Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Sky customers have been able to access the Sky Player service for a while now but interestingly the broadcast giant has just announced that non Sky customers will soon be able to use it too. The iPlayer-esque video-on-demand website offers access to a range of content that you can either stream and view on the site or download to watch on your computer using the provided software. While it’s not as nice to use as the Beeb’s service, it’s the only option most have of watching Sky’s channels without going route-one and getting a dish. While the company has confirmed that a subscription-based pay service for non-customers is imminent it hasn’t confirmed pricing or channel line-ups yet, and knowing Sky we wouldn’t expect it to be cheap. Chief operating officer Mark Darcey says “We want to make it easy for customers to enjoy great TV on their terms” but we’re a little more cynical and think it’s more of a case of finding another way to squeeze money from consumers who don’t go the whole hog. Still, we’ll wait to see how competitive it’s prepared to be over pricing and what shows it can actually offer before we write it off entirely. - Paul Lester [DigitalSpy] Sky streaming TV

Original post by nafiz

Toshiba has become the first to work some new technology into its LCD TVs that is sure to become standard-fare across all screens in the not too distant future. The Regza ZV series is the world’s first upscaling TV and uses something called Resolution + to enhance standard definition images to near HD quality. We’ve been impressed by some upscaling DVD players and media streamers in the past so think it’s a great idea if it works, and if it doesn’t we’re sure somebody else will come along and perfect the process before long. Toshiba is obviously pretty convinced about its capabilities though and boasts of not only this but other features such as Active Vision, which inserts images between frames to double the refresh rate. There’s also a raft of colour processing and contrast enhancement built-in to help create the best possible picture, and on paper it certainly sounds like a pretty impressive screen. You can pick up a Regza ZV in 42″ and 46″ sizes for £899 and £1199 respectively, which is quite reasonable considering you get everything listed above along with full 1080p resolution. - Paul Lester [Toshiba] Toshiba upscaling TV

Original post by nafiz

The BBC has been in touch with Gizmodo UK about a new TV show it’s putting together about technology and how it has affected our lives over the past four decades. The same people that brought us Edwardian Country House and Who Do You Think You Are are seeking a family to take part in a Back To The Future look at the impact of gadgets and consumer technology. They will be transported back to the 1970s to start and then fast-forwarded through the 1980s, 90s and up to the present. The series will start with the family in a typical 1970s house surrounded by only the consumer tech you could expect from that era. They say: “In the 1970s the family will experience life without the technology we’ve begun to take for granted; they′ll live a seventies life in a seventies house without Sky +, Facebook and the Wii. It’s a chance to see how we did homework without the Internet, how we socialised without mobile phones in an era where encyclopaedias and dial phones were the order of the day. As the family move through the 70s they′ll road test all the gadgets and appliances that would have been available during that decade, from 70’s telly, vinyl and games consoles to slide projectors and deep freezers. They′ll see firsthand how far technology has come and its impact on our family life. It’s a huge nostalgia trip for mum and dad and it’s a chance to see just which family member really is the most technologically savvy.” Seeing as we here at Gizmodo UK are known for loving our gadgets and tech to an obsessive degree, the Beeb thought Gizmodo readers might be hiding the perfect family for the series. Find out what they are looking for after the jump.This is what the Beeb want: Are you a home-owning family with at least three children between the ages of eight and eighteen? Are you keen to show your children how much life has changed since your childhood? Are you interested in modern history and how technology has transformed the family home? Or maybe you’re looking for a challenging but rewarding nostalgia trip? For more details on this exciting opportunity, please contact either Michael Fraser on 020 7241 9349, or Laura Jackson on 020 7241 9308 or email michael.fraser@walltowall.co.uk or laura.jackson@walltowall.co.uk Well, what are you waiting for? If you do get picked, let us know how you get on.-Martin Lynch technology tv bbc

Original post by nafiz

Do you have trouble finding something worthwhile to watch? Then you′re not alone. According to a new survey commissioned by Microsoft’s Connected TV Business, over a quarter of TV viewers in the UK waste more than a week each year channel surfing. Digital TV viewers, on average, spend 2-3 hours watching telly each day but almost a quarter of that time is spent looking for something to watch. That’s around 3.5 hours a week and, consequently, over 7 days a year. The young’uns (aged 16-20) are the most prone to this type of surfing, with 1 in 5 spending up to a quarter of their time looking for stuff to watch while that figure is just 1 in 20 for the over 55s. You′d think then that they’d actually get to see everything they want to. Not so. Three quarters of digital viewers (73%) say they still miss programmes they would have liked to watch because they find it difficult or time consuming to find out what’s on. A further 1 in 8 (14%) claim they often stumble across a great programme or series only to find they have missed the start or earlier episodes. Assuming people aren’t stupid, what’s the problem? The survey posited that the key reason is an abundance of choice. Almost half of all digital viewers find the number of channels overwhelming and despite having upwards of 100 channels, 41% stick to a small group of them: 1 in 3 stick to the main five terrestrial channels (BBC1, BBC 2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5).-Martin Lynch TV life news

Original post by nafiz

The BBC has recently responded to a raft of complaints regarding the quality of its HD channel, with users targeting the programme ‘Amazon′ as being well below the expected standard. Amazon is an epic journey along with world’s most infamous river and principal technologist Andy Quested addressed this particular issue by arguing that it’s not safe to use HD equipment in these sorts of locations. “Programmes like Amazon will always have sequences where conditions mean no matter how good the broadcast technology, domestic cameras that are always much smaller and less conspicuous will be used to reduce risk to the crew with a resulting loss in picture quality.”In reacting to the more widespread argument about quality, he goes on to say that until new technology is unleashed that can handle an HD picture in such environments, programmes will be set a standard that means HD images must comprise a minimum of 75% of the content. He argues that different people expect different things from HD and that some expectations are too high, though in truth this is the only channel we′ve heard of receiving a substantial number of complaints. When you consider that rivals such as Discovery and National Geographic are shooting similar footage in HD it begins to start sound like more of an excuse than a reason. - Paul Lester [TechRadar] BBC HD TV

Original post by nafiz

If you’re a bit of a TV addict and loathe the time you have to spend away from the goggle-box, August’s DTV350C should satisfy your cravings. It’s a budget-priced media player with a built-in Freeview tuner, offering access to both digital TV and radio along with an EPG and digital text.The 3.5″ screen should be just about big enough to make viewing enjoyable and you’ll also find that it can play back a range of audio and video formats that you can store on an optional SD/MMC card or a USB drive. There’s a micro loudspeaker built in if you don′t want to use earphones and a video output to send content to a TV screen. Anyone who’s used a similar device in the past will say that coverage is the bugbear of such products and despite a dedicated external aerial we can see this being a tad glitchy with quite a few of the Freeview channel range. Still, if you’re prepared to put up with this the DVT350C will only set you back £95, link below. - Paul Lester [August] Freeview media player portable

Original post by nafiz

Like a couple of kids forced to stand facing the wall after fighting in the schoolyard, teacher has finally ushered Sky and Virgin Media back into the room following an 18-month dispute over fees. Last year Sky demanded nearly £50m per year for the rights to transmit Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports News, a request that got the finger from Virgin who saw this as double what the channels were worth. Virgin fought back by asking for exorbitant fees for its own channels, but following mutual losses the whole argument has now been sorted and everyone is friends again, at least for the time being. What this means is that from the 13th of November, Virgin will get Sky One, Two and Sky Sports News back, and Sky gets Living, Living Two, Bravo, Bravo Two, Trouble, Challenge and Virgin One back. The new deal is set to run until 2011 and both companies have agreed to end court proceedings against each other. Though the exact terms of the contract haven’t been revealed, the three year deal includes fixed annual fees and additional capped payments based on performance, so hopefully this′ll be enough for customers to wave goodbye to the whole debacle and get back to watching TV. - Paul Lester [Times] Sky Virgin TV

Original post by nafiz

We’d expect most readers to have at least seen one of those adverts produced for the BBC that show detector vans driving around targeting TV license dodgers using some sort of space-age technology. Some might even have received threatening letters with promises of fines and court summons, or told that an enquiry officer will be knocking the door down in the near future to bring all of hell down upon thee.It would seem quite reasonable then, to expect to know what this TV detector system is all about, but following a Freedom of Information request to find out, Britain’s Information Commissioner declined a response. When asked why, the Beeb refused to give out any more details because it feared that if it did so, it would result in a loss of the ‘deterrent effect’. In other words, it sounds like they don’t want you to know that this TV license detection business is a load of old baloney. Excerpts from the full report include “…it relies on the public perception that the vans could be used at any time to catch evaders” and “To release information which relates to the number of detection devices and how often they are used will change the public’s perception of their effectiveness. If the deterrent effect is lost, the BBC believes that a significant number of people would decide not to pay their licence fee.” Some speculate that while it’s technically possible, it’s extremely unlikely that the BBC is using the technology required to detect LCD and plasma screen TVs and that the whole detector van thing really is just a big ruse. This may have even been the case since they were first announced in 1952, though when you consider the fact that even if people do come knocking at your door they have no legal right to enter, you can see why it might be acting a little nervy. - Paul Lester [TheRegister] BBC TV License TV

Original post by nafiz

Nielsen’s new TV/Internet Convergence Panel, which electronically measures both television and Internet usage in the same homes, has found that television viewing and online video streaming are complementary activities.

Gosh!

According to the convergence panel, the heaviest users of the Internet are also among the heaviest viewers of television: the top fifth of Internet users spend more than 250 minutes per day watching television, compared to 220 minutes of television viewing by people who do not use the Internet at all.

Nielsen found that the reverse is true as well — the lowest consumers of television have the lowest usage levels for the Internet.

(And what else could they be doing?)

Nielsen also found that 31% of in-home Internet activity takes place while the user is watching television, demonstrating that there is a significant amount of simultaneous Internet and television usage. Conversely, 4% of television viewing occurs when the consumer is also using the Internet. 

Now I watch TV while on the Internet, my kids watch TV on the Internet while on the Internet and my wife is either on one or the other — and never both.

Is this a crazy multi-tasking world or what?  

Get more at Nielsen.com.

Tags: convergence, internet, nielsen, TV

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Original post by nafiz

To commemorate the October 31st release of the new James Bond movie, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, Sony Blu-ray is giving Gizmodo UK readers the exclusive chance to win the ‘Ultimate Bond Experience’. One lucky reader will get their hands on the Grand Prize valued at over €2,000 worth of the latest HD equipment, including a 40″ BRAVIA W4500 TV, a BDP-S350 Blu-ray player and an HT-IS100 BRAVIA Home Theatre system. Included is the 2-disc Collector’s Edition of Casino Royale on Blu-ray Disc for the ultimate Bond Full HD experience in your own home, thanks to Sony Blu-ray. Additional copies of Casino Royale on Blu-ray Disc are up for grabs for three fortunate winners! To enter for the chance to win, just answer these 2 questions: Q1: Which is not an ingredient in 007′s Vesper martini? a) Kina Lillet b) Gordon’s Gin c) Vodka d) Olive Q2: What is the start-up time for the BDP-S350? a) 10 seconds b) 16 seconds c) 6 seconds d) 20 seconds Hint: you might find clues to the questions here: www.sony.co.uk/bluray. Why not ready your senses for Bond by visiting Sony′s Bond experience at www.sony.co.uk/bravia Email your answers along with your name, permanent address and telephone number to ukgizmodo@vnu.co.uk before 23:59pm on November 7, 2008. Please take time to read the Terms & Conditions after the jump. Quantum of Solace © 2008 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Trademarks © 1962-2008 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation. Quantum of Solace, 007 and related James Bond Trademarks are trademarks of Danjaq, LLC. All Rights Reserved.Terms & Conditions 1. To enter the Prize Draw participants must be UK resident and aged over 18 2. No purchase is necessary to participate in the Prize Draw. In order to be eligible to enter the Prize Draw you must have answered the two specified questions correctly All participants who answered the two specified questions correctly will be eligible and automatically entered in the Prize Draw to which winner will be randomly chosen providing that participant has answered the two specified questions correctly Sony′s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into Sony reserves the right to refuse any invalid or incorrect entry and will disqualify any persons abusing the Prize Draw, including via the sending of electronic spam mail 3. The winner will be drawn at random from all eligible entries for the Prize Draw 4. The Prize Draw will be open from 1 November 2008 and will close on 7 November 2008. No entries will be accepted after 23:59:59 CET on 7 November 2008 5. The prize of a Sony BRAVIA W4500 40″, Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player, BRAVIA Home Theatre HDS-S1300 and James Bond Blu-ray Collection Vol 1with an approximate value of £1900 will be awarded to one participant of this Prize Draw 6. The winner will be notified within one week of closure to confirm his/her details 7. If no response from the winner to the notification after 14 days, Sony reserves the right to award the prize to an alternate winner 8. The prize will be delivered by Sony no later than 28 days of the announcement of the winner. Neither Gizmodo nor Sony will be responsible or liable for any prize damaged in transit 9. Taxes on the prize will be borne by Sony 10. There is a limit of one participation per person, household and e-mail address 11. The prize is not transferable. No cash or credit alternative is available. The prize is not exchangeable. Only one winning entry per household will be accepted 12. Should the prize become unavailable for any reason, Sony reserves the right to provide a substitute prize of equivalent value 13. The Prize Draw is not open to employees of Sony and other Sony affiliates, their family members, Sony and Sony Group dealers or distributors, dealers/distributor or other retail staff or anyone connected with this Prize Draw 14. By entering this Prize Draw, applicants will be deemed to have accepted and agreed to be bound by these rules, terms and conditions. Any further entry instructions given by Sony and posted on this website will form part of these rules Promoter or “Sony″ for purposes of the above terms: Sony United Kingdom Limited, The Heights, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey K⃝ 0XW Gizmodo for the purposes of the above terms: Gizmodo, Incisive Media., 32-34 Broadwick Street, London, W1A 2HG blu-ray bond movies

Original post by nafiz

If you think you’ve bought just about every accessory available to get the most from your plasma screen or LCD TV, then think again. AM Denmark offer what can only be described as the ‘Calvin Klein’ of screen cleaners, at least they certainly look like the latest overpriced perfumery. Inside you’ll find an alcohol-free water-based cleaning solution that sprays on and wipes off using the soft foam microfibre cloth supplied. There’s quite a range available on the site, though most seem to differ only in the shape and colour of the bottle. You can buy them in duopacks with sponge attached, there’s a version for notebooks and if you don’t want to fall foul of spraying the stuff on yourself one bleary-eyed morning just grab a good old-fashioned can of it instead. Prices start at around £15 for aftershave models and they′re available from most good accessory retailers online. Check out the official website below for the full range. - Paul Lester [AM Denmark] plasma LCD cleaner

Original post by nafiz

With TV prices plummeting over the last year, companies like jazz things up a little by released special edition versions of their tellies to keep our wallets thin. Pioneer has released two new Limited Edition versions of its award-winning KURO plasma TVs. Available in white and ‘beige-grise’, the 50 in Full HD TVs stand out a little from the usual black or silver offerings. They’re also really skinny at just 64mm deep and they both won’t allow a tangle of cables to mess up those good looks either because they come with a separate media receiver that hooks up to the TV via a single HDMI cable. The TVs feature 4 HDMI connections each and have an enhanced Optimum Mode with optical light sensor for automated adjustment of picture settings according to the light in the room. There’s even a Pure AV mode used to reproduce exactly what’s on your HD disc by bypassing any other picture enhancements you have set on the TV. The beige grisé KRP-500ABG will be produced in a limited quantity of 1,000 across Europe, while 1,500 white KRP-500AW models. There will be matching optional stands and other peripherals when they arrive next month but don’t expect any of those rapidly falling plasma TV prices to matter here as the TVs will set you back around £2,900 apiece.-Martin Lynch [Pioneer] TV plasma news

Original post by nafiz

We all know that the cost of LCD TVs is coming down but according to DisplaySearch, Europe led the way with prices dropping 30% in the past 12 months. In its annual look at global pricing of LCD and plasma TVs, the biggest drops in e-tail and Net-based LCD TV prices were in Europe, followed by China, North America and Japan, down 20%, 16% and 4%, respectively. The price of plasma tellies fell 27% year-on-year to September 2008 while older CRT TV prices actually rose by 4%. In general, larger screens saw more price erosion with 52in LCD TV prices coming down almost 30% in the past year while prices for 20in LCD TVs fell by just 4%. In Europe, 46in TVs recorded the biggest e-tail price reduction, dropping 37% from an average of around £1,300 in September 2007 to around £850 in September 2008. Strangely, while we all moan sometimes about Japan getting all the hottest techs and gadgets first, I’m glad I buy my TVs elsewhere. According to DisplaySearch, Japan continued to have the highest LCD TV pricing during September in almost all screen sizes - on average 25% higher.-Martin Lynch TV LCD shopping

Original post by nafiz

When you live in the boondocks, like I now do, services that don’t work well really piss you off. I assumed that my issue in trying to buy a pay-per-view movie from DirecTV had more to do with the lousy DirecTV HD-DVR they gave me than anything else, as I was getting signal on the regular channels — but no!

I live in a coastal community and we’re kinda socked in by fog. There was no fog last night, when the pay-per-view fiasco occurred however. My wife wanted to see Sex and the City- the Movie and I figured this was a lot easier than downloading it over our excellent but limited local co-op internet service. I figured wrong.

Regular DirecTV service worked fine, but the pay-per-view, no. This morning the technician on the phone had me reboot the receiver and now we can get no service at all. Seems the heavy fog is stopping us from getting whatever base-level of data we need to allow any function. Now we’re just gonna have to wait for it to clear…

I knew heavy rain would do this but man, oh man, do I miss my evil old cable provider.

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Original post by Jason

I′m not sure how many of you are catching up with BBC TV via iPlayer on your Wii but apparently it’s been a less than satisfactory experience. The Beeb has now tweaked it all though to make sure that all you arm-wavers will have a much easier time with iPlayer from now on. The problem was that iPlayer appeared in a window on your TV, making it quite tricky to get your cursor onto those teeny weenie tabs. The update sorts all that out with a full-screen interface. Anthony Rose, Head of Online Media Group, BBC Future Media & Technology, explained: “The new Wii version has a simplified user interface that presents just a few options on screen at a time and nice big chunky controls - easy to aim at with a Wiimote.” But what about the PS3 Mr. Rose? “We’re also working on bringing BBC iPlayer to Sony PS3, but we’re not quite there yet as the PS3 uses a slightly older version of Flash which doesn’t support some of the features used in our media player, and the very promising Flash 9 update now available on PS3 has some compatibility issues. Our Flash developers are working on it - stay tuned for updates.” Let us know how the new Wii interface works out.-Martin Lynch TV iplayer bbc

Original post by nafiz