In 1939, the first Major League Baseball game was broadcast on TV—a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers—at a time when American TV was still very much an experiment. But this broadcast was a long time coming. In fact, years before practical TV tech had even been demonstrated, people were already dreaming about how they’d be able to watch America’s pastime from the comfort of their own homes.
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It sure is good that Microsoft’s Xbox One controller doesn’t have a “Share” button dedicated to pushing live broadcasts of gameplay to the internet, because that functionality is being delayed beyond the console’s November 22nd launch date. Microsoft confirmed as much this morning in a cursory footnote in a larger piece about the Twitch.tv app, which reads, “We are working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community.” It sounds like, as it stands now, broadcasting via Xbox One isn’t up to snuff for release.
“While this feature won’t be available right away, we’ll let you know as soon as it is ready,” the note continues. “Our goal is to deliver it during the first part of 2014.” We’ve yet to use the Xbox One’s broadcasting since first hearing about it during the console’s debut event last May. To be clear, the Twitch.tv app is different from the ability to broadcast gameplay through Twitch.
In addition to the delay news, Microsoft released a video of Twitch.tv’s app in action, which enables viewing of gameplay broadcasts (it’s below the break). Hilariously, this will allow Xbox One players to watch live gameplay from other game platforms, just not the one they’re using. Womp womp.
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft
Source: Xbox Wire
The CRTC is eager to shake the cobwebs from Canada’s TV regulations, many of which got their start before cable arrived, let alone Netflix or YouTube. Accordingly, it’s planning a round of consultations in the fall that will ask both the public and the industry what rules they want to change. Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais expects the discussion to center around the CRTC’s approach to internet content — some of the old licensing restrictions might not apply when it’s easier to both publish and watch online video. The agency isn’t likely to create a utopia full of cord cutting and à la carte TV subscriptions, but its recent attempts at fixing a broken cellular market give us hope that at least a few broadcasting policies could change for the better.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: The Globe and Mail
Source: CRTC
In addition to announcing pricing for its 55- and 65-inch 4K TVs at its NAB press event, Sony unveiled updates to its Anycast studio-in-a-box. Sony has been offering its live broadcasting all-in-one for quite some time, but the Anycast Touch (AWS-750) unveiled today features several updates, including sliding dual touch displays. (The product looks more like a beefed-up Duo 11 than a bulky suitcase, which can’t be said about earlier models from the Anycast line.) A tilt-screen function lets you split audio- and video-editing functions between the two panels, and you’ll be able to bring up video sources just by tapping their thumbnails on-screen.
Aside from the new touchscreen design, the Anycast Touch offers all the A/V essentials: a video switcher, audio mixer, a special effects generator, an encoder and a scale converter. Video output tops out at 1080p with 10-bit processing, though other specs, such as display size, are TBA. Sony hasn’t discussed pricing yet, but it did reveal that the Anycast Touch will go on sale in September — we imagine additional details will surface before that far-off date.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Sony
Last November, BitTorrent put out a call to all “qualified broadcasters,” seeking to build out a solid based for Live, its new P2P streaming protocol. Now, just four months later, the company’s opening the beta service up to all users, giving a real-time platform to anyone with a webcam, a pulse and a broadcasting dream. The live streaming service works mainly the same way traditional BitTorrent does, utilizing BitTorrent clients throughout its user base to deliver a more solid and “resilient… stream.” Effectively, the more people sign up for BitTorrent’s virtual soapbox, the better quality your broadcast will be. So, if you’ve got a decent internet connection and a burning urge to express yourself, hit up the source and start sharing live.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: The Next Web
The BBC has decided it can do without a HD channel just to showcase its gorgeous nature documentaries. As such, it’s turning BBC HD into a high-definition simulcast of BBC Two, starting March 26th. As it’s already been doing that job for a while now, it’s hardly surprising — but does make us wonder where HD shows from BBC Three and Four will be housed in the future. The corporation did tell us that it’s evaluating adding more HD channels, but we don’t imagine that’ll be happening in the near future. BBC Two HD will remain on the same channel as BBC HD, Sky: 169, Virgin: 187, Freesat: 109, Freeview: 102 — so you don’t need to rescan your box to keep watching Eggheads.
BBC Two HD Channel to launch 26 March
The BBC today announces it will launch BBC Two HD at 6am on Tuesday 26 March. BBC Two HD will be available on Sky HD (169), Freeview HD/YouView (102), Virgin Media (187), Freesat HD (109) and BT Vision (852).
The announcement follows the successful launch of BBC One HD on 3 November 2010.
BBC Two HD will replace the existing BBC HD Channel and will be available subscription-free on all digital television platforms offering HD channels.
Janice Hadlow, Controller of BBC Two, says: “BBC One HD has already proved to be highly valued by our audiences and I’m delighted that we’re able to follow this with the launch of BBC Two in HD. The launch of BBC Two HD will allow us to showcase more of our programmes at their very best – helping to highlight our commitment to high quality, engaging and ambitious programmes on BBC Two.”
The BBC Two HD channel will be a simulcast network version of the BBC Two schedule with a raft of new programmes available in HD for the first time including Paul Hollywood – Bread, The Fall, Science Britannica and Keeping Britain Alive. Old favourites such as Mock The Week, QI and Springwatch will also remain at the heart of the channel’s offer.
Filed under: HD
Source: Lauren Gildersleve (Twitter)
If you’d wanted to watch Aereo’s unique antenna-to-internet TV streaming until today, you had to tune in from an iOS device or Roku box. That’s not a lot of choice for placeshifting, is it? A fresh update to the company’s streaming service has widened the choices considerably for New Yorkers to include all the major browsers on Macs and Windows PCs. As long as you’re using a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera or Safari, you can catch up on Ion or Telemundo while you’re checking email. About the only restrictions left are the continued lack of Android support and occasional lawsuits from traditionalist broadcasters.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Aereo opens its streaming TV to Mac and Windows web browsers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We usually associate smartphones in news reporting with citizen journalism, not full-time journalists. However, a confluence of events has just led to the BBC’s Nick Garnett becoming a pioneer for mobile broadcasting on the professional level. When a shortage of satellite trucks prevented Garnett from getting the usual video feed for the BBC News Channel, he successfully arranged the British network’s first live video interview piped through a smartphone. The key, Garnett says, was Dejero’s Live+ iPhone app: while live streaming apps are already commonplace, Dejero’s let him merge the 3G and WiFi connections together, getting enough bandwidth to make a TV-worthy broadcast in a country where LTE is still very new. Combined with some very ad hoc staging and help from the BBC’s technical teams, the coordination resulted in a surprisingly smooth interview about flooding in northeastern England with relatively few hints of the extra-tiny recording equipment involved. It’s unlikely that broadcast crews will reach to their pockets for live coverage solutions before anything else, but the BBC is actively testing Dejero and other apps that could make smartphones as much a part of the field reporting arsenal as a camcorder and an eye for a good story. As we can’t embed the clip, check the source link to see it for yourself.
Update: We’ve now managed to embed the clip after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Alt
BBC News Channel conducts live video interview over smartphone, goes where satellites can’t (update with video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We’ve seen plenty of 4K cameras, and we’ve even heard a whisper or two about 8K, but the quality of a viewing experience isn’t tied only to resolution — frame rate also comes into play, especially with fast-moving subjects. NHK’s prototype Super Hi-Vision camera doubles the capture rate from the standard 60Hz to a much speedier 120Hz, yielding sharper motion. While the difference isn’t noticeable with static or slow-moving scenes, it certainly comes into play when filming rapid-motion sporting events or panning the camera. The Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s latest model was on hand at IBC in Amsterdam, and the advantages of a 120Hz cam were immediately crystal clear.
Filming a rotating image that paired ordinary objects and cityscapes with letters and numbers, you could see the difference instantly, with the 120Hz image on the right side yielding far shaper details, while the left side was often a blurry mess. There’s no software smoothing on hand here — because the higher frequency comes directly from the source, it appears perfectly natural, and much more pleasant. We captured a video demonstrating the expo floor rig, but because our camera doesn’t sport the same spec, you won’t notice a difference in the hands-on clip after the break. You can see the difference in our stills gallery below, however, and you can take us on our word — the improvement is quite dramatic.
Gallery: NHK 120Hz 4K camera eyes-on
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
NHK 8K Super Hi-Vision camera captures native 120Hz footage, we go eyes-on at IBC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, that’s a mouthful of a headline. Going a bit more in-depth, a new professional solution from Sony allows broadcasters to capture side-by-side 4K video at, say, a sporting event, then use a standard camera zoom device to select small portions of each feed for 720p or 1080i output. On the receiving end, you’ll see a live image that looks indistinguishable from something you’d capture with a moving camera, with a few extra benefits to boot. Sony demonstrated the system using feeds from an F65 4K camera earlier this year at NAB, but was only able to present a simulation at that point, with pre-recorded output cropped from larger-format footage.
Now, as we saw today at IBC in Amsterdam, the technique works in realtime, so an adjustable smaller portion of the video is pumped out seamlessly and instantaneously. The 4K video can also be recorded at full resolution simultaneously, letting you change the framing long after an event takes place. Sony only had the demo configured to pull live video from the left portion of the feed, but eventually the entire capture will be enabled, giving producers access to an entire football field, as you’ll see in the hands-on video after the break. We wouldn’t expect this solution to replace human camera operators anytime soon, but it’s certainly a viable method for adding angles and placing a bit more control in the hands of production teams, even after the fact.
Gallery: Sony 4K Stitch hands-on
Filed under: Cameras, Displays, HD
Sony Stitch merges footage from two 4K F65 cameras to create zoomable panoramic with HD output (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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