Dukes Digital Domain…

Over the past week or so I’ve watched a number of TV shows featuring the Hubble Space Telescope. The images that are gathered from the scope in space are absolutely fascinating. I’ve always had an interest in everything space related since I was a child. In fact, I’ve got an image of the Eagle Nebula set as a wallpaper on my Mac.

Starting tonight, there are  number of TV shows on the National Geographic channel deadicated to, Space. I’ve listed the shows below:

Space Week
Take a bold and compelling look at what the future will hold for our planet, the Milky Way and the entire universe.

Journey to the Edge of the Universe
Fusing images and information from spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope and the world’s biggest telescopes, this is the first accurate exploration of the cosmos, from our planet to the rest of the universe.
Sunday 4th January at 8pm

Cosmic Monsters
Take a virtual journey starting in the early days of the universe and the creation of the stars, right down to the centre of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, where a truly hungry monster sits a supermassive black hole.
Monday 5th January at 9pm

Hubble’s Final Frontier
The Hubble Space Telescope is responsible for mapping the skies in such a way that it seems inconceivable that the final frontier of space could ever have been successfully breached without it. Astronauts are preparing a dangerous mission to refurbish it once more before being succeeded by the James Webb Telescope.
Monday 5th January at 10pm

Death of the Universe
A look at how it all might end. Will the cosmos be torn apart atom by atom in a cataclysmic finale, or will the universe continue to expand forever as its nuclear furnaces grow cold and die?
Tuesday 6th January at 9pm

Martian Robots
Since 2004, two intrepid explorers have been trekking across the surface of Mars. Surviving in the hostile landscape and persevering in the face of elemental and mechanical difficulties, rovers Spirit and Opportunity now face the final stretch of their mission.
Wednesday 7th January at 9pm

The trailer for the final season of Battlestar Galactica is now online. It looks like the final season will be aired in January 2009. It is such a shame the series has to end.

Ben, Keri and Tom took part in The Worlds of Fantasy program a few month’s ago and the program just aired last night. You can view the show on the BBC’s iPlayer service, you’ll see the new TV stars at the thirty-eight minute mark.

Will all of this fame go to their heads? Will they start charging ridiculous amount’s of money for their autographs? When I call them, will I get to speak to them or will I have to deal with an agent?

Microsoft launched the Video Marketplace on the UK’s version of Xbox Live earlier this month. The service was rolled out with a number of movies. You can buy rent movies in either Standard Definition (SD) or High Definition (HD) for a two week window. You have just 24hours to watch the media but you can watch it as much as you like within the 24hour window.

The cost of the movies is comparable to services provided by BlockBusters and LoveFilm but obviously you get a lot longer than twenty-four hours to watch the media. I’d be inclined to use the service if I could keep the media longer than 24hours because there is no way I’d be able to watch a film again and again on the same day.

It would be good if the service had TV shows instead of music videos. If the Video marketplace showcased TV shows like Battlestar Galactica then I’d be using the service.

Battlestar Galactica Razor was aired earlier this week on Sky One and it was certainly worth the wait. Battlestar Galactica was one of the topics Cro and I covered over lunch the other day. Cro seems to think Major Kendra Shaw is one of the final five. I wasn’t 100% sure but after watching Razor again, I think Cro might be right.

I thought the two hour special was great, it was pretty cool seeing the old model toasters (Cylons) in action. Did you watch Battlestar Galactica Razor? If you did, what did you think of it?

I really enjoyed it and I’ll be buying the DVD when it’s released on Boxing Day.

Last Thursday I ordered a very cool HDTV via Amazon.co.uk. The estimated delivery date was set for the 21st August. It’s Wednesday 22nd and it hasn’t arrived, yet.

I just called Amazon and they made me laugh. Apparently, City Link (the couriers) have lost the 37inch TV in the post and a replacement is going to be sent to me. Hopefully, it will be here in time for the weekend.

If it’s raining, windy or sunny I cannot watch anything via Sky TV. The following pictures represent the image quality of my Sky TV service:

Great isn’t it? And the other thing is you can’t swap over to Cable TV or whatever it is called because they don’t have any decent channels like Sky One. I’m so  bored right now, it is unreal.

I was supposed to meet up with Team Dignitas at XLeague.tv’s studios on Friday but I couldn’t make it because I was going away for the weekend. Time was not a friend on Friday afternoon. However, Team Dignitas attended and they’ve posted up a load of pictures and a video*. (* You’ll need to register in order to view the video).

It looks like everything went to plan. Now, we’ve just got to wait until the WiC show is aired on TV. Obviously, I’ll let you know when it’s on and hopefully the footage will be available to watch on the internet after its aired.

As I mentioned this morning I had a meeting at XLeague.tv. The meeting went very well and really provided us with a good insight into XLeagues.tv online and TV operations. I’m not going to go into any detail about the meeting but I did see a show in production. Pictures below:

I’m heading over to XLeague.tv studio’s for a meeting today. Hopefully, we’ll get a tour of the studio and they’ll let me take photos. I doubt I’ll be able to post anything live but when I get back I’ll let you know what’s going on.

Ben Talbot visited the studio a few weeks back so I’ll most likely be mirroring his tour.