10-bit
Latest
Dell's latest 27-inch, 4K monitor has a tempting $700 price tag
If you're a visual artist or photo buff with $600-700 burning a hole in your pocket, life just threw you a new decision to make. Dell has announced that its 24-inch 2415Q and 27-inch 2715Q IPS 4K monitors are now on sale for $600 and $700, respectively. For those sums you'll get 1.07 billion colors, 3,840 x 2,160 at 60Hz resolution, a 178 degree viewing angle, 99 percent sRGB coverage and nearly perfectly color calibration straight out of the box. You can also daisy-chain multiple monitors thanks to DisplayPort 1.2 in/out connectors, along with HDMI (MHL) inputs and 4 USB 3.0 ports (no Thunderbolt port, unfortunately).
LG's 4K monitor has Mac support, dead-accurate colors (update: $1,399)
If your 4K project will be beamed onto millions of TVs or movie screens, "close enough" color accuracy won't cut it. LG wants to help with the 31MU97 Display Cinema 4K monitor, a 31-inch, 4,096 x 2,160, 19 x 10 ratio display with 10-bit color that can cover 99.5 percent of the AdobeRGB spectrum. That'll work well for photographers, but it'll also suit moviemakers thanks to the Dual Color Space mode. When switched, it'll reproduce 97 percent of the "DCI-P3" color space used by filmmakers to grade digital cinema camera footage. It will also work on a PC or Mac, thanks to Thunderbolt DisplayPort support. Such displays can run breathtaking sums, but the 31MU97 looks more reasonable -- it's listed on LG's Australian site at $2,499 Australian dollars (update: it's $1,399 in the US). It'll hit stores this week in the US, Germany, the UK and Australia, followed by other parts of the world in November. Update: The US price will actually be $1,399, which -- if it lives up to LG's specs -- will make it a serious contender for a lot of graphics and video pros. LG also told us that, despite what it's Australian site says, it will not support Thunderbolt. Instead, Mac users will connect using a Displayport cable (an adapter is included), which will support 4K, 10-bit resolution.
Free camera app turns extra 4K pixels into pristine HD video
The incoming Panasonic GH4 has broken new ground with 4K, high-bit-rate video for a mere $1,700, but if you want more than 8-bits? It's doable, but only if you also budget for a pricey external recorder. Fortunately, hacker Thomas Worth has just released a simple Mac command-line program that'll let you do a neat trick with GH4 files: convert the 4K, 16-million color video to 10-bit HD with a billion hues. It works using pixel summing, in which the extra 4K pixels are used to fill in missing color information, resulting in true, 10-bit DPX files in HD. As shown after the break, the result is a sharper image, smoother color gradients, easier grading and less loss in detail during image processing. The only downside is much larger 17.7MB images, but the last time we checked, hard drives are pretty cheap. [Image credit: Nick Driftwood]
Netflix streaming pal eyeIO brings more pixels with 4K, 10-bit StudioRes video
Remember eyeIO? Its software took over the encoding chores for Netflix awhile back, reducing the required bandwidth enough that it no longer needed the "X-High" option for 1080p video. Now, the company has launched its second-generation of that technology with a new StudioRes option that'll stuff 4k, 10-bit, 4:2:2 video onto the latest UltraHD screens like Sony's $25k 84-inch XBR model. eyeIO also claims its software creates StudioRes and existing HDRes H.264 files 45 percent zippier now, while using 26 percent less bandwidth for "super-fast playback and even clearer, crisper images" in both 2D and 3D on TVs, computers and mobile devices. The company also announced the forthcoming eyeOS UNIX OS for enterprise level 4k video coming next Spring, along with support for the upcoming H.265 standard through its eyeIO.265 product. Now, we're just crossing our fingers for a flood of new UltraHD screens at CES 2013 so we can see all those extra pixels in style.
Panasonic launches tweaked AG-AF105A MFT pro camcorder with 10-bit HD video
Panasonic has just launched the AG-AF105A pro camcorder, an updated version of the AG-AF105 model, and for lovers of fine color gamut, there's good news. You can now output 10-bit HD video through the live view SDI port to an external recorder, boosting the color range to a billion hues and 1024 shades of grey. That addresses one of the main gripes with the previous $6k, 8-bit camcorder: it had to live in a world of Red Scarlets and Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera MFTs, which already have deep color. The revised model also brings a new PS recording mode with 25Mbps data rate, full HD progressive modes (1080/60p, 1080/50p), higher fidelity 16 bit LPCM audio and enlarged focus assist. It'll hit shelves on November 15th in Japan (there's no mention of an international date yet) with pricing up to the dealer, so sharpen up those haggling skills if you want one.
Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD video recorder / monitors bring compression jutsu to pro filmmaking
We all drool over the hi-res video shot by cameras like the RED EPIC, but for indie-film types, processing the massive files produced takes a lot of time (and therefore money) and not everyone has an ARRI ALEXA to do native recording compression. Enter the Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD recorder / monitor / playback devices that take your 10-bit video and compress it in Apple's 1080p ProRes QuickTime format to make your post-production life a little easier. The Ninja pulls video through HDMI and deposits it on your choice of 2.5-inch HDD or SDD storage, does playback via a 4.3-inch 480 x 270 touchscreen, and has continuous power thanks to dual hot-swappable batteries (available in 2600, 5200, and 7800 mAh varieties). Meanwhile, the Samurai matches the Ninja's specs, but swaps out the HDMI connection for HD-SDI ports and adds SDI Loop-Through to connect an external monitor, a larger 5-inch 800 x 400 display, and 3D support (if you get two Samurais genlocked together). Both units have FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 and 3.0 connections for offloading your vids. Those with Spielbergian aspirations can pony up $995 for the Ninja right now, or pay $1,495 for the Samurai upon its release this summer.
LaCie unveils 5TB Biggest S2S SATA RAID tower
LaCie is apparently looking to grab video editors' attention with the introduction of its latest RAID tower, which comes stocked with 5TB of storage and is scalable to up to 20TB for HD multi-stream support. The 5TB Biggest S2S five-disk RAID boasts a 3Gbit/sec eSATA interface, direct eSATA-to-SATA connection, burst rates of over 200MB/sec, and the ability to link up with three other S2S units on the eSATA PCI-X / ExpressCard to achieve the aforementioned 20TB solution. Furthermore, the disks are hot-swappable and the tower is hot-pluggable, and it can even be setup to beam out email alerts in the event of disk failure. The 5TB S2S is available now for $3,699 with a PCI-X card, or you can toss in an extra Benjamin and go for the PCI-E bundle.
JVC Victor announces three new 120Hz 1080p LCDs
JVC is adding to the Victor line of LCDs with three new models, all of which include Clear Motion Drive 120Hz technology for the Full HD 1080p displays, and 10-bit panels for increased color reproduction capability. The LH805 series will also sport two HDMI 1.3 ports, JVC's 32-bit Genessa image processing chipset, and DLNA compatibility for home networking. The 47-inch LT-47LH805 will be available in late June, and the 42-inch and 37-inch LT42LH805 and LT-37LH805 will drop in early August, for an estimated price range of €2,140 to 2,840 ($2,800 to 3,800 US). Continue on for more pics of the panels.[Via Akihabara News]
Two new Sony Bravia lines for the European market
You can't be expected to buy up one of the newly-released PlayStation 3s in Europe without a Sony Bravia to back it up, can you? Soon you will have your chance, with two lines of LCDs set to be released in the near future. The S3000 series will initially come in 32- and 40-inch sizes -- with 20 to 46 coming later in the year -- and sport three HDMI and two SCART connectors, as well as a built-in DVB-T digital free-to-air tuner (or "over-the-air," if you're American). Stepping up to the D3000 series grabs you 24p movie-mode frame rate and 100Hz refresh rate for greater smoothness, as well as a 10-bit panel for better color gradations. Both series also come with Bravia Theatre Sync via HDMI, using any connected devices to pass command and control signals around and help reduce the pile of remote controls on your coffee table; what, you don't have a Pronto or Harmony universal remote yet? Pricing and release dates are forthcoming.
