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YouTube’s Temporary Dip into Film Rentals[teaser]Five Sundance films will be available to rent for a limited time. [/teaser] Starting Friday, you’ll be able to rent movies from YouTube. The user created video viewing service has expanded in the last several months to include free movies, high definition video, and now a video rental service. But it sounds much more exciting without the details. For now, there will only be five movies up for rental, all of which are selections from the upcoming Sundance Film Festival; “The Cove,” “Bass Ackwards,” “One Too Many Mornings,” “Children of Invention” and “Homewrecker”. Rentals will run $3.99 a pop, and though YouTube has yet to reveal a rental time frame, we expect it’s the usual twenty-four hour rental period. Since YouTube is owned by Google, you’ll be using Google Checkout for your payments. The films will only be available for rental until the conclusion of the Sundance Film Festival on January 31st, at which time they’ll be pulled from the service. YouTube is planning to make more movies available, and is especially hoping to attract the independent crowd. A new program called “Filmmakers Wanted” will encourage distribution on YouTube’s rental service, with filmmakers choosing the price and YouTube taking a cut. Source: The New York TimesPosted Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 11:30 AM PST by: -
Boxee Reveals Payment Platform[teaser]Want more content on Boxee? It’s coming, but you’ll have to shell out a bit for it. [/teaser] Boxee knows you want more content and better applications, and they want to give it to you. Of course, they can’t just give other people’s content away for free, so they’ve created the Payment Platform, which will let owners promote and sell their content on Boxee. It’s a sort of App Store, but it’s not just for applications. Streaming services, content providers, and even subscription services will be able to sell through Boxee. That means that a company like Amazon could easily make the jump over to Boxee, but so could smaller, independent companies. For their part, Boxee hopes to attract developers and content holders to their service. The first attraction is that anyone can get Boxee; it’s a free program. The second is that they’ll be charging significantly less than Apple, who takes a 30 percent share of any sales made from their App store. “It’s our belief that the Internet is ready to become the fourth method of distribution for broadcast,” says Avner Ronen of Boxee. “[it] represents a great opportunity for the major media companies and for the independent content producers.” Boxee hopes to host not only their current ad supported content, but also pay per view, authentication based, and subscription based content. There’s no set date yet for the first Boxee apps, but Avner says we can expect to see them soon. Source: Boxee BlogPosted Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Old Cable Boxes May Work For 3DTV[teaser]According to CableLabs, many older cable boxes will still work with 3D television formats. [/teaser] With all the excitement over 3D TVs and 3D Blu-ray players, the lowly cable box hasn’t been getting much attention. Cable television may be the first place many people will get their 3D programming, and CableLabs has kept that in mind. New 3D cable boxes will hit the market eventually to deal with the variety of 3D technologies, but many existing set-top boxes will work just fine with 3D. Some of it, anyway. CableLabs has found that frame compatible formats (3D pictures where left and right images are broadcast, rather than top and bottom) will work out just fine. They can be sent through existing equipment to existing set-tops the same way a 2D signal would. “We've found today's cable system is a flexible system that enables delivery of 3D TV signals with little to no change in cable's existing video on demand and switched digital video infrastructure to existing set-top boxes,” said Dr. Paul Liao President and CEO of CableLabs. “This system will deliver a high-definition 3D image to today's new generation of 3D TVs regardless of their native display technology.” The downside is that you’ll lose resolution. If you get a 1080i signal from your cable provider now, for instance, the resolution will be cut in half for a three dimensional picture, since two pictures will be shown instead of just the one. Source: CableLabsPosted Wed Jan 20, 2010 at 02:30 PM PST by: -
LG Details the First Single Lens 3D Projector[teaser]The CF3D projector does a lot, but most importantly, it does 3D. [/teaser] There’s a lot of technology shown off at CES by companies that just want to let people know they’re working on things. When I got a chance to demo LG’s 3D projector, I was left with the impression that it wasn’t going to be hitting stores any time soon. And of course, like a lot of what was shown at CES, they wouldn’t speculate on what the projector would cost. As the PR rep I talked to put it, “We’re not pricing yet.” Some things have changed and some haven’t. The CF3D projector has been officially announced as a May release, but they’re still not talking about the price. The CF3D is a single lens projector capable of showing 3D images in full 1080p. It’s also the first projector to use TruMotion 120Hz for image smoothing. It’s got two HDMI 1.3 inputs as well as a USB port. It’s also got a few goodies in there just for 3D, including color correction technology that helps adjust for the lenses of your 3D glasses and 3D Auto Picture Calibration Technology. Source: LGPosted Wed Jan 20, 2010 at 02:00 PM PST by: -
Yamaha Details and Prices YSP-5100 and YSP-4100 Soundbars[teaser]They’re impressive, promising high quality sound and the ability to play songs from your iPod and iPhone wirelessly, but they don’t come cheap. [/teaser] Yamaha says Digital Sound Projectors, I say soundbars. Either way, it amounts to the same thing. The YSP-5100 and YSP-4100 deliver surround sound from a single speaker designed to sit under your HDTV. Both sport a total of forty beam drivers, which reflect sound off of walls or aim directly at the viewer to simulate a surround sound experience. They’ve also got a pair of woofers with dedicated amplifiers. The 5100 gets the added bonus of a pair of individually amped tweeters to fill out the sound. Yamaha’s new soundbars can decode Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS HD High Resolution, so there’s no need to worry about Blu-ray compatibility. They also offer six different listening modes that simulate 5.1, 7.1, and 2.1 sound output. Of course, like most home theater components in the last few years, Yamaha’s soundbars have iPhone connectivity. Unlike most home theater components, they do it gracefully and subtly. Rather than docking your iPhone in the soundbar or connecting it via a headphone jack, Yamaha’s yAired technology can pull the audio straight from your phone without the use of wires. Both soundbars will be shipping this month. The YSP-5100 is priced at $2,199, while the YSP-4100 runs $1,899. Optional tabletop pedestals and floor stands will be available as well. Source: Yamaha (PDF)Posted Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 12:30 PM PST by: -
ESPN Could Start Streaming on Xbox 360[teaser]Microsoft is in talks with the Walt Disney Company to offer ESPN streaming and interactive experiences.[/teaser] There was a time when someone who said “I don’t watch television” was considered a snob of the highest caliber, dismissing television for more worthy forms of media. Now it’s the hallmark of a tech savvy consumer who gets his entertainment from other sources. There’s a core group of people though, who are held back from taking the leap. While it’s not a big deal to wait a day to watch 30 Rock on Hulu, and catching up on Californication on Netflix a few years later is just fine, sports need to be watched live. According to the New York Times, Microsoft has the solution. According to their sources, Microsoft has been in talks with the Walt Disney Company about streaming sporting events from ESPN live. The proposed service would be similar to ESPN 360. Both companies have declined to comment, and one of the sources made sure to clarify that a deal was not imminent. “Our goal is, really, how we can get as much content there as possible?” said Microsoft’s Marc Whitten. “There’s going to be a ton of experimentation around business models and rights.” Source: New York TimesPosted Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 12:00 PM PST by: -
Don’t Love 3D? It Might Be Your Eyes[teaser]Your television may be 3D ready, and your Blu-ray player may be 3D ready but the College of Optometrists warns that you might not be.[/teaser] So you saw Avatar but weren’t blown away by the 3D effects. 3D televisions haven’t impressed you, and you’re generally blasé about viewing anything three dimensionally. It could be that you’re a viewer with a defined sense of taste, or, according to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), it could be your eyes. The technology behind 3D movies involves two images being shown on the screen. The glasses you wear make sure only one eye sees each image, and your brain puts those two together to create a 3D effect. According to the COVD there is a significant part of the population that is unable to view 3D due to vision problems. Around 56% of those between the ages of 18 and 38, for example, have one or more problems with binocular vision that would inhibit their viewing experience. Around five percent have amblyopia (also known as ‘lazy eye’) or strabismus, both of which make 3D viewing impossible. Kenneth J. Ciuffreda, a professor at SUNY, State College of Optometry, says that visual motion sensitivity (VMH) may be an issue as well. “People who have visual motion hypersensitivity will find Avatar quite challenging to view.” Those with VMH will often feel dizzy when watching movies in two dimensions, and three dimensional movies cause them to feel nauseated and stressed. There’s hope, according to the COVD. Many of these conditions can be helped or eliminated thanks to vision therapy, and it can help even those who have had eye surgeries in the past. Source: College of Optometrists in Vision DevelopmentPosted Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 11:20 AM PST by: -
ZAGGbox Media Center on Sale Now[teaser]It’s pricier than the media streaming devices we’re used to, but that price comes with an impressive increase in functionality. [/teaser] The ZAGGbox is a product that’s probably not on your radar if you’re looking for a low cost media streamer like the Boxee Box or PopBox. It runs $799 for preorders, and $999 for orders taken after the initial pre-sale, but with that increased price comes increased functionality. Lower cost media streamers serve a single purpose. They move video and audio from the internet (or your home network) to your television. The ZAGGbox does that too, but adds a 1TB hard drive so you can store your videos right on the device, or even record new ones. It can act as a universal remote for your home theater system too, by using IR blasting to send signals to other devices in your setup. Any equipment that’s been integrated to work with the ZAGGbox can be operated using an on-screen interface. The ZAGGbox doesn’t stop there. It can stream video to any mobile, internet connected device. That means your laptop, netbook, and PC can all view the stream, but it also means that you can stream video directly to your phone. An iPhone app will be available at launch and Android and Blackberry applications will follow. You can order the ZAGGbox now for $799, though it won’t start shipping until spring of this year. Source: ZAGGPosted Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
Over The Air Television Is On The Rise In L.A.[teaser]Rabbit ears are coming back as residents in southern California are ditching cable for the cheaper antenna alternative. [/teaser] It’s been a long time since many of us have watched broadcast television that’s actually being broadcasted. Cable and satellite services have dominated TV watching for years. According to the San Jose Mercury news, the over the air tradition is coming back, especially with minority viewers. 20,000 Asian-American homes in the Los Angeles area are currently getting TV through antennas, and another 8,000 African American homes. Nearly a quarter of Latino homes get TV the old fashioned way. That’s around 440,000 homes, and over a million people. There are over seventy over the air channels available in L.A., around half of which are in English. The rest are aimed at Latino, Asian, and Eastern European viewers. Around a dozen of the channels broadcast are in high definition, and viewers state that the clarity of signal is impressive. While some users are using the over the air signal as their primary source of entertainment, others supplement that with services like Netflix and Hulu. “It's the best-kept secret around here,” says Orange Country resident Mike Mahan. Source: Mercury NewsPosted Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
Sharp Debuts BD-MPC41 Blu-ray Home Theater in a Box[teaser]The new HTiB from Sharp includes a Blu-ray player, a subwoofer, a soundbar and a pair of rear speakers. It doesn’t seem like much, but for the price it’s a pretty impressive setup. [/teaser] Sharp just may have hit the nail on the head when it comes to HTiBs. They know there’s a certain type of customer out there that wants all the features of a system built of separates, but doesn’t have the time to invest in discovering what the best setup might be. HTiB buying customers have long had to settle for baseline features and performance, but as Bruce Tripido of Sharp says, “Sharp wants to simplify the home entertainment experience for consumers.” The BD-MPC41 eliminates some of the more troublesome aspects of home theater setup. A soundbar takes the place of center, left and right speakers, and the Blu-ray player takes care of some basic receiver functions. A subwoofer is still included, as are a pair of wired rear speakers. Where this HTiB really shines is in its functionality. Want to stream Netflix? The BD-MPC41 does that. It plays MP3s and displays JPEGs, but that’s not all. Otherwise unheard of in a lower price home theater in a box, Sharp delivers Audyssey audio features. Audyssey BASS XT is there to help you get the most out of your subwoofer, and Audyssey Dynamic Volume takes care of those loud commercials. Audyssey Dynamic EQ is included as well, to keep sounds from fluctuating at higher and lower volumes. The BD-MPC41 will be available this spring for $749. Source: SharpPosted Mon Jan 18, 2010 at 01:30 PM PST by:
