television - Tag Archive

Five changes in video conferencing for the next decade

9 Replies rash799

The collapse of the global economy has left big business needing to cut costs in every coroner it possibly can. For many executives the solution lies in finding high tech alternatives to many of the most costly aspects of business. One of the most effective ways this is being done is through video conferencing.

The constant stream of meetings and sales pitches being presented all over the world in the flesh accompanied by high priced business class air fairs and four star hotel rooms are coming to an end. More and more organisations are looking to replace this with video conferencing, making international meetings a far quicker and cheaper process.

As the quality of video conference technology improves and the experience gets closer to that of a real life encounter the adoption of video conferencing technology is only going to become more wide spread.

Video conferencing is already available in extremely fast frame rates at full HD resolutions, but what else can be done to help make the form of communication seem more real. What are the technological developments we can expect in the next decade?

Skype's Logo

Skype can be used as a video conferencing tool

1 – Translation software

With video conferencing making global operations affordable for even smaller business, more business are going to be looking to have presence over seas and this will call for low cost translation services.

Translation software is quickly developing; two years ago we saw the iPod app that used it’s camera to instantly translate any written text, and this will quickly be combined with high quality voice recognition technologies that are become standard on the new generation of smart phones. We are not far off software that will quickly and efficiently translate the spoken word.

2 – Holographic projection

Previously the types of light needed for this kind of projection were too hot to be used in the kinds of small devices available in offices. However laser lighting means that holographic projectors will soon be able to be built small enough for not only office use, but could also be built into many portable devices such as smartphones.

Flash memory in smart phones could soon be replaced with a new storage format based on this technology, holographic memory. This will greatly increase storage capacities as the same area of a storage device can be used multiple times by projecting the light at different angles, read speeds will also become much faster as holo-memory can be read from many different points in parallel. This eliminates many of the large file size issues that have been hindering the spread of video technology

3 – Video takes over from the written word

As high quality webcams become more standard features on modern netbooks and better integrated with communications services such as Facebook, it is expected that people will begin to move away from writing emails and instead compose video mail instead.

For many a video message is quicker and easier and also seems more personal, now that it is as easy as clicking a button on Facebook to send one it is only a matter of time until they over take emails in the frequency with which they are sent for personal communication. The paper trail that emails leave behind may mean it takes longer for them to be used in business.

4 – A rise in personal broadcasting

YouTube videos are increasingly becoming an entertainment format that rivals television. The content on You Tube that is produced by individuals or very small companies is now genuinely entertaining yet far cheaper to produce than more traditional formats. With cost cutting becoming more essential these lower budget forms of entertainment are only going to increase. This could shift the way the entertainment industry is structured with more talent choosing to run there own company and be there own boss broadcasting themselves over the web.

5 – Increased usage of Telehealth

Also expect to see the medical industries developing more technologies based on video conferencing which will allow doctors to diagnose and treat patients from a distance. Telehealth hardware is already on track to be a $990 million market by 2015 and predictions are that this will continue to $6 billion five years after that.

At the moment telemedicine technologies are very much focused on developing countries, where there are shortages of doctors in rural communities. As telemedicine technology improves though it could be adopted in the west too allowing anyone to be treated by the best doctors in the world, no matter there location.

YouTube’s most watched UK videos of 2011

11 Replies Christopher Roberts

In the run up to Christmas, I thought we were due a fun, quirky post, so this post is about the most watched videos 2011 on YouTube in the United Kingdom 🙂

YouTube's LogoIn 10th place is a video called Diary of a bad man 5. With 16,026 likes and just 839 dislikes many people seem to like the humour that HumzaProductions (the videos makers) created. It’s an odd one, you either like it or you hate it, why not watch it and find out?


Masterchef Synesthesia by YouTuber Swede Mason is the 9th most watched video on YouTube of 2011. It is a funny (and rather weird) song that has been made out of clips from the TV show MasterChef. It’s very well put together, so I have included it below for your enjoyment 🙂

The video of Michael Collings audition for Britain’s Got Talent is 8th on the list. This is the story of an IT engineer who works in a computer shop in Plymouth, and decided to enter the show Britain’s Got Talent. Most people prejudged him, including the judges, however he turned out to be a really good singer. 76,212 likes vs 920 dislikes really does show how popular this video is!

asdfmovie4 by TomSka is in 7th place. Depending upon your type of humour will depend as to whether you find it funny or not, but considering it has over 14,000,000 views, I am guessing that most people do find it little humorous, although rather… weird at the same time – maybe not one to watch with young children.

6th place goes to the very funny T-Mobile publicity video called The T-Mobile Royal Wedding. The video, at first, looks like it was made by someone with a camera, at the actual Royal Wedding, however it soon becomes apparent that it is a really funny spoof! I just had to include this one 🙂

In 5th place is a very controversial video. The video is a dubbed version of Rebecca Black’s Friday song called Rebecca Black “Friday” (Brock’s Dub). Some people find it amusing, whilst others say that the strong language isn’t justified, and that the ending is a bit harsh. Out of the 447,893 ratings, just 14,295 people dislike it, so it would seem that overall the public really like the video.

4th place goes to Charlie Sheen’s song: Winning. A bit like the MasterChef video, it’s a song made up of loads of different clips. Again, most people would find it funny, however the video does have 5,957 dislikes which may suggest otherwise, that said, it does have 276,113 likes.

I am not quite sure how, but in 3rd place is a video called Nyan Cat [original]. Only around 5% of ratings don’t like the video, but I just don’t get it! Watch it for yourself and see if you can explain its popularity.

In 2nd place is a video of two babies, seemingly holding an entire conversation in baby! The video is called Talking Twin Babies – PART 2 – OFFICIAL VIDEO and is posted by jayrandall22011. It is cute, and slightly amusing, but I think it could be much better were it to be dubbed, with funny captions, like many of the other videos in the top ten are 🙂

Finally, the winner of the most watched video on YouTube 2011 is the Ultimate Dog Tease! The video is very funny and is basically a video of a normal dog, which has been dubbed to make it look like it is talking. The maker, Talking Animals (AKA klaatu42) has made loads of other similar videos, like ones with a beaver on the road, a cat playing I Spy and many other funny ones. Non however are quite as popular at the Ultimate Dog Tease. For your enjoyment, here is the video.

From all the above videos, it would seem that if you want to become a YouTube phenomenon, you need to be funny! All of the above videos aim to be funny, with the exception of Michael Collings audition for Britain’s Got Talent.

What’s your favourite video?

The Kymera Magic Wand – Review

14 Replies Christopher Roberts

I recently purchased a Kymera Magic Wand. You may be wondering what on earth that is! Basically it is a universal remote control – with a twist.

With a normal universal remote control you just press a button and the channel changed, or you mess with the volume. However with the Kymera Magic Wand you do a magical movement in order to get your device to respond.

A Kymera Magic Wand

My Kymera Magic Wand

It’s one of those things that when you see it you either think to yourself ‘I must have that!’ or ‘what’s the fuss all about?’ I was the former of those two. So after seeing the wand on the show Dragons Den, I rushed out to buy one.

This video of them on Dragons Den really does show off the capabilities of the wand! From about 51 seconds to 1.09 seconds really shows of the wand, the rest is just for interest 🙂

The wand can be used to control almost anything from your simple TV and HiFi to more complicated things like remote controlled garage doors and even remote control lights!

The remote works by learning your existing controls infrared codes, but you do have to program these in for yourself.

Using the wand is a great deal of fun, especially the first time you use it. You can remotely control your TV with a swoosh of your Kymera Magic Wand. If you are a really big fantasy fan, I am sure that you would love this gift, as would those people who love the latest and coolest gadgets – like me 😉

Is The Wand Easy To Use?

The wand can be a little difficult to use at first, however after a bit of practise you get used to it. The Wand Company say

“This wand it not a toy, it is a finely tuned instrument of control.”

showing that if you are looking for some quick fun, this may not be the thing for you, as it can take a while to get used to.

The main problem that I have found with the wand is that it is sometimes too sensitive. Sometimes I will pick it up, change the channel and then place it down again, only for it to bring the guide up onto the screen, as I have placed it down slightly firmer than I should have. This can start to get annoying after time. That and the fact that it doesn’t always respond how you want it to is why I haven’t used it all that much recently.

The Wand Company do provide a useful tutorial on their YouTube channel, however it isn’t really able to help you stop the wands more annoying traits.

Does It Really Feel Magical?

The wand really does look the part, and is a great gadget to show off to all your friends when they come round. It looks like a real magic wand, and is also packaged like one. It also comes with instructions as to how to use your wand, which are printed in such a way to make them look like a scroll.

Scroll like instructions for the Kymera Magic Wand

The Kymera Magic Wand’s scroll like instructions

The design of the wand and the presentation really is fantastic. The packaging really helps make the wand look the part 🙂

The Kymera Magic Wand's Packaging

The wand really does look the part with its fantastic packaging!

Is The Wand Value For Money?

Well the wand currently retails at just under £50 (around $80) which is pretty pricey, but when you consider the technology inside, also reasonable at the same time. The question is, is it worth it?

My honest answer, no. If they were £20, sure, run out and buy one, however for the price that they are, and the amount you would use it, it really isn’t worth the money. You get a novelty factor when you first use it, and when you introduce someone to it who has never seen it before, however it never really becomes an every day item that you use on a regular basis. If you are a big wizard fan and a techie, you will probably enjoy (and use) it more, but is it worth £50? Make your own judgement.

For more information on the wand, please visit The Wand Company’s website, and YouTube channel.