Last month, the MGM network Epix launched a standalone video streaming service called Epix Now. Initially, it was available on Apple TV, Android and iOS. But as of today, it's also available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, too. This will give more custom...
With its hardware announcements out of the way, the stage is set for Apple's main event. Today is all about Apple's shift to services: video streaming, news and gaming subscriptions, and maybe even a credit card. And you'll be able to watch the keyno...
To complement their live streaming video platform, NYC-based startup Livestream have just launched a 4K camera that enables you to edit the video as you stream it.
Launched in 2007 and known for a while as Mogulus (that definitely made it sound like a streaming service for moguls), Livestream is a live streaming video platform that’s currently used by such customers as Spotify, World Economic Forum, Tesla, Space X, and more than 200 local TV affiliates. The first piece of hardware the company came up with was Broadcaster, an entry level device that could be connected to any camera that had HDMI video output. Next, Livestream launched the Studio HD line that included switchers with multiple camera inputs. That must have sounded like great news for anyone wanting to shoot professional, multi-camera productions, but the latest product to come from this company is yet again targeting regular consumers. The Movi camera, which is capable of streaming video at resolutions up to 4K, enables its users to edit content on the fly, or just record and share it later.
First thing you’ll notice about Movi is its ridiculous size for a camera that records and even streams 4K videos. It’s slightly smaller than your head, and as The Verge’s Sean O’Kane noted, it puts a multi-camera setup in your pocket.
Secondly, but most importantly feature-wise, Movi comes with real-time editing capabilities. Not at last, Movi is a connected live streaming camera that benefits from a feature-rich companion app. For the time being, the Movi app is only available for iOS, but Android support should be available soon, too. Once you fire up the app on your iPhone, Movi will start detecting faces and motion. The most impressive aspect is that it gives users nine different shots to choose from, each of them shot at a different degree of zoom.
It’s the companion app that really boosts Movi’s real-time editing capabilities, as it enables users to zoom, pan, or move to a different shot using touchscreen gestures on the iPhone.
The video shot with the camera’s 150-degree lens and 4K sensor can be stored either on a microSD card (a 16GB one is included in the package), or in iPhone’s internal memory. The video can be streamed live or it can be shared later using your favorite service. The downside of streaming it as it’s being shot is that Livestream charges a monthly subscription for that, and I don’t know if people will step on each other’s toes to pay $9 each month and get their video online instantly. That’s definitely a negligible amount for vloggers, but casual users might have second thoughts.
Even though the retail value of the Movi camera is $399, Livestream is taking pre-orders for it on the Movi website for $200. The MSRP seems a bit steep, but the pre-order price tag is rather decent, considering the device’s features.
Action cameras are already a hit with both professionals and amateurs, but they still have a ton of untapped potential, with live broadcast being one of its biggest applications. For example, earlier this year the NHL announced that it will be equipping its players with GoPros. A new company called First V1sion wants to provide an alternative system for live broadcasts: a chest-mounted camera and transmitter.
Founded in 2013, the Spanish company’s eponymous broadcast system is housed in an undershirt. While it’s noticeably bulkier than a normal undershirt, it’s still thin enough to be worn under a jersey. Its biggest benefit, of course, is that it’s less intrusive for athletes and can be used in sports where typical cameras would be impractical.
Its demo videos show a biometric tracking overlay, but on its website the company doesn’t mention if its system actually includes the sensors needed to gather the relevant data.
The onboard radio transmitter can send 720p or 1080p video from up to 100m (approx. 330ft.) away with less than 2ms delay. The battery lasts up to 90min per charge.
Here are more demo videos:
First V1sion looks like it has the connections to reach out to professional sports leagues, and I’m not going to dismiss it as useless based on what little we’ve seen. That said, the camera’s perspective takes a while to get used to and is not as immersive as videos that are shot from the shoulder or head. It could also benefit from some sort of image stabilization. Perhaps this would be useful more as an officiating or a training tool rather than for entertainment.
Amazon has announced that it has signed a new deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution that will see new shows coming to the Amazon Prime Instant video service, primarily from the FX and FXX networks.
The deal includes some programs that are already available on Netflix and elsewhere, as well as an exclusive on one FX show called The Americans. That show is pretty cool and focuses on a seemingly normal husband and wife in America, who are actually Russian spies. The show is set during the Cold War.
Along with the exclusive for the first season of The Americans, the deal also comes with a slew of other non-exclusive shows. The most important of those is Archer, for me anyhow. How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, and Louie are the other shows in the deal, and they will arrive this March. The Americans is available now, which gives you a couple of weeks to binge watch season one before the new season starts up on FX on February 26.
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Last month, the MGM network Epix launched a standalone video streaming service called Epix Now. Initially, it was available on Apple TV, Android and iOS. But as of today, it's also available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, too. This will give more custom...
With its hardware announcements out of the way, the stage is set for Apple's main event. Today is all about Apple's shift to services: video streaming, news and gaming subscriptions, and maybe even a credit card. And you'll be able to watch the keyno...
