New system promises TV everywhere

Have to leave home halfway into a favorite TV show? Just "pull" it onto your tablet and continue watching it seamlessly elsewhere, researchers in Singapore say. And scientists at Nanyang Technological University say soon you'll also be able to watch that same TV show or movie together with your family and friends no matter which part of the world they are in. Calling it a multi-screen mobile social TV experience, researchers say you'll be able to discuss the show with them on your personal tablet or smartphone through video chat, voice or text. Dubbed "Social Cloud TV," the system uses a cloud back end for media processing so the same video can be streamed into devices in the most suitable format, a Nanyang release said Monday. The technology enables the same show on the TV or computer to be brought to mobile devices seamlessly and migrated across multiple screens -- TV, laptop, smartphone and tablet -- in the appropriate video format. "You could watch a video with your classmates on the computer, and just before you leave school, "pull" the show into your tablet and continue watching on the go," Nanyang researcher Wen Yonggang said. "Upon reaching home, you could just turn on your television and 'throw' the video back to the TV, and continue watching the program there."