My picks from audio and video trends for 2016:
Smartphone have increased screen sizes and have finally become mobile TVs: Smartphones have overtaken the tablets as the most popular mobile device for viewing videos. The most watched content were targeted at teenagers videos and animation series for children.
Smartphone cameras are great, or at least close enough to great that you don’t notice the difference. We’ve reached the point where you’ve got to work pretty hard to find a phone with a mediocre camera. Compared to a DSLR, smart phone cameras are lousy because they use tiny sensors, but still the camera in your pocket is crazy good considering the limitations manufacturers work under. The vast majority of top-tier smartphones use Sony sensors for their main cameras. The molded plastic lens elements in many cameras have reached the point where they’re essentially perfect. Smart phones are already deployed in many newsrooms for mobile journalism video shooting as it is easier (and cheaper) to learn how to film and edit on your phone than it is to use a big camera.
For new smart phone camera technologies you could see array of lenses to enable Lytro-like refocusing, create 3-D depth maps, and improve image quality in low light. In many cases smart phone cameras and DSLR are complimentary: Although the smartphones have decimated the point-and-shoot segment, sales of DSLR and other high-end rigs remain.
Live streaming video from smart phone becomes mainstream. Periscope was one of the first apps to really make live streaming events simple and easy enough that people wanted to do it. Many other apps are following the trend. Facebook begins testing live video streaming for all users.
Drone videography will ger more popular as drones become more popular. Many people will learn basic and creative aerial filming techniques for drone video cameras.
Whether or not the 2016 International CES holds any big surprises remains to be seen. This year’s CES will focus on how connectivity is proliferating everything from cars to homes, realigning diverse markets. It is quite probable that 4K TV will be big at this years’ CES show due to growing demand and falling prices. 4K becomes mainstream in 2016. CES will also have some 8K sets, though the market for 8K is at least five years away if not more (Tokyo Olympics in 2020 may be broadcast in 8K). Some new display technology is coming. LG has already demoed rollable 55, 66 and 77-inch OLED-based panels. Avegant’s Glyph technology literally beams video content onto your retinas. Analysts Predict CES 2016 Trends article gives you more ideas what to expect.
We can finally declare that 3D image in TV was a flop. Five years ago, it was estimated that the 3D technique can occupy the rapid pace of living cinemas addition. Then slowed different with technologies. But why the technology is virtually failed even though every new TV set has been added to display the 3D image as an option? Analysts said some people lack the ability to stereoscopic vision and for many, the 3D image caused eyestrain or nausea. Stereo image is to be left to various virtual reality applications.
After a year in which the weakness of smart TVs were exploited, Samsung goes on the offensive in 2016. Samsung’s new Tizen-based TVs will have GAIA security with pin lock for credit card and other personal info, data encryption, built-in anti-malware system, more. Samsung’s betting big on the internet of things and wants the TV to sit at the heart of this strategy. Samsung believes that people will want to activate their lights, heating and garage doors all from the comfort of their couch. If smart TVs get a reputation for being easy to hack, then Samsung’s models are hardly likely to be big sellers.
Whole TV industry need to go through a major transition as in most major developed markets, TV growth is slowing and in some cases stagnating. TV will account for 38.4 percent of the $503 billion global ad market in and will drop to 38 percent of the market in 2016. Digital ad spending will overtake TV as biggest category by 2017 or 2018.
Streaming video will be big in 2016. Almost all of the networks are streaming their content and streaming media is going mainstream fast. Third, 15% of American adults report they have become “cord cutters” – meaning they have abandoned paid cable or satellite television service. Many of these cord cutters say that the availability of televised content from the internet and other sources is a factor in their move away from subscription television services.
There seems to be a strong nostalgic audio trend going in. Whether it’s a sweet portable record player, a tabletop wooden radio or a full-size jukebox, the market for vintage-inspired electronics remains strong. Aside from record players, the vintage trend carries over to radios and speakers.
It seems that Americans were willing to spend on vinyl records. Nielsen numbers show that vinyl record sales rose 260 percent between 2009 and 2014, and sales for 2015 are on track to beat 2014’s total vinyl sales of 9.2 million units. Vinyl records generated more revenue in the first half of 2015 than free-to-use streaming services, but that’s not the full story. Despite vinyl sales increase it’s clear that the future of the music industry is digital. Total revenues from the digital music sector is expected to rise while physical sales will drop. Future is filled with streaming music services – both subscription services and free.
On the other end of audio spectrum High resolution audio tries to push to market at CES (again). Hi-Res Audio is the fastest growing category in music. Apple Music is planning to launch new its Hi-Res music streaming in 2016.
W3C group formed in the summer of 2015 a new working group: The Music Notation Community Group consists of representatives from some of the biggest names in the music notation software business who’ve come together to create a standardised way to display western music notation in your browser. It believes are achievable goals that can be met in 2016.
591 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
YouTube for iOS Now Supports Google Cardboard
http://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/16/youtube-ios-app-google-cardboard-support/
YouTube for iOS has been updated today with Google Cardboard support, allowing for all videos to be watched in VR mode on iPhone. The functionality was previously limited to the YouTube app on Android smartphones since November 2015.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Programmable link for 4K video transmission
Lattice Semiconductor has introduced a new type of bridge circuit to solve this. Crosslink-circuit transfer up to 4K-quality video.
Lattice itself calls Crosslink-circuits the first to launch programmed ASSP-districts, namely programmed application-bridge circuit. In practice, the bridge circuit can be programmed to the system as needed, but its performance and power consumption of the corresponding ASIC readings.
the first member of the family crosslink-bridge is preferred, which can move up to 4K video signal over 12 Gigabit MIPI interface.
The IC support following interfaces: MIPI D-PHY, MIPI CSI-2, MIPI DSI, MIPI DPI, CMOS, and subLVDS and LVDS.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4432:ohjelmoitava-linkki-4k-videon-siirtoon&catid=13&Itemid=101
More: http://www.latticesemi.com/CrossLink
Tomi Engdahl says:
CMOS image sensors (CIS) are widely used for imaging in smart phones, tablets, cameras, industrial, medical, and automotive applications. High-level CIS architectures are array-based, similar to memory architectures.
Mobile applications require CIS devices that have a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), low power, small area, high resolution, high dynamic range, and high frame rate. CIS imaging performance is noise limited. Thus optimal CIS design requires accurate noise analysis on the pixel array electronics and column readout circuitry.
More: https://www.mentor.com/products/ic_nanometer_design/techpubs/download?id=90788&contactid=1&PC=L&c=2016_05_17_afs__cmos_90788_wp
Tomi Engdahl says:
DESIGNING MEMS MICROPHONES FROM CONCEPT TO FINISHED GDSII IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS
http://s3.mentor.com/public_documents/whitepaper/resources/mentorpaper_95318.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ina Fried / Recode:
Google will compete with its partners and sell its own Daydream virtual reality headsets — Think Nexus, but for VR. — While focusing yesterday on its new virtual reality headset as a design that will be licensed to partners, Google also plans to sell a version of Daydream itself.
Google will compete with its partners and sell its own Daydream virtual reality headsets
Think Nexus, but for VR.
http://www.recode.net/2016/5/19/11713830/google-daydream-vr-headsets-partners-
While focusing yesterday on its new virtual reality headset as a design that will be licensed to partners, Google also plans to sell a version of Daydream itself.
The Daydream headset is designed as an evolution of the low-end Cardboard, relying on a phone to provide the display, brains and head-tracking abilities. Unlike Cardboard, though, Daydream is designed to be far more comfortable so it can be used for longer periods of time.
A separate controller does have electronics, including a bunch of sensors, several buttons and a clickable trackpad.
VR head Clay Bavor confirmed Google will sell its version of the hardware.
The move is similar to what Google did with Cardboard, showing Google wants to make sure lots of these headsets get out. If other makers get enough devices out, great, but if not, Google wants to make sure lots of people have access to Daydream.
Google and partners like Epic Games and Unity focused a lot of their attention on the motion-sensing controller that accompanies the headset. Oculus, for example, has plans for a motion controller shipping later this year.
The headset and controller aren’t the only components for Daydream. Google is also certifying a range of phones as Daydream-ready.
Google is also working with video partners including Hulu, Netflix, IMAX, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.
Unreal Engine adds full Google Daydream VR support, native Unity support coming this summer
http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/19/unreal-engine-adds-full-google-daydream-vr-support-native-unity-support-coming-this-summer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A New Challenger Appears: Xiaomi’s Mi Box Is A 4K-Ready Android TV Device ‘Coming To The US Soon’
http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/05/18/new-challenger-appears-xiaomis-mi-box-4k-ready-android-tv-device-coming-us-soon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
TV company today announces the first episode of a new TV series on Facebook pages: live broadcast
Broadcaster Fox Networks Group presents live stream on Facebook’s of first episode of the new series Outcast at the same time 61 different countries.
Outcast will be premiered on Friday the 20th of May in different countries in Europe and Africa. In Finland, a series of first episode can be viewed at 23 Fox channel’s Facebook page.
This is the first cooperation between Fox and Facebook.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/incoming/tv-yhtio-julkaisee-tanaan-uuden-tv-sarjan-ensimmaisen-jakson-facebook-sivuillaan-suora-lahetys-nakyy-suomalaisillekin-6552565
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s new gigapixel camera captures every paint stroke in famous artwork
http://mashable.com/2016/05/17/google-art-camera/#XoKQctqRPsqR
Cancel that trip to the Louvre. You’ll never get closer to master art works than through Google’s freakishly powerful, robotic Art Camera.
Google’s Cultural Institute is filled with hundreds of thousands of artifacts that you can view online, and about 200 of them are gigapixel images of famous works of art. There are, naturally, millions more of such artworks you can see in person museums around the world.
But now, with its new robotic Art Camera, Google is automating the process of ingesting these works and putting them online, so you’ll be able to see even more without leaving the house. Google has announced a new camera and the online availability of 1,000 new gigapixel images on Tuesday via its official blog.
The device uses sonar and laser to both focus and line up portions of the works, which it photographs bit by bit. Every image captures the colors and brush strokes that went into making each masterwork in astonishing detail. The system automatically composes the thousands of pieces that make up a piece of art into a cohesive whole.
Online, you can step back virtually from the art to see it in full or zoom in to any section until you are staring at a brush stroke. The effect is especially striking with impressionists works
Tomi Engdahl says:
Financial Times:
EU to propose rule that video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have 20% EU content in catalog
Netflix and Amazon face EU quota threat
Duncan Robinson and Alex Barker in Brussels
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0%2F4798d428-1d19-11e6-b286-cddde55ca122.html#axzz49CcIm2iE
Netflix and Amazon’s video streaming services could be forced to devote “at least” 20 per cent of their catalogues to European films and TV shows as part of an overhaul of the EU’s broadcasting rules.
Under a Brussels plan to be unveiled next week, video-on-demand groups would also be obliged to “ensure prominence” of any European works
Such services are not covered by legislation that require national broadcasters to ensure that the “majority” of their content is European in order to make sure that viewers are not overwhelmed by US imports.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Moog synthesizer inventor is born, May 23, 1934
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4415043/Moog-synthesizer-inventor-is-born–May-23–1934a?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160523&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20160523&elqTrackId=59949da50b3e407da88a3cef49fdab48&elq=54ab3c1ee23c42d4bcd6b3d1d6559e00&elqaid=32348&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28260
Robert Moog, inventor of the modern synthesizer, was born on May 23, 1934.
The Moog synthesizer was one of the first widely used electronic musical instruments.
Moog is credited with creating the first voltage-controlled subtractive synthesizer to utilize a keyboard as a controller. He demonstrated it at the AES convention in 1964.
Two years later Moog filed a patent application for his unique low-pass filter. That patent was issued in October 1969, and his name is on 10 US patents in total.
The Moog synthesizer made a name for itself in the music industry after it was demonstrated at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967.
May 23, 2012
Robert Moog’s 78th Birthday
http://www.google.com/doodles/robert-moogs-78th-birthday
Interactive Moog synthetizer simulator on your browser.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big Grams lights up summer music festivals with Kinect-based visuals
http://news.microsoft.com/features/big-grams-lights-up-summer-music-festivals-with-kinect-based-visuals/#sm.0018qtf6313jgehksw91oag4ome77
Big Grams partnered with new media and entertainment studio V Squared Labs to develop a new, immersive visual experience triggered by the band’s performance. Utilizing Microsoft Kinect technology, in combination with high-end computer graphics, the reactive video experience was rolled out for the inaugural Okeechobee Music Festival in Florida earlier this year.
Vello Virkhaus, a video artist, founder and the creative director of V Squared Labs, says, “We wanted to get beyond just showing a colorful blob up on a screen and set out to create digital avatars of the band that truly reacted to their movements. We also wanted to generate different looks for different songs.”
Virkhaus says he enjoyed the experiment of taking Kinect to a professional touring environment. He was impressed with how it enabled advanced sensing, including with its 3D point cloud, skeleton tracking and the time-of-flight (ToF) camera, which measures the range of the camera’s object based on the speed of light.
“It was comforting to know that if someone dropped something and smashed the Kinect, we could always pick up another one on short notice at an electronics store in Okeechobee or wherever,” he noted.
V Squared built a custom framework run in Touch Designer using luminosity real-time fluid and particle simulations among other effects. The band’s movements are captured by the Kinect, and powerful interactive scenes are instantly layered together to the musical flow of the performance.
The result is an immersive backdrop
Tomi Engdahl says:
16 Megapixel Outdoor Security Camera on the Cheap
http://hackaday.com/2016/05/23/16-megapixel-outdoor-security-camera-on-the-cheap/
Looking for a high quality security camera? Despite digital cameras continually getting better, and less expensive, security cameras haven’t seemed to follow the same path. So? Better make your own.
[donothingloop] was looking for an outdoor, network capable camera of high resolution. He Some people might have thought about using the Raspberry Pi camera module, but let’s be honest — it’s not great. Instead, he found a pair of used Nikon Coolpix L31 cameras, and he only paid $15 for the both of them.
To control the camera, he’s still going to be using a Raspberry Pi
16 Megapixel Outdoor Network Camera on the Cheap
http://blog.wq.lc/16-megapixel-outdoor-network-camera-on-the-cheap/
I always wanted to have a network camera that provides a good image quality but does not cost a fortune. Modern network cameras that have a resolution of 4K cost upwards of 4000$. There are some cheap cameras that actually cost less, but their image quality is most often not that great.
My idea was to connect the cameras to a Raspberry PI and use gphoto2 to take pictures and send them back to a sever over the network. The only thing I needed was a outdoor weather-proof enclosure. I found a suitable one at a local hardware store.
The enclosure I used is actually the body of an halogen spotlight used on construction sites. It is perfectly suited for this purpose as it is IP44 protected and has a glass front through which the camera can take pictures without being exposed to the elements.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Make your Own Infrared Camera on the Cheap!
http://hackaday.com/2016/05/23/make-your-own-infrared-camera-on-the-cheap/
This is a super fun hack that’s been around for ages — but now with cheap full 1080P HD camera availability, it’s probably a good time to make your own infrared camera!
It’s actually a very easy modification to perform. All cameras are capable of “seeing” infrared light, but for standard photography and video, you don’t want to see the infrared light. So most sensors just have an infrared filter in front of the sensor, to block out any excess infrared light. If you remove it … you have a converted infrared camera.
DIY Make Infrared Aka Thermal Imaging Camera For Cheap ! Convert Any Camera Into Infrared Camera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdJgxNVVrs4
How To Convert Any Camera Into Infrared Thermal Camera Very Cheap But Useful Hack . Every Camera Sensor Has Ability To See Infrared i.e. Thermal Part of The Light But The Infrared Blocking Filter Inside Digital Camera’s Protects The CCD Sensor From Burning With High Energy Infrared Light Such as Sunlight .
Now , If We Remove The Blocking Infrared Filter The Camera Can Also Able To See Infrared Part of The Spectrum of Light ! Which Is Pretty Cool Because After This Hack You Can See Hot Objects With Your Camera Glowing More As They Emit More Infrared Energy & Many Other Things
Tomi Engdahl says:
How To Make A Night Vision Camera Out Of A Regular Digital Camera DIY!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a-f4EIxBc4
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ted Sarandos / Netflix Media Center:
Starting in September, Netflix will be exclusive US pay TV home for new releases from Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar
Get Ready for Summer on Netflix US
https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/get-ready-for-summer-on-netflix-us
Summertime = Movies. Well, on Netflix, anytime = movies…but we do see about a 20% increase in movie watching by our members in the US around Memorial Day weekend.
Many of our long time U.S. members might recognize that summer is a time when we refresh a large part of our film catalogue. This year is no exception, but there is one difference; a batch of non-exclusive titles are leaving while what is arriving is exclusive to Netflix among streaming subscription video services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Harrison Weber / VentureBeat:
Facebook buys VR audio company Two Big Ears and debuts “Facebook 360 Spatial Workstation”, a free software suite for designing spatial audio
Facebook buys VR audio company Two Big Ears, debuts ‘Facebook 360 Spatial Workstation’
http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/23/facebook-buys-vr-audio-company-two-big-ears-debuts-facebook-360-spatial-workstation/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Vizio P-Series review: great 4K TV but Google Cast-powered approach and Android tablet remote have a learning curve, casting via the SmartCast app can be buggy
Vizio P-Series review: an incredible 4K TV and showcase for Google Cast
A bold reinvention of the way you expect TVs to work
http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/19/11687510/vizio-4k-hdr-tv-smartcast-google-cast-review
Tomi Engdahl says:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook’s Continuous Live Video removes 90 min. limit on streams, but does not allow for replay or rewind, lets broadcasters target viewers by location and age — Live mobile video is evolving beyond selfie-stream rants and citizen journalism. Facebook will now allow non-stop …
Facebook enables Continuous Live Video to power puppycams and more
http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/23/facebook-continuous-live/
Live mobile video is evolving beyond selfie-stream rants and citizen journalism. Facebook will now allow non-stop, long-form broadcasting as long as the creators don’t mind that they won’t be able to permanently save and share the video. The new Continuous Live Video API enables persistent streams like nature feeds, 24-hour windows into major landmarks or cameras trained on a pit full of puppies, Facebook revealed to me.
This is just one way Facebook has attracted broadcasters to its Live API. It had 12 partners when it launched at F8 in April, but has grown to more than 100 today. Instead of just streaming from their phones, the API lets more professional broadcasters use their own high-grade cameras, mixing boards and effects suites, plus control who sees their Live videos.
Geogating lets publishers make a video visible only to people in a particular location if that’s where it’s most relevant or they only have limited broadcast rights. They can also set a video to expire after a certain time if they want to achieve added urgency or it only made sense soon after an event happened. There’s also age-gating so only users over a certain age can see a video, which could be important to brands in restricted industries like alcohol who might want to use Live for marketing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audio line filter vanquishes noise
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4442074/Audio-line-filter-vanquishes-noise?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160523&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20160523&elqTrackId=43c28fa72c8e4e7da884de06896be3c2&elq=963c21bc789c481caa90e302be4b29a4&elqaid=32353&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28265
When inserted in audio lines, TDK’s MAF1608G noise suppression filter for cellular bands keeps the total harmonic distortion and noise (THD+N) of the audio signal at 0% (1 kHz, 8 Ω, 1 W). The device provides a current rating of 1.6 A and low DC resistance of just 0.06 Ω.
Housed in a miniature 1.6×0.8×0.8-mm case, the MAF1608G filter ensures effective noise suppression when used in the sound lines of earphones, speakers, and microphones of such devices as smart phones, tablet PCs, and portable
Noise suppression filter for audio lines
For cellular bands
MAF1608G Type
https://product.tdk.com/info/en/catalog/datasheets/audioline-filter_maf1608g_en.pdf
FEATURES
A compact noise suppression compon
ent for audio lines that accommodates high currents.
Distortions are greatly reduced during insertion with the adoption of newly-developed low distortion ferrite materials.
Small reductions in volume due to its low re
sistance, and optimal for devices that require high sound quality as the generating of sound distortions is controlled.
Shows excellent effects in measures against the deterioration of the receiving sensitivity of wireless devices due to high attenuation characteristics in the cellular band.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Secret Listening to Elevator Music
http://hackaday.com/2016/05/24/secret-listening-to-elevator-music/
But that’s what happens when you notice something funny and start to investigate: if you’re lucky, it ends with “Eureka!”, but most of the time it’s just “oh”. Still, it’s good to record the “ohs”.
Gökberk [gkbrk] Yaltıraklı was staying in a hotel long enough that he got bored and started snooping around the network, like you do. Breaking out Wireshark, he noticed a lot of UDP traffic on a nonstandard port, so he thought he’d have a look.
A couple of quick Python scripts later, he had downloaded a number of the sample packets and decoded them into hex and found the signature for LAME, an MP3 encoder. He played around with byte offsets until he got a valid MP3 file out, and voilà, the fantastic reveal! It was the hotel’s elevator music stream — that he could hear outside in the corridor with much less effort.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Protocol Snooping Digital Audio
http://hackaday.com/2014/11/12/protocol-snooping-digital-audio/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jason Abbruzzese / Mashable:
NBC Sports announces a video livestreaming service, Playmaker Media, to compete with companies like MLB Advanced Media, with Olympic Committee as first client
NBC Sports jumps into the livestream game just in time for the Olympics
http://mashable.com/2016/05/23/nbc-sports-live-stream-playmaker/#Uyeva6V5P8qq
NBC Sports has announced a new video livestreaming service called Playmaker Media, which will look to compete with companies like MLB Advanced Media to air live sports online.
The move underscores the importance of being able to solve the technical challenges of streaming live events over the Internet to large audiences.
“The growing demand for live streaming support in the marketplace combined with our experience and expertise make this the perfect time to launch Playmaker,” said Rick Cordella, general manager of digital media for NBC Sports Group, in a press release.
Developing a Bam competitor would provide NBC — and its parent company, Comcast — with useful technology that could also be sold as a service to other partners and help with negotiations for future sports rights.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digital photography, machine vision, barcode scanning or security and medical imaging – it’s all about the love of detail. ON Semiconductor offers high-end application-specific CCD and CMOS image sensors that empower customers to create unique products with state-of-the-art performance.
https://silica.avnet.com/wps/portal/silica/products/featured-products/2016/on-image-sensors/!ut/p/z1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8zi3S1NPQ2dnQ183Z09XA0cA9yCAv3cjUyCDY31w9EUmPs4AxVYOrqGhPgYGPgZ6kcRo98AB3A0IE4_HgVR-I0P149CtcLfO8AMaEJQkE-QqVeYUaAZXgVOrmFG6AqwhAGaAqMwC5ACf9_AIB9Pr2BTqAI8zizIDQ2NMMj0zHRUVAQAE1jJsA!!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Examples of photo editing that is done in today’s advertisements:
How designers around the world photoshopped this model when they were told to make her beautiful
http://www.techinsider.io/beauty-cultural-differences-photoshop-2015-8
UK based Superdrug Online Doctor hired female graphic designers in 18 countries to retouch the same portrait of a woman to become more attractive to their culture. The shocking responses show the dramatic differences in how different countries perceive beauty.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google confirms the Nexus Player has been discontinued
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/5/24/11762276/google-nexus-player-discontinued
The first Android TV set-top box remains available from some third parties
Google has ceased direct sales of its Nexus Player set-top box. The hockey puck-shaped device, manufactured by Asus, has been unavailable from major third-party retailers like Best Buy for months. And after a brief Google Store restock in early April (probably to get rid of the last units), Google has now pulled the Nexus Player’s store listing entirely. The product’s information page remains, at least for now. “Nexus Player is still available on some retail sites,” a spokesperson told The Verge, meaning that finding it elsewhere is your last remaining option for getting one.
Introduced in late 2014, the Nexus Player was the first set-top box to run Android TV, but was by no means Google’s first try at becoming the center of your living room. It followed up on the complete dud known as Google TV, but also the surprise breakout hit that was Chromecast. Android TV isn’t going anywhere, to be clear; it’s the operating system that comes preloaded on 2016 televisions from Sony and Sharp, and you can still buy Nvidia’s Shield to get it running on an existing TV — in 4K, even. “Android TV continues to be a living room favorite as one of the best smart TV experiences,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry Pi tube amp lets you use $1,300 headphones with your $35 computer
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/5/8/11635442/raspberry-pi-tube-amp
The Raspberry Pi is one of the most versatile little computers ever created, and it can do all kinds of things — like power robots, arcade machines, and now, expensive headphones. Pi 2 Design has created a hybrid vacuum tube amp called the 503HTA that towers atop the Raspberry Pi 3 or Pi 3, allowing the Pi to drive stereo headphones between 32–300 ohms. It also happens to be one of the neatest-looking mods for the Raspberry Pi we’ve seen.
The 503HTA has already doubled its goal of $20,000 on Kickstarter and was fully funded in just three days.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Networks are trying to lure audiences back from streaming services like Netflix by offering viewers on-demand access to current shows
TV Networks Hoard Reruns to Grab Some of Netflix’s Binge Viewers
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-20/tv-networks-hoard-reruns-to-grab-some-of-netflix-s-binge-viewers
With live viewership of most U.S. TV channels in decline, the most-watched networks are trying to lure audiences back by making it easier to catch reruns.
As they unveil their 2016-2017 program schedules this week in New York, the four major broadcast networks have called out the need to offer viewers on-demand access to current shows, a prize known as in-season stacking.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How could the FCC’s proposed successor to CableCARD thwart innovation?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/brians-brain/4442093/How-could-the-FCC-s-proposed-successor-to-CableCARD-thwart-innovation-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_consumerelectronics_20160525&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_consumerelectronics_20160525&elqTrackId=f7633aa65e444c1486265dc2f68ef2d0&elq=c2de9d89092b49d1a9cf1168b1a43a6c&elqaid=32376&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=28289
Suffice it to say that cable companies (unlike cable customers) like equipment rental fees. Therefore, requiring CableCARD-compatible equipment to be certified by CableLabs, a cabal of cable operators (clever, huh?), was a bit like setting the fox to guard the henhouse.
Specifically, Wheeler is talking about a software- vs hardware-centric scheme that conceivably would open up subscription television service not only to legacy equipment manufacturers but also to media streamers such as the Amazon Fire TV series, the Apple TV, and Roku’s various products, as well as to computers, tablets and smartphones. The cable industry’s response was rapid and predictable. Comcast claimed, “The proposal, like prior federal government technology mandates, would impose costs on consumers, adversely impact the creation of high-quality content, and chill innovation. It also flies in the face of the rapid changes that are occurring in the marketplace and benefitting consumers.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
GoPro surges after Red Bull invests in it
http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/24/investing/gopro-red-bull-stock/index.html
Good news for all you Tony Hawk wannabes with a camera strapped to your head and an energy drink in one hand while you skateboard down the half pipe. GoPro just entered into a partnership with Red Bull.
GoPro’s stock got a much needed caffeine boost, surging 7% following the announcement.
And it may be because Red Bull seems to be calling a bottom in GoPro’s stock, which has plunged 45% this year and is still 90% below the all-time high it hit shortly after it went public in 2014.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Europe Calls for Netflix, Amazon Content Quota
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/europe-calls-netflix-amazon-quota-897265
In addition to a 20 percent European content quota, new legislation would allow countries, such as France, to force streaming giants to invest in European films and TV series.
The European Commission wants to impose a quota on on-demand and streaming video services, such as Netflix and Amazon, forcing them to ensure European content makes up at least 20 percent of the films and TV shows in the catalogs.
In addition, the Commission proposed Wednesday to allow individual European governments to force online companies to comply with their national quota systems, even if the companies are based outside the country in question.
The 20 percent quota is unlikely to have much immediate impact on Netflix and peers. A recent study by the European Audiovisual Observatory found that European films already make up 27 percent of all titles on online video platforms across Europe. The average for Netflix and iTunes is 21 percent, well within the proposed quota.
The second change to the law, however, could have major consequences. Several European countries — notably France — require national broadcasters and online video companies to contribute directly to the production of European films and TV series, often in the form of a levy on their total revenue.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mark Scott / New York Times:
EU proposes new rules to protect minors, combat hate speech, and mandate that video streaming services have 20% European content
Europe Seeks Greater Control Over Digital Services
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/technology/eu-proposals-apple-netflix-facebook.html?_r=0
If European regulators get their way, Netflix may soon have to do more than just offer “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” with French subtitles.
European officials proposed on Wednesday a new set of rules that could force Netflix and other video streaming services to carry a minimum amount of local content in individual countries, as well as to help pay for its development.
It is part of a broader effort to regulate how the 500 million people in the region can buy, access and consume online services like video streaming and messaging applications.
The changes form the building blocks for Europe’s broad plan for a single digital market, a strategy that officials say they hope will help bolster the region’s sluggish economy.
“The way we watch TV or videos may have changed, but our values don’t,” Günther H. Oettinger, the European commissioner in charge of the digital economy, said in a statement on Wednesday. “With these new rules, we will uphold media pluralism.”
European policy makers said that online streaming rivals currently invested only around 1 percent of their annual revenue in local content.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What your profile picture REALLY says about you: Experts say they can reveal if you are conscientious, artistic or neurotic
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3605456/What-profile-picture-REALLY-says-Experts-say-reveal-conscientious-artistic-neurotic.html#ixzz49kKOm33J
Tomi Engdahl says:
Queen guitarist Brian May releases virtual reality viewer
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/27/queen_guitarist_brian_may_releases_virtual_reality_viewer/
Queen guitarist Brian May is an enthusiast for stereo imagery, the Victorian-era 3D craze for viewing photos through a stereoscope in order to be awed by the illusion of depth in static images. May’s put his money where his eyes are, operating the London Stereoscopic Company to promote the technology.
Now the shaggy-haired one has taken a step into virtual reality, adapting the Company’s OWL viewer to hold smartphones.
As the video below shows, May’s OWL Virtual Reality Kit looks an awful lot like a Google Cardboard, but done in plastic with better handles and without even a hint of a head strap. The device is claimed to work with any brand and model of smartphone, but behaves especially well when paired with an iPhone 6 Plus.
http://www.londonstereo.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
VR the champions: Queen legend Brian May has made a rival to Google Cardboard
http://www.cnet.com/news/vr-the-champions-queen-legend-brian-may-has-made-a-rival-to-google-cardboard/
The rock god and astrophysicist has a long-standing fascination with 3D imagery, leading him to create the wallet-friendly Owl viewer.
If Brian May could capture one moment from his life so that others could step inside that moment and experience it, it would be the time he strode onto the roof of Buckingham Palace alone except for his guitar and played to 200 million people.
“I’d love people to know what that felt like,” said the Queen guitarist. “It was a whole life-changing experience for me.”
The band filmed its recent Barcelona concert with 360-degree cameras that zoomed around the gig on a four-point wire system suspended over the crowd — the type of camera you’ve probably seen flying over arenas and sports fixtures. You’ll be able to soak up the atmosphere, both on stage and from within the crowd, by watching the resulting VR experience through a wallet-friendly 3D and VR viewer developed by May himself, called the Owl.
Like the make-it-yourself Google Cardboard viewer, the Owl viewer holds a smartphone in front of two lenses so when you look through it you can see glorious 3D, 360-degree and virtual-reality photos and videos. It will be available in mid-June for £25 from the London Stereoscopic Company, a concern backed by May (much to the bemusement of his accountant).
V(R) will rock you
May happily digresses on the history of stereoscopy stretching back to the innovations of Sir Charles Wheatstone in the Victorian age. Today, he says, with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive among the VR kit immersing people in three-dimensional virtual worlds, “We’ve come almost full circle. There’s no better way to experience 3D than the Victorian way.”
http://www.londonstereo.com/lsc_shop.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Periscope important change:
Periscope video service a new version of the software to know the changes in the way to keep users’ videos.
Twitter’s Periscope-owned video service has changed the application so that the video recordings are no longer disappear after 24 hours.
Now, all the videos will be ably to watch, unless settings are changed separately. Users have the ability to remove their videos manually afterwards.
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/mobiili/2016/05/27/periscopessa-merkittava-muutos-kaikki-videot-jaavat-nakyviin/20165721/66?rss=6
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia transferred a 8K-video 5G connection
Japanese NTT DoCoMo says succeeded together with Nokia to transfer real-time 8K video 5G wireless technology. The experiment took place in Japan a week ago.
The test used was very experimental system. The wireless link used a 70-gigahertz frequency, which Nokia has been testing a lot for the future 5G connections. NTT, in turn, encoded bit stream to the company’s own Media Intelligence Laboratories developing H.265 / High Efficiency Video Coding technology.
8K-video refers to the picture format, where the horizontal is 8000 pixels. The entire image resolution is typically 7680 × 4320 points.
Raw 8K-video calls to send data at a rate of 48 gigabits per second.
It was encoded to packed 85-145 megabit video signal.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4499:nokia-siirsi-8k-videota-5g-yhteydella&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thunderbolt 3 of connection the data is transferred at a rate of 40 gigabits per second. It is double the rate compared to the second version, although at the same time the power consumption drops by half.
3 thunderbolt the speed enables the connection to a display signal may be transferred to two 60-hertsiselle 4K screen. In addition, it supports PCIe 3.0 interface, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 connector and USB 3.1 to. Also download up to 100 watts of power and manages to USB power profile.
Another challenge has been the spread of the cables needed for the price. 3 also supports a thunderbolt preferred passive cables in which data is transferred at a rate of 20 gigabits per second. When the rate is double the latest USB bus compared, it will be enough for most people.
NAB trade show in Las Vegas saw a lot of Thunderbolt 3 solutions, which have been developed specifically for the transmission and recording of 4K video.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4500:5-vuotias-thunderbolt-valmis-laitevyoryyn&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Biz Carson / Business Insider:
Musical.ly, with 10M DAUs and 70M registered users, is adding a streaming service called live.ly, is rumored to be raising $100M
How a failed education startup turned into Musical.ly, the most popular app you’ve probably never heard of
http://nordic.businessinsider.com/what-is-musically-2016-5?op=1?r=US&IR=T
Unless you live with a teenager, you’ve probably never heard of Musical.ly.
If you do, then you’ve probably already appeared in one of your kid’s music videos.
The DIY music-video app first came on the scene in 2014, but exploded to the top of the App Store charts last summer. It hasn’t fallen below the top 40 since. Often, it’s swapping top places in the app store with Snapchat and Instagram.
The 15-second videos are typically people lip-syncing or dancing to some of the top hits.
Today, more than 10 million people use the app daily and produce around the same number of videos every single day. All in, 70 million people have registered as Musical.ly users
The idea for a make-your-own-music-video app was a desperate pivot away from an education app.
The idea was that experts, whether for coffee or calculus, could create short three- to five-minute videos explaining a subject. But there’s a reason you’ve never heard of it before.
“The day we released this application to the market we realized it was never going to take off,” Zhu said. “It was doomed to be a failure.”
His team had missed that the videos took too long to create. Lesson planners had a hard time condensing their expertise into three minutes. Content creation and consumption needed to be within minutes and seconds, not hours. It wasn’t entertaining, and it didn’t attract teens.
they scrambled to come up with a new idea.
The 15-second videos are long enough to draw a laugh and tell a story, but not too long that teens get bored and move onto the next one.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Will OLEDs Improve TV Profit Margins?
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1329789&
Display Week speakers debate where the TV and car display industries are headed.
If anything emerged from last week’s Display Week (May 22–27), it was clear that although viewers prefer bright color on their home TVs, there’s no conscensus on whether consumers will pay for it. With profit margins shrinking among TV makers, the industry needs to distinguish “must-have” features (that viewers would be willing to pay for) from features that would simply “nice-to-have.”
Worldwide TV sales peaked in 2010 at $118 billion and continue to drop, according to Paul Gagnon, director of TV Research at market-watcher IHS. The market dropped to $90 billion in 2015, says Gagnon, and is expected to drop another $10 billion by 2020.
Far reaching price declines—agitated by an oversupply of LCD screens from China—have effected TV maker’s margins, which, however, have been offset by larger screens. The average selling price (ASP) for a flat screen TV, industry wide by diagonal inch, is roughly $9. ASPs per diagonal are expected to drop to $7 by 2020, Gagnon says. This forces TV makers to innovate on features in an effort to keep margins intact.
Unlike smart phones, whose replace-and-upgrade cycle has been as short as 18 months, the replacement of big screen family televisions normally occurs on a 6-year cycle.
The high-resolution screens (4K), though expensive, have triggered new consumption. Advancements also stimulating consumers include HDR (high dynamic range), and expanded color ranges. And there is more content coming online for 4K, led by producers like Netflix, Dash says.
Among next-generation TVs, viewers will make choices between full high definition (1080p FHD), high frame rates (HFR), ultra-high definition (UHD, 4K), high dynamic range (HDR), 3D, curved screens, and a wide color gamut. While 4K TV offers 3840 x 2160 pixel-resolution, and 8K offers 7680 x 4320 pixels, “Picture quality”—as defined by wide color gamut—was the most important user care-about, according to surveys by IHS. And this sets the stage for competition among OLEDs and quantum dots in next-generation TVs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung quits the camera business in Australia as smartphones rule the world
http://www.news.com.au/technology/samsung-quits-the-camera-business-in-australia-as-smartphones-rule-the-world/news-story/7106256107fc7f217d7c2d6cf331320c
SAMSUNG might be winning the phone race but it is admitting defeat in digital cameras.
The world’s leading smartphone maker is all but quitting the camera business in Australia, confirming to News Corp that it will “reduce its focus” on imaging technology due to falling digital camera sales.
The news comes just months after the South Korean technology giant pulled out of the British market, citing consumers’ “gradual and sustained decline in demand for stand-alone digital cameras and camcorders.”
Ironically, the drop in camera sales is likely due to the success and improved photo quality of its own smartphones.
“Due to changing market conditions, Samsung will reduce its focus on sales and marketing for its range of digital imaging products in this country,”
The one exception to Samsung’s digital camera exit, however, is likely to be its Gear 360 Cam.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Broadens Xeon Video Offerings
E3-1500-v5 diversifies portfolio
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329790&
Intel’s first real-time high-efficiency video codec (HEVC) transcoding processor—the E3-1500 version five (E3v5)—combines Xeon 14-nanometer complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) performance with acceleration from its companion Iris Pro Graphics processing unit (GPU). Intel’s patented Quick-Sync Video hardware provides real-time high-definition (HD) and ultra-HD (UHD, also called 4k-pixel) to provide high-efficiency video codec services.
As PC sales continue to diminish and Xeon datacenter and supercomputer sales continue to grow, Intel is diversifying processor offerings into dedicated video transcoding. Today, there is a gaping need for video transcoding, that is adjusting real-time video streams encoding and pixel see to fit screens sized tiny smartphones to 1080 pixel high-definition (HD) to 4k-pixel ultra-high-definition (UHD) flat panels.
“According to the analysts, 80 percent of the Internet traffic will be video and of that there will be three times as many 4k screens by 2020,” said Jennifer Huffstetler, director Datacenter Product Marketing in a preview of the E3 last month. “That amounts to as much as 129 percent compound average growth rate [CAGR] for high-efficiency video encoding [HEVC].”
Intel expects the E3v5 to be used by internet video service providers, graphics oriented data centers, workstations, virtualized environments (with up to seven users sharing each E3v5) and cloud-based video delivery systems. Each E3v5 with GPU can handle 18 advanced video communications channels simultaneously serving 1080p 30 frame-per-second video.
Intel also supplied its Media Server Studio software. running on Linux or Windows, for development of any type of media-based transcoding application.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook says its AI systems now report more offensive photos than humans do
Facebook spares humans by fighting offensive photos with AI
http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/31/terminating-abuse/
Facebook’s artificial intelligence systems now report more offensive photos than humans do, marking a major milestone in the social network’s battle against abuse, the company tells me. AI could quarantine obscene content before it ever hurts the psyches of real people.
Facebook’s success in ads has fueled investments into the science of AI and machine vision that could give it an advantage in stopping offensive content. Creating a civil place to share without the fear of bullying is critical to getting users to post their personal content that draws in friends’ attention.
To fuel the fight, Twitter acquired a visual intelligence startup called Madbits, and Whetlab, an AI neural networks startup. Together, their AI can identify offensive images, and only incorrectly flagged harmless images just 7 percent of the time as of a year ago, according to Wired. This reduces the number of humans needed to do the tough job
When malicious users upload something offensive to torment or disturb people, it traditionally has to be seen and flagged by at least one human, either a user or paid worker.
Previously, Twitter and Facebook had relied extensively on outside human contractors from startups like Crowdflower, or companies in the Philippines.
But AI is helping Facebook avoid having to subject humans to such a terrible job. Instead of making contractors the first line of defense, or resorting to reactive moderation where unsuspecting users must first flag an offensive image, AI could unlock active moderation at scale by having computers scan every image uploaded before anyone sees it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Periscope to let livestream viewers vote on whether flagged comments are abusive in “flash juries” of five random users — Attention livestreamers: You’ve been summoned for jury duty. — Attention Periscope users: You’ve been summoned for jury duty.
Periscope has a new plan to fight back against internet trolls
http://www.recode.net/2016/5/31/11803070/periscope-abuse-safety-update-internet-trolls
Periscope, Twitter’s standalone livestreaming app, has created a new way to combat internet trolls, which includes a system to put internet bad guys on trial in front of their internet peers.
Here’s how the new abuse system works: If you’re watching a Periscope livestream and come across a vile or inappropriate comment, you can report that comment, triggering what Periscope calls a “flash jury” of other users watching the same livestream.
Periscope will ask this flash jury, a small group of other randomly selected users, if they also consider the comment abusive or offensive. If the majority agrees with you, the commenter will be placed in a one minute time-out with commenting disabled. Repeat offenders will be muted for good.
The new system is pretty unusual. Most social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat rely on users to report abusive and inappropriate material, but Periscope seems to be the first one asking other users to then weigh in.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Panasonic To Stop Making LCD Panels For TVs
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/16/05/31/2126235/panasonic-to-stop-making-lcd-panels-for-tvs
Japanese electronics maker Panasonic says it will stop making LCD panels for televisions, giving way to fierce price competition. The pullout from TV LCD manufacturing follows the company’s withdrawal from plasma TV production 3 years ago.
After Panasonic pulls out, Sharp and its Taiwanese parent firm Hon Hai will be the only producer in Japan.
Panasonic to stop making LCD panels for TVs
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160531_17/
Japanese electronics maker Panasonic says it will stop making LCD panels for televisions, giving way to fierce price competition.
The pullout from TV LCD manufacturing follows the company’s withdrawal from plasma TV production 3 years ago.
They say they will continue to manufacture LCD panels at the plant for products other than televisions, such as medical equipment and cars.
They say the company will keep making Panasonic-brand televisions, using panels supplied by other manufacturers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Expects Chip Family to Enable Wireless Virtual Reality
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1329806&
Qualcomm, the world’s largest supplier of chips for mobile devices, announced a suite of chips today at the Taipei Computex electronics show that it expects will extend Wi-Fi to enable new functionality such as 4k media streaming and wireless virtual reality.
The company said the family of tri-radio chips will bring high-end performance and greater ease of use into mainstream 802.11ac routers for home networks. IEEE 802.11ac is an extension of Wi-Fi for high-throughput wireless local area networks on the 5 GHz band.
The new chips provide the capability to do things like wireless docking on a desktop PC because performance exceeds that of a typical USB cable, according to the company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Cast is coming to every Google Fiber TV box
Each of Google’s cable boxes is now a Chromecast
http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/1/11829846/google-cast-fiber-tv-announced
Beginning today, Google is turning every single one of its Google Fiber cable boxes into Chromecasts. The company just announced that it’ll be rolling out an update over the coming weeks that adds Google Cast — the underlying technology behind Chromecast — to the Fiber box. Once it’s installed, Fiber TV subscribers will be able to cast from thousands of apps by tapping an icon and sending that content to their TV screen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New FPGA/SoC TFT LCD Display Controller IP Core
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=216&doc_id=1329810&
The DB9000 TFT LCD Controller IP core supports LCD panel resolutions from 240×240 up to 8192×8192.
Just to make sure we’re all tap-dancing to the same drum beat, the 2.8″ (240 x 320 pixel) display comes equipped with a breakout board carrying a controller and a Micro-SD card holder. The Adafruit libraries require us to use 24 bpp (bits per pixel) BMP images, but we are planning on tweaking the library and reducing the image color depth to 16 bpp, thereby cutting the amount of data being moved around by a third.
The reason I’m waffling on about this here is that Steve was telling me about their DB9000 TFT LCD Controller IP core, which supports LCD panel resolutions from 240×240 up to 8192×8192, with 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 16, 18, 24, 30, and 32 bpp; both RGB and YCrCb color spaces; 1, 2, 4, and 8 port LVDS interfaces; and MIPI DSI, DVI, HDMI, V-by-One, and DisplayPort interfaces.
The DB9000 IP Core supports SoC fabrics interfacing to SDRAM frame buffer memory with 32-, 64-, 128-, or 256-bit data widths, supporting the AXI4, AXI3, AHB, AHB-Lite, OCP, and Avalon protocols.
This support for high-resolution LCD panels includes Full High Definition (FHD), Ultra HD (UHD/Quad FHD), Digital Cinema Systems (DCI) 2K and 4K images, and 5K 5120×2880.
Tomi Engdahl says:
BBC’s Britflix likely dead before the ink has even dried on the news
Thank goodness the internet’s where the fail whale lives
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/20/britflix_likely_dead_before_the_ink_has_dried_on_the_news/
Anyone hearing this week that Britain’s BBC is set to launch against Netflix with a service touted as “BritFlix” will almost certainly get the wrong idea and believe it is actually going to happen. The move is being touted merely because the recent government review of the BBC encouraged the ancient British public broadcasters to produce a Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) service.
The constant vacillation is easily understandable. If the BBC makes too much money from outside the licence fee, it will get less public money voted to it in its next review, making it a zero sum game. Its senior managers interpret this as “it’s better not to rock the boat”.
The BBC spends several billion pounds on original content, but “gives” it away in the UK, and is obliged to deliver it online for free there as well. And it sees the US as the only viable place to charge for an OTT subscription, because everyone else there is doing it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TiVo’s Bolt DVR now lets you stream recordings away from home
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/6/3/11852214/tivo-bolt-out-of-home-streaming-now-available
With its most recent firmware update, TiVo’s Bolt now lets users access and stream their recordings (and live programming) to iOS and Android devices when on the go. In addition, you can now transfer over recorded content to your smartphone or tablet, letting you stock up on movies and shows for the train commute or if you’re taking a long trip somewhere.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Snapchat secretly acquires Seene, a computer vision startup that lets mobile users make 3D selfies
http://techcrunch.com/2016/06/03/snapchat-secretly-acquires-seene-a-computer-vision-startup-that-lets-mobile-users-make-3d-selfies/
Snapchat has acquired 3D photo app maker Seene (also known as Obvious Engineering) a couple of months ago, TechCrunch has learned.
Seene lets you capture 3D models from your phone with a simple smartphone camera. Snapchat could use Seene’s format for a brand new category of selfie lenses, a new 3D photo format, and potentially for future virtual reality projects.
3D geometry plus virtual experiences
There are many different use cases for Seene’s technology, but they all rely on the same differentiating factor. Seene scans and reconstructs full 3D geometry on your phone. Unlike Project Tango or Microsoft’s Kinect, Seene doesn’t need special infrared sensors and multiple cameras. Similarly, Seene doesn’t need a cloud backend to process 3D scans and recreate 3D objects — everything happens on the phone.
Seene is then well-positioned for true augmented reality features. Most augmented reality apps use your phone’s camera to recognize a 2D image (a QR code for instance) and inject a 3D object on your phone display. Seene can go a step further as it can inject 3D objects around real life things.