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YouTube will live stream HD Olympics coverage to 64 territories in Asia, Africa
We've already heard about broadcast plans for the 2012 London Olympics in the US on NBC and UK from BBC, but what about other areas of the world? YouTube, which is partnering with NBC on streaming in the US, has also struck a deal with the International Olympic Committee to stream 2,200 hours on 10 live high definition feeds to viewers in 64 territories across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. That only extends to countries where the digital rights haven't already been snapped up, but it does mean that in many regions people will have access to a level of coverage that has never been available at all before on computers, phones and tablets. The English language commentated feeds will be available daily depending on the competition schedule, plus a 24-hour broadcast of the Olympic News Channel. YouTube has already made a name for itself as a sports broadcaster to worldwide markets with events like Indian Premier League Cricket and now with the Olympics it's taking another step forward. Check the press release after the break for the full list of countries as well as a video peek behind the scenes of producing such a large event.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, floating eco-resort and a G-POD
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. Next month, all eyes will be on London when the English capital hosts the Summer Olympics. In preparation, this week London officials unveiled an impressive new LED light installation on the Tower Bridge. The new lights, which cut the landmark's energy consumption by 40 percent, will be turned white to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (her 60th year as monarch). Speaking of London, we also took a look at the new 2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park. The maze-like underground pavilion is the first collaboration between Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and architects Herzog & de Meuron since they teamed up to produce the Bird's Nest at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion isn't the only subterranean architecture project we've been buzzing about this week. In fact, we were amazed to report that all of the apocalypse-proof condos in an underground converted nuclear missile silo in Kansas have been sold. The 1,820-square-foot units were purchased for an amazing $2 million apiece. If you prefer to spend your time (and money) above ground, may be suggest your very own solar-powered floating eco-resort? The aptly-named Solar Floating Resort sleeps six and it comes with an underwater observation room. And for the landlubber in search of a unique space to pass the time, feast your eyes on the spherical G-POD! The sleek, prefabricated structures are made of Norwegian spruce, and they'd be perfect for rooftops and gardens.
Virgin Media names the first 80 tube stations to get WiFi hotspots
Transport for London and Virgin Media have announced the first 80 London Underground stations that'll receive free WiFi in time for the Olympics. By the end of July, users will be able to surf from the train platform, ticket offices and escalators -- ideal for a few extra rush-hour injuries. The partnership will offer the internet free during the games season before switching to a pay-as-you-go model, with plans to swell the network to 120 by the end of the year. If you'd like to know if your morning commute is about to get some extra connectivity then head past the break for the full list.
NBC lays out 2012 London Olympics broadcast plan on TV, internet, apps and in 3D (video)
Love it or hate it, we're stuck with NBC as our Olympics broadcaster in the US, and the company recently laid out its full plans for the 2012 Olympics in London this summer. The good news first: NBCOlympics.com will live stream every single event (they'll even be on YouTube, and in the UK the BBC has its own plans) for the first time ever including streams of each of its channels, encompassing 3,500 total hours and the awarding of all 302 medals. The bad news is that if you're not a cable subscriber, many of those hours will not be available to you, and even if you are, you're looking at a (likely convoluted) authentication sign-in process. That's a little bit of pain, sure, but it should mean what we've been asking for -- the ability to watch all Olympics events as they happen, not tape delayed for prime time after viewing grainy bootleg streams over the internet. Also new for the internet are multiple streams for the same event, so for example, viewers can select a particular gymnastics apparatus or track and field event at will. On mobile devices, NBC also has plans for two different apps on phones and tablets, with one that brings live video streams and another with highlight clips. It didn't specify what platforms they would be available for, but we'd assume the usual suspects (iOS, Android) will be first up. On pay-TV cable, satellite and telco providers it's also providing dedicated channels for basketball and soccer, although it's up to your provider to pick them up. The same goes for the 242 planned hours of 3D coverage it's producing in partnership with Panasonic, which will unfortunately air on 24 hour tape delay, just like the HD broadcast was back in 2004 (we've got chips.... and salsa!). For the full breakdown of all 5,535 hours of coverage across NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo and everything else check out the press release after the break, plus an Olympics preview trailer. While there are some limits for cord cutters, sports fans with pay-TV should be ready to experience the best Olympics coverage ever with the ability to watch what we want, instead just what's on the TV schedule.
PSA: Samsung giving free Olympics tickets to early Galaxy S III buyers at London store, hopes you'll vault the queue
Are you a Londoner so taken with the Galaxy S III that you want to pre-order one before you've even held an in-store dummy unit? Samsung wants to give you a little something something for your eagerness: namely, Olympics tickets. The first 50 who pre-order the giant phone and pick it up at the Westfield Stratford City store on May 29th will get free passes to watch the home team run and leap its way towards a few medals. If you're hoping to claim the reward, though, be prepared to get into the kinds of lines that Samsung skewered in ads just a few months ago. Customers are being asked to show an hour ahead of the 6PM on-sale moment, and the limited slots for ticket winners could easily Samsung repeat its sale-driven Australian lineups in the northern hemisphere. There's no word yet on whether or not the promo will make the leap to Mobile Pin pop-up stores, but we wouldn't be surprised if Samsung spreads the perks around.
O2 UK offers Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy Y in Olympics versions, S Javelin sadly missing
Are you so enthused with the 2012 Olympics that special tablets and non-stop TV coverage won't fully scratch the itch? O2 UK is letting you flaunt your British competitive pride every time you check Twitter by selling Olympic editions of Samsung's Galaxy Note and Galaxy Y. Either comes with a choice to drape your Android gear in a Union Jack or the Team Great Britain logo. If cosmetic patriotism isn't enough, O2 is making it meaningful by contributing £1 from every sale to future athlete training along with giving a chance to win two tickets to attend the London games, a special event and even the training camp. The bundles are ready to go now, although we're slightly bummed that there isn't an extra-long S Pen to commemorate the javelin toss or pole vault.
The BBC's coverage promises to make you sick of the Olympics by the time it's done
How much Olympics is too much Olympics? The BBC aims to find out at this year's London 2012 games, by offering up "the most comprehensive coverage ever," a list that includes 2,500 hours of coverage via the broadcaster's site and up to 24 live HD streams. Live coverage will be offered up for every sport and each sport, athlete, venue and country will have its own page on the site. The BBC will also be providing a free mobile app, a mobile browser site and apps for connected TVs -- 3D and Super Hi-Vision coverage is a bonus. Check out an explanatory video about the new video player after the break, as well as some scheduling information in the source link below. And maybe think about a training regimen to get ready to watch this summer's games.
HTC chief Peter Chou to run Olympic torch relay, invade hostile territory
The Summer Olympics in London are quickly turning into mobile-themed games: along with Samsung's official role in handling mobile payments, HTC is now stepping up with its own, if modest, contribution to the athletic get-together. CEO Peter Chou will be one of the Olympic torchbearers and carry the flame on July 6th, three weeks before the opening ceremony in Stratford. Officials say the torch run is to honor Chou's contribution to the mobile industry and the benefit he represents to Taiwan, although we can imagine that Chou wouldn't mind crashing a Samsung party with a torch in one hand and a One X in the other. He may just want to steer clear of Samsung's Mobile Pin stores while he's at it.
Samsung and Visa pull the starting trigger on Olympic payment collaboration
Well, it's been no secret that Samsung was hoping to cash in on this summer's Olympic fever. In fact, we all but knew its latest and greatest smartphone was going to be the handset-maker's Olympic Games Phone. Today, however, the union has been made official via an announcement with Visa. Trialists and Athletes sponsored by the brands will have access to a special edition "showcase device" with Visa's payWave payment application onboard. The collaboration is, of course, a drive to push the penetration of contactless payments in both the UK and the world stage. Payments under £20 won't need a passcode, and users will also be able to check their balance and purchase history from the app. It's estimated there'll be about 140,000 contactless terminals in the country by the time the Olympic tanks roll in, so plenty of places to pick up that official merch for the family back home.
BBC Sport connected TV app launches on UK TiVos, brings BBC News along
As a part of the BBC's run up to this year's Olympics, it is bringing new approaches to broadcast technology in a number of ways including 3D, online streaming, multiple HD channels and now, connected TV apps. Today it's launching a BBC Sports app for connected TVs that bring in new interactive features via the BBC Red Button which will first appear on Virgin Media's TiVo platform, along with a port of its BBC News app. First up for the interactive treatment? F1 racing, starting with the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. In the app viewers can access live coverage of the race, highlights from previous races, and multifeed coverage of the race including in-car cameras and driver trackers. There's a video demo and press release embedded after the break (viewable in the UK only), and the Sports app is expected to hit more devices before the Olympics starts, although it's unclear which ones.
London 2012 Olympics to get live 3D coverage from Eurosport and Sky 3D
Didn't score a ticket to the 2012 Olympics in London this summer? If you're in the UK at least you can still catch the games live and in 3D, since even though the BBC is tape delaying its 3D coverage, there will be live action available on the dedicated Sky 3D channel from Eurosport. There's no word on what other carriers or regions may have access, but those two are promising over 100 hours of 3D action over the course of the games, with eight hours of live coverage alongside four hours of highlights. That's enough to cover events including the opening and closing ceremonies, men's 100m dash final, gymnastics, swimming, basketball and more. Also, Sky plans to open up the channel to all of its current HD subscribers during the Games instead of just the current 250,000 subscribers, so all you'll need to bring is a 3D-ready HDTV and glasses (maybe). There's a press release after the break with all the details currently available, and also Stephen Fry's introduction to the channel for no reason other than that it's Stephen Fry.
BBC Olympic coverage to include 24 live HD channels available on TVs, phones, PCs and tablets
The BBC has home field advantage for the 2012 Olympics, and it's revealing more details about how it plans to broadcast over 2,500 hours of live sports on 24 channels that viewers can watch pretty much anywhere. Director Roger Mosey indicates it started out as a way to watch all 24 streams on the BBC Sport website via PCs or mobile devices, but has been expanded to offer the streams through television operators as well. So far Sky and Freesat are confirmed in, while Freeview users can punch up two extra channels via the program guide or red button. On this side of the Atlantic, the most recent news is that NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) will be right alongside the broadcast NBC channel (which has its own streaming plans in combination with YouTube) with a "record" amount of Olympic coverage. It could air as many as 300 hours of content from London, as well as some of the Olympic Trials. Hit the source links below for more details, we'll probably be hearing much more before the Olympic Flame makes its way to the stadium July 27th.
Samsung partners with FeliCa for Japanese NFC solutions, unveils 2012 Olympics' mobile payment app with Visa
Across the globe today, Samsung is bringing a number of pushes to broaden NFC adoption. On the island of Japan, the company's sealed a partnership with FeliCa Networks to implement its NFC-Secure Application Module chips in its mobile devices. Notably, the solution is ensures compatibility between Japan's long established Osaifu-Keitai contactless payment services and the newer breed of NFC Types A and B which normally don't play nice together. The chips are touted has having "advanced security" to keep your funds in check, and are expect to hit "commercial deployment" set for 2013. Flying over to London, Samsung and Visa have unveiled the official NFC payment app for the 2012 Olympics, in their continued preparation for the event. Despite the unveil, the application (based on Visa's PayWave) will officially debut for display at Mobile World Congress next week. This comes nearly ten months after the duo announced their plans to further establish NFC-based payment options for London and the event itself. Hit up the two press releases after the break for the full details on the announcements.
2012 London Olympics Super Hi-Vision broadcast coming to select US, Japan, UK locations
While Super Hi-Vision isn't expected to bring its 7,680 x 4,320 resolution (16x more detail than your 1080p display, for those keeping count) home for several years, the NHK and BBC have confirmed it will be available for public screenings next year during the 2012 London Olympics. Screening dates have been arranged for three countries (Japan, UK, and US), and it appears domestic viewers will want to plan on visiting the Washington D.C. area next July / August to get a taste of the 33 megapixel video and 22.2 channel surround sound for themselves. Next year's Games have already put extensive 3D coverage on the schedule and NBC has promised every event will be available for viewing live as it happens for the first time, so there's plenty for everyone to look forward to. The only question now? Whether or not that silly false start rule can be changed so we don't face the prospect of a men's 100m dash final without Usain Bolt in it.
2012 London Olympics to feature 3D broadcasts from 10 venues?
There's no word from the official Olympics host broadcaster OBS, but equipment manufacturer EVS is already confirming the 2012 London Olympics will be covered in 3D. According to The Hollywood Reporter, at least 10 Olympic venues are on deck for 3D cameras with broadcasts for "a few of the main events" planned. In the UK the rights holder is the BBC who has already toyed with 3D broadcasts a bit, but it's hard to tell what that could mean here in the US. NBC has shown no inclination towards 3D itself, but it is owned by Comcast who has been more than willing to put special events produced by its (now part of NBC Sports) Versus channel in 3D from time to time. With the Olympic Games less than a year away we should hear more soon and, as the article remarks, have an idea how this might affect the sales of 3D-capable TVs around the world.
UK and French carriers working on cellular coverage for Channel Tunnel, aim to finish by 2012 Olympics
If you live in a technophile city like Taipei, you'll have been enjoying underground 4G for a long time now, but in London the rule is that you have to bid adieu to your mobile connectivity when diving into a tunnel. The city's Mayor has been active in encouraging (forcing?) the major British carriers to install the necessary equipment to provide coverage on the Tube, and now we're hearing that ambition has stretched beyond the nation's borders as well. The Daily Telegraph reports that Vodafone, O2, Everything Everywhere, and Three from the UK along with Orange, SFR and Bouygues from France have agreed to share the cost of putting together a £20 million ($30.8m) project for making cellular coverage possible while traveling through the 31.4-mile Channel Tunnel between the two countries. The goal is to get things up and running by the Olympics in 2012, though we've no indication as to what speeds those wireless data transfers will reach. Still, having some bars is better than none, right?
Digital 'Cloud' could form over London for the 2012 Olympics
No, we're not talking about "the cloud" where data goes to disappear and (hopefully) be retrieved again. We're talking about an actual (well, artificial) cloud that promises to be both a real structure and a massive digital display. That's the bright idea of a team of researchers from MIT, anyway, and it's now been shortlisted in a competition designed to find a new tourist attraction to be built in London for the 2012 Olympics. Dubbed simply "The Cloud," the structure would consist of two 400-foot tall mesh towers that are linked by a series of interconnected plastic bubbles, which would themselves house an observation deck inside and be used to display everything from Olympic scores and highlights to a "barometer of the city's interests and moods" outside (that latter bit comes courtesy of the group's partnership with Google). As if that wasn't enough, the whole thing also promises to be funded entirely by micro-payments from the public (which would also determine its final size), and be completely self-powered, with it relying on a combination of solar power and regenerative braking from the lifts in the towers. Video after the break.
2012 London Olympics to push broadcast 1080p?
Good decision London, you will never top the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, so why not try pushing them on resolution. That's the potential idea coming out of a recent roundtable discussion at Rapid News TV. Reps from Tektronix and Pace cited interest from their customers in 1080p-ready equipment and the potential for an IBC 1080p feed in 2012 as reasons to believe, while the Tandberg rep -- from the company that previously predicted the onslaught of 1080p VOD via satellite -- was more concerned about finding enough bandwidth. Hit the read link for the full discussion, while we ponder a world where NBC could actually get 1080i right before going to 1080p, or least show the 100m final live, somewhere.
