Business News Holding

Tag: 720p

  • iPhone 4 is Here

    The iPhone 4 has been finally announced at the WWDC 2010. Steve Jobs himself revealed the new smartphone by Apple: the next iPhone is a 9.3mm thick (a quarter thinner than the iPhone 3GS; “the thinnest smartphone on the planet”, as Jobs said), has glass on front and back (“for better optical quality and scratch resistance”), and stainless steel around. It uses the stainless steel band as part of the antenna system.

    “It’s the most precise thing we’ve ever made,” Apple CEO said.

    iPhone 4 is powered by the A4 chip (designed ”in house”) and comes with two built-in cameras (one on the front and one on the back with an LED flash), two mics (one for a noise cancellation), micro-SIM (“we needed the space!"), 802.11n WiFi, GPS, compass, accelerometer, Quadband HSDPA/HSUPA, 7.2Mbps and up to 32GB of storage.

    The display is a huge innovation: based on new IPS technology ("quite a bit better than OLED"), the 3.5 inch, 960 x 640 Retina Display displays 326 pixels per inch (four times as many pixels as in any standard display) giving us really sharp text and pictures. The contrast ratio is 800:1 (4x better than the 3GS).

    Since the battery is now a bit bigger, its life has been improved. Apple says there is 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and 300 hours of standby.

    Another new piece of hardware is a gyroscope with pitch, roll, and yaw. It provides 6-axis motion sensing and features new CoreMotion APIs for extremely precise positioning. "We’re adding a 3 axis gyro, and we tied the gyro and accelerometer, compass, and gyro together for six axis. It’s perfect for gaming," Jobs said.

    Back camera has gone from 3 to 5 MP. Apple is using something that’s new to smarpthones — a back side illuminated sensor (giving more light to the camera). There’s a 5X digital zoom, tap to focus, and LED flash built in.

    Camera also does HD 720p (at 30 frames per second) video recording. It supports tap to focus and allows us to edit videos right on the phone. It also has 1-click sharing and the LED flash will stay on for the HD video recording. There is also iMovie coming to the iPhone for $4.99 (“if we approve it,” Jobs joked).

    iPhone 4 will also feature "FaceTime" video calling. It works between iPhone 4 devices, doesn’t require any setting-up and works anywhere there is WiFi. “It’s WIFI only in 2010. We need to work a little bit with our providers,” Jobs said. He added that Apple is going to make FaceTime and open industry standard.

    Apple has renamed the iPhone OS. Now it’s just iOS 4." Becuase it’s on iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone,” Apple CEO said. He also said that 100 millionth iOS device will be sold this month. "There is definitely a market for your applications," Jobs added.

    As announced earlier this year, new iOS 4 features include Multitasking for third party apps; Folders to better organize and access apps; improved Mail with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced Enterprise support with better data protection, mobile device management and wireless app distribution.

    Apple has also added Bing to the iPhone for search (“Microsoft has done a great job on this,” Jobs said). Google will still be the default, but now we’ll have choice of Google, Yahoo, or Bing.

    Developers will get a Golden Master Candidate release of iOS4 today.

    Apple is also bringing iBooks to the iPhone with the iPhone 4. It has the same bookshelf as on the iPad, the same ability to read a PDF and comes with the same controls, highlighting, notes, and bookmarking. We can download the same book to all our devices at no extra charge (“Buy it on your iPad, download to your iPhone”)! In addition, iBooks will automatically and wirelessly sync our current place, bookmarks, and notes across all our devices.

    On July 1st Apple will also start providing iAds to all iOS 4 devices. “Why are we doing this? To help our developers earn money to continue to create free and low-cost apps for users,” Jobs said. According to him, they are trying to combine “the emotion of video with the interactivity of the Web."

    Apple sells and hosts the ads, so developers just have to tell them where to put the ads. And devs get paid 60 percent of the revenue. The company started selling ads eight weeks ago to: Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Geico, Campbells, Sears, JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, DirecTV, TBS Network and Disney. "We’ve got advertisers committing to $60m," Jobs said.

    Price and availability
    iPhone 4 comes in two colors: black and white. 16GB model is for $199, and 32GB model for $299. Old 3GS is now $99

    Jobs said that AT&T is going to make an “incredibly generous upgrade offer: if your contract expires at any time in 2010, you can upgrade to the iPhone 4. You can get it up to six months early."

    The new iPhone will be on sale June 24th. Pre orders begin June 15th. Apple will ship iPhone 4 in US and four other countries on the first day (U.K., Germany, France, Japan). In July they’re shipping in 18 countries more. By September it will ship in 88 countries. "Our fastest roll out ever," Jobs said.

    iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod touch users can upgrade to iOS 4 for free starting June 21.

    Reed Hastings from Netflix, Mark Pincus from Zygna and Karthik Bala from Activision were also on stage announcing that Netflix, Farmville and new Guitar Hero will be coming to the iPhone.

  • Skype Teams Up with TV Makers and Goes HD

    Skype announced support for Skype video calls on PCs in 720p high definition, as well as Skype software embedded into internet-connected widescreen televisions from its consumer electronics manufacturer partners.

    The latest version of Skype for Windows can deliver up to 720p HD-quality video calling at 1280 x 720 resolution, at up to 30 frames per second.

    To make an HD video call, we will need a high-speed broadband connection, an HD webcam, a PC with a 1.8 GHz dual-core processor and Skype 4.2 Beta for Windows.

    New HD webcams are due to arrive at CES 2010. FaceVsion and In Store Solutions introduces new HD webcams that are optimized to work with Skype. The new Skype Certified HD webcams handle the video encoding and processing onboard, removing the need for a high-performance computer to encode the HD video.

    At CES, Skype also announced partnerships with LG and Panasonic to offer Skype–enabled HDTVs. Skype software will be embedded into Panasonic’s line of 2010 VIERA CAST-enabled HDTVs and LG’s 26 new LCD and plasma HDTVs with NetCast Entertainment Access.

    Both lines are expected to be available in mid-2010. Both LG and Panasonic will offer specially-designed HD webcams that are optimized for Skype video calls as separate accessories that can be plugged into the televisions. These webcams support 720p HD and include special microphones and optics that can pick up sound and video from a couch-distance.

    The new HDTVs will deliver familiar Skype features including:

    • Free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls
    • Calls to landline or mobile phones at Skype’s rates
    • The option to receive inbound calls via a user’s online Skype number
    • Skype voicemail, if it is set up
    • Being invited to participate in voice conference calls with up to 24 other parties
    • Support for up to 720p HD video calls, depending on the availability of high-speed broadband and a HD webcam

  • 1080p HD Is Coming to YouTube

    YouTube has announced that support for watching 1080p HD videos in full resolution “is on its way.”

    Starting next week, YouTube’s HD mode will add support for viewing videos in 720p or 1080p, depending on the resolution of the original source, up from our maximum output of 720p today.

    “As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience,” YouTube software engineer Billy Biggs said in a blog post.

    The company also announced they are in the process of re-encoding all the 1080p videos users have already uploaded.

    YouTube will highlight top HD video snippets on its homepage.

    Here is the 1080p sample video

  • BitGravity Offers 1080p HD Live Video Streaming







    BitGravity announced today that it is launching a live digital video service that will allow users to stream Flash-based HD video over the Internet.

    The BG Live HD service can stream live events in 1080p or 720p resolution and doesn’t require a viewing client to be downloaded.

    The content delivery network (CDN) provider, making the announcement at DEMO 2009, said the new service was the first affordable, true HD, online streaming service for live events in 1080p or 720p resolution.

    Perry Wu, co-founder and CEO of BitGravity, said the notion of HD live broadcasting over the Internet is not earth shattering.
    However, he said doing it in a way that enables wide adoption is.

    Perry Wu, CEO BitGravity

    "Technology is not meaningful if we only deliver four out of five requirements that customers demand," he said.

    "TV-quality 720p and 1080p HD with only a few seconds delay off live, no client download, simple set-up, scalability, and affordability are the table stakes for being a player in this space."

    Last October, BitGravity announced the release of an application programming interface (API), capable of supporting cutting-edge interactive video applications.

    Based in Burlingame, California, the company launched a standard-definition version of the live online streaming service at last year’s DEMO event.

    Since then it has live streamed events such as the Democratic and Republican national conventions and President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

    Wu said BG Live HD, provides TV-quality video with just a few seconds of delay.

    He said the service has low hardware start-up costs.

    The HD H.264 live streaming software will initially be offered at no price premium over SD H.264 delivery.

    To stream live with an HD camera and Internet connection, BitGravity requires only an Apple Mac Pro loaded with BitGravity transcoding software, a PCI expansion card, and an HDMI or HDSDI source connected to BitGravity’s network.

    The new service streams data at a rate of 1.5- 2 megabits per second, which most cable modems and DSL lines can handle.
    BG Live HD will be generally available in April.

  • Mirial's Softphone Video Conferencing Software Upgraded to Full-HD


    Mirial has released version 6.2 of its video conferencing software that steps the Softphone up from 720p to 1080p.

    Cristoforo Mione, business development director at Mirial, said that with Full-HD resolution up to 1080p for both decoding and encoding, the upgraded version set the pace of the evolution in video and VoIP technology, according to voip-biz.news.

    He said that whatever the PC settings and available bandwidth, the Softphone automatically optimizes configurations to provide the best user experience and video quality, even in case of floating call conditions such as bandwidth drops/peaks.

    Mione said the Softphone was "nearly like having a top-class HD camera, an enterprise-fit MCU and a shared meeting room, all in one single piece of software to be launched everyday, anytime, from any desktop".

  • Canon Rises To Nikon's HD DSLR Challenge


    It has been described by Vincent Laforet, one of the world’s top professional photographers, as having the “potential to change our industry”.

    Nikon was the first to announce a DSLR capable of recording high def video in the form of the D90, which can capture full-motion video at up to 720p resolution and at 24 frames-per-second (fps).

    Now Canon’s latest offering has gone even further.

    The soon-to-be-launched Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR can record full 1080p video clips at 30 (fps).

    According to Laforet the camera, which is expected to retail for USD $2,799.99, performs better than many USD $100,000-plus video cameras.

    The EOS 5D Mark II, which can also record standard definition video, has a 3” Live View LCD.

    Up to 4GB of video can be recorded per clip or up to 30 minutes of footage, despending on what comes first.

    Video is recorded in the .mov format using an MPEG-4 video compression, and linear PCM sound without compression.

    An external stereo mic can be connected, or you can simply use the built-in monaural mic.

    Video can be played using HDMI on a wide-screen TV.

    New York-based Laforet, who Canon allowed 72-hours to try out a prototype of the camera, said of his experience: “The time I did have with a prototype of the Canon EOS 5D MKII will possibly change the path of my career as well as the photography industry to some degree.”

    He said the “game changer” of a camera produces the best stills in low light that he has ever seen.

    “What you can see with you eye in the worst light – such as sodium-vapor street lights at 3 am in Brooklyn – this camera can capture it with ease,” he said. “It produces the best video in low light that I’ve ever seen – at 1080p.”

    Laforet was allowed to try out the camera on condition he produced a video and stills completely independently from Canon USA.

    Despite having never shot a film before he made a video with less than 12 hours of pre-production with a USD $5,000 budget – which included USD $2,000 for a one hour helicopter flight over the city.

    The short film was shot over two nights with two models, three assistants, a co-director, one editor, and one makeup artist.

    Laforet said a top commercial film editor who regularly edits RED camera footage, and who saw the raw footage from the 5D MKII, said it was “far superior to the RED camera” in terms of low light performance.

    The EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR will be available at the end of November in a body-only configuration for an ESP of USD $2,799.99; or in a kit with Canon’s EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens for USD $3,649.99.

    Please let us know what you make of the footage. Is the EOS 5D Mark II a game changer?