Hasta La Gadget!

Looking to get away from all the Apple news? Well, as Ben puts it in this episode, “you’ve come to right podcast” — if you’re all about E3, that is. We’re really excited to talk about how the big announcements from this year’s gaming show will pertain to our HD wants and wishes. Ben hasn’t decided whether to order the PS4 or Xbox, but Richard is considering ordering as many as he can get his mitts on. Of course, that and all the HD news from the rest of the week is ready for streaming below.

Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: Joe Pollicino (@akaTRENT)

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Podcasts, HD

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The next-generation of consoles has finally and fully arrived here at E3, and the companies building the Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U are doing their best to differentiate their consoles from the competition. However, there is a common thread that connects them under the hood: AMD silicon. Naturally, we wanted to know more about the process of building chips for these next gene consoles. So, we spoke with AMD VP Saeid Moshkelani — who heads up the Semi-Custom Business Unit that built those SoCs — to get the inside scoop.

Moshkelani wouldn’t get into the details of the differences between the chips he built for the consoles. Instead, he talked about how AMD developed custom silicon for each and the necessity of secrecy in the process. In fact, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft had no idea that they were each going to the AMD well to get silicon for their next-gen platforms until they were announced. So, head on down past the break to hear Moshkelani discuss what it’s like working with the big three and AMD’s role in making next-gen gaming a reality.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, AMD

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With the Xbox One, Microsoft is killing off the virtual currency of Xbox Live — Microsoft Points are soon-to-be no more. But what of remaining balances? Apparently Microsoft’s taking care of transfers, and even turning those points back into real currency. “When the transition takes place, the balance of Microsoft Points in an account will be retired and the customer will be given an amount in local currency that is equal or greater in Marketplace value,” a Microsoft rep told our friends at Joystiq.

“That value will be stored in your account and can be used similar to Microsoft Points to make purchases in the Xbox Live Marketplace.” It sounds to us like you’ll be making a permanent move with your account’s currency from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One — 80 MS Points are equal to $1, currently. Regardless, it sure is nice that those virtual bucks aren’t locked to a console that we’ll soon be retiring to the attic.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

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Source: Joystiq

It’s E3 time, people, and the launch of a pair of brand new consoles has the gaming world abuzz with the possibilities they bring. The success of those platforms isn’t just about the black boxes, however. Gaming publishers like Electronic Arts are building many of the games people will want to play on Xbox One and PS4. So, when we got the opportunity to speak with EA’s CTO Rajat Taneja and COO Peter Moore about the company’s plans for next-gen, we jumped at the chance.

Rajat regaled us with tales of all the back-end work going into preparing Origin for next-gen, and chatted about the challenge of scaling up to accommodate all of the new users that will come with the new consoles. Naturally, that led to a discussion about the company’s single identity framework that allows gamers to access their EA account on any gaming platform. Meanwhile, Peter talked of the importance of Origin’s single login service, EA’s ability to produce games that take full advantage of the new capabilities of next-gen consoles and even how the lesson’s learned from the problems with Sim City will be applied to future games. You don’t have to take our word for it, though — check out the pair of videos after the break to hear for yourself first-hand.

Filed under: Gaming, HD

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A lack of interest in 3D viewing at home has claimed one of its first major victims today, as ESPN announced its 3D channel is going to shut down. ESPN 3D launched back in 2010 with coverage of the FIFA World Cup, but it will not make it to the next one, or to see ESPN’s new Monday Night Football deal. In between it’s broadcast everything from golf to the X Games to the NBA Finals, along with college football national championship games and and a one-off news spot on E:60. AT&T’s U-verse dropped the channel in August 2011 after being one of the launch partners, but said it would come back due to a new agreement signed earlier this year. ESPN overcame many technology and cost hurdles to broadcasting 3D over the years, but in the end the chilly reception from the marketplace for 3D at home appears to have been too much to overcome. Another element that likely affected it were recent layoffs by parent company Disney, that Multichannel News reports included some jobs associated with ESPN 3D.

So what’s next for ESPN? According to a statement, “committing our 3D resources to other products and services that will better serve fans and affiliates.” That should include the 4K capabilities planned for its new facility in Bristol, but we’ll have to wait until it opens next year to find out. For now ESPN says it will be ready to provide 3D content again “if or when” the viewing format takes off — the release of another Avatar flick or TVs that don’t need glasses for 3D might help — now the question is if / when other early efforts like n3D and 3net could also be shelved.

[Thanks, @defiance]

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: ESPN 3D (Twitter)