The group that oversees USB wants to make it easier for you to understand what various cables and ports can actually do. It's trying to ditch branding like SuperSpeed and USB4 in an attempt to simplify matters, but manufacturers may not necessarily adopt the changes.
The steps are part of a broader drive by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) to rebrand USB standards. The group brought in new logos for cables, ports and packaging last year. The updated branding is about helping people understand what the standards are capable of in terms of data transfer speeds and performance, as well as charging speeds, USB-IF president and chief operating officer Jeff Ravencraft told The Verge.
SuperSpeed (also known as USB 3) has been around over a decade. You may have seen it on USB cable boxes. Going forward, USB-IF wants cable makers to use “USB 10Gbps” instead of “SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps” and “USB 20Gbps” instead of “USB4 20Gbps." Meanwhile, USB-C cables certified by the USB-IF will need to list both data transfer speeds and charging wattage.
The changes recently came into effect, and the updated branding could start appearing on labels and packaging by the end of the year. The branding guidelines apply to products with any type of USB port except for USB 1.0, which you won't see much these days anyway, and USB 2.0 (aka USB Hi-Speed). The USB-IF reckons that, in the latter case, using "USB 480Mbps" may create confusion for those who might see that on packaging and believe it to be faster than USB 5Gbps, simply because of the larger number.
The rebranding requirements only apply to devices and cables certified by the USB-IF. But, because USB is an open standard (unlike, say, Thunderbolt 4), there's nothing really to stop manufacturers from using SuperSpeed and USB4 branding if they really want to, as The Verge notes. As such, it remains to be seen how much these measures will actually clear things up for people who just need a cable for their device.
Knowing which cable you need is already complicated enough. Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 connectors and ports look exactly the same as USB-C ones, for instance. The updated guidelines won't do much to help you understand if a cable supports DisplayPort or a certain fast-charging standard either.
On the surface, at least, these seem like positive moves to reduce confusion and get rid of unnecessary verbiage. Still, it's unclear whether abandoning the SuperSpeed moniker, which was arguably less commonly used than USB 3 in any case, will actually help clarify things for most users. It may not matter much anyway given the increasingly widespread adoption of USB-C as a more universal standard — which is the whole point of USB in the first place.
Amazon might face some political opposition in its bid to acquire iRobot. Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren and House Representatives Jesus Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Mondaire Jones, Katie Porter and Mark Pocan have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oppose the purchase of the Roomba creator. iRobot is a "powerful" incumbent in robot vacuums, according to the politicians' letter, and Amazon would allegedly reduce competition with the resources it could pour into the market.
The members of Congress pointed to Amazon's history of technology buyouts to support their case, arguing that the company snaps up competitors to eliminate them. Amazon killed sales of Kiva Systems' robots after the 2012 acquisition and used them exclusively in its warehouses, for instance. The 2017 and 2018 acquisitions of Blink and Ring reportedly helped Amazon dominate US video doorbell sales, while the internet retailer has also faced multiple accusations of abusing third-party seller data to launch rival products and promote them above others.
We've asked Amazon for comment. The online shopping giant frequently denies anti-competitive practices, and has even called for the recusal of FTC chair Lina Khan in Amazon-related cases over claims she's biased against the company.
The Commission hasn't said if it will take action against the iRobot deal. Reports circulated that the FTC reviewed Amazon's purchase of MGM, but didn't challenge it. Khan didn't have a party majority at the time, however, and movie studios aren't the same as robot vacuum makers. iRobot is estimated to have 75 percent of the American robovac market by revenue, according to Statista. It's already difficult for challenges like Shark and Eufy to thrive, and it wouldn't get easier with Amazon involved.
Update 9/30 1:40PM ET: An Amazon spokesperson claimed the politicians' letter had a "number of falsehoods," and that it would "cooperate" with regulators in a deal it felt would encourage competition. It wouldn't elaborate the allegedly false claims on-record.
Amazon might face some political opposition in its bid to acquire iRobot. Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren and House Representatives Jesus Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Mondaire Jones, Katie Porter and Mark Pocan have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oppose the purchase of the Roomba creator. iRobot is a "powerful" incumbent in robot vacuums, according to the politicians' letter, and Amazon would allegedly reduce competition with the resources it could pour into the market.
The members of Congress pointed to Amazon's history of technology buyouts to support their case, arguing that the company snaps up competitors to eliminate them. Amazon killed sales of Kiva Systems' robots after the 2012 acquisition and used them exclusively in its warehouses, for instance. The 2017 and 2018 acquisitions of Blink and Ring reportedly helped Amazon dominate US video doorbell sales, while the internet retailer has also faced multiple accusations of abusing third-party seller data to launch rival products and promote them above others.
We've asked Amazon for comment. The online shopping giant frequently denies anti-competitive practices, and has even called for the recusal of FTC chair Lina Khan in Amazon-related cases over claims she's biased against the company.
The Commission hasn't said if it will take action against the iRobot deal. Reports circulated that the FTC reviewed Amazon's purchase of MGM, but didn't challenge it. Khan didn't have a party majority at the time, however, and movie studios aren't the same as robot vacuum makers. iRobot is estimated to have 75 percent of the American robovac market by revenue, according to Statista. It's already difficult for challenges like Shark and Eufy to thrive, and it wouldn't get easier with Amazon involved.
Update 9/30 1:40PM ET: An Amazon spokesperson claimed the politicians' letter had a "number of falsehoods," and that it would "cooperate" with regulators in a deal it felt would encourage competition. It wouldn't elaborate the allegedly false claims on-record.
Oil and gas companies regularly use flaring (that is, burning unwanted methane) to limit the amount of natural gas escaping into the atmosphere, but the practice might not be as kind to the planet as previously thought. Scientists at the University of Michigan, Stanford and elsewhere have discovered that flaring is much less effective than the industry assumes, and puts out five times more methane (a strong greenhouse gas) than predicted.
Companies and governments act on the belief flares are always lit and burn off 98 percent of methane. However, aerial surveys of three US basins (where 80 percent of American flaring takes place) have revealed that the flares aren't lit up to 5 percent of the time, and operate inefficiently when they're active. In practice, the flaring efficiency is just 91 percent. That may not sound like a big dip, but it signifies that there's a large volume of unaccounted-for methane contributing to climate change.
There is an upside to the findings. Flaring's problems are "quite addressable" with better management, lead researcher Genevieve Plant said, and a solution would offer an equivalent emissions reduction to removing 3 million cars. To put it another way, this could be one of the easiest ways to keep methane in check and limit global warming. The challenge is to have companies and governments work in harmony — that's not guaranteed, even if the fix is relatively straightforward.
Oil and gas companies regularly use flaring (that is, burning unwanted methane) to limit the amount of natural gas escaping into the atmosphere, but the practice might not be as kind to the planet as previously thought. Scientists at the University of Michigan, Stanford and elsewhere have discovered that flaring is much less effective than the industry assumes, and puts out five times more methane (a strong greenhouse gas) than predicted.
Companies and governments act on the belief flares are always lit and burn off 98 percent of methane. However, aerial surveys of three US basins (where 80 percent of American flaring takes place) have revealed that the flares aren't lit up to 5 percent of the time, and operate inefficiently when they're active. In practice, the flaring efficiency is just 91 percent. That may not sound like a big dip, but it signifies that there's a large volume of unaccounted-for methane contributing to climate change.
There is an upside to the findings. Flaring's problems are "quite addressable" with better management, lead researcher Genevieve Plant said, and a solution would offer an equivalent emissions reduction to removing 3 million cars. To put it another way, this could be one of the easiest ways to keep methane in check and limit global warming. The challenge is to have companies and governments work in harmony — that's not guaranteed, even if the fix is relatively straightforward.
NASA and SpaceX have signed an agreement to study the possibility of using a Dragon spacecraft to lift the Hubble telescope to a higher orbit. The Hubble telescope's orbit decays over time due to atmospheric drag, and reboosting it to a more stable one could add more years to its life. SpaceX proposed the idea several months ago in partnership with the Polaris Program, the human spaceflight initiative organized by billionaire businessman, Jared Isaacman. If you'll recall, Isaacman funded Inspiration4, the first mission to launch an all-civilian crew to orbit back in 2021.
The space agency said it's not going to spend any money for the study and there are no plans to fund a mission to reboost the Hubble with a Dragon spacecraft at the moment. According to The New York Times, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, said during a news conference: "I want to be absolutely clear. We're not making an announcement today that we definitely will go forward with a plan like this." NASA and SpaceX didn't even enter an exclusive agreement, which means other companies can propose studies with their spacecraft as the model. At this point, this partnership is all about looking at the possibilities.
The teams will spend six months collecting technical data from both Hubble and the Dragon spacecraft. They'll then use that information to determine whether it's safe for the capsule to rendezvous and dock with the telescope, as well as to figure out how it can physically raise Hubble to a higher altitude. At the same conference, SpaceX VP of customer operations Jessica Jensen explained: "What we want to do is expand the boundaries of current technology. We want to show how we use commercial partnerships as well as the public-private partnerships to creatively solve challenging and complex problem missions such as servicing Hubble." In addition to potentially adding years to the 32-year-old telescope's life, the servicing solutions the study finds could also be applied to other spacecraft in near-Earth orbit.
NASA and SpaceX have signed an agreement to study the possibility of using a Dragon spacecraft to lift the Hubble telescope to a higher orbit. The Hubble telescope's orbit decays over time due to atmospheric drag, and reboosting it to a more stable one could add more years to its life. SpaceX proposed the idea several months ago in partnership with the Polaris Program, the human spaceflight initiative organized by billionaire businessman, Jared Isaacman. If you'll recall, Isaacman funded Inspiration4, the first mission to launch an all-civilian crew to orbit back in 2021.
The space agency said it's not going to spend any money for the study and there are no plans to fund a mission to reboost the Hubble with a Dragon spacecraft at the moment. According to The New York Times, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science, said during a news conference: "I want to be absolutely clear. We're not making an announcement today that we definitely will go forward with a plan like this." NASA and SpaceX didn't even enter an exclusive agreement, which means other companies can propose studies with their spacecraft as the model. At this point, this partnership is all about looking at the possibilities.
The teams will spend six months collecting technical data from both Hubble and the Dragon spacecraft. They'll then use that information to determine whether it's safe for the capsule to rendezvous and dock with the telescope, as well as to figure out how it can physically raise Hubble to a higher altitude. At the same conference, SpaceX VP of customer operations Jessica Jensen explained: "What we want to do is expand the boundaries of current technology. We want to show how we use commercial partnerships as well as the public-private partnerships to creatively solve challenging and complex problem missions such as servicing Hubble." In addition to potentially adding years to the 32-year-old telescope's life, the servicing solutions the study finds could also be applied to other spacecraft in near-Earth orbit.
In 2022, Tony Hawk is a household name, skateboarding is an olympic sport and it’s possible to master digital laser flips in any number of video games on TV. It wasn’t always like this, though. Early skate screen media consisted mostly of skeptical documentaries or whimsical California dreaming-style chronicles. Things changed when, in 1983, Stacy Peralta – who managed the ragtag team of skaters that Tony Hawk was a member of – effectively invented the modern skate video. Thanks to its performative nature, skateboarding would soon form a symbiotic relationship with the technology that showcased it.
The VHS invasion
Peralta claims he hoped a few hundred copies of his first video might find their way into the new VHS players that were taking the US by storm. “From the get go, videos were more lucrative than they thought they were going to be: It's this sort of famous thing that Stacy [Peralta] says that the first Bones Brigade video, they thought they were just gonna write the costs off as a marketing cost, but actually they made a load of money on it.” Author, professor and skateboarder Iain Borden told Engadget. The success of The Bone Brigade Video Show, and the titles that followed, exposed skateboarding to many more new eyes along with an all new revenue stream for the struggling “sport”.
Al Seib via Getty Images
In the ‘80s Peralta and his Bones Brigade team dominated on-screen skateboarding, typically on vert ramps, including several moviecameos. But Peralta’s polished style and squeaky-clean team wasn’t for everyone. Right at the end of the ‘80s, H-Street – a more grassroots skateboarding outfit – released Shackle Me Not and Hokus Pokus with a focus on street skating. Not everyone had access to a ramp, but everyone lived on a street, meaning this new style was much more accessible with the videos almost serving as a how-to manual.
According to Borden, H-Street put cameras in skaters’ hands to film each other and the change of pace and dynamic in videos shifted away from Peralta’s more conventional approach. This new format – skaters shooting skaters – complete with slams, skits, music and pissed-off security guards would become the template for the next decade. Not least thanks to another new technology that was about to land.
The VX1000
In 1995, Sony released a camera that would define how the skate video looks (and sounds) right to this day. At around $3,000; the DCR-VX1000, was the first digital camcorder in Sony’s consumer lineup. The relatively affordable price, coupled with its small form-factor and new, digital tapes – MiniDV – made it the perfect camera for gonzo filmmakers seeking professional results. The fact that footage could be easily transferred to a PC with a nascent technology called i.Link (which you might know as “FireWire”) meant anyone with a computer could now make videos entirely at home.
The VX1000 only really solidified its legendary status among skaters once it was coupled with the Century Optics fish-eye lens. “The fisheye was amazing. The audio was incredible. The colors look great. It had a handle built into it so you can follow somebody while riding a skateboard,” videographer Chris Ray told Engadget. “There hasn't been another impactful camera in skateboarding like that. I don't think there ever will be.”
Sony
Ray says he still uses audio from the VX1000 on his modern productions. “I pull a library of VX audio and I add those to the snaps, the lands, the grinds, things like that into my skate films because nobody has made a camera that has audio that's even close to as good.” Ray clearly isn’t the only one to think so, as this $300 modern replica VX1000 mic just for skateboarding attests.
To complement the sound, the colors the VX1000 put out would also become something of a hallmark of a good skate video. The bright, punchy hues the camera produced were the perfect match for the blue Californian sky contrasted against the beige and asphalt found in strip mall parking lots and other urban, skate-friendly locations. Before long, footage shot with anything else felt passé. “People were still making skateboard videos on other cameras,” Ray said, “but this was, like, the one you were taking a lot more seriously.”
Ask any skater what the golden era of skate videos is and you’ll get a different answer, but objectively the year 2000 ushered in a period of where some of the most impactful, high budget skateboarding movies ever were made, and most of them were shot with the trusty VX1000.
Chris Ray
Menikmati, from shoe company éS and Modus Operandi by Transworld set the tone. Both came out in 2000 and heavily showcased the VX1000’s distinctive look and sound. Both are also very high profile releases in the skate scene, which only serves to fully solidify the camera’s status as the de facto tool of choice. Not to mention a badge of cool in its own right. “I mean, it's on skateboards. I've got skateboards on my wall with the camera on it. People make keychains, there's tattoos.” Ray said. “It's still iconic to this day.’
Redefining the standard
Of course, there’s a problem looming over the horizon. A 16:9, High-Definition problem to be precise.
For all the VX’s strengths, the whole TV industry was undergoing its biggest change in standards, perhaps ever. Widescreen TVs had been steadily replacing 4:3 CRTs and the new “HD” resolutions were making SD content look horribly outdated. Not everyone was a fan of the new aspect ratio, either. “I couldn't get myself to fully go HD because it was a lot harder. You're talking about a 16:9 image. You don't want to cut the wheels off and you don't want to cut their head off when you're filming skateboarding.” Ray said.
Worse, in 1999 Sony did release a follow-up to the much-loved camera, the VX2000, but it was a flop with skateboarders. Not only was the new aspect ratio harder to work with, the VX2000 had an inferior mic and, crucially, wasn’t compatible with the Century Optics fisheye (or specifically the “Mk1” of that lens that everyone wanted). Skateboard filmers needed to find a new sweetheart.
“It's funny because the Panasonic HVX200 came out. That was really hated by a lot of skateboarders. But now, today, the HVX200 is the preferred camera of HD by skateboarders.” Ray said. In fact, filmers weren’t pleased about having to give up their precious VX1000 at all. “I was working on a Transworld film, and we talked about how there's this transition between VX1000 and going HD. And skateboarding was not happy about it.” Ray added. (Years later a petition was also started to campaign for Century Optics to re-issue the Mk1 lens, which it ultimately did - albeit a limited run of 300).
Around the same time, a little gaming franchise known as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skateboarder was taking the gaming world by storm. The popularity of the PlayStation 2, and its ability to play DVDs, was the perfect way for a whole new generation to discover skateboarding. (Not to mention one of the goals was to “unlock” various bonus skate videos.)
Tony Hawk might have been luring in new blood, but in 2007, the hotly anticipated (in skate circles) film, Fully Flared, was about to signal another big change in skate video history. Renowned skate Director, Ty Evans, was still using the VX1000 but this would be its last outing in one of his productions, Ray said. Evans championed the VX from the start with Modus Operandi, but Fully Flared (which Ray also worked on) represented the passing of the camera baton. The send off was marked with explosions and effects never seen before in a skate movie.
For the ‘gram
There was another important event in 2007: The launch of the first ever iPhone. Within a few years, almost everyone had an HD camera in their pocket. Likewise, a whole other product category would come along to change how we record things – the action cam. Between the smartphone and the GoPro, suddenly everyone was a skate videographer. Or as we call them today, a “creator.”
Unlike many sports, professional skateboarding is mostly financed through individual sponsorship deals. Some skateboarders do compete for prize money, but brand deals are typically the primary source of income. This means that being on video is directly related to your standing among potential sponsors. Thanks to slow-mo on the iPhone and the popularity of GoPros, being in a skate video wasn’t reserved for the stars any longer, in fact, you’d have a hard time being noticed by sponsors at this point if you weren’t making yourself seen in videos.
The rise of the internet was transformative for most industries, but skateboarding is nothing if not adaptive. YouTube was first, but before long Instagram became the spiritual home for all things skate video. Now you can attract fans directly, see your stats in real time and record your best tricks without having to lug about a large camcorder or hit the editing suite. And thus, the 30+ minute skate video was swiftly usurped by short, often single-take clips or even individual tricks.
No longer did you have to wait months or even years between doses of on-screen skateboarding, now it was on demand, bite sized and in never-ending supply. But with this convenience and supply came a dramatic shift in focus.
The social media age hasn’t just changed how the media is made and consumed, it’s changing who gets to be seen and sponsored. “What I'm seeing now is kids are inspired by other kids, kids that are their age. I'm not seeing the like, 35 year old pros inspiring. The 15 year old kid, his favorite skater is this guy that's not even pro, that I've never heard of,” Ray said.
Like with other industries that fell foul to the internet, the age of big budgets and splashy releases might be gone, but other opportunities have filled their place. Two of the most followed skaters on Instagram right now are Nyjah Huston and Leticia Bufoni. Both are accomplished, exciting skateboarders who have cultivated their own personal brand and style over recent years. Bufoni, in particular, has played a hugely important role in making skateboarding more accessible to young women.
“I think the rise of female skaters has absolutely been aided by the fact that people can access and see people like them skating,” Borden said. But with new technology comes new pressures, especially for creators. “They have to produce something every day, every week. And we you know, I mean, the pressure to do that must be extraordinary.” Borden added.
The shift to Instagram also echoes how vert skating in the late ‘80s lost favor to the new and exciting urban skating that emerged in the early ‘90s. Just how street took place in spots that were accessible to the viewer, Instagram places videos from your skater friends neatly in between clips (or “parts”) from the pros, blurring the lines between you and “them” even further.
For many years, what tricks were cool, who was cool at doing them and what that coolness looked like was heavily influenced by what was in the skate videos of the time. Today, that has reversed and now we get to see skaters from different backgrounds and influences taking their favored pastime to new places.
This movement from the media fringes to social media platforms could have killed the “classic” skate video off, and some might argue it mostly has. In reality, it’s given directors and videographers more license to address broader issues in skateboarding culture. Skategoat (2021) for example follows Venice-native Leandre Sanders through his teenage years where the only thing stopping him following his siblings into gang culture is skateboarding and his journey to turning pro nearly a decade later. There’s no VX1000 audio samples or crunchy color or fisheye shots, just a sincere look at someone’s life being saved by their passion for skateboarding. Likewise, Netflix’s Stay On Board, follows trans-man Leo Baker as he navigates developing a career skateboarding with his own very public journey of self-discovery.
Of course, the more traditional video does live on, it just no longer holds the monopoly on what skateboarding should look like. Love for the past obviously lives on, meaning you can, of course, find VX1000s modded to bring them up to modern standards but the industry has realized there’s more to be gained from current tech than that of the past.
More than almost any other marginal entertainment genre, the skate video has repeatedly proven it's happy to reinvent itself. “I think technology has been nothing but helpful. I think that we have to embrace it,” Ray said. “There's more people out there filming, there's more people out there being noticed. There's more people skateboarding and there's more people buying skateboards. I think it's a win for everybody.”
In 2022, Tony Hawk is a household name, skateboarding is an olympic sport and it’s possible to master digital laser flips in any number of video games on TV. It wasn’t always like this, though. Early skate screen media consisted mostly of skeptical documentaries or whimsical California dreaming-style chronicles. Things changed when, in 1983, Stacy Peralta – who managed the ragtag team of skaters that Tony Hawk was a member of – effectively invented the modern skate video. Thanks to its performative nature, skateboarding would soon form a symbiotic relationship with the technology that showcased it.
The VHS invasion
Peralta claims he hoped a few hundred copies of his first video might find their way into the new VHS players that were taking the US by storm. “From the get go, videos were more lucrative than they thought they were going to be: It's this sort of famous thing that Stacy [Peralta] says that the first Bones Brigade video, they thought they were just gonna write the costs off as a marketing cost, but actually they made a load of money on it.” Author, professor and skateboarder Iain Borden told Engadget. The success of The Bone Brigade Video Show, and the titles that followed, exposed skateboarding to many more new eyes along with an all new revenue stream for the struggling “sport”.
Al Seib via Getty Images
In the ‘80s Peralta and his Bones Brigade team dominated on-screen skateboarding, typically on vert ramps, including several moviecameos. But Peralta’s polished style and squeaky-clean team wasn’t for everyone. Right at the end of the ‘80s, H-Street – a more grassroots skateboarding outfit – released Shackle Me Not and Hokus Pokus with a focus on street skating. Not everyone had access to a ramp, but everyone lived on a street, meaning this new style was much more accessible with the videos almost serving as a how-to manual.
According to Borden, H-Street put cameras in skaters’ hands to film each other and the change of pace and dynamic in videos shifted away from Peralta’s more conventional approach. This new format – skaters shooting skaters – complete with slams, skits, music and pissed-off security guards would become the template for the next decade. Not least thanks to another new technology that was about to land.
The VX1000
In 1995, Sony released a camera that would define how the skate video looks (and sounds) right to this day. At around $3,000; the DCR-VX1000, was the first digital camcorder in Sony’s consumer lineup. The relatively affordable price, coupled with its small form-factor and new, digital tapes – MiniDV – made it the perfect camera for gonzo filmmakers seeking professional results. The fact that footage could be easily transferred to a PC with a nascent technology called i.Link (which you might know as “FireWire”) meant anyone with a computer could now make videos entirely at home.
The VX1000 only really solidified its legendary status among skaters once it was coupled with the Century Optics fish-eye lens. “The fisheye was amazing. The audio was incredible. The colors look great. It had a handle built into it so you can follow somebody while riding a skateboard,” videographer Chris Ray told Engadget. “There hasn't been another impactful camera in skateboarding like that. I don't think there ever will be.”
Sony
Ray says he still uses audio from the VX1000 on his modern productions. “I pull a library of VX audio and I add those to the snaps, the lands, the grinds, things like that into my skate films because nobody has made a camera that has audio that's even close to as good.” Ray clearly isn’t the only one to think so, as this $300 modern replica VX1000 mic just for skateboarding attests.
To complement the sound, the colors the VX1000 put out would also become something of a hallmark of a good skate video. The bright, punchy hues the camera produced were the perfect match for the blue Californian sky contrasted against the beige and asphalt found in strip mall parking lots and other urban, skate-friendly locations. Before long, footage shot with anything else felt passé. “People were still making skateboard videos on other cameras,” Ray said, “but this was, like, the one you were taking a lot more seriously.”
Ask any skater what the golden era of skate videos is and you’ll get a different answer, but objectively the year 2000 ushered in a period of where some of the most impactful, high budget skateboarding movies ever were made, and most of them were shot with the trusty VX1000.
Chris Ray
Menikmati, from shoe company éS and Modus Operandi by Transworld set the tone. Both came out in 2000 and heavily showcased the VX1000’s distinctive look and sound. Both are also very high profile releases in the skate scene, which only serves to fully solidify the camera’s status as the de facto tool of choice. Not to mention a badge of cool in its own right. “I mean, it's on skateboards. I've got skateboards on my wall with the camera on it. People make keychains, there's tattoos.” Ray said. “It's still iconic to this day.’
Redefining the standard
Of course, there’s a problem looming over the horizon. A 16:9, High-Definition problem to be precise.
For all the VX’s strengths, the whole TV industry was undergoing its biggest change in standards, perhaps ever. Widescreen TVs had been steadily replacing 4:3 CRTs and the new “HD” resolutions were making SD content look horribly outdated. Not everyone was a fan of the new aspect ratio, either. “I couldn't get myself to fully go HD because it was a lot harder. You're talking about a 16:9 image. You don't want to cut the wheels off and you don't want to cut their head off when you're filming skateboarding.” Ray said.
Worse, in 1999 Sony did release a follow-up to the much-loved camera, the VX2000, but it was a flop with skateboarders. Not only was the new aspect ratio harder to work with, the VX2000 had an inferior mic and, crucially, wasn’t compatible with the Century Optics fisheye (or specifically the “Mk1” of that lens that everyone wanted). Skateboard filmers needed to find a new sweetheart.
“It's funny because the Panasonic HVX200 came out. That was really hated by a lot of skateboarders. But now, today, the HVX200 is the preferred camera of HD by skateboarders.” Ray said. In fact, filmers weren’t pleased about having to give up their precious VX1000 at all. “I was working on a Transworld film, and we talked about how there's this transition between VX1000 and going HD. And skateboarding was not happy about it.” Ray added. (Years later a petition was also started to campaign for Century Optics to re-issue the Mk1 lens, which it ultimately did - albeit a limited run of 300).
Around the same time, a little gaming franchise known as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skateboarder was taking the gaming world by storm. The popularity of the PlayStation 2, and its ability to play DVDs, was the perfect way for a whole new generation to discover skateboarding. (Not to mention one of the goals was to “unlock” various bonus skate videos.)
Tony Hawk might have been luring in new blood, but in 2007, the hotly anticipated (in skate circles) film, Fully Flared, was about to signal another big change in skate video history. Renowned skate Director, Ty Evans, was still using the VX1000 but this would be its last outing in one of his productions, Ray said. Evans championed the VX from the start with Modus Operandi, but Fully Flared (which Ray also worked on) represented the passing of the camera baton. The send off was marked with explosions and effects never seen before in a skate movie.
For the ‘gram
There was another important event in 2007: The launch of the first ever iPhone. Within a few years, almost everyone had an HD camera in their pocket. Likewise, a whole other product category would come along to change how we record things – the action cam. Between the smartphone and the GoPro, suddenly everyone was a skate videographer. Or as we call them today, a “creator.”
Unlike many sports, professional skateboarding is mostly financed through individual sponsorship deals. Some skateboarders do compete for prize money, but brand deals are typically the primary source of income. This means that being on video is directly related to your standing among potential sponsors. Thanks to slow-mo on the iPhone and the popularity of GoPros, being in a skate video wasn’t reserved for the stars any longer, in fact, you’d have a hard time being noticed by sponsors at this point if you weren’t making yourself seen in videos.
The rise of the internet was transformative for most industries, but skateboarding is nothing if not adaptive. YouTube was first, but before long Instagram became the spiritual home for all things skate video. Now you can attract fans directly, see your stats in real time and record your best tricks without having to lug about a large camcorder or hit the editing suite. And thus, the 30+ minute skate video was swiftly usurped by short, often single-take clips or even individual tricks.
No longer did you have to wait months or even years between doses of on-screen skateboarding, now it was on demand, bite sized and in never-ending supply. But with this convenience and supply came a dramatic shift in focus.
The social media age hasn’t just changed how the media is made and consumed, it’s changing who gets to be seen and sponsored. “What I'm seeing now is kids are inspired by other kids, kids that are their age. I'm not seeing the like, 35 year old pros inspiring. The 15 year old kid, his favorite skater is this guy that's not even pro, that I've never heard of,” Ray said.
Like with other industries that fell foul to the internet, the age of big budgets and splashy releases might be gone, but other opportunities have filled their place. Two of the most followed skaters on Instagram right now are Nyjah Huston and Leticia Bufoni. Both are accomplished, exciting skateboarders who have cultivated their own personal brand and style over recent years. Bufoni, in particular, has played a hugely important role in making skateboarding more accessible to young women.
“I think the rise of female skaters has absolutely been aided by the fact that people can access and see people like them skating,” Borden said. But with new technology comes new pressures, especially for creators. “They have to produce something every day, every week. And we you know, I mean, the pressure to do that must be extraordinary.” Borden added.
The shift to Instagram also echoes how vert skating in the late ‘80s lost favor to the new and exciting urban skating that emerged in the early ‘90s. Just how street took place in spots that were accessible to the viewer, Instagram places videos from your skater friends neatly in between clips (or “parts”) from the pros, blurring the lines between you and “them” even further.
For many years, what tricks were cool, who was cool at doing them and what that coolness looked like was heavily influenced by what was in the skate videos of the time. Today, that has reversed and now we get to see skaters from different backgrounds and influences taking their favored pastime to new places.
This movement from the media fringes to social media platforms could have killed the “classic” skate video off, and some might argue it mostly has. In reality, it’s given directors and videographers more license to address broader issues in skateboarding culture. Skategoat (2021) for example follows Venice-native Leandre Sanders through his teenage years where the only thing stopping him following his siblings into gang culture is skateboarding and his journey to turning pro nearly a decade later. There’s no VX1000 audio samples or crunchy color or fisheye shots, just a sincere look at someone’s life being saved by their passion for skateboarding. Likewise, Netflix’s Stay On Board, follows trans-man Leo Baker as he navigates developing a career skateboarding with his own very public journey of self-discovery.
Of course, the more traditional video does live on, it just no longer holds the monopoly on what skateboarding should look like. Love for the past obviously lives on, meaning you can, of course, find VX1000s modded to bring them up to modern standards but the industry has realized there’s more to be gained from current tech than that of the past.
More than almost any other marginal entertainment genre, the skate video has repeatedly proven it's happy to reinvent itself. “I think technology has been nothing but helpful. I think that we have to embrace it,” Ray said. “There's more people out there filming, there's more people out there being noticed. There's more people skateboarding and there's more people buying skateboards. I think it's a win for everybody.”
This week, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into the massive amounts of news from Amazon’s recent event. There’s a Kindle you can write on! And Amazon also wants to track your sleep on bed. We discuss what’s interesting about all of this gear, as well as why we still don’t trust Amazon with some of our data. Also, Cherlynn tells us what she likes (and doesn’t) about the Apple Watch Ultra, and Devindra explains why the Sonos Sub Mini is a pretty great value.
Stay tuned to the end for our chat with Josh Newman, VP of Mobile Innovation at Intel. He discusses Unison, Intel’s new app for sending texts and taking calls on your PC via your iPhone or Android phone. It’s something PC users have been waiting for, and it sounds like Intel is serious about making it work smoothly.
Listen above, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Amazon hardware event unveils a writable Kindle, QLED Fire TV, and Alexa improvements – 1:19
Google’s Search On event details new features for search and maps – 26:29
Apple Watch Ultra, Fitbit Sense 2, and Sonos Sub reviews – 39:54
Intel and Samsung debut a PC with a slidable screen – 58:37
Intel’s 13th gen CPUs look impressive – 59:54
NASA’s Dart mission might have smacked an astroid out of orbit – 1:05:32
Oura releases 3rd generation smart ring – 1:06:42
Working on – 1:07:34
Pop culture picks – 1:08:24
Intel Unison interview – 1:15:26
Livestream
Credits Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphic artists: Luke Brooks and Brian Oh