CTIA Wireless 2012 – by Beata Dumaplin

Videographers have been using wireless technology with wireless mics and recording devices for years, and in our society today, almost everything is wireless. Wireless phones, Internet, printers, keyboards and mice; access to anything, virtually everywhere. Even our children’s toys have wireless capabilities, with downloadable apps and games. Wireless devices have taken our world by storm and if you’re ready to jump on the invisible bandwagon, you should join us as we set our sights on CTIA, the International Wireless Expo.

CTIA is like a giant meeting of the wirelessly minded. A variety of companies will be there, from computer based companies like Sony Electronics, Dell and Electronic Arts, to cell phone carriers like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and even application corporations such as Pandora and Firefox are all scheduled to attend. Beside these well-known names, over 1,000 exhibitors will be there, showcasing their newest contributions to the wireless world.

Meeting from May 8-10 this year in New Orleans, Louisiana, CTIA will be hosting a variety of keynote speakers from all different fields of wireless technology. CEO’s and chairpeople from Pandora, the Federal Communications Commission, Visa,  MasterCard and so much more. In the afternoon on the 8th of May, they will be hosting their first “Carrier Roundtable” where the major cell phone carrier representatives will be talking about their latest innovations in wireless. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak on Thursday the 10th.

Although video doesn’t seem like a main focus in this conference, we are hoping to see more innovated steps toward wireless in our field as well. We are sure that advancements in smartphone technology will be sure to assist the cellphone camera’s use. We have already seen upgrades in lenses that apply to your smartphone camera and major players are starting to find ways to use video from smartphones in full fledged movies. We hope to see more interesting advances in that field.

Though wireless has not yet made a giant impact on the video creating world, we already have some abilities to edit footage on tablets and smartphones  and it would be nice to see wireless streaming technology from our video cameras to our computers, or a more advanced editing software for the smart phone. Whatever the future holds for wireless technology, it will be at CTIA.  So stay tuned, we’ll be there to check out all of the latest advancements and we’ll be sure to tell you all about it.

Beata Dumaplin is a freelance writer and independent photographer.

Researchers from Forrester Research have finally made official what we all knew would happen for years: people are now spending more time on the internet than watching television.  This comes as no surprise. With services like Roku, Hulu, Xbox, and PS3, there has never been a better reason for cutting your subscription to cable TV. According to this study, time spent on the internet has risen by more than 121% over the past 5 years. With this increase in internet time, it was inevitable that 30% of people in all age groups now watch television content online compared to a measly 18% in 2007. All of these facts add up to some real tough times for cable television providers. These companies are not only losing ground to television broadcast on the internet, but they are losing ground to cell phone companies as well who are trying to convince subscribers to use their 4G networks for internet use instead.

The news is not all bad however. The data from Forrester Research does seem to suggest that people are still spending as much time watching television as they have in the past, however they have given up other activities like reading newspapers and magazines in order to devote more time online.

At the same time, many companies such as VIZIO, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, and more are beginning to make the internet part of the television experience. By doing this, they can offer much of the same content that cable can provide, albeit at a much lower price. With all of this in mind, and with a bevy of internet-ready devices hitting the market, it may just be a matter of time before everyone replaces their coaxial cables with ethernet cables.

Net neutrality has been a topic of heated debate for years. Should the Internet be network neutral, and what does that even mean?

Basically, network neutrality is the principle that all content providers are given equal access to Internet users. Likewise, Internet users ability to see content is not restricted based on which sites Internet Service Providers (ISP) deem inappropriate.

Recently, discussions regarding net neutrality have gained momentum due to a flurry of rumors that Google and Verizon were not only holding top secret meetings in their underground lairs, but had evil plans to take over the internet in an attempt at worldwide web domination. As we all know, rumors tend to get out of hand from time-to-time, but there is some truth behind the buzz.

According to a Google Public Policy Blog, posted by Alan Davidson, Google director of public policy and Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy, and communications, the two companies have been discussing net neutrality for some time. As a result, they have drafted a proposal concerning the topic, which “takes the form of a suggested legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers.”

Though Google’s blog is meant to clear the air of rumors and assure the public that nothing “evil” is afoot, it has stirred up additional concern for the Internet’s future. Worries are mainly due to vague statements that some say open the possibility for a tiered Internet service; the collapse of net neutrality.  In other words, companies would have to pay extra for preferred access to the ISP’s customers. If a company wants faster load times for their site’s content, they would be required to pay more money. Those who refuse or are unable to pay the higher price will not have the luxury of reaching their audience as quickly, or at all (in extreme cases of net neutrality collapse).

While a non-neutral Internet may have it benefits, it’s not so great for the independent video producers who rely on the Internet as a means of video distribution and promotion, while already pinching pennies to do what they love. It’s hard to say how new laws will affect the Internet in the future. One can only hope that the lawmakers view net neutrality as an important aspect of the Internet’s continued growth and success, as well as an appropriate venue for sharing one’s art and freedom of expression as equally as the next guy.

Just recently, a team at the University of Tokyo found that using titanium oxide could allow optical disks to store 5,000 gigabytes of information. Honestly, that’s astounding. At the same time, a lot of people’s minds began buzzing with the implications. With these discs, Hollywood studios could release entire television series such as Lost and 24 plus bonus content all on one disc. Video games could finally fit huge engines and graphics all on one disk. Finally, studios could include super high resolution video on their discs so that people could see the movie in its fully rendered glory. However, let’s stop for a moment to take a quick poll. How many of you even own a Blu-ray player? If more than one of you out of 10 raised your hand, congratulate yourselves on being ahead of the curve. Though a majority of people still get their movies and television series delivered to them by optical media, it seems as if new media such as Blu-ray simply can’t pick up steam. A Harris poll taken last year showed that only 7 percent of Americans owned a Blu-ray player. Even though Blu-ray offers more than twice the resolution of standard definition DVDs and a higher quality sound, Americans still aren’t sold on the idea. Of course, this begs the question: why?

Popular reasons include the extra price of Blu-ray discs and that some people are happy with things just the way they are. However, there seems to be an even bigger reason behind all of this. Let’s take one last poll. How many of you watch movies or television online? If more than half of you raised your hand, then you would fall in line with research recently done by shopping site Retrevo. The study found that 51% of people in all age groups watched at least some of their television online. With these facts, the question becomes this: when the internet offers both free and cheap high quality video content all without having to leave your La-Z-Boy, why would anyone want to invest in a Blu-ray player or a Blu-ray disc? The answer might be that for most people there are no better alternatives for watching high-definition content on their internet-free TVs. However, with products such as the Apple TV, the new Google TV, Roku, and of course, the HD rich cable set top boxes, it is evident that hardware manufacturers and cable providers are betting that pretty soon, you won’t have an excuse not to.

The only real problem I can foresee with Internet TV is the fact that bandwidth is notoriously spotty with many internet providers. Also, no software or hardware provider has yet mastered the user experience with Internet TV. Often, they’ll make the experience too much like the internet itself (and no one wants to type on a keyboard), or they’ll make it too much like a TV which is very limited in its function. However, one day when a company finally gets the balance of TV and internet just right, Internet TV could be the biggest revolution since cable.

Well this was a long time coming. When Internet speeds went from dial-up 56kbps to broadband in the late 90′s, content providers the world over realized the huge potential for delivering video, information, and rich applications to users. This led to a huge boom in internet activity only rivaled by the introduction of quick and easy to use internet on cell phones. However as with any heavy traffic situation, you eventually get jams and the internet is no exception.

With the vast number of users downloading large video and application files over the internet, speeds and bottle-necking became a huge issue. Additionally, even with the vast improvement of internet speeds (up to 20 megabits per second today), there were still long wait times while downloading large files – which has become increasingly more common as games and applications become more complex and as videos achieve higher and higher resolutions. The problem didn’t stop there however. Even if a person could theoretically achieve internet speeds at 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) or more, getting those speeds from a router to a computer wirelessly would be impossible with current technology. At the moment, the fastest consumer option for wireless transfer is Wireless USB technology which can transfer at speeds up to 480 Mbps; half of the theoretical 1 Gbps speed coming into your home. Read the rest of this entry »