Researchers discover the hidden impact of solar panel shade
A group of environmental scientists and ecologists researching the impact of solar arrays on the environment have released a new study they believe will lead to smarter farming and land use around these alternative energy sources. According to the paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the microclimate around the bank of photovoltaic panels studied near Swindon in the UK changed by as much as 5 degrees Celsius, depending on the season. While this might seem like an obvious side effect of creating a big field of artificial shade, the researchers from Lancaster University and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology are concerned about the impact on the plants and soil underneath all those solar panels.
“With policies in dominant economies supporting solar energy,” Dr. Alona Armstrong, one of the paper’s authors, explained to Phys.org, “it is important that we understand the environmental impacts to ensure we get more than just low carbon energy from the land they occupy.” What the team found was that more than just creating shade, the panels were decreasing the species diversity and the biomass of the plants on the ground, which in turn was affecting how much carbon could be stored in the soil beneath the solar panels. If the soil around a solar array is storing less carbon than the array itself is meant to offset, the result is a less-than-optimal arrangement. In other words: to maximize the impact of a field of solar panels, a landowner should optimize the shady space beneath it.
While more work needs to be done to study these effects in other climates, Dr. Armstrong believes the research could inform practices like growing shade-loving crops in arid regions using runoff water collected from the panels themselves. Which is a much greener method than turning your solar array into a laser beam.
Scientists partially restore blind mice’s eyesight
A team of researchers in California gathered a few blind mice, not to see how they run, but to find a cure for their glaucoma-like condition. By the end of the experiment, the rodents regained part of their eyesight, making this the first time scientists restored “multiple key aspects of vision in mammals.” Glaucoma affects around 70 million people worldwide and currently has no cure. People afflicted with the illness have busted optic nerves — their retinal ganglion cells’ axons had been damaged or severed.
Ganglion cells, in a nutshell, process what we see and are responsible for transmitting images to the brain. You can then think of their axons, thin nerve cells that could be as long as six to eight inches, as wires connecting the eyes to the brain. The bad news is that those axons don’t regenerate in adult humans (and mice, apparently), so the team decided to find a way to grow them back.
They employed a couple of techniques to accomplish their goal. The first one is covering the mouse’s good eye and exposing its bad one to “high-contrast visual stimulation,” specifically of a constantly moving black-and-white grid. They also used chemicals to reactivate the mTOR pathway, molecular interactions that enhance growth, within the ganglion cells.
The techniques didn’t show much difference individually, but the scientists found that combining both of them led to the growth of a “substantial numbers of axons” after three weeks. When the mice were shown an image of an expanding circle (something they interpret as an approaching bird) with their good eye covered, they ran for shelter.
It’ll take a long time before we can restore people’s vision completely, though. The team said their subjects still failed tests that required “finer visual discrimination.” Some, for instance, stepped over a cliff the scientists made. They still need to find a way to regrow more axons in order to cure glaucoma in humans.
Source: Stanford
Underwater microscope offers a brand new look at sea life
Scientists have a hard time studying microscope sea life, and for good reason. Underwater scientific equipment can’t study things at that scale, and bringing samples up to the surface frequently deprives them of that all-important natural context. Enter UC San Diego: its researchers have crafted the Benthic Underwater Microscope, the first undersea microscope that can study “millimeter-scale” activity in its native habitat. It combines a water-friendly computer with an imaging system that revolves around both a high magnification lens and a flexible, tunable lens that can see shapes in 3D. Combined with an LED ring light and fluorescence imaging, the system shouldn’t be daunted by most water conditions or unusual specimens.
The technology is already paying dividends. Divers have already studied coral species fighting each other with chemicals, coral polyps hugging each other and algae invading in the midst of coral bleaching (when coral polyps eject as a result of hot ocean temperatures, leaving the coral vulnerable). And of course, there’s a ton of potential. Scientists already want to study particles above the coral to see how water flow keeps it alive, and it’s easy to see the microscope coming into play whenever lab studies just aren’t enough.
Source: UC San Diego, Nature
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Samsung’s $548 Million Settlement Appeal October 11
In March, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Samsung’s appeal of a lower court decision that ordered the Korean-based company to pay $548 million to Apple. The Supreme Court’s website was updated with its October 2016 term today, noting that the appeal hearing will take place on October 11, 2016. The hearing will be the first of the day.
Samsung plans to appeal what it believes are “excessive penalties” for allegedly “copying the patented designs of the iPhone.” Specifically, Samsung’s petition asks the court to hear two questions: the scope of a design patent and whether patent infringement damages should be based on profits for infringing components or total profits.
The Korean electronics maker has already paid Apple the $548 million settlement, but Samsung can get reimbursed should the Supreme Court reverse or modify the original judgment. Apple had urged the Supreme Court to deny the appeal as it felt Samsung was raising issues that did not “deserve review” in an effort to prolong proceedings.
Tags: Samsung, patent trials
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Get to know iOS 10’s new Control Center – CNET
In earlier versions of iOS, Control Center felt a bit cramped, taking up the majority of an iPhone’s screen in order to fit everything in. You could tap a button to toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and similar features on or off, or control music playback via media controls.
With iOS 10, however, there are now three different panels in Control Center, each one serving a different purpose.
The main panel
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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
You still access Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of your iOS device’s display. The first panel is where you now find shortcuts for Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb and Rotation Lock along the top row. A brightness slider, AirPlay and AirDrop controls make up the middle of the panel.
Night Shift has moved from a shortcut button along the bottom row to the middle, where it’s more prominently displayed.
The bottom row of icons is where you can find shortcuts for tasks such as turning on the iPhone’s flashlight, setting a timer, calculator and camera. Naturally, you can access and control various settings with a simple tap as you did previously.
Another new feature in iOS 10’s Control Center adds 3D Touch capabilities to Control Center; more specifically to the app shortcuts along the bottom. As covered in 21 hidden features of iOS 10 post, you can force touch on the app icons to open a list of shortcuts. For example, pressing on the flashlight button gives you three options for brightness settings. Similar functionality is found by pressing on the Timer, Calculator and Camera buttons.
Media panel
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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
When viewing the first panel, you can swipe to the left to access your media controls. Any time you’re playing music, streaming a podcast or playing videos this panel is what you can use to skip to the next song, adjust volume or AirPlay content to another device.
When playing music, you can tap on the album art to launch the appropriate music app. The same thing happens during playing a YouTube video or the like — tap on the top portion of the panel to go directly to the proper app or website.
Unfortunately there aren’t any hidden 3D Touch features on this panel just yet, but it’s still early in the iOS 10 public beta.
Home(Kit) panel
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Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
For those of you who use your iOS device to control various appliances and accessories throughout your home using Apple’s HomeKit platform, you can now quickly access and control items directly from Control Center.
Any HomeKit compatible products you’ve connected to your Apple ID will show up on the Home panel. Tapping on something such as lights will turn them on or off. Using 3D Touch, you can open an item to view more information, and adjust a light’s brightness, for example.
In the top-right corner is a button to view and easily toggle your HomeKit Scenes.
How Pokemon Go affects your phone’s battery life and data – CNET
Pokemon Go seems to be a huge battery hog. That’s not too surprising: Nintendo’s smash-hit mobile game fires up your phone’s GPS, graphics processor, cellular radio and camera, AND requires you to keep your screen nice and bright so you can see it outdoors…all at the same time.
But just how much battery does Pokemon Go really drain — and does it wolf down data too?
Let’s put it to the test!
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External battery packs are the way to Go.
Josh Miller/CNET
The test
In order to make sure we were doing the most apples-to-apples comparison possible, we needed to control for a whole lot of factors. For instance:
- Screen brightness (brighter = more battery drain)
- Cell strength (less = more battery drain as phone tries to boost signal)
- Background applications (we wanted to be sure we were measuring Pokemon Go, not other apps)
- Different smartphone processors (some are more efficient)
- Different battery sizes
To start, we decided to do all our testing with a single phone: Rebecca’s Apple iPhone 6S.
We turned off the auto brightness setting, set brightness to roughly 80 percent, disabled all our background apps and made sure we walked the exact same route around San Francisco each time to control for cellular strength — a route that, coincidentally, loops around Google’s San Francisco offices.
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The route we took
Google Maps
Then we did the route twice more: one run where we browsed Facebook instead of playing Pokemon Go, and one where we simply listened to Spotify with the phone in a pocket. After all, what we really want to know is how Pokemon Go compares with other apps, no? Lastly, we listened to Spotify while playing Pokemon Go to see if there might be a compound effect.
Each run took 30 minutes, and we recharged the phone to 100 percent battery between each run.
The result
On the iPhone, Pokemon Go is definitely a battery hog — but not a data one. We generally saw under 10MB of data use for a half-hour of play. That’s less per hour than I spend on Gmail, to say nothing of streaming video.
The battery results were pretty bad news, though:
- Pokemon Go = 15 percent battery usage for 30 minutes of play
- Facebook = 5 percent battery for 30 minutes
- Spotify (offline playback) = 0 percent for 30 minutes
- Pokemon Go and Spotify together = 17 percent battery use for 30 minutes
At that rate, you can expect an iPhone 6S to die in under 7 hours of Pokemon Go — but that’s assuming Pokemon is the only app running on your phone! Anecdotally, one of our staffers burned through 45 percent of an iPhone 6S’s battery in 30 minutes on a different, uncontrolled run, and my personal Galaxy S7 no longer lasts a full work day if I play any Pokemon at all.
Now that you know that your Pokemon addiction might drain your battery, what can you do about it? For starts, there’s the game’s built-in battery saver mode.
You might also check out our roundup of five phones with the best battery life, or invest in a battery case or external battery pack for your phone.
2017 Ford Escape review – Roadshow
The Good With available Sync 3, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and a superior suite of driver aid features, 2017 Ford Escape blows the competition away where tech is concerned. The new, smaller 1.5-liter Ecoboost engine’s performance is on par with much larger engines from the competition. For 2017, the Escape gains Sync Connect — a 4G/LTE data connection that allows remote features and monitoring.
The Bad The awkward cabin design sinks the touchscreen deep into the dashboard, where it’s hard to reach and see. The 1.5-liter turbocharged engine offers no significant power or economy advantages over the competition’s naturally aspirated 2.5 liters.
The Bottom Line The new engine option is a nice evolution, but only adds a small improvement to the already excellent 2017 Ford Escape. However, seemingly smaller tech changes, like the addition of Sync Connect, Android Auto, CarPlay and a few driver aid features, make a much larger impact.
Major changes to chassis and sheet metal used to signal a new generation of a particular model, but Ford’s 2017 Escape feels like a whole new car with just engine and tech changes. Much of its structure carries over from the previous model year, but redesigns for grille and interior, engine upgrades, driver assistance systems and new connected technology adds up to more than a simple refreshed model.
Let’s start in the engine bay. Last year’s base 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine and the 2.0-liter turbocharged Ecoboost engines persist. The larger engine is good for 168 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque. The 2.0-liter turbo gets a 5 horsepower boost, to 275, and a 5 pound-feet torque boost, to 245. Those are pretty big numbers for a small SUV, and something to consider if you frequently fill all the seats, carry cargo and pull a trailer.
Pint-size power: New 1.5-L Ecoboost engine
In the middle is the new 1.5-liter Ecoboost option: a tiny, turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission in either front-wheel drive or on-demand all-wheel drive configurations. Even for a small SUV, that’s a pint-size power plant, but with 179 boosted horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque, it’s just a tad more powerful than Ford’s and the Toyota RAV-4’s 2.5-liter engines.
Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow
You’d think that downsizing the engine would net fuel efficiency gains; and it does…sort of. At 24 combined mpg (22 mpg city, 28 mpg highway) for the all-wheel drive example that I tested, sure, the 1.5-liter Ecoboost the most efficient Escape model in Ford’s the lineup, but only just barely. Mazda’s CX-5, the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V all best it across the board with their naturally-aspirated, 2.5-liter, AWD configurations.
In its favor, the smaller Ecoboost engine is a pretty good powertrain, delivering decent performance around town and on the highway. It’s amazing how, after a few miles behind the wheel, the novelty of the small engine wore off quickly and I was able to just appreciate its solid, lag-free power delivery.
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To help save fuel, Ford implements idle-stop on the new Escape, which shuts down the engine at stop lights. When editor Wayne Cunningham tested the Escape earlier this year, his highest praise for this feature was that he didn’t even register it happening, as the car quietly brought the engine back to life when he lifted a foot from the brake.
Light off-road testing
During an extended, light off-roading session at California’s Hollister State Vehicular Recreation Area, I was also able to appreciate the engine’s ability to smoothly deliver consistent torque and the all-wheel drive system’s eagerness to shuffle power from front to rear to pull the Escape over rough terrain and up some genuinely steep inclines lined with loose sand.
Antuan Goodwin/Roadshow
The 7.8-inch ground clearance kept me from scraping the undercarriage over larger bumps, and the independent suspension did a fairly good job handing basic off-road duties; however, the Escape never really felt at home. My SE model’s $1,295 Sport Appearance package 19-inch wheels and street-oriented tires probably didn’t help much in the dirt.
A sport mode for the transmission and paddle shifter helped with on-road performance, allowing me to bypass some of the six-speed automatic transmission’s tendency to find itself in too tall a gear, but ultimately this is neither a sports car or a true off-roader, so I found myself grateful and impressed by the Escape’s modest abilities in either of these areas.
Sync 3 with CarPlay, Android Auto
My example also came equipped with a SE Technology Package, a $1,395 suite that bundles in Ford’s new Sync 3 infotainment system with apps, along with some rudimentary safety tech.
Sync 3 is a pretty good get for the Escape. I’d say it’s a must-have option that’s streets ahead of the old MyFord Touch setup. The built-in interface is quick to respond to inputs, like typing an address without stopping between each letter press, and the visuals are crisply rendered. The onboard navigation (a $795 option on top of Sync 3) also works well with features like traffic data and voice commands that don’t suck.
Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review
Buy now from Amazon
Xiaomi is all over the place in the technology world. The Chinese company first came to the scene with its MIUI firmware back in 2010, and has since moved on to creating its own Android smartphones, televisions, tablets, and so much more.
One of the most interesting products the company has in its lineup is the Mi Band. Announced in August 2014, Xiaomi’s first Mi Band wearable aimed to bring basic activity tracking to the masses thanks to its seriously low $13 price point. Now Xiaomi is back with a new, more expensive fitness tracker – the Mi Band 2.
With an OLED display and a new design, does the Mi Band 2 have what it takes to make its way to your wrist? Let’s find out.
Here is our full Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review.
Review notes: I’ve been using the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 as my main fitness tracker for 20 days. The HTC 10 has been my smartphone companion of choice for the duration of this review.
Design
Aside from the strap, the Mi Band 2 doesn’t really look anything like the original Mi Band. It still comes in the form of a dongle that fits snugly into a silicone strap, and it’s thin and light enough that you’ll forget you’re wearing it most of the day. One of my biggest problems with the first Mi Band is that it feels cheap. I mean, I know it is cheap at only $13, but the silicone strap was too plasticky for my liking. The Mi Band 2’s strap is much more rubbery and soft this time around, which I really like.
The OLED display is nice… indoors
I won’t talk too much about price just yet, but you should know that the Mi Band 2 is a bit pricier than its predecessor. It retails for around $40-$50 here in the US. Why the bump up in price? Xiaomi decided to include an OLED display this time around, which I must say is very nice most of the time. Indoor visibility is just great, but it’s pretty tough to read outdoors in the sun. In fact, trying to check the time on a run just isn’t possible at times, but I suppose having a display is better than not having one.
Xiaomi says the .42-inch display is also UV coated, scratch resistant and anti-fingerprint. I haven’t gotten any scratches on mine, but fingerprints do show up quite a bit. The display can get very smudgy and greasy.
Underneath the display sits a snazzy capacitive button that lets you filter through the current time, steps, distance, calories heart rate and battery. You can also check the time by simply lifting your wrist, though I’ve found this feature to be more laggy than what other fitness bands offer. Sometimes the time delays for about 2 seconds before showing up. This definitely won’t make or break your experience with the device, but it’s still something worth noting.
Xiaomi also says there will be more colorful band options available at a later date, but as of writing this review we’re not sure when the bands will launch.
The Mi Band 2 also comes with an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. This means you can wash your hands without taking it off, but you shouldn’t go swimming with it.
Features and performance
The Mi Band 2 does everything you’d expect from an entry-level fitness tracker. It tracks your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and your sleep. And for the most part, it’s very good at tracking all four of those metrics.
I’ve taken the Mi Band 2 out on a few runs with the Fitbit Charge HR and Garmin vívosmart HR, and all three devices have given me similar results. In terms of step tracking, the Mi Band 2 recorded 7,055 steps taken on a run, while the Charge HR recorded 7,058. During a second workout, the Mi Band 2 recorded 5,022 steps, while the vívosmart HR recorded 5,018. Basically, if you care about step tracking and you’re looking for an inexpensive alternative to other fitness bands, the Mi Band 2 will definitely do the trick.
See also: Fitbit Charge HR vs Garmin vívosmart HR8
The device will automatically record your workouts in the Mi Fit app, which is quite convenient. It can sometimes take a minute or two to recognize when you’ve started exercising, but it still should be accurate enough for most people.
Sleep tracking is one of this device’s strongest features
There’s much more to an activity tracker than step tracking, though. The Mi Band 2 will also record your light and deep sleep, and it does a pretty good job at both. It will automatically detect when you go to sleep, so there’s no need to open the app and press a sleep now button. Once you wake up, you can check all your sleep stats in the Mi Fit app. You’ll be able to see how much light and deep sleep you experienced, how many minutes you were awake, as well as the exact times you fell asleep and woke up.
The Mi Band 2 also supports silent alarms, so you can wake up with a subtle vibration if you aren’t a fan of noisy alarm clocks.
The optical heart rate monitor is one of the Mi Band 2’s most problematic features
One of the Mi Band 2’s headlining features is its optical heart rate monitor. This is one of the most problematic features on the device – not only because readings can be far off at times, but also because it often fails to record my heart rate when I’d like it to.
To test heart rate accuracy, I’ve been comparing the Mi Band 2 with the Wahoo TICKR X heart rate monitor. Most of the time the Mi Band 2’s heart rate readings are spot on with the TICKR X, though I have noticed the Xiaomi device will sometimes be off by 15bpm or so.
You should stay away from this device if you need to keep tabs on your heart rate during a workout. The heart rate monitor isn’t continuous, and you have to stay really still in order for the device to take its readings. You can always stop running to check your heart rate, but that’s not the most convenient method for many athletes out there.
Don’t buy the Mi Band 2 if you need a reliable heart rate monitor
I need to emphasize something here. The Mi Band 2 needs to be very still if you want to check your heart rate. Like, the device struggles to take readings even when I’m sitting still at my desk. I’ve never experienced a fitness tracker that fails so often at this. On the plus side, though, its display allows you to fire up the heart rate monitor much quicker than you could with the Mi Band Pulse.
One of my favorite things about the Mi Band 2 is the Idle Alert feature. The device will give you a short vibration if you’re inactive for one hour, and you can customize what times of day this feature is turned on. I sit at a desk all day, so anything that reminds me to get up and move every once in awhile is definitely a plus.
One other neat trick it offers is notification support. Well, you won’t get full notification support here, but the device will buzz your wrist when you have an incoming text or phone call. It works most of the time, but not always. I’m not sure if this is due to a spotty Bluetooth connection or if it’s just a bug that needs fixing, but either way you shouldn’t rely on the Mi Band 2 to alert you of notifications every time.
Don’t miss: Samsung Gear Fit 2 review10
Xiaomi says the Mi Band 2 can last up to 20 days on a single charge, and that’s exactly what I’ve been able to achieve. Throughout the review period, I’ve gone on walks and runs about 4 times per week, checking my heart rate and scrolling through my daily stats multiple times per day.
It’s pretty easy to charge the Mi Band 2, as well. Just remove the dongle from the band, plug it into the proprietary charger, then hook it up to a computer.
| Display | .42-inch OLED display |
| Heart rate monitor | Yes, optical heart rate sensor |
| Sleep tracking | Yes |
| Water resistance | IP67 |
| GPS | No |
| Battery life | Up to 20 days 70mAh, lithium polymer |
| Compatibility | Android, iOS |
| Weight | 7g |
Software
Xiaomi’s Mi Fit companion app is sort of a mixed bag. I like some parts of it, while I can’t stand others.
Let’s start with the positives. Mi Fit is a beautiful app that displays your daily activity, sleep, weight loss, heart rate and goals on the main screen. Tapping on any one of these sections gives you more detailed information about that particular metric.
From here you’ll be able to access daily, weekly and monthly graphs showing your progress overtime. You can do this with your daily activity and sleep metrics, but for some reason the heart rate section only shows a list of readings in reverse chronological order. It doesn’t really make sense to look at your heart rate readings this way. Most people measure their heart rate to see how they’ve improved over time, but you just can’t do that with the Mi Fit app.
One other positive: Mi Fit can connect with Google Fit, WeChat and even Sina Weibo, so you’ll be able to access your results in your favorite apps if need be.
Unfortunately the list of negatives outweighs the positives here. This might not be a huge concern to most people, but I found the layout of the app just horrible. The interface is separated into three main sections: Status, Play and Profile. Status is basically your home screen, where you’ll find your daily activity. The oddly-named Play screen is where you’ll change notification options, set alarms and Idle Alerts, and also connect to third-party apps. In the profile section, you can change your activity and weight goal, connect with friends, and also access a settings menu (which pretty much only lets you change units and submit feedback).
I don’t know if it’s the Play section’s name that throws me off, or if it’s the lack of settings in the settings menu, but I still find myself, after 20 days of using this dang app, getting lost and scouring through to try and find what I’m looking for.
One of the things I like most about Fitbit’s companion app is that it makes it really easy to connect with friends and check out their progress. This isn’t the case with Mi Fit. You actually have to scan a QR code to become someone’s friend on Mi Fit. I really don’t think people are going to use this feature.
Oh, one last thing – the Mi Fit app force closes just about every other time I use it. I’ve used it on both my HTC 10 and Nexus 6P, and I couldn’t get it to stay open on either device.
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Should you buy it?
Buy now from Amazon
The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is one of the better entry-level fitness trackers in the sub-$50 price range. It’s only $40, and it can track your daily activity and sleep without a hitch. It also looks really nice and has great battery life.
The problem is, most of the other features Xiaomi included in this tracker just don’t work very well. The heart rate monitor only works when you’re completely still, the display is hard to read outside, and the Mi Fit app needs a lot of work.
You shouldn’t buy the Mi Band 2 if you’re a serious athlete or if you need something with an accurate heart rate monitor. But if you only have $40 or $50 to spend and want something that can keep tabs on your daily activity, this device might be the perfect thing for you.
Related reviews:
- Fitbit Charge HR review
- Fitbit Alta review
- Withings Go hands-on
This Pokémon NO Chrome extension will catch ’em all (and kill them)
Pokémon is everywhere. Here’s how to put a stop to it.
So all the cool kids are playing this Pokémon Go thing. It’s likely the most successful launch of any mobile game in the history of mankind, and it’s infected lovingly found it’s way into a bazillion websites on the internet. I get it. Popular is popular, and the people enjoying the game like to read about it and discuss everything. That’s what the internet was made for. After porn.
But some of us need to take a break from Pokémon. It’s not the little monsters’ fault, it’s us. We just need some time apart. That’s where the Pokémon NO Chrome extension comes in.
Install it on your Chromebook or in the Chrome browser on any other computer. Click OK. Say goodbye to Pokémon. Thanks, developer.
Download: Pokémon NO (Chrome only)
NBC lays out its streaming plans for Rio 2016
NBC dropped a few more details on its streaming plans for the Summer Olympics, but it’s important to first note what won’t be streaming live: the Opening Ceremony. The broadcaster revealed that both TV and online will be on one hour broadcast delay (more on the west coast), and justified the decision by saying it wouldn’t need to cut any countries out of the intro to fit commercials. As far as the actual sports, they will all be ready for viewing live, on TV or online. If you don’t have cable TV you can expect 30 minutes of streaming access on your first visit before being prompted to login, and after that five minutes without logging in (maybe try clearing those cookies).
Every second of sports is supposed to be streamed, either as it’s broadcast on any of NBC’s channels (including the NBC one and, for the first time, the primetime recap show.) With the streams, viewers can tune into any of the gymnastics apparatus, track & field events, or tennis courts. All streaming with commentary will be closed captioned, another first, and all the event streams will have data overlays for desktops, phones and tablets. Of course, there will also be video on-demand and highlights (no word on any delay before they’re available) available online.
There are also some shows made just for streaming, including the NFL Red Zone Channel-like Gold Zone stream that jumps around to show the most exciting live action as it happens, wherever it happens. There’s a digital news desk that will update with highlights, the Daily Dismount that recaps gymnastics action and Ever Wonder focusing on non-sports related curiosities of the Games.
2016 is also the first Games NBC will stream to connected TV platforms, including Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, and Win10, with more to be announced later. Beyond the NBC Sports app with all the streaming, there’s a new NBC Olympics: Rio News & Results app for iOS and Android. Constantly updated with scores, highlights and info it’s intended as a second-screen app for viewers. We don’t have any new info about the VR or Ultra HD broadcast plans for Rio 2016 just yet, but keep an eye out, we’ll probably have more info to share as the Games draw closed.
Source: Philly.com, NBC Sports
AIVAnet 