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Yahoo's IntoNow TV companion app for iOS adds screen grab, music recognition and chat features
At CES 2012 we were promised that Yahoo would integrate IntoNow's SoundPrint technology with its backend to pull up useful extra content about whatever TV program was being watched and now it's delivered that and more. IntoNow 3.0 for iOS (no upgrade yet for the Android version) enhances the app's TV companion experience in three key ways: TV / Music Sync, "CapIt" screengrabbing and finally Group Chat. The TV and music sync brings not only the associated info we'd heard about before, but also brings Shazam-style information about any music that might be playing. CapIt can pull screenshots from the cloud of any of the TV shows IntoNow's backend is monitoring, which adds up to about 13 million frames a day, then pops them up ready for meme creation and sharing. Group Chat does exactly what it sounds like, and lets you talk to friends or set up circles of fans around particular shows. We gave the app a try and found it worked as advertised, quickly identifying what was playing whether live or on DVR and popping up episode info, cast listings and Wikipedia links. The CapIt feature (shown above) pulls frames with surprising speed and ease, even on live broadcasts, and allows users to scroll backwards or refresh for new freezes to grab just the right one. It doesn't monitor what you're watching live, but punching the green TV icon in the upper left corner causes it to sync right away, which also creates an entry of what was being watched and when.
Yahoo buys TV companion app developer IntoNow and its database of sounds
Earlier this year IntoNow launched its iPhone app that could identify what TV show you were watching by the audio Shazam-style and then share it with others over Facebook or Twitter, pull in additional information, or add the DVD to your Netflix queue. Now, Yahoo has purchased the company and according to the press release (after the break) wants to integrate its SoundPrint tech with its existing services including the Connected TV platform. As NewTeeVee suggests, this could tie-in nicely with its existing plans to use audio watermarks to identify advertisements and display additional info on screen or work with a companion app, both of which it demonstrated at CES. That database of sounds reportedly stretches back over five years and is continually being updated, which could give a major lift to Yahoo over other smart TV platforms that goes far beyond just check-ins and badges.
IntoNow app can tell what show you're watching, won't knock your Glee addiction (video)
If you've ever used an app like Shazam to detect a song playing on the radio you're a long way toward knowing what the new IntoNow app can do. With just a few seconds of audio it can detect what you're watching, give you plenty of information about that content, then let you add it to your Netflix queue. You can go on to share what you're watching upon a plethora of social networks, even see what your friends are watching. It relies on a platform called SoundPrint, an accumulation of 266 years worth of content that is constantly growing, constantly indexing 130 channels in real-time. (Think of the punditry!) Check it out in the video below or just give it a download from the App Store. Right now it is iOS only, but we're told Android and other flavors are on the way.
