Posted Jan 28th 2010 11:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Hardware, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family
Will Apple's new
iPad really change the way we watch TV? That was one of the big questions that we were asking before Steve Jobs' presentation yesterday in San Francisco. I thought that since
he was conferring with network execs to slash iTunes prices for TV episodes, that
the iPad would have a major TV viewing component.
Now that we've seen the device and watched it demonstrated, the answer isn't crystal clear. But yes, it should have some impact on TV viewing.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I agree with those that call the iPad just a bigger version of the iTouch or iPhone. On the surface, it is. However, while it's true that someone might prefer a one-hand device like the smaller iTouch or iPhone to watch a show on a commuter train, you have to imagine a different setting for the iPad.
Continue reading Will the iPad change how we watch TV? Maybe
Posted Jan 26th 2010 8:40PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Hardware, Reality-Free
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but on the eve of Apple's next big thing -- something being called
the Apple tablet which only makes me think of an aspirin that tastes fruity --
Steve Jobs wants the networks to drop the cost to download TV episodes from the iTunes store.
Could that be the reason Steve is meeting with the executives, to make them see that downloads would increase substantially if individual episodes were $.99 instead of the current prices which are typically twice that amount or more.
There's plenty of reason why the networks should listen to Steve. He's been right a lot more than he's been wrong. The iPod and the iPhone have revolutionized how we listen to music, use our phones, PDAs, etc. Whatever the next big thing is from Apple, it probably involves how to watch TV in a more portable way. Even more than we already are watching with the stuff we're carrying now.
Continue reading Steve Jobs wants the networks to cut iTunes TV download prices
Posted Jan 6th 2010 10:29AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: HDTV, Documentary, Hardware, Reality-Free
The only way
a 3D version of ESPN could be cooler is if ESPN aired some kind of awesome competition at the X-Games that involved skateboarders and sharks.
So until some stoned extreme sports team organizer invents "sharkboarding," we'll just have to settle with a three-dimensional Discovery Channel.
The network is teaming with Sony and IMAX to launch its own 3D, 24-hour channel by 2011. It doesn't say exactly what the programming will entail, but expect a lot of giant man-eating animals trying to jump out of your TV and claw their way up the food chain.
Posted Jan 5th 2010 9:00PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Sports, HDTV, Hardware, Reality-Free
If
three dimensional television is just a passing fad, then clearly no one told ESPN.
The all sports cable network will implement
3D technology with a new sports channel, set to premiere this year. The first 3D game will be the FIFA World Cup in June.
Would you watch your sports if they were in glorious 3D? If anything, it would make watching soccer tolerable.
Posted Dec 27th 2009 1:05PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, The Simpsons, Hardware, Software, Reality-Free
With the invention of the App Store, it should be no surprise that game versions of various television properties would appear on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I have managed to get my hands on two of them (
Family Feud and
The Simpsons) and offer a brief review of each.
Family Feud - This game is a wonderful recreation of the environment of the game show it's based on, right down to the camera pans. The big difference is that one has to type any of the top-however-many answers rather than speak them, so it's best if the player have excellent spelling skills. Currently the game is on sale for $2.99 in the
App Store.
Continue reading Family Feud and The Simpsons on the iPhone
Posted Dec 17th 2009 8:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Cable/Satellite, Hardware, Reality-Free
As I ran through my local Best Buy trying to fight my way through the horde of morons like me who waited until the last possible minute to buy presents without having to resort to gasoline gift cards, I came across this strange device:
Flo TV.
I call it strange because while a portable TV isn't a new idea, one that gives you deep access to cable and network shows like a TiVo that can fit in your pocket does seem like too much TV for one person.
Don't get me wrong. It's cool that technology has finally allowed such autonomy, so that now even a Sherpa on the top of the Himalayas can catch up on
The Hills. But isn't part of the fun of television the anticipation of waiting to see your favorite shows? That rush you get running home from work so you can catch
The Colbert Report or
Top Gear and bring an official end to a long and hard day.
Is there such a thing as too much access to your favorite shows?
Posted Dec 9th 2009 10:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, OpEd, Hardware, Reality-Free
Imagine if you will that you have a ticket to the amazing new monolithic football megaplex, Cowboys Stadium, this Sunday to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the San Diego Chargers. It's two probable playoff teams. It's a potential offensive showcase with two strong-armed quarterbacks. It's got everything to recommend it and you have a ticket.
Now, how excited are to learn that you can watch the game in 3D? That's right, when you enter the venue, you'll be handed 3D glasses.
The Cowboy-Charger game will then be broadcast on the huge HD screen in 3D. That's the big screen that hangs over the field. Every play will immediately be converted from HD to 3D with some exciting new technology created in Edison, New Jersey. If you're at home, you won't see 3D, but if you're there, you can wear glasses just like these folks in the picture.
Continue reading NFL to try 3D football broadcast live on Sunday
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 7:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Hardware, Reality-Free
There comes a time of the year when one has to count their blessings because, when truth is finally told, things could be a lot worse. This is that time. And what am I thankful for? Glad you asked.
Big LCD televisions that hang on the wall - I think that says it all. Of course, some day all the current display technologies will be abandoned in favor of the video waves that transmit directly to our brains, but until then there is the LCD (or plasma, depending on your technology choice) on the wall.
The Big Bang Theory - It's hard to believe that the creator of Two and a Half Men (a show of which I am not a fan) could create such a terrific show. I only discovered the show this past year. I'm usually not a fan of sitcoms but with all the geeky references in BBT, I find that if I could give the show a big, sloppy, wet kiss, I would.
Continue reading What Brad is thankful for
Posted Nov 13th 2009 4:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: HDTV, TV Squad Polls, Hardware, Reality-Free
I haven't owned a
black and white television in 20 years, but a lot of people in the UK still do. In fact, 30,000 of them, according to the story at BBC News.
That seems like a lot to me, but I figured I'd ask TV Squad readers if they still watch one or not. Sometimes I'll watch a color movie in black and white (by turning off the color), to see how it looks and see if it gets any better (note: does not work with Pauly Shore movies).
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 12:42PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Web, Hardware, Reality-Free
The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital blog is reporting that Apple is having meetings with TV networks to see if they'd be interested in having their programs available on iTunes in a deal where viewers would pay a monthly flat fee to watch the shows.
Obviously, many networks already offer various shows on iTunes, but this would be a scenario where
Mac and PC users of iTunes would pay a $30 a month subscription in order to watch TV shows. And that would be all shows, not just paying for each show that you want to watch.
Continue reading Would you watch TV on iTunes for $30 a month?
Posted Oct 27th 2009 10:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, HDTV, Hardware, Reality-Free
All this talk of
3-D television has really puzzled me. It seems the companies are pushing more for the technology than the customers actually want it. It's the debut of the Toyota Prius all over again.
Television manufacturers are hoping the onslaught of 3-D movies, such as
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, will increase the whisper-level clamors for 3-D televisions. The TVs should be in stores next year.
To me, the two experiences are almost completely different. 3-D films work in the theaters because the audience is forced to look at the screen, whereas TV is a completely voluntary viewing experience. If there is a way to utilize the technology to enhance the experience on more than just a visual level, like Comedy Central's first-person junk-joke-fest
Secret Girlfriend, then maybe you've got gold.
Posted Oct 21st 2009 7:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Hardware, Reality-Free
Finally, someone has given guys the opportunity to look at a woman's chest and not get slapped.
It's the Boob Tube Bra, a bra that has two small TV screens embedded in the cups. Sure, this isn't going to be sold in stores, it's one of the
special bras on display at the Baylor Medical Center at Irving Cancer Center in Texas, but it's a cool concept. I wonder how you turn up the volume and change the channel?
[via
TV Tattle]
Posted Sep 30th 2009 4:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Hardware, Reality-Free
Why must Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and that lot constantly develop new technologies in an attempt to break my bank account? First it was things like flat television and high definition. Now, Panasonic is joining the ranks of other television manufacturers to produce a high definition television that can handle both 2D and 3D images. But this time, they're enlisting Hollywood
to help them sell it.
The idea is that Hollywood is producing more 3D films and this technology will enable the sale of 3D DVDs. It could even potentially be the feature to push Blu-ray sales to the level of regular DVDs (assuming it's only on Blu-ray).
Do we really need to be able to watch 3D movies at home? It sounds like one of those things that seem extraneous at first then once you have it in the home you have no idea how you lived without it. 3D television has been talked about for years now. We'll have to see if this is the event that pushes it more to the mainstream.
Posted Sep 9th 2009 7:02PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Hardware, Reality-Free
Entertainment Weekly Subscribers in New York and Los Angeles were treated to
40 minutes of video promoting the CBS fall lineup right in the pages of the magazine's Fall Preview this week, as Bob reported last month. But this groundbreaking movie got me thinking about how this technology could be used.
It's a potentially great development for the print medium. The player in
EW is interactive, meaning that as you press on the page it's embedded in it responds. Click on
The Big Bang Theory and you'll see the preview of the new season on that show. All those people who abandoned print for the interactive experience online can now get that in their favorite magazines as well.
The technology is a brilliant way for an advertisement to reach out to an even wider audience. These little players can be stuck just about anywhere, and loaded with 40 minutes or so of playback. Imagine picking up that DVD set of a TV show you've heard about and being able to watch clips of it right there.
Continue reading EW's Fall Preview issue with the embedded video creates tons of opportunity
Posted Aug 25th 2009 2:33PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: HDTV, Hardware, Software, Reality-Free
Apple has left some fairly noticeable heel marks on the free throw lines of the computer, digital music and the cell phone industry.
So what technology business does Steve Jobs have next on his "To Dominate" list? Why TV, of course. What did you think I was going to say? Toasters? Did you not read the name of this blog?
A financial analyst with the Piper Jaffray investment banking firm speculated that
the company is eying at taking a stab at TV technology by releasing its own high definition television by 2011.
Continue reading Is Apple looking to take a bite out of TV next?
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