GH4
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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]
Panasonic's 4K-ready Lumix GH4 priced at $1,700, ships in late April
Panasonic promised it would deliver a GH mirrorless camera capable of recording 4K video for under $2,000, and now we know just how far under that is. The Lumix GH4 camera body and its 16MP CMOS Micro Four Thirds sensor will cost $1,700, while the optional YAGH pro audio/video interface unit is available for an extra $2,000. The pre-order listings on Panasonic's website currently show an estimated ship date of late April. EOSHD.com confirms the same information from retailers like Adorama and B&H, which also have their pre-order buttons ready. Check out our hands-on impressions of the camera and Panasonic's own 4K demo reel if you need some convincing about how it will measure up to its predecessor, the GH3.
Here's a sample of what to expect from Panasonic's 4K-ready Lumix GH4
It's been a mere couple of days since Panasonic unveiled its next-generation GH camera, the Lumix GH4. But, since there's no release date information as of yet, chances are it's going to be a little while before interested parties can take this new shooter out for a spin. Luckily, Panasonic has already let some professionals have their go at its GH4; Hungary, Japan and Northern Kenya are where sample shots were taken, and there's also an incredible 4K video (embedded after the break) that was shot in Yucatan, Mexico. The results produced by Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds camera are definitely impressive, but we wouldn't have expected any less from something that could be priced at around $2,000. For more, head to the source link below, where you'll find the entire set of pictures and some extra behind-the-scenes stuff.
Panasonic's GH4 clearly packs serious 4K video chops, but pricing and availability remain TBA (hands-on)
Long gone are the days when digital cameras were just for still photographers. In fact, with its GH4, it's easy to argue that Panasonic is putting an even greater emphasis on video capture -- of the 4K variety, in this case. The Lumix GH4, teased as the "next GH" just last month at CES, offers tremendous advantages over its predecessor, the GH3. Perhaps most notable are the camera's 4K capabilities. This year's model can shoot both 3,840 x 2,160 and a 4,096 x 2,160 "cinema 4K" format at 30 frames per second with a 100 Mbps bit rate. If you're willing to settle for 1080p (at 60, 30 or 24 fps), Panasonic's also added a 200 Mbps option, with 100 and 50 Mbps offerings available, too. You can capture clean HDMI video with an external recorder at 4:2:2 8/10-bit output, while a (relatively gigantic) interface unit mounts on the bottom and adds four SDI outputs with support for 4K (4:2:2/10-bit), time code, two XLR microphone inputs and a 13.8-volt Canon terminal for external power. That accessory also includes phantom power controls and LED audio level readouts. There are significant improvements on the stills front, too. There's a new 16-megapixel CMOS Micro Four Thirds sensor, which should benefit video captures as well. The camera supports a sensitivity range of ISO 200-25,600 (compared to a 12,800 max with the GH3), while the viewfinder has been boosted with a very sharp 2.36M-dot OLED panel and the 3-inch main tilt-and-swivel display now has a higher-res 1.04M-dot OLED screen. Panasonic is also emphasizing performance improvements, including a new 0.07-second focus speed, 12 fps burst mode or 7 fps with AF tracking and a shutter rated for 200,000 total clicks. The body is still constructed of magnesium alloy, and it's splash- and dust-proof. Expect to snap more than 500 stills with a full charge. There's also SDXC UHS Class 3 compatibility -- you'll need a latest-gen card to capture 200 Mbps video internally. What we don't have at this point is pricing or a ship date. At CES, Panasonic quoted a price below $2,000, and considering the improvements over the GH3, which currently retails for about $1,000 (and will remain on the market), we wouldn't be surprised to see a final MSRP near the $2k mark. Reps promised more information on the availability front next month, and while the info rollout has been anything but speedy, we're inclined to think the GH4 will be worth the wait.
Sanyo launches Xacti VPC-GH4 full HD camcorder with YouTube, Facebook integration
Sanyo has announced another one of them there Xacti digicams, this time geared for the social media crowd. The VPC-GH4, like its sibling the VPC-GH2, features Full HD 1080 video recording; and unlike the aforementioned GH2, integrates YouTube, Facebook, and Picasa uploads -- as well as Twitter notifications. But at what cost? Well, the newer model sees still photos dumbed down to 10 megapixels (the precursor featured 14 megapixel stills), but then again it's set to retail at $200 -- so it's, like, $50 cheaper. Want a closer look? Want the full scoop straight from the PR itself? Can't wait until it hits store shelves later this month? All your wishes will be granted after the break. But you should probably get some better wishes.
Metareview: Guitar Hero: World Tour
This week marked the debut of a second contender in the full-band-simulator genre. It's hard to find a review for Guitar Hero: World Tour that utters Rock Band less than a half dozen times. Comparatively, the 87 mean score for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions are 5 points lower than Rock Band 2's average. Of course, for the European gamers and PS2 / Wii owners worldwide who still don't have Rock Band 2, you're not left with much choice. 1UP (A-): "Maybe if I squeeze my Rock Band and Guitar Hero together and leave them overnight in the same case, I can come back the next morning to find that they made an über-game that combines the best of both. But until then, Guitar Hero delivers exactly the things I want out of a rhythm game: great peripherals and fun-to-play music. It's not perfect, but I have a great time whenever I turn it on -- and that's what's most important." EuroGamer (90/100): "Were Rock Band 2 on the market today, the decision would be more difficult, as the gap between instrument quality would be reduced and the software battle would go in Rock Band 2's favour. But it isn't on the market, we don't know when it will be, and its new guitars and drums aren't so wildly different or superior to justify waiting. And by the time it is available, Harmonix may discover that the tables have turned, and that Rock Band 2 is competing for money "As spent happily on" this instead." Official Xbox Magazine (85/100): "World Tour is a big leap in content and polish over last year's game, but we're disappointed by a few unsatisfying creative calls. The extended song endings aren't always enhancements, the unlockable gear doesn't match the effort put forth to earn it, and we prefer Rock Band 2's looser career-unlock structure. Most of all, Rock Band 2 simply feels more musical and organic; we get the suspicion that some World Tour songs had notes added to their charts simply to make them trickier, and not because the music suggested it." IGN (79/100): "Guitar Hero World Tour is a fun title, to be sure, but it's also a disappointment in a lot of respects. A number of things it tries to accomplish were already done better in Rock Band, which you might figure would have provided a simple blueprint to be followed and expanded upon, but that's not the case. The music creation tools are a great idea in theory, but the end result isn't as robust as I would have hoped it would be, both in terms of abilities as well as the songs that come out the other end." %Gallery-23477%
Stuff Magazine reveals new Guitar Hero World Tour tracks
Ready to "beat it" with fire-lit butterfly wings? (Note to self: That came out wrong.) The latest issue of Stuff Magazine (via Guitar Hero Community) has a Guitar Hero World Tour preview, which lists nine confirmed tracks and five more confirmed artists. Although we already knew a few of those songs, five of them are new, including The Doors' "Light My Fire," Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and -- yes, really -- Michael Jackson's "Beat It." Additionally, two of the listed artists with "unknown" track contributions already have confirmed songs (Foo Fighters' "Everlong" and Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher"). Newcomers include Muse, Beastie Boys and Nirvana. We've compiled a list of confirmed GHWT tracks after the break.
Rumored GH World Tour set list is fake
We hope you weren't excited by the supposed Guitar Hero World Tour set list that was 'leaked' yesterday. Activision and Red Octane have made it known that the list, which included artists like Tool and The Doors, is a fake. A representative informed Game Informer (see what we did there?) that while some of the songs on the list will make it into the game, namely Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher," the majority of the list is "wishful thinking and pure speculation."But hey, we know it will have "Hot for Teacher," right? That counts for something. Now all we have to do is get Activision to confirm the rest of the set list ... one song at a time.[Via Joystiq]
Survey: Guitar Hero 4 priced, new touch-sensitive guitar
That Xbox marketing survey just keeps on giving: a slide on Guitar Hero 4 presents a $180 pricetag for now-gen consoles, $170 for PS2 including all instruments. Just the software? They're asking $60 for 360 and PS3 versions, and $50 for their lower-def cousins. A handful of artists are also name-dropped – Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse ... "and dozens more" – but what we're really interested in is this bit about an "all new wireless guitar controller with the first-ever touch-sensitive neck slide." We snuck a peek at the brandless guitar in the game's trailer and, though touch-sensiitive reads to us like "no buttons" – a claim that's as worrisome as it is intriguing – it certainly appears to have buttons in the pic above. So maybe just something below the buttons then, y'know, for solos and whatnot?Of course, pricing information is always subject to change (read: let's wait to see what Rock Band 2 costs) and this survey doesn't include the game's "World Tour" subtitle so we're not entirely sold on the veracity of this information. Again, all eyes towards E3 where all will be revealed (we assume).%Gallery-23477%
First Guitar Hero: World Tour shots rock faces off
Our sinister taskmasters over at Joystiq managed to nab the very first screens of Guitar Hero: World Tour, and now, dear fanboys and fangirls, we bring them to you. Glancing through the images, we get the first look at the game's create-a-track mode (which honestly looks a little intimidating) as well as the character creation mode and some in-game performance shots. As Joystiq notes, it appears that World Tour will abandon the over-the-top cartoon style of previous iterations (as well as the upcoming Aerosmith version) in favor of a more realistic, though still stylized look. Check out all the shots in the gallery below.Will Guitar Hero: World Tour find a home in your collection, or are you waiting to see what Harmonix cooks up for the next Rock Band? Gallery: Guitar Hero: World Tour
Sublime joins Guitar Hero: World Tour, Activision confirms previous acts, details
Activision made Guitar Hero: Rock Band Edition World Tour official today, confirming the details leaked from the current issue of Game Informer. World Tour will feature an all-master track cast, filled with previously named acts like Van Halen, Linkin Park, and The Eagles, plus today's confirmation of Sublime and "many more." The announcement also highlights the "Music Studio" mode (create-a-song), which allows players to "compose, record, edit and share music," and the 8-player "Battle of the Bands" mode.World Tour will also feature so-called "new state of the art wireless instruments" (as sorta seen yesterday), meaning mom won't trip over the coil of wires when she walks in front of the TV and totally destroys the rock mojo; and the still curious, but ambitious sounding promise to add "significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles." Yep, that includes the Wii version (developed by Vicarious Visions). Activision confirms that World Tour will be the "first game ever in the Guitar Hero franchise to allow in-game downloadable content on Wii" -- just make sure your SD card is inserted. %Gallery-23477%
Rumor: Game Informer talks Guitar Hero IV's drums, create-a-track mode
Here we go again. Every month, someone gets an early copy of a gaming magazine, posts the highlights in a forum post, and we run it as a rumor until we can confirm its veracity. And again, we can't confirm this information, but a Neo GAF poster has claimed to already receive a copy of the latest Game Informer, the cover story being Guitar Hero IV. Here's the alleged information. Guitar Hero IV features the requisite Rock Band features: drums, vocals, bass, guitar and create-a-rocker. Additionally (and most interestingly), there will be the option to create your own song tracks. Although vocals are excluded, all other tracks can be made and uploaded to GH Tunes for sharing and rating. We're not sure how this will apply to songs not in the game, given copyright concerns, but color us intrigued.All songs will reportedly be master tracks, and four bands have been confirmed: Van Halen, Eagles, Linking Park and Van Halen. Is this the "significant leap" mentioned by Activision last week? Until we can obtain a copy to verify, consider this a rumor.
A 'significant leap' for Guitar Hero due this holiday for consoles and DS
Activision is planning to innovate the Guitar Hero franchise. In a conference call yesterday, Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "For the holiday, we will provide a significant leap forward in innovation for Guitar Hero worldwide, on all platforms." That includes PlayStation 3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Griffith also said that more information will be provided "in the coming weeks."We wonder if this has anything to do with those recent rumors about Guitar Hero IV going multi-instrumental. Guess we'll find out soon.
Guitar Hero IV will feature other instruments and vocals
If what Activision's Bobby Kotick has stated in the latest issue of Conde Nast Portfolio magazine is true, then "Guitar Hero" could soon become a misnomer for the series. Guitar Hero IV could be branching out to "include a lot of other instruments, [and] vocals". Not a bad idea, except it's been done before. Judging from Guitar Hero III's low quality controller build and its lackluster downloadable content, we don't really expect Guitar Hero IV to be much of a Rock Band beater. Especially when you consider Harmonix' superior ability to create note charts. Who knows though, maybe Neversoft will feature an instrument not currently available in Rock Band - that's the only real way we can see the franchise becoming relevant again.
Def Leppard in Guitar Hero IV confirmed
We're sorry to doubt the messengers of Rock Gods, but we finally got our own confirmation that Def Leppard has indeed contributed three songs to Guitar Hero IV. While not replaying the full interview, Rockline Radio's website did provide a stream of the bandmates talking specifically about the game. "We're gonna have like three songs on Guitar Hero IV," said guitarist Phil Collen, before specifying "Photograph," "Animal" and "Rock of Ages." We've gone ahead and embedded the music videos after the break for those who want to rock out in this post.
Def Leppard confirmed for the Guitar Hero after next
It seems entirely bizarre to us that we're talking about not only the next Guitar Hero but the Guitar Hero after that - both of which are due out this year. Especially when you consider that the tracklists for the two games probably won't come close to the content available on the Rock Band platform by the time they're both out. Regardless, it seems that after we're done with Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (otherwise known as DLC-on-a-disc) we can look forward to rocking out the legends that are Def Leppard on Guitar Hero IV.This news was leaked out by the band members during a radio interview and has yet to be confirmed by either Activision or Neversoft. The tracks that will be included are said to be "Photograph", "Animal" and "Rock of Ages". We're excited to see this awesome band's music finally hit rhythm games, but we'd have preferred to see them in Rock Band. If only so we could practice drumming one handed.
Guitar Hero IV coming this year, no one surprised
We really need some sort of "Shocker!" category for posts like this. A British band called "The Answer" have revealed that their music will be included in the next edition of the Guitar Hero franchise, which will be out before the end of the year. Watch as we remain unsurprised and, to be honest, completely indifferent to the news. Guitar Hero has largely been made irrelevant by Rock Band and we only expect things to get better for the game with the inclusion of over 200 songs coming in the next year.No doubt Guitar Hero IV will still sell well when it's released at the end of the year, but in the meantime Rock Band will have sold many more million downloadable songs (judging from how quickly it reached the 2.5 million download mark). Activision is keeping tight-lipped about the whole thing, with no official game announcement having come yet. No doubt we'll hear about it during GDC or E3 later this year.
First Guitar Hero 4 song revealed
It's amazing where you find video game news these days. Case in point, Eurogamer has picked up on a press release from British rock band The Answer, touting the inclusion of their single "Never Too Late" (video above) in the next Guitar Hero game (which, incidentally and unsurprisingly, is coming out by the end of 2008).The band was one of 20 picked by Activision at a Guitar Hero listening session put on by Activision at France's MIDEM conference, where over 200 artists vied for a coveted spot in the new game. Answer fan debbywebby has also posted a list of 30 other tracks that are "unconfirmed as of yet" for the game. There's no indication where she got her information, but when has that mattered? Let the rampant speculation begin!
Billboard: Aerosmith main attraction for Guitar Hero IV
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tells Billboard they are working "hand in hand" with the developers of Guitar Hero IV. Guess that seals that deal: Aerosmith songs confirmed for GHIV. Speaking with Billboard, Perry apparently says that the next GH game will be dedicated to the group's music.Don't expect an official Guitar Hero IV announcement from Activision or Red Octane for a while. We're pretty sure Perry spoke out of turn -- but that's rock n' roll. We know that the plan is to have a Guitar Hero every year, but we don't think they're going to announce GHIV before GHIII is out the the door. Before the band geeks start freaking out, the game is sure to have more than just Aerosmith. We just expect this dedication means plenty of master tracks from Aerosmith -- they better be master tracks![Via EvilAvatar]
