Deep Dive
Fiona Carswell
DAVE TV
http://dave.tv/
WHAT IS IT?
DAVE stands for "Distributed Audio Video Entertainment"
It's a social broadcast network that calls itself a "Cross-Platform Digital Content Ecosystem".
It uses Internet Protocol (IP) to deliver digital media to TVs, computers, home and mobile entertainment devices.
It offers advertising engine, streaming services, media servers and storage
WHO USES IT?
Producers:
DaveTV makes it easier to get content to different devices because it encodes for multiple platforms. Also content is protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Advertisers:
DaveTV knows exactly who is watching based on user profiles and has an 'advertising insertion engine' which inserts ads based on those profiles. Also, it allows video insertions, banner ads, interactive campaigns (design a fashion video for Barbie, etc), tools to monitor rate of return, relevant advertising.
Consumers:
Viewers can choose to access it for free (with ads), to rent, subscribe, or buy. Local content can be watched globally.
HOW IT WORKS WITH THE TV:
- "Dave Media Center" - allows you to download everything without needing a browser open.
- XPORT box = has USB port for portable player download/upload, printers. Can connect to network wirelessly. Allows streaming video. Over $200. 200 hrs of programming storage.
- Need Windows to view it.
PROCESS OF MAKING A CHANNEL:
- sign up
- upload videos (MUCH easier than brightcove, don't require designing layout, just upload video - supports AVI, FLV, MP4, WMV)
- you can start a channel with both Mac and PC (but can only view through TV with Windows)
- file transfer application which allows for some extra uploading ease but you don't need to download it
- also has a player (like Brightcove) called MyChannels player that allows you to put it in other websites
EXTRAS:
- Allows you to make video playlists
- You can have your own blog and it supports mobile blogging
- You can add other members to your 'friends' group
- earn 'points' to win prizes (LCD tv, camcorder, etc): sign up = 1000 pts, post video = 50 pts, rate/comment a video or your video is played = 1 pt.
MY EXPERIENCE:
Less than 24 hrs after I started a channel (called "DeepDive Channel"):
they listed it under 'new channels' section.
It had been viewed 18 times, accrued 1082 points, and I already had an anonymous message from another member.
Within 24 hrs, when i searched for my tags, my video came up.
I was really impressed with how fast my channel became accessible to everyone, how many people had viewed it, and also how easy it was to search for it. In addition, DaveTV also has a 'random spotlight' section, and 'featured videos' section, so it allows a kind of random popularity which could boost my viewings in the future.
I also liked that other members could make private critiques of your channel, even though someone said they didn't think much of my channel.
Before i posted i noticed that the videos where the thumbnails seemed sexually suggestive had a much higher number of views (which is why I said I was a guy in my profile). In fact, when I was browsing videos I didn't really see anything that was very interesting content-wise. The videos mostly looked like home-videos.
A GOOD FOUNDATION BUT NOT THERE YET:
Pros include:
* good content accessibility even though layout is a little overwhelming
- a lot of useful features
- a good rating system
- ease of use for non-technical people
Cons include:
* the price of the XPORT
- the point system which seems like it would push people towards posting anything, including boring home videos, since they gain a lot of points just for posting.
FUTURE OF DAVE TV:
CEO and founder Rex Wong wants to use AdSense on the video content: basically audio keyword recognition that allows on-the-fly advertisements to be inserted into videos. Maybe a clickable logo in the corner.
Wong is also creating partnerships with video-editing companies to start contests to improve amateur video (e.g. let user insert themselves into the American Idol set).
Ad-supported content will be pre-screened by "offshore teams in the Phillippines" set up just to watch TV (this seems like a joke, but it's not).
REFERENCES:
http://business2.blogs.com/business2blog/2006/04/startup_watch_d.html
http://startups.gigaom.com/2006/04/25/davetv-adsense-for-video/
http://dave.tv/Default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdSense
