The Grand Adventure

Moving...

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:41:00 +0000

Well I am not really moving, but this blog is!

It is hard to believe but this Blog has been going since August of 2004. Six amazing years. I have come to a place now in my life that I need to better define and move forward my own personal brand and have taken steps to do that. This will probably be the last post on this blog. I say probably, because you never know where the future may lead you.

Thanks for reading and come follow me here - MattHand.net

Apple will be #1 for a while...

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:22:00 +0000

From a very interesting interview here from Peter Vesterbacka, Maker of Angry Birds:

“Apple will be the number one platform for a long time from a developer perspective, they have gotten so many things right. And they know what they are doing and they call the shots. Android is growing, but it’s also growing complexity at the same time. Device fragmentation not the issue, but rather the fragmentation of the ecosystem. So many different shops, so many different models. The carriers messing with the experience again. Open but not really open, a very Google centric ecosystem. And paid content just doesn’t work on Android.

So Angry Birds has to be ad supported on Android because you can't charge with Android. Ah the great race to the bottom. The one caveat is that they estimate to make close to a million dollars a month on the ad supported model.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Roku Sales Double When Apple TV is Released

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:27:00 +0000

In an interview with the Business Insider Roku CEO:

Instead of taking a big hit, Roku sales actually doubled when the new Apple TV came out, Roku CEO Anthony Wood tells us, because Apple helped bring a lot of new attention and awareness to the category. And Google TV is not proving itself to be a worthy competitor yet.

Proof that as we continue to migrate away from traditional forms of consumption forward thinking business like Roku are in a great place for the future.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

This is really fun

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:15:00 +0000

Teaching tools for social media is very enjoyable.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Shot of the class tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:10:00 +0000

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

I think this is the future of browsers.

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:53:00 +0000

RockMelt! I can't wait for my invite!

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Twitter users spend more time meeting in person

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:29:00 +0000

Here is a recent study that shows that frequent users of social networks are spending more time not less meeting people.

I think this goes to how we are introducing and interacting with people through social networks and then forming deeper connections. I know personally this is the case for me. What do you think?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:32:00 +0000

You can tell by this graph here-

Also note the potential growth curve of these sets.

As a side note I recently purchase a new set. It was not internet connected, but I did order my new Roku. I really believe boxes will make more sense in at least the near future as we will be able to change the software in them to add new channels and functions. The current crop of TVs are not really up to it when it comes to software. It make sense because what do TV makers do? They make hardware not software.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

My new Darth Vader USB hub!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:14:00 +0000

(23758 KB)
Watch on posterous

I will let the video speak for itself

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Younger viewers not watching live TV

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:23:00 +0000

So I know the headline is a bit misleading, but according to a recent study by Morpace (Link to the study) the younger generation prefers to get their content from online sources and time shifting.

More than one-half (51 percent) of consumers view at least some video programming online; while 23 percent use a streaming video source such as Netflix. This doesn’t include the percentage of consumers who use Netflix just for the mailed DVDs. This wave of the survey did not associate the programming source with the particular device used but, presumably, most of the online viewing is presently using a computer. However 16 percent of respondents state their television is connected to the Internet to allow viewing online content.
The survey also reveals what share of total viewing comes from which programming sources. Only 52 percent of total viewing is of live TV programming. Nearly one-half of all viewing uses alternative and time shifted sources. Viewing DVDs is the largest share at 14 percent, followed by DVR at 12 percent and “on demand” at 6 percent. Online programming makes up 9 percent of total content viewed.

Of note is the presumption in this study. What we are finding is that IETV (Internet Enabled TV) is beginning to change how we get that content. We still enjoy watching TV we just want our internet content there. Boxes like the Apple TV and Roku make getting online content to our existing TVs as easy as hooking up three wires in some cases.

Time to start looking strongly at how we get our content into the cloud instead of relying on traditional distribution models.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

This is what streaming live is about

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:23:00 +0000

While I realize that Apple has limited the delivery the stream for the Apple event today we should all be focusing on delivery to all devices.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Mac speculation....

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:41:00 +0000

What if this:

Is not for the new nano/shuffle.... What if it is the controller for the new Apple TV?

Just a thought.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Apple to provide Live Stream

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:46:00 +0000

This is huge! A first in many years for apple-

Live Video Streaming
Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on September 1, 2010 at www.apple.com.

This announcement may be bigger than I thought. If some of the new rumors are true the new Apple TV may be a hit. My prediction is on par with some of those out there iOS enabled Apple TV.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Facebook Places Fails #inbend

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Last night I did an update for my iPhone and was greeted with the new Facebook version that includes places, their new location based service announced yesterday. Well guess what...

I just want to check it out and am looking forward to it when it is available. I currently use Foursquare and this may or may not shut the door on Foursquare. Time will tell.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Another Flash Video Site Down!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:29:00 +0000

Vimeo announced today that they are going HTML 5 in what is another march forward to kill flash for video on websites. This is really exciting for Vimeo and this paragraph best sums up the new capabilities.
> The Universal Player is as easy to use as the old embed code, just a lot more compatible. Instead of being a direct link to a Flash player the new Universal Player can automatically detect what kind of device is viewing the video and choose the optimum player based on the device's capabilities. For example, it will serve mobile video to iPhones and Androids and HD to iPads and Desktops. On other mobile devices it can use the native player of the device or an optimized mobile Flash player with bigger controls. It also allows us to introduce new players as technology changes, potentially allowing us to do things like serve HTML5 to IE9 and WEBM video to Firefox.
I think this also shows how mobile is really beginning to get the nod on how we are beginning to consume our videos. Congrats Vimeo.

By the way if I haven't said it before I really don't like flash for video!

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

The Google Verizon "Deal"

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:10:00 +0000

Last week the announcement was made between Verizon and Google and this great post surfaced. Very much agree with this statement:

Increasingly, technology companies are shipping devices with access to wireless broadband networks pre-installed. It’s not just smart phones any more: laptops, tablets, gaming devices, entertainment systems, navigation tools, automobiles... And while the term “wireless broadband” has come to mean wireless phone services like 3G and 4G networks, the term also likely includes wireless city initiatives. So... what could have caused Google’s founders to abandon the principles of net neutrality just as the web begins entering its wireless era? Could it be that they have the opportunity to control and to profit from a web user’s wireless experience in a not so distant future when being “wired” will be like saying you use a rotary dial phone?

My thoughts will come later.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

Google is the Mobile Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:31:00 +0000

By now you should have seen this graph, but if not here it is in all of it's grandeur.

As you can see if we are comparing the winners in the mobile space Google may be the king for some time to come.

See more here.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

The Future of Video is 3D - Well Maybe Someday

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:26:00 +0000

3D is the current hot topic in hollywood and even within consumer electronics, but is the future now for 3D? I doubt it and just like HD I think it will take at least 3-5 years to reach any sort of critical mass if it ever does. What really is even more of a serious sea change going on right now is the shift to Internet-Enabled Televisions or IETV. According to a recent study by iSuppli while 3D will ship approximately 4.2 million sets this year IETV 27.7 million sets. As you see by the graph below the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down.

The true growth for the short term will be delivering your content to those 12' or lean back experiences. I am looking forward to the next couple of years!

My belief if you are interested is that 3D is a fad and a way to get more money out of us.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

In Case You Missed It - Get Your 15 Minutes of Fame

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:33:00 +0000

Yes you heard it we now can all get our 15 minutes of fame. YouTube has increased the 10 minute cap to 15 minutes. the reason:
> Well, we’ve spent significant resources on creating and improving our state-of-the-art Content ID system and many other powerful tools for copyright owners. Now, all of the major U.S. movie studios, music labels and over 1,000 other global partners use Content ID to manage their content on YouTube. Because of the success of these ongoing technological efforts, we are able to increase the upload limit today.

This actually is great news for those long form video providers. We now will be able to create content that is a bit more plot driven... OR we may see 15 minutes of lame video. I hope not! As a part of this announcement YouTube has said
> Tag your video with “yt15minutes,” upload it by Wednesday, August 4, and we’ll select a handful of people to truly gain their 15 minutes of fame by featuring them on the YouTube homepage in a future spotlight.

So let's go all get our 15 minutes of fame.

Posted via email from The ramblings of a video geek

On location today

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:03:00 +0000

Working on a great video for Camp Courage. This is an amazing program for youth dealing with grief.

Posted via email from Pinnacle Media Inc.