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Tag: TV

TV by Apple-A Rant

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 4:27 PM on May 18, 2012

Sometime this week, if not today there has been a rumor published about the imaginary TV that Apple is building. Most of these reports are assuming the new TV by Apple is a done deal and it is just a matter of time. From the time these rumors started the question that has run through my brain has been why?

I am really not looking for a TV made by Apple. I have no doubt that Apple has the technical know how to make an awesome TV, including retina display and Siri integration. That is not where the problem lies, the problem lies as always with content. Apple somehow has to convince the various content providers to allow their content to be used. Something that Google has been unable to do with the Google TV. Let say they get the content providers to agree to an arrangement, that is just the first problem. Then they have to get the content to the consumer through cable companies like Comcast, which has already shown that they will favor those who have an agreement with them over independent content. Third, it will have to convince consumers that purchasing a new HD panel is worth it. A panel which will probably be over 1,000 dollars if Apple’s history is any indicator.

Instead of creating a whole new TV, I wish Apple would improve the Apple TV they already have. They need to open it up to more third-party video platforms like Plex or XMBC. That way I could watch content not only from providers such as PBS or Aljazerra or HBO Go, but also live streaming from Ustream, Justin TV or YouTube to name a few. Second open up the platform to games and allow third-party vendors to create wireless controllers. Yes, I know a lot of this can be accomplished by jail breaking the Apple TV, but I shouldn’t have to do that. Plus if you do jail break the Apple TV, than you are always in this constant game with Apple. They do an update and you have to wait for the new jailbreak to come out, they do another update and it’s another jailbreak and on and on.

I know I am probably wrong the current Apple TV will continue to remain what it has always been for Apple just a hobby and this fall just in time for the holiday season, there will be an Apple TV monitor for sale in the Apple Store. The Apple pundits will write about it like it is the next coming.  I and all the other Mac fans will be drooling over it, wishing we could afford it.  Meanwhile the hobby which could be so much more will continue to be ignored, I just wish it wasn’t so.

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Posted in Apple, Gear, Information, Media

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Discovery Communications Buys Revision3

Posted by JenThorpe at 11:09 PM on May 4, 2012

Discovery Communications, parent company of Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, and more, has purchased Revision3, which is a special interest video network that produces shows that people watch online. It is an odd, and perhaps, unexpected, partnership (of sorts) between Cable TV and Web Video, (which many see as opposing forces).

It wasn’t all that long ago that people were speculating that Cable TV was nearing its end. Personally, my husband and I stopped paying for Cable years ago. The cost was more than we cared to pay for it. We didn’t like the idea of being forced to pay for channels that we knew we would never have an interest in watching just so we could get access to the ones that we enjoyed. It felt insulting to pay for the service and then have to sit through a barrage of ads that interrupted the shows.

Instead, we were using legal online resources in an attempt to be able to watch what we wanted to watch when we were ready to watch it. Hulu used to give free access to a plethora of television shows, including entire seasons, for free. It also used to play recent episodes of shows that were currently airing, (but only for a limited time). Eventually, though, what a person could watch for free through Hulu dramatically shrunk, which was disappointing.

That didn’t make us rush out and pay for Cable, though. Instead, we got Netflix. It was less expensive than Cable, it didn’t make us sit through ads, and it let us watch what we wanted to when we wanted to watch it.

My husband and I haven’t hit the point where we have exhausted the resources on Netflix yet, but, I have heard that this is possible. This week, I got an email from Netflix informing me that they have created a Netflix original series called Lilyhammer. So maybe we won’t run out of stuff to watch through Netflix after all.

I find it interesting that Discovery Communications, which is one of the big Cable networks, decided to purchase Revision3. Is this a way for Cable companies to add “new blood” to what they can offer consumers? I’m unsure if I should expect some of what Revision3 currently offers viewers for free to appear on Discovery Communications, essentially behind a “pay wall” of sorts. Or, could it mean that the Revision3 website will soon require people to pay before they can watch the shows? Somehow, my experiences with Cable TV leaves me with little trust in this situation.

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Posted in Information, internet, video

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What is the Future of Television

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 7:03 PM on April 19, 2012

New Tek At the NAB show New Tek had a panel Broadcast Minds: The Future of Television with Leo Laporte of TWIT.TV,  Kevin Pollak, Award winning Actor and Comedian, Jeff Jacobs, Vice President, Production Planning, Strategic Initiatives & Business Operations of the MTV Music Group,  Bill Chapman, Vice President of Creative Development/Emerging Technologies of Turner Studios and Jeff Hawley, Director, Customer Experience Group. Yamaha Corporation of America. They discussed the future of television and media, if you are interested in media and where it is going you need to watch it. Among the areas they discussed are:

  • The importance of live streaming as an event.
  • People need to feel like they are a part of a community.
  • Engaging the viewer on the various platforms they are on.
  • Creative people are only limited by their own imagination.
  • Creativity drives technology and vice a versa.
  • Anyone can build an on-demand library of content.
  • The ability to store and send big data is a major cost concern.
  • Social Media has become an integral part of the whole process from creation to distribution.

This should only be the start of this dialog and it needs to continue both online and off.

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Posted in Information, Media, NAB, New Media

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FlixFling and Orb are About to Release FlixFling TV

Posted by JenThorpe at 1:11 AM on March 24, 2012

FlixFling and Orb Networks have gotten together to offer something that sounds really interesting. They are combining FlixFling’s movie subscription service with Orb’s wireless video streaming hardware. This is the very first time time that a service that streams premium content has been bundled with a set-top box.

The package is called FlixFling TV. It gives you FlixFling’s unlimited streaming movie subscription service and the Orb TV Wireless Streaming Media player. When you subscribe for this package, you get a both a membership to FlixFling and a membership to the Orb TV Wireless Streaming Media Player at the same time, for one low monthly fee. In other words, when you subscribe to this package it automatically signs you up for both of them and puts the membership fee for both onto one bill. That’s rather convenient!

FlixFling is an application-based movie streaming service. It is compatible with several popular internet-connected devices including Web, iOS, Android, connected TV, Roku, Orb, and more. It has over 8,000 independent and studio movies for you to watch. Orb Networks is a company that develops hardware and software, smartphone applications, and web application services.

Here’s something else that is pretty cool about this package. FlixFling TV will use FlixFling’s mobile applications for iOS and Android devices and Orb’s AllPlay for Mobile Devices to bring the FlixFling service to any screen. You can use your iOS or Android smart phone, or your tablet, as a remote. AllPlay for Mobile Devices is an open, cross-platform API that enables wireless media streaming. The FlixFling TV bundle will start being available to consumers in April of 2012.

My husband and I are currently using NetFlix. I cannot help but wonder if the movies and television programs that are not on NetFlix might possibly be accessible through FlixFling. We signed up to get streamed content from NetFlix, and we have a computer connected to our television so that we can watch movies on a nice, big, screen.

It can be a bit problematic sometimes when that computer needs to do a software update while we are trying to watch something. It might be interesting to see if the set-top box that comes with the FlixFling TV package would alleviate that particular problem.

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Posted in Gadgets, Set Top Box, Streaming, TV

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Boxee Shows off Their OTA Device

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 8:54 PM on February 22, 2012

Boxee announced an over-the-air solution for TV a few months ago, but now the tiny dongle that makes it possible is available on the market.  They were at CES last month to show it off and TPN got a look.  Boxee has become a leader in pulling in internet TV, but they have finally come up with an answer for those looking to watch live content like sports.

You can do this with a PC hooked to your TV and some third-party purchased software, but Boxee wraps it all into your set-top box.  The cool thing here is social recommendations.  You can see what your friends are watching, but only if that is shared information, which is your choice.

You will need the Boxee Box for this new dongle to work, because it won’t work on a computer regardless of the OS.  It’s available now for $49 with no monthly fee.  You can find out more at Boxee.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine.

Sponsored by:
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Posted in ces, Information, Special Media, TV

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Barber Tech SteddiePod

Posted by Andrew at 9:31 AM on February 21, 2012

BarberTech SteddiePodThis is the funniest CES interview I’ve seen (which isn’t saying much, to be honest). Jeffrey and Jamie get a hands-on demonstration of BarberTech‘s SteddiePod by Eddie Barber, which actually looks pretty handy, all joking aside.

The Barber Tech SteddiePod is billed as the “world’s most versatile camera support” and it’s a handheld camera stabiliser with extra features designed in, so it can be used as a tripod or with the boom extended to give overhead shots. The setup looks amazingly straightforward – there’s a good video on the Barber Tech website – and with just a few minutes easy work, the SteddiePod can be accurately balanced for a video camera.

The SteddiePod starts at $499 and is available from dealers nationwide. Barber Tech is “Emmy Award Winning” and has other products such as camera booms and teleprompters for the TV and film industry.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Jamie Davies of the MedicCast and the Nursing Show.

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Posted in ces, Film, Interview, Photography, Special Media, TV, video

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Wi3 Uses Coax for Ethernet Networking

Posted by Andrew at 9:29 AM on February 21, 2012

Wi3 CartridgesThe folks at Wi3 have developed a new and innovative way of using the cable TV co-ax wiring to carry more that just pictures. Jeffrey and Andy find out more from Adam.

The Wi3 system replaces the cable wallplate with a modular unit that offers a range of connection or transport options. The first two modules offer twin ethernet ports or a single ethernet port with wifi access point. Later modules may offer a built-in “set-top box”  with HDMI out or a small PC could even be squeezed in. And all without affecting the cable TV signal by using MoCA technology.

It only takes about five minutes to install and one of the neat things I like about this product is that the connections come sideways out of the unit. Consequently, it looks more attractive and less noticeable in the home.

The first two modules are only available to dealers at present but they will be stocked in big boxes nationwide later in the year. Prices are $150 and $200 for the ethernet only and wi-fi models respectively.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine and Andy Smith of Geocaching World.Sponsored by:
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Posted in ces, Interview, IPTV, Network, Special Media, TV, wifi

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