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:
You’ll NEVER FORGET about Dre NOW: All iPhones, iPads to get Beats Music app
iOS to get streaming service built-in early 2015 – report
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/19/apple_beats_music_ios/
Apple will try to install a Beats Music app in all recent iPhones, iPads and iPods in the next year, it’s claimed.
The music streaming service will be added via an over-the-air iOS update in early 2015, the Financial Times reports. With the software installed, fanbois can stream music over the internet on a monthly basis without having to grab an extra app. Check, Spotify.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon’s $39 Fire TV Stick starts shipping today, but new orders won’t arrive before January 15
http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/19/amazons-39-fire-tv-stick-starts-shipping-today-but-new-orders-wont-arrive-until-january-15/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix explains the explosive growth of the operators rage: 78 million terabytes in a terrible amount of data
Netflix streamed January-March, 6.5 billion hours of content. The average HD quality, this means more than 19 500 000 terabytes of data in only three months, says Cord Cutters News. Month, the amount should therefore 6.5 million terabytes of data. On an annual basis the same pace would mean 78 million terabytes.
If the same 62.5 per cent growth to continue, through the service would be allocated 27 million terabytes in January-March 2015.
The increase in the number of 4K content becomes more common. HD content to an average of around 3 GB per hour, while the 4K’s the number more than doubles in 7 gigabytes per hour.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/kaikki_uutiset/netflixin+rajahtava+kasvu+selittaa+operaattorien+raivon+78+miljoonaa+teratavua+on+hirvittava+maara+dataa/a1030417
Netflix Streamed 19,500,000 Terabytes Of Video In The 1st Quarter of 2014
http://www.cordcuttersnews.com/netflix-streamed-19500000-terabytes-of-video-in-the-1st-quarter-of-2014/
In the first quarter of 2014 Netflix streamed 6.5 billion hours of videos. With an average quality of HD that brings the total data sent by Netflix to over 19,500,000 terabytes in just 3 months. That is an astonishing 6,500,000 terabytes every month. At this rate Netflix will use 78,000,000 terabytes of data in 2014.
This is a huge increase over 2013 when Netflix streamed only 4 billion hours of video totaling 12,000,000 terabytes of data in the first quarter of 2013. With an average of 4,000,000 terabytes of video every month in the first quarter of 2013.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Watching shows online is more common now, Flurry says, but TV’s hardly dead yet
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2849239/watching-shows-online-is-more-common-now-flurry-says-but-tvs-hardly-dead-yet.html
We’re all spending more time with smartphones and tablets. So much so that the “second screen” may now be the “first screen,” depending on the data you read.
Mobile analytics and advertising firm Flurry released a report on Tuesday that says Americans spend close to 10 minutes more per day on mobile devices than sitting in front of a television.
The story behind the story: Flurry’s report, while interesting, works only if you buy into the BLS data, which is from a self-reported study called the American Time Use Survey. Numbers from metrics firm Nielsen tell a different story.
Many of us use both simultaneously
Thinking about my own TV watching, I know I spend all kinds of time on my smartphone. I could be checking an actor’s name on IMDb, quickly responding to email, texting with friends, or browsing Twitter and the news if I lose interest with the bigger screen. Whatever it is I’m watching, my smartphone is always close at hand.
Even if you put more stock in Nielsen’s numbers than the BLS stats, it seems inevitable that smartphones and tablets will replace the television in terms of time spent. Many metrics firms, including Nielsen, report on the rapid increase of mobile device usage—especially when it comes to apps.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser-cut Album Released
http://hackaday.com/2014/11/19/laser-cut-album-released/
In some alternate universe, where laser cutters and phonographs are more common than MP3 players, it makes a ton of sense to release laser-cutter files for your band’s new album (Translated). In this universe, it’s wacky and awesome.
The release draws on this Instructable by Amanda Ghassaei to turn the music into PDFs suitable for feeding into a laser cutter, and we think it’s classy that she gets a shout-out on the label’s release page.
Laser Cut Record
by amandaghassaei
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Cut-Record/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A CFO’s View of Consumer Data
http://www.cio.com/article/2834767/big-data/a-cfos-view-of-consumer-data.html
CIO’s Martha Heller talks to Greg Walsh, CFO of IPG Mediabrands, about how big data and second screens are transforming media buying.
How is technology changing your business? We have a goal that by 2015, 50 percent of our buying will be automated, which includes even the most traditional media buying processes. Much of this is focused on programmatic buying, where we use data to buy audiences in real time. That’s very different from buying TV way in advance of the event and then seeing the results after the fact.
As your industry has become more technologically-driven, how has your role changed? Our biggest cost and asset is our people. The second is our technology. So just as I need to understand how we are developing our talent, I need to understand our technology investments. Technology tends to threaten people; it is my role to explain how it is making them more effective, not replacing them. As a result, I work very closely with our chief HR officer, Alastair Procter, and our CIO, Sam Chesterman.
How are consumer technologies affecting your industry? It’s the evolution of the second screen, where people watch TV but there is also a second or even a third screen. The more screens people are on, the more ways we can reach them. We need to recognize how many screens people are on and what drives them from one to the other.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Billboard, Changing the Charts, Will Count Streaming Services
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/business/media/billboard-changing-the-charts-will-count-streaming-services-.html?_r=0
Streaming music services like Spotify have brought big changes to the music industry. But one important part of the business has not kept up: Billboard’s album chart.
SoundScan and Billboard will count 1,500 song streams from services like Spotify, Beats Music, Rdio, Rhapsody and Google Play as equivalent to an album sale. For the first time, they will also count “track equivalent albums” — a common industry yardstick of 10 downloads of individual tracks — as part of the formula for album rankings on the Billboard 200.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix takes up 9.5% of upstream traffic on the North American Internet
ACK packets make Netflix an upload monster during peak viewing hours.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/netflix-takes-up-9-5-of-upstream-traffic-on-the-north-american-internet/
We’ve written a lot about how Netflix takes up a gigantic share of Internet traffic. During peak viewing hours, Netflix accounts for about a third of all bits sent to Internet users in North America on “fixed” connections—that is, cable, DSL, fiber, or satellite, but not cellular.
But Netflix users also send a ton of data upstream, so much so that Sandvine’s latest Internet Phenomena Report puts Netflix at 9.48 percent of all peak upstream traffic on North American fixed Internet services, second only to BitTorrent’s 25.49 percent. Sandvine, a maker of equipment that helps consumer broadband providers manage network congestion, defines “peak” hours as those when network usage is within 95 percent of its daily maximum, typically from 7 to 11pm.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flickr Now Lets You Buy Wall Art From Professional Photographers And Creative Commons
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/20/flickr-now-lets-you-buy-wall-art-from-professional-photographers-and-creative-commons/
Flickr today is expanding its Wall Art print service to include access to images from Flickr’s licensed artists and Creative Commons. The expansion comes only a month after the launch of Flickr Wall Art, which initially allowed users to turn any of their personal photos into canvas prints. Flickr also previously launched a photo book service, again for personal photos.
But this is the first time professional photographers have ever been able to profit directly from their work on Flickr.
The changes come at a time when Flickr has been ramping up its competition with challengers like 500px, the Andreessen Horowitz-backed photo community and marketplace which had been describing itself as the Flickr for pro photographers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Magic Leap Is Secretly Creating a New Alternate Reality
http://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new-alternate-rea-1660441103
Don’t you hate it when someone claims to have a magical new technology, but won’t tell you how it works? When I saw that a super stealthy startup called Magic Leap had raised $542 million to make animals appear out of thin air, I resolved to find out exactly what was going on. Here’s what I found.
If the results of my digging are correct, this is what Magic Leap intends to build: a Google Glass on steroids that can seamlessly blend computer-generated graphics with the real world. A headset packed with fiber optic projectors, crazy lenses, and loads of cameras. An augmented reality that you’ll actually believe in.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jaunt VR Releases Its First Content With App That Puts You On Stage With Paul McCartney
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/20/jaunt-virtual-reality-app/
Jaunt wants to give you something to watch on makeshift virtual reality headsets like Google Cardboard, Dodocase, and Mirage. So today the 360-degree camera and VR production software maker launches its free Android app featuring the first of many planned VR content releases: on-stage and front row views of Paul McCartney playing “Live And Let Die” at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aereo files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, says “challenges have proven too difficult to overcome”
The Next Chapter
http://blog.aereo.com/2014/11/next-chapter/
A little over three years ago, the team at Aereo set out to build a better television experience for the consumer.
With that in mind, we put our collective engineering power to work to create an online technology that was simple, useful, and compelling, and provided consumers with a true alternative to how they watch local live TV. That’s how Aereo came to life.
Our engineering team created the first cloud-based, individual antenna and DVR that enabled you to record and watch live television on the device of your choice, all via the Internet. In less than two years, we went from drawings on a napkin to launching Aereo’s technology in more than a dozen cities across the country.
The enthusiasm we encountered was overwhelming.
But we encountered significant challenges from the incumbent media companies.
the challenges have proven too difficult to overcome.
Accordingly, today, we filed for Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aereo May Be Dead, But Internet TV Will Live On
http://www.wired.com/2014/11/aereo-bankruptcy
It’s a sad day for Aereo and all those who believed in it. The startup, which allowed people to stream live broadcast television to their computers and mobile devices, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, just months after shutting down operations.
The news, which Aereo founder and CEO Chet Kanojia announced on the company blog on Friday, marks the end of an era for the embattled startup, which faced opposition from major broadcasters ever since Aereo launched in 2012. Like Uber and Airbnb, Aereo has been one of those companies that bucked regulation from the outset.
Inside the infrastructure that drove its online service, it assigned every Aereo user a mini broadcast TV antenna, and it used this to argue that its service was no different than sticking a pair of bunny ears on your television. That way, Aereo could avoid paying retransmission fees for broadcasters’ content. But broadcasters never bought this argument
Aereo CEO: Court Made Incredibly Wrong Decision, Cord-Cutting Is Inevitable
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/21/aereo-ceo-court-made-incredibly-wrong-decision-cord-cutting-is-inevitable/
This morning, Aereo filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, marking the end of the road for the cloud-based TV startup. The company launched in 2012 using micro-antennas and cloud DVR technology to provide near-live TV access to 30 channels to subscribers for as low as $8/month.
But after losing a fierce legal battle with broadcast networks, that went all the way to the Supreme Court this summer, the company is looking to figure out next steps as it shuts down.
Chet Kanojia: As the law changed, it took us a while to figure out the possible ways that we could look at the future of the company. Our team was patient for long enough to figure out which avenue made the most sense, and that took a while to sort. There was a lot of interest in figuring out the value of the technology, the partnerships, and the components of the company. As we explored more, knowing the toll litigation took and the additional costs, we determined that the right thing to do was to go through Chapter 11 restructuring.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DreamWorks Reveals Glimpse of “Super Cinema” Format For VR Films
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/11/23/133246/dreamworks-reveals-glimpse-of-super-cinema-format-for-vr-films
Warren Mayoss, Head of Technology Product Development at DreamWorks Animation, spoke at the 2014 Samsung Developer Conference last week about the company’s forays into the young medium of virtual reality. In addition to real-time experiences, DreamWorks is exploring ways to enabled their bread and butter in VR: high-fidelity pre-rendered CGI.
DreamWorks Reveals Glimpse of 360 Degree ‘Super Cinema’ Rendering for VR Films (video)
http://www.roadtovr.com/dreamworks-reveals-video-360-degree-virtual-reality-super-cinema-format/
Real-time rendering is generally required for interactive content like videogames; since the player has the option to move and look in any direction, the game must draw one frame at a time, rendering (or ‘calculating’) what each frame should look like based on where the user is looking. But computers can only do this so fast, and things slow down when the graphics become more complex. (Arguably) the minimum acceptable rate to perceive smooth motion is 30 frames per second (although virtual reality has been shown to demand much higher rates). Any slower than that and you start to see more of a slideshow than fluid video.
Much of today’s computer generated imagery, especially in the film world, is so complex that computers can’t render it anywhere close to 30 frames per second—in some cases a more accurate unit would be frames per hour. Transformers (2007), for example, had CGI so complex that it took 38 hours to render one frame in some cases, according to director Michael Bay.
The challenge for a company like DreamWorks Animation, which primarily creates pre-rendered CGI films, is supporting headtracking in virtual reality while maintaining the same high-fidelity visuals that the company is known for. With user view control like headtracking, the usual method of pre-rendering is impossible because there’s no telling what direction the user will want to look and thus which frames to generate.
One option to hop this hurdle is to pre-render 360 degree 3D frames, then project them onto a virtual sphere around the user, affording the headtracking interactivity that’s critical to VR while not requiring each viewer to own a supercomputer for real-time rendering of those complex scenes. This can also enable VR experiences on lower-end hardware that lacks desktop-class computing. InnerspaceVR, for instance, is creating such experiences in CryEngine and pre-rendering for playback on less powerful devices like Gear VR.
“We’re coming up with a system that we call Super Cinema and this is something where we’re taking the quality assets of our feature film and we are delivering that in a new 360 immersive experience to the consumer,” Mayoss told the crowd at the conference’s second day keynote. He even shared a brief clip of a ‘Super Cinema’ scene with assets from the company’s How to Train Your Dragon franchise:
For one, the filesize of a Super Cinema film would likely be huge compared to a standard film release. Instead of rendering a relatively small 1920×1080 frame, as you’d find on a Blu-ray for instance, a 360 degree frame would have to be many times that resolution in order to preserve quality after stretching all the way around the viewer. This can be combated with compression and streaming technology, but there’s only so much you can do without degrading those sharp visuals you’d expect from a DreamWorks film.
By my understanding, Super Cinema would also necessarily lack positional tracking (the ability to track a user’s head in 3D space). Positional tracking is important for comfort in virtual reality and also greatly enhances immersion.
For that same reason, IPD could be an issue with the Super Cinema approach. IPD defines the distance between a person’s eyes. This value varies from person to person within a certain range, and content tuned for each person’s IPD can be important to a comfortable VR experience.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cairo Hackerspace Gets A $14 Projector
http://hackaday.com/2014/11/23/cairo-hackerspace-gets-a-14-projector/
They found an old slide projector made in West Germany and turned it into something capable of displaying video.
Other than the projector, the only other required parts were a 2.5″ TFT display from Adafruit and a Nokia smartphone.
it was simply a matter of putting the LCD inside the display, getting the focus right, and mounting everything securely.
Convert a 40 years old DIA slide projector to a Decent DIY Projector!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-a-40-years-old-DIA-slide-projector-to-a-De/?ALLSTEPS
This is the part list that I used in this hack:
*SIRO 5004 DIA slide projector.
*NTSC/PAL (Television) TFT Display – 2.5″ Diagonal from adafruit.
*Nokia N900 smart phone
This display I used have NTSC/PAL television driver , It can be connected with the television video out connector “the yellow connector”.
I used my composite video cable that work with my Nokia N900 smart phone and raspberry pi.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Webcam hack enabled by ‘laziness’ says website creator
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet-security/11246286/Webcam-hack-enabled-by-laziness-says-website-creator.html
The creator of a website which invaded the privacy of hundreds of Britons who had failed to properly secure their security cameras says that his actions were supposed to educate the “lazy and IT-ignorant” about the dangers of weak passwords
The hacker who invaded the privacy of hundreds of Britons by creating a website which broadcast private scenes such as children sleeping in bed has told The Telegraph that he did it to “explain” that they were vulnerable – and takes credit for 120,000 cameras now being secured.
Now the creator of that site – who has chosen to remain anonymous – has given the Telegraph an exclusive interview over email. He said that the hack was enabled by “laziness and IT ignorance” on the part of the public.
The problem stems from internet-connected security cameras and webcams which have a feature enabling the owner to log-in remotely and check that their home or business is secure. This is a useful ability, but also one that is open to abuse if a strong password is not used.
Many people choose to leave the default password in place when they buy the devices – something which is exploitable by people who scan the internet for such devices and attempt to log in.
The website, which became national news this week when the Information Commissioner Christopher Graham demanded on Radio 4 that it be removed from the internet, pulls together streams from those devices and lists them in an index by country and location.
Asked if he believes that people deserve privacy in their own homes, the anonymous creator of the site said “sure” and added that he had no other way to convince people about the importance of changing their default passwords.
Originally the site had access to 160,000 cameras because they were using default passwrods, he said, but after the intense media coverage of the issue in recent days, many of the people owning the devices have changed their settings to increase security – thereby removing themselves from the website.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix sued in France
http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2014/11/24/netflix-sued-in-france/
France’s Association for the Protection of Consumers and Users (CLCV) has sued Netflix on the grounds that it is not complying with French consumer law.
The CLCV adds that although it welcomes the entry of an “innovative audiovisual offer – Netflix officially launched in France in September – as the pay-TV industry is still dominated by a small number of players charging high subscription fees, Netflix is failing to respect French consumer law.
For instance, it can, at any time, change the terms of contracts without informing its customers.
Netflix also does not provide information on guaranteed minimum levels of quality and refund arrangements, specifically if video images are not good.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dead Kennedys’ East Bay Ray Explains How YouTube Is Stealing From Musicians
YouTube (owned by Google Inc.) is a remarkable platform for the sharing of videos and music by both fans and creators. Many artists have used it to start careers and achieve a form of stardom, which is wonderful. But what’s behind the curtain? How is the “monetization” income shared with content creators, filmmakers and musicians, by the businessmen who operate YouTube?
Read more at http://observer.com/2014/11/dead-kennedys-east-bay-ray-the-problem-with-youtube/#ixzz3K4AZGT5Q
Follow us: @newyorkobserver on Twitter | newyorkobserver on Facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simple Thermal Imager with a Lepton Module
http://hackaday.com/2014/11/24/simple-thermal-imager-with-a-lepton-module/
[Andrew] designed a simple thermal imager using the FLIR Lepton module, an STM32F4 Nucleo development board, and a Gameduino 2 LCD. The whole design is connected using jumper wires
Flir Lepton Thermal Imaging Sensor + Gameduino 2
http://www.theresistornetwork.com/2014/11/flir-lepton-thermal-imaging-sensor.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony to cut TV, smartphone lineup; sees growth in PlayStation, image sensors
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-sony-outlook-idUSKCN0J903A20141125
Japan’s loss-making Sony Corp plans to slash its TV and mobile phone product line-ups to cut costs, counting on multi-billion dollar revenue surges for its buoyant PlayStation 4 and image sensor businesses over the next three years.
Having lost ground to nimbler rivals like Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in consumer electronics, Sony said on Tuesday its goal for TV and smartphones is to turn a profit, even if sales slide as much as 30 percent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tencent to Distribute HBO Dramas, Movies Online in China
Each Program Will Require Chinese Government Approval Before Being Offered on Tencent Video
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/tencent-partners-with-hbo-to-distribute-tv-dramas-movies-online-in-china-1416902891-lMyQjAxMTA0OTIwNTkyODUwWj
HONG KONG— Time Warner Inc. ’s HBO signed a deal with Tencent Holdings Ltd. to distribute its TV dramas and movies through the Chinese Internet giant’s online video site as the U.S. cable network tries to expand its audience in China.
For the network behind popular series such as “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective,” the partnership could allow it to take advantage of Tencent’s massive online user base and create an official distribution channel in a market where pirated videos are rampant.
“It is exciting to have our content being distributed in China with a legitimate distributor,” said an HBO spokesman. “We expect this to serve as a nice counter to the piracy that is going on inside the country.”
For Tencent, whose online games and social networks have hundreds of millions of users in China, the HBO deal will aid it against rivals in online entertainment, a major battlefield for China’s technology firms. In July, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced an alliance with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to offer the U.S. company’s programs on Alibaba’s set-top boxes. Xiaomi Inc., China’s largest smartphone maker by shipments, said earlier this month it will invest $1 billion to acquire TV programs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 10 will support FLAC natively
http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-10-will-support-flac-natively
For media enthusiasts, Windows 10 is shaping up to be a good OS for your next media player as Microsoft has announced that FLAC support will ship with Windows 10. This codec is widely used and will be a welcomed addition to Windows 10.
FLAC stands for ‘Free Lossless Audio Codec’ and can shrink a file to roughly 50-60% of its original size; when decompressed the file goes back to its original state.
This additional codec is not the only new media support coming to Windows 10; Neowin had uncovered that MKV support will also ship with Windows 10 as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mikme – Wireless Recording Microphone
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mikme/mikme-wireless-recording-microphone
Introducing a new way to simply create and share music in studio quality. All you need is the Mikme microphone and creative people.
The key ingredient to a good song is emotion.
If inspiration hits you right now, capturing it can be quite a process. You either use your phone, which provides mediocre audio quality, or you put a microphone on a stand, connect some cables (after untangling them), turn your devices on, launch your recording software, make the update, restart your computer, open your recording software (again), create a song, create a track, select an input, etc. After 10 minutes of setting up your inspiration is nowhere to be found.
The Mikme idea: You, a microphone and an app. The Mikme Wireless Recording Microphone allows you to instantly record and store studio-grade audio. It links wirelessly with the free Mikme App, which allows you to capture up to 8 tracks per song. Within the app, you can record, mix, edit and share instantly.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GoPro Developing Line of Consumer Drones
Company Plans To Start Selling Multi-Rotor Helicopters With High-Def Cameras Late Next Year
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/gopro-developing-line-of-consumer-drones-1417020883-lMyQjAxMTE0NjI1NjkyOTY4Wj
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chromecast snags Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, Comedy Central, and more
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2851866/chromecast-snags-nickelodeon-seseame-street-comedy-central-and-more.html
Google is adding some big names to the Chromecast roster just in time for Thanksgiving. On Tuesday, seven new apps embraced Google’s $35 streaming media stick, and almost all of them are from big name media companies.
Viacom is adding Chromecast support to both Comedy Central and Nickelodeon apps, and Sesame Street Go, Sesame Workshop’s subscription service, is also now casting. TuneIn Radio—with its selection of podcasts and radio streaming—now supports Chromecast, as does Encore Play, Epix, and YuppTV, a live streaming app for TV from India.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A DRONE OF THEIR OWN: GoPro tabbed for cameracopter launch
Camera firm will cut the middleman for flying filmmakers
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/27/a_drone_of_their_own_gopro_tabbed_for_cameracopter_launch/
Action camera company GoPro is reportedly planning develop and sell its own line of camera-equipped drones.
A report from The Wall Street Journal cites sources familiar with the plans in reporting that the company will develop “multirotor helicopters” with built-in HD cameras.
Those drone-based videos are also becoming increasingly popular online as the craft are able to get hundreds of feet in the air and record shots that would have required prohibitively expensive equipment mounted to a helicopter or small plane.
GoPro Developing Line of Consumer Drones
Company Plans to Start Selling Multirotor Helicopters With High-Definition Cameras Late Next Year
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/gopro-developing-line-of-consumer-drones-1417020883-lMyQjAxMTE0NjI1NjkyOTY4Wj
GoPro Inc. is developing its own line of consumer drones to expand from its core business of making wearable video cameras popular with surfers and other sports enthusiasts, according to people familiar with its plans.
The company plans to start selling multirotor helicopters equipped with high-definition cameras late next year, aiming for a price tag between $500 and $1,000, according to these people.
The entry of a big consumer-electronics brand to the drone market signals how mainstream—and lucrative—the industry has become in just a few years. Consumers have flocked to unmanned aircraft in recent years as technology advances have made them smaller, cheaper and easier to fly, leaving regulators scrambling to keep up.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chromecast video on UK, Euro TVs hertz so badly it makes us judder – but Google ‘won’t fix’
‘Very hard’ problem, devs claim
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/27/chromecast_judder_issue/
Google disappointed fans of its priced-like-a-pizza Chromecast TV dongle this week, when it said it won’t be fixing an annoying video quirk that has some European customers’ eyes twitching.
The Chromecast, which lets users stream online content to their TVs while using their PCs and mobile devices as controllers, first went on sale in the UK and Europe in March, after launching in the US in July 2013.
But it wasn’t long before some eagle-eyed Europeans started noticing an irksome problem: most video content in Europe is delivered at either 50 or 25 frames per second, but the Chromecast is hard-wired to send video over its HDMI port at a refresh rate of 60Hz, rather than the European standard of 50Hz.
Because neither 50 nor 25 divides evenly into 60, the result is a mismatch phenomenon known in video parlance as “judder,” where some frames are displayed for longer than others, resulting in a jittery picture.
The same can happen when watching content that was originally filmed for the cinema, which typically plays at 24 frames per second. The slight judder at 50Hz isn’t so noticeable, but at 60Hz it can become pronounced, particularly during fast camera movements.
If some of this sounds familiar, it may be because Brit and Euro users of Microsoft’s Xbox One noticed a similar issue. But while Redmond eventually pushed out a firmware update that let customers switch their consoles to outputting 50Hz, Google says it has no plans to do the same for Chromecast.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 10 To Feature Native Support For MKV and FLAC
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/11/27/1347217/windows-10-to-feature-native-support-for-mkv-and-flac
Windows Media Player is going to become a more useful media player for those who want to play geeky file formats. Microsoft has earlier confirmed that Windows 10 will come with native support for Matroska Video, but the company now talks about also adding FLAC support.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Analog Instagram
http://hackaday.com/2014/11/27/analog-instagram/
Several decades ago, the all the punks and artsy types had terrible lenses with terrible camera that leaked light everywhere. Film was crap, and thus was born the fascinating world of Lomography, with effects and light leaks unique to individual cameras.
Now, everyone has a smartphone with high-resolution sensors, great lenses, and Instagram to replicate the warm look of filters, light leaks, and other ‘artististic’ photographic techniques. The new version of this photography is purely in the digital domain, and wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to make your digital selfies analog once again?
Instead of adding filters and other digital modifications to smartphone snaps, the SnapJet prints pictures onto Polaroid film.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wormhole in Interstellar Movie Designed with a Linux OS
The production team of the movie used Red Hat
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wormhole-in-Interstellar-Movie-Designed-with-a-Linux-OS-465762.shtml
The Interstellar movie has been released not long ago and it was an instant success, despite some of the criticism that has been expressed by a number of physicists. To make thinks even more interesting, at least for Linux users, it looks like the production team used Linux to built the black hole in the movie.
It’s not really a secret that the scientific community is mostly using Linux for their work and the same applies for production studios that work on movies.
One of the main challenges of rendering a wormhole was the fact that it’s actually a 3D object.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Festive streamers caught in Vulture’s claws: Gadget-ogle for audiophiles, video geeks
Watch out for Chrimbo compatibility, though
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/28/islands_in_the_stream_christmas_streamer/
So, if you’re toying with treating yourself to a streamer this Christmas, what the hell should you get? I’d love to say there’s a simple answer. But it’s not entirely straightforward.
Right now, your choice may be partly governed by whether you want specific services – say Blinkbox, or Amazon Prime – and to a degree by the other devices you have available.
In short, if you’re planning on buying a streamer this Christmas, proceed with caution.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Toy “Review” Videos Are Weird and Popular. So Disney’s Maker Studios Is Signing Them Up.
http://recode.net/2014/11/25/toy-review-videos-are-weird-and-popular-so-disneys-maker-studios-is-signing-them-up/
Disney characters and properties appear in some of YouTube’s most popular programming, but Disney doesn’t make any money when that happens. Now Disney wants to change that.
Disney’s Maker Studios network has signed on five “toy review” programmers, who produce a weird, fetishistic and very popular kind of video — they usually consists of not much more than showing a toy in its packaging, describing it, then taking it out of the packaging.
This sort of stuff is very popular on YouTube! DisneyCarToys, for example, boasts more than 1 million subscribers, and Disney/Maker says it has generated 140 million views in the last month.
And if that seems odd to you, consider that “unboxing” videos have been a big deal for tech nerds for a very long time. And that “haul” videos, where young women show off stuff they’ve bought, are the basis for StyleHaul, a company worth $150 million.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BitTorrent Goes Legit With Its First Original Web Series
Tries to change perception as an illegal downloading service By Michelle Castillo
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/bittorrent-goes-legit-its-first-original-web-series-161652
Peer-to-peer file sharing platform BitTorrent wants to change what the public thinks it does. Instead of being associated with all the illegal TV shows, movies and illicit content it can store, the tech company wants to be seen as a provider of premium legal content.
Next fall, BitTorrent will distribute its first original Web series, Children of the Machine.
“This is a science fiction show catered to the typical tech-savvy, male-dominated audience,” Weber said
Weber said he chose to release his show with BitTorrent because the site’s users are his target demographic, which means a built-in audience for him and his future advertisers. The pilot and an ad-supported version of Children of the Machine will be made available for free download, but those who want to skip ads can pay $4.95 for the eight-episode season or $9.95 for bonus content. Six weeks after the pilot is released, the show will be available all at once, much like the Netflix model. The show has not signed any ad deals yet, but it’s in talks with technology industry companies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Who Needs NASA? Exoplanet Detected Using a DSLR
http://science.slashdot.org/story/14/12/01/046240/who-needs-nasa-exoplanet-detected-using-a-dslr
Until 20 years ago even the best telescopes in the world could not detect a planet outside our solar system. Now, with the aid of a basic DSLR, low cost lens and some DIY magic, you just might be able to “see” ET’s home planet for yourself.
DIY Exoplanet Detector Using a DSLR
http://lensvid.com/gear/diy-exoplanet-detector-using-dslr/
Your DSLR can do much more than just take a few nice portraits or the occasional vacation photos – with some DIY magic you can actually turn it into a device which can detect planets outside our solar system – something that 20 years ago was impossible even with the most sophisticated telescopes.
So how can you achieve this? David Schneider who you can see in the video above was able to use his Canon EOS Rebel XS (a.k.a Canon 1000D) camera. With old manual-focus 300mm Nikon telephoto lens he got from eBay for under a $100 with a $17 adapter
Buying and building the hardware you see in the video was actually the easy part. The hard part was finding a way to look for a target star, track it and be able to measure the brightness of the star changing as a planet passes by it.
All this makes us wonder if NASA can actually do something that will significantly improve our ability to detect expoplanets and cost a fraction of any existing observatory. By funding a competition between companies and entrepreneurs to create a low cost but functional hardware that will be sold at a relatively low price to the consumer (say below $300 or so) and use any DSLR with a telephoto lens and a simple distributed computing software along the lines of SETI@home or Orbit@home that will coordinate worldwide efforts to locate, track and confirm the existence and orbits of exoplanets
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix: Sacre vache! French resistance from the vestibuleurs de consommation
OTT giant plays its blagueur with Maison de Cartes
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/01/netflix_french_resistance_comes_from_consumer_lobby/
Netflix has so far skipped neatly over all the French hurdles that have tripped up many lesser foreign invaders in what has become a minefield of bureaucracy and xenophobia, especially for US multinationals.
To some extent, Netflix has turned its French resistance to its advantage, gaining valuable publicity on the back of it during a well-organised marketing campaign ahead of its mid-September launch there.
It has succeeded in negotiating terms with the leading broadband providers except Free, after all had initially declined to come on board.
Typically, Netflix offers around 10 per cent of its revenues to ISPs for distributing its service, but in France the average amount is at least 25 per cent and sometimes as much as a third.
So with the main broadband players on board and concessions with the French film and content production industry agreed, it looked at last as if Netflix had a clear ride in France. But then consumer organisation CLCV (Consommation, logement et cadre de vie), announced it was suing Netflix on three counts, which came as a surprise in so far that it had earlier welcomed its entry on competition grounds.
It is well known that the French pay TV industry has been controlled by a few powerful players which have levied higher subscription charges than neighbouring countries, particularly for basic packages.
CLCV’s first complaint is over a clause in which Netflix reserves the right to modify the terms of its contract without notifying customers. This, CLCV argues, contravenes the French law that companies must notify customers of any changes and give them the option to opt out without penalty in that event.
CLCV’s second complaint is that Netflix doesn’t guarantee the quality of service, which the group says means consumers cannot negotiate compensation or refunds if they are not satisfied. The argument here is that consumers have no yardstick upon which to base their complaint.
The second complaint cannot be so directly addressed because there is no agreed yardstick for video QoS beyond bit rate, which is largely in the gift of the ISP. This has been a bone of contention between Netflix and ISPs elsewhere, especially in its home US market, where the likes of Verizon and AT&T had been accused of “standing on the hose”.
France is something of a special case with its unique combination of socialism and protectionism that has increasingly impeded enterprise in recent years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Echo review: A perfect 10
http://www.zdnet.com/amazon-echo-review-a-perfect-10-7000035980/
Summary: This unique device from the folks at Amazon wants to be your invisible friend in the room. In some ways it probably will be.
When Amazon announced the Echo recently, many didn’t know what to make of it. The cylindrical tower is an audio system that is always connected to the web. It can stream music from Amazon’s Prime Music library, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and play local music collections. With the integrated Bluetooth, the Echo can play music streamed from local devices. The Amazon Echo is a decent audio system at its base level, and so much more.
When I first tried to describe the Echo to my non-techie friends, they ended up confused. I changed tactics and began simply describing the Amazon Echo as a “tower of Siri”, and everyone got it.
The Amazon Echo is a metal cylinder, half of which is perforated to let the audio out. It sounds pretty good for such a small device given the 2-inch tweeter, 2.5-inch woofer, and the reflex port designed to play deep sounds. The cylinder doesn’t take up much room on a desk or table given its 3.27-inch footprint. It is 9.25 inches tall.
Audio playback sounds pretty good on the Echo. It doesn’t rival high-end systems but is good for the price.
The volume goes up pretty high for such a small system, with very little distortion at high volume. It handles bass pretty well, although not as well as systems with a subwoofer. I use it with the volume toward the middle of the range and it fills my large apartment.
Should you buy one?
That’s usually the first question I get asked about a new gadget, and I rarely make recommendations of this nature. I am making an exception about the Amazon Echo because I think it can bring great value to most folks. I think most people will like the Amazon Echo even at full price.
It’s a reasonably good audio system at its base level, and the interaction with Alexa adds a lot of value. It is very useful when you need information to just ask Alexa to get it. After only a few hours of using the Echo you will likely find, as I did, that you are already coming to rely on Alexa.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fight Over Yahoo’s Use of Flickr Photos
Yahoo Starts Selling Canvas Prints From Free Pictures Uploaded to the Internet Sharing Site
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/fight-over-flickrs-use-of-photos-1416875564-lMyQjAxMTA0OTIwNDkyODQwWj
But she’s not happy about a recent move by Yahoo Inc., Flickr’s owner, to make canvas prints from the photos she and others post to the site, sell them for up to $49 apiece and keep all of the profits.
“It ticked me off that somebody else is selling them when I was giving them away,” said Ms. West, a retired writer in Boxborough, Mass., who goes by “Muffet” on Flickr.
Ms. West is among millions of contributors to the Creative Commons, an online repository of images and writings that their creators allow others to reuse and repurpose, free, under certain conditions. Artists can specify, for example, whether their works can be used for commercial purposes and ensure they receive credit in any derivative work.
More than 300 million publicly shared Flickr images use Creative Commons licenses, making it the largest content partner. Yahoo last week said it would begin selling prints of 50 million Creative Commons-licensed images as well as an unspecified number of other photos handpicked from Flickr.
For the handpicked photos, the company will give 51% of sales to their creators. For the Creative Commons images, Yahoo will keep all of the revenue.
Tomi Engdahl says:
David Carnoy / CNET:
Amazon Echo speaker review: uneven sound quality, voice control a mere novelty, no iOS integration
Amazon Echo review: Amazon Echo talks the talk, but still needs a little work on walking the walk
http://www.cnet.com/products/amazon-echo/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Star Witness in Apple Lawsuit Is Steve Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/technology/star-witness-in-apple-suit-is-steve-jobs.html?_r=0
Three years after his death, Steve Jobs is very much a presence in courtrooms across the country.
And that’s not necessarily good news for Apple.
In December, the company is set to go to trial in the third major antitrust lawsuit it has faced since Mr. Jobs died. His emails will play an important role in the case, as they did in the last two. But lawyers will probably have to work hard to give his statements a positive spin. The potential damages — around $350 million — are a pittance for a company that in its last quarter had an $8.5 billion profit.
Executives are often told by their lawyers to be careful what they put in writing for fear it will end up as evidence in a courtroom. Perhaps Mr. Jobs did not get the memo. His emails in past lawsuits — a mix of blunt litigation threats against his opponents and cheery financial promises for potential business partners — have made him an exceptional witness against his own company, even beyond the grave.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Simple Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Audio System
http://www.eeweb.com/company-blog/maxim/simple-wireless-bluetooth-stereo-audio-system/
Music can be available now to anyone even when outdoors through bluetooth technology. This wireless technology enables the transfer and communication of devices through short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz. This note will help the readers to design a simple wireless Bluetooth stereo audio system.
When people want portable music, they usually rely on battery-powered audio devices. Of course you can buy a sound system for outdoor use, but those can be quite expensive and, as we shall show, unnecessary. With just a bit of engineering blood (or curiosity) running in your veins, it is not that difficult to build a wireless Bluetooth® stereo audio system that can be controlled with any device that has a Bluetooth connection and a music player.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Steve Jobs to make ‘court appearance’ in Apple iTunes trial
Firm begins defence against music monopoly allegations
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2384458/steve-jobs-to-make-court-appearance-in-apple-itunes-trial
DEPARTED Apple CEO Steve Jobs will make some sort of testimony at a court case concerning whether Apple created a monopoly when it set up iTunes and unleashed the iPod.
According to reports on Reuters, opening statements will kick off today with a host of Apple bigwigs and communications from the dark days of the mid-2000s. Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, will make a video testimony.
At issue here is Apple’s FairPlay digital rights management system. Back in 2005 we reported that Apple was facing criticism over FairPlay and being accused of playing anything but fair.
The suggestion a decade ago was that FairPlay and its exclusivity “constitutes a significant restraint on the free circulation of creative works”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple goes to trial over $1 billion digital music lawsuit in California
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2014/12/02/apple-faces-trial-digital-music-lawsuit/
Apple is headed to court today to defend against allegations that it “abused a monopoly position in the digital music player market”, in a class action lawsuit in California that could cost the company $1 billion, reports Reuters.
The case in question was brought forward by a group of businesses and individuals who bought iPods between 2006 and 2009, who claim that a 2006 iTunes software update locked music purchased on iTunes so that it could only be played on Apple’s portable music players.The case in question was brought forward by a group of businesses and individuals who bought iPods between 2006 and 2009, who claim that a 2006 iTunes software update locked music purchased on iTunes so that it could only be played on Apple’s portable music players.
To put it more simply, those who bought music on iTunes and RealPlayer wouldn’t be able to listen to RealPlayer content on their iPods, and switching to a different device would lock them out of their iTunes libraries.
Tomi Engdahl says:
We never thought a video would be watched in numbers greater than a 32-bit integer (=2,147,483,647 views), but that was before we met PSY. “Gangnam Style” has been viewed so many times we have to upgrade!
PSY breaks YouTube view counter with “Gangnam Style”
http://www.koreaboo.com/featured/psy-breaks-youtube-view-counter-gangnam-style/
PSY broke YouTube record by becoming the first video on the site to reach one billion views, and then again with two billion views for his worldwide hit “Gangnam Style.” Now according to YouTube, the video-sharing site will be going through an upgrade because of the sensational video.
On December 1st local time, YouTube shared on Google+ that they will be undergoing an upgrade with their video view counter after PSY’s “Gangnam Style” actually hit the max number it could reach!
Tomi Engdahl says:
MEMS Mics Taking Over
Tasks once performed by specialized chips
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324827&
Almost every mobile device has ditched its old-fashioned electret microphone invented way back in 1962 at Bell Labs. Most microelectromechanical (MEMS) microphones just copy the basic principle driving electrets, electrically biased diaphragms whose capacitance changes as sound wave vibrate it. On the frontier, however, are piezoelectric MEMS microphones, which promise unheard of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of up to 80 dB (versus 65 dB in the best current capacitive microphones) in 2015.
Either way, MEMS microphones are growing like gangbusters, because engineers have found a whole bunch of applications that can use them as a substitute for more specialized sensors starting in 2015 — getting more bang for the buck (or, if you want to be all official about it, a lower bill of materials).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Roku still tops as sales of streaming-media players rise
http://www.cnet.com/news/more-households-buying-streaming-media-players-roku-still-tops/
Ten percent of US households with a broadband connection purchased a streaming-media device in the first nine months of this year, already matching last year’s tally.
Streaming-media devices continue to grow in popularity amid swiftly shifting competition, according to a new report.
During the first three quarters of 2014, 10 percent of US households with a broadband connection bought at least one streaming-media player, market researcher Parks Associates said Tuesday. The players include set-top boxes and sticks, which plug into HDMI ports, that access scores of channels and services, such as Netflix, Hulu Plus or Amazon Instant Video.
Streaming-media players have been hitting store shelves at a rapid clip in recent years. Apple jumped into the market in 2007 but last updated its box nearly two years ago. Roku launched its first box in mid-2008 and has continually updated its products, including releasing its stick in March. Google’s Chromecast stick has been on the market since mid-2013. Amazon jumped into the market in April with its box and again last month with its Fire TV stick.
The rise in streaming devices is due in part to the change in how people watch TV, as well as their interest in accessing the Internet on their TV screens. Over the past decade or so, viewing habits have shifted dramatically, with people watching more shows they’ve recorded as opposed to when they first air. The industry dubs this type of viewing as “non-linear.”
“Nearly 50 percent of video content that U.S. consumers watch on a TV set is non-linear, up from 38 percent in 2010, and it is already the majority for people 18-44,” Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates, said in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Live from everywhere: ABC News journalists will stream video to your screen
http://mashable.com/2014/12/02/abc-news-gostream/
ABC News is giving its journalists the ability to live stream video to viewers, embracing a popular tool among citizen journalists.
The project, called GoStream, will allow any of ABC’s field journalists to fire up an app and begin sending raw video to ABC News, which will then disseminate the streams. Viewers will be able to choose from any number of feeds during major events, which will not air with a delay. The program could be broadened to include civilians that live stream as well.
Live streaming has been embraced as a platform to give first-person accounts of major events. The recent Ferguson protests featured a variety of live streams, like that of citizen journalist Bassem Masri. Vice News has also used live streaming to provide unfiltered looks from the scenes unfolding on the ground in conflict areas, including in Ferguson, Missouri.
ABC News has been working to compete with cable news networks and other major broadcasts as consumers turn to the Internet for news.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Magic Mirror on the Wall, How Do You Even Work at All?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1324811&
The more one looks into it, the more one realizes that aspects of mirrors that initially appear to be intuitive are, in fact, extremely hard to explain.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Steam tests Twitch-like broadcasting feature to let others watch you play games — Steam takes on Twitch with new broadcasting feature — Valve is moving into video game streaming with a new broadcasting feature for Steam. Launching in beta today
Steam takes on Twitch with new broadcasting feature
http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/2/7321533/steam-broadcasting
It sounds like it’s primarily designed so you can watch your friends — Valve advertises it as a way to “watch friends play, with the click of a button” — but there’s also a public option that lets anyone view a game stream, which puts the service in direct competition with Twitch. You can also use it not only from the Steam client, but also from either Chrome or Safari.
At present, broadcasts are only available live, so you won’t be able to share your streams for later watching, and in order to use the feature you’ll need to sign up for the beta version of Steam.
Game streaming has rapidly become a big business, thanks in part to the rise of esports (Valve’s own esports tournament, The International, featured a $10 million prize pool this year, and parts of it were even broadcast by ESPN).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jeff Elder / Wall Street Journal:
Lawyers say Apple deleted music from rival services on users iPods between 2007-2009 — Apple Deleted Rivals’ Songs from Users’ iPods — Apple deleted music that some iPod owners had downloaded from competing music services from 2007 to 2009 without telling users,
Apple Deleted Rivals’ Songs from Users’ iPods
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/12/03/apple-deleted-rivals-songs-from-users-ipods/
Apple deleted music that some iPod owners had downloaded from competing music services from 2007 to 2009 without telling users, attorneys for consumers told jurors in a class-action antitrust suit against Apple Wednesday.
“You guys decided to give them the worst possible experience and blow up” a user’s music library, attorney Patrick Coughlin said in U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif.
When a user who had downloaded music from a rival service tried to sync an iPod to the user’s iTunes library, Apple would display an error message and instruct the user to restore the factory settings, Coughlin said. When the user restored the settings, the music from rival services would disappear, he said.
Apple directed the system “not to tell users the problem,” Coughlin said.
To plaintiffs in the case, the move showed how Apple had stifled competition for music players and downloads. They are seeking $350 million in damages in the decade-old suit, claiming Apple’s actions forced them to pay more for iPods. The damages could be tripled under antitrust laws.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TI’s Digital Light Processor Shrinks to Glasses Size
Texas Instruments’ DLP gets really small
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324839&
Last month Texas Instruments introduced its highest resolution digital light processor (DLP) chipsets for 3D printing and 3D machine vision with a record 4 million pixels (2560 x 1600). This month it’s following up with its smallest 2 million pixel (1920 x 1080) DLP Pico chipset for ultra-compact applications — from near-eye displays (think Google Glass), to heads-up displays, to augmented reality, to virtual reality, to gaming, to all sorts of tiny-projector applications, from ones built into what TI calls “screenless TVs” to even some smartphones.
How was it possible to squeeze 2 million full HD pixels into an 11.9 millimeter diagonal area? By going back to basics and redesigning the moving mirrors.
The new 11.9 millimeter (0.47 inch) diagonal Tilt & Roll chipset is now the smallest DLP to feature full HD (1920 x 1080) definition. It is currently sampling to original equipment manufactures (OEMs), which are building optical engines of all different brightnesses — from cinema-sized projectors for which TI holds 80 percent of the market, to plug-in-the-wall screenless TVs capable of 100-inch displays, to battery powered pocket-sized projectors for conference-room sized displays, to ultra-low-power displays like control panels, interactive displays, and wearables.