Amazon has rolled out it’s X Ray service to TV Shows, surfacing IMDB information to provide more background on the show. It’s an extension of their support for movies and will be available for most popular shows. While many content providers are relaying this information through second screen integration, Amazon is creating simple software features on the first screen that do not take away from the experience.
Until the iWatch was rumored the continued need for people to talk about Apple, was a conversation fueled by rumors of a Apple TV.
For me this felt like another chance for Apple to redesign something that people didn’t realize was terrible until Apple showed us the way. Generally the seem to put up with bad design and then coin Apple as a genius for what amounts to quite obvious simplification. In fact, I’m amazed at how much bad design people put up with, every single remote in my apartment is a ugly and functions terribly, my microwave has 32 buttons, of which I use 4.
All the conversations thus far have spun around how Apple would change the way we navigate content. They would likely bring in this world of easily searchable pipes where we’d not focus on the content provider ( Fox) or channel ( Fox Soccer ) or means of providing content ( Cable TV), but instead focus on a content theme like “Soccer” and then show us all manner of “Soccer” content from live games, to video on demand, to youtube to Bluray discs you could buy. It seems like a natural way to change the game, but one fraught with political battles that only someone like the mighty Apple could win.
A question I was asked to Answer on Quora got me thinking, it was asking why T-Commerce ( the idea of buying goods and services directly from TV Ads or TV shows) has not taken off.
I quickly replied how many brands don’t have ( or want to have) the fulfillment systems required to make that attractive, so while P&G are big enough to have a online shop, they aren’t too keen to sell you a bottle of Dawn for home delivery when they’d rather you went to store. I jokingly suggested the only people who’d ever be able to make the model work would be Amazon. It got me thinking.
An Amazon TV would be much like a Kindle HD. It would be sold at cost price, hardwired to buy “content” or in this case “Goods” from Amazon. Amazon would gain market share of these TV by undercutting the competition. As an Amazon customer, you would have your address and Credit card on file. I’d expect it to have a built in camera for monitoring user behavior, but also for Skype calls and gesture control. So as a consumer your experience would be this.
You could see any Amazon content on your TV with no set top box, so you could play TV, Music and Videos via your Amazon account ( and price based on how many people viewing). I’d expect Amazon to have amazing search and recommendation engines based on your demographic and behavioral data and what your friends and influencers watch. This content would be served by agreements with Cable and other TV companies, again, only Amazon has the might to be able to do this with the required weight.
It would be gesture controlled, and be linked up to Amazon Voice to allow you to make video calls over the internet. Amazon would then sell the ability to buy items seen in TV shows, Films, Games and Advertisement breaks to Brands, but with the deals fulfilled by Amazon – so you may be watching Skyfall and buy MacCallan Whisky or Heineken, or be watching A teen drama and decide to buy the outfit worn by the main character, or most likely be watching a TV ad and decide to add a product to your shopping basket.
Amazon then start to get even more customer data, it showcases the effectiveness of ads, records which creative works, when they work, you could even serve banner ads in real time based on promotions that may be going on, so long as the customer finds them valuable,
It seems to be the perfect combo, brands selling more to people, to target more precisely being able to monitor ad effectiveness and producing a solution that works well for typical heavy Amazon users.
Twitter, the king of social TV, geared up recently to capitalize on the second-screen advertising field by introducing an ad API. Now, in conjunction with partner TBG Digital, Twitter has launched a tool that lets marketers bid on ads on Twitter in a similar manner to programming a DVR. Brands simply select television shows along a timeline, and specify demographics or trends they wish to target. This comes in the wake of Oreo’s ground-shaking #blackout tweet during the Super Bowl, which has caused quite a stir in the ensuing months over the future of real-time second-screen advertising via social networks.
If the hologram of Tupac Shakur at last year’s Coachella Music Festival wasn’t enough to convince you that digital resurrection is on the rise, take a look at Galaxy Chocolate’s latest TV spot, starring Audrey Hepburn. Production company Framestore’s meticulous CGI model of the actress, built from images and film from throughout her career, was so convincing it trumped the use of a human double. It’s certain that this isn’t the last we’ll see of celebrities long-passed being used to represent brands with the drive and capital to spend on such involved campaigns. It is also certain that this technology has only begun to grow into its useful stage, so these representations must only continue to improve.
As part its late-in-the-game effort to maintain relevance in a growing smartphone market, smartphone pioneer RIM is mere days away from launching the Blackberry 10, and has announced a revamped Blackberry World media platform. The website will feature DRM-free music, and TV shows and movies for purchase or rental. An impressive group of content providers has already been announced including record labels 4AD, Matador, Warner and Sony, and TV partners BBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Warner Bros. Most exciting is that most movies should be available on their DVD release date, and most TV shows should be available the day after they air. Could this be a sign of things to come for RIM?
Netflix and YouTube are taking a crack at an open second screen protocol called DIAL. DIAL hopes to power second screen experiences for connected TVs, content services and app makers. Unlike Apple’s wildly successful Airplay, DIAL will not simply mirror your mobile display, but instead can detect and launch applications on your TV. From there, the specific use cases are up to the app makers and device manufactures. Expect a ton of new features coming to connected devices from big players like Sony and Samsung in the future.
Gracenote, the service best known for being the recognition and recommendation technology used in iTunes, has now expanded its technology to ID video sources as well – now it’s ready to branch into TV. The Sony subsidiary hopes to capitalize on second-screen TV viewing by offering advertisers the opportunity to target the masses with precision similar to that available with web-based ads. Their algorithm dynamically inserts ads based on what is playing on the screen and demographic data about the viewer.
Target has released another series of grocery ads that parody high fashion spots, advertising products like oatmeal and baby wipes in an over-stylized, humorous way. It looks like there starting to embrace their “Tar-shay” nickname; a pretty smart idea for the big retailer.
This week, the Verge announced the death of 3D at this year’s CES. While the article makes the claim that there is an absence of 3D exhibits on the floor as OLED and 4K TV provide more real benefits, we’re not entirely sold yet. 3D may be dead in its current state, but there are some reasons to be hopeful.
There were plenty of 3D televisions at the show (just see our interview with Stream TV network or Hisense’s 3D TV). 3D gaining mainstream adoption in the living room is probably not going to be this year, but there are certainly improvements to the technology. Further, there are a host of autostereoscopic 3D solutions that do not require glasses that will pick up steam once they improve a few major hiccups like the TVs losing 3D quality when viewing from different angles. Let’s wait and see.
