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.
1,214 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix Now Pulls In Almost as Much Revenue as HBO — But HBO Is Far More Profitable
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/netflix-now-pulls-in-almost-as-much-revenue-as-hbo-but-hbo-is-far-more-profitable-1201087683/
Reed Hastings has positioned Netflix as an “Internet TV network,” with HBO among its chief competitors.
And now Netflix is almost as big as HBO — at least in terms of topline revenue. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Netflix’s revenue climbed 24% to $1.2 billion, within shouting distance of HBO’s $1.3 billion in revenue
Tomi Engdahl says:
Musicians accused of ‘buying virtual fans’ on YouTube
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/21775499
Some music artists are buying social networking statistics to get into the charts, a Newsbeat investigation has found.
Keeping YouTube Views Authentic
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 10:38 AM
http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/keeping-youtube-views-authentic.html
As part of our long-standing effort to keep YouTube authentic and full of meaningful interactions, we’ve begun periodically auditing the views a video has received. While in the past we would scan views for spam immediately after they occurred, starting today we will periodically validate the video’s view count, removing fraudulent views as new evidence comes to light.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jean Michel Jarre: Je voudrais un MUSIC TAX sur VOTRE MOBE
Music is free on the internet – therefore everyone should cough up
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/06/jean_michel_jarre_fanbois_levies_sil_vous_plait/
Smartphone owners should pay hundreds of dollars to the music industry, wrinkly French synth twiddler Jean Michel Jarre has said.
Without the ability to play music, Jarre argued, the gadget wouldn’t be worth as much as it currently is.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Panasonic’s GH4 clearly packs serious 4K video chops, but pricing and availability remain TBA (hands-on)
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/06/panasonic-gh4/
Long gone are the days when digital cameras were just for still photographers. In fact, with its GH4, it’s easy to argue that Panasonic is putting an even greater emphasis on video capture — of the 4K variety, in this case.
This year’s model can shoot both 3,840 x 2,160 and a 4,096 x 2,160 “cinema 4K” format at 30 frames per second with a 100 Mbps bit rate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Beep’ works like a Chromecast for your old speakers
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/06/beep/
If you want to make your favorite speakers wireless, you have a few options. Nothing on the market, however, is quite like Beep. Launching today, the tiny dial works like a Chromecast for your speakers, and lets you cast tunes from your mobile device over Wi-Fi — and with none of the range restrictions that affect Bluetooth-based devices.
Beep works by selecting the cast button within an app and picking your speaker of choice. A URL is then tossed to Beep with audio caching and decoding handled inside the dial. Much like Chromecast, with Beep you’re limited in what you can play by the apps the device supports.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ex-Googlers announce Beep, a Pandora-enabled WiFi controller for streaming music to any speaker
http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2014/02/06/ex-googlers-announce-beep-pandora-enabled-wifi-controller-streaming-music-speaker/#!uDzxB
A pair of ex-Googlers have launched Beep, a beautiful WiFi-equipped dial that lets you stream music to any speaker with a line-in port. The device will launch this Fall with Pandora integration.
Beep wants to take your unconnected speakers and connect them to the cloud.
The startup is focused on solving connectivity without having to build a master app or figure out how to make good speakers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turn a dead laptop into a monitor with Plexiglas stand
http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-a-dead-laptop-into-a-monitor-with-Plexiglas-s/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chromebox, now for simpler and better meetings
https://sites.google.com/a/pressatgoogle.com/cfm/blog-post
Chromebox for meetings brings together Google+ Hangouts and Google Apps in an easy-to-manage Chromebox, making it simpler for any company to have high-definition video meetings.
$999, which includes the ASUS Chromebox and everything you need to get going
Tomi Engdahl says:
Take a Ride Through the Colon With the Newly Approved Camera Pill
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/take-a-ride-through-the-colon-with-the-newly-approved-camera-pill
The FDA approved Given Imaging Ltd’s PillCam. Instead of donning the hospital robe that opens in the back after you’ve cleansed your colon, you just have to swallow a pill-sized camera that transmits images to a special belt.
Tomi Engdahl says:
There’s something rotten in the state of online video streaming, and the data is starting to emerge
http://gigaom.com/2014/02/06/theres-something-rotten-in-the-state-of-online-video-streaming-and-the-data-is-starting-to-emerge/
Peering disagreements aren’t fun or consumer-friendly, but they might be the reason consumers’ video streams are suffering.
In conversations with sources at ISPs who are uncomfortable or prohibited from speaking on the record, the feeling is that content providers need to help pay for the upgrades to the last mile network that the rise in overall traffic is causing, as well as frustration that Netflix and others are somehow “getting around paying for transit or CDN services” by building their own systems.
Tomi Engdahl says:
500px Prime: A New Licensing Marketplace that Promises Photographers a 30% Cut
http://petapixel.com/2014/02/07/500px-launches-licensing-marketplace-promises-photographers-30-top/
Of course, many believe that self-marketing is still a much more lucrative way to make money off of your photography — after all, 100% is a lot more than 30%.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Pixel Density Race and its Technical Merits
by Joshua Ho on February 8, 2014 4:25 AM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7743/the-pixel-density-race-and-its-technical-merits
While this has always been an issue that’s been in the background since Android OEMs started releasing devices with display PPIs above the 300-400 “retina” range, recent events have sparked a broader discussion into the value of pursuing the PPI race that is happening between Android OEMs.
Apple uses to indicate a “Retina Display”. This number corresponds to around 300 PPI for a display that is at 10-12 inches from the eye. In other words, this is about 60 pixels per degree (PPD).
human vision systems are able to determine whether two lines are aligned extremely well, with a resolution around two arcseconds. This translates into an effective 1800 PPD.
The Snellen eye test, the well-known chart of various lines of high contrast text with increasingly small size, gives a reasonable value of around 1 arcminute, or 60 PPD for adults
the most reasonable upper bound for human vision is the .5 arcminutes value
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tiny Lenses That’ll Turn Your Phone Into a Pro-Level Shooter
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/01/moment-smartphone-lenses/
There’s no shortage of external lenses for your smartphone. Today, you can buy a variety of low-quality optics that add distortion to your photos or opt for the high-dollar DSLR lens mounts.
Moment is launching a Kickstarter to bring a telephoto and wide-angle lens to the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy lines.
The wide-angle (roughly equivalent to 18mm) and telephoto lens (roughly equivalent to 60mm) attach via a bayonet mount.
http://momentlens.co/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flickr Turns 10: The Rise, Fall and Revival of a Photo-Sharing Community
In 2004, Flickr helped create the modern web — then almost got left behind by it.
Read more:http://techland.time.com/2014/02/10/flickr-turns-10-the-rise-fall-and-revival-of-a-photo-sharing-community/#ixzz2t0IAqgup
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitch reaches 1M monthly broadcasters as its parent company adopts the Twitch name
http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/10/twitch-reaches-1-million-monthly-broadcasters-as-its-parent-company-adopts-the-twitch-name/
Justin.tv, Inc. is now Twitch Interactive, Inc.
Twitch revealed that it now has 1 million monthly broadcasters that stream gameplay using the platform.
Tomi Engdahl says:
KDE Plasma at the movies
http://blogs.kde.org/2014/02/09/kde-plasma-movies
Framestore worked for several years to provide the majority of the film’s effects shots, and their London-based offices appear filled to the brim with workstations running KDE Plasma.
Interestingly, Framestore isn’t the only London-based VFX house using KDE software. I previously collected a snapshot of Doctor Who VFX provider The Mill using Plasma Desktop in their work as well.
Gravity has been nominated for ten Academy Awards recently, including the Best Visual Effects category.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blender Features
http://www.blender.org/features/
Blender is a free and open source 3D animation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Plane-Based Surveillance System Sees Practically Everything
http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/new-plane-based-surveillance-system-sees-practically-everything?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=7&con=new-planebased-surveillance-system-sees-practically-everything
A new surveillance camera system can track movements in a city center for over six hours.
the HAWKEYE II can watch a 4-mile square
Persistent Surveillance Systems HAWKEYE II camera system instead uses 12 off-the-shelf Canon cameras, mounted in an array to capture a huge swath of terrain. The array is carried by a commercial plane, which flies at an altitude of between 8,000 and 10,000 feet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open-source video platform Kaltura scores $47M
http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/11/open-source-video-platform-kaltura-scores-47m/
Kaltura, an open-source video platform, raised an additional $47 million in funding today.
The company’s platform is based on open-source software that enables its clients to host, publish, manage, monetize, and analyze video content
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s Why the Biggest Cable Company in the Country Thinks It Can Get Bigger
http://recode.net/2014/02/12/heres-why-the-biggest-cable-company-in-the-country-thinks-it-can-get-bigger/
So Comcast, in a sort-of surprise, is going to end up buying all of Time Warner Cable for itself.
So here’s the big idea that’s supposed to get the deal approved in the coming months: It’s okay for a giant cable company to buy another giant cable company, because cable companies don’t compete.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix’s Streaming Quality Is Based On Business Decisions by Netflix & ISPs, Not Net Neutrality
http://blog.streamingmedia.com/2014/02/netflixs-streaming-quality-based-business-decisions-isps-net-neutrality.html
The reality is that business decisions that Netflix and ISPs make regarding quality of service determine how good Netflix or any other content looks when streamed to consumers. Both Netflix and ISPs are constantly having to add capacity to their networks, of all kinds, and make decisions on how much money they want to spend versus the level of quality they want to offer.
To make it simpler, if Netflix or the ISP can deliver content right now and the video starts up within three seconds and has SD quality, they have to decide if it is worth spending the additional money to make it startup within one second and have HD quality. From a business decision, it does not help any ISPs business to improve the quality past a certain point.
From a technical standpoint, it’s also extremely complicated how Netflix’s content is delivered as they have a total of three different CDNs, all delivering content in different ways.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Comcast Set to Acquire Time Warner Cable for $45 Billion
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/comcast-set-to-acquire-time-warner-cable/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Comcast is expected to announce on Thursday an agreement to acquire Time Warner Cable for more than $45 billion in stock, a deal that would combine the biggest and second-biggest cable television operators in the country.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia’s new Lumia Icon – video special telephone
Lumia Icon is a special model that has been made to the United States from Verizon Wireless operator
The device has a high-quality 20-megapixel PureView camera Zeiss optics and optical Image Stabilizer.
The device is built with a total of four microphones (normally phones have one or two microphones).
They can in stereo the sound in different directions (majority of sound comes from mic at camera direction). The voices can thus be recovered better, even if the background would be excessive noise.
Souce: Tietokone
http://www.tietokone.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/nokian_uutuus_lumia_icon_videon_erikoispuhelin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Comcast and Time Warner Cable: Forget TV, it is all about broadband
http://gigaom.com/2014/02/12/comcast-and-time-warner-cable-forget-tv-it-is-all-about-broadband/
Comcast has made a daring $44 billion offer to acquire its nearest cable competitor, Time Warner Cable. While it might seem like the deal is about video, our math says it is all about broadband. And it always has been.
At end of 2013, Comcast’s estimated average revenue per user (ARPU) of around $151.30 a month, while Time Warner Cable’s ARPU was around $148.70 a month, according to UBS.
The video-only ARPU per month was roughly $78 a month (give or take a dollar).
they were making $43 a month per subscriber from their video business.
Compare that with the internet/broadband business. Of the total, the two companies had data-only revenues of roughly around $43 a month.
You can see broadband is not only a much faster growing business, it also has higher gross margins and comes with much fewer headaches — such as paying through the nose for programming.
Tomi Engdahl says:
That’s a lot of pirating: 68% of Europeans download or stream movies for free
http://gigaom.com/2014/02/12/thats-a-lot-of-pirating-68-of-europeans-download-or-stream-movies-for-free/
A study from the European Commission finds huge numbers of people streaming and downloading movies for free.
The report’s authors don’t distinguish between legal and illegal downloading and streaming: They say that they avoided the word piracy “in order to maximize responses…Some rights owners permit free downloads and streaming, some films are freely available on services such as YouTube and Vimeo, and others may come from legal catch-up services.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The physics of curly hair
Researchers develop first detailed model for a 3-D strand of curly hair
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/miot-tpo021214.php
It’s rare to see an animated character with bouncy, curly hair, since computer animators don’t have a simple mathematical means for describing it.
However, change may be coming soon to a theater near you: In a paper appearing in the Feb. 13 issue of Physical Review Letters, researchers at MIT and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris provide the first detailed model for the 3-D shape of a strand of curly hair.
This work could have applications in the computer animation film industry, but it also could be used by engineers to predict the curve that long steel pipes, tubing, and cable develop after being coiled around a spool for transport.
Tomi Engdahl says:
US television shipments decrease, global industrial electronics chip revenue on the rise
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Optoelectronics/Displays/US_television_shipments_decrease_global_industrial_electronics_chip_revenue_on_the_rise.aspx
According to research conducted by IHS iSuppli Research, the U.S. television market fell 9% in 2013. U.S. TV shipments declined to 34.0 million units, down from 37.5 million in 2012. Last year the television market consisted entirely of liquid-crystal display (LCD) and plasma display panel (PDP) sets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Time Warner merger great for Comcast, but not for anybody else
Regulators face crucial decision over mega-merger – cue the lobbyists!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/14/time_warner_merger_great_for_comcast_not_so_good_for_everybody_else/
The merger of the two biggest cable companies in the US has set the markets aflutter, but the government has the final say on whether to allow the deal, and regulators will now be taking a long, stern look at how the deal with change the US TV and broadband market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TV programs recording to network agreement coming in Finland: mandatory condition of commercials, and a new time limit for payment
Collecting societies, broadcasters and operators are approaching reconciliation recording TV programs online service. The agreement will bring network recordings a holding deadline and advertising, over which is not able to wind the. Also, storage services, rates may go up.
The proposal still requires a practical implementation of the reform of the Copyright Act, as well as a series of negotiations between operators. For example, the technical solutions to be negotiated. The proposed reforms are unlikely to come into effect in the spring.
Under the proposal, the recordings would be temporary, and the operators of online services stored in the TV programs will remain no more than two years.
It is proposed that web services stored in the TV programs should have ads that user would not be able to rewind.
- Advertisements could be, for example, at the beginning of the recording, such as the TV channels in their respective online services
- Ads saved on recording are quickly out of date. The idea is that there could sell the current ads
Recording Network providers should continue to be paid to collecting societies, or a license fee tariff. Payment will include all the network storage required by the copyright sections of receipt of the program, the work piece preparation and transmission to the public.
- The license conditions are the same style as the TV program still sending, Rislakki says.
Arjanne does not know how to say, does the new charge affect to the storage cost of the service to customers.
Transfer of intellectual property rights “one stop shop” online storage requires a new approach with the act of copyright law.
Source: Digitoday
Tv-ohjelmien nettitallennuksesta sopu: Ehtona pakolliset mainokset, aikaraja ja uusi maksu
http://www.digitoday.fi/viihde/2014/02/15/tv-ohjelmien-nettitallennuksesta-sopu-ehtona-pakolliset-mainokset-aikaraja-ja-uusi-maksu/20142288/66
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm cancels Snapdragon 802 smart TV chip it announced 5 weeks ago
Demand for smart TV SoCs “has proven to be smaller than anticipated.”
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/02/qualcomm-cancels-snapdragon-802-smart-tv-chip-it-announced-5-weeks-ago/
Well, that must be some kind of record. Back at CES in early January, Qualcomm announced a smart TV-oriented chip called the Snapdragon 802. Yesterday in a small, quiet press release, the company announced that the Snapdragon 802 has been canceled.
The quick cancellation is especially surprising given the time that these chips generally take to develop (two to three years is not uncommon).
Tomi Engdahl says:
mix millions of tracks with pacemaker, the first DJ app connected to spotify
http://www.designboom.com/technology/mix-millions-of-tracks-with-pacemaker-the-first-dj-app-connected-to-spotify-02-04-2014/
pacemaker has released the first free iPad app connected to spotify.
one of the most appreciated features amongst both beginners and professionals is automatic beat syncing. it gives you the possibility to instantly sync tempo and phase of two tracks by tapping the sync button.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Depth-Sensing Image Sensor Array Touted for Smartphones
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1321024&
The TrueD H2 array camera is said to be the first in a series of 3D imaging and depth-sensing cameras that Heptagon is introducing to the market.
As well as capturing the image the array camera captures short-range depth information that can be used for gesture and user recognition, background removal and image enhancement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Did Apple Steal DLNA’s Thunder?
Bridge iOS devices and non-Apple products
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1320996&
As I ponder, weak and weary, the jargon of the consumer electronics industry, the term “interoperability” leaps out as perhaps the most overblown and over-promised term, not to mention under-delivered.
When’s the last time, he asked, anyone actually witnessed “a completely non-tech savvy person walking into a room and sending a video to a friend’s TV without configuring a device or the network?”
I wouldn’t say “never.” But it’s a phenomenon that’s hard to come by.
DLNA has done a lot of heavy lifting within the industry, but so quietly that vendors, the press and consumers haven’t noticed the remarkable efforts of the 10- year-old organization.
In contrast to DLNA, whose mission is to make every product of every brand discoverable and interoperable, all Apple has to do is show consumers how its (proprietary) AirPlay wirelessly streams the content on a (proprietary) iOS device (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc.) to HDTV and speakers via (proprietary) Apple TV.
In essence, Apple has delivered “such an [interoperable] experience, or at least the belief in such, in their user base,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Seeing the Skies Through Galileo’s Eyes
http://news.sciencemag.org/space/2014/02/seeing-skies-through-galileo%E2%80%99s-eyes
When Galileo Galilei shook up the scientific community with evidence of a heliocentric world, he had a little tube fitted with two pieces of glass to thank.
Now, the scientists plan to use modern optics to recreate what Galileo—and the naysaying observers of his time—experienced
The database, called Dioptrice, went online earlier this month. It contains records of about 1300 telescopes
The first phase of the project involved documenting the origin and design of each telescope.
But phase two will look deeper at the optical abilities of the telescopes.
http://dioptrice.com/
Dioptrice is the first step toward a richer history of the telescope through an inventory and description of surviving instruments created prior to 1775 held in museums and collections around the world. The database contains information on physical objects as well as depictions of refracting telescopes in early books, manuscripts, and works of art.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MacGyver Made IKEA Camera Slider
http://hackaday.com/2014/02/17/macgyver-made-ikea-camera-slider/
It’s not hard to drastically increase the production value in your videos by adding a camera slide to your shot — in fact, [Derek] shows us how to make a decent camera slide using parts from IKEA for less than $30.
It’s a pretty simple and easy to build rig, and the results are quite impressive
$30 IKEA Camera Slider
by DerekMellott
http://www.instructables.com/id/30-IKEA-Camera-Slider/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Under Water Record Player is Very Mesmerizing
http://hackaday.com/2014/02/16/under-water-record-player-is-very-mesmerizing/
Artist [Evan Holm] has created this awesome installation which features a black pool of water — with a built-in record player. He’s somehow waterproofed the player itself
Tomi Engdahl says:
Royal Caribbean uses 80-inch HDTVs to create virtual balconies
80-inch HD displays show close to real-time video from the front and back of a cruise ship
http://www.electronicproducts.com/Optoelectronics/Displays/Royal_Caribbean_uses_80-inch_HDTVs_to_create_virtual_balconies.aspx
Made of 80-inch floor-to-ceiling HD displays, the TVs show close to real-time video from the bow and stern of the ship, shot on RED Epic HD cinema cameras, complete with audio.
Fiber-optic cable carries the video to a server, then to a set-top box that decodes and processes the video before it’s displayed on the screen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How girls take pictures VS how guys take pictures
http://vinevids.co/how-girls-take-pictures-vs-how-guys-take-pictures-492/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral#
Tomi Engdahl says:
GoPro’s IPO isn’t about selling cameras, it’s about creating a media empire
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/14/gopro-media-empire/
So far, the company has been coy about sharing its sales figures, but Woodman has given us some hints. He told 60 Minutes that annual revenues in 2012 had reached more than $500 million
For the uninitiated, Woodman (and his team) makes action cameras. The GoPro is that small silver box you often see attached to a snowboarder’s helmets, a dirt biker’s handlebars and, these days, almost anything you can imagine
Where there is success, competition is sure to follow, and GoPro isn’t short of competitors.
GoPro has been somewhat fortuitous in the marketing department.
“It’s a snowball of consumer’s enthusiasm, and word of mouth via their viral videos,”
As Woodman points out, the brand has had a far-reaching impact with its Facebook page and other social media channels — including those of individual GoPro owners. These not only continually promote the brand, but also help keep it in the collective consciousness like a steadily burning fire of free publicity
as much as GoPro sells cameras and an ever-growing portfolio of accessories, it also sells a lifestyle
As anyone who’s flown Virgin America recently knows, GoPro has already entered the content game with the launch of its in-flight TV channel.
Tomi Engdahl says:
An article from 6 years back has still some relevancy today:
When worlds collide
23 January 2008
http://www.inavateonthenet.net/article.aspx?ArticleID=13475
As more audio and video runs over enterprise networks, IT skills become a value-add for AV integrators. Tim Kridel reports.
AV, make way for another acronym: IT, short for information technology. In commercial and enterprise applications, AV control signalling and even content increasingly is running over the client’s IT infrastructure, including local-area networks (LANs) and wide-area networks (WANs).
“The cost of installing AV cabling, whether it’s copper or fibre, is very expensive,” says John Lopinto, president and CEO of Communications Specialties, a U.S.-based AV equipment vendor. “It’s not the cable, but [rather] the labour. So people say: ‘We already have this IT network. What can we do to leverage that for AV?’”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Q&A: Rise of CMOS sensors, machine vision growth areas, USB 3.0 trending up
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2014/02/q-a-rise-of-cmos-sensors-machine-vision-growth-areas-usb-3-0-trending-up.html?cmpid=EnlVSDFebruary172014
The newest cameras are the ace acA1920-25 models with 2 MPixel resolution, HDTV format and either a Gigabit Ethernet or USB 3.0 interface. We have noticed that there is an increasingly high demand for real HD format cameras in both industrial and especially in non-industrial applications. Besides that, we have seen that CMOS sensor technology is becoming more popular due to the attractive price point of those sensors.
CMOS sensor technology has really arrived in our industry and now battles CCD to become the most used sensor technology.
We see that after the very successful ramp-up of USB 3.0 and USB3 Vision cameras, customers more and more want to make full use of the USB 3.0 bandwidth.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IMAGE SENSORS: Organic imagers challenge silicon-based detectors
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/print/volume-19/issue-2/departments/technology-trends/image-sensors-organic-imagers-challenge-silicon-based-detectors.html?cmpid=EnlVSDFebruary172014
While most vision systems currently use silicon-based photo-detectors to capture images, many companies and researchers are currently studying methods that replace these detectors with organic compounds.
Fujifilm and Panasonic have collaborated on the design of a CMOS image sensor that uses an organic photoelectric conversion layer of 0.5 microns
To build flexible organic image sensors two different European development teams have developed fully organic photo-detectors by depositing organic printed photo-detectors onto a plastic organic thin film transistor backplanes.
ISORG and Plastic Logic’s image sensor is based on the deposition of organic printed photo detectors onto a plastic organic thin-film transistor backplane
the device is expected to be more resistant to radiation than inorganic photodiodes
Tomi Engdahl says:
Panasonic joins HDBaseT Alliance
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2013/12/panasonic-joins-hdbaset.html
The HDBaseT Alliance announced that Panasonic is now a Contributor member of the Alliance.
Panasonic has played an integral role in the development and deployment of the HDBaseT technology since its introduction in 2010, and offers a number of HDBaseT-enabled projectors and commercial displays.
Referred to as DIGITAL LINK, the HDBaseT enabled projectors and displays enable a single Cat 5e and above cable to transmit uncompressed HD videos, audio and control commands up to 100 meters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Selfie360 Turns Your Face Into A Gif
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/18/selfie360-turns-your-face-into-a-gif/
Meet Selfie360, the newest, and most aptly named, app from the Cycloramic team. After building an app that automatically rotates your phone (hands-free, no less) to take a 360-degree photo
Selfie360 is the first that mixes selfies and gifs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Federal court in Utah sides with broadcasters against Aereo
Aereo’s streak of legal victories over the broadcasting industry has come to an end.
The startup company, which sends broadcast television signals to consumers via the Internet, will have to shut down its operations in Utah and Colorado thanks to a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Utah.
The ruling, which covers the 10th Circuit, grants a request for preliminary injunction against Aereo that was sought by Fox Broadcasting Co. and other TV station owners.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-aereo-10th-circuit-20140219,0,3916957.story#ixzz2tqJXss9A
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mercedes-Benz Pioneers 360 Degree Videos
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1090440_mercedes-benz-pioneers-360-degree-videos
Motorsport camera footage is getting pretty good these days. Footage is clearer and more stable than ever, and so many cameras can be attached to the average race car that we’ve never got so close to the action.
What we haven’t been able to do is watch on-board car footage from an angle of our own choosing. That is, until now. Mercedes-Benz has devised a new 360-degree video capture method that allows you to follow live-action video from just about any angle you choose.
Launched with the Mercedes AMG F1 team, the 360-degree footage lets you swivel and tilt the camera angle in virtually any direction as the car speeds around the circuit
The device uses wide-angle cameras arranged in a ball and then stitched together into a panoramic view.
http://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/car/f1-w05-360-video/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Future of Sports Photography: Drones
They’re already at the Olympics. Soon, they’ll be at the football stadium.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/the-future-of-sports-photography-drones/283896/
Drones are being used to film ski and snowboarding events at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as you may have noticed. But the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for sports photography is far from a passing gimmick. In fact, you should expect more and more athletic events to be filmed by drone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Overall, worldwide consumer spending on digital movies, games, and apps grew 30 percent to $57 billion in 2013, up from $44 billion.
Mobile game apps accounted for $16 billion in spending
spending on digital gaming was $34 billion, not counting game apps.
Source:
http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/19/worldwide-spending-on-mobile-game-apps-tripled-in-2013-to-16b/
Tomi Engdahl says:
GTA 5 Sales Hit $1 Billion, Will Outsell Entire Global Music Industry
by Eric Bleeker, CFA, The Motley Fool Sep 28th 2013 6:37AM
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/09/28/gta-5-sales-hit-1-billion/
The biggest release in entertainment history
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zero Point: The first 360-degree movie made for the Oculus Rift
http://www.gizmag.com/zero-point-oculus-rift/30903/
Condition One is preparing to release Zero Point, the first 3D, 360-degree movie shot specifically to be watched through the Oculus Rift
The Oculus Rift has carved out a sizable reputation for itself among gamers, but as we’ve seen before, virtual reality has many applications beyond playing video games.
Produced by Condition One, a start-up company devoted to innovative visual technology, Zero Point will be watchable in 3D and with a complete 360-degree viewpoint. The full movie will immerse players in a variety of locations, including a military training camp, the bustling E3 conference, a research lab at Stanford, and the workshops of different VR developers.