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Auto Manufacturers Announce Collaboration on Data Standards

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August 24, 2011
  • Ford and Toyota announced this week they will work together on the development of standards for Internet connectivity in their vehicles.
  • The collaboration will address Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use, in addition to back-end networking infrastructure for in-vehicle data services.
  • “Standards will be crucial to enable car companies to work with third party developers, device makers, cell phone companies and Internet companies to create applications that are actually compelling to drivers,” reports GigaOM. “Drivers will want to move their data, digital entertainment and Internet services from their homes and cell phones to their cars, and this will rely on a standardized format.”
  • Ford is developing related technology beyond digital entertainment and basic Internet services, with the goal of enabling vehicles to wirelessly communicate in an effort to reduce crashes and fuel consumption.

Verizon Video: VOD Mobile App Launches for Android this Week

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August 23, 2011
  • Verizon Wireless launches Verizon Video this week — a new version of its video-on-demand application for mobile phones, providing Android users with more than 250 current full-episode TV shows from ABC, NBC, CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, ESPN, Cartoon Network and others.
  • Premium content is also available including live sports coverage from NFL Mobile, NFL RedZone, NBC’s Sunday Night Football and NFL network.
  • The 4G LTE and select 3G service will cost $10/month or $3 for 24 hours.
  • According to the press release: “Verizon Video updates V CAST Video on select devices and current V CAST Video subscribers will be prompted to update the app the next time it launches. After the upgrade, it will then appear under the name Verizon Video.”
  • The Verizon Video app is powered by RealNetworks.

IEEE Publishes 802.22 Standard for Wireless Internet

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July 28, 2011
  • The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) published the 802.22 standard for Wireless Regional Area Networks (WRANs), designed to make wireless Internet widely available in sparsely populated areas.
  • The new standard sends and receives data in the so-called “whitespaces,” the places in the UHF and VHF spectra between TV broadcast signals.
  • IEEE claims the standard will allow transmission of data at speeds of up to 22 Mbps, and will be able to communicate over distances as great as 100 kilometers without interfering with reception of existing TV broadcast stations.
  • In addition to channel specifications, the standard addresses “the required cognitive radio capabilities including dynamic spectrum access, incumbent database access, accurate geo-location techniques, spectrum sensing, spectrum etiquette, and coexistence for optimal use of the available spectrum.”

Ustream Launches iPad App, Supports AirPlay Wireless

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July 27, 2011
  • Ustream launched its first iPad-optimized app this week. According to TechCrunch, the app “allows users to view live and recorded content streaming through the service — and to stream their own footage direct from their iPad 2.”
  • The company released its Android app on Honeycomb two weeks ago. There is also an iPhone version available.
  • The free Ustream app supports AirPlay, which means users can stream whatever they are watching on their iPad 2 to bigger screens.
  • “The AirPlay support is especially nice because while the video is projected onto your TV you can still use your iPad for chatting and social stream,” writes Gizmodo.
  • Ustream will also allow users to broadcast their own videos using either of the iPad 2’s cameras.

LED Technology as Option for Wireless Data Transmission

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July 21, 2011
  • We may see “Li-Fi” wireless in the future, as visible light communications and light-based data transmission technology continue to advance.
  • Professor Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh recently demonstrated a prototype of the technology at the TEDGlobal conference in Scotland.
  • Haas used an LED bulb to transmit a video that was projected onto a screen behind him (at 10 megabits per second). He plans to reach 100 megabits per second by the end of the year.
  • This approach may become a viable alternative for wireless communication as mobile devices continue to tax the radio spectrum.
  • It is interesting to note that the idea of using light to send information is not new. Alexander Graham Bell sent a wireless phone message in 1880 using his Photophone.

Researchers Create Device that Harvests Energy from Ambient Signals

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July 11, 2011
  • Georgia Tech researchers have developed an energy-harvesting device that can collect power from various sources including radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems.
  • “We are using an ultra-wideband antenna that lets us exploit a variety of signals in different frequency ranges, giving us greatly increased power-gathering capability,” explains Manos Tentzeris of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
  • The device has the ability to capture energy from a range of banks, convert the energy from AC to DC power, and then subsequently store it in capacitors and batteries.
  • The team hopes that the device could provide a new means of powering networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips.

Verizon Wireless Dumps Unlimited Data Service Plan

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July 8, 2011
  • After weeks of speculation, Verizon Wireless has announced it will no longer offer customers unlimited data service plans, but will instead introduce service tiers at varied price points.
  • Verizon joins AT&T and T-Mobile in offering tiered service models. Sprint Nextel remains as the only major carrier to offer an unlimited data plan.
  • Verizon’s current unlimited data model is $30 on most plans. Moving forward, customers will get a maximum of 2GB/month for that price. Customers who use up to 10GB will pay $80/month.
  • Customers with an existing unlimited plan will be grandfathered in and will not have to change to a tiered plan, but any change in service will terminate the unlimited data plan.
  • ETCentric contributor Phil Lelyveld comments: “It will be interesting to see if this becomes a competitive differentiator among services, and whether consumers hit the limits and start caring about limits on their wireless data plans.”

Stream Live Video from Your Camera with the Teradek Cube

By
March 9, 2011

Billed as “the world’s first camera-top wireless HD video encoder,” the Cube from Irvine, CA-based Teradek streams up to 1080p over Wi-Fi, Verizon 4G, and wired Ethernet.

The battery-powered H264 encoder sends video directly from a camera to a decoding device such as a laptop or iPad. The Cube is available in HD-SDI and HDMI models running in the $1500-2000 range, and is designed for those in the business of live streaming — or those looking for production solutions such as on-set video monitoring or eliminating the need for camera tethering.

To operate, the Cube slides into the camera’s hot shoe and goes live with a single button via Livestream.com. Gizmodo reports the process is “unhampered by firewalls, blocked ports, and other network roadblocks.”

Early adopters earn a month of Livestream.com premium membership (about a $350 value) with a Cube purchase.

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