The Secret of HDTV

Shelley Sun, 07/27/2008 - 14:33

Popular Mechanics has an excellent article of the dirty little secret of HDTV: that there are no true standards or specifications in place defining what exactly is "high definition TV". Because of this, the article's writer, Glenn Derene, writes, the quality of broadcast we get from providers, varies. Considerably.

For instance, compression techniques can differ, with fast action shows needing more updates than "talking head" shows. Compression can degrade with the faster shows, than the ones that are more "static", and with fewer moving parts. This explains to me why the news shows are the best looking shows on my HDTV.

Dr. Horrible and Twittering Under the Table

Shelley Sun, 07/27/2008 - 09:06

The sparkling new Tor.com site has coverage of the Dr. Horrible panel at the SDCC (Comic-Con).

All the cast members showed up, including "Penny" who spent the first part of the panel Twittering under the table—an event sure to follow her throughout her career.

Whedon has hinted that there will be more Dr. Horrible shows. Not surprising considering the popularity of the shows. Hopefully Dr. Horrible won't go the same route as the "Sanctuary" web-based series—staged to use the enthusiasm of web fans only as a means to grease the way to a "real" show on a "real" TV channel (more on Sanctuary in a later posting).

Game Over?

Shelley Mon, 07/21/2008 - 13:38

From GigaOM:

There are other participants, some that are well known, like HP with its HP MediaSmart Connect, or TiVo. And some are upstarts, like Vudu, Zv, Verismo and Sezmi. But the future belongs to Amazon, Netflix or Apple. It’s still too early to tell which one will win the race to your big-screen TV, but they all have the right combination of size, recognition and content to get there.

The move to stream video to your TV from the Internet it too new to declare a winner. For instance, of the set top boxes the author of the article mentioned, he forgot a major one: your PC.

When the prices of computers drop into the 400 dollar range, and even Apple sells the Mac Mini at a reasonably affordable price, expect to see more computers hooked to TVs. Through our computers we can not only get iTunes, Unbox, and Netflix WatchNow, we can also access cbs.com, abc.go.com, Hulu, and a host of other video streaming sites.

The opening shots in this battle have just been fired. We ain't seen nothing yet.

Josh Whedon Strikes Again

Shelley Fri, 07/18/2008 - 15:57

I'm predisposed to like anything from Josh Whedon, but his newest, an online webisode show, Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, is the cat's jammies.

The 3-part show is hosted through Hulu, and can also be downloaded through iTunes. The first two shows are available, and the third goes up tomorrow. If you're a fan of Firefly, keep an eye out for "Captain Hammer", and you'll see an old friend. However, everyone in the show is exceptional, including Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Felicia Day as Penny, Dr. Horrible's secret love, and, yes, that is Nathan Fillion as an outstanding Captain Hammer.

What an absolute treat. And to add to the enjoyment, also check out the fan site. But check the show out quickly, because according to the fan site, the freebie shows will end July 20th.

(via Doug)

Streaming Video from Amazon and Roku: A Perfect Match?

Shelley Thu, 07/17/2008 - 14:23

Amazon is releasing an upgrade on its video delivery system today. Unlike its previous offering, you're not limited to a Windows only box in order to stream video to your computer. You also don't have to completely download the video in order to start watching (similar to what's offered in iTunes and AppleTV, as well as Netflix WatchNow).

An interesting twist on Amazon's offering, which is going to make it attractive over Apple's offering is it's cloud-based support for videos. If you purchase a movie, you don't have to keep a copy on your computer or backup storage. Instead, the video will be available at Amazon, ready to stream at the click of a link.

Amazon isn't looking just to win within the computer desktop market, it's also looking to connect this service to hardware devices, including Sony's high-end Bravia line. Currently, you have to purchase an optional tower in order to access the video (and at $300.00, the offering isn't cheap). Eventually, though, the web video service will be built into the television.

Another possible hardware partner for Amazon's new streaming service is Roku's new Netflix device, the small, video streaming device that currently streams Netflix's WatchNow offerings. Roku recently announced that it is looking for additional content providers—with Netflix's blessing, as Netflix is looking to place its service in other devices.

What Roku's box needs from a service is streaming video, as well as cloud-based storage as the device has no storage of its own. The talk in the Roku forums is that the device will be streaming YouTube videos, but these videos typically don't look every good on a larger monitor, like a TV; especially an HD TV.

Another strong Roku possibility is Hulu, the online video streaming service by NBC and a consortium of other companies. CBS now has new HD quality video streaming services that would also be excellent source for the Roku box.

However, what Amazon's new service would provide would be a way to stream new movies. The Roku device is also capable of streaming HD quality video, which would provide an outlet for HD quality material from Amazon. The Roku box is also cheap, which can't help but make it attractive to Amazon. In fact, the Roku's price could be the key that enables mainstream switching to online video.

If Amazon does stream its offerings through Roku's video box, the device could become the Amazon equivalent version of AppleTV, only cheaper, smaller, and with access to 10,000 free movies and TV shows in addition to pay-to-play newer offerings.

(Also see NewTeeVee, which wonders at a Amazon/Roku mashup)

Update I updated the text to reflect that iTunes does have the video watching capability as AppleTV. In addition, I adjusted the comments so that you can now leave your contact information.