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A report from research consultancy TDG predicts that portals like Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayStation Network will soon become formidable competitors to incumbent Pay TV services.

Leveraging broadband-enabled game consoles as the next-generation video platforms — and bypassing cable and satellite TV operators, these companies will offer a compelling alternative to traditional TV programming by providing a more immersive, interactive video experience.

The launch of Microsoft’s Experience and the Xbox Live Netflix streaming video service is a perfect example of how potent these services will soon become. There is little doubt these services are finally ready for prime time.

Even before the launch of Experience, Microsoft’s Xbox Live had amassed some 15,000 movies (1,000 of which are HD) and some 13,000 TV shows for download-to-own. The Netflix partnership adds 12,000 movies and TV programs to the mix, all for free streaming to Netflix subscribers.

Sony’s PlayStation Network has collected close to 1,000 movies and hundreds of TV programs for download-to-own. It has also announced plans to expand dramatically its video library in the next few months in order to compete with Xbox Live. 

Many thanks to Advanced-Television.

Tags: download-to-own, experience, microsoft, netflix, playstation network, sony, xbox live

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Original post by nafiz

We have to apologise up front that you can’t get this phone here because Nokia has decided [wrongly] that only people in Hong Kong appreciate Bruce Lee. And would pay over the top money to get a special edition phone with Bruce stamped all over it. That doesn’t mean we can’t tease you horribly though because we desperately want one too. This is the N96, Nokia’s flagship multimedia phone Hong Kong-style: a Limited Edition Bruce Lee mobile with his face and signature carved on the back, and bundled with numerous accessories and a cool Bruce Lee action figure from Enterbay. However, it does cost an estimated £800 here [Chinese]. The only consolation we can offer though is possibly the best promo video for a phone we have ever seen. Jump now.Nunchuck table tennis. Even Bruce would smile at that one.-Martin Lynch [Unwired] phone mobile bruce lee

Original post by nafiz

With Kodak kicking off the market for HD pocket camcorders with its Zi6 and the recent announcement of a HD version for the market leading Flip mino, it seems only fitting that Creative is working on a HD version of its Vado pocket camcorder. The above image has been culled from Creative’s Singapore holiday catalogue and, while HD is a nice tweak, the Vado still looks it’s been given a few taps with Ugly Stick. Compared to the Flip minoHD, and even the standard VGA Flip mino, the Vado still looks clunky. We’ve reviewed the Zi6 and we liked it, despite it being chunkier than the regular pocket camcorders and we expect to get our hands on the Flip minoHD soon - which already looks like the prettiest and slimmest of the bunch. Still, there are some nice videos at Vimeo shot by someone called ‘Vado’, taken using the as yet unofficial Vado HD. As we’ve found with other HD pocket cams, the video looks best when the camera is fairly steady like on the Honda ʽ car. -Martin Lynch [Engadget] video camcorder HD

Original post by nafiz

So, you have your new MacBook but that bigger screen is just not big enough. You also have what fewer and fewer people have right now: money burning a hole in your pocket. If so, then you might like to know that you can now order Apple’s whopping 24in LED Cinema Display. Beautiful to look at, it’s capable of a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution and because it uses LED-backlighting, you′re promised instant full-screen brightness and much improved power efficiency. Overall, it’s touted as the greenest display from Apple yet. There are three self-powered USB 2.0 ports for charging your other gadget goodies, you can hook it up to your Mac using the new Mini DisplayPort, and there’s an internal MagSafe charger that will allow you to charge your notebook while watching movies on the big screen. Of course, the downside of the new Mini DisplayPort is that owners of older MacBooks with DVI ports who fancy the new display will have to purchase some additional adapter cables from Apple. Funny that. The Cinema Display also has an in-built iSight video camera, microphone and a speakers. And remember that bit about ‘money burning a hole in your pocket’? The new display costs £649 here.-Martin Lynch apple display macbook

Original post by nafiz

Emtec will be the latest company to try its hand at digital media storage and streaming following the launch of its S800 HDD Movie Cube. This Apple TV rival has a 500GB hard drive built-in along with an analogue/DVB tuner which allows it to act as a PVR by recording and saving your favourite programmes to the internal drive. Of course you can copy your own music, video and photos over and there’s wired and wireless network access available which presumably allows you to stream content stored on a home computer. The usual connections and format support are here, including HDMI and DivX, but aside from being able to convert DVD and video there doesn’t appear to be anything radically different here that you won’t find among rivals. Still, it may well be worth a look when it’s released in December, word on the street is Dixon’s will be selling it for £229.99. - Paul Lester [PocketLint] Emtec media streamer jukebox

Original post by nafiz

If you like your movies and games with that extra bit of shake, rattle and roll, then may we introduce you to the latest chair-pounding ButtKicker. The Guitammer Company already does a line in pricey ButtKicker subwoofers designed to make your chair shake and rumble in time with the action on screen. The new wireless ButtKicker Kit is a cheaper solution to let you implement your own at home on a couch or chair. Obviosuly, don’t tell Gran, sit back and then watch her face as something blows up on the telly. ButtKicker’s low frequency audio transducers provide low frequency audio and realistic special effects, without loud volume. That’s their way of saying it’s silent but shakes your butt just as all that on-screen action is kicking off from your movies or games. They call it a ‘4-D experience’ and if you′ve ever been to a Disney or Universal Studios show where the seats react to what’s onscreen then you get the idea as it’s the same company that supplies them. Oh, and it’s wireless, to keep your living room partner-friendly. It starts shipping at the end of the week from Amazon, priced [US first] at around £200. If you have kids, then you already have something that kicks and shakes your chair while you′re watching TV.-Martin Lynch [ButtKicker] gadgets geek movies

Original post by nafiz

The results of AMD’s European survey into notebook usage paints a clear picture of our digitally oriented future as 77% of respondents claim they could not live without access to the internet. Compare this to 54% of people who say ‘car’ and 61% who say ‘washing machine’ as things they couldn’t live without and there’s no doubting the importance of the world wide web to our lives. People aren’t just browsing around either, since the biggest market that has driven this interest is digital media. 81% of people have uploaded digital photos over the last year, 77% watch videos on YouTube and 66% download music. In addition, 76% have gotten their hands dirty with online gaming, 51% of people have downloaded and 43% have streamed movies. In terms of the future many are citing visual quality as high on their list of demands, with almost half saying that graphics play a large part in a purchasing decision and further figures showing that the demand for HD content is always on the rise. With all these high-bandwidth activities sitting at the top of our list of priorities, we think it’s about time BT and pals put high-speed broadband a bit higher on theirs. - Paul Lester [MarketWatch] internet digital media online

Original post by nafiz

If you’ve got any plans to head to Asia for pleasure or business in the near future, be aware that the dodgy characters floating around market stalls with wheelbarrows full of ‘100% genuine, high quality the best′ movies have found a new format to play with. Blu-ray is the flavour of the month and as usual most of the money used to create the things has gone into the packaging rather than the actual disc itself. While they may look legitimate, the Asian equivalent of ‘knock-off Nigel′ are apparently ripping and downgrading genuine Blu-ray discs to 1080i using the AVCHD codec that you’ll find in HD camcorders. The shrunken contents of their heinous activities are then being burnt to regular DVDs, slapped in a legitimate looking case and flogged on. Of course we wouldn’t expect most people to actually buy anything from these people if they have any hope of it being close to the quality of the original, but the old “it’s so cheap, no one’s gonna bother returning them” marketing strategy is bound to generate some serious sales. - Paul Lester [TechRadar] Blu-ray HD pirates

Original post by nafiz

brumgrunt writes “The comic book is the new spec script in Hollywood, if this list is anything to go by. Den Of Geek has uncovered 75 comics that are in the process of being turned into films, along with their estimated year of arrival. It’s scary, brilliant and bizarre in roughly equal measure.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by CmdrTaco

canadian_right writes “A Calgary man was fined $1,495 and banned from theaters for a year in the first conviction under a new Canadian law making recoding a movie in a theater a crime. Until the new law took effect in 2007, prosecutors had to show evidence of distribution to get a conviction now, recording without permission is sufficient. The Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association was disappointed that jail time was not given.” The man was also banned for a year from possessing any video recording equipment, even a video-capable cellphone, outside of his home.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by kdawson

The most eagerly awaited comic-to-film translation, the Watchmen, has just gotten a new trailer. Helmed by ‘300′ director, Zack Snyder, Watchmen is already shaping up to be the superhero event of 2009. The first trailer was not only great but reassured long-time fans of the graphic novel that Snyder was staying largely faithful to the look and feel. This second trailer fleshes out the first [and reuses lots of the first] and only makes us want more, which I guess is a good thing. Now all we want is a time machine to get us to next March today. It’s comforting to see Rorschach’s significant role, narration and generally dim view of humanity used to great effect. Anyone else think Christian Bale’s Batman is doing some vocal moonlighting? Roll on 2009 when the most celebrated graphic novel finally hits the big screen.-Martin Lynch news movies comics

Original post by nafiz

We recently saw the UK launch of the new Myvu Crystal video eyewear and today we have two new offerings from Vuzix, including the first pair to offer widescreen movie playback. The company has just released its iWear AV310 Widescreen and its AV230XL headsets, designed specifically for use with video iPods, portable media players (PMPs), portable DVD players and multimedia phones like the iPhone, Nokia N95 and others. The viewer on the AV310 Widescreen is adjustable and there’s a +2 to -5 diopter focus providing individual adjustment for each eye. Playing time is rated at a healthy 5-hours from one AA battery. The AV230XL uses OLED screen technology to deliver a brighter image with better contrast but, while using less power. Playback is rated at 7 hours on 1 AA battery. The virtual screen size is equivalent to 44in viewed from 9-feet. Vuzix founder and CEO Paul Travers said: “With Vuzix iWear you can get the full big-screen cinema experience, in a device that is small enough to carry in your pocket. And the range of products you can connect to is increasing all the time as more and more mobile phones are released with video out capability.” Both sets of eyewear come bundled with a ‘Made for iPod’ cable that will connect to iPod devices like the Classic, the Nano and the Touch, as well as the iPhone. Leads for other handsets like Nokia’s N95 and N96 are also bundled. The AV230XL will initially retail at £130 and the AV310 Widescreen at £150.-Martin Lynch [Vuzix] movies ipod video

Original post by nafiz

“Your Toothbrush Cleans Your Teeth. What Cleans Your Toothbrush?” That’s the scary slogan from VIOlight, makers of the popular toothbrush sanitizer system which is said to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria.

Just like the technology used in hospitals, VIOlight uses a germicidal UV bulb to kill germs. A blue-violet glow lets you know the sanitizer is working. We told you about the original counter-top VIOlight but now they have a cute Zapi model. Available in orange, blue, green and white, it sells for $29.95.
(Kids will like that it has a weighted bottom so they can push it to make it “rock” until it uprights itself.)

Just like last time, VIOlight has a special offer only for PG readers, a coupon code for 15% off any Zapi product. Just enter the code “popgadget” on the VIOlight checkout page.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

A good way to save money on gas and electric bills might be to give the consumer a bit more information and a bit more control, at least if you believe Ecobee, who will soon be releasing a WiFi thermostat designed to do just that. It’ll be a touchscreen device that can set a schedule to control the temperature at different times of the day, offer graphs and displays showing usage over time and will be able to send and receive alerts that you can pick up via a website from afar. This will also allow you to receive warnings if, for example, it suspects you left a window open (because it’s getting too cold) or, if you install an optional flood sensor, that your house is flooding. The EcoBee will connect to a thermostat through a regular HVAC interface and to the internet through your WiFi network to keep data synchronised. It’s not confirmed as a release for the UK yet but will retail for $385 plus installation (around another $100) in the US when it’s shipped in the first half of 2009. - Paul Lester [ArsTechinca] EcoBee wireless thermostat

Original post by nafiz

If you haven′t seen the biOrb collection of fancy goldfish bowls then you’ve missed out on the Cadillac of modern aquariums. Its range is pretty extensive and has now been updated with the new biOrb Life Collection. The tanks take more of a rectangular approach to fish care and are available in three colours - chilli red, ice white or piano black. Each has a clear acrylic front and back and an advanced slimline intelligent LED light that illuminates the tank automatically and includes different shades to simulate a gradual sunrise, sunset and moonlight. The three sizes available are 30, 45 and 60 litre and these are available for £209, £239 and £269 respectively. You can check out the new range from the website link below. Scroll down to see some of the earlier models though as there are some pretty nice looking designs available. - Paul Lester [ReefOne] BiOrb fish aquarium

Original post by nafiz