Wednesday, November 13, 2013

These Are The Three Most Important Things About Netflix's Dramatic New TV Redesign

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/netflixs-tv-redesign-2013-11

Netflix

Today, Netflix is rolling out a redesign of its television experience that will look and feel radically different from what you've grown used to if you watch Netflix on a TV screen. 

Which a lot of people do. 

Netflix members watch more than a billion hours of movies and shows per month, mostly on their TVs. 

“This is the biggest change to the TV experience in our history," Chris Jaffe, vice president of product innovation from Netflix, told Business Insider. The update has been in the works for two years. 

These are the most important changes: 

1. You instantly get more info on every show or movie 

If you scroll over an option on Netflix, that title will now have three large pictures that it will cycle through to give you a better idea of what the show or movie is all about. Then you'll also get a short synopsis and personalized details, like whether a friend has viewed it, how it relates to something you've watched in the past, or whether it's won any awards. "We want to quickly and easily answer the question, 'Why should I watch this?'" Jaffe said. "That's the evidence piece."

In general, the new design is much more simple, visual, and beautiful. 

2. Easy updates for all 

Because this Netflix update is delivered by a new software platform that will run on all types of devices, you'll never have to wait a long time for an update again. Previously, Netflix had to code its updates differently for every different device, ranging from Smart TVs to PlaysSations. "We'll be able to innovate and improve must faster," Jaffe said. 

(The Nintendo Wii and Apple TV, however, will not get this update because they have custom Netflix designs.)

3. You're going to find yourself even more addicted to your watching Netflix

No, really.

Netflix tested its new design with hundreds of Playstation 3 users who didn’t realize they were getting a new experience. Turns out, the new design results in higher engagement: members watch more.

Almost sounds more like a warning to us. 

Check out the promo vid from Netflix:

The new Netflix television experience launches on Netflix on Nov. 13 and will be available to all members globally within two weeks. Devices that will support the new experience include PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Roku 3, newer Smart TVs and recent Blu-ray players. Additional devices, including older Roku boxes, will be added over the coming months.

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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Incredible video of the magic morphing table that lets you touch things

Source: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-video-of-the-magic-morphing-table-is-awesome-1463167945/@kcampbelldollaghan

Incredible video of the magic morphing table that lets you touch things

Remember the morphing table that can replicate your body and movements in real time? It's name is inForm. Daniel Leithinger—from the Tangible Group at MIT Medialab—just told Sploid about their first official video. This thing is so damn awesome.

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Google's Portable Native client lets one app run on any hardware in Chrome

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/12/google-portable-native-client/

Since 2011, Google's Native Client has been enabling developers to write applications like photo editors, CAD modelers and 3D games in C or C++ and run them inside the Chrome browser. Initially, Native Client only functioned on x86 machines, and early this year it began working on ARM devices, too. However, coders had to recompile their apps for each kind of CPU architecture. Now, the company's long-awaited Portable Native Client has arrived, and with it comes the elimination of the need for platform-specific recompiling. That means devs can compile their app a single time and have it run seamlessly on devices with x86, ARM and MIPS chips. For now, PNC is only supported in Chrome, but should devs want their apps to run in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari or any other browser, they can use Google's Pepper API and JavaScript to get the job done. Of course, there's lots more info about Portable Native Client and how to get started using it over at the Chromium blog, so hit the source for the full spill.

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Source: Chromium blog

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Hisense's 55-inch 4K Smart TV priced at $2,000

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/12/hisenses-4k/

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Seems like this is the week to push out all of those budget 55-inch 4K sets before the holidays roll around. Following yesterday's Sears-centric announcement of a Seiki $1,500 set, Hinsense is offering up the T880. The $2,000 UHD offering features built-in WiFi and a number of smart TV apps like Opera, Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Twitter and Facebook. The company's also promising a 178-degree viewing angle, so you can sit as away from your family members as you want, while still enjoying the movie. The T880 is available through a handful of budget-conscious retailers like Walmart and Costco here in the States.

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Source: Hisense

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema camera now supports RAW video for better dynamic range

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/12/blackmagic-pocket-cinema-camera-now-supports-raw-video/

Blackmagic announces Production Camera 4K, $995 Pocket Cinema Camera with MFT mount handson video

After releasing its $995 Pocket Cinema Camera last summer with ProRes422 support only, Blackmagic Design has finally unleashed RAW CinemaDNG video recording with a firmware update. The format losslessly compresses each frame like a .zip file to capture 1080p video from the Super 16mm sensor -- the same one that's on the original Cinema Camera. That preserves the full fidelity of the video stream, letting cinematographers save files with more dynamic range for increased flexibility during color correction. That's not to say that ProRes422 is shabby, as we saw from earlier footage -- but shooters who want RAW in a small form factor now have a way without hacking (and possibly bricking) a Canon DSLR.

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Via: No Film School

Source: Blackmagic Design

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