The Walt Disney Company faced a legal defeat today after its lawsuit alleging retaliation was dismissed in a Florida court. The claim focused on the state’s violation of the company’s First Amendment rights for standing against Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a homophobic law that endangers the human…
If you’ve considered splurging on a premium monitor, Samsung has some deals worth investigating. The company’s offerings, including the 55-inch Odyssey Ark (available for a record-low $2,000), 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 ($500 off) and 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9 ($400 off) are among the models discounted in a wide-ranging monitor sale on Amazon and Samsung’s website.
The 55-inch Odyssey Ark is a 4K behemoth with a 1000R curvature to ensure all sides of the screen face you at a roughly equal distance. It supports 165Hz refresh rates, making for fairly smooth gaming and other tasks, and it has a 1ms response time. You can even rotate its screen into portrait orientation, although that’s more of a niche bonus than an essential feature for most people.
Samsung fixed one of our biggest gripes about the first-generation version, adding the DisplayPort compatibility and multi-input split view that were perplexingly missing from that inaugural model. The one on sale is the latest variant, launched in 2023.
Usually $3,000, you can cut that in third on Amazon and Samsung, taking the 55-inch Odyssey Ark home for $2,000.
The 57-inch Odyssey G9 Neo has a more elongated (32:9) aspect ratio. This lets you squeeze more apps onto your desktop multitasking setup while supplying a wider field of view for gaming. Despite its different size and shape, it has the same tight 1000R curve as the Ark.
The monitor has 8K resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. Its mini LED technology uses 2,392 local dimming zones and “the highest 12-bit black levels.” Ports include DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1 and a USB hub.
Usually $2,500, you can shave $500 off the 57-inch Neo G9 monitor, taking it home for $2,000. That pricing is available on Amazon and Samsung.
The 49-inch Odyssey G9 OLED also has a 32:9 aspect ratio. Its OLED / Quantum Dot screen produces rich colors and deep blacks to make your games pop more, and its solid-black text can help your workspace lettering jump out more.
This model’s curve (1800R) is less pronounced than the 55-inch Ark and 57-inch G9 Neo’s, but it still supplies a gentle curve inward. It includes built-in speakers, and it has a 240Hz refresh rate with a “near-instant” (0.03ms) response time. It includes connections for HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort.
The 49-inch G9 OLED retails for $1,600, but you can get it for $1,200 on Amazon. (It’s $1,300 on Samsung’s site.)
We only highlighted some of the standout monitors, but you can browse through the full sale on Amazon and Samsung.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-odyssey-monitors-are-up-to-1000-off-right-now-200039299.html?src=rss
Lurking inside your reheated fried rice is a dangerous bacterial killer—at least, that’s what you might think after watching one of the latest viral videos shared on TikTok and other social media platforms. There is a grain of truth to this claim, and you should try to properly store your leftovers, but the risks of…
Apple has made spatial video capture and playback a key selling point of its headset, but it won’t be the only device in town that can handle stereoscopic videos. Meta Quest virtual reality headsets are getting spatial video playback capabilities, perfectly timed to coincide with tomorrow’s Apple Vision Pro launch.
You can upload spatial videos via the Meta Quest mobile app directly from your iPhone, but you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to make the videos. The content will be stored in the cloud, and not the headset, to preserve all-important hard drive space. Once uploaded, you’ll be able to relive precious memories over and over again, as the increased depth that spatial videos provide is pretty engrossing.
Meta has made several demo videos available for users so you can see what all the fuss is about. This feature is not exclusive to the recently-released Meta Quest 3. You’ll be able to view spatial videos via the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro. As usual, the OG Meta Quest is left out in the cold. It’s worth noting that the Viture One and One Lite XR glasses can also play spatial videos.
The video viewer is part of a larger system update that brings several other upgrades to Quest users. The headset’s web browser will now be able to play web-based games, with support for external gamepads. Additionally, Facebook live streaming is now available for everyone, after a limited rollout. Finally, there are some new single-gesture quick actions. You can, for instance, mute the microphone or take a photo just by looking down at your wrist and performing a short pinch. Hey, wait a minute. That also sounds suspiciously like Apple Vision Pro’s control scheme. Shots fired.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-quest-headsets-get-spatial-video-playback-just-in-time-for-the-apple-vision-pro-launch-193821840.html?src=rss
Apple has made spatial video capture and playback a key selling point of its headset, but it won’t be the only device in town that can handle stereoscopic videos. Meta Quest virtual reality headsets are getting spatial video playback capabilities, perfectly timed to coincide with tomorrow’s Apple Vision Pro launch.
You can upload spatial videos via the Meta Quest mobile app directly from your iPhone, but you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to make the videos. The content will be stored in the cloud, and not the headset, to preserve all-important hard drive space. Once uploaded, you’ll be able to relive precious memories over and over again, as the increased depth that spatial videos provide is pretty engrossing.
Meta has made several demo videos available for users so you can see what all the fuss is about. This feature is not exclusive to the recently-released Meta Quest 3. You’ll be able to view spatial videos via the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro. As usual, the OG Meta Quest is left out in the cold. It’s worth noting that the Viture One and One Lite XR glasses can also play spatial videos.
The video viewer is part of a larger system update that brings several other upgrades to Quest users. The headset’s web browser will now be able to play web-based games, with support for external gamepads. Additionally, Facebook live streaming is now available for everyone, after a limited rollout. Finally, there are some new single-gesture quick actions. You can, for instance, mute the microphone or take a photo just by looking down at your wrist and performing a short pinch. Hey, wait a minute. That also sounds suspiciously like Apple Vision Pro’s control scheme. Shots fired.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-quest-headsets-get-spatial-video-playback-just-in-time-for-the-apple-vision-pro-launch-193821840.html?src=rss
February is here. Let’s watch some movies. Welcome to io9’s latest edition of the Nerd’s Watch, where we pare down the enormous lists of new films and television shows arriving on all your favorite streaming services into the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles we think you’ll like most. (And sometimes, just the ones…
Pokémon Go creator Niantic is bringing an AR skateboarding game to the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset. The company teamed up with Reality Crisis, another player in the AR gaming space, to create Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX. For the uninitiated, Mullen is a professional skateboarder who is credited with creating a number of iconic tricks, including the ollie and the kickflip.
This is the first augmented-reality skateboard game ever, unless you count using an actual skateboard to speed around town catching pocket monsters in Pokémon Go. Niantic says the gameplay will involve players navigating the real world to “explore and collect skatepark elements.” The game will use the same AR precision elements as the company’s other titles to “turn the world into an endless skatepark.” A gameplay demo shows an avatar skating in real-world locations like parking lots and inside of washing machines. However, there’s one really expensive elephant in the room.
The Apple Vision Pro costs $3,500 and isn’t exactly suited to removing from the living room, let alone the home. You’ll also look pretty stupid wearing Apple’s bulky ski goggles while out and about, not to mention it’d be mighty easy to snag it from your head and race away, perhaps on a real-life skateboard.
To that end, Niantic and Reality Labs are also bringing the game to standard mobile devices, including iOS and Android smartphones. Much of the gameplay is still under wraps, but Niantic promises that players will be able to share custom-made skateparks with other users on both mobile devices and mixed-reality headsets.
Rodney Mullen’s SKATRIX will be released sometime this year. As for the Apple Vision Pro, the device looks to be getting all kinds of apps. The headset will have access to Microsoft’s entire 365 productivity suite at launch, along with a Zoom app. All told, Apple says there will be 600 apps available for tomorrow’s release.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/niantic-is-bringing-an-ar-skateboarding-game-to-apple-vision-pro-183740925.html?src=rss
In 2024, the ghost with the most is back and his new movie is one word short of total chaos. Warner Bros. released the first piece of official marketing for Beetlejuice 2 on Thursday and with it, we now know that it’s not actually called “Beetlejuice 2.” It’s called… Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
A group of visual effects artists who work on the Avatar movies have voted to unionize. Fifty-seven out of 88 eligible workers at TCF US Productions 27 (a Walt Disney Studios subsidiary) voted in favor of the union in a National Labor Relations Board election. Nineteen workers voted against the effort and two ballots were void.
TCF US Productions 27 is not the main VFX house that works on the Avatar series. That would be Weta FX, which employs most of the 1,000-plus people who work on those projects. But an industry source pointed out to The Hollywood Reporter that the bargaining unit is notable, since that’s “the core team that answers to Jim Cameron,” the creator and director of the movies. “They are not necessarily impressive in size, but in influence.”
Barring objections from management and labor being taken up, the workers will join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). They’ll follow VFX artists from Marvel and Walt Disney Studios (both of which voted unanimously to unionize) in organizing with IATSE. Workers from VFX house DNEG in British Columbia have joined the union too.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/avatar-vfx-artists-vote-to-unionize-174501416.html?src=rss
It’s been a week since NASA announced the end of its Mars helicopter mission, and we’re still not over losing our beloved Ginny. But apparently, neither is NASA, as the space agency is still trying to figure out what happened during Ingenuity’s last flight on Mars.
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