tv

Talk about evolution. A decade ago the iconic appliance of digital age was the Internet toaster; now say hello to the microwave TV.

Thankfully, no one seems to be viewing this latest invention as the ultimate device in technological convergence--quite the opposite, actually. But that hasn't stopped Holland Electro Wave TV from debuting its Frankenstein creation at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The concept is rather silly, if you ask us: The "Wave," according to Gizmag, is basically a microwave oven with an LCD built into the door.

Not only does it cost about $680, which … Read more

Tucked away on the JVC stand at this year's IFA trade show in Berlin was a little surprise. A 110-inch LCD projection TV, using three D-ILA--or to use the more descriptive name, liquid crystal on silicon--chips, through which light is projected to create an image on screen.

Easily the most impressive thing about this telly is the fact that it uses very little power. Indeed, JVC claims it uses roughly the same amount as a 37-inch LCD screen. That means that it drinks less precious electricity, which puts less of a strain on our planet and the bunnies can … Read more

This weekend Jacked.com is launching the first stages of its service. The easiest way to describe it is like a souped-up Netvibes you can use as a reference while watching live television programming. The service is rolling out its features slowly, beginning with a partnership with Notre Dame and NBC Sports to serve up real-time content for Notre Dame's football season which starts on Saturday. NBC is billing the service as "Play Action." You can visit the site now, but there won't be anything on it until game day.

Jacked is linked up to what you're watching on TV, so say you're watching the game, and a player scores. Jacked's smattering of Web widgets will pull up the player's stats, photos, related news stories, a comparison chart of that play to others, etc. The idea is to save you from having to track down player, team, and historical information on your own, and serving it up automatically.

The widgets are powered by a group of underlying technologies that scan through live TV content and grab bits and pieces of information from its metadata. Combine that with things like optical character recognition, and you've got lots of information to work with. The result is an impressive array of widgets, that--when viewed during a live broadcast--will pull up information and related content seconds after it happens.… Read more

Video hosting and mashup solution SplashCast is launching an upgrade to their video player tomorrow morning. The most noticeable change is a new YouTube-ish playlist of video thumbnails in the bottom 20 percent of the viewer, which can be pulled up and dismissed at the user's discretion. Previously, users were limited to a channel-view text list (which is still available), but my bet is that users will feel at home with this newer navigation.

The real killer application, however, is the inline commenting system which gives users three ways to leave their feedback: a video clip (from a Webcam or hard drive), text, and voice. All three remain in the same section, and there's no user registration required to leave your two cents. Recording and playing video in the player is really simple, and looks pretty good.

There are a few other mentionable tweaks, including a pause button, an inline "e-mail this" tool to share show segments or entire programs with friends, and a full screen button that remains no matter what type of program you're viewing (not just videos and photos). There's also a new "follow me" button which lets you know when the program's creator publishes new shows. It's a little bit like the channel-creator subscriptions with YouTube.

SplashCast is planning to introduce a mobile upload feature to its platform within a month, so users will be able to drop photos and video clips into their channels from a mobile phone--a lot like Kyte.tv (review). There will also be more celebrity channels, and the potential for Twitter integration and live user chat, similar to Pikspot's player.… Read more

An almost uncoverable number of Web sites launch every day. While many come out of Northern California, several parts of the world have been cropping up as hotbeds for new developments, including Israel, Russia, Canada, and the U.K. Two new Irish startups that launched this month are iFoods.tv and Little Ireland.tv.

iFoods.tv, similar to other Web video cooking sites, is a series of semiprofessionally produced how-to videos on how to make single and multidish meals. There's also a user-submitted video contest going up in the near future that will pit user against chef, hopefully Iron … Read more

Gazillionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban might hate YouTube, have a feud with Donald Trump, and think that the Internet is dead and boring, but clearly Dancing with the Stars falls into his favor.

According to the Associated Press, the Dallas Mavericks owner and HDNet founder will be on this fall's season of the reality show that pairs celebrities with professional dancers and then pits the couples against each other. This rumor had been floating for a while, but now--barring a sudden change of heart on Cuban's or the network's part--it looks like it's all but confirmed.

Cuban'… Read more

The consensus bet on the Sept. 5th special event Apple announced yesterday is new iPods which are due for a refresh, and the coverflow theme certainly seems to point in that direction.

But Carl Howe speculates that a confluence of circumstantial evidence points to HD movie downloads and rentals.

Either way, the Macalope doesn't really care as long as the words "iPod Hi-Fi" do not come up at any time.

Will rear-projection TV sales plunge to near zero within the next 48 months? That's what a new study from IDC Group claims. With ever larger plasma and (especially) LCD flat-panel HDTVs becoming ever more affordable, IDC sees sales of RPTV sets--those utilizing DLP and LCoS microdisplays--dropping to under 30,000 units by 2011. That's a dramatic drop from the peak of 3.51 million sold in 2004 (according to the CEA).

None of this is shocking news, of course--the trend toward flat panels has been increasingly irreversible as large plasmas and LCD screens continue to break key price-point … Read more

This post has been corrected to provide the correct URL for Red Line Films.

If you thought Kid Nation was pushing the envelope, wait till you hear about this one. Production company Redline Films has just announced that you can now audition for its latest creative masterpiece, Office Fight. It's exactly what you think it is: it'll take co-workers who don't like each other and make them go face-to-face in a boxing ring.

Do you find this as supremely awesome as I do? Of course! To make it even awesomer, getting involved with Office Fight is easy … Read more