Items tagged with video
When NVIDIA introduced the GeForce GTX Titan a few months back, the company created a huge gap in its single-GPU product line-up. With its GK110 GPU and massive 6GB frame buffer, the GeForce GTX Titan was easily able to outrun the GK104-based GeForce GTX 680 and it hung with the dual-GPU powered GeForce GTX 690 as well. That gap between the GeForce GTX 680 and GTX Titan could have potentially been filled by a scaled down GK110 with a smaller frame buffer, and in fact, one of the first questions we asked of NVIDIA during our briefing on Titan was if a more affordable version of the card was in the works, but company reps were expectedly mum at the time. It’s not like NVIDIA to comment on...
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When NVIDIA introduced the GeForce GTX Titan a few months back, the company created a huge gap in its single-GPU product line-up. With its GK110 GPU and massive 6GB frame buffer, the GeForce GTX Titan was easily able to outrun the GK104-based GeForce GTX 680 and it hung with the dual-GPU powered GeForce GTX 690 as well. That gap between the GeForce GTX 680 and GTX Titan could have potentially been filled by a scaled down GK110 with a smaller frame buffer, and in fact, one of the first questions we asked of NVIDIA during our briefing on Titan was if a more affordable version of the card was in the works, but company reps were expectedly mum at the time. It’s not like NVIDIA...
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Sure, you love video. You love streaming it, and you love storing it. But have you ever stopped to wonder where all of that digital goodness is stored? Seagate is thinking about that, hence the introduction of the industry's first purpose-built 4TB Video HDD. The Seagate Video 3.5 HDD has been built specifically for use in video applications such as digital video recorders (DVRs), set-top boxes (STBs), and surveillance systems. Purpose-built for video solutions, the Video 3.5 HDD can store up to 480 hours of high-definition (HD) content making it the industry’s highest-capacity drive designed specifically for video. Engineered to deliver superior performance and operation in three key areas...
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Ah, the war on conventional television networks rages on. With Netflix scooping up exclusive, Internet-first programs on a regular basis now, Amazon is doing its best to keep pace. After all, it has to give users even more reason to spend $79 on an annual Prime membership, right? This week, Amazon's streaming video service (Prime Instant Video) gained a major asset: exclusive subscription access to some highly sought after NBCUniversal programming. The likes of Defiance, Grimm, Hannibal, Covert Affairs and Suits will soon join Amazon's streaming ranks, and if you want to watch them online, you'll have to use Amazon. No Netflix, no VUDU, no Hulu. Also as a part of the agreement with NBCUniversal,...
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You had to have expected this, right? With YouTube investing millions of dollars to equip producers with the tools necessary to create actual channels on the service that people would bother to subscribe to, Google was simply laying the foundation for YouTube to become something greater than a repository for weird cat videos and low-quality phone uploads. Instead, it wants to hop on the bandwagon that Amazon and Netflix are riding, where online natives are creating top-notch content for mass consumption. Reports are suggesting that Google is planning a video subscription service for YouTube, with around 50 paid channels to be announced this week. Reportedly, the company is: "looking into creating...
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If you're a conventional TV channel, there's no question that Netflix has your attention. In fact, Amazon as well. Streaming video services the world over are stepping their games up, acting as more than just dumb pipes that channel content made elsewhere. In order to bolster their appeal, they're now diving into the art of content creation. Netflix has a hit on its hands with House of Cards, and now it's clear that the company is planning to dive head-first into original productions. Netflix announced this week yet another new series: Orange is the New Black. It's premiering exclusively on Netflix on July 11th. Created by Jenji Kohan ("Weeds"), the comedic drama starring Taylor Schilling is...
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It's earnings season in the technology world yet again, and as usual, Amazon is one of the big guys worth paying attention. As Apple and Samsung rake in billions in net profit, Amazon has yet again shown that it's really not in the business of clearing absurd numbers. It's just in the business of providing low prices, good service and jobs for a lot of people. That's probably an oversimplification, but look at the figures. First quarter sales were up 22% to an astounding $16.07 billion, but the net profit line is but $82 million. That's incredibly low margin, and in fact, the net income is down 37% year over year. But Amazon has never seemed to care much about that. So long as it's in the black,...
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Guess what? No sooner than Google announced that Glass Explorer Edition headsets were in production, it appears that select users have received a set. And this offers up the first glimpse into a world dominated by wearable technology. The $1500 package includes the Glass headset, a micro-USB cable + charger, a pouch and attachable shades. But here's what is really important: the video. This particular user strapped his Glass headset on during a ride at a local Go Kart track. It's one of the cooler ways to debut the technology, and while the resulting footage doesn't look much different than what you'd get if strapping a GoPro atop your helmet, we're excited about where things could go from here....
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The HTC First went on sale this past Friday, to coincide with the availability of Facebook Home, the social networking giant’s launcher that puts Facebook content front and center on some Android devices. We’re hard at work cranking out our full review of the HTC First, but while that’s being worked on, we thought some of you would like to see some video of the phone in action. If you’re unfamiliar with Facebook Home, it essentially replaces a phone’s home screen and app launcher with Facebook content that’s pumped in from your feed, and incorporates a handful of new chat-related, notification, and sharing features. HTC worked closely with Facebook...
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As a technology journalist, I'll be the first to admit it's easy to be cynical in this business. Developers often promise the moon and stars when touting new products, only to fall well short of delivering the goods (Duke Nukem Forever, if you need an example). At the same time, we inevitably take technology for granted, nitpicking devices to death partly because our expectations are so high, but in some cases, it's also because we've simply forgotten what a beautiful age we live in. That's what makes this video of a lovable 90-year-old grandmother so awesome. YouTube user Paul Rivot filmed a video of his grandmother wearing the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset as she excitedly takes in the...
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How’s your download speed? Netflix is already offering some new, bandwidth-hungry streams, and its plans for 4K content streaming will blow the roof off the bandwidth limits for many broadband customers. You can expect a higher broadband price when you go 4K, but the real fun will be in buying a 4K TV. Hopefully, we’ll see 4K TV prices drop a bit by then. How does your ISP stack up in Netflix's streaming rankings? Image credit: Netflix Of course, Netflix isn’t waiting around for 4K to attract new customers. The streaming video service announced new streams (Super HD and 3D) earlier this year. Those streams offer better definition and 3D content, but require between 5 and 12Mbps...
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While legacy fleets are getting older, fees are getting crazier, service is tanking, and prices are soaring -- airlines still have to figure out a way to convince you to fly. Well, those of you who don't have to fly for work, anyway. In recent years, the addition of Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi has become something of a norm, but Southwest is adding something a little extra. The company announced today that movies on demand are now available on all WiFi-equipped Southwest aircraft for only $5 per movie, per device. The airline also announced an upgrade to their television package. In 2012, Southwest became the only airline in the world to stream live television directly to Customers' personal devices....
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In the world of exploding markets, video streaming is high atop the list. Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft -- pretty much every major consumer electronics name is wrapped up in video streaming in some way. And now, even a name that's linked tightly to nightly DVD rentals is venturing into the virtual world after finding success in the physical market. Redbox Instant has been talked about for some time now, but one major point remained unanswered: where would it arrive in terms of the console landscape? This week, Microsoft's own Major Nelson announced that Redbox Instant by Verizon will be coming to the Xbox 360 "in the very near future." And that's the good news. The bad news, unfortunately,...
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Twitter has been evolving fairly rapidly of late, likely because it's moving closer and closer to a legitimate business model with sponsored tweets and the like. This week, the social networking outfit has rolled out several enhancements that make it easier to view photos and videos on Twitter — in particular, on profiles and in search results. Viewers can now see larger photos right on the page; just click a photo from a profile page or in search results to see a larger version of that photo without leaving the page. On the video front, media galleries now include videos from Vine, YouTube, Vimeo, and other partners whose videos appear in expanded Tweets. What’s more, tweet...
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We aren't moving in a direction where the world at large streams less: we're moving towards a world where streaming is the norm. While data caps and pricing tiers have flourished just as data use has started to skyrocket, streaming video remains a dodgy issue. It's obviously vital content, but it also requires massive amounts of data to transmit. The solution? According to the ITU, a new video coding standard. The entity has just issued a release that details H.265, which builds upon the successful H.264 codec used so much already. The ITU proclaims: "The new codec will considerably ease the burden on global networks where, by some estimates, video accounts for more than half of bandwidth use....
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It’s way too early to see if Vine is going to mean long-term success for Twitter, but it’s certainly getting off to an auspicious start. The video service, which lets users embed 6-second videos in their tweets, has already broken into the top 15 apps in the iTunes App Store. On top of that, Vine may have already made enemies with Facebook, as evidenced by an “error” now preventing Vine users from copying their Facebook friends into their Vine directory. Right now, Vine is only available for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see Android versions out soon. After all, Vine is killing it in the iTunes App Store. At the moment (and only a...
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If you think 140-character tweets are restrictive, try a six-second video. After picking up Vine late last year, Twitter decided the time was ripe to launch Vine as an app that complements Twitter’s text-based messages with short, looping videos. “Posts on Vine are about abbreviation – the shortened form of something larger,” writes Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann on Vine’s blog. “They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life. They’re quirky, and we think that’s part of what makes them so special.” If you want to try the Vine app out, you’ll need to do so on an iPhone or iPod Touch, as those...
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These days, you aren't getting much attention in the streaming TV universe if you aren't named Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, or Apple. But Crackle, billed as a "multi-platform entertainment network," is hoping to get a bit of that limelight with a new announcement. In a bid to get onto more devices and in front of more faces, Crackle today announced its application is now available on millions of LG, Samsung and VIZIO Smart TVs, as well as on Samsung Blu-ray players. It was already embedded into Sony's ecosystem, but this obviously widens the playing field significantly. rackle hand-picks Hollywood movies, television and original series to the tastes of its digitally connected audience, focusing on...
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The legions of cord cutters have a lot of options to choose from. There's VUDU, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes -- and that's just the major players. A growing cadre of smaller startups are also coming to light in order to deliver more and more content over an Internet connection versus a traditional pay-TV arrangement, and NimbleTV hopes to be one that rises from that group and up into the mainstream. After launching earlier in the year, it appears that the service is now going live in beta form for select users in NYC. Around 250 or so New York residents were allowed in, and are being given the opportunity to stream cable, satellite or other pay-TV services to just about any...
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Talk about an unfortunate way to spend Christmas Eve. For a great many Netflix engineers, they're up right this moment working to patch up an error that has sent Netflix streams offline for many. Reportedly, there's an outage at Amazon Web Services that's impacting Netflix, leaving many people who are looking to stream some content on a rare night off in the proverbial dark. Netflix's support staff is aware of the issue, and working hard to remedy things. Hopefully, things will be smooth sailing by the time most of the East Coast wakes up for Christmas morning....
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Well, it's time to start mentioning "Amazon" in the same breath as HBO and Netflix. While the company once did little beyond ship a myriad items from random warehouses to customers across the globe, lately it has been dabbling in far more. There's the Kindle line of hardware, of course, but then there's the video service, which is slowly but surely becoming a force in the industry. Now, Amazon's Studio branch has ordered six original comedy pilots for its Prime Instant Video service, which is no small feat. The release states that we'll see an original series created by a mix of Emmy-winning writers, Academy Award nominees, TV stars, as well as newcomers discovered through Amazon Studios' open-door...
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For the past year or so, YouTube has made a pretty concerted effort to act a lot more like a proper TV outlet, and less like an outlet for goofy cat videos. Of course, goofy cat videos will always feel at home on YouTube, but parent company Google is seriously hoping to make it more than that. This week, YouTube expanded on its Guide efforts. When you add subscriptions to your Guide, you organize YouTube around what you like, available whenever you watch YouTube. Now, the company is taking the next step by bringing your subscription-filled Guide with you across both the site and all devices. It's a bold move, and one that makes clear that YouTube is going head-to-head with every other digital...
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