Cell phones with build in cameras are replacing cheap pocket size digital cameras and video cameras. Best cell phone cameras can be better in many ways than cheap pocket digital cameras from few years back. And most people do not want to carry separate devices for each function (at least without a very good reason), when a smart phone can handle calls, Internet, photos and video shooting.
CES 2013 fair had more pocket advanced size cameras on display than DSLRs, but the trend on then was that business was going down due cellular phone cameras getting better. So camera manufacturers are integrating more cellular phone like features to their cameras (like Android OS with wireless connectivity to photo sharing sites) and concentrate on building good superzoom and DSLR type cameras. You need to have something clearly different than what cell phone can offer: huge zoom, good performance in low light or works also in harsh environment. Wireless connection is getting more and more common, either built-in or using memory card with WiFi.
As Sales Slip, TV Makers Strain for the Next Sensation because hardware companies want to make their products stand out in a sea of black rectangles that can show the content user want to watch. And one that is particularly acute for television makers. The hardware is becoming kind of boring and exciting things are happening in software. TV manufacturers continue to push the idea of “smart” sets by adding apps and other interactive elements.
Connected TV technologies get more widely used and the content earlier viewable only on TV can be now seen on many other screens. Your smartphone is the screen in your pocket. Your computer is the screen on your desk. Your tablet is a screen for the couch. Almost every major electronic device you own is a black rectangle that is brought to life by software and content.
In the last two years, television makers have tried a push with 3-D sets. But now It’s official: 3D is dead. The tech industry’s annual hot air balloon show is gone. On the one hand, 3D has become ubiquitous enough in televisions that people are unwittingly buying it when opting for a high-end new HDTV to fill their living room.
Post HDTV resolution era seems to be coming to TVs as well in form of 4K / UltraHD. This year, television makers like Samsung, Sony, LG and Panasonic are trying to grab attention by supersizing their television screens and quadrupling the level of detail in their images. They are promoting what they call Ultra High-Definition televisions, which have four times as many pixels as their high-definition predecessors, and can cost as much as a car. It’s a bit of a marketing push. It seems that all LCD makers are looking to move their business models on from cheap mass production to higher-margin, premium offerings. They try to innovate and secure their future viability by selling fewer, but more profitable displays.
4K at CES 2013: the dream gets real article tells that the 4K bandwagon is fully loaded and ready to get rolling. The US TV maker isn’t alone in stepping up to the higher resolution in its new flagship models. Sony, Panasonic and Sharp, Japan’s traditional big-screen TV leaders, are all attending this year’s CES with proper retail products. Manufacturers Need You to Buy an Ultra-High-Def 4K TV. Save Your Money because just as HDTV was slow to take off, the 4K start will be slow. It’s more than the price that’s keeping these things from hitting critical mass. 4K is only for ultra-premium markets this year.
4K resolution TV has one big problem: The entire ecosystem isn’t ready for 4K. The Trouble With 4K TV article tellst that though 4K resolutions represent the next step in high-definition video, standards for the format have yet to emerge and no one’s really figured out how to distribute video, with its massive file footprint, efficiently and cost effectively. Getting 4K content to consumers is hard.
Even though 4K resolution is widely use in digital cinematography, but there is no suitable consumer disk format that supports it and the bandwidth need to stream 4K content would be huge. Given that uncompressed 4K footage has a bit-rate of about 600MB/s. Broadcom chip ushers in H.265 and UltraHD video tells that H.265 video standard, aka HEVC or MPEG-5, squeezes more pixels over a network connection to support new high-resolution 4K TVs.
You should also note that the new higher resolution is pretty pointless for a small TV (where the TV mass market is now). Ultra HD would make a difference only on screens that were at least 80 inches, measured diagonally. For smaller screens, the extra pixels would not be visible to a person with 20/20 vision viewing from a normal viewing distance. Ultra HD TVs can also be a flop. But let’s see what happens in the world where nowadays tiny smart phone screens can have full HDTV resolution.
Keep in mind that 4K is not any absolute highest resolution expected in few years. 8k resolution TVs are coming. Sharp showed a 8K resolution TV with 7680 x 4320 resolution at CES2013. For more details on it read Sharp 8K Super Hi-Vision LCD, 4K TV and Freestyle wireless LCD HDTV hands-on article.
Another development than pushing up the resolution to make high end display products is OLED technology. OLED is another new technology to make expensive products. The much buzzed-about device features next-generation, high-quality OLED screens. OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode, and they offer a bevy of benefits: more energy efficient, cleaner image, wide viewing angle and devices can be made thinner. You can also make TV screen curved in shape. In a race between television titans, LG has beat Samsung in becoming the first manufacturer to introduce a 55-inch OLED television to market: the largest OLED TV panel to date.. OLED products are very expensive (LG TV $10,300 in US dollars). OLED display can also have 4K resolution, so you can combine two expensive technologies to one product. Market analysts say that they believe the technology will not become more affordable until 2015.
The Verge Awards: the best of CES 2013 article lists for example product like Samsung 4K “easel TV”, Sony 4K OLED TV, Teenage Engineering OD-11 Cloud Speaker and Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming.
All your audio, video kit is about to become OBSOLETE article tells that although much of the audio and video technology packed into CES 2013′s 1.9 million square feet of exhibition space is indeed impressive, one panelist at an emerging-technology conference session channeled a little 1974 BTO, essentially telling his audience that “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Deep-geek soothsayer predicts smart audio, Ultra HD eyewear, much more in coming years. Audio is going to become adaptive, changing its wave forms to fit each user’s personal aural perceptions. Active noise reduction is finding its way into cars. HD audio will be coming to mobile phones. MEMS-based microphones and speakers are also on the runway. Consumer-level video will see in the future much higher resolution devices with much higher frame rates.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
OpenMV: The Camera For Your Next Project
http://hackaday.com/2013/12/08/openmv-the-camera-for-your-next-project/
Last month we saw [Ibrahim] tackle the lack of cheap, high speed, high resolution serial cameras with full force. He designed a serial camera based on the STM32F4 microcontroller that’s the perfect solution to anyone wanting to add visual processing or machine vision to a project. It’s cheap, too: instead of the $100 or so you’d spend on a high-end serial camera, [Ibrahim]‘s version only has about $15 in parts.
As for a few benchmarks for this camera, the maximum resolution is 1280×1024, and at 88×72 resolution this little board can output at 60 FPS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone Audio Quality Testing
by Chris Heinonen on December 8, 2013 5:15 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7567/smartphone-audio-quality-testing
We spend a lot of time watching and listening to our smartphones and tablets. The younger you are the more likely you are to turn to them for watching a movie or TV show instead of an actual TV. For a lot of us it is our primary source of music with our own content or streaming services. Very rarely when new phones or tablets are announced does a company place any emphasis on the quality of the audio.
Display quality also used to receive very little attention. As more and more people reported on the display performance, more companies started to take notice. Now benefits like “Full sRGB gamut” or “dE < 3” are touted on new products. So now we are going to introduce a new set of testing for smart phones and tablets, audio performance.
To do this right we went to the same company that all the manufacturers go to: Audio Precision. Based out of Beaverton, OR, Audio Precision has been producing the best audio test equipment out there for over 25 years now. From two channel analog roots they now also test multichannel analog, HDMI, Optical, Coaxial, and even Bluetooth. Their products offer resolution that no one else can, which is why you will find them in the test and production rooms of almost any company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Firefox Gains Support for VP9 Video Codec
http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/12/09/2316221/firefox-gains-support-for-vp9-video-codec
“With the latest Firefox nightly builds the VP9 video codec is enabled by default. VP9 is a step ahead of the open-source VP8 codec but up to now has only been supported by the Chrome browser. VP9 support will officially appear in Firefox 28.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teary-eyed snappers recall the golden age of film
How digital kicked football-sized grain into touch
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/10/phil_houghton_interview/
For those readers with a tendency to get teary-eyed over the golden age of film, and the days before digital swept physical photographic media into the cutting room bin of history, we’re delighted to take a trip down memory lane today with professional photographer Phil Houghton.
Lester: It appears press snappers are pretty well doomed to extinction. What do you think?
Phil: I don’t think snappers are generally doomed. There’ll always be a place for quality images – sports, news, fashion, etc. I’d challenge anyone to do a football match under shitty lighting in a snowstorm on an iPhone.
When did you make the switch to digital?
Phil: I started working for an agency and on 25 July 2000, Concorde AF4590 crashed at Gonesse, near Paris shortly after take-off. Myself and a reporter were dispatched, with kit I’d yet to use. A Nikon D1 and and 300 quids’ worth of memory card, a mighty 256 MB beast. Card reader, Macbook and a Nokia 600 something. What could go wrong?
Lester: Nothing, obviously. Nonetheless, what were the hassles of working with early digital?
Phil: It was a nightmare, postage stamp sensors, go above ISO 400, forget it. And the colour purple (not the Whoopi Goldberg film), just purple fringed images – ghastly. In those days we were working off old Mac laptops in CS1. The screens were B&W… you could just about level the image before it crawled off your laptop through some ancient Nokia or Motorola.
Lester: What kit are you currently using?
Phil: I use a Nikon D3s (sports press and most other bits), a D800 for the high end stuff. The Nikon “Holy Trinity” 14-24 f2.8, 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8, nice glass, and a 85mm f1.4 for the classy portraits, and a macro.
Lester: How has your job changed since you went digital?
Phil: The job’s easier in some ways. You’ve got a permanent “Polaroid” facility on the back of the camera, it takes the magic out of it. As a pro with film, you’d have an idea of what was going to be there when you pulled the film from the fix, now it’s instant. It’s what has turned so many “wannabes” into “pros”.
Lester: Are there big advantages of digital over film?
Phil: I’m loving the low light abilities of the digital cameras now. Cranking film up to 125,000 odd to cover a football match under candlelight floodlighting was never ideal, the grain was bigger than the ball!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook Videos Now Auto-Play On Mobile, Expect Video Ads Soon
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/06/video-is-facebooks-next-big-opportunity/
FB could look a lot more like TV soon. While Vine and Instagram Video are booming, you don’t see many people natively uploading videos to Facebook. But now Facebook is bringing auto-play for native videos to all users after testing the feature in September. And it’s just the beginning of a huge push to put Facebook in motion.
Previously, any video uploaded to Facebook directly or shared to the News Feed from Instagram would appear the same as YouTube videos — locked behind a play button.
But after spotting an auto-play video in my feed yesterday and asking Facebook, the company confirms the new format is now internationally rolled out to most iOS and Android users and will reach all of them soon.
To respect users who don’t want to burn data, Facebook has added a setting that lets you only auto-play videos if you’re on WiFi and not on cellular data. It’s found in your phone’s Facebook settings on iOS and the Facebook app’s settings on Android.
When Facebook started testing auto-play, it was upfront about looking for ways to give the feature to marketers as well as users.
The secret to making people swallow video ads might be getting them to shoot mini-movies themselves. If there were more user generated videos on the site, the ads would blend in.
The problem is, right now Facebook’s video creation tool is painfully outdated.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Google Retooled Android With Help From Your Brain
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/android-neural-network/
When Google built the latest version of its Android mobile operating system, the web giant made some big changes to the way the OS interprets your voice commands. It installed a voice recognition system based on what’s called a neural network — a computerized learning system that behaves much like the human brain.
For many users, says Vincent Vanhoucke, a Google research scientist who helped steer the effort, the results were dramatic. “It kind of came as a surprise that we could do so much better by just changing the model,” he says.
Vanhoucke says that the voice error rate with the new version of Android — known as Jelly Bean — is about 25 percent lower than previous versions of the software, and that this is making people more comfortable with voice commands. Today, he says, users tend to use more natural language when speaking to the phone. In other words, they act less like they’re talking to a robot. “It really is changing the way that people behave.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
NimbleTV Brings TV Everywhere to New York, Without Permission From the TV Industrial Complex
http://allthingsd.com/20131210/nimbletv-brings-tv-everywhere-to-new-york-without-permission-from-the-tv-industrial-complex/
Want to watch the TV you’ve already paid for, anywhere you want to watch it, whenever you want to watch it?
You can’t.* But NimbleTV says it can change that.
And the startup, which wants to attach itself to the TV Industrial Complex by delivering pay TV over the Web, says it is now open for business in the New York City area, following a year-long trial.
Nimble’s consumer offering, and its underlying business, have been challenging to explain.
To sum up: NimbleTV offers portable TV, at a price, in a way that might appeal to some people who are okay with paying for TV, and will pay a premium for flexibility. But the setup seems pretty precarious for the time being.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Releases 3rd Generation Of Photosynth, Turns 3D Images Into Video-Like Experiences
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/10/imicrosoft-releases-3rd-generation-of-photosynth-turns-3d-images-into-video-like-experiences/
Microsoft this morning lifted the veil on the next generation of Photosynth, its 3D image technology, with the release of a technical preview of the new Photosynth. This is the third generation of the technology, and is now recommended for those with D-SLR or point-and-shoot cameras, says Microsoft.
The prior two versions of Microsoft Photosynth, which offer the original synths and stitched panoramas, are still available on the main Photosynth website.
Meanwhile, the updated technology now supports four basic experiences: “spin,” “panorama,” “walk” and “wall.” As their respective names describe, each offers a different kind of 3D image viewing experience – a spin around an object as small as a teacup or as large as a glacial peak, Microsoft explains, a panoramic view, a walk – like down a path through the woods, for example – or a slide across a scene.
Tomi Engdahl says:
AirPlay Alternative Mirrors and Streams To TVs and PCs
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/13/12/11/0059238/airplay-alternative-mirrors-and-streams-to-tvs-and-pcs
“AirTame has developed an AirPlay-like protocol and HDMI dongle for 1080p video streaming and screen mirroring from PCs to PCs and TVs, and has substantially exceeded its $160,000 Indiegogo funding goal. AirTame streams from Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs to other PCs via apps at both ends, and to TVs via the HDMI dongle, and also offers a multicast mode for broadcasting to multiple PCs and TVs for use in classrooms or conferences.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Quality of Your Smartphone’s Camera Is Only Half the Picture
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/12/honan-photography/
We’re living in a new golden age of photography, and it’s because of the cameras we all have in our pockets: always connected to the Internet and ready to fire. There’s a cliché that the best camera is the one you have with you, but that’s only half right; capturing a photo in itself means nothing. We take pictures to remember—to document a moment, revisit it, and share it with others. The best camera would actually be the one you have with you that takes great shots, then edits, organizes, and shares them for you.
By that standard, the iPhone is half a great camera. It takes wonderful photos, but Apple’s solution for managing those snaps is basically to dump them on a drive—on your computer or in the cloud. While it offers some rudimentary organizing principles (date, location, and face recognition among them), it makes you do all the most onerous parts of selecting and editing. It gives you incredibly limited sharing options, and good luck getting people outside of Apple’s ecosystem to see those pics.
Because of this, photos have become just as ephemeral as the moments we’re trying to capture. We need a search engine for our own photography, capable of handling as much data as we can throw at it. We need a Google for our pictures. Turns out, there is one.
Google’s supernerds managed to turn algorithms into photo editors. Set the Google+ app to auto-upload pictures from your phone and it will store them online and automatically correct the color and lighting. It will organize them by date and location. Did you take a bunch of shots in succession? It will turn them into an animated GIF. Most amazingly, the service flags your best shots—where everyone is grinning and the light is just right—as highlights. Magic in the Arthur C. Clarke sense of the word.
Finding stuff is also incredibly easy. The app uses face recognition to pinpoint your friends—and your friends’ pictures of you. That’s nothing new, but you can search your pictures for, say, “bikes” and it will find all the images with bicycles in them, even if you’ve never labeled them. When you’re ready to show off, Google+ lets you share your snaps with a few clicks.
But here’s where I reveal a tragic flaw. While Google gets the back half right—organizing, storing, and sharing—taking the pictures continues to be a problem. Even Google’s best phones aren’t very good cameras.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finnish broadcasting company Yle will try to show all the TV channels in HD in February 2014
Yle next year will increase the production of high-definition. The aim is to bring all four of YLE television channels of high-definition or high-definition distribution in February. In addition, the aim is that the channels could be viewed in HD in Yle Areena on-line service.
Promoted to the Board agreed to the 2014 Action Plan for Tuesday night’s meeting. The policy provides guidelines on how to use Yle next year 473.5 million euros. YLE tax on the anticipated yield on the company is just under 462 million.
Source: http://yle.fi/uutiset/yle_pyrkii_nayttamaan_kaikki_tv-kanavansa_hdna_helmikuussa/6978553
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Streaming or Watching Movies Illegal?
By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on April 23, 2012 5:02 AM
http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2012/04/is-streaming-or-watching-movies-illegal.html
Online streaming is gaining in popularity, and for some, it’s replaced illegal (and legal) downloading altogether. The entertainment industry is undoubtedly annoyed
The answer to this question hinges on whether or not streaming songs — and streaming movies — is illegal for both the viewer and the poster. And as explained below, current law is a bit of a mixed bag.
Is watching streaming movies illegal?
There is currently no definitive answer to this question. Depending on the site and file type, online streaming may create a full-length temporary copy of the movie on your computer. Alternatively, the program may delete the data as you watch.
Some courts have held that even temporary copies may violate the law. However, the Copyright Office contends there is no violation when “a reproduction manifests itself so fleetingly that it cannot be copied, perceived or communicated.”
Though the law is unclear, it is useful to note that owners, such as the MPAA, rarely go after individuals who watch streaming movies. Illegal or not, it’s much more difficult to track these users down. Unlike BitTorrent downloads, the MPAA can’t just sign into a program and snag IP addresses.
Is posting streaming movies illegal?
If you upload a movie and stream it without permission, you’re probably breaking the law. You’re hosting an unauthorized public performance of the film, which violates the owner’s rights. If you make money off of the streaming, the owner can go after you for damages and profits.
Prosecutors can go after you, too. It’s a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and up to 1 year in jail, to “publicly perform” a copyrighted work without permission.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Old-School 16mm Moviemaking Goes Digital
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/12/bolex-digital-16mm-film-camera/
If you went to film school any time before the Obama era, you probably used a 16mm film camera. Sure, it was a pain to load, and processing the film cost a bundle. But it produced amazing images, complete with the film grain that marks one’s creations as Serious Cinema. Most film students now use DSLRs. But for those who want a digital tool to produce more film-like images, Bolex — one of the classic 16mm camera makers — recently started shipping a digital 16mm-equivalent video camera that’s fully compatible with the most desirable vintage C-mount lenses.
The new Bolex camera, dubbed the D16, doesn’t just sport a retro look. Its Kodak-produced CCD sensor is very close to Super 16-sized, which is uncommon in modern cameras. Even better, that sensor shoots in RAW at 32 frames per second at a resolution of 2048×1152 pixels. Every uncompressed frame should be sharp, as opposed to the compressed footage even full-frame DSLRs produce. Plus, the Super 16-sized sensor means that the D16 can use C-mount lenses without any crop factor.
The camera is being produced under the name “Digital Bolex,”
Tomi says:
Spotify Goes Freemium On Tablets, Launches Free Shuffle Product On Smartphones
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/11/spotify-launches-spotify-free-for-tablets/
For the first time since launching, Spotify now offers free access to the its streaming music catalog on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
The service will be different for the two: tablets will have access to the same freemium experience users are used to on the desktop. Meanwhile, Spotify will offer a Shuffle service for Android and iOS smartphones.
Spotify Shuffle is a lot like Pandora, iTunes Radio, or other station-based streaming services, but Spotify’s Shuffle product gives you more control over the playlist.
Tomi says:
Aereo says it turned a profit in some markets, wants partners
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/aereo-partners-idUSL1N0JP17T20131210
The chief executive of closely watched Internet TV startup Aereo said on Tuesday that the controversial company had turned a profit in some of its markets, and is also looking for broadband partners to pair with its service.
Aereo was launched in March 2012 at $12 per month in New York and has since expanded to about 10 cities with plans to enter several more next year. It lets subscribers stream live broadcasts of TV channels on phones, tablet computers and other devices using individual antennas. Users can watch the major broadcast networks such as CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, the CW, PBS, Telemundo and other channels.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Adds ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle, and KORTV Channels to Apple TV
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/11/apple-adds-abc-bloomberg-crackle-and-kor-tv-channels-to-apple-tv/
Apple today added yet another set of channels to its Apple TV set-top box
Tomi Engdahl says:
Behind the scenes look at Apple TV app development w/ the new Bloomberg channel
http://9to5mac.com/2013/12/11/bloomberg-apple-tv-app-development/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter becomes a better TV remote control as ABC, AMC, and Fox sign up for See It
http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/11/5200986/twitter-becomes-a-better-tv-remote-as-abc-amc-and-fox-sign-up-for-see-it
It’s been obvious for some time that Twitter sees television as a major way in which it can participate in, drive, and profit from the broader cultural conversation. It’s about to become an even more useful tool, thanks to a number of new partners signing up for Twitter and Comcast’s See It platform.
Announced earlier this year, See It essentially lets you use Twitter conversations to record or turn on television shows. If NBC’s The Voice tweets, for example, users will be presented with a “See It” button immediately below the tweet.
Originally the platform was somewhat limited
With the partnerships announced today, that all changes. Time Warner Cable, Charter, and Cablevision Optimum subscribers will all be able to use See It with their set-top boxes, and a plethora of new networks will offer the feature as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Web Video Startup Ooyala Raises $43 Million
http://allthingsd.com/20131211/web-video-startup-ooyala-raises-43-million/
We saw a smattering of ad tech IPOs this year, and there are a bunch of companies that are supposedly lined up for next year.
The move indicates that Ooyala will stay private a while longer, says CEO Jay Fulcher: “I wanted to be able to go public when it’s the right time to, instead of having to.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter Mirror: Celebrities’ New Publicity Machine
Cellphones, Paparazzi Won’t Do; Twitter Pushes Star Entertainers, Athletes to Take More Photos
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304744304579250191845094318
It’s no simple job to manufacture authentic, spontaneous celebrity photos.
Enter the Twitter TWTR +0.67% Mirror, just offstage at awards shows and in talk-show greenrooms.
The Mirror is Twitter Inc.’s name for a tablet programmed for VIP events and adorned with a filigree frame. Celebrities stand before it, tap the screen, take a few moments to pose, approve the photo or retake it and send it out through the event’s Twitter feed.
“Our job is to get everyone at home on Twitter to say, ‘Oh my God, watching TV with Twitter is so much fun,’ ” says Fred Graver, the company’s head of TV.
Twitter executives have been meeting with television producers since last winter about using the Mirror as a real-time promotional tool for their broadcasts.
Many celebrity Twitter feeds have morphed in the last several years from unedited channels to professional marketing machines. Twitter employees say the Mirror lets the public into exclusive venues to see famous people in less guarded moments.
Twitter sent a team to Los Angeles in November to the headquarters of late-night talk show ” Jimmy Kimmel Live” to install in the greenroom the first permanent Twitter Mirror. Guests appearing on the show can take a self-portrait and tweet to the 377,000 followers of the show’s Twitter feed that they’re about to appear on stage.
Instagram is also working to create celeb-friendly photo ops. At the American Music Awards, stars could pose at the InstaStop photo station, with images posting to the followers of the “Entertainment Tonight” Instagram feed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Year After Ban On Loud TV Commercials: Has It Worked?
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/13/12/11/2151208/a-year-after-ban-on-loud-tv-commercials-has-it-worked
“It’s been a year since the FCC implemented the CALM Act, a law that prohibits broadcasters from blasting TV commercials at volumes louder than the programming. Whether the ban has worked or not depends on who you ask.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
A year after ban on loud TV commercials: BETTER?
Complaints persist but FCC says they are declining
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/year-after-ban-loud-tv-commercials-better
Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation of a federal law that prohibits broadcasters from blasting TV commercials at volumes louder than the programming.
Whether the ban has worked depends on who you listen to. The FCC notes that formal complaints about overly loud commercials are on the decline (see chart), but they have totaled more than 20,000 over the past year … and one expert says they aren’t necessarily an accurate measure of compliance anyway. Anecdotal assessments are mixed, too.
“I’m very pleased that the loudness standards set in place by the CALM Act are working,” Rep. Eshoo said in a statement. “Fewer complaints suggest that fewer TV commercials are airing at volume levels inconsistent with the programming around them.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Through-wall tracking of humans using Wi-Fi: Now more accurate, low power
Targets gamers, elderly, and the utterly slothful
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/12/throughwall_tracking_more_accurate_lower_power/
The MIT boffins that earlier this year demonstrated the ability to “see through walls” using Wi-Fi has now unveiled a more accurate version, WiTrack, that can locate a person in three dimensions, within 10-20 cm, through walls and obstructions.
Unlike the earlier Wi-Vi project, the new work by Dina Katabi, Fadel Adib and their collaborators at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab uses a purpose-built transmitter and receiver design to reduce the wireless power to 1/100th of that used in the earlier Wi-Vi project.
As well as the high accuracy and lower power, the project claims to offer “coarse tracking of body parts, identifying the direction of a pointing hand with a median of 11.2 degrees. It can also detect falls with 96.9 per cent accuracy. WiTrack can be incorporated into consumer electronics and has a wide set of applications.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Most watched Youtube music videos 2013
In Finland: Cheek – Timantit ovat ikuisia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Ejyr-ddgw
Worldwide: Ylvis – The Fox
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE&feature=inp-pr-rx1
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/uutisia/naita+videoita+youtubesta+katsottiin+suomessa+ja+maailmalla+tana+vuonna/a953388
Tomi Engdahl says:
Don’t loose your photos this year tips video
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/video+ala+hukkaa+joulukuviasi++toimi+nain/a952427
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building ‘Tension’: An Inside Look at NIN’s Massive Arena Tour
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/12/nin-tension-tour/
If there’s one word that sums up a Nine Inch Nails concert, it’s “ambitious.” The band’s shows are famous for their over-the-top visuals, and massive arena performances are where frontman Trent Reznor and art director Rob Sheridan really flex their muscles, pummeling audiences with an audio-visual experience that often feels closer to a big-budget Hollywood movie than a traditional rock concert.
While still infused with plenty of dazzling tech and visuals, the Tension Tour exhibited much more restraint than previous NIN shows. The pared down visuals and expanded color palette complemented the newer material the band performed.
After discarding the interactive sensors, the “Tension” shows centered around two transparent LED screens that were raised and lowered throughout the show, as well as one fixed (non-transparent) high-definition V9 screen (.pdf) in the back of the band. All told, the production comprised 60 tons of rigging, including 14 magic panel lighting pods, and 7.5 tons of speakers (L-Acoustics K1 rigs) on either side of the stage. It was an architecture that was both flexible and perfectly suited to ambient soundscapes and aggressive industrial rock. From one song to another, the stage morphed dramatically from simple muted color palettes to explosions of light.
While most of the video and lighting was synced up to time code — which also allowed Reznor to constantly switch up setlists from night to night — there was still some on-the-fly interactivity at. During the song “Satellite,” Sheridan grabbed an IR camera rig and panned around the stage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Retrotechtacular: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Manufacturing
http://hackaday.com/2013/12/10/retrotechtacular-cathode-ray-tube-crt-manufacturing/
a set of videos showing how Cathode Ray Tubes are manufactured on a massive scale.
The video presentation starts off with a brief overview of the way a color CRT works. It then moves to a factory tour, carefully showing each step in the process. The footage was shot in the 1960′s
Tomi Engdahl says:
The embarrassment of a design error in the new Xbox – how can this happen?
While the Xbox One is already on sale in Europe, it is limited to American TV standard. This is reflected in European as not so smooth moving image.
One of Microsoft’s new Xbox gaming console to the discovery of a peculiar design flaw. Game console attached to devices can be used only American standards, to give images a disturbance in Finland and elsewhere in Europe used.
What makes this particularly troubled by the fact that the console is already on sale in Europe. Among other things, the English owners have brought an uproar.
Core of the problem lies in the fact that the Xbox One is designed for home entertainment center, to which all other living room connected to the wireless equipment. Through the Xbox can take a picture of a TV set-top box, a Blu-ray disc player – or even competing Playstation 4 to.
The U.S. television broadcast standard NTSC at 60 times per second live image of the European PAL standard frequency of 50 times per second. One force the Xbox to the TV the picture to go to 60 Hz frequency, even if it is fed to the device connected to the console of European 50-cycle transmission. Frequency conversion, the picture jumps or freezes at times.
Laaksonen, the size of the problem varies depending on the program deemed. For example, a news broadcast is not a big problem, sports broadcasts programs along the lines of a quick view of the problem is greater.
You can try to work around by forcing the Xbox One work of 50 Hz. Doing this, in turn, interferes with how the game works.
Another solution is not to engage the other image sources for Xbox One.
- In this case, however, lost the functionality of the Xbox One, Laaksonen says.
- What sort of error may have to go through? The matter has been in existence and known for decades, Laaksonen wonders.
Finland Xbox product manager Jarno Kallunkijärvi-Mättö says that this is a known Microsoft in order of importance and top priority.
- We’re hard at work to ensure that we bring the future software update 50 Hz countries, Kallunkijärvi-Mättö says.
Source: http://www.iltasanomat.fi/digi/art-1288631487281.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Growth Of Video Ads On Tablets, Cell Phones And Smart TVs Is Exploding
http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/video-ad-market-booms-as-people-watch-shows-on-tablets-cell
As many know, people are increasingly consuming video on devices other than their televisions — and that’s making for a booming video ad market.
Total video advertising views, excluding user-generated content, rose 31% in the third quarter, Citigroup said in a note today
While computers account for 86% of video ads, tablets, cell phones, and devices such as Apple TV and Roku “are growing far faster and taking share quickly,” according to the Citi analysts.
“We believe this data is encouraging for the major players in the online video market, including in our coverage universe, Google, AOL and Yume, and potentially also Facebook, Yahoo! and RocketFuel,” the analysts wrote.
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube Rewind 2013
Top Trending Videos of 2013
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSTz8jpJdr5pn9LFw-pXbg0IOFy2Z_td_&feature=inp-be-rx1
Here are the top 10 videos that shook up 2013 and dominated the conversation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chromecast can now stream videos and music from Google Play’s website
http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/12/5205180/chromecast-adds-google-play-website-streaming
Google has been adding more and more ways to play content on a Chromecast, and today it’s giving the media streamer a new trick: the ability to stream Google Play music and videos straight from the web. Now when you visit play.google.com and begin playing something you own, the site will display a Chromecast button that’ll let you directly send that media over to a TV, without streaming the entire tab.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DirecTV Explores Online Video Service
Product Would Appeal to ‘Price Sensitive’ Young People, Satellite-TV Firm Says
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304202204579254524162627610-lMyQjAxMTAzMDEwMjExNDIyWj
DirecTV executives told an investor meeting that the company saw online video as one of several growth areas for the next few years, also including home security and new advertising products.
DirecTV Chief Executive Mike White said he wasn’t thinking of competing with Netflix Inc. NFLX +2.57% or replicating the pay TV bundle of channels online, but of developing “a niche” online video service with programming that appeals to specific groups of customers, such as Hispanic audiences and children.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aereo to Broadcasters: Go Ahead, Take the Case to Supreme Court
http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/aereo-says-it-will-not-oppose-broadcasters-petition-for-supreme-court-review-1200949358/
Aereo on Thursday said that it would not oppose broadcasters’ petition to the Supreme Court to review rulings in the start up streaming service’s favor, declaring that it was ready for the justices to resolve the question of whether its digital streams of station signals are legal.
We have decided to not oppose the broadcasters’ petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court,” Aereo founder and CEO Chet Kanojia said in a statement. “While the law is clear and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and two different federal courts have ruled in favor of Aereo, broadcasters appear determined to keep litigating the same issues against Aereo in every jurisdiction that we enter. We want this resolved on the merits rather than through a wasteful war of attrition.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube expands live streaming to all channels, adds option to directly launch a Google+ Hangout On Air
http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/12/12/youtube-expands-live-streaming-channels-still-requires-accounts-verified-good-standing/#!pPjml
YouTube today announced it is expanding its live streaming service to all YouTube channels. The Google-owned company now only has two requirements: your account must be verified and it has to be in good standing. If you have both, but don’t see the feature yet, don’t worry as it’s rolling out “over the next few weeks.”
The update today also adds the option to launch a Google+ Hangout On Air directly from the YouTube Live events manager. If you’ve got a decent YouTube following, this should give your Google+ page a boost, which is of course exactly what Google wants.
YouTube Live was previously only available to a small number of individuals and YouTube partners whom Google deemed worthy to test it out.
Live streaming is seen as the next step in the video consumption world. On-demand content is here to stay of course (and many streamed videos will be recorded for later viewing), but it’s simply more exciting to watch something as it happens.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dell to launch 4K UHD monitors in 2014 for ‘well under’ $1,000
Wants users to take advantage of colour and clarity in higher resolution displays
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2318897/dell-to-launch-4k-uhd-monitors-in-2014-for-well-under-usd1000
AUSTIN: US COMPUTER COMPANY Dell will bring 4K displays to the market in 2014 for “well under” $1,000.
Speaking at the Dell World conference in Texas on Thursday, the firm’s CEO Michael Dell announced during his opening keynote that due to the lack of clarity in standard HD monitors and the high retail prices of ultra high-definition (UHD) displays, the firm will introduce 4K displays globally at much more affordable prices.
“The problem is these [4K monitors] have been very expensive,” Dell said. “Professional grade 4K displays can be $5,000 and up. Dell is going to disrupt this and make it more affordable. Starting in 2014, we’re going to be offering 4K by 2K [displays] for well under a thousand dollars.”
“’4K by 2K’, or ’4000 by 2000′ pixels’ is a new generation of ultra-high definition, [which] is four times the resolution of a HD display.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oculus VR raises $75M from web browser inventor Marc Andreessen’s VC firm to launch virtual reality goggles
http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/12/oculus-vr-raises-75m-from-andreessen-horowitz-to-create-consumer-version-of-its-virtual-reality-goggles/
Virtual reality goggle maker has raised a massive round of $75 million from Netscape founder Marc Andreessen’s Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm to create a consumer version of its product.
The investment by Andreessen shows how much currency Oculus has gained by doing something innovative in games, where Microsoft and Sony have launched new video game consoles this season. Many gamers have bemoaned the fact that the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One deliver better 3D graphics but not much in the way of innovation.
“Over the past 16 months, we’ve grown from a start-up to a company whose virtual reality headset is poised to change the way we play, work and communicate,” said Iribe said in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data centers gobble electricity – consumption is to be curbed
Green ICT: to have been created for Finnish Transport and Communications Ministry’s own action .
It identifies three measures in the area. They apply to data centers, telecommunications networks and audiovisual services.
The first phase will focus on data centers and telecommunications networks, energy issues, as well as audio-visual services to the growing use.
The same television and video content is available to consumers in different distribution channels: television, home computers and smart phones. A significant impact on your viewing consumption caused by environmental costs. Among other things, the different distribution channels, energy efficiency is expected as part of the program.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/konesalit+ahmivat+sahkoa++kulutusta+halutaan+suitsia/a953997
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Tomi says:
Verizon Is Said to Be Near Deal to Buy Intel’s TV Service
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-13/verizon-said-near-agreement-to-buy-intel-s-start-up-tv-service.html
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is near an agreement to purchase Intel Corp. (INTC)’s Internet-based pay-TV startup, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Verizon, the second-largest U.S. communications company, will use OnCue to extend its pay-TV offering beyond the geographic footprint of its FiOS fiber-optic service. That could shake up pay TV, by bringing more competition to cable companies that dominate territories, as well as satellite companies with wide coverage that lack the interactive capability of the Web.
“It has the potental to change U.S. pay-TV forever,” said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. “Untethering the linear video service from the network could dramatically increase competition.”
OnCue is designed to provide pay-TV programming over any high-speed Internet connection, making it a threat to cable-TV services that deliver shows over dedicated lines restricted by territory. Intel’s system includes servers, set-top boxes and applications that can stream content to televisions, phones and tablets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Boston Police indefinitely suspends license plate reader program
BPD’s scanners saw a stolen motorcycle 59 times over 5 months and police did nothing.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/12/boston-police-indefinitely-suspends-license-plate-reader-program/
The Boston Police Department (BPD) has indefinitely halted its use of license plate readers (LPR) following an investigation published on Saturday into their use by the investigative journalism organization MuckRock and the Boston Globe.
This suspension likely makes Boston one of the largest cities in America to stop using this sort of technology, which for years has been in wide use by thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide.
As Ars has reported for more than a year, LPRs are in use in cities big and small across America. Typically, the specialized cameras scan a given plate using optical character recognition technology, checking that plate against a “hot list” of stolen or wanted vehicles. The device then also typically will record the date, time, and GPS location of any plates—hot or not—that it sees.
The cameras typically scan at an extremely high rate, usually around 60 plates per second.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Stream of Music, Not Revenue
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/business/media/a-stream-of-music-not-revenue.html?pagewanted=all
When Spotify, the digital music company of the moment, announced this week an exclusive deal with Led Zeppelin and free access on mobile devices, it also reported impressive numbers. Its listeners have streamed 4.5 billion hours of music this year, and it has paid more than $1 billion in music royalties since its founding.
But Spotify, a private company, omitted the results that music executives, competitors and investors care about most: how many people use the service and how many pay for it.
Services like Spotify, Pandora and Apple’s new iTunes Radio have become the latest hope for the beleaguered music business. They let customers listen to vast catalogs of songs online, either free or through subscriptions for as little as $3 a month.
With download sales cooling after a decade of growth, streaming has the potential to transform the industry’s financial model by charging for the very act of listening. Instead of selling a CD or a download, companies could earn royalties every time someone clicks to hear a track.
“The buying habits of music lovers are changing,” Doug Morris, chairman of Sony Music Entertainment, told investors last month at a conference in Los Angeles. “Rather than buying physical records, or even digital downloads, consumers are starting to prefer buying music on demand from streaming services.”
Streaming has even begun to affect the way hit songs are made
“There is this irrational resistance for people to actually plunk down their credit card for streaming services,” said Ted Cohen, a digital music consultant with the firm TAG Strategic. “We’re 13 years into the Napster phenomenon of ‘music is free,’ and it’s hard to get people back into the idea that music is at least worth the value of a cup of Starbucks coffee a week.”
YouTube’s free music videos have made it the most popular listening platform of all among young listeners, according to Nielsen.
Spotify’s strategy has been to lure customers in with an advertising-supported free version, and hope they can be “converted” to pay $5 to $10 a month for perks like better-quality sound and no ads. But the service, which started in Sweden in 2008 and is now available in 55 markets around the world, has not updated its customer numbers since March, when it reported 24 million users. Six million of those pay.
The limited free access on mobile devices that Spotify announced this week was partly a way to continue to attract consumers who now spend more of their time on phones and tablets than on desktop computers.
Within the streaming world, the prevailing opinion is that the market is still young and has enormous potential.
Streaming’s growth is expected to continue at an even faster pace in 2014, while CD sales and downloads will most likely decline.
“It took many years for digital downloads to become mainstream along with CDs, and in time, subscriptions will be a widely adopted third option,”
Several analysts doubt that streaming companies can attract enough paying customers with only recorded music, citing a sharp drop in music sales over the last decade and abundant free music online. And they say it will be difficult for them to survive on advertising alone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
From Google Glass to Snowfalling: What will journalism look like in 2014?
http://pando.com/2013/12/13/from-google-glass-to-snowfalling-what-will-journalism-look-like-in-2014/
One student, Patrick Hogan, spent the semester experimenting with Google Glass as a reporting tool for Digital First Media’s Thunderdome project. The insights he gathered were fascinating: When taking photos or videos with Glass, “Your eye is a lens, and your body is a tripod,” he says. Peripheral objects that your eyes instinctively ignore end up crowding the frame. The slightest body movement can make it look you’re covering an earthquake.
Moreover, there are a lot of misconceptions about how Glass works that made Hogan’s reporting subjects suspicious and even angry. Many assumed that the Glass video recorder was always on, even though that would require “a battery pack the size of my head,” says Hogan.
Glass also underlines the frustrations of working on someone else’s platform, on their rules. Hogan imagines that one of the most effective uses of Glass is livestreaming. But despite the fact that Glass is technologically capable of livestreaming, Google refused to unlock the feature, even after numerous pleas from Hogan and the team at Thunderdome.
Where Google Glass really shines is in capturing first-person experiences.
With innovation moving so quickly, I wonder what the class of 2015 will cook up. Self-driving journalism? Jetpack journalism? Lightsaber journalism?
Tomi Engdahl says:
GIF Of Jennifer Lawrence’s Photoshopped Cover Of “Flare” Magazine
http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/gif-of-jennifer-lawrences-photoshopped-cover-of-flare
If we’re digitally editing perfection, what hope is there for the rest of us?!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Too Different, Not Different Enough: Why Instagram Direct May Fail
http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/15/too-different-not-different-enough-why-instagram-direct-may-fail/
My friends aren’t using Instagram Direct, at least not yet
It’s not that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I’ve seen pretty strong adoption of Instagram Video in my network. It’s that you can’t teach an old dog to be a cat.
Instagram found a place in our hearts as an app for broadcasting moments. Take a photo (or later a video) and share it publicly, and specifically, to people who follow you. Now Instagram wants us to use it for private sharing. Take a photo or video and send it to one person or a small group. Those are entirely distinct species of communication.
Convincing a userbase to break their ingrained behavior pattern and use an app for something completely different is a tough sell. And it’s a lot tougher if that “something different” is actually “something you can do elsewhere”.
tomi says:
Samsung Electronics gives impetus to the synergy between cameras and smartphones…
http://english.etnews.com/electronics/2884359_1303.html
Samsung Electronics integrated the Digital Imaging Business Division, in charge of cameras, with the Wireless Business Division. Samsung Electronics began to create synergies between smartphones and cameras in a bid to capture the largest share of the global mirrorless camera market in 2015.
Samsung Electronics explained, “We will transplant the brand, sales networks, software competency and manufacturing competitiveness of the Wireless Business Division into the Camera Business Division, and integrate the technical know-how of the two business divisions into competency for differentiating our smartphones.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Emerging Markets for H.264 Video Encoding
http://www.eeweb.com/company-blog/fujitsu_semiconductor/emerging-markets-for-h.264-video-encoding/
Already dominant in traditional applications such as video conferencing and TV broadcasting, H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC) standards are expanding into applications that benefit from the use of high-definition (HD) content that can be stored and networked efficiently. These applications typically take advantage of today’s highly integrated semiconductor solutions to minimize costs while achieving high-speed H.264 compression and decompression.
Emerging Markets
The use of distance learning continues to grow in universities throughout the US and even in K-12 school districts. The primary reason for this growth is convenience, followed by cost as educational institutions try to do as much as they can with limited budgets.
Cameras capture the video, which is encoded using H.264 and then streamed to a number of remote locations. Whether the video is HD or SD (standard definition), both benefit from H.264 compression since the speed of the links between the main and remote sites may vary.
Implementation Summary
Since the H.264 AVC first draft was completed in 2003, ample time has passed for chip vendors to develop a wide variety of SoCs for handling H.264 encoding in full HD. Given this level of maturity in the market, a software-based H.264 encoder for full HD quality can hardly compete. Similarly, FPGA-based solutions have a chance only in the most price-insensitive applications. If the currently available SoCs offer most but not all of the features desired for an application, then combining an SoC with a small FPGA may offer a way to implement all the functionality — a solution that leverages the lower cost point of the SoC while allowing for customization in the FPGA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Emerging Markets for H.264 Video Encoding
Leveraging High Definition and Efficient IP Networking
http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/MICRO/fma/pdf/H264_wp.pdf
Tomi says:
The Download Hits Middle Age (and It Shows)
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/5827354/the-download-hits-middle-age-and-it-shows
The slow but steady rise of on-demand services like Spotify and Rdio coincided with a drop-off in sales for various download fomats.
The digital download hit middle age in 2013. Although retirement may be far in the future, the download is getting pushed aside as consumers opt to experience music in other ways.
Digital purchases are down almost across the board this year. Track sales are down 4.4% through Nov. 24, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Track-equivalent albums, where 10 tracks equal one album, are down 2.1%. Total digital purchases — tracks and digital albums — are down 4%.
Track sales have been falling all year. In the first half of 2013, U.S. consumers bought between 23 million and 25 million tracks per week. In October and November, weekly track sales dropped below 20 million.
Only digital albums are in positive territory, but those gains are quickly eroding. Through Nov. 24, digital albums are up 0.5%, but that small improvement looks much worse when one considers digital albums were up 14% in 2012, 10% at the end of the first quarter and 6% at the midway point of 2013.
People like easy explanations for complex issues. Unfortunately, no one factor can explain the shift in download sales. The reason for the drop-off is a web of interrelated stories that show new technologies affecting consumer behavior.
One obvious factor is weakness in catalog sales. Through Nov. 17, current digital albums are up 5% while catalog digital albums are down 2%. A similar gap exists in track sales. Current tracks are even with last year, while catalog tracks are down 8%.
Streaming services are changing the trajectory of digital sales. Millions of Americans now subscribe to an on-demand subscription service like Spotify or Muve Music. Millions more use the free versions of Spotify and Rdio.
The shift to streaming could hurt catalog sales more than current sales
Tomi says:
Streaming and Cord-Cutting Take a Toll On the Pay-TV Industry
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/13/12/16/131258/streaming-and-cord-cutting-take-a-toll-on-the-pay-tv-industry
“Harris Interactive confirms that consumers streaming video content prefer the practice of binge viewing.The news isn’t a big shocker to streaming concerns such as Netflix, Amazon, and Redbox Instant which have been mining viewer habits data, but it has an important read-through for broadcasters like CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC. Though ad rates could fall if more viewers wait until series are available for streaming, the payoffs for quality content are proving lush”
Tomi says:
he Pay-TV industry: Something has to give
http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/1446771
The economic argument is lopsided against the Pay-TV industry (CHTR, CVC, TWC, DISH, DTV) moving to an a la carte system, reasons Needham.
The investment firm has some staggering estimates which indicate consumers could end up paying significantly more for an unbundled system or see a large number of networks close up shop to limit their choices.
Working backwards, 180 channels at an average annual programming cost of $280M per year requires a bundled system to create the ad and subscriber revenue to support it.
Though the math might work out fine and dandy, subscriber losses and a younger generation unfazed by cord-cutting indicates something might need to give.
The wildcard in the mix: Online TV initiatives from Sony, Google, and Intel as well as the evolution of Netflix (NFLX) will also play a factor.