Cisco says it can cut live pirate video streams
It’s relatively easy for content providers to take down pirated videos when they’re uploaded to the web, but stopping live streams is another matter. Just ask anyone who has watched a bootleg stream for a pay-per-view boxing match or the Super Bowl — new streams usually pop up faster than the copyright holders can take them down. The party might soon be over, however. Cisco has created a new technology, Streaming Piracy Prevention, that promises to automatically cut off illegal live feeds.
The approach uses a forensic watermark to identify the sessions and subscriptions being used to leak the video (say, an HBO or UFC account), and shuts down those sources in real time. Companies wouldn’t have to send legal warnings and hope that offending streams go down before the event is over. They could take action as soon as they get wind of a feed, without any go-betweens slowing things down.
While clever, Cisco’s technique might raise concerns even if you have no qualms paying to watch big sporting events. Just because a company can circumvent the usual notice-and-takedown routine doesn’t mean that it should. What happens if there’s an error, or local laws require notices? While the likelihood of a mistake isn’t high, it’s possible that copyright holders could create trouble while clamping down on unofficial streams.
Via: TorrentFreak, Consumerist
Source: Cisco Blogs
NBA will livestream weekly games in VR this season
As far as professional sports leagues go, the NBA may be the most tech-forward of the bunch. Last year, for example, it teamed up with NextVR to stream the first game of its 2015-2016 season in virtual reality. Today, both parties are taking that partnership one step further. The NBA and NextVR have announced that, starting this season (which tips off October 25th), they will be livestreaming one game per week to Gear VR headsets. It is the first deal of its kind, according to NextVR, something that bodes well for virtual reality as an entertainment medium.
There is one caveat, however: You’ll need a $200 yearly subscription to NBA League Pass, a streaming service that lets you watch live and on-demand games on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and the web. You can now add Samsung’s VR headsets to that list. Similar to when the league worked with NextVR last season, the live action in the upcoming VR streams is limited to a 180-degree field of view, though there will be some 360-degree content, NextVR tells Engadget.
For Laguna Beach-based NextVR, this is a huge step in its goal to make virtual reality mainstream. Most recently, the company also worked with Live Nation to stream concerts in VR to fans all over the world. Danny Keens, VP of Content and Partnerships at NextVR, says that the multi-year partnership with the NBA is only the beginning, noting that his team is in active conversations with “many of the world’s top sports leagues” to create similar experiences.
While the plan right now is to only stream one game every week in VR, Keens says that the idea is to produce more games weekly as the partnership matures. Of course, there is the question of “do NBA fans really want or need this?” After all, as a basketball fan myself, I’m perfectly fine watching hoops the way I do now, sitting on the couch across from my 65-inch high-definition TV. And, when the San Antonio Spurs come to New York City, I’d rather be at Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center.
Keens says one of the most important things was to make sure fans have easy access to important features and information as they’re watching a game in VR. That includes live commentary, score, real-time stats, shot-clock and surround sound, similar to what you get with more traditional platforms.”We’re not talking incremental change,” he adds about watching NBA content in virtual reality. “It’s more a transformational change.”
The NBA, for its part, seems to be excited about what virtual reality can offer its fans. Just last month, the league released a VR documentary based on the 2016 NBA Finals, a 360-degree film that’s free to download on Gear VR. The NBA has been exploring virtual reality for several years now,” says Jeff Marsilio, NBA Vice President of Global Media Distribution. “And while we’ve learned a lot from our experiments with live VR so far, we felt we needed to make a bigger commitment to really drive innovation forward.”
If you want to give it a try before spending $200 on League Pass, the NBA will be offering a trial on October 27th, during the game between Spurs and Kings. All you’ll need is a Gear VR headset with a compatible smartphone.
Bill Belichick is through with the NFL’s Surface tablets
You’d think Patriots coach Bill Belichick is feeling over the moon right now. After all, his golden boy Tom Brady is finally back from a four-game suspension, handed to him by the NFL for his role in a cheating scheme now widely known as “Deflategate.” But no, Belichick isn’t happy. Instead, the Super Bowl-winning coach is lashing out at tablets. And while he doesn’t mention Microsoft’s Surface by name, that’s the device the league pays $80 million dollars a year for teams to use on the sidelines. It’s also the one he just smashed in a game against the Bills earlier this month.
“As you probably noticed, I’m done with the tablets,” Belichick said at a press conference today, in response to a question about issues he had with the tech during the Patriots’ latest game. “I’ve given them as much time as I can give them. They’re just too undependable for me,” he added. “I’m going to stick with pictures as several of our other coaches do as well because there just isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the tablets.
Belichick says he “just can’t take it anymore,” noting that he’s going back to relying on printed images to view and analyze plays. “It’s a personal decision. “I’ll use the paper pictures from here on because I’ve given it my best shot,” he added. “I’ve tried to work through the process but it just doesn’t work for me and that’s because there’s no consistency to it.”
The NFL gave us the following statement: “Microsoft is an integral, strategic partner of the NFL and implementing their technology on our sidelines has increased the efficiency and speed of collaboration between coaches and players to an all-time high. Within our complex environment, many factors can affect the performance of a particular technology either related to or outside of our partner’s solutions. We continue to work with all of our partners to ensure the best systems are in place to most effectively assist the clubs in the execution of their game plan.”
As for Microsoft, the company told Engadget that it respects Belichick’s decision, but naturally doesn’t agree with his comments about the Sideline Viewing System not being reliable. Unfortunately, the fact is there’s plenty of proof to suggest otherwise.
Here’s the full statement from Microsoft: “We respect coach Belichick’s decision, but stand behind the reliability of Surface. We continue to receive positive feedback on having Surface devices on the sidelines from coaches, players and team personnel across the league. In the instances where sideline issues are reported in NFL games, we work closely with the NFL to quickly address and resolve.”
Here’s Belichick’s full answer as to why he hates the tablets. Lasted five minutes and 25 seconds. pic.twitter.com/wcSqebtQRu
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) October 18, 2016
Source: Patriots
Cleveland pitcher leaves playoff game due to drone injury
I’m not sure if “drone” has appeared on a major league injury report before, but one of the flying machines has had an impact on an MLB ALCS playoff game. No one was injured by a drone at the ballpark, but Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer cut his throwing hand on Friday and required stitches ahead of a scheduled start in game two of the team’s series against Toronto. He healed enough to start tonight in game three, but the cut re-opened during the first inning and he had to leave early.
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The drone that hurt Bauer’s hand was apparently a model he was building himself, and when he plugged in the battery only one rotor spun, causing the injury. USA Today reports he’s had issues with UAVs before, as the team banned him from flying over the practice facility, and he got one stuck in a tree in Kansas City. I hope Bauer’s passion for the hobby isn’t dulled by this event, but as a person who also needs their hands to work, maybe I can suggest the fully-enclosed Passport drone for next time?
Source: MLB (Twitter), MLB.com
Twitter picks horse racing for its first global sports stream
Twitter has made a big deal out of streaming sports in the US, but anywhere else? Not so much, unless you count a Wimbledon experience that avoided showing the live games themselves. However, that’s changing today. The social network has unveiled a deal with the Victoria Racing Club to livestream Australia’s Melbourne Cup worldwide — its first streaming partnership beyond the US. You can watch the horse racing on Twitter’s website or its official apps. You may need to set an alarm if you live on the other side of the planet, though, as the pre-event coverage kicks off November 1st at 2:30PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (11:30PM Eastern in the Americas).
It’s a modest start to Twitter’s international livestreaming deals (the core race broadcast lasts for an hour), but an important one. Twitter is both trying to define itself and court potential buyers, and becoming a go-to destination for live sports events could help achieve both ends. The challenge will be to score these deals on a frequent-enough basis that your instinct is to go to Twitter first.
Source: Twitter Blog, Flemington
Comcast set-top boxes now offer detailed stats for more sports
Did you like the abundance of stats while watching the Rio Olympics on Comcast? If so, you’re in for a treat from now on. Comcast is rolling out those same on-screen stats for every sport its X1 set-top box app covers. If you want to see where a basketball team has taken most of its shots, or want to know how well your favorite hockey player is doing, the info is just a short hop away. Finding that data should be easier, too.
As part of the upgrade, Comcast is expanding its voice commands to include sports. You can ask for stats on your favorite team, or compare two star players to see which one is faring best this season. Just don’t expect to bark orders right away. Voice support is coming to football in the “coming weeks,” and it’ll reach both basketball and hockey sometime later this year.
Source: Comcast
NFL could fine its own teams for social media posts
Sports reputation as being DVR-proof has led some leagues to try and tightly control how and where their highlights show up online. While the NBA is relatively loose about allowing its clips on YouTube or Twitter, the NFL has gone after websites for posting video or GIFs before, and the Olympics banned outlets from posting GIFs this summer. Now, a leaked memo obtained by TheMMQB and Mashable reveals how the NFL can go after its own teams for posts by their social media accounts. Now, teams can be fined for exceeding the limits on video and any moving content (read: GIFs) posted during the 60 minutes before a game or during the game.
As noted by Pro Football Talk, these new rules actually loosen restrictions that had existed on using video from games, and recorded at the stadium on gameday. But the penalties put in place mean that for a first-time violation, a team could be fined $25,000 for an offending post, which ramps up to $50,000 the second time, and $100,000 plus the loss of rights to post league content for a third strike.
Mashable revealed that banned behavior includes tweeting video during the restricted time period, other than resharing video from official league accounts. While the ban on gametime GIFs (even for content that’s not from the game itself) could be reviewed going forward, it seems likely that your preferred team’s social media account will become a lot less personal while the game is happening. The big question however, is whether the NFL just wants more control over valuable game video and reach when the most people are paying attention, or if it’s worried about ratings that, through the first quarter of the season, have noticeable declined?
Source: TheMMQB, Mashable, Pro Football Talk
In ‘Madden 17’ the LA Coliseum has one tiny problem
A legacy fan of the Madden sports game franchise made a disturbing discovery: In its latest version, Madden NFL 17, the evening sun is in the east, the absolute wrong side for it to set anywhere on planet Earth. It only happens during games set in Los Angeles at the Memorial Coliseum, which is the Rams’ home stadium once again. Thus, the case is either an isolated aberration or a sly dig at how upside-down crazy it is that the team came back to Southern California after leaving it for St. Louis, Missouri 21 years ago.
Only a dedicated fan familiar with where the Los Angeles stadium is situated in the real world could tell that the sun is on the wrong side of the sky. But since the game’s interactive tutorial sets the player up in the Coliseum to learn the ropes, every player paying that close of attention could notice. The error could be due to the game’s development team rushing to re-situate the Rams back in LA after they filed to relocate in early January 2016. Yet the tipster also provided Kotaku with screenshots suggesting that the sun could be misplaced in the Cowboys’ and Chiefs’ stadiums, too.
What will Madden’s studio EA do about it? Probably nothing. The issue doesn’t affect gameplay, only the reputation for a series with such attention to detail that it animates trash talk. A spokesperson confirmed to Kotaku that they will fix it in next year’s edition of the franchise, but implied it wasn’t really a priority to address:
“It’s a testament to our fans that they know everything about their favorite teams, including where the sun sets in their stadium,” an EA spoksperson told Kotaku. “Our art team is investigating the issue, and working on correcting it for future editions of Madden NFL. In the meantime, we hope players enjoy this sneak peek into what the world might look like if the Earth rotated in the opposite direction.”
Source: Kotaku
Zepp’s latest sports training sensor is for soccer players
Zepp started making training sensors for baseball, softball, golf and tennis in 2013. Now, with a few years of experience under its belt, the startup is ready to break into the world’s most popular sport, soccer (aka football). Today, Zepp announced a new sensor that lets soccer players track valuable stats from the pitch, such as distance covered, total number of ball kicks and how much time they ran, sprinted or walked throughout a game.
The small wearable device, which pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth, fits inside a leg sleeve that’s part of the retail bundle. In fact, there are two sleeves included in the box, one small-medium size and a medium-large. Unlike its other sensors, Zepp says the Play Soccer version isn’t about the company helping you train with video tutorials or tips from professional athletes. Instead, you’re supposed to use the raw data from the sensor to determine what specific skills you need to improve — all on your own.
To make the experience more complete, the Zepp Play Soccer app (iOS and Android) has a “Team Game” mode that lets multiple sensors connect to the same activity. Here, individuals can look at each other’s stats, have leaderboards and, with help from someone outside the field, keep a score between teams. Zepp says this feature is also good for parents who can’t make it to their kid’s game, as it allows them to get real-time updates.
Once you get sent a link to view the event, for example, you can read who took a shot or scored a goal only seconds after it happened. And that worked as advertised during our demo. Additionally, Zepp’s application lets you record video of the player wearing the sensor, and uses whatever footage you capture to create a highlight reel based on data collected during a game or training session.
As a soccer player myself, the main concern is whether Zepp’s Play Soccer sensor will be comfortable to wear for long periods of time. While I haven’t tested it in an actual game yet, Zepp says it worked with athletes to ensure that the device didn’t induce any sort of discomfort. That’s why, when in the sleeve, the sensor rests next to your calf muscle, as opposed to near your shinbone or another sensitive area.
If you want to try it yourself, the Zepp Play Soccer arrives in stores tomorrow for $99. You’ll be able to get it from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy or Zepp’s own site.
‘FIFA 17’ marks a new beginning for the soccer franchise
I’ve been playing FIFA since its first title launched on Super Nintendo, when characters on the screen looked like nothing more than colorful stick figures. Nowadays, thanks to the power of modern gaming consoles, the visuals and gameplay are as close to the real thing as it gets. So much so, in fact, that oftentimes when FIFA is on my TV someone asks, “What game are you watching?” FIFA 17, which arrived yesterday in the US and lands tomorrow worldwide, is no exception.
This year, publisher EA introduced a major change to the franchise by choosing its Frostbite engine to develop it, the same one used on more intense series like Battlefield. That’s not the only new feature, though, so let’s walk through a few more before you spend $60 to play on your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or PC.
AIVAnet 