TV

Webcast with your friends using Operator11

Operator11 is a free service for people who want to broadcast live over the Internet using their Webcams. Following similar livecasting offerings out there, it gives people a fairly simple one-stop solution to hook up their Webcam and get a live video broadcast going. Users can also simply upload video clips from their computers to share with others. One of its more interesting features, however, is the capability to have multiple people drop in and out of a live broadcast, which is controlled using a live studio that runs right in your Web browser.

Like Mogulus [review], which offers a similar feature, Operator11 gives whoever is controlling the show the option to see everything that's going on in one screen, and swap back and forth between Webcams or other content on the fly. And like BlogTV, which I looked at last week, hosts can also invite their viewers to join the fray at any time--it's a very open system.

Operator11 users can record, embed, and share their shows with others. Channel owners get about 40 minutes per show before the system will stop recording, which is very generous. Other users can then watch the clip, comment on it, and rate it using a five-star system. Operator11 also keeps track of who the director was, along with others who participated. This information is also kept track of in user profiles.

There are quite a few of these video broadcasting sites now, and I'm absolutely convinced one of the best uses for them is for the next big content creator who's looking for an easy way to broadcast and syndicate live content. Likewise, even for large media companies such as CNET, free services like this offer a relatively simple way to deliver live event broadcasts (which we tried at Facebook's F8 platform launch using Veodia).

Operator11 is currently in public alpha, so expect a few occasional kinks if you give it a go. For a shot of the user interface, click the "read more" link below.

These stands can make your TV float

They can't compare with the TV-bar combo--nothing can, really--but these "floating" glass stands are about as close as you can get. An ultra-contemporary line by U.K.-based Schroers AT&T Schroers manage can perform a magician's levitation act with any plasma or LCD up to 60 inches or 70 kilograms (about 54 pounds).

As if that weren't enough, OhGizmo notes that a rotary base can swivel these futuristic stands along a ring of steel bearings. These aren't for the faint of heart or the tight of fist, however: Their prices range … Read more

Laser TV: The Wave of the Future or Just Another Flop?

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Mitsubishi's vice president for marketing Frank DeMartin, revealed that his company will be showing off its very own laser TV at CES 2008.

In the interview, Mr. DeMartin explained that "[Laser TVs] will spawn a new category for the premium end of the market."

And while his words are true, does Mitsubishi (or any other company for that matter) really want to be known as the "premium end" in a market that is being dominated by companies who are trying to drop prices as quickly as … Read more

Webware 100 live on CNET TV

Quick note: I'll be on the live CNET TV stream today at 1:00 p.m. PT, talking with hosts Brian Cooley and Tom Merritt about the Webware 100. In particular, I'll run down my personal Webware 100 picks: my favorite winning sites that Web users voted on (see video on this page). Plus, if there's time, my picks that users did not vote into the winners' list.

You also can catch me weekly on the Real Deal podcast with Tom Merritt. Each Tuesday we try to demystify current tech topics. We just covered GPS, and next … Read more

BlogTV, livestream your blog

BlogTV is a new livestreaming service that's been making a splash at the Supernova conference here in San Francisco. It's the latest in several live broadcasting services that have popped up, including uStream.TV, Veodia, Mogulus, and Stickam. Like some of its competitors, BlogTV is combining live video and chat in one window, along with a way to embed the entire module on your blog or Web site. It also lets content creators team up with two Webcams at once, a solution that opens up the service for co-hosts, live interviews, or multilocation coverage.

BlogTV isn't just limited to live streams, though; users can record bits of their live broadcast and publish them in an archive. Like YouTube and other video services, users can then comment and rate clips, as well as mark them as favorites. There's also the option to subscribe to an author's channel to keep tabs on future content or see when he or she is broadcasting live. Content is split up into nine different "channels," and users have the options to sort through live and archived clips for each.

BlogTV's embeddable player isn't quite up to snuff compared with some of the other livestreaming players I've seen. While it does show you how many people are watching a program, the integrated chat is a one-way experience. You can see what others are typing, but you can't type back or see who is in the chat room. To participate, you need to venture off-site to the broadcast's page. That being said, BlogTV's chat experience is really well-done. Channel owners can give certain users operations privileges (akin to IRC), kick users, and users can chat privately with one another. There's also all sorts of emoticons and quick options to share with or invite friends to the broadcast.

BlogTV is currently relegated to your computer, although the team behind it is working on a mobile version. I'm expecting something along the lines of Kyte.TV and Veodia, although if there's one thing we've found in testing these services, mobile Webcasting can get a little tricky.

I've embedded a sample BlogTV livecasting module after the jump. Since I don't want to bore you with a CNET office cam (not to say me typing isn't exhilarating), I'm embedding a live broadcast of the Supernova conference from Nir Ofir, one of the founders of BlogTV.… Read more

I'M IN UR APPLE TV, WATCHIN UR VIDZ

The Macalope doesn't own one because it's hard to operate that little remote with his massive hooves, but Apple TV owners should be aware that Apple recently patched a potentially exploitable flaw in its eponymous set top box.

Tip o' the antlers to ISFYM which provides a humorous footnote.

Ironically, the problem is in a protocol called UPnP, originally developed by, of all companies, Microsoft. Figures.

Now, now.

Pink is still in for this LCD monitor and TV

Next to black and silver, pink may well be color of choice for consumer technologies--regardless of what we have to say about it. So we're somewhat surprised that we haven't seen more products like this one come to mass market.

Tatung's new 17-inch LCD monitor doubles as an HD-ready TV with 1280x1024 resolution and a 140-degree viewing angle--specs that aren't earth-shaking but not bad for the $248 price. Chip Chick, however, points out the most notable distinction for this soft-pink monitor: It doesn't have a single Hello Kitty logo on it.

Slide show roundup: Rolls-Royce Phantom, 10 pretty cars, and YouTube on Apple TV

So, someone over at Rolls-Royce trusted our Car Tech guys enough to lend them a 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom to review. Wow--fancy! It even has a hood ornament that retracts into the hood when the doors are locked. Now no one will steal the "Spirit of Ecstasy" and make a necklace. Is car bling still cool? Is the word "bling" even cool?

Anyway, we also have some pictures of the 10 most attractive cars that CNET has reviewed. Plus, there are photos of the Sprint Mogul by HTC and a look at YouTube videos on Apple TV. … Read more

The future of video ads: Text

I just got a very interesting demo from Adap.TV CEO Amir Ashkenazi. His company has built an online video-advertising technology that ignores one of the old maxims of advertising: that advertisements should be in the same medium as the content they are running in.

Adap.TV places text ads in videos. When a user clicks on one of these text come-ons, the video pauses and a new window opens on the ad's Web page.

It's a smart strategy, because there are a lot more text and Web ads for the system to chose from than there are … Read more

Apple issues Apple TV security fix

Apple today issued an update for its Apple TV device. The update fixes the mDNSResponder buffer overflow vulnerability, CVE-2007-2386. This vulnerability was patched last month in Security Update 2007-05 for desktop and laptop users of Apple Mac OS X 10.4 up to 10.4.9.

The Apple TV device will automatically pick up this update during its weekly schedule. Depending on the day that your Apple TV device checks for updates, this process may take up to a week to complete. Should you want the update sooner, it is also possible to force a manual update by using the … Read more