Second screening is the new way to consume broadcast content, with companies beginning to look at ways to control the way consumers second screen - and how to make money out of it. George Cole provides an overview of this 21st century viewing trend.
Second screen is making waves in the broadcast, social media and video worlds. In essence, second screen involves using a second display device, like a smartphone, laptop or tablet, while watching television. Many people are now second screening: research by Nielsen found that 70% of tablet users and 68% of smartphone owners used their device while watching television. “There are a lot of stats that show that a very large percentage of people who watch TV are doing it with a second screen on their lap,” says Chuck Parker, former Chief Commercial Officer of Technicolor.
Fingerprinting or watermarking? Is there a difference and does it make a difference? Anti-piracy specialist Richard Atkinson explains what they are and how they work but, most of all, why they are important for content management – and leveraging it for monetization – as much as content protection.
In comparing watermarking and fingerprinting, some aspects are similar and some are different. But, more importantly, as they continue to evolve, those differences are becoming less important. The main issue will be how it is used, because the business is driving things: it’s not just about content protection anymore, but about content leverage. With these capabilities, I can know exactly what the content is (whether there’s a mark in it or whether there’s metadata about it)...and leverage that knowledge in real-time.
Following the best Christmas sales ever for Amazon.com’s Kindle devices, the total e-reader category is expected to once again deliver double-digit growth this year, Jill Bilzi learns, as she looks at how it continues to revolutionize the publishing industry and forever change ‘books’ as we know them.
The exploding demand for digital reading devices and downloaded e- books during the fourth quarter of 2011 brought a flurry of news among the leading suppliers in the market.
Music on CD dead? Not so, say the fans - retro continues to be cool and collectors continue to collect. Debbie Galante Block talks to designers and artists who listen to fans and give them what they want in terms of desirable physical media.
Like vinyl, music packaging was scaled back by major record labels way before consumers were ready to let it go. Also, like vinyl, it’s back! With the advent of digital music, it originally seemed that designers were doomed to designing postage size pictures for iTunes, but artists and their true fans have clamoured for more.
The concept of the interactive documentary as something controlled by the producer is changing, as Michael Mascioni reveals.
Interactive documentaries have traditionally been conceived as a genre allowing users to select and explore different informational segments, elements, and themes in a framework largely circumscribed by the producers. Now, that concept is expanding significantly with the rise of ‘collaborative documentaries’ that have adopted crowdsourcing elements and extensive use of user-generated content.
