CBS on the DSM-520

We are not abandoning the DSM-520 or ActiveTV application! I know there has been a lot of buzz around PlayOn - the new Xbox360/PS3 product, but that does not mean that we don't love the 520. In fact, much of the development we are doing for PlayOn will enable us to enhance ActiveTV as well.

I received an email today asking: Was hoping to see something for the DSM520 and CBS.com...any details?

So - we currently have CBS.com running on the DSM-520 in a Beta version which I mentioned a while back. It is still Beta because we haven't perfected the ad units yet (we are working on that), but otherwise it is fully-functional. If you want to check it out, you can email me at tracy@themediamall.com and I can get you into the Beta program so that you can watch your favorite CBS shows on your big screen TV!

Webtrends Enhances Video Analytics

Webtrends just announced that they have enhanced their video tracking metrics to enable advertisers to better measure the results of (and return on) their video advertising. This is good news as video advertising increases in importance. And, it is critical to those of us who will depend upon video advertising to support our product.

Our hope is to enable you to watch your favorite YouTube and Hulu videos on your TV. And - we want to make this VERY affordable (as free as possible). In order to do that, we plan to support the service with unobtrusive ads that run while you are searching for your video. In order for any advertisers to be interested, we will need to supply these critical metrics as to how much of the ad you saw, and if you expressed interest in learning more about the product. Webtrends and other services such as Visible Measures make reporting on video ads as data rich as static web ads - a critical piece to this developing medium.

So - as we continue on our quest to get your favorite videos off your computer and onto your TV, it is good to know that the supporting industries are evolving as well. Spread the news to potential advertisers - we still have some ad space available on ActiveTV!

Moving Beyond the DSM-520

We have had great feedback from our DSM-520 users, and we want to offer ActiveTV to many more users!  We are completing development on a UPnP version of ActiveTV...it will first be available for the PS3, XBox 360, and HP MediaSmart TV.  It will offer a limited but powerful set of video content sources, including Hulu, YouTube, CBS.com, CNN.com, ESPN.com, and Netflix.  WOW.  And -- to kick it all off, we are offering a FREE Beta version for folks who have one of these game consoles/TVs.  If you are interested in participating in our Beta, you can subscribe to this blog (we will be offering all subscribers the Beta version) or drop me an email at tracy@themediamall.com and I'll make sure you get on the Beta list!  It is still about 2 months out, but it is something to look forward to this fall!

Release?

OK – so I spoke too soon (it happens...). The release IS coming – it will be out by 4/26. We encountered a bug that takes hours to replicate, so resolving it has taken a loooooooong time. Folks are working on fixing it tirelessly and my hat is off to them.

I have seen some speculation that we are adding Hulu support in this release – and want to set the record straight (and manage expectations a bit). In fact, we have included the technical capability to watch Hulu content (the good news), but we haven’t yet completed the ad insertion piece (the bad news). Since Hulu uses their own video/ad player, it will take some time for us to include that. But, it is coming – just not in this release. If you REALLY want a sneak preview, you can request the update file from us (email me at tracy@themediamall.com) and we can give it to you once it is ready – but this will only be a BETA/sneak preview and not the official, sanctioned code.

Thanks to the folks who have started reading our blog and commenting on it. I hope it is both enjoyable and helpful. If there are topics you are interested in, please let me know so we can address them here.

Did I Miss Something?

So one of my former colleagues from GetConnected emailed me -- "I was reading your blog and I feel like I missed something..." Yeah -- I guess a lot has changed. I have moved beyond the Web on PC experience and jumped into the Web on TV experience (not to be confused with the WebTV experience -- this time we're focusing on what you want to do in front of your TV and what your TV is made for -- watching video). To further the confusion, I made a brief (2 year) pit stop along the way in online recruiting (Jobster), but am now back on the Broadband Video path. Phew. It was kinda fortuitous though -- The ActiveTV product took A LONG time to build and get to market (four years!) -- so even though I took a pit stop, I was re-engaged before the product was in consumer hands (Oct. 07). AND -- I was able to meet some of the coolest and most talented folks I have ever had the pleasure to work with -- the old Jobster team. What is great is that almost all of my former Jobster colleagues have been bitten by the start-up bug -- and started things themselves! Hats off to:

Ethan Lowry, Adam Doppelt and Patrick O'Donnell at UrbanSpoon -- www.urbanspoon.com

Dave Lefkow at BaconSalt -- www.baconsalt.com

Marty Unger at YouSaidIt -- www.yousaidit.com

Alan Steele and Phil Bogle at Merge Lab -- www.mergelab.com

Neil Crist and Tracey Middlemas at Prosys Group -- www.prosysconsultinggroup.com

Kerry Rupp at HolidayGoLightly -- www.holidaygolightly.com

Mark Maunder at FeedJit.com -- www.feedjit.com

Tony Wright at RescueTime -- www.rescuetime.com

Jason Goldberg at SocialMedian -- www.socialmedian.com

And for sure, I am missing some (feel free to pipe in). All of these Founders deserve kudos for just jumping into their own things. Maybe it is the times, but starting something is always hard and always takes guts. I'd say this legacy points to the fact that it was a REALLY great team with some awesome talent.

So - yeah, it was a circuitous route -- and if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change a thing!