I remember building a companion app for the Windows desktop that pulled music data from iTunes and Gracenote. Gracenote boasts:
“Gracenote technology is at the heart of every great entertainment experience, and is supported by the largest source of music metadata on the planet..”
Gracenote, in conjunction with the iTunes API / data allowed me to personalize the user experience beyond what iTunes provided out of the box. X-Ray IMDb on Amazon Video also enriches the experience of watching movies and television hosted on Amazon Video .
While watching a movie using Amazon Video, you can tap the screen, and get details about the specific scene, shown in the foreground as the media continues to play.
“Go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows with X-Ray, powered by IMDb. Get instant access to cast photos, bios, and filmographies, soundtrack info, and trivia. “
IMDb is an Amazon company, which in his infinite foresight, in 1998, Jeff Bezos, founder, owner and CEO of Amazon.com, struck a deal to buy IMDb outright for approximately $55 million and attach it to Amazon as a subsidiary, private company.
The Internet Movie Database (abbreviated IMDb) is an online database of information related to films, television programs and video games, including cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, trivia and reviews, operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon. As of June 2017, IMDb has approximately 4.4 million titles (including episodes), 8 million personalities in its database,[2] as well as 75 million registered users.
In Amazon’s infinite wisdom again, they are looking to stretch both X-Ray and the IMDb property to budding film artists looking to cultivate and mature their following.
Approach to Adoption of X-Ray IMDb / Amazon Video
Amazon must empower artists and their representatives to update IMDb. IMDBPro seems to enable just such capabilities such as:
“Showcase yourself on IMDb & Amazon
Manage your photos and the credits you are Known For on IMDbPro, IMDb, and Amazon Video”
- How then is new media content, such as Actor’s photos, and Filmography [approved] and updated by IMDb.
- Furthermore, what is the selection process to get indie content [approved] and posted to Amazon video. Is there a curation process whereby not every indie artist is hosted, e.g. creative selection process is driven by Amazon Video business.
- To expand the use of X-Ray powered by IMDb, what are the options for alternate Media Players and Streamers? e.g. is YouTube a possibility, hosting and streaming content embedded with X-Ray capabilities? Does Amazon X-Ray enabled capabilities require the Amazon Video player?
X-Ray Current Support: Amazon Hosted and Streaming
X-Ray is available on the Amazon Video app in the US, UK, Germany, and Austria for thousands of titles on compatible devices including Amazon Fire Tablets and TV/Stick, iOS and Android mobile devices, and the web. To access X-Ray, tap the screen or click on the Fire TV remote while the video is playing.”
Amazon X-Ray Studios, Video Editing/Integration Desktop Application
Indie producers may leverage X-Ray Studios to integrate IMDb overlay content to enhance their audience’s experience. Timecodes are leveraged to sync up X-Ray content with the video content.
“In video production and filmmaking, SMPTE timecode is used extensively for synchronization, and for logging and identifying material in recorded media. During filmmaking or video production shoot, the camera assistant will typically log the start and end timecodes of shots, and the data generated will be sent on to the editorial department for use in referencing those shots.”
All metadata regarding an Indie Video may be integrated into the video source / target file, and transcoding may be required to output the Amazon required media standard.
Amazon has slightly complicated the situation by creating an Amazon Web Service (AWS) called X-Ray which has completely no relation to the X-Ray service powered by IMDb.
Amazon could not be reached for comment.
