用軟體降低電視背光老化現象產生的不平均

前幾天在 Hacker News Daily 上看到「TV backlight compensation (2020) (lofibucket.com)」這個,原文是 2020 年的文章「TV backlight compensation」,作者拿到一台不用錢的電視機,但這台電視機的背光已經老化了,發光亮度不平均,大概是這樣的情況:

把電視機的背光問題當作是一個函數 f(x),然後把翻拍產生的亮度差當作是 g(x),目標是要找出 f(x) 的反函數 f-1(x):

然後從作者的程式碼與解釋可以看出來不是針對每個 pixel 都單獨調整,而是全部套用同一個公式,然後目標是針對黑白畫面去調整:

The whole point of this exercise was to make black-and-white movies look better.

透過軟體的修正可以得到下面這樣的結果,其中左上角是原圖,右上角是這張圖在電視上翻拍出來的樣子;左下角是運算後修正的圖,右下角是這張修正後的圖在電視上翻拍出來的樣子;可以看到修正後的不平均感少了一些:

作者是把這個修正掛到 MPC-BE 上面,但 Hacker News 上面有人提到也可以實做 Gnome 的版本,直接讓整個 OS 都可以套用:「Hello1024/gse-shader」。

有點拼但還蠻有趣的東西 XD

透過 DNS 擋 Smart TV 的廣告

Hacker News Daily 上看到「Smart-TV Blocklist for Pi-hole」這個,給 Pi-hole 吃的 blocklist,可以拿來擋 Smart TV 抓一堆廣告亂搞,另外很多自己刷的 WRT 也都支援這個格式,不一定要自己弄 Pi-hole,像是我家裡的 AdvancedTomato 也有支援:

本來馬上想到的是 AdGuard 提供的 DNS 94.140.14.14,結果掃了一下發現都沒有擋掉,難怪會需要另外自己搞...

另外一個想到的搞法是 NextDNS,但 IPv4 的部份要固定 IP 才有辦法 (像是 HiNet 提供的 PPPoE 固一),免費版的 quota 拿來掛 Smart TV 應該夠用...

Hacker News 上的討論在「Smart-TV blocklist for Pi-Hole (perflyst.github.io)」這邊,這年頭要弄台不連網的電視機愈來愈難了...

搜尋影片的串流平台

Hacker News Daily 上看到「Show HN: API to query catalogs of 20 streaming services across 60 countries (movieofthenight.com)」這個,但這個服務反而不是重點,有許多人發現裡面錯誤率頗高,而且也沒有台灣的資料,反倒是裡面有人提到 JustWatch 這個服務看起來比較好用...

像是「Friends」(這邊用的是中國的翻譯片名) 可以看到在台灣是在 Netflix 上,美國的話則是在 HBO Max (串流) 與 Apple TV (購買) 上可以看到。不過查 MythBusters 在兩個平台上都沒看到資料...

但整體上來說 JustWatch 搜出來的品質還是好不少...

Smart TV 與遊戲主機的 DNS 經常是設死的

Hacker News Daily 上看到「Your Smart TV is probably ignoring your PiHole」,裡面提到了很多遊戲主機並不會依照從 DHCP 拿到的 DNS 設定使用,而是直接設死:

Nearly 70% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles were found to contain hardcoded DNS settings - allowing them to simply ignore your local network’s DNS server entirely. On average, Smart TVs generate an average of 60 megabytes of outgoing Internet traffic per day, all the while bypassing tools like PiHole.

裡面提到的論文是「Characterizing Smart Home IoT Traffic in the Wild」這篇,裡面分析了不同種類的裝置 DNS 的狀況,以及 HTTP/HTTPS 的比率:

回到原來的文章,裡面提到了用 NAT 的方式把 1.1.1.1 的 TCP/UDP Port 53 導到 Pi-hole 上面過濾,這樣看起來還行,下面的 DNS over TLSDNS over HTTPS 因為走其他特定的 TCP port,應該是不受影響...

用 Machine Learning 改善 Streaming 品質的服務與論文

Hacker News 上看到「Puffer」這個服務,裡面利用了 machine learning algorithm 動態調整 bitrate,以提昇傳輸品質。

測試得到的數據後來被整理起來一起放進論文:「Continual learning improves Internet video streaming」。

在開頭介紹了 Fugu 這個演算法:

We describe Fugu, a continual learning algorithm for bitrate selection in streaming video.

而 Puffer 就是實驗網站:

We evaluate Fugu with Puffer, a public website we built that streams live TV using Fugu and existing algorithms. Over a nine-day period in January 2019, Puffer streamed 8,131 hours of video to 3,719 unique users.

這個站台提供了許多真實的頻道進行測試:

Stream live TV in your browser. There's no charge. You can watch U.S. TV stations affiliated with the NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, FOX, and Univision networks.

可以看到 Fugu 的結果很好,比起其他提出的方案是全面性的改善:

這邊是用 WebSocket 測試,並且配合了不同的 TCP congestion algorithm,沒有太考慮額外的計算成本...

利用 Smart TV 監控的技術也成熟了...

透過 WikiLeaks 公開出來的文件得知 CIAMI5 都已經有能力將後門埋入 Samsung 的 Smart TV 內:「The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal」。

Hackers at the Central Intelligence Agency, with the help of colleagues from the British spy agency MI5, developed malware to secretly spy on targets through their Samsung Smart TVs, according to new documents published by WikiLeaks.

這個後門在 Fake-Off 模式中仍然可以繼續運作:

The malware was designed to keep the smart TVs on even when they were turned off. This was dubbed "Fake-Off mode," according to the documents.

甚至可以控制 LED 燈,讓被監控人無法得知現在 Smart TV 其實還在運作中:

The CIA hackers even developed a way to "suppress" the TVs LED indicators to improve the "Fake-Off" mode.

突然想到該找時間複習 1984,裡面描述的概念現在在生活週邊愈來愈多了...

去電視廣告的服務又來了...

看到「Plex’s DVR now lets you skip the commercials… by removing them for you」這篇文章,介紹 Plex 要推出去電視廣告的服務...

維基百科上的介紹比較清楚:「Plex (software)」,主要有兩個元件組成,media server 與 player:

  • The Plex Media Server desktop application runs on Windows, macOS and Linux-compatibles including some types of NAS devices. The 'server' desktop application organizes video, audio and photos from your collections and from online services, enabling the players to access and stream the contents.
  • The media players. There are official clients available for mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, a web app and Plex Home Theater (no longer maintained), as well as many third-party alternatives.

然後這次要推出的功能是直接在錄影的時候把廣告拿掉:

Plex confirmed it’s rolling out a new feature that will allow cord cutters to skip the commercials in the TV programs recorded using its software, making the company’s lower-cost solution to streaming live TV more compelling. Unlike other commercial-skip options, Plex’s option will remove commercials from recordings automatically.

這讓我有些印像... 當年 TiVo 也有類似的功能,不過文章裡有提到 TiVo 是提供 skip 而非直接拿掉:

The new feature works by locating the commercials in your recorded media. It then actually removes them before the media is stored in your library. That sounds like it could be even better than TiVo’s commercial skipping option, for example, because you don’t have to press a button to skip the ads — they’re being pulled out for you, proactively.

不過主要是認識了 Plex 這個軟體... 如果是電視兒童的話應該用的到 XD 台灣目前的電視節目好像看的比較少...

在北美盜版 IPTV 產生的流量比 BitTorrent 還多

算是前陣子的新聞,在北美地區的盜版 IPTV 流量比 BitTorrent 的流量還多:「IPTV Piracy Generates More Internet Traffic Than Torrents」。

During peak hours, 6.5% of all downstream traffic on fixed networks is generated by TV piracy services.

To put this into perspective; this is more than all BitTorrent traffic during the peak hours, which was “only” 1.73% last year, and dropping.

如果把影音網站都考慮進去,最大的還是 YouTubeNetflix 這兩個啦,不過盜版的量也不小...

然後也有把最大的量分析出來,這裡面最大的量是 Indian Star Plus HD,應該是印度裔或是印度籍的人看家鄉的東西?

The most viewed of all in North America, with 4.6% of all pirated TV traffic, is the Indian Star Plus HD.

不過 Sandvine 一直都有方法分析整個北美流量,讓人感覺不太舒服...

美國政府暗中介入好萊塢的劇本,影響大眾對戰爭的看法

透過 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 取得的資料顯示美國政府 (包括了五角大廈、CIA、NSA) 如何介入好萊塢,影響大眾對於戰爭的看法:「EXCLUSIVE: Documents expose how Hollywood promotes war on behalf of the Pentagon, CIA and NSA」。

灰標「US military intelligence agencies have influenced over 1,800 movies and TV shows」可以看出影響的層面。

The documents reveal for the first time the vast scale of US government control in Hollywood, including the ability to manipulate scripts or even prevent films too critical of the Pentagon from being made — not to mention influencing some of the most popular film franchises in recent years.

從很意想不到的地方介入... 引用其中一個說明:

Jon Voight in Transformers — in this scene, just after American troops have been attacked by a Decepticon robot, Pentagon Hollywood liaison Phil Strub inserted the line ‘Bring em home’, granting the military a protective, paternalistic quality, when in reality the DOD does quite the opposite.

YouTube 開始與內容商合作,推出 YouTube TV 服務

YouTube 推出 YouTube TV 服務:「Finally, live TV made for you」。

直接打了幾個大頻道,尤其是運動類的頻道:

Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, regional sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks.

比較完整的頻道資訊可以參考這張:

可以錄影:

A cloud DVR, with no storage limits.

跨電腦、平板與手機:

A service that works great on all your screens.

價錢也只有目前常態性的一半 (相較於買比較完整的 cable 方案),USD$35/month,而且不用簽長期合約:

Half the cost of cable with zero commitments. A YouTube TV membership is only $35 a month and there are no commitments—you can cancel anytime.

這的確有殺傷性了... 加上 YouTube 的需求所累積的頻寬,應該會比起 Netflix 當時遇到的問題少?