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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.
LG agrees to build Bang & Olufsen's pricey TVs
Even if you really love Danish design, $8,000 is insane for a 55-inch Bang & Olufsen 4K TV, since a superior OLED model from LG costs about three grand. B&O may have though the same thing, because it decided to outsource its television manufacturing to LG Electronics. While it's still responsible for the design and acoustics, LG will take take over development and production, saving B&O 150 million kroner ($23 million) over three years. "We've been losing significant amounts of money on developing and building the TVs because we're sub-scale." CEO Tue Mantoni tells Bloomberg. "We make about 30,000 TVs a year and LG produces about 40 million."
The first 4K Roku TVs hit Best Buy for $400 and up
Roku TVs afford you all the same features and apps the dinky set-top boxes do without cluttering up your entertainment center. Last year, Roku caught up with the times by launching the Ultra HD-ready Roku 4, also setting the stage for its TV partners to build 4K sets with the platform baked-in. Chinese manufacturer TCL was expected to be the first to market, but it's been beaten to the punch by Best Buy today with the launch of the first 4K Roku TVs under the retailer's Insignia brand.
Sky Q launches February 9th starting at £42 per month
Sky Q is almost, nearly ready for public consumption. We've heard all about the functionality and features of the new Q family of hardware, and have taken a top-level tour of the user experience. But how attractive Sky's next-gen service ultimately is hinges on how much customers are expected to pay for it. Today, Sky's shared those all important details, starting with the official launch date of February 9th, though home installations won't kick off until the end of that month.
A closer look at Sky Q
Sky's hardware hasn't changed a great deal since the Sky+HD set-top box debuted nearly 10 years ago. Viewing habits, on the other hand, couldn't be more different. Catch-up and streaming services, smartphones and tablets, torrents and YouTube have all played a part in eroding the value of a primetime slot and a hardline to the living room TV. More changes are also afoot, with high definition about to give way to Ultra HD, thanks to the dabbling of BT, Netflix and others. It's a sensible time for Sky to start afresh with Sky Q, a new generation of products headlined by the compact, 4K-ready "Silver" set-top box.
Samsung's Ultra HD Blu-ray player is coming soon for $399
There aren't many Ultra HD Blu-ray players to choose from, but the first one you can buy is this one from Samsung. We'd seen it before at IFA last year, but this week Samsung announced the UBD-K8500 will go on sale in the US this March. Talking to reps from Samsung and the Ultra HD Association, I was told it could start selling as soon as February 22nd, and we expect to see the first Ultra HD discs arrive at the same time. Pre-orders are up on Samsung's website and Amazon.com now for $399.
Panasonic's 4K CES: OLED, LCD and Ultra HD Blu-ray
At Panasonic's CES press conference we focused on its new SL-1200 turntables, and now we've hit the company's booth to see some new 4K hardware. That includes the 65-inch OLED TV that's supposed to arrive later in the year, a DX900 Ultra HD LCD with Ultra HD Premium certification and there's even an Ultra HD Blu-ray player. While what it has to show is impressive enough, Panasonic squeezed all of its home theater offerings into a relatively small area of its booth -- not like previous years when TVs dominated. Now action cameras, electric vehicles, data storage and home automation are taking up most of the space.
UHD Alliance reveals its specs for 'premium' 4K TVs
Last year a number of TV manufacturers, Hollywood studios and other content companies got together so they could avoid ruining the home experience of 4K. A battle over competing standards and formats has made a mess of tech like Blu-ray/HD DVD and the rollout of 3D, but this industry consortium is committed to making sure that doesn't happen with Ultra HD. As Fox exec Mike Dunn put it during a panel discussion, "Unless you have a standards group that puts the glue for the industry together, it's not seamless for the consumer." Tonight the group showed off the logo and specs (above) that you should probably look for if you consider buying a high-end Ultra HD television. Update: Samsung says its entire line of 2016 SUHD TVs has been tagged with the UHD Premium certification.
'Mad Max: Fury Road' is an Ultra HD Blu-ray launch title
Ultra HD Blu-ray is finally coming in 2016, and while we'll hear more about its 4K movies this week at CES, Warner Bros. is kicking things off by announcing some of the first movies on the way. Right out of the gate, it's offering Mad Max: Fury Road, San Andreas, The Lego Movie and Pan. They're promised for the "initial launch" early this year, although there's no exact date mentioned. More movies will arrive later this year and Warner says it plans to release over 35 in 2016, although only Man of Steel and Pacific Rim have been named.
BT's Ultra HD box can now stream Netflix in 4K
BT beat its UK TV rivals to the punch earlier this year, launching an Ultra HD channel and a 4K set-top box to watch it on. After turkey, all the trimmings and one too many sherbets, though, it's unlikely whatever sports-related programming BT's showing will entertain every member of the extended family, even if it is in jaw-dropping definition. Well not to worry, because just in time for Christmas, you can now watch Netflix's 4K catalogue on BT's Ultra HD box.
Vizio's cheapest 4K TVs are on sale starting at just $600
Worried that Vizio's $130,000 120-inch Reference Series TV is a bit out of your price range? For the budget-constrained buyers among us, Vizio has recently launched a new series of 4K TVs that are cheaper than any it's ever offered before: the D-Series. The smallest one is a 50-inch television (D50u-D1) that slices an extra $30 from its M-Series counterpart to sell for under $600. The largest 4K version is a 65-incher (D65u-D2) that costs just $1,300, $100 less than the step-up M model. Of course, to meet those price requirements something had to give, and I think those compromises mean the M-Series is still a better option.
Sony's first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases will arrive early next year
If you were hoping Ultra HD Blu-ray discs would be here in time for the holidays, you're going to have to wait a bit longer. Well, as far as Sony Pictures content is concerned anyway. The company announced today that its 4K Ultra HD discs will go on sale "in early 2016," missing the end-of-the-year estimate the Blu-ray Disc Association revealed back in August. When Sony's catalog does arrive, you can expect The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Salt, Hancock, Chappie, Pineapple Express, and The Smurfs 2 to be included in the first wave of releases. Newer movies like Fury and Captain Philips are in the works as well, and after being restored from the original film, the likes of Ghostbusters and The Fifth Element will make the leap to 4K, too.
Vizio's high-end 4K TVs are on sale at (some) Best Buy stores
After more than a year of waiting Vizio finally opened up orders for two models from its "Reference Series" line, and now it's expanding the rollout. At Best Buy's Magnolia Design Center locations (they're a bit more limited than the regular Magnolia in-store units you're probably used to seeing, here's a list), well-heeled buyers can order up a $6,000 65-inch Ultra High Definition TV packing Dolby's HDR tech, or go big with the $130,000 120-inch model. Of course, at that price, some of you may want to window shop before making a purchase, and a rep told one AVS Forum poster that they may have in-store samples coming. This close to CES you may want to wait for what 2016's TVs have to offer, but Netflix has that ultra wide color tech, 384 LED lighting zones plus UHD apps from Netflix, Amazon and Vudu.
TiVo's 4K-ready, commercial skipping Bolt hints at the future
This new Bolt DVR may not totally remake the recording technology TiVo is famous for, but it introduces a sharp departure in design and adds features customers have asked for since it started in the late 90s. Just like the leaks suggested, the Bolt is a funky arc-shaped white box that looks different from anything else near your HDTV. Despite being smaller than TiVo's older DVRs -- or whatever cable box you probably have -- it's eye-catching enough for visitors to stop and ask what you're watching TV on. Looks aside, Bolt's main claim to fame will definitely be its ability to bypass commercials with a new SkipMode (No more hidden 30 second skip! We've been asking for this since 2009). That's actually an old trick, and while it's appreciated, where I see evidence of TiVo looking towards the future is the way it's connecting the DVR to Amazon's Fire TV.
BT wants Netflix's 4K content on its Ultra HD box
BT may've launched the first 4K sports channel in the UK, but it doesn't expect you to shell out for its new Ultra HD box just to catch the odd footy match in the highest of definitions. It's now a matter of sourcing enough content to make the upgrade as attractive as possible, and BT is already investing in sports-centric 4K programming outside of live games. The appetite for Ultra HD entertainment can't be sated solely by sport, however, which is where BT hopes Netflix can lend a hand. BT Sport's Chief Operations Officer told Digital TV Europe that the company is currently talking to Netflix about enabling 4K in its app for BT's Ultra HD YouView box. Unfortunately, there's no word on when this might happen, and there isn't a great deal of 4K content on Netflix yet as it is, but it would certainly help BT show its latest set-top box isn't just for footy fans.
Red reveals its most affordable 4K camera, the $5,950 Raven
Red, the company best known for professional cameras used on films like The Hobbit, has just launched a camera for producers with more modest budgets. Called Raven, it can produce 4,096 x 2,160 4k RAW video at up to 120 fps, and 2,048 x 1,080 ProRes at 60 fps max. Red has priced it at $5,950 for the body only, though you'll likely need to spend $10,000 or more before you can shoot anything. You'll get the same Red Dragon sensor that's on the company's $29,000 Epic, albeit a smaller version that's between APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sizes.
iMovie for iOS is ready to handle your 4K video editing
If you're determined to produce a 4K masterpiece on an iPhone 6s, 6s Plus or iPad Pro, you now have one of the tools you need to get the job done. Apple has delivered an iMovie update that switches on 4K editing for its most powerful iPhones and iPads, giving you an easy (though not professional-grade) way to edit extra-sharp videos on the move. You can't capture 4K on the iPad Pro, alas, but it's powerful enough to edit multiple 4K streams. The giganto-tablet also has room for a larger media browser and a video viewer that shows every single pixel of a 1080p clip.
More Sony 4K TVs will support HDR color this fall
If you splurged on one of the many 4K TVs Sony released this year, you're likely in for a treat. Sony is expanding the reach of its high dynamic range (HDR) color update to include more sets. It was originally destined for just the X930C and X940C, but the upgrade is now slated to reach the X850C, X900C and X910C this fall. If you're one of the fortunate few in line for this image quality bump, you can expect more vivid colors, greater contrast and more details in both highlights and shadows.
Sony's 4K smartphone shows most content in 1080p
Sony made much ado over the Xperia Z5 Premium being the first phone with a 4K resolution screen, but at least a few IFA attendees noticed that the device described itself as 1080p. What's the deal -- is Sony trying to pull the wool over your eyes? Yes and no, it turns out. The company tells Phone Arena that you will see photos and videos in glorious 4K, but that "all other content" displays at 1080p or less in order to maintain that vaunted two-day battery life. The compromise is understandable (4K is taxing on a laptop, let alone a smartphone), but it also explains why you haven't seen other companies leap on the technology. Simply put, it's not ready for everyday use. You won't see 'true' 4K phones (that is, where 4K is used at all times) until there's hardware that can handle the resolution without begging for mercy.
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?
