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Hisense's exclusive World Cup TV app will stream games in 4K HDR
Along with its latest TV and word of more Laser TV to come, Hisense just announced that its World Cup sponsorship will snag it an exclusive version of the Fox Sports Go app. On Hisense TVs, customers will be able to stream 2018 World Cup Games in 4K and HDR, with access to as many as 37 camera angles. Hisense brought out the Men in Blazers, along with soccer greats like Brandi Chastain to make the announcement, and said that its app will also feature Fox's "Phenoms" soccer documentary. According to Hisense, the app's live viewing features will debut on June 14th, just in time for Russia's opening match against Saudi Arabia. Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.
Hisense plans to launch more versions of its Laser TV
At the end of last year Hisense launched the $10,000, one-hundred-inch 4K Laser TV projector first introduced at CES 2017. This year, it's continuing to push that idea of a home theater in a box. According to President Liu Hongxin, the company has more sizes in development (80- and 88-inch sizes will be in its booth) and already commands 60 percent of the market share for 85 inches and above. As far as regular TVs go, the company once again has a wide range of LED-lit LCD televisions ranging in size and price. However, the biggest change is that there's no mention of Roku built in. This time around the high-end H10E (pictured above, which features more than 1,000 zones of LED lighting) and H9E Plus series feature Android TV, while its other models are based on the Hisense TV Platform. That platform includes apps for Netflix, Amazon, Pandora, YouTube and Fox Sports Go. All of them are Amazon Alexa-enabled with voice control access, while the Android models also support Google Assistant. What we don't see in the lineup is any mention of Roku, which isn't too surprising, since those TVs were hard to find last year.
LG's 2018 4K TVs include AI and smarter HDR
After a fair amount of teasing, LG is ready to take the wraps off of its 2018 4K TV lineup -- and in many ways, it's an evolution of what you saw last year. Its flagship OLED lines (the Signature-badged W8 and more-conventional E8) and the LCD-based SK9500 have designs that are largely familiar to their predecessors but carry some significant upgrades under the hood. The centerpiece, as LG mentioned earlier, is AI: All three lines support deep learning and Google Assistant control to allow for natural language voice control over everything from the TV itself to smart home devices. They also bring active HDR that improves the image quality of HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma content by analyzing individual images.
Samsung adds another ally in its battle over HDR standards
This isn't exactly taking it back to the days of HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, but Samsung's fight to push HDR10+ as an alternative to Dolby Vision is heating up. We have more details on how the two standards compare right here, but one main feature is that both improve on regular HDR10 by allowing content makers to dynamically adjust settings from one scene to another, or even from one frame to another.
Samsung's next-gen chips point to Galaxy S9 face detection
Samsung has unveiled its next-generation smartphone chip that will give its upcoming Galaxy S9 some iPhone X-like features, including face unlocking and animated emojis. The Exynos 9810 is built on its second-generation 10-nanometer fabrication tech, and will outperform the current flagship Exynos 8895 chip by up to 100 percent in single-core mode, Samsung said. The chip is likely to be sold in Asia, while US and European customers will get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip.
LG's 2018 TVs get faster and smarter with Google Assistant, Alexa
LG's TVs have taken home our Best of CES Award for three years running and in 2018 the company is ready to take on all comers once again. As with all home electronics of the current era, the company's new televisions are AI-ready with LG's ThinQ technology, but you'll probably be more interested in their support for bigger-name assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The top of the line OLED TVs will have its new "Alpha 9" processor inside that's not only powerful enough for AI, but also ready to push video at high frame-rates of up to 120FPS. The chip also claims better color performance and "four-step process of noise reduction" although we'll be interested to see if it can be disabled to avoid any artifacts or motion-smoothing type impact on picture quality.
Make the jump to 4K and HDR in 2018
After years of hype, 4K video finally became something that mattered to consumers in 2017. But it wasn't just the pixel bump from HD video that made the difference. HDR, or high dynamic range video, along with support for a wider range of colors, ushered in some massive visual upgrades. Altogether, they add up to the home theater evolution we've been waiting for since the dawn of the high-definition era. And in 2018, it'll be something everyone can enjoy.
Nearly three years later, 'The Witcher 3' runs in 4K on Xbox
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's performance on Xbox hardware has never been what I'd call "great." So, when Microsoft announced that CD Projekt RED's massive single-player RPG was one of the games getting an "enhancement" patch for the One X I got pretty excited. Finally, the game would be playable on the system I got it for. The patch recently arrived, and with it an "advanced" tab in the display options. You can pick from either 4K Mode or Performance Mode. The former gives you 4K graphics at a locked 30 FPS on a UHD display. For 1080p TV owners, that translates to super-sampled visuals and 60 FPS in my brief tests.
LG's latest PC monitors bring intense HDR and ultra-wide 5K
LG was one of the first out of the gate with high-end consumer HDR monitors, and now it's ready to spread its wings a bit. It's unveiling three new displays, all of which promise more intense DisplayHDR 600-rated visuals -- that is, they can reach 600 nits of brightness while maintaining the wide dynamic range inherent to HDR. The eye-catcher of the bunch is arguably the 34WK95U, a 34-inch ultra-wide 5K (that is, 5,120 x 2,160) monitor designed for video editors and others who want side-by-side views without multiple displays. It includes a Thunderbolt 3 port that can pipe data, power and 5K 60Hz video through a lone cable.
Netflix now streams HDR video on Windows 10
You no longer have to turn to your phone or TV to watch Netflix's more vibrant HDR video selection. The streaming behemoth has added support for playing HDR on Windows 10, both in the native Netflix app and in the Edge browser (sorry, no Chrome here). You're already set software-wise if you're running the Fall Creators Update. However, it's the hardware requirements that might leave you hanging -- and we don't just mean the need for an HDR10-compatible display.
Apple Final Cut Pro X is ready to edit VR video
Apple isn't just making the iMac Pro available to order -- it's also updating the creative software you'll likely run on that iMac. A new upgrade to Final Cut Pro X adds support for both newer video technology and some key color editing tools. Most notably, the editing tool now handles VR video -- you can edit 360-degree footage at high resolutions (8K "and beyond"), complete with motion graphics. And if you need to see how your work looks, you can preview it in real-time on an HTC Vive or other compatible headsets.
Amazon Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on Samsung TVs
One of the perpetual gripes about Samsung's newer TVs is that they don't support Dolby Vision for high dynamic range content, limiting you to basic HDR10 for most video. They do offer the more comparable HDR10+ format, but who's using it? As of now, Amazon does. Samsung has announced that Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on QLED and 'standard' 4K TVs as of December 13th. About 100 TV shows and movies will support the format from the get-go, including Amazon original shows like The Grand Tour and The Tick. Naturally, the intent is to make more of Amazon's catalog HDR10+ friendly over time.
New standard sets baseline for HDR on PC displays
As video enthusiasts will tell you, just saying a display is capable of high dynamic range doesn't say much -- you need to know how well it handles HDR. And that's crucial for PC monitors, where the accuracy and intensity of the picture can make all the difference when you're playing a game or editing video. The team at VESA wants to do something about it. They've unveiled an open standard, DisplayHDR, that sets the baseline levels for HDR quality on PC screens.
Qualcomm has a new 4K HDR feature, but which devices support it?
There was a moment of confusion after Qualcomm announced that the new Snapdragon 845 chipset would enable mobile cameras to record videos in 4K HDR. The promise of smartphone videos with more colors, depth and greater dynamic range was tantalizing, but the question on everyone's minds was obvious: Which screens are capable of rendering such content? This would be useless if no one could see all the extra information being captured. But Qualcomm didn't have a clear answer for the audience.
Apple TV update brings smarter HDR and sports alerts
The Apple TV just received a major update that could make it far more appealing if you have an HDR-capable set or crave constant sports action. The newly released tvOS 11.2 update adds an optional setting that matches the dynamic color range of a video on the Apple TV 4K, rather than always running with HDR on as it has in the past. If you don't want to risk messing with a classic movie's colors, you can watch it as intended without having to compromise quality elsewhere. There's also an option to match the frame rate of a video (say, the typical 24FPS of a movie), although Apple notes that many TVs can do this by themselves.
Chrome for Android will soon get HDR video support
Google Chrome for Android is about to join YouTube and Netflix among the apps that can support HDR playback. Two recent updates on the Chromium Gerrit (spotted by XDA) gave the game away. For those in the dark, HDR (high dynamic range) amps up the color and contrast significantly compared to standard dynamic range to offer a more realistic picture.
How to find the best 4K TV for your space
There has never been a better time to buy a new TV. Huge 4K sets are cheaper and look finer than ever. Perhaps more important, there are finally a few new technologies that make upgrading from your old set worth it: HDR (high dynamic range) video and a wider color gamut. And if your budget allows, OLED TVs are well within reach. It's easy to get overwhelmed with these new options, so let's break down what you need to know before buying a new TV.
LG has steep Black Friday discounts on its premium OLED TVs
Even if you don't follow 4K TV technology closely, you probably know that OLED TVs have the best picture available and that they're hella expensive. If you've been drooling over one but don't quite have the cash, now might be the time to pounce, as LG is offering all of its 2017 models with deep discounts for Black Friday starting today.
Vimeo can stream videos in 8K and HDR
A few streaming services have supported colorful high dynamic range video and ultra-high resolutions for a while, but Vimeo is making up for lost time in grand style. The company has added support for both HDR videos and resolutions as high as 8K. You're going to need a very rare 8K display to see footage in its full glory. However, HDR support is considerably broader: you 'only' need a device that can play HEVC video using HDR10. Some of Apple's newer devices (including the Apple TV 4K, iPhone X and 2017 iPad Pros) already do, and Vimeo is quick to point out that it's currently the only video hosting service to play HDR on Apple gear.
BenQ’s 4K HDR monitor for graphics pros has a glare hood
It's easy and cheap to go buy yourself a 4K HDR TV with billions of colors these days, so why the heck is it so hard to find a PC monitor that can do the same? Benq's latest professional monitor, the SW271, shows how the economics of the PC business has a lot to do with it. The 27-inch, 4K monitor can accurately render 10-bit, HDR images for professionals working on photos, video or graphics, and is actually pretty cheap in its category at $1,100.
