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A lot of people watched the Grammys on CBS All Access
Last night's Grammy awards not only saw Taylor Swift verbally subtweet Kanye West during her acceptance speech for Album of the Year, but also a record number of folks watching music's grand gala via the CBS All Access app. The streaming application saw a 247 percent increase in time spent watching and an upswing of 192 percent more unique users compared to last year's show -- both are apparently double digit increases since 2015. On top of all that, CBS says that yesterday was its single biggest sign-up day for All Access' premium streaming service. Of course, the network didn't release hard numbers so it's anyone's guess regarding what those increases actually amount to.
'Mass Effect: Andromeda' lead writer joins Bungie
Not long after the departure of writer David Gaider, another scribe from Canadian developer BioWare has left the company. This time it's the lead writer from the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda, Chris Schlerf. The announcement comes by way of Schlerf himself via a series of tweets. Naturally, he's proud of his work on the game and says he's excited to play it upon release, in addition to saying that working with BioWare was one of the best experiences of his career. Where's he working now? In another sci-fi universe under the employ of Bungie where he's presumably writing the next bits of Destiny.
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.
New 'Star Trek' has a showrunner from the final frontier
Star Trek fans have had a tumultuous last few months. But it seems that amid the recent ups and downs (a fan film getting shut down by CBS and Paramount most definitely qualifies as the latter), news of the upcoming streaming exclusive finding a showrunner with Trek in his blood should ideally register as a win. Whether you count yourself among the Rodenberry faithful or are just a TV addict, the name should ring a bell: Bryan Fuller. He wrote for Deep Space Nine and Voyager in addition to working outside of the final frontier where he's been a scribe and executive producer on the criminally short-lived Hannibal.
Yes, 'Beyond Good and Evil 2' is still happening
Beyond Good and Evil 2 isn't dead yet, according to its mastermind Michel Ancel. If you aren't familiar, the sequel is something of an enigma in the gaming world. Merely mentioning its name elicits complex emotions and dreams of publisher Ubisoft showing the game at its next year's E3 media briefing. The first game was a critical hit but didn't sell well. Consumers in the Aughts weren't down with a game about a plucky photojournalist and her anthropomorphic porcine companion; who'd have thought?
'Five Nights at Freddy's World' removed from Steam
Five Nights at Freddy's, the jump-scare franchise depicted above that YouTubers love to make reaction videos to, has just joined company with Afro Samurai: it's had a release pulled from Steam due to poor reviews. Developer Scott Cawthon writes on the Five Nights at Freddy's 4 Steam listing that even though Five Nights at Freddy's World might have had a "very positive" rating at 87 percent, he's removing it because he wasn't happy with the reviews and ratings it'd been garnering. He's also requested that Steam-owner Valve remove the time limit from purchase refunds, so that no matter how long has passed between purchase and return, customers will get their money back.
'Dragon Age' lead writer David Gaider leaves BioWare
You might not know his name, but if you've played a game from BioWare in the past seventeen years chances are pretty high that writer David Gaider had a hand in it. Specifically, the Dragon Age series of fantasy role-playing games. The news comes by way of Gaider himself, announcing on Twitter that Friday was in fact, his last day at the studio. "It wasn't an easy decision," the Dragon Age: Inquisition lead writer tells Gamasutra. "The parting is amicable, and I know my current (and as yet unannounced) project will carry on and be awesome."
'Tropes vs. Women in Video Games' is changing a bit
Culture critic Anita Sarkeesian has made some significant waves since launching her wildly successful Tropes vs. Women in Video Games Kickstarter over three years ago. But it wasn't without a heavy cost. In an update to the backers of her crowdfunding campaign, Sarkeesian reveals that she was dealing with a very serious case of burnout that was affecting both her physical and mental health last year after the scope of the project ballooned unexpectedly. Sarkeesian says she's been coping with depression her entire life, but the online harassment at her expense since launching Tropes, combined with the decline in her physical health, amplified it.
Edit your GoPro videos on your TV with Sugarlock
Right now, if you want to share GoPro videos (or any video sitting on a memory card, and not your phone), then it usually involves a PC and some effort -- or at least some time exporting and uploading it. Sugarlock describes itself as an "action cam dock," but it's perhaps better (if less sexily) described as a dedicated video editing box you plug into your TV. The aim of which is to help you sift through your footage easily, find the best parts, and export them as sharable clips, without any of the baggage of most editing software.
CES 2016: TVs are finally taking a backseat
Where are the TVs? In my ten years of attending CES I've never had to ask this question, and to be fair, this year they were still front and center in a few booths. But Sony pushed TVs and projectors to the fringe of its spacious CES booth (ceding space for headphones and... turntables?) while Panasonic could only spare a couple of tables for the latest Ultra HD TVs. In the same space where Darth Vader stood in front of dozens of flat panels to announce a Star Wars Blu-ray, now Spartan Race athletes wearing action cameras took on obstacles, and electric scooters showed off fast charging. Instead of riding high as the primary electronics device on show, TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray players are settling in with wearables, VR, drones and the rest as just another thing that look to your phone for advice.
MGM and Universal commit to Dolby's HDR imaging tech
Over the past year, Dolby's worked hard to convince many of the major movie studios and streaming services that its HDR imaging technology is the one worth backing. Netflix, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures are already on board, but today they've been joined by MGM Studios and Universal Pictures, after the studios confirmed they'll deliver "new release and catalog titles" that have been mastered in Dolby Vision.
Dolby Vision imaging technology comes to TCL's X1 4K UHD TV.
If you're looking for a TV with bright colors, an excellent backlight and a fantastic range of contrast, you're probably on the prowl for a set with Dolby Vision imaging technology baked in. Fortunately, the feature is becoming pretty pervasive -- showing up not only in sets from commonly known brands, but from up and coming manufacturers as well. Case in point? Chinese electronics company TCL just announced its first 4K UHD TV to include the technology: the 65-inch TCL X1.
Harman Kardon's Omni+ speakers offer HD multi-room audio
When it comes to speakers, connected gadgets capable of multi-room audio are all the rage these days. At CES 2016, Harman Kardon pulled the wraps off its new line of devices that'll do just that. The Omni+ collection includes the Omni 10+, Omni 20+, OmniBar+, Adapt+, and the Omni 50+. That's four speakers, a soundbar and an add-on for those older non-wireless speakers. Each piece of audio gear handles high-definition audio streaming with 24-bit/192KHz quality and there's a controller app for beaming songs with either Spotify Connect of Google Cast. There's no mention of AirPlay, but that companion app is available on iOS and plays nice with other streaming services like Deezer and Tidal.
Swedish TiVos have smartwatch controls
Smartwatch displays might not be big enough to do a whole lot more than pop alerts, but Sweden's Com Hem wants to help wearables replace your living room's Houdini-esque remote controls. The idea here is that your Android watch or Apple... Watch can be used to change the channel, view the program guide or record a show. Dave Zatz notes that these functions appear specific to Com Hem's TiVo devices, at least for now. Oh, and Android Wear devices can use voice commands to choose a channel.
China launches a disaster prevention satellite
Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, is reporting that the nation has launched its "most sophisticated observation satellite," ever. Gaofen-4 is reportedly the country's first geosynchronous high-definition imaging satellite and has been designed to watch over us and keep a look out for natural disasters. The craft will also, as part of China's earth observation project, help out with weather prediction and forest monitoring. It's the fourth of seven planned craft, each one expected to zoom around the planet for upwards of eight years. The name may not ring a bell, but it was a Gaofen satellite that recorded footage of what was thought to be debris from MH370.[Image Credit: China Foto Press / Getty]
This is why 'Prince of Persia' has the legacy it does
Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time defined how the company looks at its properties. But before the publisher began pumping out annual sequels with a startling cadence at rapidly diminishing returns, there was just the Prince and his snazzy ability to rewind time while jumping, wall-running and shimmying from stone column to stone column. And it's the latest episode of DoubleFine Productions' "Devs Play" series that focuses on that seminal game and finds its director, Patrice Desilets, explaining what went into development.
Last-gen systems aren't getting new 'Call of Duty' maps
If you're still feeling salty over Activision nixing Call of Duty: Black Ops III's campaign mode on last-gen systems the next bit of news won't do much to make the situation any better. In an announcement about the latest set of downloadable content, the "Awakening" pack which includes a quartet of adversarial multiplayer maps and the first episode of a new "zombies" tale, the company writes that the DLC will launch next February 2nd on PlayStation 4 first with "other next-gen platforms to follow."
'The Banner Saga' pillages its way to PS4 and Xbox One soon
The Banner Saga's road to a console release has been a bit rocky, but the development team at Stoic has some good news: the excellent viking epic lands on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this coming January 12th. That's pretty soon! In fact, the team's efforts to make sure this isn't just a quick and dirty console port are what's caused the sequel's delay from its originally promised 2015 launch. And actually, this porting process has worked to get the developers familiar with console hardware for future projects.
Adorable puzzler 'Unravel' pulls heartstrings in February
Come February 9th, you'll be able to play the most charming (and atypical) game to come out of Electronic Arts' E3 media briefing this year, Unravel. The adorable physics-based puzzle platformer hits EA's PC-based Origin service, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next year as a digital title for $19.99 domestically. The prepared statement from EA describes the game's story as "an adventure to reconnect the bonds of love" which, from the sounds of it, means I'm going to be a blubbering mess when the credits roll.
Google Play Movies finally adds AirPlay support
Cupertino recently announced that the Apple TV has some 2,600 applications in its ecosystem and one of them just got a pretty major update. The app in question is none other than Google Play Movies and TV. The update? AirPlay support. No, you aren't misreading that. It actually happened. If you're heavily invested in Mountain View's entertainment ecosystem (but for whatever reason haven't added a Chromecast to your A/V gear), this should come as pretty welcome news.
