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:
“A surprising change in movie theaters – 120 years on ‘
Hollywood studio Paramount has decided to stop the distribution of films in film reels, telling the Los Angeles Times’ sources. The decision is at the end of the beginning of the film a surprisingly long-standing use.
The Los Angeles Times writes that the magazine according to sources, The Wolf of Wall Street is Paramount’s first major film, which is distributed in digital form only.
Paramount to the LA Times, the first of Hollywood’s major studios, who gave up his whole film.
Paramount’s decision may, however, accelerate the circulation of the end of the film.
Almost all movie theaters have moved in recent years, digital technology both in Finland and the United States. For the smallest cinemas, it has not been economically feasible.
The reason for this is the price of digital movie projectors. Los Angeles Times reports that it is about 70 000 dollars, or more than € 50 000 investment.
It is possible that part of the small cinemas are failing, when the distribution of films traditional film runs out.
It is interesting that the film is not completely dead either film production. Some of the directors of the film to keep the traditional description yet artistically better solution. The digital film might be shot on film and converted to digital format only at the production stage.
Source: Tietokone
http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/yllattava_muutos_elokuvateattereihin_120_vuoden_jalkeen
Tomi Engdahl says:
January 21, 2014, 4:33 a.m. ET
Verizon to Buy Intel Media Assets
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140121-701665.html
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) has agreed to buy from Intel Corp. (INTC) the assets of Intel Media, a business division that develops Cloud TV products and services.
The transaction will accelerate the availability of next-generation video services, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Verizon will purchase intellectual-property rights and other assets that enable Intel’s OnCue Cloud TV platform.
After the deal closes, Verizon expects to integrate the IP-based TV services with FiOS video.
Tomi Engdahl says:
So Dr Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Trent Reznor walk into a bar
… and walk out shouting ‘THE WORLD REALLY NEEDS ANOTHER DIGITAL MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE!’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/21/so_dr_dre_jimmy_iovine_and_trent_reznor_walk_into_a_bar/
Today finally sees the launch of the much-delayed and much-hyped anticipated Beats Music service in the USA. Its parentage alone assures the service plenty of attention: the lead UI designer is Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and it’s a venture from the headphone manufacturer owned by producers Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine.
The CEO is former Yahoo! Music chief Ian Rogers.
Rather than replicate the bare bones “spreadsheet” approach of throwing a blank grid over a vast catalogue of music, Beats has spent heavily on creating an editorially based service with lots of location and social integration.
Beats offers a seven-day trial but it’s $9.99 a month after that.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shielded twisted-pair cable receives HDBase-T recommendation
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/01/extron-hdbaset-cable.html
Extron Electronics’ XTP DTP 24 Shielded Twisted Pair Cable recently received HDBase-T recommendation after it was independently tested in an HDBase-T Alliance Recognized Testing Facility and verified to exceed performance requirements for recommendation by the Alliance. “The HDBase-T Alliance’s Cable Recommendation Program helps AV installers to select cables that are engineered for optimum signal transmission within a twisted-pair infrastructure,” Extron explained when announcing its cable’s milestone. “Extron XTP DTP 24 cable is specifically engineered to improve performance and signal-path reliability with Extron XTP systems, DTP systems, and HDBase-T applications. The cable is available in both plenum and non-plenum versions, and is certified to 475-MHz bandwidth at distances up to 330 feet (100 meters).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Leaked software suggests Sony’s next flagship phone will record 4K video
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/21/sony-sirius-android-kitkat-leak/
With shots of a new Sony smartphone surfacing ahead of a possible reveal at next month’s Mobile World Congress, we guessed it wouldn’t be long until we laid eyes on the software powering it. XperiaBlog got its hands on an Android 4.4.2 KitKat build for the Xperia D6503 (rumored codename Sirius)
The headline-grabbing tweaks include options to record 4K and high frame-rate video, utilize Smart backlight controls
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Considering Online Pay-TV Service
Live TV Channels Would Compete With Cable, Satellite
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304757004579334981130200324-lMyQjAxMTA0MDIwMTEyNDEyWj
Tomi Engdahl says:
CONFIRMED: Man Interrogated By FBI For Wearing Prescription Google Glass At The Movies
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/man-interrogated-by-fbi-for-wearing-prescription-google-glass-at-the-movies-2014-1#ixzz2r7taw2P2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon Denies It Has Plans to Create an Over-the-Top TV Service
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/would-amazon-use-over-the-top-tv-as-a-loss-leader-for-e-commerce-1201066139/
Internet retailer responds to Wall Street Journal report that Amazon has approached TV networks about licensing channels
Amazon.com denied a report that it was seeking to license TV channels to launch a broadband-delivered television service.
The e-commerce colossus has approached at least three unidentified entertainment companies about licensing TV channels for an over-the-top video service, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video: How We Can Expect to Manage Entertainment in 2014
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=270798
Many homes have large LED TVs and Blu-ray players. This is the current generation of technology deployed in households around the globe. However, all this technology is using old techniques for controlling devices, including remotes and push buttons on the devices themselves. Other personal devices, such as phones and tablets, have moved past the old model of input peripherals and use touchscreens and motion gesture. For example, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have motion-tracking cameras that can utilize gesture recognition to play and control the console, along with speech recognition for additional input.
Not every household will have an Xbox One and motion gesture input. Many companies are aware of this and are planning on creating devices for the sole purpose of gesture and voice recognition. These devices would be attached to televisions or possibly integrated into them during the manufacturing process.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tivo Lays Off Most of Its Design Team as It Transitions to the Cloud
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/tivo-lays-hardware-design-team-gets-ready-exit-hardware/
Tivo has been bullish lately about releasing new software products beyond its core DVR boxes. Today, we found out why. The company laid off nearly all the industrial designers of those products.
According to sources within Tivo, most of the hardware team has been let go. So far, that’s five employees. A skeleton crew of two engineers has been retained to handle support for current and upcoming third-party devices. The sources told WIRED that Tivo is getting out of the hardware business altogether and making a big direction change.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter’s 2014 Strategy: The Intersection of Video and Data
True second-screen targeting
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/twitter-s-2014-strategy-intersection-video-and-data-155067
Twitter is doubling down on its second-screen pitch.
The company has been meeting with agencies and brands since the beginning of the year, showing off its ad product road map in an attempt to counter Facebook’s push into video, according to industry sources who met with the social network. Several of these meetings occurred at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.
“Twitter is most bullish on video and data, and the intersection of video and data,” said one agency executive who was briefed on Twitter’s 2014 strategy.
Industry insiders signed non-disclosure agreements and could not reveal specifics on Twitter’s upcoming ad products. But clearly, Twitter has spent much of the past year touting its symbiotic relationship with TV.
Brands are convinced of Twitter’s value, and the ad spending reflects their enthusiasm. “Twitter spend will increase this year for a number of reasons, one being their embrace of television,” said David Rittenhouse, Neo@Ogilvy’s managing director. TV’s use of Twitter will evolve beyond the simple adoption of hashtags in prime time, he said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Boffins measure 27 quantum states of light
Just how dead is Schrödinger’s cat?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/22/boffins_measure_27_quantum_states_of_light/
The weak measurements disturb the quantum system without making it collapse: each weak measurement is of low enough quality that it only yields partial information about the quantum state
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix warns operators: Let us try to make some money of our customers so we customers upon you
Netflix warns of internet video service operators to restrict the use of its customers’ subscriptions. Warning to the U.S. Court of Appeals last week’s decision to allow online operators to classify and restrict traffic to mobile networks.
In practice, Netflix is worried that one of the big operators in the U.S. would slow down the servers for Netflix users degree of traffic, unless the video service provider would pay a premium price. The same could also include, for example, Google’s YouTube.
Netflix CEO’s Reed Hastings, the restrictions on the introduction of the lack of internet traffic equality would not be wise. Hastings promises that the company would protest against the practices and would push customers require operators to the unrestricted context out of which they already pay.
Hastings also anticipates that the traffic restriction of the government should be interested in the matter, which could lead to operators to difficult new regulations.
“Internet operators have generally aware of the widespread support for network neutrality and they want the government to impose new restrictions,” Hastings writes.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/netflix+varoittaa+operaattoreita+yrittakaapa+rahastaa+niin+usutamme+asiakkaamme+kimppuunne/a961809
Tomi Engdahl says:
TiVo: Yes we’ve axed staff, but we’re NOT packing in hardware biz
Designers laid off as set-top box maker looks to cloud
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/23/tivo_layoffs_and_rumblings_about_exiting_hardware_biz/
TiVo is shuffling its playing cards as it prepares to shift its strategy somewhat towards the cloud – however the set-top maker has flatly denied claims that it is retreating from the hardware business.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Netflix bitch’: CEO of vid-streaming site taunts HBO chief over results
Decent results too, with 43m subscribers. But pride does come before a fall
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/23/netflix_q4_fy2013/
Over-the-top video streamer Netflix finished the year with over 43 million subscribers, almost all of whom pay, the company reported yesterday.
Netflix recorded revenue of $1.1bn in Q4 2013, including its legacy DVD-by-post business, and a slender net income of $48m. It’s still going for growth, though, with 10.93 million punters outside the USA, and launched into Scandinavia and Holland late last year.
The company announced it will raise $400m of debt this year, bringing its total debt to $900m.
Netflix likes to compare itself to HBO, which it has overtaken in subscriber numbers (but not value) – and it likes to wind up the network, too.
But Netflix has had it pretty easy so far. It’s made large back catalogues of other people’s TV shows cheaply available. If it wants to be as ubiquitous as cable, it needs to invest in original shows, too.
It has started to do so, with its remake of House of Cards, the original Orange is the New Black and Lilyhammer,
Eventually the headline-grabbing hand-waving mantra of “we’re disrupting your industry” stops, and they have to start pleasing punters. At which point they’re in the same business as every other incumbent.
Hastings also warned ISPs not to be tempted to impose a surcharge for carrying Netflix or degrade the service – a reminder of where the power lies in the so-called “net neutrality” narrative. Netflix alone now accounts for a third of peak-time internet traffic in the USA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sources say new Apple TV box likely coming soon, App/Game Store possible
http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/23/new-apple-tv-set-top-box-likely-coming-soon-appgame-store-possible/
We’ve learned that Apple is making progress on its development of a successor to the current Apple TV and that the device is well into testing. We are led to believe that the new device, which is said to be a set-top box rather than a full-fledged TV set, will likely be introduced in the first half of 2014. We understand that the product will include a revamped operating system that will be based on iOS. Of course, release timeframes with these type of products can quickly change due to the content partners that are involved in such products…
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES 2014: AMD Showcases FreeSync
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=271158&cid=nl.dn14
AMD pulled out all the stops for this year’s CES in Las Vegas, showcasing everything from 4K high-resolution displays to various software solutions such as the company’s FreeSync for implementing “dynamic refresh rates.”
AMD developed FreeSync, which is able to blend the monitors refresh rate with the number of FPS being generated with the video card, much like Nvidia’s G-Sync, to combat this issue.
In a demonstration at its booth, AMD used two off-the-shelf Toshiba Satellite notebooks to demonstrate the effect running a simple animated windmill, with run using typical vsync and the other using FreeSync. The vsync version ran much as you would expect, with noticeable image tearing and roughness, while the other with FreeSync produced a clean, smooth image.
The secret behind FreeSync is that it relies on technology found on almost all AMD GPU and APU chips over the last three generations, which is known as Vblank and is/was used primarily for power-saving options. Using vsync before new images are ready wastes power, which is what Vblank fixes as it sets a dynamic variable refresh rate to compensate for varying FPS.
The one drawback of this technology is that displays have to support it in order for it to function, and there are only a handful of display manufacturers who have adopted the technology. There is a movement, however, to create a VESA standard to rectify the issue, but only time will tell if or when it may be adopted.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CES 2014: Stefan Lindsay Demonstrates the gTar (Video)
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/14/01/23/214207/ces-2014-stefan-lindsay-demonstrates-the-gtar-video
It looks like an ordinary electric guitar, except for a little LED screen on its body and blinking lights up and down the fretboard that show you where your fingers should go. But the gTar, besides being “The First Guitar That Anybody Can Play,” hooks to your iPhone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A BBC-by-subscription ‘would be richer’, MPs told
Show us the models, then
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/24/a_bbcbysubscription_would_be_richer_mps_here/
Could the BBC be better off if it raised money through subscriptions? Last week Westminster heard that the BBC had modelled precisely this scenario and found that it would be richer than it is today. It just didn’t want to tell you.
And in a strange alignment of interests, the BBC’s pay-for rivals don’t want you to know either – they’d rather not have their prices compared to a by-subscription BBC
“Roughly 80 per cent of people say they would keep paying for the BBC if the cost was no different to the licence fee,” said Elstein. Around 40 per cent would pay double and 10 per cent of licence fee payers would pay treble.
“The average length of time people spend with BBC TV is about 10 hours a week watching TV. To give up that 10 hours a week for the sake of £11 a month doesn’t seem to me a powerful likelihood.”
The current licence fee is £145.50 per household, an average of £12.13 a month – or less than Spotify and Netflix combined. Sixty per cent of homes find an additional amount for cable (Virgin Media) or satellite (Sky). Because the fee is levied on every household, the BBC’s income has soared in the past 20 years as the number of UK households increased.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Online movie streaming can be profitable as TV, disc sales
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9245666/Online_movie_streaming_can_be_profitable_as_TV_disc_sales
New report also shows that revenue from DVD and Blu-ray sales will likely decrease by 38% over the next four years
If movie producers charged a $15 monthly fee to just 45% of the world’s online subscribers, they could rake in just as much cash as they currently do through TV downloads and disc sales, a report released today showed.
According to the report from U.K.-based Generator Research, movie producers this year are expected to earn $29.4 billion from TV and home video sales.
“Movie producers have little to fear from online distribution in the long term,” the report states. “It is the distribution part of the movie business that should be worried because online distribution will replace a sizable portion of their current industry.”
“For those operating in developed Internet markets, this will mean that corporate strategies must change,” the report added.
The Generator Research model assumes stagnant online movie distribution. However, online movie revenue is expected to increase by 260% from $3.5 billion this year to $12.7 billion in 2018, the report adds.
Forty-five percent of the world’s broadband subscribers equates to 348 million people.
According to the report’s hypothetical model, the $15 fee would offer open access to all movie content – meaning instant online access to all movies that have been ever produced, “along with new releases as they come out.”
“And they would get access to all of this from all of their connected devices,” the report stated.
Box office revenues, according to the report, are also expected to increase
Revenue from television downloads and rentals are also expected to increase
Conversely, DVD and Blu-ray revenues will fall because consumer demand is falling and competition from so-called “virtual formats” is increasing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ready, Steady, Shoot
An electronically stabilized video-camera mount for the masses
http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/ready-steady-shoot
In the 1970s, cameraman Garrett Brown wowed the movie industry by inventing the Brown Stabilizer, soon renamed the “Steadicam”: a mechanical system for stabilizing motion-picture cameras as they are carried about. Brown’s device relied on a clever arrangement of well-balanced counterweights, and it permitted shots that would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain previously, including many of the action scenes in 1976’s Marathon Man and Rocky.
Now the electronic counterpart to Brown’s innovation is shaking up filmmaking—especially low-budget filmmaking. Driving much of the excitement is the US $15 000 MōVI M10, a camera-stabilization rig that Freefly Systems began shipping in August, and which costs about a third as much as a high-end Steadicam rig. Instead of Brown’s counterweights, the M10 detects motion with gyroscopes and accelerometers. A microcomputer uses signals from these sensors to slew motorized gimbals to compensate for the operator’s movements.
Although the MōVI M10 is inexpensive by movie-industry standards, it’s still too pricey for many low-budget professionals, let alone amateur videographers. But cheaper stabilizers that work similarly to the M10 will soon be on sale
But I didn’t have thousands of dollars floating around. I did, however, discover that the MōVI, the BeSteady One, and the Ghost share a common technical heritage—they’re all handheld versions of the kind of stabilizers that hobbyists are increasingly using to mount small video cameras under model helicopters. These gimbal systems use brushless DC motors in an unusual mode, one that’s akin to microstepping a stepper motor but without the low-speed vibration found with most steppers.
Had I been really penny-pinching, I could have purchased brushless motors and a controller board from China and fabricated all the mechanical parts from plywood. But I was anxious to give this technology a try as soon as possible. On eBay, I purchased a $279 kit containing a controller board, a compatible inertial-measurement unit (IMU), two brushless motors, and various aluminum and carbon-fiber parts to complete the rig.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Television is unprofitable in throwing the product for shops in Finland
Fierce competition is fine-tuning the margins of the new TVs on sale null and void. They are considered to present no visual impact due and to attract customers. The Finns are now buying tablets with unit sales more than doubled.
The Finns do not buy TVs anymore unabated. Digi-screen TVs and new flat panel telly has already been purchased, there is no need to buy new equipment in the living room.
As yet unpublished home appliance retailers statistics show that TV sales declined considerably from last year. The song of volume, the drop was more than 12 percent, and the euro, down by about 11 per cent.
- At the moment the situation is the fact that the sale and manufacture of television sets is not a very profitable business
Televisions shop is not bad just because of the decline in sales. Competition has refined its margins to nothing. Kari Wood, several shops are televisions in its range of their visual impact and attract customers due. The profit made by other products such as washing machines sales.
Many stores are selling TV equipment even at a loss. The actual margins are also thrown in the TV cables sold, at a profit and hire purchase extended warranty, which the customer pays.
Finnish homes can be found at the present 4.4 million sets. It is so much so that almost every Finn is enough to one of the traditional television set. It is still on top of the hundreds of thousands of smartphones and tablets, which were also watching. Tablet sales increased last year over the previous year a staggering 144 per cent.
But when the TV is finally bought, it wants to be as big. More than 50-inch TV sales are clearly growing.
Source: YLE Uutiset
http://yle.fi/uutiset/televisio_on_kaupalle_kannattamaton_sisaanheittotuote/7052624
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reverse Engineering an HDMI Extender
http://hackaday.com/2014/01/25/reverse-engineering-an-hdmi-extender/
There’s a number of devices out there that extend HDMI over IP. You connect a video source to the transmitter, a display to the receiver, and link the two with a CAT5/5e/6 cable. These cables are much cheaper than HDMI cables, and can run longer distances.
[Daniel] didn’t care about extending HDMI, instead he wanted a low cost HDMI input for his PC. Capture cards are a bit expensive, so he decided to reverse engineer an IP HDMI extender.
After connecting a DVD player and TV, he fired up Wireshark and started sniffing the packets. The device was using IP multicast on two ports. One of these ports had a high bitrate, and contained JPEG headers. It looked like the video stream was raw MJPEG data.
In the end, video capture with the low cost device was possible.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pinterest Is More Popular Than Email for Sharing Stuff Online
http://www.wired.com/business/2014/01/pinterest-more-popular-than-email/
Pinterest, has become a potent force on the internet. According to a new study, it’s now one of the primary ways that people share stuff online. It even tops email.
“In a sign of how quickly social media has changed the digital landscape, consumers are now ‘pinning’ things like articles, photos and recipes to share with their friends more often than emailing links,” wrote Kurt Abrahamson of ShareThis in a blog post.
Facebook remained the most popular way to share, according to ShareThis. But Pinterest’s sharing stats are growing the fastest.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wikipedia adding celebrity voices to wiki pages to preserve them for future generations
http://thenextweb.com/media/2014/01/25/wikipedia-adding-celebrity-voices-biography-pages-preserve-celebrity-voices-future-generations/#!tvcrH
A new project called WikiVIP was announced by Wikipedia today that seeks to add the voice of celebrities and other notable people to the online encyclopedia.
WikiVIP, which stands for “Wikipedia Voice Intro Project” sets out to make sure there is a public and freely reusable record of what notable people sound like for “current and future generations.”
The project has kicked off with Stephen Fry adding a sample of his speaking voice to the page about him.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloop It lets you cut YouTube videos down to 20 seconds and share them across the Web
By Jon Russell, Sunday, 26 Jan ’14 , 09:25pm
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/01/26/bloop-lets-cut-youtube-videos-20-seconds-share-across-web/#!tvd04
YouTube is world’s largest video responsibility but, while it is in a league of its own, the Google-owned service hasn’t embraced the short clip style of Instagram, Vine and other popular video apps.
Bloop It is an app that is aiming to fill that void by letting users cut YouTube videos down to 20 seconds or less, and share them across existing social networks and its own iOS app
The app is for iOS only, but an Android version is due to arrive in the next few weeks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ask Slashdot: An Open Source PC Music Studio?
http://ask.slashdot.org/story/14/01/28/0213207/ask-slashdot-an-open-source-pc-music-studio
The KXStudio apps installed over Debian or Ubuntu tend to be pretty nice (better session handling that gladish provides at least).
About KXStudio
http://kxstudio.sourceforge.net/
KXStudio is a collection of applications and plugins for professional audio production.
KXStudio provides Debian and Ubuntu compatible repositories and its own Linux Distribution currently based on Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS.
Comments from http://ask.slashdot.org/story/14/01/28/0213207/ask-slashdot-an-open-source-pc-music-studio :
If you’re making a statement of your religious faith OR if you’re just tinkering, going to the trouble of finding something to run an open source package makes sense. If you’re actually interested in the right tool for the job, then buy a real music studio with a Mac or a Windows PC instead. There’s a reason that real musicians generally use real tools that suit professional needs.
There is just not much in the free software world, particularly for Linux, that is good for music composition. Just the way it is. If you want to do it well, you need commercial tools, generally for Windows or Mac.
For what the original poster is looking for, I’d say have a look at Cakewalk Sonar X3. Sonar is real, real good at MIDI, knows how to deal with SoundFonts, has some built in synths that aren’t too bad, and only runs $100 for the basic version. It’s notation is not the best, but anything I can think of that is a reasonable step up is also quite a bit more money (like Cubase).
However depending on what the ultimate goal is, the DAW can end up being the cheap part of things. High quality samples cost a lot, and there are few freebies.
Also if he thinks that programming a synthesizer is easy, he’s got another thing coming. Making a competent synthesis engine that sounds good, is usable, etc, etc is not an easy task.
If you just wanna play around in Linux with free solutions, then go to it. No need to ask on Slashdot, just try stuff out. Wikipedia has a list of OSS music software, to name just one place. If you are asking because you want something that doesn’t suck and can do some real work, then you’ll need to stick with Window or Mac and drop some money.
Like I said, I’d go for Sonar. There’s a free trial, and the base version isn’t that much
Other reasonably priced options to look at are Reaper and FL Studio Fruity Edition.
Our music studio only records live sound (no MIDI). We use CCRMA on Fedora20 [stanford.edu]. It has a ton of stuff you might find useful.
As a DJ, I’ve come across some tools and some complete distributions that will likely fit your needs, but I don’t know quite enough to make specific recommendations. I do know that there are alot of Linux music production tools that are way above my head, pro quality stuff. The folks at Linuxmusician.com and Linuxaudio.org would know exactly what you’re talking about and be able to make specific recommendations.
As you may know, music production on Linux uses JACK to hook together any software components you want. That means any editor tool can work with any midi source, for example, because they are plugged together using jack.
Two popular software packages are Ardour and Traktion, but really the Linux music community at sites focused on music production under Linux will have much better answers for you.
I’m a gigging musician who’s been doing digital audio for 20 years, and followed open source audio very closely for ages. Sadly, a purely FOSS solution will just hamper you. I tried for years, ( I played shows with 100% FOSS software) but honestly, I think a DAW is too feature rich for anything but a dedicated team to do properly. Now I use Reaper, which is as close to open source as you’re going to get in a kick ass DAW. (Ardour will do for tracking and mixing, but not scoring or midi editing). It’s got an unlimited un-crippled demo, cheap individual license ($40), cool company, and to be honest, it’s so good I’d use it over Logic or Protools or Live even if it cost $500.
1. It’s the SOFTWARE FIRST ,the OS is (mostly) irrelevant.
2. figure out WHAT you want to do in music and select the software that fits your needs from there.
3. Buy the hardware that supports your software the best.
Frankly, in terms of just “getting shit done” Windows (7) is basically as good as Mac. Linux isn’t so friendly, but if the software you need to get shit done is only on Linux, then, you’re on Linux.
Here are some general suggestions
1. Rock Music: ProTools / Logic / Whatever – Focus on microphones and a good compressor.
2. Electronica: Ableton Live. Get a good control surface (I don’t recommend Akai – mine sucks…) and a good keyboard
3. Dance Music: I would suggest a combo of FL Studio and Ableton Live
4. Composition: Finale and (whatever: Logic / Ableton / ProTools / Reaper / whatever) Your main point is to generate good composition – the software is just there to make it do something, so it will be more a question of what softsynths you use…)
5. Experimental: Cycling 74 Max/MSP or Processing. You’ll need to get a Mac for that.
6. Jazz: See Rock.
That should get you started. DON’T TALK TO SALESMEN. They will try to sell you things. Things you probably don’t need. Focus on what your interests and skills are, and then build your studio around that.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yle HD is lost today in Finland – four new channels to replace it
Promoted to high-definition programming to grow considerably today, when all the channels have their own crisper brother. At the same time lost a channel Yle HD.
As of today, the company’s four channels, ie those in addition to the theme and femin programs are transmitted in full high-definition channels, on their own.
Yle says in a statement that the new HD channels will be shaped channel range of 17 operators of cable or IPTV through. At least the DNA to pass TV1 and TV2 HD versions of the antenna network.
Cable-TV households are needed to receive Cable Ready HD television or high-definition TVs and Cable Ready HD-approved set-top box combination.
YLE has promised that the accuracy of the traditional operating TV channels will continue in parallel with the HD channels up until 2026.
Source: Tietokone
http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/yle_hd_katoaa_tanaan_nelja_uutta_kanavaa_tilalle
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oculus Is Awesome for Games, But It’s the Future of Movies
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2014/01/oculus-movies/
I’m sitting in a chair at the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier installation, wearing an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. I’m watching a retooled version of the 360-degree interactive video of Beck’s live performance of “Sound and Vision” that he and Chris Milk made for Lincoln last year. My I’m-a-rockstar dream is shattered, but it’s possible that this might actually be cooler than performing with a folk hero — I get to have all the fun of performing without worrying about singing off-key or being incapacitated by stage fright.
“The first time I tried Chris Milk’s Beck experience in VR, it fundamentally changed the way I thought about, frankly, audio in VR,” says Nate Mitchell, Oculus’ vice president of product, “and the impact a live concert could have on me in virtual reality.”
It’s not just concerts. All kinds of filmed entertainment, from documentary films to CGI masterpieces, are going to change. When the first Oculus prototype popped up in summer of 2102, everyone raved about how it would revolutionize the way we play videogames. But it’s got all the components to change the way we watch films, or create an entirely new kind of visual experience. That’s why Mitchell and the Oculus hit Sundance: They want to know what filmmakers can do with their system.
“Games are our passion,” Mitchell says, “but when you take it and show it to people here, they’re like, ‘I have something. I have an idea and I want to take people someplace new.’”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fujifilm’s New Mirrorless Camera Is an All-Weather Beast
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/fujifilm-x-t1/
There are a number of ways to stand out in the camera world these days. Most of them involve making hardware and sensors that perform well in situations where smartphones don’t. We’re talking long-zoom lenses, big sensors with low-light chops, and in a growing number of cases, accident-resistant bodies.
This trend goes beyond your average GoPro or action camera. Take, for instance, the new Fujifilm X-T1. While not fully submergeable like Nikon’s 1 AW1 camera, the mirrorless camera is splashproof, dustproof, and freezeproof.
That means it’s more in line with cameras like the Olympus OM-D E-M1, another high-end mirrorless camera designed to stand up to the elements.
Mirrorless cameras lack a true through-the-lens optical viewfinder, but the X-T1′s OLED EVF looks promising. It has a sharp 2.36-million-dot resolution
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zipi Solves The Single Most Annoying Thing About Using Earbuds
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/23/zipi-solves-the-single-most-annoying-thing-about-using-earbuds/?source=gravity
The Zipi is a Kickstarter project that appears humble and almost silly on the surface, but that actually solves one of the biggest problems I have with day-to-day use of earbud headphones.
To solve this, the Zipi adds an around-the-neck strap to any existing pair of earbuds, with a simple magnetic clip-on design. It connects via magnets at the back of your neck, separates easily enough when you want to remove them entirely, and prevents your earbuds from just falling to the ground when you take them out of your ears.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Time magazine has predicted what technological devices will disappear from the daily behavior when the next five years.
Blu-ray and DVD Players
How many people are no longer buying movies or series on DVD?
The VOD service Netflix has conquered our living room,
Cheap compact camera
In the future, the camera manufacturers such as Nikon, Canon, and Sony, you should put more emphasis on the good and manufacture of professional-quality cameras, as smartphone cameras take cheap cameras on the market.
Wired internet
People move around a lot these days, so high speed internet access to the many sounds already old-fashioned.
Separate car navigators
Car Keys
Source: Iltalehti that refers to Time magazine
http://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/2014010317894958_du.shtml
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple TV graduates from hobby/accessory to product line ahead of major changes
http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/28/apple-tv-graduates-from-hobbyaccessory-to-product-line-ahead-of-major-changes/
The Apple TV is now promoted as a full product line alongside Macs, iPads, iPods, and iPhones.
Last week, we reported that Apple is working on a new version of the Apple TV set-top-box that will integrate new content (such as apps).
We’re told that Apple has considered combining the Apple TV and AirPort Express products.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple Q1 2014: iPod sales decreased by more than half since last year
http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/27/apple-q1-2014-ipod-sales-decreased-by-more-than-half-since-last-year/
You might have noticed that the main text in Apple’s press release today for its Q1 2014 results didn’t mention device sales for the iPod alongside iPhones, iPads, and Macs. That might because it’s the only product line that has experienced a huge decrease in sales over the last year
During the conference call, Cook noted that they “have known for some time that iPod is a declining business” and that it would impact the overall results and guidance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Snap! Nokia’s gyro stabilised camera tech now on open market
Nothing stays still for long in camera development
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/29/stm_gyroscope_for_cameras/
The tech that makes Nokia’s smartphone cameras so awesomely good has become available on the open market for the first time.
Gyroscopic stabilisation, which means cameras’ shutters can stay open for longer without blurring the final image, has been around for a while in digital cameras.
Chipmeisters ST Microelectronics have now announced the L2G2IS, a tiny two-axis gyroscope for image stabilisation. The packaged chip is 2.3 x 2.3 x 0.7mm and includes a sensing element which puts out the angular rate through a digital interface. The mechanics are micro-machined on silicon.
It’s not a cheap part, at $1.70 per unit in quantities of 1000. By contrast, that’s about three times what a handset manufacturer pays for a cheap set of headphones
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel’s voice recognition will blow Siri out of the water—because it doesn’t use the cloud
http://qz.com/170668/intels-voice-recognition-will-blow-siri-out-of-the-water-because-it-doesnt-use-the-cloud/
There’s a problem with today’s voice recognition systems: They’re just too slow. Anyone who has waited in frustration while Siri or Google’s Voice Search “thinks” about even the simplest commands knows what I’m talking about.
all the major consumer platforms that do it—whether built by Google, Apple or Microsoft with the new Xbox—must send a compressed recording of your voice to servers hundreds or thousands of miles away.
It’s that round trip, especially on slower cellular connections, that make voice recognition on most devices so slow.
Intel partnered with an unnamed third party to put that company’s voice recognition software on Intel mobile processors powerful enough to parse the human voice but small enough to fit in the device that’s listening, no round trip to the cloud required.
Jarvis can both listen to commands and respond in its own voice, acting as both a voice control and a personal assistant.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s big, it’s expensive and it’s an audiophile’s dream: The Sonos Sub
Networked wireless subwoofer wows our man, sets him all a-flutter
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/30/sonos_sub_review/
The big dog in the streaming WiFi speaker business has barked and delivered a sub-woofer – called the Sub.
The big question: is Sonos’ sonorous sub-woofer worth £599.00? Well, I just bought the thing. What do you expect me to say? It’s fabulous, the best speaker set-up I have ever listened to. But six hundred quid … pair a couple of Play:3s with this and you’ve spent over a thousand pounds on three speaker boxes. It’s a lot of cash.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finding the Right Modular Platforms to Satisfy Ongoing Digital Signage Deployment Requirements
http://www.rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/103450?utm_source=Pubpress&utm_medium=email&utm_term=+Finding+the+Right+Modular+Platforms+to+Satisfy+Ongoing+Digital+Signage+Deployment+Requirements+&utm_content=RTC+E-Newsletter+-+January+2013&utm_campaign=1401_enewsletter_rtc_dmp
Developers of digital signage and advertisers alike must consider the importance of standardized solutions. As technology features and capabilities advance, they must be easily integrated in new selections of modular hardware platforms designed to address specific digital signage deployments.
Digital Signage Open Pluggable Specification
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/intelligent-systems/digital-signage/open-pluggable-specification-simplify-digital-signage-development.html
The open pluggable specification (OPS) helps standardize the design and development of digital signage devices and pluggable media players.
OPS enables digital signage manufacturers to deploy interchangeable systems faster and in higher volumes, while lowering costs for development and implementation.
based on Intel® architecture
Kontron open pluggable specification (OPS)-compliant media players
http://emea.kontron.com/products/systems+and+platforms/digital+signage+opscompliant+platforms/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using the Right Facial Recognition and Gesture Technologies for Digital Signage
http://www.rtcmagazine.com/articles/view/103453?utm_source=Pubpress&utm_medium=email&utm_term=+Using+the+Right+Facial+Recognition+and+Gesture+Technologies+for+Digital+Signage+&utm_content=RTC+E-Newsletter+-+January+2013&utm_campaign=1401_enewsletter_rtc_dmp
Recognizing and interpreting faces and gestures can add significant value to digital signage systems. Knowing which aspects to capture and classify is key to a successful implementation of what is becoming a natural user interface.
No more buttons or keypads; “face detection and gesture recognition” technologies are coming to a mall near you!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: CMOS image sensor market to reach $13 billion by 2018
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2014/01/report-cmos-image-sensor-market-to-reach-13-billion-by-2018.html?cmpid=EnlVSDFebruary32014
As certain technologies begin to emerge and reshape the industrial landscape, CMOS image sensors are expected to see a significant increase in global sales, according to a report from Yole Développement. Specifically, a 10% compound annual growth rate is expected to help the CMOS image sensor market grow to a total value of $13 billion by 2018.
Yole suggests that consumer applications like tablets and digital still cameras will contribute to the rise in global sales as manufacturers shift away from CCD image sensors, and toward CMOS.
The race towards smaller pixels (thus a smaller light-receiving photodiode area) to achieve better resolution also leads to pixel performance degradation.
heavy process and design innovations are necessary to overcome the limitation
Tomi Engdahl says:
YouTube reveals $1bn music payouts, but some labels still unhappy
Google’s Video service may be ‘all-in on music’, but rightsholder unrest at its parent company persists
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/03/youtube-reveals-1bn-music-payouts-but-some-labels-still-unhappy
A recent piece of research by VideoInk and video analytics firm Tubular Labs claimed that music videos account for 38.4% of all views on YouTube, reinforcing the Google subsidiary’s position as the world’s biggest streaming music service.
“We’ve paid out to the music industry over the last several years over a billion dollars,”
Friction between Google/YouTube and the music industry is not a new trend
Tomi Engdahl says:
The YouTube Musiconomy: Just How Big Is It? (Infographic)
http://www.thevideoink.com/features/special-issue/the-youtube-musiconomy-just-how-big-is-it-infographic/#.Uu-fQ7RM0in
Tomi Engdahl says:
HDBaseT Alliance to unveil dozens of new products at ISE 2014
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2014/01/hdbaset-new-products.html
HDBaseT technology, powered by the aforementioned Valens chipset, enables all-in-one connectivity between HD video sources and remote displays through a single 100m/328ft Category 5e/6 cable, delivering uncompressed high definition 4k video, audio, Ethernet, control signals and up to 100 watts of power.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Super Bowl: Netflix Traffic Fell 20% in First Half, But Then Bounced Back to Normal Levels
http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/super-bowl-netflix-traffic-fell-20-in-first-half-but-bounced-back-to-normal-levels-1201084526/
Sunday’s Super Bowl evidently pulled Netflix subscribers away from the streaming video service early in the game
Fox offered a free live stream of the Super Bowl, available on computers and tablets, and between 0.5% and 1.2% of active broadband subscribers accessed the feed, peaking at about 7% of overall traffic volume on some networks
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter and Facebook Win the Super Bowl. And Fox and the NFL Really Win the Super Bowl.
http://recode.net/2014/02/03/twitter-and-facebook-win-the-super-bowl-and-fox-and-the-nfl-really-win-the-super-bowl/
That is: Nielsen says this year’s Super Bowl — boring by halftime and just about unwatchable the rest of the night — was the most popular TV show in history. The ratings tracker figures the game attracted an average of 111.5 million people in the U.S.
24.9 million tweets about the game
Facebook
tracked 50 million people who generated 185 million “interactions”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Imaging Goes Hyperspectral
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1320855&
Over the past few years, we have seen significant growth in interest in our hyperspectral imaging technology.
Hyperspectral imaging is a technique that captures and processes multiple narrow-band images over a spectral range, enabling detailed analysis and identification of objects based on their wavelength fingerprints. This technique — sometimes referred to as multispectral imaging or even chemical color imaging — essentially extends classical point-based spectroscopy with imaging
Finally, making hyperspectral sensors that can perform meaningful analyses is not trivial. Finally, making hyperspectral sensors that can perform meaningful analyses is not trivial.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Goodbye DSLR. Hello Nokia Lumia 1020 – advertisement video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHTpuWep9yM
Tomi Engdahl says:
South Koreans Using Kinect to Monitor DMZ
http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/south-koreans-using-kinect-to-monitor-dmz/
The system is reportedly capable of distinguishing between humans and animals traveling through the heavily guarded zone between the two countries.
The Kinect-based system can send alerts of suspicious activity to the nearest military outpost.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Get ready for tons of new Chromecast apps: Google releases Cast SDK
http://gigaom.com/2014/02/03/chromecast-apps-sdk-google-cast/
Countless apps could become Chromecast-compatible any day now: Google officially released the Google Cast SDK Monday, which allows developers to add Chromecast integration to their Android, iOS and web apps.
Ready to cast: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK
http://googledevelopers.blogspot.fi/2014/02/ready-to-cast-chromecast-now-open-to.html
You have many options for displaying content on Chromecast. For simple media applications, you can use the default media player that can play back HTML5 media content. You can also customize it with your own branding and style using CSS.
For non-media applications, or for more flexibility and design options, you can build your own custom receiver application using standard web technologies. With a custom receiver you can build virtually any application while including support for many streaming protocols, including MPEG-DASH, HLS, and Microsoft Smooth Streaming, all of which are available in the Media Player Library.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony sells its VAIO PC business, makes TV arm its own subsidiary
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/06/sony-sells-vaio/
Sony is now set to focus on its high-end sets and 4K screens, and hopes that changes will ensure the TV business returns to profitability within the next financial year.