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Revved up USB 3.0 carries 10 times the power of Thunderbolt

admin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:28:00 +0000

Wow. Those rockstars at the USB 3.0 promoter group haven't taken the threat of Thunderbolt lying down. They've been working long into the night (we imagine) screaming "More Power!" and "Liiiiive, damn you, liiiive!". In a press release, the group announces a new power delivery specification which will push USB 3.0's limit from 4.5 watts all the way up to 100. You all of course remember that Thunderbolt's maximum is a mere-by-comparison 10 watts. Brad Saunders, the promotion group's chairman, believes that the new standard could enable USB 3.0 to supply a laptop with energy at the same time as it delivers data between your devices. (After all that time sponging off your laptop's meager battery it's about time your USB-powered foot warmer started returning the favor.) At the moment it's only a specification and won't be implemented until 2012 at the earliest, but this could just turn into an arms race of electrifying proportions.

Revved up USB 3.0 carries 10 times the power of Thunderbolt originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google defends H.264 removal from Chrome, says WebM plug-ins coming to Safari and IE9

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:02:00 +0000

Google renewed a heated discussion when it said it was dropping H.264 support from Chrome's HTML5 video tag last week, but it seems the company's ready and willing to push its WebM alternative video format hard -- not only is hardware decoder IP now available for the VP8 codec, but the project team is presently readying WebM plug-ins for Safari and Internet Explorer 9, neither of which include it themselves. As to the little matter of whether any of this is the right move for the web at large, we'll paraphrase what Google had to say for itself: H.264 licenses cost money; Firefox and Opera don't support H.264 either; and big companies like Google are helping the little guy by championing this open alternative. We have to say, the eternal optimist in us is cheering them on. Oh, and the linguist in us, too. Read Google's own words at our source link, and decide for yourself.

Google defends H.264 removal from Chrome, says WebM plug-ins coming to Safari and IE9 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google will drop H.264 support from Chrome, herd the masses towards WebM and Theora

admin — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:11:00 +0000

We knew Google was rather fond of its WebM video standard, but we never expected a move like this: the company says it will drop support for the rival H.264 codec in its HTML5 video tag, and is justifying the move in the name of open standards somehow. Considering that H.264 is presently one of (if not the) most widely supported format out there, it sounds a little like Google shooting itself in the foot with a .357 round -- especially considering the MPEG-LA just made H.264 royalty-free as long as it's freely distributed just a few months ago. If that's the case, Chrome users will have to download a H.264 plug-in to play most web video that's not bundled up in Flash... which isn't exactly an open format itself. Or hey, perhaps everyone will magically switch to Chrome, video providers will kowtow, unicorns will gaily prance, and WebM will dominate from now on.

Google will drop H.264 support from Chrome, herd the masses towards WebM and Theora originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it’s freely distributed

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:23:00 +0000

var digg_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/26/mpeg-la-makes-h-264-video-royalty-free-forever-as-long-as-its/'; The H.264 codec that makes a good deal of digital video possible has actually been free to use (under certain conditions) for many years, but following recent controversies over the future of web video, rightholders have agreed to extend that freedom in perpetuity. Whereas originally standards organization MPEG-LA had said it wouldn't collect royalties from those freely distributing AVC/H.264 video until 2016, the limitless new timeframe may mean that content providers banking on WebM and HTML5 video won't have an expensive surprise in the years to come. Then again, patent licensing is complicated stuff and we'd hate to get your hopes up -- just know that if you're an end-user uploading H.264 content you own and intend to freely share with the world, you shouldn't expect a collection agency to come knocking on your door. PR after the break.

Continue reading MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it's freely distributed

MPEG-LA makes H.264 video royalty-free forever, as long as it's freely distributed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Know Your Rights: H.264, patent licensing, and you

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:33:00 +0000

Know Your Rights is Engadget's technology law series, written by our own totally punk ex-copyright attorney Nilay Patel. In it we'll try to answer some fundamental tech-law questions to help you stay out of trouble in this brave new world. This isn't legal advice or analysis, so don't get all donked in the head.

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/Engadget_H_264_patent_licensing_and_you'; What on earth is going on with H.264, patents, and video encoding on the web? It seems like ever since Steve Jobs published his Thoughts on Flash the world has gone crazy.

We know what you mean! It's getting pretty silly out there. OSNews just declared that H.264 would be the death of video art and culture because professional video cameras are only licensed by AT&T for personal and non-commercial usage. Terrifying, although most of the creative people we know have continued working free of devastating laser attacks from space.

Continue reading Know Your Rights: H.264, patent licensing, and you

Know Your Rights: H.264, patent licensing, and you originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 May 2010 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:04:00 +0000

Ah, HD DVD, our old friend - we thought we'd never see you again. But there was no mistaking it, here's the logo tucked away in Chinese manufacturer TCL's booth on a China Blue HD deck next to a similar Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray demo appeared to be down when we stopped by making this not much of a fight -- although with recent gains by CBHD like adding studio support from Paramount, it may want to take this challenger more seriously. We'll move the threat level on this conflict to yellow.

Gallery: TCL brings the CBHD-Blu-ray battle to CES

HD DVD rides again: TCL brings China Blue HD & Blu-ray together for a CES face-off originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:24:00 +0000

We've given HD DVD's bastard child China Blue HD its due for a good start in its native land, but now that U.K. Importer GBAX has made a few units available it's time for English language buyers to at least consider this Blu-ray alternative. Of course, with a £259.99 ($413.22 U.S.) pricetag for this plain TCL player, AV and HD cables, plus 14 CBHD movies (The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Invasion, The Island, Flood, Poseidon & 8 Chinese-only flicks) to get you started the barrier to entry is high, but as shown in the unboxing / preview video -- embedded after the break, watch for ninjas -- the experience is very familiar. As Format War Central points out, the 220/240Hz power cord makes things complicated for the U.S. and other places outside Europe, but hardcore HD DVD holdouts are used to a world filled with only Warner and Universal movies already, so why not give the other blue laser flavor a try?

[Via Format War Central]

Continue reading China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

China Blue HD crosses over to the UK, third Opium War inevitable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba applies for BDA admission, Blu-ray players and laptops coming soon

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:20:00 +0000

We'd already heard that Toshiba -- the outfit best known for solidly backing HD DVD during the two-year format war of the early 21st century -- was preparing to swallow its pride and kick out a Blu-ray player by the year's end, but now it's official. The outfit just announced moments ago that it has "applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and plans to introduce products that support the Blu-ray format." Sadly, Tosh doesn't bother to mention exactly what kinds of BD-capable wares it hopes to produce, nor is it ready to disclose product launch time frames. We'd tell you exactly how it wants us to just be patient and all, but you're probably better off hearing it directly from the horse's trap:

"In light of recent growth in digital devices supporting the Blu-ray format, combined with market demand from consumers and retailers alike, Toshiba has decided to join the BDA. Toshiba aims to introduce digital products that support the Blu-ray format, including BD players and notebook PCs integrating BD drives, in the course of this year. Details of the products, including the timing of regional launches, are now under consideration. We will make announcements in due course."

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Toshiba applies for BDA admission, Blu-ray players and laptops coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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