The future of cameras seem to be heading to is smaller, more portable, more disposable and mirrorless (DSLRs have a mirror). When Nokia’s Executive Vice President Anssi Vanjoki told 2010 that Cell Phone Cameras Will Replace DSLRs, I could not believe that on time. But it really seems to become more and more to truth in 2014: Nowadays you can take professional level (“good enough photos”) using consumer level cameras and smart phones. Technical quality is good enough for majority. There is going on a rampant replacement of point and shoot cameras of all flavors and varieties with smart phones and their built in cameras. Now the market is being effectively gutted. Gone. Non-existent. Same thing is happening to video as well.
Part of the technical race came to a (maybe temporary) end: “How can I match and exceed the quality of conventional metrics that we used to get from medium format film.” There’s nothing else pressing to solve, technically. Many photographers are fully equipped but uninspired to move forward. We have have set down for “good enough.” The engineering idea is that we’ve hit the sweet spot and to go for a Six Sigma improvement would be costly and unnecessary.
DSLR sales were down in 2013, worldwide, by 18.5% according to CIPA. The total decline in the entire dedicated camera market is closer to 43.5%. The decline will continue. Credit Suisse prediction: “Only those who have a strong brand and are competitive on price will last – and only Canon, Nikon and Sony fullfil that criteria”. Mirrorless cameras are not a big market: According to CIPA is the total sales of mirrorless system cameras in N. America was slightly fewer than 39,000 units. Total.
The challenge will be: How do you bridge that gap between high photo-capture quality and high-quality camera devices and the cloud where every amateur photographer’s images live? The company which has the most innovative post-processing, easy to share photos feature set wins! The future of photography is same as future in pretty much everything: software and connectivity. Camera manufacturers have been slow on those: we are just now seeing cameras with full operating systems like Android The advantages to smart phones are size, constant (annoyingly constant) access, multi-task tool set, and the ability to send your images, electronically, to an audience just about anywhere in the world.
Several smartphone makers have clear strategies to take photography to extremes: 40 megapixel camera is already on the market and several manufacturers are playing with re-focus after shooting options.
Consumer video device trend is that separate classic video cameras have pretty much faded from market. New smart phones have high definition video cameras in them, so for most users there is no need for separate video camera. For special uses there are small “action” video cameras that are so tiny that you can place them almost anywhere and they can take some beating while you perform your extreme sports. If the video quality of those do not suffice, many people use their DSLR to shoot higher quality high definition video. For professional video production there is still some market left for professional and prosumer video cameras.
The world seems to be heading to situation where separate DSLRs and separate video cameras will be more like high fidelity audio, which used to be common selling point in 1970s, 80s and early 90s, but now only some geeks care about audio quality. This will more or less happen to photographs and video.
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. This development is far from ready. Gartner suggests that now through 2018, a variety of devices, user contexts, and interaction paradigms will make “everything everywhere” strategies unachievable.
Video streaming has really become mainstream as Netflix And YouTube Account For Over 50% Of Peak Fixed Network Data In North America. Because of the rise in video services like Netflix and YouTube, peer-to-peer file-sharing has dropped (meaning less piracy of movies and TV series). Netflix remains the biggest pig in the broadband python, representing 31.6% of all downstream Internet traffic in North America during primetime hours in September — well ahead of any other streaming service. In other parts of the world, YouTube is the biggest consumer of bandwidth. In Europe, YouTube represented of 28.7% of downstream traffic.
Post HDTV resolution era seems to be coming to TVs as well in form of 4K / UltraHD. It was introduced in the 2013, and the manufacturers start to push it more in 204 because 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. On this road giant curved TVs is gaining ground: LG announces that it will present the “world’s first ” 105-inch curved ultra-hd-TV in January in Las Vegas at CES. Almost at the same time , however, Samsung also announced the proposal at CES “the world’s first and curved” 105-inch ultra HD television.. TV screens are in fact higher resolution the basic 4k level of ultra hd: Samsung and LG screens resolution is 5120 × 2160 pixels in the image (11 megapixels).
4K resolution ecosystem will get more ready for use. Netflix is testing out 4K video streaming and Netflix’s House of Cards was shot in 4K. Amazon Studios also just recently announced that it will shoot all of its 2014 shows in that format as well.
4K and 4K streaming are definitely coming in 2014 regardless of how many people can actually view it. 4K will still require a lot of work “with the compression and decode capability” to be ready for mainstream use. There are a great many things that need to happen before 4K really becomes a reality or needs to do so.
PC hardware with 4G capable graphics cards is already available, so decoding the stream is not a problem. The biggest issue is that the market penetration of 4K-capable televisions needs to grow, but to that happen the prices must drop to ranges for the average consumer. Many users have already fast enough fixed broadband connection, but can the networks handle peak usage 4K streaming? According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, it won’t require more than a stable 15 Mbps to stream 4K.
Extreme overkill resolution will also push to tablet and smart phone markets. There are already smart phones with full HD resolution. In high-end smartphones we may be moving into the overkill zone with extreme resolution that is higher than you can see on small screen: some makers have already demonstrated displays with twice the performance of 1080-progressive. Samsung is planned to release devices with 4k or UHD resolutions. As we have seen in many high tech gadget markets earlier it is a very short journey to copycat behavior. And we will see also see smart phones that can shoot 4K video.
For a long time music has been listened mainly with small portable MP3 player and such, which for most users provide “good enough” audio quality. The market had already shifted from separate MP3 players to the same functionality included to other devices (smart phones and tablets), so sales of music players sales have plummeted in year 2013 as much as as one-third. Separate music players mostly only used for listening music during fitness hobby, and growing popularity of fitness hobby is full of players saved the market from total collapse. Uncompressed music player to appreciate the need of a decent storage capacity, so some hifi people buy some high-end separate players, but that’s a small market.
Apple’s iPod continues to lead an ever-shrinking market of portable media players with a staggering 72 percent of the market for standalone music players. Apple has never been afraid of reducing demand for one of its devices by creating demand for another, in this case iPhone. The future of separate music players looks bleak.
Smartphones have taken the music player market. The growing popularity of smart phones and music streaming services will rise in the future to eat even music players sales. If smart watch will become a hit, the music player may be lost in exercisers shopping list.
1,214 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
LWIR Uncooled Thermal Camera Core Products
http://www.flir.com/cvs/cores/view/?id=51981
Tomi Engdahl says:
There is no end in sight for Bluetooth speakers
Using Bluetooth wireless speaker flood does not appear in any of the end, not least because of the discovery of “crowdfunding”, ie the number of funding. Now that speaker business is no longer on the size of the firm and the bank closed, all kinds of entrepreneurs in large numbers. On the other hand the phenomenon also reflects how the basic construction of the speaker is not rocket science.
Source: http://www.hifimaailma.fi/uutiset/nakopiirissa-ei-mitaan-loppua/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fake tape detectors, ‘from the stands’ footie and UGH! Internet of Things in my set-top box
All these and more at Euro broadcasting conference
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/24/ibc_round_up_object_audio_dlna_iot_/
IBC 2014 At this time of year, the tech press is often focused on IFA, the massive electronics show in Berlin where many companies unveil their latest products, including smartphones, flatter, curvier TVs than ever before, and all manner of other things.
But where IFA showcases the technology that will be in your living room within months, IBC can offer the chance to see some of that technology years before it reaches the consumer. DVB-T2, for instance, was shown at IBC in 2008 well ahead of its April 2010 UK launch as Freeview HD.
We’ve talked about object based audio on The Register before, most notably Dolby Atmos. But it’s going to have an impact far beyond simply souping up surround sound.
DTS showed an impressive personalisation demo on its stand, where, instead of listening to the soundtrack of a football match as it’s supplied by the broadcaster, the viewer can select which elements they want. For instance, picking up audio from the goal keeper, or turning off the commentary.
On top of that, a small sensor module on top of a pair of the headphones allows head tracking,
BBC is also working on variable length content. Pick how long you have to listen to a documentary, and you’ll get to hear a version that takes exactly that time
The initials DLNA and UPnP are in themselves enough to make many Reg readers wince at the thought of hours solving incompatibilities – a point that the DLNA acknowledges, and is working to fix in revisions to the standard. Their main announcement at IBC was VidiPath, a certification scheme that aims to make it easier for content from cable and satellite services to be available on multiple devices around the home.
UPnP is branching out into the Internet of Things, with new technologies designed to help discover and control devices like sensors and home automation. In a sense, you could consider it to be a counterpart to Apple’s HomeKit
Convergence is a term used to cover any number of sins. At IBC this year, it seemed to mean the collision of the IoT with your set-top box, with several companies showing off devices, including cameras and sensors, that use the box as a gateway.
Of course, as you’d expect at IBC, there was plenty from the world of television too, including a network tuner for DVB-T2, allowing any device in your home to connect and watch live TV over the network.
Many will doubtless be relieved to hear the DVB say that no one’s asked them to come up with standards for 2160p 3D.
One term you’ll likely be hearing more about is UHD-1, or DVB-UHDTV Phase 1, to give its fuller name. It’s the recently announced standard which allows for frame rates up to 60fps, and ten bits per pixel of colour.
content protection is pretty high up on the agenda
HeatMap, an app that shows in real time what content is being pirated.
As part of an EU funded project called Rewind, the Fraunhofer Institute has come up with a set of techniques that can indicate where audio may have been edited, detecting usage of different microphones, and other artefacts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IR sensor array sees a wider field of view, with low-noise imaging
http://edn.com/electronics-products/other/4434594/IR-sensor-array-sees-a-wider-field-of-view–with-low-noise-imaging
Low-cost infra-red (IR) arrays provide precise imaging data and detailed heat signatures for both static and dynamic objects can be derived, and find applications in security, automotive, building automation and consumer electronics.
With a 16 x 4 pixel configuration, the MLX90621 from Melexis can offer a field of view (FoV) of 100° x 25° – significantly greater than the company’s previous generation of IR array products.
Factory calibrated to operate over a temperature range of -40°C to 85°C, this array can accurately measure object temperatures from -20°C to 300°C. Interface and control is managed via the device’s I2C digital interface.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sounds good: The science behind audio compression
http://edn.com/design/consumer/4435111/Sounds-good–The-science-behind-audio-compression
One of the most exciting outcomes of the single-board computer revolution has been the tide of accessories carrying these devices into new realms of application. Wi-Fi, display, touch interface and image capture capabilities have been enabled by these accessories, transforming single-board computers into full-blown computer platforms.
Until recently, the outlier has been audio. Or, more to the point, “High Definition” audio, which was seldom touted as an essential application in the SBC arena, if ever. Then again, the term “High Definition” is somewhat up for grabs. Not to be confused with Intel’s proprietary high-definition standard for multichannel high-data-rate audio (Intel High Definition Audio or Intel HD Audio), a more relaxed, industry-accepted designation of “high definition (HD) audio” is gaining in popularity.
What precisely constitutes the latter is a bit vague, though it seems to be regarded as 24-bit audio sampled at frequencies more than four times the 20-kHz Nyquist frequency and at least double that of CD-quality audio. Think 96 kHz versus 44.1 kHz.
HD audio coding is lossless
An HD Audio track might be sampled originally at 24 bits/192 kHz, with a resultant stereo data rate of 9.2 Mbps, presenting a prohibitive streaming challenge as well as capacity nightmares for digital music players
HD audio is gaining traction in part because it relies not on lossy, proprietary data-reduction techniques, but on data compression that is both fully open-source and lossless. As the name suggests, Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is an example of a free, open-source, lossless codec.
FLAC is based on fixed polynomial prediction or linear predictive coding. A FLAC coder subtracts a calculated approximation of the signal from the actual signal, and codes the error.
Music coded in high definition is now commercially available to consumers, thanks to technologies like FLAC and other open-source initiatives. And it seems these days that virtually anyone can build just about any cool thing, provided they have the right single-board computer and accessories.
Traditional coders:
A perceptual audio coder, such as an MP3 coder, utilizes a mathematical model of the human auditory system to determine which components of a complex audio waveform will be heard – that is to say perceived – by the listener.
A data-reduction system that can exploit these phenomena offers significant advantages; by modeling the basics of the human auditory system, we can determine within a given band which tones – noise or otherwise – will be masked. Bands with strong masking components from the desired audio signal will be coded with precious bits; weaker signal components swamped by noise will not. The resultant waveform, theoretically and depending upon the specified data rate, is the original audio signal re-quantized at a lower data rate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Manual for iOS gives photographers DSLR-style control in a well-designed app
https://gigaom.com/2014/09/23/manual-for-ios-gives-photographers-dslr-style-control-in-a-well-designed-app/
Looking for an iPhone camera app with a wealth of manual settings? Check out Manual, which takes advantage of new iOS 8 camera capabilities to give photographers a surprising amount of control.
Manual won’t be for everyone. For your basic friends-and-family shots, the automatic settings provided by the default apps (as well as other photography apps) will produce reliably better results. But if you have the time and skill to dial in the proper settings, Manual gives iPhone photographers the ability to approach maximum picture quality with fine-tuned settings more often associated with DSLRs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Not Just Netflix: Google Challenges Canada’s Power To Regulate Online Video
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/09/24/1923258/not-just-netflix-google-challenges-canadas-power-to-regulate-online-video
Yesterday’s report on the regulatory battle between Netflix and Canada’s broadcast regulator has now grown as Google has jumped into the fight. Faced with similar demands from the CRTC, Google has refused to provide it with requested information, arguing that it is not part of the Canadian broadcast system and not subject to CRTC regulation
Netflix Rejects Canadian Regulator Jurisdiction Over Online Video
http://yro-beta.slashdot.org/story/14/09/23/1425206/netflix-rejects-canadian-regulator-jurisdiction-over-online-video
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s iPhone 6 Has Finally Convinced Me To Ditch My Compact Camera
Posted Sep 18, 2014 by Darrell Etherington (@drizzled)
http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/18/apples-iphone-6-has-finally-convinced-me-to-ditch-my-compact-camera/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity
It was bound to happen sooner or later: A smartphone would convince me that I no longer needed to carry around a powerful compact camera, despite a general interest in taking photos that straddles both my professional and personal lives. The iPhone 6 and the even more photo-friendly iPhone 6 Plus are that tipping point.
The 6 Plus gets optical image stabilization, of course, but both cameras represent big improvements over last year’s 5s in terms of shooting experience and final result (less haze, better color rendering). The faster AF is instantly noticeable, and the low-light image quality is by far superior.
It’s the low-light picture quality (without triggering the flash, this isn’t amateur night) that really seals the deal on this phone becoming my primary personal camera. For bar outings and nighttime gatherings, I’ve been a slave to carrying at least a large-sensor compact, first Canon’s S100 and then later the Sony RX-100 (first generation). These produced good results, without triggering the fun-time-ruining, in-camera flash — even in bars where it’s hard to make out the features of the person sitting next to you. But for all their size advantages over DSLRs and interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras, they’re still cumbersome, and they’re still an added gadget in addition to your phone.
The fact is that the performance of both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in low-light conditions is more than acceptable. At full res on a desktop, it’s true that you can see noise, and they aren’t as crisp around the edges as pictures taken in well-lit environments, but they look terrific when viewed on the iPhones themselves in your library, or when shared via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bugging out: How rampant online piracy squashed one insect photographer
Most copyright holders are individuals; most infringers are businesses. Things are broken.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/one-mans-endless-hopeless-struggle-to-protect-his-copyrighted-images/
Here is a true story about how copyright infringement costs my small photography business thousands of dollars every year.
Or, maybe it isn’t. It could also be a true story of how copyright infringement earns me thousands of dollars every year. I can’t be sure. Either way, this is definitely the story of how copyright infringement takes up more of my time than I wish to devote to it. Copyright infringement drains my productivity to the point where I create hundreds fewer images each year.
It’s true that every once in a while Hollywood twists together enough tattered legal threads to hang some poor schlub for torrenting Scary Movie 12 or whatever. But such cases are statistical anomalies. A great deal of content on the Internet, perhaps even most content, is uploaded in violation of copyright law. Nothing bad happens to the infringers most of the time.
To recap—Copyright: great! Internet: great! Where the two intersect, what could possibly go wrong?
The perpetual battle
For a concise idea of what could go wrong, let me indulge in a list of recent venues where commercial interests have used my work without permission, payment, or even a simple credit:
Billboards, YouTube commercials, pesticide spray labels, website banners, exterminator trucks, t-shirts, iPhone cases, stickers, company logos, eBook covers, trading cards, board games, video game graphics, children’s books, novel covers, app graphics, alt-med dietary supplement labels, press releases, pest control advertisements, crowdfunding promo videos, coupons, fliers, newspaper articles, postage stamps, advertisements for pet ants (yes, that’s a thing), canned food packaging, ant bait product labels, stock photography libraries, and greeting cards.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FAA Clears Movie and TV Drones For Takeoff
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/09/25/2132250/faa-clears-movie-and-tv-drones-for-takeoff
“The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is taking its first major step toward opening up the skies for commercial drone use, allowing six TV and movie production companies to use drones to shoot video.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter to Launch Targeted Ads for Movies (Exclusive)
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/twitter-launch-targeted-ads-movies-735626
Studios wanting to advertise an upcoming space epic could target users tweeting about ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and Groot
Tomi Engdahl says:
Binge alert: Subscribers now watch more than 90 minutes of Netflix every single day
https://gigaom.com/2014/09/25/binge-alert-subscribers-now-watch-more-than-90-minutes-of-netflix-every-single-day/
Just one more episode: All of your binge watching is adding up, to an average of 93 minutes of Netflix viewing per day, and around 45 GB of data every month.
the overall amount of Netflix streaming has increased 350 percent over the last ten quarters.
As Netflix continues its international expansion, more and more of that streaming time comes from outside of the United States. In Q3 of 2011, 94 percent of all Netflix streaming hours were coming from U.S. subscribers, according to the report. Fast forward to Q2 of 2014, and the U.S. contribution to Netflix’s total streaming hours declined to 72 percent.
Netflix performs a lot better for customers of some ISPs, and worse for others.
For example, Netflix advises its subscribers that 4K streams can consume up to 7 GB of data per hour.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TV Networks Offering More On Demand to Reduce Ad-Skipping
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-24/tv-networks-offering-more-on-demand-to-reduce-ad-skipping.html
CBS, Fox (FOXA) and the other TV broadcasters are delivering more shows on demand through pay-TV services to wean audiences off digital video recorders, which let viewers skip through commercials.
“This platform has reached critical mass and has become deeply integrated into how customers watch TV,” Matthew Strauss, a senior vice president at Comcast, said in an interview. “On demand has always been growing, and it’s growing faster now than we’ve ever seen it.”
As many as a third of viewers today watch shows after their original air date, and each one who hits the fast-forward button on the TiVo player represents a loss for the TV industry, which generates about $70 billion in annual ad sales. Video-on-demand libraries, which free consumers from the task of setting up recordings in advance, are available in about 60 percent of households, according to Nielsen.
The cost of a 15- or 30-second commercial is based on the size and demographics of a show’s audience. Advertisers already pay for ads seen in the first three days after the first telecast of a show — provided no one hits the fast-forward button. Broadcasters and cable networks could generate an additional $400 million in ad sales if 70 percent to 80 percent of DVR users convert to VOD, according to Laura Martin, an analyst with Needham & Co.
“It recaptures money that has been lost to the DVR,” Martin said in an interview. The DVR “has been slowing growth for 10 years.’
The majority of VOD viewing takes place after those three days, when advertisers are less likely to buy commercials. Many of the ads that run later are network promotions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
RIAA: revenues from music streaming services have replaced those lost from online sales —
Here, Again, Is Why Apple Bought Beats Music
http://recode.net/2014/09/26/here-again-is-why-apple-bought-beats-music/
The music labels’ overall sales dropped another five percent, to $3.2 billion, in the first half of the year
And download sales, which stalled out a couple of years ago, are now in free fall as well, down 12 percent. But the rise of the streaming business — which may well be causing some of the download decline — canceled that out.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adding a Digital Back to a Sweet Old Camera
http://hackaday.com/2014/09/29/adding-a-digital-back-to-a-sweet-old-camera/
[Eugene] wanted to use his vintage Leica M4 as a digital camera, and he had a Canon EOS 350D digital camera sitting around unused. So he Frankensteined them together and added a digital back to the Leica’s optical frontend.
It sounds simple, right?
Along the way [Eugene] reverse-engineered the EOS 350D’s shutter and mirror box signals (using a Salae Logic probe), and then replicated these signals when the Leica shutter was tripped by wedging an Arduino MiniPro into an old Leica motor-winder case.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Seagate embiggens its spy drive, waves it at CCTV cameras
A terabyte of storage weighs just 90g. Fancy that
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09/29/seagate_stuffs_more_into_surveillance_drive/
CCTV operators can breathe sighs of relief. They won’t run out of space so fast as Seagate has upped the capacity of its 4TB Surveillance disk drive to 6TB.
Seagate is using its 6TB drive technology, announced in April. Back then the company said the 6TB whopper could be used for centralised surveillance, and now here is the branded Surveillance version. It comes in 5TB and 6TB capacity points.
These double the cache used to 128MB.
Not a load of Tosh: 5TB ‘surveillance drive’ from Toshiba hits shelves
It’s vitally important you have huge storage for videos, y’see
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/06/toshiba_5tb_surveillance_drive_mc04acannne/
Toshiba has wrung another market slot-filling product out of its 5TB disk tech – a surveillance drive.
The company has two existing 5TB disk drive products. There is the MC04ACAnnnE bulk storage drive spinning at 7,200rpm for servers and arrays with cloud-scale needs. It has a 6Gbit/s SATA interface and an 800,000 hours MTBF rating.
Secondly, there is the MG04 with 6Gbit/s SAS or SATA interface with a faster throughput.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finding a Shell in a Bose SoundTouch
http://hackaday.com/2014/09/30/finding-a-shell-in-a-bose-soundtouch/
Bose, every salesperson’s favorite stereo manufacturer, has a line of WiFi connected systems available. It’s an impressively innovative product, able to connect to Internet Radio, Pandora, music libraries stored elsewhere on the network. A really great idea, and since this connects to a bunch of web services, you just know there’s a Linux shell in there somewhere.
The SoundTouch is actually rather easy to get into. The only real work to be done is connecting to port 17000, turning remote services on, and then connecting with telnet. The username is root.
The telnet service on port 17000 is actually pretty interesting, and we’re guessing this is what the SoundTouch iOS app uses for all its wizardry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printing of Parameterized Speaker Enclosures
http://hackaday.com/2014/09/30/3d-printing-of-parameterized-speaker-enclosures/
Despite what you would gather from looking at a mess of wires, carpet, and MDF in the back of a Honda Civic hatchback, building speaker enclosures is a pretty complex business. To get the right frequency response, you’ll need to take into account the driver’s resonant frequency, the volume of any internal components, and how well the speaker works when it reaches the resonant frequency.
[Rich] wrote a bit of OpenSCAD and put it up on the Thingiverse Customizer, allowing anyone to manually enter a box volume, height and width ratio, size for a speaker hole, and even bass ports.
SpeakerGen – Parametric 3d Printed Speaker Enclosures
http://nothinglabs.blogspot.fi/2014/09/speakergen-parametric-3d-printed.html
3d print your own speaker enclosures!
This OpenSCAD / Thingiverse Customizer script lets you:
- Generate a box of any desired volume / ratio / wall thickness
- Determine optimal sealed box size for any driver using Thiele / Small parameters (Qts, Vas and Fs)
- Include cutouts for speaker / terminal (and screw holes)
- Include a bass port of any dimensions
Tomi Engdahl says:
Comcast launches cloud DVR in San Francisco, lays foundation for a set-top box-free future
https://gigaom.com/2014/09/30/comcast-launches-cloud-dvr-in-san-francisco-lays-foundation-for-a-set-top-box-free-future/
Comcast customers in the Bay Area now have two DVRs available to them: One in their living room, one in the cloud. Eventually, the one in the living room will disappear.
Comcast customers in the San Francisco Bay Area can now stream their DVR recordings to their iOS or Android devices, no matter where they are. The Sling-like feature requires one of the company’s newer X1 set-top boxes — for now. Under the hood, it’s already powered by Comcast’s cloud DVR, which could eventually make set-top boxes obsolete altogether.
X1 users can also watch any of their live TV channels on a mobile device within their home. This kind of feature is similar to what Dish is offering with its Hopper DVR, or some of the things Slingbox owners have been able to do for some time as well. But the infrastructure used by Comcast to power mobile playback is more unique, and foreshadows significant changes coming to the way the company operates it TV service.
What’s more, the cloud-based infrastructure that is now powering DVR streaming out of the home for Comcast could one day also power everything else, and completely make that set-top-box in your living room obsolete.
Pay TV operators have been talking about this kind of future for some time, but for Comcast, it’s actually within reach: The company recently launched a new service dubbed Xfinity on Campus in cooperation with select universities that gives students access to a full-blown TV service, including live TV and on-demand programming, on computers and iOS devices, without the need to ever touch a set-top box.
Currently, this kind of streaming-based TV service is only available to students living on campus at one of the eight participating universities — but there’s no reason why customers shouldn’t be able to sign up for TV service without renting a set-top box in the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Meet Matchstick, Mozilla’s $25 Chromecast alternative
http://www.cnet.com/news/meet-matchstick-mozillas-25-chromecast-alternative/
Is the world big enough for another streaming Internet dongle? Mozilla and Matchstick sure hope so, as they announce the first Firefox OS device that’s not a smartphone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: Game consoles most widely used video streaming devices in US
Consoles enjoy strong lead over smart TVs, media boxes.
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/09/report-game-consoles-most-widely-used-video-streaming-devices-in-us/
Last week, a Dallas-based market research firm published a report about American video-streaming habits, and its numbers told a story that we saw coming for years: Video game consoles have become the leading device category for video streaming app use.
The report goes on to rank broadband homes’ preferred devices, with game consoles beating, in order, smart TVs (20 percent), streaming media boxes (12 percent), and Blu-ray players (nine percent). “What we find is that not every device has everything somebody wants,” Parks Director of Research Barbara Kraus said in an interview with Ars. Kraus clarified that respondents were asked which device they used most. “You are going to continue using multiple devices until you have a platform that has everything you want on it,” she said.
Additionally, while 62 percent of broadband homes reported having a gaming console, that percentage jumped to 80 percent of broadband homes with children in the house. “Younger console owners and those with children in the home are heavier users of online, non-gaming content,” Kraus said in the report.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With ‘Crouching Tiger’ Sequel, Netflix Takes Aim at Hollywood
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/business/media/with-crouching-tiger-sequel-netflix-takes-aim-at-hollywood.html?_r=0
In a first deal of its kind, Netflix and the Weinstein Company said Monday that they planned to release next year’s sequel to the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” simultaneously across the globe on Netflix and a select number of Imax theaters.
The film, a follow-up to Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning martial arts drama, is the first major motion picture to make its debut on the streaming service and in movie theaters at the same time. It will be available on Aug. 28 at no additional fee to Netflix subscribers and is the first of several films that Netflix is backing that will follow this new model for release. Only Imax is involved; other theater chains will not screen the film.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bionic Ear Due Soon
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324117&
The Bionic Ear will be here by the second quarter of 2015, powered by special chip sets produced by STMicroelectronics NV using audio algorithms originating at Soundchip SA and packaged into a compact in-ear device by Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AT&S).
The device is based on Soundchip’s High-Definition Personal Audio (HD-PA) algorithms. The companies say the user will be able to enjoy audiophile-quality surround-sound music without ambient noise. The user also will be able to switch to a Bluetooth telephone or audio from augmented reality apps — or just switch off everything but ambient sound to have a conversation — without removing the earpiece.
“The Bionic Ear is the result of a tight integration of advanced acoustics and low-power electronics within a single, highly integrated structure installed into an in-ear style headset to provide its wearer with high-definition audio content, free from the disturbing effects of noise,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
4k Blu-ray discs in the summer 2015
Blu-ray Disc Association has announced the Blu-ray standard, 4k, and the disk to be completed in summer 2015.
4k Blu-ray discs and players are promised to provide four times more pixeleitä, 60 frames per second playback, improved color gamut, wider dynamics, 100GB of Blue-Ray discs, more efficient compression and others as technological improvements.
The new discs will require, however, a new 4k Blu-ray Disc player and also a 4k-ready display.
Streaming services is unlikely to get a long time 4k Blue-Ray level data…
Source: http://www.hifimaailma.fi/uutiset/4478/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Listening Art: myaudioart sound boards
German myaudioart to produce a unique appearance, ultra-thin hi-fi systems, which according to the manufacturer combines the living room-fitting design and music experience.
myaudioartin Flat HiFi Systems fits in there like a painting on the wall. A database made by a wide variety of illustration (also you can select your own artwork) that can be put on the painting frame like speaker. The artwork can also be changed easily.
myaudioart Flat HiFi Systems-system has two versions: MA 3 (720 x 490 mm with 4-channel 30W amplifier 56 bits DSP ) and MA 5 (1210 x 830 mm with 6-channel 50W amplifier).
Music can play Bluetooth V 3.0 + EDR with APTX Codec (MA 3 and MA 5), Audiofly and Wireless Audio Bridge (MA 5), as well as other devices with docking support…
Source: http://www.hifimaailma.fi/uutiset/kuuntelemisen-taide-myaudioart-aanitaulut/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Music-mad Brits drive up hardware sales too – claims BPI
Chicken and egg – but which was first?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/02/embargo_until_0001am_wed_gmt_music_mad_brits_driving_gadget_sales_too/
Amazingly, 12 per cent of British people watching TV are listening to music from another source as they watch. Or maybe that isn’t so amazing. Maybe you need to play Napalm Death while watching The X Factor – and who could blame you?
Tech-mad Brits also spend more on music per head than the G7 average – but which drives which?
Since it’s impossible to listen to recorded music without some kind of technology, even if it’s a wax cylinder phonograph, the two advance in lockstep. Music creates a demand for gadgets on which to enjoy it. A peer-reviewed study by the BPI has had a go at unravelling the relationship – and there are a few interesting findings.
Translated into a demand for tech, the study estimates that UK punters spent £11bn more on tech gear than they would have done if their music consumption were on a par with the G7 average spending on music.
Using regression analysis, the BPI study reckons that a 1 per cent increase in music sales has a slightly negative impact on (0.1 per cent) broadband adoption and docks and wireless speakers (-1.4 per cent), but a positive impact on smartphone (+1.4 per cent) and fondleslab (+2.2 per cent) sales. Almost half of the tablet users use them for watching music videos, Ofcom found last year. Over five years, we arrive at the £11bn estimate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kim Dotcom: The music industry hates me, so I’m quitting
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2373529/kim-dotcom-the-music-industry-hates-me-so-i-m-quitting
KIM DOTCOM is parting company with Baboom, his disruptive music streaming and download company.
Dotcom relates to the music industry in the same way that a furious monkey interacts with a china store. The music industry does not like Dotcom and has done a lot, with some support from law enforcement authorities, to take away his businesses and money.
“Good bye @Baboom. I was holding [you] back,” he said. “The music industry hates me. You’ll do better without me. Good luck my love.”
Dotcom was a lot more bullish when he launched Baboom, and far less caring about the feelings of the music industry.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New miniature zoom lens technology:
HOW OUR TECHNOLOGY WORKS
http://www.dynaoptics.com/
DynaOptics’ patented technology solution enables optical zoom capability via micron scale, lateral lens movements, enabling a final footprint that is a fraction of the size of current optical zoom systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With Four New Adam Sandler Films, Netflix Takes Aim at Theaters
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/business/media/with-four-new-adam-sandler-films-netflix-takes-aim-at-theaters.html
Netflix plans to announce on Thursday that it has struck a deal with the comedian Adam Sandler to produce and star in four new feature films that will appear exclusively on the streaming service.
Mr. Sandler ranks as one of the most popular movie stars on Netflix, with his films consistently among the most viewed on the service both in the United States and around the world, said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix.
said the films would have the characteristics of theatrical releases, with similar-size budgets. (The production budgets for Mr. Sandler’s recent films have ranged from about $40 million to $80 million.)
Tomi Engdahl says:
Roku players will soon support Android, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 screen mirroring
http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2014/10/02/roku-players-now-support-android-windows-phone-8-windows-8-screen-mirroring/
Own a Roku 3 or Roku Streaming Stick? You’ll soon be able to mirror the screen from your Android, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s next-gen iOS Remote app solution could boast full Apple TV GUIs, interactive content
http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/10/02/apples-next-gen-ios-remote-app-solution-could-boast-full-apple-tv-guis-interactive-content
By Mikey Campbell
An Apple patent application published Thursday describes a next-generation iOS Remote app system capable of translating the Apple TV’s UI to smaller format iPhone and iPad screens, while streaming back external content like movie trivia from those same devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HEVC patent prices are out. Look who’s NOT at the codec party: Microsoft and Google
Will they want to fork out to Apple ‘n’ pals?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/03/hevc_patent_terms_thrashed_out_but_look_whos_not_at_the_codec_party_microsoft_and_google/
Analysis The MPEG Licensing Authority (MPEG LA) has released pricing for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) that is almost certainly low enough to claim the market overnight.
HEVC is the successor to the tech used to encode video stored on Blu-ray Discs and streamed in high-definition digital TV transmissions the world over. The previous standard was called H.264 – aka MPEG 4, aka Advanced Video Coding (AVC) – and the current one is now H.265.
In the past, particularly when H.264 pricing was first mooted, there was enough complaint that some factions wanted to shift to alternative technologies and in the end the royalties were repriced.
The MPEG LA has selected which patents it believes are essential to an implementation of HEVC from just 23 organisations, and will collectively license all of these patents in a single pool of patents. Interestingly there are some major contributors to prior codec patent pools missing from the list and we suspect many of these – such as Technicolor, Microsoft and Sony – may be added later one way or another.
The list includes Apple, but neither Microsoft nor Google.
But the critical thing is the price, not which companies get the money. The first 100,000 units a year are free of royalty. After that it is a simple 20 US cents per unit, which is the same basic payment unit that was eventually settled on for H.264.
However there are two big differences. There is no further volume discount, whereas H.264 dropped from $0.20 per unit to $0.10 after 5 million units a year, and the maximum payable is far higher at $25m, rather than $6.5m. These values will be increased by no more than 20 per cent once every five years.
These things are never quite predictable and there may be some loud cries of complaint and Google may well take umbrage and once again attempt to sideline HEVC in favour of its own codecs, while others may complain about pricing or refuse to pay
Tomi Engdahl says:
4K video on terrestrial TV? Not if the WRC shares frequencies to mobiles
Have your say with Ofcom now, before Freeview becomes Feeview
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/30/breaking_fad_uhd_video_on_terrestrial_tv_crunch_time_for_freeview/
The DVB consortium has recently produced a draft specification for Ultra High Definition aka 4K, fitting the UHD video within the standard transport streams that are already used for SD and HD.
As evidenced by the BBC’s current closed trial – which had been showing World Cup content and will carry some of the Commonwealth Games too – it’s clearly possible to broadcast UHD material, even over a relatively bandwidth-limited platform like Freeview.
But don’t get carried away with dreams of better-than-eyeballs quality broadcasting direct to your existing aerial; there’s a long way to go before we regularly, if ever, see UHD in the home, and Freeview also faces mortal peril.
On the first of those two points, it’s important to remember that there aren’t many sets out there which have HEVC decoders, and some of those are still pretty experimental.
Wrestling with the WRC
If you’ve been following the evolution of broadcasting and mobile lately, you’ll know that there are some potential issues. For instance, we’ve already seen the creation of space at 800MHz for 4G services
As mobile broadband is expected to grow tremendously, so too do the demands from phone companies for more spectrum to be allocated. It’s a foregone conclusion that the 700MHz band will fall to mobile use
In the modern world, where everyone moves around, and companies want economies of scale, decisions on spectrum usage are agreed internationally.
These decisions are taken at the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC), and the next one is WRC-15 in November of next year. Decisions made at WRC are effectively binding, from the time they’re made, although there’d be a transition phase.
What of IP?
“So what?” some are bound to say, and this being The Register, someone will probably suggest we’ll all be using IPTV by then, and it’ll be even easier if all that spectrum is used for broadband instead of terrestrial television.
IPTV has to improve a lot before it can replace Freeview – even broadband is still nowhere near that 98.5 per cent availability in homes. So it’s no surprise then that organisations like Digital UK don’t believe IPTV would be in a position to replace DTT until at least 2030, leading Ofcom to state in its most recent PSB review that DTT should remain the main TV platform until then.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Asks the Music Labels for a Price Cut on Streaming Subscriptions
http://recode.net/2014/10/02/apple-asks-the-music-labels-for-a-price-cut-on-streaming-subscriptions/
There are lots of music subscription services that let people listen to all the songs they want for $10 a month.
Apple thinks that price is too high.
Sources say Apple is talking to the big music labels about a new set of rights and features it would like to include in a revamped version of the Beats Music service it bought earlier this year. Among the things Apple wants is a new pricing structure that would allow it to sell the service for less than the $10 level it’s at now.
Discussions are in their early stages, sources say, and Apple isn’t planning on overhauling Beats Music until next year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WSJ: Google X Display Team Works Toward Bezel-Free Modular Displays
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/10/04/0227241/wsj-google-x-display-team-works-toward-bezel-free-modular-displays
The Wall Street Journal reports in a paywalled article that a team under Pixel Qi founder and OLPC co-founder Mary Lou Jepsen at Google’s skunkwork labs Google X is working on modular video displays that could be expanded by snapping them together “like Lego.”
Google reportedly developing displays that can combine to create one huge TV
http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/3/6905083/google-developing-displays-that-connect-like-legos-report
Google is developing a new display that can connect with other displays to create one giant screen, according to The Wall Street Journal. The project is the latest that’s been reported out of the company’s experimental Google X lab, which is responsible for work such as its self-driving car.
The Journal suggests that these displays will be used to make gigantic TV screens by plugging together smaller ones as though they were Legos. It even says that the image will be seamless — which would mean that Google is making them without any sort of surrounding bezel. The displays can also reportedly be formed into different shapes. Google is also toying with modular technology in its Project Ara smartphones, and one can imagine how this tech could also be applied there.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Working on Large-Scale Video Displays
Google X Is Developing Screens That Can Connect Like Legos to Form a Big Seamless Image
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/google-working-on-large-scale-display-technology-1412346897-lMyQjAxMTI0MDAwMzIwMjMzWj
Tomi Engdahl says:
Leica M-P (Typ 240)
Leica’s Fancy New M-P Camera May Actually Be Worth $8,000
Rating: 9/10 Nearly flawless; buy it now
http://www.wired.com/2014/10/leica-mp-type-240-review/
When everything is in focus, there are no throwaway shots with the M-P. Everything looks like a frame from some Wim Wenders documentary about the human condition. There’s an OMFG combination of crisp contrast, smoothness, sharpness, warmth, and dynamic range in everything the camera captures. The photos have a distinct presence, a heaviness, sometimes a dreaminess. The lens I used, an amazing 35mm/F2 piece of glass, certainly helped.
But here’s the stone-cold reality of the situation. Leica cameras—and Leica lenses—cost a ton of money. This one has a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor and three diagonal inches of scratch-resistant sapphire glass covering its 920K-dot LCD display. It costs close to $8,000, and that’s without a lens. That wonderful glass I tested it with, the Summicron 35mm/F2.0 aspherical prime, costs $3,350. The lens costs more than any camera I’ve ever used.
In fact, this camera doesn’t have an autofocus system at all. It’s a rangefinder, so you’ll need to use manual focus for everything. It’s not like manually focusing a DSLR either because there’s no through-the-lens viewfinder. You use the porthole on the top-left of the camera to line up a small, sometimes hard-to-see overlay with your scene by adjusting the lens. If the two images are lined up just so, your shot is in focus. It takes practice and a bit of luck
That may sound like an absurd amount of tradeoffs for an $8,000 camera. But here’s the thing: This camera takes the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever seen, and shooting with it is a zenlike experience.
The M-P is smaller than a full-frame DSLR, but it’s built like a tank. It’s a sturdy, weather-sealed die-cast magnesium brick of a precision-engineered photography machine weighing in at 2 pounds with the 35mm lens attached. Two-handed operation is a must,
Overall, it’s very similar to the Leica M, which has the same sensor, control scheme, and video capabilities. There are a few differences, though.
It will please the people who buy it for its photographic excellence. And it will please the people who don’t buy it because more-versatile cameras cost a helluva lot less.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Camera Stabilizer Takes The Shakes Out Of Filming
http://hackaday.com/2014/10/04/diy-camera-stabilizer-takes-the-shakes-out-of-filming/
We’ve all prematurely stopped watching some Youtube video because of shaky camera work that makes the video unwatchable. There is a solution available for this problem, it’s a device called a camera stabilizer and it is designed to compensate for jerky camera movement. There are several types available for purchase but they can get fairly expensive. Even the cheaper ones at a few hundred dollars are not economical for hobbyists. [John] set out to make his own camera stabilizer using some unorthodox parts.
[John's] chose a gimble style design that effectively lowers the camera’s center of gravity down close to the camera persons hand.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Era of Saturday Morning Cartoons Is Dead
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/10/05/0125205/the-era-of-saturday-morning-cartoons-is-dead
this is the first weekend in the United States with no Saturday morning cartoons playing on national broadcast stations.
the oversight is understandable because everyone has already moved on. TV is dead. Long live the Internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon hits STOP BUTTON on Redbox Instant video-streaming service
US Netflix rival shutting down permanently on 7 October
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/05/verizon_axes_redbox_instant_video_streaming_service/
Verizon will axe its Netflix competitor Redbox Instant on Tuesday, just a year and a half after the telco giant first launched the video-streaming service in the US.
Verizon reportedly hit the kill switch after execs admitted that the service had failed to gain enough traction against popular video-streaming service Netflix.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computer Vision Algorithms Detect Human Figures
https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/computer-vision-algorithms-detect-human-figures-in-cubist-art-e82995bb42a0
Humans still rule when it comes to recognising people in Picasso’s paintings. But the way machine vision algorithms fail hints at how humans do this task, say computer scientists
Tomi Engdahl says:
The cloud DVR is going mainstream before anyone knows if it’s legal
http://qz.com/273587/the-cloud-dvr-is-going-mainstream-before-anyone-knows-if-its-legal/
It’s perfectly legal in the US to record television programs for personal use, but the situation gets murkier when those recordings touch the web. American courts haven’t really decided if cloud DVRs, which store and play back TV shows over the internet, are just as acceptable as regular DVRs with hard drives, or instead violate copyright law. The US Supreme Court this year said a ruling on the legality of cloud DVRs would have to wait for another day.
That day could come soon.
Comcast, the biggest television and internet provider in the US, announced this week that its cloud DVR service has a key new feature: In many parts of the country, Comcast customers can now stream or download their recordings over any internet connection, wherever they are. Previously, downloads were limited to in-home connections managed by Comcast.
The distinction is important to lawyers, perhaps more than it is to customers. Comcast is confident in the legality of its product, but the programmers from which Comcast licenses content may not agree. They have a long history of suing to prevent technology that allows people to record television and play it back later, going back to VCRs.
cloud DVRs are considered legal in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, but their status isn’t clear in the rest of the country. As a result, the TV industry has been slow to adopt cloud technology in the US. Cablevision has offered cloud DVRs to most of its customers, but competitors largely haven’t followed suit.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court dealt with a case that touched on similar issues: Aereo
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart MEMS mic hears better in loud environments
http://edn.com/electronics-products/other/4435530/Smart-MEMS-mic-hears-better-in-loud-environments?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20141006&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20141006&elq=cb365fa4e2e24d1d956d335e550a944c&elqCampaignId=19517
STMicroelectronics’ MP23AB02B MEMS microphone maintains ultra-low distortion at less than 10% up to very high external sound-pressure levels, enabling equipment such as smartphones and wearable devices to perform better when placing calls or recording audio in loud environments.
With acoustic overload level of 125 dB SPL and signal-to-noise ratio of 64 dBA, the 3.35 x 2.5 x 0.98-mm microphone employes ST’s dedicated preamplifier design, which prevents saturation of the output signal even when background-noise levels are high, such as in concert venues, bars or clubs, or if the user is speaking loudly close to the microphone. In addition, omnidirectional sensitivity ensures overall performance and versatility in mobile applications.
The device, in a RHLGA 3-lead metal-cap package, will cost $1 (1000).
Tomi Engdahl says:
In Finland, streaming is more popular than download
As many as 72 percent of the Finnish considers television programs streamed and music streaming 66 per cent of Finnish, says Samsung’s commissioned Techonomic Index consumer research.
Finnish consumes 40 per cent of streaming your music once a week, and the audiovisual content 45 per cent. Most popular streaming is with young adults, but more than a fifth of 55-year-olds used a streaming weekly in their media consumption. Almost half of the Finnish population aged 18-24 thrives more than an hour a day on streamed TV and video content.
The study shows that streaming was more popular than downloading in the Nordic countries. Finnish 14 percent reported a consuming on a daily streaming of audiovisual content while the content uploaded every day looking at six per cent. In Sweden, the corresponding figures were streaming into the 9 per cent and 4 per cent of the downloaded content.
While the Finnish population aged 45-55 over streaming services were used daily by 12 per cent, so the Swedes made only six per cent.
Swedes took advantage of streaming music with 59 per cent and 66 per cent of Finnish. TV and video content streamed held 72 per cent of Finnish and 61 per cent of Swedes. The Finns, however, also downloaded music, TV and video content more than the Swedes.
Streaming services are increasingly being used with smart TV. They can stream content, including grandstands, in a grid, HBO, YouTube, Spotify and Netflix streaming services, in addition to Samsung’s Smart TVs were recently on YLE Areena applications.
Source: http://www.hifimaailma.fi/uutiset/suomessa-suoratoisto-lataamista-suositumpaa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU’s super-commish for tech: Geo-blocks on cat vids, music – NOT FAIR
…and vows to take telcos, safe harbour and copyright to task
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/07/new_eu_super_commissioner_for_all_things_tech_impresses_european_parliament/
Andrus Ansip, the new EU super-commissioner for all things digital, says he will work to completely abolish geo-blocking of media in Europe – and urged telcos to get on with pushing out high-speed mobile broadband.
On blocking people from watching or listening to things based on their location, he said: “We shouldn’t have to put up with it. I don’t think it is fair.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony sets high price bar for Web TV
http://nypost.com/2014/10/05/sony-sets-high-price-bar-for-web-tv/
Sony’s upcoming Internet-delivered TV service will carry 100 channels and a surprisingly high price tag of as much as $80 a month, The Post has learned.
The Japanese media and electronics giant is set to launch the service before year’s end as a way to goose sales of its Web-connected TV sets during the crucial holiday season.
But the price is on par with that of a traditional cable and satellite programming package and is on the high side for a so-called over the top service.
One source told The Post that the price would be around the $80 mark, while a second person said, “We hear its going to be competitive with a traditional basic cable package at between $60 to $65.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Crank it up! Powerful, crystal clear audio without any risk
Do you listen to music or watch videos on your phone? Or maybe you stay in touch with friends and relatives using Skype or other VoIP services? The smartphone has made all of these things a reality, transforming the way we consume information and interact with each other.
Mobile usage trends show that more than 50% of mobile network data is driven by media players. And the popularity of stereo-equipped smartphones and phablets, such as the HTC One, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Sony’s Xperia range, indicate that audio quality is just as important to user experience as a phone’s visual capabilities.
However, standard smartphone speakers can only handle around 0.5 W which isn’t really sufficient for today’s multimedia.
Using our Smart Amplifier TFA9890, we were able to boost loudness and audio quality from a rated 0.67 W to an impressive 4 W, without affecting the speaker’s operating lifetime.
- See more at: http://blog.nxp.com/crank-it-up-powerful-crystal-clear-audio-without-any-risk/#sthash.wwUElrT6.dpuf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Real Time Video Processor ICs
http://www.eeweb.com/company-news/rohm/real-time-video-processor-ics/
The BU1572GUW/BU1573KV/BU1574KU is an image processing technology developed by ROHM. This Adaptive Image Enhancer (AIE) allows images from the camera video were optimized for maximum visibility. It has image Enhance, Analysis, Through and Sleep modes. A PWM output is also incorporated for image adjustment and LCD backlight control. Common applications for this AIE are for portable media player, mobile phones, car display, car navigation system, etc.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Radial-Leaded Device on Video Ports
http://www.eeweb.com/company-news/te_circuit_protection/radial-leaded-device-on-video-ports/
TE Circuit Protection introduces the RUEF series of radial-leaded polyswitch devices. It has a maximum interrupt voltage of 30 V, maximum interrupt current of 100 A, and resistance range of 0.07 Ω to 0.100 Ω. It is commonly used as a circuit protection on most Video Ports.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Photokina 2014: Leica to Present New High-End Camera Leica S Featuring Leica MAESTRO II Processor built on Fujitsu Technology
http://www.fujitsu.com/emea/news/pr/fseu-en_20140916-1068-fujitsu-leica-milbeaut-image-processor-photokina.html
Leica Camera AG (‘Leica’) and Fujitsu Semiconductor Europe (FSEU) will be presenting a new Leica S camera that features the Leica MAESTRO II image processor at the Photokina exhibition to be held in Cologne, Germany, from September 16 – 21 (booth A002, hall 01.1). The Leica S-System is a purely digital high-end camera system built for professional photographers. Small medium-format cameras offer excellent imaging quality and user experiences due to the high-definition imagery, fast processing speeds, and low power consumption that the Fujitsu Milbeaut series of image processing devices for cameras is able to provide.
Leica MAESTRO II has been built upon the latest technology from Fujitsu’s Milbeaut series.