Selected Writing

[Tom’s Guide]
Panasonic is selling a new high-end, mirrorless camera, the LX100, with a large, 12.8-megapixel sensor, its latest image processor, a metal body and even the ability to shoot ultra HD (aka 4K) video, all for $899. That price includes a 24-75mm (full-frame equivalent) Leica lens. Its large max apertures, from f-1.7 (wide) to f-2.8 (telephoto) beat the kit lenses that come with Panasonic’s other mirrorless cameras. But the glass on the LX100 isn’t a kit lens; it’s the only lens, one permanently attached to the camera.
[Read the rest of New Fixed-lens Cameras Challenge DSLRs and Mirrorless]

[Tom’s Guide]
Surveys continually show that we watch TV while holding other gadgets like smartphones and laptops. So it’s appealing to beam a cool video or photo we’ve found on them directly to the big screen. Staff writer Marshall Honorof challenged the it-just-works claims of Miracast and WiDi. To see how universal this standard really is, he patiently attempted to pair three popular Android smartphones, an Android tablet and three laptops with four different Miracast/WiDi receiver boxes.
[Read the rest of Wireless Video Streaming: The Miracast & WiDi Disaster]

[Tom’s Guide]
On June 25, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of TV broadcasters that had sued Aereo for acting like a cable company without paying the licensing fees that cable companies are required to pay. But when Aereo offered to pay the fees this week, the US Copyright Office, which oversees licensing, said Aereo isn’t allowed to pay the fees, because it is not, in fact, a cable company.
[Read the rest of Aereo Debacle Shows Congress Clueless About Net Video]

[Tom’s Guide]
Many technophiles may be crestfallen today (Jun 25), learning that the Supreme Court ruled against Aereo. The service charged subscribers as little as $8 a month to stream, and record, live local TV broadcasts over the Internet. This wasn’t a narrow 5-4 ruling along ideological lines, but a 6-3 landslide. Painful as the decision is for cord-cutters, it was the right call. In fact, Aereo’s demise may be a critical political and moral boost to advocates of Net neutrality — the loss of which threatens all online TV.
[Read the rest of Why Striking Down Aereo Was The Right Decision]

[Tom’s Guide]
Samsung’s new NX30 sports a DSLR-like design, but this mirrorless camera offers several advantages over digital single-lens reflex cameras. These include a continuous-shooting mode of 9 frames per second and the ability to switch seamlessly from shooting stills to 1080p video and back again. The unique feature of the NX30 ($999, with 18mm-55mm lens) is its electronic viewfinder. The bright LCD eyepiece can tilt upward 90 degrees, which saves you from crouching if you are shooting something low to the ground. Plus, with its professional-quality photos, the camera’s image quality rivals that of challengers like the Canon Digital Rebel T5i and Nikon D5300.
[Read the rest of Samsung NX30 Review: Mirrorless Camera Mimics DSLR]

[Tom’s Guide]
Yahoo’s painfull puppet parody, “The Fuzz.”It’s no secret that Yahoo will be launching a new original-video strategy, possibly with four new comedy shows, at an event at Lincoln Center in New York City on April 28th. And the launch can’t come soon enough.
[Read the rest of Why Yahoo Desperately Needs Better Original Shows]

[Tom’s Guide]
To the TV buzzwords “OLED,” “4K” and “Ultra HD,” you can now add the humble word “curve.” All of these options will be available to TV buyers this spring and summer. Manufacturers like Samsung are betting that you’ll pay a lot more for a slightly curving TV screen. But there are other ways to spend that money that may get you more entertainment.
[Read the rest of Why Curved TVs Will Leave You Flat Broke]

[Tom’s Guide]
The winners are in. After collecting viewer feedback on 10 new pilot shows, Amazon has picked four that will go on to a first season: the dramas “Bosch” and “The After” and the comedies/dramedies “Transparent” and “Mozart in the Jungle.”
None of the shows are groundbreaking — though some of the people behind them, like “The X-files” creator Chris Carter are. But they have subtle quirks and charms that help define the new genre of online TV.
[Read the rest of Amazon Greenlights 4 Edgy TV Pilots for First Seasons]

[GeekBeat.TV]

[See original CESLive Panel Talks 4K]