[Manic Monday] Rethinking The Movies, With A Digital Twist

The movie and cinema have been around for at least 100 years already, and by principle it remains largely unchanged. A camera records sequential images upon a medium, which is then duplicated, and spread to locations with projectors and screens. The sequence of images is projected onto a screen. The technology has definitely progressed light years from those old hand-operated cameras. The medium is in a major shift from celluloid to digital and the ‘locations’ are now highly-specialized buildings, with comfortable seating, optimized screens, and powerful cinema projectors. But the essence remains the same.

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Viki Brings Classic Osamu Tezuka Anime Productions to YouTube

Viki today announced that it has launched a dedicated anime channel on YouTube featuring the works of Osamu Tezuka, which it calls Tezuka Anime. The channel also allows viewers to watch the animated series with subtitles generated by Viki’s large community and was made possible using YouTube’s API through YouTube’s Premium Channel program.

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Video Site Viki Partners With MSN To Deliver Video Content Throughout The Region

After inking a deal with Indonesia’s PlasaMSN, video site Viki decided to go all up the ladder with Microsoft’s regional MSN division. Viki will localize and stream the premium video content to all 17 million MSN users in South East Asia.

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PlasaMSN Umumkan Kemitraan Konten Video dengan SCTV dan Viki

Kemarin portal berita online PlasaMSN secara resmi mengumumkan bahwa mereka bekerja sama dengan startup penyedia video Viki dan stasiun televisi lokal SCTV. PlasaMSN adalah perusahaan joint venture antara Microsoft dan Telkom Indonesia melalui salah satu anak perusahaan mereka, Metranet.

Melalui sebuah acara di Jakarta tadi malam, Direktur Microsoft, Andreas Diantoro juga mengumumkan bahwa konten PlasaMSM akan terintegrasi lebih dalam dengan beberapa produk Microsoft seperti Windows Live dan Skype. Acara media party/konferensi pers juga dihadiri oleh perwakilan dari Microsoft Advertising, Viki dan Telkom Indonesia. Acara ini juga menjadi ajang perkenalan bagi Microsoft Indonesia atas portal berita pada agensi media, partner masa depan serta klien PlasaMSN.

Satu hal yang menarik adalah Andreas menyebutkan bahwa konten video PlasaMSN menarik banyak perhatian dari para pembaca mereka. Andreas mengatakan bahwa konten video PlasaMSN merupakan salah satu konten yang paling banyak diunduh, yang menjadi masuk akal untuk bekerja sama dengan SCTV dan Viki dalam rangka untuk menambah konten mereka dengan partner baru.

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PlasaMSN announces video content partnership with SCTV and Viki

Yesterday online news portal PlasaMSN officially announced that they’re partnering with video provider startup Viki and local TV station SCTV. PlasaMSN is a joint venture company between Microsoft and Telkom Indonesia through one of its subsidiary Metranet.

Through an event in Jakarta last night, Microsoft Director Andreas Diantoro also announced that PlasaMSN’s content will be integrated with Windows Live and Skype. The media party / press conference event was attended by Microsoft Indonesia director, representative from Microsoft Advertising, Viki and Telkom Indonesia. The party itself is a place for Microsoft to introduce the news portal to media agencies, future partners and clients of PlasaMSN.

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Viki is now available on iPad and Android

Fresh from the announcement of Budi Putra as a Director at the company, international video site Viki today announces availability of its apps for Android and iPad. While Viki has had an iPod touch and iPhone app for a while and an exclusive Android app for Samsung Galaxy device owners, it wasn’t until today for the apps to be more widely available.

The iPad app is actually an update to the earlier iPhone app made universal, which means those who have the iPhone version and would like to watch their favorite Korean, English, Japanese, Indian, British, American or other TV shows, movies and entertainment news on the iPad can just go ahead and update the app. The Android app works equally well on tablets and phones.

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Viki appoints Budi Putra as Director for Indonesia

Today, Budi Putra, ex-Yahoo! Indonesia who resigned last year announced that he’s officially appointed as the director for Viki, a video site with premium content.

Through a blog post in his personal website, Budi also stated that he will also handle the Business Development for Viki South East Asia. After his resignation from Yahoo! Indonesia, Budi launched a new hybrid of content website with fellow Yahoo! alum Jimmy Kembaren, it was called Peneroka. Not long after, Budi was hired as consultant for Viki for a few months before appointed as executive for Viki.

His new role in Viki will allow him to partner with content owners and producers especially in Indonesia and ink content licensing. He will also maintain Viki’s community in Indonesia, and I have to say it’s getting quite big and popular.

Viki tunjuk Budi Putra sebagai Direktur untuk Indonesia

Hari ini, Budi Putra, mantan Country Editor Yahoo! Indonesia yang mengundurkan diri tahun 2011 lalu mengumumkan bahwa dia secara resmi menduduki posisi direktur Indonesia untuk Viki, sebuah situs video dengan konten premium.

Melalui pengumuman di website pribadinya, Budi mengungkapkan bahwa dia juga akan merangkap sebagai Business Development untuk Viki South East Asia. Setelah keluar dari Yahoo! Indonesia, Budi sempat meluncurkan startup barunya bersama alumnus Yahoo! Indonesia lainnya, Jimmy Kembaren yang dinamakan Peneroka. Setelah itu Budi menjadi konsultan untuk Viki sebelum akhirnya diangkat menjadi salah satu eksekutif di startup yang memiliki kantor di Seoul, Singapura dan San Fransisco tersebut.

Berkaitan dengan peran barunya di Viki, Budi akan bekerjasama dengan pemilik konten video di Indonesia dan Asia Tenggara untuk menjalin kerjasama lisensi konten, sindikasi dan juga memaintain komunitas Viki di Indonesia yang memang sudah cukup besar.

Situs Video ViKi Mendapatkan Pendanaan Seri B Senilai $ 20 juta dari SK Telecom, Andreesen Horowitz, dan Lainnya

Situs video ViKi, yang berbasis di Singapura, beberapa hari yang lalu mengumumkan pendanaan Seri B sebesar $ 20 juta dari berbagai investor termasuk Planet SK, anak perusahaan SK Telecom, BBC Worldwide, Greylock Partners, Andreesen Horowitz, Charles River Ventures, Neoteny Labs, serta investor lainnya. Sebelumnya pada bulan Desember 2010, ViKi telah mendapatkan pendanaan Seri A sebesar $ 4,3 juta dari investor maupun investasi persorangan yang serupa.

Situs video ini cukup populer di kalangan penggemar serial TV Asia, Spanyol, dan Timur Tengah, terutama untuk serial anime dan drama Korea. Pengguna situs ini bisa mengirimkan teks terjemahan serta melakukan koreksi untuk mempermudah orang lain yang ingin menonton film asing favorit mereka. Hasil terjemahan mengacu pada lisensi Creative Commons.

Saat ini, komunitas penerjemah yang ada di situs ViKi telah menerjemahkan berbagai serial TV dan film berlisensi ke lebih dari 150 bahasa (termasuk Klingon) dalam waktu kurang dari satu tahun. Situs ini memiliki pengunjung unik mendekati 10 juta dan meningkatkan total kunjungan mereka empat kali lipat pada bulan Oktober dibandingkan tahun lalu.

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Video site ViKi Closes $20 Million Series B round from SK Telecom, Andreesen Horowitz, and Others

Singapore-based video site ViKi announced today that it has raised a Series B funding round of $20 million from a range of investors including SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, BBC Worldwide, Greylock Partners, Andreesen Horowitz, Charles River Ventures, Neoteny Labs, as well as others. Previously Viki raised $4.3 million in Series A in December 2010 from similar investors as well as individuals.

The video site is popular among fans of Asian, Spanish, and Middle Eastern TV series, especially those of anime and Korean drama. Members can submit subtitles and corrections to the benefit of others who wish to watch and understand their favorite foreign films. Submissions are subject to a Creative Commons licensing agreement.

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