Tom Keating : VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Tom Keating
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Video Hardware & Software

Skype and Logitech offer High Quality Video Conferencing

October 30, 2007

Skype and Logitech have teamed up to offer high quality videoconferencing. Skype 3.6 will be required and will increase the resolution from 320 x 240 to 640 x 480 (VGA). High Quality Video will also require Logitech QuickCam software, version 11.5. It will support up to 30 frames per second (fps) to people using a broadband connection.

Grand Cinema C3X 1080 Projector or Ferrari?

September 28, 2007


SIM2 just released the Grand Cinema C3X 1080p Projector. I don't know whether to project this thing or drive it - damn thing looks like a cheery red Ferrari. SIM2's Next Generation Grand Cinema C3X 1080 3-Chip DLP is one of the first to utilize Texas Instruments DLP Product's latest DarkChip chip to integrate superior contrast plus benchmark-quality 1080p video display with the functions and features required to power today's sophisticated home theaters, all within the dramatic industrial design for which SIM2 is justly famous. It delivers astonishing performance from its compact design.

SIM2's new Grand Cinema HT30000 HOST system pairs a surprisingly compact projector showcasing the stunning cabinet designs for which the company is famous, with a discrete outboard video input processor that connects via SIM2's proprietary, three-line optical-digital High-Definition Optical Signal Transfer (H.O.S.T.) system, which is able to link the two over distances up to 750 feet (250m).

It includes 2 x HDMI-HDCP compliant digital inputs, one S-Video input, one composite video, one RGBS-YCrCb (RCA) input, and one RGBHV input.




Toshiba gigashot A100F 100GB Full HD camcorder

September 25, 2007

Toshiba announced their gigashot A and K video camcorders. The gigashot A100F features a 1.8-inch shock-resistant 100GB disk with 1/3-inch CMOS sensor. It features full HD video (1,920 x 1,080 or 1080i) recordings at 60fps with 16bit/48kHz Dolby digital stereo audio.

It uses high-quality MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video and will give you about 12 hours of video recording at the highest quality setting and around 23 hours in standard mode. You can also take 2 megapixel still photos.

Both the gigashot A and K series feature SDHC expansion, 3-inch LCD, 10x optical zoom, HDMI mini and component out, and USB for PC connectivity.


Toshiba brags that its 78.1 x 135.4 x 79.0-mm measurements make it the world's smallest "Full HD" camcorder with a built-in hard disk drive.






Skype on the Apple iPod touch

September 5, 2007

In my previous Apple iPod touch post I forgot to mention that since the Apple iPod touch supports the same Safari browser as the iPhone, this enables you to run AJAX applications over its built-in Wi-Fi wireless connection. Thus, you can even run a VoIP application such as Skype on the Apple iPod touch using SoonR, the very first Skype for iPhone solution that I broke the news back in July. It leverages AJAX within the Safari browser. Another recent solution is IM+ for Skype, which should also work on the iPod touch.

Apple iPod touch

September 5, 2007


Apple unveiled the iPod touch, essentially a "phoneless" iPhone featuring all that glorious iPhone multi-touch UI functionality but without the AT&T contract.  The iPod touch features WiFi wireless connectivity which not only lets you browse the web using its built-in Safari browser, but you can also purchase iTunes on-the-go. And yep, you guessed it, just like the Apple iPhone you can play YouTube videos on the first-ever Wi-Fi iPod. Alas, still no FM tuner damn it!

The iPod touch measures just 8mm wide and has a 3.5 inch widescreen touchscreen display. If fact, the touchscreen features the same multi-touch functionality as the Apple iPhone.


Sony takes on Apple

September 4, 2007


Sony must be reading my blog, since just last week I suggested Sony take on Apple by offering a universal multi-media device that does gaming, mobile calling, video playback, MP3 music, and GPS navigation. I jokingingly called this hypothetical Sony device the Sony PlayStation Multimedia Video GPS Phone - or Sony PSMVGP for short. I knew Sony would be the perfect company to take on Apple and especially that juggernaut known as the Apple iPhone, when I said, "Sony, an expert in electronics, TV screens, and gaming, is the perfect company to take on the Apple iPhone."

I explained last week, "Sony If Sony were smart, they'd come out with a Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) with built-in GPS, GSM cellular service, and wireless Internet functionality. This hypothetical device would blow away the Apple iPhone.


Provia A1 GPS - too cool!

August 27, 2007

The Provia A1 navigator GPS isn't your typical utilitarian GPS that gets your from point A to point B. No siree, Bob! The Provia A1 navigator is more like the iPhone with it's sleek design, 7" touchscreen, and cool 3D graphics. This Provia A1 GPS just begs to be carried around just so you have cool gadget bragging rights. The Provia A1 navigator is from Korea’s HTMS and features a Samsung 800 x 480 resolution widescreen touchscreen 7-inch display.

TiVo's new Buy on TV for Amazon Unbox

July 10, 2007

Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV

June 18, 2007

Microsoft today announced that they have renamed Microsoft IPTV to Microsoft Mediaroom to more accurately reflect the comprehensive "media" functionality of their IPTV platform. In conjunction with the name change to Mediaroom, Microsoft announced several new features to its Internet Protocol television (IPTV) software platform, including in-home personal music and photo sharing and dynamic MultiView (multiple picture-in-picture) capabilities that will allow you to have up to 16 Picture-in-Picture (PIP) windows in a single screen.


Though unless you are Data, the android from Star Trek TNG, there is no way anyone can process that much video input!

Also, their API will allow multiple camera angles, which could be a huge boom for sports channels. Imagine for instance if you can subscribe to an NFL Plus Channel that allows you to see multiple camera angles within PIP windows.




Microsoft Surface - Cool!

May 30, 2007

Microsoft dropped a bombshell with their new Microsoft Surface touchscreen computer that is a touchscreen coffee table with "eyes" that can see what is placed on it blending the virtual and real worlds together. Microsoft thinks this technology developed under the top-secret codename 'Milan' will change the world and be used as a coffee table replacement in living rooms and family rooms. According to Popular Mechanics, here's how the screen works... A diffuser turns the Surface's acrylic tabletop into a large horizontal "multitouch" screen, capable of processing multiple inputs from multiple users. The Surface can also recognize objects by their shapes or by reading coded "domino" tags (i.e.
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