Developages - Development and Technology Blog

I was watching the Republican National Convention (RNC) speeches last night, toggling between CNN and FOX News, when a major rain storm hit Connecticut causing a lengthly loss of satellite signal. It was the middle of Rudy Giuliani’s hard-hitting speech when I lost all of my TV channels. I have to get my nightly politics “fix” or I’m a grumpy blogger in the morning.

The highly-anticipated speech from Governor Sarah Palin was still to come and it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to watch it live. Sometimes CNN offers live streaming coverage, so I headed over to CNN.com and sure enough they were offering a live streaming video feed. But alas, it didn’t work. Only the audio worked and I got a green box for the video feed. Perhaps their web servers were overloaded by others doing the same thing I was? There was a lot of media ‘buzz’ surrounding last night’s convention speeches, in particular Palin, so I’m sure lots of Internet users were watching via their PCs.

Next, I headed over to FOXNews.com but couldn’t find the live feed link. Then I remembered I recently installed TVUPlayer from TVU Networks, a P2P TV channel streaming application and I recalled that FOX News was one of the channels it supported. I fired up TVUPlayer, and clicked on FOX News. It gave me a warning that the channel was experiencing technical difficulties, and prompted ‘are you sure you want to continue”. This was an error I had never seen before. I clicked continue and it started to stream, but it was very choppy. CNN’s video streaming is screwed up, FOX News video streaming is choppy what’s going on here? I have to wonder if CNN & FOX News experienced a higher streaming demand last night. Whether it was pro-Palin supporters or simply people curious to check out Palin, something was going on last night. I’ve never had streaming issues from two major websites simultaneously.

Anyway, I gave up on FOXNews.com and went to the channel list in TVUPlayer to look for another news channel. Interestingly, only FOX News and a local ABC News channel was listed in the channel line-up. No MSNBC or CNN or Headline News. Cable news networks that don’t permit live streaming are missing out on a huge audience and shooting themselves in the foot if you ask me. You can sell commercials/ads in live streaming feeds or simply use the same TV commercials. Regardless, you can monetize and more easily track the number of Internet users streaming your video feed than using the antiquated Nielsen Ratings system, which is based on “sampling” data.

Anyway, then I saw C-SPAN and C-SPAN-2 in the channel line-up. Nobody watches C-SPAN, so surely their servers will have plenty of bandwidth available! I launched C-SPAN and the video quality was superb. I was able to catch the second half of Rudy’s speech and the beginning of Sara Palin’s speech live on my computer. Phew! Gotta love the Internet! After about 30 minutes, the storm died down and I got my live TV satellite signal back and I switched back to my TV.

I suppose I could have watched the speeches on Youtube when they get posted, but it’s just not the same thing as watching an event live. I for one cannot wait for the day when I can stream live any TV channel over the Internet. I might even be willing to pay a few cents for the privilege.

Tags: C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, CNN, fox news, p2p, Republican National Convention, RNC, Rudy Giuliani, streaming video, TVU Networks, TVUPlayer Sarah Palin

Related Entries
• Apple iPhone - more secret than a covert CIA operation -
  Jan 10, 2007
• FCC to punish Comcast over Internet blocking -
  Jul 26, 2008
• In Today’s News - the XBox 360 pwns the Sony PS3 -
  Jul 14, 2008
• Comcast - We won’t block Vonage or any other VoIP provider -
  Jul 10, 2008
• C2Call - New browser-based Java VoIP app -
  Apr 03, 2008
• Metaaso mermaid IPv6 P2P App -
  Mar 31, 2008
• Fring adds P2P mobile phone file sharing -
  Feb 05, 2008
• Comcast Censors some Internet Applications -
  Oct 22, 2007
• Use Tor P2P - Get Arrested -
  Sep 17, 2007
• P2P or ENUM Saves Vonage? -
  May 11, 2007

TrackBacks
| Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: Lost TV Satellite Signal, Couldn’t watch Rudy Giuliani or Sarah Palin, Streaming TV to the rescue!

Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Every now and again, though usually no more then once every three or four years, a new technology or development arrives that changes the way you live and makes you honestly wonder how we ever did without it. Mobile phones and broadband are good examples from recent times and while we could feasibly live without such things it certainly wouldn’t be easy. A recent study commissioned by NDS has revealed that the latest of these ‘world essentials’ appears to be the PVR, or what us Brits might most commonly refer to as Sky+. 80% of Americans said that they couldn’t live without such a device in the home and it comes third in people’s lists of most important household items after the washing machine and microwave oven. It’s second in the ‘most essential gadget’ category behind the mobile phone and interestingly the majority of participants would rather give up a landline, dishwasher, radio, hairdryer or MP3 player than a DVR. Perhaps most intriguing is the fact that 81% of participants argue that having a DVR has improved family life and relationships with a partner, mainly down to the lack of arguing over what to watch and more family time around the tube. We’d be inclined to think that if the survey were done in Blighty there’d be a similar response, Sky+ is a great example of something that you think you can happily live without until you’ve spent a bit of time with it. Any suggestions as to what the new ‘big thing’ will be over the next few years? - Paul Lester [CNet] PVR Sky+ TV

Original post by nafiz

The first thing I think off when I hear about TV in the bath tub is me screaming briefly before I turn crispy from that good old combo of electricity and water. Sony, ever thinking of its customers safety [except for that whole burning battery snafu] and how we’ll probably spend more money on their stuff if we are still alive, has just whipped out this little cutey: the Bravia XDV-W600 waterproof TV. OK, it’s not very big but it’s good to swim in up 3-feet of water for up to 30 minutes without breaking or frying you in the tub. Looking like a bar of soap, it sports a 4in screen, meets various safety standards [always a good thing for this type of product] and can even record TV onto its 2GB of internal Flash memory. It’s good for 23 hours of use thanks its own and AA batteries. Due out in Japan first at the end of October for around £180.-Martin Lynch [Akihabara] TV home gadget

Original post by nafiz

With the prices of home entertainment consumer electronics being as they are, factory refurbished items may be a more practical alternative to consumers on a budget. What’s “factory refurbished”, you ask? Check out Wikipedia’s entry below:

Computers and laptops that are refurbished usually means that it did not initially pass quality standards of the manufacturer. They then fix or recertify the unit and sell it at a discount price (Up to 30% off). Most of them carry a 30 day store warranty and 90 days with manufacturer.

“Refurbs” are labeled such because they “may have scratches, dents or other forms of cosmetic damage”. More importantly however, these “do not affect the performance of the unit.” Aside from that, it’s also illegal to sell refurbs as brand-new, even if it’s been resealed by the manufacturer.

One online retailer that sells refurbished items—at prices much lower than their brand-new counterparts—is Second Act, a website based in Minnesota. Currently, they promise even lower prices through the deals below (don’t forget the coupon codes!):

$25 Off Any Merchandise Order of $500 or More!
Code:2nd1118

$50 Off Any Merchandise Order of $1000 or More!
Code: 2nd1119

$100 Off Merchandise Orders of $2000 or More!
Code: 2nd1120

Share This

Original post by Rico

Harmon Kardon know a thing or two about decent speakers but no one at IFA 2008 was expecting the company to go design mental and introduce the stunningly different GLA-55 speakers. They’re a high-end, two piece speaker system for use use with hi-fis or PCs, and yes, that is cut-glass you’re looking through. They sport a 3.5in mini-jack for hooking you up to audio systems, PCs and even MP3 players. And, being rated at 56Watts you should be able to really drive anyone nearby nuts with these cracking looking audio, glass paperweights. Apparently the company is only going to make 2000 -3000 sets, but at £500 a pair, we’re guessing they’ll make a profit. So,what do we think? Fantastically modern looking speakers or tacky in a Barbara-Cartland-drawing-room kinda way?-Martin Lynch [Harmon Kardon] music speakers design

Original post by nafiz

At IFA 2008, Philips launched its Essence TV, a stylish 38mm deep LCD telly designed to hang flush on your wall and look very pretty while doing so. However, Essence is just the tip of the iceberg and Philips was on hand to demonstrate a super-skinny 8mm prototype TV too. At the hear of it is a very thin light guide plate illuminated from the top and bottom by high-power, energy-efficient LEDs. Using Philips’ patented light in-coupling structure and a fine-tuned out-coupling pattern, light can be distributed over the whole display area in a uniform fashion. The result, a very, very thin TV panel. Fred Boekhorst, senior vice president Philips Research and program manager Lifestyle, explained: “At just 8mm thick, our ultra-thin display concept will enable the thinnest 32in LCD TV. Our concept is also very light - around 5kg - enabling a 32in LCD TV that is around 10kg lighter than existing comparable TV sets. As a result, hanging such an LCD-TV becomes simple and easy. We’ve managed to cut the size of the light guide - the thickest part of an LCD - from around 25mm to just 1mm. Hence, the thickest part of the display has now become one of the thinnest parts.” Excellent, a 32in TV that weighs just 5kg. So, when can we get one? Who knows and Philips certainly isn’t telling, just yet.-Martin Lynch TV HDTV LCD

Original post by nafiz

Blu-ray players are generally fatties but Samsung has thrown its latest 5th-gen player, the BD-P2500 on a treadmill while cramming in everything but the kitchen sink. The new player was unveiled today at the IFA 2008 show in Berlin and the minimalist styling looks tasty indeed. It’s compatible ‘out-of-the-box’ with the latest Blu-ray interactive features like BD Live (Profile 2.0), Bonus View (Profile 1.1) and uses the award-winning Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) chip for processing video, while supporting 7.1-channel sound systems. It comes with a built-in, wired Ethernet connection, 1GB of internal Flash memory and a USB port for memory expansion. On the audio front, the BD-P2500 can output Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS as an uncompressed PCM signal, as a bitstream, or via the 7.1 analog outputs. Also, support for DTS-HD HR (High Resolution) decoding will arrive with a firmware update. When you think that Yamaha had the audacity to launch its first Blu-ray player this week with no Ethernet and inferior features for a whopping $1,200 (£600), it’s amazing that Samsung will be shipping the BD-P2500 for $500 - around £250. Obviously that price will rise a bit here but we are finally starting to see highly specified players with less galling price tags. I still won’t be happy though until they start costing under £200 here.-Martin Lynch blu-ray movies samsung

Original post by nafiz

Looking like something that should have wheels and be zipping around cleaning the corridors of Imperial Star Destroyers, the new Philips CinemaOne is offering shoppers a one-stop solution for their iPod and home cinema needs. This dinky little unit - roughly the size of a football - is deceptive in what it houses, which includes a DVD/CD player, 5-channel home cinema amplifier, iPod dock, 6 internal speakers and a 4in subwoofer. The speakers are situated around the device and angled to provide some form of pseudo surround while the iPod can be controlled using the CinemaOne’s remote control.The DVD player supports DivX, MPEG-4 and WMV files too as well as upscaling video to near HD picture quality. There’s a HDMI output and USB port alongside the usual audio connections. I’d love to tell you that it will cost the same as a football too but I can’t. In fact, Phillips have been remiss in actually telling anyone when this will roll out and how much damage it will do to wallets.-Martin Lynch gadget cinema ipod

Original post by nafiz

The battle for the skinniest LCD TV continues this week with Sony unveiling the Bravia ZX1 at the IFA 2008 show, which is just 9.9mm at its thinnest. The ZX1 sure is anorexic and compares favourably to the other super-skinnys like the Hitachi UT models or the Sharp X Series AQUOS LCD TVs but the real innovation is Sony’s ability to make all those unsightly cables disappear. The TV comes with a separate receiver device called the Media Receiver, a box that you plug all your cables into and which transmits the signal wirelessly to the TV in ‘real time’, using something Sony calls ‘Bravia 1080 Wireless’. Attach your PS3, set-top box or DVD/Blu-ray player to Media Receiver, stash it anywhere in the room and watch as BRAVIA 1080 Wireless, which Sony calls a ‘ground-breaking high definition, high-speed wireless connection capable of real time transmission of HD signals’ does its party trick. The Media Receiver has 3 HDMI slots [with one more on the TV] and also contains an MPEG4 AVC-HD2 tuner as well as DVB-T and DVB-C3 digital broadcast and cable tuners. The ZX1’s display is lit from the sides by LED arrays instead of the usual CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlighting and, the good news is that, it’s almost here, not a ‘concept’. It goes on sale in Japan first in November with a price tag of around £2,250.-Martin Lynch TV HDTV LCD

Original post by nafiz

I never really got the appeal of projectors with in-built DVD players but I can see why some people might like a portable unit that provides the big screen thrills without any cabling fuss. Epson has launched another DVD/projector/speaker combo with the MovieMate 55 for the home. Yes, it is pretty ugly but it only costs around £350 [possibly £400 by the time it gets here]. It houses a progressive scan DVD spinner, 8Watt speakers and weighs in at just over 8lbs. It’s a standard-def projector - not HD - but it’s still capable of throwing up a 60in image from just 6-feet, and 120ins from 12-feet. It’s based on the 3-chip 3LCD technology and comes with a new, brighter 1200 Lumens bulb with a respectable life expectancy of around 3,000 hours. There’s a fold-away handle for easy carrying and a host of connections guaranteed to make it easy to hook up to your Nintendo Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360. At £400 for something that will really bring those games and movies to life, you could do a lot worse.-Martin Lynch home cinema movies projector

Original post by nafiz

If you’ve been enjoying the growing success of Auntie Beeb’s iPlayer then you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s not spending its spare time sitting back basking in glory. A recent announcement confirms that the service is being improved further to allow users more time to watch their favourite shows.Dubbed ’series stacking’, this basically means that you get more time to download or watch missed episodes of your favourite series’ before they get taken off air. As of September 13th, key shows will be kept online for an entire series, allowing you to catch up on missed episodes or watch the entire thing from the start. BBC Vision controller Simon Nelson stated “Series stacking will really make the unmissable, unmissable. Now, you’ll be able to join a series half way through following a friend’s recommendation and catch up on all the previous episodes - or watch them all in one go over a weekend. Series stacking marks a key development in our strategy to let audiences view our programmes whenever and wherever they want.” Astute online viewers will point out that similar services like Channel 4’s 4OD have been offering extended viewing for some time, but we’re pleased to see that the Beeb is keen to keep its excellent service up to date with rivals. Whisper it quietly, but suddenly our yearly TV license fee is starting to look like quite good value for money. - Paul Lester [BrandRepublic] BBC iPlayer online

Original post by nafiz

Panasonic likes rolling out jaw-droppingly big tellies. Usually of the type that we can’t afford but, nonetheless impressive to stand in front of at shows, drooling. This time out, the company is prepping a new 103in Plasma TV, the TH-103PZ800, for the IFA Show 2008, which kicks off on Friday. This is a third generation 103-incher and while the specs are impressive, it’s most notable because it’s around £10,000 cheaper than its predecessor launched in February.OK, at around £25,000, it’s still not cheap but at this rate, I’ll be able to afford one in around 5-7 years. Alright I’m joking since I think HD projectors are the only way to go for the really big picture without going bankrupt. This is a Full HD telly, with Deep Colour and x.v. Colour support, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 4 HDMI slots, Ethernet, SD Card slot and VIERA Link tech for hooking up simply to other Panasonic kit. Just make sure your wall can take this baby since it weighs in at 756 pounds. Oh, and there’s no speakers. Go figure.-Martin Lynch [Akihabaranews] news TV HDTV

Original post by nafiz

With IFA 2008 almost upon us, expect to find some really cool gadgets and consumer technology on show. This weekend we saw some rumoured reports about the new iPod nano and a photo [possibly fake] of its new, longer shape and tapered edges. Sure, it’s alright looking but nothing near as sweet as the new Cowon S9 Curve, which will be making its debut at consumer tech heaven, the IFA Show 2008 in Berlin, from Friday.This baby just eats up the style points like Pac Man. Like its name, it’s a beautifully curved, metal-backed PMP (portable media player) with a 3.3in, 480 x 272-pixel AMOLED screen with touchscreen capabilities. It’s powered by 500MHz dual-core processor, has Bluetooth, T-DMB, G-Sensor (a gesture control) and a ‘dynamic dictionary’, FM radio and voice recorder. Battery life for music is rated at 40 hours. There’s no price but it certainly looks expensive. Let’s hope it isn’t.-Martin Lynch [PMPtoday] music pmp gadget

Original post by nafiz

If you’re in the market for a wireless home music streaming system but, are unable to knock of the bank needed to afford the pricey - but great - Sonos system, then Sony may have something of interest. This is the S-Airplay Wireless iPod Dock, comprising a central station where you plug in your iPod dock and then stream music around the home to separate S-Air wireless speakers that you plug into a spare socket. The streaming range is a claimed 164-ft, so good enough for most domiciles. If you have a mansion, then you’ll be able to afford the Sonos anyway. Sony is making a lot of the fact that it’s a snap to set-up so anyone can be streaming their favourite tunes from the living room to the bog in no time. “This technology makes it easy to listen to music from a compatible iPod without carrying it from room to room,” said Andrew Sivori, director of marketing in the personal audio group at Sony Electronics’ Digital Imaging and Audio Division. “It’s an easy, inexpensive way to get multi-room audio without professional installation.” The S-Airplay central unit comes with an AM/FM tuner, and the dual source feature allows you to listen to System Of A Down in your room while gran can get knitting to her fix of The Archers radio show in the kitchen. The system comes with the central unit and 2 S-Air speakers but it is capable of transmitting to up to 10 speakers. It is priced at around £200 - in the US first - with additional speakers priced at a cheeky £65 each.-Martin Lynch music home streaming

Original post by nafiz

Having been sent packing with its tail between its legs in the high-def format war by Blu-ray, Toshiba has stubbornly maintained that it will not build a Blu-ray player. Instead, it announced that the best way to beat Blu-ray would be to build an uber-DVD player that upscales really well. It might sound bizarre but since a huge number of regular Joe consumers don’t know what Blu-ray is, or think it’s something to do with the porn industry, it might make some sense. And, it doesn’t hurt that the new XD-E500 only costs £75 [in the US for now]. The XD-E500 uses XDE, “eXtended Detail Enhancement,” technology, which Toshiba says offers more than just normal upscaling. Alongside upscaling images to near-1080p, XDE throws in 3 picture processing mode settings. They are: Sharp Mode offers improved detail enhancement that is one step closer to high definition. Edges are sharper and details in movies are more visible. Unlike traditional sharpness control, XDE technology analyzes the entire picture and adds edge enhancement precisely where it’s needed. Colour Mode makes the colours of nature stand out with improved richness. Blues and greens are more vivid and lifelike. Colour Mode combines the improvement in colour with the detail enhancement of Sharp Mode and is ideal for outdoor scenes. Contrast Mode is designed to make darker scenes or foregrounds more clearly visible without the typical “washing out” that can occur with traditional contrast adjustment. Recommended for dark scenes where detail may be difficult to notice, Contrast Mode is also combined with Sharp Mode to provide a clearer viewing experience. Other features include HDMI-CEC, DivX certification, JPEG capability, MP3 and WMA playback. Considering just how many DVDs people already have, and if the cheap XD-E500 is any good, Toshiba could be onto a winner. It’s still a shame it won’t swallow its pride though and make a Blu-ray player that doesn’t cost the earth.-Martin Lynch dvd blu-ray HD DVD movies

Original post by nafiz