Apple TV drops to fourth place behind Amazon’s Fire TV

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A new Apple TV may be in the offing — and just in time.
Last year’s US sales of the company’s streaming-media box slipped behind those for Amazon’s rival devices for the first time, according to estimates Thursday from researcher Parks Associates. That put it in fourth place, also behind streaming-TV box maker Roku and online search giant Google. Continue reading Apple TV drops to fourth place behind Amazon’s Fire TV

LG’s non-curved 4K OLED TVs are finally here

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LG is finally ready to sell the OLED 4K TVs, it revealed in January, including the first ever flat models. The Korean company has invested huge sums in OLED tech, believing that consumers will be drawn in by the improved black levels, better off-axis viewing angles and more saturated colors. We’re pleasantly surprised to learn that the two flat UltraHD models (in 65- and 55-inch sizes) also have HDR capability with improved color range — provided you have content that supports it. If you’re more into curved 4K OLEDs, there’s a new 55-inch model, bringing the total number of LG OLED 4K TVs to nine. Continue reading LG’s non-curved 4K OLED TVs are finally here

Ultra HD Blu-ray is bringing high-res movies home soon

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After Blu-ray and HD DVD ushered in the age of HD and 1080p movies for the masses, discs were beaten to 4K by streaming services like Netflix ,YouTube and Amazon. While the internet is still doing most of the heavy lifting for 4K, the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification is finally complete which means we should see movies and players arriving later this year. Besides being compatible with the 10,000~ Blu-ray discs already out, Ultra HD Blu-ray players will be ready for high-res 3,840 x 2,160 video, “next generation object-based sound formats” (think DTS:X and Dolby Atmos), more colors, high dynamic range (HDR) and even high frame rate video. That’s a lot of buzzwords to say movies will have the capability to look and sound better at your home than they ever have before. Continue reading Ultra HD Blu-ray is bringing high-res movies home soon

Two TVs, one room

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Flat-screen TVs have gotten cheap enough that it’s possible to get two midsize TVs for the price of one bigger TV. A quick search of Amazon found that you could get two 46-inch plasmas for the price of one 52-inch LED LCD. Or, you could add a new, smaller TV to supplement the one you already have for only a few hundred dollars.

Why, you may ask? A better question: How (would you use them), and even more important, what do you need?

Let me first say, beyond a boring thought experiment, I actually do this. It is awesome. My setup isn’t typical, nor possible for many people, but it does give an idea of why you’d want two TVs. My main display is a front projector (again, this is just an example, you can do the two-TV thing with two HDTVs just as easily). For the most part, I use the projector for everything: TV watching, movies, gaming. It’s the latter that makes the a second TV useful. Continue reading Two TVs, one room

Poll: Is 3D TV dead? Do you care?

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When 3D TVs hit the market a few years ago, TV companies predictably said, “3D IS AMAZING, YOU WANT THIS.”
We, as TV reviewers, said something between: “Gimmick!” and “It works pretty well, but look at that crosstalk.”
Consumers, almost universally, said, “Wait, I still need glasses? Pass.” Most people we know with 3D TVs used the feature maybe once or twice, then let the glasses gather dust in a drawer.
Despite that tepid response, Hollywood churned out more 3D movies, released them on Blu-ray, and TV companies kept pumping out 3D-capable TVs that got marginally better, but not by much. Continue reading Poll: Is 3D TV dead? Do you care?

USB Type-C: One cable to connect them all

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Here it is, 2015, and we’re still waiting for reversible USB. Although Type- C connectors promise to stop the one-way-only madness, the ports themselves have yet to arrive in any meaningful way — and even those don’t address an equally vexing plug problem: the other end.

Specifically, you know that Micro-USB connector that goes into your smartphone, tablet, e-reader, Bluetooth headset and pretty much every other non-Apple device known to man? Figuring out which end goes up is enough to drive a person to Lightning. Apple’s flawed-but-at-least-reversible port solved this issue years ago.

Enter MicFlip (pronounced “Mike-flip”), which claims to be the world’s first reversible Micro-USB cable. And it’s reversible at both ends, not just the USB Type-A side.

Understanding the Different HDMI Versions (1.0 to 2.0)

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HDMI has changed versions so many times it’s been hard to keep up for most people. We’ve talked about the versions as part of other articles and documents, but it seemed fitting that we’d formulate and maintain a definitive document outlining the changes in a straightforward and easy-to-digest manner for all concerned.

Hopefully this article helps you understand the format differences and aids in your ability to discern what features are important to you as you shop for HDMI-equipped products. Continue reading Understanding the Different HDMI Versions (1.0 to 2.0)