TheHdStandard - Video Broadcasting News By EyePartner » Streaming technology

Skyfire brings flash video streaming on the Android

Catalin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:28:55 +0000

Skyfire makes Flash video possible for Android devices as they announced the Skyfire 2.0 browser. The new app converts Flash videos to H.264 via their servers then pushes the content to the mobile devices. What’s interesting is that Skyfire’s servers are automatically adjusting the video resolution so the video will be displayed according to your phone’s screen size and network speed to get the best video streaming quality.

“Skyfire on Android uses cloud-computing technology to enable this web video; the benefits include faster and smoother video playback, and extended battery life by offloading more of the work to cloud servers” , CEO Jeff Glueck stated. You can see below the concept’s presentation:

Users will be able to display the content as on a full desktop browser or optimized for the mobile device. The explore option allows you to browse videos from YouTube or search related media on Google or Twitter and then share. The application is free to download in the Android version (version 2.0 beta) and is also available for Nokia and Windows Mobile phones in version 1.5. It doesn’t support Windows Media, Quicktime or Silverlight streaming at the moment (Silverlight seems to be the next step) but we may expect some improvements in the future. Multitouch zooming is also available as you can see in the following video demoing the app:

Skyfire has some limitations: it won’t actually work with all the Flash based videos and sometimes it crashes. Even more you are not able to play Flash games so it’s not really a full solution to view Flash content on the mobile devices. But it’s for sure a good step ahead. We are still waiting for a way to do that.

Catalin
Professional Streaming Consultant

3D video teleconferencing

Admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:07:22 +0000

University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies just released a revolutionary 3D video conference system. The entire setup is based on a simple but very efficient technology. 3D images are being displayed by projecting the video feed onto a spinning aluminium mirror. This way viewers can get a very clear image from different angles.

The system was first shown in the university’s campus at the TedxUSC event. For now the images are displayed in a single color but the creators said they will soon implement multiple chip projectors to achieve multiple colors. You can actually see in the videos below how the image looks like from different perspectives and a full explanation about how the concept works.

At the moment only the face of a person can be projected but if the size of the mirror is extended they can project an entire body. This solution comes as people want to recreate the natural communication even if they are in two different places. Facial expressiveness is not very good represented in traditional 2D video conferencing systems. For example if somebody points his face to a different direction than the camera itself you’ll feel like he is not paying attention to the audience.

Here is another demo of the concept:

The Institute for Creative Technologies has been working on this for several years now and hope to bring the concept from a prototype to commercial use soon. You can read more about the event HERE and see a detailed tutorial about how video conferencing works HERE.

Netflix streaming on Nintendo Wii now available

Catalin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:39:29 +0000

After a lot of testing Netflix has finally released its streaming service for the Wii. They were testing with a limited number of users before the final release. With this service you will be able to instant stream movies and TV shows via your Wii console using the special Netflix disc provided for free to the $ 9 per month package (or better) subscribers.

You can get your Netflix installation CD by simply going to Netflix.com/Wii and place your order just like you order a regular movie disc. You need to insert it in the Wii console each time you want to watch online movies. Wii is not capable to support HD broadcasting yet but SD streaming is handled very good. DVD by mail is also included with the service.

Here is a video tutorial showing how to access your Netflix Instant streaming service using the Nintendo Wii console:

Nintendo Wii is not the only gaming console to support Netflix. Sony PS3 and Xbox 360 users are also able to stream via Netflix. An extended article talking about this can be found HERE.

PS3 and Wii require the disc for live streaming while Xbox 360 has Netflix Instant Streaming integrated so no disc is needed. The guys from SquidTV are doing a comparison between these 3 video gaming consoles:

One note here: Netflix instant streaming service is not available out of the US at the moment.

Redbox to compete Netflix online streaming

Mihaela — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:41:06 +0000

Redbox comes with the latest news: they are running a survey where they ask their customers if a movie streaming service similar to Netflix shall be implemented or not. As you may already know Redbox specializes in renting DVD’s via interactive kiosks and now they are running some tests to offer video games rentals. They offer a very competitive price for renting a movie, it is $1 a night and you must return the DVD back to the machine the next day.

There are 2 options: first is to rent the movie using a Redbox kiosk and second , make an online reservation then pick the DVD from a kiosk by pressing the “Online rental pickup” button and swap the credit card.

This is how you can actually rent a movie after you made an online reservation.

Redbox decided to approach the streaming segment seeing the big success Netflix had with their solution. The survery I was talking about is asking customers if they would pay $3.95 for a video subscription service including unlimited online streaming and 4 kiosk rentals a month. We shall see the results and when they decide to implement the new service.

This is the interior of a Redbox machine. See what is happening behind the friendly user interface when you select a movie and rent it.

There are a few challanges for Redbox as they want to compete Netflix. First Netflix has a huge streaming content library with more than 17,000 titles compared to the limited Redbox catalog. Then, a lot of devices such as the Xbox, PS3, Nintendo Wii consoles and Roku set top boxes are configured to support Netflix streaming. The number is still growing.

You can read more about Netflix streaming HERE. They will support 1080p streaming soon. More about 1080p and Netflix can be found in this TUTORIAL.

I am waiting your comments here, what do you think: is Redbox a strong enough streamin contender for Netflix?

MiFi adds music and video streaming

Catalin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:09:16 +0000

MiFi users will be very happy to know that Novatel added streaming capabilities to the device. You can now stream music and videos over Wi-Fi using the DLNA protocol (Digital Living Network Alliance) to devices such as TV’s, iPhones and laptops.

The new feature was presented at CTIA (CTIA is the largest trade show where wireless technology is first announced. More information can be found HERE).

Here is the MiFi in action:

But what was the big news from Novatel ? Well it’s NovaDrive, a new storage service. A microSD card slot is integrated and you can load up to 32GB of video content. Just connect the MiFi to your computer and access the entire library. For $50 per year you can use the device as a file server (no capacity limit).

Below you can see a demo of MiFi’s streaming capability on the iPhone. There is an application you need to get from the App Store called PlugPlayer in order to stream content from the device to your iPhone using DLNA technology. You can also find out how to stream on your iPhone directly from your computer in the following TUTORIAL.

If you already tested the new streaming capability please share your thoughts here.

Catalin
Professional Streaming Consultant

OnLIVE – Streaming Video Games On Demand

Catalin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:05:24 +0000

OnLive CEO Steve Perlman announced at the Game Developers Conference, the official launch date of their on-demand video game streaming solution. Gamers will be able to play HD 3D games without actually having a video console. There have been rumors regarding OnLIVE launching date (they are not the only company thinking about this concept – OTOY is actually their competitor) but nothing was confirmed so now they finally made it: June 17 will be the day when 48 US states will be able to use OnLIVE.

There is a thing they need to fix somehow for sure and I am talking about latency. Because all of the gamers are not actually playing on local hosts there is lag appearing (a time difference between a command is being given and the moment when it really happens) and this is very annoying when you need accuracy for example in a 3rd person shooter.

Here is a trailer they provided to present the capabilities.

The best thing about this service is that gamers won’t need powerful hardware configurations to be able to play the newest titles which require high quality graphic boards. Everything is being processed on the server side and the content is then pushed back to each individual computer connected to the network.

Basically the service will work like Netflix and the monthly fee will be $14.95. The first 25,000 users to register will have the service free for 3 months. This is for sure a totally different video gaming experience and speaking about the consumer behavior the intermediaries such as retail stores may disappear. You can watch another OnLIVE demo below:

What do you think about this innovative solution ? Would you adopt it or remain a fan of enjoying video games on your own computer ?

Catalin
Professional Streaming Consultant

Sky’s 3D TV channel streaming live

Tim — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:48:58 +0000

3D TV is becoming a very popular concept and seems to be the next true leap in the streaming media industry. With Avatar opening in many cinemas as 3D, the video industry has taken the preliminary step to make this available on your own TV. SKY television is trying to take an early advantage on the competition by launching the first European 3D TV channel which is scheduled to broadcast movies, sports and alternative entertainment.

The project was planned for 2011 but due to a surge in subscriptions the company announced an earlier launch. Basically, the number of subscribers doubled for SKY+HD in the last year to reach 1.3 million at the moment.

Viewers will be able to access 3D video content via their set top boxes using special 3D glasses. You can read more about available models and how are they built in this article. The most important thing that remains is and affordable “3D ready” TV set which decodes 2 signals creating the 3D environment.

Important TV manufacturers like Panasonic, Hynundai or Sony already announced they will release 3D TV sets in one year time and the prices will compete with the available HD sets on the market now. This service looks very attractive as there will be no additional charges (if you are a SKY+HD subscriber already) at the beginning.

3D content will be also available soon as Sony announced they will film the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in 3D. If this case study proves to be popular SKY will be one step ahead other competitors as being early adopters of 3D content.

You can watch this demo below to understand how this technology works and what are the advantages:

As SKY’s new service uses the same concept as the one in the 3D cinemas as they are running an intense marketing campaign referring to Avatar as a comparison to what it will be available on their 3D TV channel. SKY’s 3D channel is expected to be available as early as April 2010.