The future of cameras seem to be heading to is smaller, more portable, more disposable and mirrorless (DSLRs have a mirror). When Nokia’s Executive Vice President Anssi Vanjoki told 2010 that Cell Phone Cameras Will Replace DSLRs, I could not believe that on time. But it really seems to become more and more to truth in 2014: Nowadays you can take professional level (“good enough photos”) using consumer level cameras and smart phones. Technical quality is good enough for majority. There is going on a rampant replacement of point and shoot cameras of all flavors and varieties with smart phones and their built in cameras. Now the market is being effectively gutted. Gone. Non-existent. Same thing is happening to video as well.
Part of the technical race came to a (maybe temporary) end: “How can I match and exceed the quality of conventional metrics that we used to get from medium format film.” There’s nothing else pressing to solve, technically. Many photographers are fully equipped but uninspired to move forward. We have have set down for “good enough.” The engineering idea is that we’ve hit the sweet spot and to go for a Six Sigma improvement would be costly and unnecessary.
DSLR sales were down in 2013, worldwide, by 18.5% according to CIPA. The total decline in the entire dedicated camera market is closer to 43.5%. The decline will continue. Credit Suisse prediction: “Only those who have a strong brand and are competitive on price will last – and only Canon, Nikon and Sony fullfil that criteria”. Mirrorless cameras are not a big market: According to CIPA is the total sales of mirrorless system cameras in N. America was slightly fewer than 39,000 units. Total.
The challenge will be: How do you bridge that gap between high photo-capture quality and high-quality camera devices and the cloud where every amateur photographer’s images live? The company which has the most innovative post-processing, easy to share photos feature set wins! The future of photography is same as future in pretty much everything: software and connectivity. Camera manufacturers have been slow on those: we are just now seeing cameras with full operating systems like Android The advantages to smart phones are size, constant (annoyingly constant) access, multi-task tool set, and the ability to send your images, electronically, to an audience just about anywhere in the world.
Several smartphone makers have clear strategies to take photography to extremes: 40 megapixel camera is already on the market and several manufacturers are playing with re-focus after shooting options.
Consumer video device trend is that separate classic video cameras have pretty much faded from market. New smart phones have high definition video cameras in them, so for most users there is no need for separate video camera. For special uses there are small “action” video cameras that are so tiny that you can place them almost anywhere and they can take some beating while you perform your extreme sports. If the video quality of those do not suffice, many people use their DSLR to shoot higher quality high definition video. For professional video production there is still some market left for professional and prosumer video cameras.
The world seems to be heading to situation where separate DSLRs and separate video cameras will be more like high fidelity audio, which used to be common selling point in 1970s, 80s and early 90s, but now only some geeks care about audio quality. This will more or less happen to photographs and video.
Connected TV technologies get more widely used and the content earlier viewable only on TV can be now seen on many other screens. Your smartphone is the screen in your pocket. Your computer is the screen on your desk. Your tablet is a screen for the couch. This development is far from ready. Gartner suggests that now through 2018, a variety of devices, user contexts, and interaction paradigms will make “everything everywhere” strategies unachievable.
Video streaming has really become mainstream as Netflix And YouTube Account For Over 50% Of Peak Fixed Network Data In North America. Because of the rise in video services like Netflix and YouTube, peer-to-peer file-sharing has dropped (meaning less piracy of movies and TV series). Netflix remains the biggest pig in the broadband python, representing 31.6% of all downstream Internet traffic in North America during primetime hours in September — well ahead of any other streaming service. In other parts of the world, YouTube is the biggest consumer of bandwidth. In Europe, YouTube represented of 28.7% of downstream traffic.
Post HDTV resolution era seems to be coming to TVs as well in form of 4K / UltraHD. It was introduced in the 2013, and the manufacturers start to push it more in 204 because all LCD makers are looking to move their business models on from cheap mass production to higher-margin, premium offerings. They try to innovate and secure their future viability by selling fewer, but more profitable displays. On this road giant curved TVs is gaining ground: LG announces that it will present the “world’s first ” 105-inch curved ultra-hd-TV in January in Las Vegas at CES. Almost at the same time , however, Samsung also announced the proposal at CES “the world’s first and curved” 105-inch ultra HD television.. TV screens are in fact higher resolution the basic 4k level of ultra hd: Samsung and LG screens resolution is 5120 × 2160 pixels in the image (11 megapixels).
4K resolution ecosystem will get more ready for use. Netflix is testing out 4K video streaming and Netflix’s House of Cards was shot in 4K. Amazon Studios also just recently announced that it will shoot all of its 2014 shows in that format as well.
4K and 4K streaming are definitely coming in 2014 regardless of how many people can actually view it. 4K will still require a lot of work “with the compression and decode capability” to be ready for mainstream use. There are a great many things that need to happen before 4K really becomes a reality or needs to do so.
PC hardware with 4G capable graphics cards is already available, so decoding the stream is not a problem. The biggest issue is that the market penetration of 4K-capable televisions needs to grow, but to that happen the prices must drop to ranges for the average consumer. Many users have already fast enough fixed broadband connection, but can the networks handle peak usage 4K streaming? According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, it won’t require more than a stable 15 Mbps to stream 4K.
Extreme overkill resolution will also push to tablet and smart phone markets. There are already smart phones with full HD resolution. In high-end smartphones we may be moving into the overkill zone with extreme resolution that is higher than you can see on small screen: some makers have already demonstrated displays with twice the performance of 1080-progressive. Samsung is planned to release devices with 4k or UHD resolutions. As we have seen in many high tech gadget markets earlier it is a very short journey to copycat behavior. And we will see also see smart phones that can shoot 4K video.
For a long time music has been listened mainly with small portable MP3 player and such, which for most users provide “good enough” audio quality. The market had already shifted from separate MP3 players to the same functionality included to other devices (smart phones and tablets), so sales of music players sales have plummeted in year 2013 as much as as one-third. Separate music players mostly only used for listening music during fitness hobby, and growing popularity of fitness hobby is full of players saved the market from total collapse. Uncompressed music player to appreciate the need of a decent storage capacity, so some hifi people buy some high-end separate players, but that’s a small market.
Apple’s iPod continues to lead an ever-shrinking market of portable media players with a staggering 72 percent of the market for standalone music players. Apple has never been afraid of reducing demand for one of its devices by creating demand for another, in this case iPhone. The future of separate music players looks bleak.
Smartphones have taken the music player market. The growing popularity of smart phones and music streaming services will rise in the future to eat even music players sales. If smart watch will become a hit, the music player may be lost in exercisers shopping list.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Viewing Pirated Streams is Not Illegal, German Govt Says
http://torrentfreak.com/viewing-pirated-streams-is-not-illegal-german-govt-says-140109/
The controversial RedTube case in Germany has provoked an interesting response from the Ministry of Justice. Although it says the question will ultimately be answered by the European Court, the Ministry says that it believes the mere viewing of copyright infringing streams is not illegal under current law.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why Tomorrow’s Cable Might Not Include TV
http://www.forbes.com/sites/netapp/2013/08/15/future-media-cable-tv/
Could the pay-TV industry survive without television? One top cable executive seems to think so.
Last week, Cablevision president and CEO James Dolan made headlines when he said “there could come a day” when his company stops offering television service, and instead makes Internet access its primary product.
But could cable television really become a thing of the past? Well if landlines, VHS tapes, and MiniDiscs have taught us anything, it’s that nothing last forever. There’s always some new technology sprouting up that cannibalizes a much larger industry; and for the cable industry, streaming services are growing quickly.
Well according to the Convergence Consulting Group, nearly 5 million U.S. viewers now rely solely on such streaming services.
Now that number might seem small, especially since according to Nielsen, more than 90% of American households pay for television, but it’s growing at an alarming rate for cable providers. The number of American households that previously paid for TV but have cut the cord is up 20% from last year.
This growth rate could increase even more, especially if television accessories like Google’s Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, or various manufacturers’ smart TVs continue to develop a following with the streaming audience, which seems more than likely.
Streaming services aren’t all bad for the cable industry. At least, it’s something of a double-edged sword
The International Dimension
Readers outside North America may be scratching their heads at this point.
Many countries’ citizens mainly experience “free” TV, delivered digitally over the air, rather than via cable or satellite.
Content Isn’t Everything
But TV watchers don’t just care about which content they view. They also care about when they view it.
The mass-culture appeal of “live” TV is undeniable. Witness the emerging two-screen phenomenon, where viewers interact with broadcasters and other viewers in real time, using Twitter or Facebook on mobile devices.
The switch to streaming seems unstoppable. Most technologies get superseded, and cable TV may have had its day.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PlayStation Now will require a DualShock controller for TVs, tablets, and phones
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/9/5289988/playstation-now-will-require-a-dualshock-controller-for-tvs-tablets
PlayStation Now could be the future of gaming, but you’re going to need a proprietary controller to play. Though Sony has announced that the streaming game service will come to tablets and smartphones — perhaps even non-Sony devices — the company doesn’t plan to let you use a touchscreen. To play PS3 games, PlayStation marketing VP John Koller tells us, you need to have the gamepad they were originally designed for. “You need to have the DualShock to be able to play,” says Koller.
Sony tells us a DualShock 4 will do for the PlayStation 4, and the PlayStation Vita handheld buttons can continue to work the same way they do now. Sony’s new Bravia TVs will specifically require a DualShock 3 controller, though — and so will tablets and smartphones, according to the executive.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4K Is For Programmers
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/01/10/1441210/4k-is-for-programmers
“The 4K television revolution is upon us, and nobody is impressed. Most users seem content to wait until there’s actually something to watch on these ultra-high-res displays, and also for the price to come down. However, Brian Hauer has written an article promoting a non-standard use for these displays. His office just got a 39″, 3840×2160 display for each of their programmers’ workstations”
Tomi Engdahl says:
4K is for programmers
http://tiamat.tsotech.com/4k-is-for-programmers
At our office, we just equipped all of the programmers’ workstations with Seiki 39″ 4K televisions as monitors. At $500 a piece, you should be doing the same. For the time being, there is no single higher-productivity display for a programmer.
Heralded by some as a “breakthrough,” the Seiki monitor—ahem, television—does have its limitations. Most notably, the HDMI 1.4 ports can only support 30Hz at the signature 3840×2160 resolution. Lower-end GPUs are also similarly limited to 30Hz at that resolution. The GPU in a truly old desktop PC will not support 3840×2160 at all, but if you are programming on something so old, you should first contend with that.
The fact that Seiki markets their 4K display as a television only betrays a bit of marketing ignorance. Seiki is missing a golden opportunity to dominate the desktop display market by removing the television tuner, speakers, and remote, and then reallocating that budget to a 60Hz or better input (HDMI 2 and/or DisplayPort), a matte screen surface, and instant-on DPMS support, all the while retaining the market-wrecking price.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Are curved screen UHD TVs a marketing gimmick?
Column Why the TV announcements at CES have ‘curved’ my enthusiasm
SO WHAT’S THE DEAL with curved-screen TVs? That’s a question on many people’s lips after the last week of announcements at CES.
UHD includes both 4K UHDTV, which uses the 2160p signal format with 3840×2160 resolution – four times the pixels of HD 1080p – and 8K UHDTV, which uses the 4320p signal format with 7680×4320 resolution – 16 times the pixels of existing HD 1080p TVs.
The idea of a concave screen is nothing new, however. Many cinema theatres boast screens that are curved due to the way the picture is projected onto them.
But is public going to get as wrapped up in the hype of curved screen TVs as the media has been in reporting on these gigantic curved displays? Or is this yet another gimmick?
The reality is probably the latter, as these bent TVs offer very little in terms of benefits to the viewer.
I won’t deny that the specifications of the TVs themselves do sound rather impressive, especially the UHD technology involved, so it’s understandable that consumers can get carried away with the hype.
Sitting very close to a 100in curved TV screen might give the illusion that it wraps around the viewer, making the experience more immersive, but you’d have to sit at a specific distance from the screen to truly enjoy and take advantage of the curvature. It’s just not realistic for the average TV buyer.
But as with smartphones, this curved TV fad seems to be just yet another attempt by Samsung and LG to “get the better of one another” and be “the first”, irrespective of what it is the firms are trying to achieve.
Bendable OLED has potential in that it is not only more flexible, but it looks consistently better than 4K LED due to its brighter, superior picture quality. It also uses less power, is easier to produce and offers better viewing angles. I think this could be the future in displays, the idea of “flex” as opposed to a fixed curved, but parhaps more in the personal device market, replacing the fixed glass display and making for expandable, foldable screens in compact gadgets, such as tablets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Supreme Court to Hear Aereo Case
http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/supreme-court-to-hear-aereo-case-1201037308/
The Supreme Court will hear broadcasters’ challenge to the legality of startup Aereo, in a case that may determine not only the future of digital streaming of station signals but of network television itself.
Without comment, the justices on Friday agreed to accept ABC Television Stations vs. Aereo, in which the television networks are seeking to halt the Barry Diller-backed venture, contending that its offering of streams of station signals in New York and other markets violates the public performance provisions of the Copyright Act.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This camera stabilizer seems to defy the laws of physics
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/try-to-make-a-10-minute-shot-within-that-thing-your-1493218515/@Fulgurites
Though it may look fake and unreal and impossible and not allowed on Earth, the camera stabilizer in the video is completely real. You can’t make it shake.
The rig seems strikingly similar to the Freefly MōVI, a custom-made gimbal and 3-axis gyroscope rig that digitally stabilizes cameras and costs more than $15,000. Worth it for this much fun.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix reveals: You can now see the 4k our broadcast in Finland
Netflix confirms for MB that it is going to start 4k broadcasts in Finland at the same time as the larger market of the summer.
Las Vegas at the CES Electronics Show had a Netflix spokesman Joris Evers says that the Finns to the accuracy of the new access to exactly the same time the major markets.
In addition, Netflix is not going to charge a premium price for the service.
Evers, the early stages of the content would be viewable only to the sale of any new 4k TVs, such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Netflix app.
This will limit the service only a portion of the viewers. For other devices, such as tablets, 4k on the schedule the company has not yet revealed.
It is uncertain whether ehtivätkö the new Netflix app television sets sold in Finland for the summer yet. It is possible that their sales will start in earnest until the fall.
The reason for the 4k broadcasts are limited to their own applications, it is quite natural. 4k transmission has a new HEVC or h.265-based packaging.
Source: mBnet
http://www.mbnet.fi/artikkeli/ajankohtaiset/ajassa/netflix_paljastaa_nain_naet_4k_lahetyksemme_suomessa
Tomi Engdahl says:
How and when the iMac and Mac Pro can go Retina
http://www.marco.org/2014/01/08/retina-imac-mac-pro-prediction
Three major factors have probably prevented a proper 2×-in-each-dimension “Retina” version of today’s 27″ iMac and standalone Thunderbolt Display, which would need to be 5120×2880 pixels:
Nobody makes general-purpose LCD panels with that resolution today. “4K” panels are 3840×2160,
Almost twice as many pixels require almost twice the bandwidth to drive over a cable. Thunderbolt at 10 Gbit/s wasn’t fast enough to drive 4K, which needs about 16 Gbit/s. Thunderbolt 2 at 20 Gbit/s can drive 4K, but not 5120×2880, which needs 28 Gbit/s.1 The only promising standard on the horizon is DisplayPort 1.3 at 32 Gbit/s, but that spec is being finalized later in 2014, which means we’re probably still years away from anything supporting it
Many GPUs haven’t been powerful enough to drive much at 4K resolution even if they could output it somehow,
I suspect that 5120×2880 on the desktop is still 2–3 years away.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Netflix won CES
It’s not the TVs, it’s what you watch on them
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/10/5291068/how-netflix-won-ces-4k-streaming
The television industry has been holding its breath. Just a few years after TV manufacturers banked on 3D to drive another round of TV purchases, they’ve found themselves having to change direction, using 4K as the latest carrot to entice consumers. But there hasn’t been anything to watch, and on the content side, viewing habits are in a state of wild flux as television viewers detach themselves from decades of convention thanks to DVRs, time shifting, and subscription service binge-watching.
Netflix is now working with a host of TV manufacturers to bring 4K content into the home. The company is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of manufacturers and the consumer market
“One of the interesting pieces is that 4K is not going to have a major lifetime on a plastic disc,” Netflix’s chief product officer, Neil Hunt, tells us. “It’s not going to fit on a Blu-ray disc, and it’s unlikely that people are going to want to upgrade their DVD players.”
It’s a streaming-first view that’s held not just by Netflix, but the industry at large
“A lot of it will come from streaming,” says McRae. “And I think one of the best things that can happen is have streaming be first with content, be first with UHD [Ultra HD], be first with some of the [new] features.”
That plays right into Netflix’s strengths: in addition to having the most popular 4K-capable distribution system in the market, the company also an ace up its sleeve: actual 4K content. The Emmy-winning House of Cards is ready to launch its second season in 4K
Of course, Netflix won’t be able to make 4K a widely adopted standard with just its own original content, and it’s already working on other partnerships. Sony has been pushing 4K throughout its entire chain, from motion-picture cameras to theatrical projectors, and will provide Netflix with 4K masters of Breaking Bad.
It sets the stage for a potentially devastating series of events for Netflix’s competitors. Consumers buy new 4K TVs, and while there may be other services available, Netflix draws users in thanks to its brand awareness and original programming — the same strategy that took HBO to cable dominance. As broadcast networks are slow to catch up, consumers rely on Netflix as the main source of 4K content.
And the competition isn’t even close
Bandwidth, however, remains a big question. 4K streams will require around 15 Mbps for the highest quality, something that’s still relatively rare for many consumers. Hunt believes that in the short term, the customers choosing to jump on the 4K bandwagon will likely have the kinds of robust connections that can mitigate any potential issues, but with Vizio putting such a focus on low-cost 4K, consumers with slower connections may find themselves more frustrated than delighted.
The content problem won’t be solved overnight either
Despite the industry’s focus on 4K, some manufacturers express doubts that the jump in resolution alone will be enough to spur upgrades. “I actually believe that the color and the high dynamic range has a bigger impact than just straight resolution,” says Vizio’s Matt McRae, describing additional enhancements present in Vizio’s high-end televisions. “From a customer impact … the color and the high dynamic range and that contrast that we’ve got is actually more important to making you feel like you’re there.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The flat-out truth on curved TVs
Many companies showed curved TVs at CES. Gimmick or valid innovation?
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/01/whats-the-deal-with-curved-tvs/
More than one high-profile vendor showed off a curved-screen TV during their press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show. But as soon as the show floor opened, it became clear that curved screens weren’t just the provenance of big names like Samsung and LG. Nearly every TV vendor from high to low had a curved screen to parade in its booth.
The reason for a curved screen has somewhat mystified us since last year when we first saw Samsung’s curved 4K TV. Now that these screens are everywhere, it bears sussing out what, exactly, is their purpose.
The first clue that curved screens are a questionable improvement over flat ones is that every manufacturer has a slightly different reason for the style.
TCL writes that a typical flat screen “makes objects at the center seem larger,” but a curved TV “brings the edges closer to you,” creating a “theatrical effect.”
the statement that a flat screen would make centered objects seem larger seems to be at odds with the way video is filmed, the way we see things, and the way we are meant to see things in a film.
If you tried to mimic the effect of chairs surrounding us by curving the picture of chairs in a line, maybe that conveys a different feeling. But it also fundamentally alters the truth of three chairs lined up in a row. The point is, an immersive feeling or feeling of being surrounded may be paramount for, say, a show on the deep ocean in an IMAX theater, but it’s far from suited to every scene or situation.
This type of reality distortion wouldn’t be unprecedented, as filmmakers achieve effects like this by using different lenses.
Per AnandTech, the minimum curvature of a curved theater screen has a radius of 40 feet. That’s a slight curve for a very large (30×70 foot) screen that’s meant for people sitting many feet away. The curve of a Samsung OLED TV has a 13.7-foot radius, much tighter, for a much smaller screen and people sitting much closer.
for people directly in front of a curved screen even six feet away, the field of view widening effect is pretty small.
The curved screens seem most theatrical in the sense that, if your living room is not set up literally like a theater, people who are sitting off to the sides cannot benefit from the curve and will likely get a distorted picture. And at wider angles, the edges are cut off entirely.
Funnily enough, these diagrams show that, for certain setups, there actually is a point to the Samsung TV that can convert from flat to curved. When you are watching by yourself and can pull up a chair a few feet from the screen, go curve. When there are other people around who you don’t want to sit practically in your lap, go flat.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Netflix won CES
It’s not the TVs, it’s what you watch on them
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/10/5291068/how-netflix-won-ces-4k-streaming
Tomi Engdahl says:
BBC joins the Smart TV army, launches Connected Red Button service on Sony and Samsung sets
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2322327/bbc-joins-the-smart-tv-army-launches-connected-red-button-service-on-sony-and-samsung-sets
BBC viewers that press the red button on their remote controls can now access what the broadcaster calls the five core facets of its entertainment services – TV, news, sport, weather and radio – in a completely new way.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sharp introduced last week in Las Vegas at CES a new generation of Quattron screens that reproduce colors more efficiently and more accurately.
Sharp’s Quattron is the name of the technique where LCD screen RGB panel is added one pixel of yellow color. The result is a color scheme that is clearly richer that what you get with traditional RGB. According to Sharp’s Quattron Pro-television show more than a billion shades of color.
Source: Elektroniikkalehti
http://www.elektroniikkalehti.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=830:lisapikseli-parantaa-varitoistoa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast For $5-10M To Radionomy, Takes 12% Stake In Belgian Digital Audio Startup
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/14/aol-sells-winamp-and-shoutcast-for-5-10m-to-radionomy-takes-12-stake-in-belgian-digital-audio-company/
Returning from the brink of death, music services Winamp and Shoutcast are now officially with a new owner: Digital audio business Radionomy has acquired the both media player and radio platform from AOL. We understand from a reliable source that it is a cash and share deal, worth between $5 million and $10 million, with AOL taking a 12% stake of Radionomy in the process.
Recall that AOL paid some $80 million for Nullsoft, owner of Winamp and Shoutcast, in 1999.
Tomi Engdahl says:
US Supreme Court to hear media barons versus TV upstart Aereo tout suite
Justice Alito’s recusal means bad news for broadcasters, good news for streaming biz
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/13/supreme_court_agrees_to_hear_aereo_case_toot_suite/
The US Supreme Court has moved with impressive speed to announce it will hear a case brought against TV streaming biz Aereo by major broadcasters.
The judges’ verdict will either kill off the web upstart or leave the big networks having to reconsider their current business model.
Aereo has built up data centers in ten US cities, each packed with miniature antennas and hardware that pick up broadcast TV signals, store the video like a digital video recorder (DVR), and stream material over the internet to subscribers. The company argues that this is no different from an individual using their own aerial to pick up transmissions.
“This case is critically important not only to Aereo, but to the entire cloud computing and cloud storage industry.”
“The challenges outlined in the broadcasters’ filing make clear that they are using Aereo as a proxy to attack Cablevision itself and thus, undermine a critical foundation of the cloud computing and storage industry.”
“We believe that Aereo’s business model, and similar offerings that operate on the same principle, are built on stealing the creative content of others,” CBS told El Reg in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU pulls out antitrust probe, prods Euro pay-TV contracts
Exclusive deals of Hollywood studios, sat telly firms looked at
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/15/eu_antitrust_pay_tv_contracts/
The EU is launching an anti-competition probe of major Hollywood studios and Europe’s biggest pay-TV networks over their exclusive licensing deals.
The European Commission’s antitrust division said it was looking into the territorially exclusive contracts to see if they stopped broadcasters from being able to offer their services across borders, contrary to EU rules.
Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement that the EU wasn’t trying to make US film studios sell rights for the whole continent, but it still needed to ensure that customers weren’t being unfairly treated.
The investigation comes after the European Court of Justice ruled on a Premier League football licensing case. The court said that current licensing provisions stopped satellite broadcasters from competing with each other across Europe and the argument that copyright holders wouldn’t get their money if the contracts changed didn’t make sense, since the deals could take into account audiences across borders if necessary.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audiophiles: These Wi-Fi speakers have a stereo drift of less than 25μs – good enough for you?
We hear out Imagination’s Caskeid tech
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/14/imagination_caskeid_wifi_audio_synchronization/
Although this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was chockablock with Bluetooth-connected wireless speakers, the UK’s Imagination Technologies bucked the trend: it demoed its own wireless-speaker tech, the Wi-Fi–enabled Caskeid system.
Caskeid – pronounced “cascade” – was announced last September
Transmitting the audio signal over Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth has a couple of advantages, one obvious and another less so. The more obvious benny is Wi-Fi’s superior signal distance; the hidden boon is that Wi-Fi signals carry not only audio data, but also timing information that enables accurate sound synchronization for multi-room setups.
“It’s actually quite complicated to do Bluetooth multi-room,” Imagination marketing director David Harold told The Reg. “If you want to do a multi-room system, Wi-Fi is the way to go. We do Wi-Fi at the chip level and we do the software stack, as well.”
“Today you look at a lot of these multi-room speaker systems,” Harold said, “and they’re sending the exact same audio information to each speaker and just kind of hoping that their 300, 400 microsecond drift is not that noticeable to you.”
such variations in signal timing are quite noticeable indeed, especially when you’re sending signals to separate left and right speakers in a stereo setup
“Our system brings that drift down to – we’re being cagey – but it’s less than 25 microseconds,” Harold said.
Harold said that Imagination has “several” third-party licensees for the tech, but that they were not yet at liberty to name them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony Raises the Stakes at CES 2014 with its First Compact 4K AX100 Handcam and HDR-AS100V Action Camcorder
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/01/06/sony-raises-stakes-ces-2014-first-compact-4k-ax100-handcam-hdr-as100v-action-camcorder/
Sony is making a serious play 4K camcorder world and now it has announced the AX100 as its very first compact 4K Handcam Camcorder. Compared to the FDR-AX100, Sony’s first 4K video camera aimed at amateurs and professionals introduced in September, the AX100 is 74% smaller and 66% lighter. Although it’s smaller, the camera still records 4K Ultra HD video at a 3840 x 2160 resolution using the 14.2MP Exmor R CMOS sensor.
Beyond Sony’s two headline video cameras, the Japanese electronics giant also announced seven other Handycam additions with a little something for everything.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Demos Snapdragon 805 & 802 at CES 2014
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 14, 2014 6:25 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7693/qualcomm-demos-snapdragon-805-802-at-ces-2014
Snapdragon 805 tablets at the show. These tablets were all running at 2560 x 1600 and had no issues delivering smooth, playable frame rates regardless of the content.
Although it didn’t announce any new mobile SoCs at CES last week, Qualcomm did introduce new automotive and TV SoCs: Snapdragon 602A and 802, respectively. The latter is a variant of Snapdragon 800, intended for use in TVs. Qualcomm had a reference board up and running showing off a 4K TV with a native resolution UI, driven by the SoC’s Adreno 330 GPU. Qualcomm even had Riptide running, at 4K, all off of the adapted mobile SoC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Throwable Camera Ball Snaps 360-Degree Aerial Photos
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/panono-ball/
Panono is a ball that has 36 three-megapixel cameras built into it. The one Pfeil is holding in the picture is a working prototype version, and it’s about the size of a volleyball. The final shipping unit — Panono successfully raised $1.25 million on Indiegogo and will start shipping units in September — is more like the size of a softball.
To operate Panono, you simply throw it in the air. The ball has a sensor inside that recognizes when it has reached the apex of its airborne journey. At this point, it automatically fires all the shutters at once, capturing a 108-megapixel, 360-degree panoramic photograph.
After the ball takes its mega-photo, it sends the images to Panono’s image-stitching cloud service wirelessly. From there, the shot is converted into a navigable animated image. You can view it in a browser or the Panono app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finnish startup, announced the launch of a straight pipe musician of the world music shops
Musicians targeted distribution of free music service Music KickUp is seeking up to 100 000 users per year. It distributes the music tracks to iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Deezer.
International pilvistudioksi aspiring music service distributes free of charge to large online stores, but to charge other music studio services.
Unlike traditional music publishers Music KickUp does not take copyrights of the music from the makers of the rights of musicians and is not binding long-term contracts, it said in a statement.
Helsinki-based service was launched a couple of years ago at the Music Kickstarter, but soon moved to its name.
The musician can distribute services through the service of music so far with standard settings that iTunes put one copy price of $ 0.99 and $ 9.99 for whole album.
Music KickUp requires that service users have the rights to publish their data. It also urges artists to join the copyright organization.
Source: Digitoday
http://www.digitoday.fi/viihde/2014/01/15/suomi-startup-julkisti-suoraputken-muusikolta-maailman-musiikkikauppoihin/2014642/66
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audio is more and more transported though Ethernet.
So some audiophiles hear sound difference on Ethernet cables like they hear on some analogue cables?
This writer seems to to think there is sound quality difference on using different Ethernet cables. I have to disagree on this with the article writer, but here are links to articles if you are interested on other views than my engineer approach:
Audioquest Pearl and Cinnamon Ethernet cables
http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/audioquest-pearl-and-cinnamon-ethernet-cables-digital-interconnect
Now that streaming audio has usurped my CDs the time has come to “listen” to Ethernet cables. Ethernet cables! Yes, indeed, they do alter the sound of a system.
Conclusion
It is still surprising that Ethernet cables make a difference to sound quality. I didn’t believe it until I tried for myself. I might have believed that CAT-7 would be superior to UTP (unshielded twisted pair) CAT-5, but differences in sound quality between CAT-7 cables? I am a network supervisor by day and we distribute enormous amounts of data over CAT-5 or CAT-6 cables, over longer lengths than at home, at higher speeds, without any problem.
Beats me why music files differ, but they do!
Audioquest Ethernet cables pt.2
http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/audioquest-ethernet-cables-pt2-ethernet-cable
So do Ethernet cables have their own sound? This is no longer a question but a statement. The cable between switches is less important than the ones connected to the end points (NAS and/or streaming device)
We should have expected a famous cable manufacturer to make its best sounding cable the most expensive, but this is not always the case I can assure you. Sometimes cables are made more and more expensive for export markets and the increased price has nothing to do with sound quality.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yesterday it was reported that DNA praised the launch as the first Finnish YLE operators in the new high-definition channels in the transmission antenna and cable networks. Channels to transmit the others.
Sonera also inform the seeming TV1 and TV2 channels on HD versions as soon as they are provided by Yle of 28 january. The same apparently is the case with other operators in the sector.
Promoted to the aerial distribution of the HD-shaped channels are the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority’s policy that the distribution of obligations within the scope of the so-called. must-carry channels. Thus, the DNA distribution of the antenna in the coverage area also includes all cable operators to take their distribution Yle TV1 HD and Yle TV2 HD channels, says YLE in a statement.
Source: Tietokone
http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/sonera_ylen_hd_kanavat_myos_meilta
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES 2014: HAL© is a Voice- and Gesture-Operated Remote (Video)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/01/16/2037220/ces-2014-hal-is-a-voice–and-gesture-operated-remote-video
According to the company’s website, “HAL© is the future of television and media management. Using proprietary gesture and voice control technology…”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wikimedia is considering support for H.264 video codec to boost video on Wikipedia
http://gigaom.com/2014/01/16/wikimedia-wikipedia-mp4-h264-support/
Summary:
Wikipedia has traditionally only accepted open media formats. But now it’s considering a change in tune to finally get more video contributions
Tomi Engdahl says:
TV sound: delivering audio quality when the bezel has vanished
http://www.edn-europe.com/en/tv-sound-delivering-audio-quality-when-the-bezel-has-vanished.html?cmp_id=7&news_id=10003163&vID=1321#.UtetabRsUik
When it comes to a TV is it all about the look or the sound? If we’re going to shrink the bezel, as current design trends dictate, we need to apply engineering to more than just structural integrity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Play Movies and TV Finally Comes to iOS
http://gizmodo.com/google-play-movies-and-tv-finally-comes-to-ios-1500884117
First Google Play Books made its way to iOS. Then Google Play Music undertook the pilgrimage. So, it should be little surprise that today Google Play Movies and TV has finally made the jump.
See, up until now, iPhone users who also had Chromecast could watch Netflix and Hulu Plus, but they didn’t really have a way to access more recent movie content. Enter Play Movies and TV. With a catalog comparable to Amazon Video On Demand or Apple’s iTunes, Google Play Movies and TV brings in rentable and purchasable streaming movies to iOS, and often for cheaper. This can then be streamed directly to the TV via Chromecast.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Verizon’s Victory Over FCC Rules Seen as a Loss for Netflix
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-14/verizon-victory-on-net-neutrality-rules-seen-as-loss-for-netflix.html
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)’s legal victory over the Federal Communications Commission lets the carrier charge extra fees for speedier delivery of online content, potentially increasing costs for Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and other Internet companies.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington decided in favor of Verizon yesterday, striking down the FCC’s so-called net-neutrality rules. The regulations would have required Internet service providers to treat all online traffic equally, rather than giving preference to companies willing to pay extra fees for faster service.
“Goodbye, open Internet,” said Jennifer Fritzsche, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co. in Chicago. “There’s definitely a risk that Netflix customers will have to pay more, though it will probably take at least a year for it to take effect.”
Carriers have argued that the biggest bandwidth hogs should share in the costs of sending their content to customers. The idea is to charge Netflix or Google the equivalent of first-class handling,
Tomi Engdahl says:
Spotify Drops Free Web Listening Time Limit Everywhere – A Big Scalability Milestone
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/15/spotify-limits/
Spotify’s advertising engine and paid customer conversion funnel are finally working well enough that today it eliminated all limits on free, ad-supported web listening in all countries. It’s an important milestone for the scalability and sustainability of Spotify’s business that contrasts with other streaming music services like Ex.fm and Rdio that are stumbling or shutting down.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lux: A 100% Open Source Camera
http://hackaday.com/2014/01/15/lux-a-100-open-source-camera/
[Kevin Kadooka] recently finished his open source camera. The Lux Camera is 100% open source. Lux uses no parts from other cameras – not even a lens!
To date we’ve only seen this with achieved with pinhole cameras.
The main camera body and many of its parts are 3D printed.
However since everything is open source, anyone willing to put the time in could adapt them for the average RepRap or Ultimaker
Tomi Engdahl says:
innish startup, announced the launch of a straight pipe musician of the world music shops
Musicians targeted distribution of free music service Music KickUp is seeking up to 100 000 users per year. It distributes the music tracks to iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Deezer.
International pilvistudioksi aspiring music service distributes free of charge to large online stores, but to charge other music studio services.
Unlike traditional music publishers Music KickUp does not take copyrights of the music from the makers of the rights of musicians and is not binding long-term contracts, it said in a statement.
Helsinki-based service was launched a couple of years ago at the Music Kickstarter, but soon moved to its name.
The musician can distribute services through the service of music so far with standard settings that iTunes put one copy price of $ 0.99 and $ 9.99 for whole album.
Music KickUp requires that service users have the rights to publish their data. It also urges artists to join the copyright organization.
Source: Digitoday
http://www.digitoday.fi/viihde/2014/01/15/suomi-startup-julkisti-suoraputken-muusikolta-maailman-musiikkikauppoihin/2014642/66
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Throwable Camera Ball Snaps 360-Degree Aerial Photos
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/panono-ball/
Panono is a ball that has 36 three-megapixel cameras built into it. The one Pfeil is holding in the picture is a working prototype version, and it’s about the size of a volleyball. The final shipping unit — Panono successfully raised $1.25 million on Indiegogo and will start shipping units in September — is more like the size of a softball.
To operate Panono, you simply throw it in the air. The ball has a sensor inside that recognizes when it has reached the apex of its airborne journey. At this point, it automatically fires all the shutters at once, capturing a 108-megapixel, 360-degree panoramic photograph.
After the ball takes its mega-photo, it sends the images to Panono’s image-stitching cloud service wirelessly. From there, the shot is converted into a navigable animated image. You can view it in a browser or the Panono app.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Demos Snapdragon 805 & 802 at CES 2014
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 14, 2014 6:25 PM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7693/qualcomm-demos-snapdragon-805-802-at-ces-2014
Snapdragon 805 tablets at the show. These tablets were all running at 2560 x 1600 and had no issues delivering smooth, playable frame rates regardless of the content.
Although it didn’t announce any new mobile SoCs at CES last week, Qualcomm did introduce new automotive and TV SoCs: Snapdragon 602A and 802, respectively. The latter is a variant of Snapdragon 800, intended for use in TVs. Qualcomm had a reference board up and running showing off a 4K TV with a native resolution UI, driven by the SoC’s Adreno 330 GPU. Qualcomm even had Riptide running, at 4K, all off of the adapted mobile SoC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony Raises the Stakes at CES 2014 with its First Compact 4K AX100 Handcam and HDR-AS100V Action Camcorder
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2014/01/06/sony-raises-stakes-ces-2014-first-compact-4k-ax100-handcam-hdr-as100v-action-camcorder/
Sony is making a serious play 4K camcorder world and now it has announced the AX100 as its very first compact 4K Handcam Camcorder. Compared to the FDR-AX100, Sony’s first 4K video camera aimed at amateurs and professionals introduced in September, the AX100 is 74% smaller and 66% lighter. Although it’s smaller, the camera still records 4K Ultra HD video at a 3840 x 2160 resolution using the 14.2MP Exmor R CMOS sensor.
Beyond Sony’s two headline video cameras, the Japanese electronics giant also announced seven other Handycam additions with a little something for everything.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audiophiles: These Wi-Fi speakers have a stereo drift of less than 25μs – good enough for you?
We hear out Imagination’s Caskeid tech
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/14/imagination_caskeid_wifi_audio_synchronization/
Although this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was chockablock with Bluetooth-connected wireless speakers, the UK’s Imagination Technologies bucked the trend: it demoed its own wireless-speaker tech, the Wi-Fi–enabled Caskeid system.
Caskeid – pronounced “cascade” – was announced last September
Transmitting the audio signal over Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth has a couple of advantages, one obvious and another less so. The more obvious benny is Wi-Fi’s superior signal distance; the hidden boon is that Wi-Fi signals carry not only audio data, but also timing information that enables accurate sound synchronization for multi-room setups.
“It’s actually quite complicated to do Bluetooth multi-room,” Imagination marketing director David Harold told The Reg. “If you want to do a multi-room system, Wi-Fi is the way to go. We do Wi-Fi at the chip level and we do the software stack, as well.”
“Today you look at a lot of these multi-room speaker systems,” Harold said, “and they’re sending the exact same audio information to each speaker and just kind of hoping that their 300, 400 microsecond drift is not that noticeable to you.”
such variations in signal timing are quite noticeable indeed, especially when you’re sending signals to separate left and right speakers in a stereo setup
“Our system brings that drift down to – we’re being cagey – but it’s less than 25 microseconds,” Harold said.
Harold said that Imagination has “several” third-party licensees for the tech, but that they were not yet at liberty to name them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU pulls out antitrust probe, prods Euro pay-TV contracts
Exclusive deals of Hollywood studios, sat telly firms looked at
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/15/eu_antitrust_pay_tv_contracts/
The EU is launching an anti-competition probe of major Hollywood studios and Europe’s biggest pay-TV networks over their exclusive licensing deals.
The European Commission’s antitrust division said it was looking into the territorially exclusive contracts to see if they stopped broadcasters from being able to offer their services across borders, contrary to EU rules.
Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement that the EU wasn’t trying to make US film studios sell rights for the whole continent, but it still needed to ensure that customers weren’t being unfairly treated.
The investigation comes after the European Court of Justice ruled on a Premier League football licensing case. The court said that current licensing provisions stopped satellite broadcasters from competing with each other across Europe and the argument that copyright holders wouldn’t get their money if the contracts changed didn’t make sense, since the deals could take into account audiences across borders if necessary.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Submitted on 2014/01/15 at 11:11am
US Supreme Court to hear media barons versus TV upstart Aereo tout suite
Justice Alito’s recusal means bad news for broadcasters, good news for streaming biz
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/13/supreme_court_agrees_to_hear_aereo_case_toot_suite/
The US Supreme Court has moved with impressive speed to announce it will hear a case brought against TV streaming biz Aereo by major broadcasters.
The judges’ verdict will either kill off the web upstart or leave the big networks having to reconsider their current business model.
Aereo has built up data centers in ten US cities, each packed with miniature antennas and hardware that pick up broadcast TV signals, store the video like a digital video recorder (DVR), and stream material over the internet to subscribers. The company argues that this is no different from an individual using their own aerial to pick up transmissions.
“This case is critically important not only to Aereo, but to the entire cloud computing and cloud storage industry.”
“The challenges outlined in the broadcasters’ filing make clear that they are using Aereo as a proxy to attack Cablevision itself and thus, undermine a critical foundation of the cloud computing and storage industry.”
“We believe that Aereo’s business model, and similar offerings that operate on the same principle, are built on stealing the creative content of others,” CBS told El Reg in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here is one older article that mentions how porn can have serious effect on video markets in Japan if some technology breaks through or not (on this case 3D did not get breakthrough few years back).
Porn is the key to 3D HDTV expansion
by Jeremy Hill on June 3, 2010 at 7:30 pm
http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/57035/porn-is-the-key-to-3d-hdtv-expansion/
“porn is an essential component to getting 3D HDTV’s into the homes of Japan’s consumers.”
Takashi Kadokura, an economist from BRICs Research Institute, says Japan made $1.2 billion in adult film sales in 2009. Porn sales account for more than a fourth of total video sales in Japan.
Sony initially said in 2007 it would not allow porn to be mass distributed on Blu-ray. Today there are adult films available in the Blu-ray format. The bottom line here is sex sells, get used to it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Porn Will Be Bitcoin’s Killer App
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/01/18/0343204/porn-will-be-bitcoins-killer-app
‘I definitely believe that porn will be Bitcoin’s killer app,’ he told The Guardian. ‘Fast, private and confidential payments.’”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thirty Years Since Betamax, and Movies Are Still Being Made
http://torrentfreak.com/thirty-years-since-betamax-and-movies-are-still-being-made-140118/
Thirty years ago yesterday the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled that time-shifting of TV shows using video recorders was legal. The ‘Betamax’ case, or Universal v Sony for its real name, has proven one thing for certain. When it came to the level of damages the industry predicted would be caused by technology they weren’t even close to reality, a situation that continues today.
In 1984, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 that the Sony Betamax recorder was legal, due to its significant non-infringing uses. This led to the consumer entertainment revolution of the last 30 years.
Everything from DVRs to tablets to MP3 players were made possible. Even the camera in your cellphone owes its existence to that ruling, as otherwise the ability to produce a copy of a copyrighted work (even of degraded quality) would have been enough to scupper its production.
MPAA President Jack Valenti telling Congress how the machine was ‘the Boston Strangler’ of the industry.
He also argued that the movie business was a really risky one, and that VCRs would impact the already tough advertising business. Additionally, machines made overseas would kill the US economy because of imports. And of course, OMG PIRATES!!!!!!!
So, how true were those claims? Sure the US economy’s pretty bad, but overseas electronics are not really a factor in that.
What about advertising? Since we’ve had fast-forward buttons for 30+ years, all adverts are gone, right? No, as most people know, Google makes a fortune from adverts, even skippable and blockable ones.
How about the Risky Business part? Well, there’s another name for ‘risky business’, it’s called ‘business’. All businesses are a risk and most don’t last a year. And here the movie studios have not done themselves any favors over the past thirty years.
Finally, how’s that piracy angle? Well, let’s start with VCRs themselves. Back in 1987 we had video sales surpassing the box office for studio income, so it doesn’t seem to have hurt them there. In fact, once they were resigned to it, it took them only four years to turn things around.
So what about the wider economy? Everyone remember the much maligned MPAA LEK study, that claimed piracy cost the world economy $6.1Billion in 2006? Well, Blockbuster, a company that existed ONLY because of the Betamax decision, had revenues of $5.5Billion in 2006. In other words, a loss to the economy the MPAA almost certainly exaggerated was almost wiped out by JUST ONE company that the MPAA almost prevented from existing.
With that in perspective, any future claims of loss and damages should certainly be considered with a pinch of salt. Meanwhile it’s a happy 30th to the Betamax decision.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: LG put webOS to a TV
LG introduced the TV, which uses webOS operating system that was in the past applied the mobile devices .
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/video+lg+pani+webosn+televisioon/a960649
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hands-on with LG’s smart TV running webOS (video)
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/lg-webos-smart-tv-hands-on/
Since LG informed the world that webOS is coming to 70 percent of its smart TVs this year, naturally we were keen to take it for a spin.
For folks thinking LG’s version of webOS might favor its prior mobile implementation, think again. While the underpinnings are the same, the card-based UI has been ditched — according to Vonshak “content is king on the television, and we didn’t want to pull the user out of the viewing experience” by dumping them into an all-card view. When you hit the home button on the remote, you’re greeted by a rail of parallelogram-shaped colorful icons at the bottom of the screen overlaid on top of whatever you’re watching.
LG has taken an interesting approach in helping customers set up its new smart sets — it’s attempting to make the process entertaining. To do so, LG created a series of cute cartoon shorts featuring a little black avian character called Beam Bird. The system alternates between screens for setting up WiFi connections and streaming accounts and the aforementioned shorts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rebooting webOS: how LG rethought the smart TV
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/6/5279220/rebooting-webos-how-lg-rethought-the-smart-tv
Five years after it was first introduced, webOS comes back to CES in a radically different form
Things never went very well for webOS. Between its blockbuster launch at CES in 2009 and its relaunch on LG’s smart TVs today lies a history of failed ambitions and a lost history of never-released products. When LG acquired parts of webOS in February of last year, we had two questions: what exactly did LG plan to do, and why did it need webOS to do it? We finally have answers to both of those questions, and they’re unsurprisingly simple and straightforward. webOS turned out to be a flexible platform that could be repurposed for the TV and — more importantly — the team behind it had a vision for how a smart TV should work
Tomi Engdahl says:
End of film: Paramount first studio to stop distributing film prints
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-paramount-digital-20140117,0,5245137.story#axzz2qveeQAlw
In a historic step for Hollywood, Paramount Pictures has become the first major studio to stop releasing movies on film in the United States.
Paramount recently notified theater owners that the Will Ferrell comedy “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” which opened in December, would be the last movie that would it would release on 35-millimeter film.
The studio’s Oscar-nominated film “The Wolf of Wall Street” from director Martin Scorsese is the first major studio film that was released all digitally, according to theater industry executives who were briefed on the plans but not authorized to speak about them.
The decision is significant because it is likely to encourage other studios to follow suit, accelerating the complete phase-out of film, possibly by the end of the year. That would mark the end of an era: film has been the medium for the motion picture industry for more than a century.
Other studios were expected to jump on the digital bandwagon first. 20th Century Fox sent a letter to exhibitors in 2011 saying it would stop distributing film “within the next year or two.” Disney issued a similar warning to theater operators. Last year, many industry watchers expected Lions Gate would make history with an all-digital November release of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”
In addition to relying on digital hard drives, theaters are installing satellite systems to digitally beam movies into cinemas. That could significantly lower the cost of delivering a single print, to less than $100 from as much $2,000.
Digital technology also enables cinemas to screen higher-priced 3-D films and makes it easier for them to book and program entertainment.
As a result, large chains have moved quickly to embrace digital technology: Ninety-two percent of 40,045 screens in the U.S. have converted to digital, according to the National Assn. of Theatre Owners.
“After more than 15 years of work, the movie industry has completed its migration from film to digital technologies,” said John Fithian, president of the trade group.
The dwindling number of film screens has made releasing movies on 35 mm less attractive, especially given the rising cost of film prints for major movies. Film print costs have been rising rapidly as suppliers have scaled back production.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Probe of Hollywood-Euro Pay TV contracts: What happens next?
European Commission looks to protect consumer rights
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/20/european_commission_plans_to_extend_murphys_law_to_hollywood/
By now the dust has settled on Monday’s statement by the European Commission that it will investigate the licensing agreements between the major US Hollywood studios and their European broadcasting counterparts, targeting the exclusive nature in any given European country. But what is the likely outcome?
This is the kind of investigation that is unlikely to have any implications outside of Europe, unlike most antitrust investigations in Europe, which usually require a universal behaviour change.
The first thing to remember is that when the European Commission says it is investigating you, it almost always concludes that you are doing something that is not ideal, and demands either a financial fine or a change in behaviour or both.
The key here is that the European Union wants its native broadcasters to compete with one another, so that somehow Sky in the UK can compete with Canal+ in France.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Star Wars VII set for Xmas release. Ho, ho, ho… not THIS Christmas
Hold that Leiagasm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/08/star_wars_vii/
Disney has given Star Wars fans plenty of time to work themselves up into a right state of excitement by announcing that the next movie in the space saga will hit cinemas on 18 December… 2015.
The news agency also notes the movie will be shot in Blighty, as were the previous six, for studio purposes at least. This marks a return of the franchise to its “British roots”, and fans can only hope the presence of Kasdan and Abrams – who has made the decision to shoot on 35mm film – marks a return to something approaching a half-decent celluloid experience.
Star Wars revival secret: This isn’t the celluloid you’re looking for
JJ Abrams to use 35mm film – but that wasn’t what made the old movies great, sputter fans
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/27/new_star_wars_film_to_be_shot_on_analogue_film/
At the end of the speech, a super keen Kodak rep asked whether it was true that the film would be shot on analogue film. Mindel then confirmed he would be using Kodak film stock 5219.
Analogue advocates say its “imperfect” methods offer a warmth that is lacking in coldly exact digital media, with the crackly pops of an old record or the grainy glow of Leica film often deemed more pleasing than the chilly perfection of digital snaps or digital music files.
Abrams has long been interested in analogue film, using techniques like lens flare throughout his work to evoke the pre-digital era.
“I wanted this movie to feel real,” Abrams told a website called Digital Content Producer. “I’m not saying you can’t be real with digital. But with film, for me, there was such a familiarity and comfort to it, a real warmth. We wanted to avoid coldness and any unnatural sense of perfection.”
KODAK VISION3 500T Color Negative Film 5219/7219
http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Products/Production/Color_Negative_Films/5219.htm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kim Dotcom’s answer to Spotify and iTunes—Baboom—will soft launch on Monday
The first artist to be featured on the music service? Kim Dotcom himself.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/01/kim-dotcoms-answer-to-spotify-and-itunes-baboom-will-soft-launch-on-monday/
Kim Dotcom’s major “Party Party” at Auckland’s Vector Arena may have been cancelled, but the mogul is still going through with a “soft launch” of Baboom, the soon-to-be music service formerly known as Megabox.
Baboom.com returns the placeholder above for now, but an official company press release states Dotcom will debut his Baboom.com “artist page” on Monday. This soft launch is intended to “give everyone a flavor of what’s to come when the site is fully unleashed in late 2014,” according to the press release.
The new “late 2014″ timetable for Baboom is the service’s latest slip. At the January 20, 2013 launch of Mega, Dotcom said his music service would follow in June 2013. In November, he told Wired it would be “a few months” after January 20.
Ultimately, Dotcom describes Baboom as a cross between Spotify and iTunes. He said some paid content will be available free to those who install an ad substitution browser plugin.
Tomi Engdahl says:
4K-ing hell! Will your shiny new Ultra HD TV actually display HD telly?
Even if it can find content to display, there’s no guarantee it’ll decode correctly
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/20/feature_4k_confusion_over_specs_and_standards/
With just about every TV maker showing off 4K sets at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this month, and companies like Netflix promising to have content available in the format, it’s tempting to think that if you’re buying a new TV, 4K may be worth a look. Or, at least, worth hanging on for until it’s more sensibly priced.
It’s worth noting that even the term 4K isn’t necessarily as well defined as you might think. The Digital Cinema Initiative also has a ‘4K’ standard, set at a resolution of 4096 x 2160 pixels and a 24 frames per second frame-rate. Of course, cinema isn’t quite the same shape as a 16:9 TV image. So when it comes to TV, 4K keeps the square pixels and aspect ratio of current HD standards, and so has a resolution of 3840 x 2160. It’s sometimes referred to as 4K2K, 4KTV or – increasingly by TV manufacturers – as Ultra HD. And down the line, there’s 8K, or Super Hi-Vision, too.
Confused already? Don’t worry – the best minds are working on that.
The real problem is more to do with getting the content to you, from wherever it starts out. A 4K stream on Netflix will need a 15Mbps connection, falling back to normal HD at around 11Mpbs, so you’re going to need a pretty decent net connection – and neighbours who aren’t all trying to do the same thing and contend for the overall line bandwidth.
Netflix says it will be using the H.265 codec – aka HEVC – for its 4K service, and has partnered with set makers to ensure that appropriate silicon is included in new sets. That’s in the future, though. Chips to decode H.265 are only just appearing, and so the 4K sets around now don’t have it; you’ll have to hang on a few months.
Google’s YouTube, meanwhile, is planning to use the online advertising company’s own VP9 codec, offering the prospect that it will once again hold out against a standard, as it did for a time against H.264. However, it seems unlikely broadcasters and other big content producers will go with Google when they could use the more widely supported H.265.
While IP services will undoubtedly be the way many of us first experience 4K, without a substantial upgrade to the UK’s infrastructure we’re not all going to be watching live UHD video streams any time soon.
If you’re hoping for 4K from Blu-ray, you’ll be waiting a while too. There’s still no defined standard for that, either,
Airwaves
However, all those extra pixels give space to play with, especially when they’re so small you may not even see them. It could be possible to fit two UHD channels in a 45Mbps mux or transponder stream – and that’s using H.264 compression; H.265 is anticipated to do better still – the paper’s author, Pierre Larbier, CTO of French video compression technology firm Ateme, suggested 13Mbps may be sufficient for a 4K broadcast. A live test transmission set up specially for CES by US broadcaster Sinclair used 27Mbps over DVB-T2 to deliver 4K images to the Samsung stand, using the H.265 codec.