End of an Era: Pirate Bay Tracker Shuts Down

Do you know how BitTorrent works? I mean, really know the technology behind it? Even if you’re not all too familiar with it, you probably know that it requires a tracker – a computer that coordinates the distribution of a file within the network.

But the trick is, it doesn’t – not anymore. Two technologies called DHT and PEX enable trackerless BitTorrent; in the simplest of terms, the BitTorrent technology has evolved to the point where trackers are no longer necessary for operation. Thus, the folks over at The Pirate Bay have decided to permanently shut down the Pirate Bay tracker.

Read full article in Mashable.

Orange strikes Twitter TV deal

According to The Guardian, European Twitter users will soon be able to tweet to each other via their TV sets while watching entertainment and sports shows, after Orange struck a deal to integrate the service into its mobile and television offerings.

Under the deal, Orange is aiming to integrate Twitter into football coverage, news, entertainment shows and films.

Orange said that Twitter services would be rolled out in the UK first, to be followed by France, Spain and Poland later this year. The service will be rolled out in other European markets next year.

Read full article.

facial recognition technology helps tvs save power

New facial recognition technology from Hitachi automatically detects when you’re actually watching your television, then shuts the display off whenever you’re not looking, to save energy.

[engadget via Technabob]

Cablevision to Launch Clickable TV Ads

Cablevision announced today that it will begin rolling out interactive TV ads, allowing viewers to use their remotes to “click” on a commercial in order to get more information.

[via NewTeeVee]

TV remote control ‘allows you to switch channels with flick of the wrist’

A television remote, the UWand, that allows viewers to switch channels with flick of the wrist has been developed using technology similar to Nintendo’s Wii game controller. The Telegraph reports.

It allows users to adjust the volume, change the channel or any other function on a television.

While sitting on a sofa, consumers simply point the uWand in the appropriate direction, click to make selections and move it to interact with screen menus, and manipulate objects such as photos.

Using technology similar to the popular Wii games, the uWand uses infra-red technology that controls a cursor that then scrolls through menus or helps change the volume.

Clicking on a channel will help change it, while pointing the contraption to the right or left will adjust various settings.

A small inbuilt camera allows it to be connected with two small beacons either built into the television or on a detachable bar beneath it.

Read full article.

Related innovative remotes:

-- Turning the TV on with your voice

-- Clapping your hands to control your remote

-- Touchless Remote Control

-- The New TV Remote: Your Bare Hand?

-- You Face as a Remote Control

-- Twist and Squeeze Remote Control

-- Remote responds to voice commands

-- Gestures Control Hitachi TV

IBM files patent for a TV Remote That Tweets

IBM is apparently working on technology that would enable you to blog or tweet straight from the remote control of your TV. The company has filed a patent for said technology, reports BaltTech via TechCrunch.

Verizon turning cell phones into TV remotes

Verizon Communications is getting ready to launch a new feature that allows its Fios TV customers to interact with their sets using their Verizon Wireless cell phones, according to a story published by Dow Jones News service, reports CNet.

The handset remote control application will only work with Wi-Fi enabled handsets and will use a Wi-Fi network instead of the Verizon cellular network to access the Fios service. Wi-Fi is only available on a select handsets from Verizon Wireless.

New service tracks online interest in TV shows

Web site creation service Wetpaint has launched a measurement system that tracks fan interest in popular TV shows, reports Reuters.

Billed as the first measurement tool of its kind, TV Fandex tracks the level of "fan engagement" of popular programs on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Webpaint's own network of 1.5 million user-created fan sites.

... There are existing ways to measure a brand's online popularity, including BuzzMetrics from Nielsen, the parent company of The Hollywood Reporter. Fandex is billed as the first system built specifically around providing an apples-to-apples comparison of TV series interest among social media networks.

Hide My Ass gets around region-restricted videos

Hide My Ass, another proxy and privacy tool to surf the Web anonymously, or in other words, watch Weeds and other favorite TV shows on YouTube even if you live outside the US.

Unlike HotSpot Shield, there is no client application to download, just type in a URL.

Related: - How to Watch Hulu Around the World

Motion-Activated Theater Seats for launch of new "Terminator"

Today, May 21, moviegoers at the Theatres at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. will feel like they are living the action on the screen as they view the new feature film “Terminator Salvation” from their own motion-activated seat.

Mall of America will be the first theater in the state and the fourth in the nation to feature this thrilling new dimension in movie viewing.

Moviegoers will encounter gripping explosions and suspenseful fight scenes as each seat moves “in perfect sync” with the onscreen action; creating an unmatched immersive experience.

[Press release via CoolestGadgets]

New DVD technology packs 2,000 movies on one disc

Scientists unveiled new DVD technology on Wednesday that stores data in five dimensions, making it possible to pack more than 2,000 movies onto a single disc. [via Physorg.com]

A team of researchers at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, used nanotechnology to boost the storage potential nearly 10,000-fold compared to standard DVDs, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

How to Watch Hulu Around the World

For all sorts of complicated legal and contractual reasons, Hulu is not officially available to users outside of the United States. Hulu detects your foreign IP adress when you connect to their website and blocks access to content. A message pops us with "Sorry, currently our video library can only be streamed from within the United States".

But according to GigaOM a free VPN service called Hotspot Shield (HSS) allows you to change your IP adress to an American one, fooling Hulu.

How does it work? Well, VPN stands for “virtual private network,” so when Hotspot Shield is turned on your web connection is encrypted. More importantly, it also replaces your IP address with one from Hotspot Shield, which is based in the U.S. The idea is to protect your browsing from online snoops, but this little side effect means that as far as Hulu knows, you’re as American as apple pie.

All you have to do is download the client, which works for both PCs and Macs, and you’re ready to go. It’s a lot less complicated and appears much more reliable than relying on proxy servers.

I've just tried it. It works for Hulu, but I'm unable to watch TV shows on ABC, I get the usual message: "Only viewers within the United States can watch these full length episodes". I tried disconnecting and reconnecting HotSpot Shield, but it still sees my connection as from outside the US. However it works for NBC TV shows, I can watch.

I have a feeling this is a good thing that's not going to last as soon as NBC and Hulu figure out how ABC sees through HSS.

Internet users 'could suffer brownouts due to YouTube and iPlayer'

Internet users will endure slower and less reliable connections from next year as websites such as YouTube and the BBC's iPlayer cause online traffic to double, experts warn, writes The Telegraph.

Computers will freeze and drop offline with increasing regularity as the web's outdated infrastructure struggles to cope with the surging popularity of bandwidth-hungry video sites, it is claimed.

Analysts are warning that the internet will cease to function as an effective tool of communication – becoming merely an "unreliable toy" for casual users – unless networks are upgraded.

Related:

-- The Exaflood - Technology experts are calling it the exaflood, a massive wave of new video and other bandwith intensive traffic headed for the web. Watch excerpts from a video on the Internet Innovation Alliance website on the Exaflood.

-- Video, interactivity could nab Web users by '10 - The Web will start to seem pokey as early as 2010, as use of interactive and video-intensive services overwhelms local cable, phone and wireless Internet providers.

-- Demand for video reshaping Internet - In 1995, the first warning was raised: The throngs of people swarming to the Internet would overwhelm the system in 1996. For more than a decade, that fear has proven untrue.

-- Interesting: 'Poor man's broadband (PMB). Students to download big files faster by avoiding the internet - It's not often that you get to go faster by avoiding the superhighway, but soon students in Pakistan will be able to download big files faster by avoiding the internet.

The New TV Remote: Your Bare Hand?

CBS News reports on the TV remote control of the future: Your hands.

At least one major TV manufacturer has been actively looking at how to bring a remote-less TV into the mainstream. Hitachi approached Silicon Valley-based GestureTek about using its software with a depth camera to track movement and translate it into onscreen commands. It's still just a prototype, but Hitachi demonstrated it at Ceatec last year and at CES in January.

Read full article.

Internet up to 60 times faster

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Australians will be able to download high definition feature films in eight minutes when the national broadband network is built, according to a leading supplier of the technology.

The $43 billion fibre-to-the-premises network will run underground cables of glass fibres the width of a human hair to almost every home and business in the country.

The network will deliver households internet speeds of up to 100 megabits (or 12.5 megabytes) per second, up to 100 times faster than many services on offer now.

Read full article.

Apple turns on Genius sidebar for movies/TV

iTunes' Genius sidebar feature now works with TV shows and movies in addition to music. The feature will be able to provide you with video recommendations based on what other customers have bought, assuming it has enough data to work from.

Like the Genius sidebar for music, Genius sidebar for TV and movies makes recommendations on what you should watch based on what you have already bought.

[via ars technica]

Convert YouTube Videos to MP3s

Want to hear your YouTube favorites offline? Free Web service Video 2 MP3 converts them into MP3s for easy downloading. The Washington Post reports.

Just copy and paste the URL from the video's YouTube page and click Convert. Then be prepared to wait a few minutes.

New TV allows you to pay for movies

Sony's new liquid crystal display televisions will have an electronic money function to make it easier for users to pay to watch movies and programmes, the company said on Monday. IOL reports.

Sony's Bravia W5 and F5 series will be equipped with electronic money card readers for pay-per-viewing via an Internet link, the technology giant said.

Electronic money is already widely used in Japan, such as through credits held in mobile telephone "wallets" or on top-up commuter passes.

"With the new function of electronic money, pay-per-view programmes can be more user-friendly than before when credit card numbers were entered by pushing the keys of the remote control," a Sony spokesperson said.

TV sets as contact lenses powered by body heat

According to the Daily Mail, a recent report published by The : Future : Laboratory consultant group claims that the constant miniaturisation of technology will lead to TV sets being shrunk to the size of contact lenses and powered by body heat.

Channels could be changed by voice commands or a wave of the hand, says a report on the future of home entertainment.

Ian Pearson, a 'futurologist' who advises companies on new technologies, said of the TV contact lens: 'You will just pop it into your eye in the morning and take it out at the end of the day.'

Digital tattoos, meanwhile, will pick up on the emotions portrayed by actors in TV shows and create impulses allowing us to feel the same emotions.

The report said that while the predictions may sound like pie in the sky, most of the know-how already exists.

[via Switched]

While in Korea download a 120-minute film in just 12 seconds!

Korea is to acquire the world's fastest wired and wireless Internet service at 10 times the speed of the current service by 2012, reports Fareastgizmo.

The government and the communications industry plan to invest some W34 trillion over the next five years in the project. The Korea Communications Commission finalized plans for Internet services at an average speed of 1 Gbps through fixed lines and 10 Mbps through wireless. One Gbps allows users to download a 120-minute film in just 12 seconds.

Screen Time Manager - turn off the TV automatically and spoil everyone’s fun

From favorite and always witty Red Ferret:

This Screen Time Manager is designed to bring out the dominator in all of us. Especially parents and extended family. Because if there’s one way to make friends with a youngster it’s to set up a restrictive system that controls access to fun time, and not talk it through first. Then give each sibling a PIN number so they can play at barter and blackmail all month long. Excellent sport. $89.95.

In their own words: - Easy-to-use device turns off the TV, gaming system or computer when your child’s designated viewing time is over. No more arguments! Now you can manage your kids’ screen time easily and effectively. The Screen Time Manager works with any electronic device—TV, computer monitor, video games and more.

Control your TiVo via text message with Kwiry

Kwiry is adding rudimentary TiVo control to it's list of text messaging services. TiVo already offers more detailed DVR access via its Web site as well as TiVo Mobile (for smartphones with Web browsers), but the Kwiry service should work with even the most rudimentary cellphones, so long as they have text messaging capability.

[via cnet news]

Search TV by Photo

TiVo is making a mighty claim: they want to do for television what Google did for the web. TiVo has in beta testing a new search engine that will display a selection of programs in HiDef from hundreds of channels and other sources such as Amazon and YouTube.

The TiVo program will let you search by keyword, phrase, logo, stars, logos, poster art and even an actor’s photo.

[via Trendhunter]

Hava's Sociable TV Shares Live TV With Everybody

Hava, the lesser-known video streaming system, is going to be doing some crazy social TV sharing called Sociable TV. Gizmodo reports via Zatz Not Funny

Hava will enable Hava owners to share live television feeds (or DVRed content) via a web portal. To a select group of friends. Or, to the entire worldwide population. Sociable TV is slated to arrive mid-year, assuming the studios, networks, or lawyers don’t intervene, and will include other “sociable” features such as friends list, text chat, and content starring.

Sony TV watches viewers and turns off when they sleep

Sony has developed a Television that keeps an eye on viewers and turns itself off when no one is watching, reports The Telegraph.

Sony's new range of BRAVIA VE5-series Eco TVs have a built in motion sensor that will automatically switch off the power if it detects no movement in the room for a period of time.

... The motion sensor will be available worldwide this summer on all Sony Bravia VE5 series LCD models with screes 40" in diameter or bigger.

5 reasons widgets may be the next big TV trend

Internet-connected TVs have been with us for a while, but now Yahoo, Intel and others have actually found a great use for them: plying us with TV Widgets that give us personalised, real-time information and updates using mini internet apps. It's one of the hottest trends at CES. Here are five reasons why according to TechRadar:

1. TV Widgets are better than Teletext

2. TV Widgets can be tailored to suit you

3. TV Widgets are expandable

4. You know TV Widgets already

5. TV Widgets have wide industry support

Read full article.

Gestures Control Hitachi TV

Fighting over the remote could get a lot more brutal in the years to come. At CES today, Hitachi is showing off its gesture-based television. [viaNewTeeVee]

BBC iPlayer could slow down the Internet

The popularity of the BBC iPlayer has led to renewed concerns that the internet could grind to a halt due to growing demand for online TV services, reports The Telegraph.

... Experts have warned that the increasing popularity of digital catch-up TV services could lead to problems in the long run as increasing amounts of video footage could bring the internet to a halt.

Andrew Ferguson, editor of Thinkbroadband.com said: "People are watching iPlayer to supplement their viewing. But there is a very real concern that the internet could grind to a halt as we have done from time to time."

Related: - The Exaflood

Regulators Push Energy Efficiency for TVs

Televisions consume about 4 percent of household electricity nationally, and the modern flat-panels are especially energy-intensive. Liquid crystal display (LCD) models require 43 percent more power than conventional tube TVs, according to the LA Times reports
The New York Times.

In part, that’s because modern TVs are simply bigger. And in the age of near limitless cable programming, they also tend to be turned on more often — and left on longer.

Still, new standards for television efficiency are coming into place. California regulators are drafting rules mandating that retailers stock only the most energy-efficient TVs, according to The Times. The program would start in 2011, with a more stringent standard coming into effect in 2013.

Read full article.

Adobe, Intel to bring Flash to TV

Intel Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. said on Monday that Intel's CE 3100 system-on-a-chip for TV set-top boxes will be optimized to run Flash software. [via Business Weekly]

The first devices will offer San Jose-based Adobe's Flash Lite that is used most for cell phones and are expected to be available by midyear. Versions that can run the full desktop-level version of Flash are expected later.

The development by Santa Clara-based Intel and Adobe is expected to bring the Flash animation and interface software to networked media hubs, Blu-ray players and TVs. Many online TV providers now use the software to stream ad-supported video on the Internet.

Samsung, Yahoo announce Internet@TV widgets

Samsung and Yahoo have announced a new internet-based service to Samsung televisions that will be available in the spring of 2009. Pocket-lint reports.

Select models in Samsung’s 2009 flat-panel HDTV line-up will be powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine, a fifth-generation applications platform that enables TV watchers to use "TV Widgets".

The companies say the Widgets (Javascript and XML applications) bring content, information and community features available on the Internet "within easy reach of the remote control".

... Samsung HDTVs with the Yahoo! Widget Engine and TV Widgets will be available in 13 countries in 2009 including the US, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Read full article.

LiveStation's demo of live TV on your iPhone

Matteo Berlucci, chief executive of LiveStation, demonstrated for The Guardian the new live TV streaming app developed for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

It's release is dependent on approval from Apple, because LiveStation won't release the app into the wild and so have to wait for the blessing to sell, or give away, the app in the iTunes App Store.

A likely outcome is that Apple approve the app, but only for use on wifi networks rather than over data networks, just as with YouTube and the iPlayer, and so not breach the SDK condition of "unduly burdening network capacity or bandwidth.

Click here for full hour long interview.

Zeroing in on your favorite video clips

The HIT reports on companies such as VideoSurf and Digitalsmiths which have developed search tools that help sift through the vast amount of videos online.

They allow viewers to find quickly a favorite scene from "Entourage," for example, or a particular video clip of Barack Obama they've always wanted to see. They can even locate an exact segment they want to view without having to click "play" and watch the entire video.

Such search tools that pinpoint and index an increasingly finer level of detail within videos may prove appealing not only to consumers searching for that special laugh on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," but also to companies compiling guides to Web video watching. And the technology may eventually come in handy in searching family video archives for hard-to-find sightings of Great-Uncle George.

Flatscreen TVs turn up the heat on climate

Our new-found love for flat-screen TVs could come back to haunt us, according to New Scientist.

Earlier this year, researchers warned that the growing popularity of this technology was releasing increasing amounts of a powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Now, researchers say levels of the gas are four times as high as previously estimated, and warn they are rising "quasi-exponentially".

Talk to your remote control

Discover Magazine reports on AT&T's voice recognition system that can handle voice requests.

... Known as Watson, the software analyzes the speech and sends back a digital response that the device can translate into commands. To demonstrate the principle, AT&T researchers have built a voice-operated television remote control.

Designed to work with AT&T’s Internet TV service, U-verse, the remote lets you do things like ask it to find any comedies that might be on TV now or to search the listings for movies starring Bruce Willis.

Nikon debuts headset portable multimedia player

^

Spotted on DVICE, a new way to watch videos. From Nikon.

"Nikon's "can-style" Media Port UP headset plays music and offers wi-fi internet browsing throught the flippable eyepiece, not to mention two hours of video viewing."

Bendy TV screen folds up to fit in your pocket

According to the Daily Mail, traditional flat-screen televisions could soon become a thing of the past, as scientists have revealed an ultra-thin, flexible screen that could fold up and fit in your pocket.

"The bendy screens - less than a millimetre thick - could be used for televisions, computers and phones, and may pave the way for easy-to-carry digital newspaper displays, which readers could upload their news on to daily.

Some speculate that the technology could even lead to wearable TV jackets, flexible laptop screens, and TV blankets."

Watch video demo.

Nero Software turns PC into TiVo TV recorder

TiVo Inc. and Nero AG of Germany were set to announce Monday that they will be launching a package that turns a Windows PC into a TV recorder, just like a TiVo set-top box.

"The Nero LiquidTV/TiVo PC is a $199 package of hardware and software that will enable a PC user to watch cable, satellite, or digital broadcast content, pause it while it’s playing, or record it for later viewing.

The software also makes it easy to record shows on a PC and then transfer them to an iPod, PlayStation Portable, or other portable media device. Video files will be watermarked enabling law enforcement to trace back the files to a specific computer in case of illegal use.

[via Variety]

New film download technology to prevent piracy

Film buyers in the UK will be able to download films to their computers and iPods in a new breakthrough deal between Twentieth Century Fox and Apple, it has been announced. reports The Telegraph.

'Digital Copy' for iTunes will provide customers who buy a DVD with an additional disk – or Digital Copy of the film – allowing them to download the film straight on to their iPod, iPhone, PC, Mac or any other portable video player.

The technology, which has been available in the US for almost a year, is now being launched for British movie buyers."

Livestation releases online TV Mac player

Online TV company, Livestation, on Tuesday released a Mac player for its Internet service. MacWorld reports.

"Livestation enables users to watch free online TV. Partner broadcasters include Al Jazeera, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television, EuroNews (English, French, Italian and now Spanish), France 24, i>Tele, Russia Today and BBC World Service.

Users can also add their own Web streams to the player or choose one of the channels added by other viewers."

Intel, Yahoo Target Web Services on TV

Intel Corp. and Yahoo Inc. unveiled an ambitious effort Wednesday to marry the TV with the Internet, a goal that has eluded technology and media companies for more than a decade. [The Wall Street Journal]

"The pair outlined software tools, based on Yahoo technology, to help companies deliver Web content alongside TV programming. The software complements a new chip from Intel designed to enable interactive features on TVs, set-top boxes and other gadgets, though it can work with devices that use other chips."

The Race to Unlock a Wider Web

Critics say new technology may hinder TV Signals. The Washington Post reports.

"Broadcasters use adjacent airwaves to beam TV shows to viewers, and they say the technology could interfere with over-the-air signals. Wireless microphone users, from pop stars to mega-church ministers, say using white spaces could blot out their sounds.

White-space backers say their devices will be able to detect and avoid frequencies being used by broadcasters and wireless mics. Critics say the devices are not reliable enough. "

A New Competitor to LCD

A pixel that uses a pair of mirrors to block or transmit light could lead to displays that are faster, brighter, and more power efficient than liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

Researchers at Microsoft Research who published their novel pixel design in Nature Photonics say that their design is also simpler and easier to fabricate, which should make it cheaper.

LCDs corner half of the global TV market and are the most popular technology for cell phones and flat-panel computer monitors. But for several reasons, they do not boast the best image quality.

Read full article in Technoogy Review.

Net TV technology seeks testers

Testers are being sought for technology that may help TV migrate to the net, writes the BBC.

"In a bid to create a system that can support huge audiences, P2P Next's SwarmPlayer draws on the widely used BitTorrent peer-to-peer technology.

In such a system those watching a video share the data they are downloading with others, peers, who want to watch the same show.

The SwarmPlayer lets people download TV shows to watch later, lets them watch video as it is being downloaded and can even cope with live broadcasts.

The P2P Next project now wants thousands of people to install the software to see how it handles large audiences and whether picture quality suffers as the numbers of users rises.

... The EU has put 19m euros into the project hoping the software the team creates will become a Europe-wide standard for broadcasters."

Sharp TV set doesn't need to be plugged in

Sharp has unveiled a prototype for a television set that does not need to be plugged in and comes with its own solar power source.

[via techradar]