We miss out on a lot of things up in the great white north: White Castle, NASCAR, paying for healthcare, and most importantly, streaming versions of the latest and greatest television shows.
Luckily for our friends south of the border, ABC is letting users stream episodes of great shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, or Ugly Betty, in all their 720p HD glory.
Of course, there are some caveats attached. ABC’s website suggests you have a fast connection (2Mbps or more) and a fast computer (dual core processor, 128 MB Video RAM, 1GB RAM) with a big monitor (at least 1300×770) to enjoy their shows at the best possible quality.
Those of you with anything less, will be run through a gauntlet of pixelation and stuttering.
Despite the steep system requirements and the commercial breaks, it’s hard to complain about on-demand streaming HD video.
By now, I’ve gotten sick of seeing all the commercials for the iPhone, along with the rabid fanboyism for the product. Yet, for some reason, even though I never liked the N64 kid meme, this video strikes me as funny. I guess it’s the fact that this is how so many people are acting about the product, even though there are going to be some serious flaws with it (like streaking).
So, the people over at GeekSugar threw this together, having this to say:
Okay, so I don’t have an iPhone yet, but the promise of getting one later this week and the fact that people are already starting to line up at Apple stores got me thinking about the pure, unadulterated joy I felt as a kid when I got a new toy, gadget or tutu. Can iPhone-obsessed adults ever top the infamous kid who got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas?
At this point, I think the absolute insanity over this product that’s been shown is a clear indication that it’s a decided “yes.” Now, who wants to go with me to egg people waiting on line for an iPhone?
It’s the DXG 589V, the world’s first digital camera that records videos and plays games. Similar in design to the lauded Sanyo Xacti, its compact design is held in your hand vertically with a twist up screen. The lens snaps pics compliments of a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor and records 640 x 480 MPEG-4 video at 30 frames per second.
Perhaps its most unique feature is gaming. Turn the unit sideways and the screen orients itself resembling a Gameboy. There’s a d-pad that rests on the side of the lens barrel and action buttons on the right which by the way look eerily similar to someone else’s design. Gameboy-like or not, it doesn’t play Gameboy games. Instead, the 589V comes with 20 built in games.
If you’re still unsure about it, how about video recording direct from any video source (TV, DVD, VCR) to take on the go? SD card storage and hey, it even works as a digital music player so if you look at the big picture - it’s the convergence device everybody wants right?
$199.99 available now at your local Best Buy and Circuit City.
The Queen (aka. Helen Mirren), the monarch of this fair land of the United Kingdom and it’s Commonwealth, has endorsed ezGear’s new ezVision glasses. “Endorsed” in this case seems to mean “has had the this product thrust into her hands and a picture has been taken”. The glasses come in two flavours: the G1 and the X4. Connect them to a DVD player, put them on, relax, and a 50 or 64 inch screen is simulated right in front of your eyes. The G1 has a battery that lasts for 8 hours while the X4 will give you 5 hours.
It seems that everyone wants to get in on the “wear your TV on your face” act. myvu are a company who have created a pair of glasses that can connect to a video-enabled iPod and display video from it while you’re on the move. Judging by the pictures on their web site, while you’re wearing it you look like Jordi from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which can only be a plus-point in my view. The slimness of the glasses allows you to look over the top of them so that you can still see where you are going but I don’t see how watching TV while going about your daily business can be safe.
The video-sharing Web site (and sometimes cesspool) YouTube began airing content from the British Broadcasting Corp. on Friday, after signing a deal with the company. The move makes the BBC the first major international broadcaster to ink a licensing deal with the site. You can’t watch full episodes of your favorite quirky British television shows quite yet though, as the BBC is only providing three clip channels. However, you can still watch everyone’s favorite boxing matchup: man versus kangaroo.
Analysts see the move as a step in the right direction for YouTube, as licensing content appears necessary to keep the recently purchased site going strong. The video entertainment company continues to be plagued by complaints over copyright issues. The now Google-owned company took a hit recently when Viacom demanded the site pull over 100,000 video clips, because they inked a deal with new YouTube competitor, Joost.
Looking more like a charger plate you would pick up at William Sonoma, the Mirage is more than meets the eye. Without getting too technical, you simply place any object underneath the lid and watch as it is faithfully recreated above in full 3D. The device relies on optical lenses accurate down to millionths of an inch. The end result is a mirage so detailed, you would swear it were real until you see objects pass right through it.
The Mirage is currently being used in education and POP displays. It’s also getting popular at trade shows where realistic holograms offer onlookers and gawkers a good look but no touch. Personally I can’t wait to see hordes of people rushing to see the next Apple “fill in the blank” only to be duped as they hopelessly grope at air.
Later this year MPMan (yeah I’ve never heard of them either) is set to release a pretty sleek looking all in one music and video player. Though the screen is only a meager one and half inches in diameter it still sports some cool features like a built in FM player, voice recorder and expandable flash memory. Of course if you’re still clutching onto your scratched up Nano there’s really no chance you’re going to unexpectedly make a switch to lesser known brand. But for everyone else, this actually looks like a decent audio/video player and nice alternative to Apple’s dominate grasp on the portable music industry.
As you may know voip is all the rage. The Worldgate Ojo is what I like to call foip technology, or fugliness over internet protocol, because most people on the interwebs have about as much physical appeal as a 3 year old opened package of bologna.
The real news is that the Ojo is now capable of working with the H.263 and G729 video and audio codecs along with now being able to use the H.323 communication protocol. This basically means the Ojo can work with other webcams and of course it will still be able to interact with other Ojos.
“We are confident that this interoperability will not only further the advancement of the video phone market, but also, Ojo’s market penetration and leadership position within that market,” said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO, WorldGate
The capability will first be used by SNAP VRS, a subsidiary of Aequus technologies, beginning this March. Snap VRS provides sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired and now will not be limited to just Ojo video phones. For those interested in the Ojo it costs $399 dollars directly from Worldgate.
It may be the most obvious conclusion to a question that didn’t need a study to answer. Will video downloads over the internet grow? Umm… yes. Yes they will.
Not good enough for you? Then here’s the official response from Adams Media Research President Tom Adams.: “The Internet is going to revolutionize the distribution of video.” Thank you very much Captain Obvious. You can get a few more of their findings here on CNN.com
There’s little doubt that services like Amazon’s Unbox and Apple’s iTunes will be successful, it’s the future afterall.
