Hasta La Gadget!

Only just after it leaked out, the folks at HDMI Licensing are announcing HDMI 2.0 officially. Arriving just in time for the wide rollout of a new generation of Ultra HDTVs, it adds a few key capabilities to the connection standard. With a bandwidth capacity of up to 18Gbps, it has enough room to carry 3,840 x 2,160 resolution video at up to 60fps. It also has support for up to 32 audio channels, “dynamic auto lipsync” and additional CEC extensions. The connector itself is unchanged, which is good for backwards compatibility but may disappoint anyone hoping for something sturdier to support all of those suddenly-popular dongles. The cables won’t change either, as the group claims current high-speed Category 2 wires can handle the increased bandwidth. Some companies have suggested upgrade paths for their UHDTVs already on the market — hopefully we’ll find out more about those plans this week at IFA 2013.

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Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: HDMI.org

Following LG and TCL, Hisense is now the latest TV manufacturer to adopt Hillcrest Labs’ Freespace technology. According to the agreement, Hisense, the world’s fifth largest smart TV brand (as of Q1 2013, according to NPD DisplaySearch), will be able to add in-air pointing, gesture control and motion control — all via a remote control — to its future smart TVs and set-top boxes. This also means TCL now faces a fellow Chinese competitor with the same set of Freespace features. While there’s no time frame just yet, we’ve been told that Hisense will eventually sell these next-gen devices in the US and China later this year, so stay tuned.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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This week, viewers can take their pick of big events coming to TV screens: the NFL is back, Futurama is going away for good, The League and Always Sunny are launching on a new cable network, Diablo III is arriving on consoles and Ace Ventura is out on Blu-ray. There’s also the Blu-ray release of Sharknado and Luther’s entire third series is airing on BBC America this week. Fans of Matt Groening’s animated series will want to check out the Comedy Central website for a half hour before and after Futurama airs Wednesday to chat with the people who made it all possible. Need help finding out where FXX is on your cable or satellite TV lineup? This is the place to go, and check after the break for our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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This ain’t your kid’s average Dora the Explorer backpack. ONA’s mission is to introduce the world to something much more on the premium side, and its Bolton Street packs do a pretty good job of contributing to that quest. Crafted with a water-resistant canvas and leather accents, this backpack certainly holds its fair share of stuff — and it’d better, for $360. Fortunately, the folks at ONA have a couple for us to give away to our readers, so hurry down to the widget below to enter.

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Alt

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Ahead of Sony’s own IFA press event, it’s already announced its latest head-mounted display. The HMZ-T3 is the third iteration and while there’s no substitutional reality function (or camera), the company’s made some important improvements that could tip the balance for anyone concerned with sinking a substantial amount of cash for a one-person display. It’ll come in a new “wireless” iteration — we’ll explain why we used those quote marks a little later — while Sony has also improved the clarity of its dual OLED displays through lens and software adjustments (although the 720p resolution stays the same). There’s now a bigger viewing sweet spot and several new specialized screen options for gaming and movie-watching. Our favorite new feature, however, is the ability to plug in Android (presumably Xperia) devices with micro-HDMI / MHL connectivity. The device, via the battery pack, has ports for both full-size and micro-HMDI cables, and given the current influx of HD-capable smartphones (and content), it’s a pretty pervasive way to use it.

The HMZ-T3 also arrives with high-definition audio, virtualized 7.1 channel sound and has shed 10 grams since the T2. That’s despite improved padding and some more forgiving adjustment controls that made wearing the device noticeably less frustrating. Both wireless and wired options are set to go on sale in Japan this October and while a global roll-out isn’t yet confirmed, Sony’s told us that it’s certainly “in discussions” about further availability. We managed to get some early access to the wearable ahead of its reveal in Germany, so naturally, we played some games and watched some video. Our initial impressions and more details are right after the break. %Gallery-slideshow46965%

Filed under: Displays, Wearables, HD, Sony

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