MEMS mics are taking over. Almost every mobile device has ditched its old-fashioned electret microphone invented way back in 1962 at Bell Labs. Expect new piezoelectric MEMS microphones, which promise unheard of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of up to 80 dB (versus 65 dB in the best current capacitive microphones) in 2015. MEMS microphones are growing like gangbusters.
Analysts and veterans of the International CES expect to see plenty of 4K ultra-high-definition televisions, new smartwatch uses, and a large section of the show floor dedicated to robotics. 2015 will be the first year CES gets behind 4K in a big way, as lower price points make the technology more attractive to consumers. Samsung, Sony, Sharp, and Toshiba will be big players in the 4K arena. OEMs must solve the problem of intelligence and connectivity before 4K will really take off. CES attendees may also see 4K TVs optimized for certain tasks, along with a variety of sizes. There will be 10-inch and 14-inch and 17-inch UHD displays.
4K is not enough anymore? 8K – finally come true? Korean giant LG has promised to introduce ehdan 8K TV at CES 2015 exhibition in January. 8K means a total of 33.2 million pixels, or 7680 x 4320 resolution. 4K video material fate is still uncertain, 8K video can not with certainty not available for a long time.
Sound bars will be a big issue at shows. One problem with new TVs — the thinner they are, the harder it is to get sound out.
Open file formats Matroska Video (MKV) and Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) gets more widely used as Windows 10 To Feature Native Support For MKV and FLAC.
Watching shows online is more common now. More people are watching videos on smaller screens. You can use a tablet as personal TV. Phablets and portable televisions have taken off in China, Japan, and Korea, where many people watch videos during long commutes. Tablets now have become so ubiquitous and inexpensive that you can buy them for a specific application. Much of the innovation will be in software, rather than hardware — tuning the tablets to boot up like a television instead of an Android tablet
We’re all spending more time with smartphones and tablets. So much so that the “second screen” may now be the “first screen,” depending on the data you read. It seems inevitable that smartphones and tablets will replace the television in terms of time spent. Many metrics firms, including Nielsen, report on the rapid increase of mobile device usage—especially when it comes to apps. Half of YouTube’s views now come from phones and tablets.
Qualcomm will push this year broadcast LTE. That will be picked up more and more by some vendors in tablets, so they can have broadcast TV signals, but it doesn’t have to be generic LTE.
There will be lots of talking on traditional TV vs new streaming services, especially on who gets which program material and at what price. While it’s possible to create a TV platform that doesn’t deal with live channels, smart TVs and game consoles alike generally try to integrate the content as best they can.
Netflix’s new strategy to take on cable involves becoming best friends with cable to get its app included on set-top boxes of cable, fiber and satellite TV operators. Roughly 90 million U.S. households subscribe to cable or other forms of pay TV, and more than 73 million subscribe to the biggest five operators alone. That’s why Netflix has been working hard to team up with one of these major operators.
Google intends to integrate content best it can. Google Publishes ‘Live Channels For Android TV’ App Into The Play Store. G The “Live Channels for Android TV” app is unsurprisingly incompatible with phones and tablets, maybe because for some reason those markets are intentionally artificially tried to be kept separate.
Virtual reality video is trying to get to spotlight. Samsung’s new Milk VR to round up 360-degree videos for Gear VR article tells that Milk VR will provide the videos for free as Samsung hopes to goose interest in virtual reality. Milk VR service will provide free 360-degree videos to anyone using a Gear VR virtual-reality headset (uses Galaxy Note 4). Samsung wants to jump-start the virtual-reality movement as the company is looking at virtual reality as a potential growth engine at a time when one of its key traditional revenue sources — smartphones — has slowed down. The videos will also serve as a model for future filmmakers or artists looking to take advantage of the virtual-reality medium, as well as build up an ecosystem and viewership for VR content.
Although digital video is increasing in popularity, analog video remains in use in many applications.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple plans all-new Beats-based music service integrated into iOS, iTunes, and Apple TV, develops Android app in-house, considers charging $8/month
http://9to5mac.com/2015/02/04/apple-beats-cheaper-android-ios/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony Android tellies get YouView makeover
Goggle box becomes Google box
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/05/sony_android_tvs_get_youview/
With its VAIO line sold off last year, Sony’s focus was well and truly on its audio-visual product portfolio. Needless to say, 4K TVs were in abundance, as well as cameras capable of feeding these big picture panels – and plenty of other evidence of the company’s ongoing commitment to Hi-Res Audio.
The biggest news was the the partnership of Sony and YouView announced yesterday. If proof were needed that things were cosy between the two, the lifestyle Sony demo room had YouView cushions scattered about the place.
What this collaboration means is that YouView functionality will be integrated into the 2015 range of Android Bravia TVs, which is going to be just about all of them. So, besides having a Google-powered goggle box, you’ll also get the YouView EPG, featuring seven-day scrollback and search functions together with catchup TV services from all the usual suspects from UK terrestrial broadcasters. Namely, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5.
For viewers, this integration of search and catchup services offers a way of watching past programmes without having to buy into a set top box to record them… assuming you access content within the online availability windows.
We were treated a quick whizz around the menus – Sony Select (suggested content), Inputs (peripheral access) Apps (Android fare, videos and games) and Settings (configuration), all navigated using simple swipes the flick remote control.
The remote looks like last year’s model but for 2015 it has a new feature: voice control. Press and talk and you can get the TV do things that not-so-smart TVs never used to do, like search for actor info or browse the web for images.
voice control is available from Android and iOS apps with Sony’s TV Sideview.
Last year, the arrival of Sony’s FDR-AX100E Handycam brought 4K shooting to the masses for around £1,800. This year’s 4K consumer shooter, the FDR-AXP33 is smaller and cheaper at £999, featuring Balanced Optical SteadyShot
If the prices keep tumbling then 4K content will become more prevalent, even if it is just stuff for the family video album. The stumbling block is the video format. The consumer models use XAVC S for 4K shooting which means you’ll either have to transcode for older editors or have the latest version of Adobe Premiere CC, Apple Final Cut Pro X or Sony’s Vegas Pro 13 Edit, all of which cost more than a few quid.
Fortunately, Cyberlink’s PowerDirector 13 Ultra supports XAVC S and is going for £63 at the moment,
FDR-AXP33 has a built-in projector and an HDMI input
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Study finds music labels take 73.1% of profits from streaming services; artists get 10.9%
Yes, Major Record Labels Are Keeping Nearly All The Money They Get From Spotify, Rather Than Giving It To Artists
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150204/07310329906/yes-major-record-labels-are-keeping-nearly-all-money-they-get-spotify-rather-than-giving-it-to-artists.shtml
A small group of very vocal musicians has decided that the new target of their anger, after attacking cyberlockers, search engines and torrent sites, should be legal, authorized streaming services. They’ve decided that the payouts from these services are simply too low, even though almost none of these services are anywhere close to profitable, and most are handing out the vast majority of their revenue to copyright holders. The complaints are often nonsensical.
the target of these musicians’ anger appeared to be misplaced, as the CEO of Merlin (which represents a ton of indie labels) admitted that the real problem was that Spotify paid lots of money to labels and it was the labels not giving that money to the artists.
And, it appears, there’s a decent reason why those labels haven’t been eager to be transparent: because they’re keeping most of the money.
the labels get the lion’s share, with songwriters/publishers splitting 10% and the performers getting less than 7%.
Major labels keep 73% of Spotify premium payouts – report
http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/artists-get-7-of-streaming-cash-labels-take-46/
New record company figures out of France suggest that artists receive just 68 cents from every €9.99 monthly music streaming subscription – as major labels keep hold of 73% of payouts from the likes of Spotify.
French recorded music trade body SNEP, whose members include Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music, ran a recent study with Ernst & Young to discover where money paid by a subscriber to the likes of Spotify or Deezer ultimately ends up.
As you can see below, in terms of the turnover that these platforms generate, the major labels (‘producteurs’) take home the lion’s share, pulling in an average of €4.56-per-subscriber every month after tax.
In terms of the total subscription payment, that’s a 46% share of the spoils.
If SNEP’s figures are correct, €6.24 of every €9.99 subscription is paid to music rights-holders – that’s what’s left after tax and the digital platforms’ fee.
That would means the labels keep 73% of payouts from Spotify/Deezer etc.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Broadcast journalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are “broadcast”, that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, and Internet), and, especially recently, the world wide web. Such media disperse pictures (static and moving), visual text and/or sounds.
On-line convergence
Convergence is the sharing and cross-promoting of content from a variety of media, which in theory might all converge and become one medium eventually. In broadcast news, the Internet is key part of convergence. Frequently, broadcast journalists also write text stories for the Web, usually accompanied by the graphics and sound of the original story. Websites offer the audience an interactive form where they can learn more about a story, can be referred to related articles, can offer comments for publication and can print stories at home, etc. Technological convergence also lets newsrooms collaborate with other media. Broadcast outlets sometimes have partnerships with their print counterparts.
Live on the Go: How to Ustream from your Smartphone or Tablet
http://www.ustream.tv/blog/2013/11/06/live-on-the-go-how-to-ustream-from-your-smartphone-or-tablet/
What if I told you (in my Morpheus voice, ofcourse) that an entire global audience sits right in your palm, within the convenience of your smartphone or tablet? Yes, my dear Neo, there’s an app for that. With Ustream’s mobile app (for Android and iPhone) you can easily share moments or capture breaking news events in real-time, wherever and whenever they happen. Integrated chat? Check. Audience polling and GPS mapping? Double check.
Select your channel or Login with your Ustream account credentials.
TIP: Another easy way to create a channel is by using your Facebook account. This is especially important if you have a Facebook fan page, as you can utilize our Ustream for Facebook application that allows you to broadcast live directly from your Facebook page.
Once you select your channel you will see the camera preview. Now you’re ready to start spreading the word and attracting viewers!
Gain Viewers
Encourage your audience to invite their friends and retweet to their followers. Spark the virality of your broadcast by energizing others to help get the word out. Inform viewers of when you will be live (start/end) in advance. Talk to friends and family, Post to your Twitter and Facebook before, after and during your broadcast.
Shoot Great Video
Hold the camera steady and don’t make frantic moves. Think of the camera as an extension of your own eyes and viewers will see what you show them, so it is best to keep the motion smooth and steady. You are the best zoom available. To be a good videographer you need to be able to go where the action is. Don’t be afraid to move closer to the action when safe to do so. If you are not close enough viewers may not be able to see or hear what you are trying to film.
TIP: Most modern smartphones come with a small LED light on the back of the device. You can activate this light by pressing the torch icon while broadcasting. This will illuminate what you are recording and works best when 3-5 feet from what you are trying to film.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Setting up multi-camera sequences
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-premiere-pro-cs6/setting-up-multi-camera-sequences/
This movie shows how the multi-cam editing process has been expanded to include more camera angles and a dynamic multi-cam source monitor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Surveillance Camera Video Distribution
http://www.structuredhomewiring.com/SurveillanceCameraDistribution.aspx
Your selection of a distribution method can have an impact on your camera selection, how and where you can watch the video, how you record and playback the video, and the wiring in general. Here are some options for surveillance video distribution:
Note 1: Be sure your camera video outputs match the inputs for your video selector.
Note 2: Technically, any camera (wired or wireless) can be connected to a DVR or computer for digital recording or Internet Distribution.
Tomi Engdahl says:
An insider’s guide to designing near-eye displays
http://www.edn.com/design/led/4438562/Design-tips-for-near-eye-displays—?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150205&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150205&elq=85156694d4bf41f896e62d171c512dc1&elqCampaignId=21506
There are a variety of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) near-eye display (NED) solutions currently in development, and the viability of a visual experience that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world continues to grow. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the top challenges for designing a compelling see-through near eye display solution that “seamlessly” blends the digital world with the physical world.
Display Latency – The key to creating a real-time experience
First considering system latency, there are many system-level components which contribute to the latency experienced by the user. For our purposes, we will focus on the portion associated with the display engine, which can be divided into two components:
Display (Pixel) Latency = Pixel Data Update Time + Pixel Switching Time
Texas Instruments DLP® Pico chips have some of the fastest pixel speeds available and can flip each digital micromirror (pixel) thousands of times per second, thereby reducing the display latency, and thus supporting display frame rates up to 120Hz while maintaining high image quality.
Contrast – The key to visually blending digital content with the real world
In addition to delivering a low-latency, real-time experience, the ideal NED solution should deliver transparent content with high clarity so as to not obstruct the end user’s view of the real world.
It is important to note that within a see-through NED optical system, the image is not being displayed on a semi-transparent surface (i.e., eyeglass lenses). Displaying on a semi-transparent surface would not be effective since such a surface would, by definition, be very close to the user’s eye, and the eye cannot comfortably focus on something so close. Rather than creating an image on a surface, the optical system forms an optical pupil and the human eye acts as the last element in the optical chain – thereby creating the final image on the eye’s retina.
A common see-through NED optical system will include a waveguide optical element which collects the light at the input and relays it towards the user’s eye. Such an arrangement not only forms the necessary optical pupil, but it also allows the micro-display, optics and illumination to be positioned so as to not obstruct the user’s view.
Numerous elements in the NED design can impact the contrast ratio
A higher F-number enables a higher contrast ratio – as well as reduced optical complexity and smaller optics size.
The human eye has an almost 180-degree horizontal FOV. Augmented reality headsets typically have a 20 to 60 degree FOV, which is sufficient to result in a natural viewing experience. In comparison, typical smart glasses solutions tend to have a smaller FOV that the user must unnaturally glance at periodically. The trend in most see-through NED applications is toward a wider FOV. A wider FOV will also allow the display to overlay more content across the user’s natural view of the real world, thereby providing a higher quality viewing experience.
The design challenges require trade-offs that directly impact the end-user experience.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dead Simple Hologram Effect
http://hackaday.com/2015/02/08/dead-simple-hologram-effect/
We’ve all seen holograms in movies, and occasionally we see various versions of the effect in real life. The idea of having a fully three-dimensional image projected magically into space is appealing, but we haven’t quite mastered it yet.
[Steven] hasn’t let that stop him, though. He’s built himself a very simple device to display a sort of hologram.
His display relies on reflections. The core of the unit is a normal flat screen LCD monitor laid on its back. The other component looks like a four-sided pyramid with the top cut off.
[Steven] then used the open source Blender program to design a few 3D animations.
http://hackaday.com/2014/01/03/3d-printering-making-a-thing-in-blender-part-i/
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Hologram using a 4-sided pyramid
http://rimstar.org/science_electronics_projects/hologram_pyramid_diy_homemade.htm
Tomi Engdahl says:
This TV Does 3-D Without the Glasses, and It Doesn’t Look Half Bad
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/tv-3-d-without-glasses-doesnt-look-half-bad/
A funny thing happened to me at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas last week: I glanced upward and found myself staring into a 3-D television.
You’ve got to put on the glasses, get yourself situated, the whole routine. So to look upwards at the TV mounted on the bar and realize that there was a depth illusion happening there—that was pretty weird.
What I was looking at was called Ultra-D, a glasses-free 3-D tech that’s been making the rounds at the electronics trade shows for a couple of years now. Representatives from the company at DICE told me they’re hoping to actually have some TVs using the tech in homes within this year. So who knows, maybe you’ll be trying this for yourself soon enough.
If you’re going to be in the market for a giant 4K TV this year, I mean. Stream TV Networks, the company behind Ultra-D, isn’t actually manufacturing televisions. It’s looking to spin up what it refers to as the “Intel Inside”-style business model: Licensing the technology to a range of manufacturers, who can then build it into their sets. It estimates that including its 3-D display might add around 10 percent to the retail price of the television.
Stream TV says that Ultra-D displays will have a 140-degree viewing angle, which means that multiple viewers should all be able to see the effect while hanging out on the couch. If you’re outside of that window, you’ll just perceive a 2-D image.
It also includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which enables the sets to convert any 2-D content on the fly to 3-D.
If you encounter Ultra-D over the next year, perhaps it’ll be in a public venue.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shane Harris / The Daily Beast:
Samsung’s SmartTV privacy policy warns that voice recognition can collect and transmit sensitive personal information to improve the product
— Your Samsung SmartTV Is Spying on You, Basically — You may be loving your new Internet-connected television and its convenient voice-command feature …
Your Samsung SmartTV Is Spying on You, Basically
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/05/your-samsung-smarttv-is-spying-on-you-basically.html
You may be loving your new Internet-connected television and its convenient voice-command feature—but did you know it’s recording everything you say and sending it to a third party?
Careful what you say around your TV. It may be listening. And blabbing.
A single sentence buried in a dense “privacy policy” for Samsung’s Internet-connected SmartTV advises users that its nifty voice command feature might capture more than just your request to play the latest episode of Downton Abbey.
“Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party,” the policy reads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quentin Hardy / New York Times:
VPNs increasingly used to circumvent geo restrictions, access content on sites like Netflix
VPNs Dissolve National Boundaries Online, for Work and Movie-Watching
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/in-ways-legal-and-illegal-vpn-technology-is-erasing-international-borders/
Rod Drury, an entrepreneur in Auckland, New Zealand, regularly visits the United States. Sometimes there are multiple visits a day.
“People here can’t get Netflix, so they get a VPN that gives them a U.S. I.P. address, and watch Netflix like they’re in America,” he said. “If I want something off iTunes, I buy U.S. cards online.”
Decoding the jargon: Millions of people around the world now pay for virtual private computer networks — a security method that uses encryption to hide Internet traffic — and similar services to hook into a server in the United States. As far as the video and retail services can tell, Mr. Drury is one more American customer.
If the Internet breaks down national boundaries, it may happen from the comfort of our couches. VPNs were originally thought of as a way for companies to guarantee security or dissidents to avoid the prying eyes of their governments. Now they are part of a larger movement for people to work and play anywhere on the planet, at all times.
And if the software can’t come to consumers, the customers use VPN to get to the software.
“Unblock geo-restricted websites and web services like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Skype, and many more!” says the webpage of PureVPN, which charges $45 a year to turn you into a virtual American. You might prefer being Canadian, since Netflix Canada has a bigger selection of films.
Tomi Engdahl says:
John Herrman / The Awl:
For distribution, media companies turn to apps and services, whose ad-driven, mediated businesses mirror broadcast TV — The Next Internet Is TV — I was talking to someone who works on one of those half-dozen or so apps that we tend to associate with teenagers: the ones that were built around …
The Next Internet Is TV
Websites are unnecessary vestiges of a time before there were better ways to find things to look at on your computer or your phone.
http://www.theawl.com/2015/02/the-next-internet-is-tv
This is a stray observation from an app bubble within an investment bubble. But if you listen to what the internet’s best-capitalized and savviest media companies—which themselves exist in a (separate) set of Matryoshka bubbles—are saying, and watch what they are doing, you can tell that they don’t think it’s crazy.
Here is a question worth asking of any large media company, as well as an answer:
Disney has given Fusion a lot of money to launch. What does the company see as a successful return on that investment? Traffic goals? TV audience? Influence?
I think it’s all of the above. Part of our overall mission is to be a lab for experimentation and innovation for our parent company. Univision and ABC want Fusion’s help in figuring out how to reach this incredibly dynamic, diverse, and digitally connected audience, so we’ll be investing heavily in audience development and technology and transferring knowledge to the parent company about what we learn.
This might sound a little deflating to Fusion’s newly launched site, which surely doesn’t think of itself as a market-research arm for an entertainment conglomerate, but it’s not, really. This is a journalist and manager speaking the language of her business, acknowledging Fusion’s particular relationship with the capital that keeps it running. If anything it should be read as comforting.
What does it want? To build “a new kind of newsroom to greet the changing demographics of America” that is also “a little bit outside of the media bubble.” When does it want it? As soon as possible, but, whatever.
Meanwhile, some of the most visible companies in internet media are converging on a nearby point. Vox is now publishing directly to social networks and apps; BuzzFeed has a growing team of people dedicated to figuring out what BuzzFeed might look like without a website at the middle. Vice, already distributing a large portion of its video on Google’s YouTube, has a channel in Snapchat’s app, along with CNN, Comedy Central, ESPN, Cosmo and the Daily Mail.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canon, Pentax power forward to lure high-end camera buyers
http://www.cnet.com/news/canon-pentax-power-forward-to-lure-high-end-camera-buyers/
Trying to coax consumers toward a world beyond smartphones, camera makers at the CP+ trade show reveal plans for dramatically better premium products.
Canon and Pentax just put on a burst of speed in the race to attract well-funded camera buyers.
The smartphone camera has proved to be a mixed blessing for the photography industry. With a smartphone, people always have a camera on hand and can share the shots immediately, and people are documenting their lives visually like never before. But it’s a lot harder to persuade somebody to buy an ordinary point-and-shoot camera — even though it produces better photos than a smartphone, it’s an extra expense and often something left at home.
For that reason, the camera industry has been pushing toward high-end compact cameras — those with image quality, zoom ranges or ruggedness that smartphones just can’t match — or toward models with interchangeable lenses for even more flexibility. The trend will be evident this week at the CP+ camera trade show in Japan, with Canon and Ricoh subsidiary Pentax already laying out their premium strategies with new cameras. The new cameras underscore a change in tactics amid a shrinking market, with the two companies taking different approaches.
Plunging shipments
Since 2010, the camera market has been steadily shrinking. Shipments plunged from 121 million that year to 43 million in 2014, according to the Camera and Imaging Products Association. But higher-end models whose lenses can be swapped have fared relatively well, accounting for about one in nine cameras shipped in 2010 to one in three shipped in 2014.
Traditionally, those interchangeable lenses have been SLRs, named after their single-lens reflex mirror that bounces light from the lens into an optical viewfinder.
Canon and Nikon dominate this market, though Sony has been making a go of it and Pentax remains a player.
A newer interchangeable lens camera type has arrived, though, called mirrorless
Some of those interchangeable-lens cameras are “mirrorless” models that are more compact than traditional SLR cameras.
Interchangeable lenses are nice for customers, but they benefit camera makers too: once a customer has committed to a particular company, they’re more likely to stick with them since one company’s lenses don’t generally attach to another company’s camera bodies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Giant Floating Face Creepily Watches While You Gamble
http://makezine.com/2015/01/30/this-giant-floating-face-creepily-watches-while-you-gamble/
Walk into the SLS Hotel in Las Vegas and you’ll be greeted by a giant golden face perched high above the casino floor, gently floating and bobbing over the throngs of people dreaming of riches. It’s eerie enough that you might think you’ve found heaven, or that someone spiked your drink.
the exhibit is a very clever optical illusion, using 2.1 million multicolor LEDs placed in a box structure to create a three-dimensional appearance when viewed from just the right angle.
Created by display engineering firm Daktronics, the LED-laden structure measures 32 feet long by 18 feet wide, and extends 4 feet deep. Its pixels are spaced at 6mm, enough density to give a convincing video effect.
As impressive as it is, it’s not the biggest or most-dense display they’ve built for the SLS hotel
SLS Las Vegas Features Dynamic Daktronics LED Video Spectaculars
http://www.daktronics.com/news/Pages/SLS-Las-Vegas-Features-Dynamic-Daktronics-LED-Video-Spectaculars.aspx
12 Daktronics-manufactured LED video displays help highlight Las Vegas newest all encompassing resort and casino
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sling TV opens the floodgates, accepts sign-ups without invites
https://gigaom.com/2015/02/08/sling-tv-opens-the-floodgates-accepts-sign-ups-without-invites/
Sling TV, the online TV streaming service from Dish Networks, is now available to everyone: The service ended its invitation-only soft launch late Sunday night and began to accept sign-ups from everyone on its website.
Sling offers consumers live access to a total of 15 channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS, CNN, HGTV, Cartoon Network and others for $20 a month.
Sling TV is catering to cord cutters and what the company calls “cord haters,” meaning people who would love to get rid of cable but haven’t been able to in the past, primarily because of sports. Sling wants to win over this audience by offering them a lower-priced package without some of the strings that are usually attached with a traditional pay TV service. For example, Sling TV customers will be able to cancel any time, and don’t need commit to year-long contracts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video surveillance focus: Intelligent tracking flags moving objects based on predefined alarms
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2015/02/bosch-security-intelligent-tracking.html
A new technical video from Bosch Security notes that in video surveillance applications, moving objects are usually the most significant objects of interest.
Bosch contends that its cameras’ Intelligent Tracking capability automatically tracks moving objects based on predefined alarm rules or a simple click.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alex Hern / Guardian:
Samsung rejects TV privacy concerns: we do “not retain voice data or sell it to third parties”
Samsung rejects concern over ‘Orwellian’ privacy policy
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/09/samsung-rejects-concern-over-orwellian-privacy-policy
Smart TV voice recognition software could transmit ‘personal or other sensitive information’ to a third party, Samsung’s policy warns
Users of Samsung’s Smart TV devices have raised concerns over the device’s privacy policy, which seems to suggest that they should not discuss any sensitive topics in their living room while the television is plugged in.
Samsung privacy policy warns: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of voice recognition.”
The third-party mentioned is thought to be Massachusetts-based voice recognition company Nuance, which provides the technology to Samsung as a white-label service.
Parker Higgins, an activist for San Francisco-based advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation who brought the privacy policy to light, compared the feature to the telescreens in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.
Orwell wrote: “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork.”
Samsung said the ability to control the TV using voice commands can be activated or deactivated by the user and that the Smart TV displaced when it is actively listening. Samsung said: “Should consumers enable the voice recognition capability, the voice data consists of TV commands or search sentences, only. Users can easily recognise if the voice recognition feature is activated because a microphone icon appears on the screen.”
It added: “Samsung does not retain voice data or sell it to third parties. If a consumer consents and uses the voice recognition feature, voice data is provided to a third party during a requested voice command search. At that time, the voice data is sent to a server, which searches for the requested content then returns the desired content to the TV.”
Emma Carr, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “Samsung needs to understand that not everyone wants to be spied on by their TV. It is outrageous that the company has even stated in its own privacy policy that if the TV’s owner does decide not to share their private information, then the company may still take the information anyway.
“Few people would expect a TV to intrude on our privacy, yet this is increasingly becoming the case.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aiming at Smartphones, PoLight Readies for Mass Production
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1325606&
Headquartered in Horten, Norwegian startup poLight AS has raised NOK 146m (USD19M) in a private placement of shares, to fuel the deployment of its piezo-MEMS auto-focus lens technology, TLens.
Currently, the company is working with several potential customers and is ramping up manufacturing capacity in a cooperation with ST Microelectronics as a manufacturing partner, with volume production planned for the second half of 2015.
Assembled at wafer level, each 2.9×2.9mm TLens consists of a very thin piezo-actuator layer on top of a thin glass membrane that deforms a soft polymer sandwiched with a thicker layer of glass. By applying varying voltages (up to 30V), the piezo actuator forces the thin glass membrane to bend, deforming the polymer underneath it and varying the optical focus.
The TLens is claimed to be ten times faster than todays widely used VCM (Voice Coil Motor) lenses, while drawing 20 times less power. These features make them very attractive as a replacement for bulkier VCM assemblies, also enabling fast consecutive multi-focus shots to implement full-focus photos in software.
One could establish a parallel with Wavelens, a French startup with similar performance claims for another MEMS-based lens technology using an oil-filled cavity instead of a polymer for the optical variation.
The real competition now is VCMs, so there will be plenty of room for a couple of competitors admitted Isaksen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Human Eye Can See ‘Invisible’ Infrared Light
http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/1209-ntb/insider/qotw/21566-the-human-eye-can-see-invisible-infrared-light
Any science textbook will tell you that human beings can’t see infrared light. Like X-rays and radio waves, infrared light waves are outside the visual spectrum. But an international team of researchers co-led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that under certain conditions, the retina can, in fact, sense infrared light after all.
Using cells from the retinas of mice and people, and powerful lasers that emit pulses of infrared light, the researchers found that when laser light pulses rapidly, light-sensing cells in the retina sometimes get a double hit of infrared energy. When that happens, the eye is able to detect light that falls outside the visible spectrum.
The research was initiated after scientists on the research team, which included representatives in Cleveland, Poland, Switzerland and Norway, reported seeing occasional flashes of green light while working with an infrared laser.
“They were able to see the laser light, which was outside of the normal visible range, and we really wanted to figure out how they were able to sense light that was supposed to be invisible,”
Although the researchers are the first to report that the eye can sense light through this mechanism, the idea of using less powerful laser light to make things visible isn’t new. The two-photon microscope, for example, uses lasers to detect fluorescent molecules deep in tissues.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists Unlock Secret of Ultrafast Imaging of Complex Systems in 3-D at Near Atomic Resolution
http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/1198-ntb/news/news/21538
It is becoming possible to image complex systems in 3-D with near-atomic resolution on ultrafast timescales using extremely intense X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses. One important step toward ultrafast imaging of samples with a single X-ray shot is understanding the interaction of extremely brilliant and intense X-ray pulses with the sample, including ionization rates.
XFEL imaging capability relies on the diffract-before-destroy concept, in which a high-fluence, ultrashort X-ray pulse generates a diffraction pattern prior to Coulomb explosion; reconstruction of many such patterns will render a 3-D model. Due to the massive number of electronic rearrangements – ranging into the billions and beyond – during the femtosecond X-ray pulse, it is important to gain a deep understanding of the dynamic response individual atoms have to intense X-ray pulses.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Image compression overview
http://www.edn.com/design/integrated-circuit-design/4438600/Image-compression-overview?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150210&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150210&elq=00736e51f9fe4e9aada76d9aa5c0d07b&elqCampaignId=21572
Image compression is an essential technique for efficient transmission and storage of images. The demands for transmission and storage of multimedia data are increasing exponentially.
A common characteristic of most images is that the neighbouring pixels are highly correlated and therefore contains redundant information. The basic objective of image compression is to find an image representation in which pixels are less correlated. The two fundamental principles used in image compression are redundancy and irrelevancy. Redundancy removes unnecessary attributes from the signal source and irrelevancy omits pixel values which are not perceived by human eye. JPEG and JPEG 2000 are two important standards used for image compression.
The most widely used technique for Energy Compression is Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT). DCT method is used to convert data into the summation of a series of cosine waves oscillating at different frequencies. They are extensively used in image and audio compression.
They are very similar to Fourier Transforms, but DCT involves the use of just Cosine functions and real coefficients, whereas Fourier Transformations make use of both Sines and Cosines and require the use of complex numbers. Moreover, DCTs are simpler to calculate. Both Fourier and DCT convert data from a spatial-domain into a frequency-domain and their respective inverse functions convert things back the other way.
Joint Picture Expert Group (JPEG) provides a compression method that is capable of compressing continuous tone image data with reasonable speed and efficiency.
JPEG is primarily a lossy method of compression. JPEG was designed specifically to discard information that is not sensitive to human eye.
DCT separates images into parts of different frequencies where less important frequencies are discarded through quantization and important frequencies are used to retrieve the image during decompression.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BBC bins Windows Media for radio streams from new Audio Factory
AAC over HTTP from now on as Windows is pricey and ‘not supported by the wider industry’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/11/bbc_bins_windows_media_for_radio_streams_from_new_audio_factory/
The BBC’s Audio Factory goes live today, bringing with it the end of streaming audio over Windows Media.
The broadcaster flagged the demise of Windows Media last year, when it also announced Audio Factory, a streaming tool delivering audio in the AAC codec over http. Audio Factory aims to standardise Aunty’s audio delivery practices and infrastructure.
As of today, the Been says Audio Factory will carry “11 national services, six Nations services and 40 local radio stations”.
“Before Audio Factory,” writes senior product manager Jim Simmons, “BBC internet audio streams were provided by different systems and suppliers. All of these disparate systems have reached their end of life. The hardware is, in some cases literally, rusting, and the software that is running the encoding is no longer supported by the companies that wrote it.”
“Sadly, we cannot afford to support every service on all the existing legacy formats,” Simmons continues, going to to say “We are now retiring Windows Media. This already had low listener numbers and is not being supported by the wider industry.”
How low? Between two and five per cent of listeners.
The broadcaster is also ceasing SHOUTcast streams that use the AAC codec, replacing them with an MP3 version of the services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung Edits Orwellian Clause Out Of TV Privacy Policy
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/10/smarttv-privacy/?ncid=rss#gypjlZ:4ds
Following a storm of criticism relating to a creepy-sounding privacy policy covering its smart TVs, Samsung has today published a rebuttal and a more detailed explanation of the workings of its under-fire voice recognition feature. It has also edited the wording of its privacy policy to avoid sounding quite so eerily similar to George Orwell’s 1984 dystopia.
The original policy, which has been in place for some months, warned users of Samsung’s Internet-connected TVs:
Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.
Which sounded very much as if Samsung were asking its customers to self-censor their conversations when sitting in front of their own TVs in their own homes.
“If you enable Voice Recognition, you can interact with your Smart TV using your voice. To provide you the Voice Recognition feature, some interactive voice commands may be transmitted (along with information about your device, including device identifiers) to a third-party service provider (currently, Nuance Communications, Inc.) that converts your interactive voice commands to text and to the extent necessary to provide the Voice Recognition features to you.”
Samsung’s explanation
http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/samsung-smart-tvs-do-not-monitor-living-room-conversations/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix to Offer Service in Cuba
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-09/netflix-inc-to-offer-service-in-cuba-as-broadband-service-grows
Netflix Inc., the online video-subscription service, said it will offer movies and TV shows in Cuba, becoming one of the first U.S. companies to operate there after President Barack Obama moved to restore diplomatic ties.
Starting today, Cubans with broadband service and access to international payment methods will be able to stream shows including “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black,” Los Gatos, California-based Netflix said today in a statement.
“Cuba has great filmmakers and a robust arts culture, and one day we hope to be able to bring their work to our global audience,”
“The average Cuban has very limited access to the Internet, particularly to fast service,” said Sanja Kelly, Freedom House’s project director for Internet freedom, in a telephone interview from Virginia. “Very few Cubans will be able to subscribe and watch movies.”
Netflix Is Available in Cuba
Cubans Will Gain Access to A Broad Range of Original Series, Movies, Documentaries, Stand-up Comedy Specials and TV Shows Starting At $7.99
https://pr.netflix.com/WebClient/getNewsSummary.do?newsId=1896
Tomi Engdahl says:
VLC Acquiring Lots of New Features
http://news.slashdot.org/story/15/02/11/0515244/vlc-acquiring-lots-of-new-features
Two weekends ago an update for VLC media player was shared during a presentation in Brussels at FOSDEM.
VLC’s continued vibrant development, as well as features that are coming for VLC 2.2 and VLC 3.0. VLC 2.2.0 will feature automatic, GPU-accelerated video rotation support, extension improvements, resume handling, support for new codecs/formats and rewrites to some of the existing formats, VDPAU GPU zero-copy support, x265 encoder support, etc.
VLC 2.2 Has Many Features Coming, But VLC 3.0 Will Be Even More Exciting
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=VLC-2.2-VLC-3.0-Media-Player
VLC 2.2.0 will feature automatic, GPU-accelerated video rotation support, extension improvements, resume handling, support for new codecs/formats and rewrites to some of the existing formats, VDPAU GPU zero-copy support, x265 encoder support, etc.
Further out is VLC 3.0.0 and it will have Wayland support, GPU zero-copy support for OpenMAX IL, ARIB subtitle support, HEVC / VP9 hardware decoding on Android, a rework of the MP4 and TS demuxers, and browsing improvements.
The VLC FOSDEM 2015 presentation is available in PDF form.
https://fosdem.org/2015/schedule/event/vlc/attachments/slides/751/export/events/attachments/vlc/slides/751/vlc202.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Prezi Launches Nutshell, An App To Turn Photos Into ‘Mini-Movies’
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/10/nutshell/
Prezi’s online presentation software already offers a popular alternative to creating otherwise tedious and visually uninspiring PowerPoint presentations, but now it seems the startup wants in on the consumer ‘video’ sharing trend. Taking the same dynamic zooming tech used to spruce up Prezi presentations, the company has created a new app called Nutshell.
Simply put, the iOS app lets you take three photos in succession, overlay text and graphics, and turn the result into a short ‘movie’ sequence. Essentially, it’s a way of injecting motion into photos taken on your phone.
In fact, Prezi says the idea for Nutshell came about after the startup realised that people were using Prezi’s “zoom-able presentation canvas” for sharing events like birthdays, road trips, and even marriage proposals, apparently
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nutshell-camera/id953435157?ls=1&mt=8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sebastian Anthony / Ars Technica:
VESA publishes eDP 1.4a standard, supporting devices with 8K displays
VESA publishes Embedded DisplayPort 1.4a standard that supports 8K displays
Here come the 8K smartphones and laptops.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/vesa-publishes-edp-1-4a-standard-supporting-devices-with-8k-displays/
VESA, the standards body responsible for such luminary technologies as DisplayPort and the omnipresent VESA monitor mount, has published the specification for version 1.4a of Embedded DisplayPort (eDP). The new standard builds upon DisplayPort 1.3, which was published at the end of 2014. In short, eDP 1.4a allows for laptops, smartphones, tablets, and all-in-ones with 8K displays (7680×4320) or high-frequency (120Hz) 4K displays—but it includes a few other neat features, too.
eDP 1.4a appears to be almost entirely based on DisplayPort 1.3—which was published in September 2014—with a couple of new features thrown in for good measure. eDP 1.4a specifies four high-speed (HBR3) lanes between the graphics adapter and display, with each lane capable of 8.1Gbps; the lanes can either be used individually, in pairs (more on that later), or all together for a total theoretical bandwidth of 32.4Gbps. That’s enough bandwidth to drive a 4K display (3840×2160) at 120Hz with 10-bit color or an 8K display at 60Hz.
Beyond higher bandwidth, one of the more interesting features of eDP 1.4a is Display Stream Compression (DSC), a standard developed by VESA and MIPI that—as the name implies—compresses the output video signal.
Gamers will be happy to hear that eDP 1.4a also includes (optional) support for Adaptive Sync, which can reduce screen tearing and graphics stutter—both of which are generally caused by the display and computer falling out of synchronization (which can occur for a variety of reasons).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Delving Deep into Rectifiers:
Surpassing Human-Level Performance on ImageNet Classification
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1502.01852v1.pdf
In this work, we study rectifier neural networks for image classification from two aspects.
Based on our PReLU networks (PReLU-nets), we achieve 4.94% top-5 test error on the ImageNet 2012 classification dataset. This is a 26% relative improvement over the ILSVRC 2014 winner (GoogLeNet, 6.66% [29]). To our knowledge, our result is the first to surpass human-level performance (5.1%, [22]) on this visual recognition challenge
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canon offers $2.8 billion for network video camera maker Axis
http://www.cnet.com/news/canon-offers-2-8-billion-in-cash-to-acquire-axis/
Canon, which has watched its financial performance slip in recent quarters, sees possibilities for growth in the corporate world, which Axis caters to.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Advertising video on iPad Air 2 shot with iPad Air 2:
iPad – Make Music with iPad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkWlxuGxxJg
Filming the performance.
http://www.apple.com/ipad/changing-music/?cid=www-us-ipad-music-sm-o-youtube
Director So Me shot the “All or Nothing” remix film on iPad Air 2 — its remarkable versatility suited his unconventional style. He used a specialized lens and handheld mount to recreate his signature look. And the Manual Camera app gave him the precise, pro-level controls he’s used to.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CMOS Image Sensors Surpassing Moore’s Law
3-D sensors quickly evolving from TSVs to Cu-Cu bonding
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1325655&
Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging chips are becoming the industry’s leader in advanced process technology — instead of the traditional leaders (processors and memory) — thanks to strong demand for CMOS imaging chips in everything from smartphones to tablets to medical equipment and automobiles. Apparently, now the innovation surpasses Moore’s Law, says analyst firm Yole Développement.
Yole calls this effect “More than Moore.”
At the pinnacle of this growth is 3-D stacking, the allure of which for imaging chips is downsizing the chip while simultaneously packing more pixels per unit size, thus one-upping processors and memory, which are only now perfecting the through-silicon-via (TSV) notably with Micron’s Hybrid Memory Cube. CMOS imaging chips, however, are one-step-ahead
The CMOS imaging industry may make the 3-D TSV obsolete — before the processor and memory industry has even widely adopted it — by perfecting a wafer bonding technique that allows the connection between layers to be made with copper-to-copper (Cu-to-Cu) interconnects nearly as small as regular vias.
Sony is still leading the CMOS imaging industry, but giants like Samsung are in close pursuit. Also big players like Panasonic are forming joint ventures
The stakes are huge. The CMOS image sensor market will reached the historic $10 billion milestone in 2015, according to Yole, and with new applications popping up in automotive, medical and surveillance, while smartphones begin adopting high-definition front facing cameras, the industry is likely to hit the $16 billion mark by 2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
There are 540 000 paying Netflix subscribers in Finland, survives the New York Times published statistics.
The same table shows that the subscribers in Norway is 900 000 and 790 000 in Denmark.
Nordic Netflix offers over 2,000 titles, while in the US the titles of more than 8500 pieces.
Netflix Taps Into a Growing International Market
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/arts/international/netflix-taps-into-a-growing-international-market.html?_r=1
Tomi Engdahl says:
FOCUS! 7680 x 4320 notebook and fondleslab screens are coming
DisplayPort standard beefs up to plonk 8k screens in your lap
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/02/13/displayport_standard_beefs_up_to_handle_8k_notebooks/
An update to the DisplayPort standard is promising to bring about a new line of 8k screens for notebooks, tablets and all-in-ones.
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has published a new standard for embedded display hardware. The eDP 1.4a update will support connections of 8.1Gbps per-channel and allow for resolutions of 7680 x 4320, or 8K.
The embedded display category includes notebooks, tablets, smartphones and all-in-one PCs, meaning vendors will soon be able to offer those devices with clearer, higher resolution screens.
The eDP 1.4a will also add support for partial update functions, in which the GPU only changes a portion of the screen on refresh, and Multi-SST Operation, a feature which VESA believes will allow vendors to build thinner LCD displays that require less power to operate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
I Am Sitting In Stagram (2015)
http://art-pete.com/art/i-am-sitting-in-stagram/
A variation on Alvin Lucier’s I Am Sitting In A Room exploring the method of reposting on Instagram where an image is copied by taking a screen-shot and posting that screenshot to one’s own stream. Each act of reposting introduces artefacts unique to Instagram which I’ve analogised with Lucier’s resonant frequencies of the room.
“I am posting a photograph and I am going to screen-shot and repost it again and again until the compression artefacts of the algorithm reinforce themselves so that any semblance of the photo, with perhaps the exception of pattern, is destroyed. What you will see, then, is the algorithm of Instagram articulated by photography.”
Things that are (probably) happening:
Instagram app renders JPEG on iPhone screen.
Screen capture creates PNG from pixel data on screen.
App converts PNG into editable format.
App saves edited (cropped) image in some format (JPEG?) and sends to Instagram server.
Server converts and optimises image into JPEG for transmission across network.
App requests data and renders JPEG on iPhone screen.
Images are reposted 90 times so a 6fps timelapse movie can be made within Instagram’s 15 second limit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Part Day: Time Of Flight Sensors
http://hackaday.com/2015/02/18/new-part-day-time-of-flight-sensors/
Every robotics project out there, it seems, needs a way to detect if it’s smashing into a wall repeatedly
Now there’s a new sensor for the same job – the VL6180 – and it measures the speed of light.
The VL6180 sensor costs about $6 in quantity one from the usual suspects, and breakout boards with the proper level converters and regulators can be found for about $25. More expensive sensors have a greater range, naturally; the VL6180 is limited to somewhere between 10cm (on paper) and 25cm (in practice).
VL6180X
Proximity sensor, gesture and ambient light sensing (ALS) module
http://www.st.com/web/en/catalog/mmc/FM132/CL2136/SC1934/PF260441?icmp=pf260441_bn_home_feb2015
The VL6180X is the latest product based on ST’s patented FlightSenseTMtechnology. This is a ground-breaking technology allowing absolute distance to be measured independent of target reflectance. Instead of estimating the distance by measuring the amount of light reflected back from the object (which is significantly influenced by color and surface), the VL6180X precisely measures the time the light takes to travel to the nearest object and reflect back to the sensor (Time-of-Flight).
Combining an IR emitter, a range sensor and an ambient light sensor in a three-in-one ready-to-use reflowable package, the VL6180X is easy to integrate and saves the end-product maker long and costly optical and mechanical design optimizations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adobe Photoshop turns 25
Company celebrates by showcasing 25 of the most creative Photoshop artists under 25
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2396127/adobe-photoshop-turns-25
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP, the software that can make any Tom, Dick or Harry look like a million dollars, turned the ripe old age of 25 today.
Photoshop is probably one of the most pervasive pieces of software known to man. It has helped to create logos, advertisements, marketing material and high-profile product designs across the world, from the logos on your clothes, to the apps downloaded on your smartphone and even the objects you buy and have around you every day.
If everything that has been designed using Photoshop tools was to display a sign saying so, it would be inescapable. It is, therefore, one of the most recognised software brands in the world, with tens of millions of users.
It is the go-to application for digital image manipulation across all media, from print to film to the web. So much so, that the software has become a part of our cultural consciousness in that ‘photoshopping’ is now a buzzword for all types of image manipulation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voice as an interface in the smart home: Can you hear me now?
http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4438627/Voice-as-an-interface-in-the-smart-home–Can-you-hear-me-now-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20150219&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20150219&elq=0171beecabd0436ba7a9305cac9747fe&elqCampaignId=21725
It is not difficult to imagine a future where humans speak to their smart home and have as meaningful an interaction as they do with each other. Such ideas have been portrayed in television shows and movies even as early as the 1960s.
However, there is an economic challenge to building a practical product with good performance.
There are many technical challenges in developing such a system, including use of an accurate speech recognition engine to translate what the machine hears into words – and a comprehensive natural language processor that determines the meaning or intention of what is said and returns a meaningful response or action. These topics have been extensively researched for decades and won’t be addressed here. This discussion will focus on an often overlooked technical challenge in far-field speech interface systems, yet one that is just as critical: pre-processing of the speech before it reaches the speech recognition engine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canon acquiring Axis Communications
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2015/02/canon-acquiring-axis.html
The board of directors of IP security technology provider Axis Communications has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept an offer made by Canon Inc. to acquire all outstanding Axis shares. The Canon offer of SEK 23.6 billion converts to approximately US$2.8 billion. As Axis’s board explained in its statement, the offer represents a 49.8 percent premium over the shares’ closing price on February 9.
In Canon’s announcement of the offer, the company said once the deal is complete, Canon envisions the following synergies: Strong technology synergies; strengthening the intellectual property portfolio; and enhancing the distribution and service network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HIFI scam of the year?
Sony to Offer ‘Premium Sound’ Memory Card
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/02/19/sony-to-offer-premium-sound-memory-card/?mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%253A%252F%252Fblogs.wsj.com%252Fdigits%252F2015%252F02%252F19%252Fsony-to-offer-premium-sound-memory-card
For audio freaks, the quest to reduce noise never ends, even if it means sometimes paying a high price for equipment–say, $1,000 for a one-meter audio cable.
Sony Corp. has been more than happy to try to cater to their passion for clean sound, offering a $1,200 Walkman and other high-resolution audio technology, including high-end headphones and wireless speakers.
Now comes a memory card engineered for sound quality. Beginning next month, the 64 gigabyte SR-64HXA micro SDXC memory card will be sold for around $160 in Japan, roughly five times the cost of a standard card with the same amount of storage. The SR-64HXA produces less electrical noise when reading data, the company says.
Will many people buy it? Even Sony doesn’t know.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony’s Surrender on Synergy
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1325738&
Sony is finally forsaking its delusional “content-hardware synergy” theory.
Sony continues apace in the process of ditching practically all of its electronics business units — PC (gone last year), TV (already a separate company), and audio and video business (scheduled be split off in October).
On the brink of the Mobile World Congress scheduled in less than two weeks, Kazuo Hirai, Sony CEO, said he would not “rule out considering an exit strategy” for the company’s mobile phone unit, Reuters reported.
In essence, Sony is pulling a Motorola.
But when it comes to Sony (not Motorola), my first thought is: Thank goodness, Sony’s finally forsaking its delusional “content-hardware synergy” theory.
Almost 10 years ago, I talked to Nicholas Carr, author of “Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage.” He then bluntly said that synergy “hasn’t worked” for Sony. “Companies tend to delude themselves about the power of synergies between different businesses.” The former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review told us, “The synergies are theoretical, but the conflicts are real.” Well, that was back in 2005.
Many experts questioned for years if the rigorous demands of consumer electronics and supporting silicon can ever mesh with the often nebulous culture of movies and music creation. Now we know, it’s better to focus on one, rather than both.
This hodgepodge includes video games, music and movies, and device business represented by Sony’s CMOS image sensors.
The device business doesn’t exactly seem to fit the puzzle – if Sony’s new strategy intends to focus on software.
Just as Sony is planning to spin out its audio/video business (represented by Walkman, DVD players, audio accessories, etc.) as a separate subsidiary in October, Sony is likely to do the same with its device division including image sensors in the future, according to CEO Hirai, the Financial Times said.
Back to silos
As a reporter covering Sony for so many years, most puzzling to me is how practically every business strategy, corporate slogan and objective touted by Sony over the years failed to stick.
Stringer also stressed the importance of breaking down divisional “silos.” A decade later, according to Sony’s new mid-term corporate strategy (FY2015 – FY2017), Hirai is trying to give each business unit “greater autonomy, while holding them accountable to achieving their targets.”
Meanwhile, the “One Sony,” promoted by Stringer and later Hirai, is now turning into many Sony spin-offs. Each is left to its own devices. If they get lucky, they’ll find partners or buyers.
Sony trumpeted a variety of marketing slogans over the years ranging from “The One and Only”, “It’s a Sony” to “like.no.other” and “make.believe.” Its current slogan is “BE MOVED.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Everyone has his pocket megapixel smartphone camera, but the quality of the images captured with the still to be desired. One big shortcoming is the focus of inertia, which is why many of the key events will be documented without. The Norwegian company is bringing to the appropriate relief. It has recently launched a new 19 million dollar financing round verified poLight AS.
Developed by the company TLens is a piezo-MEMS technology based on the auto-focus technology.
TLensin the advantage of small size, speed and low power consumption. In fact, the lens has a size of only 2.9 x 2.9 mm. Compared to existing automatic focus lenses it is up to 10 times faster acting and yet, its power consumption is 20 times lower.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2397:norjalaislinssi-mullistaa-kannykkakamerat&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
4K images from the satellite for the first time
SES Astra says he first became the first Nordic 4K television signal transmission in satellite network. The channel is called Astra Ultra HD Demo. The content is intended primarily for television retailers, in order to 4K image can be presented to the buyers.
Ses5-signal is transmitted from the satellite. It can only receive TVs with built-in High Efficiency Video Coding codec.
The resolution is 3840 x 2160 points and is updated 50 times per second. The color space is 10-bit.
Signal transmission frequency is 11.345 gigahertz. The symbol rate is 22 000 MW of symbols per second and a link to the data capacity of 25 megabits per second.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2388:4k-kuvaa-satelliitista-ensimmaista-kertaa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Breaking Bad over HDMI cabling costs
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2015/02/showme-breaking-bad-blog.html?cmpid=EnlCIMFebruary232015
“HDMI is the cable de jour for home theater, PC display, DSLR and other consumer electronic devices. It provides a convenient way to connect hi-def video and audio in the same cable. While prices can top out at over $2,000, we examine the moral implications of buying an expensive HDMI cable by asking, “Should I buy an expensive HDMI cable?”
Should I Buy an Expensive HDMI Cable?
http://blog.showmecables.com/should-i-buy-an-expensive-hdmi-cable/
Conclusion
Until expensive HDMI cables become a status symbol, we recommend saving your money for other home theater components and get your HDMI cables as cheaply as possible.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Inside the “$10″ Rockchip TV dongle
http://nerdralph.blogspot.ca/2014/09/inside-10-rockchip-tv-dongle.html
Last year Rockchip demoed a “$10″ Miracast/DLNA TV dongle. The $10 was not a target retail price, but probably the BOM cost. They can be found for under $20 including shipping from China. I bought one and posted a review of the Miracast and DLNA functionality. In this post I’ll document a basic teardown of the dongle, along with instructions on setting up a root console conne
Tomi Engdahl says:
And The Awards For The Most Illegally Downloaded Oscar Movies Go To…
http://www.fastcompany.com/3042774/and-the-award-for-most-pirated-oscar-nominated-movie-goes-to?partner=rss
The Oscars help boost piracy of nominee films, according to new research that also details where around the world films were downloaded.
American Sniper may only have squeaked by with an award for best sound editing at last night’s Academy Awards, but the controversial war flick took home another, far less prestigious superlative: It was the most pirated Oscar nominee of the season.
Since the Oscar nominations were announced on January 15, American Sniper—which has already grossed an impressive $350 million at the box office—was downloaded more than 1.3 million times worldwide, according to recent data from Irdeto, a company that sells anti-piracy tools.
Following in second place on the most-pirated list was Gone Girl, which was illegally downloaded more than 1.2 million times
Tomi Engdahl says:
Man gets bionic eye, sees wife for first time in decade
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/health/2015/02/16/blind-forest-lake-man-sees-wife-for-first-time-in-a-decade-after-receiving-bionic-eye/23530771/
A blind Forest Lake man’s sight is restored after he became the first person in Minnesota, and 15th person in the country, to receive a bionic eye.
Zderad to be the first Minnesotan to receive the bionic eye, known as the “Second Sight Argus II” retinal prosthesis system. It was approved for implantation by the FDA in January of 2014 after decades of research and an estimated $300-$500 million to develop.
“The retinal prosthesis implant has taken over 25 years to develop. Hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of people to bring this forward to this point,” said Dr. Iezzi.
Dr. Iezzi hands Zderad a pair of dark tinted sunglasses with a camera embedded on the bridge of the glasses. A battery pack is attached. Zderad, a retired 3M chemist, is suddenly a kid with a new toy.
“Awesome,”
“It’s a bionic eye – in every sense of the word. It’s not a replacement for the eyeball, but it works with interacting with the eye, explained Dr. Iezzi. “Mankind has been seeking to cure blindness for 2,000 years or more, but only in the past quarter of a century have we had the electronics and the packaging and all the other things come together to build a retinal prosthesis that could restore sight to the blind.”
The camera in Zderad’s glasses works with a wearable computer pack. It sends information to the electrodes implanted in his retina, replacing the damaged retinal cells, and then sends signals straight to the optic nerve.
“It’s the flash and I’ve got to be able to interpret the changes in that shape,” he exclaims.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magic Leap clashes with Microsoft over augmented reality health risks
http://www.cnet.com/news/magic-leap-clashes-with-microsoft-over-augmented-reality-health-risks/
Magic Leap CEO says Microsoft’s HoloLens headset may be unsafe, but he ultimately raises more questions about the potential risks of immersing ourselves in 3D worlds.
Microsoft’s recently announced futuristic holographic headset may pose a health risk to users, according to the CEO of Magic Leap, a secretive augmented-reality startup and newfound rival to Microsoft in the burgeoning AR space.
Microsoft’s HoloLens uses an input system that does not fully replicate the physical connections between our eyes and our brains, possibly resulting in permanent effects on your brain, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz wrote Tuesday in a Reddit AskMeAnything thread when asked about the device. As such, Abovitz recommended avoiding use of the headset and others like it.
“There are a class of devices (see-through and non-see-through) called stereoscopic 3D. We at Magic Leap believe these inputs into the eye-brain system are incorrect — and can cause a spectrum of temporary and/or permanent neurologic deficits,” Abovitz wrote, when asked how his company’s technology compares to the HoloLens.
“I personally experienced a number of these stereoscopic-3D issues — and would not wear these devices — especially knowing that digital light-field systems are on the way and safe,” he added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stacked image sensor enables ‘Internet of Things’ fire sensing
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/print/volume-51/issue-01/newsbreaks/stacked-image-sensor-enables-internet-of-things-fire-sensing.html?cmpid=EnlLFWFebruary252015
As the number of devices connected to the Internet is expected to grow to more than 50 billion devices by 2020, this interconnected network of sensors—described as the Internet of Things (IoT)—has become the focus of a number of leading technology companies. Recognizing the growing demand for image capture and video streaming capability for these devices within a number of market applications (industrial, medical, automotive, and consumer), Forza Silicon (Pasadena, CA) has developed a reconfigurable image sensor technology platform to enable and accelerate new-product development within these markets; specifically, an initial application is for in-home fire detection.
The proof-of-concept 3D stacked-sensor platform uses a small-profile/low-power imaging array (0.18 μm CMOS image-sensor process) stacked on top of a low-power field-programmable gate array (FPGA) device from Lattice Semiconductor (Portland, OR) that is reconfigurable for different system interfaces, image-processing tasks, frame rates, power levels, and noise levels, for example.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Holographic 3D display aim of HoloCube Kickstarter campaign
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2015/02/holographic-3d-display-aim-of-holocube-kickstarter-campaign.html?cmpid=EnlLFWFebruary252015
The company behind HoloCube, H+ Technology (Vancouver, BC, Canada), is hoping to raise $100,000 through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that begins on March 18, 2015 to make its three-dimensional (3D) holographic technology available for home and family use for the first time. HoloCube converts a flat 2D experience on a computer, tablet, or phone into a holographic 3D experience, allowing the content to come alive and users to interact with it in ways that have never been possible in other mediums. It is a platform from which users can learn, collaborate, and have fun through immersive displays, and developers can create their own holographic applications.
most hologram systems run in the market of $10,000 or more, and lack interactive functionality. However, early contributors to H+ Technology’s Kickstarter campaign will be able to secure theirown HoloCube Home Edition for as little as $500
H+ Technology to Bring First Interactive, Holographic Display Technology to Kickstarter on March 18
http://www.prweb.com/releases/hplustech/KS/prweb12514144.htm
HoloCube, an immersive holographic platform that converts flat 2D content into a 3D holographic experience, is part of the company’s mission to develop interactive, “humanized” technology