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Queen's Christmas Message to reportedly air in 3D, project the royal presence further (update: not entirely first)

Jon Fingas — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:21:00 -0500

Loyal subjects of the United Kingdom who also embrace the cutting edge of TV may get an extra treat this year. Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly recorded her annual Christmas Message in 3D, supposedly becoming the first member of the British Royal Family to embrace the video format after Prince William turned it down for his wedding. We'll naturally need 3D glasses to catch all the nuances if it happens, although the extra dimension wouldn't be exclusive to the producers at BSkyB who captured it: both the BBC and ITV should supposedly have access as well. While donning funny-looking eyewear for a speech isn't usually our first choice for entertainment, we'll make an exception for Her Majesty if Buckingham Palace confirms the 3D broadcast. Besides, it may be the perfect test of a new 3D TV waiting under the tree.

Update: Thanks to reader Steve, we now know that claims of this being the Queen's first sojourn into 3D weren't right. While it would certainly be the first Christmas Message in 3D, we've learned that a CBC TV crew only just got to shoot in 3D earlier this year. Technically, the very first 3D footage of Queen Elizabeth II was recorded on her coronation in 1953, but it wasn't discovered and processed until just recently.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: The Verge

Source: The Independent

Samsung's Galaxy Note 10.1 is fit for a queen -- The Queen, in fact

Jamie Rigg — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:09:00 -0500

The Queen always keeps up with the latest technology, and today she'll try to squeeze a Galaxy Note 10.1 into her handbag. The tablet represents a "digital time-capsule," and will be loaded with multimedia clippings -- submitted by people from all over the world -- detailing history during her reign. A total of 60 video, audio and text entries were selected from 80,000 (150GB-worth), but all of that data will eventually be added to an online archive called the "Diamond (re)Collection." The project was orchestrated by The Royal Commonwealth Society, which briefly considered using an iPad, but ultimately decided Samsung's slate was the more regal (even if it is less cool). It leaves us wondering -- will the next Royal Decree be signed with an S-Pen?

Filed under: Tablets, Samsung

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Source: BBC

Apple lead designer Jonathan Ive knighted for the New Year, how's your 2012 looking?

Richard Lawler — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:06:00 -0500

Apple Senior VP Jonathan (or Jony) Ive has been credited with fueling the company's resurgence alongside Steve Jobs with products like the iMac, iPhone and iPad, and for these successes has been made a Knight Commander of the British Empire as a part of the New Year's Honour's List. Aside from having a much better NYE celebration than yours, he'll be tapped on the shoulders by the Queen's sword and that will forever be Sir Jony to you, commoner (we'll see if he can make it through the ceremony without suggesting some tweaks for better balance and usability -- you can see his passion above as he ~~eats an invisible sandwich~~ pontificates about new iMacs). It's a bump up from his previous title of Commander of the British Empire and keeps the cycle going, as he released a statement appreciating the benefit of a "wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making".

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Alt

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DirecTV premieres The Prince's Trust Rock Gala 2010 in 3D Christmas night

Richard Lawler — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:19:00 -0500

If you happen to find yourself unwrapping a 3D display on December 25th, after you're finished watching the Bulls face the Knicks on ESPN 3D just flip to DirecTV's exclusive n3D channel and you'll find a broadcast of The Prince's Trust Rock Gala 2010 at 8 p.m. A UK charity event that promises "Britain's rock royalty," this year's concert included performances form Queen, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins. Even if you prefer your music stylings with a slightly more American flair, there will also be the broadcast premiere of Bon Jovi's new video "What Do You Got" (already available online via the PlayStation 3.) Check out all the details in the press release after the break and don't worry if you're still living an old school 2D lifestyle, the concert comes to the 101 channel in HD December 31st.

Filed under: HD

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The British Monarchy launches official Facebook fan page

Laura June — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:13:00 -0500

So, everybody has a Facebook page now: your parents, your next door neighbor's cat, and now even the Queen of England... or more specifically, the British Monarchy. Yes, the Crown of England has launched an official fan page for itself on everybody's favorite and most hated social network. Apparently, the page managed to rake in over 40,000 likes in its first hour of operation -- no small feat considering it took Miley Cyrus something like three days to get that many. Regardless, the Queen is posting tons of candid photos and we're hoping to get some videos of her getting crazy with the Cheez Whiz any day now; we'll let you know if / when they appear.

Filed under: Alt

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Caption Contest: the Queen's RIM visit

Vlad Savov — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:17:00 -0400

One does what one must to keep oneself up with the times. Queenie from the British block is still doing her whirlwind tour of Canada, and this latest snapshot shows her on a visit to RIM's production facilities.

Josh: "Which one of these buttons summons Sir Lancelot?"
Vlad: "I was told there'd be crack and berries here, what's this stuff?"
Thomas: "Is that where the little man talks in my ear?"
Chris: "Your Majesty's SAS are receiving these fitted with a taser, oil slick, poison gas, and an impossible-to-use interface that will discourage theft by foreign agents."
Darren: "Don't you dare send me home with a CDMA version!"
Richard Lai: "I don't care what Phillip says -- I'm totally getting this Colorwared. Do you take cash?"
Tim: "Hold on, dearie, I haven't typed enough o's into 'Helllloooooooooooo!'"
Joanna: "I fancy this browser, it's as slow as me."
Joe: "Now I can finally see Fergie's drunken Tweets."
Drita: "Careful now, you're holding it the wrong way!"
Jacob: "Add me on BBM!!!"
Nilay: "I specifically asked for a railroad."
Myriam: "Would you like to touch my monkey?"

[Thanks, Eddie H.]

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Queen dons Swarovski-encrusted 3D glasses, shows us how bling is done

Vlad Savov — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:18:00 -0400

It's a tough life being a monarch nowadays. The halcyon times of extravagant debauchery and debauched extravagance are all but over, having been replaced by expectations of stoicism and perfectly measured hand waving. Trying to subvert this trend of royals boring us to tears, Britain's Queen has come out with a pair of Q-emblazoned 3D glasses that frankly redefine the way we look upon bling. Articulated with some good old Swarovski crystals, the spectacular spectacles were thought up by her majesty's dresser, Angela Kelly, and were brought out during a state visit to Toronto's Pinewood Studios. Now the only question left is which gangster rapper will try to outdo Queenie from the block?

Filed under: Alt

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Queen's Christmas Day speech broadcast in HD, on YouTube

Darren Murph — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:19:00 -0500

Those excited to tune into Her Majesty's Christmas Day speech tomorrow will have yet another reason to watch. This year, her entire speech will be broadcast in HD, and for those not near a television, it'll also be available via YouTube. Tomorrow's production will mark the 50th anniversary of her traditional speech, and the new mediums are being used to satisfy her desire to make the address "more accessible to younger people and those in other countries." Interested? If so, you can tune in tomorrow at 3:00PM GMT.

Filed under: Misc, Internet, HD

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Queen Elizabeth to podcast annual Christmas message

Cyrus Farivar — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:29:00 -0500

Alright peoples, it's official: podcasting isn't just for us geeks anymore. While some American and German politicians have recently taken up podcasting as the newest way to reach out to younger voters, it appears that the Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is now jumping on the podwagon as well. In addition to more traditional terrestrial broadcasting, Her ~~Royal Highness~~ Majesty will be making her annual Christmas message to the Commonwealth at 3:00 pm GMT (that's 10:00 am US Eastern time) on Monday, December 25 available as a podcast to all those who really want to hear her opine away. Given that Liz apparently has an iPod (as of 2005 it was an iPod mini), a cellphone (no word on what kind), and a boatload of new TVs, we're sure that any day now we'll start seeing emails in our tip box from queen@royal.gov.uk.

[Via Futurismic]

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Portable Video

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Queen HD concert celebrates 30 years of "Bo Rhap"

Kevin C. Tofel — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 18:03:00 -0500

Just think, when Queen hit the charts with "Bohemian Rhapsody" thirty years ago, black and white televisions were still lingering around. HDTV back then? That was still being researched by NHK until it hit Japan in the early '80s. No, it was a simple time back then and if you plan ahead, you can relive it somewhat, this Friday night in high-definition. RAVE-HD, one of the VOOM channels, is premiering an HD recording of Queen's 2005 concert from Sheffield. This your chance to see the band with Paul Rodgers standing in for the irreplaceable Freddie Mercury, before they head across the pond for their US tour starting on March 3rd. The 1080i presentation kicks off at 9 p.m. while there will be encore performances throughout the weekend of "Bo Rhap" and other fan faves.

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in transition, must escape from SDTV...."

Filed under: Programming, Satellite, HD

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