David Attenborough interview on 3D, flowers and Bono's iPod
TelevisionsSir David Attenborough has turned to plants for his new 3D documentary series, Kingdom of Plants 3D, and as part of his promotional tour he and executive producer Anthony Geffen spoke with CNET UK and a couple of other journalists at the place it was filmed -- Kew Gardens.
They spoke about how it would be "absolute lunacy" to shoot animals like lions and tigers in 3D, how it's no good producing a 3D film that's boring when watched in 2D and about Bono giving Sir David an iPod nano. Continue reading...
Steve Jobs movie to be penned by Social Network scribe
GadgetsAaron Sorkin, the Oscar-winning writer behind Facebook movie The Social Network, will be writing a film about Steve Jobs for Sony Pictures, Slashfilm reports.
Sorkin was previously reported to be 'strongly considering' taking the writing job, which will see the late Jobs' life transformed into a silver-screen biopic. Continue reading...
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Apple iTV prototype has Siri and video calling
Home CinemaThe hotly-tipped Apple TV is real, and comes with Siri built-in. That's according to an inside source who has seen Siri make a video call on an actual prototype.
Cult of Mac reports that the iTV prototype looks like one of the aluminum LED Cinema Display monitors currently sold by Apple, only bigger -- previous rumours suggest the Apple telly will come in 32-inch and 37-inch sizes Continue reading...
YouView on trial in selected homes ahead of London Olympics
Home CinemaYouView set-top boxes have arrived in living rooms. Reports of delays still linger, but the coalition of the BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5, TalkTalk, BT and Arquiva has started testing YouView boxes in the wild -- and they could be in your living room in time for the London 2012 Olympics.
YouView told me that the box is currently on trial in selected homes, and will be tested in hundreds, then thousands of homes "in the coming months". Despite rumours that head honcho Lord Sugar has pushed back the launch, YouView hasn't ruled out a public debut in time for the Olympic Games. Continue reading...
Should I see Avengers Assemble in 3D?
Home CinemaI donned my superhero cape and 3D specs to check out Avengers Assemble, the new film featuring Earth's mightiest heroes, The Avengers. Is it worth seeing in 3D?
Based on the Marvel Comics characters, Avengers Assemble sees leather-coated Samuel L Jackson recruit a roll call of superheroes when a powerful energy source is stolen, or somesuch. The Avengers are supersoldier Captain America, super spies Black Widow and Hawkeye, flippant philanthropist Tony Stark who suits up as Iron Man, brilliant scientist with rage issues Bruce Banner, who hides the Incredible Hulk inside, and Thor, the Norse god who puts the Pantene in pantheon. Continue reading...
Sky Go is yet another Ice Cream Sandwich delay
Home CinemaAre you a Sky customer with an Android phone? Thinking of updating to Ice Cream Sandwich? Not so fast, my friend -- not if you want to keep watching Sky telly on your phone.
Avid CNET reader Ben Williams dropped us a line to tell us, "Last week I updated Android on my HTC Sensation to Ice Cream Sandwich, and have just discovered that Sky Go is not supported by it. Did you know about this? Has anyone else reported it? Is it because not many devices run with ICS and are Sky planning a fix?" Continue reading...
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Apple TV vs Xbox 360 vs PS3 in Internet TV shootout
Home CinemaIf you're tired of having TV schedulers tell you what you should watch and when you should watch it, you've probably already moved away from broadcast TV and are enjoying an all-you-can-eat telly and movie buffet, served up by various Internet services.
Just what exactly is the best way to get these online offerings onto your big-screen TV? It really comes down to choosing between something like the Apple TV or a games console, such as the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Continue reading...
Titanic 3D is a surprisingly decent 2D to 3D conversion
Home CinemaLast night I saw Titanic 3D at the IMAX and -- surprisingly -- the 3D is actually pretty good.
Why is that surprising? Because Titanic wasn't filmed using 3D cameras. Back in 1997 we were perfectly content to watch Leo and Kate legging it around the sinking ship in the usual two dimensions. Continue reading...
Movie streaming set to overtake DVDs and Blu-rays this year
Home CinemaMore movies will be streamed this year than DVDs or Blu-rays bought, according to a new report. As Netflix, Lovefilm and now Sky's Now TV step up online streaming, could 2012 mark the end of the physical disc?
Bloomberg reports that streaming will overtake physical discs this year in the US, increasing to 3.4bn titles watched online, up from 1.4bn last year and dwarfing the 2.4bn DVDs and Blu-rays predicted to sell this year. Continue reading...
Sky Anytime+ now available through any ISP
Home CinemaSky Anytime+, the on-demand online service, is now available regardless of who you have your broadband with -- so if you're a Sky subscriber but don't get your broadband from Murdoch's empire, you can still use the service.
Previously, you needed an account with Sky Broadband to catch-up online. You'll still need a Sky+ HD account, but Sky estimates another 5 million customers will be able to take advantage of the online service. Lucky them. Continue reading...
Ex-Apple engineer: Jobs rejected new Apple TV 5 years ago
Home CinemaSteve Jobs rejected the new Apple TV's UI five years ago, according to an engineer who once worked on the product. And he claims now there's no one at Apple to reject a bad design since Jobs' passing, CNET reports.
Michael Margolis tweeted: "Fun fact -- those new designs were tossed out 5 years ago because SJ didn't like them. Now there is nobody to say "no" to bad design." Margolis worked as a 'senior software engineer' at Apple, and also credits himself as a "professional hobbyist, AppleTV". He claims to have left Apple in 2008. Continue reading...
Now TV is new Sky on-demand service
Home Cinema
Sky has unveiled Now TV, a new pay as you go online TV service. Hitting your phone, tablet and computer this year with movies on-demand, Now TV is a separate brand to Sky itself and a direct rival to Lovefilm and Netflix.
Now TV is the official name for the online service promised by Sky earlier in the year, which doesn't require you to have a Sky dish or Sky broadband package. Sky has given the service its own distinct brand to avoid creating a two-tier system that could tempt current customers to switch for the cheaper option. Continue reading...
THX speaker bar comes with eight sweet spots
Home CinemaThe audio mavens at THX have come up with the Steerable Line Array, a speaker system that ensures you'll hear perfect sound, no matter where you sit.
Traditional speakers and home cinema speaker arrays typically offer only one 'sweet spot' -- the position in which you seat yourself to hear the system at its very best. But the Steerable Line Array, spotted over at Popular Science, is designed to provide no fewer than eight sweet spots, ensuring your family doesn't end up scrapping for the finest seating position. Continue reading...
Cineworld gives online booking fees the long kiss goodnight
Home CinemaCineworld has stripped off. All booking fees, that is.
The cinema chain, which has 79 cinemas around the UK, is claiming it's the first picturehouse in Blighty to give booking fees the long kiss goodnight -- so shake a tail feather Empire, Odeon, Vue et al, or we're breaking up with you. Continue reading...
BBC archive heading online as Project Barcelona confirmed
Home CinemaThe BBC is finally flinging open Auntie's basement. Classic TV and radio shows from the BBC archives are to go on sale online in a plan codenamed Project Barcelona.
BBC boss Mark Thompson confirmed the plans, which we reported last week. Classic BBC programmes will be yours to download for a "relatively modest" fee, including many shows that have not been previously available to own. Continue reading...
Netflix and Lovefilm join Sky Movies monopoly probe
Home CinemaSky has had a reprieve from being forced to give up its grip on the latest movies. The Competition Commission is adding online movie streaming services Lovefilm and Netflix to its investigation of the market for movies on pay TV, potentially leading the way for a reversal of its provisional findings that Sky's exclusive film rights agreements were anti-competitive.
The investigation will now include on-demand video streaming of movies from services like Netflix and Lovefilm, to see if they provide a credible alternative to Sky Movies and other paid TV services. If the investigation concludes that other services do provide a decent choice for viewers, Sky could get a permanent reprieve from the prior decision to wipe out the advantage it currently holds over rivals like Virgin Media. Continue reading...
New Apple TV is still a set-top box, now 1080p
Home CinemaApple boss Tim Cook has unveiled the new Apple TV, and it looks like Apple has improved it in every way. For a start, the set-top box -- this isn't the rumoured TV set, sorry -- now streams in 1080p HD, as opposed to the previous version's 720p, meaning your movies and TV shows will look even better than before.
As well as this better quality, the whole user interface has been given a lick of paint, making it much more in keeping with the iPhone and iPad, complete with icons, apps, and cover art that's very reminiscent of Cover Flow. Continue reading...
New Apple TV tipped to launch alongside iPad 3
Home CinemaWhoa there -- the iPad 3 is launching next week, we know that much, but a new Apple TV could be coming too.
Unfortunately it won't be the fabled TV set Apple is said to be working on, but rather its dinky set-top box. But still, should be quite a day. Continue reading...
Samsung Galaxy phones and Tabs to stream Blockbuster movies
Home CinemaSamsung is set to take on Netflix, Spotify and iTunes with movies and music on your Samsung Galaxy phone, tablet or TV -- and all thanks to Blockbuster.
Yes, Blockbuster, where your mate used to work in the 90s. Not only is it still going, but it's reportedly behind a service that will stream thousands of movies to Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablets, as well as Samsung Blu-ray players, Smart TVs, laptops and Ultrabooks. Continue reading...
Roku £50 set-top box gets iPlayer, goes on sale in UK
Home CinemaRoku -- a budget set-top box that's big in the US -- is now available for us Brits. And it's rocking BBC iPlayer, the company has just announced.
It's good news, because while the box 'boasts' more than 40 'channels', we can't say we're that bowled over with most of them. Many are merely apps that give you access to a separate web service -- but that may be all you're looking for. Netflix and iPlayer may well be enough, especially at this price. Continue reading...
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