ESPN’s X Games to use GoPro footage during live broadcasts

ESPN is never afraid to experiment with new technologies. Earlier this year, it used drones to capture footage of athletes as they performed during the winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. That recorded content, however, was limited to being used for replays or post-show highlights, if at all. But, over the past few months, ESPN has been working with GoPro to bring a new, real-time camera angle to its broadcast of this year’s summer X Games, scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas from June 4th to June 7th. For the first time ever, the sports network will be using video from GoPros in live broadcasts of the event, giving viewers at home a first-person look at the action while it happens.

ESPN began testing GoPro’s system, dubbed HeroCast, at the Aspen X Games back in January, but it felt that now was the right time to integrate it into its telecast. “We wanted to create [a system] where GoPro captured audio and video could be transmitted, from wherever it was put, to the production control room live and with high-quality,” says Rich Feinberg, ESPN’s vice president of production, about the partnership with GoPro. “It’s about putting the fan in the seat of the athletes.” Where exactly the cameras get positioned depends on the type of event — they could be on a competitor’s helmet, for example, as well as a bike, board, course or ramp.

“It’s about putting the fan in the seat of the athletes.”

Interestingly enough, GoPro says the cameras that will be part of these live broadcasts are simply modified versions of its Hero4 action shooter. Of course, the company’s no stranger to the field of extreme and mainstream sports. A few months ago, it signed a deal with the NHL and NHLPA to deliver real-time content during national and regional broadcasts of hockey games. In the case of the X Games, though, GoPro wants to make it clear that it is broadcasting, not streaming, the footage — and thus it relies on a more advanced wired setup.

According to an ESPN spokesperson, the network plans to look at the HeroCast as a tool in its growing arsenal of non-traditional broadcast mediums. While it can’t say specifically that it’ll use it for more events going forward, it certainly sees it as a proper fit for the X Games Austin. The first broadcast with the system will be for tonight’s Harley Davidson Flat Track Racing, which is set to begin at 8:30pm ET on, you guessed it, ESPN.

[Image credits: ESPN]

Filed under: Cameras, Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD

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Fizzics countertop ‘draught’ system makes bad beer good

I like, nay, love beer. But I’ll be honest, when I first heard about Fizzics and its promise to deliver the perfect pour of tap-quality beer from any can or bottle I dismissed it. It seems like the sort of silly snake oil you’d find in SkyMall or Sharper Image. But, I gave Philip Petracca, the CEO of the company the opportunity to convince me otherwise. He swung by the Engadget compound with a cooler full of beer and a pitch full of science. I’m convinced he’s not just some huckster, but whether or not Fizzics truly makes beer better is a different question.

So let’s start with how this thing works. The prototype Fizzics unit Philip demoed for us basically has three major parts: a pressurized chamber to hold the beer, a sound wave generator for creating foam and a microcontroller. You put your can, bottle or (in the production version) your growler in the chamber, insert the tube and seal it shut. Then you pull the handle forward to “tap” your beer. The chamber pressurizes and forces the beer through the tube and into your glass in an attempt to preserve as much carbonation as possible. The real unique feature of Fizzics, however, kicks in when you press the handle backwards. This triggers a sound wave generator that breaks up the bubbles of carbon dioxide in your beer, creating a dense head of foam with roughly uniformly sized bubbles.

The point here is that the head of the beer is incredibly important. Sure, it looks nice, but more importantly it contributes to mouthfeel and aroma. Petracca says the larger, less uniform bubbles in a hand-poured beer are interpreted by your brain as being “grainy,” where as the goal should be creamy. He could go on and on about how your trigeminal nerve is important to texture interpretation, or about how the esters released through creation of foam enhance aroma, or even how important LTP1 proteins derived from barely are in determining the quality of the head on a beer. But, honestly, none of this seemingly legitimate science matters if you can’t taste the difference.

We had a pretty sizable menu of beers to work through: a Coors, a Brooklyn Summer Ale, a Brooklyn Brown Ale, a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, a Southern Tier IPA and a Yuengling. Visually, it’s striking how much different a beer from Fizzics is from one you poured yourself. Sure, in a small tasting glass like the ones we used, it’s hard to develop of good head on a beer from a hand pour. But even taking that into account, the Fizzics produced a thicker, more uniform head that hung around a lot longer. And the bubbles clung to the side of the glass creating nice lacing. Even on something like the Coors, where the head dissipates almost instantly when poured from a can, it hung on for a solid minute.

There’s no denying the effect on the mouth feel. All of the beers felt thicker and creamier on the tongue. The effect is quite like having a pour of a beer on a nitro tap. Nitrogen, when used in place of carbon dioxide in a beer, produces finer bubbles and silky mouthfeel. A popular example would be Guinness. The one thing that a nitro pour will get you, that the Fizzics can’t seem to recreate, is the cascade of foam that makes a serving of a nitrogen beer so beautiful to look at.

How does this effect flavor? Well, the smoother mouthfeel and denser foam does tend to punch up aroma a bit. But it tends to favor the sweeter end of the spectrum. That Coors I mentioned before, all of a sudden I was detecting hints of orange on the nose. And the Yuengling became less of a lager and more like a cream ale. Now whether or not that’s a good thing depends on your personal taste and, to an extent, the beer your drinking. The Brooklyn Brown Ale is a good beer. Out of the Fizzics it was stunning. The generic sweetness gave way to big bursts of biscuit and Ovaltine-like malt powder that was backed up with a milkshake-like texture.

On the other end of the spectrum, that Southern Tier IPA, lost something in the transition. The complexity of the hop character is overwhelmed by pine and the enhanced sweetness. The effervescence that kept the beer from becoming to heavy and helped elevate some of the citrus notes disappeared. For maltier, sweeter brews it seems the Fizzics really can enhance some of the desirable qualities. But it wreaks havoc with things on the dryer end of the spectrum.

At the end of the day Fizzics can make bad beer good and some good beers better. But for $120 on Indiegogo or $200 (anticipated) when it hits retail, it’s a tough sell for some. Then again, if you’re the kind of person who owns a SodaStream, and happens to be a big fan of nitro beers, you might want to consider carving out counter space for a Fizzics.

Filed under: Household

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Want to write about Android daily? Talk Android is hiring!

Do you have an interest in everything related to Android? Do you find yourself spending a large portion of your day reading blogs and news sites? Start writing about Android yourself! We’re looking for responsible, talented, and driven writers to join our team at Talk Android.

Here’s the rundown:

• Must have previous experience writing for blogs, school newspapers, or something similar.
• Must be able to contribute news posts on a regular basis in addition to writing guides, reviews, or opinions.
• Must be proficient in the English language.
• We will accept writers from anywhere in the world, but we’re primarily looking for writers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Please let us know where you are located in your application.
• Experience with WordPress is a major plus but not required.
• Interested candidates should contact us with NEWS AUTHOR in the subject line. Please include your full name, a short bio of yourself and experience (or link to your resume), and we will contact you with further instructions.

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Could the Metearmor screen protector shake up a market full of plastic film?

At the Computex trade show this week a little company called Moxbii introduced the Metearmor, a screen protector just as good as tempered glass solutions, just it won’t shatter upon impact. This could be a game changer within the market of screen protectors.

Most glass screen protectors are excellent in that they prevent scratches on your screen, but they tend to shatter upon impact. Drop your device, and it’s time to get a new one. Made out of Glass-PET–a fusion of plastic and glass fibers–Moxbii’s Metearmor aims to remedy that problem.

The Metearmor is virtually shatter resistant. Not only that, but in testing, the screen protector can withstand 750 grams of force from a 9H pencil, CNET reports. What’s so thrilling about this is that is the standard for tempered glass solutions, but also three times better than plastic screen protectors. When you put that into perspective, that’s an extraordinary thought.

No more scratches on your screen–you don’t have to worry about change or your keys ruining your display anymore. But, there must be higher costs involved? Nope. Moxbii plans to sell each screen protector for $20 a pop, around the same price you can get the plastic film for at a brick-and-mortar store, although they’re generally cheaper online.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to rid your smartphones of risk just yet. Moxbii isn’t actually selling the protector yet, as they plan to launch a Kickstarter for it within the next month or so. Either way, I’d love to get my hands on one–ridding my smartphone of potential scratches and large cracks through the touchscreen is a dream come true.

Not only that, but from the sounds of it, the screen protector won’t have to be replaced upon impact every time either–that’s a lot of money saved right there. Would you pick one up?

source: CNET

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