Apple to target Flash with video iAds
Apple is reportedly expanding its iAd program to target integrated advertising within video clips in an effort to address the market for ad-supported multimedia now dominated by Adobe Flash.
According to a report by Gigaom, the new move would enable publishers to inject ads into their video content, and play normally on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.
Some multimedia providers have hesitated to migrate their video content to the emerging HTML5 standard, complaining that the specification does not provide the kind of sophisticated embedded advertising that Adobe designed Flash to deliver as pre-roll, post-roll or in mid-roll commercial breaks during video playback.
It's important for many ad-supported content providers to be able to allow their advertisers to inject dynamic ads specifically targeted to a demographic, region, or time period. With plain video delivered via HTML5, providers can't easily serve up dynamic ads.
However, Apple can add support for dynamic ad placement to its iOS devices because it owns the QuickTime media playback software used to play back both local and online video content, including the standards-based H.264 videos that are now much easier to deliver on the web thanks to improved support for video embedding in HTML5.
By integrating support for dynamic ads into video, Apple's expanded iAd program would enable newspapers, magazines, and TV broadcasters to add video content to their websites and native iOS apps using standard H.264/HTML5 while still being able to monetize that content as they now do with Flash or similar proprietary video distribution technologies.
Until now, Apple has focused on enabling TV and movie studios to sell their content in iTunes, recently adding an option to let users "rent" video playback within a limited, expiring time window. With integrated ad support, iAd should enable the company to expand its offerings to pick up a broader array of multimedia providers who rely upon integrated ads to monetize their content.
According to a report by Gigaom, the new move would enable publishers to inject ads into their video content, and play normally on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.
Some multimedia providers have hesitated to migrate their video content to the emerging HTML5 standard, complaining that the specification does not provide the kind of sophisticated embedded advertising that Adobe designed Flash to deliver as pre-roll, post-roll or in mid-roll commercial breaks during video playback.
It's important for many ad-supported content providers to be able to allow their advertisers to inject dynamic ads specifically targeted to a demographic, region, or time period. With plain video delivered via HTML5, providers can't easily serve up dynamic ads.
However, Apple can add support for dynamic ad placement to its iOS devices because it owns the QuickTime media playback software used to play back both local and online video content, including the standards-based H.264 videos that are now much easier to deliver on the web thanks to improved support for video embedding in HTML5.
By integrating support for dynamic ads into video, Apple's expanded iAd program would enable newspapers, magazines, and TV broadcasters to add video content to their websites and native iOS apps using standard H.264/HTML5 while still being able to monetize that content as they now do with Flash or similar proprietary video distribution technologies.
Until now, Apple has focused on enabling TV and movie studios to sell their content in iTunes, recently adding an option to let users "rent" video playback within a limited, expiring time window. With integrated ad support, iAd should enable the company to expand its offerings to pick up a broader array of multimedia providers who rely upon integrated ads to monetize their content.
Comments
Apple have to come up with an application for designers and creators that does all the above without having to be a real programmer. The HTML5 equivalent of Director if you will. Apple cannot leave this to Adobe obviously and I don't see who else there is these days.
Hopefully we?ll see an addition to iLife and pro app from Apple for making HTML5/CSS3/JS content.
Apple have to come up with an application for designers and creators that does all the above without having to be a real programmer. The HTML5 equivalent of Director if you will. Apple cannot leave this to Adobe obviously and I don't see who else there is these days.
The ad developers will be for large companies and have tremendous resources. They will probably implement it in a javascript library similar to what they are doing now with iAd JS. This means you need to program it in Java or something very "c-ish".
The ad developers will be for large companies and have tremendous resources. They will probably implement it in a javascript library similar to what they are doing now with iAd JS. This means you need to program it in Java or something very "c-ish".
True but if the professional designers and ad agencies had a Director like product believe me they would jump on it just as they did with Pagemaker, FreeHand etc. and every other development / design tool there ever was aimed at professionals. iAd can't be the only potential use for this escape from Flash.
BTW I selected those examples on purpose as they came into being along with the last major paradigm shift.
iAds for Apple TV.
I don't think anyone's touched on the obvious implication...
iAds for Apple TV.
Sounds like a plan. Maybe we?ll finally get Apple being able to be a Netflix or Hulu distributor? but I doubt it.
I don't think anyone's touched on the obvious implication...
iAds for Apple TV.
Yep your probably right.
True but if the professional designers and ad agencies had a Director like product believe me they would jump on it just as they did with Pagemaker, FreeHand etc. and every other development / design tool there ever was aimed at professionals. iAd can't be the only potential use for this escape from Flash.
I think in the future you may be correct. I definately hope you are, but the types of companies being targeted by apple for advertising are very large "buys" by large corporations such as automakers, target type companies, ATT, etc. And their agencies are already developing using xCode and whatever html/CSS/javascript editors.
If apple opens up the 3rd party restrictions of iAD JS then I wouldn't be surprised to see something in adobe dreamweaver in the future. Apple currently is not going after professional web development. But who knows what the future will hold. Apple did release Final Cut Pro for video professionals to the shock of many. You never know what they are up to in cupertino.
That may be why it takes so long to get iAd approval from Apple: your iAd should look good on all screen sizes. Of course, Apple can't say it in so many words because Steve wants to be the one to tell the world about iAd on big-screen TV, not some whiney ad agency account manager.
And, ultimately, I fear iAds will are headed to Macs. It's completely obvious and inevitable that iAd should come to Apple TV. But maybe next week's 10.7 announcement will include iAds on Mac OS X apps as well.
Wow. Just noticed that AAPL closed at $314 today. Buy on rumor, sell on news?
Apple have to come up with an application for designers and creators that does all the above without having to be a real programmer. The HTML5 equivalent of Director if you will. Apple cannot leave this to Adobe obviously and I don't see who else there is these days.
Can you wait until Thursday to see what happens? I mean can you wait until Wednesday. It's Thursday for us in New Zealand. Damn timezones.
Apple have to come up with an application for designers and creators that does all the above without having to be a real programmer. The HTML5 equivalent of Director if you will. Apple cannot leave this to Adobe obviously and I don't see who else there is these days.
agreed
Apple have to come up with an application for designers and creators that does all the above without having to be a real programmer. The HTML5 equivalent of Director if you will. Apple cannot leave this to Adobe obviously and I don't see who else there is these days.
It seems obvious that they would want to expand on their options to make revenue from ads, otherwise it would have been easier and cheaper to make App Store ads with Xcode. Next stop is the world wide web.
Hopefully we’ll see an addition to iLife and pro app from Apple for making HTML5/CSS3/JS content.
My first thought, experimenting with the XCode 4 beta was that the tool could easily be skinned for non-coder developers-- say, web pages, widgets, iAds, iTunes LPs and iTunes extras.
If you haven't used it, it combines the graphical IB (InterfaceBuilder) and navigating, coding, testing and debugging into a single window with multiple panes-- the panes change to contain tools/controls/content/help/documentation according to whats happening in the main (center) window.
It's as if they took Photoshop, and got rid of all the little windoids scattered about the screen(s) (always covering something you want to see). These windoids would automatically appear in a side pane when pertinent to what's happening in the center ring (a little circus lingo
A new beta came out yesterday. I haven't tried it. yet -- it only supports iOS to 4.1 (3.2 on the iPad).
Hmmm....
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And, ultimately, I fear iAds will are headed to Macs. [?] But maybe next week's 10.7 announcement will include iAds on Mac OS X apps as well.
They?ve already applied for a patent for an ad-supported OS.
They?ve already applied for a patent for an ad-supported OS.
Give that man a cigar...
The content is free (add supported)...
The apps are free (add supported)...
The OS is free (add supported)...
The computer or device is free (add supported)...
... watch enough adds, buy enough product & you may never need to buy another computer.
Apple has a patent (somewhere -- to lazy to look) for an on-line store that sells anything/everything (not just digital media). In fact, there is a ping-like social aspect to it (you can see what others are doing in the on-line store).
...Kiddies, it's time to cash in all those boxtops, coupons and green stamps you've been saving.
We're movin' on up to electronic specie land!
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Oh, great. Now we can see dancing monkeys, flashing stars, and blinking letters on our iPhones. I just can't wait.
If Apple maintains the control over iAds that they have now, they probably won't allow that type of ad.
with deep support for their current advert model.
yes!
.
True but if the professional designers and ad agencies had a Director like product believe me they would jump on it just as they did with Pagemaker, FreeHand etc. and every other development / design tool there ever was aimed at professionals. iAd can't be the only potential use for this escape from Flash.
BTW I selected those examples on purpose as they came into being along with the last major paradigm shift.
Sure everyone is asking for a GUI based drag and drop JS/HTML5 application like Flash has. Truth be told, that part of the Flash interface never makes it in the professional environment. Real Flash pros can program the entire application in a single frame of the timeline using nothing but Actionscript. Even if someone does release a visual programming interface for JS, the hard core programmers will always revert back to hand coding.
The big problem with JS is not that it doesn't have a GUI development environment, it is, IMO, the fact that it doesn't have native built-in functions to do common tasks, no actual timeline, no ability to synchronize sound to animation, no keyframes and dozens of other essential programming capabilities necessary to bring it up to the level of Flash.
Flash's ide is like a combination of PHP, Javascript, CSS, and Photoshop all rolled into one and it outputs a single binary encapsulated executable. With JS/HTML/CSS you have multiple files as your deliverables and those files can easily have conflicts with other JS/CSS classes on the web page, so it takes a great deal of expertise and attention to detail to integrate everything together. That is probably one reason that Apple is maintaining so much control over the iAd technology. They don't want it fly off the rails as it surely would left in the hands of the amateur GUI dependent developers.
Sure everyone is asking for a GUI based drag and drop JS/HTML5 application like Flash has. Truth be told, that part of the Flash interface never makes it in the professional environment. Real Flash pros can program the entire application in a single frame of the timeline using nothing but Actionscript. Even if someone does release a visual programming interface for JS, the hard core programmers will always revert back to hand coding.
The big problem with JS is not that it doesn't have a GUI development environment, it is, IMO, the fact that it doesn't have native built-in functions to do common tasks, no actual timeline, no ability to synchronize sound to animation, no keyframes and dozens of other essential programming capabilities necessary to bring it up to the level of Flash.
Flash's ide is like a combination of PHP, Javascript, CSS, and Photoshop all rolled into one and it outputs a single binary encapsulated executable. With JS/HTML/CSS you have multiple files as your deliverables and those files can easily have conflicts with other JS/CSS classes on the web page, so it takes a great deal of expertise and attention to detail to integrate everything together. That is probably one reason that Apple is maintaining so much control over the iAd technology. They don't want it fly off the rails as it surely would left in the hands of the amateur GUI dependent developers.
Interesting...
What about something with:
-- encapsulation
-- JS and CSS subroutine libraries
-- a timeline with multiple layers of audio and video tracks
-- interactive 3D positioning ala Motion
-- a simple interface something like iMovie '09
-- Layering, Titling, Compositing, Effects similar to FCP
I know I am intermingling here-- but I think what you want can be addressed by existing capabilities engineered into a coherent package.
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