3Screens

Coming Tomorrow....AT&T Connects Fans with Singer/Songwriter Jason Mraz via Exclusive Live Concert Webcast

The "Curbside Prophet" has returned. After a year off, Jason Mraz is back with his new album, "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things." And, within a week of the record hitting store shelves, he'll be offering fans a live webcast premiere via the AT&T blue room.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today that the blue room will feature this exclusive webcast live from Los Angeles starting at 2 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 21. In addition, AT&T blue room and Southwest Airlines will give one lucky winner and a guest the chance to meet Mraz and attend the exclusive live concert webcast premiere in a Los Angeles recording studio. Fans can visit http://www.attblueroom.com/win to register.

Jason Mraz broke onto the music scene in 2002 with the Recording Industry Association of America platinum-certified breakthrough, "Waiting for My Rocket to Come." His current album, "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.," features the same engaging pop melodies that Mraz is known for while also capturing a renewed sense of self that the singer/songwriter experienced during the album-writing process. Mraz wrote and recorded the album after taking time off from relentless touring, recording and working. Said Mraz, "I was happy to write an album at the same time I was coming back to earth." For more information, visit http://www.jasonmraz.com.

Switching To U-verse? Here's What You Need Adjust To And What To Expect

Tonight I received an email from a new reader who just switched to AT&T's U-verse.  His family's installation is next Friday.   The reader lives in Leander, a suburb of Austin.

Like so many of my readers who are switching to U-verse, the most common question I get is pretty simple and to the point:  what should I expect - and what is different?

I tend to stay away from the technical side of what makes U-verse "different" when I can.  I am trying to focus on writing and speaking from the voice of the end user consumer and also shifting away from just TV and to the whole 3 Screens experience -  TV / PC / Wireless.

In terms of TV, here is not only what you should expect, but need to adjust to...

• You will have a similar experience in watching TV to cable with a few subtle changes.
• The audio and video quality is the same - especially in HD.  I do find it pretty interesting though to realize I am getting the TV signal through the phone line.
• You will have to adjust to a learning a new channel listing scheme.  If you program your favorites, then there is not much to remember
• Expect better customer service.  I do find that AT&T's phone reps are better than TimeWarner's.  Maybe they are just trying harder.  Maybe it's competition.  Maybe it's because I am in San Antonio, where AT&T is headquartered.  Or maybe they have my home phone number marked on a watch list since I am a blogger doing this.
• Channel changing is faster and much better than on cable.
• You don't have to have a digital TV to use the PIP (picture in picture) feature.  When you on U-verse, your TV basically becomes a dumb terminal so everything is run through software.
• You will be limited to one HD stream in your home - at least for now.  So if you have two HD sets and want to watch HD programming at the same time, you will be limited to one HD stream.  I expect that in 2008 this will change.
• There is more programming - especially in HD.  This really is a good thing, but it depends on your personal viewing and programming choices.
• There is more foreign and ethnic programming packages available, though at an extra cost.
• The set top box and residential gateway you get with AT&T looks cooler than the hardware you get with TimeWarner.  Think "wife factor" in this case. 
• You will have to adjust to a new remote control.  The AT&T remote is pretty good and very basic, but did take me some time to adjust to.   Also, I do wish the remote control's buttons were a bit more durable.  I have had to replace two of the remotes simply because the buttons lost their tactile feel.
• Searching for programming is OK, but sort of cumbersome.   
• The lag time for searching for programming once you do the search request is sort of slow, but no faster than cable.  I guess I am just used to the blazing speed of doing searches on my Mac when using Google.
• You can rent dirty movies for $10 a pop, just like you can on cable.  Great margins for the phone company.  What would Alexander Graham Bell think?
• Like cable, you can expect an occasional freeze or "tiling."  It's really pretty rare and I had the same issues when I had cable.  There are so many factors such as weather, your own internal wiring, a bad satellite transmission back to earth, a hick-up from the network itself that you can't point to any one single reason.  It just happens.
• The  AT&T U-bar, which offers customizable weather, stock, sports and traffic information to the television screen is a new offering which they are rolling out gradually seems pretty cool.  Since it's IP, they can pretty much broadcast anything in any shape or form laying over content or creating new channels for IP based content.  That's another differentiator.
• The ability to record up to four programs at once using a DVR, which is included in most programming packages at no extra cost.
• Web remote access to DVR, which allows you high to schedule recordings from any Web-connected PC in the world, using an AT&T Yahoo! account.

Overall, I remain very pleased with U-verse.  I look forward to continued advances, more programming, and eventually IP telephony service.  Then, AT&T will really have a very unique product and service offering for consumers like me.

AT&T Launches 'Pop Culture' Video Content across Company's Three-Screen Platform

Indie rock, gaming and sketch comedy — genres known for going against the grain — are once again at the forefront of a paradigmatic shift in popular culture. In demonstrating its three screen strategy, the phone company as we no longer know it,  announced today the launch of four video series focused on today's pop culture.

From indie rock performances to an in-depth look at the video gaming industry, the four original series from High Definition (HD) content provider ON Networks, offer viewers a diverse array of shows that they can watch on any device. Today, this also includes AT&T television (AT&T U-verseSM TV and AT&T HomezoneSM); wireless (MobiTV® Inc.); and broadband (AT&T blue room, AT&T U-verseSM OnTheGo and AT&T Broadband TV) services.

Beginning today, AT&T video service customers, qualifying AT&T wireless customers and online visitors to AT&T blue room will be able to watch episodes from the four video series that are on the cusp of today's pop culture. New episodes will be rolling out periodically through the end of the year. They include:

• "Dinner with the Band" — A series in which two of life's passions — food and music — share a virtual stage. Viewers will join New York City chef Sam Mason as he shares an intimate evening of cooking, conversation and live performances with a rotating roster of some of the music industry's best up-and-comers.

• "Play Value" — Hipster Gen X'ers will chronicle the high and low points of the video gaming industry and explore the many ways that video games have impacted the lives of consumers today.

• "Backpack Picnic" — Influenced by absurdist sketch comedy icons such as "Monty Python" and "Kids in the Hall," this series will combine one-off skits and recurring character pieces that offer intelligently crafted stupidity and push the button on weird.

• "Bif Bam Pow Wow!" — Whether it's movies, games, Internet babes, action figures or comic books, Tom Seymour has his finger on the pulse of geek culture and will dole out his unique, unsolicited opinions throughout this series.

AT&T Entertainment Services is the emerging division of the company focused on delivering innovative and unique content across the three screens and something to pay attention to in terms of figuring out what AT&T is really up to.   The group offers customers a wide variety of content through a portfolio of advanced video, broadband and wireless services that bring customers more of the entertainment they enjoy.

AT&T blue room to Host Exclusive Webcast of Austin City Limits Music Festival

Starting today, you don't have to  make the trek to Austin, Texas, the "Live Music Capital of the World," to experience front row access to this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival. I went two years ago and had a blast watching Coldplay and many of amazing bands.

For the fourth year in a row, AT&T  will host an exclusive, live webcast of the ACL Music Festival on AT&T's blue room website .

3Screens News Summary:

• From Sept. 14 through Sept 16, 2007, AT&T blue room will feature exclusive performances from some of the 130 bands that are taking part in this year's ACL Music Festival.
• The final schedule of performances for each day will be available at www.attblueroom.com/music beginning Friday, Sept 14.
• Fans can now listen to AT&T blue room radio, a 24-hour streaming online station featuring interviews and performances with past and present ACL performers.
• Following the exclusive webcast, selected archived performances and other unique content from the event will be available at www.attblueroom.com/music for all AT&T blue room visitors.

As part of the sponsorship, AT&T will offer festival attendees an opportunity to experience the wide variety of AT&T's communications services.

Fans looking to cool off can head over to the air-conditioned AT&T Digital Oasis or AT&T Experience Zone, where they can watch the live webcast, make free calls, download ringtones and check their e-mail. Festival attendees with wireless service from AT&T can rely on expanded wireless coverage at the festival site. AT&T has deployed a portable Cell Site on Wheels (COW), which will provide additional wireless coverage and capacity to festival-goers.

Fans can sign up for ACL text messages on www.aclfestival.com or by sending the text message ACL to 21234 to receive late-breaking ACL news, insider info, sponsor freebies and other information to guide them through the festival experience. Fans at the festival can send the text message HUNT to 21234 to participate in a scavenger hunt. Those who successfully complete the hunt will be eligible to win prizes that include an iPhone or a Dell/AT&T mobile broadband computer.

AT&T to Host 'World's Loudest Pep Rally' with Dave Matthews Band

Students on more than 100 college campuses will engage in a nationwide contest to determine which school will win a free, live concert featuring Dave Matthews Band.

The phone company as we no longer know it,  and Dave Matthews Band have announced a contest that gives fans of college football and rock music the opportunity to send creative invitations to the band through AT&T wireless text and online at the AT&T blue room.

3 Screens News Summary:

• From Sept. 1 to Oct. 15, invitations may be submitted through wireless messages by texting "DMB" to 9-5-9. This option can be used by AT&T customers only. All fans, regardless of service, may submit invitations online at attblueroom.com or by mail. The school with the most invitations will win a free, fully produced rock concert featuring Dave Matthews Band at the World's Loudest Pep Rally during the week of Nov. 12.

• Invitations may include essays, photos, videos or sound clips. Fifty invitations can be submitted by each person, each day.

• The promotion is open to fans aged 18 and older. The most creative invites in each category will win a flight for two and VIP tickets to the concert. Dave Matthews Band will post a sampling of invitations on its MySpace page at www.myspace.com/davematthewsband or official band website at davematthewsband.com.

• The pep rally may include appearances from school coaches, former athletes, band members and cheerleaders.

The World's Loudest Pep Rally is one of several college football programs for the upcoming 2007 season, including the previously announced AT&T Mascot Mail and AT&T All-America Player of the Week programs. For more information on these and other programs, go to attblueroom.com/sports.

Sports Fans to Deliver Personalized Messages through AT&T Mascot Mail...AT&T blue room to Feature Interactive E-Card Messaging for Sports Fans

Forget the team jerseys, bumper stickers and bobble-head dolls.

AT&T has announced a way for sports fans to champion their team spirit via their computers. AT&T Mascot Mail allows fans to create and send personalized, animated messages to friends. The messages use visual and audio features specific to a fan's favorite team mascot.

Through the AT&T blue room sports Web site, fans can dream up off-the-wall expressions of their team pride and deliver their creations via e-mail.

For example, a University of Texas fan can choose a cartoon version of Bevo the Longhorn, deck him out with a foam finger or a blow horn, and plop him into the middle of an animated football field. He'll then deliver a message while performing a user-selected action, such as a football drill or a choreographed dance.

AT&T Mascot Mail is available for a variety of sports and teams and encompasses the following AT&T-sponsored properties and schools, as well as generic mascots for schools without physical representation of the team:

College: Arkansas, Cal-Berkeley, Connecticut, Fresno State, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Southern California, Texas, Texas Tech and UC-Davis

Professional Basketball: Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs (coming later this fall)

AT&T blue room sports features a broad menu of exclusive, original and user-generated content on college and professional football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and soccer players and teams, as well as content focusing on the spectator experience. The site is part of the AT&T blue room which brings together tailgaters, music fans, gaming enthusiasts and the Hollywood-obsessed through a single online content destination.

AT&T blue room to Feature Exclusive Webcast of Lollapalooza Acts

If you are not able to make it  to Chicago for this year's Lollapalooza festival can still enjoy front-row access.  Here's how:

The phone company as we no longer know it, (NYSE:T) has announced the hosting of an exclusive live webcast of the 2007 Lollapalooza concert on AT&T blue room music .

AT&T will also serve as the presenting sponsor for the Chicago-based festival.

From Aug. 3 through Aug. 5, 2007, the AT&T blue room will feature exclusive performances from some of the more than 130 bands taking part in this year's Lollapalooza music festival. The final schedule of performances will be available at www.attblueroom.com/music on Wednesday, Aug. 1. Webcasts start at 12:30 p.m. each day and run through 10 p.m. CT.

Fans can now listen to AT&T blue room radio, a 24-hour streaming online station featuring interviews and performances with past and present Lollapalooza performers. Following the exclusive webcast, selected archived performances and other unique content from the events will be available at www.attblueroom.com/music for all AT&T blue room visitors.

As part of the AT&T presenting sponsorship, and in addition to the blue room webcast, AT&T will offer festival attendees a wide range of enhanced experiences at this year's Lollapalooza event. At the AT&T Digital Oasis and the AT&T Experience Zone, festival attendees will have the opportunity to check out a full range of AT&T communications and entertainment services, from wireless services to AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet and AT&T | DISH Network. Attendees can also get tips on tasks such as downloading music, video and ringtones, as well as managing photos online.

The unique AT&T blue room experience (www.attblueroom.com/music) brings together sports fans, music lovers, and gaming enthusiasts through an online portal housing AT&T's exclusive sports, music, gaming and entertainment content.

I've been following blue room since it launched last year, and I really like the way these guys have provided a venue for fans to have access to live entertainment, candid interviews, celebrity-athletes, and spirited commentary on everything from music to politics to celebrities. 

Doh! Previews of The Simpsons Movie on AT&T's Blue Room. Also, "Minutes to Meltdown" Game for Your AT&T Mobility Wireless Phone

18 Years in the Making....it's The Simpsons Movie.

See previews of the The Simpson's movie here at AT&T's Blue Room

And don't forget to download the Simpsons Minute to Meltdown game for your mobile phone here.

Microsoft's Rebranded Mediaroom To Extend Capabilities of IPTV. Alan Poses 10 Questions To Microsoft In Regards to This Announcement (And One Bonus Question)

Having been a U-verse customer for over one year, I have to plead "guilty" that I don't write enough about Microsoft and its role as being the middleware and a key element in the technology that makes U-verse.....uh....U-verse.

Microsoft TV unveiled today the latest update of its IPTV software platform and introduced a new brand for the platform to better reflect the broader set of capabilities it now delivers. 

Known as Microsoft® Mediaroom™, the company claims that it will enable the best, most personalized TV and entertainment experience, so that we as consumers can easily find and watch what we want, when and where we want it.

Some of the new features include:

• Personal media sharing. This enables consumers to easily listen to digital music and view digital photographs stored on PCs elsewhere in the home on the best screen in the house: the television.
• Multimedia Application Environment. The environment offers richer support for Web services and applications, enabling service providers to deploy advanced features such as dynamic video-on-demand   portals, casual games and interactive TV services.
• Enhanced MultiView capabilities. These allow consumers to see multiple channels, programs and camera angles on one screen.

The launch of Microsoft Mediaroom also marks the general availability of DTT capabilities on the platform, allowing service providers in regions with DTT programming to offer fully integrated, seamless IPTV services.

Microsoft TV has 18 major service provider customers (including AT&T) on four continents that are delivering TV experience to their subscribers.

Here's 10 Things Alan Wants To Know...

1.  Is AT&T going to follow the upgrade path to Mediaroom and if so, when?

2.  How and where does Xbox (and more specifically Xbox 360) tie into Mediaroom? 

3.   Will Xbox turn into an optional set-top box in its own right? 

4.  Will AT&T sell Xbox in its retail stores?

5.  The personal media sharing idea is  very cool.  How does it tie into AT&T's whole home DVR strategy?

6.  Does Apple have a competing software platform in the works?

7.  Mutliple views sounds cool.  But aren't we, as consumers, dependent on the content providers to provide multi-view content?  If so, I'd love to see some samples of how I could have mutiple views of say, the recent NBA Championships.

8.  Any chance Microsoft and AT&T could work together to extend the capabilities of BlueRoom with Mediaroom?

9.  Along the lines of AT&T's three-screen strategy, will Microsoft work further with AT&T to extend Mediaroom technologies into mobile phones (other than iPhone)?

10.  Seems like Mediaroom would really shine on Vista with some of the new tablet-based PCs coming out soon.  Again, in the vein of the three-screen strategy from AT&T, why not look at tablet applications for mobile TV - i.e. MobiTV, which AT&T already offers.

Big Bonus Question: Any possible ties with Mediaroom and Surface?  This seems like an entirely new way to present IP based video content, gaming, e-commerce, photosharing and much more on this very unique media platform. 

It would also help service providers like AT&T further distinguish itself further and offer the TV manufacturers like Sony, Toshiba, JVC, Panasonic develop new types of surface-based TVs.

Don't Forget- Coverage of the Masters Golf Tourament Comes to Three Screens Starting Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, you'll be able to watch AT&T's first ever three-screen event, The Masters (as in golf) via your TV, PC, or Wireless Device.

One really good place to watch the latest news and view is to keep up with the event on AT&Ts Blue Room sport's portal.

Screen shot is the property of the phone company as we no longer know it.