Hope you weren’t enjoying watching YouTube on the television screen via Popcorn Hour and other set-top boxes, as they have been given notice by the newly 1080p and network TV-friendly website that they are no longer welcome to access its content. The newHulu-ish Terms of Service (section II, item 10) restricts API clients from the ability to “use the YouTube API in connection with any API Client created for use on television set top boxes, television game consoles, or video screens packaged and marketed as television sets;” according to Popcorn Hour COO Alex Limberis this applies to all with the exception of “a few strategic partner’s Google has singled out” — PlayStation 3, Wii, TiVo, Panasonic, Samsung and other licensed hardware is safe.
Update: After speaking with Alex we’ve got a better view of the situation — as is clear from the TOS, manufacturers streaming directly via the API as Popcorn Hour did are no longer welcome without cutting a seven figure check to license access. Google did offer to allow continued access via its YouTube XL interface, but for devices like theirs not built around Flash, that possible solution proved to be technologically unfeasible. Obviously these changes apply to all, but as of yet we’re not aware of anyone other than Popcorn Hour that has been contacted directly about it.
Updatev2: After the break is Google’s response, stating Popcorn Hour and the like have been in violation of the above TOS for over a year, from its perspective, this is a simple matter of defending its rights from “video scraping technology.” As we mentioned above that means most are in no danger of losing access, but fans of these media streamers will have to live without it, until either YouTube can control the experience or the manufacturer pays up.
Can something manage to be both an iPod dock and a photo frame yet still manage to look like neither? It can if it’s Panasonic’s new MW-10 “multimedia audio system photo frame,” which looks more like a shrunken down LCD TV than anything else. If that suits your decor, however, it looks like you’ll get quite a bit from this little package, including a 9-inch WVGA display, 4GB of internal memory, an SD card slot, an FM tuner, some puported “audiophile-quality sound,” and even a built-in CD player to complement the iPod dock ’round back. Look or this one to hit US retailers sometime in December for $299.95 — or if that’s too long to wait, you can pick one up in Japan right now, where it launched last month.
When two of Japan’s largest mobile carriers conspire to release nearly 40 phones in the span of 24 hours, editors covering the story are sure to lose hair and a solid year of lifespan — but for consumers in the local market, it’s nothing but good news. Here are some of the highlights from NTT DoCoMo:
Fujtsu F-02B: Described as a “jewelry quality” phone with a snap-on perfume holder for “an air of elegance.”
LG L-03B: Has support for Korean, Japanese, and English for frequent travelers (in other words, English speakers, if you find yourself on this archipelago and you don’t speak a lick of the local tongue, seek out this phone).
Sharp SH-04B: Designed to look like a melting chocolate bar by food-themed wardrobe accessory maker Q-Pot — for some reason we don’t fully comprehend.
Fujitsu F-04B: Realizing the concept shown off at CEATEC last year, this one features a removable keyboard that operates via Bluetooth and a 12.1 megapixel camera.
Panasonic P-01B: This flip looks like pretty much every other in the lineup, but its got a secret — the keypad doubles as a touchpad. Clever.
Samsung SC-01B: Samsung’s Windows Mobile 6.5-powered entry here appears to be a remix of the B7330 sold globally, which makes it about 1,000 times weaker than every other phone in the lineup.
And from Softbank:
Sharp AQUOS Mobile FULLTOUCH 941SH: All we need to say about this one is “4-inch 1024 x 480 display,” which, as you might be able to imagine, is a world’s first.
Sharp AQUOS Mobile 943SH: Dual one-seg tuners let you watch one program and record another, and a mention of transferring Blu-ray content has us thinking that Managed Copy is along for the ride.
Toshiba dynapocket X02T: Remember how NTT DoCoMo had previously gotten the TG01 as the T01A? Yeah, well, now it’s Softbank’s turn — and this time, it’s called the X02A. Not much more to it than that.
Samsung X01SC: This looks to be a localized version of AT&T’s Samsung Jack, of all phones, meaning that it’s a Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard phone (no touchscreen) with a QVGA display and portrait QWERTY keyboard.
Sharp 942SH KT: No lineup would be complete without the obligatory Hello Kitty marketing tie-in, and the 942SH KT does the honors this time around with a black shell featuring stylized pink text and graphics.
Samsung OMNIA VISION 940SC: Samsung’s now-famous OMNIA brand comes to Softbank on the wings of a 3.5-inch AMOLED display, one-seg tuner, and kickstand for desktop viewing.
Sharp Jelly Beans 840SH: We don’t think you’d want to try eating it, but the 840SH comes in seven colors — hence the name, we think.
Android: The simply-named Android runs — you guessed it — Android with a 3.7 inch AMOLED display and 1GHz Snapdragon processor; unfortunately, it won’t be available until next Spring and the manufacturer isn’t being revealed right now.
Both companies are also adding wireless digital photo frames to the lineup, and in Softbank’s case, a pair of data modems with support for 7.2Mbps on the downlink. We’ll admit — we didn’t think we’d live to see the day when Canada had three live networks with data rates trouncing Japan’s.
Read – Softbank Winter ’09 / Spring ’10 collection Read – NTT DoCoMo’s new series
The Olympus E-P1 (shown above) is part of a new breed of cameras called Micro Four Thirds: they promise D-SLR-quality images and the blazing focusing speeds of D-SLR cameras, at half the size of D-SLRs. The E-P1 delivered on all points except fast focusing speeds. Olympus tried to improve things with a firmware update, but it didn’t helpshown .
Here’s a news flash: Cell-phone cameras be damned, because a significant segment of the population is actually prioritizing sharp, well-exposed images over ultimate convenience. Since the introduction of the first Canon Digital Rebel in 2003, this quality-conscious segment has been turning to interchangeable-lens digital SLRs (DSLRs) to take the best possible photos.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, we saw a similar movement, as more and more consumers purchased film SLRs. However, as small auto-everything 35mm point-and-shoot cameras began to be able to create SLR-like images, SLR sales dwindled. We’re on the precipice of the same thing happening in the digital world. Consumer DSLRs are going down.
Now wait one second before you start on the whole “I’m not wearing any stupid looking glasses,” because no matter what you say, there are more people paying extra to go 3D movies than ever and the reason is simple; it’s because this isn’t like the crappy 3D you saw during the Super Bowl last year — or that our parents grew up with. No, the 3D that Sony, Panasonic, and others are promising next year is like nothing you’ve seen. We’ve come a long way since the old anaglyph red and blue glasses that come in cereal boxes, so before you knock the new technology before it’s even out, click through and read about the technologies that might bring us a real 3D revolution.
The plasma may be a dying breed, but the ones that are left are undoubtedly some of the best the world has ever seen. Take Panasonic‘s 54-inch TC-P54Z1 for example, which wowed audiences (us included) when it was first unveiled way back at CES. The HD Guru recently had an opportunity to take this very screen into his abode for review, and after a labor-intensive (around “one hour”) setup process, the gazing was officially on. Panny’s engineers were able to slim the set down to an inch by requiring that a dedicated (wireless) set-top-box be used for tuning OTA channels and managing connections, and the result was nothing less than elegant. If you’re wondering what north of five large really buys in an HDTV these days, wonder no more — the set was deemed darn near perfect, with “outstanding” color, contrast and deep black levels. Potentially best of all, there were no motion artifacts to speak of, and anyone with a 120Hz / 240Hz set can testify to just how annoying those things are. Hit the read link for a detailed unboxing, setup and review, but don’t even bother if you’re looking for someone to talk you out of what you’re about to do.
There are four Micro Four Thirds cameras on the market right now. That’s it. But with Panasonic’s GF1, investing in the mini genre makes more sense than ever—if you know what you’re getting into.
What the &*^@ is Micro Four Thirds?
Olympus and Panasonic co-developed what’s called the Micro Four Thirds standard just last year. The biggest difference to the eye is the smaller-than-SLR lens mount that incompatible with SLRs unless you deploy an adapter. Internally, the standard ditches the mirrors used in SLRs and uses a four thirds CMOS (not micro four thirds chip!) to capture the image straight from the lens (just like a point and shoot). That sensor is roughly 30% smaller than that found in your average dSLR but 9 times bigger than what’s in your average point and shoot. The result is a camera ever so slightly smaller than a dSLR that should give you a similar end image quality.
The end camera is just a tad smaller than a baseline dSLR: But it’s still way bigger than your average point and shoot:
The big not-so-secret
There are only four products on the market at this point (Panasonic G1, its video-centric brother, the GH1, Olympus E-P1 and, of course, the Panasonic GF1), and they all have the exact same 13MP Panasonic sensor. But only the latest two, the GF1 and the E-P1, have taken advantage of the smaller technology to create design-forward cameras.
The spoiler
However, if you’re going to buy one of these cameras, you probably want the GF1 ($900 with 14-45mm lens). It couples all the good stuff from Panasonic’s existing line with a retro body that’s eerily similar to the Olympus E-P1.
The build
The GF1 is too big, and it’s too heavy. The Panasonic GF1 is indeed smaller than my Canon XTi, but it still won’t fit in your pocket.
Yet I love carrying it around. Why? The body feels solid, as if it’s from another era, a Utopian time when men were men and companies built hardware to last—before we valued sissy silver painted plastic more than the metal it was emulating.
The GF1 (and the Olympus E-P1 for that matter) feels like a small tank in your hands, an element of war that won’t give up after being tossed in a bag recklessly. If dropped on an iPod from over 3 feet, the iPod would certainly be crushed. There are neither too many buttons nor too few. A familiar circle rotates between shooting modes naturally and burst and timer modes share a switch right in front of it. A d-pad toggles functions like ISO while a clever clicking dial allows you to adjust shutter speed and f-stops. A few buttons earn their very own functions, like focusing mode, exposure lock and, maybe most cleverly, video. Hitting this little button to the right of the shutter release switches you to video no matter what mode you’re in.
Given the almost retro-style build, however, it was tough for me to lose an optical viewfinder (though a digital optical add-on is available). It’s a heavy camera to hold outstretched while framing shots on the viewfinder. But luckily, the 3-inch LCD’s 460,000 pixels mean you can just manage to find critical focus, thanks to the screen auto-zooming to your subject during manual focusing, though it can be tough to be sure you’ve really nailed it.
That screen resolution is below a premium dSLR, but it’s about twice as sharp as the E-P1—and you’ll notice. And then there’s the flash. Unlike the E-P1, the GF1 has one of these bad boys, and Panasonic has celebrated that fact by designing what must be the most complicatedly mechanical flash on the market. Watching it snap from the camera body is both impressive and worrisome. Can these little struts really hold up? Regardless, it’s handy to have, even though a perk of buying such a big, expensive camera is avoiding flash photography.
Honestly, there’s not much we can say about the quality of the GF1’s sensor that hasn’t been said (by us, even.) The biggest particular problem is ISO noise, as you can see in the gallery below. Bottom line: the GF1 supports ISOs up to 3200, but you probably don’t want to reach beyond 800. However, with that disclosure out of the way, I’d like to make a few points.
1. Shooting on the GF1 feels like shooting on an SLR. I’m not just talking about the ease of tweaking advanced controls. I mean, you pull the trigger, the camera takes a shot RIGHT THEN. For dSLR owners, that’s nothing new. For P&S owners, that’s a revelation.
2. There is undoubtedly more noise with Panasonic’s sensor in high ISOs than you could find in dSLRs for a similar price. But, the image quality you can achieve—I mean that intangible mix of sensor size and great glass that makes your photos feel professional—is undoubtedly beyond the realm of point and shoots, well in the SLR ballpark.
The BEST shot I was able to recreate of that watch above on my Canon P&S? Needless to say, pretty gross stuff.
3. The Live View system features what’s, hands down, the best function I’ve ever see on any Live View system yet. Holding a Shutter Mode Effect button previews the motion blur you can expect in your final shot—saving you the heartache of the perfect preview and horrible blurry-faced end product we’ve all experience on point and shoots. The only catch? The system didn’t work well in daylight, when you might want to use Live View to preview sports motion blur. Note that this car didn’t blur at all in my preview, nor did about 20 similar test shots I took in identical conditions. However, low light tests worked fine. The 720P video I’d describe as solid but not extraordinary. The AVCHD (or motion JPEG) video, while inherently better than P&S systems or Mino HDs, is not razor sharp. Without side by side comparisons or the wonderful popping colors you get with a bit of sunlight (it rained through my entire testing period), I can’t make any definitive statements. But what I’ve seen from the T1i seems better (richer colors, sharper figures), and not just because it’s 1080P.
Versus the EP-1
There are definitely a few key advantages to buying a GF1 instead of Olympus’ E-P1. They include: • Sharper screen • Faster autofocus (I’d estimate about 3x faster—it’s noticeable) • Built-in flash (the Olympus requires an optional mount)
But it should be noted, the E-P1 has its image stabilization inside its body while Panasonic relies on its IS kit lens. In other words, every lens the Olympus uses will have inherent image stabilization. Also, Olympus allows autofocusing on all Micro Four Thirds and Four Thirds lenses. The GF1 can accept these lenses, but it only retains autofocus on its own brand. So lens fanatics may find the E-P1 the better bet. And if you find one or the other on some super sale, well, it’s a toss-up.
Confession
The real reason I enjoyed shooting on the GF1, and the real reason you’re interested in Micro Four Thirds if you are indeed interested, has nothing to do with practicality.
I just feel cool using it. I like walking around Chicago with the GF1 on my shoulder. It gives me that feeling of Leica superiority without the expense. The Micro Four Thirds system may have originated in Japan, but the romance of shooting on the latest systems is purely European. For the first time in a long time, a piece of electronics has made me long for an era and a place that I never knew.
Every soccer mom tourist in Chicago has a dSLR. They may take prettier photos than I do, but damn do I long to be different once in a while. And I’m here to say that, if you crave a Micro Four Thirds for the same reason, it’s my opinion that the GF1 works well enough that, well, that’s OK. I’m just not trading my dSLR for one.
Keeping those dreams alive by scrubbing dishes at your least favorite eatery? Best put those aspirations on the front burner, as Panasonic‘s got a mighty fine robot swooping in to take your place — and for a whole lot less cash, to boot. At Panny’s robotics laboratory in Osaka, the company recently showcased its latest gaggle of prototype robots designed to help humans take it easy more often. Among the usual suspects were a porter robot designed to help with heavy lifting, while the star of the show was undoubtedly the dish washing bot that wasn’t afraid to get its metallic digits wet and soapy. As expected, an array of integrated sensors kept it from grabbing a wine glass too tightly, and its four fingers enabled it to do most everything a human washer could (sans the kvetching). Have a peek at these guys in action just past the break.
The typical Micro Four Thirds review seems to come down to a matter of tradeoffs — size and convenience for a bit of a drop from the image quality and performance of a real DSLR. The GF1 doesn’t break that trend, but it has some pretty nice things to offer for the inquisitive interchangeable lens shopper. The most notable feature when put up against its direct competition, the E-P1, is the GF1’s built-in pop-up flash, and the primary drawback of both of these cams versus their regular Micro Four Thirds counterparts is the lack of an eye-level viewfinder, though the GF1 does offer a pricey hot-shoe mounted approximation. As for images PhotographyBLOG says the camera gets “almost everything right,” and video doesn’t look bad neither — a couple samples are after the break. The camera is no ultra-compact, but it seems another good proof for the existence of Micro Four Thirds as a DSLR alternative.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Alex Limberis, YouTube TOS | Email this | Comments
Incredibly solid build
Video is good, not great
Same CMOS found in earlier version/competition
