Events like the Olympics usual bring new technology home -- which is a good thing -- but unfortunately these apps really show us how far we are from the interactive TV future we've been promised. There really isn't any realistic way to try out every version of interactive Olympic coverage since so many providers are only offered in certain areas of the country and some providers -- like Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Charter and most Cox areas -- aren't offering any at all. In addition to interactive TV the Winter games have actually taken a step back in regards to online video. While anyone could watch all the live videos and replays online before, the Winter Olympic coverage requires that you to prove you pay for TV before giving you full access. In the case of Verizon's FiOS TV, it allows viewers to access the EBIF interactive information from NBC Universal's channels, which is the first time we've every experienced the use of CableLabs' new interactive platform, as for how we like it or Comcast's mosaic channel, click on through to find out.

Continue reading Hands-on with the interactive Olympics and web videos

Hands-on with the interactive Olympics and web videos originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the New Year's Day deadline closes in, the Time Warner Cable - Fox standoff has gained another participant, Senator John Kerry. He's sent a letter to executives at both companies in hopes to avoid a New Year's Day blackout that could pull the network's Bowl Games (Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange) from sports loving cable subscribers. This is a bit of a habit for the senator, who has previously put his two cents in on the Comcast/TWC & NFL Network dispute. What he's asking for from the two is that if an agreement isn't reached, they continue transmitting at least through the College Bowl season under the current terms. Some may question such a letter on the grounds that this doesn't deserve such attention, or whether it will have any effect, but we're happy someone is standing up for viewers stuck in the middle and only have one question: Can we push that extension out to cover the season premiere of 24?

Senator Kerry asks Fox & Time Warner to keep the Bowl Games on originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Media streamers

We've heard whispers of Netflix heading to other, non-Xbox 360 game consoles before, and now adding to the susurrus is a job listing from the company for Engineering Lead - Gaming Platforms. The description calls for someone familiar with the technical hurdles of current-gen consoles for building a small team to "rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." Whether or not this means we'll be seeing PlayStation 3 or Wii services in the near (or even distant) future is anyone's guess, but with Microsoft's version so far a streaming success, we wouldn't be surprised if the company took a few steps to increase the probability that 3 billionth delivered flick is digital.

[Via Joystiq]

Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony has no intention of releasing a PS3 without a Blu-ray drive.
The suggestion that the Japanese company would ditch the high-def format was scotched by Sony's marketing manager Kim Nguyen.

Sony is planning on creating a hybrid Blu-ray - with a game and movie on the same disc.
The move is being viewed as a way to boost the appeal of the Playstation 3 in the face of falling prices for Blu-ray players and the increasing popularity of games consoles such as Wii and XBOX 360.

For a while now, Sony's PS3 has done very well out of being the best Blu-ray player in its price range - oh, and you can play games with it too.
So it will be interesting to see how it fares now that Microsoft's Xbox is offering US users streaming HD content from Netflix.
That, and the fact that Blu-ray player prices generally are falling, may have some impact on the Sony console.

Nintendo's lead game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, has been making comments that suggest Wii could go HD sometime soon.
The ability to support true next-gen graphics on HDTVs is one area the Wii falls down on compared to competitors Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

Sport is proving to be a great catalyst in expanding the availability of HD coverage around the world.
NBC’s impressive US viewing figures for its coverage of the Olympics are in no small part down to the fact that for the first time the Games are being shown entirely in high def.
Now Arqiva has announced it has upgraded Sky’s coverage of key international speedway events to HD.

NBC Universal is attracting an average of 29.1 million US viewers to its coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games, according to figures just released.
While viewership was undoubtedly helped by the extravant opening ceremony and early coverage of US swimming star Michael Phelps, the unprecedented high def footage must take some of the credit.

Belkin have announced a wireless HD transmitter that gives 1080p resolution to any HDTV in the home.
The Flywire HDMI hub wirelessly connects devices such as Blu-ray players, receivers, video-game consoles, and set-top boxes to HDTVs and projectors, transmitting a high-definition 1080p True Cinema picture resolution.

Belgian company I-Movix is to provide its SprintCam Live 2 HDTV cameras to cover much of the action from the Olympic games in Beijing.
Able to record events at speeds up to 8,000 frames per second, a rate which is more than 260 times that of normal video.
And while the cameras produce incredible slow-motion images, there is nothing slow about replay times - clips are available for immediate re-viewing.
The HDTV cameras will be deployed with mobile units at all the major games venues.

The world’s second-largest maker of consumer electronics aims to double its revenue in Brazil, Russia, India and China within three years by bolstering sales in seven main businesses including Bravia televisions and Blu-ray disc players.
Sony’s plans for sales of electronics to so-called BRIC nations will rise to 1.2 trillion yen (US$11.1 billion) by the 12 months ending March 31, 2011, from 600 billion yen last fiscal year.
Speaking in Tokyo, Sony chairman and CEO, Howard Stringer, was presenting the company’s mid-term corporate strategy, which included the first concrete details on the plan for on-demand video content, including a launch window of later this summer.
After touting an installed base of 50 million network-enabled PS3 and PSP units and a plan to achieve profitability this year, Stringer outlined a large-scale video service for Sony’s entire empire.
The as-yet-unnamed video store is described as a “premium film and TV service”. Aside from Sony titles, no other content deals have been announced.

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) expects sales of Blu-ray disks in the US to exceed those of standard DVDs by 2012.
In its latest Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry, the EMA reports that home video continues to dominate the movie market.
This segment of the market had sales of approximately US$24 billion, making it the largest segment of consumer movie spending by far, accounting for 49% of total consumer movie spending in 2007.
In the video game market, game software sales increased 34% in 2007, to a total of US$8.6 billion.

Sales of LCD and plasma TVs showed a 53 per cent year-on-year increase in the US for the first quarter of 2008, with more than 7.5 million units sold.
This represents a 7 per cent increase over industry projections for the period.
While analysts in Japan have attributed a 35 per cent increase in flat-panel TV sales during the first half of June to the upcoming Beijing Olympics, industry executives in the US are being more cagey.
But what those attending the DisplaySearch TV Supply Chain Conference in San Diego did agree on was that despite the state of the US economy, the North America TV market remains robust - so far.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has signed a multi transponder deal with Intelsat Ltd for the video carriage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to Europe.
C-/Ku-band cross-strap capacity on the Intelsat 706 satellite, located at 50.2 degrees East, will be used to distribute the all high definition event to EBU members.
Intelsat is the only global satellite operator to have provided coverage of every Olympic Games since 1968.

Sony is to launch an original High-Definition TV show on gaming for the Play Station 3 video console.
Called Qore, the monthly programme will offer news on the latest PS3 games, game reviews and interviews with game developers. The first episode will be available on June 5.
The show, which can be purchased at the online Play Station store for $2.99 each or annually for $24.99, is being seen as a signal that Sony is preparing to compete with Microsoft’s XBox 360 programming service.