Schlagwort: television

  • Securely tailor your TV viewing with BBC Box and Raspberry Pi

    Securely tailor your TV viewing with BBC Box and Raspberry Pi

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Thanks to BBC Box, you might be able to enjoy personalised services without giving up all your data. Sean McManus reports:

    One day, you could watch TV shows that are tailored to your interests, thanks to BBC Box. It pulls together personal data from different sources in a household device, and gives you control over which apps may access it.

    “If we were to create a device like BBC Box and put it out there, it would allow us to create personalised services without holding personal data,” says Max Leonard.

    TV shows could be edited on the device to match the user’s interests, without those interests being disclosed to the BBC. One user might see more tech news and less sport news, for example.

    BBC Box was partly inspired by a change in the law that gives us all the right to reuse data that companies hold on us. “You can pull out data dumps, but it’s difficult to do anything with them unless you’re a data scientist,” explains Max. “We’re trying to create technologies to enable people to do interesting things with their data, and allow organisations to create services based on that data on your behalf.”

    Building the box

    BBC Box is based on Raspberry Pi 3B+, the most powerful model available when this project began. “Raspberry Pi is an amazing prototyping platform,” says Max. “Relatively powerful, inexpensive, with GPIO, and able to run a proper OS. Most importantly, it can fit inside a small box!”

    That prototype box is a thing of beauty, a hexagonal tube made of cedar wood. “We created a set of principles for experience and interaction with BBC Box and themes of strength, protection, and ownership came out very strongly,” says Jasmine Cox. “We looked at shapes in nature and architecture that were evocative of these themes (beehives, castles, triangles) and played with how they could be a housing for Raspberry Pi.”

    The core software for collating and managing access to data is called Databox. Alpine Linux was chosen because it’s “lightweight, speedy but most importantly secure”, in Max’s words. To get around problems making GPIO access work on Alpine Linux, an Arduino Nano is used to control the LEDs. Storage is a 64GB microSD card, and apps run inside Docker containers, which helps to isolate them from each other.

    Combining data securely

    The BBC has piloted two apps based on BBC Box. One collects your preferred type of TV programme from BBC iPlayer and your preferred music genre from Spotify. That unique combination of data can be used to recommend events you might like from Skiddle’s database.

    Another application helps two users to plan a holiday together. It takes their individual preferences and shows them the destinations they both want to visit, with information about them brought in from government and commercial sources. The app protects user privacy, because neither user has to reveal places they’d rather not visit to the other user, or the reason why.

    The team is now testing these concepts with users and exploring future technology options for BBC Box.

    The MagPi magazine

    This article was lovingly yoinked from the latest issue of The MagPi magazine. You can read issue 87 today, for free, right now, by visiting The MagPi website.

    You can also purchase issue 87 from the Raspberry Pi Press website with free worldwide delivery, from the Raspberry Pi Store, Cambridge, and from newsagents and supermarkets across the UK.

    Website: LINK

  • Securely tailor your TV viewing with BBC Box and Raspberry Pi

    Securely tailor your TV viewing with BBC Box and Raspberry Pi

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Thanks to BBC Box, you might be able to enjoy personalised services without giving up all your data. Sean McManus reports:

    One day, you could watch TV shows that are tailored to your interests, thanks to BBC Box. It pulls together personal data from different sources in a household device, and gives you control over which apps may access it.

    “If we were to create a device like BBC Box and put it out there, it would allow us to create personalised services without holding personal data,” says Max Leonard.

    TV shows could be edited on the device to match the user’s interests, without those interests being disclosed to the BBC. One user might see more tech news and less sport news, for example.

    BBC Box was partly inspired by a change in the law that gives us all the right to reuse data that companies hold on us. “You can pull out data dumps, but it’s difficult to do anything with them unless you’re a data scientist,” explains Max. “We’re trying to create technologies to enable people to do interesting things with their data, and allow organisations to create services based on that data on your behalf.”

    Building the box

    BBC Box is based on Raspberry Pi 3B+, the most powerful model available when this project began. “Raspberry Pi is an amazing prototyping platform,” says Max. “Relatively powerful, inexpensive, with GPIO, and able to run a proper OS. Most importantly, it can fit inside a small box!”

    That prototype box is a thing of beauty, a hexagonal tube made of cedar wood. “We created a set of principles for experience and interaction with BBC Box and themes of strength, protection, and ownership came out very strongly,” says Jasmine Cox. “We looked at shapes in nature and architecture that were evocative of these themes (beehives, castles, triangles) and played with how they could be a housing for Raspberry Pi.”

    The core software for collating and managing access to data is called Databox. Alpine Linux was chosen because it’s “lightweight, speedy but most importantly secure”, in Max’s words. To get around problems making GPIO access work on Alpine Linux, an Arduino Nano is used to control the LEDs. Storage is a 64GB microSD card, and apps run inside Docker containers, which helps to isolate them from each other.

    Combining data securely

    The BBC has piloted two apps based on BBC Box. One collects your preferred type of TV programme from BBC iPlayer and your preferred music genre from Spotify. That unique combination of data can be used to recommend events you might like from Skiddle’s database.

    Another application helps two users to plan a holiday together. It takes their individual preferences and shows them the destinations they both want to visit, with information about them brought in from government and commercial sources. The app protects user privacy, because neither user has to reveal places they’d rather not visit to the other user, or the reason why.

    The team is now testing these concepts with users and exploring future technology options for BBC Box.

    The MagPi magazine

    This article was lovingly yoinked from the latest issue of The MagPi magazine. You can read issue 87 today, for free, right now, by visiting The MagPi website.

    You can also purchase issue 87 from the Raspberry Pi Press website with free worldwide delivery, from the Raspberry Pi Store, Cambridge, and from newsagents and supermarkets across the UK.

    Website: LINK

  • Retrofit a handheld Casio portable TV with a Raspberry Pi

    Retrofit a handheld Casio portable TV with a Raspberry Pi

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    What do we say to the god of outdated tech? Not today! Revive an old portable television with a Raspberry Pi 3!

    Pocket televisions

    In the late 1980s, when I was a gadget-savvy kid, my mother bought me a pocket TV as a joint Christmas and birthday present. The TV’s image clarity was questionable, its sound tinny, and its aerial so long that I often poked myself and others in the eye while trying to find a signal. Despite all this, it was one of the coolest, most futuristic things I’d ever seen, and I treasured it. But, as most tech of its day, the pocket TV no longer needed: I can watch TV in high definition on my phone — a device half the size, with a screen thrice as large, and no insatiable hunger for AA batteries.

    So what do we do with this old tech to save it from the tip?

    We put a Raspberry Pi in it, of course!

    JaguarWong’s Raspberry Pi 3 pocket TV!

    “I picked up a broken Casio TV-400 for the princely sum of ‘free’ a few weeks back. And I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it,” imgur user JaguarWong states in the introduction for the project.

    I got the Pi for Christmas a couple of years back and have never really had any plans for it. Not long after I got it, I picked up the little screen from eBay to play with but again, with no real purpose in mind — but when I got the pocket TV everything fell into place.

    Isn’t it wonderful when things fall so perfectly into place?

    Thanks to an online pinout guide, JW was able to determine how to  connect the screen and the Raspberry Pi; fortunately, only a few jumper wires were needed — “which was handy given the limits on space.”

    With slots cut into the base of the TV for the USB and Ethernet ports, the whole project fit together like a dream, with little need for modification of the original housing.

    The final result is wonderful. And while JW describes the project as “fun, if mostly pointless”, we think it’s great — another brilliant example of retrofitting old tech with Raspberry Pi!

    10/10 would recommend to a friend.

    Website: LINK

  • Introducing the Raspberry Pi TV HAT

    Introducing the Raspberry Pi TV HAT

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Today we are excited to launch a new add-on board for your Raspberry Pi: the Raspberry Pi TV HAT, on sale now at $21.50.

    A photograph of a Raspberry Pi a TV HAT with aerial lead connected Oct 2018

    The TV HAT connects to the 40-pin GPIO header and to a suitable antenna, allowing your Raspberry Pi to receive DVB-T2 television broadcasts.

    A photograph of a Raspberry Pi Zero W with TV HAT connected Oct 2018

    Watch TV with your Raspberry Pi

    With the board, you can receive and view television on a Raspberry Pi, or you can use your Pi as a server to stream television over a network to other devices. The TV HAT works with all 40-pin GPIO Raspberry Pi boards when running as a server. If you want to watch TV on the Pi itself, we recommend using a Pi 2, 3, or 3B+, as you may need more processing power for this.

    A photograph of a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ with TV HAT connected Oct 2018

    Stream television over your network

    Viewing television is not restricted to Raspberry Pi computers: with a TV HAT connected to your network, you can view streams on any network-connected device. That includes other computers, mobile phones, and tablets. You can find instructions for setting up your TV HAT in our step-by-step guide.

    New HAT form factor

    The Raspberry Pi TV HAT follows a new form factor of HAT (Hardware Attached on Top), which we are also announcing today. The TV HAT is a half-size HAT that matches the outline of Raspberry Pi Zero boards. A new HAT spec is available now. No features have changed electrically – this is a purely mechanical change.

    Raspberry Pi TV HAT mechanical drawing Oct 2018

    A mechanical drawing of a Raspberry Pi TV HAT, exemplifying the spec of the new HAT form factor. Click to embiggen.

    The TV HAT has three bolt holes; we omitted the fourth so that the HAT can be placed on a large-size Pi without obstructing the display connector.

    The board comes with a set of mechanical spacers, a 40-way header, and an aerial adaptor.

    A photograph of a Raspberry Pi TV HAT Oct 2018

    Licences

    Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) is a widely adopted standard for transmitting broadcast television; see countries that have adopted the DVB standard here.

    Initially, we will be offering the TV HAT in Europe only. Compliance work is already underway to open other DVB-T2 regions. If you purchase a TV HAT, you must have the appropriate licence or approval to receive broadcast television. You can find a list of licences for Europe here. If in doubt, please contact your local licensing body.

    The Raspberry Pi TV HAT opens up some fantastic opportunities for people looking to embed a TV receiver into their networks. Head over to the TV HAT product page to find out where to get hold of yours. We can’t wait to see what you use it for!

    Website: LINK

  • Weekend Project: Get Schwifty with These 3D Printed “Rick and Morty” Bobbleheads

    Weekend Project: Get Schwifty with These 3D Printed “Rick and Morty” Bobbleheads

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Spanish designer Antonio García (also known as Duke Doks) shows off how to create incredibly detailed 3D printed Rick and Morty bobbleheads. Seriously, these models will have you screaming wubba lubba dub dub!

    If you haven’t seen (or at least heard of) the critically acclaimed and unconscionably hilarious animated television series Rick and Morty, you must be living in another dimension. By now, the intergalactic adventures of the easily agitated Morty and his lawless scientist of a grandfather Rick have touched our funny bone at some time or another

    Now, you can have this dynamic duo bobbing away and flipping you the bird on your desk thanks to the Madrid-based motion graphics and 3D artist Antonio García, also known as Duke Doks. He recently shared two highly detailed 3D printable models–one of Rick and one of Morty– that look like they just sprung right out of the television screen and into this reality.

    With a desktop 3D printer, some primer and paint, a couple of springs and some intensive post-processing, you can follow along with Duke Doks and create your own Rick and Morty bobbleheads–no Mr. Meseeks required.

    Let’s take a quick look at this awesome project and what you need to bring your favorite dimension-traveling characters to life.

    3D Printed Rick & Morty Bobbleheads: How to Create Your Own

    The STL files for the Rick and Morty bobbleheads are available to download from Cults. The Morty model is completely free, while Rick Sanchez will cost you a mere $1.80 to obtain. Considering these are incredibly high quality models, we definitely don’t mind shelling out a few bucks for them.

    Both models are divided into a few different parts, which are later attached with an adhesive glue later on. García appears to have used 20 percent infill for each 3D printed section, and utilizes support structures when necessary. As you can probably tell from the smooth and glossy surface finish on these bobbleheads, there’s a lot of post-processing involved. Thankfully, the designer shares his methodology in a YouTube video (posted below).


    After gluing the parts together (keeping the body and head separate, for now), the next step is to smoothen out the 3D model with 240 grit sandpaper. Once the 3D printed parts are properly sanded, the designer uses double-sided tape to secure the models down for painting. The painting process starts by applying a coating of Grey Filler/Primer, which eliminates the appearance of any layering or scratches. Once the primer has settled, García sands down the model once more to give it a glossy aesthetic.


    Finally, using an assortment of spray paint from Montana Colors and meticulously applied tape to prevent the various colors from getting in the wrong area, he carefully applies the paint to evoke the look of the cartoon characters. He also uses a paint brush to detail the small and hard-to-reach sections, like the eyes and Rick’s drool-laden mouth. We assume that acrylic paint can be used here as well, but the automotive-grade spray paint seems to have a magnificent aesthetic effect that might not be replicated otherwise.


    After the paint job is complete, simply insert a small spring into the head and attach it to the body. You now have your very own Tiny Rick and ticked off Morty! You can learn more about this project by checking out the video below.

    License: The text of „Weekend Project: Get Schwifty with These 3D Printed “Rick and Morty” Bobbleheads“ by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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    Website: LINK

  • Fox News Debuts Its New Newsroom With 55″ Windows Tablet

    Fox News Debuts Its New Newsroom With 55″ Windows Tablet

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    No, this isn’t from a comedy show or parody, but rather real 55-inch touchscreen tablets being used in the Fox News Deck. Fox News anchor Shepard Smith takes us through the network’s new high-tech setup, in which journalists use the gigantic tablets to „swipe through pages and apps, presumably collecting information for live reporting.“

    fox-news-deck

    According to The Verge, „It’s a remote control that allows Smith to shuffle through an image carousel with no apparent journalistic purpose.“ Shepard Smith would like to think differently, as he states, „For instance, I can take this lady who’s been evacuating from a hurricane zone and move it over here.“

    Official Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWLoGNWcMkc&feature=player_embedded#t=0

    http://geekologie.com/2013/10/fox-news-debuts-its-new-newsroom-with-55.php

    http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/7/4812630/fox-news-shepard-smith-news-deck

  • „Voltron“ Teddy Trooper by SouthernDrawl – Flying Fortress

    „Voltron“ Teddy Trooper by SouthernDrawl – Flying Fortress

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    So Amazing Voltron custom made Teddy spotted , so cool and amazing. We wanna have it 🙂 NOW!

    Quote from Flying Fortress:

    Another amazing customized 10″ Teddy Trooper! The magnificent „Voltron“ by SouthernDrawl.
    Form Blazing Sword!

     

    VOLTRONsoutherndrawl-1-1

     

    VOLTRONsoutherndrawl-1-2

    VOLTRONsoutherndrawl-1-3

    VOLTRONsoutherndrawl-1-4

    Photos by: http://flying-fortress.blogspot.co.at/2013/09/voltron-teddy-trooper-by-southerndrawl.html

    Official Source: http://flying-fortress.blogspot.co.at/2013/09/voltron-teddy-trooper-by-southerndrawl.html