Magic Motion
So I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and being a huge nerd comes along with the territory I guess. So although I know how lame this looks to other people, I think it’s pretty fun.
The Kymera Magic Wand universal remote is a magic wand for your television, literally. Just like spells in HP there are specific gestures to control volume and channel. It’s $84 so it will set you back a bit, but so will any other movie related prop or memorabilia, and this is much more useful.
Water Safety
Just in case you like to watch television in the bathroom (maybe you have one of those TV’s that looks like a mirror and then suddenly it’s your favorite show) or perhaps you worry about your electronics because you have a lot of little kids.
Well, Sony Japan has recently released the Rimotokomanda universal remote. The most unique feature (other than it’s wide variety of colors) is it’s water resistance. That’s right, a water resistant television remote. I don’t know how many people may actually need one, but hey, a little feature like that, it can’t hurt.
Local TV coming soon to a phone near you
Just in case you needed something else to do with your wireless device–soon you can watch real-time local TV.
According to the NY Times a group called the Open Mobile Video Coalition is working on a standard that will let TV stations use some of the new frequencies given for high-definition broadcasts to be used for wireless devices. Called Mobile DTV, the service will be available for devices such as in-car screens, portable DVD players and mobile phones
Five Washington-area station participated in a demonstration and will be conducting a trial for the services over the next few months. Programming choices will also include live emergency alerts, local news and sports and other interactive services still in development.
Currently a similar technology is available in Asia, but not yet in America. Your current phone won’t work with this technology, but a whole new generation of devices is being developed.
A new way to (legally) download movies to keep
Film Fresh is the first industry-approved site to purchase and download movies in DivX, which is a format that can allow you to play movies on your computer and your TV or even through your Playstation3. You can also burn them to a DVD and play them on your DVD players.
Film Fresh has about 600 films already including Iron Man, Pineapple Express and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The site also has indie and world films for a little something different. Downloads are about $10-13 but they are yours to keep (legally!)
Super Powers
Well, it’s not Heroes but it is mind reading, and it is real.
Canada’s largest children’s hospital has come up with a way to read infrared light absorbed in the brain to decode a person’s feelings. They specifically tested drink preferences with subjects. They hope it the technology can be used to look at the true feelings of people who can’t speak.
So maybe you won’t be able to cheat off the kid sitting behind you during an exam, but helping those with physical limitations seems like a more heroic use of the skill anyway.
Not your daddy’s 3D
3D is making a comeback. With new commercials during the Super Bowl and a full-length episode of NBC’s Chuck on Monday, 3D is coming to TV.
DreamWorks Animation will show a preview for its upcoming “Monsters vs. Aliens” in 3D during the Super Bowl Sunday, February 1. In addition, another spot will highlight Sobe Life Water energy drinks. The advertising block will air at the end of the second quarter of the Super Bowl.
Some 150 million pairs of 3D glasses are being distributed at nearly 30,000 Pepsi/Sobe Life Water displays around the country.
According to an article in PC Magazine, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg says that the studios films will be made in 3D from “here on out.” The films use a technology called InTru3D, which was developed by a partnership with Intel. Another big change from traditional 3D is the effect isn’t the result of red and blue filtering, which often leaves colors washed out. Using ColorCode, images appear normal to the naked eye but slight variations in the coloring of the image produces the 3D effect when viewed through the appropriate lenses.
It should be a treat. Grab your glasses and a drink and settle in for the game Sunday.
Advertisement to Go
Billboards are so last week, lets bring television commercial style to the stagnant style of city advertising. That’s just the idea behind a new evolution in New York City Busing.
The buses won’t only come equipped with the equivalent of a side style television screen but a GPS system as well, ads will then specify themselves depending on the neighborhood and time of day.
It’s quite an idea in the advertising world, and I won’t say it’s not going to work, it probably will. What I do have to say is it’s getting creepy how far into my head advertising is beginning to penetrate.
Quite a Combination
What more could you want than the ability to fast forward through commercials and record any movie of your choosing? Well, a lot more apparently. As if Tivo didn’t have enough going for it to begin with, now Netflix and Tivo are officially partnering up for real.
Netflix (probably by December) will be streaming the movie library already available online through Tivo HD customers. Think of the options, the possibilities, all those movies. The deals only been in the works for four years, but better late than never I suppose. The innovation of television is not over and boy is that exciting.
A New Place to Watch
When it comes to college there are a lot of choices to be made (beyond what school). More specifically I’m talking about what to buy and bring. Of course you’ve got your basics where tech is concerned: computer, cell phone, alarm clock. But what about those little extras to keep you happy so far from home?
Some of the more popular extras I’ve seen include printers, refrigerators, and of course, TVs. But say you have a PC, maybe you don’t need a TV after all!
This is where Nero Liquid TV comes in. Basically watch TV on PC computer, with Tivo. That’s right, with Tivo, the best invention since the video cassette. Lets be honest, many computer monitors are bigger than televisions anyway, and think of the space you could save with only one screen to make space for.
The Nero also boasts features that include exporting recorded shows to ipods (ironic since it’s only compatible with PC’s right now) or burning them to DVD’s. If only I wasn’t a Mac owner. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to get an old fashioned TV style Tivo to help out with my hectic television interrupting work schedule.
TV On My Time
DVR is probably the best thing to happen to television since color displays. I mean, it wouldn’t be worth much if there weren’t anything to watch, but there are (Lost and Heroes to name my top picks). The fact is TV hasn’t been this engaging, or more irritating , in years. You can’t miss a single episode or you’ll be disoriented for weeks, thus DVR comes in.
For anyone still unsure as to what a DVR is it’s a digital video recorder, you can record any programs you are going to miss, due to unfortunate time conflicts, without having to set a tape and a VCR. Pull up the television guide, hit a few buttons, and you’re golden. The example I have at home is a Tivo. The Tivo controls are relatively simple, and definitely easier than any VHS recording. Simplicity should be the goal of all technology and a DVR provides just that.
Even better than missing a show and not worrying about it is being able to watch an incredible show a second time! (As a Lost fan this specific possibility is especially important.) If a simple recording option wasn’t enough Tivo has recently announced that it will soon be providing Youtube videos directly to your television (a service previously only offered through Apple TV). What could be more amusing than watching Charlie the Unicorn on a wide screen display?
If only I could bring a DVR back to college with me, if I’m ever likely to be over scheduled and miss a show it’s at school.
