1.
Disney Channels Worldwide
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In addition, the subsidiary is responsible for operating Radio Disney, Disney Television Animation and Its a Laugh Productions. Previous corporate names were, Walt Disney Entertainment, Inc, on November 10,1981, Walt Disney Productions and Westinghouse Broadcasting released that they had agreed to start a family-oriented cable television service. In 1982, Disney hired Alan Wagner to develop a cable channel, by July 15,1982, Disney incorporated Walt Disney Entertainment, Inc. which was renamed by January 28,1983 to The Disney Channel, Inc. The channel, The Disney Channel, was launched in April 1983 with 16 hours of programming as a premium channel, the channel became profitable in January 1985,20 months after launch, The channel moved into the home satellite dish market thus scrambling its signal. The channel started moving to the cable level on September 1,1990 with TCI Montgomery Cablevision. In March 1995, the second Disney Channel began broadcasting in Taiwan while the third is launched in October for the United Kingdom, by September 29,1997, the corporate name was shorten to Disney Channel, Inc. Disney had hired Geraldine Laybourne in 1996 away from the Nickelodeon channel she founded for a kids channel codename ABZ that the media speculated to be a pre-school age channel, in December 1997, the Toon Disney channel was announced as a basic channel consisting of Disney classic animation. As of April 1,1998, most of the version are pay channels while Taiwan and Malaysia are ad supported. The Toon Disney Channel was launched on April 18,1998 on the Disney Channels 15 anniversary, in 2000, the Playhouse Disney preschool channel was launched in the United Kingdom, while in the US the Playhouse Disney block was launched on the Disney Channel. In June 2001, Disney was looking into launch Playhouse as channel in the United States in 2002, Disney Channel, Inc. changed its name to ABC Cable Networks Group, Inc. by January 31,2001. In October 2003, ABC Family Worldwide was changed from a Disney COO direct reporting unit to being within the ABC Cable Networks Group, in early 2004, Disney Channel original programming leaders took over ABC Familys original movies unit. ABC1 channel launched on United Kingdom digital terrestrial platform on September 27,2004. In November 2005, Barry Blumberg resigned as President of Walt Disney Television Animation to allow the transfer of the TV animation into Disney Channels Worldwide. In 2006, Disney TV India acquired Hungama TV from UTV Software Communications Limited, Disney Cinemagic began broadcasting in the UK in March 2006 as the start to the launch of several Cinemagic channels including timeshift and HD versions across Western Europe. ABC1 ceased broadcasting on all UK TV platforms at noon on September 26,2007, in Spain, Walt Disney Company Iberia purchased, in February 2008, 20% of Management Company Television Net TV SA. The company announced in late May 2008 the move of Disney Channel to a digital over the air channel replacing NET TVs Fly Music on July 1,2008. Disney XD was launched on February 13,2009, taking over the space of Toon Disney in the US. Jetix Play was closed on August 1,2010 in most countries, on September 1,2010 in Turkey, in the most countries the channel was replaced with Playhouse Disney
2.
720p
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720p is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines and an aspect ratio of 16,9, normally known as widescreen HDTV. The number 720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines of display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i. e. non-interlaced, when broadcast at 60 frames per second, 720p features the highest temporal resolution possible under the ATSC and DVB standards. The term assumes a widescreen ratio of 16,9. 720i is a term found in numerous sources and publications. Typically, it is an error in which the author is referring to the 720p HDTV format. However, in cases it is incorrectly presented as an actual alternative format to 720p. No proposed or existing broadcast standard permits 720 interlaced lines in a frame at any frame rate. Progressive scanning reduces the need to prevent flicker by anti-aliasing single high contrast horizontal lines and it is also easier to perform high-quality 50↔60 Hz conversion and slow-motion clips with progressive video. A 720p60 video has advantage over 480i and 1080i60 in that it reduces the number of 3,2 artifacts introduced during transfer from 24 frame/s film. However, 576i and 1080i50, which are common in Europe, generally do not suffer from pull down artifacts as film frames are simply played at 25 frames and the audio pitch corrected by 25/24ths. As a result, 720p60 is used for U. S. broadcasts while European HD broadcasts often use 1080i50 24* frame, arte, a dual-language French-German channel produced in collaboration by ARD, ZDF and France Télévisions, broadcasts in German at 720p50 but in French at 1080i50. EBU Technical paper on HDTV formats
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
5.
Burbank, California
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Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States,12 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The population at the 2010 census was 103,340, Entertainment, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, NBC, Cartoon Network Studios with the West Coast branch of Cartoon Network, and Insomniac Games. The city is home to Bob Hope Airport. Burbank consists of two areas, a downtown/foothill section, in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains. Burbank is the easternmost city in the San Fernando Valley, Burbanks neighbor, Glendale, is the westernmost city in the San Gabriel Valley. The city was referred to as Beautiful Downtown Burbank on Laugh-In, the city was named after David Burbank, a New Hampshire-born dentist and entrepreneur who established a sheep ranch there in 1867. Historically, this area was the scene of a skirmish which resulted in the unseating of the Spanish Governor of California. Remnants of the battle reportedly were found many years later in the vicinity of Warner Bros. Studio when residents dug up cannonballs, by 1876, the San Fernando Valley became the largest wheat-raising area in Los Angeles County. But the droughts of the 1860s and 1870s underlined the need for water supplies. A professionally trained dentist, Dr. Burbank began his career in Waterville and he joined the great migration westward in the early 1850s and, by 1853 was living in San Francisco. At the time the American Civil War broke out he was well established in his profession as a dentist in Pueblo de Los Angeles. In 1867, he purchased Rancho La Providencia from David W. Alexander and Francis Mellus, Dr. Burbanks property reached nearly 9,200 acres at a cost of $9,000. Dr. Burbank wouldnt acquire full titles to both properties until after a decision known as the Great Partition was made in 1871 dissolving the Rancho San Rafael. Dr. Burbank also later owned the Burbank Theatre, which opened on November 27,1893, though the theater was intended to be an opera house, instead it staged plays and became known nationally. The theatre featured famous actors of the time including Fay Bainter and Marjorie Rambeau, when the area that became Burbank was settled in the 1870s and 1880s, the streets were aligned along what is now Olive Avenue, the road to the Cahuenga Pass and downtown Los Angeles. These were largely the roads the Indians traveled and the settlers took their produce down to Los Angeles to sell. At the time, the primary long-distance transportation methods available to San Fernando Valley residents were stagecoach, stagecoaching between Los Angeles and San Francisco through the Valley began in 1858
6.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
7.
Jetix
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Jetix was a worldwide childrens television programming brand owned by Jetix Europe, Jetix Latin America and ABC Cable Networks Group. The Jetix brand was used for childrens blocks and channels featuring action-related and adventure-related live-action and animated programming, Disney started to retire the Jetix brand in 2009 and replaced it with Disney XD an accordance to the companys focus on its Disney, ABC, and ESPN brands. The last remaining Jetix in the world, in Russia, was replaced by Disney Channel on August 10,2010. Jetix Europe N. V. formerly Fox Kids Europe, was a broadcasting company operating childrens oriented channels and programming blocks across the European. FFW was acquired in October 2001 by The Walt Disney Company, K2 started out as a syndicated block for several local stations in Italy. In December 2002, FKE signed with BMG Europe for two Fox Kids Hits music compilation albums per year for 10 European markets, in July 2003, Fox Kids Europe relaunched Fox Kids Play interactive channel on Telewest. The Jetix name was chosen after the company conducted international research specifically with a number of focus groups. Many of the children picked the name as it implied action and adventure, Fox Kids UK channel added a Jetix block in April. Fox Kids blocks started to change over in April and the first channel in France was changed over in August 2004, in fall 2004 with the addition of three new shows, Toon Disneys US block was expanded to 16 hours. SIP Animation co-produced a few animated series with Jetix Europe during the 2000s, Jetix Europe launched GXT as a male teen channel in May 2005 on Sky Italia in Italy. After Jetix Europe picked up Iron Kid for its France and Spain channels, in 2008, Jetix Europe licensed out Jetix France to The Walt Disney Company France and Disney-ABC-ESPN Television became its channel distribution partner. In February 2008, Jetix Europe was in talks to join affiliated companies, Disney Channel Europe, ESPN Europe and Disney–ABC International Television, in June, Jetix Europe agreed to have DAIT take over distribution sales for all channels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In November, the Central and Eastern European channel team won gold in the UK Promax Awards for Jetix Max idents, in 2009, K2 became a TV channel. Toon Disney were replaced by September 2009 with Disney XD or the Disney Channel, the final Jetix channel to switch over to Disney XD was the Dutch version on January 1,2010, while the last Jetix channel to close was the Russian version. Jetix Play was a channel to Jetix, showing classic animated cartoons. In July 2003, Fox Kids Europe relaunched Fox Kids Play interactive channel on Telewest, Jetix Play was closed on August 1,2010 in most countries, on September 1,2010 in Turkey, and in Romania it closed on March 12,2011. In most countries it was replaced with Playhouse Disney, Jetix owned the Saban Entertainment library which included shows from Marvel Productions. Jetix Animation Concepts, also Jetix Concepts Animation, was a used for animation co-produced by and for the Jetix global group by the American partner
8.
Disney Channel
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Disney Channels programming consists of original first-run television series, theatrically-released and original made-for-cable movies and select other third-party programming. Disney Channel – which formerly operated as a premium service – originally marketed its programs towards families during the 1980s, most of Disney Channels original programming is aimed at kids ages 9–16, while its Disney Junior programs are targeted at children 8 years and under. As of January 2016, Disney Channel is available to approximately 93.9 million pay television households in the United States. The Disney Sunday Movie, a version of the Walt Disney anthology television series, began on the channel in 1986 concurrent with ABCs version until 1988 and NBCs The Magical World of Disney. Disney Channel Original Movies series of made for television movies started on August 23,1997 with Northern Lights supplanting the previous Disney Channel Premiere Films banner.2 million viewers. The Cheetah Girls films were also successful in terms of merchiandise. The first film in 2003 was the first made-for-TV movie musical in Disney Channels history, and had a worldwide audience of over 84 million viewers. The second movie was the most successful of the series, bringing in 8.1 million viewers in the U. S. Disney Junior – Disney Junior is a block that features shows targeted at children aged 3–9. Which debuted on February 14,2011, it airs Monday through Fridays from 8,00 a. m. –2,00 p. m. and weekends from 6,00 to 9,00 a. m. Disney Junior carries one of the few programs on Disney Channel that feature classic Disney characters as of 2013, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Other programs currently seen in this block include Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Sheriff Callies Wild West, Sofia the First, Miles from Tomorrowland, The Lion Guard and Doc McStuffins. C. Saturdays from 8, 00-11,00 p. m. and Sundays from 7, Saturday nights feature repeats of recent episodes of the channels original series or an occasional film telecast. Encores of the respective nights programs typically air between 11,00 p. m. and 2,30 a. m, Eastern/Pacific each night during that weekend. Out of This World Weekend – a weekend of shows having space themed episodes, Weekend – a weekend of shows having mystery themed episodes. This was the first special weekend, Summer Adventure Weekend – a weekend of shows with vacation themed episodes. Flash Forward Weekend – a weekend of shows related to time travel, freaky Freakend – a weekend of shows featuring paranormal themed episodes. April Fuel Week – a week of shows featuring special episodes, Weekend – a weekend of shows featuring guest stars from other Disney Channel shows, occurs mostly in April. Programming seen during Disney Nighttime included older feature films, along with original concert specials, variety specials, mystery Night – ran each Tuesday evening starting at 9,00 p. m. Eastern/Pacific from 1990 to 1993, focused on mystery films from the 1930s to the 1960s
9.
Disney Junior
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A Spanish-language block airs on Univision under the name Planeta U. As of February 2015, Disney Junior is available to approximately 74,972,000 households in the United States, plans for the United States network were ultimately shelved, however dedicated Playhouse Disney Channels were launched in other countries internationally. Qubo and PBS Kids Sprout, in addition, the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel would also be renamed under the Disney Junior banner, prior to the launch of the channel of the same name. The announcement also called for the 22 existing programming blocks and cable channels outside of the United States bearing the Playhouse Disney name being rebranded as Disney Junior, Disney Junior first launched as a programming block on the Disney Channel on Valentines Day,2011. With the discontinuance of Playhouse Disney the day prior, the blocks mascots Ooh and Aah were retired, on January 9,2012, Disney-ABC Television Group announced that Soapnets shutdown date for most providers was scheduled for March 22,2012. Disney Juniors 24-hour cable channel counterpart officially launched the day on March 23. Eastern Time with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode Mickeys Big Surprise as the first program to air on the channel, as well as the weekend movie block, the Magical World of Disney Junior. Soapnets operations continued sixteen months later than had originally planned. Cable One added the network to the tier of its systems around May 26,2012. On June 21,2012, RCN began carrying the network on its systems, on July 13,2012, DirecTV announced that the Disney Junior network would be added to its lineup the following day on the 14th, a Saturday. Four days previously as a result of the dispute, Disney Junior Night Light is the Disney Junior channels overnight programming block, running daily from 9,00 p. m. to 4,00 a. m. The block, which debuted on September 4,2012 and is sponsored by Babble, consists of short-form programs intended for co-viewing among parents, features seen as part of the block include Picture This, DJ Tales and Thats Fresh
10.
DirecTV
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DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider based in El Segundo, California and is a subsidiary of AT&T. Its satellite service, launched on June 17,1994, transmits digital television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America. Its primary competitors are Dish Network and cable television providers, DirecTV provides television and audio services to subscribers through satellite transmissions. Services include the equivalent of local television stations, broadcast television networks, subscription television services, satellite radio services. Subscribers have access to hundreds of channels, so its competitors are cable television service, most subscribers use reception antennas which are much smaller than the first generation antennas, which were typically a few yards across. Advances in antenna technology, including fractal antennas, have allowed a reduction in antenna size across all industries. Receiving equipment includes a dish, an integrated receiver/decoder and a DirecTV access card. Consumers who purchase DirecTV subscribe to various packages of DirecTV programming for which the subscriber pays a monthly fee, additional monthly fees may include a protection plan, DVR, additional receivers, HD channels, and other premium channel packages. A subscriber also can order pay-per-view and video on demand events, all programming distributed by DirecTV is delivered to its broadcast centers in Castle Rock, Colorado, and Los Angeles, where it is then digitized and compressed. The resulting signal is encrypted by DirecTV to prevent its unauthorized reception, DirecTV then transmits these signals to several satellites located in geostationary orbit. As of the quarter ended September 30,2012, DirecTV U. S. had 19.981 million subscribers, for the same period, DirecTV Latin America ended with 9.666 million subscribers and revenues of US$1.577 billion. In addition to serving residences, DirecTV offers service to bars, restaurants, hotels, dorms, the company also offered mobile service for cars, boats, and RVs as well as aircraft in cooperation with Connexion by Boeing. On November 30,2016, DirecTV Now, an internet streaming TV service was launched, in 1953, Howard Hughes created the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, to which he transferred full ownership of Hughes Aircraft. Ostensibly created as a medical research foundation, HHMI was accused of being used by Hughes as a tax shelter. Following Hughes death in 1976, HHMI was incorporated in 1977, in 1984, the court appointed a new board for HHMI, which proceeded to sell off Hughes Aircraft to General Motors on December 20,1985, for an estimated $5.1 billion. General Motors then merged Hughes Aircraft with its subsidiary Delco Electronics to create Hughes Electronics Corporation, the new subsidiary was initially composed of four units, Delco Electronics Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, Hughes Space and Communications Company, and Hughes Network Systems. Stanley E. Hubbard founded United States Satellite Broadcasting in 1981 and was a proponent for the development of direct-broadcast satellite service in the United States. USSB was awarded five frequencies by the FCC, at the coveted 101 degree west satellite location, Hughes Communications, Inc. was also awarded 27 frequencies at the same 101-degree location
11.
Video on demand
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IPTV technology is often used to bring video on demand to televisions and personal computers. Internet television, using the Internet, is a popular form of video on demand. VOD can also be accessed via desktop client applications such as the Apple iTunes online content store, some airlines offer VOD as in-flight entertainment to passengers through individually controlled video screens embedded in seatbacks or armrests or offered via portable media players. Some video on demand services such as Netflix use a model that requires users to pay a monthly fee to access a bundled set of content. Other services use a model, where access is free for Internet users. Downloading and streaming video on demand systems provide the user all of the features of Portable media players. Some VOD systems that store and stream programs from hard drives use a memory buffer to allow the user to fast forward. It is possible to put video servers on local area networks, streaming video servers can also serve a wider community via a WAN, in which case the responsiveness may be reduced. Download VOD services are practical to homes equipped with cable modems or DSL connections, servers for traditional cable and telco VOD services are usually placed at the cable head-end serving a particular market as well as cable hubs in larger markets. In the telco world, they are placed in either the central office, the first Video on Demand systems used tapes as the realtime source of video streams. GTE started as a trial in 1990 with AT&T providing all components, by 1992 VOD servers were supplying previously encoded digital video from disks and DRAM. In the US the 1982 anti-trust break-up of AT&T resulted in a number of telephone companies called Baby Bells. Following this the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 prohibited telephone companies from providing services within their operating regions. All of these companies and others began holding trials to setup systems for supplying Video on Demand over telephone, in November 1992 Bell Atlantic announced a VOD trial. The IBM was developing video server code-named Tiger Shark, concurrently Digital Equipment was developing a scalable video server. Bell Atlantic selected IBM and April 1993 the system became the first VOD over ADSL to be deployed outside the lab, in 1994-5 US West went on to file for VOD at several cities. 330,000 subscribers in Denver,290,000 in Minneapolis, many VOD trials were held with various combinations of server, network and set-top. Of these the primary players in the US were the companies, using DEC, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, USA Video, nCube, SGI
12.
Dish Network
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Dish Network is an American direct-broadcast satellite service provider. The company provides satellite television, satellite Internet access, audio programming, as of November 2016, the company provided services to 13.7 million television and 580,000 broadband subscribers. The company has approximately 16,000 employees, the company is headquartered in Meridian, Colorado, though the postal designation of nearby Englewood, Colorado is used in the corporate mailing address. In January 2008, Dish Network was spun off from its parent company EchoStar. The company began using Dish Network as its brand in March 1997, after the successful launch of its first satellite, EchoStar I. That launch marked the beginning of its television services, and EchoStar has since launched numerous satellites. EchoStar continues to be the technology partner to Dish Network. Joseph Clayton became president and chief officer of the company in June 2011. Clayton remained in the position until March 31,2015 when he retired leaving Ergen to resume the post, Dishs main service is satellite television. Its offerings are similar to satellite and cable companies. Viewers can choose from a series of bundles, paying more money for more channels. A la carte programming is available, however limited other than Premium channels, the company is currently working on diversifying its offerings. With its purchase of Blockbuster LLC, it now owns the Blockbuster trademarks and has used its intellectual property agreement to offer streaming, Dish Anywhere is Dishs subscriber-only streaming video service, which includes HBO and Cinemax programming. In May 2012, the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked Dish second among American television providers and it weighs ten pounds, is protected from weather, and automatically searches for a signal. The only satellites that are compatible with the Tailgater are at Dishs 119,110. In March 2012, Dish began offering a video recorder called Dish Hopper that can automatically record all prime time programming on the four major television networks. The other half is for video on demand, a Hopper feature, called AutoHop, enables customers to view these programs without commercials, subject to time restrictions. AutoHop has attracted enthusiasts, critics, boycotts and legal action, at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show Dish won an award for their AutoHop feature on the Hopper
13.
C band (IEEE)
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The communications C-band was the first frequency band that was allocated for commercial telecommunications via satellites. The same frequencies were already in use for terrestrial microwave radio relay chains. Nearly all C-band communication satellites use the band of frequencies from 3.7 to 4.2 GHz for their downlinks, note that by using the band from 3.7 to 4.0 GHz, this C-band overlaps somewhat into the IEEE S-band for radars. The C-band communication satellites typically have 24 radio transponders spaced 20 MHz apart, hence, the transponders on the same polarization are always 40 MHz apart. Of this 40 MHz, each transponder utilizes about 36 MHz, the C-band is primarily used for open satellite communications, whether for full-time satellite television networks or raw satellite feeds, although subscription programming also exists. Typical antenna sizes on C-band capable systems ranges from 7.5 to 12 feet on consumer satellite dishes, rain fade – the collective name for the negative effects of adverse weather conditions on transmission – is mostly a consequence of precipitation and moisture in the air. Slight variations in the assignments of C-band frequencies have been approved for use in parts of the world. This latter region is the most populous one, since it includes the Peoples Republic of China, India, Pakistan, Japan and this is known as the 5-centimeter band by amateurs and the C-band by AMSAT. Particle accelerators may be powered by C-band RF sources, the frequencies are then standardized at 5.996 GHz or 5.712 GHz, which is the second harmonic of S-band
14.
4DTV
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4DTV is a proprietary broadcasting standard and technology for digital cable broadcasting and C-band/Ku-band satellite dishes from Motorola, using General Instruments DigiCipher II for encryption. It can tune in both analog VideoCipher 2 and digital DCII satellite channels, 4DTV technology was originally developed in 1997 by General Instrument/NextLevel and Motorola, now a division of ARRIS. The 4DTV format is contemporary to the DVB-based digital television broadcast standard but its completion came before that of DVB and thus it is similar, the DigiCipher 2 encryption system is used in digital channels much like the VideoCipher and VideoCipher II systems were used for analog encrypted transmissions. On December 31,2010, Motorola abandoned support for 4DTV after 13 years when it was developed and this made all of the receivers to redirect to AMC-18 instead of its of other satellites that carries analog/VCII channels. On August 24,2016, at 9,18 AM EST, Headend In The Sky transitioned to DVB-S2, Comcast and Arris has ended their support for consumer c band subscription TV. Theres still a HD C band consumer subscription service available from a company based in Tonasket Washington Rainier Satellite and they use the Cisco PowerVu system and provide those master feeds to backyard dish owners. 4DTV is designed for C-band/Ku-band based satellite dishes in conjunction with the DigiCipher II system and it is also used on Canadas Shaw Direct. This peripheral is no longer in production, in the United States, National Programming Service, LLC was the primary provider of subscription programming to 4DTV and C band/Ku band users. They ceased operations as of December 26,2010 after making an attempt of converting all of their customers over to Dish Network which failed. The largest providers are now Satellite Receivers, Ltd. and Skyvision who sell programming from the Headend In The Sky service by Comcast and will continue to do so in 2011 and beyond. The HITS services use the Comcast Subscription Authorization Center for the channels being broadcast on the AMC18 satellite located at 105 degrees West, in Canada, Dr. Sat is now the primary provider for HITS subscription services offered on C-Band after Satellite Communications Source ceased operations. Due to the removal of 4DTV/DigiCipher II channels on August 24,2016, there are no more programming providers for the 4DTV in the United States, however, Shaw Direct still offers DigiCipher II programming in Canada, but not HITS programming. The 4DTV makes use of first-generation digital master feeds on several satellites, therefore, a high quality signal is received, compared to other programming options that are typically compressed and re-uplinked. Being a C-band system, the 4DTV has the advantage of stability, great satellite footprint. This is a problem with such as Dish Network and DirecTV satellite providers since they re-uplink on Ku. The master feeds for the channels available can be scattered amongst multiple satellites. The actuator must slowly rotate the dish into the desired satellites signal path. This procedure makes rapid channel surfing impossible outside the HITS provided channels
15.
Spectrum (cable service)
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Charter Communications is an American telecommunications company, which offers its services to consumers and businesses under the branding of Spectrum. Providing services to over 25 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers and it is the fifth largest telephone provider based upon residential subscriber line count. On May 18,2016, Charter acquired Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks for a combined $65.5 billion, making it the third-largest pay television company in the United States. Charter Communications was founded in 1993 by Barry Babcock, Jerald Kent and Howard Wood and it was also incorporated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1993. In 1995, Charter paid about $300 million for a controlling interest in Crown Media, in 1997, Charter and EarthLink joined forces to deliver high-speed Internet access through cable modems to Charters customers in Los Angeles and Riverside, California. In 1998, Paul Allen bought a controlling interest, the company paid $2.8 billion to acquire Dallas-based cable company Marcus Cable. Charter Communications had 1 million customers in 1998, in November 1999, the company went public, trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange. At the time, it had 3.9 million customers, Acquired 400,000 InterMedia Partners subscribers, primarily in the Southeast. As part of the deal Charter would turn over about 140,000 of its subscribers to TCI in cable system swap, merged with Marcus Cable Acquired cable systems serving 460,000 subscribers from Rifkin Acquisition Partners and InterLink Communications. Acquired 173,000 subscribers, mostly in central Massachusetts, from New Jersey–based Greater Media Inc, Acquired Renaissance Media Group, a New York partnership serving 130,000 customers near New Orleans, western Mississippi, and Jackson, Tennessee. Acquired New Jersey-based Helicon Cable Communications, the systems served about 171,000 customers in eight states in the Southeast and Northeast. Acquired Avalon Cable TV, adding 260,000 subscribers primarily in Michigan, Acquired Vista Broadband Communications in Smyrna, Georgia, adding 30,000 more customers. Acquired Falcon Cable TV of Los Angeles, Falcon was the eighth-largest cable operator in the United States with about one million subscribers in 27 states in primarily non-urban areas. Acquired Fanch Communications Inc. of Denver, Fanch had 547,000 subscribers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Wisconsin. Charter also began swapping customers with systems to improve the geographic clustering of its systems. In December 1999, it signed a letter of intent with AT&T Corporation to swap 1.3 million cable subscribers in St. Louis as well as in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri. In 2000, Charter Communications bought select AT&T cable markets, including Reno, Nevada, in 2001, MSN and Charter signed an agreement to offer MSN content and services to Charters broadband customers. In the same year, Charter received awards, including the Outstanding Corporate Growth Award from the Association for Corporate Growth, the R. E
16.
IPTV
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Unlike downloaded media, IPTV offers the ability to stream the source media continuously. As a result, a client media player can begin playing the data almost immediately and this is known as streaming media. Although IPTV uses the Internet protocol it is not limited to television media streamed from the Internet, IPTV in the telecommunications arena is notable for its ongoing standardisation process. Historically, many different definitions of IPTV have appeared, including elementary streams over IP networks, transport streams over IP networks and these services may include, for example, Live TV, Video On Demand and Interactive TV. These services are delivered across an access agnostic, packet switched network that employs the IP protocol to transport the audio, video, the term IPTV first appeared in 1995 with the founding of Precept Software by Judith Estrin and Bill Carrico. Precept developed an Internet video product named IP/TV, the software was written primarily by Steve Casner, Karl Auerbach, and Cha Chee Kuan. Precept was acquired by Cisco Systems in 1998, Internet radio company AudioNet started the first continuous live webcasts with content from WFAA-TV in January 1998 and KCTU-LP on January 10,1998. The operator added additional VoD service in October 2001 with Yes TV, kingston was one of the first companies in the world to introduce IPTV and IP VoD over ADSL as a commercial service. The service became the reference for various changes to UK Government regulations, in 2006, the KIT service was discontinued, subscribers having declined from a peak of 10,000 to 4,000. In 1999, NBTel was the first to commercially deploy Internet protocol television over DSL in Canada using the Alcatel 7350 DSLAM, the service was marketed under the brand VibeVision in New Brunswick, and later expanded into Nova Scotia in early 2000 after the formation of Aliant. IMagic TV was later sold to Alcatel, in 2002, Sasktel was the second in Canada to commercially deploy Internet Protocol video over DSL, using the Lucent Stinger DSL platform. In 2005, SureWest Communications was the first North American company to offer high-definition television channels over an IPTV service, in 2005, Bredbandsbolaget launched its IPTV service as the first service provider in Sweden. As of January 2009, they are not the biggest supplier any longer, TeliaSonera, in 2007, TPG became the first internet service provider in Australia to launch IPTV. Complementary to its ADSL2+ package this was, and still is, free of charge to customers on eligible plans and now offers over 45 local free to air channels, by 2010, iiNet and Telstra launched IPTV services in conjunction to internet plans but with extra fees. In 2008, PTCL launched IPTV under the name of PTCL Smart TV in Pakistan. S. Markets with an IPTV service called Prism and this was after successful test marketing in Florida. During the 2014 Winter Olympics Shortest path bridging was used to deliver 36 IPTV HD Olympic channels, in 2016, KCTV introduced the Set-top box called Manbang, claiming to provide video-on-demand services in North Korea via quasi-internet protocol television. According to KCTV, viewers can use the service not only in Pyongyang, stating that the demands for the equipment are particularly high in Sinuiju, with several hundred users in the region
17.
Verizon Fios
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Verizon Fios is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service that operates over a fiber-optic communications network with over 5 million customers in nine US states. The name, Fios, is an acronym for Fiber Optic Service, Fios service began in 2005, and networked areas expanded through 2010, although some areas do not have service or cannot receive TV and phone service because of franchise agreements. Verizon was one of the first major U. S. carriers to offer fiber to the home, other service providers use fiber optics in the network backbone and existing copper or coax infrastructure for residential users. Where available, select Verizon Wireless stores also sell Fios services, similar to AT&T offering DirecTV, the early stages of Fios began when Bell Atlantic was testing its video service Stargazer in 1995. This was the worlds first commercial VOD service, which was tested to 1,000 homes in northern VA, during this time there were talks of developing a fiber optic based service. This service was developed at a headquarters located in Reston, Virginia and this will be folded into our deployment of fiber to the curb, Mr. Townsend said, referring to Bell Atlantics plans to deploy a high-tech fiber-optic system. In September 2005, Verizon Communications, announced the launch of its Fios television service, Verizon aimed to replace copper wires with optical fibers, which would allow greater speed and quality of communication. In 2006, Verizon and Motorola partnered to bring its customers home DVR access, in 2006, The Wall Street Journal speculated, Verizon Communications Inc. is fielding offers for. Verizon also has been shopping a package dubbed GTE North that comprises about 3.4 million access lines in former GTE Corp. territories in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, in addition to expanding its customer base, Verizon expanded its services in the first few years. Home Media DVR, a video recorder, was released in 2006. Fios updated its user interface in 2007, allowing customers to access widgets for localized content, such as weather, Verizon announced in January 2008 that one million people subscribed to the service. By the end of 2008, Fios offered more than 150 HD channels, price increases were announced in April 2008, when Fios was available to 6.5 million households. In January 2009, Fios was available to 12.7 million homes, as of June 2009, Fios Internet had 3.1 million customers. Estimates on December 31,2009, were 3.4 million Internet customers and 2.86 million for Fios TV, doug Michelson, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, concluded that Verizon has been overspending to acquire Fios customers. Some viewed the halt in expansion as a violation of Verizons agreements with municipalities and states. In New Jersey, Verizon collected an additional $15 billion in fees from customers, the New Jersey government altered the deal in 2014 to allow Verizon to substitute wireless internet access to fulfill its promise instead. Verizon defended itself, claiming that they had spent $13 billion building fiber optics in New Jersey, critics pointed out that wireless internet was slower and less reliable. In April 2010, Verizon announced that three people were subscribed to Verizon Fios
18.
AT&T U-verse
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AT&T U-verse, commonly called U-verse, is an AT&T brand of triple-play telecommunications services, although the brand is now only used in reference to the television portion of the services. Launched on June 26,2006, using the FTTP, VDSL, and ADSL communication protocols, U-verse included broadband Internet, IP telephone, and IPTV services in 21 states. On March 27,2017, it was revealed that AT&T is seriously considering closing down the TV service website Uverse. com on May 30,2017. SBC announced its plans for a network and Internet Protocol television deployment in 2004. Beta testing began in San Antonio in 2005 and AT&T U-verse was commercially launched June 26,2006, a few months later on November 30,2006, the service was launched in Houston. In December 2006, the product launched in Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, Hartford, Indianapolis, in February 2007, U-verse was launched in Milwaukee. One month later service was initiated in Dallas and Kansas City, in May 2007, U-verse launched in Detroit, Los Angeles, and surrounding areas. Launch continued in Cleveland, Akron, and San Diego in June 2007, the Oklahoma City and Sacramento launches occurred in August 2007. In November 2007, service was started in Austin, in December 2007, U-verse was launched in Orlando and St. Louis. A controlled launch was initiated in Atlanta that month marking the first launch in the Southeastern United States. On December 22,2008, the product debuted in Birmingham, on January 25,2010, AT&T announced that U-verse was available to over 2.8 million households. AT&T Phone was added on January 22,2008, and was first available in Detroit, in 2008, U-verse availability approached 8 million households and over 225,000 customers had been enrolled, with new installations reaching 12,000 per week. By 2009,1 million Phone customers and 2.1 million U-verse TV customers had been enrolled, at the end of 2011, U-verse was available to more than 30 million living units in 22 states and U-verse TV had 3.8 million customers. By mid-2012, AT&T had 4.1 million U-Verse TV subscribers,2.6 million Phone subscribers, by the third quarter of 2012, AT&T had 4.3 million TV subscribers,2.7 million Phone subscribers and 7.1 million Internet. This represents 7% growth quarter on quarter, the actual number of customers is lower, as most customers subscribe to a bundle and so are counted in both categories. On March 29,2016, AT&T announced that it will increase data caps on its Internet service on May 23,2016, the integration of AT&T and DirecTV is set to begin by the fourth quarter of 2016. On May 16,2016, AT&T announced that it will acquire Quickplay Media, on September 19,2016, AT&T announced that the U-verse brand would no longer apply to its broadband and phone services, renaming them AT&T Internet and AT&T Phone, respectively. AT&T delivers most U-verse service over a fiber-to-the-node or fiber-to-the-premises communications network, in the more common FTTN deployment, fiber-optic connections carry all data between the service provider and a distribution node
19.
Google Fiber
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Google Fiber is part of the Access division of Alphabet Inc. It provides fiber-to-the-premises service in the United States, providing broadband Internet and cable television to a small, in mid-2016, Google Fiber had 68,715 television subscribers and was estimated to have about 453,000 broadband customers. The service was first introduced to the Kansas City metropolitan area, on August 10,2015, Google announced its intention to restructure the company moving less central services and products into a new umbrella corporation, Alphabet Inc. As part of this plan, Google Fiber would become a subsidiary of Alphabet and may become part of the Access. In October 2016, all plans were put on hold. Google Fiber will continue to service in the cities where it is already installed. Google Fiber offers four options, depending on location, a free Internet option, a 100 Mbit/s option, a 1 Gbit/s Internet option. The Internet service includes one terabyte of Google Drive service, the service includes a two terabyte DVR in addition to the Google Drive. The DVR can record up to eight live television shows simultaneously, in addition, television service will also stream live program content on iPad and Android tablet computers. Google offers several different service plans to their customers, Google also offers free Google Fiber Internet connectivity in each of its markets to select public, in order to avoid underground cabling complexity for the last mile, Google Fiber relies on aggregators dubbed Google Fiber Huts. From these Google Fiber Huts, the fiber cables travel along utility poles into neighborhoods and homes, the estimated cost of wiring a fiber network like Google Fiber into a major American city is $1 billion. The initial location was chosen following a selection process. Over 1,100 communities applied to be the first recipient of the service, the request form was simple, and, some have argued, too straightforward. This led to various attention-getting behaviors by those hoping to have their town selected, some examples are given below, Baton Rouge, Louisiana supporters remade the Supertramp song Give a Little Bit to Give a Gigabit. Greenville, South Carolina utilized 1,000 of their citizens, from an aerial view, the title Google was colorfully visible. Topeka, Kansas, temporarily renamed itself Google, a small plane bearing a banner reading Will Google Play in Peoria, IL. flew over the Google campus in Mountain View, California. The mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, jokingly proclaimed that every child will be named either Google Fiber or Googlette Fiber. The city of Rancho Cucamonga, California, dubbed their city, one of the islands in Sarasota, Florida, was temporarily renamed Google Island
20.
Streaming media
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Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a provider. A client end-user can use their player to begin to play the data file before the entire file has been transmitted. For example, in the 1930s, elevator music was among the earliest popularly available streaming media, the term streaming media can apply to media other than video and audio such as live closed captioning, ticker tape, and real-time text, which are all considered streaming text. As of 2017, streaming is generally taken to refer to cases where a user watches digital video content or listens to audio content on a computer screen. With streaming content, the user does not have to download the digital video or digital audio file before they start to watch/listen to it. There are challenges with streaming content on the Internet, as of 2016, two popular streaming services are the video sharing website YouTube, which contains video and audio files on a huge range of topics and Netflix, which streams movies and TV shows. Live streaming refers to Internet content delivered in real-time, as events happen, Live internet streaming requires a form of source media, an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher, and a content delivery network to distribute and deliver the content. Live streaming does not need to be recorded at the origination point, in the early 1920s, George O. Attempts to display media on computers date back to the earliest days of computing in the mid-20th century, however, little progress was made for several decades, primarily due to the high cost and limited capabilities of computer hardware. From the late 1980s through the 1990s, consumer-grade personal computers became powerful enough to various media. These technological improvement facilitated the streaming of audio and video content to users in their homes and workplaces. The band Severe Tire Damage was the first group to live on the Internet. On June 24,1993, the band was playing a gig at Xerox PARC while elsewhere in the building, as proof of PARCs technology, the bands performance was broadcast and could be seen live in Australia and elsewhere. Microsoft Research developed a Microsoft TV application which was compiled under MS Windows Studio Suite, realNetworks was also a pioneer in the streaming media markets, when it broadcast a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners over the Internet in 1995. The first symphonic concert on the Internet took place at the Paramount Theater in Seattle, the concert was a collaboration between The Seattle Symphony and various guest musicians such as Slash, Matt Cameron, and Barrett Martin. When Word Magazine launched in 1995, they featured the first-ever streaming soundtracks on the Internet.4 in 1999, in June 1999 Apple also introduced a streaming media format in its QuickTime 4 application. It was later widely adopted on websites along with RealPlayer. In 2000 Industryview. com launched its worlds largest streaming video archive website to help promote themselves
21.
Sling TV
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Sling TV is an American over-the-top internet television service that is owned by Dish Network. Sling TV is led by CEO Roger Lynch, who served as the executive vice president of advanced technologies for Dish Network. The services precursor, the television service DishWorld, was also brought under the auspices of Sling TV LLC and was rebranded as Sling International. Sling TV officially launched on February 9,2015, after offering the service on a basis in January of that year. As of March 2017, the service has approximately 1.18 million subscribers. In November 2014, Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen explained that the company planned to launch its OTT service by the end of the year and he explained, the regular linear MVPD business is a mature business. You cant just go back every day and say Im going to raise my rates to make my budget and you have to figure out other revenue streams and get other people to pay for your product and watch more minutes of your product. Dish did not provide any details on when the service would be launched. Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch explained that the service was designed to target the viewing habits of the 18–35 demographic and we would have ended up with $60 or $70 bundles. We dont think that is the way to reach that demographic and we spent a lot of time working with programmers to make sure we had smaller bundles, lower costs and more flexibility. He also noted the importance of reaching a deal to include ESPN in the service, after an invitation-only beta, Sling TV officially launched on February 9,2015. That same day, Sling announced a deal with AMC Networks, allowing networks such as AMC, IFC, BBC America. On February 16,2015, Sling TV announced an agreement to all four channels of Epix as a premium channel option to its customers. The premium channel was added to its service on April 9,2015, Sling TV debuted Sling Latino on June 4,2015. The service features two Spanish-language packages, Paquete Total and Paquete Esencial, customers can purchase two additional add-on packs, Colombia and España. This service does not require the purchase of the Best of Live TV package, in November 2015, the Blockbuster On Demand service by Blockbuster LLC was shut down and all customers were redirected to Sling. Sling TV began offering a Multi-Stream package on April 13,2016 that includes the FOX family of networks and this was attained by dropping ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, and Freeform. Sling TV added FS2, FXX, Nat Geo Wild and Viacom Media Networks channels to the Multi-Stream package, Sling restructured their channel offerings on June 30,2016, creating the Sling Orange single-stream and Sling Blue multi-stream packages
22.
PlayStation Vue
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PlayStation Vue is an over-the-top internet television service that is owned and operated by Sony. As of March 2017, the service had approximately 400,000 subscribers, PlayStation Vue is available only in the United States. The service was rolled out in 2015 to residents in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, PlayStation Vue was launched across the United States on March 14,2016. Sony introduced Vue into 203 new markets, on October 27,2016, Sony announced that Playstation Vue would be available on Android TV. PC and Mac support was announced as coming soon. PC and Mac support became available in early November 2016, on November 17,2016, the service was launched on Apple TV. Initial activation Initial activation of PlayStation Vue and required profile creation can only be performed with a supported, TV-connected device with Internet access, activation and required profile creation with mobile or Chromecast is not supported. Roku activation As of October 2016, some users were complaining of Roku activation problems, mobile restrictions Some PlayStation Vue live content and Cloud DVR recordings of My Shows are mobile restricted. Program guide For those not satisfied with the PlayStation Vue user interface, particularly on Roku devices, Replay Replay and playback positioning work poorly in Roku devices as of November 2016. Amazon Fire TV devices may be an alternative to Roku. Sony has announced agreements with major content producers, including ABC, CBS, Disney, ESPN, Fox, NBC Universal, AMC Networks, Turner Broadcasting System, Home Box Office/Cinemax. On September 30,2016, a package was created. PlayStation Vue features four packages, In addition, users can also access programming from more than 60 networks TV Everywhere apps or websites, PlayStation Vue restrictions limit simultaneous streams to five devices. A single PlayStation Vue account can simultaneously stream PlayStation Vue on up to one PS4 console, additionally, Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, iOS, and Android devices can be used for additional streams, with up to five total devices supported at once. Packages are billed on a basis and are allowed to be canceled at any time. No contract is required and a free trial is offered to any who would normally be able to access the service who have not previously redeemed a trial. The monthly rate is charged to the credit card if the service is not canceled before the end of the trial period. Currently, Univision has its own Over-the-Top service known as Univision Now, on November 8,2016, PlayStation Vue announced that it was dropping all Viacom networks from the service effective November 11,2016
23.
Hulu
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Hulu is an American subscription video on demand service owned by Hulu LLC, a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, Comcast, and as of August 10,2016, Time Warner. It is primarily oriented towards television series, carrying current and past episodes of series from its owners respective television networks, the subscription service is, in turn, divided into advertising-supported and mostly ad-free tiers. In 2016, Hulu spun out its content into a joint venture with Yahoo. called Yahoo. View and announced plans for a television streaming service some time in 2017. The name Hulu comes from two Mandarin Chinese words, húlú, calabash, bottle gourd, and hùlù, interactive recording, the company blog explains, In Mandarin, Hulu has two interesting meanings, each highly relevant to our mission. The primary meaning interested us because it is used in an ancient Chinese proverb that describes the Hulu as the holder of precious things and it literally translates to gourd, and in ancient times, the Hulu was hollowed out and used to hold precious things. The secondary meaning is interactive recording and we saw both definitions as appropriate bookends and highly relevant to the mission of Hulu. Key executives instrumental in the founding of Hulu include Bruce Campbell, Peter Chernin, JB Perrette, Michael Lang, Beth Comstock, the venture was announced in March 2006 with AOL, Comcast, Facebook, MSN, Myspace, and Yahoo. planned as initial distribution partners. Kilar was named the CEO in June 2006, the name Hulu was chosen in late August 2007, when the website went live, with an announcement only and no content. It invited users to leave their addresses for the upcoming beta test. In October, Hulu began the private beta testing by invitation, Hulu launched for public access in the United States on March 12,2008. The first product to launch was the HULU Syndication network, which was designed and developed by the NBC Universal team from New York, on October 29,2007, followed by the Hulu. com destinations site. Hulu began a campaign during NBCs broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII with an initial ad starring Alec Baldwin titled Alec in Huluwood. The ad intended to reveal the shocking secret behind Hulu. Advertisements have since aired featuring Eliza Dushku, Seth MacFarlane, Denis Leary, with its investment came a seat on the board of directors, where Providence was said to act as an independent voice on the board. In October 2012, Providence sold its 10 percent stake to Hulus media owners, ComScore says monthly video streams reached 903 million in January 2010, over three times the figure for a year earlier, and second only to YouTube. On August 16,2010, a report revealed that Hulu was planning an Initial Public Offering which could value the company at more than $2 billion. On June 21,2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that an unsolicited offer caused Hulu to begin weighing whether to sell itself
24.
Satellite television
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A direct-broadcast satellite is a type of artificial satellite which usually broadcasts satellite television signals for home reception. The type of satellite television which uses direct-broadcast satellites is known as direct-broadcast satellite television or direct-to-home television and these services were to use the D-Mac and D2-Mac format and BSS frequencies with circular polarization from orbital positions allocated to each country. Before these DBS satellites, home satellite television in Europe was limited to a few channels, really intended for cable distribution, in 1977, the ITU adopted an international BSS Plan under which each country was allocated specific frequencies at specific orbital locations for domestic service. Over the years, this plan has been modified to, for example, accommodate new countries, increase coverage areas, at present, numerous countries have brought into use their BSS Plan allocations. By contrast, the term DTH can apply to similar services transmitted over a range of frequencies transmitted from satellites that are not part of any internationally planned band. The term DBS is often used interchangeably with DTH to cover both analog and digital video and audio services received by relatively small dishes, a DBS service usually refers to either a commercial service, or a group of free channels available from one orbital position targeting one country. In certain regions of the world, especially in North America, DBS is used to refer to providers of subscription satellite packages, the second commercial DBS service, Sky Television plc, was launched in 1989. Sky TV started as a four-channel free-to-air analogue service on the Astra 1A satellite, by 1991, Sky had changed to a conditional access pay model, and it launched a digital service, Sky Digital, in 1998, with analogue transmission ceasing in 2001. Since the DBS nomenclature is used in the UK or Ireland. News Corporation has a 32% stake in BSkyB, PrimeStar began transmitting an analog service to North America in 1991, and was joined by DirecTV, in 1994. At the time, DirecTVs introduction was the most successful consumer electronics debut in American history, although PrimeStar transitioned to a digital system in 1994, it was ultimately unable to compete with DirecTV, which required a smaller satellite dish and could deliver more programming. DirecTV purchased PrimeStar in 1999 and moved all of that subscribers to DirecTV equipment. In 2008, Liberty Media Corporation purchased News Corporations controlling interest in DirecTV, in 1996, EchoStars Dish Network went online in the United States and, as DirecTVs primary competitor, achieved similar success. AlphaStar also started but soon went under, astro was also started, using a direct broadcast satellite system. Dominion Video Satellite Inc. s Sky Angel launched on a platform in the United States in 1996, with its DBS service geared toward the faith. It grew from six to 36 television and radio channels of entertainment, Christian-inspirational programming. Dominion, under its corporate name Video Satellite Systems Inc. Sky Angel, although a separate and independent DBS service, used the satellites, transmission facilities
25.
The Walt Disney Company
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The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue. Disney was founded on October 16,1923 – by brothers Walt Disney, the company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio and then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing. In addition, Disney has since created corporate divisions in order to more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its studio, Walt Disney Studios. Disneys other three divisions are Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Media Networks, and Disney Consumer Products. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6,1991, Mickey Mouse, an early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, is a primary symbol and mascot for Disney. In early 1923, Kansas City, Missouri, animator Walt Disney created a film entitled Alices Wonderland. After the bankruptcy in 1923 of his previous firm, Laugh-O-Gram Studios, Disney moved to Hollywood to join his brother, Walt and Roy Disney formed Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio that same year. More animated films followed after Alice, in January 1926, with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street, the Disney Brothers Studios name was changed to the Walt Disney Studio. The distributor owned Oswald, so Disney only made a few hundred dollars, Disney completed 26 Oswald shorts before losing the contract in February 1928, due to a legal loophole, when Winklers husband Charles Mintz took over their distribution company. After failing to take over the Disney Studio, Mintz hired away four of Disneys primary animators to start his own animation studio, Snappy Comedies. In 1928, to recover from the loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney came up with the idea of a character named Mortimer while on a train headed to California. The mouse was later renamed Mickey Mouse and starred in several Disney produced films, ub Iwerks refined Disneys initial design of Mickey Mouse. Disneys first sound film Steamboat Willie, a cartoon starring Mickey, was released on November 18,1928 through Pat Powers distribution company and it was the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon released, but the third to be created, behind Plane Crazy and The Gallopin Gaucho. Disney used Pat Powers Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forests Phonofilm system, Steamboat Willie premiered at B. S. Mosss Colony Theater in New York City, now The Broadway Theatre. Disneys Plane Crazy and The Galloping Gaucho were then retrofitted with synchronized sound tracks, Disney continued to produce cartoons with Mickey Mouse and other characters, and began the Silly Symphonies series with Columbia Pictures signing on as Symphonies distributor in August 1929
26.
Children's television series
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They can sometimes run during the early evening, allowing younger children to watch them after school. The purpose of the shows is mainly to entertain and sometimes to educate, in the United States, early childrens television was often a marketing branch of a larger corporate product, such as Disney, and it rarely contained any educational elements. This practice continued, albeit in a much toned-down manner, through the 1980s in the United States, in 1992, teen comedies and a Today show weekend edition were first to displace the cartoon blocks on NBC. Starting in September 2002, the networks turned to their affiliated cable cartoon channels or outside programmers for their blocks, the other two Big Three television networks soon did the same. Infomercials replaced the cartoon on Fox in 2008, the Saturday cartoons were less of a draw due to the various cable cartoon channels being available all week starting in the 1990s. With recordable options becoming more prevalent in the 1990s with Videocassette recorder then its 21st century replacements of DVDs, DVRs, FCC rule changes in the 1990s regarding the E/I programming and limitation on kid-focus advertising made the cartoons less profitable. Another possible contributor is the rising divorce rate and the following childrens visitation pushed more quality time with the kids instead of TV watching. On September 27,2014, the last traditional Saturday network morning cartoon block, Vortexx, Childrens television series can target a wide variety of key demographics, the programming used to target these demographics varies by age and gender. Few television networks target infants and toddlers under two years of age, in due to widespread opposition to the practice. Childrens programming can be targeted toward persons 2 to 11 years of age, in practice, this is divided into the preschool demographic. Preschool-oriented programming is more overtly educational. In a number of cases, such shows are produced in consultation with educators, adaptations of illustrated childrens book series are one subgenre of shows targeted at younger children. Shows that target the demographic of persons 6 to 11 years old focus primarily on entertainment, most childrens television series targeting this age range are animated, and many often specifically target boys, girls or sometimes both. PBS has had greater success with its educational programming block. The teen demographic targets viewers 11 to 17 years of age, live-action series that target this demographic are more dramatic and developed, including teen dramas and teen sitcoms. In some cases, they may contain mature content that is usually not permissible on shows targeting younger viewers. Animated programming is not generally targeted at this demographic, cartoons that are aimed at teenagers generally feature more crude humor than those oriented toward younger children. S, regulations that allows teen-oriented programs to be counted as educational but not be subject to restrictions on advertising for childrens programs. One of the issues that is brought up is that of gendered stereotypes within childrens television
27.
Phineas and Ferb
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Phineas and Ferb is an American animated musical comedy television series. Sometimes, other villains scoff at his level of evil, the two plots intersect at the end to erase all traces of the boys project just before Candace can show it to their mother. This usually leaves Candace very frustrated, creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff Swampy Marsh had previously worked together on The Simpsons and Rockos Modern Life. The creators also voice two of the main B-plot characters, Major Monogram and Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Phineas and Ferb was conceived after Povenmire sketched a triangular boy – the prototype for Phineas – in a restaurant. Povenmire and Marsh developed the concept together and pitched it to networks for 16 years before securing a run on Disney Channel. The series is known for some of its memorable songs. Disneys managers particularly enjoyed the song, Gitchee, Gitchee Goo. The shows creators write and record number, and vary musical tempo depending on each songs dramatic use. The series has also been popular with adults, on August 25,2011, the show was picked up for a fourth season along with a possible spin-off show and a feature film on the Disney Channel. Disney Channel officially announced on November 9,2011 that the season was picked up with new episodes rolling out starting December 7,2012. It is now the longest running Disney Channel Original Series, beating Kim Possibles 5 years and 3 months, and is also the longest running Disney XD Original Series. On February 15,2014, it was announced production of the show had been completed and no new episodes had been ordered. However, new episodes started airing on Disney XD in June 2014, a 73-hour marathon of the show would begin on Disney XD on June 9,2015. The series officially ended on June 12,2015 on Disney Channel and it was also announced that a stand-alone hour-long special titled O. W. C. A. Files would be released the following Fall, the special officially premiered on Disney XD on November 9,2015. Often these adventures involve elaborate, life-sized and ostensibly dangerous construction projects, phineass older sister, Candace Flynn, has two obsessions, busting Phineas and Ferbs schemes and ideas, and winning the attention of a boy named Jeremy. Meanwhile, the pet platypus, Perry, acts as a secret agent for an all-animal government organization called the O. W. C. A. Much of the series relies on running gags used in almost every episode
28.
Eastern Time Zone
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Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
29.
Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together
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Dude, Were Getting the Band Back Together is the 22nd aired episode of the American animated television series Phineas and Ferb. It originally aired on Disney Channel in the United States on March 8,2008, the plot concerns an attempt by Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher to reform the band Love Händel for their parents wedding anniversary. The story was written by Bobby Gaylor and Martin Olson, and storyboarded by Chris Headrick and it was directed by series co-creator Dan Povenmire. The episodes central characters, the members of Love Händel, are parodies of three of the staff, Gaylor, Povenmire, and Jeff Swampy Marsh. Jaret Reddick, Carlos Alazraqui, and Steve Zahn guest starred as the members themselves. Dude, Were Getting the Band Back Together was well received and is considered a fan favorite and it has been referred to by the Phineas and Ferb co-creators as one of their favorite episodes in several different interviews. The episode garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the song I Aint Got Rhythm in the category Outstanding Original Music, Phineas and Ferbs parents, Linda and Lawrence, are arguing over something Lawrence has forgotten. Linda goes out alone for the afternoon, leaving Lawrence confused, Lawrence goes to the garage to search for a gift and discovers an old album by Love Händel, he explains to the children that he and Linda shared their first kiss at the bands farewell concert. Lawrence despairs of recapturing the moment, but Candace, Phineas, and Ferb watch a Where Are They Now. -type special about Love Händel, Candace tries to keep Linda away from the house while Phineas and Ferb are looking for the members of the band. Doofenshmirtz explains that he has been trying to out the best birthday parties for her. Seeing this, Perry agrees to set aside his rivalry and help Doofenshmirtz prepare for the party, Phineas and Ferb set out to convince the members of Love Händel - lead singer Danny, bassist Bobbi Fabulous, and drummer Swampy - to reform. Danny alone agrees immediately, with a song, the two need convincing, through song as well. At the same time, Isabella and the Fireside Girls are starting the stage building, Lawrence, at the same time, tries to cater a small dinner and hires a singing telegram, unfortunately, the dinner catches fire, and Lawrences hastily planned evening goes up in smoke. Phineas and Ferb arrive and assure Lawrence that all is well, meanwhile, Candace continues keeping Linda away from the house by taking her to the mall to try on some dresses. Doofenshmirtz, back at his lair, ties Perry to a giant firecracker rocket, explaining that he end the party with fireworks. When Vanessa arrives, however, she hates the girly theme Doofenshmirtz has chosen and sits down to mope at a table, at the same moment the band begins to play, Candace and Linda arrive home. Linda reunites with her husband, and eventually kiss, thanks to some motivation from Ferb, the explosion as Doofenshmirtzs firecracker rocket launches leaves the lair filthy and partly destroyed, the creepy look thrills Vanessas arriving goth friends, who find it to be cool. Touched by this, Vanessa happily thanks both her father for getting one birthday party right for her and Perry for helping her father out, as the rocket ascends, Doofenshmirtz is himself cursing Perry, as usual, but pauses to notice Love Handel singing below
30.
Aaron Stone
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Aaron Stone was a Canadian/American science fiction action-adventure television series created by Bruce Kalish. Originally broadcast with the launch of Disney XD on February 13,2009 and it was the first original series to air on the network. Produced in conjunction with Canadian Shaftesbury Films and filmed in Toronto, Ontario, the series was about a teenager named Charlie Landers who is enlisted to become the real-life counterpart of his world-renowned avatar Aaron Stone from the fictional video game Hero Rising. The series also starred David Lambert, Tania Gunadi and J. P. Manoux, unlike most of Disneys live-action shows, Aaron Stone featured a darker tone with a complex storyline. Production for the first season ran from June 2, to December 19,2008, the first season aired on Disney XD from February 13, to November 27,2009. On May 5,2009, Disney announced that the show had been renewed for a second season, kelly Blatz confirmed via Twitter account that production for the second season began on June 22,2009. The given reason was that Disney XD made the decision to put emphasis on live-action programming that is primarily comedy-based. This announcement was made before season one concluded in the United States, a total of 14 episodes were produced for the second season premiering on February 24,2010. The last remaining 8 episodes began airing on June 16 and concluded on July 30,2010, as of 2015, Disney XD discontinued airing reruns of Aaron Stone in the United States. In 2015, on the Disney Channel Original Movie, Descendants, Carlos, kelly Blatz as Charlie Landers/Aaron Stone, The teenage protagonist, who assumes the role of his video-game avatar in order to protect his family and the world. His Hero Rising avatar and real-life secret identity is named Aaron Stone and he is 16 years old at the beginning of Season 1, turning 17 years old in the middle of Season 1. He is the best of the best in Hero Rising and his weapons in Hero Rising and in real-life alter ego as Aaron Stone is the Gauntlet, and as said by S. T. A. N. The Gauntlet has the power of ten suns which makes it the most powerful weapon in Hero Rising and he also has a bike which is from the S. S. J. In the earlier episodes he had a crush on Emma before finding out she worked for Mr. Hall, Tania Gunadi as Emma Lau/Dark Tamara, A nerdy computer-savvy tomboy who is Charlies next door neighbor. She knows of Charlies double identity and works for Mr. Hall and she is very proficient in hacking and stealth tactics. She created most of Charlies weapons and is a 2nd degree weapon specialist and she, like Charlie, has an alter-ego, her avatar, Dark Tamara. It is also revealed that her first kiss was with Jason, being an android when his hand fell off. David Lambert as Jason Landers/Terminus Mag, Charlies 14 - 15-year-old younger brother and his gaming skills are seriously lacking
31.
Kid vs. Kat
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The show was created and co-directed by Rob Boutilier. The series is distributed by Studio B Productions, the series revolves around a young boys constant battle with his sisters Sphynx cat which, in reality, is an alien invader. The show aired on YTV in Canada from October 25,2008 and it ran for a total of two seasons and 52 episodes. When Coop Burtonburgers spoiled younger sister Millie brings home a stray cat. Kat instantly declares war on Coop, the two battle constantly as Coop tries to stop Kat and tell the world about his sinister plans, only to find Kat destroying the evidence, and putting the blame on Coop every time. Cooper Coop Burtonburger Voiced by Erin Mathews Coop is a 10-year-old boy who thinks Kat is evil from the first time they ever met and he tries to stay out of trouble, but is often humiliated and injured when trying to prove Kats true identity. He gets the blame for everything Kat ruins in the house, Coop sometimes thinks Mr. Kats plan is to take over the world, but Mr. Kats plans are to collect Fishy frisky bits and return to his home planet in outer space. Coop may have misunderstood Mr. Kat most of the time and he always jumps to conclusions without knowing all the facts, due to the fact that he never takes chances and never bothers talking to Kat about the situation instead of fighting him. The irony about Coop is that he comes up with plans to get rid of Kat. Coops father, Mr. Burtonburger and Coops sister Millie think that Coop is insane for thinking that Kat is an evil alien, Dennis, Fiona, and his Grandpa & Grandma believe him. The Burtonburgers neighbor, Old Lady Munson, hates Coop, Coop has brown hair and blue eyes. Nobody knows what happened to Coop and Millies mom who could either be deceased or divorced, together, he and his friends are fans of Captain Blasteroid. In episode Something about Fiona Coop develops a crush on Old Lady Munsons niece Fiona, who is revealed to also know Mr. Kats identity, but during the episode Kat To The Future Part 2 Coop travels to the past and stops Millie from ever finding Kat. When Coop returns to the future he found out that Kats actual mission was conquering the Earth for other cats and he remained one of the protagonists throughout the entire series. Millie Burtonburger Voiced by Kathleen Barr Millie is Coops younger sister, a spoiled and bratty girl and the owner of Kat, Mr. Burtonburger, her father, always does whatever Millie says, mainly because she throws extreme tantrums when she fails to get her way. Because she can manipulate people into giving her what she wants. Like several characters, she usually blames Coop for everything that happens, Millie has long, dark blue hair tied up in a ponytail with a magenta-colored bow, freckles and buck teeth, and wears red-framed eyeglasses. She is a Greeny Girl a parody of the Girl Scouts, Millies hair goes down to her feet
32.
Jimmy Two-Shoes
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Jimmy Two-Shoes is a Canadian animated television series that aired on Disney XD in the USA, Teletoon in Canada, and Jetix in the United Kingdom. The series were centered on the exploits of the title character, who lives in Miseryville. The series were created by Edward Kay and Sean Scott, the series originally premiered on February 21,2009 on Canada, with the final episode premiered on April 5,2012, though, broadcasts are still rerun. In the US, it premiered on February 13 the same year, ending its run on July 15,2011, in the UK, it began broadcasting on 18 April 2009 on Jetix, with later episodes and Season 2 premiering after the Disney XD rebrand. Reruns are being transmitted on the channel since then, the series follows the adventures of 14-year-old Jimmy, a happy-go-lucky teen who makes it his mission to find fun everywhere he goes. This is a challenge because Jimmy lives in Miseryville, the unhappiest town around, Miseryville has one main industry, Misery Inc. purveyors of putrid products guaranteed to cause grief, and they do not come with a money back guarantee. Along with his best friends Heloise and Beezy, Jimmy is determined to surf past all obstacles, Miseryville - The town under the control of Lucius Heinous VII. Its purpose is to sustain the lowest quality of life possible, the planet Miseryville is on is shaped like the Miseryville logo, and it has a red sky and three suns. Its inhabitants are mostly monsters except for Jimmy and Heloise who are pretty much the humans there. The town is surrounded by mountains, grassy meadows, forests. It seems as though all of the lakes and other places that should contain water contain lava instead, although it is stated that it has never snowed in Miseryville Invasion of the Weavils shows Jimmy going to two different places that have snow and ice. There are screens and cameras that Lucius use to communicate to Miseryvillians all over town, some hidden in the most unlikely places, although the town is considered a terrible place to live it does have fun places like theaters, swimming pools, beaches etc. There was once appeared to be a school in the episode Scent of a Heinous during an ad for Heinous Perfume, complete with buses, search lights, chain gates, lockers. - A huge factory run by Lucius, which resembles a large face, the workers in the factory make various products intended to make people miserable. The factory is destroyed in many episodes and its almost always Jimmys fault, Heloise has a laboratory there, Lucius has an office where he lives most of the time, there is a huge conference room, and there are T. V. s and cameras everywhere. Many monsters work there against their will and get no time off, no pay, - A part of Miseryville where the Rodeo Clowns live. The Abyss of Nothingness - Seen in a few episodes, it is said to be a vast black hole filled with misery, although almost everyone who has been thrown into it appears in later episodes with no explanation of how they got out. Lucius tries to use it to get rid of Jimmy and Heloise, on Lucius birthday it is renamed The Birthday Abyss of Nothingness and has a party hat floating over the top
33.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
34.
Disney.com
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The current portal is Disneys second effort at a web portal, the first being ended with the loss of go. com. On September 21,2011, the content from Disney. com was launched as a channel available through the Roku streaming player. It is the first player so far to allow viewing through a television, Disney. com was first registered on March 21,1990. On February 12,1996, a preview of Disney. com is launched through America Online. In January 2007 Disney CEO Bob Iger announced an overhaul of Disney. com at the Consumer Electronics Show. The announced changes put an emphasis on an integrated video player. Further changes were announced to sort content based on visitor demographics. The newly redesigned website was unveiled in February 2007 and it included a new service called Disney Xtreme Digital, which allowed members to communicate and interact with each other in chat rooms. Users were limited to phrases and the ability to create their own Disney XD page. Disney XD allowed users to watch full-length episodes from Disney Channel and other videos, play online quizzes and games, stream Radio Disney and preview new movies and it included a further feature called Shop DXD. Shop DXD used a currency called D-Points that users could earn from playing games and activities on the website. D-Points could be used to purchase such as backgrounds and phrases for a users channel or chat rooms. The service was available in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Disney XD initiative was later de-emphasized and split into My Pages for pages and they later added Disney Create to the website, an art gallery where users can draw and publish their art. Disney Create closed on May 1,2014
35.
Skyrunners
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Skyrunners is an American-Canadian sci-fi action/thriller Disney XD Original Movie that premiered on Disney XD on November 27,2009. It was the first original film premiered on the network. Teenage brothers 18-year-old Nick and 14-year-old Tyler come across a UFO that crashed near their town, after having literally no one left to turn to, Tyler decides to tell agent Armstrong about the UFO. Nick, feeling guilty for constantly doubting and ignoring Tyler, goes to the UFO hideout to try to apologize, upon finding that Tyler is missing and the UFO damaged, he begins an attempt to repair the UFO. Nick locates Tyler and frees him from his holding cell, the brothers uncover that the aliens are planning to take over Earth by polluting the atmosphere. Tyler then uses an explosive from the UFO to destroy the aliens and their pollution equipment. However, they do not succeed in destroying all of them and are chased by an alien in a more powerful version of their UFO. After destroying the alien fighter and its pilot in a fast-paced dogfight, Nick then uses fixing the UFO as his science project and is allowed to graduate. Nick wins Julie over and they kiss, Tyler gets a date with Katie Wallace, assuming that all of the aliens were destroyed, the boys go on with their lives. com to promote it. On November 13, the song Low Day, a song for the movie, the song is performed by Capra, a band that Kelly Blatz is the lead singer of. The song has also heard in an Expedia commercial. The film was released on iTunes in November 17,2009, district 9 Official website Skyrunners at the Internet Movie Database
36.
Marvel Universe
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The Marvel Universe is the shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place. Marvel superheroes such as the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are from this universe, in this context, Marvel Universe is taken to refer to the mainstream Marvel continuity, which is known as Earth-616 or currently as Earth Prime. Headline characters in one title would make cameo or guest appearances in other books, eventually many of the leading heroes assembled into a team known as the Avengers. The Marvel Universe was also notable for setting its central titles in New York City, by contrast, care was taken to portray the city and the world as realistically as possible with the presence of superhumans affecting the common citizens in various ways. What happens on Earth in the main Marvel Universe would normally have no effect on what happens on a parallel Earth in another Marvel-created universe, however, storywriters would have the creative ability to write stories in which people from one such universe would visit this alternative universe. In 1982, Marvel published the mini-series Contest of Champions, in all of the major heroes in existence at the time were gathered together to deal with one threat. The Marvel Universe is strongly based on the real world, Earth in the Marvel Universe has all the features of the real one, same countries, same personalities, same historical events, and so on. However, it contains many other fictional elements, countries such as Wakanda and Latveria, and organizations like the espionage agency S. H. I. E. L. D. and its enemy, HYDRA. In 2009 Marvel officially described its worlds geography in a two-part miniseries, most importantly, the Marvel Universe also incorporates examples of almost all major science fiction and fantasy concepts, with writers adding more continuously. Aliens, gods, magic, cosmic powers and extremely advanced human-developed technology all exist prominently in the Marvel Universe, monsters also play a more prominent role with east Asian origins of magical incantation, outlandish sorcery and manifesting principle in the Marvel Universe. One such case is Fin Fang Foom arising from the ashes of tantric magic, thanks to these extra elements, Earth in the Marvel Universe is home to a large number of superheroes and supervillains, who have gained their powers by any of these means. Marvels major heroes were created in the 1960s, but the amount of time that has passed between then and now within the universe itself has most recently identified as thirteen years. Consequently, the settings of some events which were contemporary when written have to be updated every few years in order to sense in this floating timeline. Thus, the events of previous stories are considered to have happened within a number of years prior to the publishing date of the current issue. Because of the timeline, where stories refer to real-life historic events. For instance, the origin of Iron Man was changed in a 2004 storyline to refer to armed conflict in Afghanistan, additionally, the DC Comics Universe is also said to exist in the Marvel Universe as one of the many alternative universes. The reverse may also be said with respect to the DC Universe and this is one method of explaining the various crossover stories co-published by the two companies. Pop culture characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein actually exist in the Marvel Universe and this is usually justified as a second hand account of events as told to credited authors Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley although the general public continues to believe them as fictional
37.
Marvel Comics
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Marvel Comics is the common name and primary imprint of Marvel Worldwide Inc. formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwides parent company, Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvels modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. Most of Marvels fictional characters operate in a reality known as the Marvel Universe. Martin Goodman founded the later known as Marvel Comics under the name Timely Publications in 1939. Martin Goodman, a magazine publisher who had started with a Western pulp in 1933, was expanding into the emerging—and by then already highly popular—new medium of comic books. The issue was a success, with it and a second printing the following month selling, combined. While its contents came from an outside packager, Funnies, Inc, Timely had its own staff in place by the following year. It, too, proved a hit, with sales of one million. Goodman formed Timely Comics, Inc. beginning with comics cover-dated April 1941 or Spring 1941, Goodman hired his wifes cousin, Stanley Lieber, as a general office assistant in 1939. Lee wrote extensively for Timely, contributing to a number of different titles, Goodmans business strategy involved having his various magazines and comic books published by a number of corporations all operating out of the same office and with the same staff. One of these companies through which Timely Comics was published was named Marvel Comics by at least Marvel Mystery Comics #55. As well, some covers, such as All Surprise Comics #12, were labeled A Marvel Magazine many years before Goodman would formally adopt the name in 1961. The post-war American comic market saw superheroes falling out of fashion and this globe branding united a line put out by the same publisher, staff and freelancers through 59 shell companies, from Animirth Comics to Zenith Publications. Atlas also published a plethora of childrens and teen humor titles, including Dan DeCarlos Homer the Happy Ghost, Atlas unsuccessfully attempted to revive superheroes from late 1953 to mid-1954, with the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. Atlas did not achieve any hits and, according to Stan Lee, Atlas survived chiefly because it produced work quickly, cheaply. During this time, the Comic Code Authority made its debut in September 1954, Wertham published the book Seduction of the Innocent in order to force people to see that comics were impacting American youth. He believed violent comics were causing children to be reckless and were turning them into delinquents, in September 1954, comic book publishers got together to set up their own self-censorship organization—the Comics Magazine Association of America—in order to appease audiences