I mean, actors doing voice overs still get paid millions of dollars for doing a Disney/Pixar movie don't they?
Not always. Typically, voices in animated films (even famous ones) are paid "scale" or the minimum wage for a SAG member. The studios typically pitch it to actors as a way to impress their kids, or as a way to boost their careers (see, for example, Ellen after her role in Finding Nemo).
For sequels, where the studios have less flexibility in casting, actors will often be paid the $millions figure you expect (I believe the precedent for this was Aladdin 2, for which Robin Williams was paid $10m).
The first one to come out with a 30 dollar player will win the war.
As long as studios are aligning with only one format (Paramount with HD-DVD, Disney with Blu-Ray), it's a war that can't be won, which I guess is pretty much the point Stringer is making. Personally, I'm excited for a high definition format, and would jump at even a $299 player if it actually played all of the titles that were out there. But I, like pretty much every one else, don't want to be saddled with an obsolete and useless box (whether it cost me $99 or $999), and buying TWO new boxes is not an acceptable "solution."
As far as I know, this is the strategy employed by TiVoToGo, which lets you take video off of a TiVo and watch it on your laptop. Here's one article discussing it. Personally, I'd take a watermark over restriction any day.
This was actually once promised and even advertised as part of 10.3 "Panther" and then was inexplicably removed. Here was the marketing blurb:
Home away from home
Ever thought you could carry your home in the palm of your hands or in your pocket? You can. Panther's Home on iPod feature lets you store your home directory - files, folders, apps - on your iPod (or any FireWire hard drive) and take it with you wherever you go. When you find yourself near a Panther-equipped Mac, just plug in the iPod, log in, and you're "home," no matter where you happen to be. And when you return to your home computer, you can synchronize any changes you've made to your files by using File Sync, which automatically updates offline changes to your home directory.
What's interesting about Front Row is that it doesn't actually play the music itself, but instead builds a playlist in iTunes and tells iTunes to play that. Assuming you're on a Mac, this can all be done with Applescript. Can your app just do that? (I'm don't mean to be argumentative here, just offering a suggestion.)
Also I have to say I am concerned with the caching strategy in Lightroom - every image has a same-size JPG created along with decreasing half sizes images as well. That can take up a lot of space.
This is called a mipmap, and it's not as bad as you'd think. A mipmap representation occupies only a third more space than just the original image.
HDTV downloads would take FOREVER. Of course, if reports from Front Row-equipped iMacs streaming in HD trailer without stuttering or loading times is true, Apple is two steps ahead of us on this already.
I basically agree with you. I just wanted to say that I unfortunately do get stuttering when watching movie trailers with my new iMac G5 (20", 2.1 GHz) over 1.5 Mbps DSL. Seems like they're a little optimistic about how much to buffer. The first bit plays fine, then they stutter in the middle, and by then end it's all caught up.
It's impressive nonetheless, but not as impressive as downloading an H.264 teaser and showing it full screen. That really makes some jaws drop.
Boy have I got an intellectual bridge to sell you.
Re:I'll keep looking...
on
CNET's HDTV World
·
· Score: 3, Informative
But I'm having a bit of trouble finding the parts of the articles where they say just how little, if any, Digital Rights Management are built into these televisions.
That would be one of the key factors to which HDTV to buy, for any geek, I would think.
Here are a couple of reasons why the Panasonic "commercial" displays like the 7UY mentioned in the summary make good "geek" sets.
Panasonic makes two lines of plasma displays. The consumer line is what you buy at places like Best Buy, and they feature what you'd expect in a "television": built-in speakers, tuners, inputs, and a decent remote control. The commercial line is technically a "monitor": there are no built-in speakers or tuners, and the remote control is bare bones.
So here's what's good about them:
They're much less expensive than their consumer counterparts, by around 30%. So if you have a 5.1 setup, you don't pay for the built-in speakers. If you have a universal remote, you don't pay for the Panasonic one that you'll never use. If you have a TiVo/Set-top Box/HTPC, you don't pay for the tuners.
They usually have newer technology: Panasonic updates the commercial sets first, then incorporates that technology into the consumer lines.
They have a much smaller bezel, and are dark-gray, so they are much cooler when mounted on a wall.
But here's the real geeky part: the inputs are on user-replacable boards. Sets have three slots for boards, and ship with a board that handles s-video and composite inputs, a board that handles component inputs, and a non-replaceable VGA input. You get an empty slot into which you can install a DVI board (no DRM) or an HDMI board (which will handle HDCP). In other words, you can install what you need based on what you're sending it.
HDMI, by the way, is just DVI+digital audio on one cable. HDMI also will handle signals with HDCP, but for backwards-compatibility, doesn't require it. So, to answer one of your questions, the sets themselves will usually handle (HDCP) DRM, but the presence of DRM depends on the source (and the connection).
Well, I don't blame you. I was pretty disappointed with the announcements as they were coming until they got to the Nano, which might be the first iPod that is universally drooled-over.
How exactly can Motorola get up on stage -- at an Apple-hosted event -- and present something that looks as boring as the ROKR phone? Are they hoping that people will think this thing is cool by association? It's not like they're incapable of producing slick-looking phones...
But I do think that Apple would do well to throw some of their programmers at the GCC project, at least adding their expertise to some of the Altivec modules.
Good news! Apple has been doing precisely this with its contributions to auto-vectorization in GCC 4.0.
Rather than trying to make some sort of Apple/Sirius bastard child, perform an Audible like system: subscribers to Sirius could get satellite shows and download them as podcasts as well automatically through iTunes, or do a "Sirius Lite" with delayed Podcast versions of shows available for a monthly fee (again, like Audible).
Wow, I have to say that's actually pretty good, and makes a hell of a lot more sense than trying to cram a satellite receiver inside of an iPod. I find myself in too many satellite unfriendly locations to even consider something like Sirius or XM, but I too would consider a subscription for quality time-shifted radio.
1. Buy Mac mini 2. Install CenterStage 2. There is no step three!
You know, I'm as interested in the Mac mini as the next guy, but that's not at all realistic. Others will point out that the Mac mini is underpowered, but it's also worth noting that CenterStage is at 0.1 alpha. They've just gotten started.
All of the options the article considers are working products. Some have more finish than others (MCE, I have to say, is pretty slick), but they all work and are all shipping.
...and your $1000 box will be obsolete in a few months. Here's one of the many stories that explain that since local channels will be broadcast using MPEG-4, the current HD DirectTV Tivos won't be able to pick them up.
DirecTV claims they'll help out with the transition, but I don't know if I'm ready to risk a grand on that.
Also, given Apple's video compression technologies such as Pixlet would make ideal means for encoding video for later replay, say on the plane or some such downtime.
I'm picking nits here, but Pixlet would actually be a terrible technology for this application. Pixlet sacrifices compression rate for the ability to do frame by frame advances. Great for an editor; not so great if you just want to watch video.
H.264 (aka AVC), however, would be terrific for this, since it's designed to scale all the way from HD to cellphone resolution.
Apple gets much better free publicity when the scoop comes via the cover of Time magazine, and that's something that Time is only interested in if they have the exclusive.
"I just loaded my DVD into my Jukebox... I don't need the DVD anymore, so I guess I'll go sell it on ebay or give it away..."
This describes the situation that many digital audio fans currently find themselves in: "I just ripped my CD onto my computer, why do I need the CD?"
The thing is, those shiny discs make excellent backups, especially since, if they're just sitting in their cases, they're pretty well-protected against dust and scratches.
I rarely pull actual CDs out of my cabinet anymore. But there's no way I'm going to sell them (the ones I like anyway).
You can read more about it in the book, but the professor who has developed this system is Dr. John Gottman, author of several of books including The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work.
There have also been a few documentaries on his work ("Inside the Love Lab") on Discovery Health.
Slashdot Mirror
Not always. Typically, voices in animated films (even famous ones) are paid "scale" or the minimum wage for a SAG member. The studios typically pitch it to actors as a way to impress their kids, or as a way to boost their careers (see, for example, Ellen after her role in Finding Nemo).
For sequels, where the studios have less flexibility in casting, actors will often be paid the $millions figure you expect (I believe the precedent for this was Aladdin 2, for which Robin Williams was paid $10m).
So, lots of eye candy for the casual user. Anyone care to chime in why a geek might want to upgrade?
Oh, were there only an extensive article highlighting all of the under-the-hood changes that a "geek" might be interested in. Sure wish that were in the OP.
and no one thinks it's interesting that the rapture is apparently imminent, and all that's relevant is Windows and thumb drives?
As far as I know, this is the strategy employed by TiVoToGo, which lets you take video off of a TiVo and watch it on your laptop. Here's one article discussing it. Personally, I'd take a watermark over restriction any day.
This was actually once promised and even advertised as part of 10.3 "Panther" and then was inexplicably removed. Here was the marketing blurb:
Home away from home
Ever thought you could carry your home in the palm of your hands or in your pocket? You can. Panther's Home on iPod feature lets you store your home directory - files, folders, apps - on your iPod (or any FireWire hard drive) and take it with you wherever you go. When you find yourself near a Panther-equipped Mac, just plug in the iPod, log in, and you're "home," no matter where you happen to be. And when you return to your home computer, you can synchronize any changes you've made to your files by using File Sync, which automatically updates offline changes to your home directory.
Mac Rumors has some of the history.
Some reviews say Origami's unusable; some say it's overpriced.
And most of those early adopters will be home theater buffs, who won't want to buy a player in the form of a game console.
I'm one of them. I'm excited about Blu-Ray, but I'll take a standalone DVD player, thankyouverymuch.
And a Wii.
Well that's ok, because with .Mac, iCal events are also online, as well as being synchronized to your cell phone and your iPod.
I have my beefs against iCal the program, but with syncing it kicks ass.
What's interesting about Front Row is that it doesn't actually play the music itself, but instead builds a playlist in iTunes and tells iTunes to play that. Assuming you're on a Mac, this can all be done with Applescript. Can your app just do that? (I'm don't mean to be argumentative here, just offering a suggestion.)
Also I have to say I am concerned with the caching strategy in Lightroom - every image has a same-size JPG created along with decreasing half sizes images as well. That can take up a lot of space.
This is called a mipmap, and it's not as bad as you'd think. A mipmap representation occupies only a third more space than just the original image.
I basically agree with you. I just wanted to say that I unfortunately do get stuttering when watching movie trailers with my new iMac G5 (20", 2.1 GHz) over 1.5 Mbps DSL. Seems like they're a little optimistic about how much to buffer. The first bit plays fine, then they stutter in the middle, and by then end it's all caught up.
It's impressive nonetheless, but not as impressive as downloading an H.264 teaser and showing it full screen. That really makes some jaws drop.
Boy have I got an intellectual bridge to sell you.
That would be one of the key factors to which HDTV to buy, for any geek, I would think.
Here are a couple of reasons why the Panasonic "commercial" displays like the 7UY mentioned in the summary make good "geek" sets.
Panasonic makes two lines of plasma displays. The consumer line is what you buy at places like Best Buy, and they feature what you'd expect in a "television": built-in speakers, tuners, inputs, and a decent remote control. The commercial line is technically a "monitor": there are no built-in speakers or tuners, and the remote control is bare bones.
So here's what's good about them:
HDMI, by the way, is just DVI+digital audio on one cable. HDMI also will handle signals with HDCP, but for backwards-compatibility, doesn't require it. So, to answer one of your questions, the sets themselves will usually handle (HDCP) DRM, but the presence of DRM depends on the source (and the connection).
How exactly can Motorola get up on stage -- at an Apple-hosted event -- and present something that looks as boring as the ROKR phone? Are they hoping that people will think this thing is cool by association? It's not like they're incapable of producing slick-looking phones...
Good news! Apple has been doing precisely this with its contributions to auto-vectorization in GCC 4.0.
Wow, I have to say that's actually pretty good, and makes a hell of a lot more sense than trying to cram a satellite receiver inside of an iPod. I find myself in too many satellite unfriendly locations to even consider something like Sirius or XM, but I too would consider a subscription for quality time-shifted radio.
1. Buy Mac mini
2. Install CenterStage
2. There is no step three!
You know, I'm as interested in the Mac mini as the next guy, but that's not at all realistic. Others will point out that the Mac mini is underpowered, but it's also worth noting that CenterStage is at 0.1 alpha. They've just gotten started.
All of the options the article considers are working products. Some have more finish than others (MCE, I have to say, is pretty slick), but they all work and are all shipping.
DirecTV claims they'll help out with the transition, but I don't know if I'm ready to risk a grand on that.
I'm picking nits here, but Pixlet would actually be a terrible technology for this application. Pixlet sacrifices compression rate for the ability to do frame by frame advances. Great for an editor; not so great if you just want to watch video.
H.264 (aka AVC), however, would be terrific for this, since it's designed to scale all the way from HD to cellphone resolution.
Apple gets much better free publicity when the scoop comes via the cover of Time magazine, and that's something that Time is only interested in if they have the exclusive.
This describes the situation that many digital audio fans currently find themselves in: "I just ripped my CD onto my computer, why do I need the CD?" The thing is, those shiny discs make excellent backups, especially since, if they're just sitting in their cases, they're pretty well-protected against dust and scratches.
I rarely pull actual CDs out of my cabinet anymore. But there's no way I'm going to sell them (the ones I like anyway).
In Microsoft's mind, Apple is the 98-lb. weakling that bought a nice car, learned how to dress, and is suddenly getting all the cute girls.
There have also been a few documentaries on his work ("Inside the Love Lab") on Discovery Health.
Dr. Gottman now runs a private institute.
As a drunk, I'd like to say that I resent being compared to cellphone drivers.