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EchoStar has announced that it is expanding its portfolio of set top boxes powered by the Android operating system. The company has announced the addition of the new hybrid DVD and IP solution called the HDX-410. The set-top boxes designed to receive and deliver EDB and IP content and services around the home.

The device supports networking allowing it to be uses a multi-room solution. The set-top box supports both broadcast and on-demand TV along with smart TV applications. It also offers digital rights management and Miller solutions to protect content and meets European energy efficiency requirements with ultra-low-power consumption.

The HDX-410 uses industry-standard protocols and is able to interact other devices in the home to allow TV operators to extend services from a central gateway to other display devices on the home network. The box offers multiple connectivity options including HDMI, integrated Wi-Fi with 802.11n support, Ethernet, USB 2.0, and S/PDIF for audio output.

The box supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VC-1, and VP8 formats. The operating system on the set-top boxes Android 4.0 with support for Adobe flash. The box also has an integrated WebKit browser. As of now, there is no indication of what cable or satellite companies around the world will be using this Android-powered set-top box. EchoStar does say that it allows the user to pause, record, and rewind live TV with a simple USB hard drive upgrade. The box appears to have no internal hard drive.

EchoStar HDX-410 packs Android 4.0 for monster media (so who needs Google TV?) is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AirPlay Mirroring on the iPhone and iPad is great, but startup Artifex Touch thinks it has a better solution for impromptu presentations, media streaming, group working and more with its AirBridge. A portable wireless adapter that clips to an iOS device and your nearest TV or projector, AirBridge is fresh to Kickstarter and, with the help of a clever companion app, streams video, games, and presentations over WiFi, either to the base station or directly to another iOS device user.

The app automatically searches for other nearby users – it can even create its own peer-to-peer WiFi link – and allows you to drag and drop files onto that user’s face (or into a group dropzone) to share files direct. You can send them the entire file in one go, or stream it to their iPhone or iPad display as a secondary screen, and the viewer can take snapshots of the presentation feed and annotate it. If there’s no WiFi available, it’ll fall back on Bluetooth instead.

Two versions of the hardware are in the works: AirBridge Pro has HDMI, VGA, 3.5mm audio-out and USB 3.0, with a microUSB port for charging its 3hr battery (though 8hrs is the target, if the Kickstarter raises enough). It can record mirrored video – such as an impromptu presentation you broadcast from your iPad – as an MP4 video onto a USB drive plugged into the base station, and streams mirrored video, over WiFi, to up to ten network-connected iOS devices.

The AirBridge Lite slims connectivity down to just HDMI and the 3.5mm audio-out, and supports cordless mirroring but no recording or ten-device streaming. As for the app, that can hook into cloud storage services like Dropbox, Box, and Skydrive, as well as authenticate via Facebook or LinkedIn. Altogether, up to 1080p HD resolution is supported.

Right now, AirBridge is compatible with all three generations of iPad and the iPhone 4/4S; mirroring requires an iPad 2, new iPad, or iPhone 4S. Given Apple is widely expected to switch to a new, smaller port as of the iPhone 5, the AirBridge team have made the docking connector modular.

Production is said to be possible within four months of funding completing – assuming AirBridge gets the ambitious $500,000 the company is looking for – with the round closing on October 20. A $99 pledge gets an AirBridge Lite once production starts; a $125 pledge steps up to the AirBridge Pro.

AirBridge out-streams AirPlay for impromptu iPhone sharing is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

For the most part, PC enthusiasts still imagine Mac computers as closed platforms with hardware that you can’t upgrade. Outside of upgrading RAM, that notion might be true for some Mac computers. However, Mac Pro users do have a few more options for upgrades. NVIDIA has announced a new video card for Mac Pro users that promises very impressive performance called the Quadro K5000.

The new video card is based on the Kepler architecture, which NVIDIA claims is the world’s fastest and most efficient GPU design. NVIDIA says that the K5000 is the most powerful professional-class GPU ever created for Macintosh users and the video card is aimed at designers and digital content creators. The GPU supports Cinema 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160.

The video card has a new display engine that is capable of driving up to four displays at the same time. The Quadro K5000 is equipped with 4 GB of graphic memory promising faster interactivity when using design and content creation applications. NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture promises to allow content creators to run key creation applications up to twice as fast and with lower power requirements than Fermi-based Quadro 4000 video cards for the Mac.

If a single Quadro K5000 isn’t enough power, the design of the video card supports two of the K5000 GPU’s in a single Mac Pro, sort of like SLI support for gamers. The GPU supports OpenGL, OpenCL, and CUDA. How much does all this power cost? The estimated retail price for the video card starts at $2249. Performance certainly has a price.

NVIDIA unveils Quadro K5000 video card for Mac Pro users is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Astronomers and scientists use a variety of different telescopes to investigate the heavens. Typically, when we say telescope many people think about optical telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope that takes photographs that we can look at to get a glimpse at the beauty and massive size of our universe. A lot of scientific discovery is made using radio telescopes and General Dynamics has announced that it has landed a contract to deliver 64 gigantic radio telescope antennas.

The 64 radio antennas will be used in the MeerKAT telescope array to be located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Once in place the radio telescope will be the largest and most powerful in the southern hemisphere. The General Dynamics contract is to deliver the 64 massive antennas, ancillary electronic components, and to provide support for the radio telescope array.

The contract is valued at $75 million. The antennas will have a dish-shaped 13.5-meter main reflector able to provide superior optical performance and reception sensitivity. General Dynamics says that the design of the reflector is ideally suited for radio telescope applications. The design of the main reflector allows the radio telescope to bypass any radio interference from satellites and terrestrial transmitters so astronomers can get a deep look into early galaxies and investigate new areas of science.

The MeerKAT array is a precursor telescope to the Square Kilometer Array and is 25% of the phase 1 scope. The full Square Kilometer Array telescope is expected to be completed in 2024, and MeerKAT is expected to be the largest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere until that completion. The first of the MeerKAT antennas will be installed in late 2013 with all 64 antennas in place by the end of 2016.

General Dynamics to build 64 massive radio telescope antennas is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Airbus has been crafting its plane of the future for some time now, and while earlier visualizations focus on see-through aircraft with shapeshifting seats, the aviation company’s latest ideas have the environment — and passengers’ precious time — in mind. Airbus just unveiled its “Smarter Skies” conceptualization of what air travel will look like in 2050, and all signs point to shorter flights and less energy consumption. For one, the aircraft manufacturer imagines an assisted takeoff, dubbed “eco-climb” mode, where smaller, lighter airplanes would depart from shorter runways and reach cruising altitude faster. Once in the air, planes could pinpoint the most direct route and travel en masse — a la a flock of birds — along “express skyways” to reduce emissions and arrive at their destinations sooner. (That idea’s totally gonna fly, right?) And when it comes time to land, aircraft could descend into airports with engines running in idle, allowing for reduced noise and emissions. Take a look at all five concepts in action in the video below the break.

Continue reading Airbus imagines ‘smarter skies’ by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times

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Airbus imagines ‘smarter skies’ by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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