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:
Film to be distributed via games console for first time
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/21651921
An independent British film is being released via a digital games console platform, rather than through the cinema or DVDs, for the first time.
Pulp, a comedy about a struggling comic book publisher recruited by the police to bust a crime syndicate, will be available to Xbox 360 Live subscribers.
“Where they would have been released straight to DVD, the opportunities for doing that have really declined.
“Retailers have gone out of business because of the threat of piracy and because of legitimate digital downloading.
“There has been a decline in the middle to lower budget tier of films that used to get made.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
As Pirates Run Rampant, TV Studios Dial Up Pursuit
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887324906004578292232028509990-lMyQjAxMTAzMDAwMzEwNDMyWj.html
“Is the evolution of TV and movie viewing going to go legitimately digital or to pirates?” Mr. Cotton asked.
Some TV executives worry that they may follow in the steps of the music industry, which has seen its global sales plummet from some $29 billion in 1999 to about half that today, partly because of its slowness to respond to online demand after pirated songs became widely available on the Internet.
The explosion in pirated TV shows and movies is more recent because of improved Web technology. Faster Internet speeds have eliminated the hourslong process of downloading longer videos from peer-to-peer networks and online storage sites called cyberlockers. Much illegal content has also become available through instant streams, including live sports.
“It has taken the arrival of high-speed broadband to make that attractive,” said James Grimmelmann, a piracy expert and professor at New York Law School.
The filing-sharing technology BitTorrent is one tool pirates use to trade videos on websites. BitTorrent, which has many legitimate applications, breaks up large computer files into small pieces so they can zip across the Web. One peer-to-peer site using the technology, ThePirateBay.se, advises people, “Any complaints from copyright and/or lobby organizations will be ridiculed and published at the site.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canon Shows the Most Sensitive Camera Sensor In the World
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/13/03/05/0219240/canon-shows-the-most-sensitive-camera-sensor-in-the-world
“Canon announced today that it successfully developed a super high-sensitivity full-frame CMOS sensor developed exclusively for video recording.”
Canon Tests the most Sensitive Sensor in the World
http://thefutureofthings.com/news/11567/canon-tests-the-most-sensitive-sensor-in-the-world.html
Canon announced today that it successfully developed a super high-sensitivity full-frame CMOS sensor developed exclusively for video recording. The new Full HD sensor can capture light no other comparable sensor can see and might have multitude of applications in the future.
Each pixel on the new sensor measures 19 microns square, more than 7.5-times the surface area of the pixels on the CMOS sensor incorporated the company most advanced (and expensive) top-of-the-line EOS-1D X camera released last year.
The newly developed technologies allows the sensor to capture remarkable clear videos even at the most dimly lit environments with as little as 0.03 lux of illumination (about as bright as the crescent moon- a level of brightness in which it is difficult for even the naked eye to perceive objects).
Canon develops 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor for video capture
http://www.canon.com/news/2013/mar04e.html
TOKYO, March 4, 2013—Canon Inc. announced today that the company has successfully developed a high-sensitivity 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor exclusively for video recording. Delivering high-sensitivity, low-noise imaging performance, the new Canon 35 mm CMOS sensor*1 enables the capture of Full HD video even in exceptionally low-light environments.
The newly developed CMOS sensor features pixels measuring 19 microns square in size, which is more than 7.5-times the surface area of the pixels on the CMOS sensor incorporated in Canon’s top-of-the-line EOS-1D X and other digital SLR cameras.
Using a prototype camera employing the newly developed sensor, Canon successfully captured a wide range of test video,*4 such as footage recorded in a room illuminated only by the light from burning incense sticks (approximately 0.05–0.01 lux) and video of the Geminid meteor shower.
Canon 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor. VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OQpYfT5P_ig
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 benefits to building an IP network video system
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/february/anixter-ip-video-benefits.html
A new white paper from Anixter outlines the most important technology details for organizations building IP network video platforms. The paper suggests strategies for designing server, storage and client workstation solutions for mission-critical IP-based physical security applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dash cam video: Benefit or distraction?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/automotive-innovation/4408061/Dash-cam-video–Benefit-or-distraction-
In the wake of the recent meteor strike in Russia, the prevalence of dash cam video and stills has been brought to the front of discussions. The vast availability of vehicles with these devices – most ranging from VGA to 1080P resolution
These cameras, most with MicroSD storage for the DVR, record 30-60 minutes of video and then re-record the loop. The goal is to help document accidents and determine fault of others versus the fault of the driver.
The typical dash cam uses a suction mount to connect it to the front window.
While the benefits of OEM cameras that can record activities with a control view into the car AV system (as is done with the rear view cameras) are obvious, the aftermarket ones need some controls.
If the focus of the driver is on the scene or to properly capture the events as they are happening, there is a strong chance that this will impact the number of accidents that are occurring on the roadways.
The most common use in the US is actually in-cabin facing cameras for cabs, public transit, limos, and airport transportation. These are manually controlled and are there to record passenger safety.
The outfacing cameras are a new application. A few of the designs are unobtrusive, being integrated with the rear-view mirror or existing alongside driver assist and lane change warning cameras.
The US has not determined if dash cams are good or bad. To date there are no rules or regulation about them – other than the standard: you cannot put it on the front windows directly in front of the driver.
The questions that come to mind are if the level of AV and integration with mobile devices is overwhelming the driver.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: Flying Camera Is Your Personal Paparazzo
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=259721&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
For a suggested retail price of $49, you will be able to ensure every move you make is captured on video. The palm-sized camera MeCam under development at Always Innovating Inc. will follow you around and take videos of you and your friends. You will be able to post these videos to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or any other social media site.
Always Innovating calls the MeCam a “self-video minicopter” in the video
The camera can be operated by voice command, or it can be programmed to hover around you automatically. It has two autopilot algorithms and a Morpho Inc. video stabilizer. You upload video by streaming it to a smartphone or tablet.
In a press release unveiling the device in January, Always Innovating says the MeCam is run by a Cortex-A9 SoC.
What really piqued my interest is the fact that the MeCam uses open-source Linux-based software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ABC Unified: Disney’s new advertising platform could finally put TV anywhere you want it
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/5/4066982/abc-unified-disney-nielsen-tv-anywhere-advertising-platform
Nielsen’s new standards for cross-platform ads will affect which shows stay on the air and the platforms where they’re available
Traditionally, TV networks gauge the number and demographic makeup of their shows’ audiences by measuring the TV viewing habits of a small sample of households. Because the advertisers who pay for the shows and the networks who program them need an independent pollster both groups can trust, they’ve traditionally turned to Nielsen. But as TV audiences have shifted their consumption online, through apps and the web, Nielsen’s audience-measuring methods have had to adjust. Other companies have tried to provide alternate metrics, but Nielsen is who the industry has relied on as its standard. And because Nielsen still has the best access to traditional TV viewing, it’s been in the best position to provide new, cross-platform metrics to chart a program’s audience across television, apps, and the web. After plenty of experimentation, this is what Nielsen has done — and maybe more importantly, what it’s successfully convinced all the major stakeholders it can do.
Now, with ABC and Disney’s networks ABC Family and ESPN, we have our first campaigns to use Nielsen’s data to sell a TV program to advertisers across platforms.
More importantly, from a technology and platform perspective, how ads are purchased and displayed affects not just what shows get chosen, but where they are shown. If a show’s audience is measured and ads are sold in a single buy across all platforms, that creates a tremendous incentive for a network to maximize the number of platforms where its shows are available. It also makes it more likely that networks will push toward parity across those platforms. It no longer makes sense to have some TV shows or episodes available on the web but not others, or to support streaming for the iPad but not the Apple TV. Measuring a show’s viewership on the Xbox means more TV will come to the Xbox; measuring a show’s viewership on over-the-top services like Intel Media means more programmers will be comfortable with TV delivered over the internet; measuring a show’s viewership on smartphones means more shows will come to more smartphones. Nielsen still has a ways to go to before it can measure audience in those settings as well as on a television set or a desktop browser, but that’s clearly the direction it’s headed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NXP claims sound quality breakthrough with 9.5-V boost voltage in mobile micro speakers
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4408136/NXP-claims-sound-quality-breakthrough-with-9-5-V-boost-voltage-in-mobile-micro-speakers
NXP Semiconductors is launching a speaker driver IC that enables a 9.5 V boost voltage from an integrated DC/DC converter.
Increasing the voltage headroom in the TFA9890 audio driver IC prevents amplifier clipping and keeps sound quality high at maximum volume. The TFA9890 safely drives a record 4 W of peak power into a standard 8-Ω speaker that is typically rated at 0.5 W, making a clear improvement to the sound output and quality of mobiles, tablets, TVs and portable speakers.
Whereas traditional approaches have required cutting bass frequencies to avoid damaging the speaker, the TFA9890 builds on the advanced speaker protection introduced in the award-winning TFA9887 to enable safe operation while working at near-peak output at all times. The fully integrated protection includes adaptive excursion control, an approach that compensates for real-world changes in the acoustic environment.
The feedback-controlled excursion protection algorithm enables the TFA9890 – a single chip that includes NXP’s CoolFlux DSP, a Class-D amplifier with current sensing, and a DC-to-DC converter – to provide nearly twice as much power into 8-Ω speakers, with sound output typically 6-12 dB higher than the TFA9887.
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube to launch music streaming service, take on Spotify
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/05/youtube-streaming/?iid=SF_T_Lead&hpt=te_r1
Exclusive: Google is planning to roll out a music streaming service to capitalize on the power of YouTube.
YouTube, the world’s largest digital repository of streaming media, will launch a subscription music service later this year. The service has its own negotiating team and operating unit but will likely have some overlap with new features also rumored to be coming to Google’s Android music platform, Google Play.
The two new services are defined by their respective places in the Google empire: Google Play for Android is a digital locker for music — users buy, store, and sort a collection of tracks; but on YouTube’s coming service, anyone can listen to tracks for free. Both services are said to be adding a subscription fee that will unlock additional features. For the YouTube-based service, this will likely mean ad-free access.
YouTube is already one of the most heavily used music services in the world, but it hasn’t yet charged users. Instead, it sells ads against its music videos; a cut goes back to the record companies.
Of the ways music is consumed today, spending on subscription-based streaming (“renting” music rather than “owning” it) is a fraction of what spending on digital purchases on stores like Amazon or Apple’s iTunes store can reach. Fewer people subscribe, and of those, the spending per month is generally lower.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: BallCam Puts Football Fans on the Field
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&doc_id=259718&cid=NL_Newsletters+-+DN+Daily
Football fans are about to get the ultimate view of their favorite sport.
A prototype device known as the BallCam might one day enable them to see the action from the ball’s point of view, providing a different perspective when a pass sails into the hands of a receiver or a punt falls into the arms of a returner.
Indeed, the BallCam would provide viewers with an experience unlike anything that’s been available previously.
Together, they embedded a single GoPro Hero2 camera in a rubber-sheathed, plastic foam football, then wrote software to make the spinning images usable.
The software is the key, Kitani said. Because a spiraled pass from a quarterback can rotate at a surprising rate of 600 rpm, images from inside the ball would be useless without software to make sense of it all. The research team addressed that by employing techniques such as image stitching, feature extraction, and feature matching, then wrapping them together in a software package.
As a result, the BallCam is able to extract video frames that are pointing in the wrong direction, and keep those that are pointing in the correct direction. It accomplishes that by looking for the sky in every frame.
To be sure, the technology faces hurdles.
The ability of the camera to stand up to the punishment of football is not in question, however, since the same hardware has previously been used on football helmets and spearfishing masks, as well as in the jaws of polar bears, sharks, and alligators.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Happy birthday, LP: Can you believe it’s only 65?
From scratchy spinner to flash and now the cloud
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/22/lps_to_flash/
This storage medium progressed from spinning disk to flash and then entered the cloud… Sound familiar? It’s the long-playing music album and this year marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of its inception.
The 33 1/3rpm vinyl long-playing record was devised in 1948 by Columbia Records and was an upgrade on the prior 78rpm 12-inch shellac records – which were noisy, read by a needle tracing the surface of a spiral grooved track, and only played music for about five minutes.
Then stereophonic sound was added and the album became the standard way of buying classical music, collections of pop singles and then popular music and songs created as an entity rather than as a set of three-minute singles. There was glorious album art and breath-taking musical adventures but the technology had limitations.
But CDs were smaller, so sadly didn’t offer the vast canvas of the enormous LP album cover. An era of classic album artwork was over.
Just a few years later, the ultimately hard-drive and then flash-memory-powered portable media players began to crush the CD as surely as it had pulverised the LP.
Consumer music recording technology came down to a contest between the CD and flash. Flash won, and I’d suggest this is because of the simplicity of the associated purchasing technology.
The digital music player’s convenience and playlist functions were superior for consumers
But the long-playing record hasn’t suffered the fate of the CD and the cassette tape. Afficionados still love the warmth of its sound, which they compare unfavourably to the hyper-clean and compressed digital music.
Now music consists of digital files mostly played from solid state devices and not spinning media.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Unauthorised TV live streaming breaches copyright, rules European court
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/mar/07/tv-live-streaming
Websites that retransmit live TV over the internet without permission from broadcasters are in breach of copyright, Europe’s highest court has ruled in a judgment with wide ranging implications.
The landmark ruling published on Thursday by the European court of justice (ECJ) means that dozens of sites showing live TV in the UK, including the London-based TVCatchup.com, must now get rights clearance from broadcasters.
Legal experts said the decision was likely to spark a renewed clampdown by rights holders against similar sites, many of which show live sport
“Television broadcasters may prohibit the retransmission of their programmes by another company via the internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google and MPEG LA settle long-running VP8/H.264 patent dispute
http://www.zdnet.com/google-and-mpeg-la-settle-long-running-vp8h-264-patent-dispute-7000012289/
Summary: In 2011, Google announced its intention to abandon the popular H.264 video standard in favor of its own open-source codec, VP8. That inspired legal threats from H.264 patent holders. Today the two groups announced a settlement.
Sometimes patent wars end, not with a bang but a whimper.
That’s the case with the long-running dispute over Google’s VP8 codec, which was settled today after two years of legal machinations.
The real question now is how Google will make use of VP8, now that the legal cloud has been lifted.
In a post to the RTC Web working group, Google’s Serge Lachapelle notes that today’s agreement is “not an acknowledgment” that VP8 infringes on any of the patents claimed by MPEG LA. Rather, he says, this deal removes the legal cloud that was holding some third parties back: “The purpose of this agreement is meant to provide further and stronger reassurance to implementors of VP8.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Fiber TV gets its first 3D channels: 3net included with plan and ESPN3D for an extra $5 per month
http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/03/07/google-fiber-tv-gets-its-first-3d-channels-3net-included-with-plan-and-espn3d-for-an-extra-5-per-month/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google, MPEG LA kiss and make up in WebM patent spat
Open source VP8 codec now officially legit
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/08/google_mpegla_webm_patent_license/
Google and the MPEG LA licensing body have announced that they have reached a licensing agreement for patents related to the Chocolate Factory’s WebM streaming media technology, clearing the cloud of potential litigation that has loomed over the format for more than two years.
At issue was VP8, the codec used for the video portion of WebM content (while the Vorbis codec handles the audio portion).
Google gained control of VP8 when it paid $125m to acquire On2 Technologies in 2010 and promptly released the code under a BSD license, claiming it was henceforth a royalty-free codec.
But MPEG LA countered that just because VP8 was open source didn’t mean it wasn’t covered by patents.
Under the terms of the agreement, MPEG LA has not only granted Google a license to video-compression patents owned by 11 different parties, but Google is also allowed to sublicense those patents to any user of VP8 or of “one next-generation VPx video codec.”
In return, MPEG LA says it will no longer seek to form a VP8 patent pool, and that it will be “pleased” to see VP8 made widely available to users.
“This is a significant milestone in Google’s efforts to establish VP8 as a widely-deployed web video format,” Google deputy general counsel for patents Allen Lo said in a joint statement with MPEG LA. “We appreciate MPEG LA’s cooperation in making this happen.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
VP8 and MPEG LA
http://blog.webmproject.org/2013/03/vp8-and-mpeg-la.html
Today Google Inc. and MPEG LA, LLC announced agreements that will result in MPEG LA ending its efforts to form a VP8 patent pool.
The arrangement with MPEG LA and 11 patent owners grants a license to Google and allows Google to sublicense any techniques that may be essential to VP8 and are owned by the patent owners; we may sublicense those techniques to any VP8 user on a royalty-free basis.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple’s digital content resale and loan system could allow DRM transfers between end users
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/07/apples-digital-content-resale-and-loan-system-could-allow-drm-transfers-between-end-users
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published details of an exhaustive Apple invention covering the resale and loan of owned digital content like e-books, music and movies, possibly portending an upcoming addition to iTunes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix wants at least five new shows a year: ‘The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us’
http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/29/3930560/netflix-wants-at-least-five-new-shows-a-year-the-goal-is-to-become
The company is clearly looking at 2013 to be a breakout year in terms of original content, and it’s already bested its five-program goal
Tomi Engdahl says:
Testing HDMI and MHL interfaces
http://www.eetimes.com/design/test-and-measurement/4409597/Testing-HDMI-and-MHL-RohdeSchwarz
Today’s set-top boxes, tablet PCs and smartphones are equipped with analog or digital video interfaces such as the high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) and the mobile high-definition link (MHL).
Besides pure interoperability tests, manufacturers are also conducting an increasing number of application tests to see how equipment performs under realistic conditions.
When HDMI technology was first introduced in 2002, it triggered a paradigm shift within the consumer electronics industry.
Since 2002, more than a billion electronic devices equipped with HDMI have been manufactured.
HDMI uses a special encryption mechanism – high bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) – to secure content against duplication.
The data is transferred between devices via three high-speed channels known as transition minimized differential signaling (TMDS) lines. In the most recent version of the interface, these channels are specified to support a bandwidth of up to 3.4 Gbit/s each.
Going forward, the focus will be on introducing ultra-definition (UD), which offers resolutions far higher than the 1920 x 1080 pixels currently supported by Full HD. This will take resolutions like 4K x 2K, already widespread in movie theaters and studios for some time now, into people’s living rooms. The demand is there: displays are getting bigger all the time, the first consumer video cameras capable of this kind of resolution are already available, and people are using TVs more and more as an alternative to personal computers.
Mobile high-definition link
Mobile high-definition link is a new standard closely related to HDMI. This new interface technology is most common in smartphones. It allows content such as Internet-streamed media, movies and user-created video to be output to TV screens in HD resolution. MHL runs on the micro-USB port now included in many mobile devices. MHL consortium founders Nokia, Samsung, Silicon Image, Sony and Toshiba point to the new technology’s following benefits for mobile applications:
• The micro-USB port can be used to transmit uncompressed HD video and audio.
• Mobile devices can charge while playing media.
• Eliminating the need for a separate audio/video port – combined with micro-USB’s small size – enables manufacturers to produce even smaller smartphones.
The USB port is used to exchange data with a personal computer as usual. However, if the built-in MHL transmitter chip detects that it is connected to an MHL enabled sink or MHL to HDMI converter, it switches automatically to MHL transmission mode. In this case, the MHL transmitter sends the audiovisual data across the micro-USB connection.
Like HDMI, MHL has an additional pin for transmitting control signals. This is for the MHL control bus (CBUS), which performs various tasks: It detects whether an MHL enabled sink or source is connected, and it transmits data relating to the encryption of audiovisual data.
Both HDMI and MHL transmit the visible video signal in TMDS frames and the audio and meta data (e.g. InfoFrames) in the blanking intervals (HSync and VSync).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google called the MPEG-LA’s bluff, and won
http://www.osnews.com/story/26849/Google_called_the_MPEG-LA_s_bluff_and_won
A few days ago, Google and the MPEG-LA announced that they had come to an agreement under which Google received a license for techniques in VP8 that may infringe upon MPEG-LA patents (note the ‘if any’). Only a few days later, we learn the real reason behind Google and the MPEG-LA striking a deal, thanks to The H Open, making it clear that the MPEG-LA has lost. Big time.
Why is this surprising? Well, because this means that VP8 is a hell of lot safer and more free from possible legal repercussions than H.264 itself. What many H.264 proponents do not understand, either wilfully or out of sheer ignorance, is that those H.264 licenses embedded in Windows, OS X, iOS, your ‘professional’ camera, and so on, do not cover commercial use. If you shoot a video with your camera in H.264, upload it to YouTube, and get some income from advertisements, you’re in violation of the H.264 license (and the MPEG-LA made it clear they had no qualms about going after individual users). The extension the MPEG-LA announced (under pressure from VP8 and WebM) changed nothing about that serious legal limitation.
This makes it clear that Google won big time with this agreement, since the restriction on commercial use does not seem to apply to VP8; there’s no mention of it in the press release, and the proposal mentioned above affirms it, so it’s pretty safe to assume that VP8 is now far safer and better protected than H.264.
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Zero TV” Households Now At 5 Million, Says Nielsen, Up From 3 Million In 2007, But Still Just 5% Of Market
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/11/zero-tv-households-now-at-5-million-says-nielsen-up-from-3-million-in-2007-but-still-just-5-of-market/
Nielsen today released new data that examines trends in the “Zero TV household” – a definition which refers to those who no longer watch traditional television offered by cable or satellite providers, but who tend to stream video online, via computers, smartphones or tablets. According to the firm’s findings, there are now more than 5 million cord cutters in the U.S. this year, up from 3 million in 2007.
That’s still a very small slice of the market, Nielsen acknowledges. Today, 95 percent of U.S. viewers still watch so-called “traditional TV” in their living rooms. And even among the cord-cutting group, the TV itself isn’t obsolete. It’s a platform used for console gaming, watching DVDs and surfing the Internet. More than 75 percent of the cord-cutting group still has at least one TV set, Nielsen found.
While the “Zero TV” household could also refer to those who simply don’t watch video content at all, most (67 percent) still do watch video content. Thirty-seven percent do so on a computer, 16 percent via the Internet, 8 percent on smartphones and 6 percent on tablets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix Launches Speed Index To Highlight The Best ISPs For Streaming
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/11/netflix-launches-speed-index-to-highlight-the-best-isps-for-streaming/
For the last few months now, Netflix regularly published a list of the fastest ISPs for streaming video. Today, the company launched a dedicated site for this data, the Netflix ISP Speed Index. The Speed Index includes data from many of the countries the service is currently available in
The data on the site, Netflix says, is based on data from more than 33 million Netflix members ” who view over 1 billion hours of TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix per month.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Angry Birds’ cartoon series to be distributed through Rovio games, every screen imaginable
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/11/4089102/angry-birds-toons-distributed-through-rovio-games-video-on-demand
When Angry Birds Toons debuts on March 17th, fans of the popular gaming franchise won’t need to go out of their way to watch the new cartoon series: Rovio plans to distribute the show through its existing lineup of smartphone and tablet apps. That obviously includes all Angry Birds titles already for sale; each will receive a new video channel during a wave of forthcoming software updates. Relying on the already-established Angry Birds user base is a smart strategy for Rovio; the games have amassed over 1.7 billion downloads thus far. That immediately grants Toons a “far wider and more engaged global audience than traditional distribution would allow,” according to company CEO Mikael Hed.
Rovio isn’t leaving other options off the table, however. The weekly episodes of Angry Birds Toons — 52 are planned in total — can also been seen through a dedicated channel on Samsung Smart TVs and Comcast’s Xfinity on Demand platform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can TV Buyers Adapt to a Digital Model?
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/can-tv-buyers-adapt-digital-model-147810
Beyond just getting a seat at the table, digital buyers are suddenly finding themselves at its head—and the love of data, optimization and acronyms they’re bringing with them could seriously shake up traditional media buying where a steak and a handshake still rule.
Indeed, a growing number of agency media executives who grew up in digital are finding themselves overseeing the buying and planning of all media.
These execs aren’t looking to force all of TV and magazine buying onto real-time exchanges tomorrow. But it’s clear they’re modifying their old-school colleagues’ ways of working and thinking—albeit nice and slowly.
“Traditional media really over-indexes on preplanning,” said Cohen. “Most of the work in digital media is done after a plan starts. So we’re trying to bring some of that thinking to TV, for example, along with concepts like machine-to-machine buying. One thing you notice is that it’s a somewhat foreign concept [in TV] to buy audience over content.”
It won’t be easy to get TV or print to operate like the Web. Those businesses don’t necessarily have the infrastructure, or in TV’s case, the desire, to change very quickly. “Those who succeed will need really strong alliances with legacy media,” said Dave Morgan, an online ad veteran who now works in TV as CEO of Simulmedia. “And they can’t make their Web devotion religious. They have to remember how big TV is. If McDonald’s stops advertising on the Web, no one will notice. If they stop on TV, people lose jobs.”
Also, Web execs are learning a thing or two from their traditional counterparts. “There’s an inefficiency inherent on the Web that isn’t there in TV,”
People in TV actually trust each other, which is better than fighting over contracts.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
“More often than not, TV plays a crucial role in establishing the story quickly, followed by the behavior of search, share and discussion online across mobile, tablet and PC,” said Steve Baer, partner, creative strategy, Code and Theory, Brooklyn.
Source: http://www.digiday.com/partners/facebooks-redesign-should-make-brands-feel-good/
live xbox says:
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes that produce the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Um, That’s What My Kid Watches, Not Me – With User Profiles Still In Testing, Netflix’s Social Sharing Feature Makes No Sense
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/13/go-diego-g/
Great news. You’ll now know the viewing preferences of your friends’ kids on Netflix, thanks to the service’s foray into social sharing via opt-in Facebook integration, announced earlier this morning.
It’s easy to see why Netflix was eager to make its social debut. It has lobbied for over a year for permission to share user activity on its site, as well as to Facebook where so many other companies already share today. You can’t visit a friend’s Facebook profile without news of what songs they’ve been streaming on Spotify, what YouTube videos they like, or what photos or videos they’ve captured, liked, or re-shared using a wide variety of mobile apps. It only seems fitting that Netflix should be able to get in on that action.
The problem, however, was that outdated legislation from the 1980s prevented Netflix from participating on the social web until now.
And Netflix jumped at the chance to go social, seemingly without thinking about the user experience in full.
Unlike Facebook accounts, which are tied to one individual, Netflix accounts are often tied to multiple people – a couple who lives together, a family with children, even roommates.
But for a company that once paid out a million dollars to developers who could improve its algorithm by 10 percent or more, Netflix lives and dies by its power to keep users interested in paying for continued access to its content. Every time you finish one title, it should be able to tempt you with another you would want to see. So at its core, social integration in the Netflix platform makes sense, because very often the people we trust for movie and TV recommendations are our friends.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bringing Touch Video Editing to the Web with Vyclone and Internet Explorer
http://blogs.windows.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2013/03/13/bringing-touch-video-editing-to-the-web-with-vyclone-and-internet-explorer.aspx
What makes this new web experience unique is the collaborative approach Vyclone has taken to crowd sourcing video. The process is simple—once video is recorded from an individual’s phone, it can be shared to the cloud, where it’s available to everyone else who was at that event. (Users can also make video footage private as well.) Here’s where it gets really fun—once the video is uploaded, users can remix their content, using all of the footage uploaded by other users at the concert. With endless possibilities for storytelling and complete artistic control, users mash up scenes to create their ultimate, uniquely personal social video to share as they see fit.
This type of experience wasn’t always possible online, and Vyclone is a great example of how far the web has come. Now, through modern browsers like IE10, the web has incredible business opportunity due to the breadth of users, coupled with an app-like experience that customers have come to expect.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dolby and Rohde & Schwarz team for audio
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/catching-waves/4409587/Dolby-and-Rohde—Schwarz-team-for-audio
Earlier this month, Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) announced that it is collaborating with Dolby Laboratories Inc. to provide audio test technology to Dolby and its licensees.
To start with, R&S has enhanced its UPP and UPV audio analyzer platforms (see Figure 1 and 2) with firmware that will allow Dolby licensees to perform compliance self-testing.
For the past ten years, Audio Precision was the exclusive provider of Dolby compliance test hardware. So, to get involved, Rohde & Schwarz had to get in the door. Then, they had to overcome the technical challenge of translating the texts of large compliance documents into software code to automate testing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Elusive Apple iTV ‘Delayed’ Once Again
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416513,00.asp
The elusive Apple iTV will remain unseen until next year, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek.
In a note to investors, Misek said today that the iTV’s expected fall launch has been pushed to “some time” in 2014, citing LG and Sharp as the delaying factor.
“We had thought that Apple’s software and ecosystem would be enough to drive demand but our checks indicate that Apple wants the hardware to also stand out,” Misek said. “We believe Apple wants a display that looks like 4K/Ultra HD but without the super-premium cost.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Web Video: Bigger and Less Profitable
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887324034804578346540295942824-lMyQjAxMTAzMDEwNTExNDUyWj.html
People in the media business say that the future is online video. Just how many companies will be able to profit is the big question.
Online video-advertising rates continue to fall. Prices for ads on top-tier sites last year were down by 10% to 15% from 2011
That reflects two developments: the number of companies offering online video continues to rise. All kinds of traditional media companies, including those with roots in newspapers, magazines or broadcast television, want a piece of the fast-growing online video advertising market.
Consequently, the amount of online space available for ads—the inventory—is exploding.
Spending on online-video advertising is expected to top $4.1 billion this year, according to eMarketer, up 41% from 2012.
Competition is fierce for a share of that: more than 217 different companies, including video ad networks and publishers, sold at least one million video ads in 2012, according to comScore.
In comparison, about 21 media companies shared ad spending of $54 billion on national TV ads last year,
There is “not enough to feed everybody,”
Some analysts say it will be tough for the big dollars to shift because TV still offers the most reach. Moreover, the big “brands that advertise on TV” want professionally created content and “that isn’t shifting,” said David Hallerman, principal analyst at eMarketer.
“Advertisers are still not entirely enamored by all content choices or audience reach” that are widely available on the Web, he added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video Inpainting Software Deletes People From HD Video Footage
http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/03/15/0223234/video-inpainting-software-deletes-people-from-hd-video-footage
“researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (MPII) have developed video inpainting software that can effectively delete people or objects from high-definition footage.”
Video inpainting software deletes people from HD video footage
http://www.gizmag.com/video-inpainting-software-hd/26632/
The software analyzes each video frame and calculates what pixels should replace a moving area that has been marked for removal. In a world first, the software can compensate for multiple people overlapped by the unwanted element, even if they are walking towards (or away from) the camera.
Due to the way shift maps work, the software is only effective when applied to scenes with a static background
Removing and replacing unwanted elements from a filmed sequence is a common job for effects artists working on Hollywood blockbusters. It could help artists replace actors with computer-generated creatures
As more and more films use the techniques pioneered by Andy Serkis as Gollum – who recently formed his own studio to promote the art of Performance Capture – effects artists will have to do more and more inpainting, so there’s certainly a market for this kind of software.
See the incredible video demonstration
How Not to Be Seen – Object Removal from Videos of Crowded Scenes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j3uCV0JYMJ4
Background Inpainting for Videos with Dynamic Objects and a Free-moving Camera
http://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/~granados/projects/vidbginp/index.html
We propose a method for removing marked dynamic objects from videos captured with a free-moving camera, so long as the objects occlude parts of the scene with a static background. Our approach takes as input a video, a mask marking the object to be removed, and a mask marking the dynamic objects to remain in the scene. To inpaint a frame, we align other candidate frames in which parts of the missing region are visible. Among these candidates, a single source is chosen to fill each pixel so that the final arrangement is color-consistent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
These cameras know what to keep in focus
But you still have to learn how to use them for best results
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Optoelectronics/Image_Sensors_and_Optical_Detectors/These_cameras_know_what_to_keep_in_focus.aspx
Today’s professional/prosumer cameras finally provide the quality of 35-mm film cameras, but it has taken 15 or more years to get to that level of parity. Let’s take a quick look back and see just how far we have come with digital cameras in this very short time.
Now, we can take excellent pictures in low light, with action, and even take HD movies with quality sound. For example, the Nikon D4 or the Canon 1Dx are currently the top-of-the-line cameras that provide some amazing functions, and great results — if you know how to use the camera’s capabilities.
These cameras target sports and action photography and use 24 x 36-mm CMOS sensors to provide excellent light-gathering capability.
Both the Nikon D4 and the Canon EOS-1D X are amazing cameras that will meet your optic/camera needs, no matter what your requirements.
For the photo/video journalist type, both cameras offer an audio note taking function as you click away. And, for those times when you are taking pictures in very low light and you need to change functions, you will find the backlit buttons on the D4 most helpful.
Tomi says:
How holograms could help firefighters better locate victims amid fire, smoke
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Videos/How_holograms_could_help_firefighters_better_locate_victims_amid_fire_smoke_1.aspx
A group of Italian researchers looking to improve upon this technology have proposed a new imaging technique that uses infrared digital holography instead.
One of the greatest challenges a firefighter faces is being able to see through fire and smoke in order to get to people in need of rescue. At present, firefighters can see through smoke using IR camera technology. The problem with this particular technology, however, is that it can be blinded by the intense infrared radiation emitted by flames
“Perhaps most importantly, we demonstrated for the first time that a holographic recording of a live person can be achieved even while the body is moving.”
Check the video on the article
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon only wants to pay for the TV channels its viewers are watching
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/17/4117618/verizon-only-wants-to-pay-for-the-tv-channels-its-viewers-are-watching
Verizon wants to carry more channels on its FiOS TV service, but it only wants to pay for what customers are actually watching. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is proposing to pay the individual channels by how many “unique views” of five minutes or more they rack up each month, rather than the customary monthly per-subscriber fees that providers currently pay. Furthermore, Verizon wants to use its own set-top box data rather than Nielsen ratings to calculate the views.
Verizon sees the benefit of paying for TV à la carte — now we just have to wait for it to let viewers do the same thing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4k × 2k LCD TV panel shipments expected to reach 2.6 M in 2013
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Optoelectronics/Displays/4k_2k_LCD_TV_panel_shipments_expected_to_reach_2_6_M_in_2013.aspx
Santa Clara, CA March 14, 2013—According to the latest NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report , TFT LCD panel suppliers are forecast to ship 2.6 million 4K×2K LCD TV panels (also known as Ultra HD) worldwide in 2013, up more than 40-fold from 63 thousand in 2012.
“4K×2K LCD TV is the newest TV technology available, and in order for it to be successful, it will be critical for the supply chain to avoid falling behind when making their purchases, even if content is still scarce. Some panel makers are also working with design houses to develop circuits built into the panel, to enable up-scaling of HD to 4K×2K content. This will help to drive the 4K×2K LCD TV market and encourage panel makers, especially those that have already started design-in work with TV brands in 2013.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
4K video may wow vidiots, but content creators see pitfalls
Skyrockets studio storage costs, strangles editing bandwidth
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/19/4k_video_challenges/
Don’t expect ultra-high-resolution 4K video to be broadcast onto your living room wall anytime soon. According to the people responsible to building the equipment that can capture, edit, and encode 4K, there are a number of hurdles to overcome – not the least being storage requirements on the production side.
Sure, 4K displays were one of the stars of this January’s Consumer Electronics Show, but that gadget orgy – as its name implies – is decidedly on the consumption side.
The film industry, he said, which has begun working with digital video cameras shooting in RAW formats – essentially pure, unmediated data pulled directly from the camera’s image sensors – has discovered that storage requirements for working in 4K are gargantuan, and therefore expensive.
And then there’s the other advantage of 4K video to a content creator: the fact that if you’re going to downsample the image to HD anyway, you have a larger image canvas to work with. You can, for example, pan and zoom within the 4K image and still have plenty of resolution left over for full 1080p video.
However, all those extra pixels combined with a wide, 32-bit color gamut not only fill up storage systems more quickly than does HD video, but there are I/O problems to conquer as well as content creators push 4K frames through suddenly inadequate pipes in their video-editing systems – and lets not even get started on high-framerate video, such as the industry’s new 48fps and 60fps darlings.
“It’s certainly an interesting topic on the mismatch between the acquisition side and the display side, and keeping an appropriate balance through that.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ABC said to be developing live TV streaming mobile app
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57575031-93/abc-said-to-be-developing-live-tv-streaming-mobile-app/
The U.S. broadcaster could be the first television network to bring live streaming 24/7 to subscribers’ tablets and smartphones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel taps Hillcrest Labs’ motion control for set-top box platform
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57575034-93/intel-taps-hillcrest-labs-motion-control-for-set-top-box-platform/
New Web-based set-top box will be based on the dual-core Atom processor and run Hillcrest’s motion control software.
Intel has unveiled a new reference design kit for a Web-based TV set-top box that will be based on Atom processor and tap Hillcrest Labs’ motion control technology.
“Operators are seeking better and innovative ways to help consumers find and navigate shows and applications,”
Intel confirmed long-standing rumors last month when it said would introduce an Internet-based TV service and box this year.
Intel’s kit is intended to allow equipment manufacturers to make set-top boxes and media servers based on the dual-core Atom CE5300.
Founded in 2001, Hillcrest makes and licenses interactive media systems to consumer electronics companies. The Maryland-based company has already licensed the Freespace software to companies such as LG Electronics, Logitech, Roku, and Sony’s video game division.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The New rules of the Hyper-Social, Data-Driven, Actor-Friendly, Super-Seductive Platinum Age of Television
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/nielsen-family-is-dead/
From Game of Thrones to the new Arrested Development, television is better than ever. And it’s not just a lucky accident. Turns out that networks and advertisers are using all-new metrics to design hit shows. Under these new rules, Twitter feeds are as important as ratings, fresh ideas beat tired formulas, and niche stars can be as valuable as big names.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audio processor IC slashes system cost for TV soundbar apps
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4410059/Audio-processor-IC-slashes-system-cost-for-TV-soundbar-apps
Ismosys partner ESS Technology has released a new generation of TV SoundBar SoCs for home-cinema digital sound and TV SoundBar applications.
Called the Crescendo II, the SoundBar SoC is the first available device to combine ESS’s Sabre audio 32-bit audio D/A converter solution with high-performance SoundBar decoding, audio post-processing and audio input/output functions in a monolithic 128-pin LQFP package.
The SoC also integrates hardware parametric speaker equalisation, a 5.1ch Hyperstream PWM or D/A converters to deliver the best sound via digital or analog power amplifiers, a 2-input SPDIF receiver, a 3-input audio ADC for connection to line-in sources, an 8-channel I2S input for connection to HDMI repeater or Blu-ray processor.
Tomi says:
4k × 2k LCD TV panel shipments expected to reach 2.6 M in 2013
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Optoelectronics/Displays/4k_2k_LCD_TV_panel_shipments_expected_to_reach_2_6_M_in_2013.aspx
Santa Clara, CA March 14, 2013—According to the latest NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Large Area TFT Panel Shipment Report , TFT LCD panel suppliers are forecast to ship 2.6 million 4K×2K LCD TV panels (also known as Ultra HD) worldwide in 2013, up more than 40-fold from 63 thousand in 2012.
Hsieh added, “4K×2K LCD TV is the newest TV technology available, and in order for it to be successful, it will be critical for the supply chain to avoid falling behind when making their purchases, even if content is still scarce. Some panel makers are also working with design houses to develop circuits built into the panel, to enable up-scaling of HD to 4K×2K content. This will help to drive the 4K×2K LCD TV market and encourage panel makers, especially those that have already started design-in work with TV brands in 2013.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Study Confirms Correlation Between Twitter and TV Ratings
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2013/new-study-confirms-correlation-between-twitter-and-tv-ratings.html
U.S. TV viewers are taking to Twitter to talk about TV, and the digital chatter is building steam. According to SocialGuide, 32 million unique people in the U.S. Tweeted about TV in 2012. That’s quite the confab, but what does it all really mean for the TV industry? Should networks and advertisers be paying attention? Early research on the subject from Nielsen and SocialGuide says yes.
By analyzing Tweets about live TV, the study confirmed a relationship between Twitter and TV ratings. It also identified Twitter as one of three statistically significant variables (in addition to prior-year rating and advertising spend) to align with TV ratings.
“The TV industry is dynamic and it was important for us to analyze multiple variables to truly understand Twitter’s impact on TV ratings,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D TV, Without the Glasses
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/03/3d-tv-without-the-glasses.html
If you’ve pondered whether to sink a cool couple of grand into a fancy new three-dimensional TV but didn’t want to mess around with those dorky glasses, you may want to sit tight for a few more years. Researchers at Hewlett Packard (HP) Laboratories in Palo Alto, California, report that they’ve come up with a new 3D technology that not only doesn’t require viewers to wear special glasses, but it also can be viewed from a wide variety of angles. The advance could propel the development of mobile 3D devices as well as TVs.
To display 3D images without special glasses, engineers must control how light is directed from each pixel of the display so that different light patterns reach the viewer’s eyes. (The strategy for more modern 3D glasses is largely the same.)
Today, the gold standard in providing that control is holography, which can project specified colors in any direction. But holography is expensive and practical only for displaying still images rather than full-motion video.
In recent years, researchers have come up with several alternatives. One family of techniques, known as autostereoscopic multiview 3D displays, projects multiple different images on a single screen. But such approaches have tended to reduce resolution or permit the ideal 3D images to be seen in only a few spots
To get around these limitations, the HP Labs team, led by physicist David Fattal, used standard computer chip manufacturing techniques to create an array of optical elements called diffraction gratings that precisely control the direction in which light emerges from each pixel in the display. The researchers then used other standard optical devices called waveguides to steer light toward the diffraction grating in each pixel, as well as liquid crystals to modulate which colors of light are sent out from each spot. The result was a high-resolution video display that allowed viewers to see full 3D images from 14 different viewing zones,
The HP team believes that it should be able to increase the number of viewing zones to 64, enough to convince our eyes that they are seeing a seamless 3D image even if we walk around the room.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Defend the Open Web: Keep DRM Out of W3C Standards
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/03/defend-open-web-keep-drm-out-w3c-standards
There’s a new front in the battle against digital rights management (DRM) technologies. These technologies, which supposedly exist to enforce copyright, have never done anything to get creative people paid. Instead, by design or by accident, their real effect is to interfere with innovation, fair use, competition, interoperability, and our right to own things.
That’s why we were appalled to learn that there is a proposal currently before the World Wide Web Consortium’s HTML5 Working Group to build DRM into the next generation of core Web standards. The proposal is called Encrypted Media Extensions, or EME. Its adoption would be a calamitous development, and must be stopped.
All too often, technology companies have raced against each other to build restrictive tangleware that suits Hollywood’s whims, selling out their users in the process. But open Web standads are an antidote to that dynamic, and it would be a terrible mistake for the Web community to leave the door open for Hollywood’s gangrenous anti-technology culture to infect W3C standards. It would undermine the very purposes for which HTML5 exists: to build an open-ecosystem alternatives to all the functionality that is missing in previous web standards, without the problems of device limitations, platform incompatibility, and non-transparency that were created by platforms like Flash. HTML5 was supposed to be better than Flash, and excluding DRM is exactly what would make it better.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Toshiba launches Ultra HD 4K TV line with Cloud TV updates
Claims to be the first to bring Ultra HD TVs to consumers
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2256323/toshiba-launches-ultra-hd-4k-tv-line-with-cloud-tv-updates
Toshiba’s 9 Series televisions upscale picture quality four times that of standard full HD resolution via Toshiba’s Cevo 4K multi-processor engine. The firm claims its the first electronics brand to offer 4K televisions to consumers.
The Toshiba 9 Series is also able to convert 2D images to 3D in real-time. Users can control the 3D effect level via a “Depth Control”
Toshiba’s Cloud TV service that has be updated to include new content providers such as Netflix and Vimeo, which will now join on-demand service BBC iPlayer and Youtube.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HBO CEO mulls teaming with broadband partners for HBO GO
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/hbo-streaming-idUSL1N0CD7WP20130321
HBO could widen access to its HBO GO online streaming service by teaming up with broadband Internet providers for customers who do not subscribe to a cable TV service
Internet-only rivals such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc are trying to disrupt this approach by delivering original programming directly over the Internet.
This is a challenge to HBO, however it would be a risky step for the company to by-pass its traditional distribution partners, which provide HBO with lucrative subscription fees.
monthly bills of $100 or more typically.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Movie, TV ads annoying? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet
‘Don’t want to watch ads? Then we’ll slip ‘em into the show, just for you!’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/23/digital_advertising_futures/
GTC 2013 Digital-content producers, distributors, broadcasters, and advertising firms are developing new strategies about how to monetize movies and TV shows in a world in which consumers want their content for free, skip past ads on their DVRs, and despite high-profile efforts to stop them, still find piracy an attractive option.
“There’s a real tension out there today – almost a crisis, not quite – between the big content producers, and I mean broadcasters and Hollywood, about how they continue to fund these multi-billion-dollar global content initiatives at the same time as satisfying the needs of people who aren’t prepared to really pay for them,”
“The whole industry has rallied to find ways in which to make advertising more compelling and deliver more value to the audience,” Popkiewicz said, “because at the end of the day we will tolerate advertising when it gives us something back. When it doesn’t, it’s called spam – it gets in the way and it’s intrusive.”
A few years back, Popkiewicz spotted what he identified as “a very fast-growing environment for branded entertainment” – that is, video or film content in which brands themselves play a role in storytelling, either in a supporting role or as background.
“Targeting the right thing to the right person in the right way at the right time, whether it be the content or the ad that goes with it, is still quite a big challenge.”
But trust us, that day will arrive.
“I think we’re on the brink of a massive change in the industry,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia deflates Google’s video codec thought bubble
VP8 proposals face fight from the Finnish
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/25/nokia_not_a_google_fan/
Nokia has published an IETF patent declaration that could spell trouble for Google’s hopes to pitch VP8 as a new standard codec.
Google has put forward VP8 as part of the WebM project, and has put forward various IETF documents, such as RFC 6386, this draft (data formatting and decoding) and this (RTP payloads).
Earlier in March, it announced a licensing agreement via MPEG LA that gave Google the right to use and sublicense VP8 to other companies.
Nokia, however, has other ideas. It’s filed an intellectual property statement covering RFC 6386 listing 64 patents and 22 pending applications which, according to the Finnish company, are relevant to VP8.
Earlier in March, it announced a licensing agreement via MPEG LA that gave Google the right to use and sublicense VP8 to other companies.
Nokia, however, has other ideas. It’s filed an intellectual property statement covering RFC 6386 listing 64 patents and 22 pending applications which, according to the Finnish company, are relevant to VP8.
Google’s offering is (says Nokia) no better than the existing H.264.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s more ‘practical,’ a Ferrari or a high-end hi-fi?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57575804-47/whats-more-practical-a-ferrari-or-a-high-end-hi-fi/
Exotic cars are showcases of brute-force technology, but have minimal value as cars; high-end audio systems are considerably more useful, says the Audiophiliac.
Extreme hi-fis may be crazy expensive, but one thing’s for sure, the people who buy them actually enjoy them on a regular basis.
As I recall from my days as a salesman, the rugs on my customers’ living room floors were usually more expensive than their $30,000 speakers, and the paintings on the walls of their homes were considerably more valuable than their electronics. The gear was in line with their lifestyle, and the same could be said about my customers with far more modest high-end systems, they enjoyed having great sound. Some of those customers had wristwatches that cost more than their hi-fis. Well-to-do business people, movie stars, and sports heroes can buy the best of the best stuff.