[AzBat]

Microsoft purchased VideoSurf...

Press Release: Microsoft Acquires Video Content Discovery Company VideoSurf
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/p...ovemberPR.mspx

Founded in 2006, VideoSurf offers a back-end computer vision technology that “sees” frames inside videos to make discovering content fast, easy and accurate. Over time, Microsoft will integrate this technology across its entertainment platform to augment the Xbox 360 ecosystem and evolve search and discovery of entertainment content on Xbox LIVE.

“VideoSurf’s content analytics technology will enhance the search and discovery of entertainment content across our platform,” said Alex Garden, director of Xbox LIVE for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “This holiday we will launch voice search across our entertainment partners on Xbox LIVE. Over time, as we integrate VideoSurf’s technology into our system, we are excited about the potential to have content tagged in real time to increase the speed and relevance of the search results.”

Originally it was thought the deal was worth around $70million, but TechCruch is now saying under $100million in cash.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/23/wit...big-potential/

Tommy McClain

[tuna]

Originally Posted by patsu

Namco Bandai Begins PlayStation 3 Karaoke Service
http://andriasang.com/comz2k/ps3_karaoke/

You need to have a jap IP to access this. Could anyone link to a guide on how to achieve this?

[joker454]

Originally Posted by patsu

My contract is up in mid December. Have a 3GS now. I am considering switching to Android 4 to keep all my media accessible from all my home devices (PS3, PC/Mac, iOS, Android), and also play with PS Suite. Also toying around with the idea of getting a Win phone just for thrills and be different. Then again, I might stick with 4S to check out Siri and iCloud.

If you do consider a windows phone I'd suggest skipping the reviews and instead borrow one from someone and play with it. That's what ultimately got me to switch. Phone reviews are all iPhone centric, basically they look at how the iPhone does something, then if a competing phone does it then good otherwise it's a knock on whatever phone they are reviewing. That's why using a windows phone leads to such shock once you realize how much stuff it does that's not only better than iPhone, but stuff it does which iPhone doesn't do at all. Simple stuff like far better auto complete where it shows a selection of words to pick from instead of just one which helps me type much faster on this phone, built in msn messenger support seamlessly integrated into the chat client, being able to set push settings individually on each email account, etc, all stuff you'd never know from reading windows phone reviews because they never talk about any of it. Even cloud and siri type support. I've been editing a word doc on my phone which gets saved to skydrive, which I can then continiue editing at home on my office pc later. Or verbally asking the phone for something, that works as well, not as well as Siri but it's had voice support for a long time now. Even specs which reviews love to knock because it's a single core device, yet my phone make my iPad look like a slug, my iPad runs slow in comparision to my phone and is an app crash fest on ios5. Makes me wonder if Android phones are treated the same way in reviews. Ultimately it makes me feel like a dumbass for ignoring this phone for as long as I did because of what I read in reviews. Lesson learned I guess.

Oh yeah looks like my ebola experience may have been the exception. This phone definitely gets attention when I use it in public, had a guy walk up to me in Frys to ask what it was and he didn't run away when i said windows phone, instead he said "very cool". And as a fast food place another guy wondered the same and also didn't flee when I said it was windows, instead he said "cool". Who knows, maybe this phone does have a shot at becoming a contender.

[Shifty Geezer]

...yet my phone make my iPad look like a slug, my iPad runs slow in comparision to my phone and is an app crash fest on ios5.

I wonder if that's contrary to what people expect from an MS device? Thinking Windows here, and ten years of legacy that made MS the butt of Apple jokes, if/when MS can turn around and write better OS and apps, they still have a lot of people to convince. If I was going to pick a smart phone, MS wouldn't even be on my radar because I don't expect them to be any good. MS have a lot of serious marketing to do if I'm representative of the majority. (/OT)

[joker454]

Originally Posted by Shifty Geezer

I wonder if that's contrary to what people expect from an MS device? Thinking Windows here, and ten years of legacy that made MS the butt of Apple jokes, if/when MS can turn around and write better OS and apps, they still have a lot of people to convince. If I was going to pick a smart phone, MS wouldn't even be on my radar because I don't expect them to be any good. MS have a lot of serious marketing to do if I'm representative of the majority. (/OT)

Well I get that marketting may have worked on the masses, but I wasn't expecting review sites to be affected by it as well. I figured they would have at least been semi impartial but perhaps that was horribly naive on my part.

A wee bit more on topic more or less...anyone use the Dune Smart D1 or H1 media players perchance? Was thinking of getting one since it can play bluray folder rips from network raid, curious if anyone has toyed with it.

[Arwin]

I saw a girl (pretty, adult) play around with it the other day in the store, and it looked quite good. I agree that it looks very good, and I've already seen good reviews for 7.5 (Mango?) when that came out a while ago, noting a couple of good things it does.

Mind you, iPhone is now getting behind quite a bit feature wise, but that's not necessarily a good thing. It just has to be simple. Today, I would probably choose something else myself, Android or Windows Phone, but for my wife I still like iOS. It's a good integrated experience.

For myself, I prefer the Android setup of being able to actually have some apps on your main screen to switch between, or have buttons on there that enable/disable wifi/3g/bluetooth etc. And you always get better hardware / more screen estate (I'd prefer slightly bigger than the iPhone screens are) individually. But I'm hoping that Android 4.0 delivers in terms of upping the user interface to the next level, as that's what Android really needs most right now.

Originally Posted by joker454

If you do consider a windows phone I'd suggest skipping the reviews and instead borrow one from someone and play with it.

[NavNucST3]

Originally Posted by Arwin

I saw a girl (pretty, adult) play around with it the other day in the store, and it looked quite good. I agree that it looks very good, and I've already seen good reviews for 7.5 (Mango?) when that came out a while ago, noting a couple of good things it does.

Mind you, iPhone is now getting behind quite a bit feature wise, but that's not necessarily a good thing. It just has to be simple. Today, I would probably choose something else myself, Android or Windows Phone, but for my wife I still like iOS. It's a good integrated experience.

For myself, I prefer the Android setup of being able to actually have some apps on your main screen to switch between, or have buttons on there that enable/disable wifi/3g/bluetooth etc. And you always get better hardware / more screen estate (I'd prefer slightly bigger than the iPhone screens are) individually. But I'm hoping that Android 4.0 delivers in terms of upping the user interface to the next level, as that's what Android really needs most right now.

My wife loves her Windows Phone much more than she loved her iPhone and we are an all Mac (.mac/mobileme/icloud) household. The people hub is all types of fantastic. Having Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and SMS in a single location with the history of each is extremely useful and live tiles is such a rapid method of just seeing what people are saying/doing. My only experience with smartphones in the last five years has been with iPhone through the 3GS and now the Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 (7 was missing way too much but 7.5 is really good).

[patsu]

The first gen iPad is slower than iPhone coz it has a bigger screen. iPad 2 should be noticeably faster. OTOH, battery life on iPad walks all over the phone.

Android on Sony and Samsung is still a little jerky for my taste, also a little too confusing. Will have to see more Android 4 demoes. Win Phone seems nice and simple so far. Anyway, I'll check out all probably later this week.

Have fallen ill because I stayed up and played too much over the break (Played soccer in the rain with my son, and I'm the one who caught a cold. That was lame !). Have a sudden swarm of work to deal with today too. 8^/

EDIT: While iOS UI may look less fancy, Apple seems to be gearing up for changes. The Siri infrastructure tells me that they have engineered a semantic based interface somewhere in the app framework. And then they "stole" my GT5 + Google map idea:
http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/29/apple-...he-next-level/

[joker454]

Originally Posted by patsu

The first gen iPad is slower than iPhone coz it has a bigger screen. iPad 2 should be noticeably faster. OTOH, battery life on iPad walks all over the phone.

It's more because of iOS5. It ran fine on iOS4, version 5 killed performance, same on my wife's iPad 2, her's also runs slower and crashes frequently. I use my phone now more than my iPad just because it's so much faster and more reliable.

Originally Posted by patsu

Android on Sony and Samsung is still a little jerky for my taste, also a little too confusing. Will have to see more Android 4 demoes. Win Phone seems nice and simple so far. Anyway, I'll check out all probably later this week.

I've generally avoided Android because it always felt jerky to me as well, and I've always been able to get apps to crash on it even when just playing with it in the store. Plus the whole Android os just seems confusing to me, I don't really get it. But I did try the Galaxy S2 and it actually seemed smooth, seems like that's the Android phone to get if that's your flavor of os.

Originally Posted by patsu

EDIT: While iOS UI may look less fancy, Apple seems to be gearing up for changes. The Siri infrastructure tells me that they have engineered a semantic based interface somewhere in the app framework. And then they "stole" my GT5 + Google map idea:
http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/29/apple-...he-next-level/

They better be doing something, because from what I'm seeing on Win8 and how ubiquitous it will be, there will definitetly be a new challenger in the field in 2012.

[patsu]

Verizon Fios TV app bringing 26 channels to Xbox 360
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57...s-to-xbox-360/

Starting in December, Xbox Live Gold members will be able to download a Verizon Fios TV application to their Xbox 360 gaming consoles. Upon doing so, and as long as they're both Verizon TV and Internet subscribers, they'll be able to watch live programming on 26 channels through Verizon's service. Verizon didn't say which channels will be offered, but it did acknowledge that the selection will depend "on the customer's TV package."

Microsoft announced a wide-ranging television agreement last month with a host of service and content providers. At the the time, the software giant said it had inked deals with approximately 50 companies around the world, including NBCUniversal's Bravo network and Time Warner's HBO, to provide their content through the Xbox. The move is part of a broader strategy on Microsoft's part to make the Xbox a key component in the living room, outside of gaming.

To help it achieve that goal, Microsoft is relying heavily upon its Kinect motion-gaming device. In fact, Verizon said today that Kinect owners will be able to control its Fios TV service with "voice and gesture commands" through the peripheral.

To sweeten the pot a bit for Xbox owners, Verizon is offering a special deal that bundles Fios TV service with Verizon Internet and phone service, starting at $89.99 per month. Customers who sign up between now and January 21 will also receive 12 free months of Xbox Live Gold service and a copy of the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary game.

[patsu]

Originally Posted by joker454

It's more because of iOS5. It ran fine on iOS4, version 5 killed performance, same on my wife's iPad 2, her's also runs slower and crashes frequently. I use my phone now more than my iPad just because it's so much faster and more reliable.

I haven't updated my iPad to iOS5. In iOS4, it is already slower than iPhone on the same OS.

I've generally avoided Android because it always felt jerky to me as well, and I've always been able to get apps to crash on it even when just playing with it in the store. Plus the whole Android os just seems confusing to me, I don't really get it. But I did try the Galaxy S2 and it actually seemed smooth, seems like that's the Android phone to get if that's your flavor of os.

Yap, Android UI is confusing. Hopefully the new Android 4 UI framework fix it.

They better be doing something, because from what I'm seeing on Win8 and how ubiquitous it will be, there will definitetly be a new challenger in the field in 2012.

Windows for phone looks great ! The Mango UI is very intuitive.

The beta for Windows 8 PC is painful though. I couldn't even figure out how to quit. I think they have some distance to cover there.

Apple is likely going through growing pain. I expect their developers to help out. e.g., Their iOS5 Notification Center originated from a grassroot effort. I am guessing someone out there will add Siri, Android and Win8 niceness to iOS, and then get acquired by Apple. It's probably one of the easiest ways to make $$$ now for a shareware developer.

[patsu]

Originally Posted by patsu

Harry Potter would be a good example:
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/res...es-spell-25648

Mr. Potter did it again with the help of $9.99

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7829

Following up on two strong weeks of disc sales, the final Harry Potter movie was made very appealing to Black Friday shoppers. The one disc, movie only edition, was offered to deal seekers for the low price of $9.99 at major retailers Best Buy and Amazon. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 charmed 44% of its total disc sales from Blu-ray buyers, with Blu-ray 3D accounting for 4% of all Blu-ray/DVD discs sold.

Super 8 had a phenomenal bow in the home video market as it placed second on the dedicated Blu-ray sales chart. ... Produced with a budget of $50 million, the film ended its theatrical run with a worldwide total of $260 million. The Super Friends were an overwhelming success in their first week of Blu-ray release as they achieved 59% of their total package unit sales from the HD format.

Emerging at No. 3 on the Blu-ray sales chart was The Lion King. Simba and friends ruled the Blu-ray sales chart in their first two weeks of release and received 59% of its total disc sales from Blu-ray buyers in the biggest retail week of the year.

A popular catalog title laid claim to the number four slate on the Blu-ray sales chart. Pulp Fiction is considered a masterpiece by many fans of Quentin Tarantino, who should be very pleased to see his film remain a crowd favorite in 2011.

...

[patsu]

Disc-By-Mail Services May Face Delay Thanks to New USPS Plan
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...USPS_Plan/8252

Blockbuster and Netflix disc-by-mail subscribers may be in for some bad news - movies are going to be getting to you even slower. This isn't something you can blame on Netflix or Blockbuster though. This one goes to the USPS.

...

The proposal would put an end to next-day delivery of First Class mail, instead allowing up to 72 hours for your letter or disc to get to its destination.

I wonder how this will affect other families.

Don't think it's a huge problem for us since we are more concerned about prices and selection (e.g., ET is still not available anywhere except on DVD). We don't sit around waiting for NetFlix mail. We have VoD too.

[patsu]

Limited Time Offer: Music Unlimited 60 Day Premium Free Trial
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/...um-free-trial/

Here’s how to download your free 60 day premium trial now:
* Go to the PlayStation Store and click on Media and Apps
* Click on the Apps Icon
* Download the Music Unlimited 60 Day FREE trial app.
* Go to the Music Icon on the XMB.

[Gradthrawn]

Originally Posted by joker454

They better be doing something, because from what I'm seeing on Win8 and how ubiquitous it will be, there will definitetly be a new challenger in the field in 2012.

Windows 8 looks like an Enterprise Platform (on paper, at least). Very much looking forward to trying it out, and seeing how well integrates with AD, GPs and SCCM.

I also want a freakin Tablet with OneNote, damnit (with full Sharepoint workspace syncing). Am I asking for too much? And while I'm ranting why the hell did MS cancel the Courier?!

Grrrrr......

[patsu]

The Courier's dual screens can be performed by just one regular (Retina Display) tablet with software split screen.

[Gradthrawn]

Originally Posted by patsu

The Courier's dual screens can be performed by just one regular (Retina Display) tablet with software split screen.

Let me see you fold that nice single screen in half.

And I dont want to hear anything about flexible OLED, either.

The screen layout was only part of its appeal to me. Generally speaking, I just liked the approach they were taking with tablets with the Courier proof of concept far more than what current tablets do.

[patsu]

[Let me try on my friend's iPad]

Yeah I was interested in clamshell too. Was more interested in Tablet P than S.

Don't have a strong preference now. If it's a clam shell, I'd want the app to be able to use the entire surface sometimes (instead of presenting it as 2 halves).

EDIT: Is powering 2 screens more consuming than 1 equally big, combined screen ?

[Gradthrawn]

Originally Posted by patsu

[Let me try on my friend's iPad]

Yeah I was interested in clamshell too. Was more interested in Tablet P than S.

Don't have a strong preference now. If it's a clam shell, I'd want the app to be able to use the entire surface sometimes (instead of presenting it as 2 halves).

EDIT: Is powering 2 screens more consuming than 1 equally big, combined screen ?

Interesting, the P had my interest way more than the S initially as well (that has since changed). Now the hardware in both looks dated compared to the soon to be released Transformer Prime, so, I'm going to continue to wait. Especially after being able to play around with a co-workers original TF101. I walked away quite impressed (wouldn't have even considered an Asus for anything other than a MOBO before that).

I would think driving 2 screens individually (even if the display is "extended") would consume more GPU power, if nothing else. Just my guess, though.

[patsu]

Just read a review about Transformer Prime. That does look really good. They also promised Android 4 update. I'll keep a lookout for it next time I visit an electronics store.

[patsu]

Blu-ray Disc Sales Increase 35% in 2011
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7859

Home Media Magazine reports that strong sales of Blu-ray discs for the third quarter of 2011 have driven the expected sales percentage increase over 2010 to 35%. After a sluggish start to 2011, popular Blu-ray titles such as: The Lion King, Cars 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 have enticed disc buyers to choose the superior HD version of the movie over the comparative standard definition.

The new Home Media Magazine article indicates that, "BD disc sales in the United States will reach about 115 million units in 2011, compared with 85 million units in 2010 — spearheaded by the Star Wars: The Complete Saga boxed set release, Jim Bottoms, analyst with Futuresource in London, told Home Media Magazine.

In Europe, BD disc sales will balloon 42% to 63 million units, compared with 44 million units last year — driven by strong adoption in Germany. Global BD disc sales will increase to 234 million units, up 45% from 161 million units in 2010.

Bottoms said that in addition to growing appeal for catalog titles in Blu-ray, consumers are less resistant to purchasing content in HD, despite the higher price compared with DVD."

...

Well, there are also a lot of great BR deals during the holiday season. I bought the Star Wars collection (ep 4 - 6) at a good discount. Some old but good movies are selling for $10 during promo too. Too bad some are still in DVD only (ET ! Come to papa now...).

[patsu]

Forgot to post this a couple of weeks ago...

Intel HDCP Cracked Using $350 Hardware Kit
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Blu...PGA,14105.html

An FPGA development board was used in a man-in-the-middle attack in obtaining and transmitting an encrypted signal from an HDMI port.

...

"In 2010, an HDCP master key, which is intended to form the secret core element of the encryption system, appeared briefly on a website," reads the official press release. "In response, the manufacturer Intel announced that HDCP still represented an effective protection component for digital entertainment, as the production of an HDCP-compatible chip using this master key would be highly complex and expensive."

Seemingly taking that as a challenge, the team accomplished the "inexpensive" man-in-the-middle attack by using Digilent's Atlys Spartan-6 FPGA development board. It features a Xilinx Spartan-6 LX45 FPGA (field programmable gate array) in a 324-pin BGA package, two HDMI video input ports, two HDMI video output ports, a 10/100/1000 Ethernet jack, a RS232 serial port and more.

...

[patsu]

UltraViolet update:
http://www.boston.com/business/techn...h_miffs_users/

Warner Bros. is learning a hard lesson about launching an ill-conceived product in the age of social media.

When the studio introduced its first movies on the new "UltraViolet" format in October, consumers were led to believe they could buy a DVD or Blu-ray, register their ownership of the movie on the UltraViolet website and then receive-- at no extra cost -- a digital version that could play on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.

The studio's aim was to encourage people to purchase movies rather than rent them or subscribe to a streaming service. But UltraViolet didn't work as advertised.

Some users were confused because the process required them to register on the UltraViolet website as well as on another website called Flixster, a movie site owned by Warner Bros. Users had to install special software before they could view movies on their computers. To make matters worse, it didn't work as advertised for owners of Apple's iPhones and iPads.

Within days, befuddled consumers took to Twitter and the Internet to complain. Jarren Wood, an art student from Atlanta, tweeted that he felt "conned" and called UltraViolet "a horrible hoax." Blogger Bryan Darrow tweeted, "Flixster sucks. I want my digital copy."

...

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...let_users.html

UltraViolet, an initiative by Hollywood studios to distribute digital movies independently of Apple's iTunes, has suffered such a backlash from users that Warner Bros. has started placating users with redemption codes for iTunes instead.

End users trying to access digital versions of BluRay or DVD movies via UltraViolet have been overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the system, which doesn't work natively on Apple's iOS devices. Amazon reviews of recent disc releases have been scathing, with more than half of the hundreds of responses complaining about UltraViolet.

Warner Bros. Flixster app for iOS, used to present UltraViolet movies, has been hit with so many complaints that the company has set up a support website to direct users on how to use the system, frequently resorting to giving away iTunes redemption codes to appease angry users unable to play the content they purchased.

...

[patsu]

UltraViolet Titles Keep Coming, With More Details Due at CES
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/dig...-due-ces-25835

In the face of mounting customer criticism about the service, Warner Home Video, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment were hesitant to discuss their experiences so far with the buy once, play anywhere cloud content system.

One studio representative did say the number of users who’ve taken advantage of UltraViolet would be discussed at a Consumer Electronics Show event in January.

Sony (The Smurfs and Friends With Benefits; Dec. 2) and Universal (Cowboys & Aliens; Dec. 6) released their first UltraViolet titles, but just like the first four UltraViolet releases from Warner (Horrible Bosses; Green Lantern; Crazy, Stupid, Love; and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2), accessing the UltraViolet version requires signing up to not only UVVU.com, but also Sony’s and Universal’s own websites.

...

Sony and Universal UltraViolet copies do play on the Warner-owned Flixter.com, but that application must be downloaded to devices in order to view UltraViolet copies.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment and Lionsgate all are part DECE, but haven’t announced any UltraViolet titles yet.

DECE did announce that more details regarding UltraViolet would be released at next month’s CES show in Las Vegas.

“DECE … will provide a progress report on this open, interoperable cloud-based service, as well as insight into what you can expect from UltraViolet in the months ahead,” an invite for the Jan. 10 CES event promises.

...

Many complaints center around the requirement of an Internet connection to currently access UltraViolet.

...

“‘Digital copy’ means I own the video and can do whatever I want with it,” he wrote. “It does not mean I have to create an account with an upstart website and only watch it through their software.”

A Dec. 8 Associated Press article called the UltraViolet launch a “fiasco” and showed “the stark differences between Hollywood and Silicon Valley when it comes to innovation.”

...

Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst with The NPD Group, said UltraViolet needs to come out of CES with several compatible devices, and the studios and hardware companies “unified.”

“UltraViolet is starting from zero,” he said. “I think the issue with it at this point is there’s no consumer awareness or understanding of what the benefits are.”

[Shifty Geezer]

Ouch. It's imperative that UV launches successfullly if we're to have platform independent content, and yet the companies manage to screw it up. Bunch of idiots.