adds Twentieth Century Fox along with previous agreements with DreamWorks SKG, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Initial rollout to be 5000 DCI compliant screens over next few years primarily using Sony’s 4K SXRD projectors and Grass Valley servers. Link

- Carmike Cinemas, the nation's third-largest chain, said it would convert 2,300 auditoriums by October 2007 using Christie Digital projectors. Link

- Mark Cuban's, independent film friendly, Landmark Cinema announces plans to outfit 85 with Sony 4K SXRD projectors. Link

Both the US House and Senate agree to set hard cut off date for analog television - February 17, 2009 (after Super Bowl and before March Madness Basketball). Includes $1.5 billion for a "digital-to-analog converter box program" to allow viewers without DTV receivers to obtain up to two, $40 converter-box coupons. Link

DG Systems' merger with FastChannel creates the first HD advertising distribution network. Link

2005 Year End Numbers:

276 Digital Cinema installations worldwide. Link

An estimated 8.9 million units of HDTV were sold in 2005. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates the total HDTV households at the end of 2005 to be at 20 million. Link

It's a big deal!

Disney buying Pixar for $7.4 billion

Begin "dream sequence".

The rumors have been flying, such as this from a blog called HD for Indies. The hidden "synergy" of this deal is obviously Apple's position enabling digital production and distribution of moving image materials.

Not too hard to image "Sleeping Beauty" coming to iPods soon! There is so much "gold" locked inside Disney vaults, yet kids are kids for only a few years. What parent wouldn't jump to subscribe to a service that enables them to relive all the masterworks while their kids are still kids?

Converse uses user video

ConverseGallery.com is a great showcase for video, with winning 24 second films being featured on TV (along with a $10k prize). They give filmakers 10 days to submit their materials. WOW.

Online video services: Google vs Apple

REVIEW : Tech giants hope TV show downloads are next big thing

The SF Chronicle got it pretty much the way it felt doing it myself. I really like watching shows on my computer now (I purchased a segment of Charlie Rose in which he talks with Walt Mossberg and Reed Hastings about the downloading business, among other topics). I know this may sound like bad manners, but I've found Azureus does it's magic with pirated TV shows more smoothly than either system. What with bit torrents accounting for over a third of all internet traffic, I'm sure Apple and Google will improve their services... and we'll see who "gets it right" by their improvements.

In my view, the big difference is portability. Since Apple targeted the iPod, it's way ahead here, and I expect they will be able to target HD screens, too.

IPTV over "Open Cable"?

Open Cable? describes the difference between what is called "internet TV" and what is known as "IPTV". This article references another in Xchange.

A snippet:

The announcement last week of Google Video, Yahoo Video and Media PCs from Microsoft, Intel (and likely) Apple have brought the issue of internet delivered television to the front burner.

But what is internet television? How does it differ from IPTV (or does it). Xchange Magazine explains it all.

Current TV Survival Guide

Current TV is tweaking their process for acquiring Viewer Created Content (or VC2). They are increasing their rewards for those segments used on-air, and they have created a straight-forward training guide to help producers get their materials ready for "prime time".

Current Studio // VC2 Survival Guide

They describe the pay scale as follows in the Studio Blog:

"Based on the quality of the pieces that we’ve licensed to date, we’ve decided that we want to reward producers with more monetary incentives and visibility at a faster rate. As a result, we are collapsing and increasing the VC2 payscale. Beginning today, if we option your first VC2 pod from the Studio, you will be paid $500. The second piece is also at $500. Your third piece is at $750 and your fourth piece is at $1000. You also get new titles (plus an additional square!) and more visibility as you move up the scale. Check out the graphic here. When your second piece airs, we’ll do an interview with you published in the Online Studio and in our monthly newsletter to our extended Current community. With your third piece, we’ll do an on-air interview with you – both of these interviews are optional, but will give you and your work even more exposure. Finally, by your fourth piece, you will receive a guaranteed commission.

"Current promos and raw footage will not be part of this incentive program and will be paid at a flat rate of $250. Just to be clear, promos generally run 10-15 seconds and incorporate our logo. Raw footage is just unedited jaw dropping footage".

Broadcasters view the transition

How broadcasters bring their content onto the Internet poses issues that strike to the core of their operations. This article gives broadcasters an overview of a multiplatform media lifecycle.

A snippet: How do broadcasters adapt?

Disruptive transition of this magnitude challenges broadcasters to insure that they are not backed into a corner. All potential revenue models must be anticipated. It is not a question of implementing IPTV, content download capability or targeted advertising, but how to engineer the infrastructure, production processes and distribution methodologies to optimize the efficiency of the media lifecycle, minimize cost and time, create the most compelling content and thereby derive maximum profit.

And this Broadcasting and Cable article looks at the dollars behind the bets being made today.

A snippet:

“We are now investing in new media and beginning to affect the DNA structure of our organization,” says Huntsberry (of NBC U). “How do I license content to hundreds of on-demand customers around the globe who want to do business with me? I can walk away from them and only deal with the top 10 big ones, or change my processes whereby I can do business with the bulk of them, collect my money faster and be able to go into business with more people.”

Coming Soon... Internet-connected TV

John Markoff typically gets things right. Here's his view of the shift to internet-based TV in the New York Times.

Here's a snippet:

Microsoft has an early lead in offering IPTV technology both to the industry and to consumers, but at the electronics show this year Intel showed significant independence and introduced its own software features including digital video recording abilities with its ViiV platform.

Both companies, however, are trying to change the nature of television by making it possible for small start-ups to compete with giant networks by making available content that has never before been able to reach a global audience.

One such company is International Television Networks Inc. of Laguna Niguel, Calif. It recently struck an agreement with the National Lacrosse League to broadcast all of the league's games as well as customized player descriptions.

The company has adopted a strategy of making video content available for specialized markets, which was previously not possible using traditional television broadcasting technology.
"I can do everything a cable company can do," said David Koenig, the company's founder and chief technology officer, "but I will have 100,000 channels."

Google Keynote with Robin Williams - at CES

Live coverage of Google Keynote with Robin Williams - Engadget

Blogs truly are amazing for being there without being there. I feel like I know Google better now.

As for the Google Video Store announement, this piece in the LA Times notes:

Much as online auctioneer EBay Inc. turned pack rats into retailers, Google's service also will allow anyone to distribute filmed or animated material they create — something digital tools make easier than ever.

Independent filmmakers, for instance, can try to bypass Hollywood; dog trainers and yoga instructors can offer how-to videos; and someone who captures a plane crash or other major news event on video can skip the traditional media — all in favor of selling their work as a digital download.

"Now any guy with a camera who believes in what they're doing can compete with the Sonys and Warner Bros. of the world," said director Ben Rekhi, who said he turned down a $125,000 distribution deal to instead sell his film "Waterborne" through Google for $4.99 a download.

Best content award: Real People Network

Sometimes it takes a while for art to adapt to technology. RealPeopleNetwork seems to provide a blueprint for anyone who wants to provide meaninful content via short video clips. No need for fancy lighting, scripts, or heavy edits.

JD Lasica has boiled down "citizen journalism" to its basic elements, and provides his materials so users can remix or reauthor them as needed.

Google launches Video Store

Google Press Center: Press Release

This just might give Apple a run for the money. There is also a for-pay download service coming from DivX, and Yahoo has pre-announced Go TV, which promises to allow downloaded internet video to be played on TV sets.

It must be CES time!

Steve Jobs will have his say next week at MacWorld Expo. In the meantime, Wired magazine has produced an in depth article about Google's program. I'm struck that Charlie Rose now sells DVDs of his show at $35 per show. With the new Google program, he will charge $4 for a stream of the show within 24 hrs of its airtime, and then $1 per show as a download thereafter.

BBC and the Open News Archive

The Open News Archive of the BBC is now in pilot and available for use in the UK only. We can get a bit of an idea what is going on by reading their vision statement.

"We're often asked: Why is the BBC involved in piloting the Creative Archive Licence and only releasing a small amount of material? Why don't we just get on with it and open up as much of the archive as possible?

How you share and what you do with BBC clips will have great impact.

Well, this is an entirely new kind of service from the BBC. For the first time we are sharing content with the public, who have already paid for it, and also allowing you to share it with others - as long as it is not used for commercial purposes. The Creative Archive is also about the potential of technology and the ways in which we can now all create moving images, as well as consume them.

So, for the Creative Archive to be a part of the future BBC, there are some important things to find out. How many people are likely to use this service? Are the legal arrangements clear? And with the Creative Archive being free, what is its impact on the existing commercial market for tv, film and sound?

How you use these clips, extracts and programmes will certainly have an impact on our research. The answers will help to decide the future of the Creative Archive from the BBC. Meanwhile, our partners in the Creative Archive Licence Group are also testing their own ideas in partnership with their audiences."

The download totals of the CALG are quite revealing. Hamlet's "ghost scene" was downloaded over 1,000 times in November, and it seems the totals are increasing over time. The new BBC footage should be popular, but I can't tell if they will share their results.

Forrester Report on Video

It's nice to get external validation from research. Forrester Research applies a proven methodogy to "early adopter" research, contained in a report (sponsored by Akamai), The Real Potential of Internet Video. View the webcast.

Their findings, after interviewing executives at a dozen leading sites:

Web video is now where Web graphics were in 1996 — sites without it are going to look awfully vanilla. Google and Yahoo! are indexing Web video, making it increasingly likely that most Web media experiences will include video. As a result:

· Advertisers must combine video and interactive thinking. Advertisers have learned interactive competencies — from the Web to email — to complement the mass-market video-branding expertise they developed with TV. Now it’s time to combine the skills. The video Web will combine the awareness characteristics of commercials with the engagement of click-throughs. Smart advertisers will create cross-functional teams that combine advertising, interactive, and direct marketing skills to connect with consumers throughout the sales and support process.

· TV networks will become video distributors, not channels in a lineup. For five decades now, a TV network has been defined by its ability to program half-hour-long and hourlong programs, especially in prime time. That era is ending. Networks can now reach consumers with short and long clips through broadcast, cable VOD, Internet streaming, and even mobile phones. Networks will now define themselves by their audience, and by re-engineering their creative capabilities to spin off video for multiple distribution channels.

· Devices will seek differentiation by accessing the video Web. As tens of millions of video clips spread across the Web, why should PCs be the only devices that can see them? TiVo, already capable of hooking up to home networks, will differentiate against cable DVRs by linking to on-demand clips from CNN, E!, ESPN, IFILM, and anyone else that will provide them. TV manufacturers facing commoditization will build smart TVs that link to their own portals featuring movie trailers and weather forecast videos. Satellite operators will use broadband connections to provide the on-demand programming that only cable can now offer. And cable will be faced with a choice: open up set-top boxes to Internet content or suffer against the telcos’ built-for-online-content IPTV offerings.

· The text Web will lose out in the competition with the video Web. People used to complain that nobody reads anymore, but the Web changed that — everybody reads online. But as the Web fills with video, text will look flat again. Already, podcasts have made audio searchable and easily enjoyed. Those with online videos will soon learn that attaching the closed-captioned transcript makes their videos easier for search engines to locate. Result: Google and Yahoo! video searches will begin to rival text searches as consumers seek answers online.