China Requires Real Names, Bans Spending By Teens In New Curbs On Livestreaming

New submitter SirKveldulv shares a report from Nikkei Asia: Livestreaming platforms now must limit the amount of money a user can give hosts as a tip. Users must register their real names to buy the virtual gifts, in addition to the ban on teens giving such gifts. The [National Radio and Television Administration, China’s media watchdog] also asked the platforms to…

Nikon Will Let You Use Its Cameras as High-End Webcams

Nikon has at last released software that turns your fancy DSLR or mirrorless camera into a high-end webcam. From a report: Other major camera makers have rolled out similar tools in the last several months, as video calls became much more prevalent amid stay-at-home measures to combat COVID-19. The free Webcam Utility Software is available in beta for both Windows 10…

Debian Donates 10,000 Euros to Fund Free and Decentralized Livestreaming

PeerTube (developed by Framasoft) is “the free and decentralized alternative to video platforms, providing you over 400,000 videos published by 60,000 users and viewed over 15 million times,” according to its web site. But now they’re exploring livestreaming, writes Debian developer Phil Hands (Slashdot reader #2,365): Holding DebConf20 online this year highlighted the effort involved in setting up Live Streaming using…

Microsoft’s Livestreaming Service Mixer Shuts Down Today

Microsoft’s livestreaming platform Mixer will shut down later today and encourage users to migrate over to Facebook Gaming’s livestreaming service, with treasured Mixer Partners getting partner status over there too. Rock Paper Shotgun reports: From what I’ve seen on my stroll through Mixer on this final day, a whole lot of folks are planning to switch to Twitch. The shutdown comes…

Watch Live: SpaceX Launches NASA Astronauts to ISS

“Crew Dragon’s hatch is closed, securing @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug in the spacecraft ahead of liftoff,” SpaceX tweeted an hour ago. Livestreaming of the launch has already begun, with liftoff scheduled in about 41 minutes. GeekWire reports: If liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurs today at 3:22 p.m. ET (12:22 p.m. PT), it’ll be a feat that America hasn’t…

TikTok ‘Tried To Filter Out Videos From Ugly, Poor Or Disabled Users’

TikTok moderators were told to suppress videos from users who appeared too ugly, poor or disabled, as part of the company’s efforts to curate an aspirational air in the videos it promotes, according to new documents published by the Intercept. From a report: The documents detail how moderators for the social video app were instructed to select content for the influential…

World Chess Champion Plays Recklessly Online Using a Pseudonym

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has been sneaking onto online chess sites using stupid pseudonyms and taunting his opponents by using pointless maneuvers with names like “the Bongcloud.” One YouTube commenter calls it “a revolution in the history of chess.” Slate documents the antics in an article titled “DrDrunkenstein’s Reign of Terror.” “DrDrunkenstein” is one of many aliases Magnus Carlsen has…

YouTube Gaming’s Most-Watched Videos Are Dominated By Scams and Cheats

An anonymous reader shares a report from Wired: In January, all seven of the most-watched YouTube Gaming channels weren’t run by happy gamers livestreaming the game du jour. They were instead recorded, autoplaying videos advertising videogame cheats and hacks, sometimes attached to sketchy, credential-vacuuming websites, according to one analytics firm. The trend has continued into this month, with five of the…

Fast-and-Loose Culture of Esports is Upending Once Staid World of Chess

Grandmasters and upstarts are reinventing the game online, becoming its most visible ambassadors and arguably its first entertainers. From a report: On Twitch, the most popular internet platform to livestream esports, time spent watching chess has risen by more than 500 percent since 2016, according to data from the company. With that consumption has come some money, mostly donations from viewers…

Japanese Hotel Room Costs $1 a Night — If You’ll Livestream Yourself

“Guests coming to Asahi Ryokan have the option to pay just ¥100 (about $1) per night to stay the night — if they agree to have their entire stay livestreamed,” reports CNN:
[T]here are restrictions around how the livestreaming works. [27-year-old manager] Tetsuya Inoue explains to CNN Travel that the feed is video-only, so guests will have privacy in their conversations or…