Entries tagged with tv - Channel 10

TV Manager Beta for WHS

sarahintampa — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:42:00 GMT

There’s a new plugin for Windows Home Server users called TV Manager which copies your recordings from a Vista Media Center PC over to your Windows Home Server for storage and management. The plugin, still in beta, actually has 2 parts to it – one part for the WHS and one for Media Center. After the plugin copies the recording to the WHS, the original is removed from the Vista PC, freeing up valuable disk space on your machine. However, the plugin allows you to still watch the recordings just like you would normally watch “Recorded TV” in Media Center. The part of this program that runs on the Home Server displays a console for managing the recordings and deleting the ones you don’t want to keep. This plugin was created by Brent Friedman of We Got Served, where you can read in more detail about the features, requirements, and updates in the latest version of this beta software. (Image courtesy of WGS)

ZuneTV

sarahintampa — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:23:00 GMT

Zune fansite ZuneBoards has recently launched a YouTube-like site for converting and sharing Zune clips with the community. The site is called ZuneTV. Here, users can upload videos, which are automatically converted into the Zune-compatible .wmv format. Those clips are then made available for download by any member. Like any social video sharing site, there are ways to rate, favorite, and comment on videos and the videos can be embedded anywhere on the net thanks to a handy copy-and-paste embed code. In order to participate on ZuneTV, you have to first get a ZuneBoards account, then you just head here: www.zunetv.net.

Colbert, Battlestar Galactica, SNL, & More Coming to Zune Marketplace

sarahintampa — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:22:00 GMT

A post on Zunerama (and ZuneInsider) gives the details on the upcoming schedule of releases for the Zune Marketplace. From now until June 6th, a total of 400 episodes from 19 TV shows will be added and made available for download. Here's the complete list:

May 28: Comedy Central
* The Colbert Report
* The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

May 30: NBC Universal
* Friday Night Lights
* Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
* Law & Order
* Life
* Lipstick Jungle
* Saturday Night Live

June 3: Sci Fi Channel
* Battlestar Galactica Classics
* Destination Truth
* Ghost Hunters International
* Ghost Hunters
* Who Wants to Be a Superhero

June 6: USA Network
* Dr. Steve-O
* In Plain Sight
* Law & Order: Criminal Intent
* Monk
* Psych
* The Starter Wife

Read RSS Feeds on Your Media Center TV

sarahintampa — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:40:00 GMT

The Media Center RSS Reader application lets you read RSS news items on your Media Center TV as well as watch and/or listen to podcasts and watch video blogs. Originally developed for XP Media Center, there is now also a version for Vista Ultimate. The application adds a new option to Media Center's Start page called "Accessories." From there, you'll have access to a section called "RSS News & Casts" where you'll be able to view your feeds. If you run into any formatting issues or unsupported codecs, the site suggests you try downloading the content to your PC instead via IE's built-in RSS reader, instead. Since I use my Xbox 360 to watch Media Center content on my living room TV, I'm excited to have a way to access not just feeds, but podcasts too, without the addition of another set-top box to do so. (thanks to scribkin for the tip!)

A Tour of Microsoft MediaRoom

Laura — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:14:00 GMT

I've always been a huge advocate of making the most of your television watching experience. It looks as though the folks over at Microsoft MediaRoom agree with me. MediaRoom is more than Microsoft IPTV with a brand-new name, as it adds new features like personal media sharing, enhanced picture-in-picture capabilities, and a new multimedia application environment. The Mediaroom software platform is licensed directly to the world’s leading broadband service providers so they can deliver you, the consumer, the best TV and entertainment experience.

Get Lost on Xbox

sarahintampa — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:00:00 GMT

You can now download the popular ABC TV show "Lost" from the Xbox Live Video Marketplace. Not only can you get the latest episodes as soon as they air, you can also pick up any episode from the previous three seasons, which is very useful for reviewing the prior clues! You can choose to download the show in either standard definition for 160 points ($2) or high def for 240 points ($3). According to saladhats, this actually makes a season of high def cheaper on Xbox Live than on Bluray by about $24! If you aren't watching "Lost," then you've missed out on one of the best shows on TV, so download the old episodes and get caught up already!

Really small TV screens that pack a really big punch.

Laura — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:08:00 GMT

Once again, in the search for all things small at CES this year, I hunted down the MyVu booth. Personal media viewers are something I've been excited about for awhile, but was skeptical about their image quality and hedn't yet gotten to try out a pair. I sampled a few at CES this year and foud these to be the best. Not only are they super futuristic stylish from the outside, but the screen actually tricked my brain into thinking I was looking at a big screen TV. So instead of staring at the tiny screen on your Zune or laptop, take these for a ride- oh, and they're hands-free!

Windows in Terminor: the Sarah Connor Chronicles

sarahintampa — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 15:17:00 GMT

Ha! I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed that! If you have been watching Fox's new show, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, then you too may have noticed something odd in the scene where John Connor visits a nameless computer franchise store to in order to get some quick internet access. As he begins working on the PC, which initially appears to be a version of Windows Vista, strange things appear. First, there is the chess game, then some sort of control panel where the icons have no labels, some sort of floating search box (LeSearch?), and finally, an IE options bar that is launched from the task bar. His Vista sidebar even featured a Windows Media Player gadget that was never publicly released! Maybe that is the OS of the future? The iStartedSomething blog has more details on the blow-by-blow, screenshot geekery for us to ponder.

New Media Center Extenders

sarahintampa — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 01:49:00 GMT

On September 27th at the Digital Life Conference, Microsoft and our partners announced several new Media Center Extenders which will allow for easy access to cable programming, high-def TV content, movies, music, photos, and videos (including popular formats, like DivX). Along with the Xbox 360, these newly announced Extenders will make it even easier to bring the media content to any room of your house.

The first is the Linksys DMA2200 ($349.99), which includes an upscaling DVD Player and dual-band Wireless-N Extender. Another, the Linksys DMA2100 ($299.99) offers the Media Center Extender in a smaller form factor, forgoing the DVD Player in exchange for a reduced footprint. From D-Link comes the DSM-750 MediaLounge HD Media Center Extender ($349.99 ). The D-Link device can connect to the network either using Ethernet ports or dual-band draft Wireless-N. Supporting videos up to 1080i, WMV, DivX, and XVid video formats, and featuring a USB 2.0 port for instant access to flash drives or hard drives, the D-Link is a great device for people whose media collections are varied and dispersed.

For those with high-end home theater systems, the Niveus Media Extender - EDGE brings high-fidelity, 1080p video, digital audio, and an amazing 3D interface, like that on the Niveus Media Center products. The Niveus Extender will also feature their proprietary Glacier Passive Cooling System for a near silent operation. For an all-in-one solution, HP's MediaSmart LCD HDTVs, available in 42-inch and 47-inch sizes, will support the new Media Center Extender technology via a software download sometime in early 2008. The Media Center functionality will let owners control live TV and access Media Center's Internet TV features while using their TV's remote control. The HP MediaSmart TVs are available now; the other Extenders should be available in November, just in time for the holiday season.

We're going to get together with the Extender team soon for a video, so if you have any questions please leave them in the comments.

Internet TV Arrives in Media Center

sarahintampa — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:03:00 GMT

On Sept. 28th, Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate users found a new feature inside Media Center: Internet TV. Located under "TV + Movies", Internet TV brings all sorts of television and video content from your PC to your TV, with no need to install a TV tuner in your PC. Featuring content from MSN Video, the initial offering from Internet TV features full episodes of TV shows, full-length music concerts, movie trailers, news from MSNBC, sports clips from FOX Sports, and more.

After selecting the Internet TV option in Media Center, you will find six main categories to choose from: Top Picks, Movies, Music, Entertainment, Sports, and News. The Top Picks section contains some of the best items from the other five categories, like the Batman Dark Knight trailer and the John Mayer concert. Under the Music category, there are concerts from Maroon 5, Snoop Dogg, Chris Cornell, Velvet Revolver, Oasis, Evanescence, *cat Dolls, The Bravery, and more, as well as music videos. Under Entertainment, you can watch full TV show episodes, like those from critical fav "Arrested Development." In addition, there are shows available from networks like A&E, bio, The History Channel, NBC Today, Food Network, HGTV, DIY, National Geographic, and Fine Living.

The MSN TV channel offered clips from 90 some hit shows like "Heroes," "My Name is Earl," "Survivor," "Chuck," "Bionic Woman," and so many more. Under Movies, you'll find trailers sorted by genre or status (box office, coming soon, on DVD). In Sports, there are clips from the latest games and dedicated areas for NFL news and NCAA Football. The News section offers current news clips and a section focused on the 2008 election. The Internet TV content is high-quality and optimized for broadband streaming. To access the content on your TV, you'll need to have a Media Center Extender, like the Xbox 360 or one of the newly announced Extenders from D-Link, Linksys, HP, or Niveus.

Silverlight Goes to the Emmys

sarahintampa — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:02:00 GMT

Microsoft's Silverlight technology, which delivers interactive media and applications for the web, just made another big splash online. The technology has been adopted for ET's 2007 Emmy Awards website. As Chad Brown, Senior Vice President of Products & Services and co-founder of IdentityMine, reports on his blog, "ET desired a web based media delivery mechanism to compliment its highly visual broadcast quality experience regularly aired weekdays on CBS." His company partnered with REZN8 to create a Silverlight 1.0 web-based media channel at etonline.com/emmys. Visitors to the site are prompted to download the Silverlight plug-in, after which they can view the site's content in an exciting, visually rich way. Videos from the Emmy nominees play right in the browser, with embedded controls to pause, rewind, fast-forward, or pop-out to full screen. At the bottom of the screen, is a scrolling filmstip of the videos to choose from, allowing you to quickly preview the clip of your favorite show. The result is a stunning new media experience that is definitely worth a look.

Livestation: Live TV on Your PC

sarahintampa — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:12:00 GMT

LiveStation is a new project that brings live, streaming television to your PC with incredible speed. With LiveStation, there is no buffering or jerky stops and starts; the streamed content is crisp and clear. LiveStation is built on two technologies, Pastry and Splitstream, both of which were developed at Microsoft's Cambridge Research Lab.

Pastry is a type of peer-to-peer system and Splitstream sits on top of Pastry allowing the live video distribution. LiveStream then displays the video content via Microsoft's Silverlight technology. Then end result is streaming video of such high quality that you may think you're watching a DVD. Live TV streamed seamlessly to your computer? Sounds revolutionary! LiveStation is currently in controlled beta, but has a sign up form here. (Found via Don Dodge's blog, Don Dodge on the Next Big Thing)

This is Jeopardy! And this is the Brain Bus Challenge

Laura — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:56:00 GMT

The JEOPARDY! Brain Bus is a fun-filled event that offers prizes, personal appearances by the Clue Crew and even gives college students the chance to try out for the show. We've all seen the show and thought, "Hey, I'm smarter than that guy!" - well log on to the

JEOPARDY! web site and see what it takes to register. I met up with the Brain Bus event down at the University of Southern California to see who had what it takes, and who's going back to their dorm room to study up and try again next time. Clearly, they offered me a spot on the show without taking the otherwise mandatory exam but I am very busy and important so I had to turn them down ;)

Newtek Lightwave 3D creates emmy nominated nuclear explosions!

Laura — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:08:00 GMT

If your friends are anything like mine- you guys love to settle in front of the TV and watch Jack Bauer kick ass on 24. Well- the season premiere episode this year created a ton of buzz amongst digital artists and graphic animators. Jarrod Davis of Zoic Studios created the most realistic, brilliant nuclear explosion to ever go off over the city of Angels. I tracked down the man himself to see what software, hardware and undeniable skill is required to create this kind of digital art. And now...he shares this knowledge with you. Watch and learn.

BT Vision launches across UK, Powered by Microsoft TV

Paulfo — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:06:00 GMT

Will broadband Internet kill broadcast TV? This is a hot debate on the web and in the broadcast industry at the moment. Benjamin and I will be getting the skinny on the latest direct from Le Web 3 next week in Paris. It does look like we have moved a step closer to the demise of broadcast TV with the launch of BT Vision - BT's new digital TV service that delivers a hybrid of digital terrestrial television combined with value-added IP services over broadband. The Philips designed set-top box (the V-Box), powered by a Microsoft TV-enabled system-on-chip, offers advanced features including 80 hours of hard disk recording capability, two tuners, smart card reader, HDTV and numerous extension capabilities. Viewers can ‘time shift’ programmes at their convenience, pausing live shows or record them to watch at a later date.

The key thing is that this is a broadband connected device that can support a myriad of services which can be added to over time. Initially users will be able to pay per view from BT's 'extensive' video library covering films, music videos, TV shows and kids shows. A new 'catch-up' service to be available shortly is however the most interesting. The concept is that programmes from broadcasters (like Channel 4 (the first adopter), BBC and ITV) will be available on-demand from BT's library up to a week after the broadcast date, enabling users to have even more control over when they choose to watch a programme.

To use BT Vision you must already have BT Total Broadband install delivering a 2mb or more service. Apart from the broadband subscription and the initial installation charge for setting up your V-Box, BT Vision charges only for the library content you choose to watch, although there are month subscription packages you can sign up to if you like. BT are keen to emphasize that these are optional and you can effectively 'pay as you go' with no monthly fee commitment.

I'll be delivering a full demo video of the service for On10 shortly - so stay tuned!

Plasma TVs! Is it the end?

Tina — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 03:42:00 GMT

Now that the holiday purchasing madness is officially upon us I've been reading lots of product articles and I gotta say it looks like the Plasma is dying a slow death. I actually have a Samsung DLP which I'm thrilled with, but am looking towards adding an LCD. I thought about the Plasma but the more I research, the less justified I feel. I'm also looking for something less than fifty inches. LCDs provide a higher resolution to Plasmas but I want to believe. Can anybody give me a solid reason to buy a Plasma over an LCD?

Brave New World: Make your own movie, tv, or radio show

bcrounse — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 23:16:00 GMT

Next week I'm off to New York for the International Freddie Awards. If you don't know about the Freddie Awards; it is a celebration to honor excellence in medical and scientific film, documentaries, television, videos, Web sites, DVDs and CD-ROMs. Now in its 32nd year, the International Health and Medical Media Awards, the Freddies, have become the equivalent of the Academy Award for Film or the Emmy for television. At the awards ceremony next Friday, it will be my distinct honor to present one of the evening's highest honors; a founder's award that is named after famous heart surgeon and researcher, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey.

Why am I hanging out with this crowd? I haven't shared with readers of my Blog that a substantial portion of my career has been dedicated to medical broadcasting. For more than 20 years, I anchored medical programming for Lifetime Medical Television, ABC News, Medical News Network, Discovery and other outlets. I also served as medical editor for the ABC and CBS television affiliates in Seattle, appearing nightly on the evening news. In fact, my career in television news and entertainment programming started long before I became a physician. I was actually anchoring the evening TV news (on weekends) before I was old enough to vote. Trust me that would never be allowed today.

Back in the day, I needed a multimillion dollar broadcasting studio to do my work, along with complex and costly recording and editing equipment, camera people, sound people, and more. Today, any one of you could produce, host, and broadcast to the world from your desktop or laptop or iPod (that wireless will come in handy on the Zune). My point is this. There has never been more opportunity or more accessibility for everyone to be heard and seen. Broadcasting has become commoditized. While that makes it much harder to earn a living, it makes it much easier to break into the business. And as the founders of YouTube and others have learned, there is gold in them there hills if you can find it. (By the way, have you checked out MSN Soapbox yet?) There is also an opportunity to change the world; to educate, inform, entertain, and enrich the lives of people. Sometimes I think, "If only I had been born a few decades later". The possibilities today seem infinite.

So please continue to write those Blogs, produce those podcasts, and post those videos. And every time you do, thank your lucky stars you live in an era when the communications universe is at your fingertips. If you are looking for a list of people to thank, besides the usual names that come to mind, check out the Computer History Museum.

Bill Crounse, MD Healthcare Industry Director Microsoft