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Samsung pairs Qualcomm and ARM DRM to get HD content on Galaxy Note Media Hub
Samsung's going to bring "premium HD video content" to Media Hub after pairing up Qualcomm's StudioAccess and ARM's TrustZone DRM systems. The first device that will benefit from the rollout is the Galaxy Note thanks to its enormous 1280 x 800 HD display. Owners of the large phone / small tablet hybrid will find HD content appearing alongside SD editions of your favorite movies and shows -- previously unavailable because of copyright concerns. There's PR after the break, but we'd suggest reading it only if you enjoy paragraph upon paragraph of executives praising DRM to the hilt.
Report: UK couch potatoes switch to HD in growing numbers
According to Ofcom's latest Communications Market Report, 24 million HDTV sets were sold in the UK over the past 12 months, meaning about 20 percent of the population took home a new box in the past year. Yet despite watching nearly four hours of "telly" a day in 2009, in first 3 months of 2010, nearly a third of all households with internet access used on-demand catch-up services like the BBC's iPlayer, which represents an 8 percent growth over the same period last year. This data isn't all that surprising though considering the how much HD content has been made available in the UK over the last few years through free options such as Freeview HD, or premium services like Sky HD or Virgin Media. It's also still far behind US HDTV penetration, which stood at 33 percent back in 2009 and saw 5.5 million HDTVs sold during the 2008 / 2009 holiday season alone. That fact shouldn't stop electronics manufacturers from diving Scrooge McDuck style into their newly acquired money bags, or prevent newly minted British HD households from marveling at how ugly Jeremy Clarkson is in 1080p.
Amazon Unbox content going HD on TiVo
We had a pretty good feeling this would go down eventually, but we certainly didn't see a confirmation (of sorts, anyway) coming this soon. Jim Denney, VP of product marketing at TiVo, has been quoted as saying that although the current version of Amazon Unbox can't process high-definition content, TiVo and Amazon will jointly announce HD capabilities "in the not too distant future." Granted, the content -- whenever it does actually arrive -- will only be accessible by "cable subscribers" with adequate bandwidth, but it's not like that's any sort of surprise. Sadly, details beyond what you've seen here were left out, but at least you can sleep soundly tonight knowing that high-def Unbox material is most certainly on the horizon. [Via Zatz Not Funny]
