socialtv
Latest
Dish Social app brings Twitter, Facebook to Hopper DVRs
Dish is a little late to the social television party, but it has finally arrived with the aptly (if not creatively) named Social app. The app, available on Hopper DVRs, shows personal Facebook, Twitter or Now Watching feeds -- which displays tweets relevant to the show and channel being viewed -- in a right rail alongside the video window. Social also enables full tweeting functionality and the ability to post Facebook status updates to up to four accounts for either social network. Lastly, the app delivers data about the amount of Twitter action related to the program being watched, such as the number of tweets in the past hour and where those tweets are coming from. Not bad, eh? All you Dish customers no longer need a second screen to spew forth your digital vitriol the next time David Benioff and D.B. Weiss kill off your favorite resident of Westeros.
Myriad Social TV brings social networking to your cable box (hands-on video)
The marriage of social networking and television is nothing new, but Myriad recently launched Social TV, a white label solution which allows TV service providers to roll out their own custom social networking platform on your cable box. It complements services like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ by offering a more contextual way for viewers to interact with their friends while watching TV. Social TV provides an integrated HTML5 experience that's consistent across both television and companion devices (phones and tablets). Viewers can chose between receiving alerts on their TVs, mobile devices or both and can create show- or series-specific virtual communities that automatically expire when the program ends. The system is even mindful of time zones and time-shifts messages to prevent spoilers. More after the break. %Gallery-183426%
Twitter snaps up Bluefin Labs to develop new TV experiences, ad opportunities
It's no secret that Twitter's interested in TV, but now it's made its commitment even firmer. Costolo and Co. have just revealed their acquisition of Bluefin Labs, a firm that serves up stats to the likes of TV Networks and advertisers regarding talk about TV on social networks. Twitter says the acquisition will build onto its deal with Nielsen to develop social TV ratings, and that it will also help them create "innovative new ad products." Sure, Twitter hopes the purchase will make it some additional scratch through more ad opportunities, but it also plans to whip up experiences for users that combine its social network with watching TV. If you don't already chat about television shows on Twitter, expect the folks in San Francisco to encourage you to do so shortly.
ConnecTV officially launches, gives you more ways to bug your buddies
We went hands-on with the ConnecTV app while it was in open beta earlier this year. Now the social TV app is officially, uh, official -- launching nationwide with backing from television's old guard. Although ConnecTV doesn't double as a remote a la Dijit or BuddyTV, it does play nice with Facebook and Twitter, allowing users to socially rave about Alton Brown's cherry couscous pudding or razz followers of a rival team while watching a game on TV. ConnecTV says the app also syncs with content from Apple TV, Boxee, Hulu, Netflix and Roku from the past seven days. Do note that "nationwide" currently means integrated content from 85 local stations across the US' top 40 TV markets. ConnecTV also plans to expand that number to 215 stations. The app is available for free for PC browsers and the Apple iPad, with iPhone and Android smartphone and tablet versions set for release within the next 45 days. For more details, feel free to dip your toes into the celebratory PR after the break.
ConnecTV social companion beta launches for iPad, PC and Mac (hands-on)
The old guard's attempt at a social TV companion just got real with the launch of ConnecTV in open beta for iPad, PC and Mac -- smartphones and Android tablet versions are coming soon. The idea is you'll load up this app while watching TV and find a whole new way to discover details of your favorite content while at the same time share with your friends. The app uses a mic to detect what you're watching just like IntoNow and links up with both Facebook or Twitter (it'll also work on its own). Overall we were underwhelmed and quickly realizing that the other startups are way ahead in both release date and functionality. For starters, there are plenty of channels missing and not a single channel number. You can't even search for your favorite shows or channels. But even when it did manage to figure out what we were watching, we felt like we were being forced fed useless data like trivia and ads rather than having useful information like actors or players names at our finger tips. There's no doubt in our mind that the app was designed more to make us discover certain content rather than discover shows based on our actual tastes. Then again, this is the first version out of the gate, and there's no reason to believe this isn't just the first step of many on the way to ConnecTV's vision of how we should enjoy our favorite shows.
Panasonic's new Social TV app puts Twitter and Facebook next to your TV shows
Panasonic's Viera TVs have included social apps for a while, but its latest upgrade brings an integrated Social TV app designed to let viewers access Twitter and Facebook streams without totally covering up the action. Also new? A gaming app from PlayJam and a Bollywood movie channel, BigFlix. If you still need a reason to log in, a tie-in with Gameloft will let users download three games including Asphalt5 for free. Check after the break for a couple more screens and the press release -- we'll be over here live tweeting the Kardashian divorce with E! on if you need us.
Motorola's SocialTV app will turn your Xoom or Atrix into a communicative couch companion
Whether you look at stats or your own limitless experience, you know very well that humanity spends too much time staring at tubes, screens, and other unnatural visualizers. Motorola isn't really here to fix that ailment, but at least it's converging the uses of some of those device classes with its introduction of a SocialTV Companion Service. Designed to turn your smartphone, tablet or laptop into a, you guessed it, TV companion device, this new software serves up social networking, complimentary content, real-time chat, TV show ratings, and interactive (as opposed to what, non-interactive?) games. Basically, since you spend your TV-watching time idly browsing away on your Xoom anyway, why not fuse the two things together and "generate some incremental revenue" for your service provider in the process? We presume the new SocialTV stuff will be rolled out in app form, Moto doesn't dish up those details or give us a launch date. If only we had an app to tell us when to expect new apps to arrive.
Motorola exec struts Medios TV guide platform capabilities in IBC video
After seeing Motorola's sweet-looking NYXboard QWERTY remote last week, we were itching to know if the hardware was part of a bigger plan. A new video featuring exec Malcolm Latham now answers that question, highlighting several key features in the company's Medios TV guide platform. We've known that at its core the HTML-based software was created to provide a similar viewing experience across phones, TVs, and computers, but more meaty bits like cross-platform bookmarking, a content recommendation engine, and so-called "Social TV" have been revealed. We're certainly all for our devices playing together nicely and new content suggestions, but Social TV has us a bit skeptical. The idea is similar to any instant message client in that it allows your friends to know when you're on Medios and then view what exactly you're watching. Sure, there might be some value in it -- Ping is betting that's true with music, -- but the potential for getting caught watching Gossip Girl is a serious deterrent. What's worse is that your friends can then rag you about it via chat right on the screen using their handy NYXboard remote. To see where we're coming, from check out the video after the break.
