It’s Time For an Upgrade

In 2002 major film studios formed the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) to figure out how cinemas could switch from outdated analog reel systems to digital systems which would be more cost effective, durable, easier to distribute, and produced immaculate images. Sony was the only DCI member that was involved with both hardware and filmmaking camps, so the 4K Ultra HD projector was produced and introduced in 2006. That technology will now be available at home with the arrival of the 4K or Ultra HD television. The 4K TV will surpass any current full HD TV, which are in most homes now, simply because there will be a higher resolution which brings more detail. Current full HD TVs have slightly over 2 million pixels, while the 4K TV has 8.3 million. The 4k will be the new standard . Netflix has already announced it will likely have 4K streaming within two years, PlayStation 4 which plans to launch this year will  support a 4K movie service, and Sony also launched Video Unlimited 4K which is the very first 4K online video download service which will be available through Sony’s 4K media player or 4K TVs. Although the amount of 4K content is currently limited, there will be plenty once 4K is the standard television set in every home. Prices range from $699 to $40,000 dollars.

Sony has announced a new $4,500 FRD-AX1 camcorder which makes creating 4k picture quality accessible to almost anyone. The FDR-AX1 camcorder uses an XQD memory card for high-speed reading and writing of 4K video. They’re bigger than SD cards but smaller than CompactFlash cards and having two slots means you can keep shooting without interruption. There’s even an SD slot if you want to shoot regular old fashioned 1080p video. There’s even  two external pro-style XLR connectors for premium sound quality.   Sony’s targeting the “prosumer” market for filmmakers on a budget.

Once upon a time, every future movie featured some kind of smart watch, but then when the smart phones became available it seemed like the idea of a watch had just been passed over.  Then Apple’s concept of an iWatch set the tech industry in a frenzy to try and grab the  smartwatch market.  Samsung took the initiative and just recently announced the Galaxy Gear smartwatch which should launch in October. There are mixed feelings about Samsung’s grab for the market.   Business Insider calls it a potential $9.2 billion market by 2018. But others claim Samsung is jumping the gun and that no one will wear it. Spec wise the Galaxy Gear features a 1.63 AMOLED display, a 1.9 megapixel camera, 800 MHz processor, 512 MB of ram, 4 GB of storage, and a speaker built into the wrist strap. Also the watch will have a Siri-like voice assistant for user commands. The watch will be integrated with Samsung phones and will  sync so all alerts, calls and texts show up on the watch.

Nokia used to be the dominant name in the cell phones game until Apple’s iPhone hit the scene. Since then the decline of Nokia has been devastating. But Nokia is not dead yet.  Now that most people are giving up their digital cameras and relying on their cell phones for capturing photos, the focus has turned to  the high end cell phone camera, and the Lumia 1020 features a massive 41 megapixel backside illuminated sensor with Zeiss wide-angle optics featuring six lenses. The phone has a real flash instead of just a light, like most phones.  The Xenon flash reduces motion blur and takes better photos in dark areas. Camera apps included.  Oh, and it’s still a good phone. The Lumia 1020 will cost you $299 on an AT&T contract and will soon be available on Verizon.

Tablets are dominating the tech world and killing the PC industry. Portable, size, and convenience make tablets a more user friendly device and experience. But what if your tablet was like a sheet of paper, literally. A team from Canada’s Queen’s University, Intel Labs and Plastic Logic have been working on an idea and prototype called PaperTab. PaperTab is a tablet that bends and is thin like a piece of paper. The concept is using PaperTab for everything, paper, tablet, computer, sketch pad, etc. The PaperTab’s are integrated to be used together letting you combine and complete tasks with ease. PaperTab could possible make actual paper obsolete in the future.

Minority report and Tony Stark both had cool hands free computers. With just a move of the hand they could access what they needed. One company took that concept and created Leap Motion. Leap Motion is a small device that connects your computer via USB and turns your computer / monitor into a full functioning futuristic hands free device. The sensor creates a 2 foot bubble that senses your hands motion. The device is said to be 200 times more accurate than the Xbox 360 Kinect “sensing 1/100th of a millimeter motions of all 10 fingers at 290 frames per second”.  What’s even cooler is that the company launched their own app store you use the device with Google Earth, Fruit Ninja, touch-free MIDI player and so on. The company said that “three weeks after launching, owners of the device have already downloaded over a million apps”.  You can get the device for $80 for both Windows and Mac; just make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements.