• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Pictures

Vincent Padois, head tutor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University who teaches robotics and is babysitting the Paris ICub, makes a demonstration with ICub robot, a ?hybrid embodied cognitive system for a humanoid robot" about 1 metre (3.2 feet) high, at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris September 4, 2009. Six versions of ICub exist in laboratories across Europe, where scientists are painstakingly tweaking its electronic brain to make it capable of learning, just like a human child and hoping it will learn how to adapt its behaviour to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

Pictures of the year: Technology

A look at the year's best science and technology photos.   Slideshow 

    Pioneer-backed online TV service launches test

    NEW YORK
    Mon Nov 19, 2007 12:30am EST

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new online television service aims to offer what U.S. cable TV companies have resisted for decades -- pay for only what you want.

    Technology  |  Stocks

    SyncTV, a spin-off from Pioneer Electronics, a division of Pioneer Corp, plans to launch a private test on Monday to offer viewers the ability to download anything they want to a computer from channels they pay for on a monthly basis, an executive said.

    Subscription fees range from $2 to $4 per month per channel. Shows will also be offered for sale at $2 per episode. The service is also advertising supported.

    "We wanted to free up TV from the folks who make it difficult to innovate," SyncTV President John Gildred said in a phone interview.

    The launch comes amid an exploding interest in watching video online and a desire by media companies to offer content on every available outlet.

    Unlike popular services such as Google Inc's YouTube, Gildred said the service would offer "home-theater quality" videos that will include surround-sound capabilities and picture resolution at least comparable to DVDs and, in some cases, high definition.

    The company did not reveal what shows or channels would be offered during the test phase, but said it was discussing partnerships with distributors.

    SyncTV will be available for a public test in January, Gildred said.

    By next year, the company said the shows downloaded from its service would be made available on as-yet-unavailable portable devices and on specially equipped televisions and set-top boxes.

    Like most services not developed by Apple Inc, SyncTV videos will not work on iPod digital entertainment devices.

    SyncTV said downloaded files are based on open-standards and will work on Microsoft Windows PCs and Apple Macs. The service uses the Marlin digital rights management system.

    Gildred said the company is currently courting consumer electronics manufacturers to develop devices that will support the standard and expects such devices to be available some time next year.

    (Reporting by Kenneth Li; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
    Technology
    Stocks


    More from Reuters

    Joint Terminal Attack Controller SSgt Clinton J. Herbison, a U.S. Airman from the 817 Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron (EASOS) takes a break during a night mission near Honaker Miracle camp at the Pesh valley of Kunar Province August 12, 2009. Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

    Pictures of the Year

    A look at the best photos of 2009.  Slideshow 

      PICTURES
      The Dalai Lama jokes with a nasal spray after being asked his opinion on the swine flu during a press conference after his first lecture in Lausanne, Switzerland, August 4, 2009. REUTERS/ Valentin Flauraud

      What a wacky year it's been...

      Um, what's up the Dalai Lama's nose? "Oddly Enough" editor Bob Basler rounds up the goofiest photos of the year.  Full Article 

      Oddly Enough
      A caution sign is seen next to a stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Sydney September 5, 2008. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
      Political Risk in 2010:

      Don't say we didn't warn you

      With the financial crisis (mostly) in the past, U.S. investors are eying a fresh start to the coming year. Here's a look at what speedbumps lie ahead.  Full Article 

      Global Markets