7/31/2008
NBC Makes Innovative Camera Advancements to Enhance Olympic Coverage
Each Olympics is full of not only physical achievements, but technological advances as well. For the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, NBC Sports has several innovative camera gadgets to help make coverage more exciting and easier to grasp.Veteran NBC camera guru Garrett Brown and colleagues have come up with the following camera inventions to enhance coverage of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics:
- Tiny HD "lipstick cams" will be placed on the athletes themselves to provide POV shots
- The submerged "Dive Cam" will shoot down a plastic tube to capture the point of impact from the high dive
- The "Sky Cam" will capture rowers and kayakers from far above the water course
- GPS and digital course maps will be deployed to help viewers keep track of athletes progress on longer events
David Neal, NBC's executive vice president in charge of Olympics coverage, told the Star Tribune "For us, it's all about making sports easier to understand. But the best technical innovations are the ones that take the viewer on a magic carpet ride. They transport the television viewer out of their easy chair at home and give them a sense of what it's like to be on the field of play."
NBC plans on providing 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage from 35 venues in Beijing.
The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics start August 8th.
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Labels: tv
3/13/2008
YouTube TV
Pick up the remote, turn on the television and watch YouTube.The blurring of the television and the computer, envisioned by technology enthusiasts for years, advanced another step on Wednesday when TiVo, the popular maker of digital video recorders, announced an agreement with YouTube that will deliver millions of Web videos directly to users’ TV screens.
“TiVo’s strategy is to bridge the gap between Web video and television and make as much content available as possible for our subscribers,” said Tara Maitra, TiVo’s vice president and general manager for content services.
TiVo is the latest entrant into the marketplace for porting Internet videos to television. Apple has introduced a version of Apple TV with similar features. Although several companies are trying to merge online content with the big screen in the living room, no one product dominates the market.
“Leaning forward at my computer screen, I’ve got this giant amount of content,” said Dmitry Shapiro, the founder of Veoh, one such company. “But as soon as I want to relax in my living room with friends, I’m stuck with what’s on my TV.”
TiVo pioneered the digital video recorder technology that enabled television viewers to time-shift their favorite shows, and its set-top boxes are increasingly acting like digital video retrievers and receivers as well. The company already makes video from about 40 partners available through its box.
Just as users can sign up for a season pass to record “Desperate Housewives” on ABC, they will be able to subscribe to CNet video clips, CBS episode recaps and other segments and have the content downloaded to their hard drives. The YouTube clips, however, will be streamed by broadband Internet connection.
When it is introduced this year (the exact time has not been specified), the YouTube service will be available only to TiVo users who have up-to-date hardware — a Series 3 or HD set-top box — and a broadband connection.
Of the four million TiVo users nationwide, more than half get their set-top box from a cable operator. Of the 1.7 million who bought their box directly from TiVo, only about 800,000 have the necessary broadband connection.
Users will be able to log into their accounts and gain access to playlists on the video-sharing site directly from their televisions. The company also plans to let users subscribe to video feeds from across the Internet by using software called an R.S.S. reader.
“TiVo should be the best experience for all video options, whether it’s coming from cable, satellite or off of a server,” Ms. Maitra said.
The integration of Web video and TiVo was a result of YouTube’s decision, announced last August and made public Wednesday, to open the YouTube platform for outside developers. The platform promises to make it easier for other sites to upload and manage videos.
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2/11/2008
The Over-Caffeinated Newsroom
How do the corespondents of NBC News stay alert and up all night when covering the U.S. Presidential primaries? Adrenaline? The thrill of being on live TV? Nope. They get all drugged up on caffeine, sugar and energy gels.
Here's a video that documents the talent of NBC News and their substance of choice.
Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News)
Power Bars and gels
Ann Curry (Today Show)
12 shots of Starbucks espresso
Tim Russert (Meet The Press)
Diet Coke & licorice
Mara Schiavocampo (NBC News)
gallons of Red Bull
I'm not exactly sure who at NBC News is in charge of scraping an over-caffeinated Ann Curry off the ceiling. Probably some poor intern.
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Here's a video that documents the talent of NBC News and their substance of choice.
Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News)Power Bars and gels
Ann Curry (Today Show)
12 shots of Starbucks espresso
Tim Russert (Meet The Press)
Diet Coke & licorice
Mara Schiavocampo (NBC News)
gallons of Red Bull
I'm not exactly sure who at NBC News is in charge of scraping an over-caffeinated Ann Curry off the ceiling. Probably some poor intern.
methodshop
Labels: tv
2/06/2008
MSNBC's Super Tuesday Hype Inferno
This past Tuesday was "Super Tuesday" in the United States. Both the Republican and Democratic political parties held primary elections in 22 states to help decide which candidate would represent their parties in the upcoming November U.S. Presidential election.On Tuesday's episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Jon jokingly wondered "What's bigger than Super Tuesday?" These are what the American cable news networks came up with and Jon Stewart's reactions.
- Chris Matthews: "Super Duper Tuesday"
Jon Stewart: "That's kind of retarded... infantile." - CNN: "Super Fat Tuesday"
Jon Stewart: "Well that's certainly.... dope." - Fox News: "Tsunami Tuesday"
Jon Stewart: "Yes I believe the plethora of state primaries is reminiscent of the sudden and horrific deaths of a quarter million people living on the Indian Ocean." - MSNBC: "Monster Super Tuesday"
Jon Stewart: [Jon needs a fire extinguisher to hold off MSNBC's hype inferno. Just watch the clip. It's great.]
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Labels: tv
2/05/2008
Apple TV Update Delayed
Last week Apple announced they needed another couple of weeks to finish updating the Apple TV software that will finally allow users to rent movies directly from the TV rather than having to download on the computer and sync or stream the video to the Apple TV device.
This anticipated software upgrade will be available as a free software download to existing Apple TV users sometime in February. By the end of February, Apple’s iTunes online music store should have more than 1,000 movie titles available including more than 100 high-definition titles. The DVD-quality movies will be available to rent for $2.99 for older titles and $3.99 for newer titles while high-definition costs a buck more.
Also last week, Apple announced the MacBook Air has started shipping. Hopefully Apple packages the MacBook Air in something a little more sturdy than the envelopes featured in the ads!
Here's a video of the old Apple TV software:
Source: Gizmos for Geeks.
1/09/2008
CBS News Partners with Digg
Could it be true? Is one of the most traditional news organizations partnering with Kevin Rose's Digg.com?
This week CBSNews.com announced that they would be integrating with the social news discovery site Digg.com for their 2008 US Presidential election coverage.
Starting January 8th...
The Digg/CBS News partnership is just the latest example of traditional news media linking to and driving traffic to other sites (even competitors). For example, recently the New York Times Web site has begun highlighting stories from various prominent blogs and even competitors such as The Financial Times.
Guess they learned that trick from the Blogosphere.
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This week CBSNews.com announced that they would be integrating with the social news discovery site Digg.com for their 2008 US Presidential election coverage.
Starting January 8th...
- political related stories discovered by Digg users will be featured on CBSNews.com.
- Digg buttons will appear at the bottom of all CBS News stories encouraging Digg users to Digg and comment on them
- Digg.com will start distributing CBS News’ "Campaign '08" video content.
The Digg/CBS News partnership is just the latest example of traditional news media linking to and driving traffic to other sites (even competitors). For example, recently the New York Times Web site has begun highlighting stories from various prominent blogs and even competitors such as The Financial Times.
Guess they learned that trick from the Blogosphere.
methodshop
12/27/2007
Dateline To Catch A Predator - Taser Accident
Call me crazy, but when a group of Police officers approach me holding guns and start yelling "Get down on the ground," I'm gonna listen. This guy... not so much.Watch this clip first from the popular American TV series "Dateline: To Catch A Predator", then read my explanation. I've analyzed this YouTube clip frame by frame and watched it like 50 times. I think I've got it all figured out.
The perp unknowingly shows up at a "Dateline: To Catch A Predator" sting house looking for a sexual encounter with an underage teen. After Chris Hansen pops out and basically tells him that he's on national TV, the guy tries to put on his shoes and walk out the front door to freedom. But the cops are outside. They yell "Sheriff's office" and the perp panics and runs back inside the house. So the cops shoot him with a taser but only one of the taser prongs connects and he only gets a partial charge.
At this point the perp starts screaming like a little girl. Then the perp runs towards Chris Hansen and the Dateline NBC security guards usher Hansen away to safety. After the cops finally get the perp secured on the ground, he starts yelling for help from God. I don't know why this clip isn't on the dateline.msnbc.com website. It's riveting!
UPDATE: A tipster sent us the following: "This Dateline bust was in Bowling Green, KY. The guy is 24 years old. He came to meet a 13 year old girl. In a chat room he told her he was a police detective in Indiana. Actually he was only training to be a police officer but got asked to leave the department for violating procedures."It's really scary to think that this guy could have been a cop.
If the embedded video above doesn't load, you can watch the clip here.
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12/19/2007
Google Testing TV Ad Sales System
Do you work in local TV ads sales? You might want to polish up your resume and send it to Google. According to WSJ.com (subscription required), Google is buying giant blocks of local TV advertising at discounted rates and auctioning off the time to the highest bidder online. They are calling the program Google TV Ads.Google’s current partners in this endeavor are EchoStar and Astound Cable (a unit of WaveDivision Holdings LLC) and they are using Concord, California as a trial area. Astound Cable has 25k subscribers in Concord... just enough to test the computer and network infrastructure needed to broker and deliver commercials to cable systems more widely.
The entire process will be completely automated using a video version of Google’s highly successful AdWords reporting center -- from planning the campaign to uploading and serving the ad to reporting on its effectiveness. The flexibility of this model also allows advertisers to make changes to their campaigns as often and as quickly as they like. Google has even made a multi-year deal with Nielson giving them access to ratings data. This is the first time that advertisers and agencies will have this level of detailed measurement available in a single place and at such a large scale. Additional details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"This is an important, strategic relationship for both companies and a great fit," said David Calhoun, Chairman and CEO of The Nielsen Company. "We are pleased that Google looked to Nielsen to provide the demographic data that is so critical to the clients of its TV advertising platform. The relationship with Google – which we expect will expand significantly in the months ahead – is a prime example of the ways Nielsen is embracing new technologies, platforms and relationships worldwide to serve clients more completely, to provide companies with its insights and to help expand the base of potential advertisers everywhere."
Google has registered several domains to support this program including googletv.com and googlehdtv.net. Before Google launches new services, they tend to register Google
So what's Google's longterm plan for the television industry? Do they plan creating their own branded digital television DVR / satellite service? Garett Rogers from ZDnet thinks so. He posted these ideas on his blog.
Imagine the possibilities... You are watching Google Satellite TV through your "internet ready" Google DVR:
You receive a new Gmail and it pops up automatically on your TV - A ticker at the top of the screen shows recent news that interests you… or better yet, it shows new items from my Google Reader!
- A more personalized TV experience which will serve up relevant commercials on commercial breaks based on your interests.
If you are an advertiser, you can buy an ad and participate in the Concord trial here: http://google.com/adwords/tvads/
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11/19/2007
Quarterlife Picked Up by NBC
It looks as though Quarterlife creators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick have managed to get their show on the air after all.
NBC picked up the rights to broadcast, sell on DVD and stream the show in the U.S. and internationally, planning to premier it on air sometime in February or March after it completes its initial 36 webisode run on Yahoo TV.
The deal breaks mold in various ways. It is the first primetime show to debut online then secure a network spot. (Herskovitz and Zwick first pitched Quarterlife to ABC 3 years ago, but the network ultimately passed on it.)
Although NBC will contribute to production and development costs, the two producers will retain ownership and creative control of the show, according to reports.
Finally, the show may be strike proof as it's primarily an independently-financed online venture not subject to the strike embargo.
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NBC picked up the rights to broadcast, sell on DVD and stream the show in the U.S. and internationally, planning to premier it on air sometime in February or March after it completes its initial 36 webisode run on Yahoo TV.
The deal breaks mold in various ways. It is the first primetime show to debut online then secure a network spot. (Herskovitz and Zwick first pitched Quarterlife to ABC 3 years ago, but the network ultimately passed on it.)
Although NBC will contribute to production and development costs, the two producers will retain ownership and creative control of the show, according to reports.
Finally, the show may be strike proof as it's primarily an independently-financed online venture not subject to the strike embargo.
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11/07/2007
Why Would You Ever Go to Antarctica
As part of TODAY’s historic broadcast from the “Ends of the Earth,” exploring the extraordinary diversity of life on the planet and the limits of human exploration, anchor Ann Curry traveled to the very bottom of the globe, Antarctica, broadcasting from such extreme locations as the McMurdo Research Station. Her team's ultimate goal: the South Pole.Twelve thousand miles away from Matt Lauer, who was reporting live from the North Pole Monday, Curry proudly announced it was the first time NBC News was reporting live from Antarctica, calling it a stunningly beautiful continent.
Antarctica, which is one and a half times the size of the U.S. is often called the coldest, driest, windiest place on earth. With 90 percent of the world's ice, it is the planet's cooling system regulating temperatures worldwide. The coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was in Antarctica at minus 128 degrees Fahrenheit.
Read On:TodayShow.com
Click Here to Check out Ann's Photos!!
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Labels: environment, tv
Obama Takes the Stage at SNL
After spending most of last Saturday criticizing Hillary and Bill Clinton, US Presidential candidate, Barack Obama [see widget], took the stage with two impersonators - Amy Poehler and Darrell Hammond - on "Saturday Night Live."The opening sketch of Saturday's broadcast featured Poehler and Hammond, as the Clintons, hosting a Halloween party. Toward the end of the sketch a man walked in wearing an Obama mask - which he removed to reveal he was, indeed, Obama.
"I have nothing to hide," Obama said. "I enjoy being myself. I’m not going to change who I am just because it’s Halloween."
Campaigning in South Carolina earlier, Obama accused Hillary Clinton of giving voters "vague, calculated answers to suit the politics of the moment instead of clear, consistent principles about how you would lead America." And he subtly swiped at former President Bill Clinton by listing problems that "existed long before George Bush took office."Obama wrapped up his brief late-night comedy stint with the show's signature line: "Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night."
[Via MSNBC.com]
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Labels: tv
11/02/2007
The Real Forest Gump
On the week of November 5th NBC Nightly News is airing a series profiling recipients of the Medal of Honor including Sammt Davis, the man the movie Forest Gump is based on.The recipients are from the most difficult and recent conflicts the US has faced—from WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq—and each branch of service. Sammy Davis is the real Forest Gump. He’s receiving this award for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty. Similarly, Jason Dunham is receiving his medal of honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004.
There’s also Vernon Baker who already received this medal while serving as a POW, and was the only African American still alive when Medals were presented to blacks from WWII. And Tibor "Ted" Rubin (Army - Korea - Medal for action in Korea from 1950-1953) who distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism by serving as a rifleman with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in the Republic of Korea.The program is outlining their stories by collecting interviews with them, their families, and comrades. Their stories will also be complimented by the interviews with personal photographs, newsreel and archival footage and stills.
Source: The Daily Nightly
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10/30/2007
NBC Attempts First Bipolar Live Broadcast
When considering some of the most extreme environments on the planet, surely Antarctica, one of the coldest, driest and windiest places on earth (average temp of -56º F) comes to mind. Now imagine trying to conduct a live TV broadcast there. Sounds crazy right? My Direct-TV dish can't even get a clear signal when it's raining outside let alone an Antarctic blizzard. But on Nov. 5th & 6th the Today show will try when Ann Curry and Matt Lauer report live from Antarctica and the North Pole in a segment the Today Show calls The Ends of the Earth. This will be the first live simultaneous broadcast in history from the top and bottom of the globe.When facing some of planet’s harshest conditions, how do you even begin to coordinate a live TV shoot? Well, it might not seem like such an insurmountable feat when you consider that there are 1,000-4,000 people living and working in Antarctica on any given day (mostly scientists and their support staff). In fact, there are several year around permanent research stations in Antarctica. According to this article, the Today Show recruited the help of one such research station supported by the National Science Foundation. The NSF’s established base in Antarctica has advanced technological capabilities including a pre-set data circuit that show was able use for transmission. Using this system paired with a software program called Qvidium, there was no need for satellites. So no matter what the weather is like, NBC will still be able to broadcast live.
The actual equipment in use for this shoot is pretty straightforward. The shoot will be a single camera shot using the Ikegami HLV55 with it’s feed hooked up to a laptop computer that runs the Qvidium software to stream live video. The Qvidium system transports and/or captures live video feeds for IP networks, including High Definition video. It enables this high-quality video transport over unconditioned IP networks, including wireless links and the Internet. It can operate on a single path due to the limitations of bandwidth.
As far as other equipment, goes it was all very standard. Nothing special was used with regard to the microphones, batteries, or the like. It seems as though Antarctica is pretty advanced for a giant desert of ice, especially when considering the fact that NBC’s director of production operations was easily reached on his cell phone down there.Ironically it looks like the biggest challenge of this shoot won’t be technology, but rather making sure that the production crew stay warm. Also, the Antarctic Boomerang won't make it an easy trip home.
You can track Ann Curry's progress online here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/21487444
Brrrr voyage Ann!
[Sources: CaptClicker.com & Wikipedia]
Labels: tv
10/24/2007
Locked Door Derails NBC Studio Tour on Live TV
NBC News anchor Brian Williams tried to give a tour of his new TV studio live on the air but oops.... the studio DOOR WAS LOCKED!!!I wonder how many people got fired for that? You can see the clip here on YouTube.com.
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Labels: tv
9/20/2007
NBC to Offer Show Downloads
Next month, NBC.com is launching a new service, called NBC Direct, to allow users to download full episodes of NBC shows directly to their desktops.
Using NBC Direct, due out for Windows PCs (no mac support?! what is this 1995?) in October, will eventually be like setting your Tivo's Season Pass in that you can "subscribe" to a show once then automatically receive it each week. The software client will store each ad-supported episode for up to one week, after which the license expires.
Heroes, The Office, Life, Bionic Woman, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be available at launch.
Future plans include developing DRM-protected versions of shows that can be downloaded to an iPod, installing a P2P system to enable high definition downloads and experimentation with download-to-own, rental and subscription models.
But is this really what consumers want? Chris Crotty, an analyst for iSuppli, an independent firm that analyzes electronic media, said of the NBC move, "I think it’s a stretch." He argued that consumers have shown they are extremely happy with the iTunes service and that it would not be attractive to consumers to have to range far and wide over a number of services to find the programs they want to download.
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Using NBC Direct, due out for Windows PCs (no mac support?! what is this 1995?) in October, will eventually be like setting your Tivo's Season Pass in that you can "subscribe" to a show once then automatically receive it each week. The software client will store each ad-supported episode for up to one week, after which the license expires.Heroes, The Office, Life, Bionic Woman, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be available at launch.
Future plans include developing DRM-protected versions of shows that can be downloaded to an iPod, installing a P2P system to enable high definition downloads and experimentation with download-to-own, rental and subscription models.
But is this really what consumers want? Chris Crotty, an analyst for iSuppli, an independent firm that analyzes electronic media, said of the NBC move, "I think it’s a stretch." He argued that consumers have shown they are extremely happy with the iTunes service and that it would not be attractive to consumers to have to range far and wide over a number of services to find the programs they want to download.
"It’s not just a shift from a supermarket to a mom-and-pop story, it’s a shift to one store that only sells bread, another store that only sells dairy products. The consumers have decided they want to get their content from iTunes."Will NBC Direct add up to a significant number of downloads? Who knows. But by trying different approaches like Hulu, Amazon Unbox and NBC Direct, NBC will be able to find out.
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9/07/2007
MySpace's Tila Tequila Gets MTV Show
MTV's latest reality show - A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila - is built around the dishy, scantily clad singer/model who is reputed to have the most friends in the history of MySpace (2,009,335 at last count).Tila's career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at a shopping mall by a Playboy scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine and did a test shoot. Tila was featured as Playboy’s Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and a couple weeks later became Playboy’s first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month.
Besides MySpace and Playboy, Tila is also known for her photo spreads in Stuff, Maxim, and her role as host of the popular Fuse TV show Pants-Off Dance-Off.
MTV ordered 10-episodes of Tila's elimination-format dating show. It's slated to premiere on October 9th on MTV (USA).
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8/14/2007
Internet Video Gives American Idol Hopeful an Edge
Can an Asian-American ever hold the American Idol title? Paul Ethan Hahn says a resounding "yes" and Internet video might be his Ace in the Hole.Paul grew up in Murray Hill, New Jersey and has always been a big country fan. He also loves the hit FOX-TV program American Idol. And if Paul has his way, he’ll be the first Asian country singer on American Idol.
"I wanna make Paula Abdul cry and show that jerk off Simon how to sing. I want to be the next American Idol!" Paul quips.This week, Paul Hahn entered an online FOX 29 Philly Idol contest and hopes that a hi-tech edge will help him bypass the massive lines outside the first round of judges.
FOX 29 posted an open American Idol audition on their website. The winner gets to perform live on Fox's morning show, Good Day Philadelphia, and gets to bypass the first round of judges at the open American Idol Philadelphia auditions later this month. To enter, all you had to do was upload a video of you singing.
Paul recorded his American Idol demo using his Apple MacBook Pro laptop, with a built in iSight camera, and the video editing program iMovie.
"It was so easy," says Paul. "I just opened iMovie, recorded about a minute sample of my singing, burned a DVD and threw it into the mail. The whole process only took about 10 minutes."Since Idol's first season, we've seen Kelly Clarkson belt out high notes, a plethora of Sanjaya hairstyles, and even a contestant who went on to win an Oscar. But we haven’t seen any serious Asian-American contestants get a real shot at the Idol crown (sorry but William Hung doesn't count).
Will Paul's dream of telling off Simon and getting to sing a country song on American Idol come true? Can Internet video voting give this American Idol hopeful a back door to stardom? That's in the hands of you, the voters.
You can watch and vote for all the top 10 Philadelphia contestants, including Paul Hahn, on FOX 29’s web site: http://media.myfoxphilly.com/idol/idolvote.html. The top 5 get to perform live on FOX 29's morning show Good Day Philadelphia and the winner gets to bypass the massive lines at the Philadelphia open auditions for season 7.
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7/26/2007
ABC Starts HD Streaming Online
Can you stomach Ugly Betty in high-def? I'm not sure seeing individual drops of saliva dribbling off Ugly Betty's braces justifies the cost of an HDTV. But if your computer has a decent video card , then you can watch HD quality shows at ABC.com. The network is experimenting with HD streaming video using the new Move Networks video player.
Right now the HD streaming video is still in beta, but at least ABC is paving the way for HD video online. In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the major networks to upgrade their podcasts from 320x240 to HD for my Apple TV. The small iPod quality video doesn't really hold up on a giant LCD flat screen. Once you blow up a tiny iPod podcast to a HD flat screen, people's pixelated faces look like a cheesy Max Headroom special effect.
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Right now the HD streaming video is still in beta, but at least ABC is paving the way for HD video online. In the meantime, I'm still waiting for the major networks to upgrade their podcasts from 320x240 to HD for my Apple TV. The small iPod quality video doesn't really hold up on a giant LCD flat screen. Once you blow up a tiny iPod podcast to a HD flat screen, people's pixelated faces look like a cheesy Max Headroom special effect.
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Labels: tv
7/09/2007
MSNBC Reporter Kills Paris Hilton Story
A lighter and paper shredder helped make Mika Brzezinski the "symbol of television journalism's guilt trip" about Paris Hilton. Brzezinski used both to destroy a script calling for her to read about Hilton's release from jail on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program recently. Part serious, part an act, it has become an Internet sensation. More than 2 million people have watched a clip of the incident on YouTube, around 10 times the number who watched it live on TV. Apparently, she's not the only one sick of the socialite.
Hours after Hilton's June 26 catwalk to freedom, Joe Scarborough (widget) and Brzezinski discussed one of the day's other big stories at their show's opening: influential Republican Sen. Richard Lugar's declaration that President Bush's Iraq strategy wasn't working.
It was then Brzezinski's turn to sum up the day's news. She looked down at her script and Hilton was the top story. She froze.
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"Among journalists it touched a nerve because I think we're tired of pretending this is important," she said. "We also know that, deep down inside, our viewers know that we don't believe this is news. They can't. They can't think we're that dumb."Brzezinski, who left CBS News last year, has been working as a news- reader and on-air foil for Joe Scarborough on the show MSNBC is trying out to replace Don Imus in the morning.
Hours after Hilton's June 26 catwalk to freedom, Joe Scarborough (widget) and Brzezinski discussed one of the day's other big stories at their show's opening: influential Republican Sen. Richard Lugar's declaration that President Bush's Iraq strategy wasn't working.
It was then Brzezinski's turn to sum up the day's news. She looked down at her script and Hilton was the top story. She froze.
"I could not get through the first three words without crumbling," she said. "My skin was crawling. This was our lead? On a day like this? To me, it was just the ultimate Paris Hilton out-of-control moment. We've gone too far and we've got to stop. That was all real. There was nothing planned about that, and I believe we got a little snappy."
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6/28/2007
Mr. Wizard R.I.P.
Don Herbert, who explained the wonderful world of science to millions children on his Nickelodeon cable TV show "Mr. Wizard's World", has died after a long battle with multiple myeloma. He was 89.Herbert used basic experiments to teach scientific principles to his TV audience via an in-studio guest boy or girl who assisted in the experiments. Herbert liked to perform his scientific experiments as "tricks" to get the kids hooked, then explain the science behind it later.
Herbert wrote several books, including "Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science" and "Mr. Wizard's Experiments for Young Scientists."
In recent years, he helped set up his website mrwizardstudios.com.
[Via latimes.com]
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Labels: tv
6/27/2007
Vince McMahon Talks About Chris Benoit's Murder-Suicide
I've just been quite perplexed to be honest with you about what happened with WWE Wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed his wife and seven year old son and then himself this past weekend.I'm more of an old school wrestling fan, but do watch it from time to time and enjoy the comedic storylines the WWE frequently does. This is a harsh blow to pro wrestling and it will have massive impact with its core audience (which is family friendly).
Tomorrow, June 28th, Vince McMahon, the genius behind the WWE will be interviewed in an exclusive with the Today Show (between 7-10am) by Meredith Viera. I'm interested in his answers regarding Beniot, the "tribute" (publicity stunt) WWE did for him last Monday night on RAW and how steroids have contributed to the deaths of other WWE stars like Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect and Flyin' Brian. Meredith Viera better not wimp out and do a fluff interview!
[Via AdamWade.com]
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Labels: tv
6/05/2007
Criss Angel Escapes from Cement Box
If you walked through Times Square this past Tuesday, then you probably noticed American magician Criss Angel suspended in midair. Angel was enclosed for 24 hours in a clear box that was encased in cement as fans and reporters watched. The box was then hoisted 40 feet above the ground in a parking lot just off Times Square.Hundreds gathered to watch his escape, and a big screen showed Angel inside the box, kicking at the walls and dejectedly holding his head in his hands. When a countdown clock hit zero, the box was sent plunging to the ground.
As organizers called for paramedics and fans went quiet, Angel appeared atop the screen's nearby scaffolding, waving to the crowd and with his hand across his heart.
While much of the crowd cheered, several people were heard asking: "Was he actually in the box?"
"Well, I was in it when I fell -- that's the truth," Angel told Reuters, adding that people should be asking how he got from the fallen box to the scaffolding.
The stunt was meant to draw attention to the third season of his show "Mindfreak," which started airing on A&E this week. Angel said the first episode would reveal how he escaped.
[Source: Hollywood Reporter]
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6/04/2007
Age of Love - Details Announced
American broadcast network, NBC, has removed the shroud of secrecy around their new controversial reality dating series called Age of Love.The series centers on Melbourne tennis champion Mark Philippoussis (age 31) as he's wooed by a group of 13 special ladies. What Philippoussis doesn't know is that these women range in age from 21 to 48. Will he go for one of the younger gals (Kittens), or will he become smitten by someone more mature (Cougars)?
Age of Love's "Kittens" will feature six young, enthusiastic women in their 20's who could probably better keep-up with Philippoussis' fast-paced lifestyle, while the "Cougars" will consist of seven women in their 40's who are more sophisticated and thus probably better equipped to deal with his fame as a tennis pro.
Similar to the manner in which the "geek versus hunks" twists on NBC's Average Joe reality dating shows played out, Philippoussis will initially be introduced to his older "Cougars" suitors. Later, he will learn that the younger "Kittens" -- who will also initially be unaware of the "Cougars" and vice versa -- will also be attempting to vie for his affection.
Once the "Cougars" meet the "Kittens," the claws come out and all the bachelorettes will try to win him over. From there, the field of suitors will be narrowed until Philippoussis picks his final bachelorette.
I guess "Age of Love" just sounds better than "Primetime Catfight," though I would argue the latter is a more fitting title.
Age of Love premieres on Monday, June 18 at 10PM ET. You can see a preview clip of Age of Love on Vmix.com or get more info about the show at nbc.com.
[Via TV Squad]
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Battlestar Galactica to End After This Season
As its fans have feared, Sci Fi's Battlestar Galactica will end its run after this, its 4th season. Executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eik (Bionic Woman) said they will wrap up the show's storyline with these 22 episodes. The fourth season is in production in Vancouver and will premiere in November. The official announcement, planned for Friday, ends months of speculation from the show's core group of dedicated fans.
"We respect the producers’ decision to end the series and are proud to have been the home of this groundbreaking show," said Sci Fi Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Mark Stern in a statement.
"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end," said Eick and Moore in a joint statement. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms."
[Via broadcastingcable.com]
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"We respect the producers’ decision to end the series and are proud to have been the home of this groundbreaking show," said Sci Fi Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Mark Stern in a statement.
"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end," said Eick and Moore in a joint statement. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms."
[Via broadcastingcable.com]
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Psychedelic News Promo
Between the psychedelic animation, goofy photo-flipbook effect, saccharine-sweet music, and the all-around goofy news team, this local news promo is everything the movie "Anchorman" should have been.I guess in the 1970s, even the local news teams were on drugs.
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5/29/2007
Heroes Season 1 DVD
No longer are our magnificent Monday night ‘Heroes’ going to be confined to merely mortal NBC TV (and SciFi Channel reruns). Our favorite Heroes and villains are coming to DVD this August with tons of bonus features.The 7-disc set, available on DVD and HD DVD on August 28, 2007, will include the never-before-aired 73-minute premiere episode and over 50 deleted scenes.
The Heroes Season 1 DVD set is priced at $59.98 and is available for preorder on Amazon.com for $38.99 until July 24, 2007.
Here are some of the Heroes Season 1 DVD extras:
- Unaired Pilot: The Tim Kring cut with audio commentary — A full 73 uninterrupted minutes of the original, unaired, extended pilot episode, as Heroes’ creator Tim Kring first envisioned it, with a character never seen.
- The Making of “Heroes”: From concept to pop culture phenomenon, a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest new series on television.
- Special Effects: The secrets behind the eye-popping visuals that give the Heroes their amazing powers.
- The Stunts: A backstage look at the show’s hair-raising stunts.
- Mind Reader: Matt Parkman’s mind reading abilities reveal your inner Hero with a series of simple tests.
- Profile of Artist Tim Sale: A look at the Eisner Award-winning comic book artist (Spiderman, Batman, Daredevil) behind much of the Manga-influenced artwork used in the show.
- The Score: Go behind the scenes with Wendy Melvin and Lisa Coleman (of Prince’s The Revolution) as they create their ASCAP Award-winning musical score.
- Extra Scenes: 50 deleted and extended scenes.
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5/23/2007
Dwight Schrute Bucks
Did you watch the 2007 season finale of The Office (US)? Want to print out your own Schrute Bucks?! A $1,000 Schrute Bucks will you get an extra 5 minutes for lunch. I wonder how many Schrute Bucks it takes to get the Dwight bobblehead from nbcstore.com?
The Schrute Buck gfx was made by Digg.com user dawgma.
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5/21/2007
Bionic Woman Pulls Double Duty
There was a bit of a surprise when Katee Sackhoff told reporters that her time on the new NBC series "Bionic Woman" went from "one episode" to "recurring." But all of that can be explained in one simple sentence: Sackhoff simply wowed network executives.
Sackhoff's character originally was slated to be offed in the pilot, but executives liked her so much that she is now going to be pulling double duty between both shows which are filmed in Vancouver and produced by NBCU.
Sackhoff apparently isn't the only BSG alum to be making the show either... two more actors familiar to "Battlestar" fans who have some type of role in the pilot.
The Bionic Woman airs Wednesdays this fall at 9/8c on NBC. See NBC.com's Bionic Woman web page for more info.
[Via syfyportal.com]
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"She absolutely steals the screen in 'Bionic,'" Angela Bromstad, president of NBC Universal Television Studio, told TV Week's James Hibberd.Some of the clips featuring Sackhoff, best known to genre fans as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in SciFi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica," have been released to the Web by NBC Universal as a way to promote the series, which will make its debut this fall. In it, Sackhoff plays the original bionic woman who gets in a rooftop bionic battle with Jamie Sommers, played by series tar Michelle Ryan.
Sackhoff's character originally was slated to be offed in the pilot, but executives liked her so much that she is now going to be pulling double duty between both shows which are filmed in Vancouver and produced by NBCU.
Sackhoff apparently isn't the only BSG alum to be making the show either... two more actors familiar to "Battlestar" fans who have some type of role in the pilot.
The Bionic Woman airs Wednesdays this fall at 9/8c on NBC. See NBC.com's Bionic Woman web page for more info.
[Via syfyportal.com]
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Finding Closure For Jericho
Less than a week after American broadcast network, CBS, pulled the plug on its post-Apocalyptic sci-fi series "Jericho," fans have apparently been making contact with the network in droves, demanding that if nothing else, CBS find closure for the cliffhanger left at the end of Season 1.
That campaign has included letter writing and even the delivery of peanuts to the network, highlighting one of the final words of the series when Skeet Ulrich's character of Jake Green tells the sheriff of the neighboring town of New Bern that is at war with Jericho, paying homage to a World War II story by his grandfather.
The campaign may have paid off, with CBS making an announcement on the official "Jericho" message boards that there could be plans in the works to at least wrap up the story.
[Via syfyportal.com]
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That campaign has included letter writing and even the delivery of peanuts to the network, highlighting one of the final words of the series when Skeet Ulrich's character of Jake Green tells the sheriff of the neighboring town of New Bern that is at war with Jericho, paying homage to a World War II story by his grandfather.
The campaign may have paid off, with CBS making an announcement on the official "Jericho" message boards that there could be plans in the works to at least wrap up the story.
"We have read your e-mails over the past few days and have been touched by the depth and passion with which you have expressed your disappointment," wrote Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment.While the series had a strong run of episodes early in the season, by the time it returned several weeks after its first part of the season, "Jericho" had stiff competition against "American Idol"- fueled programming on Fox among other places, but was still generating decent ratings for CBS.
"Please know that canceling a television series is a very difficult decision. Hundreds of people at the network, the production company and the incredibly talented creative team worked very hard to build and serve the community for this show -- both on-air and online. It is a show we loved, too. Thank you for supporting 'Jericho' with such passion. We truly appreciate the commitment you made to the series and we are humbled by your disappointment. In the coming weeks, we hope to develop a way to provide closure in the compelling drama that was the 'Jericho' story."
[Via syfyportal.com]
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5/17/2007
Office Season Finale Preview
This coming this Thursday (tonight) is the season finale of the American version of The Office. Here's a teaser trailer and 10 things we learned from last week's episode of The Office.
The season finale of The Office airs on NBC at a special time 8/7c. Don't forget to double check your TiVos and DVRs.
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10. Buffoons (like Andy and Dwight) do not need to wear sumo suits to appear more buffoonish. In fact, the hilariousness of the sumo suit is inversely proportional to how funny the character is in his regular officewear. However …9. The fact that a sumo suit enables Andy to float away on the ebbing tides of Lake Scranton is completely fascinating. How does physics explain this?
8. Michael notes that Lake Scranton is America’s eighth largest indigenous body of water. Ignoring the fact that this is patently false, we’d like to believe he was creating a metaphor for America’s unsustainable reliance on reservoirs and the corresponding danger to the ecosystem. Or a metaphor for being an idiot.
7. Contrary to Michael’s assumptions about Oscar’s beachwear, it’s actually gayer to wear designer jeans to the beach than a Speedo or leather pants.
6. If one employee at Dunder Mifflin could actually win Survivor, it’s Creed. Did you see the two-second shot of him toeing out into the lake and catching a fish with his bare hands? Jeff Probst would be proud. Poor fish. Who knows where those hands have been?
5. Jim is not as good of a boyfriend as we thought. What kind of guy tries to distract his girlfriend while she’s lobbying for a promotion? Then again, why is Karen competing for the same job as her boyfriend? Did we miss something?
4. Pam thinks that she has the most boring job at Dunder Mifflin. We'd give that honor to Stanley … if we knew what Stanley did.3. No matter what anyone says, we still like Karen better than Pam. Karen goes out and gets what she wants (Jim, a better job, a fake tan). Pam has to walk through a field of burning coals to work up enough outrage to confess her feelings for Jim, and even then, she stops short of saying what she's really feeling (burning flesh).
2. If you’re going to walk across a field of burning coals, go fast, and remember “The mind has to wrap around the foot.”
1. Not even The Office's writers are immune to jerking us around during May Sweeps. They hadn’t gone near the Pam-Jim-Karen love triangle for weeks when suddenly, Pam dropped her bombshell (if you can call wanting to be “best friends” with Jim a bombshell). This is all leading up to next week’s season finale, when Michael, Jim, and inexplicably, Karen, head off to New York to compete for the same job. We’ll give two-to-one odds Karen gets the gig, thus putting an end to the ménage tension and taking a little piece of our heart with it.
[Via nymag.com]
The season finale of The Office airs on NBC at a special time 8/7c. Don't forget to double check your TiVos and DVRs.
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5/09/2007
ESPN Producing Gascasts for GSTV
Wish you could get sports scores while you are gassing up your car? According to LA Times.com, now you can.ESPN, the American sports news network, announced a partnership with Gas Station TV (GSTV) to provide 45-second broadcasts for thousands of TV screens located at gas pumps across the United States.
"It's another opportunity for fans to be able to watch us," ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said.ESPN will slowly ramp up production of the gascasts. The network will initially just produce one segment per day for GSTV. But eventually ESPN hopes to produce multiple segments everyday.
Where can you see these gascasts? Right now only in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston. But next month GSTV hopes to install more screens at gas stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
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5/08/2007
Lost to End After 2 More Seasons
American broadcast network ABC is attempting to rescue once-hot series "Lost" by ending the show — in 2010. Bowing to the fact that convention isn't working for the drama about plane-crash survivors on a surreal island, the network is taking the unusual step of turning "Lost" into a limited-run series.It will run for three shorter and uninterrupted seasons until its "highly anticipated and shocking finale" in the 2009-10 season, ABC said Monday.
The series, which saw its ratings drop this season amid complaints about scheduling, an increasingly meandering plot and unpopular new characters, still must prove itself to disenchanted viewers to survive.
"Due to the unique nature of the series, we knew it would require an end date to keep the integrity and strength of the show consistent throughout and to give the audience the payoff they deserve," ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson said in a statement.Typically, networks milk a series until it runs dry of ratings and then drop the ax.
[Via Yahoo News]
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4/18/2007
Top 5 TV Shows that Should be Canceled
Here is MSNBC.com's list of the top 5 American TV shows that should be canceled. I have a feeling that a lot of people aren't going to agree with the top three.Let the fireworks begin...
Disagree? Want to talk about it? You're not alone. Head over to the MSNBC.com Message Boards and join in the discussion.
"The Simpson's stopped being funny years ago." ~ Ghazi
"Lost needs to start getting down to business. It's losing it's appeal. Start answering questions outright already and get to the damn point." ~ primehifi
You can see the MSNBC.com list here: Top 5 TV Shows that Should be Canceled
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3/15/2007
NBC Remixes The Office
Get ready for the television "newpeat." In an unusual experiment aimed at improving ratings for reruns, tonight American broadcast network NBC plans to air two previously seen half-hour episodes of The Office that have been re-edited into a new hour-long show.Some scenes will be cut so producers can weave in unaired footage that introduces a new storyline into the older episodes. NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., won't film new footage but is instead relying on snippets that have been cut from previous tapings, a spokeswoman says. The "newpeats," as NBC is calling the episodes, will air tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
In an age where old TV episodes are widely distributed online -- in some cases just hours after they air - networks are struggling to attract audiences to the repeats on their schedules. The Big Four American networks in decades past could count on a significant audience to turn up for reruns because there wasn't that much competition. But with video games, the Internet, DVDs sporting extras and the continued proliferation of cable all competing for their time, audiences expect something more.
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Turkey Bowl is a 3D perspective target game where you celebrate the fall harvest by knocking over turkeys with bowling apples. Here's a hint, the turkeys further away are worth more points. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
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