Happy Friday!
Welcome to Rerun, your weekly round-up of the most interesting news stories from the future of video, VR and TV, curated by Axonista.
This week we're ever so fascinated by the marvellous Dog TV. No, not dogs being cute, funny and generally dog like, but, a channel curated for your pet pooch's enjoyment. We especially love the customer reviews. 🐶
Lots to chew over this week from YouTube, Google AR, Netflix hack days and more!
Let's get to it!
Top Pick
How YouTube perfected the feed
This is a fascinating read on the various successes and failures that YouTube has had on its journey from being a search-first website to becoming a content-first destination. With all the approaches they tried, both logical and left-of-field, the one that really moved the needle was a change to how they recommend content:
Instead of basing its algorithmic recommendations on how many people had clicked a video, YouTube would instead base them on how long people had spent watching it. Nearly overnight, creators who had profited from misleading headlines and thumbnails saw their view counts plummet. Higher-quality videos, which are strongly associated with longer watch times, surged. Watch time on YouTube grew 50 percent a year for the next three years.
Features
Cortana, 'Open Alexa,’ Amazon says. And Microsoft agrees.
In a behind a scenes partnership, Amazon and Microsoft have been coordinating to make Alexa and Cortana communicate with each other. The aim is to allow people to summon Cortana using Alexa, and vice versa, by year end.
Both Amazon and Mircosoft realise that each voice assistant has unique strengths that could benefit the other assistants. For example Cortana has a superior integration with Outlook, while Alexa had an advanced integrations with Amazon.com.
At Rerun, we wonder what this relationship could mean for video, and in particular content discovery. In a recent interview with the CNET, Daniel Rausch, Amazon's vice president of smart home details
There certainly increasingly looks like an endless list of things that customers will use voice to do. And I think we certainly, because we see that world of possibilities, are applying ourselves intensely to it.
In our view, it's a case of figuring out what users want from voice and video.
Future of TV
Apple TV 4K movies could cost $20, but studios want more
Apple may announce a 4K Apple TV box at their upcoming event, which takes place on the 12th September.
Along with a 4K Apple TV comes the opportunity to sell ultra HD films.
If Apple is to beat existing competitors like Vudu, it needs to launch the offering at a compelling price. Movie studios think this is a missed revenue opportunity.
How Netflix hacks: behind the scenes at the streaming giant’s Hack Day
At our day jobs at Axonista HQ we have our own version of Netflix's Hack Day, except on Lab Day, we wear lab coats to aid our experimental minds!
In this behind the scene snapshot of Netflix's own experimental day, we enjoyed hearing about their own outlandish hacks. 'Subtitle Reactions' parsed closed captions to figure what was going on in any given movie or TV show episode and displayed reaction GIFs on screen. A Netflix vending machine, which could be used to top up Netflix accounts with cash in public places. And finally, 'Spookyflix' which promised to bring 'fright and delight' to the Netflix app by animating the faces of key show characters.
While some of these ideas might seem crazy, this rapid prototyping encourages teams to innovate, research and create aspirational ideas, that could become the next big thing.
Check out a behind the scenes of one of own Lab Days here
Interactive Media
Apple shows off new AR apps just as Google launches ARCore
The world of augmented reality (AR) continues to expand. This summer we heard about Apple's ARKit, and have had a lot of fun seeing what AR makers are thinking up. Whether whacky ideas that make us laugh, or handy tools we never knew we needed, the possibilities are endless.
Well, Google has now thrown its hat in the ring with the announcement of ARCore. Google's Tango AR platform has been out for some time now, but this announcement opens new opportunities for brands and makers to reach huge audiences. Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy 8 smart phones already come with the built in AR platform. By this winter over 100 million phones will be running these new AR apps.
YouTube’s big makeover continues with redesigned mobile app, new logo and more
Earlier this week we got to see YouTube's new platform redesign as the update exited the beta stage. YouTube have used Google's design language, 'Material Design' to great affect. The website now has a cleaner look-and-feel, as every change seems to be an effort to highlight the content.
Features such as an adaptive video player that can adjust to display vertical video. Adding extra playback controls including new mobile gestures. Or the option to switch to dark mode are efforts to enhance viewing pleasure. They also revealed a slight change to their long-standing logo. Which gives them more flexibility across devices of varying screen sizes.
The VR dating show makes me want to never date again
We found out Facebook was planning to finance shows for its new "Watch" tab a few weeks ago. At Rerun, none of us imagined this is what they had in mind. Each episode is a new blind date between two strangers, but their date happens inside VR. We can't imagine a less inspiring application of VR technology. And it's so cringe worthy, it should carry a public health warning.