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Media giants invest $1 billion in former Dreamworks exec’s ‘NewTV’
Former Dreamworks executive Jeffrey Katzenberg first touted his video startup idea, NewTV, a year ago, citing ambitious plans to secure as much as $2 billion in funding to get the idea off the ground. Just over 12 months later and he's halfway there, with the company confirming it's closed on a billion in a new funding round, thanks to heavyweight investors such as Disney, 21st Century Fox and Warner Bros.
Former Dreamworks exec's 'New TV' pitch: 10 minute episodes
Over the years Jeffrey Katzenberg has gotten behind ideas big (Dreamworks 3D animated movies) and small (AwesomenessTV, an online video company backed by Dreamworks and Engadget parent company Verizon), but his next idea combines the two. As profiled by a Variety feature story, the idea for "New TV" (working title), appears to be: put Hollywood budgets behind short-form videos ready to be digested in 10 minutes-or-less chunks. The kind of money we're talking about is $125,000 per minute, more than 10x what's usually spent on mobile. While Katzenberg's own firm is incubating the idea, he's apparently looking to secure as much as $2 billion in funding to get the idea off of the ground. Everything's still up in the air (maybe these videos are intended for mobile, maybe VR, maybe some other new catchy thing), but so far it's mostly talk. Of course, with the executive's track record, it's possible the talk will turn into something real, soon.
A checklist for buying your first HDTV
'Round these parts, we expect most everywhere to own, or at least be familiar with, an HDTV. Still, there's a first time for everyone, and for folks just now looking to hop on in and see what this whole "high-definition" thing is all about, ExtremeTech's Joel Durham Jr. has a quick 'n dirty guide of things to do before tossing a set in your vehicle. Granted, a few of the tips seem glaringly obvious, but really, buying a new (or first, in particular) HDTV isn't always a simple process. What's your size requirement? What's your budget? What technology do you prefer? Do you have the wiring scheme all planned out? Can you afford to pull another all-nighter? If you've been wondering where to start when thinking of bringing a new set into your crib, you should definitely give the read link a look -- at worse, you can say you're a seasoned veteran for already knowing the dos and don'ts.[Image courtesy of Radioru, thanks Jeremy]
Three hours to get an LCD TV up and running?
We sincerely hope that this tale is more the exception than the rule, but poor LeendaDLL managed to burn through three solid hours when firing up a new LCD TV. Granted, we understand that tweaking the picture, running wires and tweaking further takes a good chunk of time, but it just shouldn't take the average joe / jane this long to get a new TV up and running. After reading this horrific story, we began to wonder if this experience is, well, experienced by more people than we might have assumed. Heck, we already found that millions of individuals didn't fully understand how to acquire HD signals on their HDTV after snapping one up last Christmas, and we've even seen companies dedicate help lines just to ease the confusion surrounding HDTV. So, dear readers, how many of you have been called in to set up a new TV after hours upon hours of failed attempts by its new owner?[Image courtesy of APS]
