The British monarchy dates back over ten centuries, but for the first time ever, this year, the Queen’s Christmas speech will be available as a podcast.

This year, the Queen has focused her Christmas speech on the relationship between different generations. Buckingham Palace described her theme as highlighting “what old and young have to offer each other, how all faiths highlight the need to nurture and guide young people, and to encourage respect for elderly people”.

The address was recorded at Southwark Cathedral in London.

The Queen has also recorded a radio message for the Armed Services and their families. It will be played to troops both in the UK and on postings overseas early on Christmas Eve morning.

via Manchester (UK) Evening News

D&M Professional, parent company of Denon Professional and Marantz Professional, announced the launch of the D&M Professional Education Solutions Division (ESD). As part of the new division, the company announced the simultaneous introduction of www.education.d-mpro.com.

The company hopes to use the new division to take a leadership role in the world of educational podcasting. Podcasting is being used at some universities and schools for the dissemination of classroom lectures and supplementary materials, along with functioning as a school information outlet.

The goal of the new site is to support university AV departments and campus technical managers with product and application information relating to audio/video recording and playback. Online resources available at the site will include case studies, white papers and links on key topics like podcasting, visual messaging, archiving, event recording, streaming, digital signage, field recording and distance learning.

“The creation of the new Education Solutions Division and website will add another dimension to how media technology further enables education,” comments Peter Papageorge, D&M Professional Director of Sales and Marketing. “The ESD and associated website also underscore D&M Professional’s ongoing commitment to using our technology to enhance the educational environment and the learning experience.”

NBC’s attitude towards YouTube has done a 180 since the video sharing site was acquired by Google. While earlier in the year, NBC was asking YouTube to take down popular SNL videos like Lazy Sunday, the network now has realized YouTube’s viral potential to expand audiences.

The network has released an uncensored version of an SNL skit starring Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake, “A Special Christmas Box”. The video has been viewed close to three million times since its (censored) broadcast last Sunday:

According to the New York Times, “Saturday Night Live appears to have become the first scripted comedy on a broadcast network to use the Web to make an end-run around the prying eyes of both its internal censors and those of the Federal Communications Commission, whose jurisdiction over Saturday Night Live effectively ends at the Web frontier.”

Earlier in the year, CBS announced that it had found that YouTube was a great way to promote its shows.

Several major record labels, including Arista Records, Warner Bros., Capitol and UMG Recordings, have announced that they are suing controversial Russian music Web site AllofMP3.com, claiming that the site had been selling copyrighted music without permission. The lawsuit was filed in New york federal court against Moscow-based Mediaservices, which owns AllofMP3 and another music site, allTunes.com.

According to the record labels, Mediaservices’ sites sell millions of songs by their artists without paying them “a dime” for the right to do so.The “Defendant’s entire business … amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement of plaintiffs’ exclusive rights under the Copyright Act and New York law,” according to the lawsuit.

Nielsen Media Research has released findings from its 3rd Quarter Home Technology Report which show that MP3 players are now found in a quarter of US homes, and that more U.S. households now own DVD players (81.2% of all households) than VCRs (79.2% of households).

The trends bode well for podcasting, if not for video tapes. The penetration of MP3 players has jumped by 150% in the last three years.

“This study shows the culmination of a long battle for share of consumers,” said Paul Lindstrom, senior vice president of custom research for Nielsen Media Research. “Nielsen clients have used information from our Home Tech Report for the past decade to trend the changes in penetration and report use of new devices as they infiltrate the marketplace, and we now see that the popularity of DVDs has finally surpassed that of VCRs.”

SageTV Media Center, a personal video recording (PVR) and media center software package for Windows and Linux PCs, has added new features that include bringing online video to the TV, support for the global DVB broadcasting standard, the ability to play unencrypted DVD libraries on the TV with SageTV Media Extender, and expanded file support that allows users to play virtually any video and music file format.

Other new features include improved aspect ratio correction; easier conversion of music and video files to play on Sony PlayStations, Apple iPods and cellphones; and the ability to compress HDTV recordings into MPEG4 files to conserve hard disk space without losing the surround sound.

via VPN

Added to the podcast directory list: iBizRadio is a new directory that focuses on business podcasts.

Podcasts covering new products and services, industry news, a company’s key message, and other business topics can be included in this directory..

PlayNetwork, a provider of branded audio and video media services for businesses, today announced it has launched a promotional music podcasting service. The company plans to offer “branded podcasts” that use music to create a “brand-building entertainment relationship”.”Branded Podcasts take branded entertainment experiences outside of the store environment and put them directly into the listening lifestyles of interested audiences,” said David Brewster, PlayNetwork’s SVP of Creative and Promotional services.

Retailers, hotels, health clubs and a variety of hospitality businesses can offer free music podcasts to build stronger connections with their customers, while incorporating brand-building messages. Consumers can get access to free music, and PlayNetwork pays music artists and labels royalties for each podcast download in which their works are featured.

“PlayNetwork is facilitating our ability to be intelligent about the technologies we embrace,” said Matt McGreevy, web marketing / video production executive for Epitaph Records. “It is consistent with our marketing strategies to go where people are looking for new music. The (portable) capabilities of digital music have opened lots of doors for finding new music.”

iPods are helping to drive increased demand for premium audio options in new cars. According to Telematics Research, 80% of 2007 models for sale in the U.S. will offer branded premium audio options from the likes of Bose and Harman/Kardon as optional or standard equipment up from 67% during the ’06 model year.

75% of ’07 vehicles will offer some support for digital content, such as MP3 and WMA compressed audio files, up from 61% of ’06 models.

The most sought after feature in cars is support for Apple’s iPod. Last year, only 12% of vehicles for sale supported true iPod integration, while nearly 50% of the ’07 models support iPods. Meanwhile, auxiliary input is supported by nearly 60% of ’07 models.

The venerable BBC has announced plans to offer hundreds of episodes of its programs on a file-sharing network for the first time, Azureus’ Zudeo. Until now, most BBC programmes found on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks have been illegal copies.

Azureus is best known for developing a BitTorrent client, or program, that allows large media files to be easily shared over the internet. The program has been downloaded more than 130 million times.

The new deal means that users of the software will be able to download high-quality versions of BBC programmes, including Red Dwarf, Doctor Who and the League of Gentleman. Classic series such as Fawlty Towers will also be available through a BBC “channel”.

Beth Clearfield, vice president of program management and digital media at BBC Worldwide, said that the agreement was part of a drive to reach the largest audience possible.

“We are very excited to partner with Azureus and make our content available through this revolutionary distribution model,” she said.

The titles will be protected by digital rights management software to prevent the programmes being traded illegally on the internet.