Smattering Archive

  • Exclusive: a look around ESPN’s 3D Master Control room

    Exclusive: a look around ESPN’s 3D Master Control room

    Posted on June 11, 2010 | No Comments
    Not sure if you knew, but today marks the launch of ESPN's first dedicated 3D channel, predictably titled ESPN 3D. For now, the channel will only be active whenever 3D sporting events are being aired, starting with a full 25 FIFA World Cup matches from the Republic of South Africa. It's a pretty monumental launch for the world leader in broadcast sports, and it's obviously taking a pretty big leap with only a smattering of 3D sets available and an obviously limited amount of content at its disposal. That said, there's hardly a better way to enjoy 3D content than to see sports in the third dimension, which makes the appeal of this new station that much stronger. We're here live at the company's kickoff event in Bristol, Connecticut, and we'll be bringing you lots of coverage from behind the scenes.

    One important piece that has yet to be revealed to the public is exactly how this material is getting from the field to the consumer, with Comcast, DirecTV and AT&T (U-verse) signed on from day one. During our shooting for The Engadget Show (don't worry -- we'll be cutting it up and getting it live as soon as possible!) we were able to stop by ESPN's 3D Master Control room, a box no larger than the average American kitchen but infinitely important in the grand scheme of things. Amazingly enough, the room pictured in the gallery below didn't exist six weeks ago, and in an insanely short period of time ESPN has managed to create a control room that sucks feeds in from all over the world, adds graphics (along with a specialized ESPN 3D "bug"), ensures that everything is aligned properly and then pipes it out to the aforesaid carriers.

    Gallery: A look inside ESPN's 3D Master Control room

    Continue reading Exclusive: a look around ESPN's 3D Master Control room

    Exclusive: a look around ESPN's 3D Master Control room originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe

    Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe

    Posted on May 18, 2010 | No Comments
    International PlayStation 3 owners have long since enjoyed spoils unavailable to North American consumers (PlayTV, anyone?), but one area where they're lagging is the availability of on-demand films. Thanks to a couple of serendipitously timed announcements, PS3 owners in Australia, New Zealand and far-flung corners of Europe will soon have a couple of new options for bringing digital movies to their television via their favorite Sony-branded game console. For starters, Sony itself will be launching the hotly-anticipated Australian on-demand movie rental / purchase service on Thursday, which will offer up (initially, anyway) 600 titles, though the breakdown of HD vs. SD isn't given. We're told that around 50 new movies will be added each month, and after paying the rental fee, you'll have a scant 48 hours to ingest it as many times as you so desire. In related news, MUBI will also be bringing a similar service to a smattering of overseas nations. So far as we can tell, this is what a child would look like if parented by Facebook and Vudu, and the concept is admittedly intriguing. Unfortunately, HD streams won't be available at launch, but hopefully it'll get with the program in short order. Speaking of the program, hit those source links for more details on both.

    Continue reading Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe

    Sony bringing on-demand movies to Aussie PS3 owners, MUBI doing similar in Europe originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 18 May 2010 21:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • HD channel expansion roundup

    HD channel expansion roundup

    Posted on May 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Once upon a time, a smattering of new HD channels in one major metropolitan area was a huge deal. Nowadays, it's almost expected that one area or another will experience some HD expansion each week. In order to keep things nice and tidy around here, we deliver high-def expansions, market expansions and anything else dealing with HD channel growth right here. If we missed an area that you're familiar with, drop us a line in comments so everyone can catch up. The more the merrier, we say!

    Read - AT&T rolling out U-Verse in Southern Indiana
    Read - Tour NBC4's New High-Definition Studio (Washington D.C.)
    Read - WJHL preparing broadcast local news programming in high definition (Tennessee)
    Read - Insight Going All-Digital In Lexington, Promises 100 HDs
    Read - NewsCenter 16 now broadcasting in HD (Indiana)
    Read - KTVX-TV launches high definition newscasts (Salt Lake City, UT)
    Read - DIRECTV Launches Univision and TeleFutura in Crystal-Clear HD
    Read - AT&T U-verse to launch in Chattanooga
    Read - The high stakes of Comcast upgrade in Baltimore

    HD channel expansion roundup originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 03 May 2010 07:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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