Tag: YouTube

LG launches affordable Blu-Ray home cinema system

From LG comes a Blu-Ray based home cinema system. The HB954SP offers Full HD 1080p playback, 1000W of power and 5.1 channel output with five oval satellite speakers.

LG's latest system offers one click access to YouTube and and an iPhone/iPod docking/charging station. LG Sound Gallery offers seven sound settings including a night mode to turn off the bass so you do not wake sleeping children. Connections include two HDMI inputs for hook up other devices such as a game console, DVD recorder or HD satellite box.

This system will be available from November 2009 from major retailers and independents.

Shinychris Home cinema

The LG HR400 – Blu-ray, Freeview HDD and YouTube all-in-one

LG has announced that the HR400 will be available at the end of this month. The HR400 is a Blu-ray DVD player, a Freeview receiver with recording onto a built-in HDD and it also streams YouTube videos without the need for a PC.

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The Blu-ray is 1080p full HD and will also upscale your old DVDs. The Freeview element includes a 160GB HDD.

This really does do the job of two separate boxes and the YouTube feature is just a nice little bonus.

It will cost around £350 – which is fairly cheap considering the functionality. Find out more from LG.

(via T3)

Related posts: LG to launch 15-inch OLED in 2010 | REVIEW: LG 42LH5000 – 200Hz 42-inch LCD TV

Paul Lamkin Blu-ray, Digital set-top boxes

YouTube to help citizen journalists with dedicated channel

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YouTube has launched a new channel – The YouTube Reporters’ Center (yep Center, American’s are more important than us, everybody knows that).

The channel aims to take advantage of its unique position in terms of user content when it comes to world events. The current situation in Iran has highlighted its importance in terms of showcasing first-hand events – particularly with the tragic case of Neda Agha-Soltan whose death was captured on video and posted onto YouTube.

The channel’s aim is to improve the citizen journalism currently on show on YouTube. There are plenty of instructional videos from the experts such as learning how to prepare for an interview with CBS’ Katie Couric, tips on how to be an investigative reporter from Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward or how to report on a humanitarian crisis from Nick Kristof of the New York Times.

The service sounds like a great idea for budding journalists or just ordinary folk who are interested in reporting on news-worthy events in their community. As usual with Google the timing is spot on as well.

(via Google Blog)

Paul Lamkin Internet, Web 2.0

The Pirate Bay launches Video Bay beta

You would think that the guys over at the Pirate Bay might lay low for a little while, given the on-going court case and the possibility of jail-time.

But no, their fight against (or should I say, for) copyright infringement shows no sign of relenting – in fact it is showing clear signs of accelerating with the beta release of the Video Bay.

Nothing actually works on the Video Bay at present apart from a couple of test video clips that are a little temperamental. Visitors are presented with a homescreen that states: “This site will be an experimental playground and as such subjected to both live and drunk (en)coding, so please don’t bug us too much if the site ain’t working properly.”

Pirate Bay Spokesman Peter Sunde said it might be a while before the site is launched properly. “It will be done when it’s done, in the future, in like a year or five,” he said.

The Video Bay will aim to rival YouTube with streaming video content. Unlike YouTube, however, there will be no removal of content that may infringe on copyright legislation.

Considering the huge fan base that already exists at the Pirate Bay and the fact that many of these fans are tech savvy – expect the Video Bay to

Paul Lamkin Intellectual Property, Internet

BT hits back in iPlayer throttling row

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You may remember last week, we published a post regarding BT’s apparent throttling of its users broadband connections. Well, the telecom giant has hit back, going public with its condemnation of online video services like the BBC’s iPlayer and YouTube.

Basically this is how the row has unfolded: The BBC releases a story accusing BT of slowing down broadband connections at peak time – to less than 1Mbps between 5pm and midnight – when users should be getting up to 8Mbps. BT responds by sending an email to BBC Radio 4 programme You and Yours stating that content providers “can’t expect to continue to get a free ride”. They also go public with this stance.

The Beeb have responded today, via their blog, saying that BT’s move was a “forthright call for cash” and that the row could end with net neutrality becoming obsolete.

What this means is that ISPs, who currently make no differentiation between types of internet traffic, could begin to charge content providers for their output, particularly bandwidth hoggers like the iPlayer.

The row illustrates how much the net has evolved over the last few years. With the mass introduction of high-bandwidth streaming service like the iPlayer, Spotify, YouTube and the like, the pressure on ISPs to provide a fast and consistent service to their users has increased dramatically.

Lord Carter’s Digital Britain review is due next week and should call for broadband at high speeds and low prices. It might just be that content providers are going to have to come to a compromise with the ISPs to make that happen.

Whatever the outcome, the end users should not be the ones who are penalised. If an ISP advertises up to 8Mbps broadband with unlimited data allowance then that is exactly what they should provide. They shouldn’t promote a service if they are going to struggle to provide it.

(via The FT)

Paul Lamkin Broadband, Internet