RSSMedia's NMT Blog

Just because you can restrict usage doesn't mean you have to: are the days of DRM numbered? (Digital Rights Management technologies are used to place restrictions on how files downloaded can be used.) The BBC has a fairly detailed run through the arguments surrounding the use of DRM in music and video files. What's apparent is that there remains a tension between giving consumers what they want and 'protecting' content copyright (or is that revenue?). Researching the ways in which both audiences and institutions have adjusted to the online distribution of media would be excellent preparation for this summer's exam.

Labels: consumers vs institutions, DRM, internet

Viacom aren't happy with YouTube's rather relaxed approach to copyright, so they're reportedly planning to sue Google (the owners of YouTube) for $1 billion. Other institutions have embraced the video site as a way of engaging with an audience which is watching less TV; perhaps Viacom are posturing in preparation for talks about licensing content on YouTube? As the music industry discovered, audiences will get what they want, even if it's not offered legitimately, so working with NMTs is arguably the best bet.

Labels: copyright, internet

Virtual worlds are very popular, largely owing to the freedoms they allow; in Second Life for example, you can be whoever you want to be (and do just about anything!). The problem is that nothing can escape big-business. So, to stick with Second Life, the place is filling up with adverts and even a casual internet search will reveal loads of media institutions (like the BBC) and companies developing a presence in the online world. The BBC has a good article on the future of MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games), and of course a big part of that is going to be the bringing into the mainstream of online gaming in virtual worlds, as well as the appropriation of the concept for all sorts of uses (mostly to sell you stuff, although perhaps to do other things too, including teaching).

Labels: internet, videogames

That's the box in the living room - TV programmes are more pervasive than ever thanks to another download service, this time from BitTorrent.

Labels: internet, TV

The BBC has a useful article gathering some thoughts on the impact of the Web2.0 flagship site YouTube. There was a time when getting on TV was a big deal - now anyone can get on...

Labels: internet, TV, web2.0

One advantage for NMTs for institutions: sell old stuff in a new format. It's not really new: think of past music formats, past film formats, videogame technology, mobile phone technology.

The above link, about the return of 'old' music to the charts, contains useful statistics and quotations for your exam, so get reading!

Labels: consumers vs institutions, internet

Do consumers really want TV on their mobiles? Are they willing to put up with high costs and variable quality is a more significant question, it would seem. The signs are promising: YouTube, on-demand content from virtually every channel on the planet and constantly improving technology; such developments should mean we're more receptive to mobile TV. But then again, why bother in an on-demand world? It's not like the old days of handheld TVs so you could watch important programmes away from home. These days, there's no more of the 'miss it miss out' culture of the past. Watch it +1, or in a catch-up slot, or from your Sky+ box, or on YouTube. Mobile TV doesn't look so special in that context.

However: MySpace on your mobile could mean a contract is the only way you'll keep up with your phone costs.

Labels: internet, mobile phones, TV

The oldest newspaper in the world is to be an online only publication I discovered last Wednesday, when a colleague (Mr Hillyard) email me the link to the Wired item. Today, as it's half-term I walked to the local shop and bought a newspaper, which on reflection seemed pointless given the availability of the content online. However, like books, newspapers are old technology, and yet they are, also like books, enduring; despite spending too much time online, handling and reading a printed newspaper is pleasing to me. Having said that, I read all my news online six days of out seven; perhaps printed pages are more of a pleasure from the past, especially when you consider the rise in mobile internet content.

Labels: internet

Steve Jobs has called for an end to the use of DRM (digital rights management) in the music files sold online. It could be that this will remove one of the major obstacles to downloads rendering CDs obsolete; at the moment the CD format allows high quality audio that you can use as you wish (including copying, sharing, editing) - unless there's some sort of DRM used on the disc. Whereas DRM on CDs is rare, it's the accepted practice with downloads from legitimate sites. Some, like Steve Jobs, it would seem, think that preventing consumers freely using something they've paid for is unfair and hampering efforts to increase the take up of digital downloading.

Whether the music industry will agree is another matter; only once Napster forced them did they submit to the idea of online distribution. Downloads make sense in terms of a mainstream format for the majority of users (portable, instant, easy to store to name just three), but the majority aren't giving up on CDs - could it be the perception of the risk of formats that aren't universally playable and that are limited in either time, or number of uses? Imagine being told some of your CDs would only play in a certain brand of player! Or that you could list to the CD on just a few of the CD playing devices in your home!

Read about DRM in Wired magazine (the article linked here is from 2001 but it still contains relevant ideas, if not up-to-date examples).

Labels: consumers vs institutions, DRM, internet

At the risk of sounding all Daily Mail, you should read about the fourth internet safety day. The purpose of the day is to raise the profile of information concerned with how to stay safe on the internet. I would always encourage students to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the internet, especially social networking sites (even the school-time-wasting MySpace has the potential to be a powerful tool for self-development); safety, however, is a serious business so read all about it!

Labels: internet

How does £1 million sound for your next film's budget? MySpace is running a competition to find the UK's hidden directing talent. Aside from being a great chance, it could be seen as a good example of the ways in which NMTs are capable of facilitating greater creativity and collaboration. Whilst there's no guarantee of quality, the volume of moving image work now being produced thanks to low cost production technologies indicates an eagerness on the part of people to create as well as consume media.

Labels: democratisation, internet, social networking

It would seem computers really are taking over the world: music teachers can be replaced by internet applications, listening to you playing and offering guidance. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? There are organisations out there already bringing into question the need for so much direct teaching given the possibilities offered by computers.

The 3D browser mentioned in the article (3B) is also worth a look.

Labels: internet

Bob Geldof's production company is to launch a TV channel focused on world peace (You'll need to register to follow the link, but it's free); you see, not all internet and multichannel distributed channels are trash. It's also a useful example of how internet TV 'channels' can challenge our perceptions of what constitutes TV broadcasting.

Labels: internet, TV

YouTube is a great idea, and clearly there's enormous potential for the sort of delivery methods and user-interaction in evidence. But, what sounds too good to be true often is: some, in this case Viacom, think YouTube (and parent-company Google) are breaking copyright laws, or at least turning a blind eye to the activities of users. As we saw with the original Napster, if people want something they'll go about getting it, and if it's not offered legitimately then that's too bad. The music industry took years to catch up; will the TV people make the same mistakes by attempting to stifle something there's an enormous appetite for? You'd think a royalties deal would be a sensible approach...

Labels: consumers vs institutions, internet, social networking

Apple's iTV, basically a set top box which will allow video files from an iPod to be played on an HD TV, is further proof that internet distribution (in this case via iTunes) of TV and film content is the future. It's convergent technology (combining two or more technologies), high quality and on-demand, all favoured by audiences.

All isn't rosy in the TV downloading garden, though, if some of the comments on the digitalspy.co.uk forums are true. Even after uninstalling the software needed to use the Channel 4 4OD service, your internet connection will continue to be used as part of 4OD's peer-to-peer network. And if people complain about the current TV licence fee, they're not going to be pleased about the fairly high price when buying per-programme. What's going to take some getting used to is having to use different players for different channels - surely an integrated solution like Apple's iTV will prove attractive, if the content available through iTunes is strong enough.

Labels: convergence, internet, p2p, TV

With Channel4 and the BBC both advancing steadily into internet distribution of TV content, and with YouTube continuing to provide the moving-image entertainment required by a whole generation, and with the BBC's plans for a virtual world in the style of Second Life (complete with 'TV' programmes), you'd be forgiven for thinking TV as we know it is doomed. And if Joost, a new peer-to-peer TV delivery system takes off, living room layouts all over the world (okay, the western world) will have to be reconsidered... Given that the creators of Joost were involved with KaZaA - which you've probably herd of - and Skype - which you have definitely heard of - it's got more than a good chance of changing the world.

It's true that in the digital world audiences are becoming more and more fragmented; by definition, personalised content can't be delivered to huge audiences, after all. To suggest that TV is not going to last is a fairly daft thing to propose, though. 30% of homes are still watching terrestrial TV, and official statistics suggest in early 2006 almost half of homes didn't have internet access. What do these people do with their time?

Labels: internet, TV