February 29, 2004
The End of Spectrum ScarcityThat's the title of an article I
co-wrote with Greg Staple, a Washington telecom lawyer, in the new
issue of IEEE Spectrum magazine. We explain how "open spectrum"
technologies could, with the right regulatory decisions, massively
increase the usable capacity for wireless communication. More
spectrum is also coming from conventional sources like FCC
reallocation.
It's hard to overstate how big a deal this could be. Cingular
just spent $41 billion for AT&T Wireless, allegedly because it
desparately needed more spectrum. And we're not even imagining
the applications and usage scenarios that will develop when wireless
capacity goes from being expensive and scarce to virtually free like
computer cycles.
February 28, 2004
SourceForge.net: Project Info - Torrent Tracker"Torrent Tracker is a Perl and PHP-based '.torrent' tracker, with a web front end. It lets you or anyone else upload and download torrent files as well as monitoring the utilization of all torrents it knows of."
February 17, 2004
why i don't think videoblogging is ready for alpha release.the dowbrigade piece on why we need video aggregators really got me thinking so i went back to take another gander. i still think it's the boodiggity, but the more i read it, the more i realize that i don't...
February 12, 2004
brave new video.funny how things work. i was typing notes for a paper on the future of video distribution when i came across andrew grumet's proposal for an RSS scheme for PVRs. Makes sense. Sounds familiar to eli's thoughts on video metadata....
February 06, 2004
BBC Deploys Video Cell PhonesIn the television news business, sometimes poor-quality video that scoops the competition is better than no video at all.
That's why the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently gave 40 of its reporters and producers camera cell phones that can record and send video, and plans to distribute 40 more. While the concept is being pioneered in the U.K., it's one that is sure to soon land on U.S. shores and will undoubtedly affect the practice of journalism globally.
Key info from article: BBC asked Philips and Nokia to improve an existing phone. Phones can record/broadcast up to an hour (versus little chunks like existing camera phones). And Viacom's CBS doesn't mind playing catch up; a Viacom spokeswomen said, "We've looked at this technology, but thus far it is not of broadcast quality."
the art of video sniffingfrom P2Pnet:
The sport generally involves hacking up a standard 2.4GHz video receiver, equipping it with an external antenna connector, a long-lasting power supply and possibly an amplifier to boost its range. Hobbyists with more cash than soldering skills can spring for a $400 Icom IC-R3 scanner, capable of picking up wireless video signals and displaying them on a built-in two-inch LCD screen. "Experimenting with wireless video opens a whole new world for monitoring, whether for fun or security," reads the Icom webpage.
February 04, 2004
Wearable VJ Pack from CNNWhile CNN is not introducing any new technology here, this is a great example of the emerging trend towards a more decentralized mobile television production process typified by Video Journalism. via Lost Remote:
CNN Deploys Video Correspondents
(PRESS RELEASE 2/4/04) -- CNN recently developed new digital newsgathering equipment designed to combine cameras, editing tools and advanced satellite and Internet communications technology into a laptop-based system, it was announced by Chris Cramer, managing director of CNN International.
In effect, fifty pounds of gear is packaged into a lightweight laptop and camera, enabling CNN reporters to report, edit and transmit from nearly anywhere in the world more easily. The network also appointed a team of three international video correspondents - Ryan Chilcote, Karl Penhaul and Alphonso Van Marsh - to demonstrate the benefits of the equipment.
The system has proven so successful in the field - notably in coverage of Saddam Hussein's capture and the revolution in Georgia - that the network has issued the equipment to all of its 28 international bureaus.
The new equipment ushers in a new era of newsgathering for CNN, Cramer said. The technology enables correspondents to harness news in a quick, vibrant way without being encumbered with heavy broadcasting and editing equipment.
"These new correspondents, when combined with the newly developed laptop-based equipment, give CNN greater flexibility in the deployment of staff," Cramer said. "In addition, those deployed have language, cultural and political understanding of the regions, having lived and worked in various parts of the world for large parts of their lives."
The new DNG system enables correspondents to edit packages and file reports on the scene without carrying bulky edit equipment or traveling to satellite feed points. The system integrates a software-based videophone into a laptop computer. With the addition of editing and transmission software, the laptop becomes CNN's single-solution platform for editing, compression, transmission and live shots.
CNN developed the entire system in-house using largely off-the-shelf technology. With the new technology, CNN correspondents can now compress and transmit broadcast quality video at a range of speeds, depending on the connection options - from 128K ISDN for satellite phones to multiple megabits on high-speed data and remote VSAT lines.