3Screens

Alan Expands His Communications and Entertainment Experience With A New Blog for His 2nd Screen

As part of my communications and entertainment experience in my personal and business life, I want to not only consume my content, but create and broadcast it on my 2nd screen, my MacBook Pro.

Call it  My World Delivered if you will.

I have started a new blog which joins my other blogs, Alan Weinkrantz PR Blog, SAtechBLOG as well as 826 Cambridge Oval, my house blog which was retired after selling my house two years ago.

I am creating content through my Veoh videos, my Flicker photos and now I want to create and broadcast music and even be a part of a very specific music creation community.

Here's the story: My favorite rock hero is Pete Townshend from The Who.  Sure, as a middle aged white boy from Texas, I do love Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and many others, but Pete remains numero uno in my book.

He just announced a new project that goes live on May 1. 

It's called The Lifehouse Method which is software that creates music, allowing you to 'sit' for a musical portrait just as if you were being painted. The software 'paints' your music. My blog is called LifehouseMethodBlog which you can see the beginnings of now.

According to the web site, after you've sat for your Method portraits, you can download them, play them back at your leisure, share them with your friends, compare them, noticing the similarities and differences between them, which will vary according to your input into the process.

The Method Music Team - Pete, Lawrence and Dave

The Method Music Software has been developed under the patronage of Pete Townshend by mathematician/composer Lawrence Ball and software developer Dave Snowdon. A team of composers, personally approved by and occasionally including Pete Townshend, will regularly listen to Method Music portraits and select a few for further development / elaboration.

Stay tuned....as I get in tune with this initiative and figure it out.

The Tipping Point In IPTV Has Arrived: AT&T Delivers HD Programming and Other Features in San Antonio

Because I live in San Antonio, I've been a trial user of the AT&T U-verse IPTV service.  I've been keeping a bit mum on their transition to HD until their official announcement, which came out this morning.

So, today, the phone company as we no longer know it,  is announcing expanded availability in San Antonio of AT&T U-verse services, which now include High Definition (HD) programming and other new features that are going to set it apart from other offerings in the marketplace.

I will be doing daily postings on my take on all this, including a historical view, the installation, the service, comments from my kids, and my take on the future of disruptive broadcasting.  Look for updates on my blog as to when this will go live.  I need time to play with the system, and do the evaluation.

I recommend you go to the AT&T web site to read the official news release in detail. I can tell you that what I have learned is that some of the new features, available to new and existing customers, include:

•    HD technology that produces images more than twice as detailed as standard analog TV delivering rich, realistic video and multi-channel, movie theater quality sound.  AT&T U-verse offers customers access to a growing lineup of more than 25 HD channels, more than the local cable providers.  New HD customers can receive two months of free HD programming ($10 per month thereafter).

•    Web-remote access to digital video recorder (DVR), which allows customers to schedule recordings using their AT&T Yahoo!® Internet account.  This feature is unique to AT&T among local providers.

•    The ability to record up to four programs at once using a DVR receiver, another exclusive feature unmatched in the marketplace.

•    An expanded lineup of available programming with more than 300 channels, including digital music, local, and premium movie and sports programming.

•    New set top boxes, manufactured by Motorola, all of which are HD-capable and include specially-designed universal remote controls that provide backlit buttons and one-touch access to VOD, DVR, and other services.

Alan Suggests Giving The Phone Company a Spin...

AT&T is offering a pretty sweet deal that is in effect now, through March 31, 2007.  The deal is this:
qualified new customers can join AT&T U-verse and receive free TV service, including HBO® and Cinemax®, for the first two months when they choose the U-300 or U-400 programming package (other monthly charges apply).  Thereafter, customers will continue to receive recurring monthly bundle discounts.

You can pick from up to five TV packages and three Internet packages to customize your entertainment experience.  Current AT&T U-verse offers start as low as $44 per month, depending on the selected programming and Internet packages.   If you don't like what you get, just ask they are offering a 60-day money-back guarantee

I recommend that you visit the web site at uverse.att.com or call 1-800-ATT-2020.  If you live in the San Antonio area, you can  go to the  Cingular stores and the H-E-B grocery store at Highway 1604 and Blanco Road. 

As always, members of the media, industry analysts, and members of the finanical community are welcomed to my home. 

If you are a media mogul coming to town to do business with the phone company as we no longer know it, have your people call my people at 210-820-3070 ext. 103.  (I actually answer my own phone).   Your people can also send my people an email to: alan at weinkrantz.com. 

You'll get a tour of the house, you'll see a real disfunctional American family that loves the service, a house that is generally clean, time permitting, a tour of the Toilet Seat Museum, and of course a free breakfast at the Olmos Soda Fountain, where we also have free AT&T Wi-Fi.