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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.
Spin Samsung's Notebook 7 screen right round on June 26th
When we reviewed Samsung's Notebook 9, my editor Dana noted that it was an excellent back to basics model from the company. It didn't feature a touchscreen or even a rotating screen -- it had a pretty good normal screen, though. For the folks who need the above accoutrements, though, Samsung is introducing the Notebook 7 Spin. With it comes a new 1080p touchscreen you can use like a tablet when spun 360 degrees. Hence the name. The 7 Spin can also go into tent mode for watching a movie with its HDR video capabilities. Or, if you're a traditionalist, you could use the computer like a normal laptop.
Netflix reportedly rolls out support for HDR streaming (updated)
Earlier this year, Netflix said its near-future plans focused on HDR streaming and creating more original content. And now, according to multiple reports, Netflix has quietly rolled out support for high dynamic range video. Although it hasn't made an official announcement, an executive at the company confirmed the feature earlier today. "We are indeed live with HDR. It works with compatible TVs, both in HDR10 and Dolby Vision," Yann Lafargue, Netflix's manager of corporate communications said to FlatpanelsHD.
Dolby Vision imaging tech swings to Sony movies
Slowly but surely Dolby Vision is making its way to more and more places. The cinema company recently announced that it's partnering with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to give Hirai and Co.'s flicks a brighter, more contrasty image, whether you're watching it via a physical or digital format. No specific titles were announced for the high dynamic range video feature, but the press release quotes mention that new releases as well as catalog titles will benefit from the relatively new 4K UHD tech. So! For those keeping track at home, this marks two major studios signed on, as Warner Bros. announced its partnership earlier this year. On the streaming side, Netflix and Xbox Video announced in 2014. Now we just need those Ultra Blu-rays and their players to hit and we'll really be in business.
Here's the world's first Ultra HD Blu-ray player
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-519620{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-519620, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-519620{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-519620").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Samsung has announced the first (consumer ready) Ultra HD Blu-ray player, alongside word that movie studio Fox is already getting its releases ready for the new format. That means 4K movies, yes, but also compatibility for HDR video. Here's a closer look at the curved UBD-K8500 player -- perfect for that new curved Ultra HDTV, right?
Dolby is launching its super-vivid IMAX theater competitor in the Netherlands
Dolby has just announced a huge new project, but it's not about audio as you'd expect -- it's about the upcoming launch of its IMAX competitor called Dolby Cinema. This giant screen format will be able to project movies using the "Dolby Vision" technology (something it's been working on for years), which combines high dynamic range videos with something else that the company's keeping a secret. High dynamic range or HDR videos, as you might know, can show shadows and light as you'd see them in real life (take this Disney Research video, for example). Dolby goes as far as to claim that its technology's "contrast ratio far exceeds that of any other image technology on the market today."
Galaxy S 4 software update enables moving apps to SD card, HDR video recording and more
Perhaps this is what Samsung meant when it said it would addressing GS4 storage capacity concerns through "software optimization." An update for the flagship has begun hitting Snapdragon 600-loaded handsets in Germany, and it enables an option to move apps over to the SD card, freeing up some of that precious on-board storage. Other changes, as noted by mobiFlip and SamMobile, include a partially see-through notification bar when using a custom wallpaper, new camera firmware with an HDR video recording option and an "increased legibility" display mode. S Planner and settings icons apparently have a slightly new look, and a Smart Pause toggle has been added to the drop-down list. Samsung may have achieved a modicum of optimization, too: the update reportedly claws back an extra 0.8GB of internal storage. The update will hopefully see a wider release soon, but make sure you're connected to WiFi before you accept any OTA prompts -- it's a whopping 366MB.
Autodesk releases Socialcam 5.0 with HDR video, color correction
Autodesk's been trying to bring its special effects expertise to bear on various handheld apps, and now its turning to cameras with its first release of Socialcam (version 5), since it bought the app last July. With the release, it's bringing updated visual effects, 720P resolution, HDR video with one-click mapping, color correction and a new logo to the to the app's estimated 20 million users. You'll be able to grab it gratis for iOS at the App Store today, or on Play for Android at an unspecified date next week. We're not sure if future releases will include the ability to add creatures to your vacation snaps, but we can always dream. There's more info in the PR after the break, or hit the source to grab it.
Sony pumps $994 million into building stacked CMOS that lets smartphones record HDR Video
Sony is pumping 80 billion yen ($994 million) into its Nagasaki Technology Center, the home of its innovative stacked CMOS. Unlike traditional versions, the image sensor and circuit are mounted on top of one another, rather than side-by-side across a supporting substrate. The tweak means it shaves valuable millimeters from its body while producing far clearer images and, best of all, HDR Video. With the investment (and some Government subsidy) the company aims to pump out 60,000 wafers per month by the end of 2013. Given that both Samsung and Apple both use Sony's imaging equipment in their flagships, we can hope that the 13-megapixel units find their way into the next generation of handsets.
AMP camera records 1080p HDR video, you probably can't have one
We've already seen cameras that let you pretend you live in a radioactive apocalypse shoot HDR video, combining overexposed and underexposed images into one surreal composite. But so far, that kind of dystopian trippiness has been relegated to experiments and rigs using two lenses. But here we have AMP, a portable-enough five-pound camera that splits the light into three sensors, giving it a range of 17.5 stops to "reveal reality" in our drab, incomplete lives. The single-lens camera shoots 1080p video at 24fps or 30fps, records raw, uncompressed data to an SSD, and works with Nikon F-Mount-compatible lenses. To give you some perspective on the amount of sheer storage required, AMP promises a 256GB SSD can hold 30-plus minutes of footage, with 24fps video consuming less space than the 30 fps variety. It'll be available later this summer for some unknown sum, but not as a mass-produced product. Rather, it'll end up in the hands of a select few prosumers who add themselves to a waiting list. Assuming you won't be one of the chosen, you can get your fill of reality in a pair of demo videos after the break.
RED shows off some EPIC HDRx test footage
That's EPIC, mind you, not necessarily epic. Sure, Red's experiment in HDR video looks like it'll be a help to filmmakers that want the power / flexibility of RAW in post and some tools to war against motion blur, but so far they aren't showing any of that ultra-surreal HDR stuff we known so well from Flickr. What's that you say? You don't want all your videos to look like they're populated by radioactive creatures on a planet with a dying sun? You disappoint us, person. Go to your room. EPIC can shoot up to 18 stops of dynamic range in motion, with an "HDR" mode for in camera processing and an "HDRx" mode (seen here) for manipulation in post. Hit up the source link for the full res download and in-depth discussion about the tech, or hit below the fold for an embedded copy of the vid. [Thanks, Andrew F.]
HDR video accomplished using dual 5D Mark IIs, is exactly what it sounds like
Are you ready for a wave of HDR to crash over the consumer electronics industry, leaving nothing but oversaturated photos and full-to-the-brim Flickr groups in its wake? We've got a sneaky suspicion that Apple's inclusion of HDR in the iPhone is one of those telling warning signs that you ignore at your own risk, and now we've got HDR video to cower from behind our fast-aging current gen devices. As you might expect, HDR video looks just like HDR stills (an underexposed and an overexposed image combined into one), except in motion. The effect has been accomplished by Soviet Montage Productions, who used two Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLRs and a beam splitter, which allows each camera to look at the exact same subject, to accomplish the effect. They're short on details on the post-processing end, but we're sure there will be "an app for that" before too long. Sample is after the break. [Thanks, Mike]
