Netflix to become a traditional TV producer in new ‘Killing’ deal?

Netflix has already branched out into funding original content for its Watch Instantly service, but a new deal may see it co-fund a television program for cable television for the first time.

Months after it was initially raised as a possibility, it turns out that Netflix is nearing a deal with AMC to keep the critically divisive The Killing alive – but in such a way that suggests that the DVD-lending, content-streaming giant is looking to move into more traditional studio waters.

According to a report on Deadline: Hollywood, Netflix is nearing a deal with AMC and Fox TV Studios for a third season of Veena Sud’s American remake of the Danish series Forbrydelsen that will see the company share production costs butnot receive any form of exclusivity of debut for the content (The original rumors for the deal back in August suggested that Netflix was looking to secure exclusive first use rights for any new episodes produced, with an eye to the series then being aired on AMC at some undefined later point, similar to the deal worked out between DirecTV and NBC for the latter seasons ofFriday Night Lights). Instead, AMC is expected to premiere the episodes with the season being added to Netflix upon broadcast completion.

According to Deadline, two things made the deal more attractive to all parties involved. Firstly, executive producer and showrunner Sud had what was described as “a strong third-season pitch” for the show, which may allow it to relaunch itself following the second season conclusion of the long-running “Rosie Larson” case and give new viewers a chance to start the show without fear of missing backstory, and secondly, Fox TV already had all actors contractually locked into a third season, keeping costs down while also ensuring that break-out stars Joel Kinnaman (Soon to be see as the new Robocop) and Mireille Enos attached.

What’s surprising about this deal is the lack of “get” for Netflix; previously, when the company has made forays towards funding or producing original content, it has done so because it would get “first dibs” on the result (See its deals for Lilyhammer, or the currently in-production new season of Arrested Development, not to mention the American remake of British political drama House of Cards). Instead, this deal appears to simply give Netflix after-the-fact rights to stream the show, in a way that isn’t significantly different for viewers or subscribers from the way that other television series get handled. Obviously, there is the differentiator of the fact that Netflix will (co-)own the third Killing season and therefore won’t have to worry about paying licensing fees or the possibility of the content being pulled away from it should relationships sour with the rights-holders, but nonetheless; is that enough of a gain that Netflix should move into a position more traditionally taken by studios or financial backers for the first time?

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

V-Moda M-100 headphones offer slick features for the urban audiophile with a fancy price tag to match

V-Moda ventures into the tumultuous world of audiophilia with its new M-100 headphones. Armed with dual inputs, a music-sharing cable and the ability to add a boom mic, the M-100 are a bit of a departure from the company's previous offerings. The same can be said for the price, which is set at $300. Expect the M-100 to drop sometime this holiday season.

 

Today,  V-Moda launched their M-100 headphones, which it says were designed by “crowdsourcing” DJ’s, journalists, and consumers. Once the design team had collected enough input, they began working on the headphones with outside recommendations in mind. Still, the company indicates it was never going to stray too far from its roots, as an organization reportedly obsessed with the intricacies of audio.

“Speaker drivers must be carefully quality-controlled like grapes at fine vineyards,” said Val Kolton, Chief Visionary Officer at V-MODA. You know when a company is comparing the crafting of its speaker drivers to the making of fine wines, it’s run by folks who consider themselves real audiophiles. If you’re not one yourself, you may want to skip this high-end offering.

The real question, however, is: do the M-100’s deliver? As part of the Crossfade series, the phones are billed as versatile, durable, and functional. In terms of versatility, the dual inputs are said to allow the phones to serve as an on-the-go mixer, and there’s also the option to add-on a Boom Pro mic if you’re the gaming/podcasting/broadcasting type. As for durability, the V-Moda M-100 come equipped with detachable, kevlar-reinforced cables, and in terms of functionality, the phones feature a SharePlay cable for music sharing without the aid of extra adapters.

The literature for the M-100’s is laden with the phones’ supposed features, but no amount of marketing savvy can make a shoddy pair of cans sound spectacular. When we reviewed the V-Moda Crossfade LP’s, we found the sound quality a bit lackluster but we’ve yet to get our hands on these as of yet, so we’re still in wait-and-see mode. Looks like we may be there for a while too, as  V-Moda is a bit nebulous on release details. The company says only that the Crossfade M-100 will be available this holiday season. They’re priced at $300 and for an extra $10, you can pre-order a pair at V-MODA.com, which will ship with an extra set of personalized shields and a set of Faders VIP Tuned Earplugs for a limited time.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Cheaper, knock-off Apple Lightning cables might not take that long to appear

Since the iPhone 5 launch it became clear the new and way expensive Lightning cable packs some sort of a security chip inside and because of that – the cheap Chinese knock-off cables won’t work.

New findings by the awesome guys at Chipworks however lead us to believe there’s hope for cheaper cables. When Chipworks carried their teardown of the Lightning cable, they discovered it contains four chips – two of them very simple with just a couple of (power) transistors, a third, the NXP NX20P3, which is responsible for charging and finally, a mysterious fourth chip – the TI BQ2025.

This tiny fella manufactured by Texas Instruments is undocumented in TI’s database but there are four others close to it already cataloged in there. They are all battery fuel gauges, three of them serial EFPROMs and the last one – a battery monitor IC. All these terms here are not really important though. What you need to know is BQ2022, BQ2023, BQ2024 and BQ2026 all have one thing in common – they all feature some kind of security. It just makes sense for BQ2025 to deliver security features as well. And this tiny fella is probably the sole reason why all cheap cables just don’t work.

The positive thing from this investigation is that according to Chipworks, the security is far from “herculean”, it’s there to be “just enough” to deter the making of the knock-off cables, but without burdening Apple’s manufacturing costs by much. Chipsworks compare the level of security to “the level of effort that cartridge manufacturers used to implement in the olden days”, which obviously has been overcome many times.

So, there you have it. Apple’s done this so you can’t buy cheap Chinese replicas, at least for now.

Those of you who don’t want to spend a pile of cash on a set of original USB cables, should probably wait just a bit longer before those tiny chips get replicated into $3 cables.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Apple Lightning Adapter: iHome, Gear4 accessories covered

There are worries over Apple's new Lightning cable and adapter's backward compatibility, but is it a cause for concern?

Talk of the iPhone 5’s new Lightning cable and its associated adapter is threatening to become this year’s “antennagate.” Confusion reigns as future iPhone 5 owners question whether they’ll be able to use their already-purchased accessories with the new device, or if the adapter’s limitations will scupper that plan.

Apple hasn’t helped by saying neither video or iPod-out is supported by the adapter, along with the disclaimer that “some 30-pin accessories are not supported,” but without adding any much needed detail.

To see if audio dock manufacturers were expecting any problems, we contacted a few of the big names for comment. iHome, North America’s number one maker of iPod speaker systems, said “The Apple Lightning to 30-pin adapters will support audio and charging with iHome docking stations.”

Good news there, then.

Gear4, who along with a wide-range of regular docks, also produces the licensed Angry Birds docks, provided more detail, saying “based on our understanding of the specification of the adapter, it appears that most or all of our products should work with the new iOS devices through the adapter.” This will include speakers that are “app-enabled,” and the forthcoming Renew SleepClock, that can monitor sleep patterns.

Regarding the Gear4 docks that don’t use a 30-pin connector but Bluetooth and AirPlay instead, the USB charging port on the rear is compatible with the Lightning cable and will charge attached devices as normal.

We’ve contacted JBL and Bose for comment too, and will update with their responses.

Gizmodo claims that the lack of iPod-out compatibility will be more of an issue for those who connect their iPhones and iPods to in-car entertainment systems, where apps that previously integrated with the system may no longer do so, and standard-fit controls may not operate the device either.

As for the video out problem, Apple may have a solution, but it’ll involve buying another set of cables. The Verge reports that an Apple representative told them Lightning to HDMI and Lightning to VGA cables would arrive in “the coming months.” If AirPlay’s not an option for you, then it looks like it’ll be best to wait for the new cables rather than splash out on an adapter.

Unfortunately, concrete answers to questions regarding the Lightning adapter may have to wait until the iPhone 5 and new iPods go on sale, and owners get to test it out when the adapter is released in October. Judging by what we’ve heard from manufacturers so far, it may not be as much of a problem as many feared.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Opinion: Sorry NFL, technology just makes football better on TV

Anyone with a big-screen TV and a $50 cable package has the best seat in the house without getting out of the recliner. So why should we pay up to attend games, again?

For couch potatoes, fantasy junkies, and degenerate gamblers, this week is more important than Christmas. Another NFL season kicks off! I can hear my wife sighing already.

Lost in Olympics coverage over the summer was the fact that the NFL’s overall attendance for the 2011 season was the lowest it has been since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002. Everyone has a theory. Most blame the overall state of the economy. Some blame expansion itself, diluting the product on the field to the point where we have the Colts, Dolphins, Rams, and Buccaneers of the world.

Yet some – myself included – have a different theory.

The product on TV is simply far, far better than what you can get in the stadium. Stadiums face the same problem as movie theaters: We’re so coddled by technology in our home theaters, it’s getting harder and harder to find an excuse to leave.

Although I have an NFL stadium 20 minutes from my house, I haven’t been to a Bucs game in about seven or eight years. Part of the reason is that I am an admitted fair-weather fan. I’m simply not interested in paying what I consider an exorbitant sum to watch a team lose. Just as if a restaurant started putting out an inferior product, I would stop patronizing that restaurant. And Chez Buccaneer has been an inferior restaurant for most of the last decade, not winning a playoff game since their Super Bowl run in 2002.

More importantly, the NFL shot themselves in the foot when it came to my prospective attendance when they invented NFL RedZone.

For those who aren’t familiar, RedZone is a channel broadcast by the NFL on most cable networks that shows only the most important plays from every game going on during Sunday afternoon. It simply skips around the league, staying at one game only if a team is in the “red zone.” The cost is around $50 for the season, less than one ticket to a live game.

No more rushing plays into the middle of the line, resulting in a 2-yard gain.

No more incomplete passes.

I only see what is important. I don’t even watch highlight shows anymore, because chances are I saw the highlight in real time, no matter the game. As a fantasy player, I see when my players (or the opponent’s) score before it even registers on the online fantasy tracker website. I’ve finished cursing by the time the score is updated.

I’ve heard the same refrain from the people who are lucky enough to subscribe to DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket, where they have access to every game broadcast. Or the people who would rather frequent the local sports bar, where they can also see every game and probably get better food than what would be available at the stadium.

So perhaps the cause of the NFL’s attendance woes (if you can call them that, considering more than 16 million people visited a game last year) is the NFL itself and its blinding madness to chase money wherever they may be able to find it.

The question is: What can they do to get butts back in the seats?

I can’t say I’ll never go to another Bucs game, particularly if I have some friends going as well. But they need to provide a similar experience to what I have at home, which means letting me know what is happening in the other games. I may be a Bucs fan, but this season I’m also a fan of Tom Brady, Trent Richardson, and Jamaal Charles (until I trade them).

At Raymond James Stadium, there is one scrolling scoreboard in the whole building that shows scores from the other games around the league. Just scores. No stats. They don’t even show highlights of other games during halftime.

Meanwhile, during the innumerable stoppages of play to let the TV stations get their commercials in, the fans in the stadium are also treated to a bunch of commercials on the jumbotrons. I thought I paid you a lot of money for a ticket so I didn’t have to watch commercials?

So instead of the commercials between series, they need to show RedZone. Since it’s already an NFL product, there are no licensing issues. The people in the stadium can then get a much better idea of what’s going on around the league and won’t have the feeling that they’re missing something by opting to see the game in person.

Speaking of not missing anything, I need stadium-wide free Wi-Fi. Then I can bring my tablet to the game and keep up with my fantasy players. Or you can do some work during halftime, if you’re trying to offset the cost of the ticket.

Just as we started this conversation by bemoaning the slackening attendance at NFL games, we’re going to end it with another figure: $9.5 billion. That was the NFL’s total revenue last season. They can afford the bill for 65,000 people using Wi-Fi for three hours eight times a year, and to forgo the commercials in the stadium. And by doing that, maybe fewer games around the league will get blacked out, creating even more revenue.

Without changing the live game, the NFL risks losing a generation of fans to whom football might as well be played on a soundstage.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nokia announces Purity Pro wireless Bluetooth headset

Last year Nokia announced a couple of audio products as part of the new Nokia Purity range, designed in collaboration with Monster Cable, known for their famous Beats by Dr. Dre range of audio products. That range now has a new member, in the form of the Nokia Purity Pro Wireless Stereo headset.

The Purity Pro is a wireless stereo headset that uses Bluetooth for audio transmission, although you can also hook it up using a cable if your battery runs out. The Purity Pro has NFC built-in, so you can tap your Nokia phone with NFC to pair instantly or you can use the traditional pairing method. It also features active noise cancellation that cancels out the background noise.

The headset features a foldable design that allows you to carry them around easily. Folding and unfolding the headset automatically switches it off and on respectively.

The Purity Pro headset will be sold in four colors, black, red, yellow and white for approximately €299 ($376) in Q4, 2012.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Best YouTube Channels

So many YouTube videos, so little time. With our curated Best Youtube Channels list, these are the Web entertainment you can't miss.

Who needs cable television when there’s quality entertainment on the Web? If you’re constantly getting links from friends about new YouTube videos and viral clips, perhaps you can be the first to share something interesting by following these awesome YouTube Channels. Categorized by archetypes, we hope these channels will be useful from whether you need instructional videos or updates of the latest news.

For the scientist

Minute Physics

Want to learn all there is about physics but don’t have a long attention span? Minute Physics makes science easy to understand with each video never going on for more than several minutes (the most is around seven minutes, but that’s a rarity; most average around 1:30). The channel helps explain everything from “What is Fire?” to the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson. Now, you don’t have to feel lost when your geek friends discuss scientific topics and easily follow along.

Nurd Rage

Scientific explanations might be cool, but everyone knows it’s the experiments that drew us all to actually attending class back in grade school. Nurd Rage fulfills those fantasies by conducting neat experiments that are probably not recommended for you to try at home. This way, you can live vicariously through the professional while still learning a thing or two.

 

For the web culture-obsessed

PBS Off Book

Do you want to know everything there is about the art behind pop culture-related things? For example, what’s the buzz with 8-bit graphics or Lego sculptures? Why do people freak out over viral videos and what makes Reddit so popular? PBS Off Book will explain it all to you with a new video every Thursday exploring these web-related topics.

What’s Trending

For those who keep up with the latest pop culture news, What’s Trending is an awesome variety show that discusses exactly what the title suggests. Host Shira Lazar puts on a live stream every day at noon pacific time and 3 p.m. eastern, along with some YouTube videos at its channel featuring online personalities or must-see clips of the week. The channel covers every topic related to pop culture: sports, music, movies, video games, gadgets, and more.

Next Media Animation TV

Next Media Animation TV, shortly known as NMATV, is best suited for those who enjoy WTF animation to go along with updates of the most relevant social news. The channel switches around several different newscasters, but they all narrate a varied range of topics accompanied by hilarious graphical interpretations. NMATV is based in Taiwan, so Chinese narrations are also available should you want to hear your news in a foreign language. The quirky animations have been featured in several television programmings and networks, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Adult Swim, and Spike TV.

For the foodie

My Drunk Kitchen

Cooking should be fun, and if you’re of legal drinking age, that fun comes along with a nice alcoholic beverage of choice with your meals. My Drunk Kitchen accomplishes both at the same time, featuring host Hannah Hart as she comedically stumbles her way to creating a dish while consuming random types of alcohol per episode. After all, doesn’t everything taste better when you’re drunk? A must watch for the modern chef-wannabe.

Cooking with Dog

Despite what the title might lead you to believe, Cooking With Dog doesn’t actually involve cooking dog meat but rather, cooking with a dog as your companion. It’s a quirky Japanese-based show with instructions on how to make intricate meals, such as cute dessert crepes, shrimp tempura, ramen noodle soup, and green tea ice cream. It’s the original Cooking Mama… plus dog co-host.

For general tutorials and tips

A.J. Wood “The Adobe Wan”

Got your hands on a fancy copy of Creative Suite and no idea what to do with it? A.J. Wood, or the self-dubbed Adobe Wan, provides a series of tutorials to help you learn tricks, tips, and tools to get the most out of your software. The tutorials range from beginner level, such as learning to use the Navigation in Photoshop, to more complex, like how to use the Clone Stamp tool for maximized results. The channel is great for those who wonder about all the various tools available on Creative Suite, and how exactly to use them to your advantage.

DietHealth

No gym? No problem. Those who enjoy working out in the comfort of their own home and find a variety of exercise programs on DietHealth’s YouTube channel best to target muscle groups they want to work out the most. Some healthy food recommendation videos are slipped in between workout routines to help you become and overall fitter and healthier person. Many of the workouts posted on DietHealth are also beginner-friendly, with moves you can do on your own with minimal equipments.

Videojug

If you have a random question on how to accomplish a certain task, be it how to cry on cue or how to clean windows with lemons, Videojug can tell you in step-by-step details. Some of the videos are tutorials of things you never knew you wanted to know the steps of, but once it’s there, you can’t help but watch Videojug’s advice — which happens to come complete with dry humor. Don’t you want to know how to make fake blood? Strangely enough, I do. 

We’ll keep this list updated as times change, but if you have any you’d like to contribute, feel free to discuss in the comments!

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple in talks with cable providers about new live-tv, set-top box

Currently in the negotiation stage, Apple representatives are chatting up cable providers about an improved set-top box.

Mentioned on the Wall Street Journal earlier today, Apple is currently having discussions with the major providers in the cable industry in regards to streaming live television to an Apple set-top box similar to the Apple TV. While Apple hasn’t made any official deals with any cable provider yet, company officials have discussed plans for live television streaming with representatives of Time Warner. However, the Apple device may be something completely different from the current Apple TV. It could be similar to a typical cable set-top box, but would be manufactured by Apple or at least be powered by Apple’s software. The device could be sold by Apple directly to replace a cable customer’s regular set-top box or simply rented from a cable provider.

Hypothetically, Apple could significantly broaden the amount of people using a device like the Apple TV if distributed through at least one cable company. This would allow a much larger number of Apple consumers to take advantage of Airplay in order to stream content off the Web as well as use popular apps like Angry Birds within the home theater.

However, it’s unlikely that cable companies would be interested in allowing customers to access iTunes through the device and cut into the profits of premium video-on-demand from rentals of movies and television shows. It’s likely that Apple would have to agree to some form of revenue sharing for all purchases made through iTunes on a new, live TV compatible device.

This report could also be related to recent Apple patents approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week. According to Wired, Apple was granted a patent for a DVR-menu function that’s designed to record and store live television for future viewing. However, the current Apple TV does not contain a hard drive and wouldn’t be able to store recorded content. If the current Apple TV hardware is updated with DVR functions, consumers would have to add an external hard drive or Apple would have to provide cloud storage for recorded content.

However, the menu functions outlined in the patent documentation could easily be found in a new Apple set-top box that’s compatible with at least one major cable provider. In addition, these functions could also be found within the menu of an Apple-branded television set; a long-rumored device that could be released during 2013 according to the Wall Street Journal.

While Apple has sold approximately four million Apple TV set-top boxes during 2012 according to CEO Tim Cook, the number of units sold pales in comparison to the number of iPhones or iPads sold to consumers this year. Apple has had a difficult time attracting consumers due to stiff competition from Roku and the lineup of less expensive Roku 2 set-top boxes. Apple is also competing with Microsoft and Sony as both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 work with the major streaming video applications and both companies sell high definition movies and television shows. In addition, Apple has been slow to add all the popular streaming video services to the Apple TV device. For instance, Apple didn’t add Hulu Plus as another option for streaming content until the end of July 2012.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com