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Nature documentary 'Planet Earth II' looks absolutely stunning
For people who love showing off their high-end A/V gear, documentaries from BBC Earth are about as good as it gets for infinitely rewatchable reference material. But the clock ticks ever forward and some of those older releases don't look quite as good anymore thanks to screen sizes getting dramatically bigger and pixel counts higher. But now we have our first glimpse at the shot-in-4K Planet Earth II by way of a trailer from BBC One.
Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro reveal was a confident step forward
It's been a good year so far for Sony Interactive Entertainment. Yesterday's PlayStation Meeting continued the momentum from E3 and showed us the next step in its plan for home console domination: the PlayStation 4 Pro. The company's strategy was simple: show, rather than tell. The big news, if you own a fancy UHD display, is that Pro will play nicely with all those extra pixels and show off your screen's HDR capabilities. Unlike with the Xbox One S, Sony also spelled out the benefits of buying a Pro, even if you don't own a 4K TV. The new, beefier machine will make existing games look and perform better on the 1080p TV that's sitting in your living room right now, and it can also give PlayStation VR games a facelift, too. All for $399 this November 10th. Sony's always had the edge on Microsoft with this generation, but a strong finish to 2016 feels like the gap could be widening.
The Power Egg is unlike any drone you've ever flown before
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Normally, when you think "quadcopter", you think of the standard block-shaped mass of propellers, struts and landing gear. But nothing says they have to look that way. In fact, one drone company from China is taking a radically different approach with a UAV that looks like something from the labs of Capsule Corp.
Xbox One S review: a worthy successor -- to the Xbox 360
Microsoft is making a lot of assumptions with the Xbox One S. It's a 40 percent smaller and 100 percent whiter version of the Xbox One that launched nearly three years ago, albeit with a few key differences. First is the built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and compatibility with high-dynamic-range video for increased contrast and a wider color gamut. Then there's support for Ultra HD streaming from apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. As for the rest of the system? For better and worse, it's basically the same.
Samsung's Serif TV is designed to blend in with your furniture
Other than size difference, most televisions on the market today look practically the same. With Serif TV, a sleek set that's designed to blend in with your furniture at home or office, Samsung wanted to take a different approach. Earlier this month, the company announced that Serif TV would be coming to the US in August, after making its debut in Europe last year. We had the chance to see it ourselves at a launch event in New York City's Museum of Modern Art, and walked away rather impressed.
Panasonic's $699 UHD Blu-ray player arrives in September
If you thought Ultra HD Blu-ray players were already pretty expensive, Panasonic would like to have a word. Whereas Samsung's player and the recently released unit from Philips aim for a mainstream crowd with $400 price tags, Panasonic is targeting audiophiles and folks with slightly deeper pockets. The DMP-UB900 costs $699 and features a few wild specs like twin HDMI outputs for separating audio and video signals; premium capacitors, circuitry and signal processors; "digital tube sound" that supposedly replicates analog warmth from a digital signal and playback for DSD and ALAC audio formats. Yep, your TV's speakers would be a waste of all this tech.
Sony adds cheaper 4K TVs to its lineup
Sony started 2016 by showing off some high-end 4K TVs with HDR, and with the arrival of summer it's time to see cheaper versions pop up on store shelves. The company says the new 800D, 750D and 700D are entry-level models for its premium XBR line, however only the 800D TVs will ship with HDR-10 support that offers enhanced colors and contrast on things like Ultra HD Blu-ray, Netflix/Amazon streaming and even some games -- the other two versions will get it in a firmware upgrade later this year. They're all Android TVs just like their higher-end cousins, with support for Google Cast and even Logitech's Harmony Hub app.
Virgin Media will launch its own 4K set-top box this year
Virgin Media will unveil a new 4K set-top box for TV customers later this year. In its first-quarter financial report, the company said that as part of enhancements to its UK TV offering, it is currently "preparing to launch new set-top box platform," which will feature Ultra HD broadcasts like Sky Q and BT's YouView-powered box.
'Warcraft' among Universal's first Ultra HD Blu-ray offerings
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment detailed its list of Ultra HD Blu-ray releases scheduled this summer, and it's just the tip of the iceberg for 4K home video collectors. Beginning with Warcraft, Jason Bourne, and The Huntsman: Winter's War, more than 100 titles will be available by the end of the year for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and digital formats. Each title will be mastered in Dolby Vision as well, with HDR and brighter colors across digital and physical releases.
Dish customers can stream Netflix in 4K with the Hopper 3
Dish took a major leap forward at CES 2016, introducing its first 4K receiver and DVR. But, as great as it is for customers to have that option, Hopper 3 needs compatible content in order to show true value. With this in mind, Dish has announced support for Netflix's 4K repertoire, which will let users watch some movies and series in Ultra HD. That includes most of the streaming service's latest original shows, including the acclaimed Daredevil and House of Cards, among others.
The last two 'Star Trek' films are coming home in 4K June 14th
While you and BB-8 cuddle with a 1080p Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu-ray, Paramount is readying its first Ultra HD Blu-ray releases with Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness. We're not sure that the extra resolution, HDR or Atmos will actually make either film better than you already thought, but they will certainly be better looking and sounding than ever. According to the press release, both have been digitally remastered with new 4K UHD transfers, unlike mastered-in-2K movies like Mad Max: Fury Road. If you're curious, a list of mastered in 4K (or higher) Ultra HD Blu-ray discs is being maintained here.
Netflix raises the standard for its latest 'Recommended' TVs (updated)
Last year, Netflix launched its "Recommended TV" label to coax manufacturers to improve speeds on Smart TVs and, of course, push its service. This year, it's asking for more by making them meet five out of seven criteria, including instant on, TV resume, an up-to-date Netflix version, fast app launch, fast app resume and a Netflix button and icon. Only two manufacturers have earned the logo so far: Sony models like the X850D and X930D from the Android 4K series, and LG TVs with webOS 3.0, including the UH8500 and UH9500. Other manufacturers have yet to be selected.
New DisplayPort standard leverages USB Type-C's blazing speed
DisplayPort standards are one of those things most of us don't think about a whole lot, but are pretty important in terms of how our monitors connect to computers. The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has published the latest version of the transfer protocol, about two years after the last. Whereas version 1.3 focused pretty heavily on 4K in 2014, 1.4 is more about providing lossless compression and further leveraging relatively new connection methods like USB Type-C.
Play 'Gears of War: Ultimate Edition' in 4K on your PC today
You have to hand it to Microsoft for trying surprise announcement/availability on for size for its latest release a la Adele, Drake or Kanye West. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition hits PC today. If you'll remember, the PC port was announced back at E3 last year. But following its console-based counterpart's release last August, Redmond's been mostly radio silent on the topic.
Razer's Blade Stealth gaming ultraportable is all work and no play
At some point, every laptop-owning PC gamer asks the question, "Can I hook a desktop graphics card up to my notebook?" Until recently, the answer was no, but times are changing. In the past year Alienware, MSI and ASUS have all announced laptops with external GPU accessories, promising a workhorse on the go and a gaming behemoth at home. Razer's take on this trend took CES by storm, running away from the electronics show with Best of CES awards for both People's Choice and Best PC. And why not? The Razer Blade Stealth is sleek with impressive specs and has a strong pedigree. Still, there's a problem: This ultraportable laptop ships without the GPU dock it needs to actually play games. Whoops.
Making TV shows in 8K is about to get a lot easier
If you want to broadcast a TV show in 8K resolution, then you're going to need a whole room full of computers to encode the image. After all, a regular machine would struggle to process the 60, 35-megapixel images that need to be crunched every second. That's one of the many reasons that 8K video is currently limited to tech demos and the odd, one-off special event where the cost is justified. Japan's NTT, however, is claiming to have squeezed that room full of tech into a single box that's roughly the size of your average server module. Right now, the announcement is just that -- an announcement -- but this could mean we start seeing 8K broadcasts popping up well ahead of schedule.
How Univision is beating the competition to 4K sports streaming
4K is everywhere. The technology is rapidly making its way into people's homes, in the form of a wide assortment of 4K-ready devices that include cameras, TVs and smartphones. Then there are the Netflixes and Amazons of the world, which are on a mission to make Ultra HD the norm, starting with original shows such as House of Cards and Mozart in the Jungle. But for some reason, the same can't be said about sports. Here's where Univision Deportes and NeuLion, a company that provides broadcasting services to television networks, are ready to step in.
Dish's 4K-ready Hopper 3 DVR is now available
Although the Hopper 3 was supposed to arrive at the end of January, Dish isn't too late on its promise. The company's third-generation DVR, which supports 4K and up to six Joey receivers simultaneously, is now available to subscribers. According to Dish, "qualified" new and existing account holders can get one box at no cost, but that's with a $15 monthly fee.
Sony aims to reinvent its LCD TVs to match OLED rivals
CES has a lot of TVs. So many TVs. Huge ones. 8K ones. HDR-capable ones (and not). In the midst of all that confusion, one thing has been constant: the increasing presence of OLED. LG is making more OLED TVs, Samsung is using quantum dot LED displays (while also tinkering with the same tech as its Korean rival). Sony? Well, it's sticking to LCD for now. But it's planning to rival (if not best) the more advanced OLED technology with its Backlight Master Drive (BMD). Sounds like a sci-fi MacGuffin, but it might be the company's biggest TV gambit in a while. To hear what it was all about, I was bundled into a very dark room with one very bright prototype TV.
LG shows off a 4K laptop with Harman Kardon speakers
The first official day of CES 2016 is underway, which means it's time to find those products companies left out of their keynote. Let's start with LG. Tucked in a small corner of its booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the South Korean firm is showcasing the 15U560, a 15.6-inch laptop with a 4K (3,840 x 2,160) display. Powered by Windows 10, it also features Harman Kardon speakers, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA 940M graphics and your choice of a 1TB hard drive or 512GB SSD
