The BBC has launched a closed on-demand Internet video system, iPlayer, that will let users download and view shows broadcast in the last week.

The BBC is giving the new offering an unusual amount of hype. BBC director general Mark Thompson calls¬†the launch of iPlayer “as big a milestone as the arrival of colour TV.”

iPlayer Details:

• iPlayer will allow viewers to catch up on TV programs for seven days
• Some TV series can be downloaded and stored for 30 days
• Viewers will be able to watch shows streamed live over the internet
• Users cannot download programs from other broadcasters
• Classical recordings and book-readings are excluded from iPlayer

The BBC has come under criticism for the proprietary nature of iPlayer, along with its limited platform support. Here are the player’s requirements:

• Operating system: Windows XP SP2
• Browser: Internet explorer 6.0 or above
• Media Player: Windows Media Player 10 or above
• Net connection: Broadband

“Having to download a separate application for each service is a big problem and is a bit like having to buy a set-top box for every channel you want to watch,” said Arash Amel, an analyst with research firm Screen Digest. “If you download all the applications that are available then that is using a lot of processing power.”

The US Patent & Trademark Office has published Apple’s trademark for podcasting, right, trademark application number 77235043. The logo is used by Apple within iTunes and on its site to represent podcasting.

Apple describes the mark like this: “The mark consists of a stylized person or antenna surrounded by concentric circles/broadcast waves.”

The trademark is significant to podcasters, because many podcasters have used the Apple’s logo within their sites. Sites that incorporate the logo could find themselves at the receiving end of cease and desist letters, like companies that included “iPod” in their names.

via MacNN

HBO’s attempt at creating a YouTube-killer, This Just In, is being shut down just six months after launching.

HBO’s venture is one of many “destination” video sites that hope to compete with YouTube by offering professionally produced content, like this iPod ad spoof:

This Just In focused on comedy videos. Unfortunately for HBO, a handful of pros trying to create funny videos have a hard time competing with the best results of millions of people posting videos to sites like YouTube.

 

Alesis introduced the iMultiMix 9R, a pro mixer and audio player that features an integrated iPod dock and video output, at the 2007 Summer NAMM show.

While some iPod mixers are more focused on recording, the iMultiMix focuses on integrating iPods into a playback or performance setup.

The iMultiMix 9R mixer delivers audio playback from 2nd through 5th generation iPods. The iMultiMix 9R can also display iPod video through a projector or TV by using the mixer’s composite video output.

iMultiMix 9R features:

• iPod dock integration
• 5 high-gain mic preamps
• 2 Stereo line inputs (one switchable from an external source or the installed iPod)
• 48V phantom power
• Aux sends and returns.
• 3-band per channel EQ with high/low shelving and band pass/reject

Pricing and Availability:

The Alesis iMultiMix 9R is due to ship late 2007, with a suggest retail price of $399. Estimated street price is $299.

Colette Cassinelli covers the basics of educational podcasting.

See our How To Podcast category for more podcasting tutorials and our Educational Podcasts category for more info on podcasting in education.

According to a new report from the Yankee Group, a media research firm, online video will soon be a dominant component of brand advertising. They offer the following reasons:

• Video conveys emotion better than text, images and audio.
• Non-linear online video combines the emotive power of television with the interactivity and measurability of internet advertising.
• Advertising in and around video is consistent with existing consumer expectations of advertising.
• Targeting of online video will continue and radically extend the trend established by the proliferation of cable network channels that established niche audiences to consumer brands.

According to Yankee, advertisers have been slow to make effective use of Internet video because of concerns about tracking results.

“Brand marketers are questioning the effectiveness and value of large expenditures on traditional advertising,” said Yankee’s Anette Schaefer. “In the long term, the internet needs to transform from a response platform to a brand medium to attract and secure larger budgets from brand advertising.”

For those of you that are bored by the standard iPod accessories, Wei-Lieh Lee and Kevin O’Callaghan have come up with a stupidtacular dog-jacket iPod dock which converts your pup into a mobile boombox.

Fortunately for dogs, it’s still just a concept….

via Gizmodo

Dial-up Internet access is disappearing as barrier to the adoption of podcasting, video podcasting and other Internet media.

Seventy-two percent of U.S. adults now have access to a broadband connection and more than half of American households now subscribe to broadband, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

“With 20 percent of non-broadband subscribers expecting to adopt this service in the next two years, future growth looks strong,” said CEA President and CEO, Gary Shapiro. “Yet, competition among broadband service providers must stay robust for this expected growth to prevail. Consumers must have access to media-rich entertainment content they can use anytime, anywhere at a reasonable price.”

Unfortunately, the average broadband speed in the US lags significantly behind other countries. This is likely to slow adoption of HD podcasting, Internet-television and hardware devices like the Apple TV.

Burst Media has released the results of a survey on media consumption of 18-24 year old college students, reporting that students spend more time with the Internet than with other media. Burst also reports that Internet audio and video were two of the students’ top reasons for using the Internet.

According to Burst, many students spend are spending more time with the Internet than any other media:

Internet Media Is The Way To Reach College Students

Burst recommends Internet media as the most effective tool for reaching college students.

“The 18-24 years segment has fully integrated the Internet into their daily lives. In fact, for a significant proportion of the segment, the Internet is the primary communication vehicle, information source, and entertainment channel ‚Äì in short it is the media of choice,” according to Burst. “Use all of the engaging creative options, from rich media to video units, the Internet offers.”

If you’re looking for signs that hell may soon freeze over, PC Magazine just served one up.

PC Mag’s anti-Mac linkbaiter John Dvorak reports that he actually tried using a Mac recently, liked it and is now recommending Macs over PCs:

I can see why the Mac is gaining market share, because the rationale for using one is simple. Do you want to deal with the agony of antivirus, firewall, antispyware, and other touchy software subsystems, many of which do not work well? Or do you want to boot Microsoft Word and write a document and be done with it?

As someone who does recommend gear to people, I have to think to myself, “Should I recommend something that will come back to haunt me, or recommend a Mac with its higher price but lower hassle factor?” The answer is simple. I hate the idea of having to do customer service for people who cannot keep their systems clean, and that’s most people.

If you’re worried that Dvorak’s going soft, though, he’s still got podcasting, internet television and the iPhone to bash….