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Now Playing: Usain Bolt in Ultra-HD

Super Hi-Vision Ultra-HD 8K camera

Comcast and NBC Universal hosted an Ultra-HD screening of several Olympic sporting events tonight in a nondescript office building not far from Washington D.C.’s Union Station. The second of its kind, tonight’s showcase included women’s swimming, women’s track and field, and the men’s 100-meter dash where Usain Bolt once again earned the title on Sunday night of world’s fastest man. The Ultra-HD video in the Comcast facility streams at 16 times the resolution of a typical high-definition television broadcast. And it was sharp enough tonight to allow those of us in the audience to identify the man who famously threw a beer bottle from the crowd on to the track at the start of Usain’s race.

The Ultra-HD video experience comes by way of a partnership including Comcast, NHK out of Japan, and the BBC. It’s branded as Super Hi-Vision, but the technology is also known more colloquially as 8K HD. There were 4K-resolution streams shown off at CES last January, and at the Cable Show in May, and you can even find limited 4K HD content on YouTube. However, there’s no other place in North or South America where 8K HD viewing is possible. Outside of Washington D.C., you have to go to the U.K. or Japan to see Ultra-HD.

So, is it worth it?

Shattered, Shattered. (iPhone)

shattered-iphone

After possessing literally dozens of caseless phones over maybe a 15 year span, I finally did the unthinkable. Or, perhaps, it was the inevitable. And it was a boneheaded move. Overtired on an 8 hour drive, we stopped for a Starbucks pick-me-up… yet, before making it into the store, I managed to launch my iPhone straight into the pavement face first and shattered the display.

Oh, the phone was fully functional, but trying to use it led to a glass-pierced bloody finger. Reading email was also a bit challenging. Despite that, my first thought was

Scanner Pro for iPhone & iPad (On Sale)

A few months back I was pretty stoked to learn Epson provides a free iPhone app for my multi-function device. Yet, while print functionality has come in handy, scanning isn’t all that efficient. Enter Readdle who reached out around WDCC and introduced me to their line of productivity apps, providing a copy of Scanner Pro to check … Read more

Amazon Instant Video Arrives On iPad

At long last, Amazon has brought their digital video service to the iPad. And, presumably, iPhone access isn’t far behind. Amazon Instant actually consists of two distinct tiers, and both are available via the new iPad app. Perhaps the most familiar these days is Prime Instant Streaming, which is similar to Netflix or Hulu Plus in … Read more

3 Predictions for Google Fiber TV

Google Fiber TV Box set-top

In case you missed it last week, Google announced its new TV service in Kansas City based on a gigabit, fiber-to-the-home network. Leaving aside the broadband component of the offering for this post, the new Google Fiber TV service relies on all-IP delivery (a la AT&T’s U-verse) and high-speed residential connections (a la Verizon’s FiOS) to package up TV in a new Internet-style fashion. Wi-Fi access, Netflix and YouTube are built right in. Everything is searchable (linear, on-demand, app content, etc.) and placeshift-able. And Google is already working on features like a button that lets you “plus one” a show, and the ability to let you tune to a new station from your social stream.

On the gadgety goodness front, Google is proffering a slim DVR Storage Box with two terabytes of storage, even slimmer client TV Boxes with Wi-Fi access points included, and a free (for now) Nexus 7 tablet with remote control application. Brent Evans (aka geektonic) notes that part of the old Sage TV team is also behind the Google DVR, which bodes well for its performance.

Google’s content deals fall squarely in the fair to middling range. The company has negotiated licensing (so far) with nearly all of the broadcast networks and several cable channels like Nickelodeon, Showtime and Discovery, but there’s no Fox, Disney or ESPN, which would be a deal-breaker in my house.

All of which leads me to where Google is headed with Fiber TV. After watching the cable market for years, and recent broadband build-out activity, I can make a few wild guesses… some of which may even turn out to be right.

Prediction #1: Google TV is not about TV

The TiVo Lunchbox Giveaway

I was recently reminded of a fun souvenir TiVo gave out to employees in honor of “Blue Moon” a few months back. This Friday, March 30, 2012, will be a vacation day for TiVo employees. Why? Because it’s Blue Moon Day! The fourteenth Blue Moon day, in fact: Thirteen years since March 26, 1999, when the world’s … Read more

RCN Pressures TiVo For More Apps Spotify, Twitter, Facebook?

TiVo partner RCN posted a fairly meaty state of the union on DSLReports today. Not only does the cable TV provider cover plans to possibly support the upcoming TiVo Stream and IP-STB along with the release of a refreshed VOD experience featuring a sleeker HDUI look and video previews, RCN talks apps: We have pushed VERY hard … Read more

DISH Modifies Prime Time Anytime & Auto-Hop (To Defuse Broadcaster Wrath)

auto-hop

DISH Network has rolled out an update to their well received Hopper DVR that, among other things, seems to respond directly to broadcaster concerns of an unlicensed on demand service that has led to a multitude of lawsuits.

If you recall, the Hopper incorporates a consumer friendly Prime Time Anytime feature to automate the recording of prime time network programming, with shows retained 8 days. Building upon that functionality, DISH then introduced Auto Hop commercial skip functionality… which, of course, the broadcasters did not respond well to.

To possibly head off or limit the pending legal action, DISH has tweaked both these services to require a bit more user interaction and to enable more granular control.