Cell phones with build in cameras are replacing cheap pocket size digital cameras and video cameras. Best cell phone cameras can be better in many ways than cheap pocket digital cameras from few years back. And most people do not want to carry separate devices for each function (at least without a very good reason), when a smart phone can handle calls, Internet, photos and video shooting.
CES 2013 fair had more pocket advanced size cameras on display than DSLRs, but the trend on then was that business was going down due cellular phone cameras getting better. So camera manufacturers are integrating more cellular phone like features to their cameras (like Android OS with wireless connectivity to photo sharing sites) and concentrate on building good superzoom and DSLR type cameras. You need to have something clearly different than what cell phone can offer: huge zoom, good performance in low light or works also in harsh environment. Wireless connection is getting more and more common, either built-in or using memory card with WiFi.
As Sales Slip, TV Makers Strain for the Next Sensation because hardware companies want to make their products stand out in a sea of black rectangles that can show the content user want to watch. And one that is particularly acute for television makers. The hardware is becoming kind of boring and exciting things are happening in software. TV manufacturers continue to push the idea of “smart” sets by adding apps and other interactive elements.
Connected TV technologies get more widely used and the content earlier viewable only on TV can be now seen on many other screens. Your smartphone is the screen in your pocket. Your computer is the screen on your desk. Your tablet is a screen for the couch. Almost every major electronic device you own is a black rectangle that is brought to life by software and content.
In the last two years, television makers have tried a push with 3-D sets. But now It’s official: 3D is dead. The tech industry’s annual hot air balloon show is gone. On the one hand, 3D has become ubiquitous enough in televisions that people are unwittingly buying it when opting for a high-end new HDTV to fill their living room.
Post HDTV resolution era seems to be coming to TVs as well in form of 4K / UltraHD. This year, television makers like Samsung, Sony, LG and Panasonic are trying to grab attention by supersizing their television screens and quadrupling the level of detail in their images. They are promoting what they call Ultra High-Definition televisions, which have four times as many pixels as their high-definition predecessors, and can cost as much as a car. It’s a bit of a marketing push. It seems that all LCD makers are looking to move their business models on from cheap mass production to higher-margin, premium offerings. They try to innovate and secure their future viability by selling fewer, but more profitable displays.
4K at CES 2013: the dream gets real article tells that the 4K bandwagon is fully loaded and ready to get rolling. The US TV maker isn’t alone in stepping up to the higher resolution in its new flagship models. Sony, Panasonic and Sharp, Japan’s traditional big-screen TV leaders, are all attending this year’s CES with proper retail products. Manufacturers Need You to Buy an Ultra-High-Def 4K TV. Save Your Money because just as HDTV was slow to take off, the 4K start will be slow. It’s more than the price that’s keeping these things from hitting critical mass. 4K is only for ultra-premium markets this year.
4K resolution TV has one big problem: The entire ecosystem isn’t ready for 4K. The Trouble With 4K TV article tellst that though 4K resolutions represent the next step in high-definition video, standards for the format have yet to emerge and no one’s really figured out how to distribute video, with its massive file footprint, efficiently and cost effectively. Getting 4K content to consumers is hard.
Even though 4K resolution is widely use in digital cinematography, but there is no suitable consumer disk format that supports it and the bandwidth need to stream 4K content would be huge. Given that uncompressed 4K footage has a bit-rate of about 600MB/s. Broadcom chip ushers in H.265 and UltraHD video tells that H.265 video standard, aka HEVC or MPEG-5, squeezes more pixels over a network connection to support new high-resolution 4K TVs.
You should also note that the new higher resolution is pretty pointless for a small TV (where the TV mass market is now). Ultra HD would make a difference only on screens that were at least 80 inches, measured diagonally. For smaller screens, the extra pixels would not be visible to a person with 20/20 vision viewing from a normal viewing distance. Ultra HD TVs can also be a flop. But let’s see what happens in the world where nowadays tiny smart phone screens can have full HDTV resolution.
Keep in mind that 4K is not any absolute highest resolution expected in few years. 8k resolution TVs are coming. Sharp showed a 8K resolution TV with 7680 x 4320 resolution at CES2013. For more details on it read Sharp 8K Super Hi-Vision LCD, 4K TV and Freestyle wireless LCD HDTV hands-on article.
Another development than pushing up the resolution to make high end display products is OLED technology. OLED is another new technology to make expensive products. The much buzzed-about device features next-generation, high-quality OLED screens. OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, and they offer a bevy of benefits: more energy efficient, cleaner image, wide viewing angle and devices can be made thinner. You can also make TV screen curved in shape. In a race between television titans, LG has beat Samsung in becoming the first manufacturer to introduce a 55-inch OLED television to market: the largest OLED TV panel to date.. OLED products are very expensive (LG TV $10,300 in US dollars). OLED display can also have 4K resolution, so you can combine two expensive technologies to one product. Market analysts say that they believe the technology will not become more affordable until 2015.
The Verge Awards: the best of CES 2013 article lists for example product like Samsung 4K “easel TV”, Sony 4K OLED TV, Teenage Engineering OD-11 Cloud Speaker and Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming.
All your audio, video kit is about to become OBSOLETE article tells that although much of the audio and video technology packed into CES 2013′s 1.9 million square feet of exhibition space is indeed impressive, one panelist at an emerging-technology conference session channeled a little 1974 BTO, essentially telling his audience that “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Deep-geek soothsayer predicts smart audio, Ultra HD eyewear, much more in coming years. Audio is going to become adaptive, changing its wave forms to fit each user’s personal aural perceptions. Active noise reduction is finding its way into cars. HD audio will be coming to mobile phones. MEMS-based microphones and speakers are also on the runway. Consumer-level video will see in the future much higher resolution devices with much higher frame rates.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix Launches First Ultra-HD Videos
http://mashable.com/2013/11/02/netflix-testing-ultra-hd-4k/
Netflix has rolled out its first 4K videos, ushering a new era of Ultra-HD content.
The on-demand media giant released a series of six test videos this week to test the quality of Ultra-HD video streaming under various settings. Entitled El Fuente, each video is identical in content — featuring eight minutes of travel footage from Mexico — but have different frames-per-second rates.
However, not all users are able to take advantage of Netflix’s super-high resolution video. Only monitors with a 1080p resolution or higher, as well as MacBook Pro laptops with Retina display, can showcase the videos with their intended resolutions, according to Digital Trends.
Netflix’s launch of its first 4K videos delivers on a promise that the company made earlier this year. In March, chief product officer Neil Hunt told The Verge, “We expect to be delivering 4K within a year or two.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Trippy Video Installation That’ll Melt Your Optic Nerves
http://www.wired.com/design/2013/11/this-trippy-video-will-bend-your-perception-of-time-and-space/
Olivier Ratsi’s “Onion Skin” is an audio-visual installation that bends viewers’ perception of time and space.
The best thing you can do to understand Olivier Ratsi’s new audio-visual project is to watch it. On your screen will do the trick, though if we’re being particular, Ratsi recommends experiencing Onion Skin in person
The 14 minute installation is the most recent of the Paris-based artist’s explorations into bending reality though lighting and video.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix starts testing 4K videos, wants to launch Ultra HD next year
http://gigaom.com/2013/11/01/netflix-starts-testing-4k-videos-wants-to-launch-ultra-hd-next-year/
Netflix wants to become a major provider of 4K content next year. To prepare for that, it has already started to test 4K streaming.
Netflix quietly added a handful of 4K HD videos to its catalog this week to prepare itself for a wider launch of ultra high-definition video content in the coming months. So far, the titles added to the catalog only consist of footage that Netflix regularly uses for internal tests — but a spokesperson confirmed that the company “hopes to launch Ultra HD next year.”
It looks like Netflix added a total of seven videos to its catalog earlier this week. One is titled El Fuente: 24 MP, and its description promises “an example of 4K at 24 frames per second.”
But soon, Netflix could offer a lot more compelling 4K fare: CEO Reed Hastings said during the company’s most recent earnings call that Netflix wants to be “one of the big suppliers of 4k next year.”
Comments:
Guillaume said “I saw demos of eyeIO 4K at their Palo Alto office at 7 and 10 Mbps with 14 channels of audio (11.2) in a 106 inches screen and the quality was just wow… Knowing Netflix they may want to push for 4K @ 6Mbps”
Get Off the Bus said “Pure PR move. The consumer will not be able to see 4K difference unless their TV is over 100″ and they are 8ft away. The human eye hasn’t changed with technology advances.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Streamnation lets you lend movies and TV shows to friends directly from the cloud
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/11/05/streamnation-lets-lend-movies-tv-shows-friends-directly-cloud/
The handiwork of Deezer co-founder Jonathan Benassaya, Streamnation launched to the world back in July this year, offering a platform for users to stream and share videos and photos directly from the cloud.
That in itself was all well and good, but now Streamnation is ramping things up a notch, by allowing you to upload your own DRM-free (ripped, basically) movies and TV shows to your online account to watch on any compatible device, and lend them to friends and family.
Working across PC and iOS devices (an Android incarnation is on the way)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nikon Crams Full-Frame Sensor Into Its Legendary 1950s-Era F Series
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/11/nikon-df/
While the rest of the technological landscape is concentrating on making everything look smaller, sleeker, and more futuristic, cameras are going through a major throwback phase. It’s pretty great.
The majority of today’s old-school cameras aren’t just using their looks to draw attention away from sub-par specs. Some of the highest-end cameras in the Fujifilm, Olympus, and Panasonic lineups have a retro slant. Sensor sizes, autofocus speeds, wireless capabilities, and other in-camera features continue to charge forward, but digital-camera bodies are reverting to the classic looks of the 1950s and 1960s.
Nikon has just joined the throwback party with the most advanced retro camera in recent memory. The Nikon Df puts the 16-megapixel full-frame sensor of the flagship D4 in a camera body that looks like the original Nikon F from the late 1950s.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesco to tailor advertisements in petrol stations by using face-scanning screens
http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/supermarkets/tesco/tesco-turns-to-face-scanning-ad-screens/351181.article?redirCanon=1
Tomi Engdahl says:
Classic 80′s Stereo Receiver Enjoys a Second Life as RadioduinoWRT
http://hackaday.com/2013/11/06/classic-80s-stereo-receiver-enjoys-a-second-life-as-radioduinowrt/
[Raffael] had an old Broken Yamaha natural sound receiver lying around. Rather than throw it out, he built himself a slick web radio. He calls it RadioduinoWRT.
[Raffael] started by removing all the internals – though he kept the front panel controls. He then added an Arduino Mega to handle the front panel controls, including a 16×2 character LCD module. The Arduino also takes commands via IR remote. An enc28j60 Ethernet module allows the Arduino to communicate with a the brains of the operation, a TL-WR703N mini router.
While a low-end USB sound card in a home stereo application does make our inner audiophile cringe a bit, the quality does seem to be pretty good.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hot song was played Spotify in March-June, a total of 1 058 313 times.
By doing so Spotify paid compensation to Anssi Kela 2 336.9 euros. The average price for one playback will be 0,002 euros.
Kela in the past criticized the Spotify of compensation – and he is not alone in his critique. Many of the musicians in the world have complained about streaming services smallness of compensation.
He song has to be played two thousand times before he received the pickings will reach one sold cd’s level.
At the same time, such as Sweden and Norway, Spotify is annealed music sales Savior, tells British newspaper the Guardian. The decade after the fall from the sale of recorded music have turned to the two countries to rise in recent years.
- The world is going forward and the former days will never return. And rightly so. I do not relate to the congregation, who would want to turn back the clock to the time before Spotify.
- Spotify is still far from the place collapsed disc sales resulting gap, but if it is successful in the coming years to multiply the number of paying customers, so it starts to fall softening effects
Source: http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/2013110717694358_vi.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung promises 4K smartphone screens for 2015
Samsung Galaxy S5 likely to ship with a 2K display
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2305373/samsung-promises-4k-smartphone-screens-for-2015
KOREAN PHONE MAKER Samsung is promising that in two years time it will ship a smartphone with a 4K resolution display.
In a presentation at its Analyst Day event, where the firm admitted that its Touchwiz user interface is a bit rubbish, Samsung claimed that 4K smartphones will start to arrive on shelves in 2015. The firm said that in two years it will be able to squeeze Ultra HD 3840×2160 resolution into a smartphone display.
2015 is a long way off however, but the firm promised that it will ship a smartphone with a 2K display next year.
The firm said it has developed a 5.2in display with WQHD 2560×1440 resolution and a pixel density of 560ppi. It probably doesn’t take a genius to work out what screen will probably appear the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jeff Bewkes: HBO’s Streaming Deal With Comcast Won’t Promote Cord Cutting
http://www.deadline.com/2013/11/jeff-bewkes-hbos-streaming-deal-with-comcast-wont-promote-cord-cutting/
Time Warner startled a lot of people recently when it allowed the No. 1 cable operator to include HBO Go in a new $40 a month broadband service. Wouldn’t some consumers cancel their pay TV service if they found that they can watch the channel’s shows without a subscription to basic cable? But CEO Jeff Bewkes says he isn’t worried. “It’s pretty limited,”
“It won’t be attractive to most people, but might appeal to a segment.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blockbuster’s Death Scene Won’t End the Video Rental Store
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-06/blockbusters-death-scene-wont-end-the-video-rental-store
The long-foretold death of the video rental shop—all but sealed Wednesday with news that Blockbuster will shut its last 300 stores in the U.S.—can be read as a wistful moment for retail nostalgics or a proud triumph of digital simplicity.
Blockbuster, bought by DISH Network (DISH) out of bankruptcy two years ago, will turn out the lights on its final American storefront early next year and end its DVD-by-mail business next month. “This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” Joseph P. Clayton, DISH’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The Blockbuster brand for digital offerings includes DISH’s Blockbuster on Demand streaming service and the Blockbuster @Home movie channels available to subscribers.
The video rental chain was spun off by Viacom (VIA) in 2004 and had about 9,000 locations at the time—a position of market dominance that once made it a target of legal challenges by smaller video rental businesses.
Indeed, in the $18 billion home-video market, rental is hot. Spending for movie rentals is expected to top movie sales this year for the first time since 2001, according to research firm BTIG. Movie sales and rentals account for 72 percent of the market for home video, the EMA said in its 2013 annual report. Kiosks from such players as Redbox (OUTR) and DVDNow accounted for 44 percent of all movie rentals, or $2 billion—up nearly 16 percent last year. At the same time, though, 17 percent of brick-and-mortar rental shops closed in 2012.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New SD card format is speedy enough for 4K video
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/07/new-sd-card-format-is-speedy-enough-for-4k-video/
Outside of a few smartphones, 4K video capture has largely been limited to pro-level hardware; the SD cards in regular cameras frequently can’t handle so many pixels at once. That won’t be a problem in the near future, as the SD Association has just unveiled an Ultra High Speed Class 3 (U3) card format that’s up to the job. The spec guarantees write performance of at least 30 MB/s, or enough bandwidth to record 4K clips without hiccups.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Estimated Total Conversions: New insights for the multi-screen world
http://adwords.blogspot.fi/2013/10/estimated-total-conversions.html
People are constantly connected, using multiple devices throughout the day to shop, communicate and stay entertained. A September 2013 study of multi-device consumers found that over 90% move sequentially between several screens for everyday activities like booking a hotel or shopping for electronics.
As consumers are increasingly on the go and switching between devices, marketers are telling us they want to see a more complete and accurate picture of how their online advertising drives conversions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Screens Everywhere Make a GUI Dilemma
http://www.embedded.com/electronics-blogs/break-points/4423950/Screens-everywhere
Tomi Engdahl says:
Xbox One’s first wave of TV apps features Netflix, HBO Go, FiOS, NFL and much more
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/08/xbox-ones-first-wave-of-tv-apps-features-netflix-hbo-go-ver/
Long gone are the days when a game console merely had its launch lineup of games to worry about — in the modern era we also have to know about other types of entertainment. Microsoft is finally ready to reveal the “first wave” of apps that will arrive with its $500 Xbox One in each of the 13 launch markets and it’s a surprisingly healthy list. In the US we’re not seeing any services that weren’t already on Xbox 360, but internet video standards like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, HBO Go (not at launch), Vudu, Crackle and Redbox Instant are all present and accounted for along with TV everywhere efforts from Fox, CW, ESPN and Univision.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facial recognition, once a battlefield tool, lands in San Diego County
http://cironline.org/reports/facial-recognition-once-battlefield-tool-lands-san-diego-county-5502
On a residential street in San Diego County, Calif., Chula Vista police had just arrested a young woman, still in her pajamas, for possession of narcotics. Before taking her away, Officer Rob Halverson paused in the front yard, held a Samsung Galaxy tablet up to the woman’s face and snapped a photo.
Halverson fiddled with the tablet with his index finger a few times, and – without needing to ask the woman’s name or check her identification – her mug shot from a previous arrest, address, criminal history and other personal information appeared on the screen.
Halverson had run the woman’s photograph through the Tactical Identification System, a new mobile facial recognition technology now in the hands of San Diego-area law enforcement. In an instant, the system matches images taken in the field with databases of about 348,000 San Diego County arrestees. The system itself has nearly 1.4 million booking photos because many people have multiple mug shots on record.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forecasting camera trends in 2013 with IDC’s Chute
http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/forecasting-camera-trends-in-2013-with-idcs-christopher-chute/
Digital Trends: What are some digital camera features that consumers can expect to see more of in 2013?
Christopher Chute: Vendors have concluded that two competitive advantages over smartphones are optical zoom and larger-sized image sensors, so we can expect to see more of that in the compact space. Furthermore, vendors need to roll out [built-in] Wi-Fi across more of their lineups; failure to do so at this late date is at their peril.
Full-frame DSLR and mirrorless models [like the Nikon 1 V1 shown above] will continue to trickle down in price. Cameras with Android and Wi-Fi will also become more prevalent.
Will mirrorless cameras disrupt the point-and-shoot and DSLR segments in the short and long run?
In the U.S., mirrorless has been more embraced by second-time buyers who have DSLRs.
A lack of Wi-Fi models. [Cameras] incorporating Android has been a surprise.
What are your thoughts on non-traditional camera companies?
An emerging consumer electronics trend is start-ups that can offer unique value. GoPro and Lytro are two examples of this. These two companies are able to contain costs using some off-the-shelf components, and then add their specific IP value. They are not large public enterprises that seek to satisfy shareholder sentiment.
Is there a place for entry-level digicams in the future?
Not really, expect (at some point) the market leaders to move upstream and abandon the $149 and below space.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phones Imperil Fancy Cameras
Shipments of High-End Models Are Falling as Mobile Devices Gain in Popularity
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183643696236868
Declining sales of high-end cameras and lenses are raising an alarming question for companies like Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp. : Could the proliferation of camera-enabled, app-heavy smartphones be crushing not only the simple point-and-shoot, but premium models as well?
This year, shipments of what’s called “interchangeable-lens cameras”—high-end models that let users swap out different lenses—are diving suddenly after years of robust growth. Most of those are digital single-lens reflex, or DSLR, cameras—the bulky models used by professional photographers and enthusiasts.
Research firm IDC expects shipments of such cameras to fall 9.1% to 17.4 million units from 19.1 million units last year.
During the past few weeks, Canon and Nikon—two of the world’s biggest makers of high-end cameras—both lowered their forecasts for sales
“We are seeing tough figures at the moment, but I don’t think this will last forever,” said Nikon Chief Financial Officer Junichi Itoh, at an earnings news conference on Thursday. “There still is potential demand, and I think China is the key.”
But the example of Lie Fhung suggests consumer tastes could be changing too. The Hong Kong-based artist and graphic designer says she now rarely uses the Canon DSLR camera that she bought five years ago. Instead, Ms. Fhung, 44, takes most of her photos with her iPhone, and satisfies her urge to manipulate the images with a bevy of photo-editing apps.
When the editing process is complete, she posts her snapshots straight from her phone to photo-sharing app Instagram, where she has nearly 1,600 followers. Ms. Fhung says she has no plans to replace her aging Canon.
“Taking photos with smartphones and editing them with apps is like cooking with cheap ingredients and a lot of artificial flavoring,” says Canon spokesman Takafumi Hongo. “Using interchangeable cameras is like slow food cooked with natural, genuine ingredients.”
As more consumers evaluate gadgets based on software and how well it connects to the Internet rather than hardware, the benefits of high-end cameras may become less obvious, he says. “Using software, you can literally create effects of different kinds of cameras,” Mr. Chute says.
“The industry is at a turning point right now, so no scenario is impossible,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix, Youtube Surpass 50% Mark of Internet Traffic
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/11/11/2354254/netflix-youtube-surpass-50-mark-of-internet-traffic
“Netflix and Youtube are gaining ground not only on the competition, such as Amazon, but also over peer-to-peer file sharing.”
“Traffic from Netflix and Youtube amounted to over 50% of Internet traffic in September. Meanwhile Bittorrent traffic is down slightly”
Tomi Engdahl says:
MPAA backs anti-piracy curriculum for elementary school students
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-piracy-education-20131111,0,4733402,full.story#axzz2kQBqpZmU
Groups representing Hollywood studios, music labels and Internet service providers are supporting a push to educate elementary school students about the evils of piracy and the value of copyrights.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Files for Patent of Neck Tattoo with Built-In Microphone
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Files-for-Patent-of-Throat-Tattoo-With-Built-In-Microphone-399105.shtml
Well, another rather quirky patent from Google that has just been filed focuses on an electronic skin tattoo that connects to a mobile device and can even be used as a lie detector.
Don’t think of it as your regular tattoo, since this one is not permanent, but rather gets applied to the skin with a sticky substance.
The purpose of the device is to allow the wearer to communicate to someone without having to use their phone directly. Think of it as a James Bond-style secret gadget that lets the user discuss things undetected.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Glass Will Expand Its Features Into Music
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/business/media/google-glass-will-expand-its-features-into-music.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
To sell Glass, its augmented-reality form of eyewear, Google has already tried to make it a fashion accessory and a must-have video device for any parent or sky diver. Now it is also presenting this $1,500 piece of wearable technology as a way to interact with music.
On Tuesday, Google will unveil a set of features for Glass to search for songs, scan through saved playlists and listen to music in high fidelity. This can all be done while a user is wearing the lensless frames, which respond to vocal commands and have a small computer and transparent projection screen above the right eye.
Google is also introducing a set of earbud headphones designed for Glass
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Intel Is Right to Sell Its Brilliant Internet TV Service to Verizon
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/11/intel-selling-internet-tv-service/
Intel Media’s On Cue, the company’s not-so-secret internet-based TV service, was supposed to not only change the way pay TV is delivered, but also upgrade the entire TV-watching experience at home. Now, it looks like it’ll belong to someone else.
According to All Things D, the potentially cool pay-TV service headed by the man who helped create the BBC iPlayer, Erik Huggers, is looking at Verizon as a new home. The mobile carrier would either buy the entire division outright or partner with Intel Media to bring the On Cue service out of the holding pattern at Intel and finally introduce it to fans of pay TV. That may not help Intel up its cool factor, but for the Intel Media division, Verizon is the ticket to millions of potential customers.
Intel Media has been a company-within-a-company since December 2011. But the internal TV business wasn’t presented until February 2013 by Erik Huggers at Dive Into Media.
In fact, Intel’s On Cue experience is superior in many ways than what’s being currently offered on cable and satellite boxes. The UI of the new Intel media box is impressive. Gone are the station numbers and the schedule grid. They’ve been replaced by a flowing list of networks that can be customized.
“We believe we have a great user interface and the compression-decompression technology is fantastic,” he said. “But in the end, if we want to provide that service, it comes down to content. We are not big content players.”
If you’re an Intel Media employee, that’s probably the last thing you want to hear from your new boss.
Verizon has five million FIOS TV customers and over 100 million mobile customers. At launch, Verizon could market On Cue to millions of customers. Because the TV service uses broadband to deliver TV instead of cable lines or satellite, the carrier could bundle the service with mobile contracts or with its FIOS TV service. Better yet, because On Cue can deliver crisp video at as little as 3Mbps, Verizon customers could potentially watch live TV on their smartphones and tablets on the mobile network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TrueAudio Technology: GPUs Get Advanced Audio Processing
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/4
In a nutshell, TrueAudio is a return to the concept of hardware accelerated audio processing, with AMD leveraging their position to put the necessary hardware on the GPU. Hardware accelerated audio processing in the PC space essentially died with Windows Vista, which moved most of the Windows audio stack into software. Previously the stack was significantly implemented through drivers and as such various elements could be offloaded onto the sound card itself, which in the case of 3D audio meant having the audio card process and transform DirectSound 3D calls as it saw fit. However with Vista hardware processing and hardware access to those APIs was stripped, and combined with a general “good enough” mindset of software audio + Realtek audio codecs, the matter was essentially given up on.
Now even with the loss of traditional hardware acceleration due to Vista, you can still do advanced 3D audio and other effects in software by having the game engine itself do the work. However this is generally not something that’s done, as game developers are hesitant to allocate valuable CPU time to audio and other effects that are difficult to demonstrate and sell.
AMD for their part is looking at reversing this trend by integrating audio DSPs into their hardware. If developers have task-specific hardware, as AMD postulates, then they will be willing to take advantage of this hardware for improved audio processing and effects, comfortable in the fact that they aren’t having to give up other resources for the improved audio.
As for why AMD is doing this, it comes down to several factors. One of the biggest is as to be expected: product differentiation. AMD is always looking to differentiate themselves from Intel and NVIDIA
Only Bonaire and newer GPUs – presumably anything that’s GCN 1.1 – will feature TrueAudio.
In any case, with this week’s release of TrueAudio enabled hardware AMD is also releasing the full architectural details of their TrueAudio technology. In this case AMD is taking an off-the-shelf solution, Tensilica’s HiFi EP DSPs, with AMD providing the glue that binds them together and integrating them onto the die of their GPUs.
Tensilica’s audio DSPs are task-specific programmable hardware, somewhere between fixed function and fully programmable in design, allowing for customized effects and processing to be done while still keeping the size and power costs low. The underlying hardware is programmable in C, while AMD for their part will be providing a TrueAudio API to access the hardware with. We don’t have a ton of details on the architecture of the DSP, but Tensilica’s product sheets imply that we’re looking at a VLIW architecture of some kind.
AMD is not telling us exactly how many audio DSPs are actually on each card
Going further up the audio stack, as we’ve mentioned in the past TrueAudio is an audio processing solution, not an audio presentation solution. With their DSPs AMD can process audio but they need to pass it back to the sound card for presentation. From a technical standpoint this is a bit tricky due to latency concerns – and is why the streaming DMA engine is so important – but video cards would make for a lousy environment for analog audio components anyhow.
AMD is taking a middleware-centric attitude with TrueAudio. Rather than only chasing down individual developers, AMD is first and foremost going after middleware developers in an attempt to get TrueAudio support worked into their various audio middleware packages. Success here means that every developer that uses these audio middleware packages (and that’s most of them) will at least have basic access to TrueAudio. For their part AMD has already lined up Wwise developer Audiokinetic for TrueAudio support, and 3rd party developer GenAudio is producing plugins for Wwise, FMOD, and more.
AMD is naturally also lining up the necessary showcase titles for their new technology. Eidos will be including TrueAudio support in their upcoming Thief game, and newcomer Xaviant pledging support for their in development magical loot game, Lichdom.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s Long-Rumored TV Ambitions on Hold Again?
http://www.displaysearchblog.com/2013/11/apples-long-rumored-tv-ambitions-on-hold-again/
According to sources in the TV supply chain, it appears that Apple’s long-rumored TV plans, which were far from concrete anyway, have been put on hold again, possibly to be replaced by a rollout of wearable devices. Although many financial and industry analysts have been speculating about Apple’s entrance into the TV business via an actual TV (instead of the Apple TV “hobby” set-top-box) for years, during the last year the rumor-mill has shifted into high gear about a 2014 introduction. Indeed, our own information from TV supply chain sources pointed to the fact that Apple appeared to be lining up resources for a product introduction in the second half of 2014, likely with 2-3 large screen sizes and 4K resolution.
However, the hangup has always been the content.
For Apple to have a successful television product for the living room, it needs to achieve three goals:
Sell enough units to generate sufficient content purchasing points, especially among households who do not yet own Apple TV set-top boxes.
Offer a unique point of differentiation to capture market share from leading TV manufacturers such as Samsung and Vizio, while at the same time being able to sell the products for a high enough price to deliver typically high Apple margins.
Create follow-on replacement purchases to keep hardware sales from flat-lining once household penetration peaks.
The last point is particularly difficult to achieve.
To offer truly unique product differentiation that would allow Apple to capture market share from existing smart TV brands, they would need to either deliver some exclusive source of content that the other brands cannot, such as a la carte pay-TV channels, or proprietary content not available on other devices.
For the current smart TV brands, this will be a big relief. While Apple may not have sold very many units, it would have had significant impact on the upper-tier product ranges from most of the top brands, which is the primary source of what meager profits they can earn in the TV category.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Avita: life cycle thinking is forgotten
Low-cost equipment can be costly
“Finland has audio-visual equipment life-cycle thinking a developing country. Most of the subscribers to select the cheapest price of the product, and only a very few can or wants to calculate the cost of the product throughout its life cycle “, the association’s executive director Timo Tuominen says the release.
The total expenses should be able to be included in the operation, management and maintenance costs, as well as failures and maintenance outages caused by expenses.
Bringing take the example of a high-quality conference room projector. The purchase price is approximately EUR 2500 and 2000-4 life of 000 hours. The corresponding laser projector costs about 4500 euros, but it is able to use about 20 000 hours. Conventional projector requires Tuominen, require maintenance every 50 hours, while the laser projector is virtually maintenance-free. The new technology consumes less energy.
Source: http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/halpa_laite_voi_tulla_kalliiksi
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix introduces one unified TV interface to rule them all
The streaming video giant turns into a TV channel programmed just for you
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/13/5098224/netflix-introduces-one-unified-tv-interface-to-rule-them-all
Watch Netflix instant streaming on your television and you know what content you’ll get — but you likely won’t know how you’ll find it. Whether it’s the PlayStation 3, Roku, or the Apple TV, every flavor of Netflix is slightly different, creating interface and feature fragmentation that’s in stark contrast to the ubiquity of the service itself.
Today Netflix is taking a big step towards tackling that problem with a faster, more engaging television interface that will put a majority of its living room customers on the same page — and let them stay that way. According to Chris Jaffe, Netflix’s vice president of product innovation, the idea was to meld Netflix with the experience of watching regular TV, where there’s always something on and viewers can be drawn in at a simple glance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix ditches Webkit to roll out slick new UI for smart TVs, Roku boxes and game consoles
http://gigaom.com/2013/11/12/netflix-ditches-webkit-to-roll-out-slick-new-ui-for-smart-tvs-roku-boxes-and-game-consoles/
This new UI is Netflix’s biggest revamp of its TV interface thus far, in part because of a lot of the underlying plumbing. Previously, Netflix was building its TV app user interface in HTML5, which allowed the company to quickly iterate on minor changes and A/B-test various features with a subset of its subscribers.
But in order to make HTML5 work, Netflix actually shipped a stripped-down version of the Webkit browser as part of its app, which in turn meant that it had fewer resources left to add features.
With the new UI, all of this changes. Netflix decided to ditch Webkit as a rendering engine and instead build a native platform for the most common connected device chipsets out there, circumventing the various smart TV SDKs in the process.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lytro Adds 3-D Viewing Capability to Its Living Images, Apple Online Store as Distributor
http://allthingsd.com/20131112/lytro-adds-3-d-viewing-capability-to-its-living-images-apple-online-store-as-distributor/
Lytro is unlocking another feature for images taken with its light-field cameras, enabling all photos ever taken with the devices to be displayed in 3-D.
“It took us some work to get to the point where we thought it was fully consumer-ready,” CEO Jason Rosenthal said in an interview. “The work was in making it easily usable and consumer-friendly — which has been one of the challenges for 3-D in general.”
The 3-D features will work with 3-D displays, or on standard displays while wearing those old-school red-and-blue glasses.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Global Internet Phenomena
Your Gateway to the Evolution of Internet Traffic
https://www.sandvine.com/trends/global-internet-phenomena/
Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report shines a light on fixed, mobile and converged data networks around the world, identifying the facts, fads and future trends that will drive the evolution of network traffic and shape the future of the Internet as we know it.
Sneak peeks of the facts you will uncover include:
Average monthly mobile usage in Asia-Pacific now exceeds 1 gigabyte, driven by video, which accounts for 50% of peak downstream traffic. This is more than double the 443 megabyte monthly average in North America.
In Europe, Netflix, less than two years since launch, now accounts for over 20% of downstream traffic on certain fixed networks in the British Isles. It took almost four years for Netflix to achieve 20% of data traffic in the United States.
Netflix (31.6%) holds its ground as the leading downstream application in North America and together with YouTube (18.6%) accounts for over 50% of downstream traffic on fixed networks.
P2P Filesharing now accounts for less than 10% of total daily traffic in North America. Five years ago it accounted for over 31%.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s Long-Rumored TV Ambitions on Hold Again?
http://www.displaysearchblog.com/2013/11/apples-long-rumored-tv-ambitions-on-hold-again/
For Apple to have a successful television product for the living room, it needs to achieve three goals:
Sell enough units to generate sufficient content purchasing points, especially among households who do not yet own Apple TV set-top boxes.
Offer a unique point of differentiation to capture market share from leading TV manufacturers such as Samsung and Vizio, while at the same time being able to sell the products for a high enough price to deliver typically high Apple margins.
Create follow-on replacement purchases to keep hardware sales from flat-lining once household penetration peaks.
The last point is particularly difficult to achieve. According to our Global TV Replacement Study, the average TV replacement cycle is 7-8 years, as opposed to replacement cycle purchases for mobile devices Apple currently sells, which is 2-3 years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magnetized Circuits Snap Together to Form World’s Cutest Synthesizer
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/11/littlebits-synthesizer/
When synthesizers first became popular in the Late Jurassic 1970s, musicians needed a solid knowledge of how they worked in order to play them
Today’s synthesizers are often far simpler
The DIY synth is just the latest maker set created by littleBits. Originally founded by corporate finance consultant Ayah Bdeir five years ago, littleBits manufactures tiny, candy-colored circuitry doodads that connect like Legos or Tinkertoys via a set of magnets (plus a power signal and ground). The sets allow anybody, of any age, to understand and develop rudimentary mechanical systems
“The idea is we want people to understand the technology around them, because it runs our lives,”
The Synth Kit that just hit the market originated a year ago, at a TED conference where Bdeir and comedian/musician Reggie Watts met backstage after giving talks, and started discussing the idea of littleBits musical instruments.
The best part? The blocks can be interchanged like no other synthesizer
“Synthesizers are quite simple when you break them down,” says Tatsuya Takahashi, the hardware engineer at Korg who worked with developers at littleBits to build the kit. “Technologically, it’s just like the Monotron we’ve been developing recently, or like Korg models from 1978.”
“You can do some crazy, unconventional things you couldn’t do with a normal synth”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The organization warns: Before the equipment lasted for decades, but now break down over 3-6 years
Development of systems life cycle is shortened significantly in recent years, the technological developments, then says Avita Association. Users requiring more user-friendly and more secure operating audio-visual systems.
“Systems of life in the 1980s was at best about 20 years, which at present is about 3 to 6 years. Technology should be prepared for the aging of design and construction. In my experience, only 10 per cent of the Finnish public properties of construction projects into audio-visual technology upgrading into account, “says Timo Tuominen.
The shorter the life of more audio-visual systems to the costs considerably.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/jarjesto+varoittaa+ennen+laitteet+kestivat+kymmenia+vuosia+nykyaan+hajoavat+36+vuodessa/a946823
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cheapest price roller audio- procurement , life cycle costs are ignored – More expensive equipment in use can save you tens of thousands
Finnish companies and organizations save significantly if instead of a mere cost considerations of audiovisual equipment throughout the life-cycle costs . For example, LED lamps can save running costs by up to 50 per cent. Audio Visual Helsinki 2013 exhibition offers practical information on life-cycle costs from 13 to 15.11.2013.
- Finland has audio-visual equipment life-cycle thinking a developing country. Most of the subscribers to select the cheapest price of the product , and only a very few can or wants to calculate the cost of the product throughout its life cycle . Elsewhere in the world the appropriate attention has been paid for many years, says Avita Association’s Executive Director , and Audio Visual 2013 Helsinki Exhibition arrangements Timo Tuominen .
Life-cycle cost means the aggregate of all the costs that arise for the specified life cycle. Audio-visual equipment are the most important operating, service and maintenance costs . The total expenses also affect the equipment to malfunction or maintenance outages caused by system downtime .
- I’ve been watching the TV studio lighting modernization project , with the traditional studio lights replaced with LED lamps. Light output was unchanged , but the lighting electricity consumption decreased by more than 90 per cent. In addition, the energy used for cooling close to 100 per cent less . These tasks , as well as less likely to cut maintenance costs by more than 50 per cent , which means more than 70 000 euros in annual savings.
Source: https://www.sttinfo.fi/release?0&releaseId=9504518
Tomi says:
Sony discussing ‘how and when’ the PS4 will get CD and MP3 playback
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/12/playstation-4-will-support-cd-and-mp3-in-the-future/?ncid=rss_truncated
News that the PS4 can’t play MP3s or CDs out of the box caught many off guard, and it turns out the backlash also surprised Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios head, and other folks at the company
We didn’t really think about MP3 or DLNA,” Yoshida said. “We thought, ‘we’re going to do that eventually.’ We’ve been doing it with all the products, so it caught us off guard.” For now, you can rely on your Xbox One to spin your CDs
Tomi Engdahl says:
US intelligence wants to radically advance facial recognition software
National Intelligence agency wants to cull facial IDs from massive amounts of video, images
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/us-intelligence-wants-radically-advance-facial-recognition-software
Identifying people from video streams or boatloads of images can be a daunting task for humans and computers.
But a 4-year development program set to start in April 2014 known as Janus aims to develop software and algorithms that erase those problems and could radically alter the facial recognition world as we know it.
Funded by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s “high-risk, high-payoff research” group, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Janus “seeks to improve face recognition performance using representations developed from real-world video and images instead of from calibrated and constrained collections.”
IARPA says Janus is not focused on furthering generic object recognition, or on the development of advanced interfaces for facial analysis but rather wants new technology that can make use of use new image representations where additional information such as novel poses or lighting variations to improve recognition performance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix’s New Look Is a Glimpse at the Future of TV
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/11/netflix-new-software-platform/
Netflix just announced a whole new browsing experience for users who access the service on more than half the devices that run it, from game consoles to smart TVs. On the surface it just looks like a sleek new interface upgrade – better images, more integrated program information – but underneath there’s a hint of things to come: the idea that soon, viewers will look at the video-streaming service no differently than they do the guide channel piped in through their living room’s cable box.
“We wanted to think about ‘What is the future of television? Where is the future of television in an on-demand world?’”
“We also look at this as the first step of a lot of our television innovation to come.”
And it looks pretty slick. While idling on any particular movie or TV show, a series of three static images from the media cycle in the background. It also spits out information about what Emmys/Oscars/etc. a show or movie has won and, if the user has connected their Netflix account to Facebook, it will show which of their friends also are fans. ”Reed Hastings has watched House of Cards,” Jaffe joked, pointing out that the Netflix CEO’s icon popped up after he selected the program.
Netflix currently has some 40 million users watching a billion hours of movies and TV shows per month and has surpassed HBO with its U.S. subscriber base. To the average boob-tube junkie, it’s as much a station option as anything else they consume. Now there’s talk that Netflix wants to be piped into televisions straight through cable set-top boxes. If its goal is to be HBO, it’s on its way.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG Hecto Laser Projector: Truly big-screen TV
http://reviews.cnet.com/home-theater-projectors/lg-hecto-laser-projector/4505-7858_7-35558335.html
It’s ironic that months after Mitsubishi finally killed the rear-projection TV, LG is creating its own maverick big-screen projector. The “LG Laser TV,” code-named Hecto, is essentially a deconstructed rear-projection television — the only thing that’s missing is a cabinet.
Available this April for the hefty sum of $8,999, the Hecto is a unique product. It consists of the projector unit itself, designed to sit atop a low cabinet, and an included 100-inch screen. The distance between the screen and the projector is very short, fixed at just 22 inches. Through the magic of modern technology (“Mirrors!”) the projector somehow manages to fill the screen from that distance and angle.
In person, the Hecto behaves more like a TV than a traditional projector.
In a casual demo I saw of a close-to-shipping version, the first thing I noticed was brightness of the image.
LG’s closed system — the projector won’t work properly with another screen, nor does LG plan to release a larger (or smaller) screen as an up/downgrade for the projector — is a result of the screen’s unique design, which is in turn dictated by the short throw distance. The screen focuses light quite aggressively toward the sweet spot directly in front
The DLP light engine is lit not by the typical lamp, but instead by freakin’ lasers. One benefit is that you won’t need to replace it for 25,000 hours, which works out to about 13 years at 5 hours of TV time per day. Typical projector lamps last around 4,000 hours, or about 2 years, 2 months.
LG touts a special “eye protection” mode that disables the image if someone (like my inquisitive 2-year-old) approaches close enough to risk the light entering the eye directly.
As a DLP projector it’s also subject to the rainbow effect, an artifact that appears as occasional, brief flashes of color as the eye perceives the color wheel’s imperfect construction of light.
The Hecto is a regular 1080p resolution LG TV in most other respects, although it lacks 3D.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forecasting camera trends in 2013 with IDC’s Chute
http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/forecasting-camera-trends-in-2013-with-idcs-christopher-chute/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Phones Imperil Fancy Cameras
Shipments of High-End Models Are Falling as Mobile Devices Gain in Popularity
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579183643696236868
Declining sales of high-end cameras and lenses are raising an alarming question for companies like Canon Inc. 7751.TO +0.96% and Nikon Corp. 7731.TO +1.28% : Could the proliferation of camera-enabled, app-heavy smartphones be crushing not only the simple point-and-shoot, but premium models as well?
This year, shipments of what’s called “interchangeable-lens cameras”—high-end models that let users swap out different lenses—are diving suddenly after years of robust growth. Most of those are digital single-lens reflex, or DSLR, cameras—the bulky models used by professional photographers and enthusiasts.
Research firm IDC expects shipments of such cameras to fall 9.1% to 17.4 million units from 19.1 million units last year.
During the past few weeks, Canon and Nikon—two of the world’s biggest makers of high-end cameras—both lowered their forecasts for sales in the fiscal year ending in March.
“We are seeing tough figures at the moment, but I don’t think this will last forever,” said Nikon Chief Financial Officer Junichi Itoh, at an earnings news conference on Thursday. “There still is potential demand, and I think China is the key.”
“Taking photos with smartphones and editing them with apps is like cooking with cheap ingredients and a lot of artificial flavoring,” says Canon spokesman Takafumi Hongo. “Using interchangeable cameras is like slow food cooked with natural, genuine ingredients.”
Christopher Chute, a digital-imaging research director at IDC, says he’s finding that some consumers are choosing to spend money on smartphones and tablets rather than good-quality stand-alone cameras.
Still, the pessimistic view that smartphones are hurting even interchangeable-lens cameras won’t go away unless sales start picking up firmly again, says UBS Securities analyst Ryosuke Katsura.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Exclusive – Comcast to sell movies for download, streaming: sources
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-comcast-idUSBRE9AD1CV20131114
Comcast Corp plans to start selling movies for download and streaming through the cable operator’s set-top boxes and its Xfinity TV website, according to people with knowledge of the plan.
The effort, which would offer a new path for Hollywood studios to generate revenue from films after they leave theaters, could start by the end of the year, the sources said.
the iron man suit says:
The Ironman meet is the most detailed quick guide today for anybody who has ever before longed for creating their personal real life suit
Tomi Engdahl says:
Think NSA Snooping Is Bad? Check Out MPAA Theater Security
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/11/mpaa-theater-security/
Hollywood studios are urging theater operators to crack down on in-theater camcording with the deployment of night-vision goggles, low-light binoculars and security cameras.
The latest version of the Motion Picture Association of America’s “Best Practices to Prevent Film Theft” (.pdf) also suggests old-school surveillance, like “random bag and jacket checks for prohibited items” and to “observe patrons” when entering the theater.
Camcording and industry leaks are the top methods of choice for movies to find their way to file-sharing sites like The Pirate Bay and on unauthorized DVDs. Camcording is a federal felony carrying a maximum 3 year penalty.
The document also asserts a top rule practiced by all the world’s spy agencies: Trust no one.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Please Stop ‘Burning In’ Your Earphones
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/11/tnhyui-earphone-burn-in/
OK, audiophiles: real talk. Earphone makers seem to be either too polite or scared to say anything. And the people in the industry who should know better are only actively encouraging a ritual. So let me say it for them: Earphone burn-in is a bunch of hokum.
For those of you unfamiliar with the practice, it basically amounts to pumping different kinds of sound into a new pair of headphones or earphones for a given period of time. This is to be done before any critical listening happens. Think of it as the sonic equivalent of breaking in a new pair of shoes
The only problem? There’s zero evidence this does anything but prolong your enjoyment of music and add more confusion to an already complex topic.
Audiophiles will often apply their own burn-in technique to any number of music-listening devices: earphones, headphones, amps, speakers, even cables. With larger headphones, mechanical burn-in is supposed to describe the gradual settling in of the design parameters of the cone diaphragms
After this period, proponents claim they are able to vibrate more freely, thus allowing for better sound.
But wait, there’s more. Optimal burn-in times range from 40 to 400 hours, and the process itself can also take myriad forms. Manufacturers like Ultrasone offer specific burn-in times for their cans, but others are happy to leave the details to the true believers.
To be fair, the physical properties of any mechanical device can and do change over time. But whether those changes have a perceivable (and beneficial) effect, that’s another story.
In fact, during the 15 years Shure has been actively selling earphones, its engineers have reached the same conclusion again and again: The sound produced by these tiny transducers during final testing is the same sound you’ll get in a day, in a year, and in five years… unless something goes wrong.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple buys Israel’s PrimeSense for $345 million: report
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/17/us-primesense-apple-idUSBRE9AG03G20131117
Apple has bought PrimeSense, an Israeli maker of chips that enable three-dimensional (3D) machine vision, for $345 million, the Calcalist financial newspaper reported on Sunday without citing sources.
“We are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and natural interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices,” a spokeswoman for PrimeSense said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
20 Android Tablets form an Interactive Photo Collage
http://hackaday.com/2013/11/15/20-android-tablets-form-an-interactive-photo-collage/
You might not have a small army of unused tablets lying around, but if you did, you should try turning them into what Minn calls a “Giant Interactive Photo Array Display:” A Giant IPAD. Har har.
snagging a pile of 10″ and 7″ Android tablets. The frame is custom made to provide a solid surface for mounting and enough depth for the tablets to fit correctly.
Providing power to the diverse collection required another custom solution; two 5V 10A supplies and one 9V 16A supply fit into an accompany box safely deliver the needed juice.
Tomi says:
Game Play Has No Negative Impact on Kids, UK Study Finds
http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2013/11/15/game-play-has-no-negative-impact-on-kids-uk-study-finds/
A massive study of some 11,000 youngsters in Britain has found that playing video games, even as early as five years old, does not lead to later behavior problems.
The University of Glasgow study used surveys of mothers in a massive millennial survey to track behavior over time. The idea was to study whether researchers could draw a connection between screen time and behavioral or emotional troubles later.
This survey relied on parents reporting average screen time and later behavioral problems, but the size of the research pool – more than 13,000 families – left researchers confident their results were solid.
It was one of the first real studies that examined games in connection with television viewing while also assessing them separately. It also runs counter to some research in the U.S. with older children that has found connections between screen time and attention issues.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG Smart TVs logging USB filenames and viewing info to LG servers
http://doctorbeet.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/lg-smart-tvs-logging-usb-filenames-and.html
Earlier this month I discovered that my new LG Smart TV was displaying ads on the Smart landing screen.
After some investigation, I found a rather creepy corporate video advertising their data collection practices to potential advertisers. It’s quite long but a sample of their claims are as follows:
LG Smart Ad analyses users favourite programs, online behaviour, search keywords and other information to offer relevant ads to target audiences. For example, LG Smart Ad can feature sharp suits to men, or alluring cosmetics and fragrances to women.
At this point, I decided to do some traffic analysis to see what was being sent. It turns out that viewing information appears to be being sent regardless of whether this option is set to On or Off.
Here you can clearly see that a unique device ID is transmitted, along with the Channel name “BBC NEWS” and a unique device ID.
This information appears to be sent back unencrypted and in the clear to LG every time you change channel, even if you have gone to the trouble of changing the setting above to switch collection of viewing information off.
I noticed filenames were being posted to LG’s servers and that these filenames were ones stored on my external USB hard drive.
My wife was shocked to see our children’s names being transmitted in the name of a Christmas video file that we had watched from USB.
So what does LG have to say about this?
So how can we prevent this from happening?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Selfie is the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2307876/selfie-is-the-oxford-dictionarys-word-of-the-year
SELF TAKEN FACE PHOTOS, otherwise known as “selfies”, are so popular now that the term has won a place at the top of the Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year rankings.
Ruddy selfies are those pictures that leap out of social networks at your face.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Live gameplay streaming on Xbox One delayed until 2014
Twitch app will let you watch, but not broadcast, on launch day.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/11/live-gameplay-streaming-on-xbox-one-delayed-until-2014/
Just days ahead of the Xbox One’s Friday North American launch, Microsoft has announced that the ability to stream live Xbox One gameplay through gaming-focused site Twitch.tv will not be available until early 2014.
“We know the ability to instantly broadcast gameplay is something the gaming community is excited about, and we are too,” the company said in a blog post this morning. “We are working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community, so while this feature won’t be available right away, we’ll let you know as soon as it is ready. Our goal is to deliver it during the first part of 2014.”
Direct-from-the-console streaming was one of the most enjoyable new features we found in our evaluation of the PlayStation 4, which supports simple, live gameplay broadcasts through both Twitch.tv and Ustream. Twitch search results list hundreds of streams from PS4 gamers, and Sony’s Head of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida was among those trying out the feature in a popular stream on the eve of last Friday’s launch.