New Features! TV Guide and Sharing Tools

You've all been asking for it, we knew we needed to do it, and here it is one week early - a major improvement to station discovery on iBroadcast.TV

It certainly could use a few more features and look a little prettier... but it does the job... If you're a broadcaster who set up your station and couldn't get it to stay up in the Channel Surfer, or a user who can't remember where that cool channel ran off to, your problems will be solved by going to http://ibroadcast.tv/guide or by clicking the new "TV Guide" link in the top menu.

I highly encourage you as well to use the new, brightly colored sharing buttons from AddThis that you will see on all three main pages of the site... These buttons are specially optimized to make your links go viral... in addition to the usual suspects (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc) clicking the + brings up an additional 300 sites that you can share your stations on.

Hooked On iBroadcast

The reason why you should never let the DFA use his own product. Late last night, our founder and CEO decided that it was time to try his hand at being a DJ. After getting a few quick tips from one of iBroadcast's top DJs, he thought he knew it all, and set out to create a playlist that was edgy, addicting, and seductive, all at the same time. It's got a few rough edges, but we think it's pretty good... please leave your comments in the chat!

Originally, he was going to put it on a separate channel, but one of the rules we try to follow at iBroadcast.TV is to be community members first, business owners second. This means, if a feature such as multiple stations is not ready to be released to our community of broadcasters, we don't make an exception just because we happen to have administrative access to the server. We make do with what we have, and in this case that meant taking the iBTV Showcase station linked to his personal Facebook account and changing it around a bit. Enjoy. As it is the landing page for new visitors, you can jump right in by going straight to http://ibroadcast.tv. Enjoy.

The Nutcracker - An iBTV Holiday Tradition

iBTV and RF440 will be screening the entire Nutcracker Ballet by Tchaikovsky Tuesday, Dec. 20th, Wednesday, Dec. 21st, and Thursday, Dec 22nd ONLY, at 7 PM each night. This is a full-HD audio and video production straight from St. Petersburg, Russia - and the music is up-tempo, the staging vibrant, and the focus is on an adult audience. We recommend plugging in to your home TV if you can. From the review on YouTube:


"Filmed in the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg where the ballet was first performed in 1892. The production, by world-renowned avant-garde artist Mikhail Shemiakin, is a more mature, "adult" version of The Nutcracker, highlighting many of the darker themes. The eye-catching costumes and scenery help create the surreal atmosphere. The dancing, led by Leonid Sarafanov and Irina Golub, is of the highest quality and displays the very distinctive and exacting qualities of the Mariinsky Theatre. Valery Gergiev conducts the complete, un-cut version of Tchaikovsky's most popular score."


As always, if you like what you're hearing and to watch in full screen, please click the iPlayer logo or visit http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=357 to assure the best audio quality and to socialize with other listeners. It helps greatly in the enjoyment of the ballet if you take a few minutes to read the synopsis below, especially if this is your first Nutcracker.

Act I

Scene 1: The Silberhaus Home

It is Christmas Eve at the house of Herr and Frau Silberhaus and their children. Family and friends have gathered in the parlor to decorate the beautiful Christmas tree in preparation for the night's festivities. Once the tree is finished, the younger children are sent for; among them are Clara, the Silberhaus' daughter, and her brother Fritz. The children stand in awe of the tree sparkling with candles and decorations.

The festivities begin. A march is played. Presents are given out to the children. Suddenly, as the owl-topped clock strikes eight, a mysterious figure enters the room. It is Herr Drosselmeyer, a local councilman and Clara and Fritz's godfather. He is also a talented toymaker who has brought with him gifts for the children, including four lifelike dolls—a Harlequin and Columbine, and a Vivandière and Soldier—who dance to the delight of all. Herr Silberhaus has the precious dolls put away for safekeeping.

Clara and Fritz are sad to see the dolls taken away, but Herr Drosselmeyer has yet another toy for them: a wooden nutcracker carved in the shape of a little man, used for cracking hazelnuts. The other children ignore it, but Clara immediately takes a liking to it. Fritz, however, purposely breaks the toy. Clara is heartbroken.

Clara takes the wounded toy to her doll's bed, lulling it to sleep. The boys interrupt with their toy trumpets and horns. Herr and Frau Silberhaus announce it is time to finish off the evening with a traditional Grandfather dance. After the dance, the guests depart, and the children are sent off to bed.

During the night, after everyone else has gone to bed, Clara returns to the parlor to check on her beloved nutcracker. As she reaches the little bed, the clock strikes midnight and she looks up to see her Godfather Drosselmeyer perched atop the clock in place of the owl. Suddenly, mice begin to fill the room and the Christmas tree begins to grow to dizzying heights. The Nutcracker also grows to life-size. Clara finds herself in the midst of a battle between an army of gingerbread soldiers and the mice, led by the Mouse King. The mice begin to eat the gingerbread soldiers.

The Nutcracker appears to lead the gingerbread soldiers, who are joined by tin soldiers and dolls (who serve as doctors to carry away the wounded). As the Mouse King advances on the still-wounded Nutcracker, Clara throws her slipper at him, distracting him long enough for the Nutcracker to stab him.

Konstantin Ivanov's original sketch for the set of The Nutcracker, Act II (1892)

Scene 2: A Pine Forest

The mice retreat and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome Prince. He leads Clara through the moonlit night to a pine forest in which thesnowflakes dance around them.

[edit]Act II

Scene 1: The Land of Sweets (Confiturembourg)

Clara and the Prince travel in a nutshell boat pulled by dolphins to the beautiful Land of Sweets in Confiturembourg, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Prince's place until his return. The Prince recounts for the Sugar Plum Fairy how he had been saved by Clara from the Mouse King and had been transformed back into a Prince.

In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain, coffee from Arabia, and tea from China all dance for their amusement; candy canes from Russia perform aTrepak; Danish marzipan shepherdesses perform on their flutes; Mother Gigogne has her Polichinelle children emerge from under her enormous skirt to dance; a string of beautiful flowers perform a waltz. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a Pas de Deux.

A final waltz is performed by all the sweets, after which Clara and the Prince are crowned rulers of Confiturembourg forever and are shown the riches of their kingdom domed with an enormous beehive.^[1] There is no indication in the original ballet plot, however, that the two ever fall in love or marry.

Hobo with a TV

Ryan's "Hobo with a TV" station is an eclectic mix of indie, electronic, and folk sounds ... and will soon be diversifying to include hip, funny, and intriguing non-musical content as well.

It is particularly noteworthy for having an active and vibrant social scene - Ryan set a great vibe for the place, and last night it felt like a house party in there.

The station is brand new and has not been heavily promoted... we'd like to make sure it has a fair shot at making the featured list, as Ryan is onto something new and cool here. If you like it, please share its direct link (http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=489) with your Facebook friends and spread it around on your blogs.

Hosted By: Ryan G
Schedule: Broadcasts 24 / 7. Hosted most evenings.
URL: http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=489

healingcolors TV

Sometimes you guide your users to build your vision... and sometimes they bring their own vision and point the way to a whole new world of possibilities that you missed, because you were too busy building the app.

Multimedia art-maker Jutta Gabriel, of Germany, brought her own innovative creations to iBroadcast.TV, and the result was nothing short of amazing. Her prints, set to the music of collaborating artists from around the world, mixed beautifully with our iPlayer and created our vision for a social shopping experience where everybody wins. If you would like to purchase what you see here or learn more about Jutta's creations, you can visit the following websites:


http://www.saatchionline.com/juttagabriel
http://erzengelgabriel.com


The healingcolors are most impressive in full screen, so we encourage you to visit the gallery, meet Jutta, and leave your feedback at http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=473


We personally bought a print from her and can attest to her extremely attentive and flexible customer service, fast shipping, and quality of work. Jutta, thank you for what you've brought to iBroadcast.TV, and we look forward to working with you for years to come.

UV PØP

Hailing from Dorchester, UK, this indie alternative rock / post punk / new wave band has a powerful stage presence and an edgy yet catchy sound. The first band to set up on iBroadcast.TV, UV PØP has lined up a continuous stream of their videos to satisfy your aural fixation.

When asked to describe themselves on their Facebook Page, their poetic abilities shine through: "It's a strange schizophrenic record. Two divorced facades of pale European sound glancing, delicately, from apocalyptic acoustic ballads right through to harsh electronic anthems. John White is U.V. PØP and there ia bit of U.V. PØP in all of us."

Bass player Tony Nicholson loves to get feedback - so please, click through to his station via the link below or the logo on the player, and leave your thoughts in the chat box...

Hosted By: Tony Nicholson
Schedule: 24 / 7
URL: http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=484

Nelson Adams TV

We kept hoping that a "classical" station would pop up on iBroadcast.TV, and even considered doing one ourselves, but we just didn't have the time, as our priority is to support broadcaster, not show off our own stuff.

Nelson Adams TV has delivered beyond anything we hoped for. An expert curator of music and video, Nelson has given us a station with works spanning the thousand years between 800 A.D. and 1800 A.D... and has been kind enough to provide us with a detailed schedule of the program for each day leading up to Christmas. He has started with the earliest music, and over the coming months will gradually move forward in history until we reach the classical period.

Due to the nature of the music, we HIGHLY encourage you to click through to the station itself to get the best quality audio and video experience. There is no need to log in, or to have a Facebook account to experience this - however, we do encourage logging in as Nelson is extremely knowledgeable about the music he broadcasts and makes fascinating conversation.


Host: Nelson Adams
URL: http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=379


Dec 12 Mon. Early Music selections (1)
13 Tue. Early Music selections (2)
14 Wed. Byzantine, Greek, Serbian, & Russian Orthodox
15 Thu. Christmas Carols
16 Fri. Hist of Sacred Music, Part 1: Gothic; plus 13thC Spanish
17 Sat. Hist of Sacred Music, Part 2: Palestrina; plus Palestrina selections
18 Sun. Hist of Sacred Music, Part 3: Byrd; plus Byrd Mass for Four Voices
19 Mon. Hist of Sacred Music, Part 4: Bach; plus Cantata BWV 147
20 Tue. Handel Messiah selections
21 Wed. Mozart, Great Mass in C Minor
22 Thu. Early Music selections (3)
23 Fri. Christmas Carols (repeat)
24 Sat. Christmas Eve. Guitar & Lute
25 Sun. Christmas Day. Bach, Goldberg Variations

followed by
Early Music selections 4-5-6
History of Italian Opera
How Music Works (repeat)
Bar-graph Notation
Andalusian, Sephardic
Turkish, Persian, Arabic

Aqualyra - Powerful Tunage

Sick tracks for a beautiful world

Hosted By: Dianne Murray
Hours: Variable - new songs at least once a day.
URL: http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=470

iBTV Showcase

Rihanna

A collection of HD Rihanna music videos from VEVO, perfect for DJs looking for videos to add to their music stations.

Hosted By: iBroadcast.TV
URL: http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=9

iBTV News

RF440

Awesome music of all stripes. From rock one minute to Algerian hip-hop the next... oh wait? Was that really a happy hardcore song? How strange... I thought happy hardcore was for teenage ravers, but it fits perfectly in with the mix.

Listen to RF440 and you'll see quickly that it's all about the DJ. This was the first user-created station on iBroadcast.TV, and the one that opened our eyes to the community-building power of the platform we had created.

WARNING: May be highly addictive.

Hosted By: Tammy Manor
Schedule: Hosted most evenings, hours vary
Description: A collection of Rock/Alternative, Pop, Hip-Hop, Electronica, Latin and everything in between.
URL: http://ibroadcast.tv/watch/channel.aspx?id=357