Author: jonn

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CES 2012 – Mobile Technology

Well if CES is anything to go by then this year (and the next) we are going to see a huge number of new tablets across a bewildering range of prices.

If I had to guess then i’d say the success of the Amazon Fire has proven that a cheap, robust and simple tablet WILL sell well compared to the iPad.  Basically Amazon realised that there is no point trying to compete with the iPad on a feature by feature basis – it makes more sense to take the battle to the consumers wallet instead.  It’s a strange thing because this is pretty much the exact reason why Android on the mobile is selling so well, most of the phones can’t hope to compete with an iPhone in sheer ability – but they can sell for a far lower price.

So, along with the usual crowd – the Motorolas and the Samsungs – we also have a few lesser known manufacturers popping up.  These guys don’t have the street cred of the big boys, nor do they have massive marketing budgets.  But they do have the ability to knock out a simple and easy to use tablet for an incredibly small price – and that will very possibly be the key to limiting the iPads dominance through 2012, here are some of my favourites:

Model WikiPad:3D
Manufacturer WikiPad A low-end specced Tablet (1.2Ghz and not dual core) but with some decidedly non-lowspec abilities.  Not only does this tablet come with a fairly functional glasses free 3D screen but it’s also got the chops to playback 1080p video content, and was demoed playing Avatar in 3D without a single stutter.  It also has a clip on game control accessory.
Screen Size 8 inches
Processor 1.2Ghz 1 Core
Storage 8GB and microSD max 64GB
Memory 2GB
OS Android 4.0.3
Key Feature Glasses free 3D
Availability March 2012
Price Less than $250
Review The Verge
Model Novo7
Manufacturer MIPS An incredibly basic tablet, a single core 1GHz processor and not much storage, but it has a pretty good capacitive touchscreen can handle 1080p video playback and has HDMI output – all for $99
Screen Size 7 inches
Processor 1.0Ghz 1 Core
Storage microSD max 64GB
Memory 1GB
OS Android 4.0.3
Key Feature Incredibly low price, 1080p video playback
Availability Now in China, soon elsewhere
Price $99
Review The Verge
Model E70
Manufacturer Viewsonic It’s a fairly hefty tablet, but that just translates to a very sturdy feel, Viewsonic have been the princes of cheap tablets for a while, and this model has just the right level of technology to be a success at the price point
Screen Size 7 inches
Processor 1.0Ghz 1 Core
Storage 4GB and microSD max 64GB
Memory 1GB
OS Android 4.0.3
Key Feature Good build quality and HDMI out
Availability March 2012
Price $169
Review Engadget

That isn’t, of course, it for the tablet market – the big boys were there and showing some pretty impressive devices. We also had Intel with their first foray into the mobile market with their new Medfield chipset they bought along some impressive Android devices to prove the point that x86 could work in the mobile world.

We also had a huge array of tablet running on a Microsoft OS, not Windows Phone 7 but Windows 8. The devices were exceptionally diverse and, if manufacturer stats can be believed, have the stamina to last as long as the Android powered slates with the benefit of the Windows library behind them. Well, except a few of the devices were running on Arm chips – these, of course, won’t have access to the more legacy based titles – but we are promised that the majority of .NET titles will work.

I haven’t touched on the Phone side of things in this, mainly because it’s such a huge topic that it deserves it’s own article.

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CES 2012 – Television

CES has always been about seeing which way the various consumer companies are jumping.  With the rise of 3D television this years CES has seen a marked increase in the number of units sporting 3D as standard.  Whilst the manufacturers will almost certainly release cheaper versions without the 3D capability, at CES pretty much every brand has a strong 3D presence.

3D television hasn’t really taken off in a huge way, there are a number of barriers to adoption that have hindered it, namely:

  • high price of 3D capable televisions, at least compared to similar TVs without 3D.
  • use of glasses that limit the number of people who can watch, the majority of sets require glasses, and if you need active shutters they’re also incredibly expensive to buy.
  • confusing options, the majority of the TV using world doesn’t understand Active/Passive technology, viewing cones or the myriad of other options that come with 3D.
  • Scarcity of 3D content, there are more films being produced in 3D and many countries now have 3D capable satellite/cable programming – but it’s still a very small percentage overall.  Despite the claims made by entertainment companies at the last two E3’s there still isn’t a huge trade in 3D ready games titles either.

This year the manufacturers seem ready to address most of these issues:

  • by making 3D an almost standard option the price difference between 3D and non 3D sets has shrunk to almost nothing
  • many more glasses free sets were shown at CES this year, with a much wider viewing angle.
  • the sets themselves are getting smarter with much wider options for automatically setting up things, plus the industry seems to be moving more to glasses free or passive glasses – cutting the options and confusion down.
  • There isn’t much the manufacturers can do about this, but if the sales of 3D televisions pick up then more 3D content will be produced.  Most of the TVs shown have in-built media options, such as film streaming, so that should help deliver 3D content.  The ability to ‘fake’ 3D content from a 2D source has massively improved with this new generation too.  Like the adoption of HD before it, the industry will be looking to the games industry to push the standard – Microsoft’s adoption of HD in it’s 360 console almost single handedly kick started the HD revolution in several countries – especially the UK.

There are always going to be people who don’t value the addition of 3D to home TV, myself included, but CES has shown us that the industry certainly expects it to be a major part for the foreseeable future.

 

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Indystock

The Indywood train trundles on as Steve Davis (not the snooker player) announces he’s got the first act for Indystock

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New York, New York

With Antony and Katie off in New York filming the next part of the Wheatus documentary – you’d think that things would quieten down Invasion-wise.  But no, Team Indywood is currently trying to organise a fund raising event extravaganza.  Steve Davis (not the snooker player) is trying to get location, acts and miscellaneous details sorted out in Antony’s absence – with the hope that it can be arranged and staged for as cheap as possible whilst bringing in paying punters to help fund Indywood’s current project list (which seems to grow everytime I look).

So – if you have some land, an act or fancy being a representative for Indywood (especially if you have any experience organising events or security) then contact Steve on steve@indywoodfilms.co.uk or on twitter (@KENTindieFILM) or post a comment here or contact me (@JonnBlanchard) and i’ll make sure he get’s the info.

Cheers

Jonn

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Aftershocks

Some of the photos and footage from the Bulgaria shoot are going to be released this weekend to coincide with the next fundraising tweet-a-thon.  Follow @indywoodFILMS on twitter for more information and a chance to win props from the intro set.

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Summary

Tough one this.  The time in Bulgaria was …. interesting.  On the whole it was enjoyable.  If you’ve followed the blog then you’ll know there were some good and bad days and some even worse days.  We had issues with crew, environment, wildlife and plain bad luck.

But we pulled together and got some truly good footage and stills.  Tony had, at last count, about 3 nervous breakdowns, Katie stopped smiling at least twice (if you know Katie you know how amazing that is) and Steve somehow ended up with less hair.

The lead actor decided not to turn up, Tony switched the script around and gave us a strong female lead in Chloe.  Problems on location stopped us getting some vital internal shots, we pushed to get the external shots and re-planned to get the internals in the UK.

There were lots of other issues which were resolved, because this is independent film and with tight budgets come ingenious and last minute solutions.

It also meant we had a very small crew and were already one a person down.  This meant a bit of doubling (tripling etc, etc) of roles, we all ended up taking the camera at least once.  Jessie the costume designer had her stint on the behind the scenes camera and almost became an extra, Chloe wasn’t just our make-up artist but also became an awesome lead actress.  Katie got a stint as an extra as well as her role as behind the scenes documenter.  Steve will probably end up with a credit list all of his own as producer, continuity manager, stuntman, actor and location manager.

We got two huge stunts including an explosion and a jump, we got some reckless driving and we had a crazy director clinging to a moving trailer.  We got some great footage which, if you could all see it, would reassure the the existing producers and galvanise the fundraising operation.  Bits and pieces are being slowly released, expect more when the next series of tweetathons start up.

Bulgaria was amazing, a picturesque country with very nice people.  For all the problems I genuinely miss being there and miss my time working on the film.  I’m back to my normal work now – and my experiences make software development look very, very dull.  The film will begin in earnest later in the year, I suspect they won’t have the same issues as they did in Bulgaria – but will probably have a few others, I fully expect Tony and Steve to be more than capable of making a truly magical film and can’t wait to see the end result.

— Jonn

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Home

Back to reality.  I’m going to do a summary of the whole experience and throw in some photos, i’m just working it out in my head.  The time over there is a bit of a blur, although it felt like i’d been there much longer than the week I actually spent there.

It feels a bit strange doing my usual boring job now, I keep expecting Tony to pop up with a camera from behind the desk.  I’m missing Bulgaria a bit, it’s a genuinely beautiful country with very nice people.  I fully intend to take a holiday there with my kids sometime in the future.

 

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Last day in Bulgaria

Well, that’s it. We’ve got everything we can get out here in Bulgaria. Today we did a couple of small scenes to tie together some of the larger ones – nothing too strenuous.

It’s a very cold day and poor Chloe has to walk around with comparatively little on – so she was freezing for most of the day. We got the shots though so well done to her.

Just a little bit more to do in the uk and the intro is finished so we can turn an eye to the main film

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But sometimes, it goes very right …

A potentially frustrating day turned out to be pretty good. The extras arrived late and didn’t seem to understand that there’s a lot of waiting about when you’re filming. A car ran out of fuel at a bad time and a strong wind threatened the stunts. But two stunts were needed and two stunts were successfully achieved. The footage is awesome and the extras managed to not screw up the audio too badly

Special shout out to Steve Davis (not the snooker player) for an awesome car related stunt

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And sometimes there’s another …

Day did not start well, we have a rash of illness in the crew, including our leading lady. This delayed our start significantly. The materials we got to simulate fire wouldn’t work and when we did get them working the wind was too strong to safely use them as intended.

However, myself and Chloe did get to amuse ourselves with some off-road racing (strictly for the film you understand). Despite some technical problems this part of the day went startlingly well