digital media

Media in the Digital Age
$26.00
Digital technologies have fundamentally altered the nature and function of media in our society, reinventing age-old practices of public communication and at times circumventing traditional media and challenging its privileged role as gatekeepers of news and entertainment. Some critics believe these technologies keep the public involved in an informed discourse on matters of public importance, but it isn't clear this is happening on a large scale. Propaganda disguised as news is flourishing, and though interaction with the digital domain teaches children valuable skills, it can also expose them to grave risks. John V. Pavlik critically examines our current digital innovations& mdash;blogs, podcasting, peer-to-peer file sharing, on-demand entertainment, and the digitization of television, radio, and satellites& mdash;and their positive and negative implications. He focuses on present developments, but he also peers into the future, foreseeing a media landscape dominated by a highly fragmented, though active audience, intense media competition, and scarce advertising dollars. By embracing new technologies, however, Pavlik shows how professional journalism and media can hold on to their role as a vital information lifeline and continue to operate as the tool of a successful democracy.

Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN
$149.99
I have it connected to my home wired network and am streaming movies from a Microsoft file server.

I am streaming the following files with PERFECT results:

1080p - MP4 with DTS in MKV container (PERFECT!)
720p - MP4 with DTS in MKV container (PERFECT!)
1080p - MP4 with AC3 in MKV container (PERFECT!)
720p - MP4 with AC3 in MKV container (PERFECT!)

1080p - XVID with AC3 in AVI container (PERFECT!)
720p - XVID with AC3 in AVI container (PERFECT!)
480p - XVID with DTS in AVI container (PERFECT!)
480p - XVID with AC3 in AVI container (PERFECT!)

I had many issues streaming initially using Window Media Player then TVersity to an Xbox. HD videos kept stalling with either solution. Also the fact that the Xbox could not stream my HD MKV movies it was annoying! Using TVersity to decode and re-encode MKV to the Xbox requires a fast computer and not the cleanest way of watching MKV files. Also, response to remote control works nice a fast!! Much faster than Xbox. Boot up time is almost instant!!!!

For some reason setting the video color to 12bits in the HDMI setting causes issues where the movies will stall. Also manually setting the HDMI video to the resolution and refresh rate of your TV seems to help. For example mine is set to 1080p with 60hz.

WD Live is so good I bought 2 more (one for sister and another for my mother).

The only improvement I would like is the ability to set a Favorites/Bookmark Folder so that it's quicker to navigate to my movies located in my server. Right now I need to dig down several layers down to access my movies.

Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication
$32.95
In this must-have new anthology, top media scholars explore the leading edge of digital media studies to provide a broad, authoritative survey of the study of the field and a compelling preview of future developments. This book is divided into five key areas-video games, digital images, the electronic word, computers and music, and new digital media-and offers an invaluable guide for students and scholars alike.

Digital Media Primer
$93.40
This book provides a strong universal foundation in the core concepts and practice that are applicable in digital media. For a more in-depth look at digital media, the series includes two other books which each take either a technical or artistic perspective.? The book covers the essentials of digital media ? digital imaging, video, audio, and multimedia authoring. Analogies drawn from everyday life are used to explain abstract concepts. Software-specific videos show how to use popular digital media applications.? For anyone interested in learning the basics of digital media.