CNN using technology to max in The Situation Room |
Since buying a Slingbox and setting up nearly a month ago, I’ve had the TV tuned into channel 44, CNN, most of the time. In particular I’ve noticed Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room, coming at viewers with all sorts of different technology in real world play. They’ve got news from bloggers, multiple TVs with different topics, roving reporters in the field and today I noticed a significant slice of the screen being used for Hurrican Katrina Missing Children. At the bottom of the screen a news ticker scrolls by with the current headlines.
And much of it involves technologies familiar to internet regulars, but mostly unheard of in the context of TV newscasts. Throughout the daily, three-hour show, a split video wall behind host Wolf Blitzer displays up to six separate feeds, often topically unrelated to each other.
Speaking of Slingbox, Scoble’s slingboxitis has begun! He raves about the device and says he will spend his own money on the device (he was given a device for free, smart marketing, Slingmedia). Robert, get yourself some of the OnDemand pay channels like HBO or Showtime and you can watch movies from anywhere you have a broadband connection. Also cool is PVR’d stuff like I’m looking forward to Las Vegas season 3 starting tonigh, woo-hoo!
Scoble adds: “One problem though. Everyone I talk to says that the cable industry won’t let this go on for much longer.”
Downsides to the Slingbox: setting up with working IR codes can be a PITA, signal is grainy up close (resolution issues), need good bandwidth (at least 350k) to get a better quality signal, sometimes for no reason the slingbox signal just crashes and needs to be restarted (sometimes even completely repowered in the slingbox itself).
Did this post make you go hmm?
(Hmm, no ratings yet)
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Hey TDavid,
Can you send me your contact info (blake at slingmedia dot com)? i would like one of our guys talk to you about the signal ‘crashes’ you are seeing. you definately should not be seeing that unless your network connection is the culprit. And in NO circumstances should be needing to reboot your slingbox…the software is extremely stable and the box literally should run for months/years. However, you obviously are having some problems with yours, so we would like to help figure it out and get you running much smoother.
Cheers,
Blake Krikorian
co-founder / ceo
Sling Media
Comment by Blake Krikorian — September 19, 2005 @ 9:42 pm PST
Blake - Make sure your filter accepts tdscripts.com and I’ll send it shortly. I can capture the Windows error message the software is throwing (pretty much once a day it happens at least). Have had the same software issue happen on two different machines (a dedicated Compaq desktop and my M1400 Tablet PC).
As mentioned above sometimes the only way to resolve is pull out the power in the Slingbox to get the picture to re-stream, which sort of reduces the portability angle, but that problem admittedly is more rare than the software crash. I doubt it’s a network issue as I’m pulling down a solid 900-1300k, but would be happy to troubleshoot with your people.
I’ve been running the Slingbox at least 8 hours a day and it will run most of the day without issue, but as I said above, about once a day the error described above will happen. Sometimes several times per day.
Comment by TDavid — September 19, 2005 @ 10:52 pm PST
Message sent, Blake. Ironically while I was typing the message to you, it crashed! Insert Twilight Zone music. I also sent you a link to a screenshot of the specific windows error message being thrown.
Comment by TDavid — September 19, 2005 @ 11:06 pm PST
[…] There is some sort of bizarre business stranglehold that traditional media tries to put on their use of competing technology that is refreshing to see places like CNN’s The Situation Room bucking the trend. Fortunately, bloggers aren’t being kept silent from radio, where hosts are openly quoting blogs/bloggers. The local newspapers need to figure out how to incorporate blogs/blogging, podcasts and vlogs into their model like some of their counterparts and I believe they will — eventually. They have no choice, really. […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » Doomsday prophecies for local newspapers? — September 26, 2005 @ 11:16 pm PST
The sneaking in of the extension and addtions to the Patriot Act was an UNAMERICAN event. It was not discussed and aired by the American public, the press, and the Congress. The Press and the Congress MUST BEGIN INSTANTLY to HOLD THIS ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE. What has happened in the last five years has done more to destroy America internally and world wide. IT IS AN UNAMERICAN ADMINISTRATION working only to improve the wealth of the top 1% and the corporations. The changes in the world economy must not always been foisted onto the backs of middle class America.
Comment by Bonnie Egbert — November 1, 2005 @ 7:54 pm PST