Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Apple iPad Video

Clearly video is an important part of there strategy.

Personally I have found that with netbooks and my MacBook Pro it's like everyone in the house has there own personal TV / Game system.

So much so, I just decided to cancel my Cable TV. I just bought a new 52" Sharp LCD TV a year ago, and had HD cable, but with Hulu, and Netflix and Youtube and Bit Torrent there is no reason for cable.

I hate having to wait for a show to come on and remember to record it. the DVR/PVR was just a intermediary step on the path to a full Internet based Digital Video world.

Soon no one will record there shows but just watch directy over the Internet and Apple know's it!

With HTML 5 and google pushing, soon Adobe/Macromedia flash may become the second choice rather then the first and only really good choice for streaming video today.

The iPad should be in an excellent place to take advantage of this.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Displayport V1.2 To Take Giant Leap Over HDMI

From Slashdot

Displayport V1.2 To Take Giant Leap Over HDMI 


"With HDMI becoming increasingly common, Displayport has been slow to emerge as a widely used connection interface, but a plethora of new features in the new v1.2 standard could see that change. As well as doubling the data rate of the existing v1.1a standard to 21.6 Gbps, the update allows for multiple monitors to be connected to a single Displayport connector and adds support for transporting USB data at up to 720Mbps, enabling embedded webcams, speakers and USB hubs over a single cable. Ethernet data is also supported. The improved data rate will allow for richer, larger and higher resolution displays, and the new version is also backward compatible with the current display technology, so all the ports, cables and devices will be interchangeable, although they will revert to the lowest common denominator."

Monday, January 18, 2010

Flashlight Video Camera & Recorder

FLASHLIGHT-CAM
This functioning flashlight has a built in color CMOS camera and DVR and is perfect for capturing video in the dark. Push the button to begin recording and view your video by attaching the flashlight to any computer via USB. The flashlight spy camera can be used to gather evidence covertly (for law enforcement or private investigators) or for keeping video or still images of a person's ID (for night clubs). Security officers, home inspectors and workers who mainly work at night may also find this flashlight camera very useful.


FEATURES
  • Built in camera/recorder can record video and still images
  • Works with any computer and electronic device with a USB port
  • Built in lithium battery, con work continuously for about 6 hours
  • T-Flash: 1GB-32GB
  • MJPEG compression, 30 fps, 640 x 480 pixels
SPECIFICATIONS
Image Sensor
1/4" CMOS
Lens
2.8 mm
Video Compression
MJPEG
Video Resolution
640 x 480 pixels
Recoding
30 fps
Resolution
510 (H) x 490 (V) (NTSC
Recording Capacity Based On AVI
1500 MB/Hour
View Angle
70 degree
Battery Capacity
800mAh
Battery Charging Time
6 hour
Battery Working Time
5 hour
Operating Voltage
3.7 V
Power Consumption
150 mA
Operation Temp
<50 >-10


More info

Introductory Price $80.00

Sales 1-888-315-1219
www.cctvimports.com

Friday, January 15, 2010

Best little post house in Hollywood.

This is a friend of mine Aj's setup. I highly recommend him.

A HOLLYWOOD POST HOUSE in a HOLLYWOOD HOME!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Linux Video Editor Software

OpenShot Video Editor Reaches Version 1.0
"After only one year of development Jonathan Thomas has released version 1.0 of his impressive NLE for Linux. Based on the MLT Framework, OpenShot Video Editor has taken less time to reach this stage of development than any other Linux NLE. Dan Dennedy of Kino fame has also lent a helping hand ensuring that OpenShot has the stability and proven back-end that is needed in such a project."

-------

Excellent article: Top 5 Linux Video Editor Software

From the article.

Comparison Of Video Editing Software

Feature
Avidemux
Cinelerra
Kdenlive
Kino
LiVES
License
GPL
GPL
GPLv2
GPL
GPLv3+
Cost
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Paid Support
N
Y
N
N
N
RAM (min)
?
256M
256M
?
128M
Hard Disk (min)
?
?
1G
?
10G
CPU
?
500Mhz
600Mhz
?
800Mhz
High Definition Video Editing
?
Y
Y
?
Y
Non-destructive Editing
?
Y
Y
Y
Y
Full-screen Playback
?
Y
Y
Y
Y
Storyboard Mode
?
N
Y
Y
N
Video Tracks
Y
Y
Y
?
Y
Audio Tracks
Y
Y
Y
?
Y
Linear Timecode Display
?
Y
Y
?
Y
DVD Output
?
Y
Y
N
Y
HD Output
?
Y
Y
N
Y
Smart Phone Output
?
Y
Y
N
Y
QuickTime Output
?
Y
Y
N
Y
Windows Media Output
?
Y
Y
N
Y
MPEG-4 Output
?
Y
Y
Y
Y
Web Output
?
Y
Y
N
N

Other Open Source Non-linear Video Editing Software For Linux Operating Systems

  1. Blender - 3D animation suite (cross-platform) : Blender is a 3D graphics application. It can be used for modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, water simulations, skinning, animating, rendering, particle and other simulations, non-linear editing, compositing, and creating interactive 3D applications, including games. Blender's features include advanced simulation tools such as rigid body, fluid, cloth and softbody dynamics, modifier based modeling tools, powerful character animation tools, a node based material and compositing system and Python for embedded scripting.
  2. OpenShot Video Editor : OpenShot Video Editor is an open-source program that creates, modifies, and edits video files.
  3. PiTiVi : PiTiVi is a program for video editing based on the GStreamer framework. It can - Capture and encode audio and video, with formats supported by GStreamer, split and trim video clips, split and trim audio, render projects in any format supported by the GStreamer framework etc.

Netflix movie rental Demographics, by movie and zipcode

Really fascinating view, especially if you know the neighborhoods.

A Peek Into Netflix Queues

Examine Netflix rental patterns, neighborhood by neighborhood, in a dozen cities. Some titles with distinct patterns are Mad Men, Obsessed and Last Chance Harvey.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/10/nyregion/20100110-netflix-map.html?hp

We've Seen the Future, and It's Unmanned

From Esquire

We've Seen the Future, and It's Unmanned

Every so often in history, something profound happens that changes warfare forever. Next year, for the first time ever, the Pentagon will buy more unmanned aircraft than manned, line-item proof that we are in a new age of fighting machines, in which war will be ever more abstract, ever more distant, and ruthlessly efficient.

The cameras aren't just watching insurgents. The real-time videos allow commanders to see and direct movement at the lowest levels. On today's battlefields, when isolated actions can have enormous impact, there are times when you want higher-ups giving the go-ahead before a missile flattens a house. But the up-close image from a UAV can lead to a false sense of clarity, making a choice seem obvious when it's not. Someone watching an operation from miles away can't sense other critical factors, like the mood of locals or the difficulty of crossing rough terrain. "Sometimes it's more of a pain in the ass than anything," a captain in Afghanistan told me.

New computer vision system for the analysis of human behavior

New computer vision system for the analysis of human behavior 

A consortium of European researchers, coordinated by the Computer Vision Centre (CVC) of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), has developed HERMES, a cognitive computational system consisting of video cameras and software able to recognise and predict human behaviour, as well as describe it in natural language. The applications of the Hermes project are numerous and can be used in the fields of intelligent surveillance, protection of accidents, marketing, psychology, etc. 
 

HERMES (Human Expressive Graphic Representation of Motion and their Evaluation in Sequences) analyses human behaviour based on video sequences captured at three different focus levels: the individual as a relatively distant object; the individual's body at medium length so as to be able to analyse body postures; and the individual's face, which allows a detailed study of facial expressions. The information obtained is processed by computer vision and artificial intelligence algorithms, which permits the system to learn and recognise movement patterns.

For the rest click the article link at the top. 

Forget LCDs and LEDs, Here Come LPDs

From Slashdot:
"It's not every day you hear about a brand new display technology, but San Jose, CA-based Prysm came out of stealth mode yesterday to talk about its plans for manufacturing laser phosphor displays, or LPDs. The new devices, which the company will show off at the Integrated Systems Europe trade show in Amsterdam next month, reportedly use 25 percent as much electricity as equivalently-sized LCD screens. And they should be easier to manufacture too, since they don't have a backplane of transistors like LCD screens: the image is generated by a laser beam that sweeps across phosphor stripes under the control of a scanning mirror. The venture-funded startup, which plans to build and sell LPD screens under its own brand, is promoting them as a low-cost, low-maintenance way to display information in lobbies, airports, broadcast studios, command centers, and the like."


Moscow Police Watch Pre-Recorded Scenes On Surveillance Cams

"During several months of 2009, Moscow police looked at fake pictures displayed on their monitors instead of what was supposed to be video from the city surveillance cams. The subcontractor providing the cams was paid on the basis of 'the number of working cams,' so he delivered pre-cooked pictures stored on his servers. The camera company CEO has been arrested."

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Chrome OS Tablet reference design based on Freescale

$199 Chrome OS Tablet reference design based on Freescale i.MX515 processor



Sridharan Subramanian, Senior Manager of Software and Platforms Product Management at Freescale shows the worlds first ARM based Chrome OS tablet demonstration showcased by Freescale running on a reference design for a $199 fully featured 3G enabled Tablet.

Monday, January 11, 2010

USB3.0 Super-Speed PCIE mini card



Taiwan Commate Computer Inc.(COMMELL), announced its new USB 3.0 Super-Speed PCI Express mini card -- MPX-7202, the Super-Speed USB 3.0 is the next revolution in I/O interconnect standards that will works up to 5 Gbps data transfer when connecting to USB 3.0 compliant peripherals, with 10 times faster throughput than USB 2.0 standard, and maintaining compatibility with existing USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 peripheral devices.
The board based on the NEC μPD720200 Universal Serial Bus 3.0 host controller(The first USB 3.0 controller chip), which complies with Universal Serial Bus 3.0 Specification, and Intel`s eXtensible Host Controller Interface(xHCI), It supports Low-speed(1.5Mbps)/ Full-speed(12Mbps)/ High-speed(480Mbps)/ Super-speed(5Gbps) data rate, and supports all USB compliant data transfer type. 
The MPX-7202 PCI Express mini card supports dual-port Super-speed USB 3.0, with its high speeds, Plug-n-Play, and more power output (maximum 900mA) to USB device that will bebefit computer peripherals in many of the applications such as Human-Interface devices, new Mass Storage Device,  digital cameras, networking, video devices. 
   Features :
  • PCI Express Mini Card compliant, Complies with RoHS.  
  • Onboard PCI Express NEC  μPD720200 USB 3.0 Host controller.
  • Compliant with USB 3.0 Spec. Revision 1.0 and xHCI Spec. Revision 0.96. 
  • Expands two external USB 3.0 Super-speed ports.
  • Built-in power connector for receiving extra power supply from system.
  • Support USB legacy function.
  • Each USB port supplies maximum +5V/ 900mA power ouput with fuse over current protection.
  • Driver supports for Windows XP, Vista and 7 operation system.
 
   COMMELL PCI Express mini card
PCI Express Mini Card(also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe, and Mini PCI-E), is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor based on PCI Express. PCI Express Mini Cards are 30 x 56 mm and smaller than PC Cards, PCI Express add-in cards, Mini PCI add-in cards, and other add-in card form factors. This reduced size permits a higher level of integration into embedded PC. It provides a number of benefits, including: Flexibility for Build-To-Order, Upgradeability for the newest technology, Seviceability, Reliability, Reduced size:
 MPX-574D(D2): 1 x Giga LAN(2 x Giga LAN).
    MPX-SDVOD: DVI interface.
    MPX-SDVOX: 24 bit dual channel LVDS.
    MPX-7767: 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN.
    MPX-2503: 802.11 b/g wireless LAN.
    MPX-954: 4 x RS232.
    MPX-827: SD/SDHC interface.
    MPX-885: Video Capture.
    MPX-643: IEEE1394a & IEEE1394b.
 
    About COMMELL
COMMELL is a leading supplier of Single Board Computers and focuses on developing the most advanced and reliable IPC products. In addition to promise our customers constantly stay ahead of this competitive business, we are always in search of disruptive & incremental sustaining innovation. We treat every of our customer as partner and provide the best services and total support. The combination of innovation, superior quality, and excellent services will ensure both Taiwan Commate Computer Inc., and our customers always have the competitive edge in the computer world.
For further information about COMMELL is available at http://www.commell.com.tw
Contact
Email: info@commell.com.tw  ;   Tel: 886-2-26963909   Fax: 886-2-26963911

For some, 3D movies a pain in the head

From Reuters: For some, 3D movies a pain in the head


Movie buffs and sports fans looking to 3D televisions for the ultimate home theater experience may want to get their eyes checked first -- or risk a 3D headache, U.S. eye experts said

The growing popularity of three-dimensional movies such as James Cameron's "Avatar" -- now a $1 billion box office hit -- has inspired a crop of 3D TV sets, unveiled CES 2010

And while new digital 3D technology has made the experience more comfortable for many, for some people with eye problems, a prolonged 3D session may result in an aching head, they said. "There are a lot of people walking around with very minor eye problems, for example a minor muscle imbalance, which under normal circumstances, the brain deals with naturally," said Dr Michael Rosenberg, an ophthalmology professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

He said in a 3D movie, these people are confronted with an entirely new sensory experience. "That translates into greater mental effort, making it easier to get a headache," Rosenberg said in a telephone interview.
In normal vision, each eye sees things at a slightly different angle. "When that gets processed in the brain, that creates the perception of depth," Dr Deborah Friedman, a professor of ophthalmology and neurology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. "The illusions that you see in three dimensions in the movies is not exactly calibrated the same way that your eyes and your brain are. If your eyes are a little off to begin with, then it's really throwing a whole degree of effort that your brain now needs to exert. "This disparity for some people will give them a headache," she said.

DIGITAL 3D TECHNOLOGY
Dr John Hagan, ophthalmologist in Kansas City, Missouri, and a fellow with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said some people who do not have normal depth perception cannot see in 3D at all.
He said people with eye muscle problems, in which the eyes are not pointed at the same object, have trouble processing 3D images.
Experts say there are no studies tracking how common it is to get a headache after watching a 3D movie, but Rick Heineman, a spokesman for RealD, a provider of 3D equipment to theaters, said headaches and nausea were the chief reasons 3D technology never took off.
The company, which provides 3D equipment to 90 percent of U.S. movie theaters with 3D capability and has cut deals with Sony Corp, Panasonic, JVC, Toshiba Corp and with Direct TV, said its newer digital technology addresses many of the problems that typically caused 3D moviegoers discomfort.
Heineman said older 3D technology involved the use of two film projectors, one that projected a left eye image and one that projected a right eye image. Three-D glasses would allow viewers to see a different image in each eye.
"People often complained of headaches and it was really because the projectors weren't lined up," Heineman said.
Heineman's company uses a single digital projector, which switches between the left and the right eye image 144 times a second, to help overcome some of the old problems.
"By going to a single digital projector, those issues were solved," he said.
Friedman said she thinks most people will do fine with 3D movies and with 3D TVs, but Rosenberg said people may quickly tire of the novelty.
"I think it will be a gimmick. I suspect there will be a lot of people who say it's sort of neat, but it's not really comfortable," he said.

Pico projectors the next thing in Mobile devices.

Companies like Microvision Inc are putting their bets smaller scale projectors from devices as tiny as cellphones.



Microvision and rivals such as Texas Instruments Inc and 3M Co were promising strong prospects for pico at CES 2010 in Las Vegas.

Microvision showed off a stand-alone projector that looked like a big bar of soap and projected crisp video images using laser technology. Its big hope is to embed the technology in a range of consumer electronics including cameras and phones.

"My feeling is that ultimately the phone is the largest opportunity," Microvision's director of communications Matt Nichols said, adding that his company was talking to dozens of potential customers including phone makers.

Read more at Reuters: Are pico projectors the next big cellphone trend?

Sunday, January 10, 2010

CES 2010: Hands-On With Transparent Display of the Future


Science fiction becomes reality with this transparent OLED display prototype from Samsung.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Slashdot: Hot Or Not — 3D TV

From Slashdot

Hot Or Not — 3D TV
Several sources have written to tell us that in terms of hype at this year's CES show, there is none bigger than that surrounding 3D TV. Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, and Toshiba all have their own flavors of hardware and ESPN announced a 3D sports channel, but Microsoft seems to be bucking the trend with their apparent lack of 3D interest surrounding the Xbox product.
 
"We're yet to see any major brand at CES pushing a 3D TV that doesn't require them. In most cases these aren't the basic Ray Ban style you might have worn to watch Avatar. In many cases they'll actually require power. For example, Sony's 3D TVs use a 'frame sequential' display method, which involves active-shutter glasses that turn on and off in sync with the images. Some TVs come with the glasses and have the transmitter built in, but again, in some cases you'll need to buy the transmitter and glasses separately."

CES 2010: Panasonic Unveils Full HD 3D Camcorder

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/panasonic-unveils-worlds-first-integrated-full-hd-3d-camcorder-at-ces-2010-80854027.html

http://tech2.in.com/india/news/hd/ces-2010-panasonic-unveils-full-hd-3d-camcorder/103452/0

Panasonic will release the "world's first" professional, fully-integrated Full HD 3D camcorder in Fall 2010. Current 3D systems are large-scale setups in which two cameras are fitted to a rig in parallel, or vertically intersect across a half-mirror. Separate recorders are also required.

I am not so sure that's really true  "world's first" professional.. Humm. Too bad for all those little company's that made "professional" 3D cameras now. Such as Liquid Pictures, Silicon Imaging, Element Technica & Technicolor


Some discussion of this off facebook:
Marc - Cool but 21K will make it out of most of our price range and Panasonic must not be expecting huge sales to begin with, because I read they were made to order. As the technology improves and becomes more common place, obviously the prices will come down on these (or newer models).
Joe - Only draw back for me is the 1/4-inch 3MOS imager. It is a nice unit though.
Lee - So far our studio and offices has not had one request for HD never mind 3-D. We only do about 10 to 12 weddings a year but we do a lot of TV, corporate and event video no one and I mean no one has even asked about or requested HD or Blue Ray. I am not going to change anything until some one makes me or I start to loose business because I can't offer something they want.
Ken - Who "really" wants 3D? I don't. Unless they can do it where you don't need to wear special glasses. Just a gimmick to me. And will there be a market for hologram wedding videos in the future? What will whose cameras cost?
Matt - I agree with the glasses part. That's actually the biggest hindrance IMO to 3D at home. This camera on the other hand, is impressive, except the 1/4 inch chip part. Why did they do that when it's housed in the P2 or HMC-150 housing which has 1/3 inch chips?
Hector -
1.- Hollywood is going 3D. (As they did when move from B&W to Color)
2.- We as professional videographers follows Hollywood.
3.- So, we will go to 3D.
Because 3D is our natural way of seeing, it brings a feeling of realism to the audience.
Lee - Hector, the cost to shoot and edit 3-D, realD-3D or Fusion 3-D will be any where from 65K to 85K. At least for the for see able future. Until it becomes glasses free and a lot cheaper to shoot and edit it will remain in Hollywood. Event and corporate folks like myself can't make money if no one requests it and no one wants to pay for it and that is the way it is at least for now.
Ken - Most movie-goes I've talked to don't care too much about movies in 3D. They just want a good movie with a story. Same as HD. We've been shooting in HD for over a year and offering Blu-ray. So far nobody has asked for it. Blu-ray DVDs are still not selling as they expected.

Keychest - Disney and Apple.

Supposedly, Keychest will use cloud-computing coupled with a physical product (e.g. a DVD), that will only require the person to pay for the rights so that it could be watched on any device.


Disney did a digital download version of Wall-E

Blockbuster movie rental on Flash!

http://www.modsystems.com/

Microsoft Patents DRM'd Torrents

Microsoft has received a patent for a 'digital rights management scheme for an on-demand distributed streaming system,' or using a P2P network to distribute commercial media content. The patent, #7,639,805, covers a method of individually encrypting each packet with a separate key and allowing users to decrypt differing levels of quality depending on the license that has been purchased.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

letter from Motionbox Pro

From   Thursday, November 05, 2009
----------Hi John

Motionbox just announced a new PRO service yesterday and I thought that you and the readers of Video Technology would be interested. We'll waive the pro-account setup fee for you or any of your readers who sign up - it's a $50 value. There are now 3 levels of Motionbox service - Basic, Premium, and PRO.

Motionbox PRO is a comprehensive video hosting solution and includes archival storage, web-based editing, streaming and embedding, all in up to 1080p HD quality. I would love for you to try out Motionbox for free and let your readers know what you think. I've put together this site which boils it all down - feel free to repost any or all of it:

http://motionboxnews.com

If you are able to post or tweet about Motionbox please send me the link so I can share it with everyone. I am here if you have any questions.

Thank you so much,

Lowell
--
Lowell Dempsey, Motionbox
www.motionbox.com

Toshiba announces 3D Blu-ray player, streaming models

Toshiba America Consumer Products has introduced three new Blu-ray players, under model numbers BDX2500, BDX2700 and BDX3000. All feature multichannel analog audio outputs, online connectivity, and support access to Netflix, Cinema Now, Pandora and VUDU. Additionally, the BDX3000 will add 3-D playback.

Features are as follow:

BDX2500
  • 1080p/24fps playback of Blu-ray titles
  • DVD upconversion
  • BD-Live
  • Online streaming capability
  • Playback of MP3, HD-JPEG, WMA and AVCHD
  • Advanced audio nboard decoding (Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio)
  • Analog 7.1 channel outputs
  • Wireless ready via USB port with optional Toshiba USB wireless dongle
  • Price: $199.99
  • Availability: spring
BDX2700
  • Like the BDX2500, plus built-in wireless connectivity
  • Price: $249.99
  • Availability: spring
BDX3000
  • Blu-ray 3D support
  • New design
  • A "wide-range of added features"
  • Availability: third quarter of 2010
  • Pricing: pending
links: CNET, Engadget

Blu-ray Capacity Increase Via Firmware

Blu-ray.com reports that Sony and Panasonic have announced a new optical disc evaluation technology that increases capacity from 25GB to 33.4GB. The tech uses existing Blu-ray diodes and is accomplished via firmware upgrade. The article says it is not known if and when the upgrade will be adopted into the Blu-ray spec. However, given that Sony and Panasonic are behind it, 'it will likely happen later this year.'

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

US$65 - H.264 DVR Stand Alone ,Network Remote Support


Borsche (HK) Electronic Co.,LTD --- CCTV camera & DVRs Manufacturer

ATTN: Junie Chan
Skype: borsche_9  Yahoo: junieborsche
Dear Sir,

Do you interested in DVR Products ?
Here now , allow me introduce our New Model H.264 Network Remote support , D5104N. Good fuction with cheap cost, would helpful  to extrend more customer in your side . Do you want a trial order for it ? For more information , welcome to contact us free .





Regards
Junie Chan

Tel: 86-755-81454980-ext8022 
Fax:086-755-81454980-ext8055  Mobile: 86-13480909507
Address: 6th Floor, BulidingA, ZhaoFeng Industrial Area, SanWei,BaoAn
District,Shenzhen,Guangdong, China.

Skype to offer video service on LG, Panasonic TVs

From: Yahoo News


Privately held Skype has forged deals with consumer electronics makers LG Electronics and Panasonic in a bid to move its Internet video service beyond the desktop computer to the living room TV.
The service, which includes free video calls between Skype members, will compete with consumer video conference services being developed by bigger companies such as networking giant Cisco Systems Inc and Polycom Inc, which plans to develop consumer video services with International Business Machines Corp.
Skype, a former eBay unit, said both LG and Panasonic will have high-definition TVs supporting its service around mid-year.
Both television makers will embed the Skype technology in television models with Internet connections and will sell separate Web cameras that have built in microphones for television viewers who want to use Skype.
Skype said Panasonic will support Skype in its VT and G series televisions in the United States, with screen sizes up to 65 inches. LG will embed Skype in 26 new LCD and plasma screen TVs, which will also come in a range of sizes.
Both LG and Panasonic are expected to demonstrate the service this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual gadget showcase in Las Vegas.
Skype also plans to announce support for high-definition video services on computers at the technology show, including partnerships with makers of high-definition Web camera suppliers faceVsion and In Store Solutions. High-definition Skype services will work on computers with a 1.8 Gigahertz processor and a high-speed broadband connection of about 1 megabits per second upward, Skype said.