Items tagged with 4k
Well, it was bound to happen, folks. I just finished upgrading my home theater setup, the crown jewel being an 85-inch Samsung Neo QLED television that gets brighter than the sun (almost, anyway) and is brimming with newfangled technologies. So of course a company—AU Optronics (AUO), in this instance—would be quick to announce an even better (potentially) 85-inch model. You're welcome, enthusiasts, I took one for the team. This has been the plight of PC builders since the beginning of PC building—buy into the latest hardware, and boom, something newer and flashier is announced. I'm not actually complaining, mind you, this is more tongue-in-cheek, because I'm genuinely curious...
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Earlier this week, a report surfaced that alleged that Google's new Pixel 5a mid-range smartphone has a serious problem. However, it isn't a case of falling behind in benchmarks or issues with build quality (as has been the case with previous Pixel devices) but instead deals with shooting 4K video at 60 fps. Android Police first picked up reports from Twitter concerning Pixel 5a review units that would overheat while shooting 4K video, resulting in the following error message: "Device is too hot. Close Camera until device cools off." Such a warning is quite peculiar for a device that hails 4K video recording as one of its selling points and is something that Pixel users will likely want to use...
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When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe in early 2020, millions of people that were used to working in an office setting in close proximity with coworkers were forced to work from home. With that switch to a home-based work environment – and daily Zoom/Google Meet video calls -- it quickly proved how horrible most built-in webcams are that come with today's laptops. Before COVID-19, most manufacturers treated integrated webcams as an afterthought and are just now starting to boost image quality. However, Dell is going one step further by introducing the UltraSharp Webcam, a standalone camera that you can use with any laptop or desktop PC. Unlike the 720p or 1080p shooters that...
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YouTube TV in recent years hasn't exactly been an incredible value play when it comes to streaming TV services. What started as a service that cost $35 per month in 2016 now costs subscribers $65 per month, which is getting closer to the pricing that "cord cutters" sought to escape in the first place. This week, Google announced that it's adding new [optional] features to YouTube TV that push its price even higher. YouTube TV is adding what it calls 4K Plus, which as its name implies, allows you to consume 4K content. At this time, there is not exactly a lot of 4K content available. However, Google says that "major sports events" will broadcast in 4K this summer (i.e., the Olympics) and that...
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For those that are always on the lookout for the hottest deals on tech gear, mega retailer Best Buy's big 4-day sale is ending today. The company has been piling on the discounts on games, laptops, 4K TVs, and cellphones (among other things). We've decided to give a few examples of the best deals that are available, so buckle up! Given that Super Bowl LV is just a few weeks away, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Best Buy is discounting large screen TVs. In this case, the HiSense 75H6510G 75-inch Android TV is available for just $749. This is a $250 discount from its normal $999 price tag, and it of course comes with free shipping. The TV supports Bluetooth for wireless connecting a soundbar,...
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Tom Brady did his thing yesterday, dispatching with the New Orleans Saints to advance the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC Championship game. The winner between the Bucs and Green Bay Packers will advance to the Super Bowl. There are some enticing potential matchups for the big contest, and what better excuse is there to buy a big screen TV? Well, if you need another excuse, how about this—you can grab a 65-inch 4K smart TV for less than $500. That was unheard of not that long ago, but pricing on big screen TVs have fallen off a cliff in recent years. What you see above is an RCA 65-inch TV (RTRQ6522-US) with QLED nanocrystal technology. It normally sells for $699.99, but is on sale at Walmart...
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This year, companies have been hard at work trying to create products that adapt to the crazy world we live in right now. Acer is one such of these companies that has prepared some of its products early for CES 2021. If you need to work, learn, or game, Acer has you covered as we'll see below... Acer Chromebook Spin 514 As the COVID-19 pandemic seems to never end, people will need devices for work and school. As such, Acer has unveiled its first Chromebook powered by AMD Ryzen 3000 C-series mobile processors and AMD Radeon graphics. This 14” device packs an FHD IPS touch display on a 360-degree hinge and can be configured with up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB of storage. Overall,...
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At CES 2019, Samsung unveiled a more consumer-friendly “Wall TV," which could have made its way to homes. It still packed the amazing MicroLED technology, came in a smaller form factor and remained modular. However, modularity could cause some issues for buying and setting up a screen such as a TV. Now, Samsung is tackling that issue with the unveiling of a 110” MicroLED prefabricated display for “stunning video, audio, and smart capabilities out of the box.” Jonghee Han, President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, reports that “consumers rely on their televisions for more functions than ever.” For leisure, work, or play, you may find yourself...
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Remember when glass-free 3D felt like the endgame scenario for consumer displays and electronics? Efforts were made to go in that direction, like the legendary Nintendo 3DS, but it never quite took hold. It did not completely die, either. Proof that it did not resides in Sony's new Spatial Reality Display aimed at creators and 3D designers. Sony calls the Spatial Reality Display a "groundbreaking new product," and it was initially shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier this year. Using the company's Eye-Sensing Light Field Display (EFLD) technology, it is able to present a glass-free, high-resolution 3D modeling and visualization experience. "We're excited to bring the world's...
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Roku has announced two new additions to its popular streaming lineup today: the Streambar and an updated Ultra standalone box. These are some of the more expensive entries in Roku's extensive lineup, but should help to improve the company's dominant position in the streaming market. Kicking things off is the new Streambar, which combines the functionality of a soundbar with integrated Roku hardware. The Streambar measures just 14 inches in length and connects to your television using an HDMI cable (or optical if you choose). As you might expect from a modern streamer, the Streambar streams 4K HDR video and even includes support for Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant. Later this year, the Streambar...
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Acer is bringing gaming monitor goodness to the market with their upcoming Acer XV282K KV monitor. This 28” 4K IPS display is packed with features and specifications such as AMD FreeSync, an HDR600 rating, 1ms response times, and 144Hz refresh rates. Looking at the TaoBao page that it cropped up on, this gaming monitor looks like what you would expect from Acer. The base is a basic round design and red trim around the pole. Moving up to the monitor, it is an all-black design with angular lines with some vents on the rear. Also on the rear, you will find I/O which includes HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 as well as a USB 3.0 hub. As far as monitor movement goes, you will be able to rotate...
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Back in late August, we heard more rumors that Nintendo is currently developing a Switch Pro console that would serve as the flagship of its console gaming portfolio which currently consists of the Switch and Switch Lite. Today, more evidence has appeared in a report that was primarily focusing on Nintendo’s alleged plans to boost Switch production by 20 percent to meet demand. The Bloomberg report states that Nintendo had already raised its production target to 25 million units for its current fiscal year, and that the new target is now 30 million units. But buried further down in the report was a reference to several game developers that wished to remain anonymous...
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Football fans rejoice, the big day is finally here! We're of course talking about Super Bowl Sunday, and this time around, the San Francisco 49ers will face off against the Kansas City Chiefs (feels weird for the New England Patriots to not be participating, right?). While the game is just a few hours away (at the time of this writing), there is still time to tweak your TV's settings to ensure you're do sell your eyeballs short. Before we get to those tips, take note that Super Bowl LIV starts at 6:30pm Eastern (3:30pm Pacific). There will be plenty of pre-game content, a halftime show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, and the usual round of humorous commercials, all broadcast on Fox. And...
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Google has laid out a roadmap for its nascent Stadia game streaming service, and 2020 is shaping up to be a big one for gamers. Those early adopters that were able to snag a Founder's Edition Bundle have been able to enjoy Stadia for a few months, but here's what you can expect for first quarter of the year: Support for 4K gaming on the Web Add further Assistant functionality when playing on the Web Support additional Android Phones Wireless gameplay on the Web through the Stadia controller If you have a 4K-capable Chromebook, the updated web streaming options will be right up your alley. Those same gamers will be able to take advantage of the new wireless controller support to remain untethered...
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I remember buying a big screen TV back in the day and not being overly fazed by the fact that it was nearly as big as a Buick. This was before thin LCD screens had permeated the market. It's quite the different landscape now, and prices are a lot cheaper, too. If you have not shopped for a TV in a bit, good news, you can upgrade to a fancy new model with various bells and whistles for cheaper than ever before. To help you do just that, we have rounded up a handful of big screen TVs that are currently on sale. Show above, for example, is a JVC 4K Roku Smart TV (LT-70MAW795) for $529.99 on Walmart. Forget about squinting to see the action, because 70 inches of diagonal screen real estate is easy...
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Subscribing to the Stadia Pro tier is supposed to net players several perks, the highlight being the ability to play games at a 4K resolution (3840x2160) at 60 frames per second—it's one of the main selling points for the $9.99 per month subscription fee. Be that as it may, some users have voiced concern that Stadia's 4K gaming experience is not living up to expectations. In the lead up to Stadia launch, Google did plenty of chest puffing, especially in regards to how its cloud gaming service stacks up to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in horsepower. According to Google, Stadia can delivers 10.7 GPU teraflops of performance, which is more than the Xbox One X (6 TFLOPs) and PS4 Pro (4.2...
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Black Friday is nearly upon us, though as we have seen in recent years, the deals and bargains are rolling in ahead of time. We are not just talking about previews, either, but actual sales. Over at Walmart, for example, you can score a 70-inch smart TV with a 4K resolution, support for high dynamic range (HDR), and a built-in Roku streamer for a $499.99. That is a banging price for 70 inches of real estate. The Element 70-inch 4K Roku Smart TV for $499.99 has a list price of $798.00, so it's discounted nearly $300 right now. This also matches the lowest price we have ever seen this model go for. Here are some specs at a glance... Diagonal Panel Size: 70 inches Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Panel Resolution:...
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Earlier this year, Razer upgraded its beefy Blade Pro 17 gaming laptop with 9th generation Intel Core processors. Now, for the start of fall, Razer has turned its attention to giving gamers a long-awaited display upgrade. While the Blade Pro 17 was previously available with a 144Hz Full HD display, Razer is now making available a crispy new 17.3-inch 120Hz 4K touch display. In addition, the display can crank to 400 nits and it covers 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color gamut. On the internal hardware front, you'll still find an Intel Core i7-9750H processor (2.6GHz base clock, 4.5GHz boost clock) and 16GB of DDR4-2667 memory (upgradeable to 64GB). Pumping pixels to that expansive...
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Back in late July, NVIDIA updated its SHIELD TV 4K streaming box to SHIELD Experience Upgrade 8.0, which was based on Android 9 Pie. The update also brought some new features along with a few bugfixes. However, what many SHIELD TV owners weren’t expecting were issues with existing 4K video playback. NVIDIA has now acknowledged that a handful of apps have suddenly stopped playing back content at 4K resolutions. In a post to the official NVIDIA support forums, a staffer wrote: We’re aware of a 4K playback issue impacting a small number of apps on SHIELD TV devices and are working on a solution. In most of these cases, users can cast these movies to SHIELD in 4K using built-in...
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If you have any aspiration of owning a DJI Mavic drone, brace yourself for having to fork over several hundred dollars, or even over a grand—MSRPs range from $799 for the Mavic Air all the way up to $1,899 for the Mavic 2. Accessories and add-ons are extra. A cheaper variant may be in the wings, however, with rumors of a Mavic Mini drone debuting for $399. If there is in fact a Mavic Mini done and it debuts at that price, it would be the least expensive Mavic model available. Incidentally, $399 is what DJI's Spark drone now costs (it debuted at $499). The Mavic series is more fully featured, with one of the key upgrades being the ability to record videos at 4K—the Spark records at...
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If you’re in the market for a big screen TV, there have been waves of great deals rolling in over the past few weeks to satisfy your buying urges. Today, we’ve got another smoking deal, this time on a 55-inch Smart TV from Sharp. In this case, we’re talking about the Sharp LC-55LBU591U, which is a 55-inch 4K HDR TV for those that are looking for more budget-minded entry. More importantly, this is a Roku TV, which means has a built-in Roku Smart TV interface giving you easy access to multiple streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, YouTube TV, HBO Go and numerous others. You’ll also have access to Roku’s own streaming...
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If one thing is for sure, recent home TV and movies services market changes have been seismic. Over the years we have gone through Beta, VHS, laser discs, DVDs, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, but nothing has reshaped the home entertainment landscape like streaming video. Each time a new form factor for delivering movies in the home launches, the old form factors have eventually gone extinct and it appears that Blu-ray may be the next format to die off. Samsung has announced that it is not going to produce any new Blu-ray players for the U.S. market. Samsung announced that no new 1080p or 4K Blu-ray players would be produced for the U.S. and the new announcement gives more detail than an earlier statement by...
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