Brightcove Blog - The Leading Online Video Hosting Platform

The Three Most Painful Video Mistakes

Asia Reid — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:56:41 +0000

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I work with video publishers day in and day out and spend countless hours perusing video implementations. As a result, I see a lot of fantastic, engaging and well implemented video. But, I also encounter some of the same mistakes over and over again--most of which are easy to avoid once identified. So what mistakes are many publishers making that are hurting their video strategies and preventing them from making the most out of their content? Below is my take on the three "most painful" video mistakes that publishers consistently make.

1. Making Video Hard-to-Find. This is incredibly common, but luckily it is also very easy to fix. As we all know, video is an effective tool for attracting and engaging an audience. We've learned through our customers time and again that adding more video to a website increases total number of viewers, improves time spent on site, and helps convert viewers to buyers. But if your videos are hidden three or four pages into your site, the chances of viewers finding them drastically decreases, and all this potential value goes unrealized. So how can you fix this? It's easy!

Put a video on your homepage. This is a simple and effective way to immediately make your website stickier.
Create a video portal and link to it with a button or tab on the top of your homepage. This will help viewers find numerous videos in one place, and give them the opportunity to explore related content on your site.
Develop an effective SEO strategy by using metadata through Brightcove Video Cloud and creating a video sitemap, with our help.

2. Not Optimizing Workflow. For many publishers, Video Cloud is one tool used among many others for managing their digital strategies. As video libraries grow and video becomes a crucial part of the overall strategy, workflow can quickly become disorganized. Here are a few tips to improve your workflow and save time and resources:

Integrate with your content management system. We offer fully built-out CMS integrations with Wordpress, Sharepoint, Ektron and many more. Integrating Video Cloud into your CMS allows you to work with video in the same place you manage all your other content.
Integrate your Video Cloud analytics with your Web analytics, so that you can connect the dots between your videos and larger site trends.
Use smart playlists and tagging to automate your upload, publishing and management processes.

3. Not Taking Full Advantage of your Video Platform's Resources. Most publishers know that Video Cloud offers transcoding, players and delivery. But what many people don't realize is that there are so many more features they can utilize to customize their Video Cloud experience to their specific use case, requirements and goals. Here are a few examples:

Advertising: Whether you have an existing relationship with an advertising platform or are looking to start incorporating ads into your monetization plans for the first time, you can do this through Video Cloud and our advertising partners.
Technology Partners: We have integrations available with partners in nearly every digital space, from video editing to subtitles to distribution to SEO. Chances are if you have a pain point, we have an integration with a technology partner that can solve it in a way that fits right into your existing Video Cloud workflow.
Your Account Manager: If you are an annual customer, you have an account manager who can talk to you about best practices, strategy tips, product features and roadmap and more. If you are not taking advantage of this resource, you are missing out!

These types of mistakes may seem small, but all together can add up to a lot of missed opportunity in your online video strategy. We hope you learn from these common oversights, and also take advantage of some of the case studies of successful customer implementations in our Learning Center!

Brightcove Video Cloud Helps Maxim Establish Itself as a Video Brand

Brenna Fitzgerald — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:50:23 +0000

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It's true. Some people visit Maxim.com just for the videos.

Maxim Online, the Web presence of international men's lifestyle magazine Maxim, has long valued the power of video. Alpha Media Group, the multimedia company that runs Maxim Online, originally began to create video to augment existing print and online written content (i.e. behind-the-scenes video from photo shoots or exclusive interview footage from a cover model). Not surprisingly, this exclusive video material was incredibly popular.

As the Alpha team sought to expand Maxim Online and reach new audiences through various online channels, they ultimately developed the online video portal Maxim TV. The portal includes an array of original video material, such as interviews with models featured within each issue, sports coverage, entertainment news and more. At the same time, Alpha began to explore video app solutions. In order to succeed in video content distribution and video-centric app development, Alpha needed a trusted online video platform. Enter Brightcove Video Cloud.

When Maxim Online went live with Video Cloud in December 2012, there were several key goals that Video Cloud needed to meet:

Grow Maxim's video audience
Establish Maxim as a video brand
Meet these goals with a multi-device delivery strategy

Multi-device delivery to gaming consoles was particularly important to Alpha, in light of the fact that Maxim's primary demographic--young men--spend a significant amount of time on gaming platforms. Through its reliance on Video Cloud, Alpha is able to distribute Maxim video content to all platforms, mobile devices and connected TVs in the highest quality.

In addition to video distribution via its website, Alpha created a Maxim app for Xbox 360. The app features over 20 Maxim original series, and thousands of related videos. While the app offers a unique vessel to reach its core audience where they “live”--i.e. in a gaming environment--it also provides some interesting monetization opportunities as another means for selling ads.

To learn more about Maxim's video strategy and how it plans to expand its video portfolio in the future, read our complete case study here.

MPEG-DASH: Creating a Standard for Interoperability, End-to-end Delivery

Albert Lai — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:50:06 +0000

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If you work in media, you, like me, have undoubtedly heard the term MPEG-DASH bandied about quite a bit. So, what does this acronym stand for anyway? What is it, exactly? MPEG-DASH is not a codec, a protocol, a system, or a format. Instead, it is a standard (ISO/IEC 23009-1) for interoperability--essentially end-to-end delivery--of video over HTTP.

One of the main goals of MPEG-DASH--and ostensibly the core benefit to publishers--is the ability to reduce the cost and effort of delivering live and pre-recorded premium video experiences using open standards on existing infrastructure. Today's premium video experiences typically include requirements for advertising, security (e.g., DRM), adaptive bitrate playback, captions, and support for multiple languages. Applying these requirements for live and pre-recorded content in a fragmented device landscape results in complexity (read: cost) for publishers’ encoding, packaging, storage, and delivery workflows.

With MPEG-DASH, industry players are endeavoring to take three de facto protocols for video delivery (Apple's HTTP Live Streaming, Adobe's HTTP Dynamic Streaming, and Microsoft's Smooth Streaming) and logically "evolve" them into a composite standard. This makes sense. These three protocols are all very similar in terms of what they're trying to accomplish: efficient and secure delivery of content for adaptive bitrate playback over a HTTP network. However, as Will Law pointed out, they are "80% the same, yet 100% incompatible."

Today, most publishers are striving for content ubiquity, supporting a range of devices: desktop, mobile Web (smartphones, tablets), smart TVs, game consoles, Internet-enabled television companion devices, etc. Consequently, if publishers want to support adaptive bitrate streaming, they either have to support multiple formats, protocols, and content protection options for broader support across devices and platforms or standardize and limit their device and platform footprint.

Neither is appealing. Everybody is operating inefficiently, from content creation (encoding for multiple formats and languages, packaging for multiple content protection schemes), duplicative storage, multiple content delivery protocols, multiple players with differing capabilities, and inconsistent ad formats.

MPEG-DASH's goal is to streamline the video workflow so that publishers can efficiently manage their video workflow and deliver to any platform and device.

But, is MPEG-DASH a Cure All? Maybe Not.
MPEG-DASH doesn't define the implementation details; instead, they leave the following tasks and decisions to the industry at large:

End-to-End DRM
Codecs
File formats and backward compatibility
Royalty considerations and issues surrounding current and future IP

There's still the possibility that if publishers rush into the migration, their technology and workflow decisions would be dictated by the limited or inconsistent support by individual vendors in the ecosystem and the lack of interoperability between the vendors within the ecosystem. Publishers would then need to piece together all the parts of their stack--content delivery, advertising, analytics, encoding, DRM packaging and license management, and playback--to truly solve the end-to-end workflow.

In fact, the fragmentation we have seen with the HTML5 "standard" could be indicative of what we will encounter with MPEG-DASH.

What's in It for Apple?
It's also not clear why Apple would promote MPEG-DASH, given that they have put forth tremendous effort around HLS and elevated it to a de facto standard. Many systems and companies are built around this protocol, and in my view, it will likely be an uphill battle to convince Apple to sacrifice the advantage they have with HLS and instead push for standardization of an alternative to their offering.

History Repeats Itself ... or Does It?

Whenever I assess the viability of a new standard or process, it's helpful to consider it through a historical, comparative lens. In the case of MPEG-DASH, I came up empty. Thanks to a brief break to watch an episode from Season 2 of "The Wire," what ultimately came to mind was the history of containerization.

Consider how companies used to transport goods. Prior to the 1950s, there was no easy and efficient way to do so. But in the mid 50s, the concept of intermodal freight transport and containers was introduced. By allowing goods to be transported by ship, rail, or truck in a standard format, the modern supply chain was born. Agreeing to the standardization of the process was the critical first step. MPEG-DASH is trying to accomplish a similar "sea change," but because it avoids implementation details, there's a significant risk that fragmentation will ultimately enter the equation.
Here are the issues we may encounter:

If MPEG-DASH implementations are not backward compatible, then there will be a need to support both MPEG-DASH and HLS. If HLS (or even HDS and Smooth) continues on a path that makes backward compatibility inefficient, publishers are forced to account for MPEG-DASH and HLS … and Smooth Streaming…and HDS…
If client-side players (desktop, mobile, Connected TVS, game consoles) cannot broadly support MPEG-DASH, publishers will still be faced with player fragmentation. Player fragmentation flows upstream; this means the entire content workflow--from playback…back to delivery…back to packaging…back to encoding--will be duplicative of the MPEG-DASH workflow. For many publishers, the cost of adoption may not be worth the incremental gains.

Brightcove's Take
Our publishers already face the operational complexity of supporting multiple formats and associated delivery protocols. We will continue to improve our capabilities to reduce the friction and effort needed for all steps in the workflow: content ingestion of multiple formats, transcoding and packaging for multiple renditions and formats needed for cross-platform playback and cross-platform DRM, and adaptive bitrate streaming for desktop, mobile Web, mobile apps, and connected TVs.

While I support the concept of standardization, we're not (yet) at a point where we can eschew all other support in favor of an end-to-end MPEG-DASH scenario. Since MPEG-DASH does not account for the the full breadth and depth of the video ecosystem, early adoption could lead to vendor dependence or lock-down, which I believe is detrimental to our customers.

Ultimately, we hope that MPEG-DASH and the vendors within the ecosystem quickly enhance their capabilities to provide publishers with more flexibility rather than force a proprietary implementation that results in vendor dependency or in an incomplete implementation of the standard. In the meantime, we're rolling up our sleeves and putting fingers on keywords to work on our digital role within the MPEG-DASH ecosystem.

But what do you think? Where will MPEG-DASH be in a year? How about five years from now? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Join Us for Online Video Tech Week, Round Two!

Brenna Fitzgerald — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:38:44 +0000

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You may remember that in March we hosted our first "Online Video Tech Week," a week-long webinar series hosted by our technical team. Now, we're back for round two! We hope that you can join us at the end of this month for another set of free webinars that will explore a diverse set of topics including: cloud-based encoding, HTML5 video players, online video advertising, live streaming and video content management.

Online Video Tech Week is comprised of the following webinars:

Extend your CMS Investment to Video Content
June 24, 2013; 1:00 p.m. ET
Learn how an API integration with your content management system can ease your workflow, expedite content publishing and uncover even more value from your CMS investment. In this session, designed for developers, CMS system administrators and marketers, we will take a look at the benefits of leveraging video as a first-class content type within a CMS. We will also show examples of successful API integrations and the results they produce.
Register here

Live Streaming from A to Z
June 25, 2013; 1:00 p.m. ET
Join this session for insight into relevant live topics such as: location, bandwidth, signal flow, software, hardware and cloud-based encoding, ISP and CDN selection, players and multi-device delivery. We welcome all levels of technical experience to join; we will cover the most basic use cases, before evaluating more complex and unique scenarios.
Register here

Video Ad Technology 101
June 26, 2013; 1:00 p.m. ET
Developers and publishers interested in an advanced view on online video advertising should take part in this event; we will cover trends in the ad tech landscape, including inventory considerations, ad server decisions and mediation.
Register here

Building an HTML5 Video Player
June 27, 2013; 1:00 p.m. ET
In this session, we will demonstrate how to develop an interface for HTML5 video from scratch, including: embedding a video using HTML5, building custom controls using the JavaScript API, fallback strategies for older browsers and devices and fixing known playback bugs on the iPhone and Android.
Register here

Why the Cloud Matters for Encoding
June 28, 2013; 1:00 p.m.
Here, our Zencoder team will explore how and why publishers should consider transcoding in the cloud. The team will evaluate different architectures for live and video on demand encoding, offering practical advice on encoding video in order to reach the most common connected devices.
Register here

We hope that you will be able to join us for an exciting week of timely and topical webinars!

@Developers: New Solutions Site

Robert Crooks — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:42:55 +0000

I'm starting a new blog series here aimed at developers, to keep you updated on documentation updates and samples to help you develop solutions with the Brightcove APIs and technology.

I have a specific announcement, but since this is the first blog in this series, let me tell you about some of the changes Learning Services has made in the past few months to improve our learning resources for developers. If you have not been there recently, drop by docs.brightcove.com. We expanded several areas of our developer documentation here, including the Media API, Smart Player API, and the new Analytics API (which is still in Limited Availability as of June 2013). We've added some guides to help you get started with these APIs, and many working samples to help you build your own solutions.

In addition, we are launching a new Learning Services Solution site. On this site we're creating some practical solutions that you can learn from - and since they are all working samples, your business users can actually use some of them to get their work done.

Here are some of the solutions out there now:

Popular Videos: uses the Analytics API together with the Media API and Smart Player API to create a playlist made up videos with the most views in the past 23 hours
A player that auto-starts when it is scrolled into view
A tool to generate a report on all your videos (including the inactive and deleted ones) in CSV format
A tool to add a schema.org schema to your player publishing code to enhance SEO

Check it out and enjoy. Until next time, happy coding.

Video Portals 101

Kyle Zapcic — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:45:26 +0000

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What do most highly successful websites have in common? Something that is integral to driving traffic, keeping visitors on site, and improving conversion rates? A video portal.

Video portals offer site visitors a rich experience that can help to boost a plethora of engagement metrics. So, what is a video portal exactly? At Brightcove, we define a video portal as a place on your website where all videos are archived, categorized, and easily accessible for on demand viewing. Implemented alongside a strategy of embedding single videos in articles or product pages, with a video portal you're effectively adding a rich extra layer of content to your site. The is a best practice that Brightcove and our customers have developed over the past few years as Internet audiences expect more video on websites--and also often want to know exactly where to find a comprehensive video library. In our view, video portals complement the video content that should alrealy map contextually to other relevant material on your website.

If you are a business user of Brightcove Video Cloud, we have many player templates that you can select that will act as a video portal. I have included an image of one of my favorite players, the Chromeless Video Player with Tabbed Playlists, below.

To set up this player, you must first upload your videos. Then, create as many playlists and categories of content that will suit your needs for a specific video project. Once this is complete, attach the playlists and categories to your player. Simple!

If you are a developer, you may want to consider using the Brightcove Video Cloud Media API to build a customized experience. This is the standard way to create a dynamic, categorized, searchable video portal. Using the API allows you to pull thumbnails, short descriptions, titles, number of plays, and all of the other metadata around a video. This is great for creating "most popular" sections, "just added" lists, and "related content" categories. An added benefit is that you can match the look and feel of the site even more smoothly, integrating the CSS elements and HTML that you already have in place. Check out the full Media API here for more information.

Diving deeper into the documentation reveals some pretty powerful tools. For instance, you can generate sample code snippets that you can then copy and paste into your application. Additionally, check out the "search videos" function here. This will allow you to create a searchable database of all your videos in your Brightcove Video Cloud account, sorted by metadata.

The sky's the limit when using the Brightcove Video Cloud Media API as your video portal framework. I'd love to hear any feedback! Leave a comment or email me directly at kzapcic@brightcove.com.

900,000 Drupal.org Users Have Access to Bi-annual Conference via Live Stream

Brenna Fitzgerald — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:10:16 +0000

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As we mentioned late last month, for the second straight year Brightcove served as the official live stream partner of DrupalCon, the bi-annual conference for users of the popular Drupal open source content management system. Our video team also made the trip to Portland and spoke to DrupalCon organizers about the live stream to learn more about how the ability to check out conference sessions from from afar positively influences the broader Drupal community.

Tune in to the video below to understand why the DrupalCon team values live stream capabilities so strongly, specifically:

While there are 900,000 active profiles on Drupal.org, it would be logistically difficult (and unrealistic) to try to bring all of these users together in one physical space. With the live stream, everybody who wanted to participate had an opportunity to get involved, regardless of where they were located in the world.
The live stream, combined with a real-time Twitter Q&A allowed Drupal.org users to actively engage with the event dialogue--even if they were only listening to the live stream as background noise while sifting through emails at work.
The live stream created the foundation for a tremendous marketing platform for Drupal.org moving forward; this is because the organization is also taking advantage of Brightcove Video Cloud to host its on demand video assets. Now, Drupal. org users can view DrupalCon sessions at their convenience throughout the year.

How do you take advantage of conference live streams? Let us know in the comments.

Gaiam Taps Brightcove Video Cloud to Spread Natural Health Video Content to Core Audiences

Brenna Fitzgerald — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:33:26 +0000

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Gaiam, based in Boulder, Colorado, is a multi-faceted business that offers products, services and information that appeal to customers who are interested in environmentalism, a sustainable economy, healthy lifestyles and personal development. Gaiam reaches its target consumers through relationships with retail stores across the globe; it also has a robust Web platform and e-commerce operation. An early proponent of the power of video, Gaiam began offering video-based home entertainment content for its brand followers in 2005. Over the years, it has grown its online video offerings extensively to showcase original programming on topics including:

Spirituality
Nutrition
Personal development
Yoga
Fitness and wellness

Gaiam became a Brightcove Video Cloud customer in 2011 and began offering free online video content to website visitors. Recognizing the engagement levels and popularity for its video content, Gaiam made a strategic decision to grow its video offerings by launching GaiamTV. A subscription-based, video on demand (VOD) channel, GaiamTV boasts over 5,000 titles--including 1:1 interviews, fitness videos, yoga practice, documentaries and more.

Gaiam originally tapped Brightcove Video Cloud for its ability to offer a secure platform for professional-quality video delivery--but the relationship has continued to expand. Consider these ROI benefits related to Gaiam’s use of Video Cloud:

Video Cloud offers a secure, optimized platform for HTTPS Live Streaming (HLS) video content delivery
Gaiam can access analytics and reporting on viewership through Video Cloud’s analytics dashboard
With Video Cloud, Gaiam can reach its subscribers on any platform or device
Gaiam successfully implemented a Roku app that has driven increased subscriber and usage numbers, via the delivery of encrypted HLS
Video Cloud helped Gaiam to create a foundation for Over the Top (OTT) platform expansion opportunities

To learn more about how Gaiam is taking advantage of Brightcove Video Cloud to spread the principles of a healthy, fulfilling lifestyle, review the full case study here.

Hacking the Future of TV

Brenna Fitzgerald — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:04:45 +0000

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Recently, our Zencoder team sponsored TVnext Hack, a developer innovation event designed to spur exciting advancements in the broader television app and technology ecosystem. The event, held at Hill Holliday's Boston headquarters, brought developers, entrepreneurs, designers and other technologists together to collaborate and ponder "the future of TV." As the definition of television evolves and we consume more and more content in our daily lives, these technologists came together to explore how to make the viewing experience better on every viewing platform, setting up a productive, effective "TV of tomorrow."

In the video below, ESPN developer Will Meredith offers his take on the second screen trend; specifically, Will discusses how second screen engagement augments the sports-viewing experience. As sports fans continue to use their mobile devices while watching live sports events, opportunities for sports-related apps abound. ESPN has taken advantage of this trend by launching a variety of apps in the sports category.

Additionally, Cass Sapir, creator of the Thumb's Up app, shares his views on the interactive TV experience. Cass believes that the future of TV requires collaboration with content producers, developers and students--exactly the environment cultivated by TVnext Hack.

Tune in to the video below to learn more.

Brightcove Customers Measure Success of Social Video Content with Twitter Video Card Support

Brenna Fitzgerald — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:09:39 +0000

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Online video is a content phenomenon, comprising 56 percent of consumer Internet bandwidth in 2012. Combine this with the fact that Americans spend more time on social media than any other online activity, and it becomes very obvious that brands and broadcasters must embrace social video integration. We have long encouraged our clients' efforts to share their video content socially and recently announced that we now support Twitter Video Card functionality as an out-of-the-box offering.

Brightcove customers simply share the "http://bcove.me/" shortened link to their Brightcove Video Cloud content from their Twitter handle and it automatically appears--and plays--within the Twitter Web interface or the Twitter mobile app. Because our Twitter Video Card support is integrated with Video Cloud Analytics and customers' existing advertising network relationships, it is easy for customers to quickly understand how their social video content is performing and to effectively monetize it.

Brightcove customers are also taking advantage of revenue-sharing opportunities with Twitter by using the video content in their Brightcove players to participate in the Twitter Amplify program, which was just announced last week. Through Amplify, both brands and broadcasters can reach consumers with targeted video content (be it advertising or entertainment).

A terrific example of a digital media brand taking advantage of video on social platforms is The Weather Channel/Weather.com. In the video below--filmed at Brightcove's user conference PLAY--Michael Finnerty, vice president of Web product for Weather.com, details how his organization has created original video content tied to exclusive advertising opportunities, created for the Web and then shared on Twitter. Finnerty specifically addresses Weather.com's work with The Home Depot to create video content highlighting home improvement "projects of the week" related to weather and the natural world.

We expect consumer demand for social video content to continue to grow, and we are excited to empower our customers to use social video to grow awareness and engagement for their key initiatives.

To learn more about our support for Twitter Video Card, please visit this link.

And then there was (Xbox) One

Albert Lai — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:29:46 +0000

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"I propose to consider the question, 'Can machines think?'" begins Alan Turing's 1950 seminal work Computing Machinery and Intelligence. In his paper, Turning introduces the concept - simplified here for brevity - of whether a machine would be indistinguishable from a human based on the one-on-one questioning and observation from a third-party observer.

Following the announcement of the Xbox One on May 21st, there was a collective sense of … confusion. Gamers were disappointed in the focus on entertainment. Industry observers were underwhelmed and asking more questions. PS3 fanatics were basking in schadenfreude given a somewhat muted reaction to the earlier PS4 announcement. Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai commented at D: All Things Digital that, "The most important thing we need to make sure we do at least initially is that we all agree and understand that the PS4 is a great videogame console that appeals to video gamers. If we miss that part then I don't think we get the initial establishment of the console." As a moderate gamer, admittedly a long-term Sony brand fanatic, and a voracious consumer of pay television and numerous OTT providers (Netflix, Amazon, etc.), my reaction to the Xbox One was admittedly tepid.

Win the Living Room
Microsoft revealed that the majority of users spend more time with content consumption than gameplay. Microsoft's partnership with over a 100 content providers was not enough, as they announced new content initiatives: a multi-year agreement with the NFL to create new immersive video experiences, a Steven Spielberg-produced television series based on the Halo franchise, and the Xbox One Guide, an integration with a connected cable or satellite box.

While many expected increased focus on the video experience, I believe the "Guide" may be the Trojan Horse that helps Microsoft change the behavior in the living room and ultimately change the dynamics between the pay television and OTT providers.

Power of the EPG
The very essence of discovery is the creation, definition, and limitation of choice. While Google and Bing jockey to be the preferred search engine for the Web audience, the selection of a search engine is effectively creating a context of choice. Search results, i.e., choice, will be determined by one of those two providers. As long as the results provide value to the user, they generally do not care about the wizard behind the machine, based on the digital sweat of thousands of talented techies, magical unicorns fed by the Keebler Elves, or even Skynet.

As posted on Microsoft's site: "Connect your cable or satellite box to Xbox One and watch all your favorite television shows right through the console. All your favorite channels. All your favorite shows. All with the sound of your voice. You can even create your own personal channel by pinning the shows and apps you watch most. Gone are the days of switching inputs to watch TV or play a movie. Xbox One can do it all."

At a fundamental level, the Guide is relying on the following concepts:

Control the discovery, control the content
Control the content, control the consumer

While it's too soon to judge the full capabilities - or limitations - of the Guide, directionally, it appears to be positioning the Xbox as a unification of linear broadcast content and digital OTT content. SmartGlass, Kinect, and voice activation will, at the very least, provide additional mechanisms for increased methods of interaction with the Xbox. All three will likely find themselves augmenting gameplay. And, I suspect, all three will be fundamental for how the Xbox helps manage both discovery of apps and discovery of content.

During the announcement, Yusuf Mehdi began with the fundamental premise What if a single device could provide all your entertainment? He emphasized:

Voice control of both Xbox navigation and integration with the television (e.g., selecting channels, selecting shows)
A "trending" section representative of your friends and the Xbox community
"Instant switching" between television, games, video content, and music, including video-specific gestures
"Snap mode" to overlay and interact television and applications
Additional interaction with Kinect and SmartGlass

By focusing on a personalized set of content recommendations (i.e., the consumer's preference of shows and channels, the consumer's explicit set of favorites, recommendations based on friends and the community at large) combined with new modes of interaction, the Guide begins its long-term goal to replace the traditional remote control and EPG. While content programmers fight with pay television providers over channel bundling and channel placement in the EPG, the Xbox is attempting to circumvent that entire step in today’s television viewing process.

As many iOS application developers learned, application discovery continues to be a challenge. However, placement in the App Store (whether originating organically from usage and elevating to the top of the various charts or explicit promotion directly by Apple) can be the catalyst for adoption. The Guide - and the broader Xbox One footprint on the television viewing experience - will attempt to play a similar role in influencing video - digital and broadcast - consumption.

Just as the end goal of the Turning test was to determine who's the human and who's the computer, we can think of the Guide as doing the same with content. At some point, we may not know which content is live broadcast, time-shifted broadcast, PPV broadcast, subscription OTT, VOD OTT, or PPV OTT. And, if Xbox has its way, we just may not care.

Xbox, watch…anything

Mobile is Not a Platform

Albert Lai — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:14:03 +0000

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In the 90s, when our search debate was relegated to Yahoo! vs. Alta Vista, a friend of mine returned home with a new pair of running shoes. As a Canadian triathlete, running shoes weren't "sneakers;" they were equipment that might help - or hinder - his ability to shave seconds off the tick-tock-tick-tock of the clock, a clock which would determine his eligibility for the national team. But those new shoes were a disappointment. Instead of throwing them in the trash, my friend put them back in their box and sent them directly to the manufacturer with a handwritten note expressing his frustration. A few weeks later, a letter arrived from the manufacturer, expressing their disappointment that they had let down a customer. Not only was there a letter, but the manufacturer sent several additional styles of shoes for him to evaluate.

At the CTIA Wireless Show in Las Vegas, one of the most thought-provoking ideas discussed reminded me of that story: mobile is not a platform. The irony, of course, is that that idea can be expressed in less than 140 characters, and today's replay of the shoes incident would be something like the following:

@johndoe Bummed - don't like my new shoes from @manufacturer
@manufacturer Sorry to hear that! DM us your details. "Bummed - don’t like my new shoes from @manufacturer"

Mobile is a Lifestyle
As consumers - whether of content or commerce - our expectations for how, when, and where we consume has changed, affecting how providers - programmers, pay television providers, and OTT providers - engage with us to deliver content onto our screens, whether it be in the office, "on the road," or on us via "wearable" technology. With the availability of new device form factors and enhanced connectivity (the proliferation of public Wifi, 3G, and 4G LTE), our lifestyles have evolved to an always available, anytime, anywhere attitude both in what we expect and what we do.

From email to messaging; from messaging to Tweets. From articles to blogs; from blogs to Tumblr. From Kodak to Flickr; from Flickr to Instagram. We've essentially moved from publisher-to-consumer experiences that were once private and siloed to ones that are public and mass disseminated.

Mobile is not a platform; mobile is now a lifestyle.

Media publishers and brand marketers need to evolve their video strategy to participate in this new model of real time responsiveness, mass dissemination, and 24/7 engagement.

Twitter: A Video is Worth More than 140 Characters
Wall Street and Silicon Valley have been waiting anxiously for Twitter's evolution from text to other forms of user interaction and for Twitter to establish a more direct and predictable revenue model. Six months ago, Twitter started that transformation with the introduction of Twitter Cards, including the ability to embed video for Flash and HTML5 experiences (more about Brightcove's built-in support). With the introduction of Twitter Cards, the engagement model has improved a step function. Engagement is no longer limited to 140 characters. Instead, Twitter Cards has introduced not only the concept of a video Player Card, but Summary, Photo, Gallery, App, Product, and most recently the Lead Generation Card.

With the broad reach, near instantaneous delivery, and opt-in nature of Twitter, the ability to engage with video has created a strategic opportunity for publishers that warrants consideration.

Promotion
One of the more most obvious uses is promotion. With the "in-the-moment" consumption model, publishers can create easily digestible video content (new or from existing assets) to promote upcoming content (video or other content types, including events) or to recap recent content.

For live streaming events, publishers should consider creating real-time highlights to promote the live streaming event, with the added benefit of the "halo effect" for their on-demand content. While this may seem to be the most relevant for sports and news use cases, publishers should think about it in the context of content augmentation: behind-the-scenes of an awards ceremony, Q&A with cast and crew of a film premiere, audience interviews during a conference, and more.

Cross Channel Synchronization
For media and broadcast publishers, Twitter has often been used by their viewers to discuss a program during broadcast. As the definition of the "second screen" living room experience continues to be debated, it's clear that one of the derivative models of "second screen" is the notion of "social television." We've seen a specific behavior emerge in the living room: television users are using smartphones while watching broadcast television, and they are often engaging in social activities including Twitter, commenting, sharing, and consuming 140 characters at a time.

While it's terrific to see a healthy, real-time dialogue grow organically from viewers, there's no reason why publishers shouldn't take advantage and proactively engage viewers with in-progress highlights and/or augmented content.

In-Progress highlights could include

Recaps of the musical interludes for shows such as "Glee"
Recaps of key scenes to help the audience find Rosie Larsen’s killer or to second guess Detectives Linden and Holder (yes, it's back for Season 3!)
Highlights from a sports broadcast: a terrifying crash in the Super G, LeBron James' OT layup for the win in the Eastern Conference finals (for those following the LeBron vs. Jordan debate, LeBron drove left), or determining whether Sergio Garcia was distracted - or just complaining - by Tiger Woods during the Players Championship

Augmented content could include

Secondary content to enhance the primary storyline and character development, similar to HBO's desktop and native app experience for Game of Thrones
Topical clips from related programming, such as "Mad Money" clips linked to companies highlighted during "Squawk Box"
Historical clips, such as highlighting David Beckham's best goals over the years to salute him farewell during his final games

UGC
Video doesn't have to be one-way. While Twitter allows a rapport between those who create and those who consume, the default relationship is decidedly one-sided, as the model lends itself to a one-to-many relationship or - in the case of The Biebs, a one-to-thirty-nine-million relationship.

However, video enables publishers to establish a bidirectional relationship with consumers. Inside of just letting consumers comment with characters, publishers can encourage social engagement through video - from asking viewers for their best dances moves during the opening weekend or television broadcast of the new Footloose (similar to their online film campaign) or their own renditions of songs during the finals of "The Voice".

Amplifying Value?
Recently, Twitter announced Amplify, the initial foray to establish a "social TV conversation with real-time, dual-screen sponsorships and in-Tweet video clips from broadcasters." While Amplify provides advertisers with a more expansive - or potentially intrusive - model for measuring broadcast reach via this digital ecosystem, the benefit to publishers is indirect at best.

The announcement of Amplify makes great press, but publishers already have the monetization, measurement, and messaging tools in place on Twitter. Most publishers are satisfied with the brand and audience loyalty capabilities of Twitter, but - similar to their previous trials with Facebook - they are most interested in the potential for creating a sustainable and scalable model for direct revenue generation. This means that publishers must transform their use of Twitter from social monitoring and dialogue to messaging and measurement.

With Twitter Cards, the capabilities exist today and the opportunities are based on whether publishers are willing to isolate and define Twitter as a new platform for engaging with their mobile audience. Since Twitter Cards can now embed a publisher's video player, this means that all the associated video player functionality - from branding to advertising to analytics - is available on all Flash and HTML5 compatible devices. Publishers measure the effectiveness of content promoted and consumed within the Twitter ecosystem and consequently use this for targeting in-stream advertising campaigns.

Campaigns could be as straightforward as Dunkin' Donuts sponsoring "dunks of the game," or the Solo Cup Company sponsoring moments from a music concert, to Starwood sponsoring highlights from a travel show such as "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown."

Amplify's model will be an intensely watched model for brands and broadcasters, as we wait for comprehensive data to determine whether consumers accept this potentially intrusive model or begin to retreat from the in-your-digital-face approach of promotion.

Publishers have the capabilities today - in both Twitter and their video platform - to focus on the fundamental need at hand: using the real-time distribution capabilities of Twitter to fully engage their audience as they consume, share, and engage in a mobile lifestyle. By leveraging these tools, publishers can intensify their Twitter dialogue by extending it across the traditional channels and beyond the 140 character limit.

Fashion Enthusiasts to Enjoy HUGO BOSS Fashion Show from Afar

Brenna Fitzgerald — Wed, 29 May 2013 19:58:26 +0000

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Have you always dreamed of sitting in the front row of an exclusive fashion show? Now's your chance. Thanks to Brightcove, HUGO BOSS is offering fans of the brand the next best thing: complete access to the fashion show via live stream. Tomorrow (May 30, 2013) at 3:15 p.m. CET, you can tune in to the Brightcove Video Cloud player featured on this page to watch all of the live action from the BOSS Fashion Show Shanghai Fall/Winter 2013.

Beyond the live video element HUGO BOSS has prioritized for the Shanghai show, the fashion house has also created a series of on-demand video content designed to spur excitement for the fashion show and at the same time display HUGO BOSS' brand personality. The short films, directed by famed fashion photographer Noam Griest, feature actress Lin Chi-ling and actor Jon Kortajarena, fashion icons in their own right. You can now watch all of these videos by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

Always an innovator in online video, HUGO BOSS was quick to tap into the power of live video events. This show in Shanghai marks the fourth live BOSS fashion show, following previous events in Shanghai, Beijing and Berlin. The fashion house has recognized the tremendous brand engagement powers of live stream; regardless of where they are in the world, BOSS fans can be among the first to see the latest pieces for next season. Additionally, HUGO BOSS has integrated e-commerce functionality into the live stream, allowing viewers to purchase the runway collection as soon as it appears on stage.

HUGO BOSS's live online video efforts are indicative of a broader shift toward live video delivery. Over the past several months, we have released a group of new products that empower all of our customers to take advantage of live video. Released in general availability in late March, the Zencoder Live Cloud Transcoding Service is an open API for live video encoding in the cloud. This technology alleviates the need for a costly hardware encoder and allows virtually anyone--regardless of encoding expertise--to deliver live video to multiple screens. And earlier this month, we introduced Video Cloud Live, a multi-bitrate live streaming module that we believe truly democratizes live video. Video Cloud Live offers easy set-up, real-time analytics, advertising integrations and the automatic population of live content into an on-demand asset library. All of this functionality, combined with live cloud-based encoding a la Zencoder, creates a "perfect storm" for live stream success.

HUGO BOSS is streaming its fashion shows live, but the technology easily translates to conferences, company meetings, music festivals, sporting events, school productions and more. Anything that people may want to view live but are unable to do so because of geography or other factors is a candidate for live stream. What would you stream live if you had the chance? Let us know in the comments.

To learn more about our live video delivery options, contact your account manager or reach our sales team here.

Talking about TV: Social Media Offers a Shared TV Experience

Brenna Fitzgerald — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:57:05 +0000

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Social TV, or social interaction related to program content, is an unavoidable phenomenon. Just ask anybody who has innocently logged onto Facebook or casually perused Twitter only to be confronted with the latest plot twist from the most recent episode of their favorite show--which was saved on their DVR and they were planning to enjoy it later. While it can be incredibly disappointing--although apps have recently been created to save us from Twitter spoilers--it's clear that we really like to talk about our favorite programming, and we're holding these conversations where we talk about everything else: on social networks.

Last week, Viacom released a multi-country study "When Networks Network: TV Gets Social" that explores in great depth the relationship between TV viewing and social media usage--essentially, "second screen" in its truest form. Here are some of the stats I found most fascinating while reviewing the report:

After engaging with a show on social media, viewers were 75 percent more apt to watch that show (via live broadcast, online stream or reruns).
Viewers who have "followed" or "liked" a TV show are 27 percent more likely to download related mobile apps.
Thirty percent of respondents play show-related social media games on a weekly basis.
Thirty-six percent of survey respondents use social media to access exclusive show video content.

This infographic created by Viacom includes many additional data points:

The data highlighted in Viacom's study further proves that there is tremendous opportunity for second screen content. Consumers have a voracious appetite for social TV, and particularly for exclusive video content and apps. Broadcasters are acting innovatively when it comes to the second screen experience from both a content engagement and an advertising perspective. And, presumably, there's only more creativity to come.

How do you tap social networks to augment your TV viewing experience? Let us know in the comments.

[VIDEO] Zencoder Live Cloud Transcoding: Allowing More People to Bring Live Video Online

Brenna Fitzgerald — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:33:42 +0000

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In late March, we released the Zencoder Live Cloud Transcoding Service in general availability--an offering that we are incredibly excited about. And, recently, we sat down with the Zencoder team in San Francisco to learn more about the genesis of the product.

In the video embedded below, the team discusses how the idea for the Live Cloud Transcoding Service emerged from the work we have long completed in the file-based encoding space. With expertise and tenure in this realm, the Zencoder team recognized that they were uniquely equipped to address some of the challenges of live video workflows by tackling the problem of live transcoding.

Now that the product is generally available, Zencoder is providing access to scalable encoding via an API, empowering the team to assist countless sets of new customers whose pain points the team can now effectively and efficiently address. Consider the fact that live broadcasting has traditionally entailed hardware encoding--which ultimately translates into significant expense and maintenance and requires a considerable amount of encoding expertise.

With the release of the Zencoder Live Cloud Transcoding Service, customers now need only a laptop and free or inexpensive software to stream broadcast-quality, live video content via transcoding to the Web, mobile and OTT. It is a matter of paying just a few dollars for transcoding, compared to a $30,000 hardware encoding box-- representing incredible savings.

Tune in to the video below to hear more from the Zencoder team about their mission to allow more people to bring more live video online. We are also hosting a "Best Practices for Zencoder Live Cloud Transcoding" webinar on Thursday, May 30th; you can register here.

How to Easily Deliver Live Video Events

Jeff Whatcott — Mon, 27 May 2013 22:01:51 +0000

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Here at Brightcove, it seems 2013 has been dubbed “the year of live streaming”. With more and more consumers increasingly accessing live event coverage, our customers must keep pace with consumer demand for immediate access to streaming content on every screen and device.

As discussed in the March Bright Ideas blog, live events are not without substantial challenges. In discussions with our customers, we learned of the many challenges they face when working with traditional, multi-purpose live streaming solutions. For one, set up is difficult and management is cumbersome. Monetization is not easy, and often analytics and performance monitoring weren’t available. Customers were also investing in, managing and configuring expensive transcoding hardware to ensure a high quality experience that can be viewed across devices.

In short, we knew that we could do better and create an easy-to-use platform that would help any customer tap into the power of live video entirely in the cloud and without the added hardware expenses.

That’s why we recently launched Brightcove Video Cloud Live, a multi-bitrate, live streaming module that allows marketers and media companies to deliver high-quality, live video events across desktops, smartphones, tablets and connected TVs. Video Cloud Live offers a comprehensive solution to help content owners of all sizes and all technical levels take advantage of the fast-growing live video opportunity and provides all of the functionality necessary to quickly and easily operate live video events, from setup to completion.

To learn more about the live video landscape and the benefits of Video Cloud Live, check out the Bright Ideas video below from our senior product manager, Cortney Jacobsen. And to sign up to join our Video Cloud Live beta program, visit http://go.brightcove.com/forms/video-cloud-live-module.

Leaning in to the Leanback Experience

Albert Lai — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:41:59 +0000

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Fear is a terrible thing. My spouse fears owls. Everytime I click on one of my old platter-based hard drives, I fear the whurrrrrr-click-click-click-whurrrrr-click-click-click of a failed mechanism. My colleague has no fear of jumping out of an airplane with only the laws of physics and a bundle of ripstop nylon on his back, but if I ask him to sit next to a clown...

Many publishers I work with face a common concern that keeps them awake at night. Though not quite as visually shocking as an owl or a clown (or an owl dressed as a clown), publishers are concerned about how to improve their user engagement, specifically across the following two metrics:

Increasing the number of video views per session
Increasing the viewing time per video

Some publishers react defensively by either substituting quality for quantity or by creating video content of shorter duration. Content is still king, and any publisher that considers a quantity-for-quality compromise is likely risking brand erosion and negatively affecting the loyalty of their core audience.

Even re-purposing content by segmenting it into shorter, more mobile-friendly and limited-attention-span-friendly durations is a tricky endeavor. For publishers that monetize with a traditional in-stream pre-roll, shorter video segments must also be balanced with monetization. Some publishers have implemented coarse-grained rules, trafficking one or more pre-rolls (30 and/or 45-second creatives) with clips that were anywhere from 90 seconds to five minutes. While this advertising-to-content ratio may be standard for traditional broadcast, publishers need to consider that online viewing is also competing with time-shifted viewing experiences (i.e., skippable ads) and a seemingly reduced variety of advertisements. Watching the same 30-second creative 10-12 times while watching my favorite primetime catch-up episode instills that smallest nugget of... fear.

One of the most effective ways to balance this approach is to enforce a logical ratio of advertising-to-content and limit the in-stream advertisements (pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll) based on the amount of content actually viewed, thus reducing the browsing penalty of the user while maintaining an acceptable level of monetization.

Keep On With The Force Don't Stop / Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
I encourage publishers to think of every viewing experience as a leanback experience. With this concept in mind, publishers should focus on two interrelated items:

Every video is just one moment in an infinite playlist
Every video experience is linear in consumption context but dynamic in content control

The Infinite Playlist

For every "play" request from the user, the publisher should redefine the concept of the end of a video. Today, many video experiences simply present an end screen that prompts the user with a social-sharing option. While this call to action can be effective for promotional purposes, this is disruptive to the viewing experience. The end screen typically presents additional content in the form of related content (e.g., based on popularity or some metadata-driven relevance to the previously viewed content). As with typical user behavior, too much choice often leads to a lack of choice - or analysis paralysis.

In a model of an infinite playlist, every video should be logically sequenced to another video, providing the video with the suggestion of what they should - and will - watch next.

Content programming in this model can be as sophisticated as a dynamic recommendation model (a la Pandora or Netflix), a curated daypart model (a la Sirius, broadcast television), or some hybrid.

But the overall intent is the same: every video has a "next," and "stop" is removed from the content programming vocabulary.

Linear + Dynamic = Leanback

For every critic of the wizard-behind-the-curtain engine that powers the Netflix screen, one will likely also find them ordering from the virtual aisles of Amazon, searching via Google, and shopping at their local market--all navigational, selection, data-driven experiences that influence our definition of choice.

Many publishers I have worked with express their desire to fulfill two competing needs:

Curating content that helps establish their point-of-view or expresses what should be relevant for the publisher's editorial and/or promotional voice
Delivering content that is directly relevant to the individual consumer based on their preference or manual selection and search (though one could argue that even search results are the outpost of a clearly defined criteria of preference, priority, and curation)

Beyond providing the standard navigation and search mechanisms, the approach worth considering is creating a model of dynamic linear channels. Each channel consists of multiple factors to influence its selection and sequencing. As the viewer watches - or skips - a video, this behavior is captured, processed, and used to influence future channel creation in a closed loop model.
Beyond the more common logical linkage based on video metadata, the channel could be dynamically generated based on:

Duration - the viewer may specify a preference for shorter or longer content based on their consumption context)
Time of day - content may be prioritized by its consumption patterns across the entire audience during a 24-hour period
Type of device - content may be prioritized by its consumption patterns specific to the mobile platform, mobile OS (i.e., iOS vs. Android), and form factor (i.e., phone vs. tablet)
Geolocation - content may be prioritized based on physical location

These channel rules do not exclude the desire for content curation. Publishers could also create more formalized channels that are modeled after radio and broadcast dayparts and use those as standalone content channels or use those as source channels with the factors mentioned previously.

There are also a number of visual cues that should be added to the video consumption experience to guide the viewer in a dynamic linear model. First, publishers should inform their users that content will be presented as a linear channel. This means enabling the viewer to see upcoming content but not necessarily giving the viewer complete freedom to disrupt the "scheduled/sequenced" programming ad hoc. Especially in full screen mode, the video experience should explicitly message to the viewer the upcoming video to dissuade their inherent nature to click away. This is a common method for broadcast and syndication since rolling credits tend to prompt the urge to explore other options. This message could be as direct as displaying an overlay of an animated interstitial to introduce the next video or as subtle as a single line of text or a graphical bug with a countdown timer.

As with any leanback experience, whether playback occurs on a tablet or a television (via AirPlay, Miracast, or a similar model of a device-first model), publishers should ensure that the core video playback experience maintains a quality of consumption that is essential for this context. The core video playback experience must:

Minimize buffering of content and advertising, either through client-side functionality or server-side stitching (for manifest-based models such as HLS)
Deliver the highest quality ABR playback appropriate for the available bandwidth (up to full HD 1920x1080 for tablets and televisions)

By combining the traditional linear programming model with the dynamic nature of digital targeting and playlisting--and by thinking of video as an infinite stream of content for a viewer--publishers can evolve the video consumption behavior into a leanback experience, engaging the viewer’s desire to discover and consume great content without lifting, or swiping, a finger.

One Device to Rule Them All

Chris Johnston — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:42:30 +0000

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At a press event this afternoon, Microsoft unveiled the latest iteration of the Xbox, known as Xbox One. In their remarks, company executives referred to this as "the beginning of truly intelligent TV." So, is Xbox One the future of OTT? Here's my take:

Microsoft is doing a few notable things with Xbox One. First, the company is staking a more significant claim in the living room. Xbox One seems to be much more of a living room console than the current Xbox 360; it's more comprehensive than Roku, and it will come to market before Apple has made any major announcement in this space.

Second, while Microsoft is not eschewing the die-hard nature of their gaming customers, its executives are clearly positioning this as an "entertainment" console, and not a game console. Ultimately, Xbox One as a comprehensive entertainment solution could be awesome, or it could massively backfire. Nintendo did remarkably well with the Wii when it was first released by targeting casual gamers instead of die-hards. Conversely, SONY went the other way with the PS3, making a much more capable (and much more expensive) hard-core game console. Both are considered successful in terms of units shipped (roughly 100 million and 80 million, respectively). Microsoft on the other hand started Xbox as a game console, and learned along the way that it is a capable living room device (also selling about 80 million units); however, Microsoft also has a long history of failing in the living room, dating back to WebTV.

The thing I'm most curious about is the "HDMI in" capability which seemed to capture much attention. This is what lets you watch traditional pay TV (i.e., cable or satellite) without switching inputs. If it's done correctly, the Xbox can become the primary input to your TV, and this can really shift the tide in Microsoft's direction for ownership of the living room battle.

But, there are problems. On the Xbox One itself, it appears you will have access to a great set of entertainment apps: Netflix, Hulu, and custom apps from other content providers. When you "switch" to the cable box, though, where does the functionality lie? Am I using the cable company's DVR? If so, why? Doesn't the Xbox One have tons of storage space? Why would I pay that cable company another $10 per month? What about other cable company features such as on-demand? Who am I paying for that movie? Perhaps we'll start to see the advent of cable company "apps" for the Xbox -- where you're paying for the service from the operator, but it's all being delivered through Xbox, and the cable company set-top box goes away. Or maybe Microsoft becomes a virtual "cable operator" themselves, making content licensing deals with networks and owning the direct viewer relationship with you through your Xbox Live Gold account. They've taken a provocative step, but Microsoft has raised more questions than answers with this announcement.

Another area where I think Microsoft could potentially implode with the Xbox One is with the overall user experience. While gaming on the Xbox 360 is great, as are the handful of entertainment apps, the process of setting up and signing up is brutal. You need an email address to get a Microsoft account, and a Microsoft account to get an Xbox account, and then an Xbox account to get an Xbox Live account, and an Xbox Live account to get Xbox Gold--which is really the only way that you can do anything online. And if for some reason you need to change one of those accounts, you'll need to petition the U.S. Congress (kidding--kind of).

Lastly: voice control. This is an elusive one, and I don't think the capabilities are truly there yet (anywhere). I've not found a voice controlled system that is reliable enough to be useful. My car understands my son, but not me. Google Voice translates my voice messages into text--but not legibly. Even Siri is fairly fallible. With different accents, colloquialisms, tonal differences, inflections, and volumes, I can imagine the living room being a war zone, where people's "new relationship with their TV" has them screaming at it in frustration.

There's certainly more to come on this; as Microsoft consistently mentioned during the press event, the company will be sharing more details at E3.

Brightcove Powers DrupalCon Live Stream

Brenna Fitzgerald — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:12:51 +0000

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Can't make it to beautiful Portland, Oregon to participate in this year's DrupalCon? We've got you covered. Throughout this week, we will be bringing the conference keynotes to you live, with the help of Brightcove Video Cloud and the Zencoder Live Cloud Transcoding Service. Below is a schedule of the keynotes--simply look for a Brightcove Video Cloud player on the conference homepage (http://portland2013.drupal.org/live) and tune in!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The Current State of Drupal 8
11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. PT

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Thriving in a World of Change: Future-friendly Content with Drupal
9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. PT

Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Engineer, the Designer, and the Dictator
9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. PT

Closing session
3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. PT

As part of the broader Drupal community--Drupal is a Brightcove technology partner--we are very excited to help Drupal enthusiasts from across the globe take part in this important, biannual event.

Brightcove Goes Behind the Scenes at the British Academy Television Craft Awards

Florentine Lemli — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:59:03 +0000

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Late last month, Sue Thexton, senior vice president for Brightcove EMEA, and I gathered with sound engineers, composers, editors, writers and TV personalities to honour the amazing British talent that works behind the scenes of some of TV's most exciting programmes. Hosted by Steve Mangan, star of Channel 4's Green Wing and the BBC comedy Episodes, the star-studded event was attended by the likes of Russell Tovey, Meera Syal, Jessica Hynes, Blake Harrison, Antonia Thomas, Grace Dent, Dawn O'Porter, Anne Reid and Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Long-standing partners of British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA), Brightcove sponsored the Digital Creativity category, which saw the production teams behind Channel 4 Paralympics, The Great British Property Scandal, Embarrassing Bodies: Live from the Clinic and Foxes Live: Wild in the City all compete for the gold mask statuette. Presented by British journalist and author Grace Dent, these projects have all taken the traditional viewing experience and flipped it on its head, introducing new ways of interacting with the audience, all while making aiming to create a positive impact on society.

In the end, it was Channel 4 Paralympics that came out trumps in this highly competitive category, taking home the coveted award for its coverage of the global event. From live streams to smartphone apps, Channel 4 brought the Paralympic Games to life and made sure audiences paid as much attention to it as the Olympic games. Steve Boulton, creative director at Deltare, and Channel 4's multiplatform commissioning editor James Rutherford accepted the award, praising the industry and the Television Craft awards by saying "this where talent truly lies" (see the full speech here).

Sue Thexton (pictured with the winners above) speaking afterwards about the importance of this category and the awards, said: "Digital innovation and creativity has and will continue to change the way in which we watch and interact with television in the future. Everyone in this category pushed the boundaries of digital content and brought a global event or social issue to an even bigger stage. The Television Craft Awards are an important opportunity to recognise and reward the stars of this industry for the outstanding skills and expertise that they bring to making fantastic television."

The nominees and winners in the Digital Creativity category are only a small representation of the amazing work that's happening behind the scenes every day. With the innovations that many broadcasters, and digital vendors like ourselves, are spending time on, we will no doubt see continued advances in trends such as connected TV apps and second screen interactions changing the way we find and watch content.

To see highlights from the red carpet and interviews with the winners, please visit: http://www.bafta.org/television/craft-awards/

Congratulations again to all!