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New Media News Every Morning

Skype Supports HD Video Calls on PC and HDTV

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As if awakening from a deep slumber, Skype suddenly comes back to life and announced just in time for CES 2010 their latest offering – 720p HD video calls on Windows PC as well as Skype enabled-HDTVs.  Oh wait, are you still using Skype? If yes, then read to find out what these announcements are all about. If you’ve stopped using Skype a long time ago, this might be the right time to start using it again.

New Skype HD Video Calling

Although not really a full 1080p, Skype’s new 720p HD-quality video calling feature at 1280×720 resolution and up to 30 fps is enough to give you smoother and richer video calls.  To use this feature, you need a new HD webcam, PC with at least 1.8GHz dual-core processor, high-speed broadband connection and of course Skype 4.2 Beta for Windows. In case you’re wondering what HD webcams to get, be sure to check out announcement from faceVision and InStore Solution during the CES 2010. These two manufacturers are said to be coming out with new HD webcams that will work fine with Skype. These webcams will set you back for around $99 to $140.

Skype Video Calls on HDTVs

Now this one made me feel bad since I just bought a 32-inch Samsung HDTV. I should have waited for LG and Panasonic’s new HDTV models that will have an embedded Skype Software. Anyway, Skype’s video calling on HDTV will let you do the following:

  • Free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls
  • Calls to landline or mobile phones at Skype’s low rates
  • Receive inbound calls via user’s online Skype number
  • Skype voicemail
  • Voice conference calls with up to 24 other parties
  • Support for 720p HD video calls

Are we all excited about this now? I do hope so that this new features will revive the sparkle that Skype once had.

CES 2010: Axar Multiple HDTV Streaming Technology

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Screen shot 2010-01-04 at 6.54.40 AM

With CES 2010 just a few days away, manufacturers are already prepping up their latest wares for display during the said event. One of these latest wares that caught my interest was Provision Communications’ AXAR Technology that allows streaming of video content from one source to multiple HDTVs wirelessly.

AXAR Technology currently supports two separate HD streams at the same time, although Provision says it can handle more. Unfortunately, Provision has no plans yet of making this new technology available to consumer level. But it is already negotiating with various major players in the TV and network router markets to incorporate Axar technology into their products and services. And if we are lucky, AXAR will find its way to home TVs, set-top boxes and network devices just in time for Christmas 2010.

Pocket-Lint was given a demo by Provision of the AXAR technology. What it does is to stream HD video content from any HD source to AXAR enabled TVs or Wi-Fi connected PC and other mobile devices including your mobile phone. Or if luck comes our way, perhaps the new Apple iSlate or the rumored Google Tablet, without lag time. The video source can be anything from a Blu-ray player, PVR or HD set top box.

So, how good is this new technology really?  Pocket-Lint has this to say:

Picture quality was very good with the green hues of the grass of Centre Court at Wimbledon recaptured perfectly even though the signal was being fired over the air from a ground floor living room to first floor bedroom.

With new technology as good as the AXAR, I really envy those folks who will make it to CES 2010. If you’re going to be at the gig, be sure to look for Provision Communications booth and check out the AXAR.

Via Engadget

Hulu Streams New Years 2010 Countdown, Watch the Ball Drop Online

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If you’re in the U.S., you’re probably busy right now preparing for the New Year’s countdown.  Either you’re on your way to Times Square to witness the annual midnight ball drop or you’re at home preferring to watch the ball drop online.

If you’re at home and you have a Hulu account, you can watch it through Hulu’s live stream of  Times Square New Year’s Eve 2010. You can even grab the embed code for the live stream and put it in your blog/site (like we did).

Hulu is hosting the live stream direct from Times Square from 10 p.m. EST to 12:15 a.m. EST. Hulu’s coverage will include views of Times Square and the crystal ball dropping plus ambient sounds from the “crossroads of the world.”

And here’s a brief instruction from Hulu, in case you’re watching the ball drop online from their site:

When the live feed begins Thursday night, you’ll be able to access the festivities from Hulu’s home page (we’ll provide a direct link) or from our Spotlight; section (just click on the “explore” button beneath the section related to Times Square 2010 to launch a pop-out window).

If you’d rather watch the ball drop online from other sites, check out Search Engine Journal’s post on some other places where you can watch the ball drop online.

With that, we would like to greet you all a Happy New Year!

XBMC Software Media Player and Entertainment Hub Gets an Update

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Screen shot 2009-12-27 at 6.23.40 AM

Look here. This is one of the nicest things about news blogging that others don’t seem to mind at all – you get to learn new things, concepts, softwares and all those stuff as you struggle to find news items relevant enough to occupy a space in this blog. Like XBMC Software Media Player and Entertainment Hub. I’ve never heard of this stuff before and wouldn’t have known about if I’m not blogging for 901am.

So, what’s XBMC anyway?  It’s a free, open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub for all your digital media. It runs on Linux, OSX and Windows and even the original Xbox console. And its also a perfect companion for your HTPC. In short, it’s a perfect solution for your home theater needs.

XBMC lets you play almost all audio and video formats and was designed for network playback, allowing you to stream multimedia from anywhere in your house. Or even directly from the internet using any network protocols. It also lets you play CDs and DVDs either from a disk or image file. In short, if you’ve installed XBMC, your computer is probably a fully functional multimedia jukebox by now. If not, well you can start doing so by downloading XBMC’s latest version update – XBMC 9.11 codenamed – “Camelot.”

New on XBMC version 9.11 include –

  • revamped user interface through a new skin called “Confluence”, which by the way looks stunning,
  • DirectX support for Windows,
  • completely reorganized settings menu,
  • automatic video information extraction,
  • smoother video playback
  • support for new remotes out of the box
  • updated codecs

Alright folks, you may download the new version of XBMC from here.

Via

Justin.tv Plans Pay-Per-View Scheme

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Is pay-per-view really the best way to go for web video site to monetize their site? I mean, earning some big dough from all the great videos upload to their site is Google’s biggest struggle with YouTube yet. Is Justin.tv, a famous video web site suffering the same fate as YouTube as they plan to make a pay-per-view model for their site?

Beet.TV is reporting that Justin.tv will be testing out a pay-per-view service for selected premium video content. Justin.tv claims more than 35 million views per month, so the owners want to turn some of these views hopefully into cash, to perhaps help pay the bills.

The pay-per-view platform is set to be rolled out next month with a projected full launch across its entire network sometime in Q2 of 2010. Under the new program, Justin.tv channel creators can start charging for their content, with  Justin.tv managing user authentication and payment system. In return the site will get 30%  of the payment. Minimum charge per paid view will be $1.

Justin.tv has currently around 40,000 content creators streaming their programming lives daily. There are currently 1800 shows on Justin.tv and around 800,000 registered users.

Will this give Justin.tv a much needed boost in the company’s financial forefront? Would content creators finally be able to earn significant revenue from their video content?

Answers to this question will definitely depend on how much users are willing to spend to get their daily dose of user-generated video content.  Pay-per-view user generated content is still somewhat an untested water, so Justin.tv should ensure that their premium contents really have value.