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Amazon Music HD is adding thousands more Ultra HD songs and albums
Amazon is working with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to remaster more songs in Ultra HD.
Amazon's Fire TV Cube drops to $100
Amazon is discounting some of its streaming gear today, with price cuts on its Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick 4K.
Every ‘Star Wars’ feature film will be available on 4K Blu-ray in March
So far, Star Wars fans have only been able to watch The Last Jedi and Solo on 4K Blu-ray. The rest of the live action movies will be getting the 4K Blu-ray treatment on March 31st, though, for a total of 11 Star Wars films on the high resolution format. That, of course, includes the latest entry -- and the final chapter in the "Skywalker Saga" -- The Rise of Skywalker, which comes out on March 17th on digital and March 31st on standard and 4K Blu-ray.
ESPN's 4K National Championship broadcast airs on Comcast, DirecTV and Altice
Back in October ESPN started broadcasting college football in 4K, and now it's time for the National Championship Game. For tonight's matchup between LSU and Clemson the network will present a Samsung-sponsored feed from the Field Pass view -- with "free flowing commentary of the game" and SkyCam angle in Ultra HD. There's still no HDR in the broadcast yet, but viewers with appropriate setups from Comcast, DirecTV and Altice can tune in. Hopefully the broadcast won't suffer from any glitches, as Awful Announcing pointed out the the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day ran into numerous "technical difficulties" for DirecTV viewers.
Disney+ gets every 'Star Wars' movie in 4K, Dolby Vision and Atmos
We knew Disney+ would be the new home of Star Wars ever since the service was announced, but Disney kept an interesting nugget secret until now. The entire Star Wars series, including the original trilogy and much-maligned prequels, has also been remastered in 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos support, delivering the clearest look at the twin suns of Tatooine yet. So now, even physical media purists will have a reason to check out Disney+.
TCL's 2018 6-Series 4K TV is on sale this weekend for $400
TCL only recently introduced its new 6-Series and 8-Series 4K TVs for 2019, but their predecessors were among the most well-reviewed and highly rated TVs last year. The new 6-Series TVs add quantum dots to the mix, and start at $599 for a 55-inch version. However, there's still some of the 2018-era TVs to clear out, and TCL has announced that Best Buy will sell the 55-inch version for just $400. The sale starts at 2 AM ET on Friday morning and will run through Sunday night, or as long as supplies last. These 4K TVs bring excellent picture quality, Dolby Vision HDR and the Roku smart TV platform, however as The Wirecutter noted in a recent updates, there have been some complaints about color uniformity and lip sync issues when using HDMI-ARC. Still, it's hard to find a TV this good at that price, so think hard -- the sale starts in just a few hours. Buy TCL 6-Series 4K TV on Best Buy - $400
Watch ESPN's first native 4K game Saturday -- if you have DirecTV or Comcast
By now we've seen Ultra HD TV broadcasts of sports and other content, but for the first time ESPN is getting into the game. The network just confirmed that Saturday night's college football matchup between Florida and LSU at 8PM ET will be the first one it ever broadcasts live in native 4K resolution. The only problem now is that the only way to watch this broadcast is via DirecTV with the right equipment. ESPN's 4K productions in the future may be available via more distributors, but so far only the one satellite broadcaster has signed on. The broadcast is the first of six planned college football 4K events this year under the "Samsung QLED 4K Game of the Week" banner, which will include a 4K feed of the National Championship BCS game on January 13th, 2020. Unlike Fox's recent (upscaled from 1080p) NFL broadcasts, there won't be any use of HDR, but it is high resolution. Also unlike Fox, ESPN isn't using its apps -- or even Samsung's apps -- to stream the game in 4K, which seems like an unfortunate missed opportunity when the network has been preparing to handle 4K for many years now. Hopefully all goes well, and this doesn't end up like its 3D push that shut down after a couple of years due to a lack of adoption. Update (10/11, 7:14 PM ET): Comcast has also signed on to distribute the first live ESPN 4K broadcast, so if you have one of the cable company's Ultra HD boxes then you should be able to watch too. Additionally, ESPN informed Sports Video Group that along with the 4K game feed, it's also providing an Atmos audio stream.
Sky will reportedly launch its 'SkyQ' 4K box within weeks
Just days after BT began selling its Ultra HD box online, broadcasting rival Sky appears ready to show off its own 4K hardware. The Telegraph reports that the pay TV provider is just weeks away from launching "SkyQ," an Ultra HD set-top box that will reportedly let subscribers watch or record at least four programmes at once. Like the EE TV box, Sky's player will also share broadcasts across smartphones and tablets, as families increasingly shift towards smaller screens.
BT's Ultra HD box now available to order online
When the Premier League kicks off again in two weeks, we'll see new teams and fresh faces, but there'll also be a new way to catch the action as it unfolds. That's all thanks to BT's new Ultra HD box, which will offer coverage of Saturday evening and mid-week matches in glorious 4K. While the new Humax-made YouView box has been available to purchase over the phone for around a week, BT has today opened up online orders, making it much easier to get your living room ready for when Arsenal meet Chelsea in the FA Community Shield on August 2nd and the lunchtime kickoff between Manchester United and Tottenham on August 8th.
LG's 4K monitor is first with AMD's game-enhancing FreeSync
LG will be the first to sell a 4K monitor with AMD FreeSync technology, beating models from rival Samsung by a nose. The technology in its 27-inch 27MU67 is similar to NVIDIA's G-Sync, matching monitor and GPU refresh rates to eliminate tearing, stutter and other gaming issues -- as long as you have a compatible AMD graphics card or chip. Like Samsung, LG makes its own panels and it shows in the specs. The IPS screen can run at 40 to 60fps with 9.7 milliseconds of input lag, while being decent for color pros with a 99 percent sRGB gamut and 10-bit interpolated color. It'll come calibrated out of the box later this month at select retailers for $599 -- quite a drop in price from last year.
BT's launching an Ultra HD box to host Europe's first 4K TV channel
While BT will begin charging Sky subscribers for access to Champions League football next season, the company may soon ask for more money from existing customers too. It's for a good reason, though: the company has said it will launch the first 4K channel in Europe in August, called BT Sport Ultra HD, delivering selected matches from the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and Aviva Premiership Rugby. As you'd expect, these broadcasts won't work on BT's existing hardware, so it'll introduce a new BT TV Ultra HD set-top box to do the heavy lifting.
Vizio's affordable 4K TVs finally arrive
It feels like forever since Vizio introduced the world to its P-Series of Ultra HD televisions, but today is finally the day that the company is bringing them to market. For starters, what caught most everyone's attention back at CES was Vizio's asking price for these 4K TV sets, starting at $1,000 for the 50-inch model and going all the way up to $2,500 for 70 inches of high-resolution goodness. For comparison, LG just introduced 4K TVs that start at $999 -- for a 40-inch version. Aside from the low cost and UHD features, the P-Series also sport LED backlighting and Smart TV capabilities, making these a well-rounded package overall. Vizio's putting the P-Series up for pre-order today on its website, while other US retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart are expected to carry them at a later point.
LG's superwide 105-inch 4K TV is $100,000, but there are cheaper options
Remember that massive 105-inch Ultra HD TV LG brought to CES earlier this year? Today at the custom installer show CEDIA LG has revealed it's going on sale (next to two 4K OLED TVs), but fitting it into your budget will be tougher than squeezing one into your house. That's because this giant will cost $100,000 when it ships in November. Prefer mild over wild? You can get the 98-inch version (which still stretches more than 8 feet diagonally) for a mere $40,000 around the same time. For the rest of us, LG is introducing three new series of 4K TVs, with the 40-inch 40UB8000 available as the cheapest model for just $1,000.
Samsung's new UHD TV is the first to go from flat to curved on command
Samsung's new TVs have pressed 4K and curved frames as features, but what if you want one that's only curved sometimes? That's where a bendable TV comes in, and Samsung says it will release the industry's first one on August 1st in Korea. We got a peek at an 85-inch version in January at CES (check after the break for video of the demo unit), but the one going on sale is 78-inches. We're not sure how much it will cost, but we're betting the feature isn't cheap. As usual, Samsung is dueling with its Korean counterpart LG, which showed off a flexible OLED TV at CES. Both recently announced 105-inch Ultra HDTVs for sale, and are furiously chasing the title of "best screen almost no one can afford to buy." If this one gets a US release date, we'll let you know which store window to look at it through.
What 'Ultra High-Definition' really means
In yet another successful attempt at making the Quad HD / 4K / Ultra HD situation as clear as mud, this week the CEA updated its official... definition of the term "Ultra High-Definition." The original spec was established in late 2012 just as the first high-res TVs debuted, and now the expanded "updated core characteristics" will let customers know the TV or player they're buying is actually capable of playing high-res video content. What's new is that Ultra HD TVs, monitors and projectors have to be able to upscale HD (1080p) video to Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160), decode HEVC, have at least one HDMI input that supports Ultra HD video input at 24, 30 and 60fps and that can decode the HDCP 2.2 DRM that super-sharp video will require. Not up on all of the acronyms and buzzwords? Whether it's a stream from Netflix or Amazon, a broadcast over cable or satellite or some new version of Blu-ray, if your new TV has the logo this fall, you'll be ready for it -- simple, right?
Gadget Rewind 2007: Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080HD plasma
The bleeding edge for pixel-pushing displays has shifted, and 4K, aka Ultra HD, is the one to watch. Though the once-great 1080p HD specification has now become commonplace, seven years ago, it was an altogether different story. Pioneer, one of the leading manufacturers of plasma televisions at the time, chose to buck the popular trend toward pricey "full HD" sets, and instead focus on more affordably priced sets under 60 inches. But cost wasn't the only differentiator for Pioneer; it also aimed to deliver the best picture quality possible, regardless of the spec sheet. From this line of Kuro (meaning "black" in Japanese) displays arose an award-winning 50-incher called the PDP-5080HD, which sported a humble 720p resolution.
Daily Roundup: Turkey bans Twitter, Peter Molyneux talks VR and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Samsung's new Ultra HD TVs arrive soon with (or without) curves for $2,500 and up
We got our first peek at Samsung's latest high-end HDTVs -- including the new curved shape that it says creates a larger viewing "sweet spot" -- at CES back in January, and now they're just about ready to come home. Of course the new shape isn't all there is to offer, and while Samsung isn't joining LG in pushing any new OLED TVs, it is expanding its lineup of Ultra HD screens and bringing more 4K content to watch thanks to a new deal with Fox. There's also upgraded Smart Hub software with multitasking to pull in streaming video and live TV all at once, new quad-core CPUs to boot it all up in just 1.8 seconds, and a simpler pebble shaped remote for control. That massive 105-inch Ultra HD TV we were drooling over is still penciled in to launch during the second half of this year, but if you're looking for a more modest upgrade, then we have new details on price and release for most of the other models (LCD only, no word on plasma).
Samsung profits drop slightly, but it's still seeing increased demand for phones, tablets
Samsung has released a detailed report of its earnings for the fourth quarter, and as it predicted, its operating profit is slightly lower than last year. While 8.3 trillion won (about $7.8 billion) is nothing to sneeze at, last year Samsung notched 8.84 trillion won ($8.27 billion) in operating profit, creating concerns growth is slowing in its highly successful tablet and phone business. According to Samsung however, buyers want its phones and tablets more than ever (tablet sales doubled from last year), however marketing costs and "year-end inventory adjustments" lowered shipments and cut into profits. According to Yonhap News and Reuters an $745 million one-off special bonus payment to employees celebrating the 20th anniversary of its "New Management Initiative" also had an effect, while a stronger Korean won cut 700 billion won from profits. Details about the Galaxy Gear weren't broken out (it did get a mention on the call, as Samsung stated once again that more wearables are on the way), but we did see the first mention of OLED and Ultra HD TVs. Reflecting its CES focus on Ultra HD, Samsung says the customer base for high-res displays is increasing, with increased sales and a new manufacturing plant in operation. OLED earnings dropped an unspecified amount due to lower shipments, even though new product sales actually increased. Prices for standard LCDs continued to fall, but demand for extra large 60-inch+ HDTVs and smart TVs are both way up. We're listening in on the company's earnings call right now, we'll let you know if it drops any Galaxy S 5-sized tidbits amongst the boring money discussions.
Sharp Aquos lineup for 2014 bears 1080p and 4K TVs, a revamped SmartCentral platform and the new Quattron+ Series
We knew an army of TVs would be making an appearance at CES 2014. Accordingly, Sharp has just announced what we can expect out of the Aquos portfolio this year, with new hardware being introduced as part of its HD, Quattron and 4K Series -- there's also the debut of Quattron+, but we'll talk more about that a little later. As expected, Sharp is placing emphasis on big LED screens: Each model begins at 60 inches, ranging all the way up to 90 inches in the case of the HD Series. Speaking of which, the entry-level Aquos HD will be priced starting at $1,300, offering 1080p at 120Hz, 2D/3D options and Smart TV features. Meanwhile, the Quattron Series, which starts at $1,700, also does 1080p, but at 240Hz, plus it's equipped with Quattron technology and Sharp's completely overhauled SmartCentral platform, much like the HD and rest of the lineup. Those looking to spend a little more will be able to choose from the newly minted Quattron+ or 4K Series, both of which are running the company's revamped Smart TV software, SmartCentral 3. TVs with Quattron+ (seen above) are sort of a step between 1080p and Ultra HD; Sharp describes them as the "highest-resolution full HD" sets available, noting that the technology "divides each pixel, creating two pixels from one, to deliver 16 million subpixels." Prices on these are expected to be from $2,300 to $6,000 -- this gets you things like Active 3D, THX-approved picture quality, Bluetooth and, on the higher-end models, an AquoMotion 960, 240Hz screen. Lastly, the 4K Series, which is likely the most interesting of the bunch and ranges from $5,000 to $6,000, gets you an Ultra HD TV with an AquoMotion 240, 120Hz display, THX 4K, 3D, a duo bass subwoofer and four HDMI 2.0 ports. All in all, Sharp is going to be kicking off the year with a total of 19 different Aquos TVs; the HD, Quattron and Quattron+ are expected to ship in the spring, though there's no word yet on when the 4K Series is due to arrive.
