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Post by beth on Jan 10, 2010 3:10:48 GMT
Internet-enabled TVs to feature ‘app stores’ “App stores” are coming to the television as developers and content providers move their software and services to the big screens of internet-connected TVs. Many TV sets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week have an added Ethernet connection as the internet, along with 3D, becomes an integrated part of the viewing experience. Set-top box makers such as Roku are also enabling add-on internet connectivity to TVs. Streaming movie services, including Netflix, have been the mainstay of offerings so far, but the big TV makers are expanding beyond this to increase the appeal of their sets. Vudu, which began as a streaming movie service, announced Vudu Apps on Wednesday, a platform that will deliver video, music on demand, photo browsing, news services, social networking and other applications through internet-enabled TVs and Blu-ray players from Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Vizio. The PopBox set-top box launched by Syabas at CES features “Popapps” and “infopops”, which allows users to play games, update their Twitter status, keep a check on the weather and control devices elsewhere in their home, as well as stream internet video. LG and Panasonic this week announced that high-definition internet video calling would be integrated into their TVs in a partnership with Skype. The Consumer Electronics Association expects 20 per cent of TVs sold in the US this year to be Ethernet-enabled, growing to more than 50 per cent by 2013. That will create a new platform of millions of devices for content providers and application developers. /snip more here
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Post by DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) on Jan 10, 2010 15:03:44 GMT
Apple introduced the App Store for the iPhone just over a year ago. Adoption has been so rapid that there are already about 125,000 Apps available for download and iPhone users have already downloaded 3 Billion programs. This amazing success has captured the imagination of every company with an interest in delivering media and content along with software. Little over a year ago YouTube was a novelty mainly frequented by video camera owners looking for a place to post their video clips. It has mushroomed into so much more than that. There are travel videos, cooking videos, how-to videos, etc. If you want to learn how to do something just do a search on YouTube.com and odds are you'll find a video demonstration posted there. Perhaps you want to know how to make a yeast starter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSrbukazO_Q&feature=rec-r2-2r-2-HM) or maybe you want help installing Windows 7 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEV5gMr6UTQ). There are also many video sites popping up on the Internet. Some of them are bankrolled by major entertainment companies and offer high quality video for free. If you haven't done so already check out two of the most interesting sites www.hulu.com and www.boxee.tv. Though I'm uncertain how they manage to get away with it there are also a number of websites popping up with copyrighted material that you can download and watch for free. This includes everything from the latest movies to porn flicks. Here is an example of one of those www.movie2k.com/ Want to watch Avatar or the new Sherlock Holmes movie right now for free on your computer? You'll find them posted there. There is even a site called Find Internet TV that helps you locate whatever it is that you want www.findinternettv.com/So yes, the Internet is coming to your TV in a rather big way. It's also coming to your cell phone. Expect to see higher resolution iPhones and iPhone knock-offs that enable you to watch that soccer or basketball game on your cell phone while a passenger on a train or wherever you happen to be. Apple is going to introduce a 10 inch Tablet later this month that is one of the most hotly anticipated devices ever. It is likely to have all of the capabilities of the incredibly successful iPod Touch but with a much bigger screen.
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Post by beth on Jan 11, 2010 3:28:21 GMT
Thanks for the links, das. We have an extended family member who owns some electronics stores. He attended a convention abt. 15 years ago where innovators in the field predicted the changes that are happening now regarding TV and computer merging.
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Post by DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) on Jan 11, 2010 22:17:09 GMT
Quite often the predictions are correct but the timing is wrong. Sometimes the technology needs to catch up before the concepts really work well and are economically affordable. Video on a computer requires a powerful processor. They were too expensive, too big, and too power hungry when the ideas were first being floated.
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Post by beth on Jan 12, 2010 2:38:09 GMT
Quite often the predictions are correct but the timing is wrong. Sometimes the technology needs to catch up before the concepts really work well and are economically affordable. Video on a computer requires a powerful processor. They were too expensive, too big, and too power hungry when the ideas were first being floated. That sounds right. I believe that was about the time web-TV was being introduced, but it kind of died in the water. Now, the next logical step is breaking. Very exciting. I love the idea of the Movie 2K site, except that they want all my credit card info immediately - BEFORE I buy anything. That troubles me just a tad. Going to have to give it some thought before joining.
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Post by DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) on Jan 12, 2010 3:32:54 GMT
Beth - You don't have to give a credit card on the Movie 2k site. They do prompt you for that though. Movie 2k is an aggregator of offerings from other sites. Some of them will let you watch the first half of a movie without giving them a payment. Then they'll stop the movie for 90 minutes or so, after which you can watch the second half for free. But very often they provide links to more than one site. So you can watch part 1 on one site and part 2 on the other site without waiting.
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Post by beth on Jan 12, 2010 14:49:23 GMT
OH! You're right. mea culpa There's another site throwing up an advertisement that I must have clicked on by mistake. I think the name of it is IReel. They are the ones that require registration and CC information immediately - NOT Movie2k. Thanks for the correction.
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