Final Cut Studio - Where Next?

It's been over a year since the last update to Final Cut Studio, and rumors have been flying around for months the update could be January. I personally think its more likely to be a summer release given the current twenty-four month cycle of the software and the release of new operating system Lion. Though there are changes to this cycle on occasion and the release of Lion could affect a cycle change.

What I thought I'd look at is what we could or should expect from a new release.

Final Cut Pro
The heart of the studio, Final Cut Pro is the industry standard edit program that is beginning to loose it's share to other systems such as Adobe's Premier Pro. Final Cut has been very popular but the code is written in several languages as apple has bolted on features to the original. Rumor is this is where the majority of work will have to take place. The software will need to be re-written entirely in Cocoa, this is a lot of work to keep the same functionality Final Cut users are used to, this though should make it a even stronger and more reliable product. The main benefit of this is the 64bit support many editors want and is already available in Adobe Premier.  It will also give the application a  fresh new look and feel.

One of the most requested features is native support of camera codecs, as more tape-less cameras come to the market, so do more format specific codecs. Its more than overdue that Apple provide these codecs as native way for Final Cut to edit. I personally think that if they can use Camera Raw for Photo editing its the same concept for video. I think in the long run it will allow less problems due to multiple conversions.

Once that's all been dealt with there may be little time to actually build new features, but I think that Final Cut needs to build this release as more than a interface refresh. Considering how little went into the last release.

It should defiantly look at supporting stereoscope editing (editing 3D movies) as this is becoming increasingly popular the need for the right tools is only going to grow so Final Cut should be the first at the table.

I'd like to see some additions to 'Scratch Disks', as someone who deals with tape-less filming amongst multiple users I find the need to set my scratch disks to a local external hard drive for editing but at the same time a duplicate to be sent to the shared storage. This is a big thing duplicating media in an age where tape is being used less and less, you find people get more paranoid about loosing data. Dual copying of media is a must for any professional.

Further to this and I've mentioned it in previous blogs, I'd like to see more integration with Final Cut Server as I can see this benefiting the shared storage environments and the idea of edit in place editing that most larger post houses are looking at.


All this is under the hood stuff, you expect final cut to do anyway. So what about the bells and whistles.
I think for that we need to look at other applications made by Apple. As with anything Apple does, if the consumer app does it well, the pro apps will do it better. So I see more integration with pro apps such as Aperture and Logic. I see features from the other final cut applications shared more, as some of the advanced abilities are made available in a limited way within Final Cut. I'm always looking for a way to blur out peoples faces or non broadcastable material such as adverts or car number plates. I want to able to do this in final cut in as few buttons clicks as possible but find motion having the better tools.

The biggest features though will come from iMove, I think the majority of their new features will make its way into some of the Final Cut pro suite. Personally I think Face detection will be good for metadata or for blurring out faces.  One step effects would be welcome to most editors especially if there are some extra parameters for them to tweak.

I think the share function will grow with the ability to create custom compressor droplets that will publish to youtube from with in Final Cut, meaning video producers can automate more of their process. We may even see integration with Vimeo, which is becoming the favorite video site for filmmakers to post on if they want to be taken seriously.

One feature i really want to see is the ability to bring master templates in with audio. There are some I've created in Motion that when I'm using in Final Cut require the audio as well as video.  Having to add the audio separate seems pointless when I've used it to create the graphics in the first place.

All in all I think the next Final Cut Pro could be the best but I have a feeling Apple will again hold back on major features in a bid to get the under the bonnet stuff working correct.


Motion
Motion is a program I have love, hate relationship with but its becoming increasingly powerful with each release and I think the next one may see the biggest changes.
Again iMovie features should be making it into Motion. I think the news and sport templates will make it across with the focus on providing real time graphics. Real time graphic support would bring a lot more power to the already bulging application but I think Motion will look to take on traditional news graphic systems with some new tools.

I also think iMovies unique way of creating trailer credits will filter across and extend to creating end credits. I think we will start seeing this auto filling from meta data available more often. Taking a long task of creating credits into a few easy steps.

If Apple were to make Final Cut Pro cope with 3D surely Motion would see stereoscope graphic capability.

I do think though that we will see many of Shakes capabilities filter into Motion. We could see better integration with CGI programs to embed 3D objects or environments. Who knows maybe Shake will become part of Final Cut Studio or at least a major part of Motions capabilities.

Soundtrack Pro
Sound track has a lot of work to do, its a wonderful program when it works. That's the problem it's not the most stable program in the suite, in fact I find freeware like Audacity more stable. Which is a real shame for a program with such potential.

So first thing I want to see in the next version is better stability, I want to have to try and break the program not see it quit of it's own accord.

Again I think we'll see some of iMovies new audio features being used as well as Logic and Garage Band bringing features to the table.

My biggest wish is for Soundtrack to get 64bit compatibility and really take on Adobe Audition as an audio editing program. I'm a big fan of Audition and love the fact there is a Mac version coming soon. Having tested the beta version of Adobe's software it seems to be beating Soundtrack Pro as an audio editor.

I'm a person who takes my videos and quiet often have to edit an audio only version for radio, Soundtrack pro would go a long way if it could export Wav files and give me the flexibility and reliability I get from Audition.

Apple take my advise pull your finger out and produce a program that fulfills the same level of functionality as Audition, then push it to match pro tools as your currently not able to match freeware  like Audacity in its current state.

Color
As someone who's only ever briefly used color all I can mainly say is it seems to have some stability issues, that desperately need addressing. On another note there are features I feel are missing or restricted that need to be expanded on.

At the end of the day you need to be a colorist to fully appreciate color and though I enjoy dabbling in the program, I am not a colorist and don't see me having the skill to do so. However I can see the benefits of the program and that Apple will bring some amazing features and development in the future.

Compressor
The most important asset in the suite, as it becomes a fully fledged outputting suite for digital production. Compressor defiantly needs to move to 64 bit support as well as the ability to support 3D conversion/output.

There are more features I want to see though, as mentioned earlier I want to be able to set me publishing output such as YouTube in compressor so that it becomes a simple share option in Final Cut Pro. I want to be able to publish to Vimeo. Audio conversion I think needs better support in compressor with publishing for not only podcast producer but for websites (HTML5) and to audio hosting sites such as ONM Voice or Mix Cloud. I dearly miss Visual Hub and Audio Hub for file conversion and feel Compressor just needs to meet this amazing program.

I love the fact I can add water marks to my video during compression but I want to take this a step forward and bring in a feature mostly found when printing to tape. That is the idea of slates or bumpers. As I export videos sometimes you want to put bars, slates or countdowns at the beginning as its going into a tape-less playout system. In my case videos I produce always need to be top and tailed with a short video bumper, this is normally a short motion video of the companies logo. Now I'm fine doing that in Final Cut but most of the time its a hassle to add to something just for a web output.

I think compressor is soon to become more important, as we move away from physical media into the digital world. We've already seen Apple introduce iTunes LP and iTunes Extra but there isn't a program that helps create that. Maybe this is what we shall see in future versions of compressor.

DVD Studio Pro
Lets be honest, DVD Studio Pro hasn't been updated in years and it probably won't be this time. With dwindling sales of DVD and no advancement in the technology the program is just waiting to die. I hear people shouting what about Blue-ray. Why its true that Apple could create more support for Blue-ray, in this version it's doubtful. Blue-ray has only been taken up as well as it has due to PS3 and the gaming market. I do see the advantage of having a disk that holds so much content and in my opinion its more to archive your material on a physical format rather than for watching it.

Apple feels the same way as they are pushing digital downloads, for me Blue-ray is the modern day Mini-Disk. A great technology but it came a little too late as digital downloads are already available. I feel we shall see a lot of the features reserved for DVD going to compressor for digital download creation. The only other option is for the whole program to get a radical overhaul and become a a one stop shop for creating menu based content for DVD, Blue-ray and digital media. Though again I doubt Apple would even waist the time unless they wanted to do a similar thing for a future version of iLife.

Anything Else
With Final Cut Studio Apple always try to bring something new, this normally means buying some existing technology and repacking it. The last time they did that they brought Color into the suite, which is now two versions ago. I think that the next thing will follow in Adobe's foot steps and copy Adobe On Location. This application is all about transferring your footage on location and meta-data. Now I think Apple will just start with the meta-data side seen as a lot of the functionality and future I've mentioned has meta-data underlining. I honestly see Apple using an iPad app to access and update meta-data on location and sync with files via something like Final Cut Server.

I doubt Apple would ever go down the script writing route unless they acquired a program like Final Draft. I think for now Apple would rather work with the company to create better integration.

As I've mentioned the big things for the next update is 64 bit and stereoscope support. This is Final Cut Studios big chance to fight critics and Adobe's closing market dominance. I guess we will have to wait and see what is the next big step for this Pro Apps Suite.

Is Apple going to cut loose Final Cut Server?

I recently wrote an article on 'Whats wrong with Final Cut Server' in the hope the great apple techs came across it and took some of my points on board for the next version.

Then disaster struck, the internet was awash with concerning rumors on the next OSX code named Lion. Little to nothing is known about this operating system until its release in summer 2011. That hasn't stopped Apple confirming that Flash will no longer be supported within the operating system. A positive in many peoples eyes, including Adobe who have complained about apples slowness to release flash security updates.

My concerns have come from two very separate rumors but ultimately ones that have a major impact on Final Cut Servers future.

First is Lion will also not include Java support, it's been confirmed that version 6 (the current version) will continue to be supported but version 7 will not  be distributed as part of Lion instead it will have to be downloaded. This is very odd considering Final cut server is actually built on Java.

The second announcement is the fact the Xserve will no longer be produced and there is no replacement planed. Now final cut server does work on Mac mini's and Mac pro's but I find for the scale of most education facilities (one of the reasons apple produce Final cut server) need more power as they have to contend with hundreds of users who need large amounts of storage.

I'm left wondering is Final Cut Server getting a major overhaul, maybe based through web pages or better Final Cut pro integration or is Apple about to pull the plug on this software before it fulfills its potential.

What's Wrong with Final Cut Server

It's been over a year since Apple released version 1.5 of Final Cut Server and I have to admit I like many are disappointed with the Apple Product. Apple themselves are wondering where they are going wrong and I though I'd take a moment to look at why.

First of all I think we should look at the fact the training book has only just been released and in fact my copy only arrived this morning. The old course was informative but not on par with other Pro Apps courses. I'm hoping the new training will start to rectify this but I have a feeling the program itself is where the problems lie.

Apple did not build Final Cut Server from scratch it was based on Proximity's artbox package. This means from the start it is very unApple. That is fine but when you start using it you start finding the problems. Yes its price point is great and it does meet some of my needs but the truth is there are products like CatDV that do the same thing better though with a larger price tag.

First thing I'd say is the problem of set up, everything takes too long to set up correctly. Its great it meets so many needs but there are no basic work flows to start you off. I need to see how it works before I can imagine how I want it to work for me. There are so few real world examples of Final Cut Server in use, it makes me wonder if it's used at all.

Set up is also awkward there are two places to setup, on the server or through the client application. I'll be honest I spent weeks trying both until I struck gold and got the thing working, this will turn away most users of apple products.

My biggest problem with Final Cut Server is it's integration with Final Cut Pro, it does it really badly. You have the client application but no integrated function in FCP. I can't share my final sequence with my FCS system. In turn I can't access video files within FCP and bring them into my project, I have to leave the program for the FCS app.

If I send assets or projects to other programs in Final Cut Studio, such as Motion it's done on that computer, I cant send it to Motion via Final Cut Server. My graphics editor is not going to be working on my computer, he will be on his the other side of the room.

This programs not all bad, when I get it working. Things do what their supposed to. I can create video archives of all my assets, though I can't look at proxy's for anything but video and audio. I can however put practically anything into it. I'm just waiting to be able to view any file.

I can set my own search parameters and meta data set, again these could be a lot better improved but do an ok job currently.

The big thing I can't see working well is how multiple editors can work on the same project. Either by checking in and out a project, or by working on it simultaneously on an Xsan.  The truth is this is partly down to your operation but more to do with FCP integration again.

I think lots of the output and management functions found in FCP need to also migrate to FCS so to take full advantage of it's potential and abilities found in the FCS app need to be integrated into FCP.

I like Final Cut Server, don't get me wrong its a powerful and handy tool. The problem is it doesn't work as well with Final Cut Pro as it should. I expect it to develop and grow very quickly over the next few years if it's to survive. I'd also like to see its potential integrated with news management systems. In the end FCS will hopefully bring ways of getting footage direct from the field into it's system, this could see future iPads with SD card slots and FCS apps in the app store.

What ever happens Final Cut Server is just at the start. The future could be amazing, only if Apple throw more weight behind its development.

Ustream and Facetime

I've been pondering this for a few weeks now. FaceTime is a potentially a great open standard but only if it's taken up by enough devices and companies.

We all know that eventually all Apple iToys will will support a version of FaceTime so we expect the iPod and iPad to get access within the next twelve months. We'd also hope iChat will get a update so that the Mac community are automatically FaceTime users.

We'd hope companies like Skype will take this new format on board bringing their reach further. I however have a different idea in the form of Ustream.

For those of you who don't know about Ustream its essentially a live video broadcast website. It broadcast live events, a lot of red carpets or conferences whilst also recording them for playback later. This isn't the important part I think the reason for Ustream being set up is.

Founded by John Ham, Brad Hunstable, and Dr. Gyula Feher, these men had a simple goal. To enable their friend in the Army, posted overseas to communicate with their families at home. Especially when time was limited in a war zone these soldiers could communicate to all their family.

I see the use of Ustream and FaceTime together doing what they both set out to do. That is bringing families together through video chats.

Wave Bye to Google Wave

Google Wave was announced in May 2009 as an email today. Their theory was email was about thirty years old, it hadn't changed much in that time but the digital world around it had. So the thought was what would email look like if it was invented today, the answer was Google Wave, a realtime instant messaging meets email known as waves. By the beginning of August 2010 Google decided it was time to pull the plug on this experiment.

Where did it all go wrong.

In first instance Email is the center of all our lives and is better in my opinion than Fax and even email hasn't killed off that. Second if email was invented toady it wouldn't be Google Wave in its current form, it would be Google Wave developed further down the line. Thirdly, email should be developed not a new technology so why wasn't email on steroids developed.

I'm a big fan of Google Wave, I use it for a number of different tasks and I'd even started moving a lot of long term planning conversations with colleagues to it. I was finding more and more ways to use it for my work.

What I found the biggest problem with Wave though, was the fact it didn't have a subject box, even an optional one. If I send an email it always has a subject box. It's the way I sort my message and search for them and I so wanted that in wave.

Though the extensions in Wave brought great expansion to its use, many of them didn't work as described. What I found though is many of the extensions I wanted available native in wave's. I wanted things like import and export documents. Countdowns to open and close wave discussions. Audio and video conversations that were recorded live then the recordings embedded like Ustream does for later review. Drawing boards, embedding waves in each other and externally, and even password protect part of waves. There could have been type what you say functionality or visual representations of links.

All of these functions would have made Google Wave what it was supposed to be and further more are already available technology, either used by Google or being developed by them.

Google became so much more towards the end, there were types of Wave such as meetings, brainstorming, to do lists, plus more. Each bringing a clear vision of what Google Wave could do and for someone who used it, I can say it did it better than most, but not perfect and not what we'd expect from Google.That was a big problem for me.

Wave began to show widgets that allowed for conversations or mini wave like forums to be attached to websites and was tested to a live Ustream Broadcast. This really began to show off the potential of the system and if Wave wasn't closing I'd have been trying that.

So what was its biggest problems, the answer. Scale. The scale of the project was big but also required to be small at the same time. Google were the only provider of Wave, meaning you had to be a Google member with a Gmail account that limits the amount of people willing to replace many email like tasks with wave. This stopped many people who would probably experiment or benefit using waves but not signup.

Second is the smallness of Wave, it's big and bulky but it works. I'd use it on a phone but it's too big. I'd use it on a tablet for work but only for task lists, brain storming basically the business functionality. I'd use it on my computer for meetings.  That's the problem I couldn't use an aspect of it on one device or the whole Wave technology on something small like a phone, and belive me I've tried. The project just needed to be scaled like email has been across devices. 

So I will wave goodbye to Google Wave, it was amazing and I hope its technologies do end up in my future email clients but as a straight replacement for my email I'm sorry the world just wants it to develop email not be replace it.

Apple Apps I want to see on iOS

I am a big Apple fan and I am fast falling into the hardcore category, I work on a mac, I own a mac, I have an iPhone, an iPod. I spend most of my time working on apple products or software and I'm trying to save for an iPad as I want one to ease my working day.

This got me thinking of the Apps available on the iOS and what I'd like to see in future.

So I looked at what's currently available:

Mobile Me Related apps - iDisk, Find My iPhone, Gallery
iWorks Related - Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Keynote remote
iLife Related - iMovie
Remote (iTunes controller), iBooks

That's not to mention Mail, iTunes, App Store, Notes, Photos, Calculatore, Contacts that are built in iOS but also appear on my Mac.

So what could we see appear in the future, that i personally would like Apple to make.

I think that we will start with iLife applications, obviously iMovie has made the transfer and iPhoto is represented as Photos but what else.

First I think that the new release of iLife that's rumored to have a mystery application, will see an iOS flavor, whether that's something on the iOS already on Mac or a app release iwe will have to wait and see. I'm expecting an encoding/sharing software like compressor for creating iTunes content such as videos or audio maybe even iTunes LP's.

Next I'd expect iWeb to make an appearance in the apps store. This web building tool is for blogging, podcasting, updating my website so I'd expect to be able to blog on the road with the iPad or podcast on the iPhone and it sync with my Mac version especially if I'm publishing to Mobile me.

Garage Band is the program I think would be the most interesting to turn into a series of apps. It's so big but has three distinct sections I'd love to see as separate apps.

First is the most recent addition of 'Learn to Play" I can see this being a very advanced app, where it's a store for downloading lessons like the artist lessons already available, but extends the range of instruments and artists available, i'd also think it appropriate to provide sheet music via this store. Really breaking away the learning at the computer and opening up even more creativity.

Second, is the podcasting capabilities of Garageband and how that integrates with Podcast Producer another Mac program.  This could become an amazingly useful app that could integrate with the iWeb app and social networks to bring something quite unique.

Thirdly the heart of Garage band is to create music so an app to allow music notation or basic music creation would be beatifically to any musician who finds the creative juice take hold.

These apps would complement what I currently use on my computer and bring my creativity with me always. For me though there are still things missing and these are found by more advanced users of Apple products.

ARD or Apple Remote Desktop is an application for administering computers among other tasks. Many of the features available in ARD are available in apps already but I'd like to have access to my ARD on an iPad when I'm away from my computer because that's always when I need access to ARD's functions.

Pro Apps - These applications are for the advanced photographers, filmmakers and musicians now I'm sure every application has some features that would be ideal for the iOS, for me though it falls into Final Cut Server. Though the program needs lots of work as a whole, what it does well I'd like to have access to as an app. Such as using the client app on my mac to look through files, play video and add meta-data to be able to do this on the move would be great. My ultimate wish would be to use my iOS device to send the data via a Final Cut Server App to my server, whether that's just the meta data notes or the actual files, all of it would befit the filmmaker. This I think will have to wait for the technology to catch up.

So by looks of it there are still potential for a lot of programs to become apps in the future its only our imaginations that can stop us.

Privacy - Is non sharing costing us money

I've been thinking of this for some time but news headlines over the past few month has really got me thinking. Is non sharing of private information actually causing more issues and costing us more money than we would like.

First thing that got me thinking was Facebook's recent upgrades to share information from other websites with my friends. I've noticed other sites including more social integration too. I'm starting to see the benefits of sharing these things, though there are a few pitfalls of your information being totally public but then it is already fairly public.

The second was the recent coalition government in the UK announcing the axe of a number of databases due to their cost and the main fact being its duplicate information to other databases.

I then received this email as a joke at how bureaucratic things are:

Dear  Sirs,                                                             
                                                                           
          I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this.  How is it that Sky Television has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a bleeding satellite dish from them back in 1977, and yet, the Government is still asking me where I was bloody born and on what date.                                                   
                                                                           
  For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand?  My birth date you have on my pension book, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years. It is on my National Health card, my driving license, my car insurance, on the last eight damn passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the plane over the last 30 years, and all those insufferable census forms.                                                           
                                                                           
    Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Mary Anne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be abso-fucking-lutely astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!!                                                               
   I apologise, I'm really pissed off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough of  this bullshit!  You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my fucking address !!!!                                                                                                                                                              
      What is going on?  Do you have a gang of Neanderthal arseholes workin' there?  Look at my damn  picture.  Do I look  like Bin Laden?  I don't want to  dig up Yasser Arafat, for shit sakes.  I just want to go and  park my arse on some sandy beach somewhere. And would someone please tell me, why  would you give a shit whether I plan on visiting a farm in the  next 15 days?  If  I ever got the urge to do something weird  to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, you'd be the last fucking people I'd want to tell!                                                           
                                                                           
  Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the poxy city to get another fucking copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of  £30.  Would it be so complicated  to have all the services in the same  spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day??  Nooooooooooooo, that'd be too damn easy and maybe makes sense.  You'd  rather have us  running all over the fuckin' place like chickens with our heads cut off, then have to find some arsehole to confirm that it's  really me on the damn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (bureaucratic fuckin' morons)  Hey, do you know why we couldn't smile if we wanted to? Because we're totally pissed off!       
                                                                           
  Signed                                                                   
                                                                           
  An Irate Citizen.                                                       
                                                                            

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to confirm that it's me?  Well, my family has  been in this country since 1776 ......... I have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had full security  clearances over 25 of those years enabling me to undertake highly secretive missions all over the world. .........  However, I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN PAKISTAN !     
                               

This letter got me thinking to when I recently moved house and how many different databases I had to change my address in just to get bills, letters and how much that actually cost my already stretched bank balance. 

Why do we have to duplicate so much information, why cant they be kept on a central database and information released at our request to relevant companies, government departments. The main details I always have to fill out for any form even a job application are as follows:

1. Name
2. Date of Birth
3. Address
4. Phone numbers - home, work, mobile
5. Email address
6. Work information
7. Next of Kin
8. Security question - normally mothers maiden name, first school or first pet.          

Now if I was to steal an identity those are the information I'd need, so there goes your privacy concerns, Pandora's box is already open. Only other info I'm ever asked for are National Insurance, passport number, driving license and NHS number which lets be fair could all be the same number as there is no need for them to be separate other than different databases to duplicating the above information.  

So just think how much money each of these so called databases costs. One database I found googling, cost £225 million the proposed government ID cards would have cost £4 billion to kick off. All of these could be condensed. Id rather change my details in one database saving me time and money rather than waist as I did moving house  then spending weeks changing my details.  I'd also prefer having one ID card that's my National Insurance, passport, driving license, NHS number and donor card the five separate cards/books cost more money and waists more resources than one ID card being updated every few years.       

So the proof is our information is everywhere and it does cost a lot of money having separate databases and cards. I do agree my core info shouldn't be publicly advertised to outside friends and family. Even some of that should just be known to me but at the end of the day the information is out there and its costing me more money I could be spending or saving that would help boost the UK economy.
                                            

Selling to the Enemy

The other day virgin announced it had finally sold its main channel portfolio to Sky, this included Virgin 1, Challenge, all Living and Bravo channels. Now considering the public spats between Sky and Virgin you'd think that this is rare indeed. Truth is Virgin has been trying to sell it's channel portfolio since it became Virgin Media. Sky was always in the frame, there were others but sky was always the only candidate to buy these channels.

Now the problem has always been the value of these channels, Sky didn't see much value to them and Virgin did. Hence the period when Sky pulled all its channels from Virgin over the price to show channels on respective platforms. This forced Virgin to regain its channels values. Living was already good but Virgin pushed its value that little bit more. They dropped teen channel Trouble, this in respect was the cheapest move but I'm a firm believer that the audience was there but the channel was stuck in the nineties.  Virgin then built the Virgin 1 brand which in a stroke of genius did 'Living on Virgin 1' this showcased the best of the Living format on a free platform. On top they made some smart purchases for the channel and created a good channel. They then began to turn their attention to Bravo and have pushed that to a new level. This was all backed up by the extra income from the challenge channels.

Now I'm a person who feels sad these channels are leaving Virgin and going to Sky as, Virgin were providing fresh programming. I wanted to see what they would do next, would they look at the Bravo 2 channel, would Trouble make a return, maybe Virgin 1 would have 'Bravo on Virgin 1'.

What next, well Sky have some decisions to make on the way the channels would run in their business. I have a few suggestions.

• Re-jig all Sky's programming across the new channels, Supernatural and 24 would fit perfect on Bravo.
• Living could benefit from Sky's funding to bring more glamor, not that it needs it.
• Bravo 2 could be made more female orientated, with shows like House and Supernatural. 
• Make Living 2 more male orientated with glamor and fashion shows aimed at men.
• Challenge is another income for Sky and Sky will make it more interactive, integrating it with Sky player.
• Virgin 1, will be re-named and should become a showcase channel. I suggest Sky Showcase so it can run 'Living on Sky Showcase' bringing more people to the sky pay channels via the Freeview platform.

So where does this sale leave virgin. Answer is in good place to build itself as a provider but also at risk if ever Sky pulls channels from the platform again.  Virgin still own half of UKTV, though this is being lined up to sell to Channel 4, they also own Film-flex their film on demand system.

Virgin though have to step up their game to be a provider against Sky and the growing IPTV market.

• They need to offer more HD content and a lot of it in their basic package.
• Video on demand needs improving and taking to the next level, a system they launched so well is now dying from lack of upgrades.
• Multi-room and a online offering needed. People have more than one TV and the business should reflect this.
• The program guide needs updating, their system is old clunky, unreliable and has many services that are so stuck in the nineties I'm surprised if anyone still uses them. They need a major and regular overhaul of how their system works. 
• Competitive on demand pricing. People won't hire a film for £4 is you can buy it for £3 or subscribe to several for £7 a month. They won't hire a TV series for more than it costs to buy.

I wish both companies luck but do point out that more channels are only as good as their new content. In today's market, consumers want new formats as quick as they are released globally and they one older content available on demand.

Rotting Apples - an the multimedia hardware giant turn around it's rotting apples?

Apple - computer genius, music maestro, communication artist and now publication facilitator. Apple is all these things, and more. The once struggling company has taken its time and effort to build not only a successful brand but also a variety of products made for the IT generation.

What makes apple so popular is its ability to innovate but still have a reliability and stability to it's products. That's not all, they create a buzz around their products and an education on how to use them, as they innovate the basic functions that were outrageous to begin with become normal.

With the launch of the iPad and the fact it's sold two million of them, I turned myself to the less innovative products. The ones that have been starting to rot with time.

The World Wide Developers conference may be the place for these rotting apples to get a new lease of life. Apple's chance to update the lines and innovate products to mass appeal or to let them rot away.

So what are these products and what are my predictions:


iPhone - It's a year since the iPhone had any hardware upgrade and recent leaks show that an all new 4th generation iPhone should be on it's way. There may be a few surprises but my betting is we wont see 4G technology or secure meemory card technology to enable apps to take advantage of existing products such as Visa's Pay Wave or London tube's Oyster card for at least another year.


iTunes - With the recent release of iBooks on the iPad and promises it will join the iPhone in the summer, that can only means iTunes will get access to this little bookstore and the ability to read books on your computer. Also there are talks of iTunes getting streaming capability, but this is apple they will have some other surprises and upgrades, my money is on Genius and Home Sharing.


Apple TV- Known as Apple's hobby this year is the make or break for the device that could be so much but delivers so little. So betting is Apple will be showcasing some updated hardware and hopefully a fully fledged software upgrade that takes the things they do so well in their other products. So I expect to see video streaming, video/audio app integration and a new improved Home Sharing.


iLife - The media application suite that ships with Mac's hasn't been updated since iLife'09 so maybe there will be an announcement of a 2011 version with some new feature. Faces and Places improvements no doubt top of the list but maybe some app versions for the iPad and iPhone. I would love to see garage bands Artists lessons as an app or an ability to edit podcasts on the move.


iWorks - Again not updated since the iWork'09 but since then iWorks.com has been updating slowly, the iPad version has been released. So surely the Mac version will get some updates to improve stability between these and some new features itself. I think iWorks.com may come out of beta or some major changes will appear.

Mobile me - This hasn't had a major upgrade since it's launch but it has had a number of major tweaks and recently a new version of mail in Beta. My bet is a few more announcements on mobile me, especially if there is a new iPhone and iTunes finally brings its streaming capabilities. Maybe we shall see more integration of iTunes and iWorks.com.


ARD 4 - Apple Remote Desktop hasn't had a good update in years, some may ask what the big deal. Well the answer is simple, Business. Business needs to keep updating their computers and help IT control from a distance, ARD allows this to happen and more on Apple computers. What I'm predicting are some major changes and some surprising ones. First up is Boot Camp support, apple have no control over rebooting a boot camped machine or even installing Boot Camped images over a network and with more and more companies going for this set up, there is a cry for this control. iPhone & iPad support, with the OS4 bringing a raft of business enterprise features, why cant we see these being distributed and controlled from ARD. I myself would like to see the Find my iPhone feature from Mobile Me brought to ARD.


Publication software - This is more a prediction than any hard evidence but all the same there is a gap in the market and Apple could fill it.  When the iPad launched the publishing world, particularly print said it could save its industry. Now it's still early day but it does have that potential and you can see those trying to make it work, but that's where it stops. Apple needs to bring a Pro App software for print publications. I think apple will be looking at something revolutionary that will receive news stories or assignments, integrate with Final Cut Serve to bring video, audio and pictures to attach to stories. Give them the ability to write stories and create ePub magazines/papers and publish to the web with just a few clicks. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw iAd integration in the output and that there was an iPad app for the journalists to send stories in. I also think Apple would create this so that lots of social media could be taken advantage of and that news hubs could be created so local newspapers could supply national newspapers or UK and US editions of magazines could share stories and articles.

I think I'll wait and see what Steve Jobs says in his speech at the World Wide Developers Conference on June 9th. 

The Stiffling Competition Comitee

It's after election day and I'm actually not going to talk about the big vote, instead I'm going to cover a personal gripe I have with the competition committee. I'll state from the off this is my view alone but its one I feel strongly about and if people can show me that my views are wrong I'm willing to accept them but this is entirely my view.

Lets start with the election, its a day of cleaning out the government we feel we don't want and bringing in one the majority of the country do want. I've watched some of the debates and there have been talks of government reform, as with every election there is a promise of reform in some areas. It was the other night though that got me thinking, as I was watching 'First Time Voters Question Time' one of the audience mentioned something that rings in my ears from other people. "We just don't make anything anymore in this country", this is in a large part true. In the UK a lot of the traditional businesses have been brought by other companies outside of the UK or gone bankrupt due to high costs compared to other parts of the world. A recent example of this is Cadbury's take over by Kraft, a company who many years ago brought Yorkshires, Terry's Chocolate and closed the production in the UK.

So what's this got to do with competition committee,  well it's mainly to do with project kangaroo. A joint group by public service broadcasters to bring together all their on demand project. Basically an online TV, the competition committee decided that this was not good for competition. So kangaroo died, it's since come back under new management as a commercial system, but is still the loan UK based portal. It no longer hosts the taken kangaroo would have but uses the same technology. So what has this decision done, first public service broadcasters now have no one stop shop for on demand content which is a big hurt for consumers used to using a single device to find multi-broadcasters at one touch button. The other problem is a raft of US owned portals heading to the UK. This shows that the committee are actually not looking at competition in a global business or in the case of consumer habits.

This is not the first of these, the competition committee often looks at things and in my opinion undertake the wrong view. The UK is part of a global economy so we must look at it as such in terms of media. There are of course UK based issues to look at competition of UK company against UK company but those words still ring true, "we don't make anything in UK any more" truth is we do but they are part of the global market like space exploration technology, computer chips, all designed and created in UK but made on mass abroad, we are part of a global competition it's time to start thinking like one.

I think it's time for a reform of the competition committee, its a government body that need to start looking at global competition for industry. Lets kick start the economy again by thinking of competition globally rather than loaclly.

Uk politics in the Media

I'm normally immersed in a world of news and tech, and surprisingly sometimes despite this I do miss the big stories of the day but the one I can't miss is the upcoming UK election. I make my political views known. I say things like, "if you don't vote you have no right to complain about anything you don't agree with the govenment is involved in".

So why am I writing politics now and why is it a big deal? The truth is the biggest shake up in political history is happening right now and the media is at the center of it all.

In the past the papers would decide which party they were backing, the sun for example supported conservative for years until it decided Tony Blair and Labor was the horse to back and supported them, and now they are trying to back conservative once again, with the hopes of persuading the voters once again.

Now for the first time ever, the three main parties have done three live TV debates, a surprise when you consider this is the norm in America. The main reason is a loss of voters, the UK has seen voters, especially the young deserting the polls.  Another reason is it's the first time that no party was clearly going to win from the beginning.The reason it hasn't happened before the party in power was certain to win  and those out of power knew it.

So with these debates now all over what can we learn? The media has really opened up democracy in the uk. The debates have given platforms for the parties and we have seen big changes in the way people want to vote. The press coverage has increased in a way I've not known and the reaction from the debates has started bringing politics into daily conversation like an Eastenders storyline.

These debates and politics in the media still need to be improved, as you can tell there's lots that has gone wrong over this debate. That could actually be a good thing, with little spin just the person laid bare has it's advantages, but on the other hand we like things to run smoothly. I'm hoping that this is the start of an ever evolving politics in the UK, too long we have stuck with the safe but flawed system. Democracy should develop with its citizens and for the first time in a while we are seeing another shake up to bring democracy into relevance of today.

I guess the only way we will tell if these changes are going to work is by the results on election night. I for one hope it's just the first step on the long road and step they'll step away from.

UK Film Marketing - needs pirates

I've had a busy few weeks and I have lots of things I want to blog about but I was relaxing in front of a film last night and a subject close I like to talk about came up. UK Film, in particular in this case the marketing.

I was watching 'the Boat that Rocked' and I realized something, despite its OK success, it's marketing was crap. The trailer just didn't sell the film in UK, I've since gone on line for this blog and found an American trailer that sold the film so much better.

This isn't the first time I've seen this, I quiet often have my head in film trailers and enjoy watching films when I can and especially British, but sometimes the trailer doesn't sell the film in the way it should. I'm first to admit there have been some dodgy UK films that had the potential to wow but didn't because people were put off by the trailer.  Recently I've seen UK cinema improve to its glory days but the marketing is just bad, its like the person who edited the trailer didn't actualy watch the film, or didn't care enough to create a trailer that sold the main idea properly.

Here are some of my favorite, trailers for good films, that didn't quiet sell the film.  Though I must admit it was the whole marketing that failed these. 

The Italian Job
Lesbian Vampire Killers
I Want Candy 

So here is what I advise to UK film industry, get better marketers this country can sell papers on a celebs latest drunk night out. They can make and break politicians with facebook updates but they we sell a film, why is that. The UK film industry needs to find a way of creating the revolution music saw in the boat that rocked, then maybe it can have it's summer of love. Pirate radio promoted music people loved, so maybe pirates are what are needed to promote cinema people love. I don't condone pirate videos but maybe its whats needed till the industry can supply what the public want.

The Print Revolution

I've been actively researching about forth coming iPad and what it could mean to the print industry for work. It occurs to me we are approaching the start of the print revolution.

We've been in the digital revolution for a while and it can be broken down into several small revolutionary movements, such as the digital music revolution.  this however could be the most pertinent as the the oldest medium of print starts its move to digital form.

You could say that it started a while ago with the launch of kindle and if you want you can say even further back with the launch of the internet. These are both good points but i think its the start of the end of print as a physical format that is the point.

I'm an Apple fan and make no excuses for that but what I think Apple are good at, are finding a digital market and pushing it to a common international standard. In terms of the forthcoming iPad they are taking the book and providing a form to read it on. The iPad isn't perfect as it doesn't yet help bring magazines, newspapers and comics to the device natively as it does with books. Thanks to the App Store this won't be much of a problem but i can't help feel an app called Newspaper stand that allows subscriptions to newspapers and Magazines in a way iBooks does is missing.

So the great thing is the future will see digital editions of our favorite print publications coming to us for a reasonable price. The down side is the past. What about old books, editions not currently in print or even ones that never will be again. Of course we could scour e-bay and old book shops but we are used to things at our fingertips. This is the problem being addressed by the Gutenberg Project and to an extent Google Books. Now both projects have their faults and their advantages. Google Books is probably the most publicized due to the copy-write back lash by authors and publishers.

Here is my proposal, all publishers agree to bring all editions of their back catalog to digital format. In response to that these digitizing projects will only digitize out of print books that, a) don't have a publisher who still exists, b) who's copy-write is out of date and c) won't be available in a digital format without these projects such as university and public libraries.

These companies can work together to bring archived material into the public domain at a lower cost to themselves and bring the print to an larger audience. Local newspaper archives would most benefit from these. I personally would like to research local newspapers without having to spend days at the library, looking through thousands of papers, when the internet takes seconds.

As I said we are on the cusp of the Print revolution but its only by bringing as much of the old print to the new format that we will truly benefit. True it will eventually kill off the print medium but its better to preserve the knowledge than loose it due to arguments over money.  Also true it will eventually kill off the library (which I'm a fan of), but this will only happen if the library doesn't evolve but the benefit is a library run at cheaper costs with more books than any one building can currently hold.

So I say embrace the change, push for digitization even if it is only to preserve the past for the future. 

Not so problamatic Project Canvas

Many months ago a number of TV broadcasters got together to help standardize the future of TV and particularly VOD/IPTV.

Lets start this story at the beginning, many years ago TV was invented, it was all live broadcasts and it was all in Black and White. Many years later colour TV was introduced and with it pre-recorded programs became common place. Then VCR's were introduced much like cassettes had been for music players and people enjoyed their favorite programes at their own leisure as repeats were few and far between. TV trundled along for many years with pay TV stations on cable and satellite being introduced and a raft of programs from around the globe on our sets.

Then the digital age hit, DVD's gave us access to more of the programs and films long since forgotten, the government forced us to switch to digital, but for once it brought benefits like more channels (though not all good but we were used to that on cable and satellite) and more opportunities to access our favorite programs from around the globe. The internet then opened up more opportunity to share those videos we couldn't get on terrestrial TV, or on DVD, or in our own country. We now had access to all those old show and new internet only material, like we'd seen happen with music online, access to the content we wanted when we wanted.

The broadcasters pushed the government to bring HD to the terrestrial mold, the government dragged their heels for years until they saw the paid TV channels were leaving everyone else behind, then almost too late for the majority of people they created a new standard that was so individual people won't actually get HD for five more years, when they upgrade hardware again.

But the another standard was launched by the internet and cable companies in the form of Video on Demand, ways people could access vast amounts of legal video (not the bootleg copies) without buying lots of DVD's. It brought digital files more inline with the music industry.

So all the terrestrial broadcasters got together and tried to make their name in Video on Demand with a project called Kangaroo. It could have saved British TV from its own sliding figures and brought high quality programs back to another screen. Alas it wasn't to be (but that's another rant) instead it became another commercial operation. These broadcasters were not beaten they knew their next stage was to bring the internet video to the TV set so they launched Project Canvas.

What we know about canvas is little, the reason being, simple politics. BBC Trust, Office of Fair Trade, Competition Committee and anyone else you can think of won't just support a format that could possible bring money to the UK, no that would be silly when American companies do so well taking it out.So the project has had to be secretive until it can get over all these hurdles, but who can blame them after Project Kangaroo was so shamelessly knock down.

What we know about Canvas:

1. It's designed for freeview, freesat, IPTV - does this mean I only need one piece of equipment for all saving me, the consumer money to spend on paid services.
2. It brings Video on Demand to TV - meaning I can never miss a show, plus there will at last be something good on as older shows should be available, increasing my enjoyment and their life span. 
3. All the major terrestrial players are involved - great, at least I know it will work.
4. It will be up datable software- sorry up datable you mean I get new services without paying for new equipment, its too good to be true.

This all sounds good, if I can access all these services in one place and it can grow, then I can access paid content too I'm whatching TV how it should be right? Wrong.

While canvas will bring everything to a standard that will update and improve regularly over time, and whilst it will straighten out the random manufacture specific interfaces not everyone is happy. Mainly cable and satellite companies.

So lets ask why, satellite doesn't like it. Satellite doesn't like doing anything unless a) its profitable or b) it prevents others gaining on their market. Well I say wake up, this is an opportunity for you to help mold something very successful, that could increase your profitability and what have you got to loose, err stubbornness. Your a company who could make international profit from this by taking it out of the UK and making it a global standard, you could also make all your brands accessible to all countries, again being a profitable trend setter whilst saving you money.

With cable companies why are they moaning its mainly due to them making a new interface with Tivo. Lets be honest we hate Tivo in the UK, it never took off and I hate to say it, but it might never do again.  I'm a big fan of cable TV as they introduced me to Video on Demand and through friends, many weird and wonderful shows and guess what? I paid for content because of it. But you've been slow on moving on, you brought video on demand to the masses but never continued to push up with it, you brought forth HD, but now your only thinking about pushing it to viewers properly. You needed to do more sooner, your behind the times and loosing because of it.Canvas could help you catch up and push you forward quicker and cheaper.

So both of you just stop bloody moaning your the heavy waits in comparison and as we all know there is safety and more affect in numbers so how can you blame the project canvas group. Quit getting defensive and look at the possibility of joining the ranks of project canvas, if I could buy a box that meant just popping in cables and viewing cards to watch premium content then I'd be first to do it but I'm sure I wouldn't be the last. And if it was a familiar interface it just makes it easier for me to access it all.

I'm sure I'll talk more about project canvas in the future and I'm sure there will be things I will hate about it, but anything that will help me access more of the programs I love on my TV can only be a positive. Particularly if those are programs from long ago, rare or ones I've not seen since broadcast.

So bring on project canvas.

Media and Employment

So it's been a while since my first post, mostly as I've been swamped but also that I've been on a little vacation with some old school chums. 

Before I even went away I started thinking about what I wanted to blogg about and I've got a little list of things to write about but today I've sat reading a newspaper, I know its old fashioned but there is something still compelling about a good written article.

Within the first few pages there were the UK's current unemployment figures, tallies on types of unemployment and benefits. This got thinking back to my time unemployed straight out of Uni and my struggle finding work, fast forward and though employed I still have the same problems looking for work as I did back then.

Let's look at the problems:

1. You need training for well paid jobs.
2. If you have qualifications the job centre would rather put you in any job short term than find you a viable long term job. 
3. You don't get proper help with job hunting unless your unemployed for three months, by which point those employing see you as unemployable.
4. You can loose benefits within six weeks if you don't work the system, yet you can't look for jobs without spending money.
5. Too many places to look as no employer can target more than one employment database.
6. Every one wants CV information but not necessary in CV form.
7. Fill out an electronic application form or a site for applying that doesn't work in the way its supposed to. Making it even more difficult to fill out professionally unless you have an IT degree.
8. Showing your skills on paper for a job you could easily do doesn't work as well as you doing a trial for the job. I know so may people who lost out due to interviews where the ones who got the job we're crap actually doing the job.
9. Your told to apply for ten jobs a day as for every ten jobs you apply for you get one interview, for every ten interviews you get a job offer, but it takes at least a day, possibly more to fill out a good job application.

All of this is even before you get a interview.

I myself have a website, CV, online profiles on site like LinkedIn, many subscriptions to job site, logins to company job site. In fact so many I can't keep track and i always rediscover ones I've signed up to in the past.

So in a world where media and online can get you any information is it so dam hard to apply for a job.

My very first job I walked into the shop in a tracksuit and got the job, the next one I was recommended by a neighbor, the one after that I covered sick leave and they created a job for me.

Is it me or is it crazy that the Job Center doesn't list jobs from every site or at least help those with the skills find the jobs, even crazier there isn't a computer standard, like there is for creating calendars, for job applications that will fill in all the CV info and just leave you to the important questions about the job.

Media should be making job hunting easier but its the opposite as employers spy via facebook and put up pdf applications that you have to print off, but still put an email address on the application. The employers should be finding me not the other way round.

I don't care if someone had an affair it doesn't stop them doing their job unless they are a marriage councilor, so why spy on people via facebook, it doesn't show how professional they are. If you give me an email address for a job application I expect it to be easy to fill out that application, not take me a couple of days to fill it out, just for you to throw it away without giving me an interview. Come on job descriptions are crap anyway, no one does what's in their job description. They always do more or they have had it so long they do a different job completely. 

I know I'm moaning but I want to pose one last question before my next blogg.

How is it I can travel away with friends, half way round the would, and I'm able to get some paperwork emailed to me and printed off for my friends from one sixty second phone call, but it takes me days to fill out job applications with the same information that's on my CV and a dozen other job sites?

Politics vs BBC

I've been spending most of my time today reading about BBC cuts. As with any license fee payer I want to get the most out of my BBC license fee. In the majority of cases I think I do. Like everyone there is a program that I'm not a fan of (total wipeout & hole in the wall) that just aren't must see TV for me but I can see the majority of people enjoying them.

What annoys me is the politics that are trying to kill what is clearly one of the best broadcasters in the world.

For example here are just a few:

BBC cuts 6 Music & Asian - well Tories are saying they should be cut back.
BBC Trust delaying Project Canvas review - Well the government put them there because BBC didn't do them.
BBC Worldwide could be sold the government to cover banking debt - rubbish BBC worldwide is corporate arm that keeps our license fee low and its not owned by the government.
BBC Three should be cut - Written by a Tory backed review, oh hang on if you cut that what is the alternative for over 12 year olds (age cbbc ends programs for, again due to government pressure) till you reach an age appropriate for watching other shows, oh well suppose its teenage sex and drinking again.

Notice a Pattern.
Do you see the problem if your big and successful like the BBC you should be cut back. I'm not implying the BBC is perfect it is just competitive in the broadcast industry. But political groups pull your heads out of your arse's and come into the real world. Your cutting things or forcing things in place that stunt this countries growth and more importantly the industries the BBC is part of. Want proof lets how about this.

BBC cuts 6 Music & Asian - Brings new music to people increasing record companies profits and supplying audience to a £3billion entertainment economy in UK. Also covers equality and anti racism by supplying a cultural knowledge to a large part of our UK residents, hang on isn't that a government policy to tackle racism and prejudice in the UK.

BBC Trust delaying Project Canvas review - why, it could be creating the UK version of Google. Again a government policy to bring technical innovation and a UK version of silicone valley to the UK.

BBC Worldwide could be sold the government to cover banking debt - Why, we didn't look after the banks that was the governments job. And if you do sell BBC worldwide does that mean you could sell my house, cause you don't own that either, also my license fee will treble to cover the cost. I get we need to make back the debt but isn't innovation and proper financing the way to go. Last time politicians sold things we ended up with major job losses oh and a poorer public transport system than in the first place.

BBC Three should be cut - it's aimed at the young, your not it, it aims to create innovation and new program forms by experimenting. Again political promises of innovation and opportunities for the young If you cut their TV channels no wounder they won't vote.

So to all politicians and to everyone who wants to attack the BBC. Get a life do something positive to improve the UK, not destroy it.