snapshot 8/24/07

New DRM scheme will let consumers stream cable TV over home networks
Cable subscribers should soon be able to stream cable TV programming over their home networks, as CableLabs has announced its approval of a new streaming protocol. Called DTCP-IP (Digital Transmission Copy Protection), the new spec will use DRM to lock down content to ensure that it doesn't escape the cozy confines of cable subscribers' homes.

Here's what consumers will get: they will be able to move content across their home networks for viewing on devices that aren't attached to a set-top box. That will include PCs as well as portable devices, and high-definition and video-on-demand programming will be covered by DTCP-IP.


SoundExchange Inks Royalty Deal With Large Webcasters - Small Guys Waiting For Congress
SoundExchange has reached an accord with the largest online broadcasters for per stream royalty payments. Under the new agreement, which lasts until 2010, SoundExchange will cap the total that the largest commercial broadcasters will have to pay at $50,000 for all streams, instead of $500 per channel. Prior to this deal, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) stated that there would be no limit to the $500 per-channel or per-station minimum fee that services must pay to SoundExchange.

In addition, the big web broadcasters will not be mandated to incorporate technology to prevent the streamed music from being ripped by listeners at this time, but will discuss options for the future.The decision comes on the heels of SoundExchange offering small webcasters a deal that would maintain the old rate structure through 2010, but has not been well received.


DivX unveils “Connected” media extender
DivX has officially unveiled its “Connected” media extender platform. Previously codenamed “GejBox”, the device is designed to deliver content from a PC onto the living room television — entering a crowded market that includes the AppleTV, Playstation 3, XBox 360, as well as dozens of streaming media boxes from companies such as Netgear and Cisco, some of which already license DivX’s own video compression technology.

…the device has no hard disk or fully-fledged CPU, and instead the connected PC handles most of the work by converting its display data into a DivX video stream which can then be decoded at the other end using the GejBox’s built-in DivX chip. The fact that the device doesn’t need additional processing power or storage should make it a lot cheaper than its competitors.


Walmart Photos QuickUpload for Safari
I use Walmart's online photo service quite a bit; it's cheap and quality is rather good for the cost (if a bit too dark). The best thing about it is that that you can upload your photos from home and pick them up an hour later at most Walmart locations for 19 cents each (4x6). The downside is the web browser form-based uploading. You have to select the images one by one, which obviously takes forever if you have a lot of pictures. Naturally enough they have desktop software for Windows, but not Mac. However, I recently had a lot of photos to upload and started digging around their site for a better solution. After a lot of clicking, I finally came across a deeply buried and hard-to-find little gem: the QuickUpload plugin for Safari. If you download and install it (I've only tested it with Safari 2), it will allow you to select and upload an indefinite number of photos much more easily. So what I do is export the photos I want to print from Aperture to a folder on my Desktop, then select that folder with the QuickUploader and let it do its thing.


But I Already HAVE a DVD Player!
Let’s harken back to the VHS / Betamax war. We’ve all heard the stories, the accusations, and the innuendo. There are many reasons that Betamax lost but two of them are because of the longer recording time of VHS and the fact that the VHS players hit that magic $200 price point first. Most people don’t care about quality. They don’t get it, and when you explain it to them they don’t care.

What’s round, shiny, and can play music and/or movies? About 20 different types of discs. DVDs, CDs, CD-Rs, SACDs, DVD-As, and now HD DVDs and Blu-rays. Enough is enough! We’ve all seen the shiny round disc. We use the old ones for decorations and coasters. The magic is gone. If you really want to capture the public’s imagination, release a NEW format and I don’t mean another stupid shiny disc. Make it square, oval, make it the shape of a crystal or Mickey Mouse for all I care. Make it solid state, give it a display, make it huge, tiny, thin, fat... it doesn’t matter. Just make it different. People have been handling the same media for YEARS now. If you really want to get them excited, release something different.


Was MTV's Rhapsody Decision Really Punishment For Microsoft Abandoning PlaysForSure?
We chalked up MTV's decision to drop Microsoft for RealNetworks in its online music store efforts to MTV's typical internet bumbling. However, there is another interesting possibility. MTV dumped Microsoft to punish the company for pulling the rug out from under them when it killed off "PlaysForSure" DRM. You may recall that Microsoft used to have its own DRM that it tried to get pushed as an industry standard. The company called it "PlaysForSure" in a bit of marketing hubris to try to make sure people felt comfortable with it. There was just one teensy problem. When Microsoft decided to get into the business of selling its own digital music players, it wouldn't support PlaysForSure, making the name that much more ironic. When your own digital music players won't play your own PlaysForSure DRM files, you have a problem. Not only did it screw over all the users who had been buying PlaysForSure files, it hurt all the different music stores, including MTV's, that had bet on PlaysForSure. So, with that in mind, it's no wonder that MTV decided to find someone else to partner with.


Trans World Entertainment Announces Second Quarter 2007 Results
Trans World Entertainment Corporation today announced total sales decreased 10% to $267.3 million for the second quarter ended August 4, 2007, compared to $298.3 million in the second quarter of 2006.


Universal Music Group Grabs Top YouTube Channel Ranking
Universal Music Group, easily the largest of the roost, surprised onlookers this month by triggering a major experiment in MP3-based sales. But the company has also been allocating considerable energies towards its YouTube partnership, despite cloudy revenue models. Just recently, the major hoisted a number one position among YouTube channels, which are dedicated collections of content from specific providers.

The first-place ranking was prompted by 167 million total views, a record result that outdistances competitors like CBS and NBC. From a broader perspective, that is mostly a drop in the bucket - according to figures released last year by Hitwise, YouTube serves more than 100 million videos daily, a number that has probably increased markedly.


Finding DRM-Free Music Online
Just this week, Wal-Mart began selling unprotected MP3s of many Universal Music Group and EMI songs through its website. RealNetworks, MTV, and Verizon have also teamed up to launch Rhapsody America, a music service catered toward mobile phone users that will provide DRM-free downloads, in the near future. Even LimeWare, a P2P software maker, has recently announced that it plans to be part of the DRM-free movement (this time legitimately).

While the progression of things suggests that all online music will eventually be DRM-free, there’s no need to wait to get in on the DRM-free action. Check out the DRM-free online music retailers below to get better quality music that plays on virtually any handheld music device, on any computer, and with any music program. The retailers covered provide music from both major and minor labels.