We've been impressed with Oculus Rift from the start, and have been following the VR headset closely ever since. The developer edition has been in the hands of devs for a couple months now, and while Palmer Luckey and Nate Mitchell have certainly received rave reviews of the headset from many, they've also heard lots of feedback about ways to improve it. The number one request from users and devs? A higher-resolution screen than the 1,280 x 800 panel in the dev device. Well, after months of research and tinkering to find the right hardware combination, team Oculus is finally ready to show off a Rift with a 1,080 x 1920 display, and we got to demo the thing.

Before heading into the land of 1080p, we got to explore a demo built with Unreal Engine 4 in the existing dev headset. After looking around a snowy mountain stronghold inhabited by a fire lord in low res, we switched to the exact same demo running at 60 fps on the HD prototype device -- and the difference was immediately apparent. Surface textures could be seen in much higher fidelity, colors were brighter and less muddied and the general detail of the entire environment was greatly improved.

Gallery: Oculus Rift HD prototype VR headset hands-on

Filed under: Gaming, HD

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Gallery: ZTE Vital for Sprint

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

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Source: Honeystreet

Back in the day, the spec list for Motorola's Atrix HD made for impressive reading. After all, the $99 handset shipped with a 720p display, Ice Cream Sandwich, 8-megapixel camera and AT&T LTE. While its real-world performance couldn't match our hopes, the low price more than compensated for our gripe that it couldn't hold its own against the Galaxy S III or One X. We're fairly sure plenty of you out there bought this handset, so it's to you we ask: what parts of this phone's design to you love, what parts do you loathe and what, if anything, would you change?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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As if bringing the Nook HD and HD+ access to Google Play this week wasn't already a sweet deal, Barnes & Noble is temporarily slashing the prices for its two reading-focused tablets. The reductions will last until the end of Mother's Day, putting the 7-inch Nook HD 8GB at $149 and the 16GB at $179 (a $50 discount), with the 9-inch HD+ set at $179 for 16GB and $209 for 32GB (with $90 off). Compared to other options like the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 tablets, the deal may be enough to make up for lack of cameras and UI shortcomings on the Nooks. If your interest is piqued, you check out our reviews of both the HD and HD+, and hit up the source link if you'd like to snag one.

Update: We'd also like to remind our UK readers that a similar limited-time offer was put in place a few days ago, dropping the price of the Nook HD from £159 to £129 and the Nook HD+ from £229 to £179.

Filed under: Tablets

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Source: Barnes & Noble

Prior to the company's recent milestone announcement, Roku released its latest streaming effort. In a smokin' hot issue of our weekly, the Roku 3 gets put through the full review treatment to see just how it stacks up against other set-top boxes. We also spend some quality time with OUYA's Founding Backer's Edition and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 before offering up detailed analysis for both. Eyes-On gazes on the Joey Roth Ceramic Speaker System and Elon Musk discusses service and the Tesla Model X. Go on and swipe to that weekly download spot because this issue is certainly one you won't want to miss.

Distro Issue 86 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro in the Windows Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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Source: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Store

This week, the Seattle Mariners showed off a new 3,840 x 1,080, surface-mount LED display at Safeco Field -- one the team's PR department touts as the "largest in Major League Baseball and among the largest in all of sports." At 201.5 feet wide by 56.7 feet tall, its surface area of 11,425 square feet places it behind massive screens at Charlotte Motor Speedway (16,000 square feet) and Cowboys Stadium (11,520 square feet). That's good enough, the team said, to rank as the third-largest sports-venue display in North America and surpasses Kauffman Stadium's HD scoreboard as the largest in baseball. Roughly 1,200 individual panels make up the screen, offering a total of 4,147,200 pixels -- more pixels than the 2.6-megapixel Cowboys Stadium display, the team pointed out.

To feed their new HD beast, the team revamped its video control room and upgraded to high-def cameras throughout the stadium. A 64-bit operating system called VisionSOFT allows the team to mix in multiple video sources, from in-house animations and HD video feeds to out-of-town footage from broadcast partners. All told, the HD upgrade required about 3,000 feet each of power, video coax and Cat5 cables. Along with showing ads, stats and replays, the team will take advantage of the HD resolution to display social media updates from fans during games via Twitter, Google+ and other sources.

You can check out more shots of the new screen in action after the break.

Filed under: Displays, HD

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Barnes and Noble has just dealt up some good news for movie-loving owners of its Nook HD and HD+ slates, with the announcement of new licensing agreements with a host of studios. Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount, Relativity Media as well as National Geographic, Little Pim and Film Buff are all part of the new wave of additions to the Nook Video line-up. This means titles such as The Hunger Games, Mad Men, and the Twilight Movies will be available for rent or purchase starting today. Little Pim provides foreign language learning for kids, so there's something to expand the minds of the little ones too. This, combined with that UltraViolet integration and the odd item at the FCC suggests that Barnes & Noble is taking its media content offering more seriously than ever. We're certainly not complaining.

Filed under: Tablets, HD

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Geeks who are into fast cars and stereoscopic displays must think that watching F1 races in 3D is the bees-knees. However, FIA, the sport's governing body, has often been resistant to new technology -- only adopting HD a few years ago. That's why when the FIA asked Sky to produce a test-broadcast of the practice testing laps in the run up to the Barcelona Grand Prix, the British broadcaster jumped at the chance. Naturally, BSkyB wanted to show off its technical marvel, and so invited us to come and see what it was like. Of course, like the good geeks that we are, our attention was focused on keeping Sky's chief engineer Chris Johns in a corner and needling him with questions. Curious to find out what he said (apart from "please go away," of course)? After the break is where all the cool kids are at.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Silicon Image is hoping that you'll want to play HD from your handheld device on a big screen without taking the more convoluted WiFi route using DLNA, Airplay and the like. As such, the company took its WirelessHD 1080p60 tech currently seen in bulkier gadgets like laptops and shrunk it to mobile size as the UltraGig 6400 wireless transmitter. It's now created a reference design for the tech in the form of the tiny chip shown highlighted in the image above, which it would like manufacturers to integrate in their handsets or tablets. To show how it works, they jury-rigged the chip into a smartphone and set up a receiver on an HD panel, so naturally we wanted to take an Android game for a spin on the big screen. The signal stayed solid thanks to the chip's focused antenna array and 30-foot claimed range, while distracting latency seemed to be minimal -- in line with the company's 5ms assertion. Silicon Image is still talking to manufacturer's to see who might like to integrate the tech into their devices, but until then, you can experience it vicariously in the video after the break.

Gallery: Silicon Image WirelessHD UltraGig 6400

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment

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It wouldn't be CES without Stream TV showing off more interesting glasses-free 3D technology and then launching, um, nothing into the wide market. Hopefully that won't happen this time, now that the company has paired with OEM panel-makers Pegatron and Hisense, and is now showing off its technology in UltraHD 4k. It has a proprietary system for encoding 2D and 3D video using occlusion, which is delivered to standard panels that have been retrofitted with its optical glass sandwich to bring the spec-less 3D illusion to viewers. This year, it added all-new algorithms that can handle native UHDTV content or up-res HD to 4k, both in non-realtime for quality, or realtime to convert standard 2D TV to 3D on-the-fly.

The 3D viewing experience seems better than previous iterations to our eyes, and Stream TV explained that the improved resolution was due to the company's software filling in pixels on standard HD content to make up the deficit to 4k. The stereoscopic level (which can be adjusted) also seemed decent even if you move around the room, though still not nearly as good as passive or active 3D with glasses. It does trump passive tech in one area though, as there's no drop in the screen's brightness that normally happens when you don specs. All the content we viewed was HD that had been converted to 4k, unfortunately, so we couldn't judge how higher resolution, glasses-free 3D images would look at that res. As far as the real-time encoded live TV content, the resolution looked fine but the stereoscopic illusion was a little, well, flat -- as if layers of 2D objects were placed at varying distances.

Though Stream TV has created some neat technology, we've heard this entire song and dance before -- a few times -- and have yet to see products actually arrive in any volume to the marketplace. The company expects panels with its technology to start shipping sometime this year with comparable prices to other glasses-free 3D tech, but until it actually happens, don't hold your breath. Check the gallery below and video after the break, in plain old 2D, of course.

Gallery: Stream TV 4K glass-free 3D

Filed under: Home Entertainment

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Westinghouse has yet to become the premium HDTV manufacturer it one day hopes to be, and if the past is any indication, flooding the market with low-cost sets won't drive you to the top. But the promise of high resolution might at least yield a modest bump. The company's 2013 lineup is set to be dominated by 4K models, each packing 3840 x 2160-pixel panels for an "amazing" and "affordable" experience. The company's flagship rings in at a massive 110 diagonal inches and will be available for custom order beginning sometime in Q1. 50, 55 and 65-inch versions will also ship within the same timeframe, offering the same resolution and a modest 120Hz native refresh rate. We're still waiting to hear back on pricing and a hint of where you might be able to pick one of these UHDTVs up beginning early next year, but if the press release after the break is any indication, we're about to be inundated with high-res, low-cost televisions at next month's CES.

Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD

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A new venture from an iRobot co-founder called CyPhy Works has borne fruit in the form of two flying drones dedicated to surveillance duty. The first, called Ease, is a mere foot in diameter by 16-inches tall and can fly safely in tight spaces or through open windows or doors, thanks to its petite size and ducted rotors. It packs a pair of HD cameras along with a thermal imager and can stay aloft permanently, in theory, thanks to a microfilament tether attached to a ground station -- which also makes it impervious to weather, tracking and interception at the same time, according to CyPhy. The second drone, an insect-like quadrotor called Parc, is designed for higher flying missions thanks to its larger size and maximum 1,000-foot altitude. It also uses a tether and can stay aloft for 12-hours on a single ground-station battery, letting it spy from afar with on-board HD, night-vision and thermal cameras. The company's yet to take any orders, but thanks to investors and government grants, the snoopy little bots could be getting up into your business one day soon -- as creepily shown in the video after the break.

Filed under: Robots

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Via: Wired

Source: Cy Phi Works

As we enjoy our first F1 action in the US since 2007 we're glad that it's in HD this time, however it still falling short in one area -- in-car camera shots. Although the racing series belatedly made the jump to high definition broadcasts last year, protests from the teams over weight and space issues caused it to stick with standard-definition cameras for the on-board shots. Now that a couple of years have passed and presumably the technology has improved, that may be addressed next year, at the same time US broadcasts of the series move from Speed/Fox to NBC Sports. Formula One Supporters Association caught up to F1 journalist Christian Sylt who got a peek at future plans that include the possibility of HD in-car cameras, multi-channel formats offering different views of the track and an interactive 3D replay feature. We'll have to wait and see how much -- if any -- of that is actually implemented any time soon, but if you'd like to check out the technology in use today, Speed TV has a live stream from several of the cars currently racing around the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: F1SA.com, Speed TV

While HDX video has been a trademark for the Vudu service for years, when it launched streaming and Vudu-to-go downloads for PCs last year, they were limited to standard definition. That's been corrected recently, as the service is now offering 1080p or 720p HDX video via the web. What you still won't get on the PC unfortunately is higher quality sound as it's still limited to stereo audio for now, and in our tests we weren't able to access the Flash streams on a phone or tablet. Just log into the website and you should be able to try it out for yourself, however you will need adequate internet speed and an HDCP-compliant display -- check out the details at the link below.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Vudu Support

It feels like forever since Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8 back in June, but the mobile OS is finally here and with it comes the inaugural volley of compatible handsets. The first one to cross our desks is the global, unlocked version of HTC's Windows Phone 8X, a device we first saw in September. Unlike other current flagships, this phone breaks the bigger-is-better trend by providing a full set of high-end specs in a relatively compact package -- combining a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display, Qualcomm dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and NFC in a sleek and colorful package. Does the 8X have what it takes to carry the Windows Phone 8 torch? Is this a bona fide flagship despite its reduced footprint? Has HTC designed a better handset than its existing Android superphone, the One X? Find out in our review after the break.

Gallery: HTC Windows Phone 8X review

Gallery: HTC Windows Phone 8X review (AT&T model)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, HTC

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You've heard it before: the more things change the more they stay the same. It wasn't that long ago that we reviewed LG's flagship Optimus 4X HD, the world's first quad-core HSPA+ handset. Despite representing the company's best engineering and design effort to date, it wasn't quite able to match the competition's global offerings -- Samsung's mighty Galaxy S III and HTC's lovely One X. Today, just a few months later, quad-core LTE superphones are the state of the art. Samsung's selling the global Galaxy Note II, HTC's just announced the One X+ and LG's betting everything on the Optimus G -- the first handset to feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro together with an LTE radio.

The Optimus G is a pivotal device for the Korean manufacturer, especially in the US, where rival Samsung is massively popular and LG's success has been hampered by a series of forgettable products (hello, Intuition) and a lackluster track record for software updates. It's so critical that LG even invited us to spend some quality time with the Optimus G at the launch event in Seoul last month. In the US, LG's partnering with Sprint and AT&T and there's strong evidence that Google's upcoming Nexus will be based on the Optimus G. So, does the company's latest powerhouse measure up to the competition? How different are the US versions from the Korean model? Does LG finally have a winning formula with the Optimus G? Find out in our review after the break.

Gallery: LG Optimus G review (Korean model)

Gallery: LG Optimus G review (Sprint model)

Gallery: LG Optimus G review (AT&T model)

Gallery: LG Optimus G review (comparisons)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, LG

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When Verizon said the RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD would be out before the holidays, it wasn't kidding. October the 18th is the big day if you're after some of the sharp-sounding Motorola action. The 8-megapixel, NFC-enabled RAZR HD , if you recall, sports a 4.7-inch 720p display, running ICS (Jelly Bean update in the works) on that dual-core S4 chip. If you cast your memory back once more, you'll remember that the RAZR MAXX HD has the same sized screen, but the real killer feature is that 3,300 mAh battery. The RAZR HD will set you back $200, in either black or white with 16GB storage, the MAXX, however will run you an extra $100, and has double the storage. So, which one gets your money?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Verizon

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Source: Verizon

Amazon might be continuing its European HD streaming video invasion by arriving in France next March, according to Canal Plus' president, Bertrand Meheu. The executive is well-placed to have that info, as he says his company will be supplying Amazon with content for the service's launch on the Kindle Fire. If true, it's not known yet if it would be in the form of Lovefilm, which launched in Germany and the UK recently, or if it would be available on PCs, Macs, Xbox 360 consoles or Smart TVs as it is elsewhere. Canal Plus has been fighting to keep such competitors out of the notoriously protectionist country, but it was recently blocked by a state watchdog from hoarding VOD rights exclusively for its own networks. The company also said that Netflix would arrive in France by "early 2013" -- another credible claim, considering the huge amount of content it produces that the US streaming service would surely need.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Amazon

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Via: The Hollywood Reporter

Source: BFMTV France (translated)

Toshiba had its new lineup of Regza HDTVs on hand at CEATEC today, showing sets from both the J7 Series and Z7 series. The J7 Series offers 32-, 40, 50- and 65-inch options, all of which boast 1080p resolutions save for the 32-incher. Pricing starts at ¥75,000 (about $961) and tops off at ¥370,000 for the largest model. The slightly higher-end Z7 Series includes 42-, 47- and 55-inch models, with pricing ranging from ¥180,000 to ¥370,000. The Z7 Series also boats Toshiba's "time-shift machine" feature, which automatically records up to 40 hours of content on primary channels and suggests programs based on your viewing habits.

We spent a few minutes staring into the high-def abyss at the company's rather dim booth, and all of the displays looked quite stunning. Unfortunately, we weren't able to test out the time-shift feature, so we'll have to take the company on its word there. The premium Z7 models include a thinner bezel and an overall sleeker look, while the J7 featured a more rounded design, with a beefier border around the panel. All of the TVs are expected to debut in time for the holiday season. For now, you can get a sneak peek from our hands-on video below.

Gallery: Toshiba REGZA Z7 and J7 eyes-on

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Here at CEATEC, the Japanese display maker is showing of its latest portable screens. Although the vivid 1080p displays were scurried away in the corner of Sharp's stand, we managed to grab a few photos of its 443ppi -- likely smartphone-bound -- tech. From these prototype samples (the screen will go into production later this month), it's looking pretty good, with Sharp's thinnest GS-Silicon technology reducing the layers between the LCD display and our eyes. Although we were told not to touch, viewing angles were also impressive -- we could see ourselves gazing at YouTube clips on this screen in whichever smartphone it ends up on. Sharp weren't talking manufacturers just yet, but you can take a closer look in our gallery below.

Update: Sharp also quietly exhibited its 6.1-inch 498ppi panel on the other end of the booth, but we were told it won't be out in the market until next year.

Gallery: Sharp's new 443 ppi 5-inch smartphone displays on show at CEATEC 2012 (eyes-on)

Gallery: Sharp's 6.1-inch 498ppi LCD at CEATEC 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Mobile

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Layoffs and loans may be dominating our Sharp coverage at the moment, but that just makes this type of news all the sweeter. The company has announced its LCD panel type 5 -- a 5-inch full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display packing a Retina-busting 443ppi (just trumping LG's similar 440ppi LCD). An outcome of its layer-reducing CG-Silicon technology, the smartphone-targeted screen goes into full-scale production this month and will be shown off at CEATEC Japan this very week. We'll try to give it eyes-on treatment at the show, but you can rub your hands together sinisterly in the meantime and just think about the glorious devices which will bear it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays, Mobile

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Via: Fareastgizmos

Source: Sharp

Looxcie isn't just a luxurious sounding word (and terrible pun), it's also a maker of life-casting head-mounted cameras. Up until now, it would only let you capture your life in a rather pedestrian 480p, but the new Looxcie HD does away with that, letting you grab that bike ride in full glorious high-definition. Other additions include WiFi (previous iterations relied on Bluetooth) to hook up to your Android or iOS device with, a larger 1,200 mAh battery and improved low light performance. Owners of previous models might spot that with new features comes a new, larger form. The price of evolution it seems. The price for the device, on the other hand, is $279, or $329 if you opt for the "Explore" bundle, which incidentally you can pre-order now. Peep at the source for more.

Filed under: Cameras, Wearables

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Looxcie

It's not just the Android side of things that's getting a little love from Netflix, the iPhone app just got a refresh too. The new design brings the mobile version much more inline with the tablet edition that got a revamp last December. The update brings with it the ability to resume watching shows, right from the top of the app view, along with the sliding rows of titles, and custom recommendations that you may be familiar with from other versions. The new interface gets the official walk-through in the video after the break, but as it's available now, you might just want to fondle the source link directly.

Filed under: Cellphones, HD, Mobile

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Source: Netflix Blog, iTunes

With the proliferation of Ultrabooks, laptops are shipping with fewer ports and smaller screens. One of the benficiaries of the streamlined designs is DisplayLink, whose technology can turn a single USB port into a bevy of connections. At IDF 2012, the company showed off new gear from several vendors, including EVGA, HP, Lenovo and Targus. First, there's a handsome little puck from EVGA, called the UV Plus+39, that plugs into your laptop's USB 2 or 3.0 socket to grant you HDMI and DVI output at up to 2048 x 1152 resolution for $85. Next up, Lenovo's self-explanatory USB 3.0 to DVI adapter that supports the same max resolution as the Plus+39 for $80. Lastly, a pair of docks from Targus and HP. HP's 3005pr USB 3.0 Port Replicator turns your laptop's USB 3.0 port into four USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, one HDMI, DisplayPort, and RJ-45 jacks, plus audio in and out connections for a mere $150. Targus' $250 USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Dual Video Docking Station has similar connectivity to HP's solution, but swaps DisplayPort for DVI and adds the ability to charge 90W laptops using its included array of power adapters. Having trouble deciding which one's for you? Perhaps our photos in the gallery below will help you decide.

Gallery: DisplayLink at IDF 2012

Myriam Joire contributed to this report.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Source: EVGA, Lenovo, HP, Targus

Sony rolled out its first head-mounted 3D visor last fall, and announced the HMZ-T2 followup recently at IFA 2012. Now in Japan it has revealed few more details about the changes it's made this time around as well as a release date and pricing. Scheduled to hit shelves on October 13th, the HMZ-T2 features all the upgrades we'd heard about: lighter total weight, redesigned head strap for improved comfort, ear buds instead of headphones plus 24p cinema support and a "Clear" panel drive mode for fast moving content. While we still don't have a US price the Japanese damage is 70,000 yen ($894), a 10,000 yen ($127) boost over last year's model which cost $799 in the US. Sony Japan has also put together an "Institute for Immersive Pleasure" Facebook page , and plans to show it off again at the Tokyo Game Show. Check out our hands-on impressions from IFA here, we'll let you know when there's more release information for other regions.

Gallery: Sony HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer

Gallery: Sony HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD

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Source: Sony Japan, HMZ Lab (Facebook)