TV

Google's cash machine awaits Internet-connected TVs

DANA POINT, Calif. -- Google's chief business officer sees the future, and it is Internet-connected TVs. "The big tipping point we are waiting for is Internet-connected televisions," said Nikesh Arora, speaking with All Things D's Liz Gannes at the Dive into Media conference here today.

"Right now Internet-connected TV is nice to have, not must have. When it is must-have, then we will be able to have advertising delivered off the Web. The moment you can do that, broadcast TV [advertising] doesn't have a role," Arora said.

In the Internet-connected TV world, ads … Read more

TV hackers announce dead are rising

The dead are so hot right now. Teen romance "Warm Bodies" was No. 1 in the box office a week ago, and "The Walking Dead" just broke a basic cable record for the most watched show at 12.3 million viewers.

Amid this undead fervor, the fertile, tasty brains of Montana's residents have fallen foul of a hoax alerting them that the dead have risen.

The emergency broadcast system was "hacked" and viewers of the "Steve Wilkos Show" got more than just teen cheaters when alerted that "dead bodies are rising from their graves."… Read more

How we test: TVs

Did you know CNET reviews TVs by comparing them directly in a side-by-side lineup, after each has undergone a thorough calibration? Did you know that the main instrument we use to calibrate and measure those televisions costs about $28,000? Did you know that last year we reviewed and rated 54 individual TVs and revamped our ratings system to incorporate value?

Yes, I'm biased, but I consider CNET's TV reviews the best in the business. We've come up with a set of tools and procedures designed to arrive at unbiased results by utilizing industry-accepted video-quality evaluation tools, … Read more

During review of Halo 4, Conan yawns

Not everyone is a gamer.

It doesn't make these people old, sad or clueless -- any more than being a gamer makes someone entirely free of the hope of a significant other.

Conan O'Brien seems to like gaming about as much as he appreciates the skills of Jay Leno. And yet it fell upon him to review Halo 4, one of the quintessential joys of the gaming community.

His experience was a little uncomfortable.… Read more

LinkedIn eyes content as connection

Friday's CNET Update endorses your video-watching skills:

Stories from today's tech news roundup:

- LinkedIn eyes future as professional publishing hub

- NBC deems EveryBlock a dead end, turns off local news service

- Twitter enabling searches for tweets older than a week

- Guess what? Vine videos are longer than six seconds

- Zynga's FarmVille coming to a television near you

- Spotify releases a beta Windows Phone 8 app

- Get romantic with Spotify's Playlist Poetry

Watch CNET Update in the video above, and subscribe to the podcast via the links below.

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iTunes (HD) |&… Read more

Research TV shows with Free TvDB

If you watch a lot of television, it might be tough to archive all your favorite shows solely in your head. This portable, IMDb-esque download tells you all the essential info about TV shows within a snazzy interface, but it doesn't have much usefulness without a built-in media player.

The program mainly operates as a downloadable version of the Web site TheTVDB.com, a community-driven and open database of televisions shows. Along with episode, actor, and other info from TheTVBD.com, Free TvDB also uses several Web sites, primarily clips from YouTube, to bring users further content related to … Read more

Apple reportedly hires LG's former OLED TV expert

Apple has reportedly hired a display expert with ties to LG and Samsung, and whose most recent work included efforts on OLED technology for TV sets.

According to a report from the OLED Association, Apple has wooed James (Jueng-Gil) Lee, a display and semiconductor technology expert who's had stints at LG Display, Samsung, and now-defunct flat-panel design company Candescent Technologies.

The hire, which Apple has not confirmed, comes while many have their eyes on the company with expectations that it will create its own TV set. Reports have gone back and forth between claims of a more advanced set-top … Read more

Zynga's Farmville coming to a television near you

Growing corn, tending chickens, and amassing a fortune of golden coins can be fun as a social media game, but how about watching a TV show about it?

Director Brett Ratner is taking a stab at exactly this. He is following in the footsteps of Angry Birds and producing a half-hour animated television series based on Zynga's Farmville, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"Farmville is one of the most exciting brands out there today and its cross-platform opportunities are endless," Ratner said in a statement. "I am thrilled to be expanding the brand with existing … Read more

EyeSight's gesture technology turns your finger into a TV remote

Thanks to smartphones, tablets, and Windows 8, touching and swiping are commonplace ways to interact with TVs, computers, and mobile devices. But what if you want to do the same without touching the screen at all?

That's exactly the experience EyeSight Technologies, an Israel-based company that focuses on digital interaction, announced today that it's found a way to provide with its new fingertip tracking technology. The company calls this the "world's first commercial gesture technology to allow users to control digital devices with a fingertip" -- remotely, that is.… Read more

Twitter confirms buying social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs

Twitter said today that it has bought Bluefin Labs, a company specializing in social TV analytics.

The deal, first reported by Business Insider, would give Twitter the inside scoop on information such as which Super Bowl commercials drove the social conversation. It would likely also help Twitter become more of a media company as it tries to bolster its advertising revenue by working hand-in-hand with brands and with TV networks.

In its blog post today, Twitter said, "We believe that Bluefin's data science capabilities and social TV expertise will help us create innovative new ad products and consumer … Read more