TV

Toshiba announced that they will be releasing an updated version of the Gigabeat V portable video player on June 1st in Japan. The new Gigabeat V series will be available in 40GB and 80GB capacities priced around $409 and $491 respectively. Beyond increased capacity, the new series improves on the features of last year's Gigabeat V30 by offering a 4-inch, 24-bit color display with a resolution of 480 x 272. Like its brother the Gigabeat S, the V series also uses the Microsoft PMC interface and supports Windows Media DRM 10 and WMA 9 lossless. The new Gigabeat V … Read more

I was tempted to post this yesterday morning, but opted to wait a day because I thought I'd be attacked by the "But I haven't seen the Lost finale yet and now you've spoiled it!" crowd if I did. Anyway, just for safety's sake, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LOST SEASON FINALE AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, DO NOT READ THIS POST.

Anyhoo. Those of us who did watch the Lost season finale know that in a super shocking twist at the end, it was revealed that the episode's … Read more

Like many other TV makers, Sony has been working on screens made with organic light-emitting diodes for some time to produce paper-thin displays as well as save energy. But ratcheting up the competition even further, it just unveiled what it calls the world's first flexible version.

The company claims to have developed a new technology that uses plastic instead of glass to make OLED screens that can actually bend (hopefully without breaking), according to Pink Tentacle. Its 2.5-inch prototype weighs only 1.5 grams--that's 0.053 ounces for the metric-challenged among us.

There's no specific product … Read more

In a move that will certainly strike fear in the hearts of creative ad agency employees, a major advertiser has created a new television ad using nothing but viral video from YouTube, MySpace and other such sites.

Fast food company KFC has turned to user-generated content, also known as UGC, to advertise that its food has "0 grams of trans fat per serving" but with "the same great taste." Why bother paying ad agencies to come up with a fresh idea for a commercial, along with writers, actors and filmmakers, when you can just grab free … Read more

On our weekly Real Deal podcast today, Tom and I discussed lifecasting (e.g., Justin.tv) and the live streaming tools ordinary people (as opposed to 24/7 exhibitionists) can use to broadcast their own cams in real time: uStream, Stickam, ComVu (review), and Veodia (review).

Here's the show:

Our discussion wouldn't be complete without a live demo of streaming, so Tom and I both streamed ourselves during the taping, using uStream. We had some problems (most related to the ancient laptop I used to record the show, I think), but I grabbed a recording of the stream. … Read more

Editor's note: This post has been updated from first publish. See note below for more.

This morning Justin.TV has relaunched itself as a live video platform. The site is planning to enable video livecasters to build out their own video broadcasting page, complete with a custom URL, branding, and chat room. Unlike uStream.TV, which has made similar functionality available to anyone and everyone for several months now, the initial crop of broadcasters who want to use the platform will be handpicked by Justin Kan and crew. Eventually it will be opened up to anyone.

For viewers, Justin.… Read more

Before Buffy Summers, La Femme Nikita, and Cylon No. Six, Jamie Sommers rocked the butt-kicking-chicks house and my 6-year-old world.

Finally, three decades later, a new Bionic Woman is springing into action on NBC, and I'm fairly out of my mind with nostalgic girl-power excitement.

Little girls everywhere can now aspire to the cyborgian awesomeness of the new Jamie, who naturally will be better, faster, stronger (oh, wait, that was her boyfriend ... crush!) than before. Well, she's younger anyway, and has way better FX.

Sadly, the trailers don't portend much original dialogue or appropriately tongue-in-cheek humor. (Joss … Read more

One of my favorite pieces on the show floor at ICFF, which is headquartered at NYC's Jacob Javits Convention Center through Tuesday (and on Tuesday it's open to the public) was this piece, which is actually a project made by Philadelphia University sophomore Gary Bugno as part of the school's industrial design program. It holds three remote controls. That's what it does. And it tells you what it does, too. It might not be quite as ingenious as Sheriff John "Wayne" Falcone's holster-like display of five remotes at once, but it's quite … Read more

In this age of convergence and the uber-device, you'd think everyone was clamoring for the digital Swiss Army knife that has become such a cliche. But some of us are purists when it comes to electronic entertainment--especially when it comes to television. Not that we watch tons of TV, of course; we at Crave are strictly PBS types (cough).

For those who can't live without the same Seinfeld reruns they've already seen hundreds of times, Japan-based BlueDot has a mini-TV that's under 5 inches long and less than half an inch thick, with a 4-inch screen. … Read more