The BBC has struck a partnership deal with IBM to develop "web 3.0" technology, starting with a video search system for CBeebies and CBBC programmes, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal.
Ashley Highfield, the BBC director of future media and techology, said harnessing new video search technology could be the "difference between success and failure" for the corporation's online operation.
"All current video search technology - on the likes of YouTube as well - only works using meta tags or key words added to the videos, not the content itself," he said
That is fine if everything is meta-tagged at a high level, otherwise you just won't find the video you are after."
The idea is that the system being developed with IBM, called Marvel, will deliver a mass of relevant images and videos when content is searched.
"It is particularly appropriate for children and CBBC as searches could bring back, say, lots more relevant images or videos of a particular animal," Mr Highfield said.
Currently searches of CBBC content, powered by Microsoft, yield only text-based results.
In addition, Mr Highfield identified the potential of IBM's technology to hugely simplify the mammoth task of digitising the 1.4m-plus hours of TV and audio content in the BBC archive.
"It is hugely important for us when we start to uncover our archive as we have none or just simple tags on much of the content," said Mr Highfield.
"There is no way to find many archived programmes and we want to see if we can shortcut this, so the archive doesn't have to be all manually tagged," he added.
"This is web 3.0 - semantic web - technology, technology that actually understands the value of content on the page rather than just a page of ones and noughts."
The BBC has previously used video search technology, called Virage, supplied by its partner Autonomy, in a limited way but not on this planned scale or with such advanced features as with the new IBM tie-up.
"We do have some rudimentary video search but everyone will admit that video search is currently a relatively clunky technology," said Mr Highfield.
Another area of early collaboration - on a very long list of long-term projects - will be using an IBM product called Media Hub.
This ties into the Digital Media Initiative that Mr Highfield last month described as "the most important project over the next year to get right".
The DMI is a behind-the-scenes project that aims to break down the BBC's content fiefdoms and create a single "digital repository" of information on a particular subject for use on multiple platforms.
IBM, working with the BBC's official technology partner Siemens, will deploy a pilot of its Media Hub that aims to facilitate this project.
Steve Canepa, the IBM vice-president for media and entertainment, said that the video and audio search project aimed to "provide compelling experiences for listeners and viewers".
Mr Highfield described the partnership with IBM as a way of trying to "keep our nose out there".
"There is of course the big question of whether it will all work. It is early days but effective video search could be the difference between success and failure," he said.
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Monday, March 05, 2007
Total Lunar Eclipse Over, Next One in August 28 This Year
The spectacular total lunar eclipse that took place last week-end gathered millions of sky-gazers, in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, but those who missed it will have another chance this summer.
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Moon is full, and when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so.
The most recent total lunar eclipse was on 3 March 2007 to 4 March 2007. It was L=3 to L=4 on the Danjon scale (a five-point scale useful for measuring the appearance and luminosity of the Moon during a lunar eclipse), it was fully visible over Europe and Africa and at least partly visible over the eastern Americas, Asia, and western Australia. The moon entered the penumbral shadow at 20:18 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 21:30 UTC. The total phase lasted between 22:44 UTC and 23:58 UTC. The moon left the umbra shadow at 01:11 UTC and left the penumbra shadow at 02:24 UTC 4 March 2007.
The most fortunate were the British, who, besides having the best position from Earth to observe this particular eclipse, also enjoyed a crystal-clear sky. During “totality” the Moon took on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth’s atmosphere.
The reddish glow was “the sunlight still reaching the moon after being refracted through the Earth's atmosphere” Sagan explained. The Sun being much larger, the shadow of the Earth is conical with a lighter outer region called 'penumbra' and the darkest part in the center - called the 'umbra'.
The reddish color of the Moon was caused by the quantity of dust that exists in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere. Had there been a major volcanic eruption, the Moon would have had a deep red appearance, thus becoming almost invisible. Since no volcanic eruption took place, the Moon got the reddish hue only at the peak of the eclipse. The reason that the Moon can be seen at all during totality is that sunlight is scattered and refracted around the edge of the Earth by our atmosphere. There have been gradations in hue between the parts of the disk nearest and farthest from the shadow center.
Robin Scagell, of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said- quoted by British tabloid The Sun- that it was “one of the best lunar eclipses from Britain for years”.
He said: “It was fascinating to watch the Moon’s graceful movement through the shadow of the Earth and check its coppery glow.”
The eclipse from March 3 was the only one Britain inhabitants could watch without worrying about the weather. The last eclipse visible in the insular territory took place in 2004, but was obnubilated by heavy clouds.
According to an Associated Press report, about a dozen amateur astronomers braved the cold and mud outside the Croydon Observatory in southeast London to watch the start of the eclipse. "It was really very dark," said Paul Harper, Chairman of the Croydon Astronomical Society, who estimated that moon had lost over four-fifths of its luminosity. "It was quite a nice one.
Unlike an eclipse of the Sun which often requires a long journey to the path of totality, those of the Moon can be observed from one’s own backyard. The passage of the Moon through the Earth’s shadow is equally visible from all places within the hemisphere where the Moon is above the local horizon. The beginning and ending of a lunar eclipse happens simultaneously for every viewer, unlike an eclipse of the Sun.
The next total lunar eclipse is expected to occur in August 28, and is also expected to be longer than the one we have witnessed last week. If the one on March 3 lasted for 3h and 14m, the one in August will last 3h and 31m and will be visible in Asia, Australia Oceania and the Americas.
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Moon is full, and when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so.
The most recent total lunar eclipse was on 3 March 2007 to 4 March 2007. It was L=3 to L=4 on the Danjon scale (a five-point scale useful for measuring the appearance and luminosity of the Moon during a lunar eclipse), it was fully visible over Europe and Africa and at least partly visible over the eastern Americas, Asia, and western Australia. The moon entered the penumbral shadow at 20:18 UTC, and the umbral shadow at 21:30 UTC. The total phase lasted between 22:44 UTC and 23:58 UTC. The moon left the umbra shadow at 01:11 UTC and left the penumbra shadow at 02:24 UTC 4 March 2007.
The most fortunate were the British, who, besides having the best position from Earth to observe this particular eclipse, also enjoyed a crystal-clear sky. During “totality” the Moon took on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth’s atmosphere.
The reddish glow was “the sunlight still reaching the moon after being refracted through the Earth's atmosphere” Sagan explained. The Sun being much larger, the shadow of the Earth is conical with a lighter outer region called 'penumbra' and the darkest part in the center - called the 'umbra'.
The reddish color of the Moon was caused by the quantity of dust that exists in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere. Had there been a major volcanic eruption, the Moon would have had a deep red appearance, thus becoming almost invisible. Since no volcanic eruption took place, the Moon got the reddish hue only at the peak of the eclipse. The reason that the Moon can be seen at all during totality is that sunlight is scattered and refracted around the edge of the Earth by our atmosphere. There have been gradations in hue between the parts of the disk nearest and farthest from the shadow center.
Robin Scagell, of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said- quoted by British tabloid The Sun- that it was “one of the best lunar eclipses from Britain for years”.
He said: “It was fascinating to watch the Moon’s graceful movement through the shadow of the Earth and check its coppery glow.”
The eclipse from March 3 was the only one Britain inhabitants could watch without worrying about the weather. The last eclipse visible in the insular territory took place in 2004, but was obnubilated by heavy clouds.
According to an Associated Press report, about a dozen amateur astronomers braved the cold and mud outside the Croydon Observatory in southeast London to watch the start of the eclipse. "It was really very dark," said Paul Harper, Chairman of the Croydon Astronomical Society, who estimated that moon had lost over four-fifths of its luminosity. "It was quite a nice one.
Unlike an eclipse of the Sun which often requires a long journey to the path of totality, those of the Moon can be observed from one’s own backyard. The passage of the Moon through the Earth’s shadow is equally visible from all places within the hemisphere where the Moon is above the local horizon. The beginning and ending of a lunar eclipse happens simultaneously for every viewer, unlike an eclipse of the Sun.
The next total lunar eclipse is expected to occur in August 28, and is also expected to be longer than the one we have witnessed last week. If the one on March 3 lasted for 3h and 14m, the one in August will last 3h and 31m and will be visible in Asia, Australia Oceania and the Americas.
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