SAMSUNG ODD SE-S084D AV Connectivity

explaining how to connect the SAMSUNG new Slim External ODD (S084D) to the Multimedia TV It’s the only ODD working as USB memory or E-HDD with the AV devices.

Author: MaverickChoi
Duration: 150
Published: 2010-09-14 08:39:28
SAMSUNG ODD SE-S084D AV Connectivity

APPLE IPAD_MULTIMEDIA_HD FINAL.mov

Apple iPad Multimedia review

Author: youcompareAU
Duration: 159
Published: 2010-09-14 02:10:45
APPLE IPAD_MULTIMEDIA_HD FINAL.mov

Android Market tops 80,000 apps–BlackBerry App World at just 10,000

Days after Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced its App Store now features more than 250,000 iOS-based mobile applications, rivals Google and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) have checked in with inventory updates on their own storefronts: Android Market now boasts more than 80,000 applications, while BlackBerry App World stands at over 10,000. Google updated Android Market’s status in conjunction with the introduction of T-Mobile USA’s new Android-powered G2 smartphone–the store has added 10,000 new apps since mid-July. Google vice president of engineering Andy Rubin credited Android’s open-source ethos for fostering developer interest in the platform: “Developer-led Android innovation is flourishing,” he said in a prepared statement. “On Android Market alone, the number of applications available to consumers has grown from just 50 applications two years ago to more than 80,000 applications today.”

But access to Android Market is not available to all devices running the Android OS. Hugo Barra, Google’s director of products for mobile, said that Android 2.2 (a.k.a. ‘Froyo’) is not optimized for use on tablets, adding “The way Android Market works is it’s not going to be available on devices that don’t allow applications to run correctly. If you want Android Market on that platform, the apps just wouldn’t run–[Froyo] is just not designed for that form factor. We want to make sure that we’re going to create an application distribution mechanism for the Android Market, to ensure our users have right experience.”

Screen size and resolution appear to be the culprits. The Android Developers website states that from Android 1.6 and up, the OS supports three generalized size (large, normal and small) and three generalized densities (high [hdpi], medium [mdpi] and low [ldpi]), with an upper resolution limit of 480×854 on screens measuring from 3.5 inches to 4.0 inches diagonal. Google has hinted that future Android versions beginning with 3.0 (a.k.a. ‘Gingerbread’) will support the larger tablet form factor.

As for BlackBerry App World, RIM confirmed the 10,000 application benchmark via its Twitter account. RIM recently stated that more than 30 million BlackBerry smartphone users across 65 countries have downloaded BlackBerry App World since it first opened in spring 2009, with consumers averaging more than a million app downloads each day. RIM rolled out a revamped BlackBerry App World in late July–the store now supports credit card payments on top of PayPal, with a handful of carrier partners offering operator billing options as well. BlackBerry App World also boasts new tabbed sections for various application lists: Users can horizontally swipe or scroll to view the Top 25 Free Apps, Top 25 Paid Apps and Top 25 Themes, along with checklists spotlighting the Newest Apps and Recently Updated Apps.

For more on Android Market:
- read this TechRadar article

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Apple seeds iOS 4.1 SDK as app downloads top 6.5 billion

Hot on the heels of last week’s Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) media event touting the Sept. 8 release of the iOS 4.1 software update, the computing giant seeded the iOS SDK 4.1 Gold Master to registered developers, promising the introduction of new services as well as a host of bug fixes. iOS 4.1 is highlighted by the launch of Apple’s long-awaited Game Center service, enabling developers to more effectively incorporate multiplayer gaming tools into their applications–available as both a set of APIs and as a stand-alone iPhone application, Game Center also features social media tools, making it easier for consumers to discover new titles as well as live opponents. According to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, iOS devices now outsell mobile gaming units from traditional videogame giants like Sony and Nintendo.

Also new in iOS 4.1: High Dynamic Range photo capabilities, which Jobs said can combine several different photos, taken quickly together, to produce clearer images. He said the platform also will enable users to upload HD video over WiFi, rather than requiring users to plug their device into a computer. iOS 4.1 additionally fixes bugs impacting the iPhone 4′s proximity sensor, Bluetooth capabilities and the performance of the iPhone 3G–users have complained that iOS 4 slowed iPhone 3G devices. Jobs said Apple will unveil iOS 4.2 in November, touting iPad additions like multitasking and folders.

Jobs said Apple has now shipped 120 million iOS devices and activates 230,000 new devices every day, adding the latter figure doesn’t include upgrades–a not-so-subtle jab at rival Google, which recently said it activates 200,000 new Android devices a day. (“The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services,” Google told Fortune in response to Jobs’ comment.) Apple’s App Store now offers consumers their choice of more than 250,000 applications–downloads from the digital storefront total 6.5 billion.

For more on the iOS 4.1 SDK:
- check out the iOS Dev Center

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U-verse customers getting upgrade to 4 simultaneous HD streams

AT&T today said it had started rolling out a new enhancement to its U-verse IPTV service that that lets customers watch up to four HD shows at one time and also gives most U-verse TV customers the ability to record three HD shows and one SD show at the same time with their Total Home DVR–a feature not offered by other TV providers. The provider said the product is rolling out on a market-by-market basis to new and existing customers over the next several months.

The upgrade is due to DSL upgrades and refined MPEG-4 compression, John Stankey, CEO of the AT&T Operations division, told an audience at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment investor conference Thursday. When U-verse launched in 2006, it was only capable of four SD streams into a home, he said. Today, customers can watch two consurrent HD streams at home.

In its latest earnings call, AT&T said U-verse had added 209,000 subscribers in Q2, an increase of 60 percent over the like quarter a year earlier, taking the total to some 2.5 million.

U-verse continues to drive a transformation in AT&T’s consumer business, reflected by the fact that consumer IP revenues now represent 40.4 percent of AT&T’s consumer wireline revenues, up from 30.6 percent in the year-earlier quarter. In the second quarter, AT&T U-verse revenues exceeded $1 billion for the first time, more than twice the U-verse revenues in the second quarter of 2009.

For more:
– see this Multichannel News item

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Sonic Solutions’ OTT platform RoxioNow built into new SoCs from Renesas Electronics

Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) says its RoxioNow entertainment platform will be available on new system-on-chips from Renesas Electronics Corp., which will allow consumers to stream a broad catalog of premium digital entertainment, including the newest movie releases, on next-generation connected HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc players from a range of manufacturers.

The RoxioNow platform has been selected to power digital entertainment delivery for a range of companies including Best Buy, Blockbuster, Dell, HP, Lionsgate, and Sears/Kmart, and is available on a broad variety of consumer electronics devices.

SoC devices for digital home electronics is a key area of focus for Renesas Electronics, said Masao Hirasawa, associate general manager of Home Multimedia SoC Business Division, Renesas Electronics Corporation. “Our SoCs enable a range of device controls, audio/video functions, as well as Internet connectivity capabilities, which will be further enhanced with the integration of direct support for digital entertainment services powered by RoxioNow.”

For more:
– see this release

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‘Highly disruptive’ startup offers live TV on the Internet for $5 a month

If you’ve been chewing antacids because you’ve been worried about over-the-top video cannibalizing your IPTV business as you slowly develop a TV Everywhere strategy as a defense, it may be time to pop a Lunesta because ivi–a new “online cable system”–may keep you up at night, too.

The Seattle-based start-up, which describes itself as “highly disruptive,” is launching a live Web feed of more than three dozen broadcast channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and Telemundo to Macs, Windows and Linux computers. It says it will feed to mobile devices, including the iPad soon. ivi claims it already has more content than Hulu, and will be adding more channels over time, and it will maintain an a la carte option as well. The platform is available via a downloadable app for $4.99 a month after a free 30-day trial. Want DVR functionality? It’s yours for an extra 99 cents a month.

CEO and founder Todd Weaver says the company is taking dead aim at the cable industry, which, he says, “has spent countless millions of dollars on so-called ‘TV Everywhere’ solutions in a blind effort to prop-up outdated technology and business models.”

“ivi empowers its users to experience ‘TV Anywhere’, offering them major broadcast channels delivered live to their laptop or desktop, anywhere on the planet,” he said. “Whether eventually integrated into Google TV, Apple TV, or meshed with an existing platform’s digital strategy, ivi makes the set-top-box and any ‘Web to TV’ products obsolete. Instead of attempting to bring the Web to the TV, ivi intuitively brings TV to the Web.”

At the moment, the company has no contracts with any broadcasters, but ivi claims it doesn’t need to, since it’s an online cable system and, as long as it pays fees to the U.S. Copyright Office–which get disbursed to the broadcasters–it’s covered. Although Weaver says it’s not inconceivable that the company will face some legal challenges.

Trust me, were I a pay-TV operator, I’d look for a way to slow this train down before it gets moving too fast.

A trial of the ivi player is pretty impressive, although you’ll need to be satisfied with a low- to standard-definition signal. There’s an option for HD, but I could never get it to work (my connection from home was a little slow this morning). Frankly, that didn’t bother me much as I watched the news and traffic and weather on Good Morning America, The Early Show, and Today over coffee. Even an aging Robert Plant looked pretty good in LD. The bulk of the channels available currently are affiliates from Seattle and New York; but that’s good news for me as I assume I’ll be able to watch the Giants games instead of the Lions.

The channel guide is straight-forward and easy to navigate, something cable operators could take a cue from, although the listings, strangely, stopped at 3 p.m. today, but that may just be a matter of start-up jitters. Speaking of which… there weren’t any. No jitters, no buffering.

The cable industry lost 711,000 customers in the second quarter, its worst performance ever. Some of it, no doubt, was due to the economy’s continued sputtering in much of the country, some of it due to a continued increase in the price of cable services, and some of it–albeit a tiny portion–was due to cord cutters going over the top.

Weaver says ivi can offer the industry a helping hand by bringing cord-cutters back into the fold with a different model.

“Recognizing the fate of the landline telephone and the digital debacle experienced by the music industry, ivi offers the broadcast and cable industries innovation they do not have time to build. Consumer-friendly features like a la carte are built in the ivi technology and are available as a turn-key solution to shift cord-cutting losses into online paid views for content owners, offering consumers the choice they have long demanded, with a compelling solution to a multi-billion dollar problem,” he said. “Forcing consumers to pay for undesired content did not work for the music industry, and it is equally unsustainable for the cable and satellite industries. There is no incentive to fight us, when they should simply join us.”

Weaver says ivi is a solution… maybe, but it’s also a heck of a threat to an industry already looking for ways to stop the bleeding. What do you think?-Jim

Conviva lands $15 million in Series C funding round

Conviva has closed a $15 million Series C round of funding that will help it continue to evolve its technology, expand into new industry segments and allow it to grow its international operations. The company, which in December named former NBC Universal VP and CTO Darren Feher as CEO and president, says it has now raised $44 million since it launched in 2006. GGV Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Foundation Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Pelion Venture Partners.

“Conviva’s CEO, Darren Feher, along with founders Hui Zhang and Ion Stoica, have built a phenomenal team to address the surge in demand for high-quality online video,” said Glenn Solomon, partner, GGV Capital. ”Its customers consistently agree that Conviva is a ‘must-have’ to build an online video business. We believe Conviva will continue to experience strong momentum as it leads the next wave of HD-broadcast quality video.” 

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup the San Mateo, Calif.-based company managed more than 200 million streams, reached more than 30 million unique viewers and handled three billion viewer minutes worldwide.

For more:
- see this release

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Sorenson Media rolls out Squeeze upgrade

Sorenson Media has released an upgrade to its popular video encoding software, Sorenson Squeeze. The 6.5 release is free to current owners of Squeeze 6 and gives users the ability to decode the AVCHD format, which is a common format in HD video cameras at the prosumer and high-end consumer market; it also allows users to publish directly to Amazon web services. Squeeze 6.5 also includes three new filters: enhanced de-interlacing, image rotation and optimized color conversion.

The de-interlacing filter works automatically to increase encoding quality and speed. Image rotation improves video capture capability in mobile devices by converting portrait orientation to landscape, while encoding speed is further increased through optimized color conversion in Sorenson Squeeze 6.5.

“This set of user benefits is continued evidence of our commitment to delivering the tools and services that our customers need,” said Randon Morford, director of product management for Sorenson Media.

For more:
– see this release

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HDR Video – What It Is, Why You Want It And Its Future

I have a friend who is deeply into photography. So one day he starts asking me about HDR (High dynamic range) video. I frankly am at a loss having only a passing acquaintance with photography in general (it’s one of those hobbies I would like to do, but haven’t the time or money to be [...]