Manifest Tech Blog

My main Manifest Technoogy site hosts not only several hundred articles on digital media technology, but also includes resources on digital media and galleries of sample products.

As part of the overhaul for the main Manifest Technology site, there are new Digital Media Galleries posted, including portable media devices, portable storage, and mobile communications -- plus home media and digital imaging.

Plus a new Site Map showing the organization by Articles, Galleries, Resounces, About, and Publications.

I'll be back at Princeton this Wednesday, April 23, to talk about trends and technologies in portable consumer electronics devices. I'll have lots of fun devices to demo, working from the trends and products showcased in my Digital Media Galleries. This seminar series is free and open to the public -- Bring your lunch, but come early for cookies.

The Joys and Ploys of Little Toys
    Wed., April 23, 2008, 12 noon (lunch)

       Princeton University Lunch 'n Learn Information Technology Seminars
             Frist Campus Center, Princeton, NJ

Update - Talk summary and podcast posted
    - Talk Summary - Princeton University - IT's Academic blog
    - Download - Princeton University - Podcast

Frist Campus Center is on Washington Road, downhill from Propect Ave. and the Woodrow Wilson School, and before Ivy Lane and Guyot Hall.
The talk is in Multipurpose Room B on the bottom floor -- go downstairs through the cafeteria in the A Level, and then down one more floor to the B Level -- stairs are on the east end (away from Washington) -- University map -- Google map

Abstract and Bio below ...

I'll be at the Philadelphia Area Computer Society this Saturday, May 17, for another presentation on Tech Trends and Toys. I'll have lots of fun gadgets to demo, especially portable consumer electronics devices, working from the trends and products showcased in my Digital Media Galleries.

Tech Trends and Toys for 2008
    Sat. May 17, 2008, 12 noon
    Philadelphia Area Computer Society, http://pacsnet.org
    Upper Moreland Middle School, Hatboro, PA

Abstract

The Consumer Electronics Show in January displayed more than 20,000 new products - a lot of stuff! Doug Dixon will dig through the pile to highlight interesting new ideas, especially for home and personal entertainment. This will be an opportunity to understand developing trends in new technology, and to explore the latest options in fun new devices and gadgets.

Now in its eleventh year, the Streaming Media East 2008 show is being held this week again at the Hilton New York.

It's a three-day event, with preconference workshops on Monday and two days of conference sessions and exhibits. The show fits well in the Hilton, feeling similar in size to the over 3,000 attendees last year, but up to some 65 exhibitors this year, requiring more space as some booths spilled out into the adjoining hallway. Dan Rayburn organized another great conference, with more than 100 speakers and 34 sessions (in three parallel tracks), with focus on major media companies and corporate users sharing their experiences with online media.

One clear focus at the show was on Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, as streaming formats have become part of the overall interactive Web experience -- with On2 VP6 still in the mix as well, especially in mobile devices. (The old format battle between Windows Media and RealMedia and QuickTime that was so exciting just a few ago is now such old news, part of the murky past of the streaming industry.)

In particular, well-known author Jan Ozer presented a great session comparing streaming codecs. He started with the results of his ongoing "unscientific" analysis of the video formats used on major websites, concluding that Adobe Flash has grown dramatically in broadcast from the previous parity with Microsoft Windows Media Video, but that WMV still has a lead in corporate use.

Ozer first looked at implementations of H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, concluding that the Main Concept codec (as used by Rhozet Carbon Coder, Sorenson Squeeze, and Adobe Premiere Pro and other Creative Suite applications) was best, followed by Dicas (Telestream Episode Pro), and again lagged by Apple (as in Final Cut Studio and Compressor), which seems to be standing still in H.264 quality.

Ozer then compared the H.264, Microsoft VC-1 (Windows Media Video), and On2 VP6 codecs under low data rates, for both HD and SD content, evaluating still and motion quality and frame rate. He concluded that H.264 did best, especially keeping more detail. On2 VP6 also did well, especially with quieter motion backgrounds. And WM/VC-1 continued to lag, even dropping frames.

Ozer also had a preview of the newly improved On2 VP6 codec, concluding that it provided better detail for HD and was quieter in terms of motion artifacts for SD -- though not the "as much as 40%" improvement promised by the press release.

Ozer illustrated his presentation with frame captures comparing the results from each codec. And he concluded with a sneak peek at the raw data behind his analysis of the major streaming sizes, including video resolutions and data rates used by what he categorized as conservative, mid-range, and aggressive users of video.

If you want to know more, including all the gory details on getting the best compression for streaming video, check out Ozer's new publication, Critical Skills for Streaming Producers -- a mixed-media DVD tutorial priced at $249. It includes a 340-page PDF book, plus 27 screencam tutorials demonstrating software tools, 9 tutorial videos, 75 sample videos demonstrating compression options, and 13 checklists. The book also includes the extensive market research data of video usage on major broadcast and corporate sites.

Something different -- earth-friendly ideas for holiday gifts.

The Leakey Collection -- ZuluGrass

Based in central Kenya, East Africa, The Leakey Collection offers handcrafted products developed by Philip and Katy Leakey.

The products use natural elements such as fallen wood, grass, and ceramic, and provide economic opportunity to the local communities.

Its Zulugrass jewelry made from grass beads dyed with textile dyes and mixed with hand blown Czech glass beads and Japanese glass beads, and strung on elastic. It is sold by the single strand to design your own jewelry.

Me to We Style -- Bamboo Clothing

Based in Toronto, Me to We Style creates socially responsible, fashionable apparel, using certified organic cotton and bamboo. The company contributes 50% of its profit to Free The Children

Bamboo fabric is light and strong, and soft. It is normally mixed with 30% cotton to help keep its structure. Bamboo clothing is anti static, so it doesn't stick on a hot day, and is highly breathable.

Bamboo has a natural antifungal antibacterial agent so it does require the use of pesticides. It's fast growing, and absorbs about 5 times the carbone dioxide and produces about 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. The extensive root system holds soil together, prevents soil erosion, and retains water.

VerTerra -- Renewable Dinnerware from Plants

VerTerra single-use dinnerware is made from 100% renewable plant matter and water.

They are created from fallen leaves treated only with steam, heat and pressure, and then sterilized with UV light. There are no chemicals, glues or bonding agents.

They're non-toxic, and compostable -- they biodegrade naturally in 2 months.

They're also durable and versatile -- you can reheat in the microwave, bake in the oven, or cool in the fridge, and then reuse them several times.

More non-tech ideas for holiday accessory gifts.

Banjees -- Wrist Wallet

The Banjees Wrist Wallet from Sprigs is a fashionable wrist wallet to store your personal items.

Store cash, keys, ids, and even small cell phones in the zippered compartment.

They are available in poly/spandex for warm weather, and soft fleeze for colder months.

Banjees are 4" long, one size fits all, and are reversible -- solid on one side and with a design on the other.

GustBuster - Wind-Proof Umbrellas

Gustbusters umbrellas use a double-canopy design with teardrop-shaped wind release vents.

They withstand winds up to 55 mph without turning inside out.

Gustbusters umbrellas are available in styles including golf, classic, folding, and sun-block.

The nylon canopy is 190 thread per inch: water, bleed and fade proof. Gustbusters offers a lifetime repair or replacement warranty.

The PDN PhotoPlus Expo is in New York this week, Thursday through Saturday, October 23 - 25, at the Javits Center.

In its 25th year, PhotoPlus includes 11 seminar tracks on topics including business, digital tools, photo markets, promotion, and technology -- with over 100 photography and imaging seminars and workshops.

With a record 185 exhibitors, it's a great place to get some hands-on time and expert advice on cameras -- and accessories. Just go early -- there are over 35,000 people pre-registered.

My annual Holiday Gadgets talk at the Princeton Public Library will be on Tuesday, December 2 at 7 p.m.

There's lots of fun stuff to talk about, and interesting new devices to show ... And it's free and open to the public.

Happy New Year! To celebrate, here are some non-tech origami paper flowers to brighten the winter and anticipate spring events and weddings.

These are created by Karin Hope Dixon, an artist and graphic designer that I happen to know well ... The different designs are described at her Everlasting Blossoms site, and around 100 individual bouquets and flowers are available from her store on Etsy.

(If you haven't seen it, Etsy is the online marketplace for all things handmade -- with over 100,000 sellers from around the world since its launch in mid-2005.)

Photos, left to right:
- Bouquets and bunches of classic origami, specialty, and rose designs and accents, including nested designs, blossoming and buds, and baby blossoms.
- Earrings and hanging ornaments, with hook or hoop earrings. Simple and elegant to fun and fanciful.
- Blossom Bonsai tree, formed of cloth-covered floral wire, wrapped to form a trunk, rooted on stone, and tipped with blossoms.

I'll be speaking again at the Princeton University IT Seminar series this Wednesday, April 15, on The Flash Storage Revolution, tracing the march of flash memory though the consumer electronics and now computer industries -- and with some hot new devices to demo, working from the trends and products showcased in my Digital Media Galleries.

Flash Forward: The Rise of Small Tech Gadgets
    Wed., April 15, 2009, 12 noon

       Princeton University Lunch 'n Learn Information Technology Seminars
             Frist Campus Center, Princeton, NJ

This seminar series is free and open to the public -- Bring your lunch, but come early for cookies.

Update 3: Princeton has posted its blog report on the talk, and the audio podcast (also available on iTunes under Princeton University).

Update 2: My talk notes are posted, highlighting the market trends and chronology of a variety of flash-based products --
The Flash Storage Revolution:
    Part 1: The Growth of Flash
    Part 2: What's Next for Flash

Update: In addition to products that I've already been showing at previous talks, additional products kindly provided by companies to demo at this event include:

• LaCie iamaKey / itsaKey thin USB flash drives
• Verbatim Store 'n’ Go Micro flash drive with 8 GB in half a SD card
• Verizon Wireless Samsung Flipshot 3 MP camera phone
• Verizon Wireless Samsung Omnia smartphone
• Verizon Wireless HTC Touch Pro smartphone
• Sony PSP-3000 handheld gaming / entertainment system
• DXG-580V 1080p HD camcorder
• DXG-579V 720p HD camcorder
• Samsung HMX-H106 full-HD camcorder with 64GB SSD drive
• Samsung HMX-R10 full-HD camcorder with angled ergonomic design
• Samsung TL320 digital camera with OLED screen
• Imation M-Series Solid State Drive Upgrade Kit
• ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10" netbook runs for 9.5 hours
• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook
• WildCharge wire-free power pad

Abstract and Bio below ...

The Streaming Media East conference is back in New York this week for the 2009 edition. The event is held at the New York Hilton Hotel in the heart of the city (6th Ave. between 53rd and 54th Streets), as opposed to a big conference center, so it has a more personal and friendly atmosphere. There's lots going on -- last year the show had some 3,500 attendees, 100 speakers, and 60 exhibitors -- but at the some time there's also time to chat with other attendees, speakers, and exhibitors.

The pre-conference program kicks off today with half-day seminars, plus the associated Content Delivery Summit for online video

The main Streaming Media East event then runs for two days on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 12 and 13.

The technical program again features some 100 speakers, with the first keynote tomorrow by Paul Sagan, CEO of Akamai. Topics range from technical (Flash, Silverlight, encoding, video quality) to strategic (production, live feeds, advertizing / monitizing).

On Tuesday, Dan Rayburn from StreamingMedia.com will present his ongoing work on CDN Research Data, and Jan Ozer is back to help with Streaming Production: Improving Your Video Quality (see post from last year).

And the exhibits are open on Tuesday from 10 am to 6 pm and on Wednesday from 10 am to 4 pm. This is a great opportunity to spend time with the key players in streaming production and delivery, especially content delivery networks (CDNs) and associated products ands services.

See the StreamingMedia.com site for show coverage.

UPDATE: Presentations from the conference sessions and workshops are posted at www.streamingmedia.com/east. Many of the videos from the conference and associated Content Delivery Summit are available at www.streamingmedia.com/videos.

UPDATE: Dan Rayburn posted a Show Recap, with links to summaries of show coverage by Larry Kless.

Dan Rayburn gave his regular update on the streaming media market at the end of a busy day at the Streaming Media East conference in New York (see previous post).

Rayburn keeps his fingers on the pulse of the market as executive VP at StreamingMedia.com and principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan. In particular, he talks with lots of customers who are pricing streaming services from Content Delivery Network (CDN) companies like Akamai and Limelight, and he kindly shares not only his insights, but also the real data, on his Business of Video blog at BusinessOfVideo.com.

(As you'll see below, Rayburn has set up a helpful collection of aliases like this that redirect to his blog -- http://blog.streamingmedia.com -- and to the latest entries on specific topics. For example, you'll find his posts specifically on CDNs at ContentDeliveryBlog.com.)

In the overall market, Rayburn sees "delivering bits" as a commodity business, with the need to differentiate by addressing the larger ecosystem of customer needs, focusing on high-end performance and scalability, or on supporting issues like asset transcoding and management.

In terms of general trends, this past year saw a bump in video traffic as many content owners increased video bitrates from 300 Kbps in 2007 to 500 to 750 Kbps in 2008.

For the next year, Rayburn expects technical impacts from more traction for HD video, progress in new approaches for video advertizing, and more emphasis on streaming live events.

UPDATE: The presentations from the conference sessions and workshops are posted at www.streamingmedia.com/east. And many of the videos from the conference and associated Content Delivery Summit are now available at www.streamingmedia.com/videos.

Download Rayburn's presentation on CDN Research Data (PDF).

More on CDN Pricing and Market ...

Presentations from Streaming Media East conference (see previous post) --sessions and workshops -- are posted at www.streamingmedia.com/east.

Plus many of the videos from the conference and associated Content Delivery Summit are now available at www.streamingmedia.com/videos.

Some recommended viewing:

- The keynote by Paul Sagan, CEO of Akamai on "HD Online @ The Tipping Point" -- Sagan provides a fascinating review of the growth of online video on his Internet Television Timeline, and then his thoughts on the opportunity and reality of HD video online. [PDF presentation and Session video]

- Fun session on "Live Broadcasting Over Mobile and Wi-Fi Networks," chaired by Steve Garfield, Mobile Video Journalist at SteveGarfield.com. Featuring demonstrations of sharing live video directly from your phone from Bhaskar Roy, co-founder of Qik.com, and sharing and managing live video channels and archives from Max Haot, founder and CEO of LiveStream.com (formerly Mogulus). [Session video]

Plus:

- Jan Ozer's wonderful practical advice on "Streaming Production: Improving Your Video Quality" (see previous post). [PDF presentation]

- Dan Rayburn's annual review of "CDN Research Data: Market Sizing and Pricing Trends" (see previous post). [PDF presentation]

For more from the show, Dan Rayburn posted a Show Recap, with links to summaries of show coverage by Larry Kless.

Esther Dyson, writer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and first lady of the digerati, visited our area last week to speak to the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce.

You may recall Dyson from her Release 1.0 newsletter (and subsequent updates as a book, column, and weblog), her work as the founding chairman of ICANN democratizing the naming structure for the Internet, or her venture investments through her company, EDventure Holdings.

More recently, Dyson has focused on aviation and space, and health care. She recently completed six months of training in Russia as a backup cosmonaut for the Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (she's an investor in Space Adventures).

At her Princeton talk, Dyson had just returned from a whirlwind trip to Russia, so she gave an informal travelogue of her trip, including the session at the Civil Society Summit with President Obama during his visit to Moscow with Russian President Medvedev.

In the big picture of health care, Dyson looks to the Internet to help open people's access to information, especially their own personal medical records. Imagine that -- transparency in both treatment and billing could allow people to understand what's going on and perhaps make better choices.

But do you really want a massive centralized medical database, with instant electronic access to all your records from any doctor, or hospital, or insurer -- or hacker?

So Dyson takes a different approach, the Quicken model for home finances -- standard electronic interfaces to your data, stored by different organizations, and only aggregated by you on your personal computer. Each organization can still be electronic and efficient, but the full history of your medical life is still distributed among multiple organizations, so there's still hope to retain some personal privacy.

For more Esther Dyson at Princeton (articles and video):

HD Expo NY came to The New Yorker Hotel in New York City last week. The show is changing its brand to Createasphere, in recognition of the broadening of production beyond just HD (... and avoiding confusion with Hospitality Design Expo). The organizers produce other related shows in Los Angeles, and are looking to expand in New York for two days next year.

The event on Thursday, September 17 ran from 11 am to 7 pm, and included panels, workshops, and an exhibition.

The panels included conversations with film editors and cinematographers, and a New York production industry update. These were packed, with waitlist lines, and clearly need more space next year. The workshops included Apple FCP, Canon EOS HD, HP NLE, Panasonic P2 Varicam, and RED on Adobe.

Approximately 35 exhibitors in this friendly setting offered plenty of opportunities for extensive discussions and hands-on time with equipment, especially cameras (Canon, JVC, Panasonic, Sony), lenses (Carl Zeiss, Fujinon, Schneider), and related equipment such as lighting.

One clear trend is the interest in shooting video with a HD DSLR camera, like the Canon EOS 5D and new 7D -- shooting photos plus short HD video clips, less obtrusively than with a video camera, and with the creative look from the choice of options of professional lenses, and especially control of depth of field.

Createasphere NY reports that registrations for the event doubled from last year. The New York area clearly is underserved with these kinds of video production events -- DV Expo East is now only West, and ShowBiz Expo is long gone. We do have two events coming up on in October, the New York Post|Production Conference, a training event from Future Media Concepts (who also do training at NAB), and HD World, a two-day event of sessions and 140-some exhibitors, as part of the umbrella Content & Communications World event at Javits, combined with SATCON and IP Media Expo.

See also my list of Digital Media Conferences in 2009, including regional events around New York City.

PhotoPlus Expo is back in New York for its 25th year at the Javits Convention Center, with three days of seminars and exhibits. It runs from Thursday, October 22, through Saturday, October 24.

This is the biggest photography trade show and conference in the U.S., with some 27,000 attendees, 300 exhibitors, 100 seminars, plus other special events.

PhotoPlus is a great opportunity to check out new cameras and accessories from the major manufacturers, including Canon, Kodak, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, and Sony. You can get hands-on time with the equipment and talk details with the staff.

(See coverage from the 2008 conference at PDN Online)

The Exhibition is open from 10 am to 5 pm on Thursday and Friday, and closes at 4 pm on Saturday. (It opens at 9 am the first two days for Gold Expo Pass and Seminar Attendees.)

The Special Events and Keynotes feature presentations by world-renowned photographers. Plus there's a PhotoPlus Expo Bash party on Thursday night (separate admission).

The three days of Seminars (separate registration) cover the art, technology, and business of photography, with eleven tracks including lighting, marketing, Photoshop and color management, portraits / wedding, commercial / editorial, and business management.

See also my list of Digital Media Conferences in 2009, including regional events around New York City.

Happy new year! And with the passing of the holiday season, it's time to start looking forward to Spring -- with flowers and garden parties, and graduations and weddings.

So here's a look at the work of my favorite artist, Karin Hope Dixon, who creates beautiful handmade origami folded-paper flower sculptures.

You can find her classic -- and fanciful -- creations at her Etsy store (the marketplace for hand-crafted goods), including bouquets, earrings, and decorative ornaments.

Or explore her Everlasting Blossoms site and dedicated Wedding site for your celebrations, including bouquets, boutonnieres, bridal showers, centerpieces, invitations, and place cards.

You even can work with the artist to create your own custom designs -- based on your favorite theme, flowers, colors, papers, and accessories.

Photos, top to bottom:
- Lily blossom earrings, Japanese print red, orange, and gold leaves
- Custom cascading bridal bouquet
- Goddess bouquet, classic rose with baby accent blossoms

Are you tapping into mobile apps?

I'm back at the Princeton University IT Seminar series at noon on Wednesday, February 24 for a talk on Mobile Smartphone Apps, especially location-based applications and cloud services.

I'll have live phones to demo, including Apple, Google Android, Palm webOS, and Windows Phone.

An App A Day: Tasty Apps for iPhone and Android
    Wed., Feb. 24, 2010, 12:00 noon

       Princeton University Lunch 'n Learn Information Technology Seminars
             Frist Campus Center, Multipurpose Room B

This seminar series is free and open to the public -- Bring your lunch, but come early for cookies.

UPDATE: See the talk summary on the Princeton Univ. IT’s Academic blog, and you can download the podcast from the Princeton site (MP3).

I'll also be presenting several future talks to local user groups on Gadgets and Trends for 2010, from 3D TV to smartphone apps -- see my presentations schedule

See my related articles and galleries for more on smartphones and apps:

• Gadgets and Trends 2010
• Smartphone Apps Gallery
• Mobile Communications Gallery

Are you ready for 3D? Have you enjoyed 3D movies? Interested in enjoying 3D movies or games at home?

If you're intrigued by the possibilities of shooting, creating, and sharing your own 3D pictures and videos the good news is that you actually can get started doing 3D with minimal costs and hassle by using your existing gear and displays.

I'm back at the Princeton University IT Seminar series at noon on Wednesday, November 17 for a talk titled Step Out of the Plain -- 3D is the Next Dimension for Consumers.

I'll discuss the 3D market, and explore the history, technology, and formats for stereo viewing. Then I'll review 3D TV and PC products for the home, show cameras for 3D shooting, and demonstrate software for doing your own 3D editing.

And I'll have lots of fun 3D gear to demo, including stereoscopic viewers and 3D images of Princeton and New York. And everybody gets their own pair of 3D red/cyan glasses!

So put on your 3D glasses, and come step out of the plain into the next dimension in entertainment and sharing.

Step Out of the Plain --
        3D is the Next Dimension for Consumers
    Wed., Nov. 17, 2010, 12:00 noon

       Princeton University Lunch 'n Learn Information Technology Seminars
             Frist Campus Center, Multipurpose Room B

This seminar series is free and open to the public -- Bring your lunch, but come early for cookies.

See my accompanying article --
    3D - The Next Dimension
        - Part 1 - Seeing 3D: Market, Technology, Formats
        - Part 2 - Using 3D: Products, Shooting, Editing

UPDATE:
- Princeton summary of my presentation
- Princeton podcast of the talk (MP3)
- Full list and links for my talks at Princeton

I'll continue to be presenting talks to local user groups on Gadgets and Trends for 2010, from 3D TV to smartphone apps -- see my presentations schedule

See my related articles and galleries for more on smartphones and apps:

• Holiday Gadgets 2010: Portable and Wireless
• Smartphone Apps Gallery
• Mobile Communications Gallery

(Image: Reproduction Holmes style stereoscope viewer)

Princeton has posted a nice summary of my presentation on 3D: The Next Dimension there last Wednesday (see previous post).

The podcast of the talk already is available as a MP3 file.

The podcast also will be available for easy download to iTunes, and iPhone, iPod, and iPad devices on the Princeton iTunes U channel (click to open in iTunes).

See a full list of my talks at Princeton, with links to abstracts, presentations, and podcasts (MP3 and iTunes U).

See my accompanying article --
    3D - The Next Dimension
        - Part 1 - Seeing 3D: Market, Technology, Formats
        - Part 2 - Using 3D: Products, Shooting, Editing

(Image: Courtesy Roxio for Creator 2011 - see previous post)

The Streaming Media East conference is back in New York for the 2012 edition. It's held at the New York Hilton Hotel in the heart of the city (6th Ave. between West 53rd and 54th Streets). While there's lots going on -- this year's show has some 100 speakers in up to four parallel sessions, and 50 exhibitors -- at the same time there's also time to chat with other few thousand attendees, as well as the speakers and exhibitors.

The show kicks off on Monday with half-day pre-conference Seminars, on Streaming Delivery, Live Webcasting, Online Video Deployment for HTML5 and Flash, and Jan Ozer's annual update on Encoding for Flash, Mobile, and HTML5. As a bonus, several of the presentations are already posted online.

The main Streaming Media East conference then runs for two days on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 15 and 16.

The technical program opens with a keynote by Matt Frost, Senior Business Product Manager for Google Chrome. The presentations and panel sessions range from technical (HTML5, Flash, MPEG DASH, live streaming, encoding, video quality) to strategic (YouTube, Facebook, and social media, Internet TV, enterprise to higher ed).

On Tuesday, conference organizer Dan Rayburn from StreamingMedia.com will compare and demo connected TV platforms, and Jan Ozer is back to help with Encoding Video for HTML5 (see post and book from last year).

And the exhibits are open as usual on Tuesday from 10 am to 6 pm and on Wednesday from 10 am to 4 pm. This is a great opportunity to spend time with a broad range of the key players in streaming production and delivery.

See the StreamingMedia.com site for show coverage.