The distribution and consumption of films has seismically changed over the last couple of years with new products or services coming to market nearly every month with their next exciting offering.

As we know, it started with iTunes and YouTube changing the way we bought or rented and then watched films, either being downloaded or streamed directly to computers and laptops. With the advent of faster home broadband and playback technology becoming ubiquitous, the market became busier with Netflix, LoveFilm, Google Play and Apple TV streaming films on-demand directly to TVs, games consoles or mobile devices. The market has carried on increasing with new services focused on apps for Smart TVs or mobile apps including ACE-Trax, Ultra-Violet, Hulu Plus and Vudu.

Similarly UK broadcasters have produced apps allowing their content to be watched directly on smartphones and tablets. BBC iPlayer app allows for both on-demand as well as downloadable content, along with Sky Go, Channel 4’s 4OD and Channel 5’s Demand 5 apps. Sky’s memberships allows for 2 mobile devices to be associated with 1 membership. Interestingly Sky and Channel 4 do not allow you to attach the mobile device to a TV to watch the content on the app. For Sky this of course stops the device becoming an alternative set up box but there is a lot of noise on their forums from their customers wanting to change this restriction.

With the growth of digital technology, existing film distribution practices are under review. Cinemas are undergoing a massive process of digitisation. Broadcasting services have evolved as a result of several technological developments: the switchover to digital, IPTV and the advent of over the top audiovisual services and internet connected TV enable consumers to access more and more non-linear services.

In addition, developments in consumer equipment have enabled people to access and create content anywhere anytime using mobile devices (tablets, laptops, smartphones).

In this complex and increasingly competitive landscape, content formats will be expected to evolve as well as the models of distribution. But the content filling these new channels is all very similar, mostly US Hollywood movies alongside a scattering of mainstream UK and non English language films. The most adventurous films you will currently find will be Berberian Sound Studio or 360. But what if we want more than a diet of these movies?

A new and exciting player to the landscape comes from the art-house cinema chain Curzon with their Curzon On-Demand service. Curzon On-Demand is on the web and digital platforms including Samsung’s SmartTV, with selected films on The Guardian’s digital platforms. Curzon On Demand presents ‘high-quality films’ on digital platforms for customers to watch when and where they want to, aiming to offer a true Home Cinema experience. Customers can see the same film programme they could experience in a public cinema, at the same time. Curzon On-Demand’s new releases are augmented by complementary titles from the same director and/or featuring the same actors or themes or genres, as well as Q&As with the actors and directors.

I have greedily used this new service and although I have experienced some user experience and technical problems, overall it has been a fantastic new film experience for my household. What is great is that I can watch some of the same films that Curzon have on public release without stepping out into the snow and cold as well as access to library to some of Europe’s best films. Issues that do need addressing include, you cannot watch films at HD quality, which is a slight contradiction because of the investment to put into digitalising cinemas, and some films have a playback issue with some of them returning to the beginning when you are well into the film.

Curzon On-Demand has been supported with a grant of €400,000 from MEDIA Programme Video on Demand & Digital Cinema Distribution fund. The fund’s main objective is to support the creation and exploitation of catalogues of European works to be distributed digitally across borders to a wider audience and/or to cinema exhibitors through advanced distribution services, integrating where necessary digital security systems in order to protect online content.

Other projects they have been funded by Video on Demand & Digital Cinema Distribution fund are medici.tv (on-demand classical music), filmin (dedicated to Spanish films) and EuroVoD is a European federation of Video on Demand platforms (specialising in independent cinema).

The future of the distribution and consumption of films at home will carry on radically changing, and we’ll be in the audience.

The latest craze to hit the iTunes App store are drawing games. The premise is simple, draw an object selected for you by the game, and see if other real-life players can guess what the object is. The principle sounds simple and it is. The concept however doesn’t sound like a tear-away success, but with one drawing game currently the no.1 App in over 80 countries, it is!

The concept perfectly utilises the power of the accurate touch-screen displays of iPads and iPhone, and the ease of fingertip drawing. Offering the results for judgement by real human beings is a great buzz. It is both exiting to see if others can make heads or tails of your masterpiece and to try and decipher other users creations. A great mix between the virtual and real.

There are now two clear leaders of the drawing game App market. Depict by Makeshift Games and Draw Something by OMGPOP.

Having played both, we here at ditto are fans of Depict. It’s clearly the winner for us because it offers quick gameplay and a great GUI. Depict is fast paced and exciting, 4 players play at once in a real time turn based rounds. The users are given a multiple choice answer too so deciphering is a little easier. An addictive game for all ages.

Depict is currently 69p in the UK iTunes App Store.

ditto recommends!

Last week, a teasing invite dropped into inboxes around the world from the technological superpower, Apple. “We have something you really have to see. And touch.” This sparked the now normal furious Internet debate over what product would be launched, and of course, it was the new iPad.

Yesterday, in San Fransisco, Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook showed off the new iPad to the world. Not a complete revolution of the existing iPad 2, the new iPad (yes that’s what its called!) boasts an improved screen – 3.1 million pixels. That’s higher than an HD television. The new display is reported to offer such clarity that images appear to be painted on the glass.

MG Siegler, a columnist for TechCrunch reports:

“It’s one of those things where it may be a little hard to tell at first because the images on the screen are the same. But when you look closer, you get it. And you’ll never be able to use a non-Retina iPad again. The new iPad display makes everything look like a printed photograph. By comparison, the old iPad display makes everything look as if I’ve taken my glasses off. Blurry.”

The display is now coupled to a faster quad-core processor to deal with the sharper graphics and rendering, the A5X. The iPad 2 never seemed slow to us. So it will be up to new Apps to test the RAM and processing.

The camera, however, demands higher praise. This now offers 5 megapixels and uses the same lens technology of the iPhone 4S. This is a huge improvement over the iPad 2.

The unit itself is a little thicker but overall much cleverer. Apple have sold over 40 million iPads and IMS Research predicts the new Pad will increase Apple’s share of the tablet market from 62 per cent in 2011 to 70 per cent in 2012. ditto will certainly be adding to this.

When the iPhone 4S was released last year many were impressed with Siri, the intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator that is now one of the major differences between the iPhone 4 and 4S. With its witty responses and clever comebacks, Siri initially received great praise. However as time has passed the cracks have begun to show and Siri now has major competition from Evi, an app for all iPhones and Androids costing as little as 69p from the app store. Unlike Siri, it is apparently substantially better at dealing with regional accents and works on the iPad. Almost 200,000 Apple iPhone users have downloaded Evi since its release date on 23^rd January. Even though Evi was approved by Apple, the terms & conditions of the App store do state any apps that emerge in the market that are considerably similar to an existing Apple app must be removed. Evi has begun to concern Apple, so much so that Apple has given Evi a certain amount of time to change the look or they will pull Evi from the app store. It is believed by some that Apple’s main concern is that Evi is in fact too good.

Siri is an American based company, and for that reason US iPhone 4S users would find Siri more suitable than UK users. Despite this, due to the struggle Siri has faced in the UK with regional accents, True Knowledge, the natural search engine behind Evi have provided UK users with a more substantial personal assistant service.

Having tried both Siri and Evi I have found neither really answers my questions how I would have hoped. When asking for cinema times at VUE Westfields, neither Siri nor Evi are able to give me an answer. If I ask “do I need an umbrella today?” Siri replied “There’s no rain in the forecast for today,” and then gave me the full days weather forecast hour by hour. Evi was very similar and said, “ The weather where you are is black clouds with a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius, and later it will be white clouds.” It then gave the full days forecast for every 3 hours. Even though they both gave me the answer it did take more than 1 go for the voice recognition to understand exactly what I was saying. Let’s just say if I wanted to find out the weather forecast I wouldn’t waste me time with either Siri or Evi and just use good old-fashioned Google.

Almost 25 billion downloads. That is the epic number of App downloads since the launch of the Apple App Store in June 2008.

Apps are being downloaded by the 100s every second. This represents Apple’s domination of the handheld device market and the success of its App Store framework. Users must enter payment details on registering for an iTunes account, vital for users of Apple devices. This process embeds the ease of use of the store from the outset. At a click, users can download Apps, free or paid, with most loaded and ready to open in a few minutes. This accessibility coupled with the Apps integration with the device creates a secure and comfortable environment for spending, as the figures show, with an estimated $3.6 billion dollars revenue in 2011.

One of the standout successes of the App Store is the game, Angry Birds. The hit game by Rovio, a small Finnish company, is an unlikely pop-culture craze, demonstrating that anyone with coding skills, an idea, and good characters can launch a product that catches on without spending millions for marketing. In 2011 it topped the charts in its free, paid and iPad variants:

Most Downloaded Free App

Facebook

Top Selling Paid App

Angry Birds

Top Grossing App

Tap Zoo

Angry Birds success is perhaps based on two elements. Accessibility and time.

Users can understand the concept instantly and the learning curve is as short as catapulting the first bird. It is engaging for children and adults alike, with universal satisfaction. There are no long-winded intros or stories to distract from the action: pigs and birds are what you get! As for time, a single round of the game can satisfy, and while away less than a minute. However, for those seeking further challenge, hours can be spent tossing the birds in ever more complex structures.

We can learn from this simple application’s success. Consumers want something instantly engaging and easy to use. The tactile action of touch screens can allow complex controls to be simplified into a finger swipe, and understanding the concept is simple. Mastering it, however, is where the application’s persistent appeal lies. Keep it simple and keep it easy.

Mark Zuckerburg and fellow students from Harvard University started Facebook in 2004. It is currently privately owned by Facebook Inc. and most of its revenue comes from advertising.

However it has been announced this week that Facebook is going public, which is said to be the biggest Internet IPO ever. According to the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal the company plans to file papers as soon as Wednesday.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sheryl Sandberg told CNBC  “job growth and social change will be the most important aspect of Facebook going Public. Facebook is just 7 years old and has created more that 450,000 jobs in Europe and the US,” many of these jobs are creating apps for the social network.  However the latest study actually shows that only 53,000 jobs have been created for building apps for Facebook, and 182,000 jobs in the supported app economy.

The Initial public offering could raise as much as $10billiion, which would make Facebook’s value between $75 and $100billion. Mark Zuckerburg is likely to be worth $24 billion when Facebook starts selling shares to the public.

Facebook has often come under fire for invading our privacy, and with the new launch of the timeline on Facebook even more people are less than happy with the latest setting of sharing all our information being the default. However surely the billion users that Facebook is set to have by the summer of 2012 are on Facebook to share their information anyway. There is nothing stopping anyone from deactivating his or her account or simply customising the setting. Lately it has emerged that the FBI is looking to develop a web app that will monitor social networks like Facebook. Has it all got a bit 1984? Is everyone being watched? Perhaps it just mass paranoia – but remember, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

Over 200 million Apps were downloaded over the Christmas period from the iTunes store. Apple’s 12 days of Christmas promotion and time spent at home would have surely boosted sales. However, if you were anything like my family, Apps were being gifted.

In the iTunes store, you can gift an App very easily. The recipient receives a code which can be redeemed in the iTunes store through their device.

My Mum received a few Word Search and Crossword Apps. These are ideal for her iPad, which offers an intuitive interactive interface for the Word Search and some nice backgrounds and sound effects. The Crossword App benefits from interactive clues.

My sister was the recipient of two rather more interesting Apps, one being the Harden’s Restaurant Guide, the paper edition having been a gift staple for many years. The digital version is enhanced by a Map Search, which can pinpoint your location and show local restaurants. The usual Harden’s categorisation of price and rating is much quicker to navigate than the book.

The second was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. This unique App is a meeting of book and animated film. Each page of the book is accompanied by an interactive animation illustrating the story beautifully. Some of these require a simple task to move to the next page, such as playing a tune on a piano or flying a kite. This really was a special App and like nothing I have seen before. Although aged 4 years up, it had the whole family gathered round.

I received a really innovative combination of App and Hardware – The Ion Piano Apprentice.  Consisting of a piano keyboard, iPad dock and App, the setup aims to teach you piano in a way never seen before. The iPad acts as a screen and instructor, with video demonstration, while the accompanying keyboard’s keys light up in sequence. Overall a great system. When I get a chance to use it I will give it a full review!

Overall, Apps were a well appreciated gift for my Christmas. It also avoids the stores and can be quite economical. A 21st century stocking filler!

I’m not a runner – I see other people doing it, and think it looks like a good idea. I want to be fitter, healthier, more productive. The outside is always there isn’t it? You don’t need loads of kit, and there’s no hassle with planning, booking etc. Fancy a run: go for a run.

And then I try it. And running stops seeing like a good idea, and starts seeming like a really, really stupid idea. It’s not fun in any discernable way. Half an hour later, my lungs are on fire, my teeth hurt, and I’m wondering where the line between hypochondria and ignoring the symptoms of a heart attack are.

So it came as something of a shock on Monday to read uber-grouch Charlie Brooker’s article in The Guardian – couch potato extraordinaire.

I thought I could trust Charlie – he’d always help me scorn people who run. Them and The Daily Mail. But it seems he’s let me down.

“I confess: I have become a runner. I go running. I run. Like a runner. Which is what I have become. A running runner. Forgive me. Oh Christ. Forgive me.”

Not yet Charlie, no. You’ll have to earn that forgiveness.

So what got the self-confessed “un-sporty” Brooker pounding the pavements? The blame rests with the Get Running app (I assume this is the one he’s using, as it fits his description) which promises to get you from the couch to a 5 km run in 9 weeks, with ease.

A geeky bit of tech, that can make me healthier – now? Bookshelves around the world groan under the weight of get-fit-quick-books. Let’s be honest, their most efficient calorie burning period is with the poor postman who has deliver these tomes.

What caught my eye about this however, was the fact that Brooker seems to actively enjoy running now. Or at the very least, doesn’t enjoy not running, if you see what I mean. To be honest, could I run 5km now? Probably. Would I choose to? Nope. Would I repeat the exercise regularly? Not a chance. But I’d like to.

So I thought it’d make an interesting challenge; I’ll give it a go. Can an app change your life, as the reviews say? We’ll see. If this is the last blog post you hear from me on the matter, you can safely assume not in this case.

At ditto we like to deliver our message on all platforms. From our Apps to our Websites, ditto’s digital voice can be heard worldwide. Adding to that arsenal today, we proudly present Radio ditto Podcasts.

Our Podcasts are a new outlet for our hand crafted radio shows. These already feature on our live pop-up players at www.ditto.tv/radio but now come in a tasty take-away Podcast option too. Our Podcasts feature shows and interviews from some the amazing people ditto has had the privilege of working and collaborating with.

We welcome exclusive shows from the founding members of Heaven 17, Glenn Gregory and Martyn Ware. Their shows are a two hour smorgasbord of the very best music, new and old, that they can lay their hand on. Featuring interviews with music greats and fantastic tunes, it is not to be missed! ditto are also humbled to be presenting shows with prestigious DJ and producer Ashley Beedle. Featuring in Xpress 2, Black Science Orchestra and Darkstarr, Ashley is a musical mecca in his own right. His taste and tunes are guaranteed to please. Finger Lickin’ Management, of Krafty Kuts and The Correspondents fame, also lend us their fine ears, with guest mixes, competitions and gems from the label past and future.

From in-house comes interviews hosted by ditto’s Michael Wilson aka Really O’Reilly. Called Fireside Favourites, the show features interviews guests from across the cultural spectrum, including Phil Cheeseman of Strictly Rhythm records and Greg Wilson. O’Reilly plays the tunes that shaped and shake his guests, discovers their heroes and villains, and invites them to leave three important items on the mantelpiece.

So that’s what’s on offer; but why have we chosen to output on this platform?

Well firstly there are a lot of compatible devices. Apple have sold over 100 million iPods, not including other brands of podcast compatible device like Microsoft Zune,  iRiver  and mobile phones.

It is also a great chance to get someone’s full attention. A web user may visit dozens of pages whilst surfing, so keeping their interest with so much on offer is difficult. A Podcast is a portable piece of audio that accompanies busy lifestyles. Just like music on your iPod, the Podcast is immediately accessible, allowing us to speak directly to the listener, whenever they choose.

At the user end, rocket science it is not. When a user subscribes through the iTunes store, iTunes will automatically download new episodes. Keeping your iPod or iPhone conveniently topped up with great new content. Have a go!

Our podcasts are delivered weekly through our iTunes store.

With the buzz around mobile apps, and everyone programming in Objective-C, many are neglecting the art of web design. That sense of inventiveness and experimentation you had in the early days of the internet seems to be dwindling. Web design should be more than simply modifying an existing template or installing WordPress themes. Here are four recent websites that have grabbed our attention for their outstanding design.

Hidden Heroes

Vitra, a design museum in Germany, created this website for their Hidden Heroes exhibition. It’s about the everyday items we take for granted and their amazing histories – from the rubber band to the drawing pin, the flip-flop to the chopstick. The navigation on this website is sensational, turning the website into a ‘virtual gallery’. Created by Grimm Gallun Holtappels, the site picked up an award at the Cannes Lions.

Wall of Fame

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Edding, the world famous manufacturers of pens and permanent markers, Wall of Fame was created. It’s an interactive doodle wall where you can add your own scribbles using a choice of 8 Edding pens to an ever-growing drawing board that updates in real time. In the first month alone, a collaborative piece of art was created consisting of more than 40,000 drawings from people in over

100 different countries. Try it out for yourself.

Breakflection

Taking the same concept as interactive installation Videogrid, Breakflection is an ‘interactive mirror’ that allows you, through your computer’s in-built camera, to make a photographic triptych with classy results. Say cheese.

Philadelphia Mural Arts Program

Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is a public art project which began in 1984. Its mission was to dissuade people from writing graffiti, encouraging local artists instead to create works using the city’s architecture. This interactive website not only manages to display the works in their full glory, combined with close-ups, but also embeds comments and audio snippets as overlays on the image, creating a fully immersive experience.