If you have been watching TechCrunch TV interviews lately, you may have noticed the videos are much sharper, crisper and much higher quality. The reason: we’ve gone HD. We are now using a new workflow with HD cameras and HD video switcher. Our shows from New York (Fly or Die and Founder Stories) have always been produced in HD at AOL Studios. But, now our San Francisco studio has gotten the upgrade.
You might be saying, “Wait a minute, high definition today means 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. I’m only watching the videos on a smaller-than-HD window on the TechCrunch website or smartphone. That’s not HD, so what’s the point.” Well, there is a big point. → Read More
Good news: Formula One will be in HD this year. You’d have thought that such a fancy racing circuit would be broadcast in HD already—how many years has Nascar been in HD?—but no; we’ve had to wait. Long overdue, yes. → Read More
It’s the end of the year, and that means many publications are rolling out their annual “best of” list. I don’t know if *we’re* doing anything along those lines, but I *do* have a bone to pick with 1UP. They’ve a delightful little list of 10 things the Xbox 360 did to change gaming forever. You already know most of the list before reading it: Achievement Points, Microsoft Points (1UP calls them “convenient” to use across Microsoft’s various services, as if dollars can’t be used in exchange for goods and services…), Kinect, and general entertainment use (things like Netflix streaming). But the one thing that has my dander up? That the Xbox 360 ushered in an era of HD gaming. Ha! → Read More
For reasons unknown, Tokyo-based accessory maker Thanko keeps churning out “spy” gadgets. This time we get a watch [JP] that looks quite bland from the outside but features a micro camera that can shoot both pictures and video. Another selling point is that it’s Thanko’s first spy watch that’s waterproof (IPX8 certification) – isn’t that great? → Read More
Good news for Sony fans, the Bloggie camcorder that we saw a mere 9 months ago it already undergoing a redesign. I have to say, I like the new version better then the old model that we saw at CES. → Read More
Walking among the cars this weekend in Monterey I spotted an odd rig with two Red cameras attached to something that looked like a range hood. It turns out it was a 3D camera set-up from 21st Century 3D and records full HD at various depths and in a package that rides on a dolly. → Read More
If you ever thought full HD delivers pictures in awesome resolution (1,920×1080), think again. Because Japanese national TV broadcaster NHK is working on a camera and display system that boasts 16 times the resolution of full HD, namely 7,680×4,320 pixels. In other words, the format makes it possible to produce pictures four times as wide and four times as high as full HD. → Read More
Sharp really believes in 3D, it seems. In the past weeks the company presented a new 3D touchscreen for mobile devices, then the world’s first four-primary 3D display, followed by a 3D e-book reader. And today Sharp in Japan unveiled [press release in English] the world’s first 3D camera module that can be used in mobile devices such as cell phones, cameras or portable gaming systems. → Read More
We were very impressed with the NEX3 and NEX5 digital cameras Sony presented yesterday for the first time. And today, the company in Tokyo announced [press release in English] a hardware prototype of a great-looking interchangeable HD camcorder. Technical details are relatively scarce at this point, but Sony says they will be using the same “Exmor” APS HD CMOS sensor the NEX3 and NEX5 will have. → Read More
We’re about to get yet another 3D display. This time, it’s Toshiba Mobile Display Corp. that’s prepping such a screen, an autostereoscopic (glasses-free), 21-inch 3D HD display “for use in next-generation 3D monitors”, to be more exact. Toshiba says the main selling points is that its new “integral imaging system” with 9-parallax design makes it possible for users to view 3D images from a wider range of viewing angles. → Read More
Elgato just released the updated version of their USB tuner, the EyeTV. This new version has been resized (smaller) and added compatibility with Windows 7, making it ideal for that HTPC project you’ve been thinking about. → Read More
Camera phone pictures could get a whole lot prettier with Samsung’s newest image sensors. The Korean manufacturer has just announced two new CMOS sensors for mobile phones with improved image quality over greater depth of field ranges and HD video. Does it sound a little too good to be true? → Read More
<A tipster writes in with knowledge of some of the improvements TiVo may be making to its devices. The most important: a move to full HD menus, improved search, and the phasing out of Series 2 hardware. Because the company stopped making improvements to the current software as of the middle of last year, our source believes that aside from minor add-ons like Blockbuster support the old UI and OS will be replaced by a fully HD version, available at first on Series 3 hardware.
He describes the move as something akin to Microsoft’s redesign of the Xbox Dashboard – a surface refresh that plays better with larger, HD TVs. This could also include new methods for adding apps and content to existing boxes. → Read More
No DVD, no Blu-ray and no HDD: JVC Japan is keeping it extra-simple with the CU-VS100, a media player box that supports nothing but SD cards. Announced [JP] yesterday for the Japanese market, the device is targeted at people who just want to conveniently view HD content stored on SD/SDHC on their TV. → Read More
Long story short: Fox Soccer Channel will go HD on March 1. → Read More
Tokyo-based USB accessory specialist Thanko has a thing for spy gadgets. Just look at their spy button camera, the USB necktie with a built-in camera and the camera watch they developed in the last few months. Last July, Thanko started offering a a pen with an integrated micro camera. And today the company announced [JP] the so-called Super Slim Video Pen 2, which is a spy pen that shoots video in HD (1,280×960 at 30fps, to be more exact). → Read More
CES is here, even though most of your friendly neighborhood CrunchGear writers are still in their respective home states. (We’ll be arriving in Las Vegas throughout the day today.) First up for me: new camcorders from Canon. Entry-level ones, too, so don’t feel intimidated. You’ve got the HFR11, the HFR10, and the HFR100. They’re basically souped up, HD versions of the previous FS series of entry-level cameras. Nothing wrong with HD. → Read More
This here is a video of New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 1080p, thanks to the wonders of emulation. (I had completely forgotten about the Dolphin emulator!) If there were ever a reason for Nintendo get off its backside and fully commit to the Wii HD, this is it. → Read More
Avid, makers of a wide range of digital video/audio software and hardware have a couple of new product updates coming your way mid-September. The first to note is an updated version of their consumer-friendly family of products know as Pinnacle Studio. The new Pinnacle Studio meets the needs of a wide range of consumers, from novices to video enthusiasts and semi-professionals. The family of products includes Pinnacle Studio HD, Pinnacle Studio Ultimate and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Collection, which offer a complete HDV & AVCHD workflow and allows consumers to export movies to Flash, QuickTime, PS3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, Apple iPod and more. Pinnacle Studio Ultimate and Pinnacle Ultimate Collection also offer Blu-ray authoring with motion menus. Other new features include: A stop-motion capture for animated and fast-motion effects. New content and enhancements for Pinnacle Montage. Dynamic Motion Titler tool that includes a number of new templates. A new stabilizer effect – leveraging the same technology used in Avid’s professional editing products to fix shaky camera shots. → Read More
I’ve been testing an HD projector here at the house and, in its initial, out-of-the-box setting we found that the picture was ridiculously “sharp.” The picture, I suppose, looked like an old Dr. Who episode where the action on screen is smoother than the background, creating a jarring disparity when watching movies with lots of movement. It’s sometimes called the “Soap Opera Effect.” We decided to do a little digging to figure out why.
Most film is recorded at 24 frames per second, but your LCD TV probably either displays at 60 fps or 120 hz (hertz is just a measurement of frequency per second). There are three main ways to cope with this. → Read More
